His: Saturday Snapshots - Gift from Europe

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Today we are linking up with Melinda at West Metro Mommy for Super Saturday Snapshots.

My dad and step mum came to visit us right after Christmas for a few days. We had a lot of fun showing them around and letting them see the sights around where we live. Before coming to visit us they had spent a month in Europe and had found some interesting items in the market including this.

I was a bit baffled as to why they would buy a paint brush and a tube of paint until they explained that it is made out of chocolate. Someone had put a lot of time and effort into making a mold and then painting it with food safe paint to make it look realistic. I had never seen anything like this before so it was neat to see. It is safe to eat but I feel it is too special to eat so it will stay as a conversation piece in the house.

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

His: Saturday Snapshots - Country Music Festival

Have you liked our "His and Her Hobbies" Facebook page? If not, click here!

Today we are linking up with Melinda at West Metro Mommy for Super Saturday Snapshots.

I grew up in a small country town in Australia which was known as "Australia's Country Music Capital". It is the Australian equivalent of Nashville, TN as it has a large festival where thousands of people come to visit this time of year to listen to country music and see the big stars of Australian Country Music. They also have a big award ceremony, similar to the CMA's in America. I haven't been in Tamworth for the festival since I moved to America but I found a few photos recently from the 2001 festival and thought it would be a good subject for today's post since it is festival time.

 The main street is closed to traffic during the festival. Many of the pubs/bars in town have different singers perform during the festival and also offer accommodation.

The main street always has lots of people as there are many performers and other things to do along the street.

One of the more common sights along the main street is buskers/street performers. Many of them are really good so it is worth wandering down the street to hear the different performers.

Towards the end of the festival they have thousands of people line the main street to try and break the world record for the world's longest line dance.

They also have a big parade on the last weekend and it is very popular.

The parade is a great way to see the big country music stars as most of them are on one of the floats.

The parade is fairly long and takes about an hour to see the whole thing go by.

 Many of the floats have music and dancing as well.

This is just a small glimpse of what the Country Music Festival in Tamworth looks like. Have you ever been to the festival or something similar?

His: Travel Review - Pebble Beach

Instead of flying all the way to Virginia from Australia in 2006, we stopped over in San Francisco for two nights and went on a day tour down the coast on California Route 1. The route was stunning and much of it hugged the Pacific coastline. There were several stops along the way including the Pebble Beach Golf Course. I am not a big golf fan but I have played this course on computer games a few times, so I was excited to see part of the course for myself. It was only a short stop to see the gift shop, club house and the green of the 18th hole. This course hosts a major tournament each year and has been host to the U.S Open five times so many of golf's biggest stars have been here. The scenery for the course was stunning as much of it hugs the Pacific coast and would be a great place to play. We had just enough time to take a few photos and soak in our surroundings but it was great to be able to see this place for myself. I don't know that I would go back unless I came to play a round or two, but it was well worth seeing once.

View of the green of the 18th hole and the Pacific Ocean.

 The Pebble Beach clubhouse and gift shop.

The 18th hole. Despite being one of the best known courses in the world this is a public course. However the cost of a round is at least $495 if you stay at the Pebble Beach resort (which will cost at least $600 per night)

There were plenty of people out playing and you can see some of the resort rooms to the left. These rooms cost between $1000-$2500.

Have you ever been to Pebble Beach or another famous golf course?

 

His and Her One Year Ago TBT: Would You Rather?

When I wanted to find a TBT post for today, I thought it would be fun to see if we had a post from January 8, 2014 and we did! I really liked the idea of posting a one-year-later TBT so here we go.

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We are linking up again for the super fun Would You Rather? party. Here we go - 

Would You Rather…

… kiss a jellyfish or step on a crab?

Amanda - I am terrified - with a capital DON'T COME NEAR ME - of jelly fish so, though I know it would hurt like crazy, I am going to have to step on a crab.

Sean - I would kiss the jellyfish. Stepping on a crab sounds painful plus I could kiss the bell of the jellyfish, which is not venomous. No one said which part of the jellyfish I had to kiss right?

  

… forget who you are or forget everyone else?

Amanda - I would rather forget who I am. At least then I would remember the names and connections of everyone else and they could tell me all our fun stories.

Sean - I would also rather forget who I am. Someone could make me a short video or book of who I am plus the girl on "50 First Dates" fared well even though she woke up each day not knowing who she was.

  

… meet a space alien or travel to space?

Amanda - Even though I am supremely afraid of heights and I hate the take off part of a regular flight, I think it would be amazing and beautiful to travel to space. The sights...the zero gravity...all of it. *sigh* Maybe Richard Branson will take me when he takes Tom Hanks and Katy Perry in 2014. That would be so much fun!!

Sean - Meet an alien. Its bad enough having to sit inside an aluminum can with wings for 14 hours to cross the Pacific Ocean, let alone several months or years crammed in an even smaller can to fly around in space.

We love this new link up! Click the logo above to go to Jennifer's blog to join in the fun. If you don't have a blog, choose a question (or all of them) and answer them in a comment or on Facebook. **Amanda's favorite was the last one and she is wondering about everyone's answers.**

Happy Hump Day,

Her Modern Day Love Notes

Over the past two months, I got quite a few reminders from my phone that my storage was low. Like really low. Like delete something before taking a picture low. Oops!

I don't know why it didn't occur to me until Sunday that I could free up space without permanently deleting photos or deleting apps. I saved the photos to my computer (organized by year and subject - no great surprise to those who have seen my classroom or computer). I had fun going down memory lane. And bonus! Those annoying "storage full" messages have stopped. 

While I was cleaning off the phone, I found some messages that Sean left me on my phone and on our chalkboard wall over the past two years. My heart is full!

This note was left during the first week of a new school year when stress and drama are always high.

Mr. Schnitzel is a place we both fell in love with while in Australia. Sean would open a Mr. Schnitzel if possible so this is a big deal.

His two favorite shops - a big deal for sure!

He's so adorable! He makes me so happy.

My favorite part of this one is the sheep's speech bubble. He's so creative!

Evan Alex sends messages sometimes. :)

He draws better on the chalkboard than on the phone.

I know this was a pretty sappy post, but I felt pretty sappy as I was rediscovering them on my phone. Do you and your significant other do little things like this? I would love to hear about them.

Happy Wednesday,

Her Sunday Scoop 1.4.15

I found a new linkup on Sundays that I thought would be fun. I don't know that I can participate every week, but I like the idea of participating when I can. It's called the Sunday Scoop and it's hosted by Teaching Trio.

School is back in session tomorrow. My have, hope, and happy all stem from that. 

What do you have or hope to do today?

Happy Sunday,

Her Top 5 for Friday (1.2.15)

Happy Friday! Though today is a bittersweet Friday. Sean is back at work after taking the week off to spend time with his dad and stepmom. It's my last weekday of break from school. But it is a Friday and we have our church group meeting tonight so that makes it sweet. 

We hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and a wonderful start to the New Year. It's hard to believe that it is 2015 already. Didn't 2014 just start? *sigh* Time is rolling by so quickly. 

Well, without further ado, here are my top 5 events from this week:

1. Are you going to be the "Biggest Loser"?
I am ready to get back on the healthy and detoxing track after some indulging over the holidays. Thank goodness for Arbonne! I am hosting a biggest loser style challenge for those who are ready for an easy way to eat cleanly and be healthier. I would love it if you all joined me!

 

2-5. Family Visits
Sean's dad and stepmom have been traveling around Europe for 5 weeks. They stopped by here for a few days on their way home to Australia. It was so great to spend time with them. 

We took them to a Mexican restaurant for enchiladas and fajitas. They loved them!

Mexican food is yummy!

We also visited Colonial Williamsburg for some good ole U.S. history.

Hello Governor!

While visiting the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, we got to see a cargo ship go out into the ocean over the car tunnel. So cool!

Safe travels to the crew!

Sean's stepmom got to touch the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. One of my favorite things to do in Australia is go visit the Pacific Ocean so I thought she would like to do this while here. She had fun!

Atlantic Ocean - meet Liz!

You can tell from the pic below that Sean and his dad are very similar in looks. It's uncanny how similar they are. He loved having his dad and stepmom here. I hope they can visit again soon!

#twinning

How did you spend the last few days of 2014 and they first of 2015?

Happy New Year,

 

Her Sharing Scripture, Vol. 5

Happy New Year!

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I cannot believe that it is 2015. It seems like just yesterday we were ringing in 2014. 

What better way to ring in the New Year, then with a new linkup with one of my favorite blogger buddies - Jessica at The Artsy Cajun. It's Sharing Scripture Thursday!

I had a lot of big plans and hopes for 2014. Some worked out as I planned, but most did not. I am not angry and I try not to be disappointed. I know that God's timing is perfect and all will happen when He is ready.

I had fun making this graphic with PicMonkey. Sean took this photo back in 2005 when we toured the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco. I thought it would be a beautiful backdrop for this verse.

I think this verse is going to be my focus during 2015. I will make the plans, but God is ultimately going to decide the how and when.  Rather than be frustrated or upset when the plans don't go the way I thought they would, I will try to remember that He sees the big picture and He will not steer me into any situation that is not best for me. Putting trust and faith in God means leaning on Him when I don't understand. Not easy to do, that's for sure!

I pray that each of you is blessed with love and laughter in 2015. May it be your best year yet!

Happy New Year,