I for one can't quite believe it. But I'm most certainly ready for a new month. While I love January for cosy nights by the fire with a glass of wine and bracing walks along a wintery beach, I am almost desperate for brighter skies and the whiff of slightly warmer days ahead.We've had a very busy month for all manner of reasons. Between work commitments and family illness we've had to negotiate a fair deal of the unexpected. Which is all part of life. We don't welcome a lot of what is thrown at us, but deal with it we must. And so we have battened down the hatches, protecting ourselves against the onslaught amidst the comfort of family and friends - it's truly the best way to deal with both the good and bad of life!But it hasn't all been bad. There have been celebrations for a very special 7 year old. I hate to sound unoriginal but really, where has the time gone? How can our tiny boy be a big 7 all of a sudden? Unacceptable and amazing all at once. He had requested a lot of Minecraft specifics for his party (just don't ask - I still don't get it!) and the crafty mummy in me couldn't resist the challenge. And I came up trumps, if I say so myself. Actually, he said so, so it really doesn't matter who else said so!And in other good news there was snow for the first time in 2 years in these parts! Admittedly just for a couple of days, but we managed an epic snowball fight with friends round the corner right when small people should have been going to bed. But snow is snow and you have to enjoy it when it's here because goodness knows when it'll be back!This is a little of what our 2013 has looked like so far .... Things are afoot here on my poor, neglected blog - I shall keep you posted. But for now I wish you a rather belated happy new year. I hope it's been a jolly January and that you're anticipating a fabulous February imminently!