Merry Christmas from the Southern Hemisphere!

Port Stephens, NSW Australia

It's Christmas Eve here in Sydney and besides being a very hot day, it's cooled down this evening and is now raining. I was just thinking about when I was living in Washington State and my siblings and I would wish and hope so badly for a white Christmas and now here we are living in a country that has Christmas in summertime. I've been living in the Southern Hemisphere for 3-Christmases now and I still can't get used to that.

This is also the 3rd Christmas that we've been away from family. I can't get used to that either. I can't wait for the year that all of our families get to be together during the holidays. I miss making Christmas cookies with my mom and sister, decorating gingerbread houses, the cooler weather and all the cheesy Christmas decorations, which are lacking here. Big time. I also tried to find the gingerbread house kits and they are MIA in Australia. So are red and green sprinkles for my cookies. OH YEA- and candy canes!!!!! WTH? I finally found some after searching 2-grocery stores and they were pink and white. Not going to cut it, Sydney.

I am very thankful that I have a husband here to celebrate with and that he tolerates my love for Christmas music, Christmas movies and my Barbie themed Christmas tree (thanks Mom for all the Hallmark Keepsake ornaments you have given me throughout the years!). I especially look forward to the upcoming years that we will be able to start our own Christmas traditions with our little guy, no matter where we are in the world. I hope he will someday look back at his childhood and have as good of memories as I do celebrating Christmas as a kid.

Today and tomorrow on Christmas Day we will be thinking about our friends and family and wishing that everyone has a special day filled with memories and love.

                                 

My favorite Christmas movie of all time!

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31400000/National-Lampoon-s-Christmas-Vacation-national-lampoons-christmasvacation-31459912-1024-768.jpg

Just some images that helped me get in the Christmas spirit this year

Photos via Pinterest by: http://media-cache0.pinterest.com/upload/130674826659674497_Prv6unnH.jpg

http://www.melaniepainter.com/2012/01/holy-crickets-aaron-is-e-famous.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/921723/swedish-gingerbread-house-how

Photo via Pinterest by: http://img4-1.coastalliving.timeinc.net/i/2005/11/christmas-white-room-l.jpg?400:400

Photo via Pinterest by: http://recipenewz.com/recipe/Gingerbread-Men-201211140423/

Well hello, 3rd Trimester

Date night at the Opera House

This past weekend was a scorcher! Temperatures were close to 100 degrees so we headed to Coogee Beach with another one of my preggo friends and her husband to enjoy the ocean to cool off.  Coogee is south of the famous Bondi Beach and a lot less crowded and chaotic, has less backpackers but is just as beautiful.

We received some tickets to see Tchaikovsky's 'Queen of Spades' for later that evening. It was an opera and a symphony all in one and really interesting and beautiful at the same time. If you read my older posts about my tour of the Opera House, 'Queen of Spades' was performed in the symphony hall that has the enormous pipe organ. I grabbed a sneaky picture of the theatre; so beautiful and impressive. My cell phone picture below doesn't come close to capturing all the detail.

 I really enjoyed the music and so did the baby; he was dancing around the whole 3 hours! Isn't classical music supposed to make a baby in utero smarter, later in life? I'm thinking I should read up on this! Aside from the music, the story was a little dark. The opera was in Russian so they had the translation on a reader board up front but I found myself watching the little conductor man and all his erratic movements instead of following pieces of the story. Come to find out, Kevin was doing the same thing :).  Nonetheless, it was a fun experience to see a show at the famed Sydney Opera House.

Red lights shine on the Opera House Roof and the Sydney Harbour Bridge at nighttime. 

Wishing we were still in Maui

We had such a great time in Maui relaxing and spending time with Katie and Mister B. I'm only wishing we stayed 10-days instead of 7. It was awesome being in the US for Thanksgiving and around some family too; it's been a few years since that's happened.

The flight over was a little over 9 hours and luckily we left Sydney after 10pm so I was able to sleep most of the way. However, I had to sit next to the fattest woman in the world so it made it interesting when she fell asleep and started spilling onto my side of the arm rest.

I'm glad we decided to take this trip in November instead of December as originally planned-I think I doubled in size over the last week. I'll be 7-months prego next week!

Enjoy the pictures.

At the beach at the Fairmont Kea Lani and feeding the goats with Mister B at Surfing Goat Farm. 

Kam II beach across from our condo and surf boards at Surfing Goat Dairy.

A few stops along the road to Hana

Fruit stand on the Hana Highway and my view at the pool at the Fairmont Kea Lani

Scenes along the road to Hana

This week in pictures

Picnic dinner at Sydney Park with K. Thank you Pinterest for the yummy new recipes; I will make all of you again soon! From left to right: Chicken, Honey, Soy Noodles, Caprese Quinoa Salad, Grilled Asparagus + feta cheese + lemon juice + S&P. YUM!

Yesterdays Australian Ballet Practice. This is my sneaky attempt at a picture since photos are "strictly prohibited" inside any of the Opera House theaters'.  November 14, 2013

6-months down, 3-to go!

... and I hope you do!

He's so cute!

What's in a Name?

Picking a name for this little boy is SO challenging! Some things you have to consider when picking a name are:
1.) Is it cute?
2.) Will that same "cute" name be so cute when he's 35 years old and working in a professional setting?
3.) Can this name be shortened to a nickname? I'm big on nicknames!
4.) What's the meaning behind the name? Don't care about this one that much
5.) Do the initials spell something crude?
and lastly,
6.) Will I get sick of the name after a while?

The last one is what I am currently struggling with. We will pick a name that makes it to our top 3 list, then the next week I decide I hate it.

We still have over 3- months to go so we have some time to sort it out :).

Other than thinking about a name on a daily basis, we've started on the nursery decor! There's a sneak peak below. I'm loving the colors and can't wait until we have everything put together. We have concrete walls in our apartment so I've had to get creative with what I hang since I can't hammer any nails in the wall.  My creativity usually turns into an arts and crafts day with me painting a canvas of some sort and then using those pesky little Command Strips to hang. Yes, I know-they are the same things I cursed in one of my first posts. Whatever.

Other things to report on the pregnancy front: I'm at week 23 (I CANNOT believe I will be 6-months pregnant next Wednesday!!!) and I'm still feeling great. I haven't really been craving any particular foods. I'll just want some random food items... is that a craving? For those of you that know me, you know I have a big sweet tooth so what I'm about to write won't surprise many of you. During the first trimester I wanted candy all the time, but that has tapered off. Now every time I pass a Subway (I am obsessed with their cookies) or cupcake boutique it takes all I've got to tell myself I don't need any! As I type this I'm eating a homemade brownie! :) It's gluten-free if that makes it sound any healthier. Oh yeah, I love grilled cheese. The kind with the plastic-like Kraft cheese that I can only stand melted in a grilled cheese sandwich. Before you judge my unhealthy food intake, I do eat a TON of fruit and have been making lots of green smoothies that Kevin is always making a face at. So there! I have a doctors appointment with my Obstetrician next Friday and I am dreading stepping on that scale.

Oh! How could I forget.... we booked our trip to Maui!!!! Whoooo Hoooo!!! We will be there over Thanksgiving and get to see my sister and my nephew. It's also going to be our Babymoon. Have I mentioned I hate that word? I cannot wait for Kevin and I to enjoy relaxing days on the beach.

Last time I was in Hawaii visiting my sister and meeting Mister B for the first time-October 2009

Now, back to decorating the nursery. . .

Happy weekend!

xoxo,
Amy

Blue Mountains

Fun trip yesterday with Nadeane and Ryan to the Blue Mountains (about 2-hours drive from Sydney). We went up, instead of down, the scenic railway that had a 52 degree incline making it he steepest railway in the world. Not as scary going up but I was imaging the cable breaking and taking a huge fall back down the incline. And PS- we were not buckled in so not sure how that all works out for those boarding to take the railway downwards. Ride at your own risk?

We also rode the skyway with the glass bottom floor where we got a view of Kotoomba Falls then rode the cableway over the rainforest.

We got invited to our new friends house for a BBQ where we got a tour of Jane and Andrew's beautiful gardens and we were introduced to their amazing daughter Julie... And their 4-chickens too. Such a great Sunday afternoon.

Xoxo, Amy

Turpentine Tree that got burnt through the middle of the trunk during a forest fire.

Going down the Cableway over the rainforest of the Blue Mountains

Looking over Katoomba Falls through the glass bottom of the Skyway. Apparently this waterfall gets 5,000 times this size during the raining season

Nadeane and Ryan getting ready to go up on the Scenic Railway. Look just beyond where they are sitting and you can see how steep the incline is.

Whatchu lookin at? One of the 4-chickens in Jane, Andrew and Julie's backyard

"Can we come in?" -Betty White and Clara Cluck

My new friend Clarice resting comfortably on my bump

Fraud and Frustrations {and a bump pic too}

After finding some cheap airfare on Tiger Air, we flew to Brisbane over the weekend. Kevin and I got to visit friends and took a trip to Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast. We want to find a place to take 'holiday' over the holidays as this will be our last trip alone together for a very long time ... while. The Gold Coast was one of our places to look into but I can't really see us spending more than a long weekend there. It looks like a fun place to party but no partying for this girl ... for a while. There's a nice beach but we're looking to snorkel, do some hiking and relax; this place looks like it turns into Crazy Town, USA, especially during the holidays. So for now, we're looking into other options.

Don't forget to swim between the flags in Australia. Taken at Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia

Blue Box Jellyfish all over the beach at Burleigh Heads,  Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

Now I don't like to rant but I'm going to. After our nice weekend in Brisbane we come home to find out our checking account had been drained. AGAIN! Someone had stolen the numbers from Kevin's debit card and produced a new card. Some of you remember this SAME thing happened to us during our last month in New Zealand. I am beyond irritated and disgusted that there are people our there in this world who do these things. The Customer Service Agent from our bank said that unfortunately people have been installing a virus on ATM's around the world that capture peoples account information when they go to use the cash machine. WTF??? Just one more thing to be concerned about but there's really no way to tell if the ATM you are about to use has this software on it. Furthermore, the same Customer Service Agent tells us it's going to take 20-40 days to deposit the money back into our account! Again- WTF??? There literally is no sense of urgency. Thank goodness we have other accounts to take money from but there are so many people out there that don't. This is a good lesson for everyone: 1.) Check your banking transactions often so you can monitor activity  2.) Do not keep all of your money held up in a checking account. 

Further to my rant above,  I just have to vent about something that has been annoying me these past few years living abroad.  Customer service. 

I first noticed the horrible customer service when we were living in New Zealand but my observation has carried over to Australia. Starting with restaurants. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that there is no tipping culture here so the Waiters/Waitresses/Bar staff get paid a much larger hourly wage than in the US. I just feel that by not having tips to work towards completely decreases the motivation to do what Waiters/Waitresses are getting paid for-customer service. I can't tell you how many times I've had to get up and ask for a glass of water after I've been seated. Coming from America, the mentality that I'm used to where 'the customer is always right' definitely does not apply here. I'm a pretty easy diner and don't consider myself high maintenance but I am used to being able to alter a menu item to my liking and having a response from the waitstaff  of "sure, no problem". When I say alter a menu item, I'm talking about asking for egg whites instead of standard scrambled eggs. If I ask for that here, I have to explain what exactly I am talking about and tell them that I am allergic to the yolk-which is no ones business- and more often than not, they have to leave to go ask their manager if that's doable. It came to a point where I just don't ask because I've been made to feel like I'm a weirdo. Nothing is done to think outside of the box to solve a problem. 

OK I just have two more stories that have frustrated me with customer service. Then onto happier topics. 

It took us 2-months to get internet! If you are reading this and you are from Australia you feel my pain. I hate Telstra and the thing that is so irritating is that we have no other companies to choose from for our internet provider. Since we live in an apartment complex, the only connection we can get is ADSL and not the cable connection we wanted. I remember trying to hook up the internet in the US and even in New Zealand and it took maybe a day. It was not difficult. Telstra made every excuse under the sun as to why we didn't have internet shortly after it was requested. Like our banking situation I mentioned, everything is done with a procedure and if we ask why or ask for a solution to our problem, if it's not in the companies manual, the Customer Service Representatives have NO idea how to handle the situation. Nothing is of an urgent matter to them.

OK, last one! Kevin and I have been taking taxi's quite frequently, especially since we didn't have a car when we first got here and relied on them.  What I've noticed is that when you get in, you tell them where you want to go and they ask you "which way do you want to take?" Ummmm- I am paying you to drive me somewhere. You tell me. Isn't it a part of a taxi drivers job responsibility to know the city they are working and understand how to take their customers to their destination the quickest way possible? I cannot tell you how many times we have been ripped off by the drivers taking us the long way or keeping the meter running after we ask them to pull over so we can pull up the map app on our phones. Why should I be using my phone to pull up a map to tell them where to go when they have a GPS installed in their car that they refuse to use? Well, I do it so I can tell the drivers where to turn so I don't get ripped off. Another thing that irks me is when it comes time to pay the drivers try and tell you they don't take Eftpos (debit) cards. Clearly, I can see the machine to run the cards right there! Guess they would rather take the cash but believe me I don't let them get away with it. I'm just so sick and tired of going through the same song and dance every time we need a cab. 

Overall, I'm pretty happy living in Australia but there are just some days where I want to pull my hair out. I don't want this post to come across like I feel like I am better than those that live here or that America is better. I guess everyone is used to the places and surroundings where they grew up. Living abroad is an amazing experience and there are many things that overpower the negative as you can see from my previous posts. 

And for the baby update- I'm getting big! I'm feeling Baby Boy King more and more everyday, especially at night. Here's the bump at 21 weeks-

Xoxo, 

Amy

Palm Beach... and I'm not talking about Florida

While test driving a car today, I was able to snap this quick picture of one of Sydney's northern beaches: Palm Beach. We didn't end up getting the car but we did find a new spot to explore on the weekends. SCORE! After our scenic beach tour and a few hours of searching and deciding what type of car we wanted-we did buy one! I am so relieved! While public transportation is convenient, it's not the same as having your own set of wheels. Happy Sunday to us. 

xoxo,
Kevin and Amy

20-Week Ultra Sound

We had our 20-week ultra sound on Monday the 8th. Everything looked perfect and all the measurements are showing normal results so we both left there very, very happy. It was so fun to see the cute little bug moving around so much; every scan we've had they always comment on how active he is. In Australia 20-weeks is also when they confirm the gender but since we already knew she reassured us that this little baby is "very male". It made us laugh... are some baby boys "just a little male"? I love looking at these pictures of our sweet boy. I think he looks like Kevin but he's still a little to alien-ish to tell for sure.  :)

xoxo,
Amy and Kevin

Cornhole and other fun springtime activities in OZ

Hurray for making friends! It's been so fun for the two of us to meet some cool people that we can have some fun with out here. There was a group of American's that got together for a Cornhole tournament in September. I also want to note that this tournament was a sanctioned National Cornhole Association event :) Didn't even know there was such an association but we are now a part of it. Mmmm kewel.  Anyway, it was such a beautiful afternoon to hang out a meet some new people. 

This last Sunday, we went on a 9k hike from Spit Bridge to Manly Beach on another gorgeous day with some of our new friends. 

Amy has her game face on (lower right hand corner) during one of the final rounds.

Enjoying the view (from left to right: Amy, Kevin, Prem, Tanja and Renee).

Posing in an Aboriginal cave 

Lucky for us, walking next to this gorgeous water was part of the hike. Kevin giving the thumbs up as he gets to chat it up with Nezza and Tanja!

My "H" and me!

xoxo,
Kevin and Amy

Debuting the 18-week baby bump

I heard it just gets bigger from here...

xoxo,
Amy

Where have we been???

 It's been so long since I've written a post! Not that I have too many followers and to be honest, I'm not even sure who reads this but I thought I would update those that read this blog. :)

We FINALLY moved out of our serviced apartment after being there for close to a month. We found a place that is a 10-minute walk to K's office, close to the train station and about 3 stops to downtown. It's near a cool suburb that we can walk to that has tons of cafe's boutiques and interesting people watching. For those of you familiar with Seattle cities, it has that Capitol Hill vibe. So after moving in and somewhat unpacking, we took a trip home to the US. It was SO great to be back home (like always). Here were some of the highlights:

*Cody and Lindsay's wedding in Walla Walla, Washington*
Such a gorgeous wedding in a pretty farmhouse setting. The bride and groom were so beautiful and the wedding ceremony was so them: Sweet, heartfelt and genuine.

*My baby shower in Woodinville, Washington*
IT'S A BOY!!! On September 12th, my mom, Bob, Kevin and I attended my ultra sound to determine the gender of our baby. I thought for sure it was a girl. My friends, sister and mom thought so too. I was "pinning" girly nursery decor on Pintrest, saving ruffly little onesies to my favorites on Etsy... the list goes on. It was in my head this little baby inside me was a GIRL. Needless to say I had a big surprise when the tech pointed out his scrotum. That little boy was in thee perfect position for this ultra sound- spread eagle and showin off the goods. Typical boy, right? The shock has now settled and after shopping with mom the next day for some boy clothes, I am now ecstatic for this sweet, little boy to arrive.

It was so fun to be back in Woodinville where I got to relax with my family, catch up with friends and celebrate Baby Boy King at my baby shower at the Belarde's house! I was truly overwhelmed by the details and love that Jessica put into the whole day. Thank you so much to everyone for the CUTE and thoughtful gifts you chose for our little one. He is already one spoiled little boy!

Hershey's kisses to help celebrate the news. Thanks, Mom!

*Visit in Orange County, California*
The last stop on our trip was spent in Long Beach and Orange County. Kevin had a work event to attend to and I got to play. I was only there for 3-days but was good to visit friends, see my old stomping grounds and got to watch the Endeavor fly over Long Beach!!!

Me with two of my favorite girls: "A" and Erin; having dinner at Cucina in Irvine-a new favorite!!! So good to see you girls-Miss you xoxo (Photo taken by Heather and edited by Erin via Instagram).

Drinks and a catch up with Heather at one of my favorite place: Montage, Laguna Beach. Isn't this place Heaven??? I could stare out at this view everyday and never get sick of it. 

The Endeavor flying over our hotel in Long Beach. I promise- it was way cooler in person!

Well that's all for now!

xoxo,
Amy and Kevin