Cupcake Memories: Life in Sydney, Australia

Yep I am feeling happy. Will finally be getting a holiday in several months time, phew! As DD grows older, it is more fun to take her around compared to when she was younger (oh so difficult to handle). Anyway, I am happy and DH is more excited than me. DD doesn’t know anything about it as I don’t want her to keep asking me when will we go.

She’ll get a lovely surprise when the time is near. Now I just have to concentrate on completing my tasks before we enjoy our holidays.

So we’ve been driving quite a bit since the long Easter weekend. I love going somewhere even if it’s local and especially when I am not the one driving. Poor car though, I hope it is still in tip top condition – we changed quite a number of batteries for this car over the years. We talked about upgrading to a much bigger vehicle but then again we currently do not need one as we are only a family of 3.

Anyway, I really look forward to DD growing up enough to be able to go on trips with me alone so that we could fly interstate for holidays without having DH to come along.

For most parents with school aged kids, this is a busy and fun time for them as they get to take the kids for holidays. Well, there are some who dread the kids being at home too, hehe. As for me, I usually avoid going on holidays or happening places during school holidays due to the crowd. As DD has yet to start public school, school holidays make no difference to us except “to avoid many places” hehehe. I am sure next year it will make a big difference to us and we will most likely make up the statistic of people crowding holidays places and events during school holidays.

So for now, we are enjoying the peace and no rush for the last year. Next year will be a different story.  If we go anywhere local this year, we’d do it during the school term to avoid the crowd.

It’s the middle of an almost first quarter of 2010. My new year wish list of a much needed holiday has yet to be realized, not even locally *sigh* and *double sigh*

Wish I get sponsored an Outer Banks vacation … yeah right, in my wildest dreams! Though seriously speaking, there are two overseas trips we hope to make this year but because there are things that need to get sorted out here first, we are unable to make any concrete travelling plans.

Hopefully it will be in our “done list” at the end of the year and not still remain on the “wish list”!

That is how I have been feeling for such a long time. Desperate for a holiday to somewhere with snow. Unfortunately due to some reasons, I have to strike New Zealand off the list though that would be the most ideal because it is the nearest country to us that has beautiful snow mountains and it doesn’t cost a bomb to fly over.

Now, Canada sounds more attractive especially when the Winter Olympics is currently going on there. I would love to stay at any resort in Canada, just anywhere, perhaps at any one of Toronto hotels would make me absolutely thrilled.

I hope visiting Canada will not just be a dream. Really wish to see it someday.

DH’s cousin and her family recently had a driving tour to New Zealand from the North to South Island. I wonder if they hired a campervan of some sort. If they did, I hope the car hire company had rv insurance on the vehicles they got.  I guess I’ll find out when we meet them for dinner tomorrow as they’ll be arriving here in the evening.

Each time I hear of people holidaying in New Zealand, my heart skips a beat because that was where I fell in love, with the man and the country. I actually love living in a place like New Zealand. But how did I end up where I am now, sigh, I don’t want to think about it.

School holidays in NSW will begin soon. It does not make much of a difference to us but we would certainly try to avoid the crowd as much as we can. You know how it is, shopping malls and cinemas are filled with more young kids and teenagers, etc. More so now it is countdown to Christmas, everyone would be rushing to get that Christmas shopping done.

We’ve been thinking hard about a local short getaway but really, we can’t come up with anything. I mean yes there are but it’s all beachside holidays and in this kind of weather, being roasted under the sun is the last thing we’d want.

I had been leisurely browsing the internet for beach holidays. I miss staying at a resort, not that I have stayed many before. There is something about a resort that reminds you are on a holiday, enjoy, forget about daily chores for as long as you’re there, how nice!

Places like the Riviera Maya resorts look tempting indeed. But alas that is so far away for us. If we have that kind of budget, I am sure we would love a get away as far as we could ?

I have long admired people who give up many things to drive cross country in a rv. I guess only people with less commitments could do that. I have watched documentary of retired couples selling up their homes to buy a rv to travel countrywide. Isn’t that so romantic?

I wonder if I will ever have the chance to travel in one. It would be awesome to drive cross country especially in beautiful New Zealand with dear hubby, sweet daughter and some really good friends. Who knows eh? Perhaps it will happen someday.

Vacation! Vacation! Vacation! Who doesn’t love the word “vacation”? Mention Vegas vacations and I can almost guarantee anyone would salivate and go ga-ga. I’d be the first!

Though we can’t afford overseas holidays at the moment, we managed to drive an hour or two to local tourist spots. We went to the Blue Mountains for the first time since I stepped foot in Sydney in 1998! Shame on me, I know!

Anyway it was raining and visibility there at the lookout point of the Three Sisters was probably only within 2 metres. DH wanted to drive there again this weekend but I told him to go elsewhere instead of wasting the effort to go to the same place once more.

Actually it is also because to me, there is not much there to see. I’m more interested in the Jenolan Caves at the Blue Mountains but unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to go bringing my 3 yo along as the caves it might not be toddler friendly. This agenda will have to be pushed further until several years down the road.