But I Smile Anyway…

Well, well, well, well well! We’ve reached the end of the year… It’s the last of my Chai and A Chat catch ups for the year.

Where did 2018 go? Seriously, it just whizzed by!

You got your drink? It might be a long un!

• If we were sipping chai together  I’d tell that I did indeed manage to wrap the presents, before the Christmas Eve party (WHY on Christmas Eve?!), then as the shops were pretty quiet, I bought more, and had to find the time to wrap them too that evening! I did also manage to squeeze in a leisurely lunch date with myself, my Kindle and a LARGE Chai Latte too!

• If we were sipping chai together I’d moan that we had to also spend time at the Minor Injuries unit as Lil Princess managed to bend her fingers backwards at said party, and we were worried that she may have fractured or broken two of them. Thankfully, like the shopping centre, the unit was quiet, and we got her checked, x-rayed and back home within an hour. No breaks or fractures, just tendon pulling!
• If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that Christmas day went smoothly, and quietly as it was on a Tuesday, which in my in-law’s house is a vegetarian and no alcohol day. So no Turkey dinner for us! My Sis in law and I spent the previous evening making samosas from scratch, and so for our festive food, we had Samosa, Pakoras and Spring Rolls for Christmas lunch and dinner was an array of Veggie pizzas!

• If we were sipping chai together I’d lament that Boxing day was not a day of chilled relaxing and grazing on the leftovers of the day before. Oh no. Because the turkey hadn’t graced the table the day before, our Christmas dinner was a day late, so we spent the day slaving in the kitchen, again, for our Christmas feast! All the good cheer was consumed today instead, so we had a few very merry members of the household indeed by the end of the day!

• If we were sipping Chai together, I’d tell you that the day after Boxing day we didn’t even surface until gone 10am! Still, everyone needed a day of rest and not doing too much to recover from the craziness of the past few days!
• If we were sipping Chai together I’d also say we ventured to Bluewater Shopping centre on Friday. A 15-minute journey usually but an HOUR instead, where we ate, wandered around a couple of shops then left because it was just too busy!
• If we were sipping Chai together I’d tell you that we went to Bluewater AGAIN on Sunday, this time,mega early, to watch Mary Poppins Returns! Bluewater at 9am on a Sunday is like a ghost town! But we managed to grab breakfast then watch a great film!
• If we were sipping Chai together I’d moan that we got home and I ended up in bed with what I hope is the last migraine of 2018!

• If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that I have made some plans for my blogging future… I know I have mentioned it a few times to you already, but you are all like my online accountability partners so, I’ll reiterate! As of the new year, i.e. tomorrow, I am going to attempt to finish all I need to do for my novel manuscript. The rewrite has commenced, but I need to finish it. For that, I need to be a little less typey typey on the blog, and more typey typey on the manuscript! As a result, I shall be holding back on the daily creative challenges I usually participate in, until I feel happier about the story I have crafted. But don’t worry, I’m not about to disappear completely! Spidey and I will be here on a Sunday, and this Monday Chai date? Definitely keeping that, so I can tell you how things are going. Of course, if the urge takes me, I’ll post about stuff, you know what I mean! And I shall keep reviewing any books I read too, after all, reviews are what keep authors going!
• If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that 2018 was another great year for me, blog-wise! I may have had less overall views, but the interaction was so much more meaningful for me! I posted less, but the average comments per post have gone up! I was so happy to have attended the Annual Bloggers Bash, for the third time, coming home with the runner-up place on Best Overall Blogger too, and I was able to introduce my Hubby Dearest to many of my dear blogily there!
• If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that I am looking forward to the new year. 2019 is going to be epic! I can feel it in my bones! New challenges at school and in my own life, goals I wish to achieve… Bring it on!

All that’s left is for me to wish you all a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I’ll see you in 2019!!!