Moya's Australian/Tazmanian Adventure

Hi Gang,

It seems hard to keep in touch due to the time change, my Friday has already ended and yours has just begun.

I think of you always, thinking of what you are up to when I am on my travels. Here's what I have been up to since my last update.....

Wednesday we went to the top Mt. Wellington, in Hobart. This mountain looks unattainable from the city...

In good weather Mt. Wellington is about a half-hour drive from Hobart city centre and when we went, it was 18degrees at the top of the mountain and 31.5 at the bottom, they said that it's only warm enough to wear a t-shirt a few days of the year, so I hit a good time to visit.
Its peak rises to 1270 metres (about 4000 feet), enough to give a vantage point for panoramic views of Hobart, the Derwent River and Storm Bay, and the southern section of the vast World Heritage Tasmanian Wilderness areas.

And if you could see that far, some 11,000 kilometres away west of Mt Wellington is the nearest permanent human settlement, which is in Chile in South America.

My sister has lived here for 23 years and has seen snow at the top of Mt. Wellington twice. The View from the peak is spectacular and actually seems unreal that you have made it to the top. When we left the peak, we went to one of the walking trails, one of many on the mountain. It was a temperate rain forest, very cool, no snakes thankfully. We are actually driving to a rainforest on Sunday where we'll hike for several hours, I've heard of rain forests but never really seen one.

I am so happy to discover that living in Tasmania is not that much different from living in Halifax. I thought it would be a real cultural shock but it hasn't been. Yes there are more bugs, and ones that are unusual. but none that are very scary. I have seen a baby Huntsman spider but that's it, they are not a usual summer spider, they don't really make themselves known until the fall, thank god!!!

Hey Peter, yesterday I was in wine country, it was simply gorgeous, overlooking the breathtaking seascape of Marion Bay and Maria Island in South Eastern Tasmania, Bream Creek is one of the first commercial vineyards planted in Tasmania. The original consortium in 1973 planted 5 hectare of vines consisting mainly of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, with some Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer. The white sand beach here is at least 10 km's long with amazing sea birds and sea shells, ones that we pay for in Halifax. Anyway, Tasmanian wine is now challenging Australian wine, it's very good.

The new animals I have seen are black swans!!! I can't believe these birds, they are stunning, Parrot's that you see at the pet store, you know the green ones, we see them all the time here, they are called Rosella Parrotts, Í've seen Honey Eaters (gorgeous), blue wren and Pied Oyster Catchers. So many spectacular birds!!!

Today was a shopping day in Tasmania, boy it's expensive here. Everything is so much more expensive than in Halifax, even with the exchange. I didn't buy much, just spoiled my niece, Isabella.

I hope all is well.

Love you guys,
Mo

NBC Rejected This Ad Because It's "Too Sexy"

NBC has rejected an ad submitted by PETA . . . (--People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.) . . . for the Super Bowl . . . because it contains suggestive imagery featuring VEGETABLES.

--The ad is filled with scantily clad women . . . who are enjoying vegetables in a romantic manner. It also includes the slogan, quote: "Studies show vegetarians have better sex."

(--If you want to see what all the fuss is about you can find the ad . . . .)


http://www.peta.org/content/standalone/VeggieLove/Default.aspx


After you take a look, tell us whether you think it should have been banned from airing during the Superbowl.

Moya's Australian/Tazmanian Adventure

Hi Everyone,

Just checking in, thought I'd see how you all are doing.

I've hit a really good stretch of good weather in Tasmania, it was 30 degrees today and will be until Saturday, not a cloud in the sky. We have to be very careful about sunscreen here, the thinnest layer of the ozone is actually over Tasmania. We went to the beach today with spf 30 and we still got sun, then we went to a friend of my sister's who has a swimming pool. They live on a wildlife reserve and we got very close to a wild podaroo, which is the smallest in the kangaroo family. It is a marsupial but the one we saw today was only a baby so nothing in the pouch.

Yesterday was Australia Day, so a holiday for everyone and we had a barbecue party, yes Brad we roasted shrimp on the Barbie!! I'm having a little trouble staying awake after 10pm, I'm awake wide eyed at 5am here, my clock is totally turned around, I hope it comes back as easily as it turned around. Anyway, yesterday before the party we went to Bonorong Wildlife Park and I got to see animals I have never seen in my lifetime, many I had never heard of, here's a list, wombats, Tasmanian devils, koala bears, kangaroo's, emus, quolls, echidna's, Kate barron geese, wallabies, pademelons, a sulfar crested cockatoo's, sugar gliders, magpies, superb fairy wren, wedge tailed eagles. I've seen black cockatoo's in Cawley's backyard, they are very prevalent here. I saw a Grey Goshawk in her backyard and they are very rare. I was very excited to see many of the animals but sad to learn of the facial tumor disease threatening extinction of the Tasmanian Devil, they spread the disease amongst themselves and they say the animal can be gone in the next 7 - 10 years. Warner Brother's gave the devils a bad name, they are apparently more afraid of us than we are of them. The Kangaroo's were very friendly, I got to feed and pet many, there were several with babies in their pouches and unlike we see in the cartoons, babies don't stick their heads out of the pouches but their tails and legs, it is very weird. I took pictures so you could see later.

I am very excited to be here with my sister who has been here for 23 years, We get to see her every couple of years when she comes home to Canada, but then I have to share her with the rest of my family, this way I get to spend all of my time with her and her husband and their daughter, (my neice and goddaughter), Isabella. I'm loving the long walks, long talks and this entire life that is world's away from mine. Isabella is a gorgeous 13 year old with the sweetest voice and Australian accent, I can talk to her for hours.

One thing I am noticing is that Australian houses are much smaller than houses in Canada. We have come to realize that the reason is because the outside is their house for most of the year, they don't need big houses. My sister's house is overlooking the ocean, it is high on the hill with a spectacular view, there are no houses below her, only the trail to the beach, it takes two minutes to get there, but it's a steep crawl back up the hill. Anyway, the view is worth the trek. This house is a true getaway that they live in year round.

The Australian Open is all the talk around here, I'm sure you are talking about it as well.

I miss you all, I miss my family, but this is definitely a trip of a lifetime and I am making the most of the time.

Love to you all,
Moya

TOP SUPER BOWL ADS OF ALL TIME

The countdown to the big game has begun. There's a massive crush of media in Tampa, Florida, reporting on the teams. There are massive crushes of shoppers in grocery stores, stocking up for this weekend's Super Bowl parties.
The crazy thing is, very few people actually care about the game.
It's all about the food, the drink, the halftime show -- and the commercials.

MSNBC.com compiled a list of their favorite Super Bowl ads of all time. Here are a few of their picks. See how many you remember -- and how many made your list of all-time favorites:

The Budweiser Frogs -- 1995 -- Just three frogs sitting on a log and croaking the words "buuuud," "wiiiise" and "errrr." It was so popular, it created lizard and ferret spin-offs.

Apple Computer's "1984" -- One of the most famous commercials in history. A woman throws a sledgehammer through a theater screen and introduced the world to Macintosh computers.

Coke and Mean Joe Greene -- 1979 -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' Mean Joe Greene meets a kid in a stadium tunnel after the game and trades a Coke for a jersey. Classic.

Check It Out: The full top ten list from MSNBC.com can be found at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28780693/

Moya's Australian Adventure

Hi everyone!!!
I arrived yesterday afternoon (Saturday) around 4:30, 38 hours after take off from Halifax, I missed Friday all together. When I got on the plane for Sydney, Aus, I was asleep before take-off and slept for 2/3's of the flight.

My sister and her family live on the ocean, the view is spectacular and the weather is quite nice. It was 33 degrees yesterday in Sydney, cooler here, around 27, it's around that temp today with a nice sea breeze. We've already had the spider and snake talk, hopefully I won't see any on my entire trip unless it's at the zoo. Anyway, this was jut meant to be a note to let you know I have arrived safely, I'll send another note later.

Take care and have fun,
Moya

Yesterday's Question of the Day results.

Yesterday we asked what worries you about aging and 36% said it is getting facial wrinkles, bad knees is next with 25% of the vote, then losing sex drive and middle age spread. Going bald only got 1% of the vote.

The Body You Like Reveals Your Personality

PERSONALITY TEST: What a woman likes about a man's body reveals her personality, according to psychologist Dr Herbert Hoffman.
• Bulging muscles – She's playful, a bit naive and hangs on to many childhood fantasies.
• Clean, white teeth – She is full of energy, values good health, strives for moderation and likes to be in the mainstream.
• Broad shoulders – She's a delightful companion, entertaining, amusing, well informed, very feminine and relies on her charm to get others to cater to her.
• Narrow waist & thin hips – She has great drive and energy, but prefers to avoid the limelight and help her man succeed.
• Manicured nails – She is artistic, creative, cultured and constantly seeking self-improvement.
• Dreamy eyes – She is loyal, trustworthy, reliable, intuitive and sensitive and rarely takes things at face value.
• Thick curly hair – She is outgoing, enthusiastic and affectionate and enjoys physical closeness.
• Sensuous mouth & lips – She a terrific conversationalist who believes in communicating her feelings and thoughts and expects other people to do the same.
• Very thin build – She has a self-sacrificing nature and strong maternal instincts.
• Very heavy build – She is a luxury-loving woman who wants to enjoy life to its fullest and is worried about financial security.
• Very tall build – She a decisive woman who's in command of her own life and isn't likely to be intimidated by anyone.
• Very short build – She is a very self-confident woman who's extremely capable of making her own way in the world.

Moya picked clean white teeth. Deb Smith picked sensuous lips.

Yesterday's Question of the Day results.

Yesterday we asked if President Obama will make a difference. 94% of respondents said yes!

America's Finest Hour

This is an open letter to the people of America. Today is a great day. A day when your country takes one more step toward putting blatant racism behind it. Of course we here in Canada need to take a moment to realize that as much as we like to think we’re more enlightened, we also need to take a look at ourselves and challenge ourselves to remove racism from our lives. The fact is it exists and quite often it exists in the quiet of our minds. An uncomfortable feeling when you’re around people different than yourself. People who are racist aren’t always bad people. They’re just people who can’t get past the fact that our differences are far less than the similarities we all have as humans.

So today is a great day. America moves forward in its history. My huge concern is the great weight they have now put on the shoulders of this man. He is a man, not a Messiah. The media, Hollywood, every day people have decided that this man can bring on massive change. He’s a politician. He’s promised the American people a bill of goods and suddenly, they’ve decided he’s the one who can achieve it? I’m too much of a realist to believe that one man, no matter how great his oratory skills, can change a government system that’s been over 200 years in the making.

When the sun rises on Barack Obama’s first day in the Presidency there will still be a congress, there will still be a senate, there will still be lobbyists, there will still be layers and layers and layers of government bureaucracy. Plus, there will still be state governments which have tremendous power in the U.S.

Sixteen years ago today Bill Clinton was inaugurated. He too was swept into the White House on a promise of change. He too promised hope and often spoke of having been born in Hope, Arkansas. Eight years later, he’d made a few changes, but he’d also made far more mistakes. Bill Clinton was a smart man, a hard worker and a believer in many of the same values as Barack Obama. Then he came to Washington and ran into the system that exists inside the Beltway.

I hope Barack Obama has tremendous success. I hope that the people who make up government in the U.S. will work with him to change Washington. I hope that he can bring a new peace minded United States of America, to the world. I hope that even a smidgen of the promise that is Barack Obama can come true. However, most of all, I hope that people don’t give up on him and his dream when things don’t seem to be going that well.

Barack Obama takes on a massive project today. The hopes and dreams of a nation rest on his shoulders. The hopes and dreams of a race of people rest on his shoulders. The hopes and dreams of a world that needs the United States to help bring about an economic turn around rest on his shoulders. Here’s to hoping he’s the most successful President the world has ever known. But more important, here’s to hoping that people cut him some slack when he isn’t, and that we just appreciate that he’s trying and we all need to try along with him.

Congratulations America. Now, lets get to work.

Funny Comedian check it out!

Here is a very funny dog anecdote from Ron White on The Tonight Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQjgW8QlHPM

Best Job In The World

If you're looking for a new job, then you're going to want to pay attention . . . because this just might be the BEST JOB IN THE WORLD.


(--You can learn more about the job and fill out an online application here . . .)

www.islandreefjob.com


--An Australian company called Tourism Queensland has announced that they're looking for a caretaker for Hamilton Island . . . which is a private island off Australia's northeastern coast in the Great Barrier Reef.
--So what are the job duties?
#1.) Maintain a weekly blog . . . including a photo diary and video updates . . . about Hamilton Island and the unique life there.
#2.) Clean the pool, feed the fish and pick up the mail at the three-bedroom residence which the company will provide.
--That's all. But that's not even the best part. Get this:
--The job only requires you to work for six months a year, all your living costs will be completely paid for . . . and the salary is just over $106,000 a year. (!!!)
--Tourism Queensland will interview 11 job candidates in May . . . and the winner will start work on July 1st.

Women's Sex Life Survey

SEXY: A sex survey done last year by Chatelaine magazine asked 4,000 Canadian women about their sex lives… it’s the most comprehensive sex survey ever done in Canada…..some of the findings from that survey:

-80% of the women surveyed were in monogamous relationships and the rest were single…

-25% said that despite being happy with their current lover in the past they have had a better lover

-33% deal with a hectic lifestyle by scheduling sex dates….

-almost half of the women have sex every week while 29% couldn’t remember the last time

-91% had sex before they were married

-50% of women admit their body image interferes with sex….

-25% say they routinely fake orgasms

-the majority of women when asked to rank their bodies on a scale of 1 to 10 gave themselves a six….the higher a woman ranked herself the more likely she was to say she enjoyed sex…

-53% want more sex than they get…..

-22% say they have sworn off sex in the past

-22% never pleasure themselves….29% do it less than once a month

-38% own a sex toy…

-81% have never had cybersex….

-over 25% said being in love is everything when it comes to having great sex

-42% of French Canadian women say they initiate sex while only 32% of English Canadian women do…

-72% of French Canadian women report almost always having an orgasm during sex while only 57% of English Canadian women claimed that

Worst Inventions!

THE KARAOKE MACHINE IS THE MOST ANNOYING INVENTION:

You might think the British government has a lot going on right now . . . what with the global financial crisis, the constant threat of terrorism and the country's involvement in the war in Iraq.
--Fortunately, they still had time to commission a survey . . . about the most ANNOYING inventions ever created.
--Here are the TEN most annoying inventions ever . . . according to the British people:
#10.) Remote control (--Mentioned by 1% of respondents)
#8.) MP3 Player; Personal Electronic Organizer (TIED) (--2%)
#7.) Internet (--4%)
#6.) Hair Straightener (--5%)
#5.) Alarm Clock (--7%)
#4.) Cell Phone (--11%)
#3.) Video Games Consoles (--12%)
#2.) 24-hour Sports Channels (--17%)
#1.) Karaoke Machine (--22%) (Independent)

Things it's OK to lie about!!!

HERE ARE 25 THINGS IT'S OK TO LIE ABOUT:

You know it's wrong to lie . . . but there are exceptions to EVERY rule. With that in mind, here's a list of 25 things it's OK to lie about.

#1.) The number of people you've slept with . . . plus or minus FIVE.

#2.) Whether or not you just washed your hands.

#3.) Whether the bags under your eyes are from partying your face off . . . or because you were up late finishing a book.

#4.) Whether you're "naturally" toned.

#5.) How much you paid for a ridiculously cheap piece of clothing.

#6.) How much you paid for a ridiculously expensive piece of clothing.

#7.) Whether you're excited to see some stupid new movie coming out.

#8.) That your favorite magazine is actually "The New Yorker" . . . and NOT "US Weekly".

#9.) That you can do a headstand in yoga class.

#10.) Whether you cooked the entire meal from scratch.

#11.) Your height and weight on your driver's license.

#12.) Whether your hair color is your natural color.

#13.) That you think "The Secret" changed your life.

#14.) Whether you really stayed at work a full hour after your boss left.

#15.) That you didn't just break wind.

#16.) That you don't know all the lyrics to "I'll Make Love to You" by BOYZ II MEN.

#17.) That you floss every day.

#18.) That you never look at your ex's Facebook profile.

#19.) How you really feel about your friend's spouse.

#20.) How you really feel about the sweater your grandma gave you for Christmas.

#21.) That you always recycle.

#22.) That you only had one drink . . . because five drinks would have been excessive.

#23.) That your current spouse is the best sex of your life.

#24.) That you're not the jealous type.

#25.) That you read the entire newspaper . . . NOT just the Sports section. (CNN)

Germs are everywhere!!!

The world around us is filled with germs. And taking certain precautions doesn't make you a germaphobe . . . it keeps you healthy. Here are five things you come in contact with in everyday life that are absolute cesspools for bacteria and viruses . . .

#1.) PUBLIC MAGAZINES. If you read one in a doctor's office or a public library, wash or sanitize your hands immediately after you're done. Cold and flu viruses can survive on dry surfaces for up to 48 hours, and bacteria like E. coli can survive for months.

#2.) KEYBOARDS. In fact, a SHARED keyboard at your office or in your home can have up to 5 times as many germs as your TOILET SEAT. And it's a prime spot for the cold and flu viruses to wait for a new victim.

#3.) THE GYM. The cold virus is on 73% of weight-lifting equipment and 51% of aerobic equipment like treadmills. So, if you're hitting the gym to stay HEALTHY this winter, make sure you shower or at least wash your hands with soap when you're done.

#4.) SHOPPING CARTS. A 2006 study found that two-thirds of shopping cart handles are contaminated with FECAL bacteria. The main culprit? Babies with diapers. Shopping carts are excellent transmitters of diarrhea and other potential illnesses for kids and adults.

--A lot of stores are now offering free sanitary wipes, but carrying your own won't hurt. And make sure you ALWAYS wash unpackaged foods like fruits and vegetables

#5.) TRANSIT POLES. Due to the sheer number of people who touch them, they're a major health hazard. Some might start installing poles made out of bacteria-resistant materials, but in the meantime, wash your hands when you get home . . . or get the flu.

(AskMen.com)

Top 25 songs of 2008

A guy called DJ Earworm has put together this mashup of the Billboard 25 songs of 2008.

Check it out at the link attached.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqDVujbisrI

Do you have a secret habit?

For more than a year, Eva Longoria has been able to hide her secret cigarette habit from her husband, Tony Parker. Tony had no idea until he saw pictures of her lighting up while in Puerto Rico forRoselyn Sanchez's November 29 wedding. "He wasn't really upset, but he was shocked!" a source said.

Just Wondering ... Do you have a secret habit your spouse has no idea about? Answer our Question of the day.