Sunday Snippets - 11th September 2016

The last week has been pretty busy, so I’m absolutely shattered. However, it was definitely worth it, as I’ve had a lot of fun and managed to do something rather awesome. Unfortunately, my mental health seems to be a bit wobbly again and I can feel myself going down into a low patch. I’m really hoping I might hear something from the new psychiatrist soon about starting some sort of treatment/therapy, but for now I’m just trying to get through one day at a time and not look too far in the future.

Last Sunday I tried to get up a bit earlier than usual so I could get everything done. I managed to do my medications for the week ahead and started writing my blog post, but I think I was on a bit of a go-slow. My friends, Kirsty and Lucy, picked me up and we went round to our friend Hazel’s for her baby shower. We had some lunch and chatted, then spent the afternoon playing games. They then brought out this amazing cake, which even had a little baby foot poking through the dress! I was shattered by the time I got home, so once I’d finished my blogging I ended up falling asleep on the sofa for quite a while.  

I woke up feeling pretty rubbish on Monday morning. I’m wondering if it’s partly because I stopped the Gabapentin, although I seem to feel more tired than I did when I was taking it! I decided to try and have a fairly quiet day, so spent the morning doing a bit of YouTube video editing. I’ve got quite a few videos I need to put up, but editing them seems to take up so much of my energy, which is frustrating. Around lunchtime I went downstairs, rested on the sofa and watched some TV. I also caught up on a few more emails. My Dad drove me over to our local hospital and I went to my second Tai Chi group session. I found it quite relaxing, which was helpful, as I’ve been feeling really anxious recently. When I got home I opened some post, which included this lovely letter from my friend, Rachel.

I still didn’t feel brilliant when I got up on Tuesday morning, so wanted to take things easy in preparation for a busy Wednesday. I finished editing the video I started on Monday and also edited a bit more of David and Emma’s wedding video. In the afternoon I popped Family Guy on the TV and tried to rest a bit, but found it very hard to get comfortable. Now that I’ve got my driving license back and have put myself back on the insurance, I really wanted to get back behind the wheel because the longer I leave it, the more anxious I’ll get. So, my Dad took me down to a local industrial estate and I had my first drive in 14 months. It was a bit scary going back out onto normal roads (once I felt OK I then drove home) and I felt shattered after a ten minute drive, but it also felt so good to finally have a little bit of independence back. I just need to keep doing little drives with my Dad and build up my confidence and stamina. I spent the rest of the afternoon snuggled up on the sofa with Freddie.

I was up super early on Wednesday morning so we could get a train up to London, and then a tube to North Greenwich. I had my sponsored wheelchair climb over the O2 at 10am, so we had a briefing, got kitted up and started our climb. My Mum and sister (Bekkah) came with me, and I was very impressed with the special wheelchair for me! The climb was brilliant – the staff were fantastic and had us laughing the whole way. And the view from the top was amazing. I felt so good when we reached the bottom, and feel very happy that I’ve raised £150 for EDS UK so far. It’s not too late if you’d like to sponsor me – simply click here and it will take you to my Just Giving page. My Dad took us to Frankie and Benny’s for lunch, which was nice, and then we headed home. I spent the afternoon resting on the sofa and watched a couple of episodes of Silent Witness.

I thought I would share a few more photos from my O2 wheelchair climb. The collage includes a photo of my Mum and I in our zebra t-shirts! There will also be a vlog coming out soon over on my YouTube channel.

I had to be up reasonably early on Thursday morning so my Dad could take me to a hospital group. I was hoping it might be helpful, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be worth continuing. I’ll give it a few more weeks and see how it goes. I felt so exhausted though that I struggled to keep my eyes open. I did manage to drive home though, which I was pleased about. When I got home, I was so shattered so lay down on the sofa and ended up falling asleep for a few hours. When I woke up, I spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV and catching up on my blog emails. I also opened some post, which included my Secret Summer Santa gifts from the Crown and Glory Glitterati group swap. I was well and truly spoilt!

I had a bit of a lie-in on Friday, which was just what I needed after a busy couple of days. I was so exhausted! After a fairly slow morning, I went to the hairdressers around lunchtime and had my hair coloured. I had wanted to do something a bit different and have my ends dyed blonde (kind of an ombré but with my red hair) but when they tested my hair the blonde wouldn’t work.  So I just stuck with my red hair for the time being. I came home and spent a while replying to messages on Facebook. My Mum then took me down to the doctors for an appointment with the nurse, which didn’t go quite as badly as I’d anticipated thankfully. When I got home I opened a couple of parcels – my Birchbox and Niomi Smart’s brand new book, which I’m excited to look through. I had the most awful digestive pain in the evening, which literally felt like my insides were on fire.

I was up fairly early on Saturday morning so my Mum and I could go shopping. We hit Primark first and I got a couple of bits, but not much. We then went to Boots and I picked up a No.7 Beautiful Skin Overnight Radiance Boost, a Vaseline spray moisturiser and a new eye cream from Soap and Glory to try and help my dark circles, which I’m excited to try. We also popped into Paperchase so I could get a planner for Uni. I tried some bits on in Topshop and Zara but nothing seemed to look good on me, which left me feeling a bit rubbish. We came home and I spent the afternoon watching the last two episodes of Silent Witness I had recorded, and writing some penpal letters. I felt pretty down in the evening. My birthday is coming up (4^th October if you wanted to know!) and it just feels like a bit of a reminder that it’s another year of being ill, another year of being single and another year of things just not working out as I’d dreamed when I was little. I know no-one’s life turns out as they planned, but I just wonder if I’ll ever get my happy ever after or if things will ever get any easier.

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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