Christmas in Our Household! A.K.A. I'm So Excited!!

Evening all!

This post is up slightly later then anticipated only because I've been getting the last few bits and bobs ready for Christmas, my gosh I am so so excited for Christmas!!

This post is pretty much going to be all about how our family does Christmas to be honest, it's the best time of the year for the whole family to be honest, we just love it so much.

Christmas has always been my favourite time of year because I absolutely thrive in cold weather, while everyone else goes around grumbling and muttering about how awful the weather is I am just completely in my element. Don't get me wrong I love Halloween and all the other holidays throughout the year but as soon as Halloween is over I put my Christmas tree up on November 1st, I still laugh when I remember Simon's reaction when we first got together and I put my tree up that day, he had slept at my house because we got home late from a Beamish Halloween event and he was partly loving the spirit and partly in disbelief that people do that so early haha! As you can see it looks like there has been an explosion in a Christmas factory looking at my Nana's living room and tree! Isn't is awesome?!

 

At school I had a friendship group who always called me Mrs. Claus, I loved that name, best thing I ever got called at school. 

Anywho, it's two days away from Christmas day and we are all in full Cheer mode in our house, because my birthday is so close to Christmas the Christmas celebrations don't usually start until the week before. On Monday I had my regular RVI appointment so not much happened until Wednesday really... Me and Simon were so bored sitting in the house and that's no good for any couple usually we get at each others throats if we are cooped up too long so we like to get out and about as much as we can, we decided to go for a small walk around Hardwick Park, a woodland area really close to where we live and honestly it was such a lovely day for it, BITTER cold and barely anyone around. Whenever we did meet people they always smiled and said good morning or Merry Christmas, that's what I love about this time of year, amid all of the rush and hustle and bustle and complaints about the same old songs playing on the radio, there is something underlying, some kind of kindness in people that just sing there any other time of the year. Christmas brings out the best and worst in people and it all depends on your outlook about which side of people you would rather see, I think at least... I might be talking rubbish but Christmas to me is just a happy time. 

Halfway around the walk I started to get pains like usual, my leg felt like the muscles were being for to shreds but on the surface my skin was going numb so I couldn't feel my leg at all, we ended up sitting down for about half an hour until I had some feeling then just doing very very short bursts of walking, what should've been a 30 minute walk turned into a two hour escapade, I ended up crying quite a bit, felt like begging to the clouds "please just make me normal!!" but what's the point? Onwards and upwards so we made the best of the situation, Simon managed to get some lovely pictures, one being of a very majestic looking Robin. 

After the walk we both went to meet a really old friend of mine, we have known each other since school and went for a starbucks, Leanne is such an awesome person honestly, our friendships has never changed even if we have lost touch before; I adore those kinds of friendships ad I'm hoping we can plan another catch up day as soon as possible. We ended up swapping each others presents and cards for Christmas and heading off home after a chin wag. 

Not much happened on Wednesday after that so we ended up watching Christmas TV shows like 'Friends' and 'South Park' episodes which was lovely. 

Over the last couple days I've been taking my nana shopping for Christmas food, the best part of Christmas, I love spending time with my nana she is such a strong and amazing woman and I'm blades to have her in the family to be honest, she's pretty hilarious too, whenever I ask her for directions you can guarantee her answer will be "oh... it was that last left turn" and we always end up laughing and finding somewhere to U turn haha! I'll be taking her shopping tomorrow as well to get the last little bits and finish up before the big day. 

On Christmas eve we tend to swap presents with friends and make sure everybody has been given their presents, I' hoping we can get out for another walk even if it's a really short walk this time, just so we can get out and in the fresh air. Usually, then I will help grandma tidy up the house as we always open our presents at her house and will be having dinner at my Mam's this year. After helping around the house I will get into the car and go an deliver last minute Christmas cards to friends and family in the village and we will go visiting after, this year because of we have lost a lot of close family over the past two years my uncle will be coming to visit us this year and my uncle Charlie is no longer with us. He was a truly fabulous (in every sense of the word) man. Instead of visiting everyone this year we will be heading to our local church as myself and Simon are practicing Catholics. I always love going to Church and don't have as much tie as I would like to attend regularly as I want. On getting back hope we will grab something light to eat and get a few christmas films on, hopefully this year we can watch 'A Christmas Carol' and '8 Crazy Nights' or 'Nightmare Before Christmas'... Ahhh there are too many to choose from! Then we will get to bed before 12am so we can sleep before Santa comes!!

On Christmas morning my Mam and Dad will wake us up around 6/6:30am because they're big kids and we will have our stockings at the end of the bed to rip into, then after taking an hour (or so it feels) to wake up Nana and Granda, my Dad heads downstairs and "checks if Santa has been", he always has. So, we get to run downstairs and get into opening the presents while everyone sits with a cup of tea or coffee, this usually takes two hours give or take. Then we will gather all the gifts together into our own little areas and call or text everybody to say thank you and wish them a merry christmas. Then the best bit... Christmas lunch!! We will be having lunch around 1/2 this year so not too late, usually after a big dinner  we all sit and watch a film until one of us falls asleep, usually my Granda. Since living with Simon it's been different though, Christmas is split between my family and his so we have Christmas evening ad night with his family, mainly because my Mam is too poorly she can't stay awake too long and gets tired very easily so we get what time with her that we can to be honest. It's always a true joy to see Simon's family as they're all fantastic people, I really do love them as my own. It's a 35 minute drive to Simon's house so we will blast the Christmas tunes as we go and do the same on the way home, usually a little quieter haha. 

When we get home you can bet your last penny we will watch a dvd and fall asleep as we watch. Perfect. 

Boxing day is usually us looking through our gifts and spending the day with families, eating still more food (if you can't eat what a little worse than usual at Christmas when can you?) and just relaxing really. So, that is Christmas in the Simpson/Savage/Steel household.

I'd love to know how everyone else is doing Christmas this year? What are your traditions? 

Whatever you do and wherever you are I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!

Bye for now,

Katy. xo

Keep Fighting - The POMC Series

Hey again,

Hope everybody is well, this next post will be a short one as I'm lacking in energy today but definitely have a couple of posts coming up that you should find interesting.

I wasn't going to post today as me and the family went out for the day but I've decided that if qany day is a good day to demonstrate the reality of how POMC can affect people it's today.

Beautiful Whitby Town - North Yorkshire

Today was a really bad day, to be honest. I woke up feeling pretty good, well rested and such and I knew me and the family were heading off to Whitby for the day, one of my most adored places I've ever been to, and I was visibly excited. After a cup of tea I went to get s cold shower because I could feel myself beginning to overheat, despite windy and pretty cloudy weather, my body temperature kept going up and I was just sweating more and more so I took 5 minutes, tried to keep myself hydrated as much as possible and got myself dressed quite quickly. 

Me and Simon got into the car and went to Subway for our lunches, we decided to go there as I'm not keen on just grabbing whatever I can wherever I can, I've learned that food is best planned well in advance so I know what I'm putting into my body compared to the energy I'll be using up, I just feel it's the most sensible decision for me. Other people are different though. Anyway as I was driving I honestly felt like my body was slowly turning to lead, as if I weighed twice what I do now but I pushed it to the back of my mind and hoped I was going to get a good day out of today. 

Nanna and Granda, who we went with, eventually got home and I packed a bag with inhalers, water, phones and everything else we would need and headed off. While I was in the car I could feel my legs turning numb, my granddad's car is very low to the ground compared to mine and I find it extremely difficult to get out of, the seat belts also don't fit around me without an extender so it's not the best car to travel in. Anyway  like I mentioned I felt the numbness creep up my legs and a dull ache hit my lower back which was there all the way to Whitby, along with the overheating feeling which was exacerbated with the weather turning sunny and hotter the closer we got to the coast. By the time we got to Whitby there were no parking spaces so me and Simon tried to get out to walk on ahead; I don't think I managed getting 12 metres before I was sweating in pain with my back and my knees started to ache. I've always been self-conscious of looking like the stereotypes version of an obese person, someone who is so large they cannot walk properly, mainly because when I've tried to explain that I'm not simply over-eating the wrong things without exercising and have a genuine medical condition I am met with looks of disbelief and dubious scrutiny. At this point I walked a little further and had to stop where my anxiety got the best of me as I was convinced everyone was looking at me. I broke down and cried on Simon, insisting I go home and we go for a walk privately around our local area later today when I feel better. So, not only did I not get the day at Whitby we all wanted but I feel I've held back my family and boyfriend, something I'm not unused to feeling. 

Somehow though me and Simon are still determined to do that walk, determined that pain won't stop me from cooking family dinner later and it will not stop me being a happy person overall. The point of this post was not to complain or whine or make people feel sorry for those of us with such problems, it was to remind parents of children with POMC or any genetic obesity disease and those directly dealing with POMC/genetic obesity themselves that no matter how hard the days might seem, how much you want to give up fighting or feel hopeless always remember that the condition you have is there to be fought and we are all warriors in this battle, nobody is alone with a strong support network around them of family, friends, partners and even medical professionals who help you cope. You are a strong person with better things to do and live for, than to give in to anything at all! Even if is is easier said than done at times, please keep fighting! 

Thanks for reading. xo