Let the new year begin!

Happy New Year to all!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year! I have not been on my blog since before Christmas, so I apologize for the delay. Since my last post we've celebrated our first Christmas together, followed by my 24th birthday, new years celebrations and visitors from Canada (more to come on that in my next post). It's been a whirlwind!

Christmas was incredible! So laid back and family-oriented - just the way I like it. It was a balmy 27 degrees and it thunderstormed the whole day. Dami and I spent the morning together and enjoyed every bit of it before heading off to his parents' place for lunch. We had a full turkey and ham dinner with just the family in Melbourne. It was intimate, relaxing and blissful. My father-in-law cooked turkey on his new Webber BBQ, while my mother-in-law cooked up a feast! We were so grateful to be able to talk to the Keady's in Baltimore and wish them a Merry Christmas as well! Following lunch we sat outside in the backyard watching the lightning while drinking our wine. It poured so much that we ended up having one mean family water fight. Only my mother-in-law was left dry - she ran inside! We had a lazy afternoon and picked at leftovers for dinner. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

All photos: Life in Oz



The next day I turned 24! Damien unfortunately had to work from 7am-8pm, but it ended up being one of the best birthdays! Before Dames headed off to work, he surprised me with the ultimate gift --- tickets to swim with wild dolphins and seals down the coast from us!!! What a way to start the morning, eh?! Who needs coffee after something like that! Anyways afterwards, Damien's best mate stopped by to have a birthday coffee with me so that I wouldn't be by myself on my birthday, which was very thoughful. Then I got to Skype with my family back home just after they finished Christmas dinner. After that I Skyped with my family in Tennessee - such a treat to spend some time with them on Christmas! Not long after that my inlaws dropped in for coffee and drove me to meet my sister and brother-in-law to see a movie. We saw the movie "The Women on the 6th Floor" which was entirely in French. Think "The Help" but Parisien style -- I loved it! Since my brother-in-law is from the Basque region, it was right up his alley. We then enjoyed some delicious Basque food for dinner while drinking red wine on the restaurant patio overlooking the city's Little Italy. It was pure bliss. The night ended off with the best part --- meeting my hubby and walking down one of Melbourne's many alley ways to a little Italian restaurant where we shared a bottle of wine and a cheese platter! I felt like one blessed woman that day, especially since all I thought I'd be doing would be Skyping with my fam!

My one wish for my birthday was to go to my favourite bar in St. Kilda -- Republica. It faces out to the beach and they have these great hanging wicker chairs which you can sit in and leisurely enjoy your drink. Since Damien wanted to really take me out for my bday, that's where we went. We were able to get the chairs smack dab in the middle facing the ocean, and while we drank our wine we felt the ocean air breeze against us. It felt like we were on vacation!

For New Years we did something a bit different. I find the holiday to be overrated, so does Damien. The priest who married us in Oz, Christian,  has an uncle who runs an Italian banquet hall. He was looking for extra help for New Years Eve, so Christian asked us and we agreed. It was extra pocket money for upcoming travels, and it was well worth it. We had so much fun that night, and approaching midnight the owner gave us crackers and champagne to celebrate with. At midnight we shared our first New Years kiss, along with many more from enthusiatic Italians! 2011 has been one heck of a year for both of us and we are eager to start this new year in hopes that it will be a little less hectic! As I write this I realize we have been married for 7 months today - It's so hard to believe, time has flown. We had many blessings in the past year - getting engaged, getting a job promotion, getting married (twice!), starting our life in Melb, having lots of support from family and friends both here and back in Canada, and going through challenges together, yet being eachothers rocks and coming out stronger in the end.

We thank everyone who supported us, our decisions and all the changes that occured in 2011 - we couldn't have done it without your unconditional love, constant prayers, friendship and encouragement. We are so blessed to have such a community of people who love us, and who we love back. Many blessings to you in 2012, may it be a year of favour, good change and love. Lots of hugs and kisses,

- Alex
xoxoxox