Hello my lovelies!

I hadn't realised it has been quite as long as this.  I have been working on a new project.

This has taken me to pluck up the courage to create a wordpress website where I can now create my bloggyness too.

So pop on over to HappinessBackpack.com to see me there!  Every Thursday I am hosting a Thankful Thursday gratitude blog party, so anyone with a blog can join in & link us all together.  It would be rocking awesome if you wanted to play too!

So, how has everyone been?

We have had, just after my last post, on Valentines day, the bombshell diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes for my little girl Bini.  It has since been a total rollercoaster of overcoming needle phobias (hers and mine), managing food plans and dealing with the scary this-could-actually-lead-to death hypos.  Luckily hers have been mild so far and she can spot them coming on, but it is still stressful and a couple of times she has become uncooperative.

We have also had some issues with her school.  Although these have been resolved now, we are considering home schooling for this next term to help get her health restored & plug any gaps in her learning before she starts secondary school.

It has been a big learning curve for us all, and it feels like it is only just the beginning.  Which it is, really.  This is her with diabetes for life now, scientific cure notwithstanding.  She has been amazing, and is really handling it well.  Better than me probably.  What a shit thing for an 11year old to deal with.

I am off now to count carbs.  Its a new field for me, as I have never considered the carb content of anything.  Wish me luck!

oh yes, and rather excitingly, I have had my first guest blogpost published at the lovely Tia's site http://inspiredlifeblog.com/2013/03/01/are-you-happy/
xxx

Thankful Thursday 24th January 2013

Today I am grateful for:

• A gentle day to rest in, and allow my cycles of energy to just Be.
• A clean bedroom & house.  Oh boy did I go frenetic on the cleaning and decluttering front.  I had to skype my husband to ask him if there were any parts of the house that he was particularly attached to before I threw everything out!
• SNOW.  Oh we had a long weekend thanks to the white stuff & managed a fair bit of sledging and throwing snow.  Obviously that also resulted in some crying and whining but mostly it was thoroughly enjoyed.  And now its mostly all gone & its safe to drive again.
• MinestroneSoul.com's Jo Bradshaws Branding course that I am in week 3 of.  Really looking forward to our first group call tomorrow.
• A hot bubble bath to start the day.  How bloody decadent! 
• Create your incredible year workbooks.  Yes, I know I have mentioned them before, but still loving them.  Got my business one printed out yesterday.  whooohoo.  (Still not too late to get yours if you want to kick butt on 2013!  Thanks to everyone who has got theirs thru my link.  Love you!)
• Empty laundry hamper.  oh yes.  breathe in in Jacs, it is a brief moment of content!
• Green smoothies.  Detox here I come.
• Tintin animatedly reading us the opening chapter of the story he's writing.  It involves teenaged zombies.  Nice.  I love 8 year old boys, soon to be 9.
• The full cupboards of delicious food Roo & I shopped for yesterday.
• The Fire starter sessions book by Danielle LaPorte.  Really juicy stuff.

Happy New Year!

Well, I hope you enjoyed all those brilliant imaginary blog posts I constructed for you.  I hope you agree with me that they were hilarious, witty and moving all at the same time.  I also hope you got them by telepathy, since I failed to use the more normal channels!  Why do I do that?  Think of great things and then never commit them to paper, or to update the phrase, commit them to binary code.  This will hopefully change & you might get to see what I have to say!

Meanwhile, in other news, I am loving my 2013 yearplanner from Leonie Dawson.  If you haven't got one, I heartily recommend doing so.  If you'd like to use this affiliate link I would love you forever,  honest.

One of the projects in the life version of the year planner, is to write out a list of 100 things to do in 2013.  I am currently at at 59.  It is surprising how hard it is to come up with 100!  They can be anything and indeed are ranging from '#58:Get a new car' (I know, right?  eeek) to '#56:phone Brandon in Hawaii' to the mundane '#41:get wills updated' (blurgh) and '#41:work out how to get photos off phone and onto blog'.  Some of them I have already done, like #4&5:spring clean kids toys, but not #41, else I would have a picture to show you what it all looks like!

Christmas for us was, like many people it seems, a succession of poorly people interspersed with some loveliness.  Luckily we were at least at my Brother's house before my Beloved became ill, so we got to hang out gently with lovely family.  Then when back at home, we just did lots of watching Christmas movies and occasionally getting some fresh air at the park.  Interestingly, it was absolutely perfect.  Just the holiday that everyone needed.  Funny that.

So, a very Happy New Year to you all.  Lets make 2013 the year that Rocked!