Here we go!!!!

The time has come....

Every time I talk about going on the ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME it sounds like I'm talking about dying. Saying goodbye always comes out morbid sounding! Which is why I despise it and why I probably never said goodbye to you:)

AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! I leave the country today!!! I officially am freaking out:) Started yesterday, but I feel like that's normal...so I'm just gonna roll with it. A little tired from the sleep it caused me to miss last night, but hey I have 13 hours to sleep on the plane! 

The plan was to take loads of pictures for this epic last U.S. blog post for a while...didn't happen. But here's a couple, so not a complete fail.

Sooo....know how you always lose chapstick/lipgloss? I found mine.all of them. little suckers had been hiding. I had a chapstick party to celebrate their return.obviously.

I know I look kinda petrified, but at this point I kinda am:)
And yep that's the backpack my FAB roommate Danny let me borrow! Thanks girlie!!!

This one my face looks semi-normal, but it also showcases the AWESOME, secret, under-my-clothes, money belt my momma gave me. Totally not obvious that my passport is stuffed under my shirt, right?!?! 

So here's the plan for the next few weeks for those of you interested....

I fly from Phoenix to LA. LA to Auckland.

I will be in Auckland February 1-4.

Waitomo, February 4-5.

Rotorua, 5-7.

New Plymouth, 7-8.

Wellington, 8-9.

Picton, 9-10.

Christchurch 10-13.

Queenstown, 13-15/16.

Dunedin 15/16-17.

Sydney on the 17th!!!!

I tried to make a cute calendar showing you when and where I would be. That failed. Then I tried to make a cool map showing you where I would be. That failed. Needless to say I have no idea how I DIDN'T fail computers....

I will have limited internet access while I'm in New Zealand so I'm not going to guarantee any blog posts. Sorry:( But I will be taking loads of pictures and I will for sure play catch up when I get to Australia and more regular/free internet. So I can't promise you will be in the loop for the next week and a half, but I will try and post on facebook or a quickie post here so you know I'm still alive. And to the select few, you might get a few emails:) If you are super concerned that I'm dead....please get a life and stop worrying soo much!!! just kidding:) You can check in with the parentals and hopefully they can update you better on my status. 

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, love, and concern. I will have a fabulous time and be safe, I promise!!!

Talk to you soon from the other side....of the world that is:)

SO.FREAKING.CLOSE.

I can't even begin to describe to you all how weird it is to think about leaving the country for 5 months in just 3 days...I moved, packed, have been saying goodbyes, getting everything in place for my time abroad, but I still can't really wrap my head around being gone for that long. I know that I will miss everyone like crazy and emails, skype, and Facebook make leaving so much easier than it would have been even 10 years ago but they are still not the same.  I know your lives will keep going and will be full of fabulous, fun, craziness that I won't be a part of. And maybe that's the scariest part for me.

But don't get me wrong as hard as it is to wrap my head around this giant adventure that lies in front of me, part of it is how ridiculously excited I am about meeting new people, seeing new things, and just enjoying everything that the next 5 months will bring!!! 

So here are some boringish photos....taken on my not-so-awesome iPhone camera. Because I forget to take my actual camera anywhere. And the truly photogenic moments of my life I usually forget to take pictures at all....as always, sincere apologies for the not-so-awesome quality of allllll the pictures that end up on my blog.

My empty apartment room...a.k.a Staci's new room:) After 1 and 1/2 years I'm not going to lie I got a little teary eyed leaving.

My closet. EMPTY....weird I know!!

......and its all back in my closet at my parent's house! (And yes this is after packing my suitcase for 5 months.....
disgusting amount of clothes. I know.)

Bought the beauties....but alas I am leaving them behind as well:(

Like how I post picture of all my stuff, but not of the people I am leaving behind who I will be missing waaaaaayyyyyy more than any of my clothes?? I promise it's not because I am completely shallow and material minded. (hopefully?) But really that's just how much I fail at taking pictures:(  

I'm thinking one more post before I say goodbye to U.S. soil....I'll try and make it a good one:)

Admitting is the first step...

I have been in denial for a long time. But as I have been packing it has become apparent that what everyone else says may be true. I have an obsession with shoes. There I said it. I think all of my luggage for Australia could be shoes...and I'm not even sure they would all fit then.

proof of my disease:

These went home on trip #3 of my stuff headed home.

These have yet to find their way into any "getting home" device.

Filled with, you guessed it....more shoes:)

The suitcase ran out of room for these lovelies.... 

....and these.

And then of course the ones left on my feets!!!! (yes they are my grandma loafers....actually both my grandma's probably have better taste than these. but I just pretend I'm hipster...then I rock them!)

Needless to say they CANNOT all come with me. And yes I am going to miss them all a lot:( 

In other non-shoe related news. I LEAVE IN A WEEK. Packing all my stuff to get it back to my parents house is going well and my apartment is starting to look sadly barren. I LEAVE IN A WEEK. I keep having fabulous goodbye parties (party in the park, Indian food dinner)...thanks to everyone who loves me!!! I LEAVE IN A WEEK. Sorry to everyone that I keep saying goodbye to and then....BAM you have to see me again:) I LEAVE IN A WEEK. I am sure some of you are like just leave the country already so we don't have to keep saying goodbye. I LEAVE IN A WEEK. Well no worries it's coming up fast, because in case you hadn't noticed...I LEAVE IN A WEEK.

I hope that you all have a fantastic week as well!!! Enjoy it because it's your last week of January...crazy!!! where did the first month of 2012 go??

P.S. I just remembered that I had taken a picture of my FABULOUS going away cake that Kelsey made for me soo....

Can you say 13 days?!?!?!

OH.MY.GOODNESS.AHHHHHHHH!!!!WOOHOO!!!!SOOOO PSYCHED!!!!
and then.......
oh.my.goodness. what am I thinking?? how in the world am I going to manage on my own in another country for 5 whole months?

Yep...this scenario happens in my head every 5 minutes. Welcome to my brain.


So in my head when I'm excited I' doing these things...

Zoribng...aka rolling down a hill in a bubble in Rotorua.
 

Bungy jumping in Queenstown.

Chilling in a glow worm cave in Waitomo.

When I'm not here is how my trip goes...

Me....enjoying what is supposed to be a New Zealand summer.

Me....lost. Except in my case I won't have the car or the phone.

But of course my trip is going to be fabulous and nothing less:) I have all my bus trips and hostels booked for New Zealand. Planned my ride from the airport once I get to Australia. Found out where my meeting is going to be in Australia. It is all coming together quite nicely. But I still have 13 days (thank goodness!!!).... so in the meantime I am saying "see you in five months" (because I absolutely fail at saying goodbye!!!) to everyone I am leaving behind. Moving all the stuff I have accumulated in a year in a half in my apartment home. Figuring out phone, banking, life while I'm abroad. And getting excited/petrified about the whole adventure every five minutes:)

Life happens...

Something just occurred to me. I sometimes get so caught up in making plans that start after my flight leaves the country that I'm unprepared for the day to day life in between. But this week life caught up with me.

So I remembered to breathe and then just keep going. I encourage you to do the same....yep your helpful advice for the week is to keep breathing:)

All ASU students started back to school last Thursday and I am not going to lie...it was super nice to not have to go back with them. And I know that in May when they are all done and I'm still going I probably won't be so happy but right now it's SUPER FABULOUS!!!!

This is probably going to be the lamest blog post ever...but I just felt like doing one. You can just skip this one I guess:) I decided that I need to take more pictures of my life because cool stuff happened I just never take pictures...that needs to get fixed before I leave!!!

I don't even know how to end this rambling blog post....more Australia updates and pictures of my life coming shortly.....

4 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!May you make it a new year filled with adventure, fun, and fabulousness. I have no doubt looking forward to my year that it will be filled with all of the above. But I am a strong believer that your life is only what you make of it and even if your life doesn't include a move to a country 7,000ish miles away promise me you will:
1. Go somewhere you've never been (even if its the new restaurant you've always wanted to try but never have).
2. Meet a new friend (no, I don't expect you to find your new BFF but seriously smile and have a conversation with someone you don't know!!)
3. Enjoy life (do something crazy or even something everyday/ordinary and then sit and think how awesome it was that you were able to do it)

I spent my new year's eve with some of the coolest people ever:

....and yes I laughed ridiculously hard like I am in the picture basically all night

In totally non-related news...I found a place to live in Ausstralia!!!! It is extremely terrifying to commit to a place to live that you have never seen before with people you have never met before, but that's part of the adventure right? And I am wayyy excited about the idea of not being homeless while I am there:)

So this is a picture of my supposed bed....super exciting right?!?!

...And my desk!!! .

I thought it was fitting that its pink:) And now I am trying to plan my time in New Zealand.....and am getting super psyched about it!!!! Don't get jealous but it's looking like the north island is going to include Zorbing, beaches, glowworm caves, and other awesomeness!!!! And I haven't even started on the south island yet...

p.s. I changed the background so you should no longer develop a headache while reading my blog:)