Happenings

Hello all! Well it's been about 6 weeks since I last blogged, and lots has happened in that time, both good and bad, happy and sad (but mainly positive, I'm pleased to report) :-). Here's a potted summary of what I've been up to:

Since the last time I blogged, I have been:

• Remembering my Grandad; not only on those obvious occasions like his funeral or his birthday, which was last Tuesday, but also at random moments too. We're all generally coping really well, but I think there will always be those times where something triggers a flood of memories, and those are the times we'll be smiling through our tears, knowing that we were lucky to have had such a wonderful man in our lives for so long.

• Singing, dancing and acting up a storm with my drama buddies at our stage society. Not only are we deep into rehearsals for our forthcoming pantomime, "Jack and the Beanstalk" (I'm playing the Queen and am also a performance director), but we also put on a charity show to raise money for a local hospice and the Salvation Army in memory of one of our best loved members who sadly died of cancer earlier this year. As well as ourselves, a cheerleading troupe, 2 bands and a male vocalist also took part and the show was a massive success. We performed to packed out houses on both nights (particularly on the Saturday performance, which was sold out!) and the whole thing felt like a really fitting tribute to a wonderful lady's memory.

• Spending quality time with my friends: I've met up with my best friend from school and been introduced to her gorgeous baby daughter for the first time, I've been to the greyhound racing and for an amazing Chinese meal to celebrate two different friends' birthdays and also enjoyed meals out just because I could. As always, being around my friends has been fantastic and I'm excited that there are more events coming up. Lion King, Manchester's Christmas Markets...I can't wait!

• Working on a new project at work: I've recently accepted the offer of moving on to a new team at work, which has been ring fenced to deal with a particular project. Whilst some aspects of my role have remained exactly the same and I've stayed with my current manager, which I'm delighted about, I've now got a whole new challenge to tackle and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in. Plus being on this team = better hours, which I love. No more early mornings or late nights for me :-)

• Shopping: Both for me and other people, for Christmas, birthdays or just for now, online or at the shops... there's hardly been a week gone by lately when I haven't been shopping. Regular readers of my blog will know that it's one of my favourite pastimes, and I'm only sorry that I haven't got a better camera so that I could post pictures of what I've bought on here!

• Rekindling my love of reading (no pun intended!):  Although I bought a Kindle back in the summer, I've especially started getting back into reading in the last couple of months or so and it's really become one of the highlights of my daily commute. Plus the free and low cost books in the Kindle store mean that I've been broadening my reading horizons and trying books that I may not have considered before. Expect a full post on this soon! :-)

Anyway, that's all from me for now. How's life been treating you over the past few weeks? Anything exciting to report? Tell me all...your comments brighten my day :-)

'Til next time...