Happy New Year!

I have been dreading the process of writing my first blog post of 2011. I have been tossing around whether I should post my New Year's Resolutions or write a 2010 year in review and wondering if you all really care to read what I have to write. Well, it is YOUR lucky day because I decided to just write a post and if you read it AWESOME and if you don't then may your year bring you the uneasy feeling of someone constantly watching you...

2011 Resolutions

-Start an exercise program and stick with it for more than 3 weeks.

-Finish my degree.

-Build a new kitchen table and beds for the kids with my own two hands, oh and my father-inlaws too (he doesn't know this yet, won't he be surprised).

-I also have one very personal resolution that I don't care to share here. The good news is I have already began the process of getting it finished.

2010 Review

The year began with us enjoying 90 degree weather while beginning our new journey in Australia. The journey quickly became very stressful and difficult for all of us. It was extremely expensive to live there. So much so that I had to go out and find a job to help pay for our basic living expenses. Something that I have not had to do in 13 years. Finding a job in a small country town for an American proved to be quite the task. I ended up taking a job at McDonalds. It was actually the only job offered to me. It was the WORST job I have ever had. I don't know who was more ashamed that I had to take a job there, James or myself?

In February we finally found a house that was four bedroom and in good condition that we felt we could afford, it also had a pool (bonus). We moved into it the first week of March and ended up being flooded in. This was the scariest thing I have ever lived through. It was a good thing I had unpacking to keep my mind off the constantly rising water that was flooding all of our new neighbor's homes. After the flooding missed our house and started to recede, things started to look up for us. I was offered a job with Sullivan Nicolades Pathology as a pathology specimen collector (phlebotomist). I accepted the position and began working for them in May.

At the end of April, we had the opportunity to travel to the Gold Coast and take the kids to Movie World. The beach was absolutely beautiful and we ate at the only Australian Hard Rock Cafe. We stayed at a seedy motel where we contracted head lice. We had fun nonetheless.

Finally May rolled around and I began my new job. I got to travel to Toowoomba (4 hours away) for training. I was there two weeks all by myself. It was kinda lonely and great at the same time. My new job proved to be just enough of a challenge that I looked forward to going everyday. I am hoping to continue to work in that field.

In June we went to Carnarvon Gorge, it was beautiful there and we got to see our first herd of camels, a wild pig, and an echidna. July was the coldest month and we were just busy working. In mid-July James applied for a job with GE not thinking that anything would come of it or that it would even be enough money to accept the job. The last week of July we got a call saying that they really wanted James to come to work for them and they were even willing to give  him generous salary and a sign-on bonus in order to woo him. We took the job and began the daunting task of moving yet again.

We decided that the easiest and least expensive way for us to move back would be to sell EVERYTHING. So we did. In fact, we only brought 50 boxes of things back with us. It seems like a lot until you have them packed and realize that you just fit 15 years of accumulation into 50 boxes. We had great success selling everything. At the end of August, the kids and I flew home and James and the dog followed a week later.

The kids and I moved in with the in-laws while James moved to Houston to begin his new job. The last 4 months of the year have been really difficult and I can't wait to begin our new lives as Texans. Ok, I know we won't really be Texans but we can think we are, right?