Summer Lovin'

Thank you Eva - best mother-in-law around! Probaby my one and only fan, but quite encouraging. If nothing else, at least I'll be writing for your viewing pleasure:)

You'll never guess who I brushed shoulders with. Never!

Yesterday I went to the Melbourne Cup races. It's similar to the Kentucky Derby, but the entire city of Melbourne has it as a public holiday. I ventured to the races with three girlfriends, all dolled up in dresses and fascinators. It is a very fun event. The day usually starts off really classy and fun. By the end of the event, which is not even 4pm, boys are being loud and obnoxious and the girls are walking through the city barefoot as their heels hurt their feet. It's a good spectator sport, the races. I like to judge the girls' dresses. I of course, hold it together and do not get wasted walking barefoot through the city.

Anyway, I bet on some horses, but didn't win any of the races. It's quite a thrill being there, waiting an hour between each race. Sitting on a picnic blanket, nibbling on some snacks while drinking champagne. It is packed though, thousands and thousands of people. The actual race itself lasts 3 minutes maximum, but the cheering that goes along with it is exhilerating. You sit around for an hour enjoying the food and drink, then for 3 minutes you stand up, look at the screen because there are thousands of people in front of you and you can't see over them to get an actual view of the horses, and people are just screaming! Rooting for the horse they bet on to come in first place. There were 7 races in total this day that I saw.

So after the races we went to the L'Oreal tent which gives people a quick makeover and a goodybag. When we walked away from that tent, I brushed shoulders with...drum roll please....Sandy from Grease!!!!!! Olivia Newton John!

I wanted to breakout into song and dance of Grease Lightning right there in front of her, all my friends and the rest of Melbourne. But something came over me and I smiled instead. I didn't want to embarrass myself at such a classy event.

It was more exciting that it was Sandy from Grease than Olivia Newton John. She had performed a couple of songs earlier in the day - nothing to write home about. I don't like her music. But I do LOVE her in Grease! It was quite exciting. We get celebrities here in Australia too:)

And if we're being technical, it wasn't that I brushed shoulders with her. I brushed shoulders with the man standing next to her, but same difference when we're talking about celebrities. Needless to say, it was Sandy. It would have been nice if she had performed songs from Grease instead of the Australian National Anthem and even better yet if John Travolta showed up. But I guess you can't get everything you wish for.

Here's a picture of me and my girlfriends I went with. From left, me, Melati, Pretty and Asa.

Baseball

The Phillies are in the World Series!!!! You all know that right now. And by the time you read this, we should know the result of who wins.

So exciting! Go Phils. Poor Steve supports Philly teams for 30 years and they never succeed, then the Phils win last year and make it to the playoffs this year!

We do get to see it on the Internet. And by that I mean, we can see a digitally designed baseball figure, similar to Madden 2000 for Playstation, and updates on the score. Not exactly the same, but it gets us by while we're working and since the games are not aired here.

Franks and beans. Have you seen my baseball? - What movie is that quote from?
If you build it, they will come. - How about that movie?
Baseball movies.

Anyway, Game 6 tomorrow! Go Phils.

And we all know how Game 6 turned out. It was a great effort!

How many times...?

do you think I'll make a promise to myself to actually keep up with this thing? Can't answer that, sorry. Not sure.

Don't you think blogs are kind of self-centered and self-absorbed? For the person who is writing it? All I do is talk about myself. And post it on the Internet. And invite people to read it, saying "Listen to stories about me, let's talk about me." Oh well.

We haven't been on many trips lately, so not too much to blog about, although I think there are a ton of things I've kept out of this blog - not on purpose, maybe because of lack of creativity???

I recently saw Julie and Julia. Julie wrote a blog about cooking all 500+ recipes from Julia Child's cookbook. She had a purpose. She had something specific to write about.

I'll do a survey. And I think the response will be low seeing as it's been six months since my last post, so I'm not sure people even bother to look at this anymore. But when Steve and I are gray and old, we'll be able to read my random thoughts when I was 29 living in Australia. Right, anyway, what was my survey? I can't even remember! Oh, how many of you would like to read a blog from me daily, no matter what the content? Once I get some answers, then I'll decide if I'll do it:)

It is currently 1.51am on Saturday night/Sunday morning for me. Which means at home it is 11am Saturday. I CANNOT sleep! I've been trying for hours to go to sleep! I had Pepsi Max earlier tonight, probably not the best idea.

Steve is away hiking. He is finally getting out there hiking the way he likes to with a few friends. It only took him two years:) And in celebration of 'boys' weekend, I am having a 'girls' weekend! I did some shopping tonight, watched some chick flicks, am going to the spa tomorrow with a girlfriend, indulging in Twilight and then the cinema on Sunday and the races on Tuesday! How great is my life? Pretty great.

I quit my job. I did! Two weeks ago. I quit on a Monday and my boss asked me to rethink my job description. After much stress and little sleep (and Steve being the best supportive husband out there), I quit again on Friday. I have never slept so well! That's a lie, but it's been a relief. Why does work stress people out? Why are some people able to leave work at work? Why does the world turn round? What is art? Are we art? Is art art? Random quotes from movies.

I guess that's it. Nothing to report - thus the lack of blogs.

We are coming home in less than two months though. That is exciting. We will be home for Christmas. It should actually feel like Christmas since it will most likely be cold out. It is dead hot summer here during Christmas, so it doesn't feel like the holiday season.

Hope you are all well and smiling! Can't wait to see you.

Love Always,
Kate

PS I'm taking requests for blog topics!

Appreciate What You Have

Okay, it's come to my attention that there are some unfriendly visitors that have been slowly hanging around me more and more.

I've always thought these unwanted guests would eventually visit, I just never thought so soon. I mean, come on! Why are they bothering me? I've never asked them here. Why show up unannounced or uninvited?

Because they can. I guess that's all there is to it.

Years and years ago, I remember being singled out in Kindergarden for having red hair. My teacher was trying to explain Martin Luther King Day to the class. Her analogy went something like this, 'What happened to black people is like me telling Kathleen she must eat her lunch in the bathroom because she has red hair.' I'm 99% sure this happened because from that day forward, I used to count how many people in my class had red hair.

In my grade school I would count how many people in my class had red hair. There was never anyone new! When I counted on Friday that there were 2 people having red hair, it didn't change by Monday morning, or the next week or the next fall or the entire time we were in grade school.

Strangers would stop my mom to talk to her about my hair. Even as I grew up, strangers would stop me to say they liked my hair, hair dressers would always say 'People would die to have your hair' or 'People pay to have that color.'

In junior high my face used to turn bright red for pretty much any reason (well, it still does) and my Social Studies teacher who was the funniest teacher I've ever had used to call me a chameleon because I was able to change the color of my face to match my hair. When i think about it now, it was pretty ingenious, and very funny.

And of course there is the story of when I got on the bus in 1st grade and another little girl called me Carrot Top. I, of course, had no comeback. I went home and asked my brother Brian what I should say to her. He said, "You go back on that bus tomorrow and say, 'you know what Christina? The top of a carrot is green!'" I was so excited. This was going to be the best comeback ever! Seven years old and I have something cool and witty to say back and I know it's cool and witty because my cooler older brother told me what to say. I was praying Christina would be on the bus that next morning. Please, please, please! I thought to myself, 'Play it cool. Don't seem too anxious.' My heart was pounding, I felt my hands sweaty and my face hot. I stood next to her seat and said, 'You know what Christina? The top of a carrot is green.' I waited there for her response. After a bit she replied, 'No, your top is carrot-colored.' WHAT?!?!?!?!!? What happened to my comeback? I hadn't thought to ask Brian what to say if she had something else to say. But I had nothing. Defeated, I sat down.

All of this attention and people noticing my red hair made me self-conscious. I don't want to make it seem that I hated myself. It was just what I was self-conscious about as a child, just like we all have something. I used to hate it. Why did I have red hair? Why couldn't I have blonde or brown hair? Why did people always have to say something to me. Why would people pay for this color or better yet, why would they die for it? I just didn't get it.

Now, it is present day, no longer worrying about comebacks to 'carrot top' or being afraid of being called chameleon, or being weirded out by strangers talking to me about it. It's present day, and I have red hair that I actually love! I went from hating it mostly in gradeschool. Being 'okay' with it in high school and college to LOVING it now. That probably sounds so self-involved.

That is, until the unwanted visitors have been frequenting my hair more days than I'd like. At first it was one. And small, and able to be hidden under my bangs. But then there was another one. And I never pulled it out dammit! That rule where if you pull out one and four come to it's funeral? It didn't matter because it's stupid friend came to visit anyway! The unwanted guests? Gray hair. Way too many of them. I believe I am up to 7 near my forehead. I know it sounds ridiculous. But it took me a long time to enjoy my hair.

I'm finally here and the grays are starting to come in. It is a slow growth (knock on wood), but it has truly given me the opportunity to love my hair more. There will be a time that I'm going to go gray, completely, so I will be happy when I look back and know that when my hair was red, I loved it, I realised it made me - me and I appreciated while I had it. Let's just hope that the red sticks around for decades longer.