A Stab in the Knee

I've been preoccupied with my ridiculous knees this week. On Tuesday I went back to the hospital to have them looked at again. The doctor decided to give me a cortisone injection in my left knee (the worse one of the two); I agreed because anything that might help me not be in pain is fine by me. Basically this big ol' needle gets poked under your kneecap and injects into the joint; the cortisone is a steroid-based anti-inflammatory that's supposed to help soothe pain. It was the most traumatising thing ever. I'm cool with needles and injections, but having one in the joint was the grossest feeling, and it hurt. It's not a permanent fix, but it's all they can really do. It turns out that my cartilage is soft and rough because of my hyper-flexible joints (I can bend them backwards slightly, it's really creepy), so basically my own body has screwed up my knees. Rad! Here's a photo of me looking miserable before the doctor returned with the biggest needle I've ever seen:

My knee felt so weird for days, like it was hollow and full of liquid. I had some pretty crap side effects, especially when I defied doctor's orders to rest and went to work on Thursday. I kept flushing (my cheeks went red, and my face was really hot), so much so that my boss actually sent me out back to sit down and have some water. My knee was killing me after standing on it for hours, and swelled up. I also had some pretty bad chest pains, which wasn't worrying at all (lie). I'm feeling much better now, but my knee is still hurting on and off. When it doesn't hurt though, it's bliss. My knees have been paining me since I was 15, I can't remember what not being in pain feels like. It's bloody weird.

On Wednesday, I baked some Easter nest cakes to take to work on Thursday. They've gotten positive reviews so far, so I'm happy with that. They were delicious, if I may say so myself! Mum has gotten me some Mary Berry books as an early birthday present, and I'm currently perusing those to decide what to bake next!

On the most adorable nephew front, Ethan has figured out how to get onto his hands and knees, and is beginning to learn how to shuffle forward (he could only shuffle backwards before). So he'll soon be crawling around, and his parents better watch out! I can't believe how fast he's growing - he's over 8 months old already. Here's a gorgeous photo of him looking very pleased with himself:

I've also finally made a start on the travel scrapbook I bought after my two months in America, in 2014. Yes, it's taken me this long to be bothered to do it. My problem is that I want the scrapbook to look as beautiful as all the ones I see online, but I know I'm not talented enough to make it that way (and I can't afford all the materials/equipment). So I end up putting it off because I don't want to spoil it by actually doing it. Does that make sense? I'm sure most of you understand unless you're ridiculously creative, in which case I hate you a bit.

Today, I also started my Yearly Purge. I only did a little bit, but today is the official beginning of the Purge, and I will do a little every time I have a moment/the motivation. I sorted out my toiletries hamper, first aid box, and expanding file for all my documents. I plan to be ridiculously brutal this year, get rid of everything that I don't need or will never use/wear.

It's 10 days until my 24th birthday. I can't believe how quickly that's come around this year. 2016 is flying by with horrifying vigour. I have embryonic plans to go to London and stay at Lana's for a weekend, a Bristol trip with Susie, and I'm planning to ask Mum and Caz if they want to do lunch/dinner/something with me around my birthday. It's gonna be gooood.


P.S. My Iwako collection has grown - I now also have a hamster, panda, and pig: