Bristol vs the world

I wonder what sort of spike WordPress sees in new blog posts in January, as all us lazy people who posted haphazardly or – if you’re like me – stopped for six months altogether – make resolutions to write more, and aim to do more to write about.

In my defense, life has been pretty hectic since I last saw you in 2014. August saw me play a part in my own mini-film, with two weddings and two funerals, the latter due to the death of both my grandfathers. (I wasn’t sure whether to specify the latter on here, but I also learnt that tiptoeing around things by saying ‘family stuff’ or other euphemisms a) raise more questions and b) don’t explain why sometimes you might just be upset over tiny little things, or talking about 24 Hours in A&E, – or, sometimes – for what might seem to others like for reason at all.)

Yet September was the complete opposite end of the spectrum. I got a promotion at work, which also involved being made permanent in my team (and thus dream job).

As part of said dream job, I get to visit some pretty amazing places – from the expansive grounds of Gibside to the intimate Westwood Manor – and September was no exception, with a two-day trip to Brownsea Island.

Oh and this little thing happened.

(Yes, John did make that himself.)

Let’s just say we probably kept un-branded tissue manufactures in business for those six weeks last year!

Which brings me to why I didn’t blog much for the rest of the year. Weddings are wonderfully exciting and happy occasions, but it also turns out that wedding planning is quite time-consuming (especially when you do it in nine months). You know how everything says plan your budget, and then add ‘x%’? Well the same applies to planning – however long you think something might take, add time to it! And we were quite decisive – and lucky – and didn’t need to spend much time looking round venues, or meeting different photographers to find the right ones. I even fell in love with a dress in the first – and therefore only – shop I visited.

I’m not complaining – I’m so excited that John will be my husband and I can’t wait to celebrate that with our friends and family. However it didn’t leave much time to do a huge amount else for a few months. And once you’ve spent evenings looking at email chains and spreadsheets after a day at the office, it’s all too easy to zone out in front of Orange is the New Black (or Don’t Tell the Bride. Or Say Yes to the Dress), rather than trying to construct a coherent blogpost.

But I do enjoy writing. I just need to stop giving myself excuses not to write. For example, if I haven’t done anything travelling that immediately seems interesting, that just makes it more of a challenge of come up with fun ideas. And sometimes those can be the most fun kind of posts.

Plus we’ve run out of new Orange episodes for now…

Bring it on, 2015.