Weird (in a Good Way) Christmas

Christmas this year was weird. Not in a bad way....just weird. Strange, maybe....but only because it was SO different. But, for as weird as it was, it was also fun, relaxing and new.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have never ben away from home and my family for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I knew I would miss home desperately during the holiday season, but had no idea how very much. BUT, as with many experiences this year, I not only survived the new experience but enjoyed it thoroughly due to my new "family of friends" in Sydney.


The holiday season coincides with my firm's 4th quarter, which is at the same time the most stressful and exciting time of the year. It's when we transact a fair amount of our annual business and where my team members see all their hard work across a calendar year culminate in all kinds of success. I just love it. This was my 14th fourth quarter with my firm, but this one felt different. The energy of my team was the same, but I am used to the days getting shorter and colder as we progress towards the end of the year. This year, we were coming into summer here in Sydney, so the days were exactly the opposite of what I have been used to. I realized how conditioned my body and mind are to associating this time of year with winter. I was all out of sorts. Luckily, I have found a terrific Pilates studio a block from my crib, so that really has saved me and helped keep my body in whack. :) 


This year, my team never gave up, worked their asses off, believed that hard work pays off and saw the fruits of their efforts. I couldn't be happier to have seen their personal pride with the accomplishments they had during our busiest time. It's why I do what I do, and made all the late nights and long days spent in the office while in Sydney pay off for me. My catchphrase for whenever a piece of business comes in is "Boom". Here's a pic of me and some of my "Boom-makers"!

Kate, Carly, Ben, me and Adrien

We've had rain essentially every day for the past 5 weeks. It's the wettest summer in Sydney in 15 years. Where are my weekend days at the beach? Where is my golden tan? Where did I put my sunglasses? These are all important questions I have been asking myself.  For Christmas, I listened non-stop to carols on my iPod and had small decorations in my crib. But otherwise, I actually wanted Christmas to be different than it is at home. My thinking was that if it was totally different, I would feel less sad - to be completely honest - about not being home with my family and Fletcher. The easiest way to make Christmas less familiar is to go the beach (especially given that we had 18 inches of snow last Christmas!). Well, with all the rain, my friends and I watched the weather carefully, day in and day out, for the Christmas Day forecast. We were pretty convinced we'd need a plan B in case it rained Christmas Day. But we didn't! Hooray!


Christmas Eve was spent at the home of my friends' Devin and Dawn. We grilled, had loads of prosecco and (I think) everyone enjoyed my stuffed mushrooms and twice-baked potatoes. We also watched "Elf", which I'd never seen! Christmas Day found us taxi'ing to the Bondi Orphanage (i.e., Muzza's house) for a Christmas Orphan's brunch. I made a pancetta and spinach strata that went quite well with the mimosas we had! Then our group of orphans (Bonner, Dawn, Devin, Tyler, Chris, Carly, Muzza, McKenna, Nips, Nick, Robbie and me) all went to the beach for a glorious day. The evening was spent back at Dawn and Devin's, where we drank wine, watched "Miracle on 34th Street" AND "It's a Wonderful Life" and played a mean game of Sorry.


Reflecting on Christmas and spending it away from home and with my "family of friends" in Sydney, I realized evermore that Christmas is about being with people you love and not at all about gifts and material things. I am very lucky that between the 5 Skype sessions I had with my family across a 36-hour period, I was able to spend the holiday with such wonderful (now lifelong) friends. Thanks Orphans - I adore you all!


Here are a few pictures from Christmas in Sydney:

Muzza, head of the Bondi Orphanage, making mulled wine

Amanda, Tyler and Dawn

We (me, Tyler, Dawn and Carly) had these paper crowns in our Christmas poppers.

Bondi Beach on Christmas Day - the sun was out!!

Until next time....
xoxo


p.s. My heart is with my friend Mary in Chicago.
p.s.s. Here is the requisite Skype picture of Fletcher and my parents from Christmas Eve! 

Giving Thanks

I absolutely love the holiday season. It's my favorite time of year....I love when the weather grows chilly (even cold...I love winter clothes), the leaves change colors and fall, football games, Christmas decorations and carols, and the memories that flood back when Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or A Christmas Carol (the George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge version, of course) come on TV.  I relish each and every tradition and love the time spent with my family so much.  When I decided to move to Australia, one of the first things I wondered was what the holidays would be like "down under" and whether I would truly miss my version of the holiday season. I do, but am thankful to experience a new one. I'll tell you about it!


So, it's now summertime here. It's rainy but each week, more and more days are filled with clear blue skies and sun. The days are getting longer, and summer clothes and sandals are now on regular rotation from my closet.  That in and of itself is strange - it's December. It should be cold! It gets stranger as more Christmas decorations go up. Without Thanksgiving here, the tinsel and trees were up in mid-November!


Thanksgiving came and went here just like any other day. My Mom asked me if I was at least going out to dinner, but no, I had Pilates and fell asleep without even eating dinner! The next day, while at work on Friday, I skyped with my entire family after they enjoyed my mom's delicious feast. I admit.....I wanted to cry. I just miss them all so much. BUT.....I am damn lucky. I have made such wonderful friends here that I feel as if I have a new "family of friends". And with them, I have now enjoyed two Thanksgivings!


The first was at Amanda's house. There were about 40-50 of us! The beauty of it was that while there were a few Americans there, we also had a token Brit, a lovely South African and about 40 Aussies who have come to love Thanksgiving! We all were meant to bring something, but they don't have the same ingredients here. For example, turkeys are hard to come by. They have to be pre-ordered and are mucho expensivo. And no cornbread, pumpkin pie filling or wild rice! Mom had sent ingredients for her delicious rice dressing but alas, the box was caught in customs so I had to improvise the night before our Thanksgiving. I made a delicious sage/sausage/bread stuffing, my famous stuffed mushrooms, roasted veggies and a horseradish dip. We ate, enjoyed (lots of) beer, played the traditional American college game of beer pong (which more than one Aussie can't help calling "beer ping pong") and watched NFL games via my slingbox. Amanda's turkey was divine, and the day was all-around great fun. Special thanks to Amanda, Dawn, Devin, Nipul, Muzza, Jason, Robbie, RIch and Kath for a great day.

This is Drummer, the dog Amanda is fostering. He's so sweet. 

My sage/sausage/bread stuffing!

My friend Dawn and me! 

Dawn, Nipul and me....with the traditional Thanksgiving jello shot.

Fast forward one more week, and I had another Thanksgiving (yesterday) at my dear dear friends Tim and Amanda's (i.e., TMac and Manders) house. As luck would have it, TMac proposed to Manders the day prior, so we had a lot to celebrate! Amanda made wonderful food (I made the mushrooms and roasted veggies again) and Tim made yummy cranberry margaritas, and gathered a host of folks they know from their time living in London and Sydney. There were Brits, Aussies, Frenchies and Americans. After eating, we all went around and said what we were thankful for. We all agreed that we are thankful for change, and not being too afraid to make it. And we are thankful for our family of friends. Thank you to TMac, Manders, Carly, Ben, Nipul, Kate and James for an awesome day.

TMac and Manders!

It's hard to be away from home, especially during the holidays. But I am so lucky to have met all these great people who will be lifelong friends of mine. I am thankful for the support of my friends and family back home. And of course for Fletcher, because he's awesome.


And thanks to all of you who read my blog! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever you are!


Until next time...xoxo


p.s. Hey Bondi Chat - I love you all.