Sunday Snippets - 26th February 2017

This week has been hard work. I’m still not well and it’s been going on for two weeks now, which is completely wiping me out. Unfortunately, I haven’t really had any time to rest properly, so I’m guessing that isn’t helping me to get better. I’m wondering whether I should take a couple of days off Uni tomorrow and Tuesday to be honest. I hate taking time off, but if I don’t start shifting this virus soon I’m just going to end up worse than I did to start with.

I went to church with my Mum and Dad last Sunday morning, but I found it a real struggle because I felt so unwell and exhausted. When I got home I sorted out my medication for the week ahead and had a bit of lunch. I then popped The Simpsons on and did some blogging. Once I’d got my post up, I watched some videos on YouTube and finished writing my Uni essay. I also caught up with my Uni emails and a few of my blog ones. The rest of the family came over and we did my Mum’s birthday cake and she opened her presents. We all then went to The New Inn for her birthday meal, which was nice but my breathing was really bad and was getting quite scary.

I love these tulips that I’ve got in my room at the moment. Spring is on its way!

I’ve been a bit rubbish with the Crown and Glory weekly photo challenge (surprise surprise!) but Week 2 is ‘New Fave.’ This sparkly heart came in this month’s box and is perfect for a Valentine’s theme. Plus, who can say no to a bit of glitter?!

My Dad took me over to Uni on Monday morning, which to be honest was the last place I wanted to be feeling like I was. We were doing about radio, so had to record interviews with each other on the phone in the studio. Once we’d got our interview, we had to edit a clip from it and then write a link into it. At lunchtime I went to the canteen with the other girls for a bit of a break. In the afternoon we had to choose another story, write a voice-piece that a reporter would say and then record it ourselves in the studio. I was so glad when my Dad came to pick me up and bring me home – I was feeling so unwell. As soon as I got back I curled up on the sofa and had a bit of a nap, as I seem to have even less energy than I normally do at the moment. These two DVDs arrived in the post – I haven’t seen either of them and thought it might be nice to watch them with a friend at some point.

I overslept on Tuesday morning but somehow managed to get to Uni on time. I had a meeting with the Disability Advisor first thing and we talked through my access arrangements for my exam in April. Then I went to my morning lecture, where we were doing about descriptive writing. After my lecture I met up with my mentor. It had been quite a few weeks since we last caught up, so there were quite a few bits to talk about. My Dad brought me home and I spent the afternoon resting on the sofa, as I was still feeling pretty poorly. I wrote a couple of penpal letters and watched some TV. Little Freddie sat next to me – he looks so cute with his ears back when he’s feeling sleepy. In the evening, my friend Sam picked me up and we went round to our friend, Helen’s, for a cuppa and a catch up, which was lovely. Unfortunately when I got home I was feeling so sick. My nausea has been much worse recently, but on Tuesday it was just too much.

I had planned to get up at a reasonable time on Wednesday morning, but that didn’t happen. I’m just feeling so tired and this virus is wiping me out, so I guess the extra sleep was what I needed. I spent the morning starting to transcribe some interviews from an article I was writing, which is always a lengthy process. After I’d had my Fortisip, my Mum and I drove over to Henry Street Garden Centre and met my friend Sarah, baby Charlie and Sarah’s Mum. We went to the café for a chat and cup of tea, and I nibbled on some cake but my nausea was still really bad so I had to bring most of it home. We had a quick look round afterwards, and then we headed home. I felt pretty wiped out, so rested on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon.

Week 3 of the Crown and Glory February photo challenge is ‘Something you Love.’ Although I love Disney Tsum Tsums, this photo actually represents the fact that I love Disney – anything Disney!

I was up fairly early on Thursday morning and my Dad drove me over to Frimley Park Hospital to see my jaw physio. We went through a couple of my exercises and then she tried some acupuncture with me. I’ve had it before but never on my face, so that felt a bit scary to begin with! We had some time to kill afterwards, so popped into Costa Coffee for a hot drink to warm us up. It was so windy and blooming freezing! We then made our way over to the Skoda dealership and I test-drove the Yeti. It was a really nice drive – much better than I’d expected. After that we went across the road to the Peugeot garage and spoke to a really helpful man about what we’re looking for. He rang the adaptations company and found out that the chair we’re looking at won’t fit in the 2008 SUV (which we were looking at) or the Yeti. It’s frustrating, but at least we’ve finally got a definitive answer. So we’re going to go back to the wheelchair showroom and see what other options we have and if there’s anything smaller. We came home and I crashed out on the sofa for quite a while. I then finished my transcription and started writing my article. My Mum and I popped to Waitrose and I picked up a new tea to try. I was also sent a True Tea Club box to review on my blog, so I’m excited to see what’s inside.

I woke up on Friday morning feeling so sleepy. I’m not sleeping that well at the moment (well, I don’t ever sleep well, but it’s been worse than usual) possibly because of this sinus infection/virus thing. My Dad took me over to Uni and handed me over to my support worker. Our morning lecture was actually really important, as it was all about our dissertation proposal. But I just could not stay awake! My eyes kept closing and I could feel myself nodding off, so I spent the whole morning trying to make myself listen and keep my eyes open. At lunchtime I went for a good old Starbucks catch up with my friends Shanae, Ife and Zeena, which was lovely. I can’t believe we hadn’t been since before Christmas! I tried the brioche toast, which was nice, and had a gingerbread decaf latte made with coconut milk. Last spring they did a rose and pistachio drink, which was amazing, and I’m keeping everything crossed it might make a reappearance (along with their spring cups!) In the afternoon I was able to stay awake during our law lecture thankfully. My Dad brought me home, and I fell straight to sleep on the sofa for a while.

I felt pretty rubbish when I woke up on Saturday morning. I had hoped to get up earlier, but it wasn’t happening! Once I’d got myself up and ready, I watched a bit of TV and did some work to an article I was writing. We found next-door’s cat on our roof, chatting to Jaffa, which was really sweet. My friend, Katrina, picked me up with her Mum, Auntie and some of her other bridesmaids around lunchtime, and we went down to Winchester to the wedding dress shop. Katrina tried her dress on first, and then us bridesmaids tried on lots of different dresses until we found the one! All very exciting. We all went back to Katrina’s afterwards and chatted for a while. My Mum picked me up and brought me home, and I finished off my article before having a cup of tea and watching Saturday Night Takeaway.

You can check out my YouTube channel here, where I have recently uploaded a few new videos (and hope to continue doing!)

I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

If you don’t already, please give me a follow on Bloglovin here - I would love to reach 800 followers and we’re so nearly there! I do have a little giveaway planned for when I get there!

What have you been up to this week? I always enjoy hearing about your news and adventures!

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Sunday Snippets - 19th February 2017

It was my Reading Week this week, which was much needed after my work experience! Unfortunately, it has still been pretty busy, so I haven’t had much of an opportunity to rest. I’ve also been ill since the Friday I finished my work experience, so that hasn’t been much fun! But it’s been nice to have a week away from work and university, even if I have had to try and catch up with all my essays and articles!

I got up quite late last Sunday morning, so I was obviously still catching up on sleep after my work experience. After sorting out my medication and having some breakfast, I spent the rest of the morning writing and uploading my Sunday Snippets blog post. I went downstairs to have my Fortisip and because I was so cold, my Dad put the fire on, so I curled up in front of it with Freddie. I spent my afternoon catching up on Zoella’s vlogs, which is always one of my favourite ways to relax. I ordered some bits online, did a bit of admin and wrote a few penpal letters. After dinner I made myself some hot honey and lemon and curled up on the sofa. I had such a sore throat and definitely felt like I was coming down with something.

I had another lie in on Monday morning and woke up feeling pretty crap. I was meant to be seeing my GP, but the Doctors Surgery rang and told me it had to be moved to Friday. I had a fairly quiet morning before my Mum took me down to the Dentist to get my mouth guard. We’re hoping it might help with my TMJ a bit. When I got home, I edited and uploaded a video to my YouTube channel about the difficulties of looking for love with a chronic illness (you can see it here). While it was uploading I did a bit of tidying in my bedroom. I was feeling pretty rough, so spent a lot of the afternoon resting on the sofa watching TV. I caught up on my Uni emails and did a bit of Uni work, but not as much as I would have liked to. I just couldn’t seem to concentrate – my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool. I was still feeling pretty poorly, so got myself a nice cup of Pukka tea in my Kikki.K mug.

I felt worse than Monday when I woke up on Tuesday morning. I knew I’d be more ill after pushing myself during work experience, but the joys of having a rubbish immune system mean I also caught a virus too. To be honest all I wanted to do was sleep on the sofa, but we already had plans. In the morning my Dad took me over to a Ford garage to look at Motability cars, and I test-drove a Kuga. It’s more expensive than I’d hoped, but it might fit the wheelchair in that I’m hoping to get. We need to work out if it can take a boot hoist and the chair though. We came home and I fell asleep on the sofa for a while. In the afternoon my Dad and I went to the cinema to see La La Land. I’d heard mixed reviews, but we both really enjoyed it and I loved the music. By the time we got home I felt completely wiped out, and was really struggling with seeing loads of Valentine’s stuff. I know it’s only a silly holiday, but it’s just another reminder of being single. Anyway, it was made better by receiving a cute card from my friend Libby, and another card, which I have no idea who it was from! 

I had counseling first thing on Wednesday morning, which was good as I have a lot going on in my head that needs making sense of. I found it really hard to get through the session though because I felt so poorly. My Dad and I were going to go and look at some more cars, but I just didn’t have the energy so he brought me home. I curled up on the sofa and fell asleep for the rest of the morning. I woke up around lunchtime, so had my Fortisip and watched a bit of TV with my Dad (we like to watch Father Brown together and try to work out who the killer is!) I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to do some research for my Uni essay, but was really struggling to find the motivation. I just felt so unwell and every day seemed to wake up feeling worse rather than better. It takes a lot out of you. I did open some post though (which I actually received on Tuesday) – this lovely box of goodies from a Valentine’s swap I took part in. Everything in it was so thoughtful and really made me smile, especially the Dumbo TsumTsum to add to my little collection.

On Thursday morning, my Dad and I went to a Skoda dealership to look at some more Motability cars. A loved lady showed us a couple of cars including the Yeti, which looked like it might fit my wheelchair and will cost a lot less than the Kuga we looked at. They booked me a test drive for next week, so I’ll see what it’s like to drive and go from there. After that we went next door to a Vauxhall garage, but unfortunately the staff were quite rude and didn’t seem at all interested in helping us so, after nearly half an hour waiting to speak to someone, we ended up walking out. I understand that they were busy (although there only seemed to be two people actually dealing with customers) but we’ve been to other dealerships that have been busy and they’ve dealt with us a lot better. So we came home, I had my Fortisip and watched a bit of TV. In the afternoon my friend came round to do my reflexology session, which was very relaxing and just what I needed. My Mum then took me down to the chemist so we could talk to the pharmacist and get me some medicine to try and ease the symptoms of this horrible virus. I have a really nasty cough and my breathing has been getting worse, which isn’t great, as my respiratory problems have been getting progressively worse anyway. I ordered a couple more Disney DVDs, which arrived in the post. My collection is gradually growing and looks so pretty!

Friday was a bit of a crazy day and I felt well and truly shattered by the evening! My morning started with going out to Marks and Spencer with my sister-in-law, Emma, which was nice. We also had a quick look in Tesco next door. Emma dropped me home and I rested on the sofa and did a bit more Uni work. After lunch, my Mum and I went round to my friend Katy’s. My Mum had her nails done in preparation for her birthday, so while she was doing that I did some work on my laptop. Then I had a massage, which was nice and relaxing but lying on my stomach made breathing more difficult. We popped into Waitrose afterwards and I bought some beautiful tulips. After resting at home for a little while, my Mum took me down to the Doctors to see my GP. She’s referring me to the psychotherapy department of one of our local hospitals, so I’m really hoping I might be able to get some help. She’s also trying me on some new medication, Montelukast, as my respiratory problems are getting worse and I’m really struggling with my breathing. When we came out of the Doctors we saw this gorgeous sunset – of course I had to take a photo!

Saturday was the start of my Mum’s 60^th Birthday celebrations! In the morning my Mum, Dad, David, Emma, Bekkah and I went to The Chequers for breakfast/brunch. When we got home, my Dad took my Mum out to The Vyne to see some of the spring flowers. Emma and I popped down to the newsagents to get some helium balloons, and then we came back and started preparing a surprised afternoon tea. Bekkah baked a birthday cake, Emma made sandwiches and I put balloons up and got the table ready. My parents got home mid-afternoon and I think my Mum was surprised by everything we’d put together! We spent the rest of the afternoon digging in to the food and drink and chatting, which was lovely. I was absolutely exhausted by the evening, so spent the rest of my evening resting with a cup of tea and Saturday night TV.

I thought I would share a few more photos from my Mum’s afternoon tea on Saturday. From top left, clockwise – The cake that Bekkah made for my Mum – Flowers we ordered that were delivered on Saturday – Cupcakes made by Emma – Some cute mini cupcakes from Marks and Spencer.

And here’s another little collage from the tea party. I particularly love the banner!

You can check out my YouTube channel here, where I have recently uploaded a few new videos (and hope to continue doing!)

I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

If you don’t already, please give me a follow on Bloglovin here - I would love to reach 800 followers, and do have a little giveaway planned for when I get there!

What have you been up to this week? I always enjoy hearing about your news and adventures!

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Sunday Snippets - 12th February 2017

This week has been super tough. If you read my post last week, you’ll have seen that I was doing work experience at a local newspaper and was really nervous about how I would cope. Well, somehow I got through it! Unfortunately I’m not very well now, but I’m proud of myself for doing it. Everyone was really lovely there and I got to write so many articles. The hours were really difficult though and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so exhausted! Luckily I’ve got a Reading Week now, so I can hopefully get some proper rest and start feeling a little better.

I had a nice lie-in last Sunday morning and then sorted out my medication for the week ahead. I spent the rest of the morning watching The Simpsons and writing my Sunday Snippets post. After having my Fortisip, I decided to get another post written and scheduled to go up sometime in the next week, as I wasn’t going to have any time to do any blogging while I was on work experience. I tidied away a few cloths I had left hanging out and then spent ages photocopying medical letters to go with a form I was filling in. My Mum, Bekkah and I had some lovely cuddles with Xena, which always helps to make me smile. Ice Age came on the TV, so I watched that while I wrote a few notecards and got some things ready to be posted. Richard and Lisa came round for dinner, so it was nice to catch up with them. I was feeling really anxious about doing my work experience.

I was up super early on Monday morning. I can’t actually remember the last time I saw 6am (apart from when I’ve woken up ill in the night!) I made myself some porridge and ate it while my Dad drove me over to Guildford for my work experience with the News and Mail. I met with the editor, who seemed really lovely, and she showed me to my desk. I spent a bit of time reading through some of their papers and then had to phone IT to help me sort out logging into their computer system. I was kept busy throughout the day doing lots of research and writing stories. I wrote four articles in total – one about an online dating website scam, one explaining what sinkholes are, one talking about the history of the Surrey flag and a weather report. The dating scam and weather report both went up on their website, which was pretty cool. I was absolutely shattered by the time my Dad picked me up and brought me home. It was so nice to get in a warm bubble bath though and take my make-up off.

It was another early morning on Tuesday, but the sunrise was really pretty, so it wasn’t too bad eating my porridge and watching that while my Dad drove me to work experience. It was deadline day for the team I was working with, so everyone was pretty busy. I started by writing an article about online safety for young people, as it was World Internet Safety Day. I then wrote an article about a choir who raised lots of money for a local charity, followed by one about an annual Swimathon. In the afternoon I had to research and then pitch a story to the editor, which was a little scary, but my ideas actually went down well! I spent the rest of the afternoon doing research for one of my story ideas and making a few contacts to get interviews with. My temperature control was all over the place – one minute I was boiling hot and feeling like I was going to faint and the next I was shivering. I was so tired by the time I got home, so curled up with Freddie and opened my Birchbox.

I really like this quote that came with my Birchbox this month. It seemed pretty fitting for a journalist and blogger!

I overslept a bit on Wednesday morning, which wasn’t good. The long days were really killing me. I managed to get to work experience on time though, and started doing some research for the two articles I pitched on Tuesday. I was sent a press release by one of the team and wrote a quick piece about a police officer being assaulted, which was pretty horrible. Once that was finished, I did more research and sent out some emails. In the afternoon I chatted to a lady who runs a hedgehog rescue centre. It was lovely hearing about all the hedgehogs she helps, but so sad that their numbers are declining so quickly. I then wrote the article about how hedgehog numbers are going down and how we can all help them by making a few changes in our gardens. I’m definitely going to buy a little hedgehog house and see if we can get some spiky friends back in our garden again. When I got home I crashed out for quite a while. I’ve decided to try out a different subscription box, the Pink Parcel, which I’m excited about.

Thursday was another early morning, but I felt good as I was over half way through my placement and the weekend was drawing near. I started my day by writing an article about contactless payment devices being installed on local buses, and then finished writing a piece about a local mental health service moving into a new community hub. The editor sent me a press release, so I wrote an article about the police issuing spit guards to all frontline officers. In the afternoon I was given a few pieces to work on that would go up over the weekend. The first article I wrote was for the series ‘Things you didn’t know happened in Surrey’ and was about an annual river blessing ceremony for people and animals! I felt really poorly when I got home. My mouth and throat were full of ulcers and my whole body hurt. My Dad had been bust doing jobs round the house, which included putting this cool picture up above his coffee machine.

Friday was my last day at my work experience placement, which felt a bit sad really. Everyone was so nice and although I found it really hard with my health, it felt nice to be part of a team and do something ‘normal.’ I finished the mental health article I was working on first. I then spent ages researching for and writing a piece about Wetherspoon’s pubs in Surrey and the history behind each of their names. I certainly learnt a lot! I was then sent a video a passenger on a train had sent in. The guard was making hilarious announcements, so I wrote a quick story about that. I spent the afternoon doing lots more research, and writing about a blogger who is trying to catalogue photos of every single Wetherspoon’s pub carpet in the UK. He even had a book out about it! I didn’t realise they are all different and handmade. There was another piece on my to do list, but I ran out of time so just did the initial contact to get information and pictures. The editor gave me really lovely feedback on the week and told me I should apply for a job there! When I got home I treated myself to a nice cup of tea and some trashy TV. I also opened a parcel from Amazon, which included this new Happy book from Fearne Cotton, which I’m so excited to read. How pretty is the cover!

Saturday was a day of doing pretty much nothing. And I tried not to give myself a hard time about it because I know I’ve pushed myself beyond my limits this week. I slept until really late, which was just what I needed. The rest of my morning was really slow – I mainly just watched Come Dine With Me in my pyjamas! I did manage to do a little bit of tidying in my bedroom towards lunchtime though. In the afternoon I curled up on the sofa with Freddie and watched Shrek 2. I then put an episode of Death in Paradise on and wrote a few letters to my penpals. I had a really sore throat and felt very achy and tired. But a parcel from Lush arrived – I decided to order myself a few things from their Valentine’s collection as a reward for getting through my work experience. There are a few other bits in there too, but these ones were at the top. I can’t wait to have a relaxing bath!

You can check out my YouTube channel here, where I have recently uploaded a few new videos (and hope to continue doing!)

I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

If you don’t already, please give me a follow on Bloglovin here - I would love to reach 800 followers, and do have a little giveaway planned for when I get there!

What have you been up to this week? I always enjoy hearing about your news and adventures!

Follow me on Bloglovin, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and YouTube