2012

Hus and I spent much of New Year's Eve in a happy heap inside our little haven of a flat in London, exhausted and amazed by the adventures that 2012 brought us.

As we recounted the roller-coaster ride that 2012 was, I found myself bewildered and thankful at everything that has been crammed into the past year. In 2012 I turned 30, started an 18-month diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (in addition to my 2 jobs!), bought and moved into a lovely little flat in Camberwell and traveled to the States to meet up with family members whom we only recently discovered exist. That was all before the end of April.

After that, I had the joy of leading some precious friends down the aisle on their wedding days, trained for and completed a cycle ride from London to Paris, attended some incredibly inspiring events at the Olympics, met my brand new baby niece, and capped the year off with a MONTH's travelling around Vietnam (pictured above). Needless to say, Hus was involved with (or had to put up with me throughout) most of the above, plus he moved jobs twice, each to a more perfect fit for (and harder test of!) his skills and passions. Boom.

Though by no means plain sailing, 2012 was action-packed in the best possible way: it felt like a year in which the time was ripe for saying 'yes' to lots of things - taking on and juggling new challenges and as such, it's somehow left me feeling invigorated more than exhausted (though perhaps ending it with a month in Vietnam has something to do with that). As 2013 kicks off, somehow I don't see the pace slackening just yet. So, until it does, I'm going to do my best to embrace the chaos with an open hand...