A review of 2012

Another year has come to an end, another birthday has passed and I am now 36 and getting older by the second. Things could not be more different at the end of 2012 than I had expected. Life has not necessarily panned out the way I had planned. But with all the unexpected, or the stressful, comes great gain and precious lessons, if one is simply willing to learn from life.

I thought it would be worth sitting for a while and just thinking over the year. It should be a therapeutic exercise at least.  What am I grateful for? What have I learned? How have I grown? What can I change?

I'm going to start by writing a list of things that happened in 2012. Things that (good, bad, or just plain funny) made it a year worth living.... (in date order) ((There are links to photos where relevant))

• We adopted our newest member of the family ... Basil 
• I remembered the one year anniversary of the execution of my death row friend
• I organised a successful singer/songwriter gig night for charity which went really well and raised a respectable amount of money
• I managed to get 6 burly firemen to arrive at my house, sirens blaring, to save a child in distress, then fed them cake in my kitchen
• Several local newspapers wrote articles about my doula work and training
• I completed my doula training with Nurturing Birth and became one of the few qualified working doulas in NI.
• I had surgery on my poor broken nose and can now breath again
• The kids and I went on a fun and fabulous weekend break to Ballycastle and stayed in a mobile home, and had just the best time ever. 
• I made my doula website.
• I had my heart broken.
• I lost 2 stone and went down two dress sizes
• I had my first doula client
• Had a weekend away in Derry which resulted in the start of a great friendship
• Saw Gomez in concert and met the band members :)
• Saw Newton Faulkner & Imelda May in concert in Derry with some good friends.
• I trained and qualified as NI's very first placenta encapsulation specialist and set up my website
• The Irish Times did a 3 page article about my placenta work, and various other papers also wrote features, plus I was interviewed on countless radio stations. 
• I encapsulated my first placenta as a specialist :)
• I made another good friend in the town I live in who proved to be a goodun :)
• I went on a series of hilarious and hellish internet dates (and was asked out in tesco carpark by a mad man)
• The two little kids and I went on the best holiday ever! Yurting in Ireland. We had the best week of our lives and awesome sunshine too.
• Completed the first two parts of my antental course getting over 98% in every single assignment. Bit proud :)
• I saw Ministry in concert
• I was diagnosed with heamochromatosis 
• I finally got to see the Foo Fighters in concert! (And The Black Keys)
• My beautiful grandmother passed away and I travelled to England for her funeral with my eldest son.
• Took my older two kids on a holiday to Portugal where we had a lovely relaxing week! 
• My baby girl started her first day at nursery school.
• A good friend became an even better friend :)
• I saw Jack White in concert!
• I walked through  the streets of Belfast dressed as a sexy beer wench!
• Saw Newton Faulkner in both Belfast and Dublin and suffered the mortifying embarrassment of spelling his name wrong on our banner! (NOT MY FAULT!)
• I started belly casting
• I finally went on a first date that wasn't a complete waste of time and met a new fella :) 
• I cast three faces and six bellies
• Hosted a fun belly dancing and Moroccan food night at my house
• Saw Thin Lizzy in concert
• Got given two guitars!

So, all in all its been a good year. There have been some hard times and I've not listed them all. But no matter how painful a thing seems, it also brings positives with it. I feel stronger, more independent, wiser... I trust myself more. I am damn proud of myself for all that I have achieved this year with my work.  I am most grateful for the new and old friendships that have become stronger this year, and for the people who offered love and support when things were tough. It's been a year of serious giggles that culminated in a grand finale of me falling butt first into a bands set on my birthday. What a way to finish the year, eh. I am grateful for a year of good health for both myself and my babies. They are all growing into beautiful young people who I know will make me proud. 

Three Good Things...

I've been really slack with blogging the last few years. I simply don't have the time to do what needs to be done every day, nevermind extra luxuries such as blogging. But I really like the idea that my kids and I can look back on these blogs in years to come. When I'm gone I hope that they will be of some value to my children.

So in an attempt to get back into the swing of things I am going to attempt to write three good things about each day. We will see if it lasts or not!

Todays three good things;

1) I got to eat left over cauliflower cheese for the third day running. Nomm.

2) A friend made my day by offering to come over tomorrow for a girlie natter & nibbles.

3) I took the little ones to McDonalds for breakfast and delighted in watching wee Rosie run around excitedly exploring every nook and cranny of the restaurant. It made me smile to see her happy, carefree excitement.