It's hard to believe that another year is closing already. Each year seems to go more quickly than the last. Usually at this time of the year I will be thinking 'well that year was shit, thank goodness it is over'. I will be hoping that the next year will be better than the last. This year it is so different. I can honestly say that looking back on 2011, I feel like I have had a good year. Sure it hasn't been without it's bumps along the way, but in general it has been fun, enjoyable and happy. The thing that made a lot of difference was changing jobs (and having the hubby working full-time too). Moving from a company that is in disarray, is disorganised, badly run and generally unhappy to a happy, positive workplace has made so much difference.
If your workplace does not make you happy ... try a change, I can only recommended taking a chance.
Anyway 2012 is on its way and I am delighted. There is so much to look forward to. Obviously, I am madly excited about our trip to the USA but more than that, I cannot wait to watch my wonderful son marry the girl of his dreams. To share in their happiness is something I have dreamed of for a very long time. I will be sharing that moment, not only with my beloved hubby, but also with my gorgeous second son David, his lovely partner Kylie and her son Brodie. My Family!!!!! We will be together in Hawaii for a week around the time of the wedding and be able to explore the island and relax and enjoy each other's company.
2012 will also bring the birth of a new baby to very dear friends of ours. This little one will be a brother or sister for a precious princess who is 5 months old now and the most beautiful little girl ever!!!
I have another five months to enjoy my work and then after the trip, I plan to take a long break from full-time work. What a treat that will be.
I am looking forward to continuing my weight-loss journey, adding to the success I have already had and probably reaching my goal by Christmas next year. A whole new wardrobe is also something to look forward to as well.
I am looking forward to watching the babies who were born this year, growing and developing and continuing to bring joy and delight to family and friends.
I am looking forward to spending time with some very special friends. We always have such a great time together and there are so many more times to come.
So you see, I am a very lucky woman. I have family, health, work, plans and really who could ask for more.
I hope each of you can find time to look at all the positives in your lives. Happy New Year!!!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Planning
I enjoy planning holidays. Especially big holidays which include lots of different modes of travel, new cities and experiences, so planning this holiday is lots of fun for me.
I know many people like to just 'wing it' on holidays, but I just can't! I like to have everything booked, planned (and paid for!!) before I leave home. This is especially true when I am venturing half-way across the world and exploring a new country. I have been called 'over-controlled' on many occasions and this is a perfect example. Luckily the hubby is perfectly happy to leave everything in my hands and just turn up on the day! He trusted me to plan our trip to New Zealand and we had an amazing time, so I guess I have proved my worth.
This time I started with the Lonely Planet guide to the USA. I looked at all the cities we wanted to visit and then made a huge list of things to do in each city. This helped me decide how many days we would need to properly see all the things of interest to us. I then made up a calendar of the trip and was able to work out how many days we wanted to spend in each place, compared to how many days we could realistically afford!!! Hence a compromise was reached. As we travel across the US, I have tried to throw in as many different types of transport (hence the title of this blog) and use different styles of accommodation if possible. I really think this adds to the whole experience. Sure, it would be fabulous to go 5-star all the way but that is unrealistic for us, so I am embracing as many experiences as I can.
Once we set off on the trip, and visit each state and city, I will be able to share more about each place but for now here is the schedule for the trip. It will give you an idea of where we are heading.
19 May Fly to Oahu, Hawaii
26 May Fly to Los Angeles
1 June Fly to Las Vegas
3 June Helicopter over Grand Canyon
6 June Fly to Los Angeles / Drive to Anaheim (Disneyland)
9 June Drive to San Diego
11 June Drive to Monterey
12 June Drive to San Francisco (cable cars!!)
16 June Train to Seattle
19 June Train to Chicago (arrive morning 21 June)
24 June Train to Washington
27 June Train to Philadelphia
29 June Train to New York
7 July Fly to Los Angeles
9 July Fly to Melbourne
So you can see I have covered planes, car, trains, cable cars, helicopters and there will also be buses, smaller trains and various other means of transport before we get finished. I must remember to pack plenty of travel-sickness pills!!!!
I know many people like to just 'wing it' on holidays, but I just can't! I like to have everything booked, planned (and paid for!!) before I leave home. This is especially true when I am venturing half-way across the world and exploring a new country. I have been called 'over-controlled' on many occasions and this is a perfect example. Luckily the hubby is perfectly happy to leave everything in my hands and just turn up on the day! He trusted me to plan our trip to New Zealand and we had an amazing time, so I guess I have proved my worth.
This time I started with the Lonely Planet guide to the USA. I looked at all the cities we wanted to visit and then made a huge list of things to do in each city. This helped me decide how many days we would need to properly see all the things of interest to us. I then made up a calendar of the trip and was able to work out how many days we wanted to spend in each place, compared to how many days we could realistically afford!!! Hence a compromise was reached. As we travel across the US, I have tried to throw in as many different types of transport (hence the title of this blog) and use different styles of accommodation if possible. I really think this adds to the whole experience. Sure, it would be fabulous to go 5-star all the way but that is unrealistic for us, so I am embracing as many experiences as I can.
Once we set off on the trip, and visit each state and city, I will be able to share more about each place but for now here is the schedule for the trip. It will give you an idea of where we are heading.
19 May Fly to Oahu, Hawaii
26 May Fly to Los Angeles
1 June Fly to Las Vegas
3 June Helicopter over Grand Canyon
6 June Fly to Los Angeles / Drive to Anaheim (Disneyland)
9 June Drive to San Diego
11 June Drive to Monterey
12 June Drive to San Francisco (cable cars!!)
16 June Train to Seattle
19 June Train to Chicago (arrive morning 21 June)
24 June Train to Washington
27 June Train to Philadelphia
29 June Train to New York
7 July Fly to Los Angeles
9 July Fly to Melbourne
So you can see I have covered planes, car, trains, cable cars, helicopters and there will also be buses, smaller trains and various other means of transport before we get finished. I must remember to pack plenty of travel-sickness pills!!!!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Merry Christmas
Well Christmas is over for another year. It seems to come around faster every year and thankfully I seem to be getting more organised and enjoying it more every year as well.
The hubby and I had a very social time this year. We started with a fabulous work party on Friday afternoon. Very nice city club location, with delicious finger food, lots of drinks and (slightly) loud music. Everyone was ready to party and really start the celebrations so it was very successful.
We headed from there to have dinner with my gorgeous (wonderful, amazing, fantastic) sons and their partners. We met Michael, Sarah, David, Kylie and Brodie at Tabcorp Park in Melton and had a wonderful dinner and a great catch up. Brodie, who is 9, kept us entertained racing around on the lawn area and providing me with fairy floss (yum!!). I brought out the camera as usual and the kids were very tolerant about posing for me. My favourite part was watching their faces as we piled their arms high with gifts. I love to spoil them and would do it all the time if I could. Russ and I were pretty spoiled by them too.
Saturday morning saw us driving to the other side of town to visit my lovely mother-in-law. It was so hot we cancelled the idea of taking her out for lunch and took some with us instead. Betty and I had a great old gossip while Russ snoozed (the festivities were catching up with him by now!!). From there we headed to the Bowl for the annual Carols by Candlelight. We were joined by some friends from Queensland who are living in Melbourne for a year and thanks to my wonderful brother we had a fantastic view and all four of us thoroughly enjoyed the production.
Up early Christmas morning for the drive to Jumbunna, which is not far from Korumburra. Again thanks to my brother and his lovely partner we spent the next couple of days sitting in a gloriously comfortable (vast) home, overlooking the most spectacular rolling hills. The rest and relaxation was broken by drinking a large amount of Moet & Chandon champagne, eating a ton of exceptional food, exploring the huge and beautiful garden (like walking through the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne) and hitting a few balls on the tennis court. It was so relaxing and a wonderful way to spend time with my favourite brother, niece and a many other interesting people.
We got home this afternoon to be greeted by our two darling cats who were obviously not very impressed at being deserted by the 'staff'. They have since decided to forgive us and are back to being their cuddly selves.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love. I am looking forward to the New Year and the start of what I think is going to be a pretty fantastic year. I hope you have something to look forward to as well.
The hubby and I had a very social time this year. We started with a fabulous work party on Friday afternoon. Very nice city club location, with delicious finger food, lots of drinks and (slightly) loud music. Everyone was ready to party and really start the celebrations so it was very successful.
We headed from there to have dinner with my gorgeous (wonderful, amazing, fantastic) sons and their partners. We met Michael, Sarah, David, Kylie and Brodie at Tabcorp Park in Melton and had a wonderful dinner and a great catch up. Brodie, who is 9, kept us entertained racing around on the lawn area and providing me with fairy floss (yum!!). I brought out the camera as usual and the kids were very tolerant about posing for me. My favourite part was watching their faces as we piled their arms high with gifts. I love to spoil them and would do it all the time if I could. Russ and I were pretty spoiled by them too.
Saturday morning saw us driving to the other side of town to visit my lovely mother-in-law. It was so hot we cancelled the idea of taking her out for lunch and took some with us instead. Betty and I had a great old gossip while Russ snoozed (the festivities were catching up with him by now!!). From there we headed to the Bowl for the annual Carols by Candlelight. We were joined by some friends from Queensland who are living in Melbourne for a year and thanks to my wonderful brother we had a fantastic view and all four of us thoroughly enjoyed the production.
Up early Christmas morning for the drive to Jumbunna, which is not far from Korumburra. Again thanks to my brother and his lovely partner we spent the next couple of days sitting in a gloriously comfortable (vast) home, overlooking the most spectacular rolling hills. The rest and relaxation was broken by drinking a large amount of Moet & Chandon champagne, eating a ton of exceptional food, exploring the huge and beautiful garden (like walking through the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne) and hitting a few balls on the tennis court. It was so relaxing and a wonderful way to spend time with my favourite brother, niece and a many other interesting people.
We got home this afternoon to be greeted by our two darling cats who were obviously not very impressed at being deserted by the 'staff'. They have since decided to forgive us and are back to being their cuddly selves.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love. I am looking forward to the New Year and the start of what I think is going to be a pretty fantastic year. I hope you have something to look forward to as well.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Techno-Wiz
I consider myself a beginner when it comes to the internet, blogging and all things technical, but thanks to my clever friends I am learning new things all the time.
Last week during a Yum Cha lunch with workmates, I discovered some new features of my recently acquired 'smart phone'. Who knew there was a drop down menu at the top?? Who knew that by pinching your fingers on the screen you could make the image larger or smaller? Well, probably everyone except me, but now I know it too!!!! Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Now thanks to my good (and clever) friend Jo I have a countdown added to my blog. I made it look tropical as Hawaii is the first stop on our trip. Now I won't have to constantly annoy everyone by referring to the approaching date ..... it will be there to drive you crazy on the top right hand of the blog!!!
Thanks heaps Jo xx
Last week during a Yum Cha lunch with workmates, I discovered some new features of my recently acquired 'smart phone'. Who knew there was a drop down menu at the top?? Who knew that by pinching your fingers on the screen you could make the image larger or smaller? Well, probably everyone except me, but now I know it too!!!! Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Now thanks to my good (and clever) friend Jo I have a countdown added to my blog. I made it look tropical as Hawaii is the first stop on our trip. Now I won't have to constantly annoy everyone by referring to the approaching date ..... it will be there to drive you crazy on the top right hand of the blog!!!
Thanks heaps Jo xx
Monday, December 5, 2011
Welcome
Glad to have you along on my holiday of a lifetime.
It is still over five months until we actually take off, but so much of my time is being spent planning, dreaming, booking and organising things so I have decided to start blogging now. I will then have a complete record of events from start to finish.
So yes, this blog is for me as well as anyone who cares to read. It is so easy to forget the details of holidays, especially when you are seeing so many new things, and I don't want to forget one single thing about this time.
So why now? Well the most exciting part of the entire journey is going to be the wedding of my beloved eldest son and his beautiful American fiance. When they announced that the wedding was going to be held in Hawaii, it set me thinking. If we were going to go that far, then we may as well continue on and use the opportunity to explore some of the things USA has to share.
I have to admit to being fascinated by America. We seem to be force-fed American culture from birth. Food, clothing, music, movies, stars, huge corporations ..... they all influence our Australian lifestyle. I have always wanted to see it for myself. Now the chance has arisen and I have grasped it with both hands.
So grab your passport and join me on my holiday of a life-time.
It is still over five months until we actually take off, but so much of my time is being spent planning, dreaming, booking and organising things so I have decided to start blogging now. I will then have a complete record of events from start to finish.
So yes, this blog is for me as well as anyone who cares to read. It is so easy to forget the details of holidays, especially when you are seeing so many new things, and I don't want to forget one single thing about this time.
So why now? Well the most exciting part of the entire journey is going to be the wedding of my beloved eldest son and his beautiful American fiance. When they announced that the wedding was going to be held in Hawaii, it set me thinking. If we were going to go that far, then we may as well continue on and use the opportunity to explore some of the things USA has to share.
I have to admit to being fascinated by America. We seem to be force-fed American culture from birth. Food, clothing, music, movies, stars, huge corporations ..... they all influence our Australian lifestyle. I have always wanted to see it for myself. Now the chance has arisen and I have grasped it with both hands.
So grab your passport and join me on my holiday of a life-time.
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