Into the new year we go

Isn’t it crazy that in just a few days we will be saying hello to 2012? Just crazy.

This week has turned out to be a complete shocker at work. Mind you today has been only the 2nd working day of the week (out of a 3 day work week)… I can’t even go into details because it’s making my blood pressure rise just thinking about it. Is it possible to get no work done in three days? I think that’s a yes. Remind me never to work through the Christmas/New Years period again.

On the plus side it’s been a dream getting to and from work as it’s sooo quiet! Dead really. Empty trains, no scrambling for seats on a hot summer day, no rowdy school kids yelling in your ear… No traffic on the road… Magic!

The downside (aside from work drama) though is that my usual coffee shop near my office has closed over the festive season and aren’t reopening till the new year! I’ve had to put up with some ‘bad’ coffee the past couple of days. I know, if bad coffee is my biggest worry, I’ll take that.

I’m actually looking forward to the new year… 2011 has been nothing but good to me – allowing me to finish off our travels by being engaged, starting a new job at a company I actually like working for, new friends, wonderful quality time with my family… And last but not least 2011 has been filled with snippets of everyday memories that I’m just so thankful to have and am always grateful for. Though the year had its fair share of ‘downs’, this year has made my heart happy and content and that’s all I could ever ask for.

I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for Marc, myself, our friends and family… I am so looking forward to marrying my best friend infront of people who are more than dear to us… Most of all, I hope the new year brings good health, great adventure, a tom of belly laughs and simply wonderful memories.

Tomorrow will be my last working day of the year (huzzah!). Marc and I fly out tomorrow night to Malaysia for a week and then on to Bali for another week! We can’t wait to enjoy the time off from hard work. The next two weeks are all about the scrumptious food in KL, lots of wedding planning (the not so relaxing part of our break), squeezing in lots of family catch ups and then kicking up our heels in Bali with cocktail sunsets by the beach! It is going to be as good as it sounds, that I’m sure of…

See you all in the new year!

And so that was Christmas…

Who would’ve thought! All that built up to the big, glittery day and now it’s gone… I am feeling a whole bag, or rather a whole giant sack of emotions. Admittedly I may just be having a minor tantrum but so be it…

Firstly, Thursday night? I felt a little tiny tickle in my throat… Gahhhhh! Noooo, not again! There’s no way I’m falling sick over Christmas! But indeed I was.. That tiny tickle turned into a bad, bad throat despite my copious amount of lemsip, soothers and strepsil intake. By Friday night the bad throat had gone only to leave me with a slight cold… Turns out, the cold didn’t last too long but it sapped me of all energy… Left me feeling like I had just run a 25k marathon throughout most of Christmas eve… I was horizontal on my bed, under the doona for most of Christmas eve evening and night when I should’ve been up and about looking at Christmas lights around the neighbourhood and watching Christmas movies till the cows came home! But it wasn’t to be…

It’s boxing day today and I’ve only started to feel better. Nevertheless I’ve still managed to have a lovely Christmas. I spent Christmas eve at my sister’s… Although I wasn’t feeling myself, I managed to pull it together and had fun with the kids. The downside of being sick? I have to limit the cuddles and kisses with my niece and nephew – something which is very hard for me to do! Highlights from Christmas eve were watching the kids open their presents, baking a sweet potato gratin in my sister’s kitchen, cooking with my sister and sipping on champagne, receiving my beautiful gift from Marc, my family singing Christmas carols as my brother played his guitar, eating a ton of food and more (Christmas eve lunch spanned four hours)… Endless! I had a blast even though I was very under the weather.

On Christmas day, I thought I felt better but I really didn’t… I wrapped up a gift I had bought our elderly neighbours. We then walked it over and wished them a Merry Christmas. I’m talking folks who are in their early 90′s and so completely self-sufficient still… They are truly the sweetest people on earth. They are also our official plant-sitter whenever we go away for an extended period of time. Last year before we left for our 10-day New Zealand road trip, my lavender plant had died – or so I thought – when we got back, it was well and alive, even flowering.

Anyway slightly off tangent, so we headed to Marc’s parents’ for lunch on Christmas day. It was fabulous as always… The thing I love, love, love about Christmas at Marc’s parents is not only is his mum the greatest cook but she cooks for an entire country. There was a giant dining table full of food with 6 adults and one baby. It felt like there should’ve been at least 10 other adults at the table. As always on Christmas day, we always eat a little more than we should have and end up lying on the couch watching Crazy Stupid Love. Oh that’s just me.

Still feeling under the weather, Marc and I drove home in a hailstorm.. Yes only Melbourne gets hailstorms and 30 degree weather on Christmas day! I climbed straight into bed (at 7pm) only to be woken by fireworks in the middle of the night. Fireworks which I swear were being set off right outside my bedroom window. But they weren’t.

So back to being a whole sack of mixed emotions, though I had a wonderful Christmas and it definitely felt good celebrating with family and having them around is this year… My heart did feel a little empty. And I’m not saying this because I’m being ungrateful or unappreciative because honestly if I had to spend Christmas for the rest of my life on Mars? As long as I had my family and loved ones around me I wouldn’t care at all. But what I’m trying to say is that last Christmas? It was my first cold, winter Christmas… Although it didn’t snow on Christmas day in New York last year, the cold just made Christmas magical. I know it doesn’t matter where you are or what the weather’s like. It’s what you make of it. But I suppose after experiencing our first cold Christmas last year, it made me just a little sad that a white Christmas will always just be a memory or a once-off experience to me. Unless I move to the northern hemisphere.

So that was my Christmas! Hope yours was beautiful and magical no matter which part of the world you’re in…

A surprise gift!

He couldn’t wait to give this to me… I opened my Christmas gift from my lovely fiancé early this morning. To me, Christmas eve is just as special as Christmas day anyway so it didn’t matter.

I love this necklace. Where did I find this man? He has never bought jewellery for me and now this… My heart is screaming happy right this moment! And not because I got a Tiffany necklace (okay maybe a little bit!) but because the look on the boy’s face when I opened the gift? Priceless. To know that he was making me happy with a special Christmas gift…

I’m lucky aren’t I? Don’t worry, I know. Merry Christmas eve!

A wonderful time of the year…

I love this time of the year… I have been listening to Michael Buble’s Christmas album for weeks now and it rubs off on me… You know, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”…

It was hard focusing at work this week. I think I’ve been on holiday mode for a couple of weeks now. We had carollers at work yesterday… I didn’t see them but I listened to them belt out carols for 15 minutes. It made me happy. Today, I got most of my work done before lunch and we then headed out to a last minute Christmas team lunch… Of course I took the opportunity to head home straight after! To be honest, I don’t see the point in working the day (or week, if I had it my way) before Christmas eve… Who actually gets any proper, productive work done?

I had the whole afternoon to spare but I spent most of it in a nap.. I think I’m coming down with something and I’m so annoyed because I don’t want to feel less than 150% on Christmas weekend! I’m just trying to rest up as much as I can… Willing this bad throat to go away.

Hopefully we head out to see some Christmas lights tonight. I’ve decided my most favourite thing about Christmas (I have many) is the lights. Heart-stopping, spirit-lifting, colourful, bright, twinkly, Christmas lights. Oh and I watched Polar Express for the first time last night… Loved it!

Almost Christmas!

Happy Friday, all! It’s not only looking like Christmas but its also looking a lot like summer… With weather in the high twenties and Christmas looking to hit the low thirties! My favourite part of summer aside from the beach? The fact that our days are so much longer… Or seem to be anyway with the sun normally setting just before 9pm…

I had dinner with a girlfriend last night after work (am I the only one still working right before Christmas?) and I snapped this photo as I walked to my car at around 8pm… Blue sunny skies at 8pm? I’ll take that any day!

Have a wonderful Friday and I hope you all have a blessed and safe Christmas!

Being happy at work

I really should be asleep now but I’ve been out to dinner with a few friends tonight and we ended it late so now I’m home and awake. Not sure if this is entirely weird or not but no matter how late I get home – whether it’s 10pm or 1am – I can’t just go to bed straight away. I need to be doing something to wind down before going to bed. Which is what I’m trying to do now with a blog post.

Work has been on my mind the last few days. And for the first time in a long time I say that with only positive thoughts and feelings behind those words. It occurred to me over the weekend that since I started my new job nearly 10 months ago, I’ve been enjoying it and making the most of it. And I know this because I feel nothing but content and satisfaction in my daily work. I feel proud of the company I work for. I don’t think I’ve been able to say that in awhile and truly mean it.

I asked Marc if he noticed any difference in my moods or behaviour since starting at this new company and his response was ‘not really’ but I know that he didn’t really give much thought to it when he responded. I know in myself that I am a changed person since starting at this company. I am definitely a changed person emotionally.

My last couple of jobs saw me start my career in my current field just as the global financial crises started and hit its peak. We were almost always, in fact definitely always understaffed which meant that I was always doing a two-person, sometimes even three-person job. Stress number one right there. Working in an industry directly affected by what was happening in the global financial markets and working with jittery and anxious clients certainly didn’t help. Stress number two there! My job in itself is a naturally demanding and challenging job, so that played a part too. Stress number three!

But now? It’s different. Very different. It’s still challenging. It’s still stressful. But it’s manageable. I am challenged in a good way. And I know it’s good because I don’t mind it and I’m more than happy to face it because I know I’m always learning. As tempting and comfy as it sounds, I never want to be in a job where I am not challenged intellectually. If that’s ever the case it may just mean that my job in that role is done and it’s time to move on! Hopefully not soon for my current job because I’m still enjoying it so…

But if it is time to move on? I hope it’s because my plans and dreams for the future have come true… Or are on their way to being realised.