30 Before I’m 30!

I’ve never really bothered with milestone birthdays before – turning 18 wasn’t really much of a thing for me given my new parenthood status, and 21 doesn’t seem to hold the same significance as it does elsewhere in the world. I wasn’t even aware that people make a big deal about their 25th until I met Paul, shortly before he reached his. In any case, I will be turning 30 next May, and the change in the first number of my age hasn’t happened for a while, so I guess I should mark it with something!

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:

A Summer Day Trip With My Mummy

This summer has been like most other summers – stuck in the house with nothing really exciting happening and no actual holiday away. When you’re saving for a wedding, sacrifices must be made, but I do miss a cheeky wee trip to the sun! Realising my frustration, my Mum came to the rescue with the suggestion that we head off to Northumberland for the day while Logan was at nursery and Paul was at work.

Lochside Camping at Sallochy Bay

We are camping novices, but after getting loads of camping gear from my Mum for Christmas, we were determined to try it out! Being on a tight budget often means that both ourselves and our kids never really get summer holidays, but having a tent gives us the flexibility to take them anywhere and enjoy what the UK has to offer! That being said, we didn’t take the kids on this occasion - as we wanted to get used to the tent - but we will hopefully be organising a family camping trip in the near future.

Family Fun In The Sun At New Lanark

Twitter is a wonderful thing, I don’t know how I’ve lived without it for so long! When a good friend mentioned that New Lanark World Heritage Site were looking for bloggers to promote all of their attractions, I wasted no time in sending a wee tweet their way!

 

Love Is In The Scottish Air

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we used this Saturday to escape into the Scottish Highlands for a visit with our wedding coordinator at our romantic wedding venue. Thankfully, my Mum took the kids for us, so we were able to spend some rare time with only each other for company. Although the rain poured the whole time we were away, it did nothing to spoil the scenery – I’ve always thought the Scottish countryside can make any weather seem beautiful! After finalising our wedding plans, we enjoyed a wander around the historic town of Dunkeld, before heading to Pitlochry for some lunch and a wee look round the shops.

 

Surprise Visits and Spontaneous Geocaching

I love it when I get a surprise message from some friends, asking if I’m busy. It’d come to the end of the holidays and I was wasting the remainder of my free time lounging around in my PJs - the promise of a visit was a welcome relief! Money is often tight straight after Christmas so Andy and Nikki suggested we should do a spot of Geocaching, given that this is a completely free activity and also has the added benefit of giving us all some fresh air!