Yay!! This is our 101st post on our site!!! How exciting!!!

Also exciting this week, we are celebrating Brandon’s Birthday!!!  WOOOT!!  Happy Birthday Brandon!!

Last weekend (11/30-12/2), I was a bit of a workaholic.  I picked up a shift at my emergency hospital Friday night, one Saturday afternoon/night and one overnight Sunday to Monday.  I was off from my full time job Monday, so I got to rest up and recuperate.  The emergency hospital was really interesting.  It was nice to get to know the patients over the weekend and slowly see them all get better.  There was also a few wild life/exotic patients to care for.  I did treatments on a Blue Tongued Skink, a Ringtailed Possum, a Conure, a Corella, and a baby Miner Bird.  It was educational and challenging and I am learning a lot.  It is very similar to my job at FVARC from the emergency and patient care aspects; most of my time is spent doing treatments on the hospitalized patients.   I did fit in our first parkrun Saturday morning at Greenway Park.  Our friend Sam has been talking about taking Brandon, Nerina, and I on a parkrun for a while, so we finally put it together.  parkrun is a volunteer based group that organizes free 5k runs in parks all over the world.  It started in the UK and has spread through Europe, Canada, and Australia.  There are a few in the US, but mainly in touristy areas.  All you need to do is register online and get a barcode.  On the day, when you finish, you get a tag, then your barcode and tag are scanned and you get emailed your time.  It is fun and easy and they happen all over Sydney.  Sam has done a bunch and volunteers with them too.  I could tell that I am not as fit as I was in the US while I was running.  My job here is a lot less physical that in the States.  My legs were nearly ready to give out.  We do a lot of walking, but running is another story.  I was ok with my 34 min time, due to my out of shape-ness and since I worked until midnight.  I will have to try harder and practice up for the next time.  The four of us had a nice brunch after and I went off to work.   I was sore for a few days after running and all the time on my feet working.  A busy, but fun weekend!!

This past weekend was fun(12/6-.12/9)  Thursday had us craving some Sushi Train, so Brandon and Nerina picked me up from work and we journeyed to the Sushi Train in Newtown for dinner.  We had Nerina over Friday night to watch The Matrix.  Her and Brandon are big Keanu Reeves fans. We had popcorn and Prosecco; a lovely night.  Saturday morning, Brandon and Nerina did the Greenway parkrun again and I headed off to work at ANVC.  We had a chill Saturday night.  Sunday we went to church, then got the car washed and cleaned.  We had brunch at Hungry Jack’s next door.  We then did some shopping in Alexandria.  We went to the Base Warehouse, a party supply store.  They also have rows ans rows of costumes, housewares, Halloween, and Christmas stuff.  We found everything for our tree, our door, and even a pool toy.  We decided to go with a fake bonsai tree since all the Christmas trees looked sad.  We got red lights and decorations for it and I think it turned out quite cute.  We walked down the street to a few other stores and got some kitchen stuff.  I was inspired by the cut out Christmas cookies my dad and I usually make and bought some cookie cutters; cat, dog, and Australia themed ones. 🙂  Nerina and I then walked around the Bay Run (7kms).  Gotta keep up our exercise to get a better parkrun time!!  Brandon’s ankle was playing up, so he stayed home and did some work.   Nerina lives close to us, just a few suburbs away, so it is nice to be able to hang out so often.

This weekend has been fun and easy going.  The weather has been hot and sunny mixed with random storms, so that has been interesting to plan things around.  Nerina came over on Friday night and we watched Destination Wedding with Keanu Reeves.  It was interesting and entertaining.  Saturday was Brandon’s Birthday!! We got up and did the Greenway parkrun again.  Brandon got his best time and I stayed with Nernia since both of us were having and off morning, walking most of it.  We went to the same cafe as last time for brunch, the Hungry Grasshopper.  Brandon and I hung out at home and watched The House with the Clock in the Wall with Jack Black and Cate Blanchett.  I think it is supposed to be for kids, but we agreed it was too creepy to be a kids movie.  Brandon played some Just Cause 4 and I did some laundry.  Brandon’s parents and I surprised him with a cake and coordinated “Happy Birthday”.  In the evening, our friend Bek and I donned our French peasants costumes and headed off to Beyond Cinemas’s production of Les Miserables.  We met up with two other girls from the SLS group who were also dressed up and watched the Les Mis movie while actors (and the audience) sang the main songs on stage.  It was an amazing event and the audience was so into singing along. I can’t wait to go to more events by them!

Today our Bel Canto choir sang at mass this morning and then Brandon and I took a walk into Annandale.  After, we headed into the city.  The SLS Book club was getting together for our Christmas lunch, but it ended up just being two of us.  We just made it a double date and brought our partners.  We ate at The Grounds in the city.  I tried Australian cold brewed coffee, which is just becoming a thing here in Sydney.  It was a bit more diluted than the ones I have had in the US.  We took the bus home and were planning on meeting Nerina on this beautiful, sunny day for a walk around the Bay Run, then a dip in her pool.  The weather turned and a storm came in so we resorted to a movie night with Brandon’s home made sushi and Birthday cake.

All in all, a good past three weeks and we are looking forward to Christmas. 🙂