It still feels like this past year has gone by in a blur.

To follow tradition, it's time to get busy re-capping, just like in years gone by: 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009.

So it's that time of year again - can you believe it!

Since Australia is a few time zones ahead, we'll shortly be off celebrating our last Christmas together as an engaged couple. It's pretty special to think that by this time next year, we'll be married. How bizarre is that, hey?

First up is a Christmas Eve traditional feast here at home at my parents place, followed by Christmas Day at Jason's parent's place. We'll be wrapping up the big day by relaxing with more family on Boxing Day, stuffed with leftovers and nursing full bellies. This is the first summer Christmas we've had in a while, having spent the last three winters in London town, and it feels strange but good at the same time. It'll be nice having our own place to celebrate though - maybe this time next year we'll be able to set up our own Christmas traditions.

I hope that wherever you are and whatever holiday you're celebrating, that you have a safe and fantastic time. Merry Christmas - and if you've been good this, maybe you'll be paid a visit by your very own Santa Claws!

And... there I go again, disappearing for random days and forgetting to blog.

It's been crazy around here. I'm still without a car and without a job, but on the bright side - we found an apartment! I researched like my fingers were about to fall off, I looked at a few places with some good company, and I put together a kick-ass application to rent and wham!

We have a place. It's pretty fantastic too: it's a brand new unit in a brand new complex, has air conditioning (double woo!) and wooden floors. It's also fairly close by to a train station (as in, across the road) so Jase can get to work in the city easily. We move in on January 7th, and I can't wait - we'll finally be back to our little family unit again.

Unfortunately though, there's been some bad news too. My nan, my gorgeous, sweet-tempered and completely beautiful nan, has just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She's coping remarkably well with it all so far, but we've all been a bit of a mess around here. The past week has been spent in all sorts of treatment rooms and diagnostic centres, to try and see how aggressive it is. It breaks my heart to have something like this happen to someone like her, but all I know is that I'll be there to support her no matter what happens.

Somehow there are only five days left until Christmas - and it still doesn't feel like it's that time of the year yet.  I hope the spirit will hit me by Saturday, because this is usually my all-time favourite holiday.

I never thought it would take me such a long time to touch base after we'd made the move back home. It's crazy to think that this time last week we were spending our last day on the beach in Hawaii - and now I'm here. You guys, it was such an awesome holiday, it really was. We went to so many different places, adapted to a billion different climates, met some awesome people & took way more photos than I'd care to admit.

But then, all too quickly, it was all over. Jase and I flew home together but then went off to our separate homes - which has been more than a little strange. We picked up Oscar-cat the following day and have been trying to see each other as much as possible since then - which is a bit tricky at the moment, since I still have to buy a car & because we live half an hour apart. Oy, I miss having our own little apartment to come home to.

The goals for the next few weeks are to a) find a car, b) find a rental property and c) make a decision about which house to build on our block. Add in me finding a job to the mix as well as, oh, you know, CHRISTMAS {what? It's December?} and it's going to just fly by. I feel like my head is all over the place, but I'm going to just keep swimming and see what happens. I'll do some travel recaps over the next few days {or weeks?} but I just wanted to say hello & see what I've been missing out on. How's everything with you?

I'll leave you with the view of Waikiki Beach we had from our hotel room - aaah, bliss. Take me back!