Two 'Heels in Oz!: Odds and Ends

Since the last few blog posts have been dedicated to talking about our adventures with my parents, I thought I'd do an update on what we've been up to for the last month or so since our visitors departed.

We have been keeping quite busy on the work front, particularly Erik, who is often working one or both weekend days, though sometimes just for a few hours. Up until last week, I was getting called to work at the school near our house nearly every day for substituting. However, my work schedule seems to have come to a screeching halt now that school is winding down for the year. Year 12's (seniors) have already finished with classes and are nearly finished exams, while the Year 10 and 11 students (sophomores and juniors) will be finishing classes this week and starting exams next week. With those students finishing up, that leaves plenty of teachers to fill in for those who are out, meaning less work for substitutes.

Our social calendar has been regularly filled up as well. We attended our first 40th birthday party (if that doesn't make you feel old I don't know what does!), enjoyed dinner at a new restaurant along the water for my birthday, went to our second beer festival in Oz (which left Erik thinking that he might never drink alcohol again given his condition the next morning), enjoyed a few ciders at an Irish pub along the Yarra River, and just yesterday we had our first "go" at surfing down under.

The weather is starting to be consistently nice, though it still occasionally fluctuates between 80 degrees F one day and 60 degrees F the next. Halloween was particularly warm, and we actually ended up with unexpected trick or treaters at our doorstep (who recognized me from the school where I have been relief teaching!). Unfortunately we could only offer them a bit of juice we had leftover from my parent's visit because we were not prepped with anything to give out at the door. Last year we did not see anyone dressed up for Halloween in our neighborhood, but this year kids were out in groups, so the holiday seems to be growing in popularity among Australians.

One other totally random thing that I need to share happened last weekend when Erik was leaving our house for a run. There was a kangaroo on our sidewalk! Under a tree, just a few feet from our house, in total suburbia just 6 miles from downtown Melbourne, stood a kangaroo. Erik came back to the house so that I see for myself, but unfortunately the 'roo was gone by the time I made it outside. We searched the neighborhood for a few minutes to see if we could find him, but had no luck. This type of thing isn't totally unheard of, but it is rare considering that we live in quite a populated area where you wouldn't normally see kangaroos. On the other hand, maybe it is a trend, as just a few weeks ago a kangaroo was found in a parking garage at the Melbourne Airport.

I'll leave you with some photos of our lives from the past few weeks!

Amazing lot of dark chocolate goodies from my sister! Dark chocolate + bacon = AMAZING!
Also received Berger cookies from Mo. Thanks, gals!!
Vosges Haut-Chocolat Mo's Bacon Caramels (Google Affiliate Ad)