My weekend in London

London. The Big Smoke. I had a brief stay in this fabulous city last weekend. The weather was glorious, we saw loads of the touristy stuff, and generally had a marvellous time!

I went with my mum and my eldest son. We got an early train into Euston and headed straight to the Tower of London. My son especially loved seeing the Crown Jewels. We took a river bus down the Thames to the London Eye, which was close to our hotel, dumped our bags at the hotel, and headed to the west end for a matinee performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is my son's favourite book. The show was fab and we all really enjoyed it. 

Next we walked to some touristy hotspots. Nelson's Column, Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Westminster Abbey. All in the gorgeous sunshine!!! We really were lucky. 

Tea was at a Turkish/Greek restaurant and the food was amazing. Then back to the hotel to sleep and recharge for another full day trekking across the capital.

We got up on the Sunday to more glorious sunshine, and fuelled up on all-you-can-eat breakie. First up I went for an hour in The Florence Nightingale Museum. Being a student nurse this was right up my street. Also our hotel was converted from an old Lying-in Hospital. You can take the girl out of university...

We walked to Harrods via Buckingham Palace and timed it just right for the changing of the guard. Sunshine meant bare arms, and I got my picture taken by a fair few strangers outside Lizzy's. 

Harrods was nice, and we had our lunch in the Disney Cafe, more for my benefit than my child's. It was lovely! Next a taxi took us to Liberty of London. What a beautiful building! And my kind of store :-)

A very brisk march back to Euston got us there with 15 mins to spare before our train home. A whistle-stop weekend tour of a magical city!

New year, new me?

I'm a bit late to the party, but welcome to 2015! This was going to be a positive post about new beginnings, but after some contemplation actually it's a bit darker than I planned. Well, life can't always be rainbows and butterflies can it?!

2014 was a mixed one for me. I started my nurse training again. This led to all kinds of anxieties and excitement. I have made some fab new friends and I think we are a tight little group. But I have struggled with juggling a degree, the placements and being a mummy. It's hard feeling like I'm missing out on stuff with my children, however, I have waited 10 years to go back and do this, and it has been 2 years in the planning, so I knew what to expect. My Hubbs is amazingly supportive and has never once grumbled about the long shifts, my endless amounts of homework or revision, or the fact that I have seriously neglected him and the kids to follow my dream. My long term friends have been amazing, knowing what this means to me, and appreciating that they can't be my priority for the next few years. 

So back to the present. Do I want a new me for 2015? Nope. Im happy with the old me. The me that works hard to get good grades. The me that my children adore just because my title is Mummy. The me that my husband married, flaws and all. The me that my true friends love, despite the fact that I'm not available much anymore.

My New Years resolution is to focus on me. I will no longer attempt to please everyone, everyone can please themselves!  No more putting anyone else's needs above mine and those of my family. 2015 is MY year. Anyone who wants to be in my life can earn the right to be there!

Oh, and on a lighter note, I knitted a hat to start my new year knitting :-)