My Year In Photos

I probably should have written this post before the new year, but I have been feeling a little low this week so I decided to have a look back at my photos from 2015 and count my blessings...

January

(top left) I started 2015 off surrounded by my absolute favourite people which was perfect!

February

(top right)I cooked a huge vegetarian feast for my Mum's Birthday.

March

(bottom left & right) I got promoted at work and bought myself a red Mini which I have wanted for as long as I have been able to drive.

April

(top left & right) I went to Scotland with my mum and dad to visit family that I haven't seen for a very long time and Phil and I celebrated 4 years together.

May

(bottom left & right) I went to see S Club 7 in Cardiff with my Mum and it was a childhood dream come true, I never got to go when I was younger. I also celebrated by 23rd Birthday and spent a long weekend away in Paris with Phil. This was probably the highlight of my whole year!

June

(top left)We welcomed our new fur babies Alfie and Milo to the family. Sadly we lost Ruby in February and our house just wasn't the same without any pets. 

July

(top right) Phil won tickets to go to WOMAD festival from his work. It rained pretty much the entire time but this photo was taken during the few hours of glorious sunshine that we did get!

August

(bottom left) I went for on holiday with my parents to Turkey for a week. I love this photo so much it makes me instantly feel relaxed when I look at it.

September

(bottom right) This was a quiet month but we did have a huge get together with all of my best friends from school and their parents. 

October

(top left & right) We did very last minute halloween makeup and went to a party at a pub which was very fun. I also came third in my works bake off competition (still very proud of this cake!)

November

(bottom left) Phil and I went to Center Parcs for a week and had a relaxing time away.

December

(bottom right) I enjoyed a very quiet and relaxing christmas at home with my lovely family.

I was starting to feel like 2015 had been a bit of a non-year for me but looking back so much has happened. It is funny how quickly a year goes but I think I made it count. 

Happy New Year!

I don't usually make new years resolutions because I think they are a bit silly and I never end up keeping to them but this year I have decided to set myself a few challenges. These things might not seem very challenging to some people but I tend to overthink things and worry a lot which often results in me saying no to things or missing out. I think it will be interesting to look back at this post at the end of 2016 and see how much of it I have actually achieved. 

1. Run 10k & cycle 50 miles

When I told my Dad I was setting myself this challenge he was very excited because he thought I meant I wanted to run a 10k race. This isn't my goal. I would just like to be in a place by the end of the year where I am fit and healthy enough to be able to run that far, I don't care how long it takes me. My Mum also turns 50 this year and she would like to cycle 50 miles to raise money for charity so I have said that I will do this with her. Hopefully this should mean I lose a bit of weight which is something I am very keen to do after all of the cheese I have eaten over Christmas. Last year I was exercising regularly and making a lot of progress but I'm not sure what happened and I just kind of stopped. I went to the gym with the girls once to do a Zumba class and I really enjoyed it but for some reason my anxiety kicked in and I didn't go back. I think I am going to try and go again this week. I don't want to be one of those annoying people that joins in the gym in January and never goes again but I think it will be really good for me to go and step outside of my comfort zone. 

2. Move out

I have been living back at home with my parents for a good year and a half now and I am so ready to have my own space and be more independent again. I have been saving up for a while and this year is definitely going to be the year I do it. I am really excited for this one, it will definitely be a challenge because I am a very homey person but I am very ready to take this next step. 

3. Listen to more music & go to more gigs

This is something I had totally stopped doing last year. I listen to the radio on my way to and from work but it isn't music a particularly like, it was just easier than choosing something myself. I signed up to Spotify premium on New Years Eve and I have used it so much already. At least one night a week I am going to try and have an evening of listening to music and reading or colouring (I got another colouring book for grown ups for christmas) instead of watching Tv or Netflix. I spend my whole day at work staring at the computer screen and then I come home and spend the whole evening staring at my laptop. I don't think it is good for my eyesight and I definitely think it would be nice to switch off more. I also haven't been to a gig for a long time because I don't enjoy being in crowds. This is a recent development and not something that ever bothered me before. Going to see live music is something I used to love to do and I would hate to not be able to enjoy that anymore. 

I will be very proud of myself if i have managed to achieve all of this by the end of 2016. Fingers crossed!

Good Thoughts

I have made a promise to myself to be more positive this year, this quote really sums that up for me. I think we all spend too much time worrying, being stressed and negative but I have started to realise that allowing yourself to be more positive allows positive things to start happening to you.

Ruby the Christmas Kitten

Happy New Year everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful time over the festive period, I know I did. 

We acquired a new member of our family just before Christmas and I thought it was about time I shared a few pictures of her. Her name is Ruby and she is a 3 month old tortoiseshell kitten who we rescued from the Cat Protection League. My Dad finally decided it was time we had another pet in the house after our other cat sadly passed away last year, so he organised Ruby as a surprise for my Mum. We all love her so much and she is slowly getting used to us and settling into our family.

 She has been absolutely fascinated by the Christmas Tree and had a great time running all over the presents on Christmas Eve

 This made me laugh, she is such a princess she even sits with her legs crossed