Looking back : 2011 [ups and downs]

  
Well it was certainly not "My Year" as I had planned at the end of 2010 but neither was it all bad.  Really, apart from some rather horrible shittiness in the health department, it was quite a good year.

January saw MR and I heading down south for a holiday in Denmark.  It involved berry picking in the rain.  So much goodness, one of my all time favourite dreams.

At the beginning of the year I started up a Perth Brown Owls group with Sarah and have had a wonderful time at the meetings each month this year.  It started off small but now we are up to around 30 members with an average of around 8-10 people attending each meeting.  Nice size for quiet chats but we're always happy to have more members!  We are off to Knit on the Beach on January 21 as a part of the Summerset Festival.  Would love to see some more crafty types down there for a fun arvo out!  Knitting and crochet skills not needed - plenty around to teach! All you need is a hook or some needles, easily picked up for cheap at a second hand shop if you don't have some lying around already!

In February I started my new job, a dream job since uni, and loved it.  Working with some lovely ladies and making new friends.  Very important - 2011 was to be the year of being more social.

In March MR bought a house and we moved in together.  Our first home.  Very exciting and also on par with the plans, 2011 being the year we were to move in together.

Unfortunately in March I was also diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia.  Two days after moving into our new home.  Slight dampener.

There's a bit of a blur between March and September, what with dealing with a new health reality, settling in to a new home, budgetting for two, buying furniture, discussing plans, beginning to do up gardens, new job, tired from leukaemia medication.

April was our four year anniversary and we celebrated with a visit to Cirque du Soleil, another dream of mine that fully lived up to its expectations.  MR also enjoyed it enough to say we would definitely be going to the next show to come to Perth.  Yay!

August saw me turn 30.  Eek.  A slight ick moment for me, thirty feels like official old and adulthood.  Responsible styles.  Kids, marriage etc.  Not dealing with leukaemia.  But MR, my family and his put in to get me a very cool present (which has unfortunately only had a couple of uses since - I'm blaming illnesses...)

 

September 21st saw me out at Light the Night for Leukaemia 2011.  I was quite proud of myself, I raised $500 for the Leukaemia Foundation, something I want to continue on with this year.  

 

my sister and I

September 22nd saw me admitted to hospital with advanced liver failure.  Quickly upgraded to acute liver failure.  Complications from my leukaemia medication were apparently to blame and unfortunately my liver was too far gone to regenerate itself. So off I went to be added to the Liver Transplant List.  Pretty scary to go from 'tired, but dealing with Leukaemia' to 'you need a liver transplant' in the space of about 2 weeks.

Positives from that situation is that MR was truly the most awesome boyfriend a girl could ever ask for.  I am truly spoilt in him.  My family and his really pulled together to look after me, making sure I had decent food and keeping me company, even when I was a total bitch and utterly crazy from the toxins in my brain.  A few friends really showed their colours with their support as well.

And the major positive, I got a liver.  Not a day too soon.  How do you write a letter of thanks to a family who donated their loved one's organ to you?  This is something I am still struggling with and in fact, any thoughts of hospital before bedtime make for an entirely sleepless night so moving on for now.

I was out of hopsital at the end of October and geared myself up over the following two months into having Christmas at our place.  This was my plan at the start of the year and I was sticking to it!! Our first Christmas in our home together, there was no way I was handing over the event to someone else in the family!  So it wasn't the big extravagent affair I would have liked.  But it was good.  Relaxed, easy, plenty of food, plenty of rest.  Not too much caring about the things I didn't get finished in time and enjoying the things I did achieve while recovering from major surgery.

From L-R, top - bottom

I made Apricot and Vanilla Jam, as well as Summer Berry Jam :: the gorgeous squirrel ornament I received in the mail from gnome angel as a part of the Christmas ornament swap:: Cherry Meringue Mess, our Christmas dessert, also occasioning to be the first baking since leaving hospital ::  our Christmas tree alit and in daylight :: bunting and some pretty lanterns I received as an early Christmas present from MR's mum :: a cute Christmas plaque I picked up at the shops for $15 :: a selection of Christmassyness adorning the top of our speakers

Which leads me to now.  There are up days and down days.  I feel like I need to make a difference in the world now but I don't know where to start.  Small starts.  I'm looking at courses I can do at UWA summer school, I'm entertaining ideas of other options.  I want to volunteer more, raise money, sew, crochet, blog, write, read, sleep properly, get fit.  How do I fit it all in?  How do I narrow it down?

Starting off the New Year slothing on the couch seems ominous to me.  Is it a sign I am going to have a lazy year? Starting the year without MR - is that a forboding as well?  Surely not.  I shall quash any drama queen thoughts and jump up and down on them for good measure.  Likewise, all hypochrondiac inklings shall go the same way.

2012 is going to be my year.

Now if only I could convince myself.

Tomorrow I promise there will be some looking forward, some resolutions, goal setting and planning happening...