2009-01-03 - 2:33 p.m.

Happy New Year! I'd like to make a resolution to write in here more often but I don't think it's going to happen. Instead I do have one or two more realistic ones:

1. Enjoy the next 3 months. Okay so I'm getting married in 2.5 months and there still seems to be a lot we need to do, but planning should be part of the fun- that way it's more than just one day.

2. Be more responsible with money. Actually have some sort of budget- rather than just writing down what we've been spending and going "ooh that was an expensive month". So we're not struggling to live day-to-day. Does that mean we should be going out every weekend that's available to us and spending more than a family of four on gourmet groceries, or should we be putting more money on our mortgage- given that we'd like to be able to keep our apartment and rent it out when we look for a bigger place in 3-5 years time? Yes it was a rhetorical question, although gourmet groceries are kinda nice :)

3. Either deal with the fact that I'm a manager and not everyone in the lab's buddy or find a more idealistic career path (which just happens to also pay good money).

4. Keep the house clean.

5. Finish the year with a definite idea of when we're going to have kids.

So- 2009 eh? Next Friday will (most likely) be the last time Jo and I celebrate our anniversary of "officially" getting together- 6 years. In 3 months time we'll be married and somewhere in Vietnam.

New Year's Eve was great- I might feel like I'm getting old but we can still throw a good party. Who was there? Steve, Mark & Phoebe, Kim & Marty, Lucy, Nathan and his brother, Max, Ross- they were the main bunch. Pete and Mel showed up for a while, Tara and Tristan came later and stayed until midnight (which was impressive given that Tara is 8 months pregnant), my brother and his girlfriend dropped in on the way back from the city after midnight. I made (slightly black on top) butterflied lamb on the BBQ, Jo made chicken satay and we had gourmet sausages. There was Mint Julep punch, shots of Mescal (which may have been responsible for Lucy begging to be pushed down the road in a shopping trolley and sleeping on a big red cushion on the balcony after the party was over) and also Mojitos thanks to Lucy turning up with all the ingredients (well, most of them) and telling me that I make the best Mojitos. We walked up the road to where we could see the city fireworks at midnight, and I dealt with the fact that my ipod shat itself after I spent however much time programming a playlist.

I do love bringing Lucy out of her shell, even though I can predict word for word the "I hate you" phone call the next day. When I met her she was anything but shy, so I feel like everyone else gets to see the Lucy I know. I also love that she's become a part of our Marrickville/Dulwich Hill clique, and how touched she was at being invited to Mark and Phoebe's wedding. It's kinda cool when all your friends mix together. Jo and I will quite likely be sitting with Lucy, Steve and Nathan- people I know from work, primary school and...somewhere else at the wedding of someone Jo's known for longer than she's known me.

I was also glad that Nathan's brother had such a good time. You don't often see then serious side of Nathan but you can see how much he cares for his brother, who needs a bit of encouragement, and you can see how proud he is when his brother fits in somewhere.

Christmas was back to the formula of the 3 years before we spent it in San Francisco- drove out to Blacktown on Christmas morning, did the presents and the bonbons and the turkey, potatoes & vegies and the christmas pudding there, then drove across Sydney to the Shire where I parked the car, got straight into the alcohol and then stayed the night after eating a ridiculous amount (and never managing to round everyone up to play cards or trivial pursuit). Then on Boxing Day it's back across Sydney for Jo's Dad's extended family do- which was nice and not as bittersweet as I might have expected after her Nan died only two weeks earlier.

Working the 3 days between the Christmas break and New Year was pretty pointless (as was the one day between New Year's Eve and this weekend)- I did get a few things done but I wasn't particularly motivated, and I was only really there because I wasn't last year (and the boss needs to set a good example right?) and I'm saving my leave for our honeymoon.

Two weeks before Christmas was our 4 days in Perth (Cathy, who I went to Uni with, got married on Friday 12/12), which was nice- took plenty of photos which probably tell the story well enough.

I pretty much told you what I was doing in the lead up to Christmas a couple of entries ago (Homebake, Houseboat, Perth, Shopping)- there's not a lot more I need to write about any of those things now.

I do hope I write a bit more often this year though.

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