9 Little Life Updates
Well 2021 lockdown hit different didn’t it?
Write blog post has been on my to do list every week for the last….three months? I used to pride myself on my ability to churn out daily content and there wouldn’t be a day where I didn’t have the laptop out in front of the tv. These days, the work life balance has been non existent and the idea of sitting in front of another screen has been the last thing I wanted to do - let alone find the bleedin’ time!
Finally though, in front of Gogglebox and snuggled up in a blanket on a Thursday evening I have the time to type a line or two - so what better way than to catch you up on what’s been going on.
1 . O N E Y E A R O F L O C K D O W N
I mean, I think my smile is a little large for a year of lockdowns and this picture was actually from April but tbf I didn’t really have an appropriate picture for that kinda sentiment. The last blog post I wrote was a poem penned for 365 days of lockdown and I think it’s a testament to the last few months that I didn’t manage to write anything since!
Somehow we made it to the year mark of Boris’ big day in front of the camera announcing a lockdown for a few weeks and we celebrated by…..staying in again? Still, a date on the calendar that’s passed anyway.
2 . B E L A T E D C H R I S T M A S
If you’ve read my blog or followed my Instagram for a few years you’ll already know I do a Christmas Treasure Hunt for my nieces between Christmas Day and New Year so surprisingly, 2020’s was cancelled. Never one to miss a tradition though, when the rules changed in Wales and we could visit private gardens again, I surprised the 5 and 2 year old with a festive hunt in the garden.
The treasure map was in the form of an advent calendar (one of my most excellent creations yet) and the prizes included Christmas socks. chocolates bought in December, bauble making kits and crafts - all perfect for March I’m sure you’ll agree.
3 . G E T T I N G J A B B E D
The UK have moved to the next phase of vaccinations having offered one to all the vulnerable groups….so imagine my surprise when I got a phone call last weekend to say my husband and I could go and get ours. Dutifully we trotted down the motorway (side note, fabulous to be out on the roads again!!) to the mass vaccination centre and within the half hour had both been jabbed.
Our health board are flying through and now all of my immediate family have been vaccinated at least once including my younger family and I couldn’t be more in awe of our NHS .
4 . E A S T E R 2 0 2 1
A mere fortnight after we celebrated Christmas in the greenhouse, Easter rolled round for another year. Last year we were in the thick of lockdown so my husband and I didn’t do much more than the Easter tree but this year even though we weren’t hosting my family as usual we still went the whole hog. In the end due to my inability to do anything except work the Easter decs actually stayed out for about 4 weeks till basically May but hey, all the more enjoyment.
Easter Sunday was as normal as it can be with a garden visit to my parents house where I was able to give my nieces the egg hunt they usually have complete with easter biscuits and chocolate galore. A proper lovely day.
5 . C O U C H T O 5 K ( A G A I N )
Yes for the third year in a row we’ve started couch to 5k again despite not completely it once. One thing or another has always stopped us, the turn in the weather later in the year, a broken toe…..but we’re determined 2021 is the year!
We’re only on week three at the moment but it’s amazing me still a third time round that it really does bloody work. Keep your fingers crossed we manage it this time!
6 . M O P C H O P
Ok I only slightly regret chopping all my hair off when I see this side by side but really, my hair hadn’t been trimmed since before my wedding and it was very very overdue. My hair is incredibly fine and when it gets as long as it was it gets awfully straggly and INSANELY wispy.
I am still in a lockdown due to family restrictions so a trip to the hairdressers was completely off the cards but luckily for me, my Mum’s best friend is my hairdresser so I popped round to the garden and decked out in our masks she hacked about 7 inches off my mop in one snip.
7 . S T U P I D D A I L Y W A L K S
A homage to * that * meme with the eagle - if you know you know. Daily walks have been a staple for many during the lockdowns and I am no exception. The great outdoors has been a god send to my mental health in the last year and if it isn’t running or evening strolls with my husband, it’s a morning walk before work.
My Mum and I try to go out on as many morning walks as we can during the week and she walks round her village and I walk around mine and we chat on the phone. We usually try and hour but if we are crazy busy we’ll still squeeze in 30 minutes where we can and I am loving the change in the seasons.
8 . B U B B L E S
Undoubtedly the best thing about the last few weeks has been the bringing forward of bubbling in Wales and I couldn’t be happier. We are able to bubble with one other household so we can interact as if we live together, go inside each other’s houses, hug, eat together, go on holiday together etc etc etc.
For me, this has meant this week I am able to go inside my childhood home to see my parents and nieces and finally am not limited to the weather conditions and I had my first glorious roast dinner cooked by my mother. It has been a long long few months waiting.
9 . N I N E B L I S S F U L D A Y S O F F
Apart from the Easter bank holiday I haven’t had any time off since Christmas and in fact have clocked up a hideous amount of overtime so having nine days off this week has been a god send. I booked this week off back in February with no plans, just a desire to get the maximum amount of time off for four days annual leave (thank you bank holiday).
In the end it couldn’t have come at a better time. I was very much at the end of my tether with work, very very much in need of a break and it coincided in the end with the aforementioned bubbling so I have filled my week with family time, deleting my emails and work whatsapp chats and really switching off and it’s been truly divine.
Once again we find ourselves at the conclusion of a blog post where I profess to be on this platform more but I think I’ll be forgiven if we see each other again in a few weeks rather than days - this pandemic life is as unprecedented as they say but it is also unpredictable!