random summer shots

 

advance australia fair

Yikes, it's been over a month since Australia Day. I have been so slack in posting photos. The Husband and I had a great day off... even if it was about 108f that day. So glad that heat wave has finally passed.

Crazy as we are, we got up at about 4:30am that day and trucked out to Parramatta, a western suburb of Sydney. I don't usually get out that early and it's always fun to experience the sounds and smells of Australia in the early morning. It was already nearly 100 degrees at 5am, and the whole world smelled strongly of eucalyptus. It was so strong I could barely breathe. We were on our way to the fairgrounds to see the dawn hot air balloon launch. Sadly, it was raining (as it had every day for 3 weeks prior) and so there was no "dawn" just a grey drizzle. But, we went anyway.

Despite it being hot and sticky, we still managed to get some decent pictures.

After that, I'll admit I went back to bed for a few hours. And then we headed down to the Sydney Harbour.

My lovely boss had given us a gift certificate for a harbour front restaurant for Christmas, and we thought this would be the perfect time to use it. Great views, great food... what more could you ask for? The highlight was the table of inebriated old guys next to us who spent their lunch singing the Australian national anthem at the top of their lungs. Ah, good times.

The ferry boat / tall ship parade was great this year, and the air show was pretty fun too. We hung out on a blanket under the bridge until I was well and sunburned, then we headed home. All in all, a fun day off.

just about says it all these days

raining

I know I am so far behind with this blog. I have photos to upload from our Australia Day adventures, as well as the rodeo we went to a few weekends ago. And I'll get to those soon, I promise.

It's been raining every day here for almost 3 weeks. They are predicting rain for the entire month of February. Usually I love rain, but lately it just feels depressing.

I look back on the past 2 weeks as some of the hardest weeks of my life, emotionally. The Husband and I have faced a couple of challenges that have left us both feeling shell shocked and drained.

I acknowledge that there will always be those in your life who will disappoint you. However, when you are disappointed by someone you least expected, someone you thought you could trust, it's doubly hard. Figuring out how to reconcile that disappointment, how to move on, and how not to let it leave you bitter and angry... that can be equally challenging. I especially struggle with that. My first instinct is to close ranks and shut that person out of my life... not allowing them to further hurt me or the ones I love. It's hard to know the right way to react. Maybe it will just take time.

Here's hoping this week brings clearer skies and a clearer mind.