Goodbye 2019. It wasn’t a bad year over all, I was a littler quieter on the blog, even though lots has happened. 2019 found me focusing more on my Crochet and Reading and I took up matched betting. Overall it was quite a positive year. 5th December 2019 also marked the tenth year of the Mr and I living together. Facebook also reminded us we’ve known each other for 14 years, almost half my life haha!
Hospital Appointments For The Girls
We’ve had lots of hospital appointments to attend, mostly for Izzy’s hearing but also chasing an Autism diagnosis for Eva. We’re hoping this will help get an EHCP in place before Secondary school to make things easier for Eva. Eva has also complained of leg pain for quite some time and having been checked for signs of muscle weakness, the Dr highly suspects she may have Peripheral Neuropathy like me. This was hard to hear, knowing she could face the same as me was heartbreaking. We will have to monitor her to find out for sure though.
Izzy has glue ear and has lost 50% of her hearing, we’re currently monitoring her and using the Otovent to try and clear her ears. If this doesn’t work she will need gromits fitted and her adenoids and tonsils removed. The Otovent had made a difference with a few days use so we are hopeful once Izzy is less congested we can get back to using it and improve her hearing.
Izzy also has astigmatism like me which we have an appointment at the hospital for this Tuesday. I’m hopeful she has very few issues, although I’ve no doubt her eyesight will continue to deteriorate as she grows. Whilst it has been stressful we’re hopeful both girls will get the help and support they need to improve things.
My Own Health
Admittedly I have neglected my own health again, but I do plan to get on top of that this year. Fatigue, pain and eczema have made 2019 quite frustrating at times to be honest. Having a rather rude Dr make me feel awful for even asking him how I get referred to his department for my eczema, I felt too nervous to book in and get a referral. I’d hate to be referred to that Dr after he had talked to me so nastily in front of an entire waiting room of patients.
Trying to balance attending events with the girls, doing the small amount of tidying I do at home, actually leaving the flat to go shopping so I’m not at home 24/7 and trying to find time for myself has been quite tricky and I’ve had to miss out on more over the last year. I’ve learnt to reserve my energy for the more important things better than before but still the guilt gets me when I do miss things.
I guess that’s typical for anyone with chronic pain and mental health issues but thankfully reading and crochet have helped me rest my body whilst still feeling like I am doing something productive. I do still have days where I push myself badly and suffer sometimes for a week or so after but these days are becoming less and hopefully in 2020 I’ll learn to control that further.
Matched Betting
From matched betting, we managed to buy a car just in time for the school holidays and countless hospital appointments for both girls. Originally I was saving to build the Mr a PC for gaming, oops! We have at least made a start on buying parts but due to emptying the bank for the car we haven’t managed as much as I had hoped. I can’t deny we have made a nice amount over the last 6 or so months but having had so many financial struggles over the years we are still playing catch up too, as anyone with health issues will understand due to benefit changes.
Regardless, I am extremely grateful for discovering this fantastic way to earn a little extra each week. Having a car has given us back some of the freedom we had lost due to my health. We had some lovely trips out during the summer to Wicksteed Park, Wat Tyler Park, Canvey Island and we’ve even managed a few visits to Martyn and Hannah.
Reading
I am honestly proud of myself for managing to read almost 60 books in 2019! I can’t thank Random Things Blog Tours enough for organising so many fabulous tours. Thanks to Anne, I have discovered and rediscovered some amazing authors over the last year. I’m hoping to hit 50-60 books again during 2020 after a short break over Christmas.
Crochet
My crochet skills definitely improved over 2019! I decided to take on as many challenges as I could and managed to make most of the things I wanted. In total, I crocheted nearly 50 items, from blankets, cushion covers, teddies and bookmarks. I even took a pattern and edited it to make a lovely Skull Scarf and shared the pattern. It was definitely a good year for crochet even with a long break due to sore hands and wrists.
I also created a bear pattern, Izzy asked me to make her best friend a red sparkly bear. Izzy explained he needed a longer body so her friend can grip him properly as she has weak hand muscles. Under her instruction and watchful eye to make sure he was perfect I finished him quite quickly and Izzy’s friend loved him. Several people really liked the bear when I shared pictures and with a lot of encouragement, I will be looking to sell my crochet makes, particularly the bears in 2020! I’m still undecided on a platform for selling but please do get in touch if you have a request.
Positivity
In 2019 I discovered several people weren’t worth the stress and effort anymore, those that put me down or treated me badly were simply cut out. I don’t need extra negativity in my life when I do have some amazing friends such as Slim, Martyn, Hannah, Fiona and Lisa who have all been there for me when I’ve needed it and I hope I’ve been there for them as much as I can too.
It’s hard to feel positive if people are putting you down or taking your kindness for a weakness constantly and I’m determined to have a more positive outlook. I also think this is much healthier for the girls, certain people have been cut out of our lives to protect them and ensure they grow up around kind, supportive people who genuinely care.
We said goodbye 2019 knowing we have some fantastic friends and feeling much more positive for the start of a new year.
Plans For 2020
I intend to read at least a book a week and crochet at least one item to see if I can manage 50+ reads and makes this year. Due to my anxiety and chronic pain I’ve not been out as much as I should, especially alone. I plan to change that this year and get out a bit more in the hopes it makes going out a bit easier and to give me a bit of a break from these four walls.
Hopefully matched betting will allow us to finish off the Mr’s PC at last as this keeps him occupied in between running around for the 3 of us. He has taken on the role of my carer fantastically and does so much for us it will be lovely to finally give him something back just for him.
It would be lovely if we could save enough for our first proper family holiday this year. We went away for a weekend to Kent when Eva was a baby but we would love to do something a little more special!
Goodbye 2019!
Overall 2019 has probably been one of our better years and it’s making me look forward to 2020! Saying Goodbye 2019 has been quite enjoyable. How has your year been?
Woop! Blog post! 2019 seemed a busy but good one for you. You've had a lot of highs here you should definitely be proud of. I'm sure this year will bring even more! Let's bring it on!
Martyn | 5 years ago