31 December 2008

Happy New Year

I was the only person who cried at the fireworks. I suppose it was because I was enjoying myself and let my guard down. It was also because I really love the city I was born in, that I live in and gave birth to my children in. Soppy.

Our mayor and councillors put on a wonderful New Years Eve party in a park opposite the St Marys Cathedral which is beautifully lit up at night. There were some huge carnival rides, a giant bouncy castle, a huge slippery slide and rock-climbing wall. Can you imagine this floodlit at night, the backdrop to the carnival?



They played the movie "Alvin and the Chipmunks" at 7:15 pm on a big screen and had the kids' fireworks at 9:15 after our mayor spoke about Ipswich and why it's such a great place. I don't want to be corny but I agreed with everything he said and then cried when the fireworks started.

I was remembering my Happy New Year post from last year. Remember? I did this in gingerbread:



I also got stung by a wasp. Goodness I was young and naive back then! Such fresh-faced hope simply oozing out of that gingerbread. I had no idea:

- my itching would get so bad I would ruin my arms and legs from the scratching
- I would discover it was due to bed bugs, and spend many months getting rid of them
- the dog would cost much money and plunge me deep into stress with her habit of biting other dogs
- my blood-pressure problems would come back with a vengeance and I would have many tests to determine it was simply essential hypertension and not something sinister, and go on long-term medication to manage it
- Sonny Ma-Jiminy would encounter some challenging times on the road to complete toilet-training
- our sewer would burst
- Sonny Ma-Jiminy's kindy experience would nearly send me round the twist
- I would superglue my fingers to a plastic dinosaur
- we would get burgled
- we would bite the bullet and remodel our kitchen...
- ...only to be moved away to a different city.

It's been a bit of a ride, 2008. I'm not in a place where I can do some cheesy saying in gingerbread this year.

In fact, I had an idea to write in gingerbread what I really think to usher in 2009, but it included language so frightful it would have caused a scandal among my friends who read. Mr de Elba may have lost his job due to his association with me (heh, no move! yah!)

But despite intense pressure from the two most unshockable friends I have in the WORLD, Mrs Tantrum and Crazy Sister, I have restrained myself from using gingerbread to ruin my reputation.

But I'm happy to talk about YOUR 2009.

May the Lord bless you and all who are special to you. Delight yourself in Him, and the Bible says He will give you the desires of your heart. And if you're not a praying sort of person, I hope the year is just as good, and that you don't stop reading Killing A Fly because I just said that bit from the Bible.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... Happy New Year!

23 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow - it has been a year for you! Here's to an equally interesting but hopefully in better ways 2009!

Adelaine said...

I hope that 2009 is better than you can imagine :)

Dee said...

Love the fireworks picture. Wishing you a stress free 2009

Shelley said...

Hey,
Sounds like quite an interesting year for you.
I pray the Lord will bless you and yours as well. Thanks for that. Happy New Year to you as well.

Femina said...

Happy New Year! (Yes, I ended up staying awake.) I would have loved to see the gingerbread version of your opinion about the year. That kind of language doesn't shock me. :)

Sassy Britches said...

It can only get better from here (I hope I didn't just jinx you)! Here's hoping you have a MUCH better 2009!

And tee-hee; I would have liked to know what you would have made in gingerbread too!

Heather said...

Happy New Year!!! (from back here where it's still 2008......)

I hope that 2009 brings much happiness to you and yours, and NO bed bugs. How about no bugs of any sort, be they vermin or disease related? And may your move wind up being a good thing, even with all that you are leaving behind.

(((hugs)))

By the way, we woke up to a massive snowstorm this morning: 9 inches on the ground by 9am and another 8-12 expected by midnight tonight. No ringing in the New Year anywhere outside our home for us, I think!!

Sandi said...

I thought i was the only one who cried at parades and fireworks.

CynthiaK said...

Oh, I'm so glad someone else cries at these kinds of things! I cry at the drop of a hat, really.

Great post! And, it's hilarious that you've already rung in the new year and we're just getting final party plans in place for tonight!!

Have a great 2009!

Joy said...

Hope your 2009 is a good one. Your due a good year aren't you!

My 08 was good overall. I figured out this blogging thing so that was good. The rest of my family feels neglected since then. haha.
Not really. :)
It's been fun getting to know you and many others thru these blogs.

I wish us all many post to come.

Happy New Year,

Joy

stefanie said...

I'm a cryer too. I cried today on the way to work, just cuz, and I have tears in my eyes now from reading what you wrote. As my daughter once said, "The problem with change is it's always so different!" Some change is sweet gingerbread icing and some is, well, colorful language inducing. Through all this change and your trials, I've seen hope in you, and hope is a hard won result. (Romans 5:1-5) (and my opinion is this is your space, so speak Bible if you want to!)

Nauntie Lush said...

2009 HAS TO BE BETTER! I am OPTIMISTIC about that. For both of us. If it isn't I am hand carving my kayak, and rowing over to commiserate with you. But I have a FEELING that this year will be better! Happy New Year...to my best most honorable blogging pal!

Jen said...

I guess it is the new year for you! Happy New Year. I am so glad to have you in my life and I hope that we can only get closer in 2009. Much Love!

Hippomanic Jen said...

Can moving be worse than bed bugs? You survived them, and you'll survive 2009 too.

PS - I'd love to see what you thought in gingerbread. I'm not all that 'strict and particular' you know!

Allegro ma non troppo said...

Amen to a vermin-free, stress-manageable year.

I thought I was the only fireworks sniffler, too!

Alison said...

What a gorgeous church! I wish we had one like that to look at around here.

You certainly did have an eventful year! (I started reading a couple of months ago, so I didn't know most of that.) Wishing you a less challenging 2009!

musingwoman said...

Hope you have a marvelous new year!

Alexis AKA MOM said...

Yup if this morning is any sign of the new year, it's going to be bouncy :).

Hi from SITS :).

Alexis AKA MOM said...

Yup if this morning is any sign of the new year, it's going to be bouncy :).

Hi from SITS :).

Cristin said...

Happy New Year!

Alexis AKA MOM said...

I hope the day starts to look up! I'll help you pack anytime :). You can come on over and we can have a drink ... LOL.

Take care and stop by anytime!

tinsenpup said...

I think that just two gingerbread letters would be required to sum up a year like that; the 6th and 21st letters of the alphabet in that order. Look on the bright side though, you have somehow managed to find a gingerbread man cutter with an impressively robust neck. Congratulations on that. Some of us can only dream.

Tracy P. said...

Happy New Year!

May 2009 make you feel like baking cute cookies again next New Year. :-)