2023

Another year, same old saying... 

Out with the old and in with the new, bring all the good things and memories through from the past year and leave all the negative things behind. Start the year on a positive note. 

After a chill new year's day, spending time with Aiden and watching films, the countdown was then on for my birthday in Edinburgh. We booked it back in 2022 after I'd watched A Castle for Christmas set in Scotland- not actually set in Edinburgh but I thought, 'ooh, I'd like to go to Scotland for my birthday and there's a direct train from Chesterfield to Edinburgh, we'll go there!' Aiden's not really known for being outgoing but obviously I wanted to ask him first and he surprised me by saying yes, he'd like to go! So that was that, straight onto looking for Airbnbs or houses/apartment's to rent for the weekend and found an amazing one right in the centre of Edinburgh for only £180 for Friday to Monday. Booked the train and we were good to go, just had to wait several months. 

On Friday the 13th of January (yes, I know... but we were fine and nothing happened!!) we traveled up to Scotland which took 4 hours! It was so worth it though, I instantly fell in love the moment we stepped out of the train station and saw Edinburgh Castle up on the hill. Such a beautiful city! While we were there we popped to Circus Lane, Dean Village and walked along the river, and then ended our first day with a trip up to Calton Hill where literally, as soon as we got up there, the weather just went absolutely mental! Gale force winds, torrential rain, it was horrendous! We had a quick walk around and then headed back down again and the moment we reached the bottom step, the weather was completely calm. The next day was cold but blue skies so we booked Edinburgh Castle and explored that (wonderful Castle!) and then had a little look down the Royal Mile on our way back to the apartment for lunch. After lunch we went to the Royal Botanical Gardens and then had a chill evening watching films. My birthday had arrived and there was a small sprinkling of snow covering the city which made it even more beautiful! We got Greggs breakfast, packed up, left our bags at reception and then did Prince Street Gardens, Ross fountain (which we'd seen the night before in the Eurovision film on Netflix!), back to the Royal Mile for souvenir shopping and then we headed home. 4 hours later we arrived back in Chesterfield and Aiden's Dad, Mick picked us up and took us to Harvester for my birthday meal (they send me an e-mail for a free meal on my birthday). And that concluded my birthday for 2023! Loved spending it in Edinburgh! Well, a little of the actual day in Edinburgh, most of it on the train! The following week, I had a few little birthday outings as well; Breakfast with Mum and Michelle, a day with Chelle- Bon Appetit for a cuppa and then pizza and Mrs Harris goes to Paris back at her house, a day with Ella in Matlock and Matlock Bath- went to Mad Hatter's for food and then walked to Matlock Bath which, I'd avoid in January as it's dead and everywhere is shut, but we had a nice walk. We finished the month off celebrating Dad's birthday on the 29th with a family trip to Derby, bit of shopping and food at Cosmos. 

Not a lot to say about February really. Me and Sophie had our first of a few trips to the cinema to watch Titanic in 3D for the 25th anniversary of the film. I love seeing old films on the big screen. Hogwarts Legacy finally arrived so that took up a lot of my month and I turned into a little gamer girl! Aiden even came home from work one night and found me still playing it (he finishes at midnight!). I did have to keep coming off it a couple times though which is annoying cause I was making myself motion sick! I booked my first... I'd say solo trip, but I was only travelling on my own, to Holland. I remember asking for the dates off from work and half hoping he said no cause I was already bricking it but obviously half hoping he said yes cause I really wanted to go and see Sukes and Levi and visit a new country.  Went to Chesterfield Comic-con with Aiden, Tristan and Adam which was okay... Josh Herdman who played Goyle in Harry Potter was there but he looked more like Pedro Pascal than his character in Harry Potter (I get that it was a while ago and he's aged, but he could have shaved!). It was a warm day so the leisure centre just stunk of nerd. I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a nerd too so please don't take offence if you're a fellow nerd but, you know what smell I'm on about... gamer smell, when they've just been sat playing games all day and aren't aware of personal hygiene. I'd attempt a larger, more popular one in a city at some point I think and try to actually meet someone famous, but think I'll pass on another Chesterfield one. Spent pancake day in Weston and actually had some pancakes! I don't actually remember the last time I had pancakes on pancake day and I thoroughly enjoyed them! (cheers Grandma!). That's about it for February. 

In March, me, Mum, Dad and Ryan went to The Lotus Lounge for a belated birthday meal for Ryan. (love it there- all you can eat chinese!). Me and Chelle went to see What's love got to do with it? for her birthday outing. I took some photos of Louis' food at the Three Merry Lads, and the day after that I found out I had Covid for the first time and my goodness, I dread to think how I would have been if I'd not already had my jabs because I felt like I was dying! It had snowed pretty heavily as well so I couldn't even go out and make a snowman! It was horrible. I spent about a week either in bed or on the sofa watching Marvel films with Aiden. When I was better, me, Aiden and Tristan went to see Shazam 2 which was great. On Mother's day, Mum had requested that instead of taking her out, she asked if I'd cook her a roast dinner so that's what I did and we ate while watching The Breakfast Club (my first time watching it). Aiden had gone to Julie's so it was just me and Mum for the afternoon which was quite nice and we both enjoyed the dinner I'd made. I went to The Hunloke with Ella, for no reason other than we wanted to cause we like the food there- I looooove the Halloumi fries with honey and sesame seeds. We had a curry and quiz night at Grandma and Grandad's church in Holmgate where we came joint 1st, and finally finished the month off with a meal out with Aiden and Mick. 

April was a very busy and very good month, but it started with the loss of a fellow dot commer, Jane, who passed away on the 4th. Jane was absolutely lovely, everyone liked her. We had some great chats about Paris before I went with Mum as she'd been before and told me lots of wonderful stories of her time there which included a romantic meal on a boat on the Seine! She's still missed and talked about fondly, bless her. Unfortunately, I missed her funeral as I was in Holland but I knew Jane would have understood as she was always encouraging me to travel so she would have been happy for me and I think even proud as well with me going on my own... more about that later. 

I had my first visit to Host, a little cafe in the centre of Clay Cross that I'd not gotten around to visiting yet, and I went there with Chelle after I'd dropped off my first ever cheesecake at Julie's ready to have the night before our trip to Downton Abbey. And finally the day had arrived. We'd booked our trip back in September 2022. I'd seen it advertised and wanted to go regardless of if I had anyone to go with but seeing as me and Julie both loved Downton Abbey, I thought I'd ask her and she said yes. She'd been counting down to the days so I knew she was excited, as was I. I stopped over the night before and she made me Spag Bol and we watched the Downton Abbey film before an early night. We were up at 4.30am (nothing new for me), picked up at 6.20am, and then the coach at 7am from Chesterfield coach station. We had to pick up people in Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicester and then we had a break at the services before our last pick-up in Northampton. We made our way to Warwick Castle after that which is a beautiful castle! Lots to see and do! We had a bit of rain but also some sunshine too so wasn't too bad. I accidentally went all the way up one of the towers! I didn't realise it was a one-way system so went up on the wall and then realised I couldn't turn back to go down again so had to go up to the top of the tower, had a very quick look around and then straight back down again... I don't do heights! I really enjoyed the castle and would like to go back again and take Aiden sometime. We left Warwick and went to our hotel which was the Courtyard by Marriott. Very nice hotel! Only annoying thing was that me and Julie had to share a bed. Luckily, we weren't too fussed and the bed was huge, but I don't think that was very good, putting us in a double room when I'd asked for a twin with us not being related. Other than that, the food was nice in the evening and I always love hotel breakfast. We set off the next morning straight to Highclere Castle! As we approached, I thought I'd start playing the Downton Abbey music on my phone and everyone clapped and cheered which was nice. Seeing it in person was overwhelming and I did well up a little. I love the show so to actually be there was amazing and it's such a beautiful place! We couldn't take any pictures inside as someone does still live there but it was very cool to walk around, knowing the stars of the show had walked where we were walking and looked at the things we were seeing. It was such a beautiful day as well, we were really lucky so we got lots of great pictures and we even had an ice cream after walking around the grounds and gardens. We were told to be back at the coach by 2pm but it was another 40 minutes after that we actually set off because two ladies were very late and had to be found and brought back by the castle staff! Apparently their phones died and watch stopped working... mm hmm. This ended up delaying everything and we didn't actually get back to Chesterfield until 8.40pm, where Tristan was waiting to take us home. 

Easter was a couple days after the trip so there was no rest for the wicked and I'd planned an Easter Brunch which Ella, Beth, Georgia and Mum came to. I went to a Harry Potter quiz a few days after with Ella and Kirstie and no surprise, we won! 

Haven't got anything else to report after that, until the 25th when my solo journey to Holland began. I checked in online that morning and then popped round to Mum and Dad's to print off my boarding pass to be safe (even though it was on my phone but can't be too careful), then back home to pack and have lunch before heading for the bus. I waited, and waited but the bus didn't arrive so Dad ended up taking me to the train station. I had a train to Derby, change there for the train to Birmingham New Street and then the last change to Birmingham international. I checked into the Ibis, popped down for some food and then had a chill night back in the room before an early night. Now, I have actually got a detailed account of my trip on another blog post so I'm just going to bulletpoint what I got up to. 26th- up at 5.30am, checked out the hotel, check-in desk (even though I didn't need to!), security, food, gate, boarded flight, landed at 11.15am, passport control, luggage, Levi picked me up, fetched Sukes, beach for pancakes, nap back at their flat, food and music at Stamboom. 27th- King's day flea market, pain au chocolat at a cafe, walked around the area, had a lemonade outside a cafe, more walking around, lunch at an Italian restaurant, Stamboom for mint tea (yuck), popped to the shop, food back at the flat, talking and listening to music before bed. 28th- Breakfast at the beach (massive pancakes for me), went and looked at the Tulip fields, tram into The Hague, hot chocolate, Stroopwafel (omg!!), shopping, lunch, cheese shop, bakery, chill, had a cheese fondu at Sukes and Levi's, talking, reading, bed. 29th- As usual, I was absolutely bricking it all morning, airport for an attempt at breakfast (think I managed a banana and a croissant), said a teary goodbye to Sukes and Levi before heading up the escalator to security, did a little souvenir shopping, headed to my gate and just chilled there until it was time to board. Landed at 12.30, passport control, trains 1, 2 and 3 back to Chesterfield, bus, home. 

In May, me, Aiden and Tristan went to see Guardian's of the Galaxy 3 which was just a roller-coaster of emotions- great film. On the 6th of May we had the King's Coronation, which, as awful as it sounds, we weren't really that bothered about it, we're waiting for William instead! Lily had her first season which was just horrible as her fur mum and we got her booked in to be done asap because I didn't want my baby going through that again. On the 18th I put my big girl pants on (still incredibly nervous but did it regardless) and did a wedding catwalk which meant I wore various, beautiful dresses and walked down the centre of a room with about... 30-40 people watching and looking at me! It was fun, despite my nerves and I got to experience it with my friend Laura and her little girl Leia-Rose, as well as Kirsty who works at Finesse Brides and Grooms and is absolutely amazing at her job! I felt great in all the dresses thanks to her. The day after, me and Julie had a mother and daughter in-law outing to the cinema to watch Book Club 2 which was a very fun film. I had a 30th photoshoot with Mum, Marie and Ryan taking my photos at Hardwick, ready for my birthday invitations later on in the year- I wanted the photos to be nice and colourful so did them nice and early in the year. I went to Mercia Marina with Kirstie after seeing and hearing about it from other people and how nice it was. Tina Turner passed away on the 24th of May. On the 26th we finally had Lily neutered and me and Sophie went to see the new Little Mermaid film which we loved! I went to the Hub Spring Market in Clay Cross and then onto Renishaw Hall Spring Market as well with Kirstie, and then ended the month in Weston, ready for Grandma's 75th birthday. 

We had lunch in the garden with Grandma's friends and our family on the 1st of June to celebrate her turning 75. We then went to the Windsor for just a family meal in the evening after a beautiful sunny day, and hopefully a great birthday for Grandma. On the 4th, me and Ella got the tram into Nottingham for a bit of shopping and then a Harry Potter concert at the Royal Concert Hall. We popped for some food at Spoons afterwards before heading home. A group photo was taken at Grandma's birthday meal and frankly, I thought I looked huge and needed to do something about it so on the 5th, I walked into my first Slimming World group and 9 months later, after reaching my target in September and then moving it again in January, I'm still there and I'm loving it. Best decision I made and I've lost 1st 10lb so far and by carrying on with the group, I'm managing to keep on top of it and make sure I don't go back to the size I was before. On the 9th, me and Jess had the most crazy, busy and amazing day together (at that point!). I met her at the train station in the morning and we caught the train to Birmingham. Did a little shopping and had a Mickey waffle at the Disney cafe in Primark before heading to HMV to... wait for it... meet McFly!! We were so early that we managed to be like, 5th out of 400 odd people and when it was finally our turn to go and meet them, we headed up to their table and Harry, Dougie, Tom and Danny, greeted us, commented on my t-shirt, gave me fist bumps, and signed my copy of their new album. It was amazing! I'd never spoken to a celebrity before! Afterwards, me and Jess went for food at Nandos and played some crazy golf before getting the train home again. I'd been wanting to have a writing retreat for a while, just go somewhere and focus on writing my book so I'd messaged Abbie and she was up for it and said about her friend Georgina coming along as well, so on the 27th, Abbie came and picked me up with her dog Arlo, and we made our way to Carsington Water, to a very cute holiday home, where we met up with Georgina and had the best few days away. We all took it in turns to make the meals, which were all delicious! We met and fed some Alpacas, went in the hot tub and obviously, the reason we were all there, did some writing. I focused on my book and the girls both did some poetry while they were there. It was such a great getaway and we all had a lovely time! 

July started off with the annual Sparkle walk for Ashgate Hospice. Sarah, Ella and Kirstie all came to mine for Chinese first and then we all made our way to the stadium in Chesterfield where we met up with Mum, Marie and Ryan (and Sophie briefly). We crossed the finish line at 12.55am and then all went our separate ways home. Sarah was stopping at The Casa Hotel (which we've decided we're both going to do this year), so the next morning, Ella came to fetch me from home and we met Sarah at Harvester for breakfast before she headed home. Ella was off to Australia for 6 weeks in July so we met up and went to Kathmandu, somewhere I'd been meaning to try for ages, as a kind of 'see you in a month' meal, and it was honestly sooo good! I really enjoyed the food! I went round to my friend Linda's for a catch up, did my first cake smash photoshoot and then on the 14th, to celebrate mine and Aiden's 8 year anniversary, we spent a rainy day in Sheffield at the National Video Game Museum and then went to Golf Fang after (crazy golf). I went to Meadowhall with Kirstie later in the month and then had quite a busy day on the 25th- me and Aiden booked our first abroad trip together to Rome, and then I went to the medieval market with Mum, Dad and Ryan before meeting up with Sophie and going to see Barbie which was incredible! There was a little mix-up with the timings (my fault), so Mum, Dad and Ryan ended up seeing a later showing of Mission Impossible and were in the film by the time I came out of Barbie so as the weather was nice, I decided to walk as far as I could back home, making it to Wingerworth before catching the bus. I had another cake smash that week and then finished the month by going to The Great British Food Festival with Kirstie. 

In August I went to Six Halts with Sarah, Dean, Amy and Charlotte for a catch up before they went home again. I got my 1 stone award on the 7th, did a promo video for finesse brides on the 9th with my neighbour Michelle acting as my mum coming along to a bridal appointment. I met up with Laura and Isla on the 10th and again, decided to try and walk home but got as far as Tupton this time and met up with Mum and we caught the bus back together. On the 12th I had a night out around town with Michelle, James, Kyle, Nathan and Luke which was a lot of fun, despite me not drinking. Went for a walk with Mick and Aiden the day after, Aiden turned 30 on the 16th and then for his birthday day out, on the 19th we went to Doncaster Races with him, Julie and Tristan, which was a cool experience as it's something none of us had done before. They all won a couple races but no such luck for me! The day after was the women's world cup final (where Ella was, in Australia), which was England vs Spain, Spain winning 1-0. On Mum's birthday, the 26th, me, Mum and Dad went to Stretton hall farm for a birthday coffee and some cake, and then me and Aiden got ready and jumped on the bus for post-birthday drinks for him in town, meeting up with Amelia, Mark, Craig, Josh, Tristan and Ryan in Spoons. 

On, I reckon, the hottest day of the year, me, Ella, Beth and Georgia headed to Chester for a little girly getaway on the 9th of September. We checked into our hotel and then went into Chester for some food, grabbed some snacks from Tesco and spent the rest of the evening in Beth and Georgia's hotel room, chilling. The next day we were up early for breakfast (I love hotel breakfast) and then spent the majority of the day at Chester Zoo before driving back home again. I entered my first short story competition but 9 months later, I still haven't heard anything so feel free to read it on my blog (think it's the post before this one). On the 13th we had our only wedding of the year, James and Gemma's which was lovely and we had perfect weather for it! I met up with Sophie Steele, an old friend from primary school that I'd become reacquainted with via Slimming world, and we went to Graze for a cuppa and a chat. On the 20th, me and Ella went to The Canarvon for the first time and then decided to pop into Sutton and book a cruise, as you do! So we're off to Belgium in April 2025! On the 23rd we celebrated Jess turning 30 with a Disney themed party, me and Mum went as Belle and Rapunzel, Jess as a female Hades. I made my first Christmas cake on the 24th ready to feed for the next few months and then decorate in December. I reached my target weight on the 25th! I started Slimming World at 12st 5.5lb and reached 11st! I feel so much better for it. Michael Gambon, also known as our Dumbledore, passed away on the 28th, another Harry Potter legend gone. We finished September with a lovely meal at The Greyhound with Mick, Tristan and Aiden's Grandma Margret. 

I started October in a very, apt? way by seeing Hocus Pocus at the cinema with Kirstie. On the 8th, Ryan had his first date with now girlfriend Shannon, which me, Mum and Marie also tagged along to as we all went to Goose Fair together and met Shannon at Phoenix Park tram park. As first dates go, you don't tend to bring along your Mum, sister and Mum's friend, but we all had a really good time and Shannon fit in with us straight away and well, they're now boyfriend and girlfriend so we obviously helped in making Ryan look good haha. Me and Ella went to Matlock for her birthday day out on the 10th, going to Madhatter's for lunch and then a look around the shops. On the 15th, me, Aiden, Mick and Margret all went to Liverpool (my first time) for a day trip to Anfield and then had a walk along the docks before getting some food and heading home again. As someone who isn't massive on Football, I did really enjoy going around Anfield and it is a beautiful stadium! On the 20th, the rain had gotten so bad that Chesterfield and the surrounding area all flooded, really badly! Homes were flooded to the point that people had to get rescued and downstairs rooms were completely ruined. Sarah and Dean were due back on the 21st for Sarah's birthday and our plan was to go to Matlock Illuminations for the evening but it all got cancelled due to the flooding being so bad and Sarah and Dean's reservation at Gulliver's Kingdom also got cancelled. They ended up coming back anyway and stayed with Dean's parents and I managed to meet them in the evening for a meal at The George so thankfully we still got to celebrate Sarah's birthday. I'd also been reacquainted with another friend from primary, Beth, who I'd bumped into in Tesco and then we'd actually managed to sort out meeting up so her and her daughter Maddie came to pick up me and we went to Stretton farm for a long awaited catchup and cuppa. The day after, the 24th, was mine and Jess' 2nd busy day of the year, which was actually longer and more busy than Birmingham if you can believe it! Up early to get ready and catch the bus to town and met Jess at the coach station to get the coach to London. We stopped at Watford Gap for a little break (Jess making the genius suggestion to get a croissant which was much needed!) and arrived in London about midday. It was straight to the hotel for us, checked in, quick breather and then straight back out for the bus and tube to ExCel London where we viewed the Disney 100 exhibition which was... really cool, especially seeing Cinderella's glass slipper in person! But we didn't think it was quite worth what we paid. Once we'd finished there, we headed to Oxford Street to the Disney store and then to spoons for food before Wicked (front row seats!!). Wicked was incredible!! I cried listening to Defying Gravity being sung in person in the show, it was amazing after just hearing it on my Spotify playlist for years. Back to the hotel after the show and straight to bed, it was a very long and tiring, but amazing day! The next day we checked out and went to spoons for breakfast and then went in search of Buckingham Palace. We ended up going the wrong way to start with thanks to Google Maps curser showing the wrong direction but then got there in the end after we'd popped into the official shop and got a couple souvenirs. Before we went into the shop, there was some shouting and then some police motorbikes went past, with an official looking car behind them, which at a closer look, happened to have Queen Camilla sat in the front seat! We then headed to Buckingham Palace in hopes of a quick pic by the gates but no such luck as the place was absolutely packed full of people! After inquiring about it, we found out that it was the changing of the guard and that's why it was so ridiculously busy. On our way back to the coach station we popped into another souvenir shop and came across a room downstairs where you could have a photoshoot, dressed up as someone from a different era. I thought, why not! So dressed up in a Tudor dress and had my photo taken. We had the 3 hour coach ride back home and then Dad picked me up from the coach station and took me home. Definitely a trip to London that will be a core memory for me and Jess. Unfortunately, the trip was slightly dampened by me having a stinking cold. I managed to keep it at bay with paracetemol and lemsips while we were there but it hit me full whack once I was home and had to be off work for a few days but! I managed to read Britney Spears memoir in less than 24 hours because of it, which is amazing for me, I've never read a book that quickly. We lost Matthew Perry from Friends on the 29th of October and honestly, it felt like the whole world grieved. I finished the month still feeling a bit poorly but determined to still go, to Rufford Abbey for a Wizard of Oz light trail, a bit like Luminate that I did in 2022, it was really cool, and I went with Mum, Ryan, Shannon and Marie. 

November was a busy and fun filled month! Me and Sophie went to Meadowhall for our annual remembrance day trip but unfortunately missed the 2 minute silence at Meadowhall because the trains were delayed so we had to do our own on the platform instead. We had a lovely day as usual though and Aiden had given me the money to buy a new engagement ring because the stone had popped out of my old one the day before. When we'd got back to Chesterfield, I nipped to go and see Aiden and show him the ring in person while he was out with Gemma and James and a few other friends, and then I headed home. On the 13th, me, Kerrie and Michelle took Kate to The Three Horseshoes for a birthday/thank you for giving us a lift all year meal for her, which was really lovely because it was nice to spend some time together outside of work and, well, the car! Me and Chelle had booked to go and see Dawn French back in January but unfortunately, 2 days before, Dawn had to cancel due to her bad knee, but me and Chelle still decided to have a girly getaway in Nottingham anyway so we arrived at the hotel, dumped our bags and headed out to the market and then for food at Las Iguanas, and then grabbed some snacks from Tesco and watched Miss Congeniality back in our hotel room. The next morning we checked out and got some breakfast at spoons, had a look around the Victoria Centre and then caught the train and bus home again. We had a lovely time! The week before, Beth had messaged me and asked if I fancied going to Soulsa with her so I thought, you know what, it might be nice to do a dance class that's not just a YouTube dance workout video I'm doing at home so I said yes. I absolutely loved it and I'm still going every week on a Wednesday if I can and it's nice to have a weekly catch up with Beth too, and I'm glad we've rekindled our friendship after 20 years! I had my eye test on the 18th as I'd lost my other glasses and was definitely in need of some more again and apparently my eyes have got slightly worse since my last test in 2021, and then that evening we had another quiz night at Grandma and Grandad's church but this time it was pie instead of curry, and we came 2nd in the quiz. The day after, me and Kirstie went to the Chesterfield Christmas Light Switch on, in the rain, which wasn't fun but we'd made it tradition so we didn't let that put us off, and then 2 days later we did some shopping in town and then went to Chatsworth Christmas Market which was my first time and it was lovely, I really enjoyed it. Finally, on the 28th of November, was the highly anticipated Leona Lewis concert with Sarah. It was supposed to be back in December 2022 so we'd waited nearly a year for it and it was so worth it! Sarah drove down, had some lunch with me and Aiden and then we drove to Nottingham. We stayed at The St James Hotel (lovely... but we were right next to the lift so had that making loud noises all night pretty much). We checked in, dumped our bags and then headed straight to the Christmas Market where we'd booked to do the Ice Bar which was amazing!! Very cold, as expected, it was like being in a huge, awesome freezer with ice sculptures and a bar. We had a hot chocolate and then I had a hot apple juice, as we got 2 free drinks each, and then we made our way back out again. We couldn't feel our toes for ages but it was a very cool experience! We did some shopping, got some food from the market and then went back to the hotel to get ready. Leona's concert was amazing!! It was my first proper concert, I hadn't seen anyone live before! She did an incredible job and really put on a show for us, we really, really enjoyed it. Back to the hotel afterwards and straight to bed. The next morning we checked out and put our bags in the car before walking back into the city centre for spoons breakfast. Afterwards, we did a little shopping and went back to the Christmas Market for some chocolate goodies and then headed home after a really enjoyable girly getaway! 

Well done for making it to the final month of the year, hope I haven't bored you and you've enjoyed hearing about my year so far? I do really appreciate if you've read everything up to yet as it shows interest in my life and that means a lot. I mainly do all this for me to look back on so well done to myself for reading back through all this as well haha 

So, last but not least, December! The most wonderful time of the year! Literally, on the 1st of December, I decorated the Christmas cake and I must say, it looked fantastic! We also went down to Weston on the same day as well, for Uncle John's 80th birthday and although we weren't doing pre-Christmas this year, we still had a lovely meal together, a few pound presents cause Grandma couldn't help herself and then played some games and laughed until our stomachs hurt! Shannon went down with us as well which was nice. When we got back, I had a few days at work and then decided to have a solo cinema trip and went to see Disney's Wish (where I had the whole screen to myself. Love when that happens!!), and then had a little break and then went to see Wonka afterwards. My first double bill at the cinema and I enjoyed both films, Wonka being my favourite out of the two I think. Christmas week arrived with the dreaded 4am starts at work so that week I pretty much spent my afternoons napping, reading, and watching Christmas films. A few of us from Dot Com met up at the Woodthorpe on the 23rd for our annual Christmas night out after a busy week at work, and it was a nice chilled evening, laughing and talking. Me and Aiden had our usual Christmas Eve, watching films, with a visit from Gemma and James and also Tristan thrown in, finishing the day with hot chocolate and Polar Express. Christmas day, we started the day with breakfast while watching The Snowman and opened some presents before getting ready and Tristan picked us up to nip to Nana Chris' house and then we went to Julie's. We opened some more presents and then Mum came and picked me up, nipped home for the Gammon I'd left in the slow cooker and then on to their's for Christmas dinner, presents and Frozen with Mum, Dad, Ryan and Shannon. Aiden popped round on his way home, to open his presents and collect me and then we went home, Mick came over with more presents, we opened the presents from each other and then had an early night after a busy day. On boxing day we went round to Grandma and Grandad's- Ryan and Shannon had gone to football with Grandad so me and Mum walked to Pilsley and Dad followed behind in the car and then we chatted with Grandma until the others arrived and we had food and did some quizzes on YouTube. On the 28th, we had the Wood family around to exchange presents and have a bit of food and a catch up, and then finally I ended the year with a morning at work, finishing at 10.30am, met Mum, popped to poundland, watched New Year's Eve (tradition!) and then me and Aiden played Elf monopoly until it was time to watch the NYE fireworks before bed. 

And that concludes 2023! An absolutely amazing year to be honest. I went in with the mindset that I was just going to jump at chances. Want to do this? Yes. Want to go here? Yes. Want to try doing this? Yes. I had so many first time things and I loved everything I did! It was a great year and I'm super proud of everything I did and achieved. 

I'm now in March 2024 while I'm writing this so I've already turned 30 and it's been an amazing year already so far! But, 2024 is going to be more of a chill year for me as me and Aiden have decided we want to start saving for a house, so basically... I'm grounded, apart from Rome which we've just come back from, but that's a story for another post! So, this year, I'm going to try and save as much as I can but obviously still enjoy myself as best I can. You don't need money to have a good time... but it helps! I'm going to try and actually write my book this year!! We're already 3 months in and I haven't touched it yet but I felt like I needed to write this before I could crack on with my book? I have got a kind of to do list again for this year... I've bumped up my challenge to read 15 books this year, go to the cinema at least once a month, get another tattoo, write my book, stay in target for my weight, spend less time on my phone, and maybe driving lessons but I think it is kind of a case of house or car at this point, not both so we'll see. 

Thanks again for reading... see you next year (or next post, if you're a follower!) 

Becks xx