We're coming home!!!

I am so, so happy to say that we are coming home!!! After four years, I am finally going to be able to go to a pub for a cold beer and fish & chips, drive on the right (ie, CORRECT!) side of the road, and hear my own accent again.

Well, actually, it may not be such a familiar accent. I had to call a tour company in Australia last night, and the girl I spoke to sounded so weird. As she was talking, I thought to myself, "Did I ever sound like that??"

Right now, here is the list of MUST DO's:

1. Go to a bakery as soon as the plane lands. Order a pie, custard tart and iced coffee.

2. Go to Coles. Buy Cherry Ripes, licorice bullets, raspberry cordial, Cheezels, Minties, Snakes Alive, Lift lemon squash, and try not to eat them all in the first day!

3. Go to the Anzac Day Dawn Service.

4. Go to the beach.

5. Go to the Art Gallery in Adelaide and look for my favourite paintings.

6. Go back to Coles and buy lots and lots of lollies and chocolate to hoard when I come back to America. )-:

So, here is the rough plan of what we're doing: We'll spend time on the Sunshine Coast with family, then fly up to Darwin. We're joining a camping tour around Kakadu, then down to Alice Springs and Ayers Rock, before flying down to Adelaide. Will be spending most of our time in Adelaide, before flying to Sydney for a day or two, then back to the U.S.

Ok, so after re-reading this post, it's ridiculously disjointed. But that just shows how excited I am!!! Can't wait to come home and see everyone again...

We found out!!

We're going to Charlotte, North Carolina!!!!



And I just quit my job!!!



WHAT AN AWESOME DAY!!!

Latest photos

Hey y'all-


We just got our photos back from our trips and here are a couple from Salt Lake City. As you can see, there was lots of snow when we were there!

Of course, I also took a few of my little girl, so here is my current favorite shot:

Remember: SIX days until Match Day!! I swear I am more excited about this than Dustin...

Home renovations, trashy TV and the countdown continues...

Since we're hoping to leave Augusta and sell our house, we've been doing all those renovations that we'd planned over the past few years. We've repainted the bathroom and kitchen cabinets, and replaced the dirty off-white carpet with hardwood flooring. Now the house looks so good, we're kicking ourselves for not having done this when we first moved in!!

I think things have changed back home by now, but I remember only having five TV channels to choose from when I wanted to watch TV. Here in the US, I don't even know how many we have access to. Some I never, ever look at: CNN, the "outdoor" channels (which are solely geared toward hunters and fishermen), and all the sporting channels. I do watch the Food Network, much to Dustin's dismay. (The hotlink will take you to Paula Deen's TV show. She's a wonderful lady from Savannah- just down the road from Augusta- who cooks all sorts of wonderful Southern food. The recipes usually start like this: "Now y'all, take 2 cups of melted butter and add 4 cups of mayo. To this, add 12 cups of sugar, then 2 blocks of cream cheese..."). Every now and then, though, I'll get caught up in the TRASHIEST TV you can imagine. A few months ago, I couldn't stop watching a reality dating show, where the prize was winning a relationship with Bret Michaels. For those who don't remember, he was the lead singer of an 80s hair band called Poison. It was absolutely appalling and captivating at the same time: why on earth are those women fighting to get with him, and oh my god, did you see what she just did??? The network that plays this show, VH1, specialises in bringing back all those people that you think, "I wonder what happened to...?" Their current line-up includes a show about Salt & Pepa, another reality dating show with Flava Flav (from Public Enemy), a reality show about Scott Baio, and a reality celebrity rehab show!! Like I said: captivating and appalling, all at the same time!!

After admitting to watching trashy TV, I'll try to redeem myself by recommending the latest book I've read: People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. It was truly the best book I've read for a while.

I hope everyone is still sending us all their best thoughts and wishes for Match Day on the 20th.

10 days until we find out where we'll be living!!