Oz, here I come!

Wooo hooo!

I have booked my tickets to Australia! I'm so excited that I'm finally doing this! I decided back in December to do something big for myself, and I decided 'what can be bigger than going to Australia by myself?'

So, I'm doing it! I've applied for the Working Holiday visa, which will allow me to live and work in Oz for up to a year. I've also (as of last night) booked the flights to get me there and back. I'm planning to go for 7 months, leaving July 3rd (with a 5 day stopover in LA to visit friends!) and leaving Sydney on January 29th (again, with a 3 day stopover to visit my LA friends!)

I'll be staying with a childhood friend of mine - my parents next-door neighbours (John and Terry) daughter Nichole and her Aussie husband Damien. At least until I find my own apartment. I plan to get a short term furnished place in Sydney - which will also mark the very first time I'll live on my own!

Eeeks! Such a huge change for me and I'm so excited about it! I can't wait for the things to come and the places I'll get to see and experience. Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, shopping in Darling Harbour, sphering in New Zealand (they did this on one season of the Amazing Race)....and just experiencing life in Oz! :)

The next 2 months better fly by!

So many changes...

So, it's actually been over a year since I updated last and so much has happened.

Looking back on my last post:

~ Cuba was AMAZING! I'm missing Cuba like mad, especially since this time last year, I was most likely enjoying a cocktail in paradise. I so wish I was back in Cuba!!!!

~ Art did come home - in October. To tell me he wanted a divorce. Quite possibly the worst hour of my life. I'm not going to go into details, but I do know that I found out that night that I have some of the MOST amazing friends EVER, who dropped everything to come and cheer me up (and some with chicken mc nuggets!). Dawn, Sarah, Jmadd, La, and Mel...you guys are beyond amazing!

So, that's my last year in a nutshell. It's been an emotional nutshell for sure and I have learned so much about myself and what I can deal with.

I'm now fully moved back to Halifax, having gone to Florida in February (with Dawn) to pack my stuff up and ship it home. Another task that I thought would break me (and it did, temporarily), but I just keep recovering and looking towards the future.

We haven't filed any paperwork yet (I'm not doing it, this is not my choice), so I guess technically I'm still married.

But, I'm moving on and making HUGE plans for myself for the near future. I'm making 2009 the "year of Vera" and focusing on myself. Stay tuned for good things from me!