12. Obtain 40 albums in a single year (Year 6)

A great year for music. I've had a fun time listening. In particular, Kal Lavelle's debut album is amazing. There are some other amazing albums from this year.

Albums released in 2018

Band/Artist	Album
Arctic Monkeys	Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Ben Howard	Noonday Dream
Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga	A Star Is Born (Soundtrack)
Brothers Osborne	Port Saint Joe
Carrie Underwood	Cry Pretty
Charlie Winston	Square 1
Decemberists, The	I'll Be Your Girl
Dierks Bentley	The Mountain
DodoBones	Four
Elle King	Shake The Spirit
Father John Misty	God's Favorite Customer
Fratellis, The	In Your Own Sweet Time
Hudson Taylor	Bear Creek To Dame Street
Jason Mraz	Know.
Jon Allen	Blue Flame
Josh Groban	Bridges
Kacey Musgraves	Golden Hour
Kal Lavelle	For The Loved And Lost
Keith Urban	Graffiti U
Kodaline	Politics Of Living
KT Tunstall	Wax
Lake Street Dive	Free Yourself Up
Lissie	Castles
Lucie Silvas	E.G.O.
Mamas Gun	Golden Days
Missy Higgins	Solastalgia
Nashville TV Show	Season 6 - Vol. 1
Overtones, The	The Overtones
Passenger	Runaway
Shinedown	Attention Attention
Take That	Odyssey
Tom Baxter	The Other Side Of Blue
Wandering Hearts	Wild Silence

One of my favourite albums from this year was Jason Mraz's Know. Seeing him perform live with his band at the Royal Albert Hall was amazing and it really brought his album to life.

Other albums I purchased in 2018

Band/Artist	Album
Alabama Shakes	Sound And Color
Charlotte Campbell	Endless Light
Chris Stapleton	From A Room, Vol. 2
Hattie Webb	To The Bone
John Paul White	Beulah
Luke Bryan	Crash My Party
Missy Higgins	Oz

In 2019, possible new releases from Rob Thomas and maybe Hozier. I'm looking forward to discovering new music.

37. Give blood (at least once)

When I found out I had Crohn's Disease and had to permanently take medication, I asked my IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) nurse if I would be able to give blood. I'd had enough blood tests to curb my fear of needles and, as I'd found out my blood type was A+, I wanted to start to donate. Unfortunately, she said it would not be possible. Such a shame, all the years I wasted not doing it and then to be told I couldn't.

Due to the fact I cannot do this for the foreseeable future, I'm spreading the word to others to do this in my stead. If you can, please do give blood, especially if you have rare blood type.

Whilst on a similar subject, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find stem cell matches with the shortage of people not joining registers and the age restrictions of joining some of them.

I am already on the Anthony Nolan Trust register but so far I have not matched with anyone. You can join the register if you're aged between 16 and 30. They are looking for more men to join as men create more stem cells. You can find more information here.

The British Bone Marrow Registry is looking for donors aged between 17 and 40. More information is available here.

If you're older than 40 and want to become a donor then the organisation that needs your help is called DKMS and all they need is a swab from you. You can find out more information here.

Please, please do register somewhere - you might not be needed but, if you're on the register, then you can have peace of mind that you might be able to save someone's life someday.

20. Take 40 photos of interesting tattoos (Part 4)

Here are the final set of tattoos I've collected since my last post about this last September - with one year to go. I've been very picky about what I wanted to photograph.

Back in November last year I went to the housewarming of Matheus' gothsoc friends and there were two awesome tattoos there that I needed to get photos of. Below are numbers 37 and 38.

Can you see the teddy bear in the background?

Wonderland

Number 39 - In June, I went on a cruise with my Mum to see my brother who was one of the main performers. We were at the passenger "PAX" drill meeting before the ship departed. There was a guy standing next to us in our group and I immediately knew I HAD to get a photo of his tattoo (especially to send to Matheus). He was an American guy who thought I was a bit weird but he let me take a photo.

SCHILDPADDEN (Turtles) in Venice

AND THE LAST TATTOO - number 40. A few months ago I was at Waterloo tube station coming home from work and the guy in front of me had a very simple but cool tattoo. On the back of his arm was an image of the Sony Playstation controller buttons.

I wonder if the directional buttons are on the other arm

I know I said I was going to do 40 but there was a tattoo that I spotted at the petrol station in August. It was a hot day so the guy had his top off. I think he might have been an Elvis Presley fan. The level of detail in this tattoo was so amazing that I had to include it in my photo collection. I'm sure you'll agree that this is a mighty ending!

Thank you very much

Do you have an awesome tattoo? Please do share a photo with me. I'll still never get one for myself but I do love seeing what others choose.

Happy inking!

29. Post 40 online reviews (Part 3)

Below are two reviews which are polar opposites - one not so good and the other is glowing!

On my travels around the country for work I have to stay in various hotels, B&Bs etc. Back in January, whilst on my Paediatric General Surgery visits, I had to stay in Stockton-on-Tees.

Usually, my choices of accommodation are satisfactory enough that they don't require a review but my stay at this place, in particular, was poor enough that I had to post a review on Trip Advisor.

After posting my review I got a fairly, what I felt, was a sarcastic response from the manager. It's not like I gave them a bad score. I rated them 3 out of 5. It was just my way of pointing out that my stay was not perfect and that's the whole point of leaving reviews.

You can read the review here.

_______________________________________________________________________


Matheus and I recently got back from our honeymoon on the beautiful island of Crete in the town of Rethymnon. I couldn't wait to review it because we had the most wonderful time despite some bad weather days.

A rainbow in the distance from our lovely hotel

You can read my illuminating review here. The hotel responded with a very lovely message. I would definitely go back there.

21. Do something special with my niece, Lexie, every year (Year 4)

I love spending time with my niece - she often astounds me with the things she says. Now, however, Eden is old enough to join us so it's double joy for me. Uncle Matheus and I took a day off to look after them together.

First off, we took them to King George Recreation Ground in Bushey to have a bit of a play. They played on the swings, slides, climbing ropes and a zip-wire type thing (only Lexie and Matheus had a go on this).

Matheus was "supervising" Lexie (he was playing)

The cheeky monkey...and her nephew

Hellooooooooooooo

We then decided to go to Intu Watford to have some lunch at Ed's Diner and then go to a Lego Store event (of course). The kids made Harry Potter wands and got to take them home. Obviously, I also treated them to a Lego set each because I'm the best Auntie.

Eden was disappointed that we couldn't take this home

We headed back to the car park and let them play in the "sports car". The Thomas the Tank Engine ride wasn't working - Eden being a Thomas fan was not best pleased but was happy to join Lexie in the sports car.

Annoyingly this ride didn't work

Beep beep

We headed off home and by the time we got there, someone was a little pooped.

Zzzzzzzzzzz

As the weather was still lovely and they didn't have to go home yet, we played in the garden with some bubbles which the kids enjoyed, especially Eden who loved bursting them. His laugh is so infectious.

Showing off their Harry Potter wands

There's always one who spoils it...should have taken my sunnies off

Just chillin'

Also chillin'

I can't wait to have a day with them next year.

7. Go to Paris

I FINALLY GOT HITCHED! Yes, Matheus and I are officially wed. As a mini-moon after the wedding, where else would you go than to one of the most romantic cities in the world - Paris!

We crammed so much into the few days we were there: The Sacre Coeur, Place du Tertre, The Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame (although the queue was so long we couldn't be bothered to go inside, plus it was such a hot day), walked the length of the Ile St Louis, the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, the Eiffel Tower, walked down the Champs Elysees to the Arc du Triomphe (through Place de la Concorde), took a boat trip around Paris, navigated the Metro, visited various museums (although the Jewish Museum had closed by the time we got there). We got to see the outside of the Louvre - the inside will be for another time.

We went to some lovely restaurants and sat in some lovely cafes. Apart from one day where the weather was a little miserable and it rained for five minutes (while we were on the boat), the weather was generally glorious.

This is definitely a city that needs more exploring - can't wait to go back! Below are a few snaps from our few days.

Annoyingly, the journey home was ruined by train delays so we got home at a ridiculous hour of the night but nothing could ruin our first break as a married couple.

The Bells, THE BELLS

Gazpacho and an Aperol Spritz

I'll just stick with Gazpacho