Its my birthday on Friday.  As I sit here I realise that this time last year life was very different.  We lived in Lancashire in the UK.  We were waiting for our trip to Canada in January 2011 to assess whether we would agree to hubby's new job offer, wondering if these birthday parties would be our last in the UK for a while.  I say "parties" as my son has his birthday the day before mine, so its normally a crazy time come November 17th & 18th! 

January came; we flew, we saw, we liked.  Hubby said 'yes' to the job and here we are in another country as my birthday falls again.  It has been a crazy year and to recap just a few things I feel a list is needed!

• Flew to Canada for 4 days to see if we fancied moving there- I cannot even imagine how to explain how surreal that was!
• Sold our lovely house in the UK- I loved our house and our neighbours and it was hard to watch it go!
• Flew to New York with hubby and stayed in the Hotel Elysee'- couldn't resist the place based solely on the name!

• Packed up my belongings and sent them to the shipping container- I had so many nightmares about my possessions sat at the bottom of the sea! 
• Moved in with my parents-in-law.  It was a tight squeeze with all of our remaining stuff and we enjoyed lots of games-nights and far too much red wine!
• Visited many houses and said many goodbyes- we tried to keep it positive and I think our excitement for our new life made it easier for family to say good luck rather than goodbye!
• We bought a house in Canada that we had only seen via YouTube.  I feel this may need a little more explanation as it sounds crazy, but actually it was crazy and it was only a success due to our fantastic realtor who walked round lots of houses with his video camera...thank-you Jay!
• Had a fabulous party with our family and friends and then boarded the aeroplane ready for the most amazing adventure in Canada.

Leaving Party Cakes for Harry's School 

So as you can see, it's been quite a year, and that's not everything, just a quick review! Its been stressfull, tear full, exciting, daunting but most of all happy. My family and I love our house, love our life and are enjoying the adventure. I am not sure if I am any wiser as I fear the red wine and gin and tonic may counter the added knowledge I may have gained. 

I think this years candle blowing out wish may be for a quieter, less dramatic year and no more grey hairs.  I will gladly drink to that!