Farewell 2011... Hello 2012...

So this year hasn't really been filled with a lot of fun and interesting things, but it sure has been filled with some HUGE changes to my life!! Some changes that I never in a million years thought would happen 3 years ago, or let alone 8 months ago!! Waiting for the visa process to be over and to get to the interview stage and wonder if I would get it or not really did make me wonder a lot wether things would go as planned for Dustin and I or not!!

So the huge changes were :

Resigning from work - a company that I really enjoyed working for
Getting my visa approved and realizing I would be leaving my home country again, and this time for good
LEAVING my home country
Dustin and I finally got our own place to rent - one I am still enjoying decorating slowly
We became a Mom and Dad to the cutest little puppy ever - MAX

I am missing my family a lot. I actually never realised how much I would miss my family this time, but I really do. When I Au Paired I was very lucky to have a family orientated family that was awesome in so many ways, so it still felt like I was with family... I lived with them and did a lot of things with them! Now that I am here this time, I am on my 'own'... Meaning not with a HUGE family this time around... It is just Dustin and I and now Maxxie boy... Don't get me wrong, I do love having my own family and starting new things. But I do really miss being with all my family and Aunts and Uncles most of the time and doing family things often with them! I guess it is going to take a while to start getting use to starting new 'traditions' for everything here :)

But onto happier things, I am really looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for me... There are a few things that Dustin and I are really hoping will happen for us, but we can only wait and see and hold thumbs :)

So here is to a fabulous, amazing, wonderful and STUNNING 2012!!!!

Christmas Lights On Houses...

So on December 1st I wanted to go and have a look at the lights on peoples houses and their garden decorations that go along with their lights on their houses...

I really do enjoy seeing all the different lights people put up, but some of them are just WAY too much! LOL, I sometimes wonder if they leave them on, how they even sleep at night with all those bright lights shining away.......

I took a few pics, have a look...

 

 

The Word 'No'...

Just for the record, Dustins favorite word is still "No", he starts every sentence with "NO", and if he doesn't like or agree with what I say he starts with "NO" and carries on with what he thinks is right!

Is this going to be a problem for things I start to ask for??

...LOL...

Dustin :

""

First Heavy Snowfall of Winter 2011...

Much to my excitement we got our first heavy snowfall of the Winter this year of November 29th! Yes I got VERY excited when it snowed lightly a few weeks before that, but this was super exciting!! Haha

It started at about 5pm, so it was already dark outside, but I enjoyed watching it "build up", and kept taking a few pics every now and then, as it got thicker on the ground. Yes I do go overboard with pictures, but it will probably last for this Winter and then the other Winters I have I'll be used to it, do don't worry, next year will probably be a lot less picture loading than this year! :)

I really love the way Max enjoys the snow, some dogs don't like to be in the snow, but Max "asks" to go out in the snow. Our balcony is open so the snow builds up onto it, and so Max scratches on the glass door to let us know he needs to get out, I open it for him and he goes jumping around in it! It's just the cutest thing :)

Here are a few pictures from the night it was falling :

Here are some pics of the day after, during the day :

The apartment from outside, our apartment is the top on in the front :)

Howell Festival of Lights Parade...

WOW!! So I haven't posted an blog post for some time now - I've either been too busy with decorating the apartment for Christmas or have just plain forgotten! So I plan on doing a bunch today, to update my blog :)

On November 25th, Dustin, Max and I walked to Downtown Howell where there was going to be a Festival of Lights Parade to start off the Christmas season! It was PACKED with people - they had a race before the parade so there were tons of friends and family watching the people running. But we finally found a spot and so stayed there and waited until the parade started!

I've learnt here, that when they say something is going to start at a specific time - IT DOES!! There are normally no long annoying waits for things to start. Here are a few pics of some of the floats. I took so many photos because there were so many beautiful floats, so it would make this post just go on and on!

Very Early First Snow Fall 2011...

So yesterday was like every other day, cold and a little gloomy - nothing too different to the other Fall days... At about 3:00pm I saw a few sprinkles of what looked like snowflakes, but I wasn't sure, so I went to go and look out the living room sliding door and it was indeed little snowflakes! I got so excited that I called Dustin and excitedly told him, he laughed at me and said he thought it might snow!! It was totally unexpected so I was totally unprepared. I decided to go outside because it was a few here and there coming down, but as soon as I stood on the balcony a white sheet just all of a sudden took over the sky, it started falling thick and so I got even more excited! Lol...

It didn't stick though, it just fell to the ground and almost melted immediately, but it was pretty for those few minutes anyways :) Max however, enjoyed his first ever snowfall, he was a bit confused in the beginning with what this foreign white stuff was falling on him and the ground, but it didn't take him long to run to each snowflake that fell on the balcony to lick it up :)

It gets dark pretty quickly now since we had Daylight Savings, so I noticed it was snowing AGAIN later on at about 5:30pm, and this time it was heavy snowing and it was STICKING!! It was so beautiful and as always so peaceful in the evenings when it snows! I'm sure the other people in the other apartments saw my camera flashes and if they did, I'm sure they thought I was some crazy weird person! LOL... Anyways I took some pics of the second lot of snowfall we had, we didn't have much, but it was still super exciting for me over again.

I got a few pics with Max, Dustin wasn't home yet so he isn't in any...

So we had a very early first snowfall, but I cannot WAIT until it really starts to snow and sticks!! :)