Over the past few weeks, I have been challenged with not only our 30 classes in 30 days competition (which I completed by the way) at lululemon but also writing out my goals for the next 10 years! I have spent hours trying to figure out my 10 year plan and to be honest, it has been one of the hardest things I have ever done. I am still working on it and I think it will always be a work in progress but it’s pretty amazing to have written goals! It almost gives you a glimpse in to the future! As you can tell, I am still really enjoying my job. I work with some amazing people and the company is just so inspiring. Obviously, it isn’t your average retail store. Oh, and on a side note, I got Educator of the Month last week! WAHOO!
Matt is still in the bulk of busy season but it doesn’t even equate to the hrs that he would be required to work back in the states. He does seem a little bit more stressed now than he was a few weeks ago but I think it has everything to do with the client and the new accounting format that he just hasn’t gotten used to yet. He is amazing at what he does. I have full confidence that he’ll make it through another busy season without any issues.
I do have to say that things are getting a little bit easier emotionally but I definitely have my moments. My biggest thing is the feeling of being in a temporary location. This place just isn’t home and it will never feel like home. Everyone is great and the things that we have experienced here have been fantastic but I truly can’t wait until the day when we are settled back in Atlanta with both of our pups under one roof and family nearby. Speaking of
dogs, Matt misses Savanna tremendously. He tries so hard to talk to her via Skype when he’s on with his mom but Savanna gets so confused and ends up ignoring Matt all together. I would have to say that 90% of our dinner conversations mention our little girl and how we both can’t wait to play fetch with her and hug her.
Jackson, on the other hand, seems to be retaining a bunch of water weight – hahaha! He has put on a few pounds but it’s our goal to walk him at least 30 min a day from here on out. We have been kind of lax with exercising him and it shows. Poor little guy needs to see the outside world too! I’m not worried though. Once the weather heats up, we will be taking him down to the park or beach all the time, shock collar on and everything. Yep, that’s right. He still is quite feisty toward strangers. We’ve both come to terms that that’s the way that he is and we just have to accept him, psycho tendencies and all! We do love him so much and are so thankful that he’s here with us.
Lets see… what else has happened recently. Matt and I recently discovered a little restaurant called Misty’s Diner! It’s absolutely AH-MAZ-ING! The owner is from Arizona and 99.9% of the waiters are American. They serve the best, and I mean THE BEST ranch dressing I have ever tasted along with real mayonnaise and BBQ sauce. Aussies do love them some mayo but it tastes absolutely disgusting. It’s sweet and tangy and well lets just say it, it ain’t Hellmann’s! Plus, it’s yellow. The grocery stores do carry Hellmann’s but it tastes weird. Needless to say, I have an entire jar of Australian Hellmann’s mayo in the frig and I’ll probably never eat it. Speaking of never eating something… vegemite is nasty! Try eating straight yeast extract mixed with salt as a spread! Once again, we have a tiny little jar of it in our cupboard and it will NEVER be eaten by us. I think I’m going to hold on to it so that when friends and family decide to visit, they’ll have the opportunity to try it. Heck, the shelf life has to be at least 20 yrs since the 2nd ingredient is salt!
Outside of their dodgy condiments, Australians really do have amazing food. We have yet to have a bad experience dining out and the variety is outstanding. Melbourne is a melting pot of all nationalities which means that the food is truly authentic. When we go out for Italian, it’s REAL Italian food. When we go out for Greek, it’s REAL Greek food. There is one exception to the rule…. We have yet to find a good Mexican restaurant! I know, what Americans call Mexican food truly isn’t Mexican but at least we have other options outside of Taco Bill’s or Mad Mex! Both of which are fast food and blah! I’m not worried though. I’m sure that Matt and I will eat plenty of Mexican food during our visit back to the states to last us for an entire year!
As most of you know, Matt and I have a goal to travel somewhere new every month. For the month of August, we are going to take a weekend drive along the Great Ocean Road! We’ll be bringing Jackson along so hotel arrangements should be interesting! I can’t wait to take breath-taking pictures and just get away for a weekend.
For the month of September, we are going to visit Surfers Paradise, near Brisbane. It’ll be a relaxing weekend full of sun and daiquiris! What a great way to celebrate my 28th Birthday... Wow, that sounds old!
The trip that we are both looking forward to the most (other than visiting home) is our holiday to Port Douglas in October. We are staying at a boutique style resort nestled in the rainforest and only a short drive from the Great Barrier Reef! I get the goose bumps just thinking of it! Now that’s going to be a great photo album!
Before I sign off, I just want to say Happy Anniversary to my best friend. Matt, I still can’t believe that we’ve been married for almost 4 yrs! You are such an amazing person and I am so grateful to call you my husband. I love you.
…. Until the next blog! Love you all! Make sure you continue to send emails and letters!
Matt is still in the bulk of busy season but it doesn’t even equate to the hrs that he would be required to work back in the states. He does seem a little bit more stressed now than he was a few weeks ago but I think it has everything to do with the client and the new accounting format that he just hasn’t gotten used to yet. He is amazing at what he does. I have full confidence that he’ll make it through another busy season without any issues.
I do have to say that things are getting a little bit easier emotionally but I definitely have my moments. My biggest thing is the feeling of being in a temporary location. This place just isn’t home and it will never feel like home. Everyone is great and the things that we have experienced here have been fantastic but I truly can’t wait until the day when we are settled back in Atlanta with both of our pups under one roof and family nearby. Speaking of
dogs, Matt misses Savanna tremendously. He tries so hard to talk to her via Skype when he’s on with his mom but Savanna gets so confused and ends up ignoring Matt all together. I would have to say that 90% of our dinner conversations mention our little girl and how we both can’t wait to play fetch with her and hug her.Jackson, on the other hand, seems to be retaining a bunch of water weight – hahaha! He has put on a few pounds but it’s our goal to walk him at least 30 min a day from here on out. We have been kind of lax with exercising him and it shows. Poor little guy needs to see the outside world too! I’m not worried though. Once the weather heats up, we will be taking him down to the park or beach all the time, shock collar on and everything. Yep, that’s right. He still is quite feisty toward strangers. We’ve both come to terms that that’s the way that he is and we just have to accept him, psycho tendencies and all! We do love him so much and are so thankful that he’s here with us.
Lets see… what else has happened recently. Matt and I recently discovered a little restaurant called Misty’s Diner! It’s absolutely AH-MAZ-ING! The owner is from Arizona and 99.9% of the waiters are American. They serve the best, and I mean THE BEST ranch dressing I have ever tasted along with real mayonnaise and BBQ sauce. Aussies do love them some mayo but it tastes absolutely disgusting. It’s sweet and tangy and well lets just say it, it ain’t Hellmann’s! Plus, it’s yellow. The grocery stores do carry Hellmann’s but it tastes weird. Needless to say, I have an entire jar of Australian Hellmann’s mayo in the frig and I’ll probably never eat it. Speaking of never eating something… vegemite is nasty! Try eating straight yeast extract mixed with salt as a spread! Once again, we have a tiny little jar of it in our cupboard and it will NEVER be eaten by us. I think I’m going to hold on to it so that when friends and family decide to visit, they’ll have the opportunity to try it. Heck, the shelf life has to be at least 20 yrs since the 2nd ingredient is salt!
Outside of their dodgy condiments, Australians really do have amazing food. We have yet to have a bad experience dining out and the variety is outstanding. Melbourne is a melting pot of all nationalities which means that the food is truly authentic. When we go out for Italian, it’s REAL Italian food. When we go out for Greek, it’s REAL Greek food. There is one exception to the rule…. We have yet to find a good Mexican restaurant! I know, what Americans call Mexican food truly isn’t Mexican but at least we have other options outside of Taco Bill’s or Mad Mex! Both of which are fast food and blah! I’m not worried though. I’m sure that Matt and I will eat plenty of Mexican food during our visit back to the states to last us for an entire year!
As most of you know, Matt and I have a goal to travel somewhere new every month. For the month of August, we are going to take a weekend drive along the Great Ocean Road! We’ll be bringing Jackson along so hotel arrangements should be interesting! I can’t wait to take breath-taking pictures and just get away for a weekend.
For the month of September, we are going to visit Surfers Paradise, near Brisbane. It’ll be a relaxing weekend full of sun and daiquiris! What a great way to celebrate my 28th Birthday... Wow, that sounds old!
The trip that we are both looking forward to the most (other than visiting home) is our holiday to Port Douglas in October. We are staying at a boutique style resort nestled in the rainforest and only a short drive from the Great Barrier Reef! I get the goose bumps just thinking of it! Now that’s going to be a great photo album!
Before I sign off, I just want to say Happy Anniversary to my best friend. Matt, I still can’t believe that we’ve been married for almost 4 yrs! You are such an amazing person and I am so grateful to call you my husband. I love you.
…. Until the next blog! Love you all! Make sure you continue to send emails and letters!
