life, love, and renovation.: My recipe for a year to remember.

Each year I'm convinced that this year will be the year where it all goes my way. So far it's not looking good.

We hadn't made it to lunch before poor Miss A developed a vomiting bug. She is currently in isolation while I antibacterial every doorknob and surface she may have touched. Not a great start to the year for her.

Our plan to go to the New Year's Day Highland games in Waipu are once again scorched. I say I'm going every year, and every year something happens to prevent it. Hmmm, could this be a sign not to travel north? There's been so much carnage on the New Zealand roads that I hesitate to drive anywhere at the moment. Please everyone, if you are out driving around during the holidays, be considerate of other drivers, even if they aren't considering you.

So at home with one sick child asleep, the other glued to her phone, and The Bloke occupied watching The Rolling Stones in Cuba on TV. I decided now was the perfect time to spray the picture frames that have been patiently waiting since about September to be finished.

Great day for it, outside in the sunshine. First coat on. Step away. Perfect. Wait...what are those little black dots appearing on my pristine white paint? Bloody midges! All stuck to my drying satin-finish paint surface. Damn it. Okay, nothing to do but wait for it to dry and sand them off...Sigh.

I guess we all have off days, some even seem to have off months, or even years. My off times seem to be fairly short-lived so far, so I remember to be grateful that life is still good. Yes I have had heartbreak, and recently so, but that doesn't make life any less worthy does it? One could argue that it is the terrible times that make the joyful ones so sweet. Once you've had a taste of the down times, the up are so much more precious aren't they?

So I consider myself lucky. My child will recover, my paintwork can be fixed. I am healthy. I have a lovely home in a beautiful, politically stable country where my rights are protected. There are so many people in the world who are far from being able to have a life like mine.

With that in mind, here is my recipe for a year to remember.

Recognize your advantages, your friendships, your loved ones, even when it could be easy to only see the problems. If you have trouble remembering the good things when the bad ones loom, write down all the things you love about your life, then read through it when the s#@t hits the proverbial fan. Be grateful for the small things. Love as much as you can. Speak kindly to yourself. Be considerate of other's feelings. Be courteous. Practice being charming, but not smarmy, the difference is being genuine. Look up into the stars whenever you are out at night and feel wonder. Be curious. Smile. Get out and see some part of the world you've never seen before, even it its in the same city you live. Make your living space welcoming. Think about the possibilities not the limitations. Be generous of spirit. Look for things to be thankful for. Look hard.

Life will not run smoothly. Many of us will have huge challenges ahead, some of us won't. You never know where you'll be by this time next year. But no matter what, we can still find something to be joyful for, no matter how tiny, there is always something.

Here are some pics from my last day of 2016. Goodbye and welcome 2017. Come on in, I'm really for you.