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Annus horribilis – My 2018 year in review

I am not saying that 2018 was the worst year in my life but it was way up there for me. In an attempt for a bit of catharsis, I am going to write down what I achieved (or didn’t) last year. This was my annus horribilis!

Health

It started off great. Sure, there was the old sniffle but hey, this is me, that is always going to happen. My eczema was behaving itself, my asthma was giving me the cccasional problems but all was going well.

Until, cue dramatic music, dum dum duuuuum! My adorable son caught chicken pox. He spent a few days at home, one day wrapped up in a duvet in front of the television and he was up and ready for school. Phew, one childhood disease out of the way, or so I thought.

A few days later I started to feel unwell, then the spots started to appear. I immediently rang my mum who assured me that I had chicken pox in primary school. Fine it can’t be that, except it was. Long story short, I was plastered in sores and ended up at my doctor’s who sent me to hospital. I then spent a week rested up in isolation treated for two types of nasty bacteria in my blood. Thanks chicken pox!

pexels public domain apartment bed carpet 269141
Ill and hiding. Public domain from Pexels.com

You’d think that would be that but for the next few months, I was in agony. Eczema and chicken pox do NOT mix. The damage was so bad it wasn’t until November that my skin cleared up. I feel as if all I did last year was feel sorry for myself which is not strictly true but this is what this blog post is all about. I’m going to see if I can turn a fail into a win!

Career

2019 some books
Some of my books published in 2018

As you may have guessed from the rest of my site, my chosen and actual career lies in books. I used to be a librarian and now I create them. I do several types from fiction, to manuals, a few colouring books and now diaries and journals. All of which are helping me to keep afloat on the financial sea. So here are the books that I have published in 2018.

Children’s Activities

  • Jumbo Animal Letter Tracing (age 3+)
  • Multiplication Drills (age 8+)
  • Pocket Multiplication Drills (age 8+)

Christmas

  • The Christmas Checklist

Budget Books

  • The 2019 Busy Lady’s Budget Journal
  • The Busy Bee Budget Planner 2019

Colouring Books

  • Bible Stories Coloring Book
  • Treasure Island Pirates Coloring Book

Diaries

  • Meownificent Cat Diary
  • It’s a Dog’s Life 2018-2019 Diary
  • Daily Diary 2018-2019
  • Daily Diary 2019
  • 2018-2019 Masonic Diary
  • Masonic Diary 2018-2019
  • Gratitude Diary
  • 2018-2019 Dyddiadur Academaidd (Welsh language diary)
  • 2018-2019 Dyddiadur Addysg
    (Welsh language diary)
  • Get organized! (A paperback time calculator to find spare time)

Food Related

  • Cool Cats Recipe Journal
  • Family Recipe Journal
  • Pocket Food Allergy Diary

Journals

  • Cocky: The Cocker Spaniel Journal

Manuals

  • A Simpler Guide to Gmail

Password Books (Disguised as other books)

  • Cocky: The Cocker Spaniel Rebellion
  • Hold Your Horses
  • For Those Goldfish Moments
  • History of Wales
  • Hogs and Kisses
  • Horsing Around
  • Made in Germany
  • Made in the USA
  • Monarch of the Glen
  • Permanent Rainbows
  • Shit I’m Always Flockin’ Forgetting
  • UK Made
  • Wolf

So there you have it 36 books in 2018. I honestly did not realise how many I made in 2018 until I collated this list for this blog post. Suddenly, 2018 doesn’t seem to be such an annus horribilis after all. Still, could have done without the chicken pox though!

What have I got planned this year?

What will 2019 bring? Who knows? I will definitely rewrite A Simpler Guide to Gmail, I have a couple of fiction books in the mix and I will have to update all the books like diaries for next year. My health is now good. I have done a clear out of my house, (more on that in a different blog post) and I really have no more excuses. This year will be a productive year. I can feel it in my bones. Let’s hope it’s not arthritis. Ahem.

So what do you think guys? Is 2019 going to be your year?

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