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!

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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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