Achievement Unlocked: Level 28

Hello There,

Welcome back to my blog. As the heading suggests I've levelled up once again. Hitting the big 2-8 has made me really think about my life plan and how far I am from completing the goals on it; yes I am neurotic and have a life plan. I have a terrible habit of comparing myself to where other people both younger and older are against where I feel I am, and have been feeling a lack of a sense of achievement and with all the shifts in my career life, my personal life has taken a real hit and been neglected. Nevertheless that's a story for another time, how my birthday weekend actually worked out was actually really chillaxed. With one of my aunt's over from SA visiting my other aunt in Portugal, I was lucky enough to have her come visit and show her our home. So my parents drove up with her in the car, along with some tools to help us grow as adults and attempt to learn some DIY (I feel like this is a skill I really need to learn before I don't have anyone around to teach it to me).

As per typical Nel/Scott fashion, we're always running a bit late, but with Si off on a driving lesson, this gave some ample time for us to get as much done in terms of rails up and tables fastened before his return and our trip out into Halifax. I also got to boast about the delicious Keto Blueberry muffins we'd made for them to try out over a cup of coffee and to discuss what my aunt had been up to during her trip to the UK. Once Si was back from his lesson we made our way to the Potting Shed in Halifax; which I have been obsessed with since seeing there garden terrace and have agreed with Si that once we're carrying a bundle of joy, this would be the venue of our baby shower, so we could try out the delicious looking food. Turns out that there's 2 of the Potting Shed's one in Halifax and one in Bingley; with us all having to go out we had to limit the distance we were going; however if anyone has tried to find parking in central Halifax…It's a nightmare. I honestly wished we'd tried Bingley.

Nevertheless we made our way into the restaurant and they'd reserved a table for us on the ground floor as there was a party happening on the terrace. I was grateful to see an edible "Happy Birthday" sign left for me and we got seated on this stunning money tables and rustic

wooden benches. We samples sharer boards and Pitta's whilst conversing over politics and sipping drinks; all while bathing in a warm sunny glow from the window. It was a very chilled out affair despite the conversation topics that came up. We begrudgingly made our way back to the house and I gave a tour to my aunt and discussed the vision we have the for house; to which she gave her own standard opinion and comparison to my sister's home she purchased. There honestly wasn't enough time to be had with her and I was very sad to see her leave; but we promised we'd be making a trip that way next year after Sam's wedding; although the real reason for us visiting was not mentioned as I didn’t want to upset her.

After a teary goodbye, Si sat down and we plopped on the couch to watch some Netflix Specials. The next day we received a text from Si's folks to say they wanted to drop presents off for me, I mentioned we were heading out and they both offered to take us out for the day; which was super nice of them. We headed out to B&Q (I'm definitely getting old because this was super exciting) to go look for some lampshades for the office before heading out to Tong Garden Centre for some plants. We broke off as they went to look for something for their house and Si and I went to the lighting section to see what was available and comparable to what we'd seen in NEXT, we also were looking for inspiration for other parts of the house as well. Si talked me down to a plain black lampshade that would limit the bright light and we made our way out to the car park and on to Tong Garden. It looked really weird as we only ever go during the Christmas period so seeing everything in standard summer displays. So having a peruse around the place we went to look at all the plants and Gazebo options and came across from African Animal displays like the craning crane and the Gallant giraffe; and Si's personal favourite the Ginormous Gorilla- which we are never going to have in our back garden, I just don't have the heart to tell him!

We sat down to try some vegan; gluten free brownie. it wasn't actually terrible; but lacked substance I think before inviting them back in the evening to try one of the meals we'd prepped from our HelloFresh Days. As they agreed we had to rush out to grab the ingredients from the Broadway before heading back to make sure the house was presentable and food would be cooked in time. If you've ever been invited to my home; chances are you'll know that there's never a lack of food nor drinks to have and the quality will always be M&S or above as I'd like to ensure the best ingredients are used. We went with the Pork Ragu Pappardelle which I'd volunteered for Si to make; he's had such a remarkable improvement in his ability in the kitchen since the first days we'd met. I prepared the sharers and started with feta balls, prawn cocktails and chicken and chorizo skewers, served with potato salad and a greek salad too. The final dessert was servings or mini colin the caterpillars and Baklava. We poured out bottles of red and white wine and served gins and lemonade all the while listening to their adventures in Portugal and family genealogy.

All in all, I feel like I have had a very mature and relaxing birthday with well thought out gifts from those closest to me and cards to say happy birthday from others. I am truly grateful for the support and love over the last year and whilst I anticipate removing the final webs of entangled Hood family drama, I look forward to hopefully adding more Hoods to our gatherings in the future.

As always, ciao for now.

x