Okay, so I'll be the first to admit, I'm often a little behind the times when it comes to certain things. Sometimes it takes me ages to give something new a go. And then when I try it and love it, I want to tell everyone how amazing it is.
Take Skype for example. Now, I know that Skype has been around since about 2003 (thanks Wiki) and it's been something I've been meaning to set up, but just never got around to it. Calling cards from Australia are always so cheap so I've never bothered much about other forms of communication. Until the stupid calling cards, in their infinite wisdom, changed the validity of the card from 12 months to 6 months, and now 3 months! I went to call my dear friend in the States a couple of weeks ago, only to be told the $8 remaining on my $10 card (my last 45 minute phone call had cost a mere $2) had expired a week before.
Enough was enough. I asked Hubs (very nicely of course) if he could please install Skype on our computer (well, one of them). And it was done! A week later (yesterday), I was chatting to my dear friend in the States and it was as if we were in the same room! We were only using the voice function as we don't have a webcam, but that will change soon, as Hubs is on the case!
So the verdict: Skype is awesome! You should give it a try some time!!!!*
*Expected response to this last statement: "Uh yeah Wifey, we've been using Skype for 5 years dude. Weren't we the ones who told you to try it ages ago?"
Hubs: "Mystery Love come back some time"
Wifey: "Uh, honey, I think you mean Miss Freelove"
Hubs: "What are you talking about? It's Mystery Love...... isn't it?"
Wifey: "Uh, yeah, sure it is honey" *snicker snicker*
He called! They accepted our offer!! :-) We are now waiting for the contract for the house to come through and are in the midst of applying for a loan. We got pre-approval from one place, but that really doesn't mean that much. This is the real deal now. And we are hoping and praying like crazy that we get the loan and it all comes together. It's a very exciting time, and it should be more stressful than we're finding it, I'm sure! But we know we're in good hands, in so many ways, so there seems to be more of a peace surrounding our situation which is really lovely. We should know in the next couple of weeks how the loan application goes, and if all goes according to plan, we might be home owners by the end of June!
WOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Not that we're getting our hopes up or anything... HA!
I just feel so damn grown up.
We put an offer in on a house in Wang yesterday and we're just waiting to hear if it got accepted. It's so nerve-wracking. It's like when you just start seeing someone and you're waiting on their call or text, but all the while trying to play it cool.
"Why won't he caaaaaaaaaaalllll???"
I remember reading in a magazing years ago (in the Doctor's waiting room - I wouldn't waste my own money!) and I came across an article about the then happily married couple, Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. It stated that they shared breakfast in bed every morning, and vowed that it helped them to stay connected and have a great start to each day.
Although it didn't work out so well for them, I loved the idea of breakfast in bed with Hubs every day, so it began. I'm not sure when exactly - maybe February last year? In any case, it's been going on for over a year now. And it's great. I get up a wee bit earlier, go and make us brekky (only cereal - toast is too crumby!) and a cup of tea for Hubs and glass of juice for me, and bring it back to bed. And sometimes Hubs does it for me too which is so nice. It's just the best way to start our day. We can discuss our plans - what's going on at work (usually not much), what Hubs' uni timetable is looking like, whether he has any exams, and whether or not he can meet me for lunch at college that day.
It really is such a special "tradition" that I hope to continue for a long long time.
Today has not been a good day for a number of silly, insignificant reasons. So what does Hubs do? He wraps up 2 Lindt balls and a handful of almonds in a tissue, and ties it with a ribbon and drops it off to me at work. That's what he does.
Best. Hubs. Ever.
We went to see Jersey Boys - the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - last night, and it was just fabulous! In retrospect, I realised that we had the understudy for Frankie Valli, but you wouldn't have known! He was incredible! And to think that there are 2 people out there with Frankie's voice!?
We sang along (quietly to avoid too much embarrassment) to songs like Sheree, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like a Man (fave!), You're just too good to be true, Oh what a night, and more! It really was an entertaining show that I would highly recommend.
A couple of weekends ago, we organised for a group of us to go on a fishing charter with Hubs' Uncle Wayne. Uncle Wayne and Aunty Alida have been running this business for years (decades??) and we have been meaning to go on a charter with Wayne since we got here. So we FINALLY got around to setting a date aside. My friend Beth was visiting for the weekend, so I tentatively invited her along. I say tentatively, as the last time Beth and I went on a fishing charter, we spent most of the 4 hours hanging over the side of the boat, providing burley for the rest of the fishermen/women. But we weren't perturbed by our last experience (I'm not sure how!), even after receiving a call from Wayne in the morning saying it was a bit rough out on the water that day. We thought "let's just do it!!" and so we rendezvoused with the group at 12:45pm and set off.
It was such a beautiful day - bright blue sunshine! - but it was quite windy, so Wayne headed for more sheltered waters, and we cast our lines and waited. We didn't have to wait long before we got some bites, and Beth caught the fist fish of the day - a pink snapper, or "pinkie" as they call them. Though, she wasn't so impressed with getting up close and personal!
My Mum and Aunty Heather are down for a visit, arriving last night! We had a nice little chat over wine and G&Ts and they headed back to their hotel, just down the road from College, around 10pm. We're going for High Tea at The Windsor this afternoon, and we're off to see Jersey Boys on Sunday evening. I can't wait! It's going to be a fun fun fun weekend!!!
We noticed how close Launceston was to Swansea and decided to "pop in" on the way back to Hobart. We said our goodbyes to Lesla and Mike...
We were up bright and early (well, we weren't very bright and it wasn't that early) for a walk around Freycinet National Park on the Sunday. We arrived armed with a map, water, snacks and brand new sunnies (I was struggling without them!!) and of course Hubs' camera! We decided on the Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach circuit which was 11km and supposedly 5 hours. Hubs was really keen to do Mt Amos as well, but we weren't sure we'd fit it in. I suggested we try and push ourselves through the first walk and then decide after that.
On the Saturday (24th April) we headed to the Salamanca Markets for a little look-see.
Here I am, sitting at my desk, minding my own business, looking at real estate in Wang, and all of a sudden I realise I have "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes" but Paul Simon in my head, and I could NOT figure out why that was??
And then it hit me.
One of the houses I was looking at was on Kanana st, which sounds like "ta na na, ta na na na, she got diamonds on the soles of her shoes (a-wa, a-wa)"
BINGO!
It's like when I was living in Edinburgh, and every time I'd get home from doing the shopping I'd have the song "Edelweiss", from The Sound of Music in my head and it took me weeks to realise it was because of the bread I bought. You see, the bread was "whole and white", which leads me directly to: "clean and bright, you look happy to meeeeeeeet meeeee!"
Gosh my brain provides me with hours of entertainment! And now I have edelweiss in my head... :-)
(And yes, I'm putting it under the "mondegreen" tag just cos I can.
A couple of weekends ago, Hubs and I ventured over the Bass Strait to Hobart and beyond. We arrived around 9pm on the Thursday night and were picked up by the shuttle and taken straight to our B&B. Unfortunately, the room we had was right on Macquarie st - the main one-way street into the city, so from about 2am onwards, the trucks rolling in ensured that I had a poor night sleep, and in turn, so did Hubs. Oh well. We got up (grumbling) around 8:30, had some brekky, and went to pick up our hire car. We were given a map of the Huonville area, and we made our way out to the Tahune Airwalk - a must see when you visit Hobart!
The trip there was half the fun! The roads were lovely and the scenery just gorgeous. We drove along the Huon River which was certainly a sight to behold. It actually reminded me of the Hawkesbury River, but on a much smaller scale. We stopped in at Huonville for some snacks and supplies, and also in Crabtree to check out the local shops - both delightful little towns!
We arrived at the airwalk and paid for entry. The place is run by Forestry Tasmania, and is set in the Tahune Forest Reserve. Although a bit pricey, ($46 for both of us), it was a lovely way to spend a few hours and take some happy snaps! (We did the Airwalk and the Swinging Bridges Circuit.)
I just came across a couple of students from another college, supergluing a $1 coin on to the footpath outside of their college. I remember doing that in high school, just outside the tuckshop near where we sat.
Some gags never grow old!
*sigh*
Last night Hubs and I watched the final episode EVER of Boston Legal. And it was a goodie. We actually did quite well to make it last so long for us, considering at one stage, we would watch 3 or 4 episodes straight on a Saturday night. (Oh yeah. We party HARD!) Overall we were very satisfied with this TV series. It seemed that whenever we didn't like a character, they just seemed to disappear! I was okay with that. But then some characters we did like, would also disappear, without explanation. That was a little annoying. There were a few loose ends that were never quite tied up, but on the whole, a very enjoyable viewing experience.
So, what next? We may give Dollhouse a go, since we have season 1 already, and we're also keen for The Wire. Decisions decisions.
In the mean time, I think Hubs is keen for a bit more Blackadder action, so we'll see how we go.
And yes, I know I still haven't blogged about our Tassie trip yet, but I haven't downloaded the photos yet! They'll be here soon, I promise!!
