New Year and Sydney Sights at Night!

So we got a prime spot for the 9 o'clock firework display (getting a position like this for the midnight ones would have been near-impossible and more than a little bit mental!). Unfortunately the 9 o'clock display was a little disappointing but still worth it just for the atmosphere and seeing Sydney go from sunset to night time glory. There were 1.5 million people in Sydney just watching the New Years Eve celebrations, so in a way I'm quite glad that shamelessly we went home after the 9 o'clocks and I watched the midnight celebrations on TV - much better view lol!

On New Year's Day I wandered down to the harbour for sunset into evening and enjoyed being there with about 1 and a bit million less people than the previous evening! :)

Successful panoramic shot YAY! :D

Beautiful Wagga and Beautiful Family

Some of my favourite snaps in and around Wagga, cousins Tim and Soph, Auntie Rachel and Uncle Dubs, at the Wagga house, along the river, out on farmland, messing around with beautiful evening light - happy times :)

 

2010

I have never been one to hugely celebrate New Year, after all it's just another day in 365. But this afternoon (whilst stood on Palm Beach, on the north shore of Sydney, with my ankles in the ocean, soaking up the sun - as you do! :P) it has just really hit me, that the past year, the glorious 2010, has by far been the best, most beautiful, most unexpected, most God-led year of my life! And even better, this time last year I had no idea it would even be vaguely significant!

This year I met Mike, found a best friend, found the other half of me, fell in Love, got engaged and planned a wedding! All with more of a sense of God working in something than anything I have ever previously experienced. I could never have planned this, his timing is perfect and in the midst of all my imperfectness and human frailty and inconsistency, this is PERFECT for me, for us, and all planned by HIM - perfect!!! :)

As if that wasn't enough, this year I have also...

Started my own life, independant from family, after uni, living in Bath.
Handled all my own finances
Learnt to cry
Beaten addictions
Had a depression free year
Become more and more happy with being ME
Lost approx 2 stone
Got really good at saving money
Started songwriting again
Learnt lots of new life and work skills
Quit a job I hated
Learnt some HUGE God lessons
Made new friends and become a lot closer to old ones
Become more comfortable with my weaknesses and more confidant at starting to tackle them
Travelled half way around the world, on my own, funded by myself.
Found beautiful, spirit-filled, people in really unexpected places (thank you Bryan!)

So all in all this New Year has to be noted for me because 2010 has been absolutely HUGE!

So tonight I will watch the fireworks and all the people celebrating and be abudantly thankful for all I have been blessed with, even for all the difficult years leading upto this year, for I would be half the woman I am today without them!

I really pray that I can continue to be this thankful and aware of the blessings I have even when the years aren't all that nice! I pray for wisdom and peace in those times, and overall a continued abundance of Love and Hope whatever may come. All praise to you God for your perfect timing, your patience, your grace and your Love. May I never forget it!

Happy New Year Everyone!
I'm getting married in 2011 - I think that maybe enough to make this coming year FANTASTIC! :) :) :)

Mike - I Love You, beyond words, always! :)

Photo Via: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/photos/2009/01/018235.html

Yarrangobilly Caves and the Australian Alps

Went on a beautiful day trip today with Rachel and Dubs. About 2 hours drive up into the Australian Alps and to Yorrangobilly, where there are some stunning caves to tour, a lovely riverside mountain walk and a hot spring swimming pool! All in all very lovely day complete with picnic, ice-cream and swimming (oh and walking up very steep hills in blazing heat! I'll sleep well tonight!).

Have a few piccies :)

So my time in Wagga Wagga has come to an end, I'm leaving tomorrow to go back to Sydney on the train. I have lots of lovely photos to share with you from the last few days, I will try and fit in sharing them over the next few days before I go to New Zealand next week!!! Thanks for being patient with me :)

Sydney

So here I am at the end of my first week in Australia! I have stood on Sydney Harbour Bridge eating yummy Mango Ice-cream, been to Hillsong, sought out fruit bats and parrots in the beautiful Botanic Gardens, caught the ferry across the harbour to Taronga Zoo where Koalas, Kangaroos, Crocodiles, *scarily big* Pythons, sealions, baby elephants and penguins (amongst hundreds of other animals) were seen. I have hung out in the sun at Bondi Beach, body surfed some big waves, walked a little of the South Sydney Coastal path, seen a play (for free and whilst seated in the lighting box) at the Sydney theatre starring Hugo Weaving and Kate Blanchett (Thanks Soph!), caught up on life with a lovely cousin and her hubby, been swimming in the Hostel Pool, met lots of interesting people from all around the world, finished a whole book whilst sat in various beautiful places and done a pretty good job of showing myself round without any problems or hitchs so far! Happy Days!!

Obviously I have already taken a couple of hundred photos but in the interests of time (and the cost of the internet) I have chosen a few just to prove I'm here to start with. Lots more to follow when the opportunity (and the funds) allow I promise.

Just an ikkle taster....

A few things I've discovered so far...

• You can think you've suncreamed everywhere and constantly re-applyed it but you will still end up getting burnt. Usually in some weird and obscure pattern or small place, like in one weird thin line down my arm and the very tip of my nose! Silly Sun!
• I can travel halfway around the world, sit on a beach amongst 1000+ other people and still end up sitting next to a family from Bournemouth (my hometown)! I know it's a small world, but seriously!?
• Australia is expensive, or maybe just Sydney, I'll let you know! Even at the beach where tourists are dumb, $4 for a bottle of water is ridiculous!
• Suncreaming your own back is a tricky dilemma!
• It rains here too! Storm over Sydney all day today!
• Pasta is soon going to get really really boring! Cheap, few-ingredient, meal ideas anyone?
• Sydney is a beautiful City that whilst being a heaving metropolis of fast-paced people as cities are, still maintains a completely relaxed vibe! Amongst all the sky-scrapers are lots of havens of green, perfect for book reading, where quickly it's easy to forget that you're in a city at all. Above all, it's super friendly! When a shop keeper here says 'have a great day' you can tell they really mean it! It's bad that this surprises me but in England this is far from the case.
• It's only been one week out of nine, but already I miss Mike to the point that it feels like half of me is missing and I can't think about it without getting a funny feeling in my stomach! 
• I'm having a great time and am really looking forward to all the rest of my adventures but may I just say that I am sooooo glad I'm only doing 2 months away and not 12!!

Going to Melbourne tomorrow on the train for 11 hours, good job I have a new book!

More posts soon!

Mike - I Love You!