Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Thank You 2015...Hello 2016!!

It's the time of the year again to reflect on the past year and do a quick recap of my our 2015 (gotta use 'our' now that we're married). =P Following 2008 & 2012, I must say 2015 has been yet another life-changing year...literally. Moved away from my home for 27 years to the other side of the world, officially started living together as a married couple (one year after our wedding), started working in a brand new environment (got demoted big time but still making more thanks to the strong USD), and discovered some of my 'hidden talents' (e.g. cooking & gardening)...haha!! =) Even though this had been a busy year, we're very blessed and thankful to be surrounded by supportive families who have helped make this transition a smooth sailing journey. Here are some highlights of my/our 2015:

Travel
I've been very blessed to have the opportunity to travel to 4 continents this year - North America, South America, Asia, and Europe. Went on a ski trip in Colorado in March, hiked up Machu Picchu in Peru in May, went on a family trip to Disneyworld Orlando in October, and ended the year with a trip back home and celebrated Christmas & New Year in Europe. Thanks hubby for accompanying me on my expensive hobby. :P As for work, I've also had the opportunity to travel to several cities in the US including Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Tampa, and New York

 

Living
As mentioned above, moving to Alabama (with lots of land) and officially playing the role of a 'wife' have unleashed some of my hidden talents...hahaha! Having the garden was mainly hubby's and my idea to tap into all the readily available resources here to eat healthier and save more. :P Glad that our first year as 'farmers' was a successful one!

For those who know me well, I've never really cooked before so I'm pretty proud of myself to be able to make decent (and pretty healthy) daily meals for hubby and I. The good sign is he hasn't complained on my cooking...haha!


Work
Made it through my first working year here and I'm very thankful that my work arrangements for the past year turned out to be way better than I expected. Absolutely glad to be able to work on a client near home and was able to work remotely for some other jobs, couldn't have asked for anything better. =) I've also been fortunate to work with a good team and bosses. 


Study
Spent almost every nights and weekends for 3 months this year studying for CPA exams, and I thought I was done with exams 5 years ago. Apparently, ACCA is useless here. Honestly, I think CPA isn't as hard to pass as ACCA but it just hasn't been fun having to work during the day and study whenever I have time. Anyway, I'm just happy to be done with 2 exams this year. 2 more to go next year and hopefully I'll be able to finish everything by next Summer and have my free time back. =P


Last but not least, we just celebrated our 2nd anniversary 2 days ago and I must say I've enjoyed our first year living together as a married couple. In fact, I was a lil' worried before I moved here coz we haven't really lived together prior to this, but this year has proven that we are a pretty compatible couple. Our 5-year LDR has definitely taught us to cherish and appreciate each other's company even more. =P 

Thankful for a good 2015, looking forward to a better 2016! Happy New Years!!
Greetings from Vienna. =P

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