December 2020 Wrap Up

So here it is, my final wrap up of the absolute piece of crap that was 2020. I’ll be honest, again, not much happened given the restrictions that we were under (thankfully we were only tier 2, now tier 3), so I feel this will be a rather short wrap up. I’m honestly so done with talking about covid and to be fair I really went for it talking about it in my November wrap up, so despite the fact it’s still very much in our lives, I’m going to try and not say anything else about it. So, here’s what’s gone on during the final weeks of 2020…(spoiler alert…not much).

What’s Been Happening

I Have New Glasses!

Aside from Christmas, my new specs are probably the most exciting thing to have happened in December. Back when I worked in optics, I’d regularly get a new pair thanks to the joys of my employee discount – but since I’ve left, I haven’t had a new pair in two years. When I was working in the office, I’d wear my contacts 90% of the time because it was easier and to be perfectly honest, my glasses would be just one more thing I’d potentially need to Dettol when I got home – even pre-Covid. However, since working from home I’ve been wearing them a lot more so I thought I should treat myself. I ended up going for two new pairs, both completely different from one another and one a bit different from my usual style. I was lucky enough to be served by some of my friends who still work there, so on top of seeing everyone and catching up with them, it was nice to know I was in safe hands too.

Evermore

There’s no denying Taylor Swift saved 2020 when she released Folklore. I’m not being dramatic either, I bloody mean it. However, she then dropped Evermore mid-way through December and my tiny little head exploded. I wish I could say I’m exaggerating when I say I’ve listened to it once a day minimum since it came out, but I’m not. It’s incredible, and every track is just as amazing as Folklore.

Lumps

Bit of a weird one, but I’m going to mention it as a sort of public health thing. I’ve basically had a small lump on the top of my head for over a year now, and every now and again I’ll convince myself I’m dying because of it. But for the most part, I forget about it aside from when I wash my hair. However, we’ve been sorting life insurance and it’s been playing on my mind more than usual lately, so I gave in and made an appointment to see the doctor. Well, with everything going on it started off as a phone call with the nurse, who decided there wasn’t much she could do over the phone and booked me in to see the doctor. This was my first time going to my new surgery since moving to Bath and I was very impressed. I saw a lovely female doctor who instantly made me feel at ease (and even said she loved my Little Mermaid face mask). She checked the lump and said it was nothing to worry about, but if I was really concerned they could get an ultrasound done on it. Normally, I would have taken up this offer purely for an additional way to put my mind to rest, but she made me feel so at ease, I felt as though I didn’t need to. It was of course the usual advice as well, to keep an eye on it and come back if there were any changes or if I was worried, but overall, it was probably one of the most successful doctor’s appointments I’d ever had.

Lesson learned? Get any lumps checked. It’s more than likely nothing, but it definitely doesn’t hurt to check.

On a side note, if you’re worried about germs with everything going on at the moment, let me (as a MAJOR germophobe) tell you that you will be absolutely fine. I have never felt safer in a GP surgery than I have when I’ve gone in during the current climate. Normally, people will sit next to you, they’ll cough here, there and everywhere, you’ll touch communal screens to sign yourself in, and you often go in with the fear that you’ll come out with more illnesses than what you went in with. However, at the moment, that’s all gone. For starters, they’ll only see you in the surgery if they deem it absolutely necessary, so you may not even need to go in in the first place. They’ll confirm you don’t have any covid symptoms before you attend, and you’ll more than likely have your temperature taken on arrival too. Touch screens have been temporarily shut down, so you’ll check in at reception like the old days, and the chairs are marked where you can and can’t sit, so there’s no worry of Coughy McCough Face sitting next to you. Even better, the doctor/nurse physically comes and collects you rather than your name flashing up on a screen resulting in you having to touch germy door handles and everything. And of course, everyone is in full on PPE, and there’s hand sanny EVERYWHERE. Of course, I can’t speak for every GP surgery, but my point is, please don’t worry if you have a face-to-face doctor’s appointment coming up – don’t put it off – wear your mask if you can and use your hand sanitiser, and you’ll be fine.

Christmas

And of course, the main highlight of December was Chrtistmas. Arguably, Boris shat on it at the last minute, but as it got to those last few days before, I started thinking that we might as well make the best of it. I finished work at lunchtime, and we spent the evening watching the season 2 finale of The Mandalorian (fuck me I don’t think I’ve cried so much in my life – I was sober too), followed by the Christmas episode of Peep Show in a bid to stop me crying. We had Christmas morning here at home, which is what I wanted given that it was our first one in our new house, and it was amazing – strange, as it wasn’t our usual routine, but it was still amazing. We then headed to see what was our Christmas bubble, opened presents, ate a shitton of food, and had loads of laughs. And that was it – the entire day went past so quickly, and despite the fact it wasn’t our usual celebration, it was still nice to have some normality back and to let off some steam with a few drinks.

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We’ve done pretty much sweet FA since then too, so I feel like I’ve had a nice, long relaxing break. To be honest, I don’t really want to go back to work, so in that respect, things haven’t changed! I had some lovely presents this year too – including my spectacular collection of gin miniatures as you may have seen on my Insta story! Here’s a few other favourite gifts of mine:

• Baby Yoda pyjamas
• Normal People script book and DVD (of course this was on my wishlist)
• Olivia Burton ring
• Cat butt colouring book
• Mermaid Gin miniatures
• Cat charm for my charm bracelet
• A wireless charger for my phone
• A HUGE selection of gel nail polishes
• Books…so many books!

Of course, I recognise how lucky we are to have still been able to see our families and I am so incredibly grateful for that. I really feel for the poor souls who had their Christmas plans completely ruined with the incredibly last minute announcement, and I hope that you still managed to enjoy the day as much as possible.

New Year’s Eve was quite a laid back affair as I’m sure it was for everyone else this year – it was strange, but we still managed to have a lovely evening on Zoom with some friends. We still saw in 2021 at midnight watching the fireworks (and the bloody Hootenanny), we still got pissed, and ultimately, we still had a good night. While I missed the usual piss up with our friends, I must admit that it was nice having the pressure taken off this year. Normally there’s all this pressure over what we’re doing, who’s going, how we’re getting home, who we’re staying with etc, but this year, that was all taken away. I certainly wouldn’t want every NYE to be like that, but it was definitely a nice change from the usual anxiety around it all.

Gratitude List

Finally getting to open my gin advent calendar. 

Going to Clayton’s Kitchen for dinner on Liam’s birthday – if you’re ever in Bath, be sure to go! The food is AMAZING. 

Gimme Gimme Gimme on BBC iPlayer.

The lump on my head being nothing to worry about and my new GP surgery being a rather nice one.

Taylor Swift’s new album.

Meeting some friends for a socially distanced walk (with wine in a travel mug).

Picking up my new glasses.

Meeting Lillie and Cheryl in Victoria Park for Lillie’s socially distanced birthday celebration. 

Still being able to finish work at lunchtime on Christmas Eve despite the fact our Christmas meal wasn’t going ahead. 

Having an amazing Christmas Day.

Month in Pictures

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Coming Up Next Month

Like everyone else, we don’t really have much planned for January. Mainly because of the fact that it’s that month where no one really has any money or can be bothered to do anything. I will of course be setting myself some New Year goals, which I’ll be sharing with you shortly, and I’m really going to try and focus on my diet and eating healthily to try and get my stomach back on track after a rough couple of months, but more on that later. Happy New Year all! 

How was your December? Let me know in the comments!