What Day Is It? Where Am I?

Holy mackerel. I've totally lost track of days. Not even in the "Is it Saturday or Sunday?" sort of way, as in the "I have absolutely no idea what day or date it is!" sort of way. I don't wear a watch either mind you, and daylight savings is still a relatively new thing for me as well, so I find myself completely disorientated and genuinely shocked to realise that New Years Eve is tomorrow was a week ago? WHAT?!

I only had a few days of recovery from the family being in town before friends jetted in, and before I knew it my teeny tiny apartment was a makeshift hotel! No time for blogging, sleeping, thinking, just endless trips to remote corners of Sydney, lots of food and shopping and SO much coffee and wine. An epic New Years, followed by an epic recovery, followed by lots of beach time...it doesn't get much better than that. But alas, I have neglected you all, so I'm back to make amends.

[My NYE looked a little something like this...Image via FFFFOUND!]

Well I don't know about you, but 2008 was crazy. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so much. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to a fresh start in 2009, and here we are. But I still had a few things from Oh-Eight to share with you. Firstly, I made some little collages of my Christmas that I don't want to waste.

Christmas in Australia is of course in Summer, and usually very, VERY hot, and fairly humid in most parts of the country too. So Christmas is a time for the beach, for tasty seafood (which I don't eat!), for cold meats, cold salad, and perhaps a little warm turkey for good measure. The best Christmases are ones spent by the water, whether it be a swimming pool, a lake or, most likely (for my family anyway), the beach. It's not unusual for the temperature to hover around 40°C (~100°F), so there's nothing better than floating around in the pool snacking on cherries and all the other delicious seasonal berries.

I still can't quite imagine a white, wintery Christmas, despite having seen it a zillion times on TV and in movies, but then again I haven't even seen snow! This year, I intend to change that. And that brings me to...*drumroll*

New Years Resolutions 2009!

#1 See Snow
#2 Eat Snow
#3 Make Snow Angels
#4 Learn to Drive (Tragic!)
#5 Plan European Driving Trip for 2010! (Weee!)
#6 Save for European Driving Trip (Doh!)
#7 Pay Off Credit Cards (Yes, cards. Eep!)
#8 Buy More Flowers
#9 Make More Pancakes
#10 Enjoy the Small Things

[#10 includes bike rides...lots and lots of bike rides! Image via FFFFOUND!]

That all sounds fairly straightforward, but I suspect #7 is easier said than done! I really should include a few usual suspects like drinking less wine and not biting my nails, but I'd rather focus my energy on pancakes. Um yum yum.

[The search continues! Image via FFFFOUND!]

So I think that's a wrap on 2008. I'll probably remember something else I wanted to tell you, but in the meantime, I bought you all a present on behalf of this little blog...

That's right, I bought a goat from Oxfam, which according to their website...

...can play a key role in the livelihoods of rural communities, feeding on household waste - so they get rid of rubbish and unwanted scraps - and providing milk and manure as a bonus. Oxfam Australia provides training in keeping the goats, vaccination and de-worming.

I dub thee goat Poppy! I sincerely hope she is a valuable asset to her recipients, and that she brings smiles, happiness and prosperity. In fact, I might make Poppy my very own little guardian angel...she's an apt reminder of how much we have to be thankful for, and how lucky we really are to have shelter and warmth to share with those we love.

So on behalf of Poppy and I...

Happy 2009!

Tell me how your holidays treated you! Are your New Years Resolutions as silly as mine? I challenge you all to a silly resolution competition! :D