2021…The Highlights

As I sit here with both feet now firmly planted in 2022, and the first month of the year nearly coming to an end I’m feeling the way I normally do at this time of the new year, where I think and reflect upon the year that has been before I start looking toward what this new year will bring (and so far 2022 is shaping up to be a fairly interesting one so far, but I’ll save that for another post!).

2021 was an eventful year for me, more in a personal capacity than any other way. Here are the biggest highlights of my 2021

2021…the year I turned 40. When I was a kid I thought that 40 was such an old age, but in all honesty its really not that bad. I turned 40 in October and had a small get together with a few close friends and my partner. I had an 80’s themed evening where we all dressed in 80s themed outfits, danced to 80’s music and had a few drinks. It was a brilliant way to leave my 30’s behind and welcome in the next decade of my life!

2021…the year we got engaged! Rob and I had been together 10 months when we got engaged in February 2021. Living with my best friend and knowing him since I was 12 had been amazing but to be asked to become his wife was the most amazing thing in the whole world. We spent much of 2021 planning our wedding.

2021…the year I had a hen do (or 2!)! I had 2 hen do’s in 2021, one with my parents, brothers, sister in law, niece and nephew and one that my maid of honour organised for me. I got taken out for afternoon tea at the Celtic Manor by my family where we had sandwiches and cakes served on tiered trays which was served with a choice of several fruit teas (I chose strawberries and cream – very tasty!). It was lovely to spend time with my family, especially my brother, his wife and my niece and nephew who we don’t get to see very often. My maid of honour arranged a festival themed hen do at my house which was so good! We had so much fun, dancing, singing, party games and different cocktails! There will be a post about these coming up soon!!!!

2021…the year I turned a hobby into a business. I’m a qualified nail technician and have been doing my own nails for years, though the bit I really enjoy is the designs! I have been designing my own press on nails and after so many compliments and people asking me where they were from or who did them for me I took a bit of a leap into starting up my own press on nail business late into 2021. I’ve had a few customers so far and am pretty pleased with how things are developing and I have so many ideas for new designs! If you are interested, you can check out my nails on my nail Instagram.

2021…the year I went from Miss to Mrs! We set the date for our wedding and decided on 3rd August 2021. The date is special in my family, its my Mum and Dads Wedding date, my Aunt and Uncle’s wedding date and my Aunt’s Birthday too so there is a bit of a tradition there! The day went far too fast for us but we have tons of photos and some amazing memories of the day that will be shared soon!!!

What are some of your highlights of 2021? I’d love to hear all about them so let me know in the comments!

Words on Wednesday

It’s my Birthday today and I’m celebrating by having the day off from work!  Seriously, booking my Birthday off as annual leave has been a long-standing tradition which started when I was in primary school.

My birthday falls just before school half term and my Mum would never let me have my Birthday off from school unlike my friends Mum who aaaaalllllwwaaaayyyysss let her have her Birthday off if it fell on a school day.  I vowed then, when I was 6 years old, in the middle of the playground, on a damp October morning, when I had been made to leave my new Birthday toys at home and attend school, that when I was an “adult” and working I would never, ever, never work on my birthday ever.

As soon as the annual leave renews itself (in my current job it is every April that we get our new holiday allowance for the year) I book my Birthday off.  And every job I have had, it has always been questioned as my employers always think that booking off a day in October when it is the first week of April is a bit weird, but it is one promise that I made to myself that I vow to keep and so far I’m doing pretty good!

So, my plans for today?  Well, even though this will be published at 8am (UK time) I will probably still be sleeping (this schedule thing is totally amazing!) and plan on having a lie-in with Roxy until late morning.  I then plan on getting up and making myself a lovely fresh, proper coffee, toast and marmalade and sitting to enjoy it before opening my presents from my brother, his wife and my niece and nephew.  I will then get dressed and head to my local pet shop.  I got given a fish tank from a friend as part of my birthday presents, and I have a voucher to use so I intend to get some bits and pieces for it – gravel, lights, ornaments, bubble thing and get it all set up and running so I can add fish to it in a few weeks time.

In the afternoon my Mum and Dad are coming over so I shall spend some time with them, have a cuppa and maybe something to eat.  In the evening I plan on snuggling up on the sofa in my fleecy, fluffy jimjams and socks, with Roxy and a blanket and watching The Apprentice.

I may treat myself to a bit of a pamper and a bubble bath and read a bit of my book before getting to bed at a reasonable time!

Do you have any Birthday traditions?  I’d love to hear if you do, or don’t and why or how they came about so let me know in the comments!

My Blog is 1!!!!

Today my blog turns 1!  As a celebration, I have a giveaway for you to enter to win a bullet journal which will be designed by me (please see this post for the giveaway rules and how to enter).

I have also created a group over on Facebook (yeah, I’m back on there and will be talking about my return to Facebook in my Words on Wednesday post).  I created the group Bloggers Brew as a way to help bloggers to network with others, share blog posts and ask any questions that they may need help with and to share any ideas.  I want this group to be an extension of blogging, a way to meet other bloggers and to share any advice and help.  Please feel free to pop over to Facebook and join the group, either use the search bar and look for Bloggers Brew or click the link here.  There are a few questions to answer upon requesting to join, this is just to help the group as a whole, reduce any spam that may enter the group and make sure that anyone who joins is genuine.  I hope that will not put you off from joining.

So, what are you waiting for?  Come and join the group now!!!!

Happy Birthday Roxy!!!!

Some of you may have noticed the appearance of a little fuzzy head in some of the photos I have shared on this blog, and today, that little fuzzy head turned 4!

I’ve had Roxy in my life since she was a teeny tiny pup and in that time we have been on many adventures together – camping, festivals, long walks where we get lost in nature and the biggest so far – moving to my own home, just me and her.  She’s my shadow, always beside me wherever I go, whether its laying on the bathroom mat while I have a bath, cuddling up to me on the sofa when I want to read or watch tv, sitting in the kitchen while I cook and clean, she is always there.

She’s funny and sweet, understands more than she lets on, she listens and talks back in that way only dogs and their owners would understand and she brings me so much joy every day.  So today, Roxanne, I’m celebrating you and how wonderful you are!  Happy Birthday Puper!

Happy Birthday To Meeeee!!!!!

Yesterday I turned 30 something…I never thought I’d see the day that I forget what age I am and always assumed that it was an old person thing, but I guess once you reach a certain age (over 30 in my case) it stops being something you define by a number, instead you are grateful that you are still here and experiencing life.  Age begins to not define you anymore, and fades into insignificance, instead we are measured on our ability and skills to do things, where we are in life and what we have achieved.  And I think I’ve achieved a lot in my life right up to this point but those achievements can be saved for another post.  Today I want to share with you my actual Birthday and what I got up to!

I woke up later than normal and had snuggles in bed with my dog Roxy, then I got up and had a shower, coffee and breakfast.  I received cards in the post from my brother Ben, his wife and my niece and nephew along with some really lovely drawings that they had done especially for me!  I phoned Ben and had a really lovely chat with him and spoke about my arrangements to go up there over the weekend, I can’t wait to go and visit them!!!!

My friend, Sam, came round at around 1:30pm to take me out to lunch.  He came baring gifts for me including a new candle and candle holder, a drawer unit for my bathroom, sweets, a cake and some other gifts, I felt really spoiled.

We headed to a local pub for lunch where we both had a main course and dessert, I was also treated to a bottle of wine at lunch which was a really nice treat!  After lunch we popped to Asda and bought a cake to share with my family then headed up to my parents house and spent a bit of time with them.  Mum and Dad bought me some car parts so I could get my car fixed – it had broken down the week before so their present was really useful to me!  Dad said he would fix it for me when he was able to!  I got to see my other brother Richard while we were at Mum and Dads house, he called in on his way back from work to wish me a Happy Birthday!

Sam and I came back here after seeing my Mum and Dad and we sat and chatted and watched a bit of tv before Sam left to travel back to his house (around 11:45pm) and I headed off to bed!

I had a really lovely day and am blessed to have friends and family around me that I could share my day with!