Looking Back On 2019

Hello 2020, goodbye 2019!

I can't believe another year has come and passed, and it's already time to look back on another year of my life with a mix of nostalgia and regret.  It only feels like a minute since I was reflecting on 2018. Where has the time gone?? I swear 2019 was the shortest year yet.

I wish I could say that 2019 was the best year of my life; a year full of achievements, fun experiences, milestones, wealth, health, and romance, but if I did I would be lying through my teeth. In all honesty, 2019 was a pretty boring and uneventful year for me. I achieved very little, I didn't reach any big milestones, I didn't have many fun experiences, my health was crap, and there was certainly no wealth or romance in my life during the past twelve months.

I can count on two hands with fingers to spare how many times I even left the house last year, and apart from a trip to the zoo in July, and two fun trips away in February and October to see Boyzone live again before they split, my only ventures out of the house were for medical appointments or unnoteworthy visits to the shops with my Mum or sister. That's literally it. I'm not even kidding. I'm beginning to wonder if I actually lived the last year of my life at all.

It's not that I didn't want or try to live my life to the full last year- I didn't want to do anything more- but my health had other ideas, and decided to hold me hostage for another year. Nobody came to rescue me; I'm quite disappointed. Without droning on about my health too much, basically some of my conditions degenerated further in 2019. My Fibromyalgia pains and flares were more intense; my Arthritis inflicted a lot more pain, stiffness, and swelling in all my bones and joints; my chronic spinal pain was a daily challenge; and fatigue zapped the life out of me. I also managed to do some further damage to my spine in August, thanks to my existing Degenerative Disc Disease, and knocked one of the facets in my neck out of place. I spent the last third of 2019 with intense pain in the back of my head and reduced mobility in my neck, doing daily physio stretches to try to help myself heal. I'm still not back to normal. With all these physical challenges kicking my ass, I couldn't get out and about much, and 2019 was more about getting from one day to the next than having fun, making memories, and achieving goals. C'est la vie. On the plus side, I survived my eighth year housebound with chronic pain and illness and managed to stay upbeat most of the time, so go me!

While I didn't do anything exciting or achieve anything noteworthy last year, I did find plenty of ways to keep myself occupied at home, and made some small victories. I crafted, I cross stitched, I watched movies, I listened to a lot of music, I took a bunch of photos, I spent time with my dog and my family, I kept two plants alive, I found solace online, I collected a lot of Erstwilder brooches, I spent more hours playing Animal Crossing New Leaf every day than I'd care to admit, and I rekindled my love of reading. 

I set myself the goal of reading 25 books in 2019, and totally smashed my expectations by reading 47 books by New Year's Eve, which is something I'm really proud of. I haven't read so much in a year since I was in primary school! I guess being unable to move, and too brain-fogged to blog have their advantages- it left me more time to read! I read almost every day and lapped up books like there was no tomorrow, discovered new authors and particularly fell back in love with psychological thrillers. I loved getting lost in so many new books, and I'm happy that I at least achieved something worthwhile last year. I'm hoping to read even more in 2020, but I'll talk more about that when I share my goals for the year ahead later this week.

So what else happened in 2019?

♥ I saw Boyzone live with Marie in February.

♥ I celebrated my blog's 7th birthday.

♥ I came in as a runner up in a Hobbycraft competition with one of my cross stitches.

♥ I turned 34.

♥ I spent my birthday visiting The Cotswold Wildlife Park for the millionth time.

♥ I spent a few nights in London in October seeing Boyzone live for the final time with Marie.

♥ We did some shopping in Westfield.

♥ We discovered Doughnut Time doughnuts and Crème cookies and oh my God, they were the best discoveries ever!

♥ My dog, Rosie, turned 4 and I made her pupcakes for the first time.

And that's about as exciting as my life gets these days.

Fingers crossed I can get out and about and have more experiences in 2020, because 2019 was kinda pathetic. It wasn't a bad year- I've had worse- it was just kinda dull.

I also blogged less in 2019 than any year since I began Polka Spots and Freckle Dots in 2012. It wasn't for lack of trying; I sat at my laptop almost every day and attempted to write for hours, but more often than not, the words just wouldn't come. I was so brain fogged most of the year (another wonderful side-effect of my Fibromyalgia) that I had the worst time recalling words and stringing coherent sentences together, which was not only frustrating as hell, but meant that my blog suffered for it and had to take a back seat. Sometimes it took me a fortnight to put one post together, and other times I couldn't create at all. Or when I could write, I couldn't take the photos I needed to finish a post because of the pain and injury to my neck. It wasn't the year I'd hoped for my blog, but I did still blog a little, worked with some fantastic brands, celebrated my 7th blog birthday, and managed to get back in to the swing of things in December. 

Some of my favourite posts from 2019 include:

♥ Snow Day
♥ Vendula London La Bicyclette de Vendula Box Bag Review
♥ Polka Spots and Freckle Dots Turns Seven
♥ Mal Paper Daily Goal Setter Planner Review
♥ Erstwilder Endangered Animals Brooches
♥ Turning Thirty Four and What I Got For My Birthday
♥ Erstwilder Halloween Jewellery
♥ Essie Nail Polish Advent Calendar Review
♥ Ciate Mini Mani Month Nail Polish Advent Calendar Review
♥ Christmas Bedroom Tour 2018
♥ What I Got For Christmas Last Year (2018)
♥ 50 Things To Do This Christmas If You Have a Chronic Illness
♥ IWOOT Christmas Jumpers Review
♥ My Christmas Cross Stitch Makes
♥ A Literary Christmas: An Anthology Book Review
♥ Erstwilder All Wrapped Up Christmas Brooches
♥ What's In My Christmas Eve Box 2019

I just want to say a big heart-felt "thank you" to everyone who continued to read my blog posts, follow me on social media, and leave me lovely comments and messages in 2019, even though my posting was sparse and my content not the most interesting. I can't believe that you were still  interested in reading what I had to say when I did make an appearance, and your support means the world. Thank you!

I really enjoyed blogging regularly again over Christmas and I'm hoping I can find my groove again this year, and health allowing, create more quality content on a regular basis in 2020. I'm going to try my best for you guys, but I won't make any promises in case I can't keep them, and I guess we shall see what happens. Fingers crossed for a better year!

I hope that 2020 is a bright year for all of us, filled with happiness, good health (or as good as it can be for those of us with chronic illnesses), fun times, great experiences, wonderful people, and all the things you're hoping for this year. Happy New Year, everyone! Let's make it the best one yet!

What was your greatest achievement in 2019?