2016... the good bits!

You know a year has been particularly bad when people start using it as an adjective... 'Oh it was terrible, so 2016!' 2016 has given itself a bit of a reputation for being a lousy year, mostly because of game-changing political events and the seemingly endless stream of celebrity deaths.

Sadly,  aside from all this, 2016 has also been a bit of a personal disaster for me. It started with my grandmother passing away in February, then the whole summer and autumn disappeared in a thundering wave of horrible emotions caused by lots of tests, nail-biting delays and my resulting cancer diagnosis and surgery. When you combine these personal issues with the wider political calamities of 2016, it's hard to look at the year in any kind of positive light. In fact, I'm pretty sure I cried more in 2016 than in all my other adult years put together!

However, before I gladly condemn this year to the rubbish heap at midnight on New Year's Eve, I wanted to find a way to remind myself that 2016 hasn't been ALL bad. That's why I decided to blog about all the good times I've had this year - there have been plenty of them which means the year hasn't been a total write-off. I want to keep all those good times at the forefront of my mind rather than looking back in complete doom and gloom.

Without further ado, here are the greatest hits of 2016!

Fake Christmas

The annual much-anticipated 'Fake Christmas' event took place in January with my university friends. The year had already got off to a bad start by this point as I'd just found out that my grandmother was very ill, so this was a nice distraction with some of my favourite people.

Liz's hen weekend 

I had the opportunity to meet up with my university friends again in February for Liz's hen weekend. We spent the day in London with an underground challenge and afternoon tea, then had a sleepover in the evening with lots of crisps, wine, reminiscing and Cards Against Humanity!

Homes for Wales rally 

This was one work achievement I absolutely had to include in the best bits of 2016. Months of hard work preceded this huge event in March to raise awareness of the housing crisis ahead of the Welsh elections. It all paid off and this was one of my proudest days of the year!

Toronto

We spent a week in Toronto in March and had an amazing time full of sightseeing, spectacular views, Canadian culture and (of course) eating. I would definitely recommend Toronto if you're currently planning your next holiday!

Liz's wedding

I was very honoured when Liz asked me to be her bridesmaid for her and Pete's wedding in March. It was a lovely day (in spite of the torrential rain) and it was yet another chance to catch up with my university friends! Three times in three months... we really were spoilt this year.

Visits from friends

Nicola, Sarah, Liz and Fee all came to stay at various points throughout the year... I love having a spare room with a proper bed! These visits all consisted of lots of laughing, talking about old times, shopping, eating and drinking, and never failed to cheer me up whatever else was going on.

My 30th birthday 

I celebrated my 30th birthday in June and it seemed to go on for about a month. I was lucky enough to have lots of celebrations with different people and I received a huge amount of lovely gifts.

A visit to my nephews 

We visited my sister, brother-in-law and my two nephews in Southampton in July for my youngest nephew's second birthday. It was an unexpectedly sunny day and we had a lot of fun!

Second wedding anniversary

Although our second wedding anniversary was overshadowed by the news of my diagnosis a few days before (and my MRI scan on the day itself!), we still made sure we went out for a nice meal near Penarth Pier to celebrate.

Florida 

We went away to Walt Disney World in September, in between my diagnosis and my operation. In spite of the circumstances, we had an amazing time and were able to spend some quality time together in our favourite place.

Theatre trip to London

Three weeks after my operation, we went to London for a theatre coach trip which include a night away and tickets to see Aladdin on stage. We'd booked it months before everything happened but decided to go ahead anyway as there wouldn't be too much walking for me to do. It was so nice to be out and about again after being confined to the house for so long!

Harry Potter Studio Tour

I visited the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford with my university friends in November. It was even better than I'd ever imagined and I definitely want to repeat the experience!

Celtic Manor 

We went to the Celtic Manor for a night away, dinner and breakfast at the beginning of December because we thought we deserved a treat, quite frankly. It was a nice mini break and the Christmas decorations at the hotel were beautiful!

Christmas

I couldn't blog about my highlights of the year without including my favourite time of year... Christmas! We spent lots of time with family and friends, as well as relaxing with each other, and it was nice to finish 2016 on a high. 

So there you have it... obviously 2016 wasn't all bad. However, I'll still be glad to see the back of it and am desperately hoping for a calmer and happier year next year!

What were your best bits of 2016?

My top ten Disney songs of all time

I've been listening to my 'Now that's what I call Disney' CD in my car for the last few weeks as it really is one of my favourite CDs in the world. It brings back childhood memories of watching some of my most dearly loved films and also reminds me of our three (and counting) lovely Disney holidays.

I thought I'd try to compile a list of my top ten favourite Disney songs, then realised that this was a much more difficult task than I first thought. There are a LOT of excellent Disney songs. In order to make the task more manageable, I've narrowed the list down to just songs from Disney's Animated Classics (which means I can't choose any songs from Pixar films), and I'm also not allowed to choose more than one song from the same film. I had to implement this rule or most of my top ten would have been from The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. As you can tell, I'm taking this whole thing very seriously.

Drum roll please.... here's the unveiling of my top ten classic Disney songs of all time!


I see the light - Tangled

I absolutely love this song, particularly as we chose it as the song for our first dance at our wedding last year. I get goosebumps every time I hear it.

Beauty and the Beast - Beauty and the Beast (obviously)

This has been one of my favourite films for as long as I can remember, and this has to be my favourite song from its amazing soundtrack. I'll never get bored of listening to it!

Circle of Life - The Lion King

I think everyone must have a song from The Lion King in their top ten... I love so many songs from this film but Circle of Life has to be my all-time favourite. It's just so epic!

Part of your world - The Little Mermaid

Although The Little Mermaid isn't one of my favourite Disney films, I absolutely love this song. Yet another Disney song which I could listen to over and over again (and have been known to do so at top volume in my car).

A whole new world - Aladdin

Surely this song is in everyone's Disney top ten? Such a beautiful song. When did you last let your heart decide?

Go the distance - Hercules

I always forget about Hercules' amazing soundtrack until I watch the film again. Although most of the songs from this film are featured on my Disney CD, they left out the best song of all!

I wanna be like you - The Jungle Book

Another one of my favourite childhood films. I'll always have fond memories of this song as my mother used to sing it to herself all the time when I was younger. She still loves it to this day!

Reflection - Mulan

Mulan isn't a film I'd watch again and again like some of the others on this list, but I really love this song and its thought-provoking lyrics.

Colours of the wind - Pocahontas

Yet another Disney film with a beautiful soundtrack! However, Colours of the Wind is by far my favourite. 'You think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you'... very indicative of today's society.

Heigh Ho - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Not one of my favourite Disney films, but I've always loved this song and the seven dwarfs. I love it when it randomly pops up when I'm on my way to work!

Do you agree with my song choices? Have I made any glaring omissions, in your opinion? Let me know what you think!