Mid Year Round Up 2016

Oh my goodness, we’re over half way through 2016 already! I can’t believe we’re hurtling straight towards the six weeks summer holidays and we’ve barely seen any sun! Depressing. Anyway, aside from the weather 2016 is actually shaping up to be the best year I’ve had in years! Although my mental health on the whole has been a little more rocky than it was in 2015 due to the fact I’m finally medication for anxiety, PST and depression free, which is a huge achievement in itself. This was something I started to wean myself off at the end of last year when the doctor felt I had become to reliant on it and it’s probably one of the best things i’ve done. It was hard, I do have bad days but on the whole I think it did wonders for the next step in healing myself. I definitely think it was one of the contributing factors to this being the best year in about 6 years. Anyway, I’m rambling! 2016 has been filled with wonderful things and we’re only 6 months in. I do worry constantly that because everything is going so well something bad could be around the corner, but for now, I’m happy and I cannot wait to sum up the past 6 months in this post.

In 2013 and 2014 I did a mid year round up. I read back on them today and I really enjoyed a month to month overview of what I got up to, even though those two years were particularly rubbish. 2015 was a good year, but 2016 has topped it. Finally, things are looking up after three dreadful years. Here’s how January to June went down;

So as ever, January is a rather bad month for me. It’s long, expensive and miserable in general. I was really struggling with anxiety as I hadn’t long been off my tablets. I did however go to see Star Wars VII for the second time, the kids also got to go see The Good Dinosaur. The best part as usual is of course Little Miss’ birthday which falls right at the end of the month. This year she turned FOUR which I did struggle with as I knew this year is the year she starts school (6 months on and I’m still not ready!) For her birthday this year she wanted Big Hero 6 theme so I made her a Baymax cake and she had a lot of Big Hero 6 themed gifts. We went to Mcdonalds for lunch and had a party tea. It wasn’t much but I know she loved it and that’s all I care about.

Next up, February and we had an impromptu trip to Disneyland Paris! Our good friend Grant was visiting from Shanghai and he invited us out to stay with him for a few days. It was truly magical and seeing those two together was definitely one of the best things that happened this year. It was very cold but Little Miss got to spend a lot of time with Peter and Wendy which was all that mattered to her. I rather enjoyed the drinks at Cafe Fantasia! Aside from that Feb was very quiet and felt just as long as January. I managed to pop down and see Bee for a few days where we celebrated my unbirthday. We ate out at Prezzo and took a trip to Meadowhall for 5 Guys. It’s always a nice reminder how lucky I am to have such a wonderful best friend.

Then we have March, where we spent just under four weeks. This was probably the best thing that has ever happened to Little Miss and I! We spent two days at Port Orleans Riverside, before spending five in Port Orleans French Quarter including my birthday! So many magical memories were made both in and out of Walt Disney World. The rest of our trip we stayed at friends really soaking up Florida life. It was a complete dream come true and I’m so thankful we got to experience it. Not only did we spend my birthday at Magic Kingdom, we also Easter around the parks. Little Miss was visited by the Easter Bunny who left her a bag of goodies. During our time out there we went to see Zootopia, ate loads of amazing food and LM became crazy about rollercoasters! I’m fairly sure there aren’t many British girls Little Miss’ age who can say they had that kind of experience. I’m so happy I could give it to her.

Coming home the beginning of April was hard, so hard. I definitely withdrew for a while however Star Wars VII came out on DVD and LM became completely obsessed with it. I live tweeted her first watch which was a lot of fun. Not long after we got back we passed the 180 day mark for our trip to Walt Disney World in October so I booked all our Advance Dining Reservations. As we’re on the Disney Dining Plan this was a task in itself but I got everything we wanted. The weather was dreadful again but I did manage to squeeze in a visit to Bee’s again at the end of the month.

Then we have May.. usually May is my least favourite month of the year but this May, things were different! At the very beginning of May I started to date again for the first time in FOUR years. An old friend from while I was at uni got back in touch at the end of February and finally by May we were ready to be together.. and despite my struggles due to my last relationship it’s actually the best thing that could have happened to me this year. He’s wonderful and I couldn’t be happier with him. Not only that but the weather in May was the best we’d had in the UK all year. The sun shone meaning Little Miss could learn to ride a bike with training wheels! Her first big bike! I was so proud of her. We also all spent a weekend at Bee’s for her birthday and took a trip to Nottingham, my other half as well! Although I’ll never be able to erase May 2012, May 2016 was probably the best month I’ve had in years, including the one I spent in Florida!

And finally onto June, and despite the weather being the total opposite of May (we had freezing fog for a solid week!), June has been good to me. Well apart from the bit where I was supposed to go to Paris but then didn’t. Heartbreaking. At the start of June I spent a couple of days at my boyfriend’s house for the first time. Then he spent 8 days up here, and then another 11 days here. In fact in June we had more time together than we did apart. Oh, and I dyed my hair blonde! A whole post on that is coming soon, I promise. Little Miss and her cousin went to see Zootopia again with my Mum and I. I also took my other half to Edinburgh for the day because he’s never been and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was Father’s Day and my mum’s birthday which both required meals out as well. Little Miss started her visits to her primary school which was so scary and I can’t believe how much she’s come on now she goes for a few hours every Friday. She’s so excited bless her.

Yes, May and June saw a lot of stress as well from family matters but I won’t go into them because I don’t want them overshadowing the happiness I’ve found. Because I have. I can honestly say right now, I’m happy and I really hope the rest of the year brings nothing but more happiness. I feel we all need it after the battles I’ve fought the last few years.