Lost in Translation ... An American puggle living in Bondi

Life of Madelyn

2011-07-09T00:32:00.000-07:00

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Who wants to hire me as their wedding florist?

2011-02-19T23:41:00.000-08:00

Damn, how gorgeous are these flowers? See Lily, I am good at a plethora of things! This is my second floral arrangement class in Sydney. They are so much fun and definitely get the creative me going. :) Now I feel confident enough to do my own flowers at my wedding.

Happy Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-19T23:25:00.000-08:00

Chris and I celebrated Valentine's Day on Sunday since Chris's dad was arriving from the States on actual Valentine's Day. Chris did his third ocean swim at Bondi. These ocean swims are getting "too easy" for him now. It was the Bondi cole classic, total distance was 2K. The conditions were pretty rough this day (take a look at the sky and how rough the waves were getting out into the ocean from the beach) ... but Chris made it look effortless as he came out of the water looking like Rambo at the end. :) He did the swim in 30 mins which is amazing. After the swim, we went to Pier Restaurant in Rose Bay. Definitely really good, but the odd thing was that they charged a $10 per person Sunday fee. Why do we have to pay you to be open? Oh, Australia!

Chris turns 36! Manly Beach Ocean swim + Quay Restaurant

2011-02-19T23:08:00.000-08:00

For his bday, Chris did his second ocean swim in Manly .. these ocean swims are getting to be so easy for him. :) It was a calm start into Shelly Beach to Manly Beach. Total distance 2K. He was in the top third of his age group. After the swim, we went to Quay Restaurant for a 4 hour dinner. Steph and Chris got the wine flight while I drank ginger ale. At one point, Steph thought she was going to drink Chris under the table.. boy was she wrong!

Bronte Beach baby shower BBQ

2011-02-19T22:55:00.000-08:00

Greatest baby shower ever! Had a great time. Special thanks to Laura and Justin for bbq'in for us. Chris and I were hopeless. :( <3

Baby moon in Melbourne

2011-01-26T02:14:00.000-08:00

Everything about Melbourne was dreamy! It has everything you can want from a city - great food, nice cafes, integrated population and did I mention how good the food was? Yum! We walked all over the city which was great exercise/training for giving birth in two months! Chris saw tons of bunya bunya trees which he loves and has one growing at his parent's house in Lafayette. He wants to plant it in the backyard .. not sure how Mrs. and Mr. Azalde will feel about that! Ha!

The not so great Ocean Road

2011-01-26T02:04:00.000-08:00

Wow, this road never ends ... it's very pretty ... but long! The road goes along famous surf spots (Bells beach, Torquey, Lourne). We spent 12 hours driving the Great Ocean Road... although, the duration may have something to do with the fact that we rented a smart car, drove very slowly and were being pushed around by the wind in our small car! Chris got laughed at by some Aussie woman when he was driving. Haha! The 12 Apostles are giant majestic rock formations along a beautiful coast line.

Ja Yo! Australia Open!

2011-01-26T01:53:00.000-08:00

Chris and I watched 12 hours of tennis on Jan 25th .. well that's a bit exaggerated, we had a 1.5 hour break for dinner so it was more like 10-11 hours! Greatest matches ever! We watched Federer in the quarter finals hit a ball in between his legs with his back turned away from the court! We also saw him take off his shirt to cool off... not as impressive as when hitting the ball in between his legs. :) Haha! We also saw Li beat Woznakcki. When Li was playing all these Chinese spectators screamed "Ja Yo" (meaning "to step on the gas")! If Li wins it will be the first for China to win a grand slam! :) Good luck Li! Thanks Estee and Dan for helping us get the tickets. This is a picture of Estee when she wasn't sleeping. :) Haha! This was my first time at a professional tennis match - had no idea how quiet you had to be!

Day at the Sydney Aquarium

2011-01-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

New Lego exhibition at the Sydney Aquarium.

Christmas BBQ

2011-01-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

Amazing Christmas BBQ at Laura and Rob's gorgeous home. The food was so good! Rob is a great BBQer. I want to go to their house for dinner every night. :)

Christmas morning at Tamarama Beach

2011-01-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

Great Christmas morning at Tamarama beach!

NYE 2010

2010-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

We arrived at 11AM to get the best seats for the Sydney 2010 NYE fireworks. It was one of those once in a lifetime things that we will most likely never do again ... the fireworks were amazing, although I don't think it was worth 12-13 hours of Sydney's blazing sun!

My baby bump at 25 weeks!

2010-12-12T02:19:00.000-08:00

Wow! I'm getting bigger! Do I really have 3.5 more months left?

My short lived career as a florist

2010-12-12T02:12:00.000-08:00

I no longer want to be a florist... it's hard work! But I do love it as a hobby and I am loving the summer in Sydney. My past weekend: Sat yoga at 10AM, swimming in the ocean with my two favorites - Chris and Jakey, followed by a great pizza dinner! Woke up early on Sunday to attend a day floral arrangement class. I made a Christmas wreath (Estee, how can you not like wreaths? Do you see how pretty my wreath is? Are you jealous?), Christmas tree and a bouquet.

Chris Azalde, the new Thorpedo

2010-12-12T01:58:00.000-08:00

Way to go Chris! He finished in the top third % overall in the Bondi to Bronte ocean swim ... which translates into the top 5% if the swim had taken place in the USA (Aussies are just so much more fit!) http://bonditobronte.com.au/ As Chris crossed the finished line, he heard a crowd cheer and he thought it was "his friends" ... he looked up and realized none of us were there because he swam it faster than we walked it. :( Honestly the only way I could have beat him is if I had taken a cab. Afterwards we all enjoyed a nice brunch at our favorite Bronte brunch spot, Salina's. Thanks Estee, Dan, Dave, and Arsia (frog) for supporting and cheering on Chris! :)

One of the 1 million reasons why I love Jake!

2010-11-10T21:59:00.000-08:00

Each morning when I walk out the door, Jakey looks out the window and counts the seconds til I come home from a long day at work. Nothing beats coming home to Jakey!

Practicing for the Bondi to Bronte ocean swim

2010-11-07T04:16:00.000-08:00

One month till the big swim... let's hope he can finish ;)

nothing better than a middle aged, pregnant woman on the beach

2010-11-07T03:40:00.000-08:00

i'm half way there! 20 weeks and enjoying life. :) luckiest girl alive!

Jakey and Daddy lazy Sunday in our backyard

2010-11-07T03:36:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Sunday in Tamarama and Bondi!

2010-11-07T03:33:00.000-08:00

Yoga at 10AM at icebergs. :) So relaxing! I showed Chris this photo and he laughed and said, no wonder why you run out the door each morning. HA! I have to admit the instructor is amazing! Afterwards, I got the best massage ever. Ask for Liz at icebergs. :)

Daddy's first present to his princess!

2010-11-07T03:27:00.000-08:00

Chris has two princesses now!

2010-11-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

Our Morning Commute

2010-11-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

Just like 101 South from SF to MTV, except sometimes there are dolphins.

Soaking in some Tamarama sun!

2010-10-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Jakey in the backyard. He's getting his body nice and tan to show off at the beach.

First baby gift!

2010-10-25T16:40:00.000-07:00

getting really excited and can't wait to put these clothes on her or him! thanks lori!