MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!

Can you believe that 2013 is nearly over and Christmas is finally out of the way? In other news its only 362 until the next... YIKES! 

Well here is wishing to a fabulous 2014 and praying for an even better year than 2013 if that is possible! I have done so much this year that I never thought possible, from moving one from Sydney to Mission Beach and back to Brisbane, seeing old friends & meeting new, skydiving over the Gold Coast & reef to becoming a Nanny & actually enjoying it (well most days!) I really couldn't have asked for a better year and I am sure there is much more to add to what has happened this year but really don't have the time to go through them all. 

2013 is ending on a high as I have booked my travel to leave Australia in August 2014 and moving onto Asia, starting with Singapore - So any tips, places to visit, sleep, eat - feel free to hit me up! But by far, the highlight of 2013 was doing my Skydive - I have never been so excited & scared at the same time as well as feeling the almighty rush of jumping from a perfectly good plane!... 

This christmas has been spent up the Sunshine Coast at Caloundra and I can honestly say that it has been relaxing and hot. This is the first christmas where I have spent it in above 10 degrees temperature in my life, hitting 35 degrees christmas day was a little strange but fabulous all the same. 

Being away from home means that there really is no spare space for me to carry belongings back to the UK on my travels, therefore this year has been great because I have been given money, clothing & beauty products which fit with my lifestyle right now. The new year will mean cut backs and looking to buy some new luggage ready for when I leave in August, my OCD is already in planning mode with 7months to go but I don't go over-board, just the necessities like flights, a sturdy suitcase or backpack, travel bits & pieces and of course money! 

So with NYE fast approaching - enjoy the last few days of 2013 and make the most of them! Wishing you all the best for 2014 whatever it may bring for you. 

XOXO 

Skydiving... Not for the faint hearted

Yesterday 9th December 2013 I completed my first skydive from 12,000 ft and loved it! I had been brought my skydive for my birthday in August and hadn't got around to jumping although to be honest I was happy to wait awhile until the weather picked up for the Australian summertime. 

It is something that I have always wanted to do & sat highly on my bucket list of things in life to do, so when a friend told me she also had a voucher for the same place, it made complete sense to do the jump together - you know for moral support and what not!

It all felt so surreal getting into a harness and going through safety checks before heading to the airport, with the tiny plane, with no door might I add to begin our climb into the air and jump... from a perfectly good plane!! Mixed emotions ran through my body from - what the hell am I doing to this is going to be insane, but nothing prepares you for the rush of adrenaline whilst you hang out of a plane 12,000 ft in the air before jumping out. 

Once in the air, I felt so alive & loving life to the absolute max - from being scared of how high we were to thinking hell yeah I'm doing this!! I am so happy I finally did it & it has made 2013 the best year of my life to date as well as everything else I have done this year - its been a cracker for sure.

And on that note, I leave you with a few photos from the day :)

XOXO 

 

Being an Au Pair

When I first came to Australia I wasn't sure what line of work I would fall into & how I would even find work but luckily I have had my fair share of good luck on this side - having worked in hostels in Sydney & Mission Beach, to working in an Irish tea shop in Sydney's The Rocks, however my latest role isn't something I thought I would ever do.

I became an Au Pair in March 2012 and I am still working with the family to this day & probably will be until my second working holiday visa ends next year in October. It is safe to say that this has been something that has changed the way I acted, spoke & thought about family life, coming from a relatively large family back home I felt right at home when I joined my current family however as the months have gone on, I have started to feel the strain on our relationship's and started to miss my own family more which I didn't think would ever happen. That's not because I don't like my family (everyone's families have flaws) but because I spent so much time away from them going on holidays each year before coming to Australia that the time away didn't make much difference to my life prior. 

However, working in another family and seeing how they interact, etc plays a big part of your life and wether your ready for that or not, makes a huge impact on how you act as a person. I look after two boys aged 6 & 7, and boys being boys they do argue like cat & dog but are also lovely children to work with. It's lovely to see them grow and they almost at times feel like my own children - but thats when I have to draw the line. As much as I love children I don't wish for my own, having seen the struggles that families go through to make ends meet or to make sure the family dynamics work out equal is a lot of hard work if you don't have extra help and I am just not ready for that. I am only 26 so there is still time for me to change my mind but I just have never been a maternal person. 

When I first started as an Au Pair, I loved every minute of it and learning new things both about my family I work for but also about Australia joining them on holidays and day trips has been awesome, but I think over the past couple months I have started to drift away from what I first found exciting about what I do and now feel ready for another adventure. It's not to say I wish to leave so suddenly but more of a phase that I now think I have out-grown. 

Most other Au Pair's I know are aged between 18-21 years old and with myself being 26 (27 in Aug 2014) I feel like I am too old to do what I do, so I ask the question: Does being an Au Pair have an expiry date?

Answers on a postcard....