Marcie May

And We're Back

2012-01-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's only been 2 years.
Here's a quick (and I do mean quick) re-cap of what you've missed. I'll try and do this by importance and not chronilogically.
Obviously, first and foremost: I got Hitched. Meet Marcie Traballoni

Next up. Meet my baby
HANK
Hobbies and interests include but are not limited to: Sticks, Squeaky Tennis Balls, Naps, Belly Scratches, and Home-made Treats.

Wow, as I'm doing this I'm realizing that I haven't even uploaded any pictures onto my computer over the last two years. So to save myself time (how lazy, right?) I will just list the rest of events.

-Fernando and I moved to Salt Lake City.
-Rented a cute little apartment by the U of U
-We both got Jobs (thank heavens!) Me at ARUP, Fernando at The Dennis Group
-We took some vacations: Miami, Orland, Hollywood, Las Vegas, New York, Bryce Canyon, St. George, and good 'ol Buenos Aires. Hmm, maybe when I get some time, I'll post some pics of these vay cays. It's sort of a shame to just list them.
-We bought a house! In Murray....Pictures WILL be posted soon...or at some point...but no promises. I'm just being realistic

Ok, so that concludes the events for the last few years, or at least the ones that come to mind. The idea is that I will do better at posting. I'm sure my many fans are so relieved to hear that (hi mom).

Wedding Bells

2009-12-28T15:45:00.007-07:00

Yay for Weddings in Argentina. They do things a little differently than what I'm used to. 1st is the civil ceremony (done several days in advance at a court house). 2nd The religious ceremony conducted by priest, Rabi, what have you. 3rd (following directly after the 2nd) comes the party including appetizers, drinks, full dinner, and dancing dancing dancing! The festivities last all night. Even Grandma Lopez is "cutting a rug" until 4 in the morning.

"Dance like no one is watching" applies to all following photos

Note the sun beginning to rise above the building. I actually partied till dawn. Normally I can't stay up to see the 10pm news.

Margaret River

2009-12-21T14:36:00.008-07:00

I'm so behind on posting! Thanks to 3rd world-like internet (in Australia...you'd think for a civilized country they'd have decent internet...but no) it takes me several hours to upload pictures to the blog, so I loose interest in blogging after hour 2 or so. Now that I'm in Argentina (with remarkably fast internet) I suppose I can catch up. Below, for your viewing pleasure, are the photos from our trip to Margaret River (southwestern Australia). Wine country galore. Gorgeous crystal turquoise beaches. Decent outback hiking. I'm a fan.

Fernando body surfing a wave

Me freaking out because of the giant "tsunami" behind me (I'm kidding -- about the giant wave, not about freaking out)

Isn't he a doll. This is a little Bobtail lizard. I wanted to take him home as a pet, but I wasn't down with feeding live insects to him. I can't squash a spider, so I obviously can't send a cricket to certain death by mastication. You'd think I was vegan (or vegetarian at least) by the way I talk, but nope. I only save insects.

There is a tiny story corresponding to the following 2 photos. Fernando thought it was a genius idea to find a the smallest road on the map (unnamed, I might add) that led to the beach, in hopes of coming across a prestine, private, never discovered paradise. Out of fear of getting our truck stuck in calf deep sand, we parked it on the side of the road and continued on foot. It was blisteringly hot. There were about a million flies, all determined to annoy me. Once we had the ocean in sight (finally, after walking FOREVER) it was like a mirage. The more we walked, the farther away it seemed. But in the end, we arrived. Was it paradise, you ask? Sadly no. It was too rocky to even hike down to the water. And then, of course, we had to hike back out ;)

After hiking, sun bathing, etc we relaxed and enjoyed some refreshments at the various wineries in the region. I saw one vinyard -- and retrospectively wish I would have taken a picture -- by the name of Cullen. Red wine made by possible vampires???

Don Fernando and his Vineyard

Rotto

2009-12-09T18:48:00.006-07:00

Because we were nearing our last days in Australia, we were desperately trying to fit all the "to do" things that we had been putting off. One of which was to go back to Rottnest Island. The first time we went I was an absolute chicken and didn't even put my feet in the water. What a wimp! This time I was slightly more adventurous and semi snorkeled. Semi because I only went into the water about thigh high and was constantly popping my head out because my goggles kept fogging up.

The ferry ride over

We rented bikes and rode them across the entire, and very hilly, island

This is the type of snake I almost stepped on. I was minding my own business, admiring the beautiful turquoise ocean, and didn't see the little bugger coiled up just under where I was about to step. The guys, who were behind me, all held their breath as I miraculously stepped just over it. Apparently it looked at me, and then slithered away. I turned around (as the boys were yelling "watch out for the snake"....a little late don't you think) just in time to see it slide between two rocks. You can't see very well in the photo, but in the description it says that these snakes are poisonous, but very shy. Lucky for me

This is a Quokka. Sort of a rat/kangaroo mix that are found only on this island. They are very tame and you can go right up to them and pet them. As there is no rabis in all of australia, it's pretty safe, even if one actually did bite you.

What will we order for lunch?

Ick, oysters

This is Fer and I both looking aprehnsively at the oysters. In the end I didn't try them

P is for Party

2009-12-09T17:19:00.006-07:00

Every year for the Coogee Chemicals' christmas party, they have a themed costume night. This year everyone had to come as something that started with the letter P. I brainstormed for a couple of days, wondering what in the world I should dress up as, and being the only girl from our company, I assumed all creative responsibility for the other Conve AVS employees. After some thought, and a lot of scotch tape, I created a Present, Pi, a Pie chart, and Paper People. I really wanted to go as Pi, but the width of all our shoulders dictated that I be the present as I was the only one who could reasonably fit into it.

Note Picasso in the center (a very clever costume)

No peeking until Christmas!

Giving Pumpkin Pie a Try

2009-11-26T01:00:00.004-07:00

Far far away from home, and very far away from familiar ingredients, a beautiful young princess had a brilliant idea. She was going to cook a traditional pumpkin pie from scratch, using a recipe she'd gotten off the internet (and never tried) and the wrong kind of pumpkin, since there were no "pie pumpkins" to be had.

In the beginning, still fresh faced and full of optimism.

The magical pumpkin mixture (steamed, squashed, mashed, and finally pureed).

Pumpkin gloop plus spices, eggs, etc

A pie crust or two, painstakingly styled around the edges

Off to the oven. Hold your breath, cross your fingers, make a wish

Ah man! After all that work, what an ugly pie :(

Although, regardless of it's appearance, I'm happy to report that upon tasting the ugly little bugger it's the best pumpkin pie I've ever had. MMMMMmmmmmm. Looks aren't the only thing that count, you know.

An Outlandish Afternoon

2009-11-09T00:43:00.005-07:00

Lucky me! One of my favorite authors (Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander series) is currently doing a book signing tour and, low and behold, she stopped off in Perth for an event. This was my first book signing so I didn't really know what to expect, but I had a really great time. They had a lovely afternoon tea and Diana spoke for about an hour about her background, writing process, and a little about the characters (notice now that since I met her, we are on a first name basis). I thought about dragging poor Fernando along with me because I really didn't want to go alone, but once I arrived I was glad I left him home. There was not a single male in the building.

Me and my new best friend

Dolphins

2009-11-07T03:59:00.006-07:00

I've spotted dolphins several times, but have never been able to take a picture. You can never tell where and when they will surface, so it's really difficult to follow them with a camera. Today, I finally got a shot. Sure, it's pretty grainy, and you can barely tell what you're looking at, but no matter. You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that in the center of the picture below is a dolphin.

Again, not something you can really see in the picture above, but there was a bit of a feeding frenzy going on, consisting of birds, 6-8 dolphins, and who knows what else under the water.

There is a really lovely wildlife preserve by our house called Point Peron and it's a really great area for hiking, snorkeling, and animal spotting.

One of our favorite activities on the weekend, weather permitting, is to rent out (for free!) bikes from a restaurant in Fremantle and spend the day cycling round the city. This time we stopped at the Maritime Museum where they have an old submarine and other things nautical.

2009-10-12T17:58:00.001-06:00

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To Baires And Back

2009-10-10T04:11:00.004-06:00

Fernando and I were able to spend both of our birthdays in Buenos Aires amongst friends. Sadly, our cameras, both of them...what are the odds, decided not to work so I have hardly any pictures from the trip. Below are the few that I was able to scrounge up.

Thanks to a hefty time difference between Australia and Argentina, Fernando got to celebrate his birthday for what seemed like forever. And rigthly so, as it was his 30th. What an old man! We celebrated at midnight, just as we boarded the plane, flew 20 hours, arrived in Baires in the afternoon (and it was still his birthday) then had a birthday party with friends that eveing. I myself have graduated into my 28th year. I already notice an increase in stiffness of the joints, slower reaction time, I can predict a storm because my hip hurts, and I regularaly complain about all the noise youngsters these days make. Not to mention my 9 o'clock bedtime. If there ever was any doubt, it's offical now. I'm old!

Thanks to my mom and dad, we returned to Australia with a brithday package waiting for us, complete with cake mix! Obviously we would have prefered to have opened our gifts with you guys, but it was a great surprise. Thanks again P&J :)

I Heart Imax

2009-08-16T02:20:00.003-06:00

It's a good day for nerds across Australia. As most of ya'll know, I'm a huge fan of everything planeterium, especially the 3D and Imax shows. In Perth for the next few weeks, they are giving away the Imax DVDs with the Sunday newspaper. Great edutainment and the price is right!

Bits and Pieces

2009-08-02T05:58:00.002-06:00

These are just some photos that I have collected over the last few weeks and haven't bothered to post. We had a guy from Germany come to help out with the company project so we did some more sightseeing, ie kangaroo petting. For a few weeks it was pretty blustery and gray, but it's finally been nice sunny weather again. Not a shabby way to spend a winter I must say.
.

Fertorious B.I.G...

2009-07-20T21:49:00.003-06:00

...is "on a boat"

My Top 10

2009-06-17T00:20:00.007-06:00

10. Dessert

Anything super rich that you know you really shouldn't eat more than a bite of, but end up eating the whole thing.

9. Historical Fiction

My latest craze? The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon (thanks Steph). I can't put it down. Sure, it's brimming with shamefully romantic details but it does have just enough actual historic events included that I feel slightly intellectual by reading it, thus justification for reading a romance novel. And for those of you Twilight fans out there, it's true: Jamie and Claire are a way hotter couple than Edward and Bella!

8. Zupas

My favorite thing to cook or eat (that is not a sweet) is and always has been soup. Throw in salads and sandwiches and the complimentary chocolate covered strawberry...and wham! Marcie's dream dinner destination. Unfortunately there are none (nor nothing of the like) in the land down under.

7. Funny animal videos/pictures

I'm a little embarrassed about this one, but truth be told, it can't be helped. I get the uncontrollable giggles whenever someone sends me a new youtube or forward with the aforementioned contents. I do realize that they aren't THAT funny, but the realization of it makes me laugh even harder.

6. Yoga

Need I say more? Best way to relax, stretch, exercise, and de-stress.

5. Blogs

It wasn't too long ago that I absolutely despised blogs, however, I have completely reformed. They are without a doubt the best way to keep in touch and share photos, especially living away from home. Huge time saver for me.

4. ELF makeup

I'm always one for a bargain, and you can't beat $1 eyeshadow, lip gloss, and blushes!

3. Dresses

My favorite thing to wear, especially in decent weather, is a free flowing dress. Forget sweats, dresses are THE most comfortable thing you can possibly wear.

2. French Bulldogs

Although I am a huge fan of any puppy/dog, Frenchie's are by far my favorite. I love their scrunched little faces, crazy big bat ears, and funny little personalities and I vow that one day (as soon as I stop traveling and have a permanent spot) I'm gonna get myself one of these little cuties!

1. Fernando

Yes ladies, they do exist. Fernando Traballoni is the Perfect Guy :)

Handsome (check)
Intelligent (check)
Latin + Italian = Super Sexy (check)
Sense of Humor (check)
Athletic (check)
Super Sweet (check)
Thoughtful (check)
Responsible (check)
In love with me (double check)

I'm a lucky lucky girl!

Bali

2009-06-09T02:20:00.006-06:00

Lucky me! Fernando had to leave Australia to renew his visa and I got to go with. And just where did we decide to go?.... BALI! It's only a 3 and 1/2 hour flight from Perth (closer to go there than to Sydney) and pretty affordable. I liken it to Australia's Mexico; with it's gorgeous areas, lovely beaches, run-down dirty bits, billions of street vendors and shops that are cheap cheap cheap!

One of my favorite things to do was catch frogs. There where millions all over at night. This isn't a great picture, but you can see how cute and little they were

Fernando, the ever ready and eager athlete, saw that there was a game of water Chicken taken place at the hotel pool, and dove in for the challenge. He's in the red swim trunks.

However, as you'll see in the following picture, he wasn't quite up to the challenge. This was after just one blow :)

BFFs and Babies

2009-06-01T02:32:00.003-06:00

While visiting Utah for my lil sis's wedding, I was able to get together with the girls for dinner and see there little munchkins as well. I must say that I am completely in awe at how great all of them are at being mommies!

Kimi and Beckham

Jenn and Addyson. Addy pulls the cutest little face!

Heather and Easton

Just after dining, we discovered a young budding romance. How cute is that!!!

Jenn was nice enough to give Feather and I a make-over. Don't we look so fresh facedThanks Jenn!

Naturally Nerdy

2009-05-19T13:48:00.002-06:00

Those of you who know me well, know that I am a complete geek at heart. One of my favorite places is the entire world is the planetarium. My perfect date would consist of dinner at a nice restaurant (with dessert, of course) and a 3D educational movie about underwater creatures. Anyway, my family (also nerds...except for Elise who is too cool) went to Clarks and the following nerdiness ensued.

I love bad boys

2009-05-14T08:36:00.002-06:00

Fernando's lead foot finally caught up to him! On our way out to dinner, not even 10 minutes after I warned him that we drive a little differently in the civilized 1st world, he got pulled over for speeding. Classic "I told you so" moment :)

And just to make my point (that you should always heed the warnings of your intelligent girlfriend) I made him sit in the stalks for a fortnight

Sandboarding

2009-04-28T23:33:00.012-06:00

Ferchu's friend Facundo came all the way from London just to visit us! (well, not really just for us, he had business in Perth). We visited an Australian landmark called the Pinnacles and along the way stopped at a zoo. Afterwards, which was the real highlight for me, we went to some huge white sand dunes and did a little sandboarding (or in my case, sand-sledding).

THE ZOO
The following 2 pictures might me some of my favorites ever. Facundo made a new friend. This kangaroo just grabbed onto his arm and wouldn't let go. It was so cute!

There was the cutest little baby Koala. He was the only one that was awake :)

THE PINNACLES

SANDBOARDING

Even our bus went down the huge doons, which completely freaked me out! It felt a lot like the log ride at Lagoon. I'm pretty sure I was the only one who was scared.

The boards we had were suppsoed to be used for sitting, but of course Fernando and Facundo had to be all daring and try it standing...with the following result :)

I'm a bad person

2009-04-16T21:58:00.003-06:00

I ate Kangaroo! I'm told it's a must if you are in Australia, so I got it over with. I'm not proud of it, I feel like I ate a puppy.

Go Eagles?

2009-04-12T05:02:00.006-06:00

So, Fernando's friend Carolina (who lives in Melbourne) came to visit our side of the island for Easter weekend. Her boyfriend was able, due to some connection or another, to get us on the field of a professional Aussie rules football field. Now, I'm not that big into sports (especially the foreign type) but it was pretty amazing to be on the field of such a large stadium. Not too sure who actually plays on the field, but I'm thinking I heard something about Eagles???

Cute Little Sharkies

2009-04-03T02:21:00.004-06:00

Well, we're at it again. Exploring nature's wonders. This aquarium was freakin' crazy. They had this huge tank with sharks and giant sting rays and they actually let you swim with them. Fernando was all set to go, but they sold out of spots for the day. Darn it. Guess we'll have to go back again.

Yikes! Saltwater crocks! I won't be caught swimming with sharks, but I'll stick my hand in a crocks mouth? Peer pressure makes you do crazy things

We worked up a pretty fierce appetite and Australian's know how to eat! I'm enjoying the food here much more than in Argentina (it's more like what I'm used too...more variety).

Koalas and Kangaroos and Dingos! Oh My!

2009-03-18T00:15:00.006-06:00

Well, it's settled. Kangaroos are the cutest little critters ever! Ferdi took Fernando, Erica and I to a "petting zoo" of some sorts where they had a variety of Australian wildlife for us to play with. I really enjoyed the deer, kangaroos and the koalas...but the birds...yuck. I don't know why, but I have this really illogical fear of birds. Big or small. There were these two creepy emus that kept following us around trying to sneak our treats. Really freaked me out! There were dingos but I couldn't get any decent pictures of them. They weren't too interested in us.

Gross! Ostriches

Aw, little Bambis everywhere.

Come here dangit! I want to pet you!

Bonus! Cool HUGE spider

Site-Seeing in Perth

2009-03-16T01:18:00.008-06:00

Fer and I had a jam-packed tourist Saturday. Ferdi (from Coogee Chemicals) and his lovely wife Vivan, were kind enough to show us around Perth. We started out early (9am sharp) taking the train into the city (about a 30 minute trip). We were told not to eat breakfast, and it's good thing we didn't because we had Dim Sum (a Cantonese buffet style of dinning). I had only seen it in movies before. It was very good, and I was really crazy full afterwards. Next, we let our tummies digest as we walked around King's Park, a large city park situated on a hill above the city. There were some incredible views. Next, to the wheel! We road a large Ferris Wheel right along the river coast. Then to dinner...Korean BBQ. MMmmm. The brought the food out raw and we grilled it ourselves, right there on the table. It was delicious.

Rottnest Island

2009-03-16T00:37:00.007-06:00

Uh, I think it was the second, or third day after we arrived to Perth, Fer and I had the opportunity to go to a nearby island with some people from work. (I'm still a little hazy about which day it is, what with the jet lag and all!). This place is gorgeous! I actually didn't hop into the water (and I am kicking myself now! What was I thinking?) On the boat ride over to the island, I got a little scared from all the shark bite stories and decided to sit this one out. But check out the pictures....the water is sooooo clear!

Yup, that's a real live critter! There were a ton of sting rays just passing by the boat.

On the island, there are cute little furry things called Quackers (at least I think that is how you spell it. That crazy Australian accent can be sort of hard to understand)!

To Downunder We Go!

2009-03-15T23:50:00.005-06:00

One day before leaving for Australia, Conve AVS put together a little goodbye party for Ferchu, Aldo, Ayelen, and I.

ON THE ROAD

Missed our connecting flight from Sydney to Perth :(

...Finally there! We were super tired by the time we finally arrived, but obviously not too tired to check out the beach.

(check out the view from our apartment)

Bon Voyage!!!

2009-02-23T10:49:00.005-07:00

It's official! Fernando and I are headed for Austrailia. It looks like we will be leaving around the 7th of March. We decided to host a little farewell party last weekend. We did a BBQ for friends (this time American style...with hamburgers and hot dogs) :) I'm getting super excited to leave! I am going to be staying in Perth (on the western side of Australia) and apparently my apartment will be right along the beach! AHHHhhhh! I can't wait!

V-DAY

2009-02-16T10:43:00.008-07:00

Happy V-Day! Ferchu and I had a really nice, low key, yet quite romantic day. We went shopping (and it was super hot) so we stopped at Starbucks, yumm! I always get a little overexcited for the little things that make me feel more like home :) That evening, we decided not to fight the crowds at the restaurants and stayed in. Fer is an amazing cook, and he made me the best V-Day dinner ever!
The day before Valentines, Seven and I made sugar cookies for our honey bunches :)

Temaikén

2009-02-09T12:21:00.014-07:00

Finally!! I´m doing touristy things :) Over the weekend I went to a bio-park called Temaikén with Fernando and Henry. There was an AMAZING aquarium equipped with sharks and all.

Girls Day Out in La Boca

2009-02-05T09:28:00.007-07:00

Lali, Seven and I decided it was time we started doing touristy things. First stop, La Boca. Its only about a 2 block area with brightly painted buildings, near one of the futbol stadiums (La Boca...Bombonera). We had a nice afternoon, walking around, taking millions of photos. We watched a little bit of tango, which was being performed on the street. Seven even got pulled up on stage to dance! And might I say, she looked like a professional :)

Chinese New Year

2009-01-26T07:08:00.005-07:00

There is actually a really large poplulation of Chinese immigrants in Buenos Aires and there is a cute little China Town as well. The last two weeks have been the Chinese New Year celebration.

Gong Xi Gong Xi! (congratulations)

Hong Dou Bing: An authentic Chinese treat. It's like a pancake filled with a red bean paste. It's acutally quite sweet.

Lunch with Seven

2009-01-23T12:25:00.002-07:00

My cute Chinese friend Seven and I had a very American day. First we had lunch at TGI Fridays (yes, they have those here) and then went to starbucks.

Christmas with the Christensens

2009-01-15T14:00:00.007-07:00

Lucky me, I got to go home for the holidays!!! Fernando came with and got to meet the whole clan. I tried to pack the trip full of fun "Utah" things to do, so that maybe he would fall in love with the place and want to move there someday. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I think all the cold and snow was too much for him. But for a vacation, I think he really enjoyed himself. As for me, of course, I had a wonderful time. I made a video with all the pictures from the trip, but I'm still new at this whole blogging thing and I can't figure out how to get it posted. Anyway just know that that the video is yet to be released! And until then, here are a few photos:

Fer and I in Park City

ROCK BAND

Celebrating Elise's 19th B-day

Dinner with Mary and Sino

Piacitelli Family Party...the Chicks

Park City, Fer and I

Welcome to the US

New Year's Eve with a man in uniform!

Park City

Building Ferchu's First Snowman

Elise, Ferchu and I and our Gingerbread House of Death

Catching Up

2008-12-07T16:10:00.008-07:00

To start things off, I thought I would just bring everyone up to speed on what´s been going on with me. I took a job in Buenos Aires and have been living there for about a year now! You would think after a year, I would be fluent in Spanish, but I am totally not! I never thought I could be so retarded, but foreign languages apparently are NOT my thing. I am just barley starting to understand a little bit of what is going on around me. And trying to converse at work with people who do not speak English, is a real treat. I sound like a 3 year old. ¨Copier broken. You help, Please?¨

Anyway, I will post a few pictures of a few things I have done since I have been here, and that should set everything current.

Colonia, Uruguay

San Telmo, BsAs Argentina

Lujan Zoo, Argentina

Peru Beach, Argentina

Puerto Madero, BsAs Argentina

Campo de Edu

Japanese Garden, BsAs Argentina

Recoleta, BsAs Argentina

Corrientes, Argentina

Colonia, Uruguay

Palermo, BsAs Argentina