Fabulous Forty - Part 2

Sorry - that was a long intermission. The nausea fog is clearing, but the clouds of exhaustion still hang low.... anyway, back to my list. My Forty Fabulous Things I Love about Life (in no particular order) Part 2:

1. The colour purple
2. The way Poppy looks at me when she is naughty
3. Lists - making them, colour coding them, crossing them off
4. Planning and organising.... it's an affliction I know...
5. The crackle of a fire and the heat from the blaze on a cold windy night
6. A heartbeat at that first scan
7. When a little hand reaches up into mine when I'm walking down the road
8. My husband's laugh
9. Daisy's goodnight kisses
10. Stepping off a plane on holiday and feeling a foreign sun welcome me
11. Green chicken curry
12. Sunday's at home, pottering in a sunny garden with the girls running round throwing sand on the lawn.
13. Disappearing into a book and feeling like I live there on the pages
14. Every single thing about Christmas
15. Driving in the car (alone) and listening to music (other than the Wheels on the Bus) very very loudly
16. Colin Firth as Mr Darcy jumping into the lake
17. Saturday morning cuddles in bed with the girls, all warm and entangled
18. My family - and the fact that 40 years on I still want to spend time with my mum, dad and brother
19. The knowledge that the first half was great, and the second half will be even better because I will get to watch the best show on earth - my girls growing up
20. The thought that I'm going to spend the next 40 years of my life with him and them

So there we are. The celebrations are over, the presents unwrapped, the balloons burst. Back to getting on with this 40 year old life.... and just so I don't get carried away with all the love and affection I've received the last week, my girls know just how to keep me grounded. When I told Daisy I was forty last week, she was quiet for a moment and then looked at me forlornly - "That's old. Are you going to die?"

40 and fabulous - Part 1

Yes, it's been quite a week. An extra heartbeat and an extra decade - I've finally left my 30's behind. I don't actually mind getting older, and despite what we're going through at the moment, I believe my life is pretty amazing. So that is what I'm going to focus on. Here is Part 1 of my Fabulous 40 Things I Love about Life (in no particular order).

1. The smell of my husband's skin, especially on his neck
2. The sound of Poppy's laughter, and Daisy's giggles
3. The feel of the sun on my face
4. The way the first sip of Gin & Tonic tastes after a long day
5. The way I feel when I write something good (like standing on top of a mountain)
6. Standing on top of a mountain
7. The smell of M&S chocolate chip cookies as they are taken out of the oven
8. The possibilities of life
9. The purr of my cat at my ear
10. Baking
11. Looking at my babies in the dead of the night, their faces perfect in sleep
12. The smell of bread
13. The surprising sound of birdsong when I realise winter is over
14. The smell of tropical sea
15. The memories, so many, so varied, so intrinsic
16. The smell of the pages of a new book (and even better, the smell of an old book)
17. My mum
18. My girls, my oh so funny, smart, loving, beautiful, astonishing, wondrous girls
19. My girlfriends, without whom life would be a mere shadow of what it is
20. Colour coding, lists, and planning - I'm salivating at the mere thought of it.

I could go on, but this burst of bustling energy is slowly fizzling out as the fog of nausea returns, like a curtain announcing the end of the play. Time to retire until they open again. I might just drag my forty year old ass upstairs and look at my girls as they sleep. Always good to do something we love.