First of all, I want to express my heartbreak and sorrow for the people of Newtown, CT USA. My prayers are with you all.
~~~~~~
Another weekend has passed and we are only a week out from Christmas! Life around these parts has been busy, but good. A few noteworthy things came out of the weekend:
1) I put up my tiny Christmas tree!
Despite it being more logical to wait and put up the tree in my new place, I couldn’t hold off any longer.
I have been feeling a real lack of Christmas spirit this year and needed the boost. It’s hard to spend the holidays in Australia, away from my family. The Christmas season here is HOT, people don’t get very into decorating their houses, cozy-ing up to a fire with hot cocoa is out of the question, and it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. I guess we all have a sense of nostalgia built in to our Christmas experience and expectations, and for me, it’s really hard to feel Christmas-y when nothing feels right and my family is far away.
Anyway, enough complaining because I know how lucky I truly am. I’ll just say I miss my family, and having my little tree put up is helping with my holiday spirit!
2) In the same vein as #1, I’ve finally watched my first Christmas movie of the season (Reindeer Games doesn’t count)! Max and I watched Elf the other night and giggled our way through it as always.
It was only Max’s second time seeing it- can you believe that? The first time was with my family in Canada a couple years ago.
3) I buckled down this weekend and finished my assignment! A full week early. That is almost incomprehensible to me. I’ve always been that student that is pulling all-nighters the day before an assignment is due, so I’m super proud of myself for getting it out of the way. Now I can focus on the last bits of packing and the big move which is happening tomorrow!
4) So yeah, that moving thing….starts tomorrow at 4pm when I pick up the keys to the new place! I’m really excited, really nervous, and ready to just be settled. Moving’s a pain but I know it will be worth it!
5) Because this weekend has been all about doing homework and prepping for a move, I have eaten zero homecooked meals. I’ve been surviving from my writing spot on the couch with a steady diet of McDonalds coffee and hashbrowns for breakfast, Subway for lunch, and pasta or pizza for dinner. I’m completely over it and ready for some home cooked meals, however, that’s not likely to happen until at least Thursday night, if not Friday. At least I’ll be getting some exercise by hoisting boxes and furniture up and down the stairs over the next few days!
(recycled Subway photo)
Yikes, hold the phone! In other news, I just got a call saying that we can pick up the keys for our new place today rather than tomorrow! I’m running out the door as we speak….see you tomorrow with an update!!
Aw, sorry to hear Christmas isn’t the same out there. I can only imagine how hard it is to be away from your family at this time of the year! Your tree is adorable though
And maybe now that you don’t have school assignments to worry about you can focus more on Christmas stuff. Good luck with the move!
I hate to complain about it because I know how lucky I am, but I think everyone who is away from family at Christmas knows the feeling. My little tree is helping ease the pain
Re the move, I ended up doing some hardcore cleaning at the new place last night, so we should be able to get a good start on the actual moving part today!