Making Plans and Setting Goals

Making Plans And Setting Goals

It's been a while since I wrote a heartfelt blog post about my life and how I'm feeling. I guess the past few weeks and months have been one huge roller coaster of emotions, happiness, frustration and craziness. 

Well, its time to share what's been going on and simply let the words flow out. So here goes, this is my update on life and what's been happening for me and my family. 

Summer Holidays

During the Summer we ventured on our first overseas holiday to New Zealand. I lived in New Zealand for many years growing up, right until my daughter was 18 months old and I have a lot of family over there. Returning home for the first time in ten years was an emotional process. I loved it. I loved seeing my Mum and Dad and brothers and just resting in the home and chilling out with them. 

It's really hard because we are separated and going to New Zealand, brought feelings of belonging which I'd not felt in so long. It was great to just sit in the house I grew up in and talk and chat. I miss my family and would love to one day return to New Zealand if it's possible. I guess that would depend on a whole lot of things including what my husband wants but it was fantastic. 

I loved seeing my sister and meeting her kids for the first time. It's amazing how life changes over ten years. It was so nice to see old friends and reconnect with people I usually only speak to on Facebook. 

I was unwell a lot and I caught a flu type virus during my final week in New Zealand. We didn't go there to sight see and travel but to see family and it was awesome, despite the illness. I just enjoyed sitting in the family home. We did however, when we first arrived in New Zealand manage to visit Hobbiton and that was so special! We loved it! 

You can read about Our Visit to Hobbiton in New Zealand here! 

Hospital for Cellulitis

Just before my return home from New Zealand, I developed cellulitis and when I went to the emergency doctors, I was sent to the Auckland New Zealand hospital. I have Adrenal Insufficiency and so they wanted to get on top of things quickly. I was given IV antibiotics and medication to help me get home to the UK and upon my return, I was admitted into the hospital for ten days. 

I could have stayed in New Zealand to get well but we had tickets booked home, Sylvia was due to start high school and we had our dogs to collect from a local dog kennel. We didn't have much choice. Being in hospital was not fun but it had it's upside, I was able to rest and get over the Jet lag without any distractions. I guess there is always a silver lining to every situation. 

I developed abscesses in the four locations where I had cellulitis so ended up on antibiotics for four weeks. I have been on a triple dose of steroid medication to help me get through and two weeks ago I ended up having minor surgery on my tummy to drain and heal the abscesses. It's taken time and every second day I have been returning to hospital to have the wound in my tummy repacked. 

I'm slowly healing but it's pretty slow. My immune system is low due to my Adrenal Insufficiency and other health conditions and my body takes a long time to heal compared to the average healthy person so this has been quite significant for me. 

Our House

I had an assessment in the home and we were able to get some bathroom rails next to the toilet and bath to help me with my mobility. I get dizzy very often and feel sick and being able to hold onto something really helps. We also made an application to get a new stair rail as I struggle to get up the stairs when I am really unwell. 

Our neighbour passed away before Summer and we have a "new neighbour" which has not been ideal. This neighbour is very young and has little respect. The music is loud, the cigarette smoke seeps through the walls into Sylvia's room and the kitchen and our garden has become as "ash tray" for cigarette butts! It's not a nice situation but we are going to have to have a conversation in the coming days. 

Blog wise, we have managed to get most of the things we need for the home, however there is one item on my wish list to review and that is a bed. Our bed base has been broken for about 6 months and I am holding out, hoping I can get a new base at some point in the future as a review. If not I will have to save for one next year after Christmas. 

Yoda's Health

Yoda is slowly healing. When I got home from hospital in September I discovered he had bedsores under his tail. They were well hidden and John hadn't noticed. This explained why Yoda had been acting strange and just resting all the time. We took him to the vet and he had a high fever and had his wounds cleaned. 

It's been taking time for the wounds to heal and they keep opening up and the healing process has to start over. I think the location of Yoda's sores does not help. He is wearing baby grows or dogs grows so he can't pick at the sores or touch them and to keep them clean but it's still a challenge and is taking time. 

On a positive note, I have been experimenting with essential oils for Yoda. He has arthritis and I've been rubbing some oils on his joints to help with pain relief. Yoda can't say if it helps but he gives a huge sigh of relief every time I do this and seems to sleep through the night. He has also become a little more mobile so I really do think it's working. It's a real shame he can't speak to us and tell us how he feels. 

Casper is doing well. He had been going for runs whilst we were in NZ and pulled muscles in his back legs. This meant he could not stand on his back legs or climb. It's taken some time but four weeks on, his legs are regaining their strength and he is doing much better. 

Sylvia at High School

Sylvia started high school. It's been an experience so far and she is getting used to the rules and learning where she has to go. She seems to be enjoying school and has made a few friends. She walks to school most days and sometimes rings her dad for a ride home as she feels tired. I guess they are long days and it is a bit of a walk. 

Sylvia begins her piano lessons tomorrow. I bought her a keyboard for Christmas and she loves it. I'm hoping she can learn the basics of reading music and develop her talents in this area. She is really good at art and has also been doing a lot of painting and experimenting with colour. 

Blogging News

Whilst in New Zealand I had a little break from daily blogging and since coming back I've also cut back on how often I post. I've had time to think and analyse and look at the plans for my blogging future. I had an audit completed of the blog and a mentor has helped me plan the direction of The Inspiration Edit for the future. It's exciting and scary. 

I decided this blog is going to have a stronger focus on Family Fun, crafts and recipes and I will gradually phase out posts about my health and illness. I made a huge decision to revive the old blog Days In Bed...which is going to focus on health and diet. 

I won't be explaining myself but it feels right and is the right thing for me at this stage of my life. Due to my health I have cut back so much recently  especially on social media and it has had an impact on my followings and engagement on my channels but it's something I need to accept. My health needs to come first. My instagram following has gone backwards but that's okay. It's not the end of the world. 

Bibs 2019 Finalist

I was surprised and delighted to find out I am a Bibs finalist for the BritMums Brilliance in blogging awards. I was supposed to let the local news know and do a few things to promote this but once again, I've been unwell and in and out of hospital I simply have not had time and therefore I've just let it slip. 

If I was chosen as the winner for the Pinterest category it would make my day, however I am pleased to even be a finalist. I currently have a reach of 7.7 Million and I am studying and working hard to convert views to traffic. I wrote a post on how I grew my Pinterest if you're interested in reading this! 

I am excited because I'm learning more each day, one step at a time but at a slow and steady pace and that's how things will need to be, slow and steady. 

I love the phrase, don't compare your start to someone else's middle or your middle to someone's end! I learnt a long time ago that my measuring stick is not a comparison stick with other bloggers but a stick to measure my own progress and growth. We had a five year plan and achieved our goals and dreams, the goals for the blog, the goals for income and to visit New Zealand. 

We are now making a new plan, a three year plan with new goals, both personal, career goals, spiritual, health and travel. I'm hoping we can again work hard as a family to work on the next stage of our lives and that starts with getting my Days In Bed blog onto Mediavine and that's something I am working hard to do. 

I just hope my health can improve over the coming weeks so I can do more. 

Fingers crossed! 

Angela