A new year.

As the new year starts in Brisbane we are suffocating in a heat wave with wind that is bringing smoke from a nearby island across to the mainland.  You would be forgiven for thinking that it is far from idyllic circumstances to enjoy the final days of being together as a family, hot, grumpy and tired, I certainly wasn't looking forward to it.  It has been a wonderful surprise then that these final days have been some of our best during the whole break.  Christmas and the crazy that accompanies it has been packed away, the leftovers eaten and all the relatives back in their own homes.  It was a wonderful festive season, but as with every year, by the time Christmas day arrives we are Done!

So now as a family we look toward another year, if 2013 taught me anything, it was to expect the unexpected!  Han will commence a new FIFO (fly in/fly out) roster, in a new job and we are all getting used to the idea that this lifestyle is permanent for a while.  Otto starts a new kindy and Hugo gets on with the job of turning two and growing up.

As a rule I am not one who has new years resolutions or goals, I have never really seen the point of them, life will always change, what you start with in January is rarely what you will end with in December.  This year is a bit different for me, since becoming a mother life is a bit more predictable (until you are sent to Jakarta with 5 weeks notice!), and while I am happy with that I think it is time to push my way out.  This year I am hoping to achieve some goals that I have had rumbling around in the background for years.

In 2008 I sat on a balcony of a friends apartment looking out over the esplanade in Mooloolaba and watched as many strong, fit, determined and amazing individuals put their bodies and minds on the line during the Mooloolaba Triathlon.  I turned to my friends in a hungover haze and told them that one year I would be down there doing that.  A few weeks later we were told we were moving to South Africa and shortly after I became pregnant with Otto.  Late 2012 I started running again as a way to loose some of the baby weight and carve out time to myself after having Hugo, my goal was to run the 5km dash as part of the Mooloolaba triathlon series 2013 and leave it at that.  But I got bitten by the running bug hard, I wanted to run faster, for longer and more often, I wanted to see exactly how much I could improve over the course of the year, and I did it.  I ran faster, more often and for longer distances, each race has been faster, I went from 5km to 10 km in varying degrees of fitness and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  The final race was my best and most wonderful experience, competing in the run leg as part of a team for the Noosa Triathlon.  It was a hard, hot race and I still got a PB.

This year I am putting myself out there more, I have an 11km run next weekend, and a half marathon in March.  I am hoping to run as part of a team for the Mooloolaba Triathlon also in March.  The best part, the part that is both scary and thrilling, is that I have signed up for a mini triathlon.  This year I am hoping to get more serious about setting myself goals and achieving them, putting myself out there and giving it my all, no excuses.

So this has all been a really long winded way of saying, that this blog might change a bit.  I am hoping to use it as a training journal and goal setter, to celebrate my victories and understand the losses.  I will always write about my children and our life, and hopefully some home improvements and renovations will start soon too.

I have a big year ahead, and our family has exciting times coming.  2014 is going to be great!