Friday, March 13, 2009

The Beauty and Awe

We're going to have to move. We've got until December, but may move before then due to our next door neighbors construction which appears to have no end in sight. The fumes, noise, and inconsiderate jackass construction workers have made living here a real freaking challenge. The problem is, where do you go after this?

CIMG7329 by you.
Yeah, it's sweet ass, I know.

This photo was taken from an open window in an apartment I looked at yesterday which overlooked our current hood.

Every time I leave the house I marvel at the beauty.

This is why, now that my homesickness has subsided, I can't help but enjoy it here. Sure, I have my bad days, but they're probably due more to having four and five year old boys who only listen when I give them cookies, than being in Australia.



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29 comments:

GRIT AND GLAMOUR said...

FL Girl...

Your blog has been so helpful to me...I only wish that I had read it a couple months ago instead! I hope that once I get my visa situation worked out, I can come to terms with Oz like you have. It is beautiful, it's just sooooo different from the U.S. But I have hopes that one day I'll love it just the same.

Laura said...

V- Who you be? Are you gritty glamorous Veronica?

GRIT AND GLAMOUR said...

Yes, that's me...gritty glam Veronica!

Laura said...

V- You need to put your website on your profile here, it comes up as wanting to be anonymous. I like your blog and hope next time you're in these parts you'll email me!

GRIT AND GLAMOUR said...

I've moved my blog over to On Sugar, I think that's why.

Glad you like my blog...thank you very much. I hope to be back in Oz within a few weeks, and I will absolutely look you up!

Laura said...

V- Aren't you here? Are you in the U.S. visiting?

traceyleigh said...

I'm glad you're becoming more settled here. LOVE that view. Just divine. Bummer about having to move but there is always something exciting about moving and possibly ending up with a view like that!!!

Erin Maggie said...

Laura, I'll be sad to see you leave your current abode. It is beautiful. But I can understand your frustrations. I seriously would stay right in the area you are in. Soak up the sights of Sydney! I am SO glad you aren't homesick anymore. That is great. I think you might be a little bit more Aussie than you think! ;-)

Oh and now you've got my curiosity, where is this great blog by Veronica. I want, I want. :-)

Laura said...

tracey- Yeah, too bad apartments usually don't have yards! I think we've decided we have to let the boys have a yard or they may go crazy.

Erin- She's on my expat blogroll -- her blog is called Grit and Glamour.
Can you do lunch Tuesday? I have to come your way.

GRIT AND GLAMOUR said...

FL girl...I was in Oz until a couple weeks ago, now I'm in the U.S. Looooooong story. I'm in the middle of figuring out some visa stuff and then I should (I pray) be able to head back to Sydney. Lord. It's such a mess.

Monique said...

WOW what a view!!! Glad to hear you are feeling more settled - but I can totally understand wanting to get away from all the construction - yuck!

Rassles said...

Dude, seriously? That is AMAZING. Gorgeous. Jealous. Wow.

Now that I'm done describing things very inadequately, as beautiful as that view is, I think I would rather have a yard. I miss having a yard.

Still. Dude. Damn.

Erin Maggie said...

Found it!

Yes, lunch on Tuesday is fantabulous. We can eat something green. Maybe some cilantro. I know how much you love that! j/k Lemme know when and whereabouts and we are on. I'm flexible!

Dana said...

Hey Florida Girl, I love your blog, have been following it for a while now. It always makes me laugh and it's nice to know I'm not the only going through bouts of homesickness!

MommaKiss said...

That is GORGEOUS! I have a good friend living in Melbourne. I have yet to visit her.

Thanks for the comment suggestion. My blog is broken - I can't fix it.

Captain Dumbass said...

I'm sorry, but that view is so pretty it can't be real. Nobody deserves to live there. Unless it's me.

Anonymous said...

Ugh...now I'm homesick for Australia. We usually go this time of year, but we are waiting until closer to Christmas this year. This winter is killing me without the beach to look forward to. I remember when I lived there, hardly a day went by that I didn't marvel at the beauty and how lucky I was to live there.

Well, there were those few days of bitching that I couldn't find black beans or decent mexican food. But, hey can't find decent calamari here, so there you go.

Anyway...beautiful area you live in. I must quit visiting your blog as I might find myself writing my pros/cons list for moving back again. Nah, I'll still visit.

Jenny said...

Wow! That is an awesome view. But I would go crazy living next door to a major construction site.
I know what you mean about admiring the beauty of this place. Every day since we arrived we stand on the beach watching our kids play and ask ourselves how we got lucky enough to live here. Of course, I haven't been here long enough to be homesick yet.
Hey, if you want to move north the apartment above me is available. :)

Anonymous said...

That view is insanely gorgeous. Much better than the one you got in Plantation, FL. Thats for sure!!! Enjoy it. Miss u.

Paul Steckler said...

Hey, if you want some more American-ness in your life, you should join our monthly football game in The Domain.

Last time, we had about 18 players and hangers-on.

As usual, we went for apres-football at The Tilbury in Wooloomooloo.

We organize the games through Meetup.com: http://american.meetup.com/193/.

Check it out!

-- Paul

Laura said...

V- Well let me know when you're headed back-- as they say here, hope you get it all sorted.

Monique- Yeah, at least it's Saturday here now and they've taken the morning off.

Rassles- You should totally come visit.

Erin- Yes, please pass the cilantro with extra coriander. Thanks!
Tuesday-- it's a date girlfriend.

Dana- It's great to have someone to let all the homesickness out with -- we need to hook up.

Mommakiss- I have yet to make it to Melbourne-- but hope to get there this year!

Captain Dumbass- I KNOW I don't deserve to live here! Trust me.

MB- I could easily make you a list of all the things you'd be missing in the US if you came back-- does that help?

Jenny- We're committed to the Eastern Suburbs-- we're in Kindergarten! When we moved here we brought our preschool teacher from Florida as our nanny for five weeks and my mom came with us-- they both left the same day and after about a week I lost it.

Fiery Redhead- I miss you, I would hump your leg if you were here right now. (That's how much I miss you).

Steck- The hilarity of me playing football would almost be worth doing it... but not quite.

Anonymous said...

If you don't take that apartment, I might. Except the commute to Nashville would be excessively long. We moved once because of jackass neighbors who thought that our pool was their pool. Assholes.

Marvin said...

Very nice! How unfortunate that your neighbors are so inconsiderate. It's hard to be a kid in an apartment, though. Kids don't really care about the view... they want to run around.

Anonymous said...

How beautiful! I can't wait to return one day....

Anonymous said...

There ain't much I wouldn't do for a cookie.

Sweet ass view!

Laura said...

Here in Franklin- Neighbors really can make your life suck. But karma usually takes care of it in the end.

Marvin- Yes, my boys need air and space to run-- otherwise they'll just bounce off the walls.

jpck- And when you do.. I hope you'll look me up.

Corrina- My kids will do almost anything for cookies and even more for chocolate.

A Free Man said...

We're having to move to, but I'm kind of glad.

That's a hell of a view to miss out on though!

Laura said...

Free Man- The number of places in Sydney that have views is completely astounding-- so if our next place has a view it'll be a bonus, but we're not specifically looking for that.

Fantastic Forrest said...

"Every time I leave the house I marvel at the beauty."

I can so relate. We felt that way in County Mayo, Ireland.

I'm tempted by Australia for our next sabbatical adventure, but Europe still calls to me. Urgh! Maybe reading your wonderful blog will help me make up my mind. Talk to me about how you can swim in that nice warm water for several months, and my decision may be easier than I fear. Your photo is beautiful.