Attitude of Gratitude

MY MINDFUL  YEAR - JANUARY

After our return from Australia, I started to feel blue. All of the exciting things we'd planned over the course of 2017 were behind us. And while I cherish the memories, somehow I felt myself longing for something exciting to look forward to instead of being content in the moment.

I'd also had a few minor setbacks at the start of the year. I was in physical therapy for a gnarly ankle sprain after falling down a slick flight of stairs at work. (Thanks Worker's Comp. Seriously - it was the most surprisingly easy process!) I missed my normal vigorous workout schedule and yoga practice. I couldn't take leisurely strolls through Central Park for a bit of fresh air because of the icy temperatures. Alex's work schedule got super busy after returning from nearly three weeks away and I took on a few additional orchestral gigs that came my way, so we weren't spending our normal quality time together. My normal routine was all out of whack.

In an effort to be more grateful for what I have and stop dwelling on the negative, I started a new habit: I now keep a small notebook on my desk at work and each morning I start my day by writing 3 things I'm thankful for. I've done this every day since returning from our honeymoon and I must say - I feel pretty great about it! And it usually takes under a minute to do.

Since I don't bring my notebook home for the weekend, on Fridays I challenge myself with a question like "how can I best take care of myself right now?" or "what's something nice I can do for another person this weekend?"

In theory it all sounds a bit cheesy. But in practice, it's made a huge impact on my attitude. Plus I think it will be fun in December to look back on a year of gratitude.

G'day Mate

For the third (and final) leg of our honeymoon, we headed to Sydney for a week of exploring. We stayed right at circular quay with a spectacular view.

Thanks to Alex's connections as Secretary of the Board at Beach Point Yacht Club, we spent an afternoon at the Royal Squadron Yacht Club.

Alex also planned our dinners meticulously with delectable bites at every meal. We ate at:
Est. - memorable bite: steak with beets (this was my favorite dinner!)
Quay - memorable bite: tie between sea cucumber cracklin and snow egg dessert full of stone fruit
Bennelong Restaurant - memorable bite: mango five ways
Automata - memorable bite: chocolate cherry dessert
Ester - memorable bite: blood sausage and a shout out to the delicious Australian wine
Saint Peter - memorable bite: tie between squid ink pasta and sea bugs

Summer in Sydney is no joke. Luckily, there were so many places to visit to escape the heat. We visited great museums including the Hyde Park Barracks Museum, the Police and Justice Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the Public Library, and the Galleries of New South Wales.

During times when it wasn't scorching hot, we walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and strolled around the botanic gardens (and grabbed a snack at their amazing bistro while we were there). We took a morning and hiked from Coogee beach to Bondi beach and grabbed lunch at a casual beach cafe. One morning we walked to Darling Harbour to check out their fish market and ate some freshly shucked oysters on the water. Side note: the oysters in Australia taste nothing like the ones here and they're delicious! We spent one afternoon sailing around Sydney Harbour on an America's Cup Boat - a thrilling experience all around!

We took a day trip to the blue mountains and got to meet a koala at Featherdale Wildlife Preserve. Alex fed a wallaby and we saw tons of crazy wildlife right up close. A highlight was seeing an echidna (Alex and I searched for them in Queensland but they were very well hidden!).

My favorite evening was spent at the Sydney Opera House where we took a tour and had delicious dinner at Bennelong Restaurant, and saw The Merry Widow.

It was a magical week. The 24 hours of travel back to the freezing cold NYC didn't seem so brutal with a new set of incredible memories.

Under the Sea

For the second leg of our honeymoon, Alex swept me away to paradise. We traveled to Queensland for a stay at a luxurious resort right on the Great Barrier Reef on Orpheus Island.

Only 28 guests max stay at the resort at a time so it felt extremely private. The only way to get to the island from the airport is by chartered helicopter. There are no cars and no locks on the door. It was like living in a dream.

Breakfast included a board of deliciousness, a main course, and as many beverages as you'd like. Lunch was served with a bunch of plates brought out at once around a regional theme (we were lucky enough to have Mediterranean, Filipino, Peruvian, and Thai lunches during our stay). Dinner was a four course tasting menu with the exception of a special night that Alex planned where we dined on a private terrace and dinner consisted of a six course tasting menu paired with wine.

The highlight of the trip for me was snorkeling on the reef. It was just me and Alex with a snorkel guide and the captain of the boat who drove us around and also served us food between each snorkel. We ran into a pod of dolphins, swam with tropical fish of all colors, and encountered sharks, eels, and a humphead wrasse. It was magical.

We did so much during our stay. We hiked the island's stunning trails to Picnic Bay and Hazard Bay during the early morning hours before the sun got hot. We got massages in a hut by the ocean. We swam in an infinity pool and sipped wine. We sailed around a small portion of the island on a hobie cat. We kayaked in the mangroves. We snorkeled twice more - once with most of the guests on the island off of a beautiful beach and once when we took a dingy out by ourselves to a jetty where we jumped off the dock and snorkeled on our own. We'd never been so carefree and adventurous and happy!

It was unforgettable. I'll treasure these memories forever.