19 February 2011

2011 is shaping up well :-D

amazingly, i was down the coast two more times in january which is more trips down in january than the entire 3 years i've lived in melbourne!! 

the first weekend, i headed down with some girlfriends for the day for a hike up the hill (arthur's seat) which allowed for some fabulous views of the coast and a rewarding swim/frolic in the beach after!!  i'm not sure which i enjoyed more ;D 

the weekend after, i headed down with shannon for a friend's birthday.  they'd planned a horseback riding winery tour which was a novel idea except for the minor accident!  my old horse would do nothing but trot despite all my prodding while everyone else was cantering.  a friend's horse (a new young male horse) decided to overtake and suddenly my horse was off at a speedy canter, forcing the young horse into the bushes and my friend fell off!! ...  as soon as he'd blocked the young horse from passing, my horse slowed down to a trot!!  obviously, there was a bit of competition between them!!  we spent the evening barbequing, chatting and relaxing.  sunday, we saw some koalas, had a picnic and a relaxing afternoon under the shade of a tree!!

otherwise, i've been in and around melbourne city, having picnics, attending wine tastings, birthdays, seeing movies under the stars, attending the pride parade and my local st kilda festival to name a couple of fun activities!!  in addition to the fun bits, i've been looking for a house/apartment/townhouse to purchase...  it's been a tedious process (as parameters have changed a couple of times) but today, i successfully purchased a two bedroom townhouse/apartment in seddon, vic!!  i'm most excited about the prospect of owning a place in australia and truly settling here!  that said, i need to get my permanent resident visa progressed so i can qualify for their first home buyers grant...

hugs and hope everyone's having a great new year!
s

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