woolamaboolama

Obviously I've been MIA for a while. Sometimes I feel bad about it, because I shouldn't have started this project if I couldn't have kept it up, right? But I do want to do this. I want to write. I want to find my voice, and learn how to project it. I just have a hard time saying no, that's the problem. Well, when it comes to anything that sounds like fun at least. Should we go for a drive? Yes. Should we play in the garden? Yes. Should we have a gin and tonic? Yes. Should I stop doing all of that and lock myself inside in front of a glowing box which constantly demands me to think? Gee, that doesn't sound like fun! Maybe if we got a router and I could play on the computer outside, maybe that would motivate me. We only just got internet about a year ago though, so I better not get ahead of myself here! I've already got a blog people, I'm climbing a steep learning curve! Oh well, I'm here again, so you know I'm not ready to give up yet.

Actually, I have been very busy. The end of the school year is always riddled with chaos, and on top of that, two days after it finished we hopped on a plane for 30ish hours of fun with a 14 month old. Chris, being from Australia, has lots of family in Australia. Actually all his family is in Australia. Chris's parents hadn't even met Ella yet. So we packed up her, a bag of diapers, several sippy-cups of milk, and my mother, to venture around the globe for a month of fun. And here I am now, coming to you live from the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.

It's winter here, but the funny thing is that it's pretty much the same as Minnesota weather at the moment, except sunnier. My mother keeps saying that all she needs is the beach, the veranda, and a beverage. The fact that we've been to the beach every day should tell you how awful it is in the miserable miserable place. Ella has decided that the waves are scary, but all she needs is the soft sand and some sunnies and she'll be 'right. Sarvo we ate snags and bickies while pushing Ella in the pram after a nap in the cot...oh sorry, you don't actually know what I'm talking about, do you? Welcome to my world.

Woolamaboolama is actually a nonsense word I made up when I was trying to remember the name of an Aussie town many years ago. All the names here have as many double letters, usually including at least one set of double o's, as possible, so it's not even that far fetched. Here are a couple examples of real towns in the immediate vicinity of our current location on the Sunny Coast.


Noosa.
Coolum.
Caboolture.
Maroochydore.
Mooloolaba.

See what I mean?



Here's the real shocker--my baby has become a Vegemite kid. Chris nearly included a line in our wedding vows requiring me to promise that I would always allow, if not encourage, our children to eat Vegemite. I fully agreed, as I have no concerns with it other than the fact that it tastes like concentrated bullion paste. Who wouldn't want that smeared over toast, honestly? I'll admit there are worse things in the world, though I'll tell you I didn't foresee the potency of the Vegemite diapers. Oh well. It happens to be "One of the world's richest known sources of Vitamin B", which one specifically I don't know, but it sounds healthy, that's for sure. Australians are big on winning national and even international competitions, so maybe I should be skeptical actually. There are bakeries on every corner here claiming to have the countries best meat pies. And I know you've been dying to eat meat pies coated in Vegemite! Seriously, if I hadn't given birth to Ella, you'd wouldn't know she was my kid, yet anyone off the street can glance in her direction and know she's Chris's. Too funny. In all seriousness though, I love that she looks like Chris, acts like Chris, eats like Chris, and is absolutely adorable, just like Chris. And if she winds up with his legs, that's a bonus. I wish Chris's family could spend time with her (and us) more often, but while it may not be a great quantity, there's no doubt that the time we're spending here now is quality. Let's just hope Ella doesn't end up with Chris's hair!


Ella and her gorgeous Gramdma, Dianne, in the hammock on the veranda