Hello 2014.

Happy New Year! 

We're back from camping over the New Year's break. It was our first camping trip with the kids and we're really glad we did it!

Photo courtesy of http://www.campingcountryaustralia.com.au

Notes (to myself) for next time:

Get a bigger tent. 

Our tent was a 4 person tent (but can really only fit 2 people comfortably!). Luckily we brought an extra dome style (beach) tent that we were able to store our 'stuff' in, because the floor of our tent was entirely covered with our beds. Which brings me to the next tip...

Get a better bed.

We had an inflatable air mattress, and yep, you guessed it, it slowly went down over night. Our friends that we camped with (more experienced campers) had a mattress that was half memory foam, half self inflating mattress, and I think that might be the way to go next time. Don't skimp on the bedding!

Take a marquee/gazebo.

We didn't take anything for shade at all! I was thinking we would hang out under a tree or in our tent, but it turns out that it was far too hot to do that. Thank goodness our friends brought a pop up gazebo with them, which we stayed under the majority of the time. We even had a little afternoon sleep under it, until I was rudely awoken by a goanna! But that's another story...

We camped at Charlie Moreland Camping Area in Imbil State Forest. It's a beautiful place to be. It really has a "middle of the forest" feel (because you basically are!), with birds singing and lots of wildlife around. There's flushable toilets but no showers, so you're best to have a dip in the fresh water creek there. We were there during hot summer days so it was fine to swim twice a day and the kids absolutely loved it! Talk about getting in touch with nature!

"Little Yabba Creek" Photo courtesy of Greg Roberts http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com.au

2014 has set in, Hubby is back at work, Miss 5 soon starts school (OMG!) and although Baby A is still at home with me full-time, I'm slowly getting back in to work and plan on ramping up my work time as the year goes on. I have a couple of commissioned paintings in the works at the moment, but I do have a couple of months waiting list, so if you're interested in a commissioned piece for the early part of this year, please let me know asap.

I haven't set in stone any resolutions for this year (yet?) - rather just ideas spinning around in my head. Getting away from the little studio under the stairs and sleeping out under the stars has left me feeling rather inspired! 

What are your resolutions for 2014?