It’s been an awesome 2-3 months. I really should have blogged more but I just didn’t! #lazyarse

So here are a few of the highlights:

Josh left Middle school and started High School – After being at the village schools for 9 years it felt like the end of an era when he left. But he was ready for the change and the challenge of high school. I was so emotional the night of his prom. For a while, back in the dark days of 2017, this was something I feared I’d not live long enough to see. That sounds so dramatic now, sat in my cancer-free bubble but 18 months ago it was a real fear.

Kefalonia – Our family summer holiday was totally amazing. Perfect. Just what we needed after the trauma of last year. Kefalonia is such a beautiful island and I defy any of you not to fall in love with it. We chilled out massively, ate way too much incredibly good Greek food, hired a speedboat for a day, rode jet skis, hired a car to explore the island, snorkelled, watched Turtles swimming in Argostolli harbour, drank cocktails and, most importantly, recharged and regrouped.

Uni open days – We’ve been to a fair few university open days throughout September. Most weekends have involved at least one uni visit! Exeter, Southampton, Nottingham, Birmingham, Swansea…. We still have more to do. I’ve totally loved seeing these universities, imagining our girl living her best life at each one. She has it all ahead of her, the excitement, the growth, the new experiences. Whichever uni she chooses she will thrive. It so difficult to decide which one would be “best” for her, since they all have different attractions and drawbacks. University of Birmingham took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting to love it – but I did. I came away so proud that our wonderful city has such an incredible university. We all loved Swansea University. It wasn’t shiny or grand in the way that Birmingham was, but it has a compact campus, a nurturing feel and is across the road from the beach.

London – I don’t get down to London too often and when I do it’s usually a work related visit. But I’ve now been twice within the last couple of months – once for gin tasting and afternoon tea (as in more gin in a teapot rather than actual tea!) with a couple of my besties and once to a party. And both times I was reminded how much I actually like London. It can be a bit “peopley” for me, and I would usually chose the coast or countryside over the city, but I do love the buzz and vibe. Mental note – more trips to London required!

Peaky Blinders at the Black Country. Museum – I have never seen a single episode of Peaky Blinders, so when one of my friends told me she’d booked us tickets to this I was dubious. And when she told me I needed to dress up for it I wasn’t impressed – I’m not a fan of fancy dress! We knew this night out was a “Sadie Special”. Sadie is the queen of “different” nights out and sometimes they work brilliantly, sometimes not so much! But one thing is certain – a Sadie Special night out is always an adventure.

Girly spa weekend – One of my friends was 50 a few months ago. To celebrate we booked a 2 night mini break at the Dormy House in the beautiful Cotswolds. This was such a fab treat. I loved spending downtime with 2 of my besties, got to have an amazing full body massage (even though it did take me forever to fill out the medical questionnaire! 😱) and ate way too much posh, gorgeous food (I managed to put 3 pounds on over the weekend!! 😱). The Cotswolds is a beautiful part of our country and we did consider taking a long hike in the rain (as if!) but instead spent a whole day lounging beside the pool, sweating it out in the steam room and drinking Prosecco in the bar. We didn’t take many photos (#fail) – I haven’t even got one of the birthday girl!

Purton Ships’ Graveyard – Yes you did read it correctly. When the kids’ school closed for a training day, Ad and I decided to take a day off work too in the hope we could spend a family day together. When Ad suggested we take a walk along a Gloucestershire section of the river Severn where a number of boats were deliberately beached to reinforce the river bank, well I absolutely could not contain my excitement 😫 Annoyingly, the kids were up for it too which rendered me completely outvoted! The October weather was kind to us which made the day pleasant enough. It wasn’t the most exciting place I’ve ever been but if you’re looking for a walk somewhere a little different this is a pretty decent place to go.

The Summer is now well and truly over. It’s October. It’s raining. It’s windy. The weather is only going to become more miserable as we trundle through Autumn. But that means we can look forward to cosy nights in, blustery walks on the beach and wearing oversize jumpers to hide the result of a Summer of over indulgence!

Bring. It. On. ❤️