"Well, that looks fantastic!"

Once again, I have left it a very long time to update this old thing. I feel I don't really have much to say anymore! So, I'll just pop up a wee health/life update on my little corner of the internet.

So, last Thursday evening, Mum and I made the journey once again to London. Unfortunately, this was not for Fashion's Night Out or the Paralympics, but for an appointment with the prof on Friday Morning. We arrived at Daphne's (who once again put up with us!) rather late so went straight to bed. My MRI was at 9.45 so it was a pretty early morning for us! After that, we headed over to clinic and were seen early (THIS NEVER HAPPENS) which was good. We had a little catch up and I was told off for doing too much.. Whoopsie. The prof said he thinks my little 'episodes' are probably migraine related but also that they seem to happen when I'm overtired. So, I have been told once more not to push myself - I will be taking things easy these next few weeks! He then looked up my MRI and had a look through. He said it looked fantastic and there was no trace of the cancer - what a relief! After he said that, Mum and I both realised how nervous we'd been up to that point. When I'm nervous, I feel incredibly nauseous and can't eat. The second he said that, the sickness feeling passed. I'm not sure why I was so worked up about this scan - I guess every check up is nerve-wracking, so it is great to hear everything looks good. My blood levels are still a bit all over the place so we're going to keep a close eye on them. Dark chocolate is supposed to help Magnesium levels so I've been instructed to eat a lot of that.. What a shame. We had a long catch up and then Mum and I were free! I absolutely LOVE walking out of Charing Cross Hospital in a good mood - it doesn't have many happy memories attached to it. We're not due back down until March but I will still have my blood checked regularly and have appointments at The Beatson. So to celebrate, we headed into Chinatown for some dim sum and then went to see Anna Karenina at the cinema in Leicester Square. The cinema is so nice inside but it was £18 a ticket!

After this, we headed into town to meet my good chum Martin for dinner. We ended up in Covent Garden drinking prosecco in a lovely rooftop bar - perfect! The next day we met Cousin Kate for brunch and headed back to Daphne's to get ready for Matthew's Friends Ball (http://www.matthewsfriends.org/). The charity is raising money and awareness for children with epilepsy to try a different diet - it was such an amazing and inspirational night hearing about the charity and the amazing work they do. We were at a table with some of Mum and Dad's friends from Cole Abbey, so Mum loved the catching up!

The past wee while hasn't been too busy but enough for me to feel shattered all the time! My energy levels are still RUBBISH but fingers crossed they'll pick up soon - they're taking their sweet time. Here are some pictures of recent events.. First up we have Sarah's wedding! It was such an amazing day, Sarah was such a gorgeous bride - DUH. We stayed at Granny & Grandpa's the night before then Alice's lovely folks put up with us on the night of the wedding - thanks Sandra! 

William laughing at my wasp sting..

Showing the dance floor our Beyonce moves.

This wasn't actually posed (honest) - it's just to show how long my hair is! PONYTAIL TIME!

Beautiful Mrs McNeish!

Next up is just a bundle of random photo's from the last month or so.. First up, I absolutely LOVED the Olympics - which is bizarre as I do not enjoy watching or participating in sports.. Oh well, it was awesome. Ruth and Ally held an opening ceremony night, so obviously we had cake.

We had a wonderful holiday club in Coatbridge with lots of amazing kids - I've stolen this snap off you Jane, I hope you don't mind!

My lovely cousin Esther turned 21, so she held a 20s themed party! Any excuse to get dressed up :)

I also had a day at the fringe with my lovely Music Girls (not sure why we still call each other this - we left uni 5 years ago!) - it was great fun.

Finally, we have a picture of myself in the local newspaper! I'm currently doing some volunteering for Macmillan and trying to get folk to sign up for the World's Biggest Coffee Morning at the end of the month! I'm holding one in Coatbridge and also one at Hillhead Bookclub - it should be fun! Also, the newspaper spelt Macleod wrong..

Today I have done absolutely nothing and I still feel shattered. I have come down with a rubbish cold and can't speak at all - I'm guessing everyone in the house is rather thankful about this. I hope it comes back as I have plans this week - ANNOYING. I shall try not to leave it as long before my next update. I say that but any money it's longer. Oh well, laters!

Pop Pop!

Afternoon all! I thought I would 'pop' up a wee update on the blog for y'all. I am currently in bed with some peppermint tea having a very chilled Sunday afternoon (actually, I have to lie down as I ate so much at lunch). I have had a rather busy few weeks so I will fill you all in!

First up (will get health rubbish out of the way), I've been feeling rather rotten. I have had some weird fainting/dizzy/light-headedness spells and they don't seem to be easing up. My magnesium is pretty low again so it might be in relation to that. Basically, I'm constantly feeling light headed and at times my right arm goes all tingly and I feel like I'm about to faint - not particularly pleasant. I've also had the kaleidescope eye thing again - this in particular freaked me out as it reminded me of what I felt like during chemo. I'm going to call the docs tomorrow to see if she has any suggestions on how to get rid of this. I'm feeling rather restricted again as I'm paranoid to go out and do things as I do not fancy fainting alone in Topshop! That would be pretty awkward. It's really frustrating as I was feeling good and desperate to do more things - I know I'm not back to square one, but it is annoying.

Anywho, enough of that. I've had a lovely time this past month with weddings, hen do's and a trip to Keswick! First up, we had Cat and Paul's wedding. It was such a wonderful day and I was so happy to be a part of it. Cat has been one of our closest friends for so long and I felt so emotional watching her walk down the aisle! ML's speech was obviously a highlight too.

I have more photo's to get off Dad's camera so I will do that soon! On the wedding theme, last weekend we had Sarah's hen and it was AWESOME. A surprise party on the Friday (with lots of Sarah masks), a dance class on the Sat (which my legs have just recovered from), then dinner, drinks and dancing on Saturday night - a wonderful weekend! Well done to the bridesmaids for organising an amazing time for all!

This last week, Mum, Dad, Granny and I went to Keswick - it was really nice to get away for a few days and see the family. I felt pretty ropey a lot of the time so didn't do much but a change of scene is always fun. Dad and I also managed to fit a trip to the Pencil Museum.. We lasted ten minutes. I don't think I'll be going back.

This post feels like it's been a jumble of pictures and rambling - so, same old huh? I shall report back soon with something interesting. Maybe.

A wee update

Good afternoon all! I thought I should post a little catch up blog to let you all know how I got on in London! I went with my friend Amy who had to put up with a very nervous Mairead all day on Wednesday.. I couldn't even eat! On Thursday morning I was still feeling a bit sick but not as stressed.

The event wasn't until 1pm but we arrived early so I could have a run through of my speech. After that I felt grand! Everyone was so supportive and kind so it really put my at ease. Amy managed to sneak a little snap of my run through..

I actually really enjoyed the speech and felt so honoured to be invited. Lots of people came to speak to me after and were really complimentary - so that was nice! There's more information about the event here... http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/what-we-do/health-professionals/blueprint-of-care/

Afterwards, Lord McConnell took us on a tour of the House Of Lords - it was great! He has been so supportive of the Teenage Cancer Trust and was a very good tour guide. Here's a picture of me next to Queen Victoria's Throne.. Oooh!

Amy and I managed to fit in a trip to see Matilda, dinner and drinks with friends and visits to the National History Museum and the V&A! Currently, the V&A have an exhibition of ballgowns on (swooon), so that was our first stop. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures but I can confirm that the dresses were AMAZING. One plus of having a disabled badge is that I get a reduced rate for expensive exhibitions.. I have definitely taken advantage of that! I was so knackered after the trip so went to bed as soon as I got in on Friday!

The past few weeks have been rather busy with birthdays, meetings, hen do's and the like. All good fun really! I had a bone scan on Friday at 9am (GAAAH) which was OK too. I was expecting it to be like an MRI but it was fine. It was also a good excuse to get a nice West End breakfast after.

On Saturday, Rona, Teenie, ML and I ventured to Aberfeldy for Cat's hen do - it was SO much fun. ML organised the whole day and did an amazing job. I am now so unbelievably excited for Cat's wedding on Saturday. It is going to be a wonderful day. (I stole one of your pictures Judy - hope you don't mind!)

Here are a few other pictures of recent times. First up, myself and ML looking very cheery.

My wonderful Music Girls who always put a (rather large) smile on my face.

We had a lovely cousin fuelled few days for Grace's birthday a few weeks ago. It was so nice to spend some time with them all. Also, as Eurovision was on, it gave Teenie and I an excuse to dress up as Jedward!

We had an 'ironic' Jubilee Party a few weeks ago - it was ace! We ate a lot of cake..

This first picture is a few weeks old but I love it. The kids discovered Instagram on my phone and seemed to enjoy it. It's James' birthday today so they came round to drop off a card for James and help eat the amazing cake Mum and Teenie created! 

I can't quite believe James is 20 - crazy. His back is still pretty bad but will hopefully improve soon as he is getting rather intense physio every week. So, it's a rather miserable birthday for him so his 21st next year will have to be immense!

Healthwise, I'm going grand. Blood levels are still a bit low but not worrying. My energy levels are still a bit rubbish but I know it's something I need to build on. After the crazy weekend, I have felt absolutely shattered! I'm still aware that I need to conserve my energy and that it will take a long time to recover. As I've said before, it's a gradual process but I can definitely see improvement - even if it is taking a while!

I'm really looking forward to the Summer - weddings, hen do's, a trip to Keswick, the induction at Coatbridge (YAY) and some voluntary work for Macmillan. I'm excited to actually 'have' a Summer so I want to try and pack a lot of things in. I hope everyone is having a cheery Wednesday!