Happy New Year!!!

Hello there, my lovely friends.  How I've missed you!

My computer is back, but it is not repaired to my satisfaction.  Or rather, it is repaired, but it has sustained additional damage in the form of many scratches to the lid - the engineer who carried out the repair must have caused this damage.  I am making a complaint about this, but I do not think that I will get any more than a letter of apology (if I'm lucky).  I think the insurance company are going to dig their heels in and refuse to sort this out properly.  Therefore, I am going to name and shame.  Our insurance is with Direct Line, who use Direct Validation Services as a middle man, who in turn use OLogic for computer repairs.  If you don't want your laptop to come back covered in scratches - scratches which were not there when you sent it away - then steer clear of these three companies.  :)  Should I also name the actual engineer?

But how are you all?  How was your January, and half of February?  Tired, are you?  Yes, everyone I've seen or spoken to in the last few weeks has been yawning, and looked decidedly bleary eyed.  The sun came out this morning, but it disappear again, and I think it will be a while before we see it properly.  January usually doesn't bother me, and I usually enjoy it as a fresh start and a month full of potential.  But this year it was a bit crap, frankly.  

But that is not like me, so let me find some good things that happened in January.  

• I recovered from the stomach flu that I had had over Christmas.  Yes, that was a good thing.  
• James had his birthday, and a super party at The Zone, where we all got to play and have millions of fun.  
• Some buds were seen on some plants in the garden - is that a bit early?  
• The birds came back to our garden, because we remembered to feed them again!
• We played with Lego quite a lot.
• We enjoyed watching MANY, MANY films because the weather's been quite rubbish, and honestly, we just felt like being lazy for a while.
• Oh, I almost forgot, I wrote 50,000 words in the NaNoWriMo spirit and styleee!  (If you want to read about that process you can look at my Hub, at http://hubpages.com/profile/Lady+Wordsmith)
• I did not spend very much money because I have to save up as much as possible this year.
• I have to save up as much as possible this year, because I enrolled on the MA in English with the Open University :D :D :D  (Starts in October, plenty of time to get the reading done.)

So, one or two things in January that were quite good.  Actually, looking back, all in all, it was a pretty successful month, and I don't know what I've been moping about!  Shame on me.  February has proved, so far, to be a bit flatter, because I've had too long a creative rest after that 50,000 words.  Probably, I should not have had a rest at all, and I should have gone on to write another 50,000 words.  That was my intention, but one night off turned into two nights off turned into a week off.  Shocking really.  I really am so lazy, given a just-open-a-tiny-sliver-sash-window-of-opportunity.

Off to do some work then.  Still got two child-free hours of my morning left, better fill it with something good and productive.

Nice to be back - hope not to see you too much though!  I've enjoyed being computerless, it's been liberating :)