Random Tuesday Thoughts - Toddlers, Islands, and Life Down Under

Madden has taken to going through our basket of laundry and placing various items throughout the house. Eric was home and heard the TV turn on. He walked into the living room to find Madden sitting up on the couch, remote control in hand, and wearing a pair of my underwear on her head.
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Today we went to a street festival in St. Kilda. It was no place for a couple with a toddler. It would have been perfect if we were in our early 20’s and with a group of friends. The heat, the crowds, dodging people with our stroller...ugh. I guess it was just time to learn this valuable lesson. Next time we hang out in the “family friendly” area only or we stay home.
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It’s Olympic season. Hooray! I love the WINTER Olympics. We are once again getting the full Australian coverage and I’m looking forward to the “Gold’s per Capita” rating that they did last time. On the coverage tonight, they described one particular American as a “good, knockabout bloke…nice guy that could pass for an Aussie.”
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Why is meat from small animals called by the name of the animal and yet meat from large animals is called by something completely different. Example Chicken=chicken, and Pig = pork or ham or bacon. I really do want to know the reason for this. Oh, and what determines small animal vs. large animal. Goat meat is from goats, but no one ever declares they saw venison leaping through the forest.
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I went to a week long work conference that was held on Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays. It was the most magical setting and the most beautiful place I’ve seen in Australia. If the Boundary Waters could have hotels, it MAY rival this location. The Island is PRIVATELY owned and it felt like a cross between Fantasy Island and the Twilight Zone.
(This is the view from my hotel room - photo taken by my mobile phone...)



We had this crazy team building exercise where we all got in golf carts and raced around the island in a scavenger hunt. I can’t believe they let us do it and I can’t believe no one was hurt. One person did get a speeding ticket and another did manage to do a 360 in the cart. The meeting was great despite the fact that we couldn’t swim in the water due to poisonous jellyfish and we were on the outskirts of a mid summer typhoon.
That’s so Australia – always something life threatening hiding around the corner.
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Out baby is growing up. 16 months. She runs, she doesn’t take a bottle anymore, she eats more for breakfast than Eric and I combined, and she has launched herself into the world of mini tantrums. When we take something away from her, she will sob in betrayal and throw herself onto the floor in protest. At this point, it’s actually kind of cute. Yeah, I know it will get old – but for now, it just signifies that she is truly entering toddlerhood.
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Eric is sitting on the couch watching “The New Poseidon Adventure” staring Steve Guttenberg. Seriously Eric, please.
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Some of the hospital staff that I work with were clearing out a closet and they professed that they found a genuine sleigh. I went to have a look at it and laughed a bit to see a wooden decorative sled. They were proud of themselves for finding it and all talked about taking it to the mountains to go sledding in the wintertime. I tried to explain that it would probably not give them much satisfaction. They all seemed a bit bewildered as to why it wouldn’t work – ah, the innocence of those from a sun baked country.



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It’s Cricket season here. Mind you, not the chirping bug, but the sporting event where they dress in white and try to take out each others wickets. We’ve tried to watch Cricket but we can honestly say there is probably no more boring sport ever invented. This makes watching TV golf look exciting. There is a great line from the show The West Wing where President Bartlett states, “I’m an intelligent man Charlie, but when someone tries to explain the rules of cricket I just want to hit them with a bat.”
Amen to that.