On January 23rd my Gran celebrated her ninetieth birthday. Up until about six months ago she was as healthy as can be but sadly she took a turn for the worse and hasn't been able to fully recover.  After spending a few months in hospital and assisted living, she is back at her home with a full time carer.

The original plan was for the whole family to make our way to my Gran's favorite spot and surprise her with a few days of us all being together, enjoying the beach and each others company.  The hotel was booked, the airline tickets were on hold with the travel agent and we were set to go but life can be cruel. With my gran only being able to manage having people around for a few minutes at a time, we had to change plans.

While we weren't able to be with my Gran on her special day, I still wanted to document it in my project life album so i went through all our family photos and went to work putting these two pages together. I decided to include the speech I would have given had we all been there as well as some fun facts about my gran and her life so far.  I also thought it would be fun to capture one thing from each person in my family, capturing a special attribute or quality that we celebrate about my gran.    

• Ali Edwards Story Kits (Roots and Now & Then)
• Ali Edwards Stamp Kit 
• Stazon ink in black
• Tim Holtz Phrase Stickers
• Studio Calico Bronze cardboard hearts
• Pink Paislee's Pictures + Words No 9 digital collection
• Tracy Larsen White 1 Square
• HP Envy 4523 Printer

One of the best decisions that I made this time last year was to keep a gratitude journal in 2014. Being grateful for the life that I have is so important to me and this seemed like a perfect way to document my gratefulness.  As it turns out, it also ended up being a brilliant way to do a little creating every weekend, a monthly inspirational point and a wonderful keepsake for years to come.

A few weeks ago I decided that in 2015 I am going to do Project Life which then meant that I needed to make a decision about how to document my gratitude during 2015.  Having done a load of Internet surfing and inspiration viewing, I decided that instead of incorporating my Gratitude Journal into Project Life, I would keep them separate and go ahead and get another blank journal for the new year ahead.

Do you document what your grateful for in your life in any way?  I would love to see how you do it so please leave a comment and share.

Here's a look at what is real around here right now.

1. This morning I was up and out the house by 7am. That doesn't normally happen on a week morning never mind the morning of a weekend.

2. With my exams over with, my life is starting to feel normal once again. I have been enjoying tidying things up and reading my Kindle.

3. Fall is definitely here. The darker mornings have meant that my light alarm clock has come back out of the cupboard. Waking up to a bright room is much easier on me than when the room is so dark.

4. I am currently working on organising what needs to be done on my creative projects so that I can get back up to date. One Little Word, Gratitude Journal and Weight loss Smashbook have all taken a back seat during the run up to my exams.

5. I've just spent £135 on clothing. It feels like a lot of money but I haven't bought any new clothes for a while now and I definitely need them.

6. I have been working on my Christmas Wish List for the family.

7. It still surprises me how often Smidge acts like a little kitten still. I love that about him.

8. I'm struggling with back ache. Its been over a week now and I had hoped it would clear up but so far it hasn't. Sitting here, working on this post, I can feel it beginning to pull.

9. I am excited to be getting stuck into planning my first attempt at Project Life for 2015.  I purchased an album and have added several items to my Christmas Wish List to get me started.  Now just to spend some time on YouTube and Pinterest to get some inspiration and ideas.

10. I have been loving smoothies for breakfast lately. Mango and banana, berry mix.  I'm planning to do a peach one next week.

11. Smidge has been so fussy with his wet food lately. Just this morning I had to return some of the boxes I bought because he flat out refuses to eat it....and then it goes yuk and I end up throwing it away.

12. My To-Do lists are looking a lot more fun lately.

My right now story - I love that I can capture it almost like a photo.  Building these month on month is producing a cute bundle of snap shots. Do you have a way of documenting snap shots of your day?

• Got into a fight a few days ago and now is missing a little bit of his left ear.
• Was very very sick on Tuesday...to the point where I had to send my Dad over to my house to check in on him.  He wasn't himself at all.  It has taken a few days but he seems to be back to his old self. So pleased that he is feeling well.
• Has made a friend....with a little tabby cat who sits outside the cat flap waiting patiently for Smidge to come out to play.
• Smidge is eight months old - I won't be able to call him a kitten for much longer.
• Keeps getting metal objects stuck to his cat flap magnet. It has me in stitches each time I find him roaming the house with a spoon stuck to his collar.

• Is so looking forward to my time off work.  I am in desperate need of some down time and this will be the perfect opportunity.
• Has been spending lots of time working i my garden and designing the back yard. Some of my ideas have been decided while others I am still considering.  I plan to lay down grass in the back yard and get rid of a garden bed in the corner.  I am considering either a hot tub or a comfy swing chair in the corner.
• Is very excited about a new project that I am going to start working on soon.  
• Is planning to try a few new recipes over the next few weeks. I love cooking but have been focusing solely on making meals that I know.  Its now time to mix things up and discover some new favorites.
• Finally finding some time to catch up on my sky+ recordings. Blue bloods, Star trek enterprise and Criminal minds.
• Planning the Easter meal that I will be cooking on Sunday for my Dad and brother.  Mom is off in South Africa enjoying a holiday so I am looking after the boys while she has fun under the sun.

What have you been up to lately?

Watching: There is just so much to love about the new year. One of the things that I love about the new year are all the new TV show seasons which come back on.  Before I share with you all the new shows that I am watching or about to start watching I want to just say that despite what you are about to read, I try not to watch too much TV. Just want to put that out there!  So here are the programs that I am watching right now or will be very shortly. Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, Hawaii 5.0, Motive, NCIS, Greys Anatomy, Castle, The Big Bang Theory and Blue Bloods.  I love all of them! 

Loving: bubble bath, my kindle and lite candles. That is how I am finding myself relaxing more and more these days.  I love my "me time"

Eating: Right now I'm eating Slimming World style.  That means clean eating all around.  My treats at the moment are Options hot chocolate and mini marshmallows.  

Going: To be making a start on my very last university degree course tomorrow. The funny thing is that I am not sure if I am feeling happy about that or not.  I guess I have ten months to figure it out.

Making me happy: Smidge makes me so happy every day. He is so excited to have me come home and insists on always being by my side.  His purring, playful, loving nature is too gorgeous for words.

So, how about you? What are you up to today? Feel free to do your own "currently" post on your blog and link back in the comments for everyone to check out.