In two weeks I’m starting a diploma in fitness, so watch this section of the site come alive finally!

Our apartment is full of beautiful furniture & really feels like a home now.  I seriously love our apartment. I’m still hoping to move out of town to enjoy some space one day, but this suits our life at the moment. We’re busy people right now so the minimal maintenance of a small pad is ideal. It’s just big enough to throw small parties though…

We’ve been enjoying a social life again! To make up for last year’s miserable xmas in a motel room we went all-out this time & had a biggy. We threw a party for our friends & it was a great night, one of those flawless nights where everything goes right. Due to its success we decided to have a new years party too. Another fab night. I think parties at our place are going to be a regular event now.

I’m already planning the next one…

I’m still in love with my new wheels. It’s been one of those life-changing purchases. The freedom I have now is awesome-fun. I love going for aimless joy-rides & exploring new parts of town. I just can’t stop smiling when I’m riding that thing.

Work is drab, but it’s a means to an end & in ten days I find out if my college application is successful for 2010-2012. I’m nervous as hell to be honest. I will be the happiest girl on earth if I get in…

I got my first tattoo a couple of months ago! No, really it’s quite tiny & not worth mentioning even, but it has me all kinds of excited about getting more done. I’m getting Nik’s help right now drawing up designs for the next batch & I think this will be the year to get my body totally ripped & decorated in every way.  On that subject I cut all my hair off last week. I now have dark, short, spiky hair. Much more me.

To top off my life-of-awesome right now, Nik got me a freaking amazing semi-acoustic cello for xmas!!!! Oh my god!!! I’m so excited to be learning a new instrument, the most gorgeous, sexy instrument you’ve seen! It makes me feel alive.

We went to see Lamb last night, a band I’ve been a fan of for a long time but never guessed we’d have the chance to see them live, especially when they broke up a few years ago. Well, we were lucky enough to see their last gig ever on a random reunion tour, last night at the Tivoli. Amazing show. Wow, wow, wow! And in a couple of weeks on my birthday weekend we have tickets for Mars Volta too!

So if you’re the type that’s into astrology or numerology etc, if you looked up my stats I’m sure you’d find this is my year. It’s hard to not sound smug, but I’m so stoked with my life right now.

But no, still no camera….

Hopefully by my next post!

So today I steal someone else’s pic, as I have a new toy to show off…

Sexy

Since I’m working two jobs at the moment, public transport is eating up a lot of my precious time, especially train-bus-bus-ing out to the western suburbs everyday. I needed a quick way to zip around town.  A car is unfortunately out of the picture since there is no parking available in our building, so I stuck with the two-wheeled variety (and anyone who knows me knows I’ve always dreamed of getting a motorbike anyway) & bought myself a Benelli moped.

I’m in love.

I’ve found myself working in a kitchen again after many years, in a deli in the western suburbs. The work keeps me interested, still learning recipes & new techniques. The other job is just supermarket work; mundane but well-paying. It’s funding this never-ending shopping spree of homewares, furniture & fun things to fill our apartment. I’m also saving for a motorcycle/moped at the moment, so it’s really a fun time in a way, shopping for all this stuff & starting again. Everything’s so new & fresh. A little retail therapy has been good after living rough on the road.  A new camera is pretty high on my shopping list, so hopefully this site will come back to life with some colour.

I’ll try to stop by more often. Sorry for the awkward pauses in the chatter. We have internet in the apartment now so I’ll be a little more net-active. Btw I tried the Wordpress app for the iPhone numerous times but it crashed on uploading every time; excuses, excuses.

It seems we’re gonna be staying here a few more weeks at least; our wallets prevent us from going any further south at this stage, so I’ve been doing the whole job-seeking thing & attending job interviews. So not fun.

On the fun-side though, we’ve already caught up with a lot of our friends & fam, eaten a lot of sushi & curry, caught up with cinema & even managed to attempt a spot of camping at Somerset dam with our friend Jeremy the other day. It’s been quite a busy 14 days.

Brisbane has grown up in a few ways & stayed stagnant in many ways too. The skyline has changed shape in the last 6 years, the stores shuffle about & there are new roadways everywhere, but in many ways Brisbane still feels like a country town. There aren’t many 24hr stores or services & some areas feel quite run-down these days.

Fortitude valley (my ol’ hometown, kinda like the downtown end of the city) has changed in a disappointing way. It’s now generic & mainstream & lost a lot of it’s culture & alternative vibe. It’s sad to see a place change for the worse & it leaves me feeling a little uprooted & foreign. Brisbane just doesn’t really feel like home in a lot of ways now.

There’s not a lot holding us here anymore & we’re keen to move on as soon as our bank accounts allow. Brisbane is still the town I grew up in but without sounding smug I almost feel like I grew OUT of it, all the same. Coming “home” after 6 years has actually made me feel further away from home somehow. Quite homeless & disorientating. I’m not sure if there’s anywhere I’ll feel at peace anymore. The world is big & small at the same time & right now I crave the feeling of being settled, but without knowing where to set.

So I sign off with a favourite quote of mine “Not all who wander are lost” … but some of us are, maybe just a little.

The plan so far is to start off in Brisbane, my hometown. As I mentioned in previous posts, it’s been a long time since I spent good time with my fam so I’d like to spend a couple of weeks getting to know them all again & catching up with friends. Also, we have a lot of belongings in storage there which we’ll need to sort through & arrange to truck down south.

The next stop is Sydney. That’s where we’re going to be catching up with Nik’s family & trying to fatten our wallets once again with some steady work. Wallets restored, the last stop will probably be Melbourne, where we intend to set up “home”. It seems all our Brisbane friends have ended up in Melbourne, down there in the drizzly, artsy town & while I haven’t even been there I can understand why. It seems to be the cultural centre of Australia & a little more bohemian or cosmopolitan than our hometown Brisbane. I’m looking forward to exploring Melbourne & experiencing something new & the familiar combined. I’m excited to be going home to Australia, but finding home in a new city.

2 more days in Arizona, 5 more days in the US, then it’s hello to the southern hemisphere.

So long America. Thanks for the memories.

Some thing I’ve learned cooking on the road…

Tortillas- 1. Loaf o’ bread- 0.
Tortillas have a much longer shelf life than a loaf of bread & are so versatile. Choosing flour vs corn tortillas means easier rolling for burritos & less fragile in the car/ backpack. Cut them up & grill/fry them for tortilla crisps in nachos. Quesadillas, enchiladas etc etc

Can of beans FTW!
When you’re cooking by fire you really don’t want to be babysitting a cooking-pot for hours. You also don’t want to waste all your firewood when you went to all the effort of collecting it. This is one time I really cannot be bothered with dried beans. I’d much prefer just whacking a can of beans in a pan for 2mins despite the cost, BPA poisons & environment. They can add simple protein & fibre to a dish with no effort.

Hot sauce!
See a theme developing here? Mexican food is my latest addiction; so easy, perfect for camping. Hot sauce belongs in this list due to its storage ease. A real hot sauce has so much chili & vinegar that it is too acidic to spoil in the heat. You can literally leave a bottle in the sun all day without it going off. Forget ketchup & mustard for your hotdogs, they need refrigeration. Hot sauce goes on everything; burgers, stir-fry, ramen… Find me a food that hot sauce doesn’t work with!

and that brings me to Instant Ramen.
*Sigh* While I’m so sick of ramen right now I could scream, you really cannot pack the car up without a few packs of ramen. It’s such a cheap meal at 15c that it’s hard to beat. Lightweight enough for your backpack, it’s perfect for camping.

Fruit & Veges that last on the road-

• Potatoes… of course. Super-versatile. Bake ‘em, fry ‘em, stew ‘em, mash ‘em…
• Onions. Like potatoes, you can carry them around for weeks…
• Carrots. Might last a week?
• Zucchini & eggplant. Depending on the temperature you might get 2 days- a week out of them.
• Tomatoes. Ok, these don’t last too long, maybe 3 days? but tomatoes can go in everything. Gotta have ‘em.
• Limes & lemons. Limes are super cheap over here so it’s rare that we don’t have a few lying around. They jazz up boring meals, & make gross water drinkable. They are simply neccessary.
• Broccoli. 3-4 days?

Of course this all depends on your climate. We’ve gone from below 0 to 45 degrees in the last few months & temperature is everything. If you’re closer to freezing temperatures you can take eggs, milk, cheese, everything. If you’re camping in temperatures over 30 or 40 celsius fresh foods just will not last.

Powdered & Dried Food-

• Go the powdered milk, unless you’re camping near the snow.
• Garlic powder. I know it’s not the same, but a tonne easier agree?
• Pre-mixed spices. It’s easier to make little pre-mixed spice-jars than have a 1000 little bottles in your trunk rattling around. I have a lemon-pepper mix, a chili-lime mexi mix & a basic curry powder. I know it limits your recipes, but so much easier.
• TVP/ TSP. Textured vegetable/ soy protein can be thrown in everything or made into burgers. A real handy thing to have on hand & ever so cheap.
• “Dry vege mix”. I’m not sure what to call this exactly. We bought it from Winco a few times & it’s just a mix of dried veges that can be thrown in soups, stews, ramen, everything. A very easy way to add some colour & taste to carb-based meals. It’s light-weight & lasts forever.

Peanut butter lasts forever. Honey is also a good one if you’re a fan.

The last few months I have mostly been eating-

Burritos! Tortillas are insanely versatile, but it’s hard to beat a basic burrito. You can go all out with fillings but a simple breakfast burrito with egg will keep you going for hours. Bean burritos rock. I even found some soy chorizo, awesome for burritos. The rest is up to your creativity.

Ramen.
It’s lightweight & cheap, but probably not much more. It’ll fill you up but not for long. There’s really nothing nutritious about them & can be full of fat. Read the ingredients. Throw some veges or tvp in there to fill it out.
A favourite- Ramen + soy sauce, peanut butter, lime, chili sauce = “thai-inspired noodles”

Burgers.
What’s easier than throwing a burger on the fire? Whether it be a store-bought vegeburger or one from scratch, burgers are awesome.

Hotdogs.
See above. Protein wrapped in bread & can be eaten one-handed. What could be easier?

Peanut butter sandwiches. …Man I’m sick of peanut butter sandwiches now.

Pizza!
Pizzas of course require a little forethought if you make the dough from scratch. The sun does a good job of proofing your dough quickly however, then all you need to do is build a little fire “oven” to bake them in. I found small personal pizzas were easier. Cheese is optional depending on your climate… I guess it’s more of a focaccia minus the cheese though. We were lucky to have cold weather at that point, so we got cheese. If you don’t have a dutch oven you can build a small oven out of rocks over the fire-pit once you have hot coals. Try to enclose that heat as much as possible (pretend you’re building a cave or igloo), otherwise they won’t cook all the way through, just burn on the bottom. I was surprised how easy this was though. My friends were impressed when they came back from their hike to find little pizzas waiting for them.

Hot chocolate & coffee. I gotta say, a hot chocolate is morale +100 when you’ve had a rough day or you’re freezing your ass off in the wind & rain. It’s saved us many times.

Porridge. Especially good in the cold weather, porridge is super easy, healthy, plus oats are super lightweight.

Other camp-kitchen necessities- A good frying pan (no non-stick shit) with lid if possible, a wire grill, tongs, egg-flipper, knife & a pot large enough to heat water & boil rice/ pasta. You can pretty much get by with those basics. We have… for months.

Remember, it’s always smart to carry a bag of bbq coals with you & some liquid firestarter. You never know when it’ll rain & wet all your firewood.

I’m feeling incredibly upbeat at the moment. I never thought I’d be so excited about returning to Australia, but being away so long has had me missing a few things…

Seeing family

It’s been way too long since I saw my family & while only one of them has entered the internet era I find it really hard to keep in touch with them while living in different timezones & having no phone. Besides, writing *hugs* just does not match a real hug.

Seeing friends

Unlike my family, all my friends are easy to keep in contact with online. Thanks to holes like facebook & twitter I can chat with them all at the click of a button. However after such a long time being away you really start to crave some face-time with buddies & have that casual “hanging out” experience, playing games & sharing some drinks. I can’t wait to see you all.

Starting back at college

I hate to let things drag. I’m super excited about being a student again & this time I’m going for the full diploma, topped off with modules of sports nutrition & biomechanics. Learning makes you feel alive. I miss it.

Getting a job & earning cash

I miss having money.

Starting a vege garden

One day I would love to get a “farm” with goats, cheese-room & mushroom shed, but until that time comes I’m excited about starting a little suburban vege garden.

Good, cheap & plentiful Asian food

God I miss being able to eat sushi & curry everyday.

Adopting a pet

While I might have to wait a while until I’m ready to adopt goats, I’m looking forward to getting a cat & a dog (& maybe a rabbit). Can’t wait to pick out a new friend from the rspca.

Getting all our Aus stuff out of storage & all our NZ/American stuff arriving by ship

Finally our belongings that are scattered all over the world will eventually meet & all live at the same house, under one roof! Yay furniture & instruments & dvds & kitchen toys…  I can’t wait to decorate & feel settled finally!

A few particular food items

Australian cheeses (How did the US go so wrong with their cheese?). I can’t wait to demolish a whole wheel of brie to myself or a wedge of bleu… My mum better have some feta in the fridge when I get there…

Chocolate! (God I miss Australian-style chocolate. American stuff is way too salty & not creamy at all)

Montes (Those Arnotts cookies. It’s a childhood thing… Yes Rach, I still call them “koala noses”) Oh, & Tim Tams!

Wine. Oh dear god how I’m craving wine.

And all those “treats” we just haven’t been able to afford (like olives!) while traveling, & all those familiar brands from childhood…

*sigh* I think my stomach is homesick more than anything.

Cooking

I seriously miss cooking. All our motel room has is a microwave & no, that is NOT cooking. Before that all we had was fire. I want a proper kitchen damnit! And I wanna bake some bread & pizzas, stir-fry, roll some sushi, bake a cheesecake, fry some pancakes, brew a long curry… I’m gonna go crazy when we finally get a kitchen. And I’ll be posting all the food-adventures here too, don’t you worry.

Hmm… What else am I excited about? Oh too much! I’m wriggling with excitement guys. Australia here I come!

I’ve read that creating lists is a typical Capricorn habit, like Virgos. Anyone else out there love doing this? It’s particularly nerdy, but very satisfying.

1. Mexican Fast Food & Supermarkets:

To my friends unfamiliar with US foods, Mexican food is everywhere in the Southwest here, like I mean everywhere! (There’s probably 20+ on this street alone) I suppose I am actually more familiar with Mexi-cali foods to be honest (I don’t want to offend any Mexicans reading). My Australian friends just would not believe the selection of Mexican foods you can find, particularly in California & Arizona. There is always a good vegetarian selection, bold flavours, salads, cheesy dishes, bean dishes… & my favourite part of all…

The Salsa Bar! A lesson to the Aussies & Kiwis reading, this is something you’ll find in pretty much every Mexican joint over here. It is a self-serve bar filled with a selection of salsas, pickles, chilies & if you’re lucky guacamole. I’m one of those people that grabs a container (or 3) of each one. Just picture me at Baja Fresh with a plate of tortilla crisps going backwards & forwards to the salsa bar. I could stay there all day. Man I’m gonna miss that.

2. US Driving Style:

Speeds- Now, I’m no speed demon exactly, but I have now spent more time on US roads than I ever did on Australasian roads. That means I’m now very accustomed to their style of driving & speeds. When driving on main roads & freeways you can drive over 120kms/hr a lot of the time. That is considered insanely fast by Australian & New Zealand standards. Even the general “suburban” speeds are a hell of a lot faster than other countries. American drivers are used to these speeds & really are better drivers for it no doubt. Just watch LA drivers; they weave in & out constantly & follow very close. Now, I’m not saying these are good driving practices, but just the fact that these drivers are able to do this is pretty amazing to watch.

Right on a red- “Wha?” you say? Well, in the US you’re allowed to make a right turn even if the light is red. It’s more like a “give way” situation. I really like this rule & am gonna miss it.

3. Customer Service:

American customers are incredibly demanding (no offense dudes) but it has created a customer service standard that is impeccable. When you’re in a store you can expect to be greeted every time on entry. At food places they will be very precise with your order, wish you a good day, provide anything you ask & top up your drink when it’s half full.

That brings me to…

4. Drink Refills:

This is standard in the US. Everywhere has free drink refills on soda, coffee & iced tea (Yes, iced tea is also standard at the soda stand). Even convenience stores & gas stations will offer a discounted refill price if you bring in your cup again.

5. Diverse Landscape:

Now, I know Australians will want to argue this one. True, Australia’s landscape is almost as diverse as the US, but the difference is distance. In Australia you would have to travel thousands of miles to see the diversity. In America, California in particular, you can go from snow to desert to forest to the beach all within a day. It’s absolutely incredible. No matter what your mood is you can find it for a day-trip.

6. 99c Stores:

Now, there is nothing even close in Australia/NZ to the “99c Only Stores” over here. Hear this, I can buy fruit, vegetables, pretty much all my groceries items there, housey stuff, toys, toiletries, everything. From a carton of eggs to badminton sets, you can buy everything for only 99c. This week we got punnets of blueberries & soy chorizo even!

7. Fall:

There may be parts of Australia down south that experience the seasons different to my experience in QLD, I’m not sure, but it feels like Australia doesn’t show the 4 seasons as strong as America. Fall is such a beautiful time of year over here, watching the trees go through all the colour stages is wonderful.

8. Holidays:

Halloween- Australia has attempted to adopt Halloween in areas, but has nothing on the American Halloween. It is so damned festive you couldn’t ignore it if you tried. Every house’s front porch has a jack o’ lantern, the lawns are covered in decorations, kids are running around the neighbourhood on a crazy sugar high. It’s such a fun holiday, I will really miss it.

Thanksgiving- Last year I celebrated my first thanksgiving, as we don’t have it in Australasia. While I’m still learning the history of the holiday it was hard to not get caught up in festivities. Closely following Halloween & soon followed by Christmas it feels like the holiday season never ends. The stores are full of pumpkins & good food, the locals yell “Happy holidays” at you & it’s kinda impossible to feel miserable amongst it all.

White Christmas- While we were in motels at that point it was really hard to make “home” feel Christmasy (I’m a sucker for decorations & the big meal etc). We didn’t even make a good meal, but what was special was experiencing a white Christmas. We were actually in California at the time & they had an unseasonably cold winter, with snow falling where there shouldn’t be. While some locals complained, this was amazing for us. We made snowmen & drove about the streets just staring at the beautiful white. I will have awesome memories from our first Christmas in America.

9. The Accents:

Going from city to city you will notice different accents in the US. It’s been great learning all the different sounds & pronunciations.

10. The American Personalities:

They’re boisterous, chatty, loud & opinionated & I like it. Even just walking through the supermarket you end up in conversation as fellow shoppers comment on your basket contents or what you’re wearing. Australians (& even more so New Zealanders) seem so introverted & quiet by comparison. When I first arrived in the US I found these traits quite funny, comical & I wasn’t confident interacting with everyone constantly, but I came to love it quite quickly. I’m probably going to get chat-withdrawals when I leave.

This is such a generalization, it may even sound offensive, but it’s just my observation & I say it all with love.

11. American TV & Hulu:

Americans probably don’t realize how many media websites are only able to be accesed from within the country. So, when we leave we will lose Hulu.com & the Sci Fi Channel site (now syfy), where we can watch all the tv shows we want whenever we want as soon as they’re aired on tv. Australia is quite behind on a few of our favourite shows, so unless you wanna get illegal it means waiting a long time for some things to get to Australian television (& some things may not make it at all). I will also miss understanding pop culture references, localized jokes in media & seeing big celebrities in commercial ads (Bill Shatner on the funny Priceline ads, hearing Keifer Sutherland’s voice on all the Bank Of America ads etc)

There are tonnes of other little things I’ll miss that I’ve forgotten to list. Maybe I’ll add to it as I think of them…

So, if you saw my recent post in the Backyard you can understand why I haven’t been active in the Gym here. I haven’t done structured exercise on the road at all. While the last few months have been full of hiking & climbing & swimming etc I haven’t been able to do any “measurable exercise” amongst it.

While I’ve lost weight in the last few months unfortunately it’s not really healthy. I’ve lost a lot of muscle. My diet has been incredibly lacking. A few months with little protein & iron etc means I’ve been depleting my stores with each spurt of exercise & not building muscle like one should.

The lacking diet also showed other negative effects. I was weak, dizzy, forgetful, light-headed, bruised, I had no concentration, stamina, coordination & very slow reaction-time. It’s been quite an interesting experiment despite being detrimental to my health. Coupled with the crazy heats in Arizona (most days over 45 celsius) & dehydration, my body was feeling rock-bottom until I became a trembling, feinting mess. It’s been fascinating watching how the body reacts to these extremes.

Step 1-

The last couple of weeks we’ve been staying in a motel & have had access to healthy food. We’ve been munching fruit & vegetables like there’s no tomorrow & getting a good dose of protein. The effect has been almost immediate but obviously our bodies are still repairing & may need some time.

Step 2-

Once I’m feeling a little stronger & there’s fuel in my tank, it’s time to get a little more active. The main obstacle will no doubt be the temperatures here in Phoenix. It is impossible to go outside for exercise, even in the evening, so I’ll start off with some indoor workouts to get the connections firing again.

I have very low expectations at this stage.

I’m really excited about having energy again one day soon. In fact I’ve just started downloading a P90x system in preparation for healthier days. I can’t wait to get started. Has anyone out there had experience with P90x? I’d love to hear your stories.