A New Chapter

Happy New Year lovely readers! I hope that wherever you are in the world, and however you chose to celebrate it (or not) that 2012 will be kind to you all. We watched the Sydney fireworks on the Australia Network at 9pm and quietly slipped into bed while Hong Kong waited for midnight. It was the perfect start to the year.

2011 was hectic for us, but then again, aren't most years hectic these days? Last year took us to Bali, Manila, London, Edinburgh, Manila again and Sydney. I had 2 new jobs, D got an upgrade (promotion) and we watched J grow into a pretty cool little boy. There were a few surprises, not the least of which was finding ourselves in the family way again - a most unexpected but exciting turn of events. We decided to sell the house, and then we decided to stay, and now we're a few weeks away from renovating. We had visits from family, and time with old friends and new. It was a big, bold year and we feel like we've achieved a lot, but we've had to work really hard to do it. Sitting down with a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit felt like the most appropriate way of seeing in a new year; as if we wanted to show 2012 how we roll, before it thunders down upon us with more of the same chaos as last year.

In so many ways, this year will bring us new beginnings. An old home made new, a beautiful new baby, a few new adventures with any luck, and a set of brand new challenges. In the last few weeks we've found ourselves headed down a very different path to the one we thought we were on, and no GPS or sat-nav can help us navigate our way through this one. Do any of you remember the "Sunscreen Song" from the late 90's? I was reminded of one line from this song recently - "The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday." And so it was, on some idle Tuesday (at 12pm for the record), 5 days before Christmas, that we were blindsided. The song was right. Please don't worry, I'll fill you in on all that next time. For today I want to wish you all the very best for the year. And to 2012, and the road ahead, I say bring it on.