New Year, Same Me?

So we're almost a full week into 2014, I'm not sure about you but the turn of the year didn't inspire big change, there aren't any resolutions as such, I have set myself a few goals, most of which I believe are highly achievable, one, erm, maybe is a bit iffy, but we shall see. 

2013 for me was fab. Jamie and I moved in together, we had a holiday in Turkey, a mini break in Amsterdam and London, and as cheesy as it is I fell more in love with his cheeky face that I thought I could. I made some new friends and got to know some old ones better, and at the end of the year I got a bit more responsibility at work which could prove very worthwhile in the coming months. My friends are all very happy in their lifes, there was a new baby, a new relationship, more relationships growing stronger and I know 2014 is going to be full of happiness for them all.

2014 for me shall involve a two week trip to South Africa with Jamie and his folks, us buying a kitten (maybe two if Jamie can be swayed), and lastly buying a house. We were going to be doing this sooner rather than later but due to a couple of things we're going to put it off until November time, unless the right thing comes up sooner of course. 

My goals for 2014: 
Run a half marathon - I'm 50/50 at signing up for the RockNRoll Edinburgh half marathon again, last year I had to pull out due to a chest infection which unfortunately I get regularly. So whether it's a half on my own on a Sunday afternoon or part of a race, that is my running target for the first half of 2014. 

Weigh it up - Ahem, weight training, 2014 goal - squat my body weight, or 60kg, which ever is heaviest (hopefully the 60kg), even if it's just for one rep. At the moment I can do 35kg with very little upper body strength, not to mention squatting does give you a better backside. 

Driving - this is the biggy for me, I am not very co-ordinated and I don't have a great deal of spatial awareness, two of the things needed for driving. But I think it's something I should try, properly, once more. I've had a few lessons with my uncle who's an instructor, but I think that was part of the problem in my head, 'He's my uncle, what if I crash and kill him'. So, maybe a new instructor, a few lessons and see how we go. I do feel bad that Jamie does all the driving, although he does enjoy it. 

Shoot! - In the gun sense. Jamie's dad, as well as being a world renowned vet, also shoots, and culls. I won't go into detail in case I upset someone over the population control of wild animals, but he has agreed to take me shooting - but on a target, and not a moving one. I have shot before in cadets, using a  .22 rifle and a SA80, I enjoyed it, I'm actually not too bad at it and I'm looking forward to giving it a go again. 

Work - My job isn't something I ever thought of doing, in fact, I didn't even know what we do existed until I rocked up 7 years ago for an interview as their receptionist. Slowly I've worked my way into the Project Management side of things and at the end of last year there was some restructuring within the business which left me with a few new clients and more responsibility. My 2014 goal within the work place is to take on extra training, email work etc, and get as much out of it this year as I can.

I've read some good 2014 resolutions and goals, and everyone seems to be going away from the 'norm' of diets and focusing more on goals and achieving more for themselves - I like it. What are your 2014 goals?

Happy Birthday to me!

Back in early December I celebrated my, ahem, 29th birthday, the weekend after I was treated to a weekend in London from Jamie - firstly it was kept a secret until the day of my birthday and he told me in an amazing way.

We stayed in the Park Plaza Country Hall which was about 5 minutes from Waterloo train station - it was AMAZING. We had a little suite with a sofa, 2 TVs, a little kitchen, lovely comfy bed and a MASSIVE bathroom. Jamie had mentioned it was for a birthday so the hotel had left a bottle of red in our hotel room which was brilliant, and not to mention the view. 

On the Friday night we went to the Hammersmith Apollo to see Ed Byrne, who was as usual brilliant, the highlight of the Friday evening though - meeting Dara O'Briein who just happened to be sat in front of us. (Ignore the cheesy face)

On the Saturday we done some touristy things, a walk along the Thames, Hyde Parks Winter Wonderland, which kind of crapped all over Edinburgh's if I'm honest, we went to Ripleys Believe it or Not - which was fab and we had managed to get complimentary tickets, without being rude, I wouldn't pay £30 per adult for a visit. We visited a couple of the local rock bars The Crowbar and The Intrepid Fox, the standard Harrods visit, and also Liberty. And we did pass the infamous ChoccyWoccyDoDa, which being honest, I had no idea was in London as I thought there was only a Brighton one. Unfortunately I suffered a little injury in the Intrepid Fox, which was honestly the fault of a misplaced doormat and not the few pints I'd had, although Jamie did sit and kindly ice my ankle.

Sunday was our last day and the one in which we were visiting Harry Potter Warner Bros. studios. It was in one word, amazing, if you're down I would recommend it 100%. I wouldn't necessary go down just to visit as it is a fair bit outwith of the centre of London. It wasn't very busy when we visited, which was great, I can imagine it takes a lot longer to get around when it is. There was so much to see, including the night bus, Pivot Drive, the Weasleys car, inside Hogwarts, as well as Diagon Alley. And all the little things like outfits, chess pieces etc. I could stick up 100s of pics but here's a few to give you an idea. The best piece of advice I read on Trip Adviser was to take a picnic with you. There is an outdoor sitting area where there are some hot dogs on sale, and some Butterbeer - although I was really disappointed that the Butterbeer came in a plastic cup and not a tankard, we didn't even bother with it in the end as it was really just for the photo opportunity. 

The weekend before I had a lovely night out with my friends in The Black Bull, one of my favorite Edinburgh rock bars, it was a fab night out - now to think about this years - the big 3-0!! Yikes.

Happy New Year

Hi folks, just to wish all my lovely readers a Happy New Year. I hope you all had a lovely time and that 2014 is a fantastic year, whether 2013 was good or bad I wish you all the best for this one. 

I'm looking forward to reading all about it and sharing my year with you all

Xx 

My Super Duper Autumn catch-up

So, here is my super photo heavy 'here's some of the stuff we done over the last few months' post. In September Jamie & I went on our first holiday and we booked up for a week in Akyarlar in Turkey. You may or may not know I was there last year (in Marmaris), and loved it. We had a standard 34c during the day and a 'modest' 24c in the evening, I have to say coming home to 6c wasn't much fun. 

During our time we took a couple of boat trips, Jamie went snorkling & scuba-diving, not for me, and we took a couple of trips into the local town of Turgutreis which was only 3lira on the bus (about £1) and a 10 minute. 

Our hotel was pretty decent, but after a week I was ready to come home. 

We spent a second week at home chilling out, pub lunching and also learnt how to make fresh pasta at the Bellini Cookery School which was a lot of fun and it's amazing how simple making fresh pastas and sauces is. I would highly recommend the place, Jamies mum treated us on a Groupon deal but even the normal prices for classes aren't bad.

  

In October, Jamie turned 27 so as a birthday treat I booked us a trip to Amsterdam. I had never been before, Jamie had when he was younger, I don't  need to add that this trip was a little different. 

We flew into Amsterdam around 4pm, I cannot praise KLM enough, both for their assistance before we flew and during. Free luggage if you sign up to their free 'Flying Blue' scheme, free to pre-book your seats, and some free snacks & drinks (mini cans of Heineken FTW) on the plane, and Schiphol airport....well, we could learn a thing or two from them also. 

Anyways, a few things we done whilst there were, visit the Red Light District - standard, I have to say I expect something a lot worse than what I saw. The 'Heineken Experience', pre-booking recommended, you also get two mini Heineken at the end. The 'Xtra Cold' bar, -10c, don't expect the type ice bar you see in London etc, it was fun but it was freezing, you got two comp drinks which you drank out of an ice-glass, it wasn't the easiest to hold and FYI - don't do what Jamie done and wear shorts! 

There were some amazing shops and little markets, as well as FEBO - now FEBO is like a hot food vending machine/shop thing. You pop some euros in, open a little door and take out the food. It was super yummy for what it is, and very conveinent. As well as pizza shops still open at 3am.

I booked our trip through LastMinute.com and took a risk on their 'secret hotel' which turned out to be NH Hotel - Amsterdam Centre - it was fantastic. It was central, very easy to get to by public transport once you knew your way about, we took a taxi to the hotel but walked to the train station on our return journey and took the train that takes you right into the airport.

Finally, my top rated thing about Amsterdam - how open everything is, sex shops next door to what I can only class as Tesco, the Red Light district, the cafés (not that we visited), everything is so open, and it seems to work well for them. I'm not sure it would work so well here though. I would love to go back and do more, I can't wait. 

PS: Be midful of people of bikes, they are EVERYWHERE!