Dear Ruby

Happy birthday to meeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *attempts to do happy dance, almost passes out and decides to rather sit down*.

Right, so not the most awesome way to have a birthday...but it could have been worse.  On Monday morning at 2AM I woke up with a temperature of 39.5 degrees and a throat that felt as if somebody decided to cut it out and replace it with a combination of a fire, raw flesh and acid.  After unsuccessfully trying to lower my own temp and feeling awful I finally relented and took myself off to the doctor.  Turns out, I've got acute tonsillitis, ear infection and the beginnings of flu.  Great start to my birthday week don't you think.  So, for the last 2 days I've been in a medicine induced coma, and I will admit, I've been feeling pretty miserable at the thought of spending my birthday in bed, alone and sick.

But i should have known better:) I've had so many amazing messages, phone calls, tweets and FB messages sent my way that there was no chance for feeling down and out.  And an amazing friend took me for brunch/lunch and some quality time to make me feel less miserable about the situation....Thank you so much! you know who you are:)

Anyway, so as a birthday post i figured I'd list a couple of things I've learned this year...from this day last year to today.  Things about myself, other and life in general...so bear with me:)

1.  My faith is what keeps me going most days...without it I'd be lost.
2.  I'm not perfect, I know this better than anyone.  There are so many things that I'm working to better and change and improve on in my life.  But at the end of the day, I'm the only one of me I've got...and I'm doing what i can to be the best me i possibly can.
3.  Sometimes happiness can be found in the most unexpected places
4.  A beautiful sunrise/sunset makes my heart warm and lifts my spirits
5.  It's OK to not always be OK.
6.  I have the most amazing family.  My parentals are super supportive, loving and they've always given me the opportunity to be the best that i can be.  My brother and sister in law...man i love those two, even if they are so far away.
7.  My friends form an incredibly important part of who I am.
8.  Chocolate may not fix everything..but it will def improve my view of the world, even if it is only for a very short period.
9.  I've rediscovered the magical effect of an awesomely hot bath in my new home
10.  I love my new home!!!!!
11.  People are people and will therefore most probably disappoint you at some point....they will break promises and they will hurt you.  The important thing is not to let this get to you (I'm still working on this one).  Focus on the beautiful in people instead...nobody's perfect.
12.  Hugs are awesome...OK, so I've always known this one...but it's been reaffirmed.
13.  You can't always control your heart with your mind or your brain....sometimes it has a life of it's own.
14.  I started salsa dancing since my last birthday and i fell totally in love with it.
15.  I found friendships in the most amazing places:)
16.  I got to witness the miracle that is the Victoria Falls with my own eyes...what a humbling experience!
17.  I've also learnt that being accident prone is not something you outgrow as you get older....apparently
18.  Quality time with the people you love is way more important than anything else you could ever give them
19.  I've become a total apple fan since my last birthday...who would ever have thought
20.  These days all my new shoes get cleaned with spirits before i wear them due to the lovely acid burns i received after buying a pair of sabotaged shoes from a very upmarket store in JHB.
21.  It's entirely possible to be deliriously happy and very sad at the same time.
22.  The trauma of having to see your friend's dead body will stay with you forever...even after the hurt fades
23.  I got to ride an elephant:)
24.  Even with the everything that's happened...I'm lucky enough to have a pretty fairy tale style life...I'm grateful, I'm happy, I'm me :)

I considered doing as many as the years I'm old, but abandoned that idea somewhere along the line :) So, here's to an amazing year ahead.  Thank you to each and every one that's been a part of it.  I appreciate every single one of you!

Love
Ruby
xxxx

P.S. have added a whole bunch of random happy snapshots from the last year....enjoy:) Happy times! #HappyRuby!!!!!