Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Last year at this time we were freezing our #$%es off while watching the annual dyeing of the Chicago River. This year... we're dying of the heat! It's another 40 degree (100+) day. I know, all of you suffering through winter want me to shut up. But... give us a little credit for surviving an hour commute on an overcrowded train with no AC (Jen) and a car with no AC (Megan). :)

Wow

We were resistant to the idea of boogie boarding at Torquay because it's such a popular beach. However... we thought we'd give it a go Friday night. WOW! Let's just say we made a return trip yesterday! It's an amazing little corner of the world.

Never thought I'd see the day...

...that we'd sit around at night saying, "Wow, we caught some really awesome waves today."

Yup.

Hot, hot, hot

Happy Friday... and happy hotter-than-hell day! I thought we'd start to see the weather changing about this time of year (it's been hot since we stepped off the plane 4 months ago), but instead it's going to be 40 degrees today (100+). Well... what better to do than catch the train out to the ocean after work...

"Surf Report: It's going to be a hot one today, 3-4ft surf this morning with clean offshore conditions conditions. Fun waves before the change with big tides. Strong winds will be out of the north west, before a SW change sometime this arvo. Reefs will be pumping today and there are a few pros starting to hover around. Check out the surf forecast." -Geelong Advertiser

American Football vs. Aussie Rules Football

Another great story about "gridiron" fans vs. footy fans:

SAN DIEGO, California (AP) -- Two Australian navy sailors have pleaded guilty in San Diego to assault charges for beating a man in a sidewalk brawl after an argument over the merits of Australian vs. American football.

Sailors Philip Graeme Ferres and Kolis Barba were in San Diego last November on shore leave from the HMS Sydney.

A man they met in a bar told police they got into a heated debate that also involved the Iraq war. Jeffrey Wilkinson says he suffered a broken nose and rib and needed 30 stitches for wounds on his face.

Prosecutors agreed to drop battery charges against the sailors and a cocaine-possession charge against Ferres in return for the guilty pleas they entered Monday.

Defense lawyer Matthew O'Connor says that when the sailors are sentenced next month, they could face up to 90 days in custody. He said the Australian navy has not made a decision on any additional punishment. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Tassie Tassie Tassie!

We are back from our whirlwind Labour Day holiday in Tasmania. We were there for 4 days and loved every minute of it. We saw PENGUINS! We saw WALLABIES! We heard TASMANIAN DEVILS (they were growling in the woods)! We saw GLOW WORMS! What a trip! I'll share more soon. Now it's bedtime... we have to rest up for our 4 day work week!

No... they're not selling insurance

You gotta love Queensland... these little geckos were EVERYWHERE!