I love baking. This is not a secret, we all know this. I especially love baking cupcakes, it's right there in my username after all. I'd made some chocolate cupcakes with rainbow icing over the weekend, quite a lot of them actually, with the intention on taking some into work.

I left some in my office, so people could take one when they came in to see me. I left some in the classroom, so people could take one during a lecture. When I spoke to colleagues, I let them know there were cakes. After all, who doesn't like cake?

I also signed up to volunteer with the school mental health team; both as a mentor for students to talk to but also to facilitate/assist in workshops on topics such as self-management, time management, mindfulness and stress management.

Lucy suggested I could look at doing a course of study in the field, maybe focus on counselling or social care or mental health because it's something I'm getting more and more interested in. I don't know if I could manage it on top of working but I keep thinking about taking early retirement to spend more time with Jack and Lucy so maybe I could do it after retirement to keep my mind working

After what felt like the longest January ever, we're into February. Not a month I'm a huge fan of - a bit like January it's just dull, cold and wet, and this year it's that little bit longer with the Leap Year. Oh well, time to try and find some positivity and happiness among the gloom.

I started with making Jack & Lucy breakfast in bed. This seems to be becoming a first weekend of the month thing and I actually think I'm going to try and make it a tradition. Although Jack did come down and try to distract me while I was cooking. Apparently he really likes it when I'm wearing nothing but his shirt. Definitely something I need to remember! 😉 But included with the breakfasts were little notes for them both, telling them how much I loved them. what can I say, I'm a sap sometimes.

I continued the theme of telling people I loved them by ringing my brother, telling him how much I appreciate him and love him. He then of course panics and thinks there's something wrong with me, that I'm dying or I'm suicidal. And he doesn't believe me when I tell him I'm fine, and demands to speak to Jack. Jack reassures him that no, I'm fine. Clearly I need to tell my brother I love him more often.

I'd wanted to tell a few more of our friends but I was worried that they might over-react in the same way Mark did, so that idea kind of petered out which is a shame. But it's definitely made me aware that I don't tell the people in my life enough how much they mean to me, so I'm going to make more of an effort to do so going forward, but maybe a little more subtly.

To you reading this - I love you and I appreciate you being in my life. I apologise for not being as present online and in your lives and I am making an effort to be around more. I miss you, I miss knowing what's going on and having conversations