NOVEMBER-DECEMBER // In Rearview

Autumn leaves and wellies

I've been particularly bad at this blogging lark recently - so much so that I didn't even manage to write November's brief update. The last two months have passed by so quickly that they all sort of blended into one anyway, so I'll just round them up together..

I was signed off sick from work through the whole of November and my colour-coordinated planner was disproportionately blue with all the medication changes, blood tests, GP appointments and hospital visits. When I wasn't caught up with that, I spent a considerable quantity of time hiding under blankets, doing jigsaws and binge-watching three series' worth of House. 

I managed back to work for a few weeks come December, using some of my holiday allocation to break myself in gently at the beginning, but it was all a bit much and I ended up being signed off again just a few days before Christmas.
 
Prior to being signed off, I'd been finding work so tiring that I just didn't have the energy left for much else and things like church had taken a bit of a back seat. I made a conscious effort over the last couple of months to re-engage with church, getting back into a regular Sunday routine as well as starting to attend a weekly small group and a ladies' Bible study, and it was encouraging to have that time to connect at a more personal level than rushing off after a service generally allows. It's been a really exciting period for our church too, with a big gathering towards the end of November where we packed out a hotel's conference facilities, set the vision for things to come and celebrated some of the amazing things God's already done.

That was followed up by 'The Sofa Sessions' (an event for all the women in our church to come together over cupcakes, crafts, mulled wine and pampering, to worship and to hear four brave ladies share their stories) and a month full of Christmas activities including carol services, Secret Santa, a family party, and a couple of cosy nights of coffee and acoustic music at my favourite venue - The Coffee Apothecary.

City Church Coffee Apothecary Christmas 2015

Besides church, November was a mostly-quiet and restful month, save a few little adventures: afternoon tea and cocktails for Alison's birthday; a day out in Edinburgh with friends (which turned out to be pretty tough - my already-miserable vibes made worse by the sad news that our oldest cat had to be put down); beach strolls with the family; and a successful Saturday of shopping and celebrating after Christy said 'Yes' to the dress!

Nov collage 15

December felt much busier with those few weeks at work taking a lot out of me and Christmas preparations running at full pelt. Lots of shopping; lots of wrapping; lots of meal-planning; and lots of journeys up and down to my parents' house! Other than that, I started running again in a bid to give my mood a bit of a boost; and I had a lovely Christmas catch-up with school friends over cocktails and Italian food. 

Dec 2015 collage

And just like that Christmas was upon us. We spent Christmas Eve at my church's carol service, followed up with beers and boardgames at BrewDog's 'DogTap'; Christmas Day was full of family fun and feasting on lots of 'Very Vegan' food; Christy and Gordon played excellent hosts to both their families, inviting us to share Boxing Day in their new house; and then the year concluded in a similar fashion, enjoying drinks, boardgames and cheese with my parents', Christy and Gordon, as we brought in the bells and waved 2015 a fond farewell!

xo

Post a Comment

0 Comments