celebrate the small things | April 24

What a week it's been!  A truly marvelous one with lots and lots to celebrate!

1) my cosmos flower bloomed!  I'm especially proud of this because it's the first flower I've ever grown from a seed :)

2) my baby white winged dove is learning to fly!  it's amazing, and so fun, to watch.
(for those of you that know, yes, there were two baby doves - but we had a pretty bad storm here last weekend - hail and all - during which both babies fell from the nest... only one survived).

3) Will's aunt Amy came to visit!
Always sooooo much fun!

4) Will's mother came to visit!
I totally loved playing tour guide and drove her (a real first) around to some of my fave places in Austin: County Line on the Lake/ the Oasis and dessert at Chey Zee's. Will was out of town so it was great to have a real girl's day!

5) i've saved the biggest and best 'til last; and for added suspense I'll start by saying that it's taken many months and many denied applications ... but I've finally got a job back in the finance industry (what I was doing before writing... yeah yeah contradictory I know!  I guess I'm blessed to be both right and left brain-abled or maybe I'm not at all, since writing hasn't worked out... anyway), I feel silly for fretting over those other total loser jobs!  This might be the job of my dreams.  It's for a super-chilled company that specializes in business lending and other finanical services to small businesses so I'm stoked not to work with individuals!  But it also stands out because it encourages personal growth, hones individual skill sets and has some of the nicest, happiest employees I've seen anywhere.
Added bonuses include:
- peeps my age
- close to home in a brilliant wooded area that feels more like a country retreat than an office
- catered lunches EVERYDAY
- super laid back dress code
 - 7.5 hr work days

Yep, I reckon I've hit the jackpot.  I hope every one else has had a week as brilliant as mine :)
Right now I'm off to celebrate and make this weekend count since I start work on Monday!

Blast from the past: the Carnarvon Gorge

When most people think of Australia they think desert, beaches (crocodiles) or Sydney.  Many people don't know about the ridiculously beautiful rain forests abundant in native wildlife, waterfalls and postcard views.  Will and I loved living in Queensland and visiting her rain forests, in fact we love nature and hiking so much that we chose to take our honeymoon this way; setting off a week after our wedding to Qld's Carnarvon Gorge - a ridiculously beautiful part of Australia 8 hours drive away from where we lived at the time; a place that few have experienced but that everyone should!

During our week out there, we saw ancient Aboriginal cave paintings as well as every native Australian animal you could think of: echidnas, platypi, wallabies, a koala, a giant red kangaroo and plenty of smaller grey ones, kookaburras, green tree frogs, owls and the list goes on!  The Carnarvon Gorge National Park and Takarakka Bush resort in which we stayed was nature like we've never experienced before: raw, untouched and just an incredible experience that I highly, highly recommend it to anyone.

Getting there: roads of rich, red dirt 

Surrounded by green fields and... so much wildlife -
grey kangaroos

Wallaby

Amazing scenery on the way there

This safari tent was our accomodation! Best way to camp because
it came with a mini fridge, queen bed, electricity and a table w chairs

Takarakka Bush Resort
kookaburra perched on top of sign

This kookaburra would wake us every morning with that
laughing/ signing sound they make

This was the campsite
Left: shower/ laundry block
Right: bbq and table area

Will and I in the bbq/table area with our french toast/ baked bean/ sauerkraut dinner
Not very appetizing but worth every minute
(plus we had wine!)

So that's how everyone was washing their feet...
Again, worth it for views like:

This

And this

Definitely worth going to see an echidna!

Or these native flowers

Tiny, lonely hand paintings - thousands of years old

These are a lot more vivid - very amazing experience

The whole thing was