Christmas back home 2010

Well, I'm not too sure if anyone still checks this blog out or not but I have been inspired to continue this diary thing a bit longer by Iain and Lorna who are still over in Auckland (mcavoyandginger.blogspot.com - sorry, I had this wrong!)  I've just been reading through both their posts and my old posts and I am so glad I have this as we have already forgotten so much of what we have done, and reading back it brings back all the emotions and thoughts of the moment. So viva the blog, long may it continue...........

Ok, so life isn't quite as interesting now as, "will we go and see some orangutans today?" - "nah, let's kayak down the river today and do the orangutans tomorrow". But it is still rather exciting in a different way ("same same but different" as they say in the markets in Vietnam when asked if something is fake or real.) It's been so great to catch up with family and old friends. There just hasn't been enough hours in the day to see everyone and we still have friends who we haven't got round to yet. It's also been great to be able to explore Glasgow again - it's the old thing about you don't know how good you have it until you've been away and come back again.

In my last post I was basically just updating you on our return to Scottish Soil but now I can update you on everything that's happened since. Have we actually been back 4 and a half months already? Unbelievable.....

Anyway, so Katie got her great job with sportscotland and I got some supply teaching in Motherwell two days a week along with some photography jobs (which were pretty stressful given that I hadn't done that kind of thing for two years and I didn't have my Apple Mac.). Katie started her lecturing again at Jordanhill and I started doing the child protection tutoring again.

We were also living with our friend Clare which although was nice and very convenient, it certainly wasn't ideal. I think flat sharing must be lots of fun when you are 18, after that I think it's best left alone.

Since then I have luckily managed to get a job at a school in Giffnock full time until Easter and we have moved into a flat in Strathbungo in Glasgow. (everyone always asks, including me when Katie told me we were viewing a flat, "where's strathbungo?".) It's basically just next to Queens Park and two minutes away from Pollokshaws West train station.

I have been looking for a good karate club but as yet I haven't found one, if only i could commute to Wellington for training........I really really miss it.

Since the start of December Glasgow has been reintroducing us to cripplingly cold temperatures and dangerous driving conditions. In Wellington there was maybe one icy day I can recall in two years but there was still no need to scrape the car windows. At the moment this is a daily chore. some people think the weather is a real pain in the backside but Katie and I are actually quite enjoying it - I did have to leave my car at work when the school closed though and walk home in the snow. Thankfully there were a healthy number of pubs between my school and my house that we just had to pop into to heat back up again.

So this is Christmas - and we are really looking forward to our first family christmas in 2 years. We have fantastic memories of last Christmas with Iain and Lorna on the beach in the bay of islands but this one feels pretty special being home again. We are also excited about the fact that we can afford to buy real presents for each other again and not have to shop for each other in the local New World supermarket.

Merry Christmas one and all, and never forget to stop once and a while and look around to be thankful for all the things that you have - family, friends, gifts, jobs and most importantly your health if you are lucky enough to still have it.

Steph and Katie xxxx