Trip to Auckland

Here are some pictures from our short trip to Auckland. Click on the picture for the album.

18 vs 28

When I was 18, freshman in college, I became interested in feminist studies. I was very aware of not being oppressed by the hetero-patriarchary. I wanted to have a power career and the idea of cooking dinner for my man and doing laundry seemed an abomination. Now at 28, I do part time office work and get really happy when I make a good dinner for Eric and I. I'm not so sure what 18 year old me would say to 28 year old me...

But, then I think about Eric and how much I love him and love to take care of him and that just doesn't seem to matter. Actually, I'm happier to cook dinner, do the laundry, clean the house, pack for our trips, and work part time with Eric that I ever was before him.

So, 18 year old me can stuff it. Besides, what the hell does an 18 year old know anyway?!

Awesome Idea!!!

Hey, I think you should stop whatever busy and important thing you're doing right now and go take a picture of yourself. Why, you may ask. So you can send it to me. Or post it. Or both. You see, if you're reading this, then it means that either Eric or I (and most cases both of us) miss seeing you guys and it would make us ever so happy to see your smiling faces!

To get it started, here's the coolest picture of Eric and I have taken of ourselves since we've been here:

Summer is coming!

Summer is finally coming! The seasons being reversed has really been an interesting experience. This is the first time in my life that I had a cold, partially cloudy, 45 degree, with sprinkles birthday. It was still a nice day - Eric and I took a boat ride in the Yarra River, which was pretty. And it's hard to imagine Halloween, let alone Thanksgiving (which I am totally making) when it's going to be in at least the 80's pretty much every day.

Which brings me to two other things:

1. Weather - According to every meteorologist on the evening news has only four descriptors for the weather - fine, mostly fine, windy, or showers. That's it! Fine is so nondescript and vague, but mostly fine? It's like they put the two least descriptive words in the entire world together! Yet, it still manages to give me a sense of the weather that day.

2. the Metric System - I'll admit it, before moving here, I only the smallest sense of the metric system. I mean, I knew I had some point learned about meters and liters and grams at some point in school, but I just didn't hold on to in. But, now I've got it down. Well, I'm still a bit shaky on ounce to grams and don't know kph versus mph, but I've gotten good at everything else. Actually, I've come to learn all of this through cooking and baking moreso than anything else. But, all that's to say I'm glad I've gotten a handle on the metric system.

So, do you see how this all comes back to summer coming?!

To: My Girlfriends

Last week I had my first bout with really missing my friends. Eric was working a lot and, of course, I got a bit lonely. During that time, I realized that not since high school have I had a great group of girlfriends like I now have in Seattle. Of course, Lari has been a mainstay for a long time and my sister has always been, well, my sister, but for a long time I was lacking in a solid group of girlfriends. I didn't realize it until last week, but not having that support system of great women around you can really make you feel like you've missed out on a lot! Having found that through all of the truly awesome ladies I've met since moving to Seattle, I now realize how important those relationships are and consequently miss them more than ever!!! Of course, I still have Eric and I still think he's just as dreamy as ever, but even having him is not the same as having a good girlfriend to go out to dinner with, to sit and knit with, to have some drinks with, to just hang out and do nothing with...to talk about things that only other women would understand.

So, to all my lady friends, I love you and miss you tons!

Foiled!

So, our plans have been officially foiled. Eric and I were planning to go to Fiji in mid-October, which we were both super excited about. After checking with his bosses, however, they realized that they need Eric (clearly because he is so awesome) and he cannot afford to have that much time off of work. Instead, Eric and I will probably just go to Auckland for a few days. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about a trip to Auckland! I'm sure there's tons of stuff to do there and Eric and I will still have a great time...it's just not Fiji. Eric and I both hope we'll still be able to make it there before we head back to the states though. So for now, I'm just thinking of it as a trip that's been delayed.

Love to you all,

~S

Great Ocean Road-Trip

Here are some overdue pictures from our trip down the Great Ocean Road to the West of Melbourne. We took the quicker inland route out to the Otway forest where we did a tree top walk and a little hike to a waterfall. From there we took a dirt road "shortcut" towards the coast and made our first and only kangaroo sighting. After a bit of abuse for the little Yaris we arrived at the Twelve Apostles. We did a bit more sightseeing at the Loch Ard Gorge before heading to Port Campbell for the night. The next day we headed back along the coast stopping at a some beaches and lighthouses. Click on the picture to see the slideshow and then come visit to see it for yourself.

-eric