31 May - Day 109

Happy Wedding Anniversary to my Brother and Sister-In-Law! On this day 2 years ago, "M" and I were witnessing the wedding celebration in Richmond, Virginia. It was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Now, my Sister-In-Law is pregnant with their first child. What a great way to toast an anniversary!

30 May - Day 108

The Swan River is the centerpiece of Perth. My friend "A" and I walk around the river most Saturday mornings and when Dad was visiting, he, "M" and I walked around the river every day that we were in Perth. A common sight from the river bank are black swans. The Swan River was named after these birds and the black swan is also included on the West Australian state flag. They are distinguished by their long necks which form an S shape. Black swans are primarily located in southeast and southwest Australia.

29 Day - May 107

We have had a lazy, relaxing Saturday. We haven't cleaned or worked in the garden but instead have watched tv and listened to music. My Mom found a great website called stereomood and sent us the link this week. The web address is www.stereomood.com. It is a music site that allows you to choose your emotion and then populates a playlist for you. Today, we chose HAPPY!

28 May - Day 106

"M's" Aunt & Uncle have a beautiful piece of indigenous art hanging in their dining room. Aunt "G" has explained some of the elements of the paining to me and the story behind it is fascinating. Tonight we were out and saw another great piece of indigenous art and it has really inspired me to start looking for a painting. Aboriginal art always tells a fascinating story. Myths, rituals, spirituality, beliefs, magic and sorcery are common in the paintings. Each piece is unique. Some use vivid and vibrant colors and others use earth tones. We hope to find our unique piece sometime soon.

27 May - Day 105

Jumping crocodiles! This is what we saw when we visited Litchfield National Park in Darwin. As part of the tour, we were taken on the Original Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Cruise. At first we were worried that we wouldn't see any crocs but once the cruise guide started dangling food, they came out in full force and put on quite a show. Although we were in the boat, it was still scary to be that up close and personal to such a large animal.

26 May - Day 104

Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer Ánna Pávlova. The dessert is believed to have been created to honor the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. I had my first Pavlova when my friend "K" served it during a summer dinner party. My Dad & "T" also got to enjoy this classic Australian dessert when they visited Perth recently and "M's" Mum made a delicious pavlova.

25 May - Day 103

I went to an American Chamber of Commerce in Australia breakfast meeting this morning. The topic was "Managing the Melting Pot - Insights Into Managing Western Australia's Increasingly Global Workforce." Speakers from several different companies provided their perspectives on building and developing culturally aware leaders and embracing diversity. One of the first things that struck me when moving to Australia was the cultural diversity of people, seemingly from every country. What amazed me even more was how many people from other cultures and ethnicities had been raised in Australia and therefore had Australian accents. In the meeting this morning, I learned that over 20% of people living in Australia were born overseas. We were asked by the presenter to raise our hands if we were born overseas and well over 20% of people raised their hands, including me. It's great to live in such a multicultural city.

24 May - Day 102

I have booked us in for a quick winter getaway in the not too distant future. We will be heading to the small town of York which is 60 miles from Perth and located in the Avon Valley. The town was established in 1831 and is Western Australia's first inland settlement. We have booked a cute little cottage and have found a degustation menu to enjoy. We will also be going to a festival which is being held at the Town Hall.

23 May - Day 101

I haven't eaten at a Mexican restaurant in 3 years - until last night! Once you move away from Houston, you sort of give up on finding good Mexican food. Perth isn't known for Mexican food but I ate at a great Mexican restaurant last night. My friend "C" organized a girls night at Panchos and we had a fantastic time. The restaurant was even decorated in cheesy Mexican-American style, complete with a replica of Yosemite Sam. The margaritas were flowing and the food was delicious!

22 May - Day 100

It was love at first sight. These pictures were taken by "T" as we opened our wedding gifts. Who would have thought that a bread maker would be such a hit? Well, it was! I love having homemade fresh bread, we haven't bought any from the store since the Wedding in October. Each and every day "M" prepares me a fresh slice of toast using bread prepared by this little wonder. Thanks to "M & S" for giving it to us! This entry, on day 100, is proudly brought to you by ghost writer "M".

21 May - Day 99

My "little" brother accepted the position of Assistant Basketball Coach for University of Arkansas today. I am so proud of him! This is a great accomplishment and a fantastic opportunity. My brother and sister-in-law will be moving from our home state of West Virginia in the near future. We hope to be able to see them, and our nephew at Christmas! Congratulations "B"!! Go Razorbacks!

20 May - Day 98

I'm missing our friends "T" & "W". T is a best friend of mine from Houston, Texas. She now lives in Wyoming with her husband "W" and two beautiful young chidren. But nothing was stopping "T" from coming to Australia for our wedding. The fact that she traveled half way around the world to see us on our wedding day meant more to me than words can express. "W" was able to come after the wedding and they both joined us for our honeymoon in Margaret River. There's nothing quite like a good girlfriend. She is always there for me and I miss her terribly. We laugh until we cry and our bellies hurt : ) These pictures were taken in the Margaret River region near Meelup Beach. The picture of just Tara and I was taken the night before the wedding. We had such a great time!

19 May - Day 97

Part of the beauty about living in Australia, is the close proximity to Asia. "M" & I have been to Singapore together a few times and for our honeymoon, we traveled to Phuket, Thailand. We stayed at the Mom Tri Villa Royale and had spectacular views from our suite. If you travel to Thailand, I highly recommend that you visit all of the Mom Tri restaurants - yummy!

18 May - Day 96

In the spirit of living life to the fullest in Australia, I am taking advantage of some upcoming events. I just booked tickets for "M" and I to see West Side Story in October at the Burswood Entertainment Complex. This will be the first time either of us have seen this musical. The 2010 tour has been sold out in Tokyo, Paris, London & Beijing and now the show is heading to Australia. It's right around "M's" birthday so should be a great night!

17 May - Day 95

This 4th of July, I will be celebrating at the Perth Good Food & Wine Show! I just bought tickets for "M" & I and our friends "J" & "C" are going as well. Several wineries and food vendors will be offering free samples but I'm most excited to see Gary Mehigan & George Calombaris from MasterChef Australia who will be cooking in the Celebrity Theatre.

16 May - Day 94

This West Virginia girl has planted her first vegetable garden. Hard to believe that it's in Australia! We went to Bunning's (the smaller equivalent to Lowe's)to buy the plants and in all of my excitement, I was grabbing everything imaginable. We left with several different types of salad leaves (cos, rocket, spinach...), tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, snap peas, green beans, coriander, mint & basil as well as some new garden gloves and wellington boots for me. I had to look the part! "M" dug the rows while I planted. My favorite part was seeing the tags in the ground. When I told "M" this he simply said "Yes dear, we should have just planted the tags and saved $130." Pretty typical coming from a Finance guy : ) We managed to get most of the vegetables and herbs planted this evening but have a few things left and then we can sit back and watch our garden grow!

15 May - Day 93

While I was rocking out at a Tegan & Sara concert last night, "M" was jamming at a Guitar Hero party. One of his work colleagues organised and hosted the party and took these incriminating photos : ) Thanks "A"! It was "M's" first time on the guitar and while he had fun, he said he didn't play very well. Our friend "N" on the other hand, looks like a pro!

14 May - Day 92

I just got back from a Tegan & Sara concert with my friend "G". It was great! The concert was held outside at Fremantle Arts Center. It was a cool night but we warmed up by dancing! We managed to wiggle our way to only 8 rows back. Tegan & Sara are twin sisters from Canada. The Jezebels (Australia) and Astronatulis (US) opened for them. This will probably be my last outdoor concert until the weather warms up so I'm glad it was a good one.

13 May - Day 91

This beautiful sunset over Gracetown (Margaret River) was taken when we went there with Dad & "T".

12 May - Day 90

"M's" Grandmother in the UK turned 90 on Monday! In honor of her 90th birthday and for my 90th blog post, I wanted to include a picture of her. This picture is of her and her son - M's Uncle John. I'm sorry to say that I haven't met M's Grandmother but hope to one day soon! Happy Birthday Granny. We hope you had a wonderful day.

11 May - Day 89

Back to work for one day and I'm ready for another vacation! My mind is drifting back to a long weekend "M" and I had at the Hidden Valley Day Spa in the Perth Hills. Sitting amongst 14 acres of Jarrah forest, it is a great place to relax and the spa treatments are amazing. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to wait awhile before I get my next holiday.