october

Just a nod to the time of year I love the most in North America. Autumn leaves, the smell of cinnamon, the taste of freshly made pumpkin doughnuts. The urge to start nesting for the long winter months. Baking pies, wearing sweaters, planting mums. Looking forward to doing that all again someday.

three years

Today is the 3 year anniversary of the date The Husband arrived in Sydney. It seems like just the other day I was starting this blog and looking forward to this move with such excitement. I can't believe how quickly the past 3 years have gone. Faster than I could have ever imagined.

Over the past 3 years, this city has gone from being a strange, scary place to being home. I've learned to find my way around. I can drive on the "wrong" side of the road without giving it a second thought. I know where to go to buy shoes and macarons and contact solution. I say things like "easy as" and "I reckon" and "get stuffed." I have learned to look forward to springtime in September and summer in January. Things that once were foreign are now familiar.

Someday I will look back on our time here and there are so many things, people and places that I will miss so much. For now, I am focused on trying to enjoy those things all the more because I know that I won't have them forever.

The Husband and I have been loving the warmer weather lately. It's well and truly the early days of summer now, and the longer afternoons are so welcome. We've recently spent a day at the horse races and caught a Sydney Kings basketball game. Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending two lovely weddings while The Husband travelled to the Gold Coast for a work/play weekend.

This weekend I am determined to start my Christmas shopping and choose recipes for some holiday goodie boxes. It will be the end of the year before you know it!

business or pleasure?

I went to Queensland for work last week. Raise your hand if you think travelling for work is fun? Guess what? You are wrong. It may seem fun, but it is so not. Unless said "work" includes sitting on the beach or getting a massage... there is nothing fun about it. Case in point, my trip to Queensland last week. I went to Noosa, a town that is known for it's beautiful beaches, lovely shops, nice restaurants, and tropical feel. Want to see what it looked like? Like this:



Only it was darker. With more rain. In fact, with about 400mm more rain, to be precise. That is SIXTEEN inches, for those of you in the Imperial world. Say it with me folks - holy crap!

While I had a lovely time training our fine folks in the Noosa office, the fun really started once I went to the airport to try and go home. On a Friday night. On the last flight out of town. (And for some fun irony, it was the Sunshine Coast airport. Snort.)

Apparently the runway at the Sunshine Coast airport is too short, causing real problems in rainy weather. And boy oh boy, was it ever raining! Like a bloody monsoon, I tell you. So - about 3 hours after we were supposed to leave, they announced that we would not in fact, be leaving on a plane that evening. But - never fear - they kindly offered to bus all 160 of us to Brisbane that evening, allowing us to try and get a flight home the next day. However, the buses would not arrive until nearly 10:30pm, and they couldn't exactly guarantee we would get a flight the next day. But - the alternative was sleeping on the floor in the airport, so we all got on the bus.

I'd like to go on record and truly thank Jetstar for that lovely experience. Taking a 2 hour bus ride in the middle of the night while getting soaked by leaky windows and kicked repeatedly by some annoying kid next to me was totally on my bucket list. And now I can happily cross it off.

After about 5 hours sleep at a (thankfully) fairly decent hotel, we were herded back onto the bus and returned to the Brisbane airport... where we waited for a plane. I arrived home about 22 hours after originally getting to the airport. Losing most of my weekend in the process.

I am truly looking forward to flying back to Brisbane next week. I think they are calling for rain.

daylight savings

Last weekend was Labour Day weekend here; officially the first long weekend of summer. With it came daylight savings, The Husband's birthday, and 3 days of rain. Why does it always seem to rain on the long weekends? Regardless, we had a nice couple of days off work, spent time with friends, and lunched at Sushi Train. Yum.

The days are longer now, and while it royally stinks to have to get up at what feels like 5:30am, it sure is nice to leave the office when it's still daylight. Feels like summer... which totally makes me miss having a bbq in the backyard. I also miss having a backyard, for that matter. But I am looking forward to some beach weekends very soon.

Work has been going well - nothing too exciting though. I am heading back to Brissy for part of this week. I thought I would love to travel for work. The Husband would travel every day and be happy as a dog with two tails, but I don't enjoy it all that much. I don't enjoy flying by myself, airports make me tense. And I don't enjoy staying in hotels by myself, I never know where to get dinner. But - it's not too terrible to have to fly to tropical Queensland, even if it is for work. I should really take my camera and try to take some photos this time. Alternately, I could learn how to get the photos off my iphone and onto my computer, eh?

This month marks the 3 year anniversary of when The Husband first landed on this continent. I cannot believe that it has been 3 years already. Where has the time gone?

Sorry for such a random post, I can't think of anything to say lately. The past few months have been tough for me and I struggle to know how much I should put out into the blogosphere these days. I find myself wanting to be more private and hold my loved ones and our memories a little closer. I am sure some of you understand.