The unmasking of Christmas and what comes next!

Alas. It has happened. As the final notes of Last Christmas ring in our ears and the scent of turkey leaves our kitchens, the sad reality of post-holiday life sets in.

Yes. The time to bid farewell to the festive season and say hello to the year ahead is here.

With that, of course comes the task of taking down the decorations. Something I never quite look forward to.

That’s not to say, it has to be a sad affair.

It’s an emotional rollercoaster, and a true reminder of the fresh start that’s just around the corner.

Join me as I share the unmasking of Christmas with my friend and now typical guest of the blog, Mandy. Here we go!

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I will start by admitting that most of the decorations had already been put away by my arrival. I was just helping with the tree and packing everything away correctly.

The tree is the best part anyway. Plus, it allows me to share one last ounce of Christmas with you all, which I am more than happy to do.

Standing with one last view of the tree in all its Christmas glory, we took in the sight, storing it firmly in our memories, before making the first move.

Beginning with the ornaments, I went around the tree, grabbing each bauble and decorative piece and handing them to Mandy, who was waiting with bubble wrap and a box to wrap them up in, to preserve ready for use the following year.

It’s always good to have a system…a very well organised system at that.

Once every bauble had been taken down, I unplugged the lighting at the wall and together we walked round and round, taking with us the lights and rolling them up as we went.

That’s a lifesaver by the way. Otherwise when it comes to early December 2024 and you come to bring out the decs once again, there will be knots and tangled wires to mess about with before you even get to the good part. Nothing is worth that hassle. NOTHING!

The next stage is the part which breaks the heart the most. Watching the tree be taken down and placed back into its box.

Now this particular tree is gorgeous when set out but a pain to put out and in the same way, put back again.

Each part is colour coded and sectioned according to size.

It is a 7ft tree, so I’m sure you’ll understand that placing every individual piece into a box, which has been battered and bruised over the years from transportation, can be rather difficult.

However, we managed to squeeze everything in safely and without damage to the tree itself. Perfect.

To finalise the packing away of the tree, the box was taped down and sealed, so just like with the baubals, it could be ready for when it is next needed.

Seeing everything packed away is a sad sight. You look around and every area of a room appears somewhat lost and bare, like it’s missing something.

You get used to it over time, but initially, it just doesn’t seem right.

The first few weeks. Even the first few days after Christmas actually, can feel odd. That sense of magic fades in a sense, but it doesn’t have to.

As mentioned earlier, something has gone, but something else has replaced it. A new year. A new 365 days. Another chance to move forward and start again.

I guess my post about decorations isn’t really about decorations at all. It’s an analogy for life and how you treat it.

I bet you didn’t see that one coming, huh?

The blank space you feel from that loss of decorations isn’t there for long. The same goes for yourself, that space you feel. That void you think is there. You can fill it throughout the year with new memories and new opportunities.

Whether that is with family and friends or through new ventures, if you take care of them and what is ahead, you will be ready for anything.

Bring it on!

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2024 Vision: My 7 Personal Goals for the Year Ahead

Hey there, fellow goal-setters and dream-chasers!

Can you believe it’s 2024 already? I mean, wasn’t it just yesterday that we were figuring out what to do with 2023? Time sure knows how to sprint!

In another months time I will be turning over the next page in this book of life…in more than one way. First of all, I will be turning 26, so I am edging closer to the dreaded 30. Also, I will be finishing my current work contract. As you can tell, new adventures are quickly heading around the corner for me and as daunting as they may seem right now, they don’t have to be that way.

I’m actually excited for this new year. I’m ready for this fresh start and for the next chapter. It’s another opportunity to make further steps towards true happiness and the life I am striving for.

So, let’s kick off this year with some good vibes and a sprinkle of practicality. I’ve got 7 things on my radar – not resolutions, because I’ve never been a fan of the term, but instead goals I intend to achieve.

Stick around and dive into a new year of possibilities with me. Let’s roll!

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1) SECURE A NEW JOB ROLE

As I mentioned above, 2024 is starting off with a slight conundrum. Where my career will take me next.

I’m not worried. If anything, I’d say I feel prepared.

In this past year and a half I have trained towards my level 3 Digital Content Producer qualification, to which I earned a Distinction for my efforts. Kerching!

The only thing in my way, is confidence in myself. Apart from that, all seems well. Once I get over that barrier, I can’t see it being a difficult task. I just need to get up and get out there.

2) START SAVING MONEY AT THE END OF EACH MONTH

Since being thrown in at the deep end, and living on my own for the first time in my life, I have had to really step up my game when it comes to my finances.

I guess you could chuck this in as a follow up to the job goal, as from that I will earn the money with which to begin saving further.

This to me is one of the more important goals for my year ahead. It will be nice to look back at the end of the year and see a bit of money leftover and put back for a rainy day. You never know when it will be needed in the future.

3) CUT BACK ON MY ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Before anyone jumps to conclusions here, I am not saying I have a problem with alcohol, nor that I am stopping drinking all together.

What I am saying, is that I just want to reduce the alcohol I am consuming currently.

I’ve found that in the last year or so, my drinking levels increased slightly. Not in a bad way, but more than I feel I want to.

For a while, when I thought about hanging out with my friends and being social, it would mainly revolve around going to the pub and having a drink, which it doesn’t have to. Drinking shouldn’t be the only way to have a good time together.

Hence why I have made it a goal for myself in 2024. Make sense?

4) BECOME MORE CONSISTENT WITH BLOGGING

Midway through 2023, I made a stand for myself and finally returned to blogging. I knew it was needed and was the right time for myself to begin doing so.

It took me a while to jump back into things due to other commitments and trying to overcome the anxiety of my return, but in December I truly made that leap properly with several posts about my adventures throughout the Christmas period.

Now in January, and with a new year in play, I am ready to get these postings more regular and even increase my activities online.

And although I have written this as consistency with blogging, this will also involve my promotions on social media. I am prepared to improved myself and further my prospects, which leads me on nicely to goal 5!

5) GET MY NEW PROJECT OFF THE GROUND

This is something I am very excited about. It is quite the passion project and will allow me to create more opportunities for myself as well as be a source of information for others.

I have created another blog, which I will work on separately to this one.

It is called In the West Mids and is available to be viewed online as of right now.

So just to quickly introduce it. I am obviously from the West Midlands and have lived here all of my life. It is a subject I know very well and I have always been interested in advocating for the history of the region and finding hidden gems right on my doorstep.

I have some big plans for this website, so keep your eyes peeled for that. But in the mean time, I have work to do to build it up.

6) REDISCOVER MY LOVE OF READING

One thing I have always loved, is reading. When I used to feel low or needed to chill myself out, I would turn to a book and just let myself get lost in the words in front of me.

It’s a sad truth though, that I have now somehow managed to lose the feeling I once had towards reading.

It’s not that I don’t want to. I have plenty of books that I have not read. I look at them and want to pick one up and get started, but I am finding it a challenge.

This is a goal I am not going to push too heavily, but I am going to aim to slowly rebuild that passion.

So if anyone has any book recommendations, please send them my way. I will happily look into them!

7) MAKE MYSELF A PRIORITY AGAIN

This is the big one. Number 7 isn’t just a goal for me, but perhaps something many of you might want to think about also during the course of this year.

Over the last couple of years I have done a lot of things to improve my life. There is no doubt about that.

However, I am aware there are parts of my life where I still put myself last.

There are times when I forget to take care of me and think about what I want for my own future.

I don’t want to ignore myself anymore and you shouldn’t do that to yourselves either.

I want the best for me. It isn’t selfish to say so either. If anything, it is smart and only allows for further self-improvement along the way. So that is just what I am going to do. Aim for the best and figure out what I can to cut myself some slack and build myself up instead of putting myself last.

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Well, there you have it. We made it to the end of my little list of 7 personal but very important goals for 2024.

Let’s dive headfirst into the adventure that is 2024. Life’s too short for “what-ifs,” so let’s make it a year of “why nots”. Here’s to achieving, growing, and surprising ourselves along the way. See you on the flip side of success, my friends.

What goals have you set for yourself in 2024? Feel free to share them in the comments.

A bit of Christmas food for thought!

We’re now seven days into December. Already a week into this new month.

That’s exciting, because we’re a step closer to Christmas, but also quite frightening because of how quickly time is going.

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about that. I’m still undecided.

As just a quick update then, because I know I haven’t posted these past two days and obviously I’m trying to keep myself as frequent as possible with the December updates.

So yesterday evening, I went to my first Christmas meal of the season. It was at a local pub with my friends from the coffee shop I have mentioned several times already these last few posts. They are becoming the stars of this blog recently.

I turned up dressed as an Elf. More to come on that in a future post.

I would like to say I stuck to the festive theme and ordered a Christmas dinner, but I can’t.

I had what seemed to be, Hunters Chicken. It came with chips, peas and onion rings. I of course smothered it with tomato ketchup. It had to be done!

It did have a Christmassy name to it. The Fairytale New Yorker, which due to recent news, is quite a tribute now come to think of it.

I was a little mislead though. I ordered it two weeks ago thinking it was a burger. The menu made it seem as so. So when it arrived I was a little disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong. It tasted nice, but just not what I had expected to be eating.

Not that a burger is any less plain for a Christmas feast.

What did make it better though, was my dessert. A Chocolate Fudge Cake with Ice Cream. Now that was DELICIOUS and EVERYTHING I was hoping for and more.

The presentation was perfect. Chocolate sauce drizzled everywhere. I know for a fact the calories in that dish would be out of this world and ridiculous, but sometimes you have to just say, ‘forget it. It’s Christmas!’

Moving away from the food though, it was the company that made the night what it was. We shared so many laughs and enjoyed some amazing photo opportunities together. Including a few cheeky snaps in the Santa’s grotto the pub had setup.

It was sectioned off but we still managed to take a little look. The staff clearly knew we were in there taking a look but we had to be quick so we didn’t overstay our welcome.

I also had a great seat on our table. I was sitting right in front of the television while the football was on. I was definitely invested in the conversation, but I couldn’t help but look up once or twice to see the updates between Manchester United and Chelsea.

Talking of which, I was not happy about the 2-1 win for Man United but that’s by the by.

At the end of the night, I read out a mini speech and prayer. It was something I had written with everyone in mind.

After the year we had all experienced, I wanted to shine a bit of positivity on what seemed like battle after battle.

I wanted everyone to know that what has happened this year, although difficult at times, has lead to truly incredible strength and tenacity shown by everyone and that next year, as long as we stick together, we can only move onwards and upwards.

It’s true. This journey needs to be walked as part of a team. Not fighting alone.

I think that is a great message for anyone reading this actually. Through every tough circumstance you face, never feel you have to face it alone. It’s easier to fight on when you have someone fighting with you, in your corner!

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Always keep the faith no matter the situation!

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that there was something I wanted to speak more on.

It seemed so important that I could not place alongside yesterday’s conversation. It didn’t seem right or fitting. It seemed better to discuss it separately, and so that is exactly what I am doing now.

So, as I started to say yesterday, I went to a fortnightly get-together where we do praise and worship.

This particular evening truly hit me deep within and made me think. Although it wasn’t directly based around Christmas, the message itself screamed Christmas spirit.

Before I go into it, I can’t promise it will be a overly happy and jovial post like usual. It’s real and needed to be shared.

We watched a 16-minute video together that took a deep dive into the background of a popular hymn, ‘It is Well with My Soul’.

A traditional hymn that has been modernised and updated on many occasions. A beautiful song, which I’ve had saved on my Spotify playlist for a good time now. It’s definitely worth listening to if you’ve never heard it before.

But, despite my love for the song, I wasn’t aware of its roots.

The video was from the Tabernacle Choir and had narration from Hugh Bonneville, who, if you’ve seen Downton Abbey, you’ll know is quite the actor.

This breakdown spoke of a story from the 1800s.

A husband and wife from Chicago, America, Horatio and Anna, with four young daughters.

Towards one Christmas, the family was set to spend the holiday together away from home. Due to work commitments, Horatio had to hold back a week or two but convinced his wife to take their children and set sail, and they would meet closer to the date.

On one evening, Anna and her girls were sitting together. Praying together. Excited for their upcoming reunion with Horatio.

Unfortunately, that evening, the ship they were sailing on hit into an iceberg, and a bit like the Titanic, it took many victims with it. These victims included the loss of Anna and Horatio’s children.

Horatio learned of the incident and, although distressed, wrote down his feelings as a thought to maintain peace in a difficult time. These words would become the beginning verse of the song’s lyrics.

“When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.“

Horatio and Anna both found peace and knew they had to continue on. They tried again, and they had two more children. Another girl and a little boy.

Their son fell ill, and just like their girls, they had lost their son also.

The husband and wife had a seventh child. One that would live a long and happy life.

The couple then found their calling. Helping lost and abandoned children. Their youngest daughter would later take over their work and open a children’s home, which is amazingly still open and running today.

I know it sounds like I just shared a story that might shatter you a little, but I think it shows just how far love, support, and faith can take you.

I just had to share that today and hope it hits you the way it did with me. Again, sorry for the teary moments if there were any.

No matter what you’re going through, search for the faith within you and keep striving for a better outcome. Even in times when it feels like that is impossible.

I’m adding the video below so you can check it out for yourself.

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