Last Post of the Year!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!! Merrick and I went to a little town about 1 1/2 hours north of Perth.  Lancelin is one of the windiest places I have ever been in my entire life! The winds were so bad that it was so difficult for us to set our camp up. We probably had about 5 other groups camping around us and no one wanted to help.  The only help we got was from a guy named Ray who came over and just handed us a hammer and walked away.  We thought we were going to be camping on the beach, but it was too windy we went and stayed at a caravan park and camped near the beach.  We were basically in a redneck parking lot.  I didn't fit in.

After getting set up we just sat around, ate a lot of food, drank beer, and walked on the beach.  It was really relaxing and good to just get out of the city for a little bit.  It never really felt like Christmas.  Everyone that was camping out didn't seem excited about Christmas.  We were on the phone with family  listening to the kids opening presents, sending pictures back and forth, and just trying to be apart of Christmas.  We got pretty homesick while we were out there and were planning a trip home and talking about when we would be heading back. We can't wait to be back and see everyone!!

We were going to stay three nights, but it was just so windy and hot we just came home the day after Christmas and relaxed at the house.  All in all a great, relaxing Christmas.

Our Christmas presents to each other is going to SE Asia!!  We bought our tickets about a month ago and we leave in 2 weeks!  Our first destination is Singapore for a couple of days, then we'll catch a flight to Bangkok and then start the backpacking all over SE Asia.  We don't have anything set in stone. We are just going to go with the wind and see where it takes us!! We are super excited and I can't wait to go shopping!!

Hey guys it's Merrick again....everything is still going great as far as im concerned.  I wish you guys could have seen pam putting up that tent with me, a complete animal.  We are definitely ready for some vacation time and really missed everyone over the holidays.  Congrats to the Dumits on having the baby and we will see all you guys soon.  Love and miss all of you! - Merrick

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Years!!

Us and Linda

We tried not to look like we were together. Didn't work.

We've been on a roller coaster since Matt arrived here in Perth.  Hence, the long delay on updating the blog.  I loved seeing Merrick and Matt interacting with each other.  They talk in weird voices, sing conversations to each other, fight, and just stare at each other and know what the other is thinking.  It's really fun to watch.  I felt like Mommy Pam a couple of times.  Boys are messy and stink.  It was like I had to babysit them and make sure they brushed their teeth and wiped their butts. Haha! Merrick was really busy when we got back from Bali, so Matt and I became pretty close buds.  We would tag team on Merrick when he got home from work and if you guys know Merrick, he was jealous of our relationship.

Tequila. Woof.

When got back from Bali, all I could say to sum up the trip was "First Week 2011".  We basically got there and just started destroying our bodies with a bunch of young Australians. We thought shots were a good idea on a daily basis. They weren't.

**On a side note, when we did the reservations for the hotel we requested two double beds.  When we were checking in we asked again did we have two double beds.  He said, "Yes sir, two dubba beds."  We get to our room and see a huge california king and to the side of that a little baby cot.  Matt was not happy.  Merrick and I of course couldn't stop laughing.

When I would get up in the mornings, Merrick was to my left and Matt was to the left of him. Matt felt lonely in the little baby cot. So, basically the remaining of time we were there we all enjoyed that california king.

View from the bar.

The weather was so hot that the most enjoyable time we had was in the infinity pool with the swim up bar (the two request Merrick and Matt had).  We met a lot of random people just sitting there all day.  We went out with some people from there a couple of nights and those nights consisted of Karaoke and dancing...a lot of dancing. I have video of all events.  When I can figure out how to upload them to my mac i'll upload a few goodies!

The beers were so cheap and the food was so good! We would go out to eat at some local stalls and for all three of us to eat and put down a good many beers cost us about $25AUD.  I got my nails done and it cost me $4AUD!

Becky the Bat

Merrick and I actually did go explore one day.  We took a tour of the ancient temples and went to the Monkey Forest.  I figured these monkeys would be cute and let you touch them and basically pick them up.  We were wrong.  Those things are evil!!  I have never seen someone so scared in their lives until I saw Merrick get jumped by one.  He was so scared our little 4'10 Indonesian tour guide didn't know what to do but grab her slipper and whack that monkey off Merrick!  After the attack, Merrick thought it was a good idea to hold Becky the Bat.  Becky wasn't the prettiest thing I've seen.

But all in all, the trip was great.  A little too touristy for Merrick and I, but it's only a 3 hour flight so we will be there again soon for a more relaxing trip.

Night out at Havana.

Anyhow, while Matt was here we went to some of our favorite pubs, the beach, racecourse, and Matt and I had an adventure to no mans land to get to a Koala Wildlife Park.  Long story short a train ride that was supposed to take 45 minutes took Matt and I two hours!  We witnessed a domestic dispute between a couple and mother, daughter, and baby.  And when we got off the train we had to venture out another 30 minutes to get to this place by walking through the bush.  Never again. But it made Matt and I a lot closer.

This past weekend before Matt left, we had people over here that are actually from Greenville.  Proves how Greenville runs the world! We had a great time with them!  We had a little cookout and it felt good for once that no one was making fun of us saying "y'all".  We got to talk about who knew who, Clemson tailgating, Panthers, Quaker Steak, and etc. We are meeting up soon to put on a Low Country Boil for our Aussie friends! 

Before going to the race track.

Other than that, we haven't been up to much.  Merrick misses Matt and wants him to come back.  It was really cute seeing them say bye to each other at the airport.  It was like sending our child back to College.  We hope to meet up with him again soon!! Next on the agenda is planning our South East Asia trip for mid January.  Trying to figure out where to go and what all we want to see in 3 1/2 weeks is tough.  Hopefully we'll figure it out! And after we get back from there we will be waiting on our second visitor...LACEY HENNESSEY!! She just got her trip approved and we'll start planning with her when we get back from SE Asia!  There are some other visitors that are talking about coming out and THEY BETTER (Jane and Charlie Morrow)!

Love you all!  Merrick will chime in on the next one, he is currently out getting our ipad!!!!

Couch Monkey

Hi Friends!!

The weather is getting warmer and Merrick is turning into a trendy monkey.  He loves his colorful v-necks, white slip-ons, and shorter shorts.  He's also ordered new shades and getting buffer by the minute.  Can't wait till you guys see pictures of this new man! :)

Besides the weather, Merrick and I have been quite busy with the friend making business.  We have been getting calls left and right asking if we want to do stuff!  We've actually had to say no a few times with conflicts! It's pretty nice.

Peter and his wife Catherine our age and just got married a few months ago.  They've recently moved here as well and don't have many friends so we've kinda attached to each other.  Merrick met Peter at one of the hospitals he's at, he does something that pertains to the heart so they had some stuff in common.  We've gone out with them a couple of times and are doing something with them on Thursday!

Next is Ricky Rat and Sludge, they are a little older than us, but AWESOME!  We met them through our other good friends Mike and Stacey.  They are old school, so they love going to indie bars, being on the boat, and just having people over for drinks and dinner.  Ricky Rat and I have bonded and he is going to take me out fishing and crabbing in the next few weeks!  You guys know how much I love fishing!!  Which reminds me, I need to call Jane and ask her to send me her paper on "How to go Crabbing" and see if it's similar! :)

Also, we have some blind doubles coming up.  We are going to finally meet up with Merrick's friend Josh (we met from our 12K-he worked in Greenville). We are meeting up with them on Sunday and he has some other friends from Greenville that just moved out here.  So, we will see how that goes.

But other than that, I have been doing some girly stuff lately.  I had my photography classes that were amazing and will post some pictures of what i've learned later!!  And I also did a yoga challenge for charity this past weekend and did three hours of yoga.  It was fun, but a lot of downward dog.  Namaste.

Merrick on the other hand is just waiting on the arrival of Pete.  He will be here in 6 days!!  It sucks that he can't be here this weekend cause we have a fun one coming up! He gets here Monday afternoon and the first thing he wants us to do is take him to the mall.  I am going to have my hands full with these two.  From what Merrick is saying they are going to do makes me nervous.

Hope everyone is doing well!  I owe phone calls to a few of you and I promise I will call!! Love ya!

Side note: Kings of Leon are playing down the street from us Saturday and we're going!  I remember seeing them at the Music Farm in Charleston like 5-6 years ago. AND (drumroll) I am getting my boxes this week!!! I am one happy girl!

Hey guys its Merrick.  Yes we are starting to make a couple of friends and i cant wait for the concert and peter to arrive this weekend.  I am currently in the bed and want to go to sleep, so im gonna make this short and sweet.  Go Clemson, they are having a great year.  So if you are reading this Erin, we will be seeing you in a few weeks for the SC showdown.  Go Panthers, they are horrible but should be good in the next few years.  Miss you guys, i really cant think of anything to write so im going to bed.  Good night. ----  Merrick

Prince AXE

Hey there everybody!!!  I'm gonna get this thang kicked off the right way.  Pam has put me in charge of starting off the blog and i'm gonna try and kill it.  Our life has been pretty boring lately.  We have just been saving money for some of the traveling we are gonna be doing in the next few months, so basically we have been hitting up the gym a good bit lately.  I would like to inform you that we have officially met the smelliest person on the face of the earth.  He is about 5'2" and of indian/sri lankan ethnicity.  I have never experienced anything like this in my life, its seriously not even funny.  Watching Pam while he is in the gym is a sight to see.  He goes to one end of the gym, she goes to the other.  Its almost like he his chasing her with his stench.  We have appropriately nicknamed him "AXE" from the deodorant spray.  Probably should be more like "Garbage Pale Kid" or something racist, but sometimes names just stick.

The Queen of England and my favorite Prince Phillip arrived this afternoon in Perth.  They are so old and you can tell Prince Phillip has been taken orders from that old bag and has just completely given up on life. They are having some festivals in the middle of the city so we are gonna try and catch some of the festivities.  Also, friday night we are going to our first Aussie birthday party.  One of the guys I work with wives is celebrating at a BYO Thai restaurant.  So we are excited, i'm just hoping Pam can keep it together and not ruin this chance for us to make some best buds.  Lord knows she is the weak link in our socializing the past few attempts (i think we all know that is a joke).  Anyhow, love you guys and hope all is going well.  kiss kiss hug hug  ---- Merrick

I think Merrick tackled the main points.  The only other thing I could think of is that Australia officially does not care about Halloween and Thanksgiving.  I told Merrick I wanted to carve pumpkins and find a bar party to go so we could dress up.  Pumpkins they have here aren't that big and are like $8 bucks a kilo. No thanks to that.  And the only thing they have "Halloween" like is for little kids and their parents. So, if we were to dress up this year this is what we would of liked to be.  Merrick the sexy sailor and me the lovable  turkey! Great combination huh?

They don't have the Thanksgiving dinner essentials (cranberry sauce, stove top, pecan pie..etc) here either so we are just screwed when it comes to our favorite holidays.  We are going to try and have a Thanksgiving feast here before we leave for Bali.  It won't be the same as it is back home, but we'll just have to do!

On a good note, they love them some Christmas though, shops are already stocked full with Christmas stuff.  We will be having a beach and beer Christmas this year with Santa hats!

Travels

Hi Everyone!!

We got our tickets to Bali and we will be there November 23rd-28th!! We are so excited and can't wait to go!  It is exactly one month till Matt Park arrives and we can't wait till our travel partner comes!  Matt has requested that we take him shopping as soon as he gets here so that he can get his Bali attire.  In that attire, includes matching outfits for Merrick and Matt to sport while they go "clubbing".  I have seen some of the things Merrick is interested in and if it holds with Matt I think you guys will be really pleased.  But until then it will be a secret.

Things on the itinerary:

We are staying at the Ashton Kuta Hotel, which is in the middle of everything!  Merrick's only request with the hotel is that it had a swim up bar.  Wish is granted.  He thinks he's single and that the swim up bar is going to be where he picks up the ladies.  I'm letting the leash go on this ladies and I want to see what this little Panda bear can produce.  I am on the search for a little video camera to take with so that I am able to document what Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum do.

Some of the touristy things we want to do are: Turtle Island, Monkey Forest, explore the Temples, get Bintang tank tops, go to the water park, elephant ride, and maybe a little snorkeling.  The rest of the time we want to take advantage of the cheap alcohol and food!  Apparently their beer prices are between $1.00-$1.50 and the food is around $3.00-$5.00! I think we will definitely be abusing those!  Everyone I have talked to says that everything is dirt cheap.  You guys know I love dirt cheap so I will be coming back with a bunch of Christmas presents!

Other than that we have just been exploring Perth little by little.  We went to Fremantle (about 20 minutes away from our house) last weekend and went to the Little Creatures Brewery (local beer) and grabbed lunch and a few beers.  It's a really cool place and we will def take Matt there when he comes.  It's right on the water and it's HUGE! After we were there we walked around and went to their Farmers Market and grabbed a few things.  They have produce, seafood, cheeses, wines, free samples of salami (our fav), and other stuff.  It's always fun to go there a look around.

We are also waiting on Matt to get here to go to Margaret River.  I think I talked about this place before it has really cool hiking trails, caves, wineries and beaches.  We will take a weekend there after we get back from Bali.  While we have a third person here we will def take advantage of exploring!  We are going to take Matt to the horse track to bet on horses, casino, and I think we are going to see Foo Fighters at an outdoor arena as soon as we get back.  Merrick will have to work most of the time Matt is here so I am responsible for taking him around the city.  Knowing Matt he is going to just take charge and tell me where to go.

Cottesloe Beach

But for now, Merrick and I are just going to different beaches and seeing which one we like the best.  We love Trigg Beach!  It's like a miniature Great Ocean Road, but there are cute bars and restaurants. We also love Scarborough and Cottesloe beach.  Cottesloe was on the news the other day because a man was killed by a great white.  He was just swimming his usual morning route and BOOM, got eaten.  They said all they found of him was his speedos! Seriously! We went there all the time, but since then we have stayed at Scarborough.

Me, Emma, Nicola, & Victoria

I almost forgot!!  I am a world record holder! Yes, that's right I made a spot for myself in the history books!  My friend Victoria asked if I wanted to do Zumba for a spot in the Guinness World Record Book.  I said where do I sign up?!?! It was pretty cool. 1401 people doing Zumba for 30 minutes. Here is the video of the event! I was a Zumba Latina! :)
Zumba World Record!


Miss you guys dearly and will talk to y'all soon!

Swirls & Nuts

As most of you know, my cat of the last 20 years passed away on Tuesday.  He was having trouble standing up and his eyes were red.  My mom fed him and wrapped him in a towel and put him in his basket.  By the time she got home from work he was gone.  I of course found out on Facebook.  Merrick woke me up and straight up said, "Pam, Boots is dead." and then rolled over to go back to bed.  I looked at him and said you are kidding? He said,  "Nope,  he's dead."  I start crying and then say, "No more Boots?"  I knew he was close to death, but didn't think the day was ever going to come.  It came.  He is gone and when I come home I he won't be there.  He was a great cat.  I will miss him a lot!  I appreciate all the love on Facebook.  I didn't think Boots meant so much to people, but he did.  I love Trent's comment the most: "I only got the privilege to meet the little guy a couple of times and his breath alone gave me an ever-lasting memory.  A great feline in his own right.  He will be missed."

Well, on to other news...Merrick and I have another double date tomorrow with the people we met after our first run (the people who work for Fluor and know Mills).  We are finally on the same schedule and will meet for drinks tomorrow.  Josh texted Merrick after 3 weeks and asked if we wanted to meet, he's excited. We will see how it goes.  I will keep you guys posted!

(Merrick wants to chime in)

hey guys its merrick.  Pam has got really crazy, all she cares about is our tomato plants outside.  She is really great though, I cant believe how good of a cook she has become.  I know she hates me saying it, but the girl really has a talent.  She does homemade hummus, tazikiki, pickled peppers, and can cook up a storm! Its awesome!!!!  I really hope everyone will save up some $ and try and take advantage of our situation and come out here.  Its so much fun you cant believe it.  Im sure we will come home eventually, but right now we are just living it up.   besides that I have to be stupid....I walk around the house in my underwear and she hates it.  I keep hearing the same line "Merrick, put some pants on!" it really bothers me.  Love you all.  I hate pants.

He drives me nuts, but I love hims to pieces!  He is my skinny best friend.  I have been so proud of him with his weight loss and him building his "beach muscles".  He has been working really hard at the gym and you guys would be really proud of him. Wait till we head to Bali and you see his ultimate reveal! :)

On a sad note, my best friends will be united in Greenville this weekend for Erin's baby shower.  I will not be in attendance, but I will be there in spirit!  I love you ladies and I hope you all have fun!

East Coast Adventures and New Friends

Oh man, I did not know it has been that long since we have updated the blog!  Where to start?!?  Well, first off we just got back from a great week in Melbourne.  The city reminded me of a mix of San Francisco/Chicago.  This city is absolutely beautiful with so much to do!  The weather is unpredictable and I had to learn the hard way.  The forecast said high of 80F and by noon it was rainy and about 50F.  So, if you ever go, make sure to pack for all types of weather.  Merrick was there for training and he ended up having a lot of free time.  We went and did the Great Ocean Road which was one of the best road trips we have ever done in our lives!!  We stopped a lot along the way and saw some great sites.  First sight we saw was Bell's Beach where they filmed the movie Point Break.  This is Merrick and Ben Stoudenmire's favorite movie.  Merrick thinks he is Bode and Ben is War Child (Idiots, sorry he made me put this in...).  I have only seen bits and pieces of the movie.  So, he was a lot more excited than I was.  

(Merrick is home for lunch and wants to put in his two cents)

Hey guys, its me again, Merrick.  Yes, Bells Beach was really awesome.  My favorite part of the Great Ocean highway was watching Pam be an Asian Tourist with her camera the entire road trip.  It was hilarious, people thought I was her tour guide until they saw us kissing or holding hands, then they were really confused.  Like last time, everything is going great!  We are getting ready for Peter Park to come in a few months and saving some money for our next couple of trips (Bali and SE Asia).  I miss all you guys a lot and we will be doing Magic Jack phone calls sometime really soon.  Take care and talk to you all soon! And now back to Pam....

Look at what this tourist captured.

Leave it to Merrick to make fun of my ethnicity.  I hope none of you believe his ridiculous story.  He is just trying to take the attention off of himself for him looking like a fool.  The funny thing about this picture is that he was trying to take an "artsy" photo and had no idea that his huge crack was popping out! I took about five pictures of this and this was the gem of the bunch!  We had a great time doing the GOR.

Merrick's favorite alley way

We did a lot of walking around the city finding really cute alley ways of restaurants and bars. Our time in Melbourne consisted of a lot of sushi,  Irish bars, and graffiti alleys.  We also did a lot of window shopping.  Girls, this is the best shopping I have experienced in my life!! They are jammed packed with really cute boutiques!!  I had to keep the wallet locked up!

  We also met up with some of Merrick's co-workers Michael and his wife Stacey.  We really get along with them, he's from Texas so it feels good to talk to a fellow American.  Haha.  They have five kids together and are only 36 years old! We love them and they have been a huge help to us here!  Stacey is my absolute favorite person to talk to! She reminds me of Merrick's mom and sister. She is a trip!  We met up with Mike, Stacey, and the kids for Jackson's 5th birthday at a place called Outback Jack's.  As soon as we walked up the kids were everywhere and Stacey looked at me and said, "this can be you one day..." haha!  We were sitting there and I was holding 4 month old Charlotte and she was getting hungry so I passed her over the table to Stacey and Charlotte's little foot knocked over my beer which spilled all over Adelaide(3 years old) and she starts to cry, then Sydney(7 years old) comes along to comfort Adelaide and Mike picks up Adelaide and she accidentally kicks Sydney in the eye and she starts crying. All a while, Jackson is jumping in the booth with 2 steak knives in his hands and the older brother Hunter is chilling watching tv.  Phew, what a life!! Stacey got everyone under control in about 2.3 seconds.  She is super mom!!  It was a great time and Merrick and I will be holding off on children for a while.

Other than that, Merrick and I are waiting on the arrival of our first guest, Matt Pete!  He has sent us his itinerary and he will be here November 21st.  We are leaving for Bali the 23rd and going to celebrate Thanksgiving! This should be interesting.  I feel like I am going to have my hands full.  But, we'll see what happens.  I'll just be an Asian tourist and document everything!

We also had to say goodbye to some really good friends we made here, Natalie and Stu.  They stayed with us the week before they left and it was such a fun time.  We got really close to these crazy UK kids and we will miss them a lot.  We all went out to the casino on their last night in Perth and it was really interesting.  I met some new girls and I must say...I was totally out of my element.  It was fun getting to know these girls, but there wasn't any number exchanges.  

I'll keep up with the blog a little bit better, but a little reminder won't hurt!  Thanks Samantha!  Oh yeah, y'all inbox me on FB your addresses.  We are trying to get organized here for future plans!! :)

We miss you guys!!

Small World

Why is it that no matter where you go, you always find someone that lived in Greenville, South Carolina?

Merrick and I jumped on the bus to head back to downtown after the race and we were just sitting down having a normal conversation when all of a sudden some guy asks us if we were from South Carolina. We say yes, and the guy went on about how it felt good to hear a southern accent again.  We were just excited that we found another American! We start up conversation with Josh and his girlfriend Tarene and then Josh starts telling us that they work for Fluor and that he was stationed in Greenville for a while then Afghanistan, and now Perth. We get excited because he dropped the name Greenville.  We tell him that's where we are from and of course that's when we start talking about Chicora Alley, Oysters, Liberty, and Merrick had to mention The G-Spot and Corner Pocket.

I was wearing a Citadel hat and Josh started asking us if we knew a Mills Maxwell. Shit if I didn't see Merrick's eyes light up with excited screaming to Josh, "That's my best friend!!!" They then start dropping other Citadel names and they ended up knowing a lot of the same people.  Such a small world.  Merrick asked for Josh's number and said he would love to get together to watch sports. Josh was just as excited to talk sports knowing that the Aussies here don't care for American Football. Merrick is thrilled he made a new friend and doesn't want to rush things, so he said he is going to wait about 2 weeks then text him!

It made our day meeting them! It never gets old when you find someone who can talk with you about Greenville!

Here are some pictures from the race we took and our final times.  I am thrilled about my time! I remember when I ran the Cooper River Bridge run I ran a 10K in 1 hour and 20 minutes and I ran this 12K in 1 hour and 18 minutes!

Facebook and Driving

As all of you know by now....Merrick Cantrell is on Facebook.  These past few days I have been getting irritated with Merrick always on my name, "like"-ing my own status, pictures, posts, etc. and him saying nasty things to his friends, posting dumb videos from the 90's and asking people I don't know to be my friend.  Thanks to his good buddy Matt Pete who joined the other day, Merrick said he would do his own. I can now go back to "like"ing my own things! Haha

But, we have come to a problem in just a short amount of time.  Merrick has gotten big headed.  He has had over 30 friend requests (wonderful), people commenting on his wall (wonderful), and people messaging him (wonderful). That is the point of Facebook!  He is now saying it's his Facebook page and I am not allowed on it. Haha, can someone please talk some sense in to this man!??! He is crazy! What's mine is his and what's his is mine...right?

Oh, and he also wants to put "in a relationship" on there...I say no, is that bad?

Here is Merrick for the driving portion of this post: Take it away....

Hello again.  As we all know Pam is an awful asian driver.  At home i get nervous about her hitting a mailbox or sitting to close to the steering wheel.  Here she has an obscene obsession with trying to hit curbs.  There are a ton of roundabouts here and she cant resist hitting them in my car.  I have tried praying, keeping silent, and calmly telling her that curbs are not good for our automobile (none of these tactics have worked).  So i have resorted to the only thing that I believe will be beneficial in her "commonwealth driving education" I yell/scream at her with as many obscenities and course language as humanly possible.  Still she continues to barrel head first into these man made obstacles without a shread of worry.  So anyone that is reading this blog I am looking for another alternative, suggestions please...

I think I am a great driver and the fact that I just got in the car and started driving is a huge success! He has been getting on me for "hitting curbs" he hit one on the way to the park this afternoon! -Pam

❤ Starting to Feel Like Home ❤

So, I have been here for over a month now! It's crazy! It doesn't feel like I have been here that long! Merrick and I have been out and about running, fishing, meeting up with new friends, and enjoying some (finally) sun out in the backyard. We have been in the works for doing some traveling around Perth and I am pretty excited! We are heading to Margaret River (its really a beach community), which is about 3 hours South of Perth.  They have great hiking paths through caves, beautiful beaches, and our favorite...wineries! People usually camp out there, but the weather is so sketchy right now we might just stay in a hotel! Here is what we can expect! I'm excited!

Margaret River Beach

                            

Margaret River Caves

Margaret River Winery

Back to reality, we have been on the search for a gym and it has been a lot harder than we thought.  Everything has to be paid weekly and its like $40 a week. That's pricey!  Luckily, we found a gym down the street from us and since it's new we got so many discounts! So, we are paying $10 a week!  It's called, The Rise Community Center. There are basketball courts (Merrick has a bad ankle and it scares him to play), a library (I'm not a reader, but being able to check out books and cd's excites me), and other community classes we can take.  But here is a picture of the front of it. It's Huge!

A great side note, Merrick did a really sweet thing the other day.  He got me a 4-week photography course downtown! I start the beginning of September and can't wait!  It looks really cool and hopefully I can meet some more friends! It has different levels and this one will just teach me about editing and then I can advance to other classes!

Lastly, Merrick and I were on FB and he was commenting on how he will never be the guy that will take a thousand pictures.  Everyone knows how I love picture taking and since we have been dating my picture taking has gone through a huge decline.  I told him the other night that he needs to suck it up! I am a picture taker and I have a lot of pictures to take. Especially, since I am taking a photography class. He said he will try and step up to the plate, but I just couldn't make him look like a fool.  I agreed.

So, all in all we are happy and know we found a great place to live!  We have some great adventures planned and I am going to take the lessons i've learned in my photography class and take a million pictures of Merrick and I.  I'm sure he's excited about that!

the weekend

hey guys,

im sitting here trying to relax and pam "bothering me" thompson wants me to update the blog.  So here it is....We have had and interesting week here.  I had to work all weekend with people from my company coming into town for a huge exposition this weekend.  Friday night we went out for a bite to eat and drinks with my co-worker here in perth and a couple i also work with from sydney.  Pam enjoyed being able to hangout with some girls and listen to them call me a cheap ass all night.  So it has been brought to my attention that i am extremely greedy with my money (i think we all knew this before friday night so no hair of my ass).  Yesterday we went to our 1st Aussie BBQ, it was great they had burgers, brats, weiners, anitpasta salad, and there were about 10 children running around.  We were invited by another guy i work with that is from Texas working out here in Melbourne.  They have 5 kids so that would explain the obscene number of children running around.  Pam had a good many beers and was extremely funny.  we were told that she might be the only girl in the world that is brown/asian with a southern accent.  They loved her.  Anyhow, i hope everyone is doing great.  Love you guys and miss you guys!  Holler at your boi

Merrick over and out

Forgot about these hotties...

I totally forgot how much I enjoy Steve Guttenburg and Steve Martin!  I was telling Merrick last night how good looking these men are! Am I crazy?

New Friends

Merrick and I had a double date with Natalie and Stew from the UK.  We met them at Merrick's old apartment and he has kept in touch with them since i've been gone.  They are bouncing from one cool place to the next to live and travel.  They have been here for about 3 months now and are both working to save money to head to their next destination, Bali!!  So, these are friends we will have for about another month.


She and I have both been craving female companionship.  So, when we got together we were talking all girly stuff. It felt really good to actually talk to someone face to face about things Merrick would never care about!  We were comparing prices, talking about the Kardashians, places we should go shop together here, wanting to hold a Koala, and of course Geordie Shore (UK's Jersey Shore)!

Merrick has a male crush on Stew and tells him all the time he should be a model. They are complete opposites and it is hilarious to see how well they get along! They feed off each other and its very funny to watch. We struggle to understand each others accents some times, but it's cool to compare our cultures.

So, for our date with new friends, we did it simple. We ended up  eating some finger food, grilling out, drinking some wine, and playing card games.  It was funny when I started to play dress up with Natalie in my Braves gear.  I pulled my camera out and snapped this gem! We finished the night just hanging out and they spent the night to be on the safe side!

We had a great time and will be meeting up with them soon!

What is Melting Pot?

Okay, so Merrick and I have had an eventful week.  We have turned domesticated with our excitement for new recipes, date nights, and Jeopardy competitions.

It's gotten pretty intense where we have made rules for our Jeopardy nights.  I am known for just screaming out all kinds of words hoping one of the words I say is correct. So, Merrick put a smack down on that.  The last word that comes out of my mouth is my final answer.  When it comes to categories we know who is going to master what.  I am pretty good with brands, technology, and pictures.  Merrick is good with sports, geography, and history.  When it comes to categories like Presidents, Bible, and literature we say the same names...Obama, Bush, Clinton, David, Abraham, Jesus, and Shakespeare. We just know these are guaranteed answers! haha!

Anyhoo, the other night something great happened.  I killed Merrick 25-6 (would have been higher for Merrick but he got cocky with the daily doubles).  I think everything that I have ever learned in my life was in this one game of Jeopardy.  I was clearing categories. We are still in shock and just can't get over it.

Work, Running, and Lying

Here we go ladies and gents.  Pam is finally getting me to blog so im gonna tell you how everything has been going in Merrick's little world.  I am working all the time and things are finally starting to pick up with our clients here so that make me a happy little man.  My boss is this little Indian guy named Vijay Gupta.  I wish you all could see him, he is basically your typical broken english indian that loves Harry Potter.  We have been jogging a good bit lately getting ready for the 12K that my little angel mentioned previously.  I took her on a hour run the other day and on the completion on the jog i was completely cursed out, shes adorable.  Now on to my lying problem, i would like to hear your comments on why i lie... I was doing a sales call the other day and my customer asked how my girlfriend was doing getting settled here, so on and so forth.  I went on about a 10 minute tangent on how she gets up at 6 in the morning everyday and goes fishing by herself and how good she is at it, etc...the guy didnt even care, but for some reason i thought that he would be interested in hearing how good of a fisherwoman my girlfriend was.  I have no idea what i was thinking.  As soon as i left his office i just thought to myself,  how did all that shit come from my brain out of my mouth...Anyhow, whoever is reading this, love you guys, miss you guys.  Pam is making me cook dinner now so i have to get busy.  See ya later alligators

Gone Fishing

Merrick and I have been seeing a bunch of people fishing along the river lately.  So, we went to Kmart yesterday and got us some fishing rods and a little tackle box.  We figured it was simple. Get rods, get fish. Easy enough.

After about 3 hours of fishing, all we got were muddy shoes, mosquito bites, and an empty tackle box.  We had cut more fishing line than actually fished.  All we got from our first fishing experience were our new friends, ducks who were after our bread.

Merrick repairing my fishing line. 

While Merrick fixed the rods, I messed with the ducks.

We gave up fishing after they showed up.

First fishing trip...fail.

The positive part of our day was that we had found this guy named Robert who sells great seafood out of his trailer. He has been in business for 30 years! He had all kinds of people lined up!  He had some great specials and Merrick and I took advantage of his seafood. We got 2-kg of mussels, 1-kg of squid, and 1-kg of huge prawns!!

I've never cooked seafood before so I was nervous when Merrick said he wanted to do "Bonefish Mussels".  We love Bonefish mussels and their Bang Bang Shrimp! Here is my final product!

It actually turned out delicious! 

Enjoying the biggest mussel in the batch!

All gone!

My First Night Alone

Merrick is in sales and has to travel a good bit.  I was supposed to go with him to Sydney this weekend, but his company last minute decided to just do an over night trip. He left this afternoon and will be back late tomorrow night.  So, there was no point in me going if he was just going for a conference and that's it.

These are the beer of choice for tonight.

Right now, it's raining buckets outside and it's cold.  I had a plan to go on a run this afternoon and grab a drink down the street, but it's raining so bad I don't feel like it anymore. So, I'll just do it tomorrow if it doesn't rain.  Luckily,  I made Merrick stop by Liquor Land last night to get me a few beers and a bottle of Chardonnay. I am just going to cook me some dinner, watch a movie, and drink a a few by myself.

OH YEAH! I have a MagicJack (thanks dad!) so I can receive calls and call people with an United States phone number!! All for FREE! Merrick and I experimented with it the other day and talked with family.  Merrick and I got in the mood to do some prank calls too (can't tell you who we did it to because they are still on going). I then tried to prank call Erin because I know her number by heart and it didn't work out to well. Merrick is a lot better at it than me!  I'll call some people tonight! So, be prepared to talk! If you want here is our number: 1-954-353-6489

Cheers!

Mr. Johnnie Bats

Here is Mr. Johnnie Bats himself!

Merrick is currently involved in the Melville Fast Pitch Softball League.  Games are on Sundays and he seems to be really enjoying himself.  He actually shocked me this past Sunday.  He had some great hits and plays, hence the muddy uniform. His teammates are very supportive and really enjoy him as much as I do!  His teammates are all different races, ages, and sizes! Haha! There are some older Venezuelans, middle-aged Americans, and cuddly Australians.  Didn't see any girlfriends or wives at the game this past Sunday other than one little asian woman.  She didn't look really interested in talking to me so I snubbed her when we were talking to her boyfriend (a marine from Cali). I'll get some video of Merrick playing this Sunday and show you guys his skills!

Nice Little Surprise

We are in the middle of "winter" right now and instead of it being super cold and snowy it's been chilly with  intense monsoons! Merrick and I were trying to fit in our new running route in Kings Park yesterday and as soon as we got in the car it started pouring rain! After driving around for a little while this nice little surprise popped up!  I love seeing rainbows! 

House Pictures

We are renting from an older couple that is retired and traveling around the world.  The house is furnished a little old school, but the layout and size is incredible. The fact that we found a place that is fully furnished with EVERYTHING makes me happy.  We literally just have to bring our necessities and we are good to go!  Other places we looked at were super small, super expensive, and weren't fully equipped. We were going to go load up our place IKEA style and make it all different, but in the end its not worth it. More stuff to pack when we move. We are just going to collect cool things when we travel!

Here are the pictures!

This is the kitchen when you walk in the front door.

This is our living room. The windows along the wall overlook the city skyline.

This is the dining room.  Merrick and I have been using it as our desk.

This is the hallway to the bedrooms.

This is the extra bedroom. Whose going to be the first to sleep in it?!?!

This is my bathroom.

This is our room.  I want to make this a little more homey.

Our closet walking into Merrick bathroom.

The view as soon as you walk out on to the porch.

This is our porch (my favorite part of the house).

This is the back of the house.