Life With The Reno's

Hello lovely people of the world. You've come to my blog for some reason, more than likely looking for something specifically. If you came looking for a turtle face then rest your weary bones because I have just the face for you!!

If you do not fall in that elite category of people speak to the elbow because you're not worth the extension. For those of you who are, unfortunately for you, related to me and are required to read this so that I do not have to be continually on repeat about my life, remember just grin and bare it. I'll even let you plug your nose if it'll make swallowing my cynical views on the world any easier to swallow ;) Turtle, turtle, turtle.

HOLY FREAK, WHAT A WEEK.

Let's start with the fact that my friend from work, Reno or Amanda or Amanda Reno (whatever you want to call her she answers to about anything kind of like child that hears the word 'candy'), the gal who is in charge of the salt area, got back from her month long trip to the states about 2-3 weeks ago. She had heard I was having drama with my host family and when she asked how I was doing asked about the drama. I finally told her everything on Monday and she told me that she wanted me to move out and in with her and her family. Her husband is American, Earl, and her son, Wyatt, is 16 months old. Tuesday came and she told me Earl was all for it and wanted me to move in with them too. By Wednesday I had talked with my parents and the people I set up the homestay with and had arranged to move out on Friday. Wednesday night after work Maureen came to me and told me that she was surprised, sad, and hurt that I was moving. I told her there was just a big personality difference and I thought it would be better for everyone if I left. She told me that it wasn't a personality difference that I was just hard to get to know. I wrote Andrew, Maureen, and Joanie (Andrew's mom) thank you notes for Christmas gifts and such. I was sad to be leaving Andrew and Joanie but not Maureen. There are some people that are just really hard to jive with. Who is you're Maureen? ;)

Even though it was a trying time this last month living with her, I am glad I did it. I don't recognize everything I learned from that situation but I know that what I did learn will be applied at some point in my life.

Friday came and I moved into Reno's spare room and helped tidy up as best I could. That afternoon we went to visit a coworker that just got his appendix removed. Everyone thought he was milking it just to use up his sick leave but he really was sick. He had it removed no problem and everyone now feels bad for making fun of him. Sounds familiar to me.....Kelc, that goes to show ya that horrible friends and family exist everywhere, not just in Utah ;)

Yesterday I just hung out and in the evening I made dinner to say thank you for letting me move in with them. They are being stubborn about accepting money for rent and food but I'll pull a mom and sneak it into Aunt Carols wallet, I mean Reno's wallet. Today I've played a board game, helped make brownies, showered(surprise surprise, twice in a row!), swept the floor, and cleaned the dishes. It's been raining pretty much three days straight now and in Mooloolaba, the city I use to live in, the power is out. Work was cancelled for Reno this morning because there's so much water everywhere.

I am now sitting on a window seat like every Morris girl wishes to do, relaxing while the rain and wind pounds on the window. Life is so good :) I really like the new place I'm at, 8 Griffin Place Coes Creek QLD 4560 Australia, is very nice and I feel much more at home here :) I'll have pictures of my new place next time. They are still getting things sorted away from their trip to the states and I don't want to take pictures until things are more settled down.

I live in the house the purple arrow is pointing at

BUT this week at my internship was FREAKIN AWESOME!!!! Monday I was able to do the extrem shark dive that UWW offeres :D So cool!! OH! And last the week before last I got to help with three turtle releases. That was cool too but I learned a valuable lesson that day. Never trust anyone when they say the water will be flat, it won't be flat. They are lying to you so come prepared with your sea bands and Dramamine. Australians *shakes head* will lie to you every time ;) Thursday I got to do the seal swim because I was working back in seals. That was so cool too :) We also got 80+ fish, one leopard shark, three gray reef sharks, and two cow-nosed rays for the tunnel. Super good times. Here are pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Funny story. One of Kelcie's roommates friends went on this blind date and after they went out to dinner or whatnot they went back to the guys house to watch a movie with his family but the girl had to go to the bathroom really bad but was too embarrassed to ask where the toilet was and so she came up with a clever plan. She asked if she could wash her hands saying they felt really gross and that she would like to wash them. Her blind date points her to the room where the nearest sink was. She goes in there is just sink. FAIL. Her plan epically failed. Still embarrassed to ask where the bathroom is and not wanting wander around the house looking for a toilet, she closes the door and wonders what she's going to do. Having to pee very badly she decides to make due with what she's got, so she pulls her pants down and positions herself over the sink and starts going to the bathroom when her hand slips and hits her head knocking her out. The guys mom decides to check on the girl, because she's taking so long washing her hands. The mom opens the door and finds the girl on the floor, unconscious with her pants down and pee in the sink. Needless to say I don't think that girl made it to any first base or any base for that matter and I also don't think she will ever be afraid of asking where the toilet is ever again.

Well have a good week and good luck granny with your operation on Monday. I hope it goes well and I love you lots.

That's it for now folks. Have a fantastic week :)

Rum and Cola

Hello, I love you. Won't you tell me you name? No? Really why not? *laughs nervously* Don't be absurd!! I'm not going to stalk you and take your wallet!!! What kinda person do you take me for?! *shoves three wallets in dresser and smiles awkwardly* I'm perfectly harmless...

So the week of the last was gr-r-r-r-r-reat! Calm down Tony won't be around this time. I installed gr-r-r-r-r-reat tiger proof locks. It was also really long. Tuesday came around and this girl Dash, she starts on Tuesdays, came to me and said, "You have Mondays off right? You're coming with me to Moreton Island next Monday." I told her that I don't have Mondays off but that I would be able to get it off. She's nice but she is really pushy like that with everything. The week was long because I worked Monday through Saturday. Harrible, just harrible. I did work some days in seals which was nice because there were some bloody humidly hot days last week. Ick! The humidity sucks so freakin bad! Saying that I've heard it's ri-donc-ulously, a ridiculous dinosaur, cold back home in good ole Utah, so I won't complain too much because I know most of you can't wait for summer and a bit of heat.

I helped with a lot of injections for the sick sea turtles and stuff like that. It was all grood. There was something else cool that happened but I just can't remember what it was....

By the time Sunday rolled around I was very very ready for a break. This day I had a group surf lesson in the morning. It was lots of fun :) In some ways it's similar to wake surfing and in other ways it's very different. The instructor taught our group about rips, how to find them and what to do if you get stuck in one, how to stand up, and then let us loose in the surf. We never went any further than chest deep but just before a wave would break, the goal was to be on the board facing shore and paddling. When the wave caught we were suppost to stand up. I was able to stand up fairly quickly which I don't think made me friends with the other two people in my group as they struggled most of the lesson. The instructor told me I had a natural talent for it, but I just smiled, said thanks and thought about my totally official surfing class I took about a year ago in a pool and all that pro wake surfing I do ;) It was a lot of fun and I'm tempted to rent a board and go out again. We'll see though because I also want to go visit other places.

I was picked up early Monday morning and four of us drove down to Port of Brisbane and caught this ferry type thing to Moreton Island an hour and half away. Getting off the island everyone was saying how it would be better if the weather was a little better and not so overcast. All I could think was "Wow! They have paradise so close to them! Do they realize people pay tons of money to come here and they treat it like they're just going camping!!" It's also the same island in Scooby Doo (2002). We walked along the beach to a bush trail that took us to this really big sanddune.

Dash attempting to sled down the dune with an old body board we found on our way there. 

We walked back along the beach and spotted a dugong and some dolphins out in the water. After walking back down the beach we snorkeled some shipwrecks. The water was not clear at all and because there was a storm blowing in the water was really horrible and there was a strong current  going through the water. Luckily I had fins and made it to the wreck. There were a lot of cool fish hanging about the wreck. Unfortunately the water wasn't clear so it was hard to see everything. Like the little retard I am, I managed to cut my hands and knees up on the barnacles around the wreck. Sharp little buggers! Saying that, typing this post has been slightly painful because my fingers are cut up and sore. See how much I like you guys?! On the way back to the beach the life guard came and picked me up on his jet-ski and totted me back to shore. Everyone laughs because apparently all the foreigners drown but I wasn't drowning....yet *clears throat* After that we had lunch and then got back on the ferry and went back. Even though the boat was rocky I didn't get sea sick because the people I was with distracted me quite well :) All in all it was a good weekend :) My pictures from my island adventure can be seen here. I might update them later once I get the other peoples photos so check back at some point if you'd like. 

On the way home I saw a kangaroo which was cool :) My very first ever not dead wild kangaroo :) Another super wicked awesome thing that happened this last historical week was that Leo bought his tickets to come visit when I get home! :D So be sure to have a bunch of really annoying questions and stories about how you're Irish because your great great grandfather was part Irish. He loves those types of things.  I'm super excited and can't wait to ask him a bunch of annoying questions of my own because I just don't ask enough questions as it is ;) Also, Granny C, I'm keepin you in my thoughts and prayers :)

That was my week. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I enjoyed living it. I also hope all you english and grammar nuties enjoyed picking at my writing. I purposefully sound stoopid for you.

Bout Ye???

Welcome to 2013!!

I know some of you silly people may have been worried about living through "doomsday" that was predicted by some randomers and an ancient civilization that was able to perform successful brain surgery before Europeans realized that you can't bleed sickness out of people. Explain that one to me. Simple, the guy who had the job of determining the end of the world was the test dumby for the first time they performed brain surgery ;)

In any case welcome back. I hope your new year has been a good one so far, if not fix your attitude because it bloody well should be. After all you are still alive ;) So, I have a few pictures I took the week of Christmas. The divers dressed up in Santa and elf suits to clean the tunnel.  

My Christmas was so quite and lad back. It was very weird. It honestly did not feel like Christmas between the warm temperature, the food, the lack of many loud relatives, and being with people who can be difficult to get along with. Saying that it was a good day. I opened my gifts from home when Maureen got home in the afternoon, which I don't know why she wanted me to wait so bad for her to get home to open them because she didn't really seem to care that much. I did though, so thank you to all of those who sent me gifts :) I loved them all and have pretty much devoured most of my gifts ;) I got a bracelet  t-shirt, and surfing voucher from Maureen. I got pajamas, underwear, and chocolates from Andrew's mom, Joanie. It was very nice of both of them to get me things :) I did feel really bad though because I was going to get flowers for Joanie but didn't end up getting to the store before we went up to her house. At Joanie's house we had lunch and it turns out that I don't like oysters, at all *makes a gross yucky face like I just sucked on one of Jared's dreads*. Michael T. Brewer, you may eat all my oysters forever and always. Along with my pickled pigs feet, escargot  and all other yucky weird things that someone who fell into a sewer would like. After lunch we swam for a bit, then had dinner. Not many could eat all of their dinner though because everyone was still pretty full from lunch.

Boxing day, the day after Christmas, was a really tough day. Probably the hardest day since I left home three months ago. I'm glad I was working or it would have been even worse. It sounds like everyone had a good time so that's good :) On Christmas one of our rays had 17 pups. They sure were cute :)

By December 28th, they were all dead. The mom died the day before and we think that because she knew she was going to die she aborted the pups early. Really sad that none of them lived because they were all so cute, for sea creatures ;)

New Years I stayed home while everyone went out and partied. It was very nice, seeing as it was the first time I'd been home alone in weeks. Especially since the "talks" I'd had with Maureen the days before I was really glad to be home alone and do whatever I wanted without worrying about upsetting her. Things seem to be a little bit better but I'm not sure because I never knew in the first place that she had such a big issue with me in the first place but whatever. I'm doing what I can to try and make her happy but if what I'm doing doesn't make her happy then I'm going to try and get out of here because I don't want to put up with this crap. I mean don't go off on someone for not being helpful around the house when every time they ask if they can help you tell them no and just relax. Anywho, my new years eve was much like this turtle, just chilling and hangin out.

Last week I got bit by one of the water mertins. I was feeding the three mertins and the biggest one just randomly bit my leg and then carried on like nothing had happened. Knowing Australia is famous for having more deadly animals in the world than anywhere else in the world, I quickly finished feeding and went to my supervisor. She was just about to jump into the tunnel to feed the sharks and there was a behind the scenes tour right next to her. I had her come close so the public wouldn't hear and told her I was bit and asked if I would be ok. She smiled and said I would and just to clean it out. Later the guy diving with her came up to me, quite amused, and said that I had been thinking of Komodo Dragons. Those were the lizards that would have killed me if they bit me because they have very toxic venom. Phew!! Is all I can say :)

The last Sunday of 2012 one of my co-workers took be to Brisbane for the day. It was fun. We went through this free museum and then meet some of her old college friends for a few hours. On the way home we stopped and took a look at a Wild Horse view point. It had a really neat view of the Glasshouse Mountains. It was about 700 meter walk, so almost 1/2 mile and was pretty steep the whole way. It's really sad how outta shape I am :( I guess it'll be butt kicking time when I get home.  

Lately I've been thinking about all the boring and lame adult stuff I will have to do when I get home, bleh! Get a job with benefits, buy a car, find a place to live, pay for the finishing touches on my degree, and blah blah blah..... : / So I think that I'm going to enjoy my remaining 11 weeks here before I have to come home and be responsible. What a bore. Cya for now kids! I'm gonna go to the zoo!