Late Christmas Note

Christmas with the Melfi's was a blast! Sorry it took me so long to write about it. To me it felt more like a big party than Christmas though - probably because I was away from family and there wasn't any snow. It was still fun though!
We had soup, pasta, roast pork, roast lamb, roast beef, potato salad, roast potatoes, roast sweet potatoes, lettuce salad, salami's and olives, bread and a ton of other good things! Dessert was even better with trifle, tiramisu and cookies. Needless to say I think I gained 5 pounds.
We played games and watched "Elf" and sat around talking. They do something called KK (kris kringle) here which is like American Secret Santa. So we watched everyone open their gifts from each other and Dannii's cousins and auntie gave me and Eric each a cool printed tee shirt which was sweet of them.
On Christmas Eve a mail person came to the door and dropped off a Christmas present for me from my cousin Amanda in Minnesota. It was the sweetest thing ever. She sent me a wizard of oz coffee cup with Glenda the good witch of the north on it. On the back it says "only bad witches are ugly" she knows how much I love the wizard of oz so it was amazingly sweet of her to send that to me!
Since then we had a few days off (all of us together I mean) so we went to a family friends for a bbq, the boys played video games, Dannii and I saw "Lovely Bones" with her mom and cousin Sarah, more leftovers were eaten and we basically sat around like bums. It was great.
I worked at the cafe in the mall today for 3 and a half hours. They aren't really giving me any hours so I am looking for another job. Dannii and I went to zoomba tonight which was crazy because it was like 90 degrees or more today and the place isn't air conditioned. We stood in front of some fans but we were still dying. We stuck out the whole hour though. Afterwards I discovered that my sunburn is starting to bubble. I honestly look diseased. It has turned a weird purple color so it looks like someone hit me with a baseball bat all across the back of my legs and my right foot. Oh well... I just want it to go away.
Tonight the boys made chicken wings and cupcakes for our new years eve party tomorrow at Dannii's parents. There are supposedly 46 people coming tomorrow. Its gonna be crazy. Well I think thats all for now kids. Dannii and I rented Gossip Girl so we are going to watch it now!

Sun Disaster

Yesterday Eben and I went to the beach from 10:45am to 2:30pm. It was really relaxing we just sat and read and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and listened to the waves. It wasn't until a few hours later we realized how sunburned we were. I was using a spray sunblock and thought that I had sprayed myself well enough. Well I missed the backs of my knees the top of my right foot and a small strip right above my bottoms. Those spots are BRIGHT red. When I walk around it hurts because I can feel my skin stretching. I can only sleep on my stomach so nothing touches the burned spots. Eben got burned on the tops of his legs and a few patches on his chest. Needless to say we have been applying aloe vera like crazy. I also tried a rag soaked in vinegar which was nice. Eben wasn't quite patient enough to sit with a rag on his legs.
Well my job at the Italian restaurant is over. Tony the manager wanted me to work Christmas day from 11am to 10pm. I told him that I would be happy to work from 5-10 but that I wasn't going to spend my only Christmas in Australia working. He said that since I couldn't work when he needed me to then he wouldn't be putting me on the schedule anymore. So I went in to pick up my money from the weekend since I had worked Thursday through Sunday. I took Dannii with me and he gave me an envelope with cash and we stepped outside to count it and it was $50 short. So I went back in and told him that it was short and he said that he wasn't going to pay me for Thursday since it was my first day. I told him that wasn't fair because I was there for 5 hours and he had already told me that he was going to pay me for that day. He argued with me for a bit and then finally was going to give me the $50. He turned around to open the safe and then changed his mind saying that he didn't care if I didn't get paid and that I could take him to court if I wanted. So I stomped out and told Dannii that we were leaving and she said "did you get your money" I said no so then she went up to him and he was all like this has nothing to do with you. She said you owe my friend $50 he said that we could take him to court if we wanted. Then she said does the government know you're paying people cash? Are you willing to risk your restaurant over $50? Apparently he is willing to because he refused to pay me and so Dannii said his restaurant was terrible and we left.
Today Dannii called the owner of the restaurant chain and told him what happened and he said that he stands behind his managers 100% and that if I didn't get paid then I probably deserved it! She said we would be taking him to court then and he said he didn't care because he has millions.
I JUST WANTED MY $50!!!
grrrr...
So frustrating. Anyway we called the government tax office and told them that he is evading his taxes. So hopefully they go over there to check him out. Unfortunately there is no way for us to know if he gets busted. So if you ever come to Australia don't go to Il Divo.
Well I am going to put some more aloe vera on! :)

A New Week Ahead

Today is Sunday. I have worked every night since Wednesday and I have to work tonight and tomorrow night as well. We need to work though. This week has been tough as we are trying to figure out our money situation. I have been praying and feel as though I have been receiving some peace of mind about it because I don't think I normally would be this calm. Not to say that I haven't cried about it. I just feel like God is telling me that everything will turn out okay - and that I shouldn't fret about it because its over and done with. All there is to do now is move forward. So that's what I'm trying to do.
This morning we walked to a local park and did a workout. Eben, Dannii, Eric and I went jogging, did jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups, the whole bit. We are all out of shape so hopefully with each others encouragement we can break out of our couch potato habits, (especially the boys). :)
It felt good to be outside in the sunshine running around. Its the start of a new week and I hope that its a good one. Eric is going to another job interview tomorrow and I am praying that more opportunities continue to flow in. Christmas is just a few days away but I keep forgetting because the weather is so nice. Winter means Christmas to me so its been hard to remember that its December not June.
Yesterday Dannii and I went to Brunswick Street which would be comparable to Grand Ave in St Paul, MN. We walked around and she Christmas shopped. It was a beautiful day. We stopped and had cappuccinos and churros. These weren't any ordinary churros though. They came with a small pot of melted chocolate for you to dip it in. Needless to say they were delicious.
I am working again tonight at Il Divo an Italian restaurant comparable to the Olive Garden. The chicken parmesan is served on top of french fries though which is strange to me but normal here. Australians love their french fries, but so do I.
Thats all for now. Love you!

We found jobs!

Yay! We found jobs! I am working at the cafe in the mall and I am also starting today to work weekends at an Italian restaurant waitressing. Eric got a job being a green energy lightbulb salesman and he also got a call back for a job at an aquarium. Yay!! We are so excited! The only bad part is that they want us to work on the holidays and since we are new we kinda have to do whatever we can to make money. But hopefully the job opportunities will keep coming in and we can get something good that we enjoy doing and that pays tons! Wouldn't that be great?? Well I have to go get ready to go to the Italian restaurant! Wish me luck!

Its 84 degrees here today! Its supposed to be 104 tomorrow! Yesterday we went and met Dannii's grandparents who are from Austria. They gave us cake and coffee. My work called while we were there are asked if I could come in so I worked last night from 5-9pm. They want me to come back on Wednesday but that's all they want me for this week. Today Eric and I have both been sending resumes out like crazy on this Australian job website. I think I sent out about 6 resumes and Eric sent out 7. So hopefully we will hear back from someone! Pray someone calls us back!!
The weather lifts my spirits a little. I'm worried about money though - I wish we could just find something steady.
Tonight we are going to coffee with Eben and Dannii and all Dannii's cousins. Eric drove Eben's car yesterday which I thought was crazy - but he did a good job. I took a bike ride today - it was hot but its not humid so it was okay. Tomorrow will be crazy hot though I don't know what we're going to do. Well that's all for now!

December 13, 2009

Hello Everyone!
We've been in Australia for 10 days! I can't believe we made it all the way here! Our flight was long but we got to sleep and watch movies so it wasn't that bad. We are staying with our friends Eben and Dannii - they have a house here in Melbourne. The weather has been nice so far - 60's or 70's with a few days of clouds and rain. We have met most of Dannii's family and they have all been really friendly and welcoming to us.
Today we went to Dannii's parents for lunch. They had a spit last night for a party that they roasted chicken and lamb on - so today we got to have the leftovers! It was so good! We made gyros which they call suvlaki (not sure if I spelled that right). Dannii made roasted potatoes (regular and sweet) which were delicious too. Then we had cannollis and tea because they had some of those leftover too. Needless to say we were stuffed! We got our Christmas tree today too and we just finished decorating.
On Friday we had our first fish and chips experience. Except the fish is actually shark and the chips are french fries and potato cakes. We also got some other various fried things that everyone said we had to try. It was good - it was a big pile of fried food which we love so how could we go wrong!
I got a job at a cafe in the mall called Centre Perk. I worked Thursday night and now I am waiting to hear what my schedule will be like this week. The bus stop is a five second walk from their house and it goes straight to the mall. Eric is still looking for a job so hopefully he will find one soon!
They drive on the other side of the road and the other side of the car which was so weird at first but now I am getting used to it. I don't think I will be driving here though - too scary. We drove to the ocean our first day here but it was really windy and we were basically getting sandblasted. We will go back again though. There is also a dog beach where Eben and Dannii sometimes take their two dogs Hank and Bowser. We will probably go there too.
They have McDonalds here but they call it Mackers except with an accent it sounds like Mackas. I am compiling a list of things they say differently than Americans and I will post that soon!
I tried to upload some videos but it wasn't working so I will have to fiddle with it and see what I can do.
Merry Christmas Everyone!!
Keep checking up and I will try to post frequently!