...all I want for Christmas is you....

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009.

Countdown to LA: 25 days.

Countdown to Sydney: 36 days.

Last night, we had our annual Girls Christmas Dinner. We've been so busy with the upcoming move and everything surrounding it, we had very little time to prep for it. Needless to say, we were a little more than nervous that it would be a disaster. Luckily for us, we have the BEST friends in the world, and it turned out to be a smashing success!

There was food for days, including (but not limited to):

-egg rolls

-lasagna

-chicken fettucini alfredo

-cheese stuffed mushrooms

-couscous salad

-cream puffs

-and more wine than any alcoholic could ask for!!!

It was fantastically delicious and as the vino flowed we all settled into some much-needed girl talk and bonding.

Special shoutouts to Steph - our hostess with the mostest! She set up a beautiful Paris-themed table and made sure everyone had a great time! It made us super excited to be hosting our own dinner parties in Sydney and starting new traditions there!!! Kinda sad, we won't be able to attend the Christmas dinner next year, but we'll be sure to be there in spirit!!!

Perpetually Dreaming,

Linds & Naz

Sometimes perfection can be perfect hell, perfect.

Monday, December 28th, 2009
Countdown to LA: 26 days
Countdown to Sydney: 37 days

Oh…hey there blog. How have you been? Its been a while since we’ve talked. I know I know, we’ve been bad friends, we haven’t visited in a while. It’s no excuse, but we’ve been extremely busy lately. So as I sit in bed with a glass of merlot and my laptop, I’ll give you the lowdown on the last 2 weeks.

I guess we’ll start with the most important thing - Naz and I are reunited!! After 2 whole weeks of nausea-inducing withdrawal, we are officially back together where we belong! Naz will update you later on her trip to the Dominican but from the stories she’s told me, it was amazing!

Last time we spoke, I told you all about my procrastination and my impeding to-do list. Well, with the move date quickly approaching, I kicked my ass into high-gear and was actually efficient and productive. I used my lunch breaks at work to cross of 2 of the 3 tasks on my list! My visa is processing as we speak and I have officially (and finally) filed my taxes! The license is a different story but I’m working on it.

Naz had a mini freak-out with her visa, as they won’t let her apply for it until she’s paid her tuition (which she hasn’t) so she has to wait till Jan 4th when her school reopens from the holidays to apply. Apparently it only takes 2-3 days so (fingers crossed) we’re in the clear.
Our agenda for this week includes: making appointments to get our tattoos, packing, and figuring out the most economical way for us to transport all of our shit from Canada to Australia. On top of that, we’re working everyday, it’s New Years Eve and we have a late Christmas dinner with all of our girls tomorrow night. We’ll update you on that later!

Well, that’s it for now. I promise to be a better friend to you in the future, we will never go that long without speaking ever again! Oh and did I forget to mention - we leave in 26 days?!?!?! Where DOES the time go??

Perpetually Dreaming,
Linds & Naz

No Shirt, No Worries, No Problems

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009.

Countdown to LA: 38 days.

Countdown to Sydney: 49 days.

Ahhh....winter....how I love thee. The warm feeling I get when my car haphazardly skids off the road, sliding into a guard rail and subsequently making me feel like an idiot - is unlike any other. I love it when I lose all feeling in my extremities and the snow falling ruins my freshly blowdried hair.

Scratch that - I actually loathe it. I despise winter more than I thought humanly possible. It was the sole reason I moved to Florida for a year, and it is the driving force behind my impending move to Aussieland.

But, let's not spend this post discussing the downfalls of -20 degree weather. Instead - I'm going to go to my happy place. Today my happy place is Cancun. This time last week, I was lounging on the beach, margarita in hand, amazed at how wonderful life can be. My own personal heaven. So I thought I'd share my memories of said heaven with you, and show you photographic evidence.

For 8 beautiful days and 7 funfilled nights I lazily enjoyed the sun, sand and surf (well not so much surf) that Cancun has to offered. I took a boat ride to Isla Mujeres (a beautiful island off the coast of Cancun), did Yoga on the beach and ate and drank way too much. I went snorkelling at Xel Ha, an ecological waterpark with Mayan Caves, cenotes and grottos. It was an amazing expire I will never forget. Most importantly - I got to spend time with my mom and nephew before I move to the other side of the world. That quality time was much needed and much appreciated.

Naz is still in the Dominican and I am patiently waiting her arrival. But for now, I am mainly jealous of her and that she's in her heaven today, while I rot away in my own personal hell (winter).

Perpetually Dreaming (about the beach!),

Linds

Aussie Land

Sundey, December 13th, 2009.
Countdown to LA: 41 days.
Countdown to Sydney:52 days.

So, first things first….I’m coooold! Right about this time last week I was lying on a beach, drinking lime margarita after lime margarita and thinking about how fantastic life is. That was Cancun, in Canada - life’s a little more difficult. Friday morning, my plane lands to fantastic -17 degree whether and I thought “THIS is exactly the reason why I need to move to Australia”. That being said, I have now entered panic mode.

Someone asked me today when I’m moving and I told them the same date I’ve been repeating to myself for months - January 23rd. But for some reason, today that date seemed so much closer than usual. My to-do list is still a mile long and I’ve been procrastinating like its going out of style. In typical fashion, I’ve compiled a thorough list of what needs to be done, how to do it and when it needs to be completed by. Will I actually complete anything at the rate I’m going now? The answer is a big fat no. So I’m giving myself a proverbial kick in the ass and stepping things up. I’m working on a week-by-week basis here to make my life less complicated.

Numero uno on my list for this week: get my damn work visa. I already completed the first half of this task back in October, so now its just a matter of handing in the final paperwork, purchasing my health insurance and voila! - task completed! Task number 2: renew my drivers license. This is relatively simple so it shouldn’t take long but with me you never really know. The last thing on my list for the week is to get my taxes done. Yes I know they were supposed to be done last spring but, as I have already admitted earlier, I procrastinate. So now I will be spending my lunch hour on Tuesday at my local H&R Block getting them filed.

So that’s my week, I promise things get more interesting as the weeks progress. We need to plan our goodbye party, shop for luggage and get tattoos. Much more fun stuff to come! Not to worry, we’ll tell you ALL about it every step of the way!

In the meantime, while I spend my week freezing my ass off and working, Naz is in Punta Cana having a lime margarita (or Mama Juana) for me.

Pertpeutally Dreaming,
Linds

Thursday, December 10 2009. 4:43 pm.
Countdown to LA: 44 days.
Countdown to Sydney: 55 days.

My other half, Lindsay, has been in Cancun for a week now. In her absence we have seen the first snowfall of the year here in Toronto--a snow storm no less!-- and the precipitation from the sky has not stopped. She returns at midnight however, and I will be leaving for the Dominican tomorrow. Is the last day before a week long beach vacay suppose to go so wrong? It started with not being able to sleep for a few nights now and my horoscope this morning saying I would not be as "successful" as I want to be and that I have to "fake it to make it today". That's probably referring to my first day on the floor at PINK which went horribly, horribly awry in the first 10 minutes. Apparently I have problems engaging customers because I do not believe in harassing them! No wonder I've never done retail before. I somehow made it through my shift with my fake it to make it motto until they told me to go home early possibly due to poor sales. Nevertheless, I was grateful to be outta there. Maybe in the week I have off I will learn to sell, sell, sell!

I now have some unpleasant errands to run for my trip (ladies, two words: waxing appointment) and packing left to do until I'm dealing with a sunburn instead of frost bite. Looking forward to the change! When I get back we will be in the 30s for our countdown to LA and Sydney, where I am hoping for a more permanent sun burn.

Perpetually Dreaming,
Naz

p.s. Lindsay, come back! We miss you and life's just not the same when you're gone! Don't forget to tell us all about your trip!