People actually read this thing!

Holy smokes when we left to Australia and I started writing on this blog, I thought "who has the time to check my senseless meanderings on such important topics as meat pies and running over kangaroos." Turns out people are a little less self centered than I am. Sure I still wrote on the thing but mostly it was for Nikki and I to have a record of our travels and for our folks to keep updated. But hey, I'm glad people are entertained and it helped to not have to tell the same stories over and over again. As for updates, we have cleaned the house and fixed all the crap from the scumbags that rented from us for our first six months and are currently looking for some non-scumbags. So, if you know anyone looking for a rental in Tacoma... let me know.

In other news, we head back down under in 3 days and it is a strange feeling. After spending 2 months being freeloaders among various places it will be nice to get back to "our place" but it also isn't the same as "going home" since it is kind of just a place we hang out while touring various places. It will be great to see our Aussie friends but sad to leave all the great people we've hung out with here at our two different homes. I'm jazzed for our trip to Tasmania in March and am trying to work something out for February (possibly a drive up the east coast Sydney to South Kempsey). I also really want to go back to Adelaide and do some fishing with Michael and eat some of Jane's good cooking. Hopefully we can steer clear of the roos. It will however be tough to go back to our $150 IKEA pile of crap couch. Good thing we don't spend much time in the apartment. It will be nice to throw the old shorts and flip-flops back on and enjoy the weather. I'm also looking forward to learning how to surf and since it'll be hot as hell it should be good timing. Heck, the more I write on this the more excited I get to get back to Australia again. Sure, the American bank account may be shot by the time we get back (thanks to those scum-bag renters)... but what the hell, no economic crisis will be able to take these experiences away.

One final note, although the Bears (Tyler, Abby, Wyatt, and I's favorite football team) may have not made the playoffs, they are just waiting in the wings for me to get back. I'd like to make an early prediction for next year's season and predict a perfect 19-0 season for the Monster's of the Midway. I mean how screwed up is the NFL when he Cardinals make it to the Super Bowl?

No worries...

It's amazing how quickly the sayings that I picked up in Australia have gone away. "No worries" is pretty much the only thing that's stuck with me and I think of Australia every time I say it. In fact, it pretty much sums up my life in Australia. Last week I pulled an ad out of a magazine that says, "It isn't that you have no worries here. It's that you can't remember what they are." How true that is (yet the ad had nothing to do with Australia). Although I've enjoyed my time here, I look forward to getting back to Australia and the life where I don't remember my worries. It's funny that when we first moved we laughed about how much we had digressed, but now it seems to be more of a progression than a digression. We've been able to simplify life to a point where we don't seem to have any worries- how many people ever get to that stage?

God Bless America

First of all, I am missing Australia quite a bit. I'd give $20 for a meat pie. And I'd pay $6.99 for a shot glass size jar of Vegemite. But being back has really made me realize the things in the US of A that I really miss. Wonderful things like family, friends, my sweet dog and glorious American excess. I've been a few places in this world and there is nowhere I have found where you can buy 64 oz of pop for a buck! There really is something magical about that. Microwave burritos are another grand American creation that just can't be found elsewhere. And beer that you don't need to take out a second mortgage to buy.



Above all though, the time with family is irreplaceable. Speaking of family, our exchange student from a few years ago came all the way from Italy just to see us (Nichole first but me too according to her). She is now 18 and a beautiful young woman. Another bonus to the visit was meeting my beautiful little god-daughter Heather Paige Zito. My niece and nephews are growing up fast too. Abby loves the Chicago Bears and tells everyone. Wyatt is now coming around to the Monsters of the Midway too. He says "Go Bears... Packer's stink" all the time. And, bubba's son Tyler is also quickly coming around too. He asked me to buy him a Bears hat before I left and I went home and ordered one right up. My bro's think I'm brainwashing their kids but I think they are just really smart when it comes to picking a team.



As for the weather... I'm digging it. Nikki likes those sissy winters but as far as I am concerned winter should be winter and summer should be summer. It has been freezing cold and snow every day since we've been here just the way winter should be. Sure I'm looking forward to getting back to shorts and flip-flops but right now I'm in winter wonderland.

Like Nikki said posts will be few and far between until we get back down under (Feb. 1st), so until then G'day mate!

Missing Our Life Down Under...

Although we're enjoying our time with friends and family, there are a few things that we miss about our life in Australia. For starters, the mild winters and all of the walking. Since we've been in Montana, we've only had a handful of days with highs above zero, which means the only walking we've been doing is indoors. To think, we left summer for this! Mark is missing the food (he paid $7 for a small jar of Vegemite) and I'm missing all of the activity that comes with city living. Let's just say I'm doing a lot of reading and watching tv these days. Finally, of course, we're missing our Aussie friends (and the Brit). When we left our friends here, we knew we'd see them again soon. But when we leave our Aussie friends in July, we don't know when or if we'll see them again. Another reason to be thankful for the internet I guess.

PS- For my dad and the rest of you following our blog, the posts will continue to be pretty scarce until we get back to Melbourne at the end of January (after all, it's titled "Life Down Under"), so check back then. Cheers!

4 Countries in 2 Days...

We left Melbourne at 10:30 Thursday morning and landed in Los Angeles at 10:15 after a nearly 2 hour layover in Auckland (and they say time travel isn't possible). The first thing we wanted to do when we got to the States was eat proper Mexican food- so far that's about all we've eaten (it's just sooooo good). We even crossed the border on Friday to get the real deal. Lesley and Daniel (my aunt and uncle) took us to Tijuana for some tacos from Perez's and a little sight seeing and shopping. At the border trying to get back into the States, an officer took our passports and then came back and told us to follow another officer into a holding area. Lesley looked a little panicked; they've never had any problems crossing the border. Of course, Mark and I were relaxed since we have trouble pretty much every time we cross a border (a little tid-bit that we forgot to pass along to Lesley and Daniel- oops!). Fortunately they let us through, but only after looking at Mark and then asking him how he was related to Daniel. On Saturday we went to Sea World using free passes from my dad (thank goodness because tickets are about $65, which is probably close to $100 AUD). We hit the shows and exhibits, got wet on the rides, and had lunch and drinks in Bush Gardens. The weather was beautiful and there weren't a lot of people, so it was a perfect day for Sea World. We stuck around into the evening for the special Christmas shows; what an amazing way to kick start the season! Today we had a barbeque with the family. Not being used to kids, it made things easier on us that they showed up in groups every couple of hours. By the end, it was Mark and I, Lesley and Daniel, Danielle with her three kids, Stacie and Johnny with their three kids, and Jessica with her three kids plus one- ten kids total and not only did we survive, but we enjoyed it! We have a few more days here in California and then it's off to Montana. We'll try to post some pictures of our California trip when we get to Montana, so keep checking back!

Rules to cruise by…

As I’m sure you can tell, we’ve had a great time on our cruise; the people have been great and New Zealand is beautiful. Instead of telling more about the people and country, I’m going to talk about something else we’ve experienced- major weight gain.

Our first night at dinner our table mates (and experienced cruisers), Stephanie and Michael, shared some rules to follow to not gain weight on a cruise.

Rule 1: Don’t eat the bread at dinner

Rule 2: Don’t skip a course (not sure how this helps us not gain weight, but we liked the rule anyway)

Rule 3: Always take the stairs

Although we followed the rules (except the first one), we both managed to gain 5-10 lbs in 9 nights! As it turns out, they forgot one of the rules.

Rule 4: Don’t order drinks

Not that I think the drinks caused all of our weight gain, but the daiquiris, margaritas, martinis, and other drinks that we may have enjoyed were probably pretty high in calories. Still, I think that more than 4 rules are necessary to avoid gaining weight. Here are my additions. Hopefully they work better for me next time.

Rule 5: Weigh yourself everyday (so you’re not surprised at the end of the cruise that you’ve gained a pound a day)

Rule 6: Go to the gym at least once each day at sea

Rule 7: Avoid the buffet as much as possible

Rule 8: Eat only 3 meals a day and limit snacks to 1-2 small items

Rule 9 (this is Stephanie and Michael’s new rule): Have sex everyday

Rule 10: Bring Advil, allergy medicine, cold sore medicine, and Advil Cold and Sinus on board (this has nothing to do with weight gain, but it’s another rule to cruise by if you’re sickly like me)

What a day!

We’re just now cruising away from a great day in Wellington. The city was fantastic. The highlight by far was a church that was built in the mid 19th century entirely out of wood. As if the church wasn’t cool enough, they had an excellent display about American soldiers that defended the country in World War II. In the current state of affairs, when the USA in not the most popular country in the world, it was really great to hear of a time when we were the good guys. The man that guided us through was alive at the time and he told us great stories about the soldiers and what life was like in those days. That was probably the coolest thing we’ve done in New Zealand.
After we got back to the boat and did a little swimming and eating. I enjoyed a very nice Romeo and Juliet and watched the sun go down over the pacific, with the sun on my skin, and a cool air coming in, and the water crashing below me. The view was spectacular with huge mountains and waves crashing in. I thought to myself, life couldn’t get much better. Maybe in a few weeks it’ll be building stuff with my Dad in his shop. Maybe in a month or two it will be playing poker with buddies in the man room. Maybe in a few years it will be teaching a son how to play football… but just now it really couldn’t get any better.

It's like a cute quaint town...

...only better because it's a whole country! We arrived in New Zealand Monday and have seen Fiordland, Dunedin, Christchurch, and are currently in Wellington. So far the country is absolutely beautiful; it feels more like what I would expect Norway to feel like (the European influence is much stronger than the Australian influence). We are surrounded by lush green hillsides and water. The cities have been small, well laid out, and filled with friendly people. Although we only get a day in each city, it seems sufficient. We have lots of pictures and more stories to post, but that will have to wait until later, so check back soon!

Cruising

I want to rock and roll all day.. and Nikki wants to throw up (if it wasn't for the motion sickness pills). I love the waves. The ship has really been rocking as we roll through Fjordland, New Zealand (turns out the New Zealander’s have about the same creativity naming things as the Aussies(i.e. tasty cheese)). People told us that that you can't even feel the cruise ship but this one is a bit different. The swells were sometimes 15 feet high. The people we eat dinner with say it is the roughest they've ever experienced and they've been on 13 cruises.


The sights are like nothing I could have even imagined. Imagine the tallest mountain peaks you’ve ever seen and erase the hills, valleys, and everything else in between until you get to the ocean. It just goes from these huge snowcapped mountain peaks straight down into water. Then the water is 1000 feet deep. So back to the rocking, as we roll out of the fjords, the waves are huge and the ship is really rocking back and forth. The pools are splashing ten foot waves! It was a bit chilly so I was the only one in the pool, and I must be in 30-40 family vacation pictures. Amazing stuff!

Another Addiction

When I first went overseas to France, I became addicted to traveling. When I moved to Australia it became a whole other beast. Then, after 15 minutes aboard the Millennium, I am addicted to cruising! How cool. Yeah, we are the scum bags of the ship, but we are scum bags in a whole lot fancier class than Nikki and me are used to. Our lowest end cabin would rank as one of the nicest hotels we have ever stayed in. Our every need is catered to before you can even think of it. And talk about “sport eating”… we have done nothing but eat for two days straight. We go to the fancy pants restaurant for our meals and hit the buffet for all our “in between meal” meals. As if the 20 pounds I’ve gained in Melbourne wasn’t enough. I’m hoping I’ll only gain 10 on this trip.

We are now on our second day at sea. We are out in the middle of nowhere between Australia and New Zealand. There is absolutely no land in sight, but it feels like you should just be able to walk across the boat and see the land. There is plenty to do aboard though. At night they put the next day’s schedule on your pillow and we go through and underline everything we want to do. Yesterday the only thing we did was eat and walk around the ship. Today, so far, we are eating and hitting the pool and working out. The pool is amazing. The boat rocks, so the pool has waves in it. And it is salt water in the pools so you float. We just floated around “starfish” style and rocked with the waves.

Probably the only downer on the cruise is American dollars. The Aussie dollar has dropped from about $.97 to around $.65 so we really don’t have much spending power. Good thing the only expense is booze, and we had $200 onboard credit from Travelocity. We’ll be alright.