Celebrating Denise!

It was so nice to be at home. It was the first time in 8 years of working, we took two weeks off of work. (In fact, when we moved to Australia, I didn't even take one day off.) We spent both of those weeks in NJ. It was wonderful to catch-up with friends and family. We got to celebrate Nana's 80th birthday with her; catch up with mom and dad; have lunch with Lauren; spend some time with Laura, Lee and Larry; see Maddie growing bigger; meet Nash; and be around long enough for RJ to know Aunt Liss and Uncle Sean.

Our last night we got to celebrate Denise! It was a celebration of 10 years cancer free. I can't think of a better reason to celebrate! It was such a special day of everyone coming together from all of the stages of her life.

Finishing in the top 3!

Our time at our new beach house culminated with the Brigantine Triathlon. Sean had set a goal for himself to break an hour and 10 minutes this year. Going into it, it was questionable whether or not his bike would make it. He brought his old bike back from Australia. While training that week he had gone through 3 tire tubes. Once he was down in Sea Isle and Dad and I had to bring the van down to pick him up. This triathlon, isn't like the Tour de France with your crew following you in case of a blowout - if your tire goes, you mind as well throw in the towel.

You'll see that he not only met his goal, but he slashed it and came in third! His fan club was very happy :)

Bahamavention

I kicked off my four weeks in the US with a Bahamavention with Sherry. How fun is that?! Sherry recently moved to Orlando so one of us was going to have to fly in order for us to get together. Neither of us were too psyched about spending the weekend with Mickey or Barack so we decided on Nassau. It was an inexpensive, direct flight for both of us and there was a Sheraton - which means hotel points.

The beaches on Nassau are some of the most beautiful I've been to. If you're an east coaster, it rivals Fiji, yet much closer and less expensive. Don't miss what's in your own back yard!

It was great to catch-up with Sherry and have a girls weekend. It's one thing I've missed being so far away from home!

A winter break

Not that we can complain about an Australian winter, but it was starting to get to us. So, we planned a trip up north to take a break from the grey days and get some sun. We decided on Noosa, a quaint little beach side town in Queensland. It is about an hour and a half plane ride from Melbourne, an easy weekend trip. Because the field hockey league I coach in thinks it's a funny joke to have all its games on Friday night, we took off early Saturday morning. Our friends from Sydney (you may remember Leela and Pete from an earlier post), met us up there. It was our first time going away with another couple - boy was it a blast!

Noosa was every bit as great we heard it would be. Beautiful beaches and no dramas. On Saturday we spent some time walking along the beaches and visiting the Surf Life Saving Club. Are you asking yourself, how fun can that be? Did someone get hurt? No mate, the SLSCs are one of the coolest things we have discovered in Australia. They are club houses right on the beach. Think Elk's Club, Night's of Columbus, etc... cheap beer, on a club house deck, overlooking some of the most amazing views you've seen in your life. What a find!

After the beach, Leela and Pete brought a couple of bottle of sparkling wine to our room in the evening and our night of fun began....

The next morning Sean and Pete got up for a run and Leela and I did some yoga on the beach followed by a beach front massage. Perfect! Brekky then a bike ride to the neighbouring beaches (and of course we had to try the beer at their Life Saving Clubs :)). Leela introduced me to shandies. Yum. What a refreshing way to enjoy an afternoon beer.

During the trip Sean and Pete decided we'd be back. Next time it would be to compete in the Noosa triathlon, one of the preeminent in Australia.

I guess there will be less Life Saving Club visits next time... for the boys that is!

Relaxing in Tasmania

I can be very impulsive. I was flying back from Sydney one evening and decided I had worked enough that week and I would reward myself by reading the Qantas magazine instead of getting my laptop out immediately (a window into the crazy). There was an article written directly to me. Are you tired? Stressed? Do you love nature? Yoga? YES! YES! YES! YES! Then you've got to come to this yoga retreat in the Bay of Fires in Tasmania. Done - I am there. I got home and booked it in.

Well, as I was on the plane to Tasmania it started to sink in. I was going to a yoga retreat in the middle of nowhere, alone. I had tried to convince my friend to come, but she thought it sounded too intense, hmm... that should have been my first clue. I got off the plane and saw a small group of ladies, looking very yoga like waiting for me. A round of introductions and then a three hour drive in the darkest dark. There is nothing in Tasmania. After the long drive we pulled over and got into a four wheel drive Land Rover to take us further into nothingness. After a half hour on the dirt road, we hiked up the mountain to the retreat. Whoa! This is serious. I didn't know the half of it. They showed us to the "bathroom" area. Where I learned this place didn't have electricity or running water and there were composting toilets. They weren't kidding when they said escape from the complexities of life.

I was getting a bit up tight about the whole thing - why didn't they tell me this? why didn't I ask? Then I laid down in my (very, very cold) bed (with all the clothes I had packed layered on) and looked up. Through the glass ceiling, the sky looked more amazing than I had ever seen it. That's what this weekend was about. Slowing down and enjoying the beauties of nature that we are too busy to notice in our daily lives.

Each morning started with 6:30 meditation over looking the crashing sea, followed by three hours of yoga, a midday hike and 3 more hours of yoga. There's nothing as refreshing as clearing your mind and being grateful for what you have and where you are in the present moment.