Sunday Snippets - 10th April 2016

Thankfully this Sunday I’m feeling a bit more human, after spending the week recovering from my operation. I’ve been trying to find a balance between getting enough rest and pushing myself to try and move things forward, which hasn’t been particularly easy and I overdid it on Thursday. It’s been nice to see a bit more sunshine, although April is definitely living up to it’s name – one minute it’s been glorious sunshine, then the next the heavens have opened and it’s tipping it down with rain! But it is starting to get me excited for the summer. Apart from our two family weddings, I don’t actually have any plans and could really do with a holiday, but I think I’m just going to have to get creative and have a staycation instead.

Last Sunday was pretty quiet because I was still feeling rubbish from the anaesthetic with exhaustion, dizziness, nausea and a pounding headache. I managed to do a bit of blogging in the morning (as you will have seen!) When my parents and sister got back from church they presented me with these beautiful flowers. Our local florist had brought a few bouquets in to the service, and the congregation decided I should have one – how lovely of them! The blogging really wiped me out, so my afternoon was just spent resting and sleeping on the sofa. In the evening I decided to wash my hair, and although it knocked me out again, it was nice to get it done and feel a bit more human.

On Monday I still wasn’t feeling great, so just had a quiet morning. My sisters and I then went over to Lisa’s (my brother’s fiancé) parents’ house to do some arts and crafts in preparation for the wedding. It was good fun and it’s nice to see things starting to take shape now after months of planning. I was wiped out by the time we got home, so had a bit of a nap. I then had an appointment with my GP – we chatted through a few issues and she gave me some advice for an upcoming appointment, which was useful. These gerberas have been sitting in our lounge for a few days, and they always make me smile when I see them because they look so bright and happy!

On Tuesday I felt a bit brighter, so spent the morning writing letters to some of my penpals. I’m determined to get back on top of my list! I had to wait in for a phone call, which came early afternoon and was quite interesting. My Mum then suggested we get out of the house for a change of scenery and some fresh air, so we decided to go to Homesense, as she needed another storage box. She pushed me round in my wheelchair but we didn’t buy much apart from the box. We popped into the post office and Waitrose on the way home, and then I crashed out on the sofa. I opened my monthly box from Veronica Dearly, which always makes me smile.

Wednesday was a completely free day, which is always nice, but when I woke up I was still having problems with my breathing (it’s been getting gradually worse since my operation) so I rang my doctors and they asked me to come down in 20 minutes. I was still in my pyjamas, so did a quick change and my Mum took me down. I saw the nurse, who asked lots of questions and did my peak flow reading (which was too low, as always). She gave me a Ventolin inhaler to see if that helps alongside my other inhaler, but if it doesn’t then I need to call them or the out of hours doctor. I spent the rest of the morning doing some blogging and watching Family Guy (a guilty pleasure!) In the afternoon I did some Uni work and sorted a few things out on my laptop. I’ve noticed that this last week I’ve taken a lot of photos of flowers, but these gorgeous tulips in my bedroom have really been making me smile. You can’t beat fresh flowers as far as I’m concerned!

Thursday was meant to be a full day at university, but after talking to my lecturer I decided that a whole day was going to be too much for me while I’m still recovering. So instead, my Mum and Dad took me in at 11am so I could just finish off the newspaper that we’ve been working on, and they went into Farnham for a look around the shops. Thankfully I got my pieces for the newspaper finished, and at lunch I decided to celebrate with a Starbucks with some of the girls. It was so lovely to have a proper catch up, and they have these beautiful spring cups at the moment. I wish they did a reusable version so I could keep one! My Mum and Dad met me in Starbucks and brought me home, where I crashed out on the sofa for an hour or so, as I was completely shattered. I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting out some things for posting and replying to Facebook messages.

On Friday I had a fairly quiet morning – I was going to try and get tickets for my youngest sister and I to see Louise Live (Sprinkle of Glitter), but after working it all out I realised getting across London to the venue in my wheelchair was either going to be a complete nightmare or ridiculously expensive to get a taxi/Uber. So that kind of sucks – I try not to see my disability as a negative, but sometimes I just get really fed up that it makes doing fun things so hard! My Dad took me to my appointment with my CPN, which went OK, although she told me she won’t be at my review with my psychiatrist next week. On our way home we popped into B&Q and I picked up some bits to use for blog photography. I ended up sleeping for a lot of the afternoon – I was starting to feel a bit brighter from my operation, but I think I overdid it on Thursday. My Birchbox arrived though, which cheered me up, as it’s so pretty! It’s only my second box, so I’m excited to see what future boxes will be like.

Yesterday was a very quiet and slow day. I didn’t feel that well and really struggled for motivation, which always gets me down a bit. I try to reassure myself that it’s OK to have days like that and that I don’t need to be busy and productive every single day, but I can’t seem to help but be hard on myself. I did spend the morning doing some editing for a new YouTube video, which I’m hoping will be up soon. In the afternoon I cuddled up with Freddie on the sofa watching YouTube videos, and caught up on my blog e-mails. The highlight of my day was the postman coming – he brought something quite exciting, which I’ll reveal to you at some point soon!

If you haven’t read my blog before, I just wanted to let you know that I have a second blog, which mainly focuses on my health in more depth than I talk about it here. It’s largely for friends and family to follow and keep up with what’s going on, but if it’s something you would be interested in reading as well, you are more than welcome to follow me over there. I’ve actually changed the name from Unicorns and Floral Crowns to ‘Zebra Crossing’ and you can find it by clicking here. I’m trying to keep it updated fairly regularly, so hopefully there will be something there for you to read! I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

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

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Sunday Snippets - 13th March 2016

I am fast approaching the end of term (Yay!!) but that means that there’s lots of work that needs to be done. I’ve got two deadlines next week – my portfolio has to be submitted by Monday and my essay is due on Friday, so I’ve been putting every spare minute into getting those written. I can happily say that my portfolio is done, but unfortunately I still need to write my essay. I’m hoping I can make a good start on it this afternoon and ideally I would like to get it finished by tomorrow evening, but that might be a bit optimistic. Apart from having lots of work, it’s actually been quite a nice week, without too many medical things, which makes a change!

My Mum and I

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day, which was both happy and sad in equal measures. It was our first Mother’s Day without my lovely Gran, which was pretty difficult. But my Mum wrote a pretty little card and we bought some beautiful pink and white carnations, which we put next to a photo of my Gran and Grandad – it was a nice way to remember her. In the morning I went to church with my Mum and Dad, which was nice but I found it a bit overwhelming, as there were so many people there. All the ladies received a bunch of daffodils though, which really made me smile, as they always make me feel like spring is here. I came home, changed into a different outfit and did my make-up, as I needed some more photos taking for my Uni project (and blog). My Dad kindly offered to take some photos for me, and I was really happy with how they turned out. It was absolutely freezing though, so I just had to try and imagine that it was a warm spring day! I then spent a few hours editing the photos and doing some blogging. In the evening we had a family dinner with my Grandma, and my brother and his fiancé came over too. I gave my Mum a gorgeous blue scarf from Joules, alongside some flowers, which I think went down well.

My University planner

On Monday I had a lovely chilled out morning, which started with a bit of a lie-in (always a bonus!) I did some tidying in my room, then had a very relaxing reflexology session. I must admit, before I started having reflexology I was quite sceptical about the whole thing, but now I’m definitely converted! It’s one of the few times I am completely able to relax, and it seems to help my anxiety a bit too. I always cover myself with a cosy blanket for my sessions, as when you’re relaxed your body temperature drops. After my therapist had gone, I decided to snuggle up under my blanket for half an hour in the recliner chair next to our French doors. The sun was shining and I just felt really relaxed (until a little dog bounded over and jumped on me!) I spent the afternoon working on my Uni portfolio, and actually managed to make quite a bit of progress. I also finished editing my video and got that uploaded to YouTube. If you fancy giving it a watch, it’s a collective haul (including Primark, Gap and Paperchase) and you can find by clicking here.

Veronica Dearly print

Tuesday was another fairly quiet day, which was nice although I’m finding it hard to relax at the moment (unless I’m having reflexology or a massage!) I didn’t do much in the morning – took some photos for my blog and did some bits and bobs around the house. My Mum and I then went round to my friend’s for some pampering. I did some Uni work while my Mum had her nails done. Then I had my eyebrows done and had a full body massage. I seriously wish I could have a massage every day – it seems to help the pain I’m getting in my neck a little, but I wish that relief lasted a bit longer. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing work, but all I really felt like doing was sleeping. This print from Veronica Dearly definitely summed up how I was feeling!

On Wednesday I had a pretty quiet morning doing some tidying in my bedroom. It seems that as fast as I tidy it gets messier! I’m hoping when I finish Uni for Easter I can really crack on with getting my room just how I want it. My bereavement counsellor then came to see me and we had a long chat about my Gran and my Grandad, which was helpful. I had planned to get straight on with some work, but ended up falling asleep and didn’t wake up until mid-afternoon, so that plan was out of the window! I did get the work done that I needed to though, so that was good. I also finally got a date through for my operation, for the end of March. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may remember that I was meant to have an operation last August, but ended up having a seizure so they couldn’t do it. It’s been a long wait, and part of me feels happy to finally have a date, but I’m also feeling really anxious about having another general anaesthetic (I don’t seem to react well to them) and also what will happen afterwards with regard to my catheter.

Thursday was incredibly busy – I woke up feeling pretty rubbish, but pushed myself to go into Uni because we’ve got deadlines so close and lots of work to do. We’re making a newspaper in our Thursday sessions and are working as a whole group, so I didn’t want to let the rest of the group down either. We just spent the day working on the newspaper, which is starting to get a bit stressful. At lunch I went to Starbucks with a few friends, which gave us a much-needed break. They’re doing a new Honey Blossom macchiato, but although I love coffee, it can make me feel quite unwell, so I asked for some honey on a coconut milk hot chocolate and it was delicious! In the afternoon we started trying to put together our words and images into a newspaper layout. I’m doing a fashion spread with one of the other girls, which means it’s got a lot of images, and it’s a lot harder than we imagined trying to arrange them in a way that looks appealing. Although it was fun working together on the newspaper, I was so glad to get home and rest.

On Friday I woke up a lot later than I planned, so getting ready was slightly manic! I also must have slept badly on my neck, as it was really painful and I couldn’t turn or tilt my head to the right. My Dad took me over to Uni and I met up with my mentor. We chatted through what work I still have left to do and the order I should do it in, which was really helpful and made me feel a little more organised. I then had a lecture, and was given a bit more feedback on my essay plan, which I’m hoping will be useful. We finished a bit early, which was a blessing as the pain was making it incredibly difficult to concentrate. When I got home I just curled up on the sofa and opened my March Glitterati box from Crown and Glory. How cute are the fox ears?!

Yesterday was incredibly boring, so there’s not a huge amount for me to say about it. I had a nice lie-in, although I woke up with absolutely no clue about what day it was, which sent me into a panic as I was convinced I was late for something! I spent the morning just relaxing and playing with the dogs (i.e. procrastinating and finding every excuse possible not to do my work!) However, I did manage to finally get my portfolio finished, printed and ready to submit on Monday, so that was a massive weight off my shoulders. I then started working on my essay, doing a bit of last minute planning using the feedback I was given. I did pop out to Waitrose with my Mum to look at muesli, as this new diet I’m meant to be on says I can eat raw oats. I managed to find one to try, but the majority of them contain added sugar, wheat etc, so I’m thinking of making my own instead. I also opened this month’s My Little Box, which is such a pretty design! I will try and do a blog post on this box and my Glitterati box as soon as I can, so you can get a better idea what’s inside.

If you haven’t read my blog before, I just wanted to let you know that I have a second blog, which mainly focuses on my health in more depth than I talk about it here. It’s largely for friends and family to follow and keep up with what’s going on, but if it’s something you would be interested in reading as well, you are more than welcome to follow me over there. I’ve actually changed the name from Unicorns and Floral Crowns to ‘Zebra Crossing’ and you can find it by clicking here. I’ve also finally managed to update it, so there’s actually something for you to read now! And I’m hoping to keep updating it more regularly from now on. I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

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

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Veronica Dearly V Gd Fun Club September Box

I like to try and vary my content on here over the week, but just at the moment I have so many awesome subscription boxes to unbox with you! I thought it would be better to tell you about them as soon as I get them, as I know when I’m reading a blog I always love to feel that I’m hearing about the very latest products, rather than finding out about them after everyone else. So, before I spend too much longer trying to explain how my brain thinks (we could be here a while!) I’ll get on to today’s box – The V Gd Fun Club by Veronica Dearly. You won’t have heard anything about this stationery subscription box here before, as it’s a pretty brand new idea!

This is actually the second box I’ve received now, but by the time I got round to posting about August’s box, September was already upon us! The basic idea is that this is a monthly subscription box for people who love stationery (who doesn’t?!) If you haven’t heard of Veronica Dearly before, she makes unique cards, mugs, desk organisers and even tea towels – everything you could possibly want. Her designs are quirky and funny, so if you’re looking for something a bit different I’d definitely recommend checking out her online store. Now, onto this month’s box. This box is small and compact, and I’m pretty sure it can fit through a letterbox, but I must admit I haven’t tried that out so don’t hold me to it! I opened mine to find the contents wrapped in black crepe paper with a fun Veronica Dearly ‘I love fun’ heart sticker.

After carefully unwrapping the paper (is it just me who tries not to rip it so I can use it again?!) there is a paper booklet and a business card, which can be shared with a friend – you even get a discount voucher if you can persuade them to sign up. Inside the booklet is a bit of information about the club, as well as some fun photo challenges to take part in on social media. You’ve probably already seen for yourself, but everything inside these boxes is great for photos to fill your Instagram feed with.

Each box will contain a few cards and another special gift. This month’s extra product was this cute pencil case and tiny heart shaped eraser – perfect for those of you heading back to school or university.

Finally, at the bottom of the parcel was a pile of four different cards, each with an original design, which I’m pretty sure you will never find in a mainstream card store. I really loved this month’s cards, and as I looked through them when I first opened the box, I already had ideas of which friend I could send each one to (although saying that, there is a big part of me who just wants to keep them all to make my room look pretty!)

Overall I thought this was a great idea for a subscription box. It’s different but fun, and despite it only being a fairly recent creation, there is already a lovely little community of members building up on social media. What’s even more great is that this comes in at a bargain rate of only £10 a month, which I think is brilliant for a monthly subscription.

If like me, you’re a stationery fanatic, head on over to Veronica Dearly’s website here where you can find out more about becoming a member of her V Gd Fun Club or just browse her online store for some goodies.

Have you heard of Veronica Dearly before? Have I managed to tempt you into joining up?!

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