Goodbye 2008...And Good Riddance!

To say this year has been a rubbish one has to be an understatement! And do you know what, I don't think it's just me: not sure there's many out there that have had a good year.

It's been the year of shock departures: firstly in April we lost our good friend Eric suddenly and we still miss him as much as we did back on that day. An old friend of the family, Pete, then passed away suddenly in May; leaving my dad without his best friend and Pete's family (who have been friends of our family and one-time neighbours for over 25 years now) with a huge loss to deal with.

Then there's the finances; the whole country (and indeed most of the world) has gone t*ts up cash wise, and no-one saw it coming. One of my favourite quotes of the year was by our very own Betty, Her Majesty, when she asked some financial bod "So, did no-one actually see this coming then?". If the Head Of State has to ask, then there's no hope for us!

As a result of this 'credit crunch', Rob was made redundant at the beginning of November after only changing jobs in May.

And then there's the little fiasco that has taken up most of the end of the year. The events at the beginning of October have knocked us for six, and changed my life forever. To be hit with one life-threatening event is unfortunate, but 2 within a month is just taking the p***!

However, 2008 hasn't been a complete write off. I've made some fabulous new friends; especially all my new GUCH mates and of course my new scrapping buddy and all time life-saver, Lauren! I've also met up with old friends (hi Jen!) and hope to see a lot more of them in '09! And all those friends that have come through for me in the last few months; well, I'm so grateful to have friends like you! My children have got even more beautiful and amazing; and this Christmas was that bit more special with them after thinking it might never happen.

But, we enter 2009 on a positive note. First of all, it ain't 2008! Secondly, there's so much to look forward to. The big event of '09 is the wedding of these 2:

which means that I finally get to see my kids do this:

And I get to do this:
LOL, love that picture!

And then there's my lovely cousin Laura's wedding of the big white variety, which means I get to wear one of these:

OK Laura, I'm only kidding...but there will be a hat of some variety!

Then there's seeing the fabulous Metallica not once but twice in February! Metal!!

There's also my degree to (hopefully) complete.

So, it just leaves me to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! I'm going to be spending it having a few shandies and a curry with the lovely Ally Andbag and Stevie Sandwich (a child free night, woohoo!). I hope everyone has a wonderful time and 2009 brings lots of luck and happiness!