Tag Archives: blog

Finally Settled, Sort Of…

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It has been five months to the day since we got the keys to the new house. 

And about three weeks ago, we unpacked the final remaining box. 

It has continued to be an interesting experience. Since we moved in:

  1. We have had to give the house a deep clean as it was clear that the carpets was covered in dog hair and smelled of dog urine from the previous tenants pet.
  2. The fence fell down at the back of the house during a storm. 
  3. The paint above the shower that had already started peeling got much worse, and began hanging off in a large chunk exposing bare plaster.
  4. The toilet broke.
  5. The boiler broke.

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A Peri-Menopause Schedule

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Despite it being a Sunday morning, I woke up at 6.30am feeling super-motivated. Perhaps it’s because the weather is glorious, or that I have the option of doing nothing if I want to, or perhaps the fact that I slept for about six hours yesterday afternoon has helped – either way, I jumped out of bed, got dressed and was raring to go. 

As things have become more busy (particularly this year), I have started to change my working patterns to try and avoid burnout – something that I have experienced multiple times since I started working for myself. Previously, I had developed strict daily routines and checklists to help myself become more organised, but over the last six months I have found that it has become less and less helpful. 

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Celebrating Pride in Birmingham

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I’ve lived in Birmingham since 2001, and up until last weekend I had never been to Pride, which is one of the biggest of the year.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. About 15 years ago my mum came to visit and travelled down to Birmingham via train. The old New Street Station was small and difficult to navigate, so I asked her to wait in the main arrivals area and I would collect her from there. True to form, mum had other ideas and wandered off, and I eventually found her at the bottom of the ramp (Brummies will know exactly where this is), surrounded by drag queens and having a great time as the Pride Parade was going past. 

It has never been a conscious decision not to go – I’ve been invited many times by friends who are gay, straight and otherwise, but I’ve either been busy or broke at the time. 

Earlier this year, I was given an invitation to join some of my work friends at this year’s Pride, with brunch in the morning and the concerts in the evening down in Smithfields after the parade had finished. I jumped at the chance, and have been looking forward to it for months. 

And what a blast it was!

Screenshot

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A Spontaneous Day Trip to London

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Yesterday morning – Saturday on the Easter Bank Holiday weekend – The Bloke and I were awake early. It was a rare day where both of us had the entire day to ourselves, so I suggested that we take advantage of the beautiful weather and go out somewhere.

The conversation about a day-trip to Solihull quickly turned into a trip to Worcester. We got ready and got on the bus…

… and ended up in London. 

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And So It’s March…

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You know where you suddenly look up and there’s a realisation of being present for the first time in what seems like forever? 

That happened to me last week. I woke up, checked my phone and realised that it was 7.00am, The Bloke had gone to work, it was light outside and suddenly it was the second week in March. I know that there was a February at some point, but I don’t seem to have fully acknowledged it.

It has been over two months since we moved house and things have been interesting. 

We finally have a sofa that was delivered yesterday (seriously, UK residents DO NOT order from SCS), and up until that point The Bloke and I had spent a considerable amount of time since January slumped on an air mattress on the floor of the living room. Getting on and off that thing resulted in a fit of giggles on more than one occasion, particularly when my 67 year old mother visited and sat on it. The actual sitting part wasn’t too bad, it was more watching her attempt to get back up again in a manner that Buster Keaton would be proud of. 

Comedy gold at its finest. 

Mum has visited on several occasions since the start of the New Year. A few days after we moved, we had tickets to see a Rat Pack concert that we had booked last year, so once she had had the tour of the new place, we went and stayed in a hotel in the city – there were boxes everywhere and nowhere for her to sleep, so it made more sense to go and stay close to the venue. It was nice walking through the Mailbox and the canal at night with all the lights – one of my favourite places in Birmingham.

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Celebrating the New Menu at Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill

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I have visited Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill a number of times over the years, and even had the opportunity to interview the man himself back in 2019. I like it – it has always been a place to visit for spectacular views of the city and a nice cocktail in a relaxed atmosphere. I’m a big fan of several of the dishes – my favourite dessert in Birmingham was the Chocolate Mousse from MPW.

However, the prestigious restaurant, situated on Level 25 of the Cube, has recently undergone a refurbishment, and we were offered the chance to have a sneak peak at the new changes and get a taste of the new menu. As I was unable to attend, I sent a friend in my place to have a look…

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A New Year, A New Home

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There’s nothing like moving house to remind me that I have the upper body strength of a toddler and I’m insanely unfit. 

Brace yourself. This is a long one. 

The Bloke and I moved house at the beginning of January. It’s been a long time (I think about eight years!) since our last move and not one that we had planned on – our landlord suddenly suggested late last year that he was thinking of selling the house, leaving us in the precarious position of potentially being given notice and needing to find somewhere new in a very short amount of time, in an area that is very much in demand. We decided to take ownership of the situation and found somewhere ourselves, and struck lucky with a beautiful property not far away. 

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2023: A Year in Review

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As you may be able to tell from my previous post, the end of 2023 is not the relaxed and restful time that I had hoped for. We’re in the process of moving house, we’re up to our eyeballs in boxes, and I’m more than a little anxious about everything that we need to do over the coming week. 

Consequently, and after everything else that we have had to deal with, it’s difficult not to look back on this year with a level of negativity. 

2023 has been tough. My mum spent the first four months of the year in and out of hospital, The Bloke’s auntie passed away, my father died, my workload has been insane and on more than one occasion I have had to start putting my foot down and set boundaries with a few people who have made constant demands on my time and energy while being rude and dismissive in the process – something that has gone on for far too long. The year has felt like a constant battle and I’m tired. 

However, in times like this I turn to the opening pages in my Bullet Journal, titled ‘Memories and Highlights.’ It’s one of my favourite things – a double page of all the great experiences that The Bloke and I have had throughout the year. 

And despite the nonsense, the double page is filled. 

This year we’ve seen over thirty shows at five different theatres. My favourites were Rock of Ages (which I think we’ve seen four times now), SIX (which has been on my list for a long time), Sinatra at The REP, and The Bodyguard. 

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Twixmas Packing

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I’ve seen the term ‘Twixmas’ thrown around a lot over the last week. Apparently meaning the period between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve, it has represented a feeling of nothingness – Christmas is over, many are off work (or at least, have had a few days off) and it’s often a time of relaxing and recovering from the festivities before preparing for the start of a new year.

My ‘Twixmas’ usually involves a little bit of work, lots of sleeping, eating snacks and watching movies. This year, however, we’re up to our eyeballs in boxes, packing tape and bubble wrap. 

Because we’re moving house. Next week. 

Great. 

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