Today I'll be having a proper birthday dinner with my family. Not entirely sure how I feel about it all - slightly nervous perhaps, which I find to be an unusual reaction. Though maybe not since I have gained quite a bit of weight and it has made me feel really conscious about my body.

I've not had a family birthday celebration since I left for the United Kingdom in 2011. It has been five years, and I've always just settled for a simple normal day with some cake if I'm lucky.

Preparing for this dinner - deciding where to eat, who to invite, what to do, what cake to get - is actually quite a chore. Initially I had planned to invite a couple of friends round to the house and have a small get together with takeaway food. Turns out, my mum is not entirely keen on a home idea and finds it much easier to just have a meal out. *inserts appropriately timed panic attack here*

From that point on, I just felt this was way too much planning. I'd rather just have a simple dinner and call it a day. We can eat anywhere, and I'm not fussy. Please don't let this event make it to my list of "good places to have a meltdown".

It has been decided that we would go for a Japanese meal because one can never go wrong with unagi. If there is just one thing I'm allowed to eat for the rest of my life, unagi would be it. No doubts, no questions. In fact, I volunteer!

I'm back in Malaysia at the moment sorting out immigration stuff, and I really miss my crafts. Paper crafts, wool crafts, jewellery making, basically anything. Pinterest has been an amazing source of tutorials and ideas for home made crafts, and spending year 2016 away from work just to do recreational things has been honest-to-god therapeutic. All my tools and supplies are back in London though, so I can't quite wait to go back to it soon. Hopefully then I can start posting photos of my small etsy business and handmade crafts.

For now, I'll leave you with a photo of one of my finest handmade pieces.

Genuinely and lovingly,
Rachel W.