Getting my groove back with purple hair

I'm either first to the party because it's the only invite I've had in ages or last because I've given up on waiting for people to invite me and I've started my own party.

I've linked this post into @kateonthinice Groovy Blog Hop. Well to be honest I was going to write a post about this as I have a few lined up to write over the coming week. But in as today is a day for tidying up emails, sorting out the tweets I've favourited to get back to (this is one of them) and generally getting everything I need in some kind of order to work my way through next week.

Hubby was in Europe in September, he was back for 3 days when I went into hospital for a neck op. Any way it didn't go as planned and he flew off to Cape Town for 3 days with me assuring him I would be fine and later on that day the pain kicked in and I was bed bound for a week, unable to move. My friend came to my rescue and dragged me to the bathroom, phoned the hospital who told her to feed me chocolate, coffee and coke. I got out of bed on the Wednesday, one week later, to go to the Doctors who hooked me on a drip, pumped me full of pain killers, prescribed me sleeping tablets so I could make the night time flight to the UK for 3 weeks of rain in Wales, my aunts funeral and a catch up with the family, mainly our adult children.

On my return, it was straight into the Shoe box project. We collected 6,000 boxes full of gifts that needed checking, filling, re wrapping and boxing for the different facilities in and around Pretoria. Sorting out storage, contacting facilities to arrange Celebration Days and baking more cakes than you can shake a stick at (stupid phrase).

I then, well at the same time really, threw myself into volunteering with @kwo_org who I now tweet for, helping them set up with their Nickel Xmas Market. I made bunting, nearly 2kms of it.

There are loads of blog posts in the past month about the two organisations above.

I'm now frantically packing for the kids for their trip back to the UK on Wednesday. They haven't seen their Dad since last December. They are flying on their own. I'm so very much looking forward to a bit of time with hubby on our own, a trip to Cape Town and Kruger national park. We've had one child free night since we moved here in Jan 2010.

Christmas presents for family and friends in the UK have been bought, I'm wrapping and writing notes, before popping them in the kids cases. They don't have many winter clothes so there is plenty of room.

I have 3 more commitments in the next week. A celebration day tomorrow at Mamelodi in a township, helping with security at the @kwo_org market, box drop off to my last facility and a Shoebox meal next Thursday for the 12 committee members.

So I've been grooving, but it's all going to come to a stop soon....or is it? I'm going to be teaching some lifeskills with @kwo_org in the new year. The shoebox project last year collected 1,200 boxes, this year 6,000 so next year, who knows? All I do know is that we will start our preparations earlier than June next year.

So what about me? I think I need some me time. Which I'll have when the kids leave.

So back to Kates Blog Hop and to the questions she posts.

 How can you inject some colour into your life?
 I've already been for a pedicure and dyed my hair purplish

What do you need to say yes to?
Help. I do suffer with depression which manifists itself in a rather distructive manner.

What could you give up that would benefit you?
Well I gave up smoking mid September till end of October and since then I've had a few, but I'm tackling it again once the boys leave on Wednesday.

Could you write an interesting memoir of your life?  If yes, get on with it.  If not, perhaps it’s time to shake things up a bit.
Well I suppose that's what my blog posts are, I have like 1000's of other started writing a book, actually two books, one fiction, one on life as an expat.

So it's over to you know, link up if you've been in a rut and feel like you need to recover your groove.