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

Easter study 2022

I am so excited - I just completed a wee Easter study for our Bible study group to use, so I thought I'd share it here as well. It's an amalgamation of lots of different Easter studies I have read and studied previously. I wrote it to hopefully help keep us focused in the run up to Easter - the time when we celebrate the most important part of our faith. So here it is! 

Psalms

This year my Bible study group is going to be working our way through the Psalms. I am so excited. I love the Psalms, and I have more than a couple of favourites. 

There are different types of Psalms from laments, wisdom, thanksgiving, to liturgical and royal. Each Psalm has a different reason for being included. Some are there to help us look to God for help, while some are there to help us bring praise and thanksgiving to God. 

The Psalms are musical poetry and have certain patterns that are noticeable. There are certain things that we can look for. We’ll be hoping to notice them as we go through the Psalms. 

Here are some of them : 

I’m really looking forward to going through them. It may take a while but what a journey it will be!!!  This is how we are going to do it - working through two Psalms a week, following the First 5 experience guide for Psalms. 

I’m kind of a study geek as well as being a maths geek so I’m going to love doing notes for these! They will be used as part of my spiritual growth goal. 

All part of learning to breathe...

Tanya 🖤