Monday 4 August 2014

Another 3 years...!

It's crazy how time flies! So much has happened in my life that would have been great to put down on paper to look back on in future years, as I enjoy doing now with some of my original posts. I've set up a daily reminder now so hopefully I can get back on track with some regular updates. 

So what have I been up to since May 2011? Wow, well at that time Amelia and I were just celebrating our first wedding anniversary, only a couple of months ago we celebrated our 4th! As each year passes we look back on that magical day and can't believe how quick time has gone since then. And now it's not just the 2 of us, our wonderful family has been extended by +2; Isabelle Verona Elce joining us on 13th September 2011, followed by Chloe Olivia Elce on 22nd July 2013. So yeah, Izzy is already 3 in a month's time whilst we've just been away to celebrate Chloe's first. Crazy! 

Work wise, I'm going through an interesting change at present. After 6 and a half years working in the Learning Resource Centre team at North Notts College I have been moved centrally to the Quality Unit. I'll be doing similar work to what I have been doing in recent years but it's very different to what I came here to do, but it's what I made the post. This new role will come with more responsibilities, more opportunities to effect change, and with that comes more pressure! Looking forward to getting started once this summer has passed. 

Football? Well I'm no longer actively playing any more (thanks kids!). In fact, I can't remember the last ball I kicked! That sucks! I brought to an end my refereeing journey after Xmas this year as I was no longer enjoying it. I do miss it at times, maybe more so the money and the fitness than actually being out in the middle. I just felt I'd reached a point where I needed to be with the family instead of giving up every spare second, and that's perhaps where the downfall came, I did too much. Maybe if I'd just done a game per fortnight I may still be out there this season, but it's not to be right now. I'm certainly enjoying having the weekend with the girls, though it's a shame Amelia works on Sundays but I enjoy having both for the day to do what we wish. I don't know if I'll go back to reffing at a later date. I've hung onto the kit for now on the off chance I pick up a friendly or return to it, but I can't see it at present. Only the fact that I've put on a fair amount of weight since finishing is giving me thoughts about returning but as it stands now, I couldn't do Sundays anyway and wouldn't want to give up our family day so there's limited opportunities to return. The thought of not having at least one attempt at Level 4 may always be a regret but the way I left the game I don't think I would have made it to that level anyway. The main thing I'll miss is the opportunitites to do the abroad tournaments like I did in 2011 (Lisbon) and 2012 (Barcelona). But if I continue to register each year there's nothing stopping me going to a couple of them now and again. 


We're counting down the months until March 2015, or I suppose April 2015. March is when our personal loan is paid off, so April's payday is going to be nice! It has seemed like forever since taking it on and it's been a real burden on the finances for almost a decade if not longer. It will feel like life can really get started once we start having money to enjoy ourselves with. We'll be ready for a big family holiday by then and we can also start to turn our house into a home and do a whole bunch of other things. 

Ok, so this is enough for now. Hopefully it won't be another 3 years until the next post. I'll be looking at putting something together most days from now on, we'll see what happens :)