No more vegemite?

On October 22nd the Herald Sun reported that the US had banned the import of vegemite and were even going so far as to confiscate jars of vegemite from people clearing customs! The reason for this, apparently, is because vegemite is deemed illegal under the US food laws due to the presence of folate, which can technically only be present in breads and cereal. According to Gordon they should ban it due to its disgusting smell and consistency...

Imagine the outrage of all the true blue Aussie expats in the US, knowing that the half-finished jar of vegemite in their fridge would be their last for a while... a friend of mine offered to smuggle some in for her husband, I have a few thoughts on how you could conceal it but please I don't really want to go there...

But good news, it was all a hoax! The story has been de-bunked here.

I might have some toast with vegemite tonight (sorry Gordon).

The Happy Little Vegemite Song

We are happy little Vegemites as bright as bright can be,

We all enjoy our Vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea,

Our mummy says we're growing stronger every single week,

Because we love our Vegemite,

We all adore our Vegemite,

It puts a rose in every cheek!

Neil Goldberg's Cirque

A friend of ours invited us to his company's corporate entertainment at their recent 3-day conference in Austin. The show was "Neil Goldberg's Cirque". It's a slightly less polished and less glitzy version of Cirque de Soleil. It was interesting to see them make use of the limited space in the Hilton ballroom and it was an enjoyable performance.

But... a standing ovation? The one thing that continues to puzzle me is that every show I attend (musicals, plays, you name it) receives a standing ovation. Every show. It's ridiculous. What happened to reserving a standing ovation for a really incredible performance? Or is American theatre really just that good?

Laziness

Okay, so I've been lazy of late. Not just with my blog posts either!

I have definitely been taking advantage of my month of relaxation prior to starting Ironman training on November 1st. All I've been doing is a handful of running, a bit of swimming, holidaying in Australia, sleeping in, catching up with friends, going out for dinner, seeing shows, sleeping in, drinking wine... some days I wonder if I ever want to start up the training again! But I have noticed the past few days that I've begun to feel a bit too energetic and I've actually started to want to go out and do some exercise! I guess it's my body's way of telling me to stop being such a lazy bum and start training again. But I know that I've needed the month off and now I'm heading into Ironman training with a healthy mind, body, and attitude.

Should I be worried that our training officially starts on the Day of the Dead?

Soulless

I think my soul is still floating over the Pacific somewhere.

"She knows, now, absolutely, hearing the white noise that is London, that Damien's theory of jet lag is correct: that her mortal soul is leagues behind her, being reeled in on some ghostly umbilical down the vanished wake of the plane that brought her here, hundreds of thousands of feet above the Atlantic. Souls can't move that quickly, and are left behind, and must be awaited, upon arrival, like lost luggage."*

Okay, so I flew over the Pacific and I'm not in London... but I hope it returns soon coz this little Aussie needs a decent night's sleep!

*From the book "Pattern Recognition" by William GIbson

I'm baaack!

I know, I know, I haven't posted for ages... but I have a good excuse. I was in Australia on holiday for the past couple of weeks! Yes, I had access to a computer, and yes, I could have blogged, but it was rather nice to have a couple of weeks away from a computer.

The trip was fantastic. I had such a great time. Most of it was spent with the family preparing for, and then attending, my sister's wedding. The wedding was just gorgeous - beautiful weather, beautiful location, beautiful ceremony, a beautiful couple, and just a fantastic day all around. It was a Friday lunchtime ceremony and afternoon reception, then we all went out in the city Friday night to continue the celebrations (even Kate and Tim joined us!). After the wedding we spent a couple of days in Clare Valley with Paul and Julie, doing some wine tasting and a lot of relaxing. We bought some yummy wine but we won't be able to drink it until next time we visit Australia... but at least it will have a chance to age and therefore taste even better!

I'm feeling a little homesick at the moment. I always feel this way after leaving Australia. I hate saying goodbye! Especially to my family and close friends Paul and Julie (who I've known for so long that they feel like family!). But that is how it will be for a while until we bite the bullet and decide to move to Australia...

I'll post a link to some photos just as soon as Gordon has them ready for viewing!