Make those bodies sing!!!

Another old favourite today ...

life doesn't get much better than this!

On a slightly related note ... I've had vitamin C the past couple of days and everything seems to be a little better with the world ... very odd.

Late July ...

and I'm still thankful for Steinbeck (I'm nearing the end of East of Eden).

I'm also thankful that while my eyes are all too often bigger than my stomach, at the same time I'm not particularly fussy about what my food looks like. Over the weekend I made some baba ganoush which resembles the contents of a baby's nappy. Tastes gooood though!

Thanks of deliciousness!

This week deserves bonus gratitude because today I had one of my favourite lunches ... one which I probably haven't had for 5 years or so ...

Beetroot, Red Onion, Cottage Cheese.

... all squished together on a white bread roll.

Sesame seed rolls are quite exciting. The tiger roll I had today was even better - sure didn't have those when I was a kid! Pink tinged goodness makes me ever so happy!

Forgetting to be thankful ...

I didn't quite forget last week ... I just looked at it and couldn't be bothered. I'd be eternally grateful if I could be bothered about things in general more often.

So right now I'm grateful that the day is over. I'm grateful that Erin sent me such lovely photos of Hannah and Sophie that I can nearly forget that I'm not there. I'm grateful that my parents miss me if we don't talk for a week. I'm grateful that my lovely high school friend cooked an amazing brunch for the girls and I on Saturday. I'm grateful that I finally have an excuse to go to Legoland (on my half-birthday no less!). I'm grateful that I thought of something for a friend that she considered to be "a lovely idea". I'm grateful for the beautiful writing of John Steinbeck.

I'm grateful for the knowledge that so much love exists in my life & the lives of my friends in so many different ways. It may not always be the variety I'm yearning for at the time, but it's always there. Not everyone has that luxury.

More gratitude ...

I've gotta work out how this is going to work ... it's going to be quite dull if I post every day. Perhaps a weekly summary of all the things in my life I have to be thankful for.

I should be grateful, for my health as well as being grateful for my health.

Let's start with an obvious one - I'm grateful that I have lots of friends having babies that they can send me pictures of ... perhaps more appropriately ...

I'm grateful to have friends who are happy to share the joys in their life so openly with me.

Baby Carrot!!

But of course, the renewed interest in blogging was inspired by another much anticipated arrival ...

Sophie Isabelle Patten arrived on July 3rd at 2.40pm ... less than 9 hours after I'd gotten off the phone to her sneaky mother!

Most startlingly, Sophie has become a facebook baby with Aunty Mitch and Aunty Meg announcing her arrival to the world before mummy and daddy had a chance! But the beauty of facebook is that even before it hits 2.40pm in the UK, I can already see photos!

My indignant phone call was interrupted by the arrival to the hospital of big sister Hannah so I've got no idea what size Sophie is, or if she's anywhere near as long as her sister was ...

Ern, Ads, Hannah and all the family seem completely besotted ... but I'm beyond excited and feeling terribly homesick all of a sudden!

Baby Gonzo arrives!!!

June 20th finally saw the arrival of Benjamin Luke Williams ... after a marathon pregnancy and labour!

Clever little Ben has already sent me his first telegram, email and text message so I'm expecting great things!!!

Karen & Lee are both very proud parents and from the last phone call I had, little Benjamin seems to have a very good set of lungs!!