thanks

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this past week! I was lucky enough to fly home last minute and surprise my mom on Thanksgiving morning. Originally leaving for Australia on Thursday, we postponed our trip for a week and my dad and I were able to pull off an amazing Thanksgiving surprise. I think it was mostly exciting since my mom tends to be on the nosy side, making it near impossible to surprise her. Anyway, Little brother and I came home from the airport around 11 AM with mom already in the kitchen prepping for the feast and I literally saw the color drain from her face as I walked in and said "Mmm, what are we having?". Yes, that was the best line I could come up with during the 2.5 hour flight. The aftermath went kind of like this: first shock (speechless, a first), then shrieking (I think glass shattered?), and finally hysterical crying which forced her to take a seat where she continued a combination of all three. The whole thing felt kind of comical since I'd only been gone 6 weeks, but it would have been my first Thanksgiving away from family so I guess that's a big deal. Definitely thankful for that opportunity and am SO thankful for my wonderful employers who allowed me that luxury.

The rest of the trip was a whirlwind of food, wine, family and friends. But mostly wine. Wish I could have seen everyone but it just wasn't in the cards this time.

This year I am thankful for everyone in my life. Yes, really everyone. Everyone I have encountered has ultimately led me to where I am now (and where I'm about to go) and that's a pretty exciting thought. And although I don't always see you as much as I would like, and even though I'm horrible at keeping in touch, it does not mean i do not love you and think of you often. i am thankful for every experience, every laugh, and every love. Hopefully the important ones know that.



On another note, Australia TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!

Well, Friday really.

But I leave tomorrow!

here we go again

A lot of things have changed in the past few months and consensus is that i should BLOG about it. What a novel idea. I've come to think that perhaps I'm useless at blogging as told by the complete lack of my doing it at all, but like the subject says, here we go again.
The BIGGEST change is that I'm back in Ft. Lauderdale, but this time i have a JOB (yay) and it's a completely different situation from last year, thank god. I am a nanny for an absolutely adorable 2 month old boy and currently we reside in Ft. Lauderdale but are headed to Australia very soon! Florida has been a completely different experience this time around and I find I actually love it here. Funny what a whole new mindset can do to your life experiences. I haven't gotten to go to the beach as much as I would like because each weekend without fail it is cloudy and/or raining. Womp. Womp. However, my work situation couldn't be more perfect because I am living with the mother and baby and we all get along superbly. I can imagine living where you work would end up horribly in many cases but I find myself very lucky. We also live in an amazing home in a much nicer part of Ft. Lauderdale which may be part of the reason I like it here so much better this time around. Definitely don't have to worry about bed bugs here. (see older post) Plus, I get a fair amount of free time to wander around and explore the area so I don't feel cooped up inside the house. Other than that, life here is pretty quiet and the baby calls all the shots. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to talk about once I make it to Australia, but for now- Adios.