Hello everyone! Brand new year! Time to look back at the past year and see what was happening in my life.
2018 was... I'd say a kind of learning curve for me. Work out what I wanted out of life. What I wanted to be doing this year and plan for my future. Learn who I am. It was a good year, don't get me wrong, but it was definitely a year of patience and self-awareness? I'm not sure if that's the right word but I know what I mean.
In January I had my 24th birthday. Didn't really do much special. Aiden and I popped to Tesco in the morning and I went into the cafe to see the girls and Sallyanne had made me a gorgeous birthday cake!
While we were at Tesco, Aiden bought me the 20th-anniversary edition of the Harry Potter DVDs which came with special features for each film so we chilled out for the day and watched a couple of behind the scenes discs. The day before though, I'd somehow hidden the remote for the TV so when we came to watch these behind the scenes discs on my birthday, we had to try and find the remote beforehand. Could we find it? Could we f*ck. We searched high and low for it and it wasn't to been seen anywhere! We had to result in using the buttons on the actual TV to sort everything out so we could watch the discs. A few days later, after being ridiculously annoyed with myself for losing it, we did actually find the remote... in the sofa. Not on, not down the side of the cushions... IN the sofa, right underneath the main bit you sit on, sat on the bottom against the lining, so we had to cut a hole in the lining so we could get it out. So yes, there is now a hole in the bottom of my sofa!
In the evening for my birthday, we then went for a meal at Six Halts with mum, dad, and Ryan.
The previous month, I'd met up with Sarah for Chinese and a Christmas drink and we'd discussed me going down to Colchester to see her in the new year so I'd thought, seeing as I'd booked the week off for my birthday, I might as well go down then. So that's what I did. Little did I know, it would be a hell of a journey to do on my own! I'd downloaded the Trainline app on my phone so I knew where to go, what platforms to go to and what trains I needed to catch but also, in order to get where I was going, I'd have to get on the Tube in London... on my own! So my journey was as follows; I had to get the bus from Clay Cross into Chesterfield, get the train from Chesterfield to St Pancras International then get on the Tube from St Pancras to Liverpool Street and finally a train from Liverpool Street to Marks Tey where Sarah picked me up. I made it! I was incredibly impressed and proud of myself for making it there and not getting lost. I really, really don't like travelling and I do get quite bad travel sickness but regardless of how I felt, I did it and I had a fab few days with my best friend, niece and Sarah's husband, Dean.
Sarah and I had a spa day on one of the days as a birthday treat from them to me, which was great. We went into Colchester and did some shopping and she took me to Kaspas which is a cafe/restaurant that only does desserts and milkshakes/smoothies etc. I had Strawberry and chocolate pancakes which were amazing!
The following day the 4 of us went to Colchester Castle and then went out for a meal in a Spoons that used to be a theatre. It still had the overhead seating area which was cool because they'd put models and cardboard cutouts up there of famous people and characters from films. I couldn't stop looking up there and trying to see who I could point out.
The journey on my way home was a nightmare, but again, I was very proud of myself for actually managing it! Obviously, it was meant to be my previous journey but in reverse... It was completely different. I got on the train at Marks Tey but they were doing work on the line so I had to get off a few stops down and then I was directed to a coach with my other fellow passengers which would take us to Newbury Park Tube Station where I had to get on a Tube train and be taken to Liverpool Street. It was one of the worst journeys I have been on. With the station being on the outskirts of London, the Tube itself was an old one. It was ridiculously loud and rickety and my stomach felt like it had been put in a washing machine on a spin cycle. How I made it to Liverpool Street without throwing up, I have no idea, but I did make it. I then had to get onto another Tube, which my stomach still wasn't ready for but I just cracked on, which took me to St Pancras where I hopped on my train to take me home to Chesterfield. As soon as I'd boarded the train at Marks Tey, snow had started to fall. By the time I got to Chesterfield, it was quite thick and I wondered whether I'd actually be able to get home but thankfully the buses were still running and I managed to get one from the train station to Clay Cross and finally... I was home. They say life is about the journey, not the destination but when travelling to Colchester and back, it's definitely about the destination for me!
February wasn't an exciting month other than more snow fell towards the end of the month and a few plans were cancelled. We were meant to go for a meal for Ryan's birthday but the snow was that heavy that a lot of restaurants closed and it would have been a bad idea for us to walk or drive anywhere so Aiden and I ended up staying in and Mum, Dad, and Ryan had takeaway for his birthday meal instead. The plan for the end of the month was to go down to Weston to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's 50th Wedding Anniversary but again, that was also cancelled and thank goodness because there was actually an amber/red warning for the south because of the severe weather so who knows what might have happened to us, travelling from Chesterfield down there.
March saw me spending time with family and friends and I finally got to have a phone upgrade! When we were in France, on the first day we got there, I'd gone to the toilet and there were stone tiles on the floor in the bathroom. I sat down on the toilet and my phone popped out of my jeans pocket, onto the tiles and smashed the screen. Luckily the screen still worked but it sucked that it had smashed. I only had to wait another 3 months though and I got my upgrade to a Huawei Honor 7 in March.
On Mother's Day, we had a lovely meal at Charlie's Bar with Aiden's Mum's side of the family. Me being the softy I am, got all the Mum's a little something and a Mother's Day card and accidentally made a few of them cry (happy tears though!).
Back in December, a new film came out called The Greatest Showman. I'd seen the trailer and it looked like my kind of film but I found myself in no real rush to see it. In February, Lindsey came over for a catch-up and mentioned she'd seen it and it was awesome and that she couldn't stop listening to the soundtrack so I decided I'd did give the soundtrack a go for myself. It was amazing! I was hooked! I then found myself absolutely dying to see this film because the soundtrack was so good! A lot of my friends had already seen it so I wasn't quite sure who to go with but then I messaged Sophie to see if she fancied it and she did! I'd had some cinema vouchers from Grandma as part of my birthday present so I treated Sophie and we used them up. It was incredible. Best film I'd seen in a long time!! I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't stop listening to the soundtrack. I wanted to go and see it again but it had already been in a long time so it was too late to see it again before it came back out the cinema and ready for DVD so unfortunately, I had to wait a couple months to see it again. It's one of the best films to come out of 2018 in my opinion, I love it.
Also in March, as a belated birthday treat for Ryan, we all went to Sheffield for the day (me, Mum, Dad, and Ryan). We did some shopping and went to Cosmos, which was my first time and it was really good! For those who haven't been, it's just like a giant buffet and you can have all kinds of food. Italian, Chinese, Indian, English stuff... anything you fancy basically, it's really good. When Ryan was younger, it used to be an annual thing to go to Sheffield on his birthday so back in 2003 when we went, Ryan and I were messing about in the fountains in the centre of the city and mum or dad took a photo of us. When we passed the fountains this time, I remembered about the photo that had been taken of us so I had the idea to take another one and try to stage it to look like it had 15 years ago...
Close enough. Apart from a building has been built in that time.
April 1st fell on Easter Sunday this year and as Tesco is closed on Easter Sunday, the work lot decided to go out and have some drinks so we met up for a bit in The Royal Volunteer in Clay Cross but I also had plans to go to Grandma and Grandad's for the afternoon as an Easter/Grandma's birthday celebration thing so I stayed for 1 drink and then went down to meet Aiden, ready to go to Mum and Dad's to then take us to see the family. It was a lovely afternoon! Really enjoyed it.
April 2nd brought us more snow! One of the worst walks to work I've ever had. The snow had fallen really heavily so it was nearly knee high!! There was a strong icy breeze as well, so it was really difficult to breathe and I had to keep turning my head away from the wind to catch my breath as well as trudging through the snow on my way to work. Horrible. It usually takes me 5 minutes to get to work... it was more like 10/15 on this occasion.
That was it though, the rest of the month was the start of a 6-month heat wave. Not constant mind you, but the heat started in April and was still going in October. June, July and August were the worst months for it. Absolutely crackers.
I had my first wedding of the year in April. I used to go to church with Mima and she'd asked me to be her photographer for hers and Chris's wedding on the 6th of April. It was a great day and I finally got my confidence back from it being knocked the previous year. I owe them a lot for giving me the chance to do their photos, helping me gain my confidence back and having faith in me.
I went for a couple walks in April as well, one with Aiden and his dad where we went to Ashover and walked up to Ashover rock and another with just me and Mum, where we went to Higham and had some trouble with a swamped area, which just made it more fun.
After months of waiting and me getting the release date wrong a couple times, me, Julie and Sallyanne finally got to see Pitch Perfect 3 and made a night of it. They came round to the flat and we watched it while having Chinese. We had lots of giggles and it was a great night!
In May, Aiden and I decided to have a date day which we ended up having on a ridiculously hot day and one of the activities of our date day was a kick about on the welly. Bad idea in a heatwave! We were very hot and bothered and definitely ready for a film and ice cream when we got back but it was a good and spontaneous day all the same. Also in May, we had the long-awaited Avengers: Infinity War, which we saw together and I ended up balling my eyes out at the ending, after having watched quite a few of the films leading up to it and getting attached to the characters! We've got the second part this year... Can't wait!!
And then right at the end of May was the rescheduled 50th Wedding Anniversary party for Grandma and Grandpa where I finally got to meet my gorgeous little cousin Mia. It was a lovely weekend with friends and family!
A week later, Mum and I were back again for Grandma's birthday tea party in the garden and my second and last wedding of the year, Deb's and Sean's. It was amazing! We stayed in a huge stately home in the middle of the countryside and it was beautiful. It was also nice to spend some time with Mum, just us two for the weekend. I definitely won't forget that wedding in a hurry, it was stunning and I was so proud of the pictures! I'll show you a couple favourites...
The weekend after the wedding we had Soccer Aid 2018 with a buffet for Julie and Tristan's birthday which was a nice family afternoon just the 4 of us.
I had some sad news the following week. Teresa (Margret) Stansfield, a lady I knew from working at The Tea Room in Olympia House, sadly passed away in June and we had her funeral in July. She was a lovely lady and a true inspiration from all the travelling she did and all the kind words that were said at her funeral. A great loss. (See my post, Dust if you must, for more on Teresa's passing).
The world cup started in June and continued until mid-July where we were knocked out of the semi-finals but it was a great time for England! The nation came together and we all got 'It's coming home' stuck in our heads for a month and we had some good times watching the games together. France won the cup in the end on the 15th of July.
I had the privilege of looking after a gorgeous little doggy at the end of the month. Jay who I used to work with was going away for his birthday weekend and asked me to look after his dog, Miley and it was great! Took her for some walks and had lots of cuddles, it was so nice having an animal to look after and she enjoyed sleeping with me and Aiden! The same weekend I also had mum's dance show at the pomegranate in Chesterfield which I went to with Dad and also Mum's friend Marie, while Aiden dog sat and looked after Miley for the evening.
In July, Aiden and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary by staying in a little cottage on the hillside in Wirksworth. It was amazing to get away from normality and spend some quality time just me and him. We just chilled out the whole week, did some reading (Aiden read the 1st Harry Potter book!), watched some films, went for some walks and then finished the week off by going to Carsington Water with mum when she came to fetch us. It was a perfect and peaceful ( but very hot because we were still in the middle of the heatwave!) get away.
Also in July, we celebrated Sallyanne's 40th with a meal at three horseshoes with the family and I transformed by back room, which was my dumping room, into a reading room for me to escape to, to read when I feel like it.
August started with a great night out with some of the work girls. Me, Chelle, Serena, Laura and Laura's friend Laura (a bit confusing!) went to see Mamma Mia! Here we go again and then went for McDonald's after. It was well needed and we all thoroughly enjoyed the evening together. The first weekend in August, I'd booked off to spend it with Sarah. Dean was in London on a stag do so she messaged me when she originally found out and asked if I wanted to do something the same weekend. We toyed around with a few different ideas for a couple months and then decided to have a matching tattoo done. We'd both been reading the Me before you books and we both loved the film and originally saw it at the cinema together as well and in the book, Lou has a bumblebee tattoo done so that kick-started the idea of our tattoo. We had a bumblebee done as a reminder to live our lives to the full like Will encouraged Lou to do in the book/film, along with 'EST 2002' the year Sarah and I met and our friendship began.
The day before Aiden's birthday, me, him and Ryan went to the cinema to see Hotel Transylvania 3 and then because we were all into PokemonGo at the time, we went and had a wander around Queen's park, catching Pokemon. On Aiden's actual birthday, we spent the afternoon and evening with family and friends, having a drink around Cross.
For Aunty Claire's birthday, 2 days after Aiden's, Mum and I met her in York, along with Uncle Bri and Kalani. We went for a meal at Guy Fawkes Inn and then me, Mum and Kalani left the others to go for a drink while we went to the York Chocolate Story, followed by going to The shop that must not be named (the Harry Potter shop) where I bought Aiden a Slytherin bookmark and I got an umbrella.
September was pretty chilled. I had a daddy and daughter afternoon in town, doing some shopping and browsing with Dad, Aiden and I went to see Christopher Robin and I also met up with Sophie and her new baby Melody for breakfast. They're the things that most stood out for me in September anyway.
October was a busy month. On Sunday the 7th, I went to the Harry Potter Studios (for the 3rd time) with Mum, Dad, Aiden, and Tristan. On our way, we stopped off in Watford for some food before our tour and the Spoons we went in was where I tried Halloumi fries for the first time and they were amazing! I couldn't stop thinking about them, they were so good! The tour was a bit different this time around. They had moved the entrance so we had to have our tickets checked and bags checked at the new entrance and then went down a really long corridor to where the entrance used to be to then go in the same way we did last time. This time around, it was the Halloween event so the great hall was covered in pumpkins and dressed up like it was Halloween. Outside in the courtyard, they had some death eaters having a duel which was fun to watch but other than that, the tour was pretty much the same, but still awesome!
I'd booked the week off from the 7th so I had the Monday free before I made my second trip of the year down to see Sarah for a few days. I was debating when I first booked the week off, to just bugger off to London for a few days and stay in the city but when I said about it to Sarah she said I might as well stay with her for free instead of booking an expensive hotel so that's what I did. As it happened, Sarah had the day off while I was there so we arranged to go into London together and it was such a great day!! She'd booked us a Harry Potter walking tour around London so we could see all the places the films were inspired by and filmed at which was awesome and then we followed that by going to Madame Tussauds and ended the day with a general look around London and of course, some shopping.
I got back from Colchester/London on Thursday and then Friday I was off again, this time to Beeston to see Sukes and Levi. We usually pop into Nottingham on the Saturday when I come to stay but when Sukes said about staying in Beeston and going around the shops, I was quite grateful after just spending a full day in London and doing all the travelling about. We did some shopping and then because it was Oxjam weekend, we went to their local pub and listened to some music while having a drink and a bit of food from the van that was there. Levi and their friend Alexi came and met us and then we went for a couple cocktails somewhere else before returning back to the pub for one more drink, nipping to Tesco, and then heading home for tea and some films. Sunday was nice and chilled, watching films all day and having some food before they dropped me back home in the evening. A truly awesome week off!
After thinking I was all Pottered out from my day in London, I found out I wasn't quite done and the day before Sarah's birthday, me, her and Dean headed to Wirksworth for 'Wizarding world at Wirksworth' where Derbyshire had come together in their love of Harry Potter and taken over a small town in the valley (also where me and Aiden stayed) for a day of nerdy magic. It was a little disappointing in the way that there were far too many people there for such a small town and I expected more merchandise to be honest. We'd finished it all in about half an hour and headed back to the car to go to Matlock Bath instead where we had some chips and I bought a stone guinea pig and called it Neville. When we got back, we grabbed Amy and went to Six Halts for Sarah's birthday meal and then I nipped home before heading back out and meeting them at Three Horseshoes for a couple birthday drinks with Sarah, Dean, and Linda (Sarah's mum).
Dad has been playing Dungeons and Dragons for about 30 years now so needless to say, I've played the odd game as well. One Christmas we got Aiden to give it a go and he really enjoyed it and was debating whether to go with Dad and Ryan to Geeks to play with them but was worried about him not being as experienced as them. I mentioned it to dad during the year and he said about doing a family game once a week. October came around and Dad had a game ready for us so we made a start and had our first session. Me, Aiden, Dad, Mum, and Ryan have been playing it every Sunday since and it's going really well and Aiden is loving it (also because he's now at a level where he has his own pet Panther which he's called Bagheera).
Back in the middle of the year I saw something on Facebook about a Jurassic Park coming to Wollaton Park with life-size Dinosaurs which I mentioned to Dad and asked if we could go but we didn't seem to be able to time it well with me working weekends and them working during the week. Towards the end of October, I found I had a Sunday off and Mum asked if Aiden and I would like to go. Of course, the answer was yes! I didn't really know what to expect because how good are animatronic dinosaurs going to be? They were awesome!! I was so impressed!! They were huge! Yes, okay, they might have been a bit stiff and their roars weren't amazing but they were very cool and very big! I really enjoyed the experience!
We did also lose Stan Lee in November which sucked but he was a very good age and left behind a truly awesome legacy in the Marvel films. Rest In Peace Stan!
Finally, we're at December. We went down to Weston for our annual ' pre-Christmas' which I've missed the past few years due to working. Grandpa, unfortunately, wasn't there as he's in hospital at the moment and not doing too great but we tried to enjoy our time with each other and had a lovely and funny weekend.
Towards the end of the month me, Serena and Laura decided to have a spontaneous evening and had dinner after work at three horseshoes which was really nice. Lots of giggles and we ate so much delicious food that we had to unbutton our trousers! The following weekend was our staff night out around Cross. I didn't get in till about half 1!! I went and met Sallyanne and Serena in Nags head where Chelle joined us, followed by Sarah and Dean and finally Teresa and Andy later on in the evening. It was a great night out! Well needed and so much fun!
The day after I had work and then we went bowling for Amy's 3rd birthday with Sarah and Dean and their family, followed by D&D in the evening with my family.
Christmas Eve, Aiden and I had a chilled night in and watched Polar Express and opened our Christmas eve box from Julie which had lots of lovely goodies in it.
Christmas day, Aiden opened all his presents and then we got ready and went down to Julie's to give her presents and so I could have mine. I'd arranged with the Stockdale's to be picked up and go to theirs for Christmas day so I left Julie's about 11am and came home to open my presents before Sukes and Levi picked me up about 12. I had dinner with Grandma and Grandad, Sukes and Levi (Black pudding for starter which I actually ate!! Pork for dinner and then Banana Brulee for dessert) and then we opened presents after eating. Mum picked me up about 6ish and then we went back to theirs for my second dinner of the day which dad had made this year. I didn't expect to be eating 2 dinners but luckily they weren't both Christmas ones so I didn't quite feel like Geraldine from Vicar of Dibley! It was all very yummy though and I had a wonderful day with my family!
I had to work on boxing day but luckily finished at 2ish so Aiden and I had all afternoon watching films and pigging out on all the chocolate we had for Christmas.
On the Friday after Christmas, I was hit with my annual Christmas cold which I ended up being off work for on the Saturday and 5 days later, I still haven't recovered from! I'll be okay, I'm sure it'll pass soon!
Last night (New Year's Eve), Aiden and I had a nice chilled evening and it was perfect! We watched New Year's Eve, the film, had a couple drinks (me Smirnoff ice and him dark fruits), played who's in the bag and waited for the new year to come. We had some giggles and a kiss at midnight and honestly, it was just so nice not to be out and not to have a hangover this morning!
So, that's my year in a nutshell! Obviously not quite the ins and outs of it all otherwise I'd be here for the rest of this year! Overall, it's been a good year with family and friends and I've made some great memories which I have actually put in an annual photobook starting from 2018 so I can look back on photos I've taken through the year. I was very excited when I came up with the idea!
Goals for this year include a new job and a new house. I want some more Harry Potter pop vinyls and to read at least 12 books. I want to spend more time with family and friends and learn something new (which I haven't quite decided on yet). Take more photos and stop worrying about everything so much. Just have a great year.
Thanks for reading and I hope you all have an amazing new year filled with fantastic memories, lots of laughs and smiles, love and good health.
Becks x
