"i believe in Santa...*insert gleeful smile of a 5 year old curly haired girl in a red, fur lined coat*"

Yesterday we adorned the house with christmas decorations. People really do take it seriously here...But i'm beginning to understand that there is more to Australia's comparative lack of festivity then our laid back nature and general holiday laziness. Houses here are simply built to be covered in glistening decorations and strings of colourful light globes. Double storied, geometrical lines, large and open front yards and the seasonal fog and snow makes for the perfect holiday scene. The simplest of lights here look quant and warm, the larger displays exuding a sense of joy and christmas spirit that surrounds the house. I have a feeling Christmas meals shall be the same...when its -5 degree's there is nothing better then a carbohydrate induced plate of steaming meat and hearty vegetables. When it comes to Christmas i do feel Australians landed with the the chewed up end of the bone. I now feel less non-festive and more...well...Australian.

In other news i have experienced a few things lately as would be expected on my travels...i have also experiences some that wern't.

My step brother Johnny has a pet python...Anyone who knows me well will be aware of my absolute fear of snakes. My dear 4 year old friend Winton has a book we sometimes read that features a double page spread on snakes and a surge of unmatched fear paces through my blood as i attempt to read it to him. Generally i can't handle it and he graciously forgives me need to hastily turn the page. Johnny's snake is named "King". Below is a lovely picture of me...And King.

well on the jet lag front things don't appear to be backing off. Rather then over sleeping i just don't sleep at all...i think i'm going mildly insane. Last night marked my first night, since arriving in the states, of zero sleep. Jenn got about 4 hours. Prayer for our sleep patterns would be great.

We wen' to church this morning at Northview Christian Life Church, people were very friendly and their facilities blew my mind. The sermon was on the last chapter of Jonah and i thought the minister there, Steve Poe, did well t locating the main point...Will probably be returning there for the rest of my time here.

The things cold weather makes us do...

Due to the car thermometers presentation for the numbers 2 and 8 (28 degrees here means its verging on -2) we decided to give the Christmas tree lighting down town a miss, instead we saw New Moon. The film itself was fairy giggle worthy. The first moment Taylor Lautner (playing Jacob Black) removed his shirt, gasps ran through the cinema, followed by the crowds laughter...Obviously the inability of girls (of all ages) to resist the body of "Bella's Sun" Jacob is universal. One of the most exciting things about the movie was Jen's small coke...that was the size of a mini bucket! Also my skittles came in a box rather then a bag and despite this meaning i got less skittles and our hands getting stuck every time we tried to get some out i appreciated the U.S novelty.

After getting to sleep around 2 am this morning (a little better then usual) i slept until midday :-D whilst not ideal 10 hours of sleep is always better then 4 no matter when it occurs.

I believe plans for today include decorating the house in Christmas-ness. I'm fairly excited. I walked into the garage this morning once i had woken up to find the floor covered in lights, tinsel and yard decorations...I'll keep you posted on how the decorating goes.

I hope you are all well and doing what is right to bring glory to Jesus. Whoever you are i can assure you i'm probably missing you to some degree.

sand and awesomeness and stuff

check this out...i cant explain it but it blows my mind just a little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=518XP8prwZo

Black Friday

Today is "Black Friday", the biggest shopping day of the American calendar. Our shopping day began at 5am...The temperature at this time was 31 degree's in American speak, so for Australians we are talking below 0 degrees Centigrade, we sure did grab a bargain though.

This was followed by breakfast at a pretty casual restaurant "Michels". Our lovely waitress continuously came around to our table to re-fill our coffee...just like they do in the movies. The temperature didn't improve much. On our way to the next shopping comple

x we passed through Carmel where we saw the local high school (featured in Glee :-D) as well a these great statues that are sporadically places along the side walks.

Once we had conquered another shopping centre we saw one of the strangest things i've seen since being here...The Amish store. Now, forgive me if i'm wrong but i sort of thought having a store contradicted what it was to be Amish...All self sufficient and that. Anyway, i had a giggle as we drove past...Thought you might also.

Tonight we are off to the lighting of the christmas tree down town...I'm telling you if i wasn't in a different country there would be no grinning and bearing it tonight, call me Scrooge but christmas carols drive me a little nuts...We will have to wait and see if the below zero atmosphere will numb me at all. Jet lag hasn't given up on me yet...Tired days and sleepless nights continue as i wonder how many days it takes to complete the process of zombifation (i may have made that word up to describe the nature in which one becomes a zombie).

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Number of degrees today: 2

Number of runners i saw today: Approximately 11,000

Number of time someone yelled "Happy Thanksgiving!": innumerable

Today is thanksgiving which, here in Indy, is celebrated by the annual "Drumstick Turkey Dash". The 4.5 mile running course winds through scenic Broad Ripple, hosting the footsteps of freezing patriots, raising money for the local Wheeler Mission. After a thanks giving prayer from the mayor we began the course, whilst not so committed to speed as some present, i was proud of my mere participation...i mean come on now, running after a man dressed up as a drumstick at 8:30am while every cell on my body longed to be tucked into my warm bed where the likelihood of freezing to death was somewhat less considerable?

This being said it was rather enjoyable and it was pretty exciting to be part of something you know? Continuously we commented on Australia's inability to gather 11,000 for anything that doesn't involve sitting down alot and having a few. While i would never give up the laid back nature of the homeland, kudos to the U.S of A for for their cheerful festivities.

After a four episode marathon of some fairly American wedding planning show, thanks giving dinner was served . We had turkey, green bean casserole, sweet pumpkin pie with marshmallows, bread, mashed potato and a choice of three different pies for dessert. I have never understood fullness like i do now.

hmmmm, thankful. i believe thankfulness is something i take far too lightly. It would make sense, would it not, for my level of thankfulness to match that of my blessings and "fortune"? This not being the case is yet another example of my sin. Throughout Colossians, Paul describes what it means to "live in him [Jesus Christ]" (2:6). I feel as though we are prone to focus more on "strengthening our faith" rather then "overflowing in thankfulness" (2:7). i can see some list making on this issue in the future.

Jet lag is proving to be a bit of a pain, i basically just don't sleep...ever...This last photo is one result of such tiredness.

1000 Miles

Well here i am...A HSC graduate exploring the wonders of America for 6 weeks. More specifically the wonders of Indianapolis, Indiana where my Dad now lives. So far this journey is all set to be one of movie moments and taylor swift worthy scenarios...The combination of my best friend, "freedom" and the chilly goodness of the American festive season is a good one.

The flight was also a good one. My Sydney to L.A flight positioned me next to a lovely 50 something couple from Houston who were extremely helpful, this making the regular toilet trips (resulting in me having to get up and let them out of the row) less annoying. The food was fairly...Well...Scary tasting.

My next two flights; L.A to Denver, Denver to Indianapolis suffered my impatience as i had, by that stage, been awake a good day,night and day again. The second of these was pretty special as it was at night and i got moved up to "economy +" which meant i had heaps more room and a window seat that allowed me to view the lights of cities sprinkled across America as we flew.

I shall be posting news each day about the exciting happenings of our trip...Off to Walmart now...

Outy