Off duty

After living the jetsetting dream the last few weeks, our household is now back to normal. School holidays is over and the housework has piled up. Since all the excitement ended, I haven’t been feeling very motivated at home and am already thinking about our next holiday. I guess that’s one of the down sides of travel, but it was all worth it.

From Sep2012

Spring started off with a mother and daughter bonding experience – a morning at day surgery. We both had grommets (tubes) put in our ears and the following three weeks we were adjusting to this newfound sense of hearing. It was a bit overwhelming at times, especially with screaming kids, but it’s not so bad now. And Catherine’s last hearing test came out normal (yay!). Grommets also came just in time for my trip to the U.S. They definitely worked. I didn’t feel any pressure change at all. It was great not being deaf after getting off a plane.

From SFO to LAX

So I had a whole week on my own. I was off duty and free to move about without children. It was lots of fun but after a few days I did miss home and my family. San Francisco was my first stop for a work conference for four days, followed by two days in L.A. to see a bit of family and friends and also quickly meeting up with friends in Sydney both ways. Here are the highlights:

• Efficient United Airlines check-in at SYD
• Sonoma Bakery Cafe, Alexandria
• In-n-Out Burger
• Outlet shopping at Gilroy
• Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
• Green Street apartment
• Oracle OpenWorld 2012 Conference with the bonus of spending time with an old friend and former co-worker, Chikki
• Pizza at Pizzeria Delfina
• Joss Stone at Union Square
• Beautiful San Francisco and the city buzz
• Pearl Jam at Treasure Island
• Flying into L.A. and seeing the beautiful landmarks of my hometown from the air
• Spending time with Mom
• Jason Mraz at Hollywood Bowl
• Dim sum at Elite Restaurant, Montery Park with Chikki and family
• Zono Sushi, Pasadena with Nick
• Mi Piace, Old Town Pasadena with Cheryl
• Efficient Virgin Australia check-in and airport transport at SYD
• Danks Street Depot at SYD

So how werePhil and the kids while I was away? They were just fine. Lots of help from Mum and Dad (thank you!) but they survived without me. I was told all was calm on the homefront. Nicholas was on school holidays so he did one day of vacation care and the rest of the time was with grandparents or Daddy. Thoughtful friends even brought over dinner one night (thank you too!) and entertained the kids.

Three days after I returned from the U.S., the kids were again stuck with a single parent. It was Phil’s turn to attend a 2-day conference in Sydney. One rainy day I had a house full of kids (my two plus another two) and another set of friends brought over dinner that night (a big help – thank you!). It was a full on but a fun day. The next day I took the kids to Floriade again where we rode the ferris wheel.

From Oct2012

And then both parents were gone. Poor kids. While Phil was still in Sydney, I flew up on a Saturday morning to meet him and left the kids with their grandparents for the day. We had planned to celebrate our anniversary by doing something a little bit different. Phil booked a nice lunch at The Dining Room, Park Hyatt. We had a great view of the harbour and the Opera House. It was nice to have a such a relaxed meal . Our day ended with a brisk walk around the city and back to the airport to catch our flight home. It was a lovely day.

From Oct2012