From an actual email:

“Yes, there is a semi final for the NRL on Friday and Sat and an All Blacks game on Sat…… Very busy time of the year! Very tiring….. ”

Love you,

*Frank

This past weekend our family was honored to host Lana’s friend for her first non-family member sleepover. Lola’s mum (a KIwi) and I have become really good friends. Although a first sleepover is a big deal, it didn’t feel like it at any one moment because it was really so casual. I actually had to keep reminding myself to take pictures to share with her family.

When it was (way past) bedtime I thought we’d call her mum so that Lola could say good-night. After her mum spoke to her, then it was her dad’s turn & then her brother’s turn. It was so sweet. I remember thinking what a lovely family they are, this unit of four that is so close. As someone who has dragged her kids away from everyone we know, we have tried as a family unit to become stronger. Our hope is that our kids feel safe and grounded in a place that is not home. I realize, however that having wonderful friends and families like them around us adds to making OZ feel like home.

Last week my friend Jenny posted about how one quarter of her time in OZ has passed. Although I miss my family and friends back home, the thought of this experience ending did sadden me. We have been blessed in our time here to have met so many wonderful people and so many lovely families. Since many of them are also expats, I know the time to say good-bye will come, but those thoughts are not for now.

Congrats to Dr. Bob & his gorgeous wife on the birth of their beautiful baby girl.

 

Not sure when and how I stumbled upon Annie Paxye’s Sensible Living  website, but I was hooked. She’s this interesting woman from British Columbia, Canada. She, her husband and two kids live what would be considered by most, an alternative lifestyle. I don’t necessarily want to live as she does, but I certainly get something positive from reading her blog. She is very connected to her kids and the Earth. I also think that she’s a pretty interesting cook.

As I mentioned before, I have some time on my hands, so when inspired, I am trying out different recipes. Last night, we had some leftover chicken and an overripe tomato that would have gone bad if I didn’t use it that night. I got the idea to make homemade tortillas and use up the food we had rather than just dump it, something I have always hated to do, especially now since the chicken alone cost me $20.

We took the chicken, cut it into small pieces and heated it up. I diced up the tomato & shredded some Tasty cheese (that’s Australian for cheddar cheese…something everyone has a block of in their fridge at all times.) The kids, including a neighbor, were the first to build their wraps. They loved them. I offered them to the dad’s (our neighbors had dropped by) who were watching the footy, but they weren’t interested. However,after taking them some samples they both asked for more. Well, dinner was a success. It is always so funny to me (and a HUGE compliment) when kids ask me for a recipe for something, as my neighbor’s eldest did.

Annie’s recipe for tortillas which can be found here is actually from the Rebar Cookbook. This is the cookbook that I gave my vegetarian niece for her birthday. The recipe is actually pretty easy and all ingredients can be found in one’s pantry.

Before…

 After…

Back in August 2008 when I was in Portugal, I was trying to purchase some music on itunes. For whatever reason, it wasn’t allowing me to buy them from my computer in Portugal. I was in desperate need for something new to listen to on my runs. It was my husband who suggested I download Leonard Lopate to my ipod.

For those of you who do not live in the NYC area, he is described on the WNYC website this way, “Host Leonard Lopate lets you in on the best conversations with writers, actors, ex-presidents, dancers, scientists, comedians, historians, grammarians, curators, filmmakers, and do-it-yourself experts.” Rarely to my husband and I agree on things, but we both love Leonard Lopate.

I went back to itunes and subscribed to his podcast. While there, I also subscribed to This American Life and a few other awesome PRI shows. Easy peasy, melon squeezy.

When I told my marathon sister, she balked at the idea of running and listening to anything other than music, but on a slow run day, which is every run for me, Leonard and the others are great. Maria too now is a fan, as is my mother-in-law, as well as my sister-in-law.

Another thing about Leonard is that the man is prolific. So since I am not really interested in the Broadway interviews, I just pick and choose what I want to listen to. However, I am often surprised that something that I didn’t think would appeal to be turns out to be really great.

While out running a few months ago, I was listening to an interview with write Michael Pollan about his new book In Defense of Food. Some of the things he spoke of I had heard before, but there were so many things that I didn’t know. I knew I’d be buying the book. (WARNING: That happens ALL the time when you listen to the Leonard Lopate show, but the books are usually great.)

Since arriving in Australia, I have been giving a lot of thought to the foods we eat, especially the foods we feed our kids. I have also struggled with the amount of money we spend on food here. After listening to the Michael Pollan podcast I made a decision that I was going to try to avoid processed foods. It wasn’t just the idea of feeding my family healthier food, but also saving money. He makes the point that the further we move from the original state of a food, the more expensive it gets. i.e. Oatmeal is cheap, but as soon as you process it into brand cereal, it becomes more expensive.

I haven’t banned processed food from my house, and yes, we have eaten McDonald’s and Doritos since I made that call, but I just decided that as a stay-at-home mom I would try to make most of the food we eat myself.  I already cooked almost every dinner myself from scratch, but this meant a few changes like oatmeal rather than processed cereal at breakfast and my kids lunches would not be store bought fruit bars and rice wheels, but homemade fruit bars (easy recipe). I figure there are two advantages here: even in large packages fruit bars cost a $1 each here, whereas if I make them myself they are a fraction of that price and they are FRESH and yummy.

We also took a look at the meat we eat, which is very expensive here. I am still a carnivore, but we have certainly cut back slightly on our consumption. I can imagine the Portuguese having a very difficult time imagining a meal that does not contain meat (or fish), but we have discovered some great recipes (I promise to share them later) that even Lana enjoys.

If I sound like I am on a soapbox, that is not my intention. I just thought I’d share Lenny with the people I love as well as In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. For those of you interested in hearing the podcast it can be found here.

Jen & Nicole, this post if for you…

Today, while finishing my jog I noticed a sign something like this:

I was thinking how I should take a pictures and write something about the magpies since I figured Jen & Nicole would get a kick out of another Australian peril. Well, a few steps later a bird came flying just beside me. It startled me, but I kept on running. Weird, but nothing more. Well, I had just processed that thought when I got whacked in the head by a bird. I screeched, covered my head and ran to the other side of the street.

What the he%*!!! I couldn’t believe it. Yes, I have been on the beach when the seagulls are being very aggressive in trying to grab food. But this, was crazy.

All this worry about sharks and I get attacked by a bird!

Since I was on my way to pick up Nuno, I walked into his school and told one of his teachers. A mum standing by heard me and proceeded to tell me that it was my hair. Something about the magpies wanting my hair for a nest or thinking my hair was their nest….thank you very much. She also informed me that her son was attacked repeatedly when he was three. Oy. The only thing she was able to do was shied him as she left the area where he was being attacked.

After talking to my darling husband, it seems that running in black and white gear may not be the best idea during their breeding time. It seems that my awesome Adidas outfit that Maria gave me makes me look like a HUGE magpie.

Well I have done my research, and during their breeding time, from August to October, I will be avoiding any magpie zones. It’s just too scary, really. I guess they are also an issue for cyclists. One recommendation is to affix eye stickers on the back of your helmet since the magpies tend to not attack when being watched. It’s that, or wear your glasses on the back of your head. I kid you not, that is the official recommendation.

For more information on swooping birds click here.

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that people in Australia are pretty fit. I know there is officially an obesity problem here, but you’d never know it in Sydney. You do not go a day without seeing adults and kids running, cycling or swimming. One day, soon after we had first arrived, I was at the gym in some boot camp type class when the instructor asked us to separate into slow, medium or fast runners. I went to the medium group where I just about died. Not only was my heart racing one minute into the class, but I was almost run over numerous times. I was actually becoming disoriented because it was so difficult to think while my body was working so hard. I quickly realized that a medium paced runner here was not the same as back home.

When you see the amount of time dedicated to sport at the schools here, it is no wonder that these kids are such great athletes. They have school competitions and ‘zone’ meets. Even the year 1 classes have gym once a week, but they go over to the oval 4 times a week to run. This along with us walking all the time has really been great for Lana. For a kid who had a really difficult time walking a few blocks when we first arrived, it’s really nice to see her skipping and runnning all the way to school now.

Yesterday her school hosted a school Sports Carnival. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that the parents were invited to come down to watch from 9a-12a and that we could sit with our children for morning tea (snack). Nuno was at school so I packed some bagels to eat with my friends while we cheered on our house color. Just like in Harry Potter the school gets divided into houses. Lana is in Monterey, which is yellow, this explains why she is wearing her Mighty Ducks t-shirt (thanks Auntie Zira). I too wore yellow. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that it was a ‘just for fun’ day. No competition, no adding up points.

It was such a super day. The kids were having a blast. My husband normally rolls his eyes when I cheer for people I don’t know, but man I tell you the kids were soaking up all the attention. A child may have been coming in last in a race, but with the moms and dad’s cheering them on, it seemed like they were coming in first with the smiles that appeared on their faces. Just gorgeous. This is my favorite picture of my Might Duck…Quack Attack!!!

…one of my proudest moments.

ps. Jessica, this was so not so much a choice as it was a necessity. They do not have bagels here!