2011

Wow, has it been a year already... I said in that blog post last year that I didn't have any plans, and have pretty much stuck to that, taking things as they come. So for the moment I'm going to reflect on the last year, and think ahead to the next year. 


Work
I have stayed working with Anritsu for the last year - my placement job (and job between degrees). At some point I moved desk more into the corner, which is a nice location as I can look out into the office. A lot of the members of the team left (a few all within the same month or so for different reasons), so we have some new people, but at the moment there is only myself and one other person (outside the Team Leader) who have been part of the team for more than a year. The team size is a little smaller I think (even after new hires), by a person or two, but we are getting work done fine. There is a big implementation happening next year so it is going to be an interesting year. 


Outside of myself, Liz switched job to be a Supervisor at LUSH (that strong-smelling soap shop) and has enjoyed working there. 


Social
Outside of work, I have still been playing Magic from time to time. Obviously the most important thing to happen this year has been Liz getting pregnant, which is something we are both excited about and looking forward to. 


Xmas
This Xmas was a fairly long one. Liz's Mum visited like previous years. This year for Xmas day we were at my Mums - she picked us up in the morning, and opened our stocking presents when we got there, as well as general other presents. My brother finally got me the Ice Cream maker I had been asking for for a few years (sometime before I started Uni certainly), which I need to try out at some point. 


For Boxing Day, we went to my Dad's house; there were about 13 people over for dinner, however Dad seemed to have cooked enough for 30... 


The two days after that we went to Lincoln and stayed at Liz's Mum's house for the night, and had a wander around Lincoln town centre before getting the train back. 




New Year
It is New Years Eve again - like last year we don't really have anything planned, apart from spend the time together. Liz is working tomorrow (and can't drink anyway) so we didn't bother with any fancy parties or anything. I might break out the Absinthe again (I found some really tasty stuff from a stall in Milton Keynes). 




2012
2012 is actually a year I might have some things planned for. Liz is due at the end of May, so everything is going to change from then. Before that, we are hoping to go on a little holiday together (small place in Wales, enjoy the countryside) for a week. 


At some point (when our current lease runs out) we are hoping to move house, preferably to somewhere outside of Luton, but not too far away so I can still commute without having to drive/get public transport (and if so, not for that long). We considered St Albans, but it is unlikely we will be able to afford it (something about being in the top 10 of a Quality of Life survey probably). Liz has been told about somewhere a little bit North of Luton, which is something we will look into; an initial scan of houses online showed it to be a lot cheaper than St Albans, whether it is something we can still afford, I don't know - there is also the area to consider (i.e. does it have enough within walking distance so we can get by without a car). 


The baby will be taking up a lot of our attention for the immediate future however. I am immensely looking forward to it - it is going to be an exciting year!