Sometimes too fast, sometimes just not fast enough. Why does time not seem to have a consistant happy medium? I'm back in the states and have hit the ground running basically since I landed. My trip to Australia didn't go as I expected... it went better than I could have ever dreamed.
Since my last post, I have done the old fashioned method of journaling. Pen and paper. I'm glad I did, but since I write so much slower than I can type, I plan on going back to "modern" blogging... hence an update. Since I've got a little over a month of hand written blogging, I'll hit the high points. :) But warning..this could end up being a long post...
Prior to the trip I was able to place my dogs in an awesome home and they are doing great. One of my best friends, Lisa got married and the wedding was gorgeous. She is so happy and I am so happy for her.
Traveling to/from...
- People should not remove shoes on a flight if their feet smell like really old, moldy Cheetos. Thanks.
- Also, deodorant isn't just an option, it's highly recommended...esp by those next to you in a packed plane. Again...thanks.
- Dear flight attendants...Never fly a plane that leaves Lexington (or anywhere in Kentucky) if you do not know what Woodford, Makers, or Bourbon is. Shame
- The smaller the plane... the worse the turbulence. (obvious yeah, yeah, yeah.) And turbulence does not equal a steady environment for bathroom breaks.....
- Marked time travel off the bucket list.... left LA at midnight, and a 13 hr flight later, it was 6am. Returning I left Melbourne at noon on wed... landed in LA at 10am.. on wed. Yeah, that really added confusion... easily done anyways, right?
- Free wine and meals and your very own on demand TV with recent movies make a 13 hr flight much more enjoyable. Finally got to watch sex/city 2!
- The stars at night at 36K feet over the ocean... amazing.
First night in Australia, we were both beat....I actually beat Wayne to Australia as he was away for work...but only by a couple hours. By the time we got home, cleaned up...we had both been awake a lonnnggg time, so we opted for carry out for the first night. The perfect definition of irony? We opted for KFC. So, I flew from Kentucky, to Australia.. for kentucky fried chicken! HAHA. It started as just a joke, but then I thought it was perfect.
Got to meet most the family over the course of the trip. Wonderful people. Of course I was nervous, but they all made me feel so welcome and part of the family off the bat. I had already been talking by skype and facebook to his cousin and cousin's wife, so meeting them I felt like I already knew them. Each day that Wayne had to work, someone in the family would come pick me up and do touristy things. Again, they really made me feel so welcome.... awesome people...all of them!
Riding...not to mention, driving on the "wrong" side of the road is quite an experience. Esp when you are given the keys to a diesel truck on day 3 and told "you are driving". One day when I went to go run some errands while Wayne was at work, I went to get in the car.... unlocked the Australian "passenger" side.... and sat right on down. Looked to my right to discover I had sat on the wrong side. The fact that the steering wheel wasn't there wasn't even a clue until it was too late. And... looked up only to find someone had been very close and giving me quite a strange look. Awesome.
As I've mentioned, I am not a big reality TV fan. Only show I watch is "teen mom"....because I somehow got sucked into that..... however, I became a reality TV junkie in Australia. I guess by the fourth night I already had a couple reality shows that I was hooked on. I tried to not watch, but failed..lol.
Went away one weekend for a getaway to an area "down south"... about 3 hrs south of Perth. A region referred to as Margaret River. Hundreds of wineries.... gorgeous gorgeous views. Breathtaking. No picture or words really describe. (oh, pictures... I'm uploading pictures to a shutterfly site, once it's all done, I'll post the link. I took a LOT of pictures..lol. And I may do a few fav's on here later this week, but will try to post a few through this entry!). Stayed at a really nice hotel and really had a wonderful weekend. Fri and Sat night we went to watch the sunset over the beach. It was quite chilly, but again..so beautiful. We would go for long scenic drives, and it seemed like there was just so much to see and take in! Wayne would ask what I was thinking (guess I was quiet..which isn't "me"...haha). "observing". We took the same road a couple times and I swear I rarely noticed the same things twice..... so amazing.
Went to a wildlife park/zoo and got to pet numerous kangaroos and a koala!! Wayne's brother and youngest kiddo, Zane took me and it was soooo neat to see!! Kangaroos were soft...koala's were very coarse. just the opposite of what I thought! We were pretty sure that they were drugged... far too chill.. and when I post some pictures.. you'll see..lol. They look...well... stoned! lol. Zane was in the stoller and wasn't sure about these animals on eye level with him...at all. And quite appropriately, he tried to kick them. lol.
Got stuck on the beach one day....as the tide was coming in...and quite close to us... Three dig outs and pushes... lowering the pressure on the tires to 15...another couple who just happened to see us stuck... and LOTS of prayer got us out..lol. SHEW!
Went to the pinnacles...which was just miles and miles of some big rocks..... so awesome though.
Went with Wayne's mom, brother and both boys to Freemantle and to a boat museum. The oldest Koby after we were done wanted me to sit in the back with him and Zane. He said "auntie april...sit with me". Of course I did...how do I refuse that? He looked at me and said "aunty april..you smell funny" I had a mint in my mouth, asked if it was my mint. "umm. no". I hold up my wrist with my perfume.. "is it this?" Koby smells.... stiffs up his nose... "oh yes! that's it. you smell like a GIRL! Yuck". How freakin' adorable right?
Wayne's cousin wife, Aideen and the twins (7 months old....adorable as heck!) and I went into the big city on the day before I left. It was so weird to see Christmas trees and decorations in 85-90 degree weather..lol. The city is so big, and so pretty. We had a really nice time and I enjoyed spending one last day with them.
On the last day, I woke up around 9am. Wayne had already left for work. The first thought I had upon waking and stretching was "I can't believe I have to leave tomorrow..." Then the sudden realization followed.. it wasn't tomorrow.. I was leaving that day. And what a hard day that was for both of us. We'll just leave that at that.
Travels back to the states was long... in 48 hrs I had 6 hrs of sleep. 3 out of 4 of my flights were delayed. The worst was my last flight from Dallas to Lexington.... I was exhausted. We were running behind schedule as it was because of luggage loading issues. So, we get all the way out to take off (and Dallas is a HUGE airport...so we're talking a long taxi out...) Captain comes on the intercom "we are next for takeoff". 10 minutes later, we are still sitting there...then make a turn. Captain comes back over "folks..we are unable to take off due to engineering issues...we are gonna have to head back...deboard the plane, see if we can fix it or get another plane". Awesome... I finally landed back in Lexington around 1145 pm. I hit the sack at 2am...slept until 540pm... and then... back to the grind and back to work. Shew....
I was so nervous leading up to the trip. What if things changed? We'd been close friends for so long...if things went sour, was I going to lose that close friend that I could rely on for anything and tell anything to? All of this came about at the very end of his trip to the states, that we hadn't spent time together on that next level, so there was just so much uncertainty. What if he didn't have that connection to me, or changed his mind? I have read in my written journal a few times where I was just so nervous. I could go on and on regarding that.... but I'm happy to report that all those fears were totally unnecessary..and things were better than I could have hoped. And it was great to have that friendship base. To be able to joke and cut up and laugh in addition to the relationship was amazing. I'm so excited about everything and am very much looking forward to our future... and I'm so happy to have all of our friends and both families supporting us 100%. I'm just blessed. Truly blessed.
I've now been back for a little less than 2 weeks. The first week was really hard, the last week has been easier. And knowing that he will be here in 24 days for a little over 3 weeks, including Christmas AND New Years, makes the distance just a little more tolerable. 24 days..... 24....
Here's some pictures... I've fought blogger to put these pictures in the blog where they FIT...but either I'm retarded (good chance) or...well, I'm retarded... hehe. Enjoy friends. Until next time...
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