What kind of landmark is a birthday? Is it possible that how you spend your birthday, the first day of your year, sets how your year will be? Your own personal St Swithin's day giving you a clue about the weather forcast for the year.
If so I'm feeling quite hopeful for this, my twenty-seventh year. My day seems to fit with the 'goals'/'aims' I've been thinking about recently.

Plans for the day
Morning before work: tend my tomatoes, pick lots of them and trim leaves. This gets me lots of yummy toms for lunch and reminds me that I want to keep my life balanced between work and everything else.

After picking toms: go swimming. Activity is the focus of this one. I *can* be more active and healthy so I end up feeling better about myself in the day to day.

Work: A positive morning helps me reflect on the fact my job benefits people and is worth doing. Today I was able to discharge a child because they'd made so much progress in the last 18 months that they are 'cured'. I then met with another child's mother and formed an intervention plan that felt very positive and that we're going to be working as a team to support the child.

Lunchtime: meet a friend for yummy, slightly too long lunch with lots of catching up. By the time we're done, and reluctantly go back to work, I'm feeling more connected and resolve to stay this way by making the effort more often.

Evening: my birthday dinner turns into a supersupersuperduper special treat. My fiance cleaned the house, prepared thoughtful presents and made me a lovely dinner. I need to remember to focus on what's good in life, be thankful for it and show appreication to the important people. It doesn't always take such a grand treat to make me do it, but I went to sleep feeling warm and fuzzy and loved. I made sure I said thank you.

I've been thinking about the 'goals' recently, and it seems good that my birthday would reflect them so well.

balanced life
be active
connect
reflect and show appreciation

There was the first tang of autumn in the air this evening, and I'm sitting in the lounge wearing a sweater and still feeling a touch of chill. I love autumn, but need to make sure I have the right clothes for it; time to get the winter clothes out of storage.

I've spent a lovely weekend with my family, wandering in the dales, eating amazing food and sleeping under possibly the snuggliest duvet ever.

The guest house we stayed in is a traditional yorkshire dales semi detached cottage by a babbling brook, the sweet scented smoke of real wood fires drifting past and up into the fields behind. At night there are no street lights so your way is only lit by the stars, of which we could see thousands more than at home. I also fell in love with the floor in the hallway. It's mosaic tile, probably original and breathtakingly beautiful and shiny.

more later because I need tea.

Finding inspiration from blogland

specifically "the simple woman's daybook" which I happened across (http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/).

FOR TODAY(Wednesday 9th September)...

Outside my window...it is dark, and slightly blustery after a glorious last gasp of summer day.

I am thinking...that I feel tired, and I'd forgotten what a drag commuting by bus is. I'm *so* glad I don't have to do it every day anymore.

I am thankful for...the chance to spend some time with my family. Especially as it is in the process of getting larger (by marriage, not by baby. I don't want to start any rumours!)

From the kitchen...plum and apple crumble, with home grown apples (from our garden) and plums (from mum's garden). A modern age-old domestic collaboration - cottage garden with a commute.

I am wearing...my grey cowl neck tunic with red flowery pattern and leggings, finished off with super-stylish blue fluffy slippers. During the summer I'd forgotten just how amazing a comfy pair of slippers are.

I am creating...this post and lots of ideas of ways to maintain my current burst of enthusiasm for life.

I am going...on a hopefully glorious trip with my family (soon to be plus 2) to the dales for a long weekend. Only potential drawback is that they're going to expect me to walk a lot. Potential great things include good food, chilled times and excellent company.

I am reading...I have just finish reading a biography of Ingrid Bergman. I'll choose a new book this weekend from the haul we got from the library book sale last month (we had to buy a new bookshelf).

I am hoping...that it doesn't rain this weekend.

I am hearing...my parents' dog snoring, the faint sound of TV as my dad watches it and my mum shifting stuff around in the room next to me whilst she looks for holiday things.

Around the house...I have been completely undomesticated today, as it's not my hosue and I've been out of it between 7am and 6pm. I did put my breakfast bowl straight in the dishwasher this morning though.

One of my favorite things...the shortbread apple pie I recently mastered, eaten straight from the tray, no plate, and with a cup of tea in the other hand.

Home Sweet Home

I'm back at mum and dad's because of a course in manchester tomorrow (two free lunches in a week - WIN!). I'm finding the thought of snuggling up in *my* room strangely comforting, although there's no great trauma or stress in life currently to make me crave comfort. It must simply be the universal security of being 'home home'. Or maybe that I get the whole bed to myself! (I'm not the one who steals the covers, honest)

I've spent too much time this evening following links to various interesting parts of the internet. Which brings me neatly to my current thought; everything is connected.

That's what I took from reading various entries on "The happiness project"blog (note to self, come back and add a link to it!), and lead to the sudden realisation of why I'd been sparkier and more 'me' (the 'weekend' me) at work today. Since I got back from a great weekend camping with some of the few people in this world who really get me and accept me as I am I have felt more connected. And I've been in touch with them more times in the week since I got home than I (shamefully) had been in possibly months before that.

I want to stay connected, in touch, for those people to know they are important to me. And I worry that if I don't keep up the momentum of this connection it will fade away, or at least the urgency and awareness of it that I have right now will fade.

So this evening is counted as a success. Self-realisation, standing on the decking soaking up a late/last summer warm night breeze, and a good feeling of having acheived things followed by drinking tea.

Now there must be sleep.

Monday, one day

It's quiet, and I like that but I still find it slightly unsettling. Perhaps a life full of noise and movement and lights and things to do is working me up so my 'resting' rate is a bit too quick. Chilling out seems beyond me right now, although I don't know why. After I got back from Greenbelt last week I was so chilled out, horizontal even. It took me effort to pick up the pace enough to even be bothered abotu the idea of being late for work. It was lovely, but now I feel twitchy. And bemused about what this means for life.

I think I need tea.

Monday, one day

It's quiet, and I like that but I still find it slightly unsettling. Perhaps a life full of noise and movement and lights and things to do is working me up so my 'resting' rate is a bit too quick. Chilling out seems beyond me right now, although I don't know why. After I got back from Greenbelt last week I was so chilled out, horizontal even. It took me effort to pick up the pace enough to even be bothered abotu the idea of being late for work. It was lovely, but now I feel twitchy. And bemused about what this means for life.

I think I need tea.

8am - get up and wait for workmen who may arrive anytime between now and noon. They need to fix the phone and internet cable, whcih got cut whilst we were gardening because it was not properly installed when we first moved in (properly installed = buried in the garden, rather than flung carelessly over various shrubbery).

9:30 - be left home alone so andy can go and get us some groceries (and my birthday pressies - this bit I don't mind so much)

11am - workmen arrive, without announching themselves. They faff about outside for at least ten minutes then deign to ring the doorbell...and tell me "the cables are all jammed and we need a con team to look at them". However, they can't "get through" to the con team. What do you think would be a sensible thing to do at this point? wait until the visit from the 'con team' can be arranged? give me a straight answer about what time they (or anyone) will return? even try to appear to care? nope - drive off. THEY DROVE OFF.

Some time later - I realise some men in orange vests are digging up part of the pavement outside the house (oh, how the neighbours must love me today). I go out (in slippers no less, must complete the picture of course), and offer them a cup of tea (passive aggressive, moi?) but they're ok ta love, and a different pair of men so I don't mind them (yet - I'll get to that later). Other man 1 lets me know that 'they should be back soon' and I presume he means pair of annoying workmen #1 from earlier in the day.

Some more time later (but before Andy returns from the great birthday present hunt) - original workmen rematerialise, and again faff around without announcing their presence. This faffing includes walking up and down my garden, past the front window and apparently trying to knock down the front wall of my house (bang! bang! bang! wall shakes! neighbours hate me some more). During this assault on the fabric of my (our) dwelling Andy arrives home, and the neighbours cat tries to break in (round Andy's feet as he clambers in to the house with bags of lovely lovely pressies, straight up the stairs, meowing at Andy for being surprised that we now have a cat). Eventually they ring my door bell, "just need to check it's all working", it all is - excellent and they prepare to leave. I let Andy know this and he asks the magic question "did they bury the cable alright?". A quick check out the window reveals that no, they did not manage to bury the cable alright. They did not even attempt to bury the cable at all. Andy does his best impression of irate male and goes to have a word(in slippers - until he flails around opening the door and changing shoes at the same time. A man who can multitask!).
The reported conversation went soemthing like this:
Andy: You haven't buried the cable like you were supposed to
Nameless workman:there are plants
Andy: so? dig anyway
Nameless workman:there are plants, and ppl sue me if I dig up plants
Andy: you may dig up theplants, I am asking you to dig up the plants. All of them if you like, just bury the cable so the whole saga need never happen again.
Nameless workman: I'm still not doin it *drives off*

30 seconds later - Andy rings the company - they are very apologetic, speak to the workman's manager and inform us that someone will be out to bury the cable before 6pm.

5:45pm - Me: "they'll have to turn up quick it's nearly 6pm"

6:05pm - Andy phones the company - they are very apologetic, speak to the workman's manager and inform us that someone will be out to bury the cable before 8pm.

6:45pm - I go to make some dinner (jacker potatoes - yum) Microwave blows up and trips the fuses for half the house. It also blew sparks at me. And still with not work after fuses are reset.

6:47pm - Doorbell rings. . o 0 (excellent - people to bury the cable) It's the neighbour (who I'm already presuming isn't so keen on me today, with the workmen and the banging). She asks "is your internet and TV working?" err, yes. "cos ours isn't and I thought that might be why the workmen were here before. uh oh.

Apparently the workmen were here before to break our neighbours internet, whilst not properly fixing ours.

now - Still no sign of workmen. Andy has gone to buy chips cos the microwave is still broken, and I presume Ange from next door is watching a DVD.