Straddie, Brekky, Footy, Cardy, Brissy, Mainies....

a few of the many words that Australians abbreviate.

Last week was Danny's and my grandma's birthday.  Surprised Danny with an awesome birthday breakfast, 'Mexican' food dinner & la fete de la musique which entailed: rap group, wind instruments and bossa nova.

his cake was made with delicious farmer's market cupcakes and his favourite type of TimTams.

Sunday we went to North Stradbroke Island we rode one hour on the scooter and another 45 minutes on the Big Red Cat Ferry... the water was so clear even though it was over cast, freezing cold and rainy.  North Stradbroke Island was really beautiful with pristine beaches surrounded by forest-y areas AND I learned of a new setting on our tablet that takes panoramic photos!

gold coast adventures

Adventures started in Snapper Rocks where Danny surfed.  After months & months of no surfing due to ear drum, moving, working & not having a car he was finally able to get some waves... he had fun regardless of the wave quality. 

Afterwards, off too the Springbrook National Park part of the Gondwana Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The Gondwana Forests of Australia are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world.  It is so named because the fossil record indicates that when Gondwana existed (southernmost part of two super continents, the other being Laurasia, that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent some 100 odd million years ago) it was covered by rainforests containing the same kinds of species that are living there today (Wikipedia).  

Our first stop was Mt. Cougal.  We went to see the cascades surrounded by rainforest, it was pretty rad... it was late afternoon so the setting sunlight was just phenomenal.  We hiked up to the Old Sawmill which was lame, the creek and the cascades were the best part. 

Then, the Natural Bridge.  It was dark by the time we reached the hiking trail...
1.  it ruled because we had to hike in pitch dark...the only other time that I had done anything like that was hiking up Machu Pichu before sunrise... it's exhilarating knowing that the only things surrounding you are the trees, the forest creatures and the only reason why you can see the silhouette of the mountain is because it is shades darker that the completely dark sky.
2. it ruled because it felt like we were the only ones on the trail - but comforted knowing that we weren't
3. it ruled because we saw glow worms surrounding us as we walked the trail
4. it ruled because as you get closer to the bridge, the only thing you hear is the rushing sound of the waterfall...super creepy.
5. it ruled because when you enter the cave at the base of the waterfall, you are completely surrounded by the little blue-ish light from the glow worms.

We stayed in the cave for what seemed like forever... all you can see is the blue glow worms and all you can hear is the rushing sound of the waterfall, it was completely dark.

glow worms

waterfall at night 

waterfall daytime

The following day we checked out the Purling Brook Falls and a few other spots with amazing views of the the Gold Coast.  Then we hiked 4km on the Twin Fall trail.  The trail was fairly easy and truly amazing.  The hike down to the bottom of the waterfall, walking behind all the waterfalls and hiking the whole trail encountering no one in the lush subtropical rainforest...freaking cool.

All in all a great weekend... ending with a delicious cheesy burst crust Hawaiian pizza from Domino's... because its honestly so delicious here.   

Queen's Birthday / Jubilee weekend

so even though the Queen was born on 21, April it was celebrated on 11 June along with her Diamond Jubilee...60 years on the throne as the reigning Queen.

Danny and I are learning plenty of new things while living in Australia... one of which is that the infrastructure for Internet sucks and that Australia recognizes Queen Elizabeth the II as its Queen.  I think that is awesome, because
a.  We have a queen
b.  We do not have to pay taxes to the Queen
c.  Just taking the statement as it is without prompting any crazy political backlash, its cool to have a Queen.

To celebrate the day off Danny and I went bananas:

took our scooter up the mountains to check Forest Park ...

Lesson #1:  wear winter / scooter appropriate clothing when taking the scooter up a mountain.

After the scooter ride in Forest Park, we went to eat at a barbecue restaurant in New Farm that we had waited for reservations for 1 week in order to commemorate our support for democracy... I mean just because we like the Queen doesn't mean we don't love democracy... 

With the exception of brunch at Ruby's in Paddington on Monday... our weekend enabled us to seclude ourselves from the rainy and cold weather filled with bags and bags of TimTams - chewy caramel flavour, amazing Domino's pizza with cheesy burst pizza crust delivered to our front door and episodes upon episodes of How I Met Your Mother, Cougartown, Archer, Walking Dead and Vampire Diaries... 

In conclusion thank you Australia for having a queen and celebrating her birthday which enabled us to have a fun weekend and we hope that France wins the Euro 2012!!! 

teee heee

Argon walks into a bar and the bartender says

"We don't serve noble gasses here!"

Argon does not react

A higgs boson particle goes into a church and the priest says: 

"higgs boson particles are not allowed here, you call yourself the God particle...its sacrilegious!"

then the higgs boson says:  if you don't allow higgs bosun particles then how do you have mass

Does Snoop Dogg ever need an umbrella?

fo drizzle

What is the relationship between the pumpkin's circumference and its radius?

pumpkin pi

Why is the math book so sad?

because it has a lot of problems

Why did the fungi and algae get married?

they took a lichen to each other

2 peanuts were walking and 1 was assaulted

How do you make Lady Gaga cry?

poke her face

What is brown and rhymes with Snoop?

Dr. Dre

What did Mozart & Beethoven turn into when they died?

decomposers

What did the evil chicken lay?

a devilled egg

having a ginger beer with you...

is even more fun than going to San Sebastian, Irún, Hendaye, Biarritz, Bayonne

or being sick to my stomach on the Travesera de Gracia in Barcelona

partly because in your orange shirt you look like a better happier St. Sebastian

partly because of my love for you, partly because of your love for yoghurt

partly because of the fluorescent orange tulips around the birches

partly because of the secrecy our smiles take on before people and statuary

it is hard to believe when I’m with you that there can be anything as still

as solemn as unpleasantly definitive as statuary when right in front of it

in the warm New York 4 o’clock light we are drifting back and forth

between each other like a tree breathing through its spectacles

and the portrait show seems to have no faces in it at all, just paint

you suddenly wonder why in the world anyone ever did them

I look

at you and I would rather look at you than all the portraits in the world

except possibly for the Polish Rider occasionally and anyway it’s in the Frick

which thank heavens you haven’t gone to yet so we can go together the first time

and the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism

just as at home I never think of the Nude Descending a Staircase or

at a rehearsal a single drawing of Leonardo or Michelangelo that used to wow me

and what good does all the research of the Impressionists do them

when they never got the right person to stand near the tree when the sun sank

or for that matter Marino Marini when he didn’t pick the rider as carefully

as the horse

it seems they were all cheated of some marvelous experience

which is not going to go wasted on me which is why I am telling you about it

-Frank O’Hara

thanks...

for giving me the strength and courage to seek and grab hold of the adventures that come our way.

9 years ago I met;
someone who has the same dreams as me,  a person who thinks that I am kind of funny, the person who makes me laugh everyday, the only person that makes me regret naps (even though I love them, being awake hanging out with him is much better), someone that I miss when he has to go to work, a person with so many creative, genius and sometimes wacky ideas, a person with an amazing family to be a part of, the person I cannot live without.

2003

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2011

2012