Sunday Snippets - 1st January 2017

Happy New Year! I apologise for being MIA over the last couple of weeks on my blog. Christmas preparations just seemed to take over, and then I wanted to spend some quality time with my family, which has been really lovely. I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas period and are feeling refreshed and ready for the year ahead. I’ve got a 2016 round-up post coming soon on here, so make sure you look out for that. But as I missed the last couple of Sunday Snippets posts, I thought I would let you know what I’ve been up to.

Before I start though, I would like to dedicate this post to my very special friend, Tasha, who was sadly killed in a car crash the day after Boxing Day. She was a massive supporter of my blog and YouTube channel, as well as an incredibly caring friend, who I miss dearly. Taken far too soon, I will remember her zest for life and infectious smile. I hope she’s dancing with unicorns in heaven now.

After a bit of a lie-in on Sunday 18^th, I spent the morning watching a Christmas film and doing some blogging. My brother, David, and sister-in-law, Emma, came over, so I had a nice chat with them while I drank my Fortisip. Then my sister drove me down to the church for the Carols by Candlelight service. My Mum and sister-in-law, Lisa, were singing in the choir and my Dad and brother, Richard, were playing in the orchestra. It was a really lovely service and looked beautiful just done by candlelight. I actually felt a bit Christmassy for the first time this year. My Mum dropped me home, as she had to go back for the second service. Cars was on the TV, so I decided to watch that while I wrote some more Christmas cards.

On Monday 19^th I had a fairly chilled out morning watching a bit of TV, which was nice. My Dad then drove me over to Frimley Park Hospital for an appointment with my jaw physio. She did some more soft tissue massage, but with a bit more pressure than last time. After that, she did some laser therapy, so I had to wear funny sunglasses while I had that! On our way home, we popped into the Post Office so I could send my overseas cards. I felt pretty shattered when we got home, so rested on the sofa, watched an episode of The Secret Life of 5 Year Olds I had recorded and wrote some more cards. This little lady arrived mid-afternoon. Her name is Polly and we were looking after her over Christmas. My Mum took me down to the Doctors for a blood test. The lady tried twice, and managed to get just about enough to fill one vial. But we needed two, so she tried again and got a little bit. As she was transferring it into the vial though, it slipped and spilt all over the desk. It’s amazing how far a little bit of blood can go!

I was up quite early on Tuesday 20^th, as my PIP Assessor was due to come between 9am and 11am. Thankfully he arrived pretty close to 9am, so I didn’t have much time to get more anxious. It was a pretty draining appointment, as we had to go through all the ways my illnesses affect me and what I can’t do. But I’m really hoping I was able to get across what life is like. Once he’d gone I crashed out for a bit and watched some TV. Around lunchtime I went down to the hairdressers to have my hair cut before Christmas. It was nice to be pampered for a bit but I kept feeling really dizzy. After resting for a bit when I got home, my friend, Lilli, came over. She took me to Costa Coffee and we had a drink and a chat. Then we came back to mine and watched Four Christmases, which I hadn’t seen for a couple of years.

I overslept on Wednesday 21^st, so had to rush to my counselling appointment. I kept feeling really dizzy during my session though, which made things quite difficult. When I got home I wrapped up a few presents that needed to be posted last minute. I then spent the afternoon editing a video to go up on my YouTube channel. I had a bit of a scare when the editing software crashed and I thought I’d lost everything, but thankfully it was all still there when I restarted the computer. While I was doing that, my Mum was decorating our beautiful Christmas tree (and the rest of the house!) In the evening my friends, Helen and Sam, came over. We exchanged presents and chatted for quite a while, which was really lovely.

On Thursday 22^nd my Mum and I went round to my friend, Katy’s, for a bit of pampering. I had a massage and then had my nails done for Christmas. While my Mum was having her nails done I caught up on a few emails on my laptop. When we got home I rested for a bit before my Mum, Dad, sister and I drove over to Festival Place in Basingstoke. We went to a couple of shops so my Dad could get Bekkah her Christmas present (some Ugg boots). Then we met the rest of the family and made our way to The Anvil to see Sleeping Beauty. We hadn’t been to a pantomime in years, and it was definitely a good laugh. Afterwards, we all came home and had some pizza.

On Friday 23^rd I had a bit more of a lie in that I’d planned, but I obviously needed the sleep (and did feel absolutely shattered!) My Dad took me down to the Doctors for my second blood test attempt. Thankfully the lady managed to get it first time, which is unheard of for me! My Dad and I then went to deliver a few Christmas cards around Yateley. When we got home I finally put up and decorated the little Christmas tree in my bedroom. In the afternoon I spent a few hours wrapping presents. I still had a few left to do, but I felt so worn out I really needed to rest. I was quite pleased with how they looked though.

On Christmas Eve I tried to get up at a reasonable time, as I had a busy day ahead. I spent the morning in my pyjamas watching Despicable Me and wrapping the last of my presents. Once I was dressed and had done my make-up, I went down to the church to be an angel in their three Nativity Crib services. I’ve done this every year for as long as I can remember, and it always helps me feel a bit more Christmassy. I did the speaking part in the second service, which was absolutely packed – I’ve never seen so many people! I was shattered by the end, so came home, got into my pyjamas and curled up on the sofa for the evening.

Christmas Day was a really lovely family day. We all went to church first thing (apart from Rosiie and her boyfriend, Callum, who went to the stables to see Mickey). They were home when we got back, so we managed to get a whole family photo and then opened our stockings. While lunch was cooking we played Headbanz, which was pretty funny. Then all nine of us sat down to Christmas lunch, which was lovely. We had a bit of chill time afterwards before we all sat in the lounge and opened our presents from under the tree. Richard and Lisa left to go to Lisa’s parents’ house and the rest of us got into our pyjamas. We spent the evening enjoying a tipple (or two!) and playing Jibber Jabber and Shots and Crosses. There were certainly lots of laughs and it was a great end to a lovely day.

Here are a few more photos from our Christmas Day. It was so lovely to have all the family together, and playing games will definitely become a tradition!

I woke up really late on Boxing Day feeling not so great. I could barely keep my eyes open and felt like I needed to sleep forever. I did my medication for the week, as I wasn’t able to do it on Christmas Day, then spent the morning making my Grandma a photo calendar online as a belated Christmas present. The afternoon was pretty restful, just like Boxing Day should be. First I watched Sleeping Beauty, which I hadn’t seen in ages. And then, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was on TV, so I watched that too. In the evening we had our Boxing Day family roast (although I had an alternative, as my digestive system couldn’t cope with it!)

I had another lie-in on Tuesday morning, and then spent some time sorting out my Christmas presents from family and taking a few photos of them. I was yet to open gifts from my friends, so hoped to do that over the next few days. In the afternoon I went to the cinema with my Dad, Bekkah, Richard and Lisa to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It was really good and although it was quite long, it seemed to go by so quickly. We all came home and Richard and Lisa stayed for dinner. I think I had another Mast Cell reaction though, as I was struggling so much with itching all over my body, which wasn’t much fun.

I had a fairly quiet morning on Wednesday, watching a bit of TV. I started to collect together some photos for my 2016 round-up blog post, although it’s going to take me a while – a lot happened in 2016 (good and bad!) After lunch, I went to see my Grandma with my parents and Bekkah. She opened a couple of Christmas presents from us including a huge family photo, which she seemed to really love. We chatted to her for a while, and then went down the road to see my Uncle. When we got home I ordered some cards for January birthdays and opened my post – a Boofle 2017 calendar and a new Filofax insert.

On Thursday morning I went over the road to see my best friend, Sarah, her husband, Olly, and their gorgeous little man, Charlie. He’s grown so much since I last saw him! I got to have a cuddle and we had lots of smiles, which was so lovely. I also had a nice chat with Sarah and we exchanged presents. I came home at lunchtime, sat on the sofa to watch Peter Pan and ended up waking up a couple of hours later – oops! I seem to be absolutely exhausted at the moment. I had a quiet afternoon watching Room on the Broom and then Shrek the Third. I also managed to order a few belated Christmas presents for friends, as I was so rubbish at getting them before Christmas.

I got up later than I’d planned on Friday, but thankfully it didn’t matter too much. My Mum and I went over to our local Next to have a look round, but we weren’t very impressed with what was left after the sale, so didn’t buy anything. There’s a Costa Coffee in the store, so we went there for a bit of lunch, and so that we could have our last Black Forest Hot Chocolate before the Christmas drinks disappear. We then went next door to Tesco to pick up a couple of things. I managed to get a couple of bits for my Godson, Jack’s, birthday, which I was happy about. When we got home I found that the calendar I made for my Grandma had arrived. I hadn’t expected it to come until January, so was quite happy to have it so quickly. I had a quiet afternoon on the sofa watching Wreck it Ralph and filling in my new calendar.

My New Year’s Eve was relatively lazy this year. I had a quiet morning watching TV and collecting together more photos for my 2016 round-up blog post, which seems to be taking me ages (so maybe expect it in June!) In the afternoon I watched a few programmes I’d recorded over Christmas (Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and Lego at Christmas) whilst writing my cards for January. I also watched a lovely programme about Winnie-the-Pooh, who is now 90! In the evening Richard and Lisa came over, followed by some family friends, and we all celebrated New Year’s Eve together. We had food and drink, played Cluedo and Uno, watched Robbie Williams and the fireworks on TV and then had our own little fireworks display in the back garden. I was so shattered I ended up falling asleep on the sofa cuddling Freddie.

I also took some silly photos using Snapchat filters with Rosiie and Bekkah. If you can’t be daft on New Year’s Eve, then when can you?! I hope you all enjoyed your celebrations yesterday too, and don’t feel too delicate today!

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

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

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