Cornicopia of Goodness

Bring on Thanksgiving! I am now officially ready to celebrate my favorite holiday after coming home to a lovely brown box from Arlington, Texas sitting on my doorstep. I was giddy as I ripped open the box to find my treasures. Nestled against about 20 snack size boxes of Hot Tamales were the Thanksgiving must-haves you cannot get in Australia: cornbread mix, stuffing mix, and french fried onions. Yummy! Oh how I missed cornbread! The box also included a Texas Rangers American League Champions t-shirt (finally!), an order from Gap (despite what they say, I don't really think they ship internationally...), a new necklace (my mom has good taste), a Texas shaped cookie cutter (gotta represent), and a note scrawled by my Grandma Jackson. It was like heaven. THANK YOU, THANK YOU JGray Sr and Slick, you are way too good to me and I love you so much!

Beyonce and Kelly

My good mate (no, I am not Australian enough to say it, but I can type it), Amber Drew, turned the big 2-0 two weeks ago. Though I am late, I still wanted to comemorate her day of birth (in 1990! she is such a baby) with a list of 20 things I love about her!

What I Love About Amber Drew:

1. She loves the Ninja Turtles more than anything else.

2. She practically lives at my flat.

3. She would marry Jack Johnson in a heartbeat.

4. Her family talks about poo and farts at the dinner table.

5. She has seen a grand total of five movies in her life: Shrek, The Mask, Mean Girls, Baby Mama, and Into the Wild (I'm working in this one, don't worry).

6. She moved 12 hours away from her family and home to do STAMP (Short Term Australian Missions Program) and learn more about God and serving others.

7. She has been to the great state of Texas, and knows the beauty that is Sonic.

8. She lets me tag along on family holidays to Tasmania.

9. She has a small crush on Tina Fey, and can't stop quoting her movies.

10. She is a talented guitar player.

11. She rides shot gun in my car, and is starting to like Lady Antebellum.

12. She hates to make decisions...about anything.

13. Her guilty pleasure is Destiny's Child.

14. She is a great listener, but also tells me when I need to get over something.

15. She challenges me to be a better person and to live more like JC.

16. She is a proud owner of Toms Shoes.

17. She dreams big in terms of what the Kingdom can and will do in Australia.

18. She makes a mean lasagna.

19. She forces me to experience Australian traditions like ANZAC Day Dawn Services.

20. She keeps me up all night long laughing so hard, I almost cry.

My favorite moments with Amba:
Amber's parents and she stayed at my house when they were visiting Amber in June. We had so much fun sharing my flat and seeing the sights on the Central Coast.

We do this everyday.

Beyonce and Kelly

Driving two hours to Campbelltown and two hours back in one night.
My first rugby game, supporting the Sydney Roosters.

Going to a million camps together.

Freezing our tushies at the Mariners Game.

Still Learning

"Miss Jenny, I need a rubber!"
I heard this phrase today while helping with first grade math groups at a local primary school. My first thought was, "WHAT?!?!" Then, I remembered that Australians call pencil erasers rubbers, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Although I've been living in Australia for over a year and am pretty fluent in Aussie-talk, sometimes I get caught off guard. Living in a different culture is definitely a learning process, and no one ever has it all figured out. Thanks to my six little first grade angels for reminding me of that today.