Stress baking and an Australian friend

Apparently one way I handle stress or anxiety is to bake.
That and watch teen drama.
This week has been somewhat stressful and overwhelming, and I have baked three times in three days.

Like these banana chocolate chip muffins.


or this pumpkin chocolate chip bread.


or these peanut butter chocolate chip bars

Or maybe it's that anything with chocolate chips can help an anxious heart.

That and some blog reading.  I seriously look forward to the evenings where I have time to catch up on blogs, like my daily reads and favorites and finding new blogs too.

And that is what I have for you today.  I'm excited to have Samara from The Secret Life of Samara share a little about herself and her life in Australia.  Which just learning that intrigued me when I found her blog.  And today she is sharing some Australian quirks that you had no idea existed!

Over the past week I have been reading all about the havoc that Hurricane Sandy has caused over in America and now we are getting taste of isome nasty weather over here in Australia, albeit on a smaller scale. While admittedly there are no roof tops flying or trees crashing, there is certainly a lot of rain, a lot of lightning and a lot of thunder. In fact, I am currently writing this post in the pitch black as our power has gone off. Something I love about blogging is that while I am over here sitting in the middle of a raging storm typing away, there is someone over the other side of the world in some gorgeous tropical location or someone else who has been snowed in. It suddenly makes the world seem not so small and it is exciting to connect with people from all over the world. I always feel like the odd one out though and I think that comes from being a weird little Australian. You may not realise, but there are a whole lot of little quirks about us that really make us stand out from the crowd and make me feel a little bit..odd. Let me explain...

Australian quirks that you had no idea existed.

1. Our Accent
Have you ever noticed our crazy accent? We were settled by the British yet sound like we've been put in slow motion when we speak. Such a long draaaawl. Do we speak slower because the heat has sapped all of our energy? Or because we really are that relaxed?

2. We are teeny tiny
I wrote this blog post about the amount of comments my husband and I get whenever out in public about his height. You see, he is 6"8. It would seem like no one has ever seen anyone of that height in Australia as we end up having so many gawkers and people making comments all the time. After writing this post I had a whole heap of Americans say that people don't tend to notice height in America- is this really true?? Are Australians really abnormally short or are Americans abnormally tall?

3. Our obsession with big things (including my giant husband)
I have been to the Big Lobster, the Big Orange, the Big Rocking Horse and the Big Koala. All around Australia there are big every things- pineapples, bananas, sheep- you name it, we've got it. We love anything giant sized. I don't understand it really but some how find myself sucked into the trap of wanting to visit them. Next on my list is the Big Pineapple in Queensland.

4. We go overseas but then just end up in the Aussie Pub
Guilty as charged. Do Americans do this? Go overseas just to find yourself hanging out at Maccas? (do you call it Maccas? Or is it McDonalds?). We like to think we are cultured when we travel, but the reality often tells a very different story!

5. We have an aversion to saying full words
My name is Samara but I constantly have people calling me Sam. I don't mind too much however sometimes I feel like I am being a kill joy by making someone say my whole name. We also shorten other things too- sandwich is a 'sanger', sausage is a 'snag' and Australians are "Aussies". I think this is just our laziness coming out!

Are there any other Aussie quirks that you have noticed?

 Come on over to my blog and see what life is like in the Land of Oz. Or to see pictures of my rabbit Nibbles. She's adorable and well worth the visit...and quirky in her own right.

xo
Samara


Now we all know how I feel about abbreviations   But I'd place money on that fact that if Samara said Maccas instead of McDonalds or sanger instead of sandwich with her Australian accent, she'd sound cool doing it.  Now go check out her cute Australian self over here.