champion whiner.

How do you use the Internet to stay informed about the things that matter to you?

Sponsored by Yahoo!

By using my email to keep up with friends and communicate with clients and coworkers at my job!

What is it about your favorite local small business that keeps you coming back again and again?
Sponsored by American Express in association with NBC Universal for Shine A Light.

Definitely the customer service and everything else that comes along with it. My local cleaners and flower shop have the best owners! We always get to chat about what I'm up to, or how their business is going. It's always nice to have a personal connection with my local businesses.

 

It's been awhile since I've posted a photo of the day... so here you guys go and Happy Friday!

 

I know it's taken me awhile, but I finally got around to blogging about my trip to Australia. The trip was insane - we were constantly busy. I took over 1500 pictures, and I want to share them all, but of course then it would take you months to read this post. Note: there are still a lot of pictures to scroll through in this post. Since I'm not a huge writer, of course I'd rather share my vacation story through pictures!

We first arrived in Sydney, then drove to the Blue Mountains about 2 hours away. We stayed there for a couple of days. We got to hike around the Blue Mountains (which is this huge lush valley, which I almost think is bigger than Yosemite). The first day we took a hike for a couple of hours and climbed up to the Three Sisters.

 

 

The next day we did a 12 km hike that climbed to a ruined castle.

 

 

 

We also got to visit the Jenolan Caves, which was crazy! Definitely a must see if you're ever near the Blue Mountains.  

The day after that we drove to their wine country called Hunter Valley. Wine tastings are FREE. FREE!!!! Nothing in this world is FREE!! Wine in Australia is AWESOME. They have different blends called Semillon and Lombardo. I could drink that stuff all day. Anyway, wine country was great. I only wished we could've stay there longer.

 

We also got to feed the kangaroos and pet a koala at the zoo in Hunter Valley. Unfortunately I couldn't hug the koala, only pet it. Apparently picking them up in New South Wales is against the law. But one day, I will make it to Queensland where it is legal to hug and pick them up. Also got to see a wombat! The kangaroos look like they are blind as hell, and they just hop right up to you!

 

 

 

 

After a night in wine country, we drove back to Sydney. We got to go to the Opera at the famous Opera House, Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, the Botanical Gardens, Chinatown...

 

We flew to Melbourne for a couple of days, and got to explore the city there. Melbourne is such a pretty city at night. Oh, and they even have a casino. 

Flew back to Sydney, and finally flew back home!   

 

From the design to the features, what should the perfect kid-friendly laptop include? What would you leave out?

Sponsored by WePC.You dream it. ASUS builds it. Intel Inside®

Durable and waterproof!

This past weekend, we headed down to Pismo Beach to get away from the city. It was a relaxing drive, and Pismo Beach is just a cute beach town. I've never been there, so I wanted to check it out. Unfortunately for us, the weather was just the same as we left the city. Overcast, foggy, in the low 60's - what the heck! Well, at least we were used to the weather.  

We walked around town, and found the Cracked Crab which is an AWESOME seafood place. You can pick snow crab, dungeness crab, king crab, you name it. They fill your bucket up with a bunch of seafood, potatoes and corn, and then dump it on your table.  

Luckily on Sunday, wine country weather in SLO was perfect. It was sunny and warm. We stumbled across Wolff Vineyards - which was my favorite out of all the vineyards we visited.

Of course since I haven't really been posting any pictures of the day lately, I seem to think I need to make it up with pictures now...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What vacations would you most like to take in the next five years?
Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow.

In no particular order:

- Italy

- Greece

- Japan

- Costa Rica

- Peru

- Indonesia

- Thailand

- Mexico

- NYC

Ok that might be a little ambitious for the next 5 years.

Thank you Joy, Daisy and Ang!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

'Fess up: What do you do that's bad for the environment?
Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco.

Use too many napkins and then throw them away.

I've been slacking when it comes to the photo of the day. Here's another dog photo, yay!

This is Grant's brother's dog, Toby. He is such a sweet lab.