April 26, 2011 - Snorkeling at the Reef

We took a day trip to the Great Barrier Reef for some scuba diving & snorkeling. It was a lot of fun, we saw tons of fish and beautiful coral as expected, but the water was r-o-u-g-h so the boat ride itself was kind of an adventure on its own. We learned that some cultures seem to be more susceptible to sea sickness than others and that it is not a good idea to eat a plate of salads on the top deck of a boat travelling very fast in choppy water unless you want to cover me & Tom in cucumbers and coleslaw.

PS - Tom took this photo of me while we were snorkeling (I think I was trying to clear my snorkel or something)... we wore the cute blue stinger suits since it was still technically stinger season and neither of us wanted to get stung!

April 25, 2011 - Koalas Are Cuddly

The picture kind of speaks for itself, but here's a little info about our fun Koala cuddling experience.

Our first day in Cairns was spent at the Cairns Tropical Zoo and we headed right for the picture taking area when we arrived to make sure we got our photos. Each of us got to hold this Koala (her name is Piper,) for individual shots, and then they offered to take a couple of us all together. I also held a baby crocodile for a picture (Tom didn't hold it himself, but he did agree to stand next to me for a group shot with it as well.) The whole thing was exactly what we hoped it would be - Piper was very, very soft, and
she just sort of hugged you like a little baby. Awwwwww.

PS - there was no way I could justify using anything but the above photo for my official post, but here's a very close runner-up for shot of the day that also speaks for itself:

April 24, 2011 - The Red Desert

As we flew away from Uluru I got a shot of the desert from the plane... it really was a beautiful, unique, landscape I'm glad I got to visit. Besides seeing the rock, and wild dingoes, and beautiful stars - we also walked through the Walpa Gorge in the neighboring formation Kata Tjuta, saw real camels along the side of the road, and learned the Australian wave.

That last item is basically a frantic hand motion you make around your face to try and get some of the buhzillion flies to stop landing on you. They were insane, and all the shops sold hats with fly nets attached for people who didn't mind looking like amateur bee keepers, but luckily they were just annoying... we escaped with maybe a single bug bite between us (which could have been from something else entirely.)

April 23, 2011 - Uluru Sunrise

Ok, so as I mentioned in the post for 4/22, Uluru is a big, huge, gigantic rock and the reason Tom & I travelled to the middle of the Australian outback, but what I didn't mention is that it's RED and magnificent. Here is a sunrise shot of it from our first morning there. The dogs in the foreground may or may not be 100% dingoes, but I'm going to assume they were because it's more fun that way. As soon as the tourists came to this viewing area, they all came wandering over to see if there were any free snacks available.

April 22, 2011 - Uluru Sunset

Tom and I flew to Uluru (formerly & still regularly referred to as Ayer's Rock.) It's a place in the Australian outback, pretty much smack dab in the center of the entire country. The big draw to the area is the rock formation it's named after, and that's about it. So, all the activities are centered around different ways to experience the rock.

On our first night, we booked seats for the "Sounds of Silence" dinner - a 4 hour sunset/dinner/star-gazing event. (FYI - Oprah did it too.)

It was a pretty incredible night. The sunset was beautiful and we had a fun time talking with the other travellers at our table... one couple actually got engaged during the course of the evening, so that was extra exciting (especially because the woman already had been drinking a lot before her boyfriend proposed to her.)

After dinner, we saw soooo many stars in the sky including a great view of the milky way and many other formations that I had never really seen before. It helped having a guide point out stars of note, but it wasn't even necessary to know what I was looking at to enjoy what I was seeing.

PS - this shot is obviously just prior to sunset. I think this picture shows the spirit of the night the best, but for a view of the rock itself... give me a few minutes to pull together the post for 4/23 !

April 21, 2011 - A Cute Li'l Devil

Yes, it's a Tasmanian Devil. A real one, not the cartoon one that spins around and drools and get's dressed up like a lady with a purse from time to time by Bugs Bunny. We saw him at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney and they had a whole informational area set-up to explain all about these interesting animals.

In the daylight, he didn't look especially menacing - he actually looked pretty cute - but this guy never stopped moving... and I could tell that I would not want to be trapped alone with him in the dark anywhere.

April 20, 2011 - Australian Animals

Tom and took a day trip to the Blue Mountains (Australia's much older version of the Grand Canyon,) and it included a stop in Featherdale Wildlife park for... koala petting and kangaroo feeding!!! It was completely worth it for this part alone. We had a great time getting this close to the animals, and we also got to see wombats (Tom's favorites,) a tasmanian devil, dingos, penguins, lots of other birds, farm animals and more. It was a fun morning.

April 19, 2011 - The Skywalk

Our friend Flora was in Sydney for one more day with us, so we spent the morning with her doing fun tourist-y things. We took a train over to the opposite side of Sydney Harbour and came back across the bridge for amazing views of the opera house and more. We didn't do the bridge climb, we just did the free walk on our own, but it was exactly what we wanted (and it didn't take hours to do.) Then we wandered around the Rocks neighborhood for awhile (Flora bought a beautiful opal ring) and then we went down to the Sydney tower. I knew I wouldn't be able to convince Tom, but Flora agreed to do the Skywalk with me and we suited up for our (completely safe) walk outside around the top. The views were incredible and of course our guide took photos of us that we had to buy afterwards - this one made it worth the $$!

April 18, 2011 - Sydney!

I made it to Sydney! I arrived on my 6th continent (the only one left for me is Africa,) and managed to find Tom at his hotel. We spent the morning with some of Tom's colleagues wandering around the city a bit and had a fantastic day. We walked through the botanical garden (completely gorgeous - even with the crazy bats flying & screeching everywhere,) past the opera house (incredible), over to Manly on the ferry for some lunch, and eventually made our way over to Darling Harbor to meet up with some other folk who suggested we all go to the Aquarium. It was a REALLY neat place - you could walk through the largest tanks and see all sorts of sharks & rays etc swimming over you. After the aquarium, Tom and I went to Wildlife World (this picture was taken in front of it) and saw live koalas and kangaroos! Later that evening, we went with our friend Flora down to Bondi for dinner along the beach before I finally crashed and had to come back to the hotel for some sleep in an actual bed.

April 17, 2011 - In the Air

April 17th didn't really exist for me... I got on a plane on the 16th, crossed the international date line at some point and got off on the 18th. So, I tried to take a picture at a time when I thought most of the world was enjoying April 17th. This is what I saw when I was standing at the back of the plane looking towards the front - a bunch of video screens in an otherwise almost pitch black metal flying tube (as Tom likes to call planes.)

(PS - the flight actually was not bad at all, I pretty much slept for the most part and had a great exit row seat with lots of leg room so no complaints from me!)

April 16, 2011 - The Send Off

I'm heading to Australia(!!!) and most of my day was spent getting ready to go. Tom has been there for almost a week already, and we'll be spending almost two weeks there together - it is a very exciting vacation. But, this shot was from one point in the day as I scrambled around the house trying to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything and I got three sets of sad dog eyes. It made me feel soooo sad to leave them behind, but I told them I would miss them, to be good for our friend who is staying with them - and hopefully they'll forgive me when I bring them back a koala bear or something.

April 15, 2011 - Scratch Off Lady

I love scratch off lottery cards, but Tom won't let me buy them if we're together because he thinks I should do research first about which games actually still have the big prizes available. That makes sense (I guess) but it's not as much fun as just getting a card and hoping for the best.

I took this picture because the lady who was scratching off this card was so annoying on the train this morning. She made no effort to acknowledge the other people on a very crowded ride and spent a lot of time working her card (and bumping me in the process.) She didn't deserve to win anything.

April 14, 2011 - Beer Time

I don't drink beer very often, but I sure enjoyed this glass!

April 13, 2011 - Happy Wedding!

I passed this display on my way home from work... my hood is real brooklyn.

April 12, 2011 - Turkey Cuttin' Directions

I think the boneless turkey breast from Costco is a really good buy. It's relatively inexpensive, it's one of the healthiest things they sell, it can sit in the fridge for a long time, and it's already cooked so it's basically foolproof. And with the helpful cutting instructions on the back they've really gone the extra mile to make sure you don't screw this one up. (A sandwich would sure look ridiculous with turkey meat hanging over the edges, and imagine how humiliating it would be if I served Tom a delicious pre-cooked turkey dinner with the meat cut the wrong way!)

April 11, 2011 - Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

It must have been a busy day for Howard because he was exhausted. He was lying on the floor with his paws up in the air, so I couldn't resist putting hot dog baby on his chest to see if he would move. He didn't... until I added squirrel baby and a bone a few pictures later. (Yes - it's a rare 2 picture post!)

April 10, 2011 - We've Got An Explosion Here

Last week I posted a shot of one of the Forsythia's in our back yard, but I couldn't resist another - it's soooo pretty and crazy! All of the shoots coming out from the main plant are new this year, I'm amazed at how huge it is again after how much we cut it back last spring.

April 9, 2011 - Tilt-A-Pug

For anyone who doesn't know, talking. to. pugs. one. word. at. a. time. usually. results. in. some. good. head. tilting.

Not the best picture to showcase the phenomenon, but trust me - it's funny.

April 8, 2011 - Punishment

Huckleberry was naughty - he stole some food off my plate when I wasn't looking - so I took his doughnut baby away as punishment and put it out of his reach. He saw where I put it though, and kept trying to get it back. I finally gave in and returned it (with a very stern look of course.)

April 7, 2011 - Stupid Fortunes

Tom and I ordered Chinese for dinner and this was my fortune - stupid! Not fair! The only strong and bitter words I generally have are in response to dumb fortunes like this... ones I like to think of as "lesson fortunes" - the kind I seem to get more often than not nowadays. Yuck.

When I was younger, I always got the "good" fortunes. The kind that promised eternal happiness, vast riches, dream fulfilling successes, you know the kind. My brother, though, always got the lesson fortunes like this one. Poor Steve - I thought it was funny back then, but now I understand how maddening it must have been for him (or maybe he is a more rational person than I am and simply didn't care.)

I don't know exactly when the tone of my fortunes switched, but I'm not making this up - there was definitely a change at some point. Luckily for me, I do have almost everything I could ever want or dream of - an incredible, loving partner, a great family, wonderful friends and model-looks (ha ha just wanted to see if you were still reading.) So maybe the real "lesson" (blech) is that I don't really need more good fortune... I'm pretty happy with what I've got already!

April 6, 2011 - A Special Love

It's no secret in our house that Huckleberry loves Tom the best. And I don't just mean Hucky sits next to Tom instead of me more often, I mean he lives and breathes for Tom. Am I jealous? Sometimes a little, but... I understand ;)!

April 5, 2011 - BBQ nite

I had barbecue at Brother Jimmy's in Union Square with my dear friend Lisa. She used to work for me, so the fact that she still wants to hang out is wonderful (Tom told me not to make her cry when I mentioned we were meeting for dinner ha ha.)

We decided to share something called "Jimmy's Pig Pick" since it was basically a sampler of 4 meats (oink!) We chose southern style ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken and brisket and they were duh-licious. The photo is actually a shot of their drink menu - and even though I didn't have the Sangria the little piggy is smiling about... I think I had the same look on my face after I was done eating!

April 4, 2011 - New Toy Happy Time

I got a few new toys for the dogs (because they don't have nearly enough,) and Howard loved the one I especially picked out for him.

April 3, 2011 - Fun Potato Chips

I was at a bar for a friend's birthday and these chips were on sale... they were really spicy and delicious! And - there's a story that goes along with them. Here's what was on the back of the bag:

"Get too close to Mama Zuma and you will get burned. This woman is determined to scorch everyone in her path. Mama Zuma's weapons are the hottest jalepeño and habanero peppers this side of the Rio Grande. Since she lost the love of her life in a bizarre and tragic potato peeler accident, Mama Zuma has been hell bent on burning every mouth she kisses with her special brand of passion."

April 2, 2011 - We're Bustin' With Forsythia

Ooh! Our forsythia started getting really pretty which means Spring is here! Last year we cut it way back and it has completely grown back to towering heights again.

April 1, 2011 - The Last Cupcake

An email went out to everyone letting them know a box of mini-cupcakes was delivered to the office... this is was what I found about 5 minutes later.

March 31, 2011 - Subway Feets

I was on the train and figured I might as well take a picture of something in case I didn't take any more pictures later. Guess what...

March 30, 2011 - Sleeping Beauty

Sweet Foxy!