Back from Oz.
I don't suppose I even mentioned that I was going? I went to Australia with the boyfriend's family from Dec 19 to Jan 5. It was both great and not so great, depending on what aspect you focus on. But because one of my new year's resolutions is to be a more positive person, I choose to say it was great.
I kept getting surprised when people said "Merry Christmas", as the Christmas feeling is virtually non-existent in a country like Australia when you're used to cold, snowy (or at least slippery) winters. We had a fun Christmas Eve though, with barbecued kangaroo (absolutely delicious!), crocodile and emu sausages for dinner, as well as a visit from a beer-drinking, camel-accompanied Santa. Haha! I would have been homesick, had it not been for the fact that it was all so completely WEIRD and different and amusing. I thought my first Christmas away from my family would be difficult as heck, but celebrating it in such a completely different way made it easy. New Year's Eve in Sydney, with the unbelievable fireworks display, was also fun.
Getting readjusted to "Normal Life"(TM) is just as difficult as it usually is after our long trips, and I am dreading Monday at work, but going to push through it like a hero, I'm sure. To my delight I had not gained the weight back after 2-3 weeks of non-weight-monitoring time with very little proper exercise, so now I just need to make sure I continue working out and watching what I eat like before, plus I need to add some strength training to tone up my disgusting grandma arms already.
Australia stuff:
Itinerary: Cairns (incl. Great Barrier Reef - very seasick, but great snorkeling!) - Ayers Rock - Alice Springs - Melbourne - Great Ocean Road - Ballarat - Sydney. Some of the time it was just boyfriend and me, which was a nice little vacation within the vacation.
Soundtrack: Ed Sheeran - The A Team, Beth - Someone Like You (much prefer Adele, though), Basement Jaxx - Raindrops, Christmas tunes
Reading material: Diane Keaton - Then Again
TV: Two and a half men, Futurama, Family Guy (but generally very little TV time), entire season 16 of ANTM on the plane! Awesome!
Anywho, going to try to do some of the tasks on today's todo list now! Bye.
I kept getting surprised when people said "Merry Christmas", as the Christmas feeling is virtually non-existent in a country like Australia when you're used to cold, snowy (or at least slippery) winters. We had a fun Christmas Eve though, with barbecued kangaroo (absolutely delicious!), crocodile and emu sausages for dinner, as well as a visit from a beer-drinking, camel-accompanied Santa. Haha! I would have been homesick, had it not been for the fact that it was all so completely WEIRD and different and amusing. I thought my first Christmas away from my family would be difficult as heck, but celebrating it in such a completely different way made it easy. New Year's Eve in Sydney, with the unbelievable fireworks display, was also fun.
Getting readjusted to "Normal Life"(TM) is just as difficult as it usually is after our long trips, and I am dreading Monday at work, but going to push through it like a hero, I'm sure. To my delight I had not gained the weight back after 2-3 weeks of non-weight-monitoring time with very little proper exercise, so now I just need to make sure I continue working out and watching what I eat like before, plus I need to add some strength training to tone up my disgusting grandma arms already.
Australia stuff:
Itinerary: Cairns (incl. Great Barrier Reef - very seasick, but great snorkeling!) - Ayers Rock - Alice Springs - Melbourne - Great Ocean Road - Ballarat - Sydney. Some of the time it was just boyfriend and me, which was a nice little vacation within the vacation.
Soundtrack: Ed Sheeran - The A Team, Beth - Someone Like You (much prefer Adele, though), Basement Jaxx - Raindrops, Christmas tunes
Reading material: Diane Keaton - Then Again
TV: Two and a half men, Futurama, Family Guy (but generally very little TV time), entire season 16 of ANTM on the plane! Awesome!
Anywho, going to try to do some of the tasks on today's todo list now! Bye.