So i'm back from my wonderful year in australia! I have definitely been slacking in the posts since i've been back so i'm gonna give you a summary of my time back here :) I've come home with my 4 bags packed to the 50 pound limit and even one that was 52!!!



The plane ride was good at first with all our bags checked and our carry on's neatly sorted but we knew there was a long day ahead of us! Leaving at noon on wednesday to arrive at 6pm the SAME day was not the 6 hour flight it appeared! Time zones included we spent 26 hours in airports and airplanes and 30 hours total when you include rides to the airport and home! Luckily for me I had my Sudoku in the little airplane magazines! Unluckily for me it's always the same game because they're all the same magazines! :) That's when Serra converted me to trivia questions that were way too hard for us but I know mum would have gotten easily but as you can see, across the aisle, mum is fast asleep :)



So I returned home after figuring out how to use my states cell phone and dad finding us at the strangely vacant airport on thanksgiving "eve", stopping at BURGER KING and NOT hungry jacks for dinner...arriving home i saw one out of 2 bundles of fur that i'd been missing for 10 months! This is socks :) he's technically my sissy's but I love him just as much :) and NO he's not dead! just sleeping :)



I also got to see my wonderful friends who look like supermodels as always for dinner at the Rockfish and went to my first bar in the states! :) The good ol' brown that I've heard so much about but never been able to go in :) Not that I got carded but STILL :) monumental moment hehe I also drove there all on my own which was very scary since i always want to be on the left side of the road!!! but i made it so yay!



of course the night after i drive and feel like i could actually get used to driving on this side of the road, it snows!!! and i mean SNOW...like it doesn't usually snow in washington!!! And guess what! We're iced into our driveway! we tried to get up and out but slid right back down the hill...VERY scary!!! so we spent thanksgiving out and then were iced into our house for the next 4 days which I might also add was a weekend!!! Go figure :) but isn't the snow beautiful???



here's some more snow :) just cuz it's fun :)



see the two eagles in the eagle tree??? here's a better picture of the pride of the skagit valley! :) Bald Eagles are a plenty out here but never fail to be astounding!



So in my hopes to become a flight attendant I fly out to chicago and interview with United, only to be rejected about 3 weeks later, but my interview was lovely and I couldn't have had a better time! Upgraded to first class on the way there and even slept for half an hour on the way home! :) The parking attendant even asked me if I worked for the airline on my way out of the gate! :) Wasn't quite meant to be I suppose! :) I came home however to a complete windstorm, one of the worst we've seen in a long while and houses around us got massacred!!! luckily ours was free from harm but look at the craziness just our driveway faced!...for a while during the night i was SURE that a tree had fallen on our roof and was rolling back and forth! the house above us just starting to be built got 2 trees across the foundation...



our driveway was covered in dead branches and TREES that had fallen across the road until our neighbours got together and all helped to cut them away (except for me...i was sleeping!) :)



and the ground looked like we had been shrunk to a smaller size and the lawn had just been mowed except they were branches and tops of trees instead of blades of grass!!!



so the power has gone out...wires are ON THE GROUND...and it's 3 FULL DAYS without power meaning a cold house and we're running out of wood!!! the power luckily came on when we really needed it while poor people in woodenville were without power for 5 days IF NOT MORE...I just about kissed the power guys when I saw them looking at our driveway, but some weren't as fortunate! Many houses burned down because people had left their stoves on when the power went out and then stacked stuff on top of the stove!!! or lit barbecues in their houses for warmth!!! NOT SMART!!! The power was on at the house that I house sit for, but it was the ONE WEEK that i wasn't house sitting :) So now back to house sitting for new years even with my dearest flan!!!



we tried to drink our 2 year old wine with the twist off cap and our HUGE bottles of mikes lemonade or as we say here in the states "bitch beer" :) we had a sip of wine at midnight and then switched to milk :) gotta love it! :) a full night of playing catch phrase...eating pizza...and curling up with the cat! :)



Happy New Years everyone!!! yay for 2007!!!



so now that the new year has come I am working at the boys and girls club and just got a new job at the local florist in town! Welcome to Sheely's! Are you looking for anything in particular? :)



I'm searching for a new car but am most likely going to have to give up on my mazda6 dream and get a cheap car as always :) And our trip to cheney is this weekend after heaps of snow falling today!!! We'll see if we make it over the pass! Wish us luck and I hope you all have a wonderful 2007!!! Those of you in Australia I miss you heaps and hope you aren't melting in the sun!!! Those of you here that I most likely haven't seen much since i've been back I love you guys and hope you had fantastic holidays! :) Happy Thanksgiving...Happy Christmas...and Happy New Year!!!