Sunday Snippets - 28th August 2016

It’s been quite a mixed week, with some really good parts and some rather more difficult parts. I’ve had some lovely family time and enjoyed the sunshine, but have also had a hospital procedure and have found the heat pretty difficult to deal with. I can’t quite believe we’re almost at the end of August already. Where on earth is this year going?! Now that X Factor has started again and Strictly is on its way, I’m really starting to feel more autumnal.

Last Sunday I woke up really late, which was kind of frustrating but I obviously needed the sleep. I had a fairly slow morning sorting out my medications for the week ahead, playing with the dogs and watching The Simpsons. After lunch I spent some time writing and uploading a blog post. I chatted to my Grandma for a bit before watching some YouTube videos and doing some bits on my laptop. After dinner I relaxed with a lovely Lush bath and facemask.

As I mentioned in the previous couple of week’s Sunday Snippets, this month I’m joining in with the Crown and Glory Glitterati 2^nd birthday celebrations, which includes a photo challenge on Instagram for the whole of August! If you want to see everyone else’s, simply search the hashtag #CGGlitteratiTurns2. Day 21 is ‘Quote’ – I have so many favourite quotes, but picked this one because I often look at it when I’m feeling down about my health and the fact I can’t always do things as quickly as I’d like.

I was up reasonably early on Monday morning so my Mum could take me down to the Doctors for an ECG. Thankfully the machine didn’t break this time! I spent the rest of the morning being quite productive. I edited a load of photos and then wrote two blog posts. In the afternoon I spent some time watching Family Guy and writing part of an article. My Dad then took me to the hospital for my first Tai Chi session with the physio. It actually went OK – it’s very spoonie friendly and I’m hoping it might be something relaxing I can do regularly. I opened some post when I got home, which included this new Neutrogena moisturiser I’ve been sent to review by BzzAgent so I look forward to trying it!

Day 22 of the August Crown and Glory photo challenge is ‘Style It Up’ – We had to flat lay our outfit of the day, so here you have a pair of New Look black leggings, this awesome Mickey t-shirt from ASOS and my Disney hair clips.

Tuesday was a busy, tiring but fun day. I went up to London with my Mum, Richard and Lisa. We made our way to the Magnum pop-up shop first and made our own lollies, which was good fun! We then went over to London Bridge, walked (or was pushed!) over the bridge and went to The Sky Garden, which is 30 odd floors up. We took in the amazing view first, and then managed to find a table so we could have a late lunch. It was all pretty expensive, but we managed to get a couple of bits to keep us going. After lunch we had a look round the garden bits and took in more of the view. By that point we were absolutely shattered, so headed back to Waterloo. Unfortunately the lift was broken, so we had a bit of a task getting me upstairs in rush hour. By the time we got home I was exhausted. I also vlogged our day, so keep an eye on my YouTube channel for that, and many other, videos.

Day 23 of the August Crown and Glory photo challenge is ‘Magic’ – I love the idea of magical worlds, which has to include a bit of Disney! I also love fairies and unicorns, especially this cuddly heat-up unicorn that I got from Topshop a couple of years ago.

These were the Magnum ice creams that we made in London on Tuesday. There were so many different toppings and options to choose from, and the store was lovely and cool, which was definitely a plus on one of the hottest days of the year!

There were amazing views of London from the Sky Garden. I’m glad we went on such a beautiful, clear day.

I had another early hospital appointment on Wednesday morning, this time with a new psychiatrist who I saw for a second opinion on my diagnosis and treatment. I was pretty terrified about the appointment, but thankfully she was really lovely. She agreed with us that I don’t meet the criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. I do have elements of it, but also have anxiety related issues. She believes I have something called Cyclothymia, which is a milder form of Bipolar. She thinks I need to have individual psychological input and is going to discuss it with her boss. I came home and spent the rest of the morning tidying in my bedroom. I had a bit of a funny turn (again) where I think my blood sugar dropped too low. It keeps happening and it makes me feel really unwell. Thankfully after drinking my Ensure I felt a bit better. David and Emma popped over, so I chatted to them for a bit. My Mum and I popped out for a bit to pick something up. I found this card when I was tidying, and by the time we got home all I wanted to do was crash out on the sofa.

Day 24 of the August Crown and Glory photo challenge is ‘Memory’ – A Crown and Glory memory I have is receiving my first Glitterati box in February 2015. I remember how excited I was when I saw the glittery tape and the Valentine’s Day theme was seriously awesome.

I was up at 5.30am on Thursday, which wasn’t much fun. My Dad drove me to the hospital and took me to the Day Surgery department before heading home again. I was taken through to a lounge for a while and then transferred to a bed. I took along a couple of magazines and a book to keep me distracted while I waited, but thankfully I was second on the list so didn’t have to wait too long. After changing into a gown and answering a load of questions, I was taken down to the theatre. My consultant was there, along with lots of other staff, who were all very lovely. I wasn’t 100% sure exactly what I was having done, as I knew it would depend how busy the list was. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it) there was only time for them to do one area. So they did the occipital nerve block, which meant doing some injections of local anaesthetic and steroid at the base of my skull. I didn’t have any sedation, so it was quite a painful procedure and I felt quite lightheaded and sick. Once it was over I was taken back to the ward to recover. Due to the area injected, it numbed parts of my face and my throat/neck area, so swallowing proved to be difficult. It also seemed to make my breathing difficult, which they were concerned about. My Mum was allowed to take me home and I slept for the rest of the day really. I felt pretty wobbly mentally in the evening, which always seems to happen after I have had a procedure in hospital.

Day 25 of the August Crown and Glory photo challenge is ‘Love’ – There are a lot of things that I love, but what I love more than anything is my family. We keep growing, and this year alone I have gained two new sisters, which is just awesome. Life is bloody difficult sometimes (well, a lot of the time) but knowing I have these guys around me makes life worth living.

I didn’t sleep particularly well on Thursday night, so was still feeling pretty rough on Friday morning. I spent most of the morning dozing and watching TV, but did manage to finish an article I was meant to send off on Thursday. I used to be such an organised person, but these days I just can’t keep on top of things. Everyone was out in the afternoon, so I snuggled up with these two and watched a bit of YouTube. The pain in my head and neck was definitely feeling worse, which they said might happen, although that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. The only thing I can take is paracetamol, which I can’t take that often and it doesn’t make much difference anyway. I just kept trying to tell myself that it would get better (hopefully). Alfie and Freddie were a good distraction, and it was very sweet seeing them curled up by the front door together waiting for my parents to get home.

Day 26 of the August Crown and Glory photo challenge is ‘Comfort Zone’ – We were meant to wear something out of our comfort zone, but I had to interpret it a bit differently. My head was still very painful after my injections on Thursday, so I decided to pick something comfortable to wear instead. I’ve really been struggling with the heat, even more so after the injections, so I used a funky scrunchie to keep my hair off me.

I didn’t sleep brilliantly again on Friday night, which I think was a mixture of the pain and the heat. My Dad asked me if I wanted to go to a coffee shop for lunch on Saturday with him and my Mum, but I didn’t really feel up to it so had to say no. I did manage to do a bit of video editing while they were out, which I was quite pleased with as I’ve got so many videos filmed that I need to get out. When my parents got back, my Dad asked if I fancied popping out to our church to see the entries for a garden and produce show, so I decided to go along, as I thought it might be a good way to get out of the house. Thankfully there were lots of chairs, so I was able to sit down lots and see these cute vegetable animals. I rested for a while when we got back and watched some James Corden Carpool Karaoke. I wanted to pop to the supermarket with my Mum to get a couple of bits. In retrospect I shouldn’t have gone, as it was too much and I felt a lot worse after. I’ve been trying to get my head around this whole pacing thing for nearly 13 years and I still can’t seem to get the hang of it!

Day 27 of the August Crown and Glory photo challenge is ‘Self Love’ – I’ve been meaning to buy myself some more flowers for my room for ages, so today was a good opportunity to do it. There wasn’t a huge amount of choice in Waitrose, but I picked a couple of bunches of pink gerberas, which are one of my favourites.

I know I’m biased, but how handsome is this gorgeous boy!

This flavour of Propercorn is my absolute favourite! I always find it good to graze on when I’m struggling to eat. I’m a bit sad that my local Waitrose no longer sell it though.

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.

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

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