I don't suppose I even mentioned that I was going? I went to Australia with the boyfriend's family from Dec 19 to Jan 5. It was both great and not so great, depending on what aspect you focus on. But because one of my new year's resolutions is to be a more positive person, I choose to say it was great.

I kept getting surprised when people said "Merry Christmas", as the Christmas feeling is virtually non-existent in a country like Australia when you're used to cold, snowy (or at least slippery) winters. We had a fun Christmas Eve though, with barbecued kangaroo (absolutely delicious!), crocodile and emu sausages for dinner, as well as a visit from a beer-drinking, camel-accompanied Santa. Haha! I would have been homesick, had it not been for the fact that it was all so completely WEIRD and different and amusing. I thought my first Christmas away from my family would be difficult as heck, but celebrating it in such a completely different way made it easy. New Year's Eve in Sydney, with the unbelievable fireworks display, was also fun.

Getting readjusted to "Normal Life"(TM) is just as difficult as it usually is after our long trips, and I am dreading Monday at work, but going to push through it like a hero, I'm sure. To my delight I had not gained the weight back after 2-3 weeks of non-weight-monitoring time with very little proper exercise, so now I just need to make sure I continue working out and watching what I eat like before, plus I need to add some strength training to tone up my disgusting grandma arms already.

Australia stuff:
Itinerary: Cairns (incl. Great Barrier Reef - very seasick, but great snorkeling!) - Ayers Rock - Alice Springs - Melbourne - Great Ocean Road - Ballarat - Sydney. Some of the time it was just boyfriend and me, which was a nice little vacation within the vacation.
Soundtrack: Ed Sheeran - The A Team, Beth - Someone Like You (much prefer Adele, though), Basement Jaxx - Raindrops, Christmas tunes
Reading material: Diane Keaton - Then Again
TV: Two and a half men, Futurama, Family Guy (but generally very little TV time), entire season 16 of ANTM on the plane! Awesome!

Anywho, going to try to do some of the tasks on today's todo list now! Bye.

I have spent the last few evenings reading through every single one of my posts in this journal. Therefore, I must say: I'm so sorry! There is an unbelievable amount of whining in here. Fortunately I've had the presence of mind to put some of it behind cuts, but still: so sorry. In fact, this could be named "The Big LJ of Whining & Memes". Goal: to whine less and write more interesting and amusing entries in this LJ.

Two posts in one day? Guess I have a lot to make up for. Anyway, thought I'd try to post my dreams on here.

I often dream about traveling by bus or train or whatever, and I'm always late or forgetting time in these dreams. In this particular dream I am on my way to work, though I'm going in the wrong direction, in fact I don't know where I am at all. I realise I've missed my stop, and I get off at the next one, but it's so far from the previous stop there's no point in walking back - I have to catch the next bus back. But I am so confused and slow that I miss it, or maybe I make it, but it's in the nick of time. Anyway, with all the confusion and slowness of the dream, it's 10 a.m., and I'm still not at work. I figure I should call them and let them know I'm on my way, but it's impossible. This is a very typical thing for me to dream. Time just slips away from me, and I'm so, so late.

Drunk on a Monday. What better reason to post to LJ? "Two and a half men" is on TV, I've had two glasses of white wine, I feel bad for feeling good for it. Know what I mean?

Life is feeling kind of overwhelming at the moment, hence the drink on a Monday. Stupid I know, but a little wine relaxation is a fabulous thing.

My only plans for tonight is relaxing, watching TV, messing about on the PC, and hopefully exercising, but it's harder after wine. I usually watch Nurse Jackie while exercising, which is fab. I'm about halfway through season 2, so nobody spoil me. I'm very angry with her for lying and cheating so much and getting others into trouble (Sam), but I guess I'm still kind of rooting for her as she is the protagonist or whatever. I love Zoey, though, she's the best. I also like Dr O'Hara. And Thor, for being Norwegian. Yay!

I have to go pee now. Sorry for the drunken post, but perhaps a drunken post is better than no post at all? You tell me.

...is kind of a blast, as it turns out. I was always dreading the scale, but now I realise that seeing an actual number and being able to track your own progress is great. I made a major decision to change things when we came back from our US roadtrip in June, and I set myself a goal: I want to be 10 kg (22 lbs) lighter by Christmas. Actually, the first goal was to be 10 kg lighter by September, but I quickly realised that was just not going to happen.

Anyway, so far I have lost 4 kg (8.8 lbs). It's taking a lot longer than I first thought, but seeing the progress is still a lot of fun. It's really good to have a project and try to improve myself. I exercise almost every day, unless I have no time or absolutely no energy. But I always try to do it even when I am feeling wiped, because exercising does give you more energy and makes you feel better, almost no matter what. I haven't been taking an aerobics class since February, but I use the stationary bike at home and try to work in some walks in my everyday life, like walking a few stops instead of taking the bus.

I've also changed my eating habits a lot - I eat healthier, smaller portions, and I drink lots and lots of water and green tea at work.

I just went shopping for an autumn coat, and I was able to buy a smaller size than I've been able to wear for a while, which feels great. I really hope I'm able to keep this up - I'll be so proud when I reach my goal.

I just read through a bunch of my old entries, and I actually feel mortified at how stupid and shallow I seem. But I also enjoyed keeping this LJ, so I'm wondering if any of my old LJ friends are still active? I really like the LJ service, so it doesn't seem like the worst idea to post every once in a while. It's Sunday evening, the soccer is on and I should make dinner soon. I guess a lot of stuff is new since my last entry (which is almost two years old), but what's new right now is that I've started wearing glasses (as of June), which makes me feel a lot better, and I've become a manager at the job I started after my previous entry and after going to South America for the second time. It's going well, but sometimes it feels like I don't know what I'm doing. But maybe everyone feels that way every now and again?

The Jayhawks take up a lot of my time at the moment - I've liked them for a long time, but after seeing them at Øyafestivalen, it's really become fandom! We also saw Pulp, which was amazing! We were in the front row, several old friends, and it was just wonderful! I banged my knee something good, and I was sore all over after, but my gosh, the fun.

I've also felt a little different since the Oslo/Utøya terror attack on July 22, I mean different to who I used to be, but the positive thing is that I think the Norwegian people are now closer than ever. I cried through the subsequent days, along with the King, the Queen, the Prime Minister, and the rest of the people, and I was so proud of everyone, especially the Prime Minister, he really came through for us. What happened was so horrible, I don't know how we'll ever get over it, just thinking of all the people who died and what fear and terror they went through in their last moments alive, it gets me every time... All we can do is try to stay strong, be kind to one another and honour their memory. When you live in a small country, you feel very close to people, even if they're strangers who live in a different town. We love each other. We're holding hands.

Only I'm not. I just thought I ought to write something here for once.

Anyone here on Xbox Live? We just bought an Xbox and I FREAKIN' LOVE IT. I'd love more Xbox Live friends, so feel more than free to add me: FoggiestComa is my gamertag.

Oh, and happy new year!

Merry Christmas! It's been a slow LJ year for me. Oh, well. I hope everyone's had a good Christmas. I have. Just now I am ripping songs onto my new lovely mp3 player that the bf gave me. It's so pretty! I just want to play with it all of the time. We have also been out shopping with Christmas money today and I have bought too many CDs, DVDs and a cozy blanket for the couch. On Tuesday, the day before New Year's, I am going to get my jaw scanned or whatever, because I have some troubles with it. You know, I have to lie inside that big tube thingy. I have never done it before, I hope it won't be too scary.

Anyway, happy holidays to all! Hugs!

PS: I am a wee big drunk so sorry if this is incoherent.

The Faint gig last night at John Dee was AMAZING. They are such entertainers, putting on a real show. I was in the front and it was the best! It was just kickass song after kickass song. Best crowd pleasers: Worked Up So Sexual, Paranoiattack and of course Glass Danse!!! I got a real workout! The concert also made me realise just how good the new album is. It's just jampacked with kickass choons. THANK YOU, THE FAINT.

I am glad I took today off... It's been such a busy weekend, rounded off with the concert. Today is used to recover and wear my spanking new The Faint T-shirt.