I'm going to apologize for my massive absence, the second half of 2017 was spent dealing with some of the biggest emotional stresses in my life.

I'm hoping for a much better year this year and thus far, it seems to be working okay!

I took some time off work and took my daughter up to Auckland where we stayed with my brother who was kind enough to take us out for dinner for my early birthday present. We only spent a few days up there, and had intended on going to Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium and taking a wander around some of the lava caves on Rangitoto Island however the weather decided it wasn't going to play ball and a cyclone hit the day we were meant to head to Rangitoto. We decided instead to go and see Coco at the movies on the Xtremescreen at Hoyts before heading into town to do a spot of shopping, which is when the weather decided to really hit. I ended up stopping at Smith & Caugheys and Mecca Cosmetica to grab a couple of pretty treats before we went to the Odyssey Sensory Maze - Alex was terrified of a couple of the rooms but it ended up being her favourite part about our trip!

A few days after returning from our short holiday, I learned that I'd been named as one of the ten finalists for Miss Frankton Thunder - a pinup competition - in March! So I've been busy planning three outfits including one swimwear one. I'm more nervous about getting up on stage and talking, I'm hoping I don't have a panic attack, my heart starts pounding away and I feel funny just thinking about it!

The next lot of good news is that I'm getting the self harm scars on my thighs tattooed over - potentially as soon as next week! I've wanted this done for a few years and known exactly what I wanted and have decided that now is the time. I'm so excited to see what my tattooist has drawn up from my ideas! And to be able to finally reclaim my body for myself.

Next up, is my sister is about to have her baby so I'm really looking forward to being not only a mother myself but an aunty as well - I hope that I can be even half the awesome aunt she is to Alex, to her wee baby.

My birthday is coming up on Sunday, so I'm treating myself to a trip to Kmart with a giftcard I got for Christmas (Mott knows me too well, haha) and heading to Spotlight to hopefully find some of Gerties patterns, and maybe Davids Emporium for fabric.

Anyhow, it's super, mega late and my eyeballs feel like they're about to fall out of my head, so I'm going to head off and pop my thinking cap on for what more I could blog about :)