2018….. unlike most people I am not relieved that it’s over but rather looking back at what was and how to make 2019 better.

Forget the New Year resolutions and promising a complete 360 turn in everything you do,eat,wear, weigh,and the list goes on but the actual doing never lasts more than a month for most of us anyway.

In an effort to make 2019 better I am looking back on the highs and lows of 2018,and hopefully learn something from it all, so here goes 🙂

And in no particular order, a new addition came to our family 30th November weighing in at 8lb 5ozs a beautiful grandson. Bringing ever closer the fact that with 14 grand children I have to face the fact that age really is catching up with me.

I went back to work for my old employer which was brilliant, I am a workaholic but it keeps me young at heart and mentally healthy. I bought a little car just to go from A to B. Living in the countryside you need a car to get to the nearest shopping centre which is only 25 miles away but one hell of a walk . Joined an art class and learned to use oils and acrylics and made some new friends. Caught up on my reading, something I had neglected for almost a year. Gave up on the idea to join a gym. I gave myself 6 months to do it but realised quickly that it was never going to happen so May 1st I crossed it off the “to do list”. Eat healthier, loose weight and various other crazy notions that I had at the beginning of the year also got crossed off the list that very same day.

In an effort to stay in Ireland,looking for jobs and getting interviews was easy, however, the right job never came along. My old boss realised I was great and offered me a better job with the company, which I snapped up immediately. The only draw back was I had to go abroad for it…….well someone has to 🙂

My son, his partner and their 3 kids moved in temporarily, that’s a whole other blog for another day. A girls holiday in Fuerteventura proved that tiaras, tantrums, and strong opinions do not a great holiday make 🙂

On a lighter note 2018 saw the complete obliteration of all my underwear having been washed with a navy sock. Replacing the whole lot with the wrong size!! how the hell did that happen??. Bridget Jones eat your heart out!!! Driving a 112 mile round trip in an orange storm alert on closed roads. I never heard the warnings and thought the “no traffic” was due to my early start. Mistook a facial tick as a flirting technique and duly responded with my “Pageant” smile to a bewildered guy who asked if I needed help?!!! Took a day trip to Belfast and the Giants Causeway and the foreigners knew more about the places than me(shameful). Laughed till I almost peed, cried with happiness, frustration and tiredness, got angry, snappy and even weird with my kids all in the name of love. Bought clothes that didn’t fit and didn’t return them, shoes that were too tight, accessories I will never use, make-up that I don’t know how to apply, lotions , potions and creams that still haven’t shown any signs of improvements to my skin, hair or other bodily parts, a sure sign of boredom, craziness or both.

So what have you learned from all this I hear you ask.

Well, you will have to follow me and see how I fair out !!!