A Look Back On 2016

I’d originally planned to have this post ready to go by December the 31st, but I managed to come down with some sort of sickness bug and welcomed the New Year with my head in the toilet! Nevertheless, I always enjoy looking back on good times, so I wanted to collect my most popular posts from each month as a sort of 2016 highlights reel! With this being my first full year of blogging, I also feel like I’ve finally gotten into my stride with writing, although my planning and organisation skills still need a bit of work! I’ve had some great opportunities over the past year and met some fantastic people along the way, so here’s a snapshot of what I’ve been up to:

January’s most popular post is still my top overall post for my blog to date – ‘5 Inconvenient Truths About Being a Teen Mum’. I suppose controversial topics are always going to get a lot of attention, but I’m thankful to say that, aside from one negative comment about how I was ‘glorifying’ teen pregnancy, the response was very supportive. I’d never really spoken about my family life before, but this post gave me the confidence to stand up for my life choices and defend them if necessary! February also followed a similar theme with a post examining how my work colleagues deal with ‘Raising Children Whilst Working in Academia’. Keeping with the parenting theme (and the niche I originally thought I would fit into), I had a mini rant in March about ‘Absent Fathers and the CSA’ following an annoying few weeks of chasing my daughter’s dad for maintenance. I won’t get into it again here, but you can catch the gist of it in the original post. I suppose I was just sick of the disrespect my daughter has always endured from her biological father and needed to shout about it - turns out it seems to be a similar experience with many other people.

April moved on to brighter things when I discussed ‘My Happiness Non-Negotiables’. It was a great opportunity to take notice of the little things that make the world a bit brighter – while meditation has fallen by the wayside, I’m pleased to say Paul is still providing me with a range of tasty dishes to keep my hunger at bay! May was also food themed, with a review of a tasty Sunday roast in ‘Family Sundays With The Trading House’. The whole family were treated to a fantastic meal in a well-known Glasgow restaurant, with the kids being particularly impressed with their beach themed puddings! Again, keeping with the family theme, we finished off June with some ‘Family Fun in the Sun at New Lanark’. The kids absolutely loved this day trip and were constantly talking about all the interesting things they learned for weeks afterwards!
 

In July, we braved the Scottish wilderness for some ‘Lochside Camping at Sallochy Bay’, on the banks of the beautiful Loch Lomond. It was the first outing with our camping gear (gifted Christmas 2015, thanks Mum!) and we hope to include the kids in future trips. We didn’t manage to get out again this year, but I’m hoping 2017 has good enough weather to try again. In August, I was treated to ‘A Summer Day Trip With My Mummy’, where we had a great time taking in the sights of Alnwick and enjoying traditional Fish ‘n’ Chips in Seahouses. Continuing with trips away, September was no different as it included ‘My Super Fantastic Hen Weekend!’ I was so grateful to my bridesmaids for organising it all and, although we are not getting married in Dunkeld anymore, the setting was still beautiful for a weekend away!
 

As we approached the winter months, October saw my first use of Rafflecopter in ‘The Walking Dead – New Novel and Giveaway’. I was so excited to be given the opportunity to host a giveaway, especially as I’m obsessed with anything that involves The Walking Dead! A work trip in November meant that I was able to continue my Hard Rock Obsession with another instalment to my series - ‘Hard Rock Café – Denver visit’. A visit to the mile high city would not have been complete without sampling some cocktails and burgers, and I also managed to pick up a cosy winter blanket from the Rock Shop! To tie up the year, December’s top post was ‘Fun Lunch Friday – Taste Buchanan’, which saw me and Sarahjane visit the newly refurbished food court in Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries - I’m excited to see what the new year brings to the ever rotating line up of vendors who set up shop there!

 

2016 really was amazing, but it does seem like one of the fastest years I can remember - I’m glad I had a blog to look back on all my activities! What were your highlights for the year? What are you looking forward to in 2017?
 

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