2014 in review

So given that it's the last day of January I thought it might be high time to think back on what 2014 has brought me.

I started the year with a brand new, amazing job. The work was great, my colleagues were fantastic, the location was top-notch, the whole package was fabulous. For the first time in my life I had a conventional grown-up job and I couldn't have been happier.

In 2014 me and my better half went on our first big adventure abroad - a trip to Morocco! We rode camels through desert dunes (have I mentioned I'm terrified of heights?), we spent the night in a Bedouin camp, we ate under the stars, we explored the capital, wandered in the souks and haggled (poorly) for our souvenirs and got lost in labyrinth that is the medina.

After pancake day I decided, as a bit of an after thought to do the whole of Lent without a single taste of chocolate. I never thought I had it in me to go half that long without it, but the truth of the matter is I somehow did it. And might proud of it I am too!

Then in May I was made redundant. Heartbroken as I was to lose the best job I've had thus far I went back home, recharged my batteries and then returned for the all too familiar job hunting process. In just under two months I got the job where I am now, so all in all I did well and was quite lucky.

In August I started the new job, which I love. My team is great and the job is good fun. Fingers crossed I can imagine a bright future if all goes well. Life as a grown-up is good.

Due to a series of events I ended up having two periods during which the boyfriend was abroad and I had the house all to myself. That was a first in my life. For almost two weeks whenever I was home I had Friends on all the time, just because. I knitted on the big sofa (it's a two-seater, so big needles are a big no no) and listened to French music whenever I felt like it. It was a nice pampering me time.

We had a series of short but quite enjoyable outings - we got lost in a maize maze, we went to a music festival in Cheltenham, we went to Oxford a number of times, we went to ComicCon twice, we cosplayed, we celebrated my 28th in London with a true Portuguese custard tart, we handled birds of prey (at least one of us did... I just took the cool photos!) and we had a weekend away in Ludlow.

Towards the end of the year, and quite by a stroke of luck, we went to see Avenue Q. It's been ages since I last saw a musical on stage, so the whole experience just reminded me of something I love so much that I had lost touch with for a while. Definitely an experience to be repeated soon!

And then we had the most chilled Christmas holidays, nestled in our living room, watching movies in our pyjamas and playing board games.

All in all it was a fantastic 2014. And something tells me 2015 is promising to be even better!