Hi all and happy Monday! I am off today and getting all the things done, but before I tell you about that, here is what we have been up to this week.

On Tuesday night, I started attending a work out/fitness class/group that one of my coworkers organized. Most of the women in it do Netball and are using it as training during this off season time. It is at a park near my work. We had just gotten through the running and circuits bit when a storm blew in with pouring rain. We did a few more circuits under the shelter, but the called it quits. Probably good, since I don’t think my legs could have taken any more squats, lunges, planking, or burpees.  I was sore for a few days afterward and realized I need to exercise more.  I do walk a lot to public transport, but that is not the same.  I am excited to have this weekly work out and meet some more people that live in the Inner West area.

Brandon and I have been planning out an booking things for our Cairns/Daintree Forest/Great Barrier Reef trip.  I had booked our flights months ago, so now we secured our accommodation, tours, and rental car.  Cairns is in Queensland, another state of Australia, further north, so it will be warmer, despite March being fall.  They have rainforest, beaches, and the reef in the area, so lots of nature to take in. We are doing a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef and I chose the snorkel/scuba dive option for both of us.  Brandon is not so sure about the scuba since he doesn’t like his nose obstructed in the scuba/snorkel mask, but I have confidence in him and feel it is the best way to see the reef.  They do a snorkel class in shallower water before going out on the reef for beginners, and there is one instructor for every two divers, so very safe.  We are also doing a gondola ride over the rainforest and exploring other towns in the area like Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation.  So exciting to be exploring more of this amazing country.

Friday, I opened at work, so got out earlier than normal.  Brandon and I took a bus, then a train to Circular Quay to take the ferry to Manly.  While waiting for the ferry we saw the newest ferry to the NSW (New South Wales, the state of Australia we live in) fleet; Ferry McFerryface, the name was the winner of an online poll.  We hadn’t been down to Circular Quay in a bit, so we played tourist and went by the Opera House.  In Manly, they were having a World Markets night with stands from area restaurants and live music.  They had chairs and tables set up and people brought wine and blankets to enjoy the night.  It has been off and on stormy/windy here this week, so we were happy to have a overall sunny weekend.  We walked around the Corso and beach in Manly after eating at the markets.

Saturday, we took the bus north west to Eastwood to meet my coworker and her friends for Yumcha.  We had never had Yumcha before.  It is a variety of Asian dumplings and dishes that they serve by the plateful to share.  It was great to go with the six of us and try a little of everything.  So delicious!  We headed back home and I went out to Newtown to meet some girls for a drink from a Ladies Meet up group on Facebook.  They were great and I will be seeing them both again at other events hosted by the group.  Brandon and I were supposed to go to a free opera concert in the city at night, but rain and storms were predicted so we didn’t chance it.  Of course, it never rained, just was windy.  Oh well.  We watched some House Hunters instead.  Our TV has local channels!! So we have sports, news, music, Food Network, and Life, which is like HGTV, all for free. 🙂 Very exciting and entertaining.  We also have a few free months of Stan, which is like Hulu or Netflix with movies and TV shows on it.  We have been using it sparingly since to stream stuff takes so much data, but that will change because…

We have internet!!!  YAY!! Finally, we have good, reliable, unlimited internet.  After hours of Brandon on the phone and weeks of waiting, our modem came this week.  Another step in making our apartment a home. The builder is coming tomorrow to look into a few issues we have with the shower door and blinds, so that will hopefully all be resolved as well and we can finish fully unpacking and organizing.  He will also set up the storage unit properly in the office for all of Brandon’s office supplies.  It was not secured to the ceiling or floor when we moved in and ended up falling over, so we took it down for safety.  I really hope it all can be resolved this week, and it isn’t days of waiting for parts.

Sunday, we went to the church in Rozelle again, then had lunch in Balmain at a restaurant Heidi recommended called Kazbah.  It had Middle Eastern food and was delicious.  We then took a bus to Newtown to the Dendy Theater and saw the new Star Wars movie.  Brandon is more a fan than I am, but it was good and entertaining.  We didn’t have any popcorn, being too full from lunch, so I made pancakes for supper.

Today, I was able to sleep in and then went for a run.  Brandon had a meeting and I went into town to get my NSW driver’s licence.  We had been waiting to get them until we had a permanent address. The office was really nice and not sad like the US DMV.  It only took me like 40 min to fill out the paperwork and get it all done.  Their office also takes care of boat licencing and registration and marriage licenses too.   I then stopped on the way home at the Broadway Mall to visit the Reject Shop, Target, and Kmart to finish getting what we need for our apartment.  We now have couch pillows, cookie sheets, and pie pans. 🙂 We are waiting on getting a bigger cat tree until the pet store down the road has a better selection.  I have been looking everywhere for a swiffer sweeper/mop to clean our floor in the living room/kitchen, but have not been able to find one.  I will have to check online.

Stay healthy and stay warm Wisconsinites.  I would send you come good weather, but I would like it to stay here. 🙂 Have a good week everyone!