Julie's Blog

For Steve (and for anyone else who cares), I did eventually leave Australia. I spent two weeks there -- exploring gorgeous Sydney, snorkeling and diving in the Great Barrier Reef and finally visiting the great rock: Uluru. I went to Greece in the fall of 2006, which was also nice. That was it for last year.

So now I'd like to share a picture from my current trip. This is me laying on the [fake, resort] beach in Cozumel yesterday:

The island is beautiful. When I lay on the beach, it's almost as though both of my legs are working as they should. :-) I've truly enjoyed this time to relax and heal.

Maybe there will be another post later. But maybe not. Good night for now.

Arrived in Australia early yesterday morning -- VERY early yesterday morning, about 2 hours earlier than I thought I would arrive. Why? because of the time change the difference between SF and Sydney is no longer 19 hours, but 17! I made it through customs (though almost had my Corn Nuts taken away because of the quarantine), picked up a local SIM card, and grabbed a taxi into the city.

I was greeted by my friend, Craig, and then met up with Rosa and Tom. We spent the morning and early afternoon around Bondi Beach, which had the most beautiful water I've ever seen:



We grabbed breakfast/lunch (during which it was sunny, and then it rained, and then it was sunny, and then it rained... you get the idea, Sydney weather is weird) and then in the afternoon we headed back to city to climb the Harbor Bridge. It was AWESOME.


After the climb, we joined in the Anzac Day festivities by grabbing drinks at Lord Nelson's, Sydney's oldest hotel. I was initally confused by the masses of people hanging around in front of hotels with beers, but eventually I learned that not all the time, but a LOT of the time, hotel is Australian for pub. :) (fyi - just to be confusing, a Park Hyatt is also a hotel.) We wrapped things up with dinner at a little Italian place, where jetlag finally got the best of me and I mistook salt for parmesan cheese... let's just say it didn't complement the pizza very well. That was pretty much it for my first day, more stories to come soon. Really, I mean it this time!

I like fall. Well, generally speaking I do. I like how it looks. It's funny to me that such a cold time accompanies such a warm rush of colors into the world around me. Okay, so it's not actually that cold, but I was raised in Southern California so give me a break. I'm more of a sundress & tank top kind of girl than sweaters & pants, oh well. And wasn't it summer like two weeks ago? Anyone else remember that? I don't get it. So what IS my favorite thing about fall? The sounds.

I'd like to propose that fall is the best sounding season of the year. You think I'm nuts? Think about it. Just take a moment and listen to the sounds of fall. It's the sound of itty, bitty little raindrops gently tapping on the roof and the window. It's the sound of the big, grown-up raindrops pounding on whatever they feel like. It's the sound of the wind running through the trees and rustling the leaves and then yanking them off their branches. And then it's the wind bullying all the leaves that just fell on the ground and making them dance all around again. (BTW, this is way better than the plastic bag in American Beauty.) Okay, but the really, really, best sound of all of fall? I like the sound of leaves crunching under my feet. Yes, I'll admit it, I will go out of my way to step on a leaf that looks like it might make a good crunch. :-) Try it. You might like it. Definitely don't knock it until you have. It's sorta distracting and relaxing to make the crunch, crunch, crunch. It provides purpose and meaning to each footfall... really. I introduced the concept to my kids (by which of course I mean Cal, Anders and Liv, the 3 kids I used to nanny for), and now the older two will go out of their way to crunch leaves for me: "Jules, did you hear it? I crunched a leaf for you! It's your favorite noise!" Oh yeah, the other thing I love about fall. It's the perfect excuse to stay inside and be all warm and cuddly by a fire. I love my new job, but I have to admit that I miss the unlimited supply of love and hugs that came with my old one.

Enjoy the sounds. Enjoy the season... Happy Fall.

I'm in Paris! It's wonderful, but things take a long time to type out.
So far I've been to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Musee D'Orsay...
more info coming soon!

At Jon's suggestion, I've begun a blog. This will benefit me in several ways:

1. My name will finally link to something on the Goatland blog.
2. I can post funny, random stories about lots of things even if they're really long and don't fit in an AIM away message or profile.
3. Also, I can complain about things that suck... like the weather in Northern California.
4. In about two weeks, I can brag about what a fabulous time I am having in France. Oui!

That is all for tonight. Yay blog!

My best nanny idea ever?
Taking my kids fountain hopping.

Bookstore Employee: "How are you?"
Me: "Good, thanks."
Bookstore Employee: "umm... are those kids yours?"
Me: "No. I'm their nanny."
Bookstore Employee: "Oh good, because i was thinking, whoa, she looks young."

Dude at Tresidder: "Miss, I just want to confirm what I'm sure you already know. [pause] You have beautiful children."
Me: "Actually, I'm their nanny."
Dude: "Well, you've done a beautiful job with them."
Me: "Uh, thanks."

Neilykins: "J.To, what are you doing here?"
Me: "I'm working." [On cue, Liv and Anderson beginning running in circles around us.]
Neilykins: "Oh, i see. You're at WORK. Jules, this is the most entertaining moment of my entire day." [Liv and Anderson pause, then resume running circles in the opposite direction.]
Me: "Yep, this is work every day."