Goodbye Pain, Hello Summer! (#TheSundayPost)

The Latest in my Life ☀️

Things are looking up for me this summer. After having my upper left wisdom tooth extracted on the 22nd of June, the daily headaches and sinus pain I had since January subsided and I now no longer need to take naproxen or co-codamol. It’s made a huge difference to me as I was starting to get really down. I can’t believe one tooth caused all that hassle!

The management of my daughter’s Type 1 Diabetes is going a little better too, which has helped with my stress levels, although last week’s heat wave did throw things off a bit. I’ve tarted attending Zoom meetings with other parents who have children with T1D, which has been really helpful.

Social Events

We’ve had lots on in the last month, including three birthday parties and two weddings. The first wedding of our good friends Scott and Carla was eventful as our car had broken down the day before. We managed to make it there and back through a combination of taxis and borrowing a friend’s car for part of the journey. It was a lovely day and we even had the opportunity to hold some exotic animals while the bride and groom were having photos!

The weekend after we attended my cousin Andrew’s wedding in Doncaster to his beautiful bride, Charlotte. They both looked so happy. We had a wonderful day with our family, including a delicious meal and memorable speeches. My daughter was dancing until about 11pm before she finally crashed.

I’ve been busy at work too with exams, sports day, prom, summer socials and “carnival day” on which we filled the school field with games, bouncy castles and other activities. It’s all been exhausting (especially in the extreme heat) but good fun. We broke up for the summer on the 21st July and I think everyone was ready to rest and recharge.

I had quite a few family events on the first week of the summer holidays, including a BBQ in Stoke on Trent with my husband’s side of the family, afternoon tea with my friends and colleagues and a visit from my Dad and his family.

My Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday, so I went out for lunch the day before and out for dinner last night. I got lots of amazing books (haul post coming soon), some beautiful jewellery and some brilliant geeky gifts such as a Harry Potter canvas print, a “Hellfire Club” T shirt, Dustin’s “Thinking Cap” from Stranger Things, Blue and Beta funkopop from Dominion, some cool book ends, Planet Zoo PC game and a cuddly toy ant-eater!

Writing ✍️

This summer break I’m working on some short stories for anthology calls that close at the end of August.

I’ve also started preparing for a creative writing workshop I’m running at Boston Book Festival on Saturday 17th December in Boston, Lincs (UK).

“Join Anstice for her “What If?” workshop, aimed at budding writers and fans of fiction who want to try something new. You will explore fractured fairytales, compelling retellings, and modernised myths. Through fun prompts and activities, you will learn how to write stories that defy expectations, blur boundaries and turn tropes on their head. Anstice looks forward to sharing her tips and tricks and answering any questions you have about writing and publishing.”

If you’re interested in attending, tickets are available to purchase here.

Reading 📖

I’m still recovering from a bit of a reading slump, but hopefully I’ll get back into my groove now I have some time off. I’ve just started reading Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater, the second book in the Dreamer trilogy. I’m so pleased she released more books featuring Ronan. He was always my favourite character from The Raven Cycle series.

I’m also reading Encanto: A Tale of Three Sisters to my daughter, which is quite a fun story.

Watching and Listening 📺

• I loved Stranger Things season 4, even though the ending was heart-wrenching. I don’t know how I’m going to wait for season 5. I’m so invested in these characters.
• I enjoyed the end of Night Sky on Prime too. I loved that the main characters are pensioners. It was slow but the conclusion was pretty satisfying. I’m hoping we get a few more answers and a little more action next season.
• We went to see Jurassic World: Dominion at the cinema early this month and I really enjoyed it. The script was pretty terrible, but the dinosaurs looked awesome and it was great to see the original cast back together again. It was cheesy but nostalgic.
• The latest series of Silent Witness was tense and gripping as usual, with Amanda Burton returning as a very suspicious Sam Ryan. It was nice to see Jack and Nicky together after literally YEARS of “will they, won’t they?” drama. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be plain sailing for them, though…
• I watched the first episode of Ms. Marvel the other night and it was pretty good, though I realise it’s aimed more at teens. It’s great to see a Muslim superhero in the MCU.
• I’ve been bingeing some dystopian films I haven’t seen in a while, like The Hunger Games and Divergent series. I really enjoyed them even after all these years and it’s made me want to revisit the books again.

Singing 🎵

I’m really enjoying being a member of my local choir. They’re such a lovely, supportive bunch. We all went to watch the Military Wives Choir last month to get some inspiration and we had a social event with karaoke and a huge buffet a couple of weeks ago. I wore myself out doing some ridiculous backing dancing to “Proud Mary”. I’m so glad I decided to join the group as I laugh so much every week.

We’ve started several new songs, including a Latvian folk song and a beautiful song that a member of the group has written. Our next “gig” is The Beonna Heritage Day on Saturday 17th September. It’s the same day as my writing workshop, but I’m hoping I can squeeze in both events!

I’ve got a small solo part in Toto’s “Africa” to practise this week. I’m a bit nervous so hopefully it will go okay.

Quote of the Week 💬

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer.

It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

~Kimberly

How was your week? Have you attended any fun summer events lately? Let me know in the comments!