I need to apologise for the lateness of this
post. I had hoped to get it up either at the end of December or the first few
days of January, but it didn’t happen. So I hope you’ll still enjoy reading
through it now. I’ve done this post for a few years now, and always enjoy
reflecting on the last year. 2016 was a year of intense highs and devastating
lows, but sorting through all my photos helps me to see that, despite the
difficult times, there have been so many happy times too. Enjoy browsing
through my 2016, and here’s to an awesome 2017!
January:
In January I opened my Happy Jar from 2015 – I
added more Disney DVDs to my collection – I met my friend, Becky, for a Costa –
I bought the Calm book – And I filled up my Pandora bracelet.
Also in January, David and Emma moved into
their first home together and I made this hamper for them – I received some
beautiful flowers in the post from my friend Clare – We celebrated Richard and
Emma’s birthdays – I saw the POTS specialist for the first time – And David and
Emma took me out for afternoon tea.
February:
In February I received my invite to David and
Emma’s wedding – I also received my invite to Richard and Lisa’s wedding! – I
went to Maison Blanc with my friends, Ife, Shanae and Nina – My Mum and I went
to the Festival Place Valentines Launch – And I took part in a TV News Day at
Uni.
Also in February, I went to Watts Gallery with
my friend Becky – I took part in a Secret Valentines swap – I added a couple
more DVDs to my Disney collection – We celebrated my Mum’s birthday – And
Benefit sent me a product to try out.
March:
In March I had a movie day with my friend Becky
– We celebrated Mother’s Day – I treated myself to some new make-up from the
Rosie for Autograph range – I had an Easter Maison Blanc with Shanae and Tazmyn
– And my friend Charlie, and her little girl, Izzi, surprised me with bags of
presents!
Also in March, my friend Katrina asked me to be
her bridesmaid – I swapped Easter gifts with my friend Sarah – The dogs
celebrated Easter – I received some lovely Easter goodies – I made Easter nests
with my Mum – And I had an operation on my bladder.
April:
In April we celebrated David’s birthday (a
little late!) – My asthma got worse so I was prescribed Ventolin (and treated
myself to some beautiful tulips) – The Spring Starbucks cups came out – I
bought myself a new rose gold iPhone SE – And Richard and Lisa welcomed Benjie
into their lives.
Also in April, I had a girly day with my Mum,
Emma and Bekkah – My Mum and I went up to London for a Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory themed afternoon tea – I met the girls from college for a
drink – We celebrated my Grandma’s 90th birthday – We had a rather
awesome cake for my Grandma – I finally had my catheter taken out (and received
this postcard from my friend, Suzie).
May:
In May Freddie enjoyed a lick of ice cream at
the May Fayre – I bought my new vlogging camera – I saw the beautiful blossom
and bluebells at my local church – I was completely discharged from the mental
health service (and my bleeding heart flowered) – My Mum and I went to the
Festival Place Big Fashion Event – And I bought a necklace to remember my Gran.
Also in May, I saw the arrhythmia nurses and
started taking Midodrine for my POTS – I went to see The Jungle Book with my friend
Becky – The Queen celebrated her 90th birthday with lots of events
on TV – And Xena turned six!
And finally in May, I became very ill after
being prescribed Tapentadol, but thankfully Freddie was there to look after me
– My friends, Helen and Sam, came over with a card from Helen’s little girl,
Lexi – And we celebrated Rosiie’s birthday.
June:
In June we had Emma’s Disney Hen Do – I met my
friend Lilli for a drink in the pub garden – I bought some pretty peonies – I
was lucky enough to meet Nadiya Hussain from the Great British Bake Off – And I
was a bridesmaid at David and Emma’s wedding.
Also in June, we celebrated Father’s Day – I
was sent a Bear Hug to review and voted in the EU Referendum – We celebrated my
Dad’s birthday with a big family meal – And I had a mental health crisis, but
managed to go and see Absolutely Fabulous at the cinema and have dinner with my
Dad.
July:
In July I went to see The Secret Life of Pets
with my friend Becky – We grew some beautiful flowers in our garden – The
newspaper I helped with at Uni was printed – We had Lisa’s Hen Do Glamping in
the New Forest – I treated myself to a Nutribullet – And I started playing
Pokémon Go!
Also in July, I went to the My Favourite Sale
launch blogger event in London – I had a sunny day in the garden with my friend
Charlie and her two children, Izzi and Joe – We had a BBQ to celebrate Emma’s
Dad’s 50th birthday – I went for a Starbucks with my friend Katrina
– I was a bridesmaid at Richard and Lisa’s wedding – And Benjie came to stay
with us while they went on their honeymoon.
August:
In August I had lots of cuddles with Benjie – I
had a DVD and craft day with Emma and Bekkah – Jaffa was being cute as always
and poking out his tongue – I went for a wedding dress fitting with my friend
Katrina – I had a DVD day with my friend Becky – And I went for lunch with
Katrina followed by seeing Finding Dory at the cinema.
Also in August, I wrote about these cute cake
toppers on my blog – I had a little baby shower with my friend Sarah (and baby
Charlie arrived the following week!) – I went for a Starbucks with my Mum – My
Dad and I went to see The BFG and then went to Bill’s for lunch – I snapped
this adorable photo of Bekkah with the dogs – And I went to the Sky Garden with
my Mum, Richard and Lisa.
On the same day, we also went to the Magnum
pop-up shop – I took some beautiful photos of the views over London – Later in
the month I went for my Occipital Nerve block in hospital – And I baked a
blackberry and apple crumble, which was very yummy!
And finally in August, I visited Mayfield
Lavender fields with my Mum, Dad and Emma – And I gave David and Emma, and
Richard and Lisa, these gorgeous pictures of their wedding photos.
September:
In September I finally got my driving licence
after it was taken away because I had a seizure – I went to Starbucks with my
friend Lilli and had a Pumpkin Spice Latté – I went to my friend Hazel’s baby
shower – I did my sponsored wheelchair climb over The O2 in London with my Mum
and Bekkah – Our guide was fantastic and had us laughing the whole way! – And I
had my first appointment at The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore.
Also in September, I went back to university
for the start of my second year – I filmed a news story about National Cupcake
Week (which, of course, meant getting some cakes!) – I got to meet baby Charlie
for the first time – I went to the Lush Spa in Kingston with Emma – And I went
into hospital to have injections in my back.
October:
In October I organised and attended a Lush
Blogger Event to see their new Autumn and Christmas range – I celebrated my 28th
birthday by going to Bill’s with my Uni friends, having a pig in mud birthday
cake and opening lovely cards and presents – I went to the New Forest with my
Mum and Dad as a birthday treat – The whole family went for a meal at Bill’s to
celebrate my birthday – I had a Starbucks with my friend Nina – And my Dad
bought my Mum these beautiful flowers.
Also in October, Bekkah passed her driving test
– I added four more DVDs to my Disney collection – I had a little pamper party
with a couple of friends for my birthday – I had this amazing cake made for the
party – And Bekkah and I carved a Minion pumpkin.
November:
In November I went shopping with my Mum and we
stopped off at Costa – I went to Bill’s for brunch with my friend Katrina – The
leaves started to change colour – I had my rehab pre-assessment at Stanmore
Hospital – And we celebrated Bonfire Night by watching the fireworks and having
jacket potatoes.
Also in November, the Costa Christmas cups were
released – I had my first Christmas Starbucks – I met a lady called Hannah who
makes these adorable Sweet Nothings, and she let me hide one in Farnham – My
friend Sarah sent me this cute photo of baby Charlie at his sensory group – And
I went to our local Christmas Market.
December:
In December I had a hospital appointment up in
London, and got to see some of the Christmas lights afterwards – I got my
advent calendar out again – I bought the dogs some reindeer antlers – I had a
university trip to the Houses of Parliament – I had a lovely Christmassy
afternoon with my friend Charlie and her two children Izzi and Joe – And I put
my Christmas bedding on my bed.
Also in December, I made a gingerbread house
with Bekkah and her friend – I went to the Carols by Candlelight service at
church – Polly the dog came to stay with us – I met my friend Lilli for a
Christmas Costa – We put our Christmas tree up – And we had a family trip to
the pantomime to see Sleeping Beauty.
On Christmas Eve I was an angel at the church
Crib Services – We had a lovely family Christmas lunch – On Christmas Day we
took silly photos and played games as a family – And after Christmas I went to
see Fantastic Beasts with my Dad, Richard, Lisa and Bekkah.
And finally in December, I helped Charlie
celebrate his first Christmas – We had some family and friends round for games
on New Year’s Eve – I took some silly selfies on New Year’s Eve using Snapchat
filters.
On Christmas Day we took our annual family
photo. I love the way it grows a little bit each year!
How was 2016 for you? I want to wish you all a
very Happy and Healthy 2017!
