New year, new home

So 2008 is upon us and, on this first day of the year when so many people resolve to make changes in their lives, my little blog is moving home. I've set up a page on a travelling website where I can write about where I've been and upload photos for you all to see, so to keep up with my trip and the first four months of this year in my life, you need to head on over to http://www.sarahbarbour.co.uk. There's even a Subscribe button if you want to receive an email whenever I post something, and you can still make comments or send me private messages. I'll be updating from the end of January!

Before I sign out, there's just time for a quick look back over 2007. At the beginning of the year I set myself five goals to work towards, and I'm very proud to say that I have successfully completed four of those five aims. Each month, £200 of my salary has moved straight across to my travelling savings account and I haven't even been tempted to dip into it for things that weren't directly needed for my trip. It's been hard living without the money, but having the willpower to do so has been easy. Going away has been my big motivation over the past twelve months and I can't believe it's actually this month that I'll finally get on the plane!

In addition to making savings (goal one), I've also increased my earning potential (goal two) and I think that the email my Director sent round our office praising me when I submitted my resignation letter is ample evidence of that. When I get back I'm looking forward to applying for better paid jobs and all the skills I've gained this year will certainly help. I've also completed goal three and passed my driving test! It was stressful and scary but I did it first time and I'm so proud.

Goal four, to reach my target weight, just hasn't happened this year. I've been to the gym regularly but haven't been able to eat healthily on a regular, consistent basis. This is the one area of my life that I haven't been able to motivate myself for this year and it's the one thing I'm annoyed about when I look back over what's been otherwise a thoroughly brilliant year. I'm just hoping that I'll eat less when I'm travelling and that this will kickstart me into doing better when I return.

And finally, there was goal five - to find a boyfriend. Back in January I knew that I couldn't control this but that I could make more of an effort, yet throughout the first half of this year I spectacularly failed to do this because I realised that I just didn't want to. I was completely happy and contented with my life and began making plans for one person and not two, and so, as so often happens, a fantastic man just fell into my life when I'd finally decided that I didn't really want one. Luckily I didn't turn the opportunity down (thanks to some people who talked to me at important points - you know who you are!) and now have a gorgeous and quite genuinely lovely boyfriend who started this year by telling me over the chimes of Big Ben that he loved me. I can't quite believe my luck.

I started 2007 thinking that this would be my waiting year - saving, planning and dreaming for everything that was to come. Instead, I had a completely fantastic twelve months of doing, experiencing and living which I'll always look back on as an amazing year. I'm going into 2008 preparing for the trip of a lifetime followed by a return to a new job, new house and new life with someone really special. I can't wait!!!

I may come back to this little blog when I'm back in the country. As I've had less to worry about I seem to have had less to write about - I'm sure it's always the case that contentment is less interesting than angst, and that happy people don't need to seek comfort from spilling their feelings to the world. So I may be back, I may not...but for now, I'll just say that I'll see you on the other side!