It’s All Fun and Games Until You Have a Blowout

It's All Fun and Games Until You Have a BlowoutWhen this post was first conceptualized, it was going to be my jump back into the blogosphere with a recap of our great vacation to the northern reaches of Western Australia.  A great vacation that started with a blow out; while I was driving of course.  And in the middle of nowhere but fortunately enough across the road from a roadhouse and fortunately enough I was with my better half who is an absolute gem and handled the situation beautifully.  Of course the entire post was going to was going to be filled with humor and witty prose as I guided you through our week long adventure.  At least that’s how it sounded in my head.  The best laid plans my friends.  The best laid plans….

Instead, here we are, nearly five months since the last time we chatted and two and half months since this vacation I was going to tell you about.

Truthfully, the second half of 2014 hasn’t been so savory.  I’ve had my moments of sadness and bitterness.  It’s been plain and simple pretty difficult.  That’s not to say that it has been ALL bad because that wouldn’t be truthful either.  It just seemed that every time I sat down to write all that would come out is flaming sarcasm.  It wasn’t much fun to write, wouldn’t have been any fun to read and well, not at all what I’ve ever meant LSL to be about.  So I took a break from it all, and now, as you can see, it wasn’t just an actual blowout but also a metaphorical blowout that left me stranded on the side of the road for the past five months.  I’m cautiously optimistic….  I think I’m back on track.

Some of the things that I had originally meant to share with you……

July 10th was my second Aussieversary and I received this arrangement of beautiful native Australian flowers from my better half.  Gorgeous aren’t they?2nd Aussiversary Flowers

July 13th would have been my dad’s 69th birthday and Perth graced us with a beautiful day.  We celebrated my dad at King’s Park with a picnic and a bottle of his favorite bubbly.Dad's Birthday Picnic

In August, I started working a second job.  It has been great for me to be working outside the home.  The social interaction was something really lacking.  I also cleaned up my eating a lot in August.  I couldn’t help but think it would help with my overall outlook and attitude towards everything.  And boy was I right about that one!

Things definitely got easier for me in September and I was feeling much better.  I was really excited to get back to writing and testing recipes but between two jobs and the rest of life going on, there just hasn’t been much available time.

The beginning of October took us from Perth to Carnarvon to Coral Bay to Exmouth and Cape Range National Park.  It was a quick, but really good trip.  We were out of cell phone range much of the time.  My better half got to go diving, I got to sit on the beach, and I actually read an entire book; one made of paper.  I had to turn actual pages!Some time awaySome time awaySome time awaySome time away

The end of October took me back to the US to visit family for three week.  What an awesome trip!!  It was so good to see my mom and sister.  My sister took me to the fair and we ate waaaay too much.  During my visit we even celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I can’t express how much I appreciate that they went all out with it.  It was so perfect and even got cold enough to have a fire in the fireplace!I ate so much!I ate so much!I ate so much!Early Christmas!  Yay family!

I returned to Perth mid-November just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends.  And now here we are in December already.

And to share with you some of the fantastic food I’ve enjoyed since July ~

This steak and Gorgonzola pizza topped with arugula (rocket) and shaved Parmesan that I made for a lunch with a good friend.  I also served a Chai Tea Spritzer.Steak and Gorganzola Pizza

These white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

This fish sandwich from the Mundering Weir Hotel where the birds are hungry and aren’t shy about asking for food.How about a fish samwich?Polly wants a french fry!

This steaming bowl of homemade New England Clam Chowder served with garlic toast.New England Clam Chowder

These teriyaki chicken wings.Teriyaki Chicken Wings

This gorgeous plate of crab Benedict my sister made for “Christmas” morning brunch (with extra hollandaise of course!).Crab Bennedict

This jelly slice.Jelly Slice

This half and half pizza I made for dinner one night.  Sorry, no after photos as I was just too hungry and it was soooo good!Half and Half pizza

And finally for an early Christmas celebration with a friend before she takes off on her European adventure, this prawn cocktail and these beef tenderloin bites with horseradish and balsamic caramelized onions.Giant Prawn CockatilBeef Tenderloin Bites with Horseradish and Caramelized Onions

Thanks for stopping by.  I’ve missed you.  No more missing though.  As George Costanza would say, “I’m back, baby! I’m back!”

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