Life is good. It has its ups and downs. But in the main it’s up. I’m happy. Business is going well. The little one and the hubby are doing well. So from now on this blog will be quiet apart from significant life events that happen. The normal ebb and flow of day to day life will continue to be documented on Facebook and Twitter, but there is little insight or sharing to be done on here. Thank you to my loyal readers. Your support has been key to where I am now. You are all amazing. Continue reading

This weekend my best friend of 15 years died. She has been ill with an undefined illness for the last 5 years or so. The doctors have not been taking her seriously and have left her feeling like it was all in her head. It made it difficult for her to see, talk and breathe. Well this weekend she proved them wrong – unfortunately. She was on holiday in France with her husband and family and the illness won. So I want to use this blog to remember my friend for what she was rather than what she wasn’t. She... Continue reading

I’ve been having a bit of a wobble with my strength training. My grip is rubbish and I have accepted that and got hold of some weight lifting straps. The problem is that I’m just not very good at anything I do there. I thought I was doing ok then I saw how others were doing. Others were doing the same as I was achieving after months in a first or second session. Other people were lifting loads more on the bench press. In fact, everyone was better than me at everything. And whilst I was doing it for myself,... Continue reading

The other day I went into the little one’s room to discover that she had emptied all the clothes out of her wardrobe and turned it into bunk beds for her princess dolls. In fairness, it was a miracle that I worked that out given the state of her room. The little one has too much stuff. She has a large room, a walk in toy cupboard, and an area under the stairs. I decided it was time to sort it out. I crated up all the old toys so I can get rid of them. The toy cupboard used... Continue reading

Granted, you may look at this photo and think it’s me. But it’s not. It’s an android. It’s pretending to be me. You may not be able to spot the clues but I can. - She looks really happy. If this was the real me, I wouldn’t look so happy. Just a few months before this photo, I had been sitting at the desk in my student accommodation with a bottle of my mother’s strong painkillers on the desk in front of me. It had been my plan to take them at a point where there was no risk of... Continue reading

I often find a picture on my bed that the little one has drawn. Last night I found this one I love the “If you fix it..” bit Continue reading

If wealth is measured by friendships, then I am very rich. This has been a year where I’ve needed friends so very much, and they have been there. Let me share how lucky I am. Friend Number 1 - Marguerita I met Marguerita when I first moved to Dundee in October 2000. She was on my team and also helped me choose the house which I still live in. Our friendship grew steadily over time. She’s an amazing, kind hearted lady and has always been fun to be around. She will make anything happen. I have to be careful not... Continue reading

Ok, I’ve been a bit rubbish at updating this blog lately so let me share a couple of things. Firstly the little one has been doing some street dance classes for the last couple of months. We are still looking for the thing that she loves to do. She enjoys this but still not that enthusiastic. Anyway, she had an end of term show and I went along with my friend Anna. I was so proud. She was truly amazing. She hadn’t practiced anything at home because she wanted to surprise me. The lighting is a bit rubbish but here... Continue reading

This is my friend and her boy in the The Range the other day. The Range has an excellent section for Xmas decorations and she was in her element. It was fun to be with her as she got excited on each new aisle she went down. It made me smile. It made me realise that Xmas isn’t really making me smile this year. In fact, for the last few years it hasn’t made me smile. The little one wanted me to put up the Xmas tree last weekend. I found an excuse not to. I couldn’t be bothered. Every... Continue reading

I am now visiting my personal trainer 3 times a week. Generally I really look forward to my sessions. Except for leg day, I’m not a big fan of leg day lol. We do one day on the back, one day on chest, and one day on legs. I absolutely love how my arms are developing The difference between the left and right photo is just one week. I spend half my time feeling the muscles in my arms these days! My legs are developing too but the results aren’t as visible because I already have strong legs from lugging... Continue reading

So you heard how I queued for 4 hours for Stampy Tickets? Well on Monday we actually went to see him. It was hosted by The Royal Society of Edinburgh as part of their Christmas Lectures. In the 230 years where they have been doing these events, this was the largest audience and the youngest speaker they have ever had. It was all over the news http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-34964355 The night before the little one was sick, and I got no sleep. I wasn’t sure I would be taking her. But it appears it was something she had eaten because once she... Continue reading

We don’t usually get this much snow on this side of the year. We’ve made the most of it and I’m really glad we swapped the hubby’s car for a 4x4 but I suspect the novelty will wear off quickly. This is the little one waiting for the bus this morning We made a snow throne And a snowman and a snow puppy It was falling fast. There is an hour between the first and third picture This is a white chocolate road apparently! Continue reading

I saw pictures of snow on Saturday night from local friends on Facebook. So on Sunday I asked the little one to open the curtains. She was very excited She got dressed up and out we went This is a snow puppy. I think it looks more like a seal but she was having none of it Continue reading

There was a moment, when I realised no one had power of me any more (this included people from my past), where I got really scared. Every single decision was my responsibility and no one else's. Every consequence was a result of my own choices. That was really scary. And very lonely. It took a bit of getting used to. But I am used to it now. I take full responsibility for me. When a photo came up on Facebook from 2011 I was really surprised. I didn’t realise how slim I had become. I didn’t realise it at the... Continue reading

I don’t remember ever going to a Halloween party. I certainly never hosted one. But I have a rule in my head – if the little one asks for something I will always think about it before I answer. I will make sure my answer is based on the right thing for her rather than for me. About a week ago the little one asked if we could have a Halloween party. I thought about it and asked everyone what they thought. The consensus was to go for it. And I have a good friend that has done Halloween parties... Continue reading

Minecraft. Crack for kids. Even more than the game are the YouTube videos. Stampy is one of the top YouTube stars of the last year. Kids watch him and his friends play Minecraft and talk about Minecraft. They often watch the videos more than they play the games. My daughter behaves like she’s on drugs when she’s been watching the videos for too long. She shouts and sulks at every request. She grunts responses to questions. We don’t see her all day as she curls up on the chair with her iPod touch just watching YouTube. In fact, we have... Continue reading

Some of you will have noticed I have been struggling. Maybe you’ve read this blog or maybe you’ve noticed my less-than-positive outlook on Social Media. I started proceedings with the police. I made the decision to take him to court. The verdict was irrelevant. I did it. I took action. The verdict allowed me to let go of the story of my past. During the trial I stopped worrying about being believed. That was no longer an issue. The trauma of watching my video evidence removed the trauma of what happened in my childhood. I was free. I got a... Continue reading

When I was at my PT session the other day, Ricky asked if he could take a photo for sharing on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. I said yes. Not because I wanted a photo but because I always say yes. We go through different realities in our lives depending on our state of mind. One thing I do know is any mental state is temporary – it always changes. Thing is, we can’t time travel. You can’t go back and do something over again. So decisions should not be made based on your current mental state. This is why... Continue reading

6 months ago we booked a holiday at the Craig Tara caravan park in Ayr. A friend had been with her daughters for the weekend and loved it so booked a week for the whole family this half term. It sounded like a good idea so we booked a caravan for the whole family too. It’s rare that the hubby comes on our adventures with us so it was great to have him along. The catch was, as the date approached, I really didn’t want to go. Business has been quiet for weeks. If it wasn’t for the article in... Continue reading

This week I organised a special speaking event. I wanted to capitalise on the interest that came from having a feature in the newspaper. So I organised an evening which I called “An Audience with Dawn Walton” My friend Eleanor at Red Pepper Events organised a room for me at The Steeple in Dundee and organised all the refreshments. I wanted to explain the caveman rules of survival, but also do a little more practical stuff to give specific tips and techniques. So I put together the following agenda Part 1: A presentation to explain the way your subconscious works... Continue reading

Sometimes everything becomes too much. Usually it ties in with being quiet. And it has been very quiet. If it wasn’t for the article in the Courier newspaper I would have almost no clients. I don’t know why. It’s certainly not through lack of action on my part. And now it’s a couple of weeks past the article, it’s gone totally quiet again. So I start worrying about money. That’s the thing about being self employed. If you don’t see clients nothing goes into your account and stuff is always coming out! That’s the first thing that eats away at... Continue reading

I’m getting stronger! I’ve now had 5 sessions with Ricky, my personal trainer. Until I started, I didn’t realise that this was what I was meant to be doing all along. I’ve never liked exercise for the sake of it. I only started running because it was the only exercise I can do straight out of my front door – no excuses. As I ran more I realised that it was great for clearing my head. I had my best ideas while running. But I still didn’t enjoy it. It was always hard work and never fun. I ran the... Continue reading

I decided it would be quite nice to go away this weekend. And I decided I would go back to Wales. After the trial, where he was found not guilty, I said I wouldn’t go back again. But why should I let him have power over me now I’m an adult. I won’t. So we went to Anglesey. It was a bit tough driving back towards Caernarfon with all the trauma of the trial coming back to mind, but the weather was stunning and we met a good friend and her kids when we got there. Whilst my concerns were... Continue reading

Today the little one has a David Walliams day at school where they can dress up as characters from his books. Bit tricky really, as there aren’t that many books. I quite like his books, although they seem awfully adult in theme for a kids book. We chose the Demon Dentist which is about a Tooth Witch instead of a Tooth Fairy. The main character is a little boy whose mum died and whose dad is confined to a wheelchair after getting ill working down the mines. They don’t have enough money to eat properly or for electricity. The story... Continue reading