4/20/12 – Melbourne, Australia
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!
Of course it was hard having my birthday away from my
family. I know most of you must
think that I should be a pro at this by now having been across the country from
my family for the previous four years at Bucknell, but what you all don’t know
is that the Parent’s Council Meetings also fall on my birthday weekend meaning
that my dad was with me at Bucknell for the previous four years. That would make this my first birthday
without someone in my family.
Luckily I had Tommy to save the day! 
I actually have always hated my birthday, besides the
wonderful presents of course because anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE
presents! I just hate the idea of
getting older. I used to always
tell my mom and dad every year that I wanted to stay 7 forever, or 17 forever,
or 21 forever, but somehow I keep getting older. I just don’t like the idea of growing up. Well, Tommy made it a wonderful
day! Even though it was a work day
for both of us, Tommy woke up extra early to make me breakfast in bed, and
spent an hour decorating the apartment with balloons, banners and
streamers. It was so sweet to see
all the effort he put in to make the day special. I was greeted at school by birthday wishes from a few of my
students who remembered that it was my birthday; this was so sweet and made me
feel quite special. The best
surprise of all was when a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a huge box full of
cupcakes arrived at the school reception from my amazing parents and my GREAT
friend Gina! Even from across the
world, my parents were with me on my birthday. The day ended with a special birthday menu set up by Chef
Tommy which was unbelievably delicious, especially the yummy ice cream
cake! I really am a lucky girl! 
5/5/12 – 5/6/12 – Yara Valley, Victoria, Australia
The rest of my birthday present from Tommy was combined with our two-year anniversary present. TWO YEARS! Shopping is way too expensive in Australia, and I really have everything that I need, so what better present than a weekend getaway! After weeks of intensive and exhausting planning, Tommy was dying to let the secret slip of what we were going to be doing for our anniversary weekend. I let him set the entire weekend up, and I have to say he has a hard time keeping a secret…
We were picked up this morning at 4:40 to be driven to the
Yarra Valley. It was quite an
early start but well worth it… We
were driven out to a winery called Rochford Latitude, which is conveniently only
an hour drive from the city. We
had to go so bloody early because Tommy set up a sunrise hot air balloon
surprise, which was fantastic! We
went up when it was still pretty dark and as the sun started to rise everything
started coming into view and changing colors. It was spectacular.
We had to help blow up the balloon and when we landed we helped take the
air out and fold it all up. It was
actually quite hard work and I was sweating by the end. 
It was very cold in the morning so I
was happy to be extremely bundled up and only my toes were a bit cold, but I
was appropriately dressed like a snow bunny! It was such an exhilarating feeling flying over the valley
in this huge balloon, especially over such a gorgeous area. We lucked out because apparently the
balloons could not go up for the entire past week, and this was the first day the
balloons were permitted to go up again because of the weather and wind. We were told that we could not have
asked for more perfect conditions and it could not have been a clearer day for
us. WOO! 
Following our float across the sky, we returned to Rochford
Estate for a champagne brunch, which was DELICIOUS! It was actually quite comical! Our hot air balloon pilot gave us a bit of history about how
hot air ballooning all started and how the tradition was to bring a bottle of
champagne on every trip to give to the farmer who owns the land that the
balloon lands on, and they actually still do that. Everyone drinks champagne to celebrate the flight, which we of
course did to join in on the fun tradition! The pilot is supposed to say a prayer before every flight
because back in the day at the start of ballooning, the Irish people said that
was the only way they would allow the balloon to enter God's space up in the
air. Well our pilot explained how
this would be just a bit disconcerting for passengers to see; the pilot down on
one knee praying before he takes everyone up, so instead our pilot prefers to
pray after by taking the champagne cork, dipping it in his glass and crossing
all our heads with the champagne.
It was hilarious! 
We had a delicious dinner at the Healsville Hotel. On Sunday we explored the cute town,
did some shopping, went and did a wine tasting at the place we had lunch, and a
beer tasting at the brewery in town.
It was hard to leave because it was such an amazing weekend but the good
news is that it is an easy hour trip back with a train and bus that will take
us around easily! I have to say,
Tommy did an awesome job planning a wonderful weekend!
5/17/12 – Melbourne, Australia
I just have to mention that I am thrilled to say we are
finally starting to make more and more friends! Tonight we went on a double date, tomorrow we are going on
another full day double date, and next weekend is already booked up! FINALLY! Contact with other people was much needed…
5/18/12 – Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
The Mornington Peninsula is another wine region just over
an hour down from Melbourne towards the coast. It is the peninsula the divides Melbourne Harbour from the Bass
Strait coastline. Not only are
there beautiful beaches, but the peninsula is also filled with rolling green
hills that are filled with cute towns, shops, cafes, and best of all WINERIES! 
A companion of Tommy’s from work,
Steph, offered to take us on a full day trip to the Mornington Peninsula with
her boyfriend David. Of course the
wineries were all amazing with the gorgeous ocean views, but we also went on a
full day tour of the area! We
visited the town of Portsea which is at the very tip of the Peninsula and has
the most expensive mansions in the area. We stopped in the quaint town of Sorrento where the ferry runs
across the harbor over to Torquay, we visited the Ashcombe Mazes and raced
through the hedges to see who would pop out first (me of course!), and we
started our morning off soaking in the luxurious hot springs followed by a
delicious breakfast with an ocean view.
It was such a fun and relaxing day!
