What I'm grateful for today...

Saturday 6 February:

I’m sorry I haven’t been around the past two days. I have been busy getting organised for the release of Manhattan Dreaming, but I still note daily all the things I am grateful for. Here are some of those I’d like to share today... Hope all those in Sydney are coping with the rain!!!

1. Pamela Freeman: Do you know her? She’s a brilliant author of 20 books so far and one more coming out this year. She writes mostly fantasy books, for both adults and children. And she’s my friend. [And yes, I’m a shameless name-dropper when it comes to people I love and admire.] We meet every few months down Coogee beach to celebrate her latest success. This time we toast (with Diet Coke) her book Victor’s Challenge which won the 2009 Aurealis Award for Best Children’s Short Fiction/Illustrated Work. Here’s cheers Pamela – I’m still ploughing through your Castings Trilogy.
2. MADISON MAGAZINE: There I was sitting in Lunio getting my hair done, flicking through magazines, when I elegantly turned a page and saw my first review for Manhattan Dreaming in the March edition of Madison magazine. The last phrase in it reads: ‘A witty treat!’I was so excited (and grateful) I nearly fell off my chair!
3. Deodorant at gym: I’m grateful that most people wear it, but on the odd occasion when someone doesn’t it’s seriously disturbing. My thoughts: If you can afford a Fitness First membership you can afford some roll-on! Do yourself and everyone else a favour, PLEASE!
4. MAKEUP: I’m grateful for the miracles that makeup performs on the blank canvas of my face. I wear it most days because it makes me feel better. But I’m wondering - after seeing other women do it - if wearing make-up to the gym will in fact make me exercise longer and indeed improve muscle tone.
5. TOILET MIRRORS: By that I mean full-length mirrors in the toilet. They’ve got them at my hair-dressers and you often find them in hotel bathrooms next to or opposite the loo. I can tell you straight out, I don’t need a mirror in front of me when I’m, you know... although the ability to do my makeup at the same time is perhaps an option? Or not!