Happy Birthday to me! (ok a lil late)

I wrote the below blog the day before my birthday...but emailed it to myself to edit instead of just doing it all then and there...which means I wound up forgetting about it... Anyway...it's all good cuz I had to add in a lil story about what my rad Aussie family did for my birthday. We got all dressed up and went over to Dan's parents' house...we thought we were walking into their backyard but as we walked through their gate, followed by a red curtain, we found ourselves on a red carpet with a big film camera pinata pointed at us! They threw me a Hollywood themed bday party! We had SO much fun. Anyway, below are some pics if you wanna see...and here's my "turning 30" dribble if you feel like reading that. Silly bean.

So today I count down the final minutes of my 20s. I thought I'd be freaked out. I was more freaked out about turning 25 than I am about turning 30...though when my dad pointed out that I was just 5 times the 5 year old I was 20 years ago...that made me happy. I can't help but look back on my life, my 20s in particular, on my last day of those 20s. They were pretty damn good to me. Granted I went through some of the worst crap of my life...the point is I got through it, right? And I had some of the best things happen as well. Watching some people I love dearly become moms and dads, moving to a couple cities that taught me so much and changed my life more than I think I even realize right now, growing to understand how damn lucky I am with the family I got, throwing out everything I'd planned for 15 years for a brand new adventure, and having that actually succeed. My 20s were so full. I find it hard to believe it only started 10 years ago. It feels like it's been my whole life. Am I just getting that old that being a kid and a teenager have become such distant memories!??

I think my 30s are going to be really wonderful. I can understand now why everyone says it's such a great decade. I've learned SO much in 30 years, I feel like I can actually understand the world enough to find my place in it now. And I understand myself enough to know how I can effect the world and how I need it to effect me. I get to stand up in front of my friends and family and marry a man who I can hold hands with while we fight...who makes me laugh so deeply, I can let it all go...who tries to learn to play on guitar every new song I mention that I like...who kisses and hugs me everyday before he goes to work because he knows I'm always afraid something might happen. I'm also hoping to find a job where I can really blossom. I've had so many different experiences over the past 10 years...I think it's time to really apply it and find something I really love and where they love me. I had a great conversation with my brother yesterday about how the workplace is shifting...all those years of people telling me I wasn't professional enough b/c I still maintained a human side to me (IE if a "work friend" asked me how I felt and I felt like crap...I'd say I felt like crap...how could I do such a thing??) I don't want to work somewhere that they expect me to be a robot. Don't get me wrong...I know there's a time and a place...but a co-worker who you think is a friend...you can't say "I feel like crap" to??? Come on! Ugh. Don't get me started on the pitiful workplaces I've been in over the last decade! Thank God I was my own boss for half of it. Never a better experience than that one!!! We'll see what happens this decade...I still don't even know what I'm going to do for work...will probably end up back in school...but at least now I know what I need out of it and I know better what I can give. I've still got so much to learn...so much work to do to better balance things, etc...but...well...30 is good.

I'M COMING HOME!!!

We just booked our flights...well to LAX anyway...working on the rest of it right now...but we're coming home January 23!!!!!

Thank you. That is all.

It's been a while

I had more or less forgotten about my blog until someone wrote me a comment today on my last one about Tokyo. I don't know who wrote it and you don't have to tell me but I just wanted to say thank you to whoever wrote it. I needed that this morning.

It's 7:38am. I really shouldn't be bothering with this right now b/c in about 15 minutes we need to leave to take Roxy (remember her?) to the vet for xrays and probably surgery. When we were in the states visiting in April, Roxy tore the cruciate ligament in her right hind knee. Last Friday she probably tore the cruciate ligament in her left hind knee. We're about to find out for sure. Poor pupsqueak. So I'm a little blue. And those kind few words meant a lot to me so thank you.

Phew ok so I wrote that stuff last week. So Roxy had the surgery. She not only tore her cruciate ligament (completely) but she apparently obliterated her meniscus as well. I wouldn't know what any of that crap was had something similar not happened to a girl I played soccer with in college...but basically it's just a really bad thing to happen to your knee. And Roxy basically had to have her knee reconstructed. She's Robodog now. Times 2. Oy vey.

So other than babysitting Robodog, I've been babysitting this little cutie, Aria. She's got the greatest laugh, the soppiest little pout and a set of lungs that sometimes make me want to hide under a giant pile of pillows. But at least most of her crying actually means something (along the lines of FEED ME!) So we're copacetic. I did some family photos for them. This was my favorite. It was a fun time. After that the mom said two of her friends want me to do pics of their families. So now I've gotta get a little of my gear from the US and get a little confidence from....wait...where do I find that stuff?? And I'm gonna take some more family pics...so fingers crossed!

Umm. I don't have much to say really. Just knew I was due for a blog. I'm so eager to get back to the states. It's driving me a lil crazy so if you feel like writing me, I really do miss you and I'm sorry I don't initiate contact better. My mom is the only person back there I talk to regularly and that's only b/c the woman is so organized she put my ass on a schedule as soon as my plane touched down over here! And I'm grateful for that.

Oh yeah one last thing...I am REALLY proud of Samantha and Dylan (and everyone else who gave them support) for sticking it out. I know it feels like this will truly never end but you have made it past the hard part and now it really is about the rest of your life. Just remember kids are incredibly resilient. It might take some time...and it might resurface years down the road...but all in all he is OK and will be OK because he's got an incredible mother who gives him an abundance of what people truly need most...LOVE. Just keep giving him that and it'll get him through everything. You're amazing and I'm SO proud of you.

Tune in Tokyo!

Ok so I'm a little late but here's our trip wrap up. Dan and I had a great time in the US and we wanted to thank everyone again who busted outta their norm one way or another so we could soak up some of your sun. We had a wonderful time with everyone. I was reminded and refreshed with such great family and friends that I have. I'm eager for him to meet the rest of you but he sure knocked out a huge chunk of the list on this trip! The man is a trooper. It was pretty overwhelming but so much fun.

So here's a few pics from Tokyo (where we spent 2 nights on our way back to Oz). Japan was....intense. Tokyo is not my cup of tea but I think the rest of Japan might be. Tokyo is such a new city in relation to the rest of it...I'm into the history and culture of Japan (as an ancient country), not the hottest trends in fashion and architecture. So much of Tokyowas annoying to me. It was just a series of Times Squares (one of my least favorite places on earth). Miraculously though, there was a little park/temple oasis that we found after about 7 hours of site seeing. That was a nice break. But by then we were too tired to continue much further into the really good stuff. And unfortunately we didn't get to experience the cuisine too much because most restaurants gave their menus in Japanese with only photos for us tourists to point to. No way in hell I'm picking off a photo. I don't wanna end up eating fire-breathing squid poop just b/c it looks like chocolate! Anyway, here's the photos...we've got the view from the hotel (where we had this magical heated seat toilet...I highly recommend...), our oasis, some train station/mall and some street views walking around. Enjoy. =)

A sunset and a Siena

It's not like it didn't dawn on me before that I should be making a serious effort to encounter some serious sunsets while I'm parked on the west coast of a continent...it's just that there aren't usually clouds in the sky here, a fact which lends for, dare I say, boring sunsets. Not lately though...the sunsets have been amazing. So Dan and I are going to make an effort to tie them in with a walk each night or so and I'm hoping to make some purty pictures outta them. Here's the only half decent one I got tonight b/c the time changed last night so it got dark way early and we nearly missed it. But I'm hoping some good ones will follow shortly. WOOHOO Photo project!!!!




Speaking of beautiful lights in my life...

Meet Siena (daughter of Lucie and Andy - Dan's bro).



I will now dedicate a little photo essay to her and her cuteness.


When she is not hard at work....




...or feeding the children...




...Siena likes to take her uncle Dan for walks around the garden...




She is very dedicated to making sure everyone stops to smell the flowers.








The end.

The C-word is the new F-word

I learned that recently. According to this show that groups random people together to discuss random things (on the day I watched it was about manners) the "C-word" is the new "F-word" because apparently people are so used to hearing "F bombs" dropped that they've become immune and it's lost its value. I don't agree...but that's mostly because I know my grammas and grandpa read my blog and I am not yet immune enough to say the "F word" to any of them. And I'm DEFINITELY not saying the "C-word"! But I will say this: Dan's "friends" (two in particular) are bunch of F'ing C-Words!! I won't bore you with details. Suffice it to say it's another case of get-them-before-they-get-me. Yawn.

In other news, Dan and I are majorly psyched for our trip back to the US next month. We're eager for him to meet the rest of the family (and them to meet him) and I'm incredibly eager to be around people I've known for a very long time. I'm sick of meeting new people. When I lived in NYC I was meeting new people every other day. Now, of course I'm meeting more new people. Granted my jadedness is b/c of the f'ing c-words aforementioned...and I'm due to get over it any day now...but until then, I'm laying low and trying not to encounter any more strangers that may cause a ripple in my lovely little pond ova here! Eventually I'll return to my old optimistic self and love (all) people again. Til then I'll just focus on the people that have been through the selection process already. It'll be nice to be back to you! And frankly, I can't wait to hug my mommy and daddy. I miss everyone so much. I've been pretty homesick lately but I'm sure that's mostly because the trip is coming so close (26 days!!) (And b/c far too much of my time has been spent thinking about f'ing c-words). Oh and in case you haven't heard, I am a RAD travel agent. I found us some flights (cheapest we've seen so far) that happen to land us in Tokyo for 2 nights!! Granted that is the "catch" that makes the flights so cheap but in my world I call that a BONUS! And don't worry, it's not some random rickety-ass airline...it's Qantas and American. SUPER psyched about that. Whodathunkit that lil miss midwesterner would be strolling through Tokyo in a month. Well folks, thanks to my parents raising me to explore, I did...and so I am. YAY! I hope to have some cool photos and stories to share on here...finally my blog will get back out of my head and into something interesting!

Also, in case you're wondering, my visa is in the final stages. They've gotten just about everything from me and I've jumped through all their hoops...just waiting on the FBI to confirm that I'm not a villain. Any day now! I emailed with my secret agent (my immigration officer) and though he could not say anything outright...he alluded to my approval. Fingers crossed that I read that right. But never fear, this is not long term. Dan and I are discussing moving back next year. We'd both like to be settled in the states for the wedding. Ooooh wedding. I had a dream last night that some snarky woman did my hair and it was exactly the opposite of what I'd want!! It was pretty funny. I woke myself up grumbling. Haha Things are slowly coming together for the wedding. We're still in the super early stages so nothing much to report. We did however lock a site in. I'm really excited for it. It's the Joseph Ambler Inn. Very cool old place. My mom's been a champ on pulling together info for me! WOOHOO!! Oh yeah...we have a wedding website too...check it out! http://DanandCarley.brides.com Ok so it's cheesy but I'm excited! Dan is so good to me. I can't wait to make everything official. Boy am I in love with a good man.

Ok LAST THING! I swear. I got my hair cut. So I'm attaching a pic of me to show it off even though I'm making the "press the button!" face and the photo looks no better than an ID photo. But whatever. Just look at the hair!!! The best part is that I get to donate it to http://locksoflove.org/ which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Oh and speaking of warm and fuzzy...check out the pancake Dan and I made. Yes we are dorks. Dorks in love. =)

Feelin' Blue

I wrote this email to a few people last week but now that I have photos I thought I'd share it...

There's something to be said for living near the ocean.

This month started with me trying to be good about walking for 30 minutes everyday. That lasted about a week and a half...and that included only walking about every other day...but I was still feeling good and proud for doing something! Then a couple weeks went by and I was caught up in one thing or another and didn't do any "something". Oy. Well...today I went for a walk...but went a different way because I figured part of why I stopped walking shortly after I started was because to go for 30 minutes I had to walk around the block twice. That's dang boring! So today I started off in a new direction...heading west. I wanted to know how far the beach was from my house. I was nearing the mile mark (I wear a pedometer) and beginning to feel pretty tired and like I should turn back b/c I hadn't seen the ocean yet and it was hot out and I didn't really know how much further it was....when suddenly I rounded a curve and a huge bush and was wrapped in the beautiful blue and open horizon that reminds you there's a big world out there. I had to walk another third or half mile to get closer to it, only to find I couldn't get to the beach from straight through where I was intending to go b/c of road work. Ugh. But I got to see the ocean which was really nice. So there it is...according to my little pedometer friend, we live about 1 1/3 miles from the ocean. So when are you coming to visit? =)

Bad Carley!!

Ok I know I'm WAAAAY overdue but here's a couple videos of our house. I still need to add a couple pics of some of the upgrades since I did these videos (changes in the pics on the walls, an added shelf unit...) I need to add pics of my new car but here ya go. Also, when you look at the master bedroom one...it goes down the hall...if you're curious, there are two spare bedrooms to the right and the bathroom suite to the left. One of the spares is an office/studio and the other will be your bedroom. Now come visit!