My final blog for 2006, I thought it would never happen! 2006 has been a pretty good year to me, nothing that I can complain about hugely, other than wanting to move home with my parents again.

Michael and I went to Tasmania for Christmas, leaving Melbourne on the 21st and coming back on the 27th. We got up at 4am on Thursday 21st for our flight at 7am. We arrived at 8:10am in Tasmania, and I was never happier to see my parents - I’m really missing them heaps, as well as the rest of my family. Anyway, that’s besides the point. We arrived in Tassie and made our way home, stopping in at Nan’s place on the way home to say hello and also dropping into town to buy some stuff for dinner and the build up to Christmas Day. Oh, and we also went to Spotlight and Mum bought us a new bedspread for $12.95.

Friday was packed again - we did a whole heap of shopping and then went to the RSL for dinner, and so Mum could listen to this band that she thought were real good. We were there until about 11pm, then we went back to Mum and Dad’s friend’s place for more drinks, eventually getting home at about 1am.

Saturday was the day before Christmas Eve and was mainly spent shopping and cleaning up. I can’t really remember what else we did, as it was over a week ago, but it wasn’t much more than that.

Sunday, Christmas Eve, was also spent cleaning and preparing food for Christmas Day. Also, stocking up on alcohol was in the cards. We attempted to go around looking at Christmas lights tonight but there were barely any houses with Christmas lights on, which was really disappointing. We got home at about 10:30ish and had some chocolates and snacks before going to bed.

Monday - Christmas Day! I woke up at about 5:40am, because I always have had that excitement before Christmas Day, even though Christmas Day itself is less and less exciting every year. Anyway, I spent some time on the computer, and we headed into the house at about 8:00ish, maybe 7:30. We started with presents at 8:30ish, after breakfast. I got a pink Motorola Razr V3, the phone I’ve wanted for yonks and it matches my iPod nano I also got a chocolate stocking, Fairyology (book about fairies) and a pretty hairslide.
My Nana and Pop came over at lunch time, as well as my Auntie Wendy, Auntie Debra, Uncle Robert, Uncle Peter, Auntie Karen and my cousins Tara, Jared, Dean (and his wife Melanie and son Preston) and Paul. We had so much food - turkey, chicken, ham, pork, peas, carrots, potatoes, and a whole lot of salads. For desserts we had trifle, pavlova, Christmas pudding and little things like truffles, lamingtons, slices, etc. It was a good day.

Tuesday was Boxing Day and the day for all Dad’s side of the family to come over. We had at least 30 people in the end, I would say. Mainly we ate leftovers from Christmas Day, but there was more than enough food for all of us, as well as BBQ’d sausages, hamburgers and steaks. Mainly Michael spent the day watching the cricket on TV.

And Wednesday morning was the day to come home to Melbourne. We left at 8am for our 9:55am flight, which we boarded at 10:25 and took off at 10:55. I wasn’t impressed and we won’t be flying with that airline again, because they’ve done this to us before.

At the moment, I miss my family heaps - it’s just that time of year where you want to be around your family, and I know it was difficult on Michael to be away from his family for Christmas, but he has to see it from my P.O.V. and see that I spend almost all year with his family, so it’s only fair I be with mine for a couple of days out of the year. New Year’s Eve for the last 3 years has been difficult because I’ve been here rather than with my family, and I just miss them so much. I hope to be able to move back down there in 2007 - I’m already looking for a job and Mum and Dad have offered their place to us for $200 a week while they go travelling around in their caravan, which would suit us better than $300/week in a tiny apartment. Anyway, we’ll see what becomes of it.

I must go now, as dinner is ready. Let me know what you all got for Christmas, your plans for NYE, and your New Year’s Resolutions!

So, plenty has happened since I last blogged. I kept looking at my site and saying to myself that I should blog but I’d go start something else and not get around to it.

So I guess I’ll start from the beginning - Amelia (Michael’s sister) was induced into labour on the 25th November. After a 6-hour labour, she gave birth to a 9lb 11oz beautiful baby boy named Jonah. So I’m an aunty which is really exciting. I’ll post pictures when I have some but the only one I have at the moment is on my phone.

At work, we have a new General Manager, which means of course that she wants to go and change things that were working (and some things that weren’t too). We’re now rostered - I don’t mind this coming week’s shifts (11am start tomorrow, then 10am for Wednesday and Friday), but I don’t know the weeks after this week, so I’m a little concerned. An 11am start is fantastic for me - such a good time because I’m not a morning person at all, but I did put myself down for 8am starts, which is very early for me, being a not-morning person. Anyway I guess I’ll get over it - one day a week won’t kill me.

Looking forward to seeing the family for Christmas. Although I’m not a huge fan of Christmas itself, I do like spending time with the family and seeing how much my cousin’s twins have grown, and now that there’s two other new additions to the family (two of my cousins had babies during the last couple of months) that will be great to see them too. One of them I haven’t even seen yet, so I’m looking forward to that. Plus I like to give presents - I’ve never had the money to buy presents for anyone before - not even last year - so it’s nice to be able to give people something.

We went Christmas shopping yesterday. I bought that new game ‘Canis Canem Edit’ for my brother (it’s called ‘Bully’ in the US), a Paul McCartney DVD for Dad, Damien Leigh’s (the new Aussie Idol)’s album for Mum, and a big box of chocolates for them to share. I haven’t got my sister anything (which I only realised last night when I went to the movies with her) but in a way it was lucky because the ATM ate her bank card, so I ended up paying for the whole lot, which I guess was a present in itself. I also bought her a book about a month ago that she was looking for for ages so I guess that would be a present too. She’s not giving presents this year - she doesn’t earn enough money - so she’s just sending out cards.

Which reminds me - I have to get cards out to my friends. I probably won’t see most of them at Christmas time, so I thought I’d send cards. Marion was going to email me a list of addresses because I can remember most of the street names of my friends’ places but I can’t usually remember the number of their houses. I checked with Mum to see if she still had a list from my birthday invites but she couldn’t find it. Oh well, if all else fails I’ll drop them in by hand when we’re down there.

Anyway, I think I’ve babbled enough for now. If I don’t blog again before, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Wonderful Yule, and a Happy New Year!