Kakadu You!

I've been reading a lot of decorating blogs lately and have a huge file of pictures for inspiration. I'm really excited to finally move into a new apartment and decorate it as I like. Our apartment we are in right now is just lovely, very cute, quaint and full of colour, which I like. However I'm ready to put my heart into decorating. Not necessarily spending a lot of money, but slowly over time adding things that I like. I don't feel the need to fill our new apartment (to be) with furniture straight away. Rather to get something for the apartment if it sings to me. I'm not getting a couch until I find one I'm in love with. We'll buy a mattress straight away. But we'll be using cardboard boxes and borrowed fold out chairs until we find things that work (aka that I like). I'm so excited for the impending and ongoing project that is coming up. We didn't do a whole lot with the apartment we're in, knowing that we'd eventually leave. We also didn't realize we'd live here a full five years. We thought it would be 2 years. Time flies though.

It looks like we're set to leave the US at the end of the year. We were planning on leaving in September, but my brother inlaw and his girlfriend will probably marry around October/November time. We want to be here for their engagement and see them when they get back.

I'm so excited for many things. I'm itching to get a dog or (hypoallergenic!) cat. I need something to love and take care of. I've been telling my husband he'd better let me get a pet soon, before I start saying I want children! haha. But in all seriousness, the need to love and care for something, whether a child or pet kicks in for many women at around 30. Right now, all I want is a pet. A medium sized dog and I'll be happy.

We were talking about Australia last night and exploring the unknown country. So much of its unknown to me. We're hoping our friend Nathan comes out in the next 2 years. We're planning on going to Kakadu to go camping. Then visit Broome and the north of Western Australia, possibly driving south to Perth, through Monkey Mia and then Geraldton. We'd need a good 3 weeks for that. The thought of being in the bush, by beautiful gorges in the blistering heat thrills me. In the north of WA there are the most amazing thunderstorms in the afternoon. Especially in the wet season. The sky turns a brilliant shade of purple. It starts to rain lightly yet its warm outside. The rain is a relief. In the distance the sky gets angry and you're on a dirt road with dirt thats almost red in colour. You're surrounded by the bush and see the occasional kangaroo or emu. I remember driving away from such thunderstorms, and emu's passing us while we drive in the landcruiser. Australia is the most beautiful country that I'm still in love with. I've never gotten it out of my system. I was talking about it to a gal I'd just met. She said "you'll stay here. people always end up staying in california". She asked me about Australia and what its like. I described the outback and the beaches. She smiled and said "sounds like you'll go home. Your heart is still there". While I'm looking forward to living in Sydney, its WA that I want to explore. Its so untouched. The beaches there are incredible. They are different to beaches on the East Coast of Australia. The water is clearer, the sand whiter, and they are much less populated.



I'm not saying living in Australia will be perfect. It'll be a nice change though. There's no place like home. I'm feeling hesitant to leave America in some ways. 5 years is a big chunk of my life. I love certain things about it here. But I'm eager for change. For the unknown.

Putting our roots down finally will be nice, instead of feeling so temporary. I think I lived so "temporarily" here because I wanted to feel like I was going home "next year". It was always next year. And now it finally is this year. Granted at the end of the year!

Tomorrow's a new day, with no mistakes

Tonight my heart broke a little and I'm feeling a mixture of emotions. One of my closest friends has had a painful experience. I have been where she's at and know that no matter how much I try to be there, its going to take time to heal wounds. When you're close with someone you feel a little of what they're feeling. You can't help but take on some of those emotions, and feel indignation on their behalf, sadness and wanting to comfort as much as you can. My friend is a beautiful person, and I know she'll be just fine. Its just hard right now.

Tonight Daniel and I finished all our Australian paperwork. We're sending it to the Australian Immigration Dept tomorrow. I have such mixed feelings. I feel very emotional about it all. I don't want to leave my friends and the people I love here. I can't imagine my day to day life without certain people in it. But at the same time I'm ready to be back in Australia. I can hardly imagine what it will be like to be home again. I'm glad that I lived here making the most of this experience. I feel like I had a few moments of homesickness, but they were just a few moments compared to the actual amount of time I have spent here. We've had some wonderful times here. I feel that all in all I took what I could and ran with it. Its my intent to make the next six months here really count. To love it, and enjoy it thoroughly. To leave with a bang. By the time we leave I'll have lived here 5 years. Thats a big part of my life, and it will always be with me. A small part of me is just a little (only a little!) Californian ;) Although I wouldn't freely admit that in person (only on the internet!).

Despite my friend's sadness, I had the most lovely day with her and other friends. We babysat for a friend and had an awesome time with their son, a wonderful child with an interesting and lively personality. I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon we had with him. What a great day.

Photorama

Here's a couple of photos from our family photo session taken last month.

Flowers in the Window

Today was a perfectly lovely day. My day off. It was sunny and warm in Socal. It was nice to have a bright day and have the chance to be outdoors. I went out with friends in the morning. When we were done at noon I went over to Trader Joe's and got a salad. Sat by the pier and enjoyed the sun and slight breeze. After that went for my massage. I've been getting massages once a week since we got back from our big trip. My shoulder still isn't doing well. I'm avoiding an operation like the plague! I seem to maintain the pain ok with physical therapy and massage. Expensive yes. I'm afraid an operation could cause other problems. Anyway after my massage went home, made dinner (bbq pulled pork sandwiches with corn on the cob on the side - very American!) then went to the gym. A change in pace today was so nice. I'm feeling a little stressed and am not enjoying my job right now. I know we all go through that feeling. My job is difficult, and I struggle understanding some things about it sometimes. I'm in IT and its not something I find super easy. I go through my ups and downs and work - like we all day! Needless to say, days like today and the weekends prove to be such a nice relief. The change in pace is always so welcome, and to be outside. Daniel often wants to do things inside like play boardgames, watch tv. On the weekends all I want is to be outside! So maybe I'll organize a hike in the next couple of weekends.

Liking...

Live Deliberately

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.” - Henry David Thoreau

Inner beauty

I found this article to be beautifully written and inspirational.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverley-golden/aging-gracefully-in-a-cul_b_826198.html

We live in a world so focused on outer beauty, however that is not what defines us. We are not defined by a number on the scale or how pretty we look on any given day, how well dressed we are or how young we look. Some of those things have their place but are not the most important things in life. It is our personality, our interests and hobbies, our passions in life and the way we treat other people, being spiritual women, being gracious and kind. Those are some of the things we'll be remembered for. This article was just wonderful!