Sleepy, Happy!

Happy 2012 and I hope it's a nice one for you. 
I was trying to think about what I should say about not blogging for a bit and then I thought I'd just say that i was a bit sleepy and not really with it to write too much, but that I'm still happy. So I decided I would call this Sleepy, Happy cos I remembered they were two of the seven dwarves and I really loved Snow White when I was little.
I've been sleeping loads lately but still going out in the afternoons and I'm spending lots of time doing charity things in the evenings.  My charity is just about ready to go and it's really exciting cos there's so much going on.  I haven't got the list cos mums downstairs, but I've spoke to some really nice people over the last week and managed to get some sponsors for some of our main charity events and everyone has been really nice to me.  I'm not really very good at phone things or tv stuff and I always get stuck and don't know what to say. I wish I was brave enough but I just can't do it and it's a shame because I keep missing things where I know it would be good if I had the confidence to talk. But it's probably a bit late for me to worry about that now lol. 
We've got lots of things arranged for fundraising and I think that you can see them all here under events. It's just a homemade site for the minute because we still haven't got our proper one going, oh and the pay button thing doesn't work either. My mum is trying to figure that out lol, we were never very good with these things lol. My mum has spent hours and hours sorting the Keswick to Barrow and Coniston to Barrow teams out and I was probably as glad as her when she said that she'd got all the teams in and made the lists. But now she's starting to do other things, I don't think she likes doing nothing! Anyway, it was my mums birthday a week ago and we made her promise to do no work and to leave her iPhone in her drawer (that killed her) and we took her for a nice lunch and my nan did her a party tea as well. Mum said it was her best birthday ever :) 
There is a group of runners training for the Coniston 14 for Team Alice and another brave group who are going to cycle all the way from Lands End to John O Groats - yikes. Simon who is doing that has started a blog so I'll get mum to tell me address and I'll add it later on the side bit.  Then it will be the Keswick to Barrow and my sister is walking the coast to coast walk in the summer holidays with my uncle and then on 27th September, my mum and dad are going up Kilimanjaro with a whole group of Team Alice.  They're all mad!
I was down at Alder Hey after mums birthday and we had a meeting about who will look after me when I need extra care and stuff.  Home are trying to make me have a man and I really don't want him and now we don't know if we're going to have to move just to get a care team who I am comfortable with. I think it's silly that you keep reading about human rights but that is only for people who have come here illegal from abroad or have done a crime or something. Not for children who are dying, I have no rights. We'll see what happens but it really wouldn't matter to me as long as I have Mabel.  I think mum is getting tired fighting and all they do is arrange meetings to discuss things that we already know.
I've been gone off here a little bit but you don't know that, but I got a message about a girl in Scotland called Vanessa. Well, Vanessa is a bit like me because she has cancer as well, but one called Neurobalstoma - I can't spell it and my spellchecker doesn't recognise it ooops.  This country can't offer her any chances now but in America, there are still quite good chances for her to get better again.  The bad bit is that it will cost a fortune but her friends and family are all trying to get the money together to try and save her.  Watch this video of her, she's so lovely and she does still have a chance. I know that if I had even a tiny chance, my mum and dad would do anything to make it happen.  So please have a look at her video and if every single one of my followers on here gave just a couple of pounds, she'd get thousands.  I don't know why the message came to me tonight but it did and I was just blogging here so I think it means I was meant to try and do something to help. She has her own website here and if you want to donate directly, this is her Justgiving page. 
Last week I was invited to open a new charity shop in Barrow in Furness, called the Furness Children's Trust and I was so pleased that they asked me. I've been trying to tell everyone to take any unwanted things in there. They are raising money to support families with children who are ill or disabled buy helping with things like wheelchairs or travelling costs. We hope that we'll be able to offer some of their families a break and they are hoping to help us too, so it was special to be part of it. I'm hoping to go in next week and mum has got a bag of stuff to take down :)
I'm busy making little felted animals and cards for when we have a coffee morning for Alice's Escapes.  My nan is knitting and mum is planning some crafts too so hopefully we'll have some nice things whenever it happens. 
The last thing that happened to me this week is that I found out that I've made it to the finals of the Love Barrow award, a local award celebrating good things in the area. I'm in the Courage section and Milly also made the short list in the Young Citizen which made me happy :)  It made me think about it. What is courage? To be courageous, you have to face a fear and I'm not really afraid of much - well, maybe standing on a stage speaking, but I haven't managed that, have I lol.  

Christmas in December :)

Well, I've survived radiation treatment, I'm still here and I'm actually feeling pretty good :)

So much to update on so I'll try to cover it all in a short 'ish kind of way lol.

Ready to be zapped!

I moved down to Cheshire into our little caravan at the Ridgeway Caravan park, Frodsham. The owners, Sue and David wouldn't let us pay a hire charge for it so we were really grateful to them and it was such a nice place. They are right next to miles of walks and beautiful woods and they even didn't mind Mabel staying there for a night which made me very happy! So thank you Sue and David. Radiation went well and it felt like I'd never been away, even though it was 3 years since my last lot. I had post sent there quite a few days - letters and cards, a light up pink christmas tree from Emma and my friend Sammi sent me a huge balloon Teddy which made me smile. I also met a special friend in radiation who is still there - hello Paul x x x 

A special 16th card

We came home for my 16th birthday and had some family and friends round for lunch which was nice. Mum ordered me some special balloons from Balloon Monkey but they were all floppy and not like they should have been so we were really disappointed. Then I was off on a surprise as spent the night at the Lakeside Hotel, which was a present from Tracey Jackson and some nice friends of hers. I really enjoyed the night, it was magical and it was a shame that we had to go the next day. Thank you to everyone who remembered my birthday and sent me cards and gifts and things - so many people thought about me and that made my day.  

After my 16th birthday, Dad had a surprise and we went for a break to Center Parcs at Penrith which was so lovely to be away when everyone was stressed at home about Christmas.  Mum was a bit panicky because she hadn't done much shopping but her computer worked, so she just started ordering things online lol. All of the Special Delivery stuff turned up but the courier companies are a nightmare and we had cards saying they'll call tomorrow and we got people to wait in and they didn't call, and then three days later there was a card saying we missed them and to 'collect from your local depot' which isn't local!  So one parcel is still missing but all the rest got here, so not too bad.

Christmas was really special because I actually felt quite good and I was excited and so I woke at about 6am and didn't go to bed until midnight which is a really, really long day for me!  We had a lovely day - we opened some pressies in the morning and then my Nan and Grandad came and my cousins and Uncle and then we opened more pressies and then we had a nice lunch, but it was almost tea time by then lol.  We watched Polar Express in 3D at night time and it was amazing - it's my favourite Christmas film.  Well, that and 'Elf' which always makes me laugh.

On Boxing Day, it was my Nan's birthday and we went to her house for a family party and ate far too much and then just came home and lay on the sofa feeling fat. We watched 'Lou and Andy' on 'Little Britain Abroad' and it was so funny - I love them, they make me laugh so much.

I've spent some time with my cousin Rhys yesterday and today and we went into the Lakes for some lunch and then a bit of shopping in Ambleside and at last I got to see 'New Years Eve' at the cinema (I've been trying to go for ages). It was great and I laughed quite a bit - go and see it while it's still on. It made me want to see this ball drop thing in New York city.  I've also seen 50/50 which I thought was hilarious too even although it's about a lad with cancer - I kind of got the humour, even though everyone expects you not to find anything funny about cancer lol.

I'm starting full on with my charity in the New Year and so if you have anything that you can offer to help families enjoy a break, please email and let me know.  Our website will be up and running soon and we'll be telling you all of our plans for the next year :)  Oh and I think that my friend Simon still has two places left on his LEJOG bike ride (a very very long way) so if anyone fancies doing that let me know (or you could climb Kilimanjaro in September with my mum lol).

I'm home and back in business so I won't leave it so long next time.

Still very much alive and kicking lol,

Love Alice xxx

Happy #Christmasinnovember

Ha ha Happy Christmas in November!  Yesterday, we had the most amazing day and I had my 16th birthday party at Emma Bridgewater in Stoke and it was my best ever party, I loved it. It's not my actual birthday until 15th December, but I'll be down at Clatterbridge having treatment and we don't know how I'll feel so we thought we'd do it early.  My BFFs were there and everyone at Emma Bridgewater had just done so much to make it special for me.  I had a hearts banner with my name printed on and a card that they printed especially for me and it was just amazing. I haven't got any photos yet because they're on my mums camera but I'll put one on here when she puts them on the computer.
Mum had ordered me a Mabel shaped birthday cake and we were on the motorway when we suddenly realised that we had forgotten to pick it up, so we had to go back again lol.  But we got there on time and it was so magical with lots of fairy lights, I love it there.
For my birthday, they painted me a special dog bowl for Mabel with my Beach hut mug design stamped all around it and it is amazing.  I don't think that we can ever touch it because it's the only one and it would be awful if we broke it. It's going in our Emma Bridgewater cupboard so Dad doesn't break it. We all painted things and everyone had a really nice time and then we ate lasagne which was really tasty and then we had a disco even, with special lights like sheets of something coming across the floor.  I loved it so much, so thank you to everyone who made it special for me because it really was my best ever party :)

Today we had our Christmas Day and it was really nice and we all said that we should have done it every year because there wasn't any stress! We did this one cos I felt so ill last year that I was in bed and missed it.  So mum said I wasn't missing it this year and we said if we have it twice that's not a problem.  We opened some presents this morning and then we had chocolate for breakfast and then we went into town to our Dickensian Festival.  But it was raining so much and I felt really tired so Dad went and got the car and I came back home for a rest while they cooked the Christmas lunch.  Then we had a proper Christmas lunch with turkey and crackers and Mum and Dad had some champagne and I had a taste but thought it was revolting!

The other night, I put some things on ebay for my new charity and it's doing really well so I'm very excited but a little bit worried about sending a shower gel and a mug for so much money!  I have made something very special tonight so I hope that the person who wins it will be happy that they will be helping lots of poorly children get a holiday.  I have put a link to my auction but it ends really soon so really it's just for you to look at  Alice's Escapes Charity Auction

Tomorrow we are moving down to our caravan cos my radiation starts at Clatterbridge on Monday. I'm having radiation every day and hopefully it will stop these lumps in my neck getting any bigger for a bit.  So when we get to our new home I'll blog from there and tell you all about our caravan and my treatment.

Oh and everyone is busy on Twitter doing #alicebucketlist again.  Someone said I didn't want that, but I've never said I didn't want it, I just didn't ask for that in the bucket list cos I wasn't even on Twitter. But I've never trended (and seen it) so it would be fun and it would make more people think about bone marrow donation so I don't think it's a bad thing.

Happy #ChristmasinNovember :)

Love Alice

A Lush day :)

I just remembered that I forgot to tell you about my day at Lush in Poole.  It was so amazing that it is now up there in my top 3 ever things that I've done. They were really, really nice to me and Milly and I just loved the whole day so much that I was quite sad when it was over.

I'm trying to remember the names of everyone so here goes - Karen, Jack, Dan and Olga met me and spent the day going around with us ... is that right?  I wish I could remember all the names of the people that let me destroy the jobs they were meant to be doing, like the comforter bubble bars!  Mine were so bad that I don't think they'll ever see a Lush shop lol.  Filling the snowfairy bottles wasn't any better and it was so quick, I can't believe that they have to move the bottle so fast.  The funniest test was when I was trying to tie the bows on the gift boxes and they were just moving down the belt thing so fast that I kept bumping into the end.  But they were all really nice to me and I didn't meet a single miserable person in there, so mum and me have decided that Lush is a happy smiley place to work and it smells good too.

If any of you follow my Facebook page (alice pyne) you'll have seen the photos of my very own bottles of Snowfairy which they made me special 'made by Alice Pyne' stickers to go on.  All Lush things have a sticker on them so that you know who made it or who packed it and I was so pleased to get my own batch.  I don't know where my bottles have gone, but if you all have a look in your nearest Lush shop, you might find one.  You must let me know cos it will be fun to see where they ended up.  I got a big box of goodies and I got to go to the Lush spa which was so relaxing, so thank you LUSH, you made me so happy and I am enjoying my daily baths.

Before I tell you something about my treatment, I have something really exciting to tell you.  There's going to be a second 'Alice' mug from Emma Bridgewater, but this time for my own charity here in Cumbria.  I was so pleased when I heard this and I've got my designs drawn and can't wait to show you all what my second mug will look like.  There'll be mountains and lakes and hopefully Mabel too! 

The other news is that I had another scan at Alder Hey last week and it looks like it's spreading a bit quicker than I hoped.  There isn't many things that they can do now but my consultant did say that I could try some radiation to see if it will help for a bit. So we met my new consultant at Clatterbridge who is called Freda and she's really nice.  This week we've been away doing the planning and I had my mask made which is like having a plaster of paris put over your head and shoulders to make a mould. I've had some more scans done and there's just a little bit left to do before I start having my treatment.  Unfortunately, I'm going to be there on my 16th birthday so I don't think that will be a fun day but I suppose that if I want to do the treatment I need to do it properly.  Mum is on the computer now looking for somewhere to live or we might drive, I don't know yet but Dad said we'll book a hotel for my birthday night so that it's special.

When we got home last night, the Ulverston Curry Club had dropped off a special certificate for me and my family saying we were their Citizens of the Year.  I thought that the curry club was like a Chinese restaurant or something but mum and dad explained that they support lots of good causes in the area and do not spend all their time eating curry! So thank you x

Next Friday, I'm doing something with friends for my 16th birthday and on the next day we're having our family christmas day. If you follow me on twitter I keep talking about my #Christmasinnovember and although I should be here for the one in December as well, I'm not risking it and making sure that I get my pressies lol. I'm joking, we're going to give just a couple of presents and then maybe wander into town as it's the Dickensian weekend in Ulverston and it's very Christmassy. 

:))

I'm absolutely worn out but I've had another amazing weekend.
I didn't know if I'd like the football or not.  Paul met us at the QPR Loftus Road reception and Jay, who had invited me, was there too, plus his wife Stella who is lovely. I'd put a pale blue bandana on which is Man City's colours, oops, so I was glad when Bradley Orr gave me his QPR shirt to wear LOL.
We had a lovely lunch upstairs and then we went outside to watch the game and within about 5 minutes, I was hooked!  It was so exciting and I cheered louder than anyone when my Jay scored the first goal.  QPR were really, really good and City who are the top team had to really fight. It was 1-0 to QPR and then it was 1-1. Then City scored another goal and it was 2-1 and I was really tense and then we scored another one to make it 2-2.  Honestly I was so into it, I was convinced that we were going to win. I was willing the whistle to go and then with about 10 minutes left their No 21 who was like a magic man (he was just everywhere) scored for them and I was so disappointed because I really thought that QPR deserved to win or at least draw.  Anyway, that's my intro into football and QPR are my club for however long my ever is! We had a drink after the match and TC who looked after us in the lounge, presented me with a signed team ball which will be kept well out of Mabel's reach LOL.  Thank you everyone for looking after us, we had a fabulous time.
On Sunday, we went shopping and in the afternoon I got to meet up with someone very special to me.  Emma Forbes is my biggest Twitter supporter and we met up because I wanted to ask Emma if she would be the Patron for my charity ... and she said YES! She was really really nice and natural and it was nice to meet her in person rather than through my iPad!  We had a giggle talking about hamsters and rabbits LOL and we're going to meet up again to do an interview for my website.
So, I'm going to tell you a little bit about my charity (just in case ... LOL) even though it's not quite ready to go yet.  Last year, we were all invited on a break by Luke Tillen who runs the THHN in Torbay (have a look at his website) and while we were there I thought that it was such a shame that no one did that in the north as some children just can't travel that far when they're ill. So, I'm doing it -
Basically, we're a network of local businesses joining together to give a free break to a seriously ill child and their family. Any business can help me, you could offer a hotel room or a caravan, a meal or afternoon tea, a self catering food box, cakes or bread, a boat ride, an experience or entry into a tourist attraction.  Little boys would probably love to visit the motor museum and girls might like having their nails done! Anything can be offered and all of these things will be put together to give these families an escape. The businesses don't have to give a certain amount and they will gain so much from knowing that they've made life that little bit better for these families.
I've got to say a huge thank you to 'The Hydro' in Windermere - our very first accommodation supporter, 'The Mountain Goat' who have offered guided tours to our families and 'Verstone Kennels' who have offered free boarding for any families wanting to have their dogs up here with them. And to Ros and Anne who are working round the clock with mum to make this happen for me and other kids like me :)
So if you're a business and you want to offer anything to us (it can be a one off or a regular offer) then please email me on here and you could be one of the first on our charity website which should be launching very, very soon.  I'm going to be as involved as I can be and I'll be checking our Facebook and Twitter pages and responding as much as I can.  Hopefully, I'll get to meet some of our supporters and it will be all go - I've agreed to do some television to officially launch the charity, so I can keep myself busy stressing about that LOL.
I've got to go cos I'm really tired after the last few days, but I'll come back and tell you about my Lush experience which needs a whole bit to itself cos it was so brilliant.
Love Alice x x x