31st December 2014 - NYE

It's the last day of 2014! Crikey! Where did that year go?! Feels like only yesterday we were celebrating the arrival of little Ted, or my birthday in York, or our holiday or wedding anniversary! Cripes, how time flies!

What better way to spend the last day of the year than at work! Just like pretty much every other day this year!

Once again, there were a few issues with the car when Paul went to drop me off...

Trying to capture the gorgeous feathery shapes in the ice. Can't really see it as well as I could in real life. They sure were pretty!

I got to work earlier than I had the rest of the week and still was bored. I have loads of work, don't get me wrong, but without the constant unpredictability of the phone ringing, loads of post to deal with or people to talk to, it gets very monotonous very quickly!

Today's calendar. Such a gorgeous little thing. I think the office should get a kitten! I would keep me entertained on days like this. Granted, my productivity would take a severe dive, but I'd be very loyal!

The closest I'll get to an office kitten is the local wildlife!

This is my friend the squirrel! He comes to visit fairly frequently! If I ever write a children's story, he will be one of the stars as he has a few other little friends who keep him company and the characters write themselves. I'm not going to say who they are though, so no-one can steal my story!

Once again, I was in work until about 1:30pm when BigBoss T let me go home. Paul picked me up and we headed home. I felt the need to be decidedly lazy for the rest of the afternoon. Why not spend the last day of the year the same as the rest of it?! :)

Barney agreed.

As part of our laziness, we decided to order some pizza, which is also a tribute to an early date we had on this day 7 years ago. Dominos finest whilst supping fizz? Don't mind if I do!

Check out all that unhealthy and fatty goodness! Mmmm!

We ate most of it, saving some for later when we might need it.

We decided to go out for a couple of drinks at a local pub for a while. If it took us to midnight, great, but if not, at least we got out of the house!

We got there at about 8:30pm or so and it wasn't as busy as we thought it would be.

A nice glass of red in front of an open fire was enjoyed. Perfect.

We stayed for a couple of hours but it wasn't the most excitable of crowds and we were a bit bored. So we headed home where we were able to have a few more drinks and see in the new year with a bit of Jools Holland!

At midnight the neighbours went wild and cheered in the New Year by going crazy and making a LOT of noise. There were also a few fireworks which was nice.

I think I managed to make it to about 1am before falling asleep.

2014 - you were interesting! Lots of wonderful things happened but some sad ones too.

I wonder what 2015 has to offer!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013 and 2013

28th December 2014 - About Time.

We had another lazy morning. It's Sunday...I think...it's so easy to lose track of days over Christmas...so we felt we deserved it!

Paul had football to watch, and me...well...I didn't really have anything. So I decided that the best thing for today would be...

Lord of the Rings Marathon! WHOOP! It's been so long since we've done one of those!

Paul watched football downstairs and I watched Lord of the Rings upstairs! I was a happy camper!

Barney spent most of the day being cute and curled up on the heated throw!

Maia spent most of the morning on the window, over the radiator, warming her belly! I don't know why but I thought this pic would look better in black and white! Probably because it hides the hideous state that the blinds and window are in. We have two cats. We can't have nice things.

Fellowship seemed to be over very quickly so I moved on to Two Towers. I have seen this movie more than any other in the world, ever. No lie. I could probably quote it in my sleep!

Barney's belly was a little distraction. The fact that he has rolled onto his back indicates that Paul came to join us in watching Two Towers!

We also needed to roll with tradition in another sense...

There had to be fizz. A - because it's Sunday, B - because we're having a LotR marathon, and C - it's Christmas. Kinda.

Work schmirk tomorrow!

We watched tv and ate pasta bake for dinner as Paul didn't feel like cooking - he's still pretty poorly.

He ended up going to bed at the end of Two Towers. I carried on watching Return of the King, but stopped when I had to change the disc to go to bed myself. It was getting late. I failed in the mission of watching it all in one day but then again, we did start quite late. Imagine when I have all 3 extended Hobbit movies to watch as well! That's going to be one weekend bonanza! :) I can't wait! :)

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

21st December 2014 - Yum!

I woke up at around 2:30am. Idiot.. I took myself off to bed for the duration of the night.

Paul woke up early but I dozed on for as long as I could.

We didn't have anything to do today, which is really nice. So in our own time we got up and did our chores. I sorted washing and Paul went shopping.

On his travels, he picked up the last bottle of prosecco in Aldi - Old Swan!

Who'd have thought South Liverpool would be so keen on Prosecco?! It can't just be me drinking it after all!

When Paul got back we watched some tv and movies and generally vegetated. Paul also started making our dinner!

Roast ginger-glazed ham with macaroni cheese. This is it nearly ready.

This was my plateful. It was AH-MAY-ZING!

Polished off. Yum.

We watched Love Actually (yes, I'm a sap and made Paul be a sap by watching it with me) but then went to bed. It's going to be a mental week!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

16th November 2014 - Treats

I love Sundays. They are a good day! They are especially good when you don't have to go into work tomorrow!

So it was quite a lazy day to be honest. We didn't really get up to much. We watched Stargate and relaxed for pretty much the whole day.

Oh, and we drank fizz. Which made it extra awesome! Well...it's the start of the holidays! Why not begin as we mean to go on!

As I say, nothing really happened! We watched Stargate, drank fizz and relaxed!

We also had a yummy roast pork for dinner which was delish! Loads of veg and very much needed and enjoyed!

Sorry it's short - nothing to say really! :)

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

26th September 2014 - Fancy!

Another lousy nights' sleep. I don't think I've had a good night's sleep for a while. Ah well. Nearly weekend!

I headed to work, preparing to have a productive day. Instead, I was overwhelmed by spreadsheets until just after lunch. Really not helpful to me at all. I hate Excel!

We got quite a lot done but not as much as I would have liked. A wasn't too bad about it though, but he did keep bringing me loads of work which makes me even further behind than we already are.

The end of the day brought fun times though. It's T's birthday on Monday and her husband is away on an all expenses paid trip to Miami. So we thought we'd spoil her!

Yum!

Fancy Fizz Friday was a success! It was enjoyed by all! Strawberries in Prosecco is a delicious treat that I highly recommend!

When I got home, the party didn't stop! Well, for about 2 hours it did, as I had to wait for Paul to get home. Then I brought Paul under my wing!

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

After a couple of these, some pizza and Strictly on the tv, followed by X Factor, it was time for me to go to bed. I was exhausted.

I left Paul listening to music and retired.

PREVIOUSLY...

2013

7th September 2014 - Year One = Done! :)

It's our First Wedding Anniversary today! WHOOP! We survived the first year! I think that's a pretty amazing achievement if you ask me! :)

We went for breakfast before we started our day. It was ok. Not the massive plate of breakfast that Paul is used to, but that probably just means that it was normal person portion size!

We then got ready and headed our into the countryside! Big day of fun ahead!

First (and technically only) stop: Cheddar Gorge! Beautiful countryside and lots to do! Starting with Gough's Cave, which had an audio commentary. Not like the retro old days of a cassette walkman, this was a digital phone-like prong!

We got the full story and it was very interesting! The caves themselves were visually stunning! Nature is weird!

It's weird walking through as some of it sort of looks a bit fake! Like you're walking on a movie set of a cave, as it's all shiny and looks plastic. It's just wet! So cool though!

From there, we went to meet Cheddar Man! Ok, not really, as he's just a skeleton, but it was a museum of Prehistory. It was quite interesting, although learning about cannibalism is a little icky!

These are recreations of mammoth tusks. Taller than Paul. Scary.

Then there was the bit that gave me nightmares. Or would if I hadn't been merry when I went to bed...

Sorry if this haunts you too...but seriously, is there any need?! Reading the visitors' book at the end of the museum seems to suggest that I'm not the only one who thought this!

From there we had a look in a few shops and headed down to the next cave, Cox's Cave. This was far smaller and just something to look at really.

Through the cave is a game thing, what was billed as a 'Lord of the Rings' type mission. Sounds right up my street, no?

Yeah, it sucked. Got to be honest. Just walk through a bit of cave, listen to some story line which was pretty much a direct rip-off from Lord of the Rings, just with a few tiny alterations to the name and then into a cavern with a dragon and all you had to do was touch the crystal.

I'm sure kids would enjoy it. Adults in their 30s who weren't merry...not so much!

From there we headed straight up 'Jacob's Ladder' which were 274 steps uphill through a forest. On the way up there were little signs explaining the evolution of the planet as we know it. Including the dinosaurs. We were most amused by this one in particular.

He looks a little miffed, no? "Oh drat!"

At the top of the steps there is a watchtower to give 360 degree views over Cheddar and surrounding area. Where I stood to take a few pictures amused me!

Only I would stand somewhere that reminds me of home!

Fantastic views.

We walked for a while, pausing to admire the beauty of the surrounding area...and to take an anniversary selfie!

We had a really nice walk and felt that we were walking forever but as it was pretty, we didn't mind too much...we were just a little thirsty!

Some goats. Because.

We eventually got back to the village and decided to find a good local pub in which to have a drink and a bite to eat. Cheddar is actually really pretty, not just quaint and full of tourists!

Lovely!

We had a massive ploughmans' lunch (which I didn't take a picture of as we were so famished!) and a couple of ciders while we decided what we wanted to do with the rest of the day. We also celebrated the moment (ish) that we had been married a year. We guestimated about 2:30pm but as neither of us can remember exactly how late I was, we can't be certain!

We headed out to some more shops and looked around a cheese shop, sampling loads of different cheeses, which were amazing! Naturally we had to buy some as gifts for people!

Instead of taking an open-top bus tour around the area, we decided to head back to Burnham.

Our lovely B&B had got us some prosecco so we sat out on their back patio, played some music and enjoyed some sunshine! It was lovely!

Through that glass door ahead was the indoor heated swimming pool! We could have used it but didn't have time! Maybe next time, should we go again! :)

I also logged into Facebook on Paul's iPad (my phone was charging in our room and I had forgotten it all day!) and Facebook even wished us a happy anniversary!

Ah, memories!

I had also been trying to use up one last remnant from our wedding which seem to be lasting forever!

I still had 3 of these bad boys to finish off! We've been snapping pictures for AGES on these! Still have about 12 to be developed as they weren't finished. Plus they're expensive to develop! Especially when there is no guarantee that every picture will come out.

It started to get a bit chilly, so we headed back up to our room, fizz in hand, to relax and prepare for our evening's excursion! When we got in, we discovered that the owners of the B&B had left us a little something!

Aw! so nice of them! We decided not to drink it tonight though. Don't want to waste tomorrow with a sore head!

As it's Sunday, a lot of the town was shut. The nicest restaurant we could find that was open was a curry house! It was very highly rated on Trip Advisor, so we decided to go for it! We like curry and were planning on going there tomorrow, so why not tonight?!

It was fairly quiet in the curry house. We had some poppadoms to start and then our main courses arrived.

I had the Chandni Burnham on Sea Special...which was (needs to load menu to remember exactly!) lamb tikka, chicken tikka and tandoori chicken in a 'special' sauce. So when it arrived I was a little surprised!

It hadn't mentioned an omelette on the menu! Still, it was a nice addition!

Paul had something that I can't remember the name of which was labelled hot. It wasn't hot. I could have eaten it no problem. Shame really. My boy does like his hot curry!

Food was very good though and the biggest surprise was that we both ate pretty much all of it! That never happens! I normally wimp out but it was so delicious that it all was eaten!

Paul even had room for pudding! He ordered a hazelnut bomb (I think it was called - it's not listed on any menu!) and was a little bit surprised with what he got!

Tiny bomb! Thankfully, they had given us two spoons so I could help him eat that mountain of pudding! :)

We had a quick drink before heading back to the B&B. We were both shattered! The sea air is clearly getting to us! Nothing to do with the alcohol at all. No, sir!

PREVIOUSLY...

2013 & 2013 (Aw! Memories!)