A Sentence A Day: January 2023

Can you believe we are 1/12th of the way through the year already?

We started the year off right, still on holidays at our weekender on Coochiemudlo Island … but once we were back at work it quickly became a distant memory!

1 January – Happy New Year! We did a bit of painting as the trim on the screened in porch had seen better days, before cooling off with a swim at the beach and a BBQ for dinner.

2 January – A friend has lent us a kayak so we took it out for the first … and let’s be honest, probably last … time today. Paddling is darn hard work! No photos sorry, was too worried about my phone getting wet so I left it at home. Later in the day we had some fun with bubbles on the beach …

3 January – Mr 28 and his wife (!!!!!) were in Melbourne on their honeymoon and went to see the Harry Potter play, and gave me the book for Christmas which I am currently enjoying. And of course another swim, loving the gorgeous summer weather (and the air con at our weekender!).

4 January – This morning the tide was high first thing in the morning so we rode our bikes to the beach and went fishing, we caught a couple of bream (not that I eat them, but the husbear and a certain little kitty who came on holidays with us definitely do!).

5 January – We went for a big ride on our bikes – the pic below is the highest point on the island, looking back towards the mainland.

6 January – While on our holiday, I’ve been working on a puzzle of Santorini (which we visited on our 25th wedding anniversary). However it was a very cheap puzzle and the picture is not very clear, so I made an executive decision and gave up trying to finish it. It’s also a metaphor for 2023 – about being more selective about how I spend my time, and not being afraid to let things go that are no longer serving me …

7 January – Happy birthday to me!!!! The husbear spoiled me with some lovely pressies – I was so impressed, he would have had to buy them before our holiday as there are no real shops here, just a couple of cafes. (Typically he is a very last minute kinda guy when it comes to presents – like most men I think!).

He also picked me some flowers from the garden.

We had a lovely day at Norfolk Beach on the northern side of the island, it was very protected and beautiful for swimming as there was a strong south easterly breeze.

Afterwards we went for an ice cream date. And in the evening, the husbear made me a roast dinner!

8 January – All good things must come to an end, we arrived home late in the afternoon.

9 January – Our first day back at work – me in our home office, the husbear back in the city. In the evening we “might” have had the telly on the Prince Harry interview …

10 January – Mr 28 popped in after dinner to pick up some mail.

11 January – I spent most of the day at the Breast Screen Qld clinic. Back in November I had a routine mammogram; they contacted me early in December for a follow up appointment but I had to postpone it twice due to being sick with Covid. A further mammogram, breast check, and ultrasound were inconclusive so I had a needle biopsy after lunch; they said they’d phone me with the results next Wednesday so just putting it out of my mind til then …

12 January – We visited Mr 28 and his wife and went out for dinner with them 🙂 . Isn’t their apartment cute? All the paintings are by our son. He’s only taken up painting in the last roughly 12 months and I think he’s really talented!

13 January – My newest team member, Dean, starts next week – so I was madly preparing for that. Like Lisa and Emma, he will work remotely although just like them he also lives in Brisbane so an in-person team meeting is a definite possibility in the future!

14 January – The husbear went to visit his cousin up the Sunshine Coast for the weekend, so I had a very lazy day.

15 January – When the cat’s away the mice will play 😉 so I indulged in a bit of retail therapy, including a coffee and toasted sandwich for lunch!

16 January – Yay!!!!! My two new swimsuits arrived!!!! Shame it took so long. I ordered them on 11 December thinking I’d have them before our holiday. Ah well, better late than never. Now I can leave one set of swimmers permanently at our beach house.

17 January – Oh dear. It’s only Tuesday and I got a phone call (a day early!!!) from the Breast Screen clinic: “The doctor wants to see you tomorrow”.

18 January – Brought the husbear to my appointment just in case … more tests. It was best case scenario as far as bad news goes. I have something called lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) in my left breast but despite the “carcinoma” it’s not breast cancer. However it could become cancer so I need an open biopsy (surgery) to remove the area of suspect tissue. I wasn’t expecting this!!!

19 January – My fortnightly business mastermind group started back. Before I left, the husbear took this pic (he works from home on Thursdays). Look how long my hair is getting!

20 January – First Zoom meeting with my new larger team! In the afternoon I had my first appointment with my surgeon.

21 January – This is getting to be a habit. The husbear had to sort some things out at his late parents’ house in Toowoomba … when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!!!! Some great summer sales – came home with some cute PJs (in case I need to stay in hospital overnight), a dress and a top for $60. Not bad!

22 January – It seems we’ve inherited a Janome sewing machine! It’s a lot fancier than my old Singer which I bought when we got engaged 34 years ago. The husbear showed me how to use it – I don’t sew much, but this one looks like fun!

23 January – Finished my latest puzzle, the one that the husbear gave me for my birthday 🙂 .

24 January – Ughhhh so many forms to fill in for my upcoming surgery, it’s doing my head in.

25 January – I was the guest speaker at my BNI meeting, I gave a 10 minute presentation on “SEO – So what?!” – and felt very professional with my new banner! Isn’t it great?!

26 January – Australia Day public holiday – visited Miss 26 and her husband and had a wonderful time playing with her pup, cats and chooks. I never realised how much fun chickens could be – they followed us when we went for a walk, and even let me pick them up. They make their funny little clucking noises all the time, it’s as if they’re talking to you. Super cute!

27 January – Tired after work so had Hungry Jack’s for dinner (much prefer their Whoppers to the Big Macs at Maccas).

28 January – Had lunch with a friend down at the Harbour, my Buddha bowl with chicken teriyaki was AMAZING.

29 January – Whooops. We’d organised to have dinner with my parents but COMPLETELY forgot about it and were both at our desks catching up on some work when we got a text wondering where we were … OMG I couldn’t believe it, I’d been looking forward to it all week but then when it hit the weekend it just vanished from my mind. I felt so bad I might have shed a few tears. They were very good about it but I was so cranky with myself.

30 January – The summer heat has really set in … I’m looking a bit sweaty in this pic, I caught up with one of my lovely clients at a local cafe.

31 January – Had my monthly one on one with my business coach, took my award to show her and we got some pics!

January was a pretty good month over all. We had a lovely holiday but once we were back, work was busier than I would have liked. Still, I know it’s due to training up my new team member which means my load should lighten in the coming weeks.

My upcoming surgery is also weighing a little on my mind but no date set as yet (Update: I’m booked in for 14 February. Not much of a way to spend Valentine’s Day lol!).

How was January for you – was it a slow start, or “hit the ground running” way to kick off 2023?!