April – it’s all change.

I cannot believe we are already through the first quarter of 2021. It’s utter madness! I know in some ways we were sat around wishing the days away until lockdown restrictions were lifted (Sorry to anyone in Europe at the moment.), but now it’s happened it makes me sad to think about all the time we have lost, so much so I refuse to acknowledge that we had any birthdays at all in the last year.

As expected, our schools opened on the 8th March and we got into a great routine, only for that to come to an abrupt stop after two weeks for the Easter holiday. So, we now have two weeks of entertainment before packing them back off to school again.

In typical British fashion, we started the holiday with a heat wave and the hottest weather on record, with the prediction of ending it with a 70% chance of snow. This is where I argue that we can’t do the whole summer/winter wardrobe changeover in this country, not when you can slide through the seasons several times in one day!

So, taking a look back at the whole of March, what did I actually manage to achieve? Well, not a great deal I hate to say, not of what I had planned to do anyway. There were a few highlights though.

I got my first dose of the Covid jab! I had the AstraZeneca and, before anyone asks, I had no qualms about having it despite recent bad press. The benefits far outweigh the potential risks, because they are only potential and not proven, and contrary to what some world leaders are saying (not going to get political here.) I am more likely to get hit by a meteor or it’s debris.

On the very same day I had what was probably my biggest highlight since my daughter was born! I took part in an amazing Zoom call with around 30-40 other people for the launch of this years Aston Martin F1 car. I personally got to put a question to Otmar, the team principal, and then listen in to the questions asked of the drivers, Lance Stroll and (my favourite driver!) Sebastian Vettel.

It was great fun to be a part of and you could really sense the excitement and enthusiasm from everyone taking part, and I left with the biggest grin on my face for the rest of the day. I really hope that the team can reach the top of the mid pack this season, though it maybe a struggle judging by the performance at the first race in Bahrain.

We’ve been steadily working through some of the clutter in the house. The only downside is the number of bin bags clogging up the porch waiting to go to a charity shop. Unfortunately we’ve had two failed collections, and I’m starting to get really annoyed with tripping over them every time I need to go to the front door. Our “non-essential” shops are still closed, so taking them in is not on the cards, so I guess we’ll be living with them for a bit longer.

We (Okay, I.) decided to update our daughters room. She’s had a mid sleeper for the last few years but, now she’s eight, the space under the bed wasn’t quite so usable. She’s desperate to start having sleepovers once we can start mingling again, but she also needs somewhere to store books and do homework when she is a bit older, so we looked into converting what we had. Luckily we were able to get a kit for the bed we already had (With the help of Rainbow Wood, who are fantastic!) and now Amberley has fallen in love with her bedroom all over again, and it didn’t require a single paintbrush or roll of paper.

In terms of writing, I hit a bit of a brick wall only managing 2000 words for the month. But, they were words nonetheless and every one is a step closer to finishing.

I do have some surprise news though, which came completely out of nowhere. A few weeks ago I’d left my computer on and, when I came in my office to turn it off, I noticed an email from a jobs database with something that immediately caught my attention. Now, I wasn’t particularly looking for a job but this one was offering a good wage working nights at a local ASDA for just 8hours a week. It sounded ideal as a way to dip my toe in the employment pool once more.

Without giving myself chance to chicken out, I applied there and then. When I told my husband he was quite surprised as we hadn’t discussed me going back to work in a while, but he’s happy and supportive and was pleased for me when I got a call for an interview. That also went well and the very next day I was offered the job.

I went from homemaker to employed in just a few days, which has been a total whirlwind, and I’m massively nervous for my first shift. I’ve never worked nights before but I know plenty who have and, if all goes to plan, it could fit in quite nicely with our family life. So, keep your fingers crossed for me in the first few days of April.

Moving onto April and what do we have in store?

The first major thing to note is Camp NaNoWriMo, a relaxed version of National Novel Writing Month where you get to choose your own target. I’m switching my focus to finishing Sorceress of Flame and have set a target of 10,000 words. I can always up it if all goes well but with everything else going on, and the fact I’ve struggled to touch 3000 words over the last few months, I want to aim for something that’s achievable.

Throughout Camp NaNo, I’ll also be working alongside Cassidy Reyne and the World Indie Warriors to provide support for anyone taking part. We have a number of Instagram Lives throughout the month as well as a weekly challenge, and you are more than welcome to take part if you so wish. Camp NaNo isn’t just about writing, you could be creating poetry, editing, designing course material, reading, painting, or knitting, but more than anything it’s about the community spirit.

Obviously it’s coming up to Easter, so I’m sure we’ll have some family treasure/egg hunts, but in terms of seeing the wider family I think we will be waiting until the next stage of the lockdown easing. Fingers crossed that we continue to see improvements. I’ll likely be called for my second dose of the jab in the next month or so too, I just hope I don’t suffer with the horrible tiredness I had last time.

Right, I’d best go and get some words in as this novel isn’t writing itself. Believe me, I’ve tried everything!

Take care, Jodie xxx