Well!! What A Year It’s Been!!!

Here we are….it’s New Years Eve!! How did that happen?!! This year seems to have passed in a flash….mainly because it’s been full to the brim with good things to look back on!!

2011 had set me up for a shaky start though, following the car collision in November (still unresolved!!), Alex’s hospitalisation with Ketoacidosis just before Christmas &, after living with horrible shoulder pain through the year, my being turned down for much needed surgery because of high blood pressure in January 2012!

But by February things were looking brighter! My blood pressure was brought down to a safe level & the op was rescheduled for March! Lee heard that he had won an ‘all expenses paid’ trip to Beijing, courtesy of a University prize draw & my sister

   phoned to say she had booked a
   ‘girls’ week away in Turkey as a
   post-op treat! I had been given a
   referral to Weight Watchers by
   my GP & was beginning to see a
   real difference a few pounds lost
   could make!

March saw my ‘op’ declared a success & I started physiotherapy immediately! Lee managed, after several attempts, to secure tickets for the Olympics Athletics finals & I started a course of Hypnotherapy sessions designed to help curb my tendency to overeat!!

In April we had a fabulous day out at the NEC for the ‘Gadget Show Live’…

May saw me securing tickets for the 2012 ‘Once In A Lifetime’ tour at the NEC to see my teen pin-up David Cassidy in November!

   By this time too I
   had achieved a
   two stone weight
   loss & was feeling better than I had in
   ages, still not 100% mobility in my
   shoulder but able to swim again!
  
   June continued well, with Lee securing
   a teaching post to start in September!
   After four years hard slog, back at university, gaining a fresh degree, along with various school placements, he deserved it & made me so proud! 

Oh & of course I had that all important week in the sun!!

July was dominated by Lee’s trip to Beijing….& hot on it’s heels his Graduation ceremony!!

 

  

    

 

Then of course, came August!!
We had the most amazing day out at the Olympic Park…

 

 

   …& just when we thought it
   would have to be a ‘once in a
   lifetime’ experience, we heard
   that a photo of us that Lee had submitted to the ‘NEXT’ website had won us two tickets to the Paralympic closing ceremony, so we got to go back again in September!!

The summer also saw me complete quite a major DIY project, when I re-allocated three bedrooms, giving each a complete decorative makeover!! I still cannot believe how much cleaning, painting & furniture moving I achieved…& all on a shoestring!!

September saw Alex start at college…his first term has proved very successful & he has settled into the new routine well! Lee took up his post as teacher to a class of nine year olds & Nathan started back at school in year nine!

Then there was a wobble!! I was told that my job was being made redundant at the end of January 2013!! But I was offered an alternative position…after being given a warm send-off by my old colleagues, I started my new job mid December & so far, it’s working out just fine!

November saw me swooning at the aforementioned David Cassidy…

 

 

 

 

…& spending a wonderful day out at the Tower Of London with Nathan!

Add into this year long list of things to remember…

the Queens jubilee celebrations… a whole bunch of great crops, both online & in real life…Dawns ‘Chinese Whispers’…Suzie’s ‘365+1 in 2012’…Rinda’s ‘Scavenger Hunt’…
Sian’s ‘Storytelling Sundays’…
Shimelle’s ‘LSNED’ …
Cathy Zielske’s ‘MMEW’ year long project…
‘From Screen 2 Scrap’ challenges…

…all have kept my creative juices on the boil & of course, a whole myriad of days & nights spent in good company with family & friends old & new! A good year indeed!

So what can I hope for in 2013? Well…I’m committing to ‘Project Life’, inspired by the albums of Karen & Hilary!! I’m already signed up for a couple of classes with Jessica Sprague & BPC!  I know that working on Saturdays will limit my ability to attend some of my favourite crops in real life, but I hope to find other ways to keep up with my scrappy friends…one of which is right here in Blog land!

I intend to keep chipping away at the weight loss (I’ll admit to a slight gain in the run up to Christmas, but I will be addressing that post haste!!) & I shall continue to ‘move more’ & work towards not relying on the BP Meds!

I'll finish now & say thank you for the ‘get well’ wishes on my last post…I’m still voiceless, Lee can't believe his luck!! I wish you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR & may 2013 bring you & yours all you could ever wish for!!

Thanks for stopping by & come back soon!