Although the deaths of David Bowie, Alan Rickman and now Carrie Fisher have really upset me and I started the year with fairly poor mental health, things have picked up. I worked hard to try and beat my depression and anxiety into submission once again and things got much better as spring started.
The rest of the year has been fairly positive and I'm ending it on a much better note. In fact, this year has been a huge turning point and no matter how other people remember it, I'll always know that this was the year that changed a lot of things.
At a time when my mental health was already suffering, this was the last thing I needed and so I ended up chasing up the doctor for specialist appointments in a number of areas, including weight loss. In the end, I went into surgery on June 3rd and I would make the same decision again if I had to. Getting my band has totally transformed my life for the better.
Not only have I lost almost six stone (I'm hoping to reach this point in January, even after the excesses of Christmas), I'm a lot more confident and so much healthier. I can do more in terms of exercise and now walk an average of six miles a day and I can wear almost what I want and care so much less about what people think of how I look. But the best thing is how much happier I am now and this is the main thing that people comment on.
Since living in Leeds, my GP has come to the same conclusion but this time it was my own failure to do anything about it. In March, as well as getting help for my weight, I finally got the ball rolling on getting all my tests done and going to the several specialists I needed to see. Surprise surprise, my PCOS diagnosis got confirmed without needing a huge amount of investigation.
This meant we got to see our first fertility specialist a few months later, which was after I had had my operation. I already knew that I needed to lose weight before we could get treatment, but I was told that on June 1st 2017, we can get re-reffered to start our treatment, which is so exciting.
While it would be amazing not to need it once I'm at a healthier weight, knowing that we aren't going to have to wait for ages is amazing and has got both me and the husband excited about the future, even though there are no guarantees.
I also kept the promise I made him on our honeymoon and took him abroad again, which was absolutely brilliant and gave us both a well-earned break. Getting away from our usual routine and just hanging out together really helped us get to a good place and showed us how important relaxing together is.
We're now looking at potential trips for next year - he had finally agreed to go to Florida but he also fancies going to see the Northern Lights in Finland, which is an even bigger miracle as he hates the cold - to try and take some time out before the madness that is starting a family.
What's even better is that the husband also gets on with everyone I have met this year and has met other people through them. Granted, he's still a bit of a pain in the arse when it comes to going out, but I'm hoping this will change at some point!
I also caught up with old friends, which is always brilliant. When I pass my test, we'll be able to do this a lot more as we'll no longer have to rely on the Megabus and 9-hour journeys to see people.
Even though he lives in Birmingham, we get daily photos of him and he is growing into such a smiley little man. I can't wait to pass my driving test so we can pop over to see him regularly. Seeing him grow up is going to be amazing, especially when we get plenty of cuddles along the way.
While we may have had some bad news this month that is going to affect things next year, I'm feeling really positive about what it's going to bring. We've got plans in place and others being formed but I'm not going to be putting pressure on everything to happen super fast.
This last year has been a mix of stress, happiness, health problems and changes, but it has totally been worth it.