horse back riding and french fries

last saturday my sister invited me to go on a trail ride with her and my dad. i said sure i wasn't doing anything and i knew eric would have to work all day. she met me at mom's and we drove up to dad's together. dad already had the horse trailer hooked up so we climbed into the truck and made our way to the barn. nellie has a horse named phoenix that i was going to ride, she was going to ride a friend's horse spud (because spud's a bit crazier and i'm a beginner) and dad was borrowing a horse named trixie from another friend. so we get to the barn and grab spud first cause he's hardest to get into the trailer. we get him in without much trouble but as soon as we shut the door behind him so that dad can get him tied in he starts bolting out backwards and slams the trailer door wide open! nellie and i run to get outta the way - luckily he is cornered cause of the way we parked the trailer near the barn so it was easy to grab him. nellie threw him back in the pasture though cause we knew it would only get worse if we tried to force him in there. so nellie decides that she is going to take my other sister BJ's horse, gunner. gunner is a young ex-race horse so she warns us that if we take him we can't go any faster than a trot or he will be flying so fast she won't be able to stop him. we round up gunner and phoenix (who have both seen spud flip out) and try for an hour to get them into the trailer! so far this isn't looking so good and we still have one more horse to go. we ended up resorting to snapping a whip behind them and they FINALLY went in. we drive over to get dad's loaner horse and she is penned up in a riding ring running circles. another red flag i think. the owner says she usually has no problems getting trixie into a trailer but today was just not our day. we tried for 40 minutes to get her into the trailer with the others but she just wasn't having it so we gave up and threw her back in the pasture. it is now seven o'clock and we've spent 2 hours trying to just get the horses into the trailer! we ended up just taking the two over to dad's and playing around in his riding ring. it was alright but not the trail ride we all thought it would be!
sunday we hung out at mom's, monday i worked and then hung out with mom and my cousin amanda, tuesday i worked and then some of my girlfriends came over and picked me up and then we went and picked up another girlfriend and the 4 of us went to the happy gnome in st. paul for drinks. when we got there is started to rain and there was a hostess outside. we said "your patio is probably closed huh?" she said "yes there is no seating in the patio or the dining room at this time - you can try to find a spot at the bar but its crowded." and thats all she said. no can i take your name? or this is about how long the wait time is for a table. no nothing. so we went somewhere else. we ended up at salut on grand ave where my auntie debbie works. she just happened to be working that night so we sat in her section. we talked and drank blackberry mojito martini's, ate their delicious french fries (best fries in st paul!) and also shared 2 desserts of creme brulee and red velvet cake! it was so much fun! it was amazing to just spend some quality girl time sharing stories and catching up.
tonight i am headed up to my dad's again to celebrate his 56th birthday!
write more later
xoxo

3 months back in the US

so we've been back in minnesota since february 1st. it was cold, snowy and depressing but it is getting warmer now. today is was 75 degrees out, too bad i was stuck inside at work all day. i got my job back at summit orthopedics in mid feb. i miss australia a lot.
my minnesota bff went to ecuador on feb 17 but she decided to come back and i have been really happy to have her around! we are planning what we want to do this summer. last summer we thought it would be the last minnesota summer we would have together so we tried to do as many fun things as we could but now that we have another shot at it we are going to try to do even more fun things than last summer. 2010 is going to kick 2009's butt! anyone know a good place to get a lollapaloza? is that even how you spell it? i don't know...
anyways work is work. trying to make some money so that i can go meet my australian bff next may in vegas! that sucks that i won't get to see her until then but i guess thats all i can hope for when one of your best friends lives on the other side of the world. sucks.
eric is going to be starting chemistry classes in june - then he will be a studying fool. i will be the money-earner of the house for the next 2 years so that eric can work on his dream of becoming a middle school science teacher. he's gonna be a great teacher someday - hopefully sooner rather than later!
well i have to work at 6:30am tomorrow so i better get going so that i can get some good sleep before the next day starts.
xoxo prae

Last days of January summer

Eric and I are coming home on January 30th. Eric will be going to Denver to see his family and pick up our car and I will be coming home to snowy Minnesota. It's bittersweet because we don't want to leave all our new friends, its summertime, we love Australia. But we have not had any luck with jobs and we are running out of money and we decided that it was wiser to come home now while we still have enough to buy our plane tickets home. So we bought tickets to come home on January 30th which means we spent exactly 2 months in Australia. Our friends are sad to see us go but we have to do what we think is best. It will be strange to go from 80 degree weather to below zero weather in 24 hours! I am going to have to go get all my winter clothes out of storage. Anyway, Eric and I are trying to get in a few last Australian things we wanted to do before we come home. We took the train into the city yesterday and walked around. We got an awesome watermelon berry fruit shake from a little cafe in one of the alleyways. We also window shopped a bit and then rode the train back to Dannii's work. Dannii was about a half hour from closing so she played dress up with me (she works at a women's boutique) and I tried on some crazy clothes. She took some photos of me pretending to be a model so that was fun. Then we decided that we wanted to try out this asian restaurant that Dannii has been telling us about since we got here - it's called Jack's Satay Bar. Dannii and I had the sizzling beef and I was so hungry I scorched my tongue trying to eat it. It was really good. Then we were thinking about going to the night market which is this cool artist market that happens in the city on Wednesday nights but Eben was tired so Dannii decided that she wanted to use me as a model for a real mini photo shoot that she has been wanting to do (Dannii does professional photography on the side). The sun was starting to go down so it was getting cooler but we thought we would go for it anyway. The shoot was me in a swim suit while Eric and Eben were on either side of me and they threw buckets of water on me. Dannii would take the shot just as the water hit me. We are going to try it again next week on another hot day. Today Eric and I rode the bus to the mall and I picked up my last paycheck and told my work that I wouldn't be back. Then we went to this place called the pancake parlour (sorry if you're hungry I know I'm talking about a lot of food but I love food okay). Anyways, there were 4 birds that got in somehow and were flying around the restaurant while we were eating. I had a chocolate pancake with ice cream and strawberries and Eric had a buttermilk pancake with banana's foster and ice cream. YUM. Then we walked around some more until our stomach's settled and then we had to go buy stuff to make dinner. We made a chicken shepards pie basically it was really good and I have the recipe if anyone wants it. I got it out of an Australian food magazine. I told you I love food! Tonight Eben, Dannii and Eric went to see Charlie Parr a Minnesotan musician that they like. I decided that since I don't care that much about seeing him that I would stay home and save us the money from an extra ticket. Maybe tomorrow we will go to the beach or to Brunswick Street - those are 2 things that I want to do again before we leave. This weekend we are going to go to Phillip Island. I'm not sure what's there but I will be sure to tell you about it when we get back. xoxo Paula
P.S. like me and Eric's "family photo" :) the other one is me and the lovely Daniella!

68 degrees... I can't believe I think this is cold!!

It's 68 degrees outside today and I actually think it's chilly. I am a little ashamed in saying that since I'm from Minnesota and it is probably below zero there right now. I worked at the cafe this morning and when I was looking at the schedule for next week I realized that I am not on it. I have to call the manager but I think that might be a discreet way of telling me not to come back. Our trip may be ending sooner than planned. Neither Eric or I have had much luck finding work and I guess we were counting on the fact that we would have jobs while we were here.
Yesterday we celebrated Dannii's mom's (Bella) birthday! The whole family went to the Melfi house and we had drinks, coffee and cake; It was fun! So far since Eric and I have been here we have celebrated 4 people's birthdays all in the month of January actually. We went to Mark, Dean, Lucie, and Bella's birthdays. Not to mention my fabulous sister BJ turned 18 on the 6th of January!! I still have a present for you BJ I just haven't sent it because I might just bring it home with me depending on when we leave.
Dannii and I took a tour of a fancy day spa because we went to pick up her mom's birthday present from her dad there. It was amazing! If I was rich I would spend a whole day there!
Sorry this isn't very long or terribly informative but we haven't done a lot of exciting things lately! I hope everyone who reads this is staying warm and having a good 2010 so far!

It's been awhile

Wow! I haven't written anything in awhile! Well let me get you caught up to speed...
New Years we were at Dannii's parents house and it was really hot all day and then as soon as it was time to go it started storming. Luckily the boys hooked a tarp from the garage to the back of the house so that we could still dance and have fun even though it was raining. It was weird bringing in the new year and knowing that everyone else back home would be doing it tomorrow. We had fun though - dancing, laughing, talking and eating!
Since then Dannii has been on holiday so her and I have been hanging out a ton! The four of us, (Eric, Eben, Dannii and I) went to a beach that was about an hour and a half away which was amazing! I love being near the ocean! We set up a tent and read magazines, the boys played catch and went boogie boarding. Dannii and I didn't go swimming because the water felt freezing even though the boys said we would get used to it if we just went in. It was a hot day but there was a cool breeze coming off the water. Dannii and I got gelati, which is the same as our American gelato, which is like ice cream. It was awesome on that hot day. On days when it gets up into the 90's we pull our mattresses out into the living room and have a slumber party in there because thats where the air conditioner is.
Yesterday it was 108 degrees and it was gross outside. It's a dry heat but its bad because even when there is a breeze its like someone blowing their hot breath in your face. We went to Dannii's mom's house and went swimming because she has a pool. It was great! We had to stay in the water though because if you got out then you would get too hot. We made iced coffees and listened to lady gaga and swam the afternoon away. Then later we met up with Dannii's cousins Sarah and Mark and went into downtown Melbourne for some ice cream. We went to where the docks are in the bay where everyone rich keeps their yachts. It was fun to walk up and down the boardwalk - there are a ton of waterfront restaurants there which look fun but expensive.
Today Dannii and I left Eric at home (and Eben was at work) and went to the mall for a girl's afternoon. It was stifling again when we left the house. We walked around and window shopped, had lunch, got pedicures (because Dannii had never had one!), and went grocery shopping for dinner. When we left the mall it was getting cooler and the sky was getting dark like it was going to storm. We were driving Eben's car because he took Dannii's since her's has air conditioning and he has to drive around for his job. Eben's car is like a tin can. It's terrible. Anyway we were on our way home with our groceries and whatnot when it starts sprinkling. We're thinking great now we have to carry all our stuff in through the rain. Dannii comes up to a roundabout to go left and pauses to let a car go past and then turns. The car doesn't stop turning though and we hit a tree!! The tires are completely bald and the wheels locked up and we couldn't stop. Not to mention he doesn't have power steering. We screamed we were so scared! Like I said Eben's car is a tin can and I thought that it would just crumple but it felt worse to us than what appeared as damage to the car. I banged my knee on the glove box and got some seatbelt burn on my neck but other than that I'm fine and nothing happened to Dannii. The front left headlight was busted and the car dented. But what made us really mad was that 4 or 5 cars drove by and saw us in the tree and didn't stop to see if we were okay!! How rude! One woman came out of her house because she heard the crash but that was it. Then we got back into the car and drove home and discovered that the alignment was off because the steering wheel was way off when we were trying to drive straight. Overall though we are fine - just had a bit of a shock!
Hope you feel a little more caught up now!
Love you!!

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! :)