Christmas Gifts 2017

So for Christmas 2017 I feel like I was thoroughly spoilt by all my friends and family, just as much as I spoilt them. I always have so much fun picking out presents for everyone, but this year I seemed to enjoy it so much more. For my Mum, sister, Charlie and Victoria I took them to Harry Potter Studio Tour, I took my dad to the last ever day of the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff and I took my brother and sister-in-Law to London MCM Comic Con - I also got them all other bits to actually open on Christmas. All my nephews just got a few bits each that I knew they would love (I definitely won Auntie points there), then for Leigh, Lewis, Tessa, Tara and Katie I bought them all some bits I knew they would love (for Leigh that included a huge Simba plush from the Disney store)

TV Shows I'm Obsessed With

So I realised the other day that I'm far too obsessed with TV shows and I get hooked on them very easily. I'm going to make two lists; one with shows that have finished but I still re-watch and shows that are currently still airing.

So firstly there's only a few TV shows that have finished that I would re-watch. The main one is Buffy The Vampire Slayer. This was and probably always will be my favourite show, I watched it first when I was about 8 years old and I'm pretty sure that's the reason for my obsession with vampires. Obviously with Buffy comes Angel and that's another show I was obsessed with. My mum actually has the full box sets of both of them so I've lost count how many times I've re-watched them. (Also fun fact: Alyson Hannigan was the first girl I ever had a crush on and she's the reason I started questioning whether I was 100% straight). My favourite characters were definitely Willow and Spike and my least favourite was Riley cause he just annoyed me in the end and I was so glad when he left the show.

Then there was Charmed which fuelled my love for witchcraft - at one point in my childhood I used to pretend I was like Paige and could orb as well as do witchcraft. My mum also has this box set on DVD so I've re-watched this one a few times aswell.

I think a pretty obvious one from my childhood is Friends. Now what with it being repeated A LOT on TV over the years plus me having the boxset (we have a lot of DVD's in my house okay) I've watched this so many times that I can talk along with the characters on the screen. I can never choose a favourite character because they are all so amazing but Smelly Cat is one of the greatest songs ever written.

The OC was the show that made me fall in love with love. Seth and Summer are literally relationship goals, I need to find someone as perfect and geeky as Seth.

Sabrina The Teenage Witch was literally my favourite show growing up. I cried for days when they cancelled it, I need them to put the show on Netflix so I can binge watch it.

So now on to the shows that are still currently being aired (and when the time comes to cancel them it will break my heart)

The Walking Dead is probably, definitely in my Top 5 shows. Zombies are my thing and I'm a little bit in love with Norman Reedus, although it is very annoying that the one character I don't like seems to be the only one that can survive anything.

Then there's The Vampire Diaries and The Originals which just continue my love for vampires, plus how can you not be in love with Damon Salvatore?

Teen Wolf, which ignoring the death and werewolves, I want to live in that town. How many towns have a population that beautiful? Stiles, Scott, Alison, Lydia, Theo, Isaac - literally all of them.

Arrow and The Flash are probably two of the shows I'm most hooked on at the moment, plus whenever they do cross-over episodes I get so excited - you'd think I was a little kid at Christmas.

Pretty Little Liars is definitely the most confusing and infuriating show I watch, but I literally cannot just stop watching it. I think Caleb is probably my favourite character in the show.

Shadowhunters is the last show I'm going to mention in this post. This is only half way through the first season but I'm so in love and hooked already. I've read the first 5 of the 6 book saga and I've watched the film (which disappointed me) so I was a bit wary about watching the TV show but overall it has not disappointed me. There is a few things that I'm not happy with but I am trying not to compare too much, but we'll see how that goes.

Huge weight off my shoulders

So a couple of weeks ago I had a huge (and I mean huge, that is not an exaggeration) 'break-up' with my so-called friend. A lot of these feelings had been building up for months and basically I got sick of being treated the way l was and finally snapped. Huge argument happened and they blocked me on one social networking site so I deleted them from everything else.

One thing not everyone gets is that friendship breakups can be just as heartbreaking as relationship breakups. It hurt a lot cutting someone I was so close to out of my life, but the last few months we've drifted apart and they were there for me less and less at the time I needed them the most. 

It has however made me see who my real friends are. They're the ones that have been there for me no matter what and in returning the favour I get to share amazing moments with them like Kirsty having her first child, Lewis buying his first home, Katie growing into the most amazing person from the 13 year old I met 6 years ago, Victoria and I going to our first blogging event together and Tessa and our trips to each other's countries along with our shared love for everything.

And how can I forget my mum who is the most amazing woman and listens to me and is there for me whenever I need her, even if I can't explain to her how I'm feeling at that moment in time. And the last person I want to mention is Emma, I met her through my sister and over the last 10+ years she has become like another sister, I've watched her amazing children grow and I've gossiped with her more than I have with anyone else.

Now obviously these are not the only people I have to be grateful for, but if I go on and list all of them I'd be here for ages. The few I have mentioned are my rocks, my constant reminder that I'm okay and that I'm not alone. For that I can never truly express my gratitude, but my shoulder is always here for you if you ever need it and I love you all to pieces.

Now I want to make it clear that I'm not forgetting about the things that other people have done for me in the past but they are in the past. So as grateful as I was for them at those times, they are no longer in my life and this post is about being grateful for who I have in my life right now.

People will always come and go in our lives and it hurts when they leave, no matter how they leave but you will get through those times. Always remember that.

Summing up the best and worst parts of 2015.

So I realise it is now February 2016 but I felt like sharing all the best parts of last year. I did quite a lot and I want it to all be in one place so I can look back. Now I'm also going to put the worst parts in, because I feel that even though they were horrible things to happen, they have helped me become a stronger person and move on to a new year with a fresh start. So here goes.

January 2015
The first month of 2015 was a little bittersweet, I went to see Stereo Kicks for the first time - I then saw them again in March and April before they announced their split in July. They were amazing and I still love them now

The last weekend of January I went to Wales to visit one of my best friends who lives in Pontypridd and while there we went to Save Your Breath's last ever show after 8 years of them being a band and me being a fan. I only got the privilege to see them 5 times but they were amazing and such nice guys to talk to. 

February 2015
The only really eventful thing that happened this month was going to see You Me At Six and All Time Low's co-headline tour. This was one of two co-headline tours that I've always wanted to see and the day me and Katie got tickets we were ridiculously excited and I could not stop talking about it. We laughed at Jack Barakat and cried at You Me At Six. It was one of the best concerts I've been too and it was the best way to spend a Valentine's Day (especially for someone who doesn't like V Day).

March 2015

I did quite a lot this month. I went to see Room 94 in Liverpool, Manchester and London in the space of 6 days. Liverpool and Manchester being the days where we got to actually hang out with them and Robbie Coles after the shows, which I haven't had the chance to do since 2010. I also finally got my group picture with Symmetry, got to meet the guys in Lost Dials and got to meet Ollie Marland who is one of the cutest people ever.

Also in the same week I went to the X Factor tour at Wembley Arena, saw Kingsland Road on their last tour and got to see Black Veil Brides again.

I also saw Janoskians at Wembley Arena with support from Jack & Jack who were all amazing and then a week later saw Young Guns in Reading with Katie, Chase and Enoch.

The last part of March and going into April was celebrating my 22nd birthday. I literally just went to the pub but I had a few friends over for the weekend as one lives in Wales, one in Reading and one in Finland and it was one of the best weekends.

April 2015

So there was only a few things in April, one was the other co-headline tour, this one was the Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens tour. I had the best time at this one with Chase, she's the best for managing to get the tickets.

              

I also went to see WWE Smackdown which was awesome and all my favourites were there which made it even better. Then saw Stereo Kicks for the last time (which I didn't know at the time)

 

May 2015

First weekend of May was very busy for me, the Friday I saw Our Last Night for the first time and got to meet all of them after the show, plus made friends with their support band High Hopes. Saturday I saw The Vamps and was FIRST ROW, Sunday I saw Olly Murs and Monday I saw Symmetry.

 

Middle of May my mum finally got her Christmas present from the year before and I got to live my childhood dream and we saw S Club 7 at O2 Arena. I also finally got the tattoo I wanted for my mum. When I was a kid me and my mum would sit there for hours playing noughts and crosses, I would always be crosses and when I was ill my mum would let me win so tattoo number five was for my mum.

End of May marked my first ever day festival with multiple stages, I got to go to Slam Dunk Festival in Leeds courtesy of Katie. I got to meet Katie's best friend Tom who is awesome, somehow we all ended up wearing checkered shirts and I faced my phobia of spiders by holding a tarantula. One of the highlights of the day (other than seeing You Me At Six headline and perform most of their Take Off Your Colours album) was standing and chatting with We Are The Ocean during Taking Back Sunday's set. Which also I SAW TAKING BACK SUNDAY (sorry I was really happy about that). Only downside to the weekend was that I got ridiculously sun burnt, perks of being naturally ginger - even with factor 50 sun cream applied regularly I still burn to a crisp.

June 2015

June I went back up to Leeds, this time to go and see 5 Seconds Of Summer at the First Direct Arena and spend the weekend with Victoria. Then a couple of days later we travelled to Cardiff to see One Direction at the Millennium Stadium which would have been an amazing concert if it wasn't for the tall, drunk, loud group of guys right by us in the crowd who ruined the whole thing for us. Then just over a week later I went to see 5SOS again in London (I really love 5SOS).

 

There was a main change in my life on the 10th June. We had to have our cat put to sleep, she was nearly 15 years old, we had her since she was 8 weeks old and she had been a perfectly healthy cat up until two weeks before. We noticed a lump on her eye and took her to the vet for tests, they came back and we still don't know exactly what was wrong because there were further tests that needed to be done but they would have cost us over £1000 and we just couldn't afford it. We didn't want to have her put to sleep but along with not being able to afford tests and treatment she got worse really quickly and she stopped eating and hardly moved, she wasn't herself anymore and it killed us seeing her like that, we didn't want her suffering anymore. The vet was almost certain the lump was cancerous and that she more than likely wouldn't have survived treatment anyway but I think she was just trying to make us feel better about the situation. Even though its been 8 months it still feels weird her not being here but we buried her in our garden in the spot she loved laying in the summer so she's always close to us.

July 2015

This month was a huge milestone for me, I went on my first ever plane AND my first ever ship. As my friend lives in Finland we decided that going there for 8 days would be a brilliant first holiday and it most definitely was. Tessa literally made that week the best, we played Cards Against Humanity with alcohol, a lot. We had Harry Potter AND Lord Of The Rings movie marathons, played Sing Star, went on a cruise to Estonia and we stayed at her family's lake house for a night. I could literally sit here for hours telling you about the holiday and posting hundreds of pictures but I'll cut it down to just this paragraph and a few pictures.

 

August 2015
The only thing that really happened in August was going to my first weekend festival which obviously was Reading Festival. Not only did Katie pay for me to go but her and her group of friends made it the best weekend ever. Lewis even came to surprise me as well, plus I got to see Panic At The Disco, The Wombats and Simple Plan for the first time, got to meet and hug PVRIS and we had our own little mosh pit in the rain during Bring Me The Horizon.

 

 

September 2015

So I saw One Direction twice this month, both in the same week, both at the same venue and both I paid far too much for the tickets but it was worth it. Me and Victoria had decided earlier in the month that we wanted to see them before the tour ended because 1) they added No Control to the setlist after Cardiff) and 2) we didn't really enjoy Cardiff thanks to the guys in the crowd. We looked on Stubhub and found seats in the second row for a (fairly) reasonable price. We booked them and 3 days before the concert I got a message saying they were no longer available but Stubhub had found me replacements... in the front row for no extra cost. It's safe to say I thanked them more than probably necessary, so Victoria travelled down from Leeds and we went and had literally the best time and then 5 days later I went again with another friend and we were in the same block as the concert before but in the fifth row. Still amazing and both dates Harry Styles nearly broke my phone by throwing water over us, worth it (and my phone is fine)

October 2015

October was overall a completely shit month for me. On the 1st my boyfriend of 5 years ended our relationship and I was pretty much a mess for a long time, it's only just now I'm moving on. And then on the 19th we found out that my sister lost a court case and the social services had taken her 5 boys away from her for good. I won't go into that much but my nephews are literally my world, the two oldest are in foster care and we only get to see them once a month, the two youngest are in the adoption process so we will more than likely never see them again but the bright side is that as the middle one now lives with his dad (and we're close with his dad) we have him every other weekend.

The end of October was a little better I took my parents to see Michael McIntyre and we had not laughed that much in a very long time and it was just what we all needed with everything that had happened. Then later that week me and Katie went to see Our Last Night again.

November 2015

The 4th was probably one of my favourite days of 2015. Tyler Oakley was one of two Youtubers that I first started watching all those years ago and on the 4th November I got to meet him at his book signing and he is so lovely and cute and we took literally like 10 different selfies and hugged and he's so amazing.

The 19th November was a pretty amazing day for me and I got really emotional (in a good way) my best friend of 11 years gave birth to her first child and the moment I saw him I fell in love. He is the most adorable baby and I'm so glad I get to witness my best friend go from being a wife to being a wife and a mummy. I can't wait to see the little man grow through the years.

Then on the 30th November I got to go and see Bring Me The Horizon (for the 7th time) but this time at Alexandra Palace and it was essentially a reunion of the group I went to Reading Festival with.

 

December 2015

2nd December me and Lewis met up with my friend Ellyn and went to see Hey Violet. I didn't like Hey Violet when the toured with 5SOS but I gradually fell in love with their music and now I'm hooked.

The 11th I had my work Christmas Party and even though I somehow lost my glasses and drank far too much I didn't embarrass myself and I had an amazing time

16th December I finally got back into filming and got my Youtube active again. I started with a cover of one of my favourite songs and I'm really glad I got back into filming because I really enjoy filming and editing.

To end the year I had an amazing Christmas and got to spend it with my parents and my uncles and aunt from my dad's side of the family then saw my grandparents and nephew on Boxing Day, got some amazing presents (pictures below are just some of my presents) plus Marcus Butler liked my tweet. Not to mention the fact that I got to see out 2015 and see in 2016 with one of my best friends.

So if you actually got to the end let me know and I'll send you a medal because I didn't actually realised I had done this much last year. But Kudos to you for reading all this and here's to another year which hopefully wont had the bad bits in, but lots of good stuff.