Jodie's Visit from Japan

A little over a year ago, Kajal and I visited Jodie in Japan. At the time we remarked how interesting it was that three girls from Rome, GA were placed at different corners of the world. While I still believe that is phenomenal that I have had a chance to spend the last year in Australia, Jodie the past three years in Japan, and Kajal the past three-plus years in New York City, I believe the most remarkable aspect is how we have all kept in touch and gotten to experience each other's lives in our respective parts of the world.

Jodie came to visit last week as she prepares to move to San Diego with her husband and dog, Jack. I feel pretty good about the sights Jodie was able to see, as we drove out the Great Ocean Road to Port Fairy and to the Twelve Apostles, spent a night in Sydney, spent various days in Melbourne eating great food, and a few days around Geelong tasting wine at Petavel (only Jodie) and stalking kangaroo.

Here are a few pictures from our trips:

Jodie and Julie on the ferry in front of the Sydney Harbor Bridge; Jodie and Julie at the Twelve Apostles

Funny story about this picture.....A group of emus were wandering around a picnic area at Tower Hill on Mother's Day. They are known to be quite aggressive when it comes to their Sunday lunch, and this group of people found out the hard way. The emu snuck in between the two guys on the left and grabbed a piece of bread. Much to his chagrin, the older gentlemen with the glasses had a gut reaction to punch the emu in the beak. I guess we have strange senses of humor, but we laughed for days about his one.

My link of the meme....

You can thank Kajal for this little piece of insight into Julie's mind. A meme is similar to a chain communication. I have been tagged to share six random thoughts.

1. Putting all political views aside, Hilary Clinton looks like she is storing nuts in her cheeks for the winter. I'm sorry, but it is true.

2. As I begin to think about my child and the knowledge he or she will gain during education, it frustrates me that a lot of Americans do not have the faintest interest in world geography. Where the hell is Myanmar?, one might say. I love maps and enjoy perusing maps while trying to learn something new. I am also lucky to have walking world atlas for a husband!

3. My love for avocados has grown exponentially in the past three months. Maybe you can chalk it up to the new baby, but I could eat them with sea salt and lemon, smash them up with garlic and tomatoes, or eat them straight out of the skin with a spoon.

4. In keeping with food-related topics, I wish McDonalds served sour cream with its french fries. Or better yet, sweet chili sauce. You can, again, probably chalk this up to pregnancy.

5. My dog, Cash, likes to scratch his ear with his back paw while closing his eyes like it feels really good. Then he smells his paw.

6. How do stinky people not smell themselves? Maybe a better question would be, Do they not have wives, husbands, or significant others that have a sense of smell? And why are they always the ones that are perfectly happy to hold onto the overhead rail on a train while everyone else is fine with the bar at eye level?

I'm probably going to break this chain because I don't know six more people (not included on Kajal's site) that have a blog.....

Belly News

As most people now know we are pregnant and due to have our first baby on October 24th. I have finally gotten the initiative to put some big belly, or growing belly, pictures up on the blog. Unfortunately there is more and more belly to share as each day goes by........

(L to R: 11 weeks; 15 weeks)

Winery Working

Since February I have been working at Pettavel Winery on the 2008 vintage. The experience has been a great way for me to transform my interest in drinking Australian wine into a more educational endeavor.

The first question I get from folks is, "Are you sick of tasting wine?" The answer is twofold: 1. People that work in wineries do not actually swallow the wine. 2. No educated winemaker would ever gamble the 2008 vintage on my wine tasting abilities. I seem to only smell strawberries and taste tobacco or cocoa in wine. Not a very diverse box of smells and tastes!

My main role at the winery is to test alcohol levels, baume (measure of sugar levels), PH, and acid levels in the wine. Do not tell the folks at Pettavel that my performance in Chemistry 101 and 102 at Tech was less than stellar!

Mark's Races

While I continue to search for the urge to get up off the couch to run, Mark has entered three races over the past three weekends and done extremely well.

Geelong Half-Marathon: 1:56:35

Geelong Triathlon: 1:01:31 (500m swim; 10K cycle; 5K run)

Tri X Triathlon: 2:00:02 (500m swim; 20K mountain bike; 6k run)

Byron Bay Bluesfest

A day spent at the Byron Bay Bluesfest in New South Wales with Wilco, Buddy Guy, and Keb Mo (not pictured).

Buddy Guy has been a favorite for some time, but Wilco really moved to the top of the Schoen rankings after this performance. "Sky Blue Sky" is an excellent CD and is highly recommended.

Goodbye to the Kiwis

(L to R:) Mark and Julie in Doubtful Sound at the camp site after a day of sea kayaking. The next morning we awoke to a family of dolphins swimming in this same spot.; The Wilmot Pass overlook giving us a nice picture of the area where we had been sea kayaking for the past two days; A glimpse of the glacial rock, Mt. Earnslaw, on our 3-day hike south of Queenstown; Getting closer to Mt. Earnslaw after a break for lunch; Waking up under our rock bivy in the morning with our hiking partner, Ardmore (our guide, Jo's, dog); Mark's death-defying canyoning trip where he abseiled and slid down rocks in whitewater rapids escaping with only 4 stitches in his elbow; Julie's less-harrowing Saturday spent at the Wanaka farm show watching the sheep dog competition and the Jack Russell Terrier race.

We say goodbye to New Zealand for a short while, or at least until we get to this side of the world again. A mere 11 hours from LAX, we will surely find ourselves here again in the future.