The Year That Was....

I am not one for dwelling on the past or looking back on what might have been....I am not even sure that my memory is that good. I have a brother who is just two years younger than me and we always laugh about the fact that he remembers huge chunks of our childhood so clearly whilst I apparently have no recollection of it whatsoever!!

This is therefore just a gentle wander through 2010, a look at and some musing on what was a pretty good year for me, a year of some changes, some travel, some new experiences - and another year of still thinking about moving house!

Without a doubt the biggest change for me this year was my son starting full-time school in September. He was absolutely ready for it and couldn't have settled in any better....and I miss him! Unlike with my daughter when I worked part-time, I have been home with him full-time and I got used to having him around. He's my talker, a curious, non-stop-question-asking boy who is funny, confident, interesting and who always knows just the right thing to say to me! He has my heart for sure.

It's not as though suddenly I have all this spare time on my hands because my days feel as full as ever, I think it's that empty nest feeling between 9am and 3.30pm, it's the quiet (altho sometimes I do love that I don't mind admitting!) and it's also the fact that so many people ask you - now that your days are "empty" - what you are planning to do next?

Of course, you think that actually you have a list as long as your arm of things you would like to do next but really you haven't time to sit down and work out what to do first. I used to think that when my children finally started school, I would spend the first term catching up on that sleep I had missed out on....but so far I haven't had time....now I am thinking it will have to wait til they leave home ;)

And of course, the more people ask you, the more you tend to think and wonder and ponder what is next for you, what are your hopes/dreams/wishes/darkest desires....what is out there for you? What do you really really really want to do? What would you be disappointed if you missed out on or didn't take the chance to do/see/be?

I know that in between all the fashion and the glamour and the style, I have touched on these themes here this year...and the response every time was fabulous - and very encouraging.

I have already had some new experiences via my blog and know that many more lie ahead of me, some in the pipeline....some, who knows?

What I do know for sure is that I am ready for some new opportunities and experiences.

I also feel that this term I will enjoy and embrace my new daytime routine much more than I did last term.....so bring it on, as they say!

I have been lucky enough to have travelled to France three times this year - in April with my fabulous friend Kim , with my family in August and again to Paris in October. All wonderful times....I have lots of travel plans for next year....lots of ideas!

One of the constants in my life is my friends....I do believe that the older you get, the more you appreciate your friends, and I am blessed with a lot of fantastic girlfriends who mean a great deal to me. I have a lot of really good friends who are also mums at school and who I see most days....I have my Uni friends who are my oldest friends, all a phone call away but they are my sounding boards for sure.

My blog has grown in all sorts of ways this year, not just in terms of the number of followers but in its content. It is a wonderful outlet for me in so many ways....I am not only really proud of it but I just love it!! It gives me pleasure and joy, freedom and creativity.

I absolutely love blogging....I still follow many of the blogs that I read when I first started blogging about 18 months ago (and some of them happily follow me too....you know who you are!)....and I am very fortunate to have wonderful comments from people who read me regularly, who support and encourage me and who share with me....I really appreciate it, it makes my blog what it is.

And to those who I have met through blogging and have become friends with - again, you know who you are - I thank you so much, your friendship and support has been one of the very best things about this blogging world!

So I finish 2010 feeling that I have one foot on the path that I want to be on and it's just a matter of deciding which path to put the other foot on....but I do know that I need a new path!

I have a feeling that I have some exciting new opportunities ahead of me....wish me luck, I'm ready for them! And maybe for a new house too.

And you know I'll still be blogging :) 

I wish you all a very Happy New Year's Eve, see you in 2011! xxxx