WE ARE GETTING MARRIED!

I've been meaning to do this post now for over a week, if you follow me on social media namely Instagram you may have seen that Simon asked me to marry him.. and I said YES!



So last Wednesday was a typical Wednesday, we had planned our day the night before between us, I wasn't suspicious or expecting anything out of the ordinary (little did I know). We woke up in the morning and it was a wonderfully bright and sunny spring day, we had two plans, to grab some brunch together and to head for a walk on the promenade. The promenade where we usually let off balloons and lanterns on the anniversary of Snowflakes due date. The anniversary of miscarrying Snowflake was approaching on the Sunday, aswell as valentines day and Simons birthday. It made sense to go for a walk on the prom, it is a place we both feel close to our baby. 

We went for some brunch at our local pub, sat in our usual spot, spoke to the usual people and my Father in Law popped in too for a quick pint and a natter. After popping Simons Dad to the shops and home we headed off to St Annes beach for our walk. 

I was having a really lovely day, enjoying Simons company on his day off, I was also getting a rare good day from my Depression and Anxiety. We wandered over a cobbled bridge and slowly walked towards the beach. THIS is when Simon started to act a smidge out of character, nothing anybody who didn't know him would notice, but I certainly did. He wanted to walk on the sand and we never usually do this, unless it's summer or we are sending things off for Snowflake. With the anniversary looming I just shrugged it off and assumed he wanted to be close to our bambino. We mooched along a short strip of beach, I was particularly captivated by all the shells which had been left behind when the tide went out. Picking one shell up after another, and telling Simon how pretty they were. A really cute dog wearing a coat came over and made a fuss of me, rolling around on the floor around my feet, after he and his owners walked away there wasn't anyone but us on the stretch of beach. 





The view out to sea was spectacular, and Simon suggested we take a seat on the sea wall to take it all in. He asked me, as he had many times that day If I was having a lovely day, and said to me that this place is a special place to us isn't it, I said yes. Simon begun fumbling in his pocked and I wondered could this be it. He got onto one knee, pulled out a rather large box, with a beautiful, beautiful ring inside it and asked me if I would marry him. I SAID YES! 

I had a feeling Simon was going to propose some time soon, he had made a couple of hints here and there. I thought perhaps Valentines day or whilst we are away on a trip at the end of the month. I am so happy he chose to propose when he did, although if I am honest i'd have been happy whenever he did it! I love that in his proposal he included Snowflake, who has an incredibly special place in our hearts.

It's a little bit late, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I've got to admit, I feel sorry for January, if January was a person I think he would be extremely misunderstood. A lot of people love to hate January, but I love to love it! Everyone may be short on money and carrying a few extra pounds... but they are hopeful and positive about the upcoming year, and I for one find that infectious! Which leads me to this post, my hopes and goals for 2016. Now I am fully aware this post is coming quite a way into the New Year, January is practically up (how on earth did that happen by the way? wasn't it Christmas just last week?!) I wanted to test out my new years resolutions collectively before I commit to them... Is that cheating? probably. So here goes, my hopes and goals for this year!

1. Fit exercise into our weekly routine.

As much as I'd love to be a spontaneous, free spirit - it just isn't me! I love routine and organisation so to be consistent with working out, it has to become a part of my routine. Myself and Simon have decided to do this one together, we have decided that we will have a work out evening once a week, on a Tuesday evening using the equipment we already have in our home (saving gym costs).

2. Give up Coca Cola
Good old Coca Cola was my weakness for so long, and I say was because thus far I have gone a whole two weeks Cola free. I was drinking at least three cans a day, so this is a mahoosive achievement, and one I intend to stick to.

3. Save money

Last year our car practically fell apart within the space of a week, everything possible went wrong which meant we had to buy a new car! This had a massive knock on effect with our finances which meant we had to cancel our holiday we had booked to Tenerife in February. We have decided to do a savings challenge this year to get us saving. The idea of the challenge is that you put away 1 pence on the first day, 2 pence on the second day and so on until on the last day of the year you put away £3.66. The idea behind it is that you don't feel the loss as it isn't a large sum, just change. 

4. Move house

Our lease on our house ends in April and the landlord is in the process of selling up, so we have decided that we will be moving. This will be a really big step for us, we have lived here since we first left our family homes 4 years ago and have created lots of memories here!

5. Journal 

Writing in a diary or journalling is a brilliant way of being mindful and reflecting on your day. For the last couple of years I have journalled December, primarily to help me remember what we did each day to help me write my Snippets Of Christmas series each week. I discovered that not only did I really enjoy it, but it was really therapeutic to get into bed each night and have some time to wind down and reflect. This year I plan to journal each evening.

6. Moisturise

I got some lovely hand cream for Christmas, I'm especially fond of Soap and Glorys hand food! But like I said before If something isn't a part of my routine it just doesn't get done, and in this case just doesn't get used! My hands get extremely dry, so as a part of my evening routine I am going to use hand cream before bed each night. I've been keeping it on my side table to remind me. 

7. Try new reciepes

Together we want to try some different recipes and eat at home more often. We tend to cook the same old meals over and over again, so I've been looking for and pinning some new ideas on Pinterest.

8. Start a family

This is more of a hope rather than a resolution, as it is out of our hands. We hope that we will be finally blessed with our rainbow baby, after two consecutive miscarriages and trying for a grand total of two years, we are more than ready to become a family.

9. Be happy

All in all this year we just want to be happy, healthy and feel good about life and ourselves.