nuggets of niamh

Today's post is a little bit different... As I mentioned in my January wrap-up , I recently went on a super exciting trip: I joined 40 Girl Guides and six other Leaders on a week-long excursion to Mon Repos to observe nesting marine turtles and their hatchlings and I want to tell you all about it! Mon Repos is a small locality on the east coast of Australia, about 300 kilometres north of Brisbane. Every year between November and March, it is a temporary home to hundreds of endangered loggerhead turtles as nesting mothers lay their eggs and, later, the hatchlings emerge onto the beach.

Can you believe that we've finally made it to the end of January?! It honestly feels like it lasted for at least 79 years, not 31 days! Crazy. And it's been an... interesting month. I've had A LOT going on in my life, mostly revolving around job applications and interviews, but I'm happy to report that I was offered and have accepted a full-time position that I will be commencing very shortly! Yay! In other news, my family celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday at the beach earlier this month and I also went on a week-long trip to a conservation park up north to observe nesting turtles and hatchlings! I'm planning on writing a whole blog post about that experience, but for now, let me just tell you that it was truly amazing! 

January is a time of new beginnings; a chance to start the year fresh and in the way that you want it to continue. For me, 2019 is going to be a year of change. And this year, I've actually set myself some New Year's Resolutions. I always enjoy reading about others' goals for the New Year but have avoided making them myself in the past. I put a lot of pressure on myself to complete any goals I set (no matter how lofty), and when I inevitably  don't , the feelings of bitter disappointment and failure are discouraging, to say the least.  But this year will be different.  This year, I've set myself achievable  goals. Goals with specific monthly and/or weekly targets that are less intimidating and that I can realistically complete. Today I'm sharing my five goals for my reading and blogging life in 2019.  - - -

I had a wonderful Christmas, thank you for asking, and I hope you did, too! I was well and truly spoilt by my family with lots of lovely gifts (including a few books!) and we had an absolutely amazing Christmas lunch! I'm honestly still a bit full from all the food I've eaten over the past few days... But now that Christmas has been and gone, we've come to the end of December, and with it, the end of the year. Can you believe that 2018 is over?! For many, now is the time to reflect on the year that was and look ahead to the next. Personally, though, I need a little more time to come to grips with it all, so today, I'll just be looking back at what happened during the month of December. 

Um, did I blink and miss November? Or maybe I took a nap one day and woke up a whole month later? Seriously, where did this month (and the rest of this year!) go?! The first two weeks of November were super busy for me: I was in charge of planning and organising a two-night camp for the Girl Guide unit that I run. This was the first time I've ever done anything like this and it was all just a little bit stressful. And A LOT of work! But, thankfully, everything went really well (minus a small hiccup involving a possum and a fuse box) and it ended up being a great weekend! Although, I was completely exhausted by the end of it! The last two weeks have been a little more relaxing. In the lead up to the holiday season, I've been catching up with friends and also starting to prepare a few things for Christmas. It's never too early to start brainstorming gift ideas, after all! But I've also been allowing plenty of time for myself – keeping up with my reading, obviou...

Another month has passed us by and suddenly it's November and there are only 53 days until Christmas. (But who's counting.) I swear it was only June last week? WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE??? Regardless of how it happened, October is over. That means it's time to discuss the month that was! Inspired by Cait @ Paper Fury , I've decided to write this wrap-up as an #amcurrently post so that I can gush about all the things I've been loving during the month, not just books! So, without further ado, let's get into it!

Why, hello there! Yes, it has been a while. Over a year, in fact. And where have I been, you may be asking? Well, actually, I've been physically BURIED under my enormous TBR pile. I'm sure you know the feeling. But now I'm back!  And  2018 has been such a good reading year for me so far! It turns out that vivisepulture via books is super conducive to increasing one's reading productivity. Who would have thought!

At the Herkules monument in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe in  Kassel,  Germany  (29th October 2010). I LOVE travelling. The world is vast and diverse, and every single place is unique, with its own individual culture and landscape. Don't get me wrong, Australia is a beautiful country and I love living here, but there's just something about hopping on a plane and exploring new, exciting places. The grass is always greener, you know? I've been fortunate enough to travel overseas a few times in my life. When I was 15, I participated in a school exchange program to Germany. I lived with a host family and attended school in Kassel for six weeks, before travelling to Berlin, Munich, and Dresden, among other places, on an eleven-day bus tour. At the end of this incredible trip, I spent two weeks in the UK with my family, staying in London, Oxford, and the Lakes District.

Welcome to  Nuggets of Niamh ! I've decided to join Zoella, your sister, your neighbour, their cat, and the millions of other bloggers out there on the World Wide Web and start one of my very own .  This blog is a place where I can share my thoughts on all that life has to offer, from books to music to television to travel and everything in between. Perhaps no one will care, but maybe a few of you Internet people might find it marginally interesting and entertaining. We'll see.  A little bit about me: My name is Niamh and I'm a self-confessed book nerd from Brisbane, Australia. When not reading (YA is my jam), I like to spend time with friends and family, walk my dog, and binge-watch whole seasons of TV shows on Netflix. I have an opinion about everything and am not shy about expressing it - anyone who knows me will attest to that! I've also always enjoyed writing and currently have a lot of spare time on my hands, so blogging seems like the perfect hobby. ...