A new year and a new challenge!!

 Happy New Year everyone!!!

Well, another new year has passed and another school term has started. I can't quite believe it's 2026 already. I mean this year I turn 50!!! Scary!!!

This year a couple of friends and I made 2026 Bingo cards. I have made some fun things to put on mine and I am ready for a year of fun with family and friends. So let's have a look at it - 

Of course, being me, I had to design it and laminate it!!! And what I want to do is take a little photo of every one and end up with a bingo card of photos and memories instead of activities. 

So what is on my list?

• Make a quilted craft - I got a sewing machine from my wonderful hubby for Christmas so I really want to start to learn how to use it and eventually I want to make a lovely quilt for our bed. So to start off, I'm going to try to make a wee quilted craft!
• Go for a hike - I am not an outside girl! I mean when I was at school I did complete my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award successfully, but since then my health and my weight has had a negative impact in me doing anything remotely outdoorsy, so I'd love to actually go for a hike out in the Mournes this year! We'll see how we go!
• Read 13 books - now everyone who has seen this Bingo card has asked me why 13... well because it's 2026 and I don't think I would be able to read 26 books... so I split it in half!! I am going to go for one a month, with an extra one over the summer! I am NOT in competition with my bff because she literally has read more than 13 books already and it's only the middle of January!!!
• Go on a date night - we have 4 kids and have been married for 25 years so we decided this last year that we would make these a priority. My actual goal is to do one a month, but I only put one on my bingo card so this has to be a properly planned and properly fancy one!
• Try a new soup recipe - I make potato and leek soup and it is delicious. But that's it! I have never successfully made another soup - including vegetable soup! Honestly - the last time I tried it was disgusting! So I put this on the list to learn something new and hopefully it will be a success!

• Read the whole Bible - I have always put this on my lists (official and unofficial) but never completed it. I mean there are plenty of books in the Bible that I have read plenty of times but some I have never read. Well, my son decided to do a challenge of reading the Bible in 30 days, so I decided to try it as well... it sounds hard (it is!!) but it is supposed to give you a full overview of the Bible as one story. I did start off well - but 10 days in I have decided to do it slightly differently. I am doing my own private study throughout the week and then continuing the overview over the weekend. I hope this will help me to continue getting closer to God as well as helping me read the whole Bible. I'll let you know how I go!
• Serve at LB Kids - this is something I do anyway, but I love doing the summer Bible week and we also have a special day at half-term at Halloween. This year we are hoping to also do a special day at Easter. It is something I feel passionate about but it can be hard too when you have to be high energy for 5 days in a row!! So I put it on my bingo card so that I could make sure I prioritise it!
• Declutter the bedroom - I am sure a lot of people have some part of their houses that they want to declutter - well, my whole house needs done! BUT I am going to concentrate on my bedroom in order to make it a mini sanctuary for us. At the moment we have boxes on top of the wardrobes and too many clothes in them... so I need to declutter and get rid of a lot of stuff!!
• Take a pottery class - my bff turned 50 last year so I made her 5 vouchers for her birthday. One of these is to take a pottery class together so we still have to complete this one. She is very creative so I wanted to take her to do something she hasn't tried before. This should be really fun!!!
• Watch 13 films - one of my boys really loves going to the movies so we both got an Omnipass that we could go together. This is a pass that lets you watch every movie once. It is great - we just keep forgetting to check what's on and so haven't really gotten the use out of them. But this year will be one that we use them properly - hopefully!!!

• Write a blog post each month - this is an obvious one - and at least I've started it off right! I used to love doing this blog, and this year, with me reading the whole Bible and also doing a Baptist Women Bible study online,  I really want to really think more about each of these and write some of those thoughts down. 
• Get my hair done - I really need my hair done. Really! Like the last time I got my hair done was last summer for my niece's wedding, so that's a whole 18 months back! So I really do need to get my hair done. I have a wedding coming up this year so I need to figure out what I am going to get done with it, so I can prepare for it. 
• Take a trip somewhere - I love putting this on my bingo card each year. And the best bit - I don't have any trips planned yet so I have no idea where I will end up going - if anywhere! I love travelling, whether it's worldwide or just in Ireland, so I'm happy either way!
• Have an afternoon tea - this will be a fun one. We love afternoon teas and are compiling a list of the best ones. Having a big birthday this year I'm hoping to get to one or two - and having friends that also have big birthdays, I'm even more certain that at least one of these will be happening this year!!! I'll let you know when and where it is!
• Go to a concert - again this is one of those ones that I have already planned - actually I have two planned - but I made this vague so that if any are cancelled etc I can still complete it. I am very excited about both so I really do hope they both go ahead as planned... again I'll keep you informed!

• Try a new dinner recipe - are you sensing a pattern? I make the same dinners every single week - mince and potatoes, chilli, burgers and chips. steaks, chicken dinners, fajitas, an Ulster fry and pasta. As much as my boys get fed up eating the same food, I definitely get fed up making it! So I really want to try some new recipes and make a 'Love this' recipe book that I can pass on to future generations of Nixons!
• Have a spa day - this one I already have planned and I can't wait! I have a lovely spa day with my wee sis planned as a birthday pressie for her, and I am very excited that she invited me to do it with her! 
• Lose 3 stone - oooh this will be a hard one! I am about 6 stone overweight and have been for years, but I have a wedding coming up that I really want to lose weight for so I am truly motivated for once. I need to lose weight for my health and longevity but having an occasion coming up really does help keep you going. I am going to document it here as well so you'll have a front row seat of my successes and failures!
• Make a will - our eldest is a solicitor so I'm really embarrassed that we haven't done this yet but we have just kept putting it off. So its on the list to be finally crossed off for once and for all!!!
• Send 12 letters - I loved writing letters when I was younger. I recently found a box of letters that I had been sent - most in reply to ones I had written first. I didn't even know who some of the people were. Obviously I had known them at one point - people I'd met on a BYE team, friends I'd met at camps or on holidays - but it was just lovely to read the letters even if I didn't remember them! There is just something so lovely about receiving a letter in the post, so I want to send one each month for this year. 

• Go to a show - another 'planned' one which I left vague enough that we can do it a number of ways! I got a couple of things in the pipeline so I'm excited to see which one I use to mark this off!! I may have to make a teeny tiny pic collage!!!
• Try a new treat recipe - my last foodie one and of course its for treats! I'd love to finally master a good cookie recipe, or a great brownie recipe or even a fabulous chocolate cake that I can just whip up without using a box mixture when we have guests coming. I may be trying to eat healthier this year but boy-oh-boy I'm going to enjoy trying this!!!
• Meal out for Karen's 50th - my final part of Karen's birthday present, I told her to pick the restaurant and we'll go fancy dining!! So I am excited to see where we end up. There are so many amazing sounding restaurants in Northern Ireland - we may even end up trying a couple!!
• Ben's wedding - this one brings on the tears like nothing else!!! My eldest son is engaged to the most amazing young woman, Hannah, and they are getting married at the end of this year!!! I am both extremely excited and extremely emotional about this. I am so happy for them - they suit each other so well and are just so lovely together - but I am so excited to see what God has in plan for them as they begin their lives together. The other half of me is very teary about my first child making his way into proper big style adulting - yes I know he is a solicitor and has a proper adult job already... but I mean proper bill-paying, live in your own house adulting. It's scary that I have a child that old already! So this is definitely going to be a big one for me to mark off - and I can't wait to share it all with you early next year!!!
• I turn 50!!!!!! - how did this happen? How am I that old? What on earth? I definitely don't feel almost 50... but then again I don't feel 21 either! Life is really strange because one minute your head is thinking about getting a job and a husband and then next you're 25 years married and have been working in the same place for 11 years, after having 4 kids! It is totally scary! And my brain doesn't' feel any different! It scams me into thinking I can do things ( like walk up the stairs with a skip and a jump) only for my almost 50 year old overweight body to scream NOOOOO!! But yeah - I am now old so I am going to embrace it so I'm looking forward to having a year of celebration and fun!!! 

So yeah - that's my list for this year! I really am excited to try to complete it this year focusing on connection and experiences and fun! What would you have on your 2026 Bingo card?

A new start to an old blog...

Last night a lovely young lady reminded my that my blog existed! (Thanks Eve!) The truth is I had completely forgotten about it and the fact that it's linked to my Instagram account. So it got me thinking about what I used it for and what I want to do with it in the future. 

Since I started a blog years ago (not even going to count how many years that was!) it's had many different purposes - 

• It started when my hubby was in full time ministry. I used it to connect with the women in my life, to try to encourage them in their walk with God, setting weekly challenges, Bible studies, giveaways etc. It grew from a Facebook page I had set up called 'Shine' where we'd go through books or studies, but I then talked too much, ran out of room and had to start a blog to keep up!!

• It was then used as a Bible study tool as a group of us went through some Good Morning Girls (GMG) and Love God Greatly (LGG) daily Bible studies and readings.

• Then it took the form of a devotional tool as we navigated through Covid and 100 days of lockdown. 

• And lastly, more recently, it has been more of a memory keeper, as I posted reviews of a year gone by or things I've been interested in. 

Now, if you try to go back to find some early posts, you won't find many. The reason for that is I decided that my blog had become a little too personal for some people to be comfortable with. Occasionally, when I would post about going through my post-natal depression or something I was working through in my life,  I would get a gentle message from someone reminding me that people were able to read my bog and that I'd shared too much. Obviously for me this was the whole point!

But I stopped anyway.

So, I may start to post some of the earlier posts again as I really do believe that being honest, in a world that hides away from anything that you are struggling with, is what's needed to help other women at various times in their lives. 

I try to be a 'what you see is what you get' person and I know I do fail constantly, but I try to live my life openly, honestly and with integrity and for God. And He helps me every single day. 

Me in my lovely work!!

I do fail. I have issues in my life I'm walking through (hello menopause and not-called-post-natal-anymore depression) and I have disagreements and problems that I deal with that are unfortunate but real. I even exaggerate occasionally... like the time I got a gorgeous picture of me and a friend, and posted in only to be called out by someone else - because I'd only spent 10 minutes with her and I'd said I had had lunch... I literally ate lunch as she called past and I chatted to her... so be aware that my mind works like that!!!

But I don't want any of that to take away from the amazing work God does every single day in helping me to gear up, live for Him and serve Him and my family in the best way I can. 

So I hope you enjoy the barrage of old posts that are coming your way and hopefully you'll also have some brand new things coming too! 

2023 - part 2!

Onto the second half of the year!

JULY

July was a very special month - we were able to watch our eldest son, Benjamin, graduate with a degree in law. Unfortunately there was a lecturer strike in all the universities so they all graduated with a pass degree, classification to be confirmed. So that was interesting. But we are so so proud of him. He has worked so hard! We took his Granda Hugh with us to watch him, and he said 'I've never been here before' to which we laughed - he literally was there for A's  graduation years ago!!! 

The next photo is one of my favourites - I reorganised the boxes under the bench in the classroom! I have needed to do this for a couple of years but finally I got the boxes needed and got it all sorted!! Doesn't it look good! The candles were inside the Titanic museum, when I took my bff Karen to listen to a string quartet playing the music of Hans Zimmer. It was really magical. 

Ryan moved to Bangor FC so this picture was extra exciting. He had been trialling with the U18s/U20s team but got chosen to play with the first team for a friendly. So this was actually his FIRST senior debut ever!! And they won! And of course we end with my world - my five most precious people ever. 

AUGUST

August started with Cerys's wedding to Alan, so Karen, Linda and I went up to her evening do and had a great evening. She was a really beautiful bride. I also helped with the Factory week in church - helping with a group of kids going into P3 - it really was fun - and you'll spot me in the weird looking navy top dancing! Lastly, I started my new job with Inspired Greatness Podiatry and Well-being Centre, IG for short - which is my wee sis Kat's business. I am so excited to work for her, especially because I get to see her and have a natter with her every day now!

SEPTEMBER

My top three pictures of September... Firstly, Micah with his rugby coach Mr Wallace, after getting the 'Rugby Teammate of the Year' award for the school. Then we have Ben's actual degree which arrived this month!! Even though he had started at the Institute of Legal and Professional Studies already, this was the confirmation for him that he had got what he needed, and he was able to relax! (Ok, so we were able to relax! He was fine!) And finally, the first team photo after Ryan had been signed by Bangor U20s, which is their Reserve Team. 

OCTOBER

This month I had a night out with my bff again - this time to a worship night, run by Kari Jobe. All I can say is WOW! It was so good and just so inspiring. She sang beautiful songs, spoke so well and shared the gospel clearly and concisely. There was no way anyone didn't know how to come to God after that!

The other three photos are from our coaching. I say our coaching, but really Ryan had to go down to coach for his A-level PE, so I was the cameraman for 10 very cold weeks. We recorded in the rain, hail and freezing wind! It was fun and I saw some beautiful sunsets, but it was COLD!!! 

NOVEMBER

This month was the most fun because Alan and I got to go on a trip together! He had a work trip to Tallinn, and I was invited to join him, so off to Estonia we went, leaving the boys alone for the first time ever! We did make sure that Ben and Ethan were at home, and the fact that they both drive meant we knew things were going to go ok! 

Tallinn was beautiful - I would love to go back! My only regret was that there wasn't any snow yet! But I loved my trip there. I walked around and explored while A worked, and then we spent the evenings meeting friends, going to the spa and even made it to the opera! I could definitely move to Tallinn - its really lovely! 

 

Other highlights (or low lights) of November included more football matches, some autumn walks and I made (or tried to make) a Christmas wreath with my sister! The best thing was when I was able to get Nanna's car working - she had this car from 2001 until she died, and then after using it for a few years, Terry gave it to me to use. Finally we got it working, on the road and I am delighted to be using it! And the low point? Having my oven break a couple of weeks before Christmas, and having to go on Black Friday to buy a new one!! 

DECEMBER

December - I can't believe it came so quickly... but there it was. School wise, we had a great nativity, I got a fabulous advent calendar, we had a very successful year group Secret Santa and we took part in the staff Christmas song - son't Karen, Katie, Louise and I look good!!! 

And finally - the rest of the month... firstly - how tall is Ryan?! This is me beside his shoulder! Then we have me and Kat - sisters together for the IG Christmas pic!!! And how cute is my wee hallway tree! 

Then we have the Nixon family party - some of us anyway from the annual party at Darren's house - and the Sayers grand-kids pic - the first year all Mum and Dad's grandchildren have been in the same country at the same time EVER!! 

And lastly, our games day, helping Ben at JYC and a beautiful sunset to end the year.

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As I said earlier - 2023 has been a good year and we thank God that we have made it through this year the way we have. There have been trials and problems that we've had to overcome, but these memories have more than made up for those times. 

Tomorrow I'll share the vision for 2024. 

A new year and a new blog title!

Yet again we come close to the end of a year, and anticipate the beginning of a brand new one. I have to say that 2023 has been good to me - don’t get me wrong - we’ve had our ups and downs, trials and celebrations, but overall I have lots of amazing memories to take away with me. 

The difference this year is my memory! I literally have to go through my camera roll and my diary to remember anything that happened! The joys of getting old… 

So here are a few of my favourite memories just to share with you (and me when I get even older!!). 

JANUARY 

Taking two great friends to see Sister Act in the Grand Opera House, Belfast…not forgetting our dinner and cocktails!!! 

And then we had snow, fresh eggs (amazing!!) and this cartoon has me in stitches every time I see it!!! 

FEBRUARY

I had my first movement ring complete!! I know - it's a bit sad but I was very excited!! Also in this group is the lovely batch of pancakes I made for Pancake Tuesday and the amazing artwork for our Pirates Day in school (obviously I couldn't share any pics of any of the kids but a lot of fun was had!!).

Also in February I had the joy of taking Ethan to Amsterdam for his 'finishing school' trip. We had a great trip away, even though he was sick the whole first day. But we made it to the vital part of the trip - watching Ajax v Waalwijk - and it was a great match! We even found out that some guys we knew where across the stadium from us! 

MARCH

March came with lots more football matches watched - I don't even want to think about the amount of matches I've actually watched this year! We also had some snow!!! It didn't lie for long but it was fun to watch it fall. And finally some beautiful daffodils - I love them. They help us think of spring and new beginnings. 

APRIL

These pictures tell a lot of stories! Unfortunately I can't share them all, but happy happy memories! I made some scones - using a Tik Tok recipe - and they were lovely! We had our annual Nixon family trip to Kilbroney Forest Park and had our picnic in the freezing cold as usual - its definitely an endurance thing!! And finally my hair - in this picture it is actually not greasy - its covered in pink mud - from an amazing spa day that I was treated to. Michelle, Candy and I were spoilt rotten and put the world to rights between massages, coffees and saunas! It truly was amazing!

MAY

May was a hard month in work. We had to clear a classroom in a month - including a store that it was impossible to even step inside! My partner in crime, Janet, was amazing - she is a powerhouse and so organised so kept us on track when all I wanted to do was sort silly things and chat! 

The slightly nicer part of May was that I got the opportunity to have some special cuppas with friends and family - including delicious waffles and a lemon meringue pie to die for! 

Finally, we had a wonderful school trip to Mount Stewart - absolutely beautiful place and I took way too many photos of trees and flowers! And of course we had the coronation of the King Charles and Queen Camilla. 

JUNE

A mixture of fun and tears in June. Firstly we had Cerys's hen do (well her school one!) where we went to Eden Pottery and painted on some lovely designs on mugs! It was so much fun and the food was so good! Then we had tears as one of the teachers found out that she had got her dream job closer to her home. She loves working with us (who wouldn't!!) but she has young kids so it was so hard on her every morning. So we had lots of tears. We will definitely miss you Jess! And finally - sand, because we had lovely weather and started our numerous beach trips!

Second half of the year will come tomorrow!!

Rebel Badge Book!

 I have found my new favourite book!!! Well - its more of a club than a book - but it is right down my street and I can't wait to get started with it! Let me explain more.

Its the REBEL BADGE BOOK - and its basically merit badges for adults. I absolutely LOVED doing badge work when I was in Campaigners - there was nothing like having an arm of badges, even if you did have to sew them all on! It was a really satisfying thing to know that you had done all of the hard work and completed the whole thing, and getting that lovely little cloth badge just rounded it all off! 

I think this is part of the reason I love lists so much - the satisfaction of completing things and ticking them off. And this is something coming from me - a person who cannot finish anything. It is something I really am thinking about at the moment. I have started so many things in my life and haven't really been able to finish any of them - from the Women's Study Fellowship to learning sports to music lessons to not really completing my degree to the best of my ability. 

So now we have this book - an absolutely amazing book full of badges to make me shiver with excitement! They have two volumes, complete with cloth badges or stickers - I chose the stickers this time - and they even have a monthly challenge (for a new badge) and quarterly challenges that help guide you if you have no idea which one to do next. 

This month's challenge is the 'CHOCOLATE CHALLENGE' where we have been given a list of  related activities, and we just have to do eight of them to successfully achieve the badge. 

 

The activities I am going to try are:

• Try 5 new flavours of chocolate that you've never tried before. Rate them out of five and explain why.
• Find out about the Fair Trade Mark and ethical chocolate production.
• Give someone a chocolate bar as a random act of kindness.
• Make a savoury dish which includes chocolate in the recipe.
• Make a chocolate-based dessert.
• Try a chocolate which meets a dietary requirement you don't have - eg Vegan or low sugar.
• Blind test five different brands of the same type of chocolate. Rate them.
• Play the 'chocolate game' (using a knife, fork, gloves and dress up clothes)

And the quarterly challenge that runs from April to June is called 'A LIFE LESS ORDINARY'

The activities for this badge include:

• Complete 'My Story' - how is your life extraordinary?
• Complete 1 Global Badge  - focus on other people's lives.
• Complete a badge from a section of the badge book which you have completed the least from so far... won't be hard to choose since I'm just starting out!! 
• Let someone else chose a badge for you to complete...
• Write yourself a list of at least 25 things you'd like to do in your life. Complete one during the 3 months you're doing this badge. 
• Once a week, for the 12 weeks, you're doing this badge, do something you've never done before. Big or small. 12 new things over 12 weeks. 

So yeah - can you see why I'm excited? These tie in with my 23 things to do in 2023, and my crazy chick life list! So I'm going to officially start on Monday (tomorrow) and although I've missed a few weeks, I'll continue on into July to finish up my 12 weeks. 

If anyone out there wants to join me, just let me know! We'll be swimming in badges in no time! And hopefully, living our best lives while we do it!

Tanya ❤

I'm back... again!

 I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I posted. I am ashamed. I love doing my blog and I hate to start with the excuses, but this past year has flown in. I honestly can't believe where it's gone! 

So it's March 2023 and I really do want to be a little more accountable this year, so I'm back. At the start of the year I wrote myself out a list of 23 things I wanted to do in 2023. 

Some where easy - very doable and ones I'd probably do anyway

Some where a little harder - where I will need to put in a little effort in order to do them

And some are hard - where I will need to really get out of my comfort zone, put in serious effort and actually be intentional to complete them!

So what do I have on my list? 

Wow! I'd forgotten some of what was on this!! I have started one or two things on it, but not actually completed anything... hence why I need some accountability! So I'm planning on taking the next month and seeing what I can strike off this list. And hopefully we'll see some movement!!

Speak to you soon!

Tanya ❤

Bucket list time!

 Over the Easter holidays I rewrote my bucket list - more as a life list than a timed list - just a bit of fun for me to tick off. You know how much I love my lists!! 

So if you want a laugh you can read along at  A Crazy Life