Baggy is feeling determined.

Clever Bird would firstly like to apologise that Creative Clara is not managing to blog daily at the moment. The truth is that Hormonal Hannah is to blame. She is making Baggy think that she has no right to be blogging at all - who exactly does she think she is? A celebrity? A writer? Someone of import? Well no, she's just Baggy; an ordinary middle-aged woman who's had a bit of an extraordinary life. A life that could by now have been over if Lawrence-the-durmoid-cyst had turned out to be cancer. Thankfully he was "just" a hairy, toothy lump, who is now having fun somewhere away from Baggy and Baggy is pretty much recovered. Well physically at least. She isn't recovered 100%. Her stomach is still not at all strong and is actually quite swollen - more so if she does anything too strenuous; Grotty Groom schooling Wesley on Monday being a case in point. But she's almost there. Mentally on the other hand, she's all over the place.

But as Clever Bird says, "This too is part of Baggy's recovery". Baggy's had a lot to deal with in her life one way and another. Most people will have difficult times to get through and many will have at least one trauma to cope with. But Clever Bird has realised that perhaps Baggy has had a few too many of both. Not satisfied with just emotional traumas, Grotty Groom has caused her to have three fairly major physical traumas too, before Lawrence made his presence felt. It now seems likely that Lawrence was the "lump that broke the Baggy's back" metaphorically speaking! However, since Baggy was told that she is "officially" suffering from anxiety and depression, she has felt a tiny bit better. It's almost as though Clever Bird now understands that Hormonal Hannah does deserve a bit of respect - she's letting Baggy know that she has some stuff to deal with and get over and that's okay. Next week her "Stress Management" course starts, but even without it, Baggy is managing Hannah a little better and that is partly about not putting too much pressure on herself, or as various bloggees have said to her, "to stop beating herself up". Hence, not feeling that she "must" blog every day; especially if she has nothing new to say. But, as even on days when she hasn't blogged there are sometimes dozens of viewings, Clever Bird has told Hannah that people must be interested to read Clara's ramblings. While ever that is the case, Baggy will go with Clara, rather than Hannah, and blog. The support that Baggy has received through this blog has also been amazing, although she actually started to write it to hopefully provide a little support to anyone going through something similar. Baggy has no idea whether she has succeeded in that aim, but she does know from personal comments, that she has made a few people happy reading it. So Baggy is blogging on.

As for today's activities, Baggy has had a lovely day, in spite of the ghastly weather! She has had lunch out with her friend Jane, her Fat Club pal, who like Baggy is now really rather svelte (definitely not fat!) Baggy was a very bad influence and insisted they had paninis, but Jane (rightly) drew the line at the fruit scone with jam and clotted cream, that Baggy had. But she needed a treat and amazingly The Domestic Goddess really has been a Goddess this week and has been cooking up very healthy options all week, so it will be interesting to see what the Fat Club scales say on Friday. But it was a lovely lunch and Jane kindly listened to Hannah's verbal diarrhoea - Baggy just spends too much time on her own!

Furry Mama had promised Minty Mutt a walk, so even though it was pouring with rain, when Baggy got home, she said "Hi" to Calum, who is at home because he's poorly, and shot out for a walk. Baggy did want Calum to come too, but as he's suffering from a chest infection and is on antibiotics, Clever Bird realised that this might not be the best plan. Baggy is sooooooo glad that she bought her posh pack-a-mac..........