♥ Prom Dresses ♥ Jasper ♥ Camping ♥

oh dear, I started writing this and cos I didn't publish it, it's out of date so I better update it and then you'll know everything.
We've had loads of charity events this last month - TEAM ALICE did so well in the K2B and C2B, we had three ladies from Dunnerholme Golf Club who walked the Cumbrian Coastal Way which is 45 miles, Kendal College held a beauty day, my Uncle Gary did the K2B AGAIN (mad Uncle), the Barrow Raiders walked from Barrow to Workington which is 50 miles and Ulverston Victoria High school held a non uniform day for us. Thank you everyone :)
We've all been really busy. Just after the K2B, my whole family visited BBC Radio Cumbria in Carlisle which was really interesting (and they had nice cakes). That following weekend, I went to Promise Bridal in Barrow and they found me a beautiful Prom dress - I actually felt pretty and my BFFs were there.

I had a visit to Alder Hey and my consultant let me have more drugs so hopefully I'll actually get to my prom. Later that week Dave from Cumbria Police came with three of his dogs and they were all lovely but I fell in love with Jasper. Bailey sounded like he wanted to eat us until he came out of the cage and then he was like a teddy bear and Maddy was just really cute and wanted to play with her ball! Dave also presented me with a cheque for my charity so thank you for that. On Sunday we went to Leven's Hall and they are going to be supporting our families. I really enjoyed it there - the house and gardens are beautiful and they let me ride around in an electric scooter. One of my favourite bits was meeting their labradors! My mum was desperate to sense the ghost in the bedroom - strange mother!

On Monday last week, the BBC came and did some filming with Milly (she's at 7min, 25sec) and then the next day, Mum took Milly down to GOSH. She had quite a busy time in London with appointments at hospital and fitting other things in and they went to look at our new charity 'By Biehl' bracelet too. It's gorgeous with a leather strap and a silver pod bead with a sunshine on it, like the sunshine from our charity logo. My mug is still available HERE at Emma Bridgewater or at Murray's chemist in Barrow. We also have charity wristbands, Mabel mascots, 'Bold beanie' hats (I wear and love these), plus t-shirts and sweatshirts coming and they'll all be on our website soon. 
They got back late on Thursday night and then all had to go for speech day at Milly's school the next morning. Then, we all went camping for the weekend and only got back last night. So now mum has bags from last week in London and bags and tents from this week, all over the hallway! And we are going down to London AGAIN tomorrow! I was sent a VIP ticket to the Rays of Sunshine concert at the Royal Albert Hall and mum managed to get a ticket for Milly too, so we're all going down until the weekend. I can't wait to see Leona Lewis performing and also JLS who Milly and me met when they were in X Factor (don't we look young) and I love the dance groups that are going to be there too. I think we're also meeting up with Emma Forbes for a little bit more cake (LOL).

I've been really interested watching all the Jubilee celebrations. Milly got a really good book about the Queen and we both spent ages looking through it. I enjoyed most of the concert but parts of it were strange. I loved the video from when the Queen was younger and I liked Prince Charles speech.I was so impressed with the way they put all the designs onto the Palace when Madness were on (and I really enjoyed them - mum still plays their songs so I even knew some of the words). I'd like to look at the Palace and I would love to have a peek at the Olympic stadium if we can get anywhere near to it and I'm going to try to find a shop called Holly and Lil cos I want to get a posh collar for Mabel. We have a show near us every July called the North Lonsdale Show and this year, they are bringing back the dog show and it's called "Alice's Dog Show" to continue from the dog show that Cathy and Simon did for me last year. So Mabel has got to compete with the big dogs now cos she's not a puppy anymore :(
Right I'm going to bed now cos it's nearly tomorrow and I'm tired and it's a long way to London!

Left it a bit long once again but I'm still here (how many times have I said that LOL) and now I've figured out how to use colours on here, you're stuck with them!


The biggest thing that happened was that I got to escort the LEJOG cyclists into Ulverston on our charity launch day. I felt dead important cos we had policemen on motorbikes and all the cars had to let us through lol. I did a little interview with Elaine from ITV and she was so nice that for once I felt quite relaxed about it. I'm still no good with the video bits but I'll ask mum to add them for me and a video that we are making about the LEJOG team. They made it up to John o groats on Sunday evening and I was so sad not to be there. They all came round here the other night and I presented them with a little award and they gave me a gorgeous photograph that they'd all signed and I really love it, so thank you. You are all such stars to me :)


My charity is really starting to get going. Mum has contacted the first families and we are about to match them to a holiday which is so exciting cos that's what we're about. We've had more businesses come forward to offer things for our families and we've had more donations from businesses. 


This Saturday is the Kesick to Barrow walk. We have got a huge team entered and I can't wait to see all the purple Team Alice t-shirts on the route. Mum, Dad and Milly are walking as well as loads of our family and friends (even my Nan is walking), so if you see any Team Alice walkers I want you to give them a big cheer and tell them that they are NOT to give up LOL. It's another thing that I didn't know if I'd be here to see, so another special thing for me and I'm going to do a special dance for sunshine :)


In September, Team Alice are climbing up Kilimanjaro so that we can try and buy our own charity caravan for our families to use. That will be as well as the local accommodations and it will just mean that we should always have somewhere to use if a family needs a holiday. I think that there are about 20 of them going up there and I hope there's a link to my mum and dad's Just Giving page somewhere on here (easy cos Just Giving do a code for you to paste on here - I need that for my photos and videos lol) and if you go on there, you can either sponsor them or you can click on the 'Team Alice' bit and pick any of the others as it's all one team really. Even if you can only give a £1 it will be good because there's over 3,000 people visit my page here every single day. I would love to be able to go and pick a caravan for our charity so get giving and then maybe I can tick that off too. I would say that's my next aim, to be here to choose the charity caravan, but I do have something else on my list that's even sooner. It's only little and it's really quite selfish cos it's all about me and not really helping anyone else, but ...


Next month, I'm really hoping to go to my (old) school prom. All of my old class are leaving school this month and although most of us have lost touch, I'm still really good friends with Sammi, Clarissa and Megs and they included me in their school prom. When I first did my blog, a lady called Sharon wrote and offered me a pamper evening trying on dresses at her shop, Promise Bridal. I haven't managed to go yet but she has been back in touch and offered me a prom dress, so I'm really excited. I'm just hoping that they do dresses that make you look fatter - that's a lesson for all of you wishing you were skinnier. Be careful what you wish for LOL. Anyway, I'm so excited that I might actually get to wear a prom dress and go to the ball and I know that my mum and dad will cry if I do get to go (and take millions of photographs I bet)!


One thing that I've been thinking lots about, was what to do about my blog when I'm not here anymore. I've already written loads of instructions for mum but I didn't know whether my blog should just be left, closed down or if I should ask my sister to keep it going for me, so that you can still know what my family are up to and what the charity is doing. Or would it be too weird lol. What do you think? 


Mum is out doing charity stuff (she has about 100 t-shirts to get to owners before tomorrow) and Nan is running around the house tidying cos Mum has invited about 100 to come and stay for the weekend! Milly has been off ill for a couple of days and mum is shoving all kinds of medicine in her because she is meant to be running on Saturday and it's the first year for our own charity so it's really important to us all. I think it might be my fault because I've had a chest infection going on for a few weeks and I might have hugged Milly a bit too much. I'm sure that she'll just get up and do it :) So that's it for today. I need to go back to sleep after writing all of that! 


Keep smiling :) 
Love Alice x
PS I've come back cos I forgot to say Happy Birthday to my Uncle Gary x 

LEJOGging

I'm writing this and I've got to publish it completely on my own (I usually get Mum or someone to check over it) because mum is away for a few days with the LEJOG team. Well, she's not actually doing the LEJOG, she'd driving one of the support vans :)
Please follow our Team Alice on tour LEJOG blog HERE - they are posting every day that they can. They will be continuing onto Scotland from UVHS at 9am next Wednesday morning, so come along and cheer them off. Then, they are hoping to cycle along Milly's school drive to gather more support on the way up to the next overnight stop. I've just done a long car journey to Bournemouth and I can't believe that they are cycling more than all the way there and back again. Gulp!
So mum is somewhere in Cornwall and it seems such a long way and I'm counting the days until she's back again. I won't see her until the cyclists arrive in Ulverston next Tuesday for our launch. But Dad has got a full weekend planned with me and Milly and Marlene from the Rainbow Trust coming some of the days so it will be fun as well. 


I'm quite excited about officially launching the charity although we'll probably have 10 people turn up and we'll all just stand there and eat a cake and smile lol. I'm dead excited because we're being given a police escort to bring the cyclists into Ulverston. I'm hoping that I stay well - I usually get temperatures when there's something decent happening. I actually feel better this week than I did last so that's got to be a good thing. I've been having some chemo tablets just to calm things down and they've helped my itching quite a bit - I still itch but I'm not making holes in my skin anymore lol.  The other day I was having my normal bath and enjoying laying down (because I haven't been able to do that for 4 years) and when I sat up, just about all of my hair was floating in the bath. I can't believe it could drop out all together like that. This is about the 6th or 7th time that my hair has fallen out and usually it's little bits but this was just about every hair all in one go. I'm not going to waste too much time worrying about it but it's a bit of a pain because having no hair means that I definitely look like I've got cancer. At least with hair people just think I'm too thin and a bit pale! So it's back to bandanas for me and I'm just glad that the summer is just about here and my head isn't too cold.


Last weekend I did the Rotary Club awards in Bournemouth - well, I half did them! We drove all the way down there but when I went to the rehearsal the BBC presenter had a card with lots of questions for me even though we'd agreed that I wouldn't be doing questions because I get very panicky. They did eventually say that they wouldn't ask me them and I could just say thank you, but I didn't really trust them and because it was going on live television, it worried me too much. My mum and dad were furious with them and I was quite glad that I didn't have to go up and do anything but I felt really sad for the Rotary Club who are wonderful and they were all so nice to me. Anyway I got my award presented to me in the break and Peter who was from the Babbacombe Rotary Club and his wife were so lovely and said that it really didn't matter to them and I wasn't to worry. Peter took my to meet a gorgeous puppy called Jason (my friend Jason will laugh at that) and he was so gorgeous that I almost want another one! I bumped into lots of other lovely people who recognised me, including three ladies from Ulverston and had my photo with quite a few, I felt like a bit of a star! I also got to see Luke (who started the THHN and is where I got the idea to start Alice's Escapes from) and we had a meal out with him and Hannah and her family who are amazing people. I think that Peter is going to send me some photographs so I'll post them on here when they come (but they might go to mum so I might have to wait a few days)!


The next big thing after the LEJOG is the Keswick to Barrow which is 40 miles in one day. I think that we have about 120 walkers doing that or the Coniston to Barrow so if you are watching on the day, give a special wave to all the special people wearing purple TEAM ALICE t-shirts. You can read about the walk HERE and have a look at the route. My sister is walking so look out for her too.


Right, that's it and I hope it's okay. I could ask Milly to check it but her english is quite good and she would start correcting it all and then it wouldn't be like me.
Have a nice weekend :)
Alice x

Sorry again!

Sorry, i know I've been ages updating. I meant to do it every week and then I had a bad couple of weeks and then I've been sleeping lots and just busy here and there.  So sorry and here goes.
We went to the 'Love Barrow' awards and it was so nice to be out and I actually felt really well. Me and Milly had new dresses and my best friend Sammi came to support me. I was really nervous and hoping that I hadn't won anything so that I wouldn't have to go on the stage. I was really surprised when I won the 'Courage award' and Darren from Bay Radio gave me my award. We had to wait a long time for Milly's category but after they showed all the videos of the nominees, I was so happy when she was called out as the winner of the 'Young Citizen award'. She looked about 16 in her heels and didn't mind saying a few words. Well done Milly, I'm proud of you and thank you to John and everyone who organised the awards, they were amazing x

We went down to Crufts the very next day and although it was really tiring, it was so amazing just to be there. I really wanted the Newfoundland or the Borzoi to win cos I like big dogs.
The Company of Animals gave me a load of toys for Mabel and she is having so much fun playing with the Treat Maze. She was a bit naughty and ate the frisbee on the first day so I didn't manage to play with that properly. Thank you to you all and sorry about #NaughtyMabel.
Talking of Mabel, a lovely lady on Twitter sent Mabel a Little Pooches doggy hamper with doggy biscuits and 'Pup-Cakes' with Mabel iced on them. I'll try to put photos on here but thank you, Mabel loved it and she shared a bit with Bess.  Tony, a nice man who has supported me for a long time, sent me some lovely pieces of jewellery and I especially loved the St Christopher.

I was then back in Alder Hey for a few bits and it was really funny cos everyone looking after me was diabetic and for the first time ever, there wasn't any hassle with me having a pump. Milly got to do some shopping in Liverpool and managed to get almost a new wardrobe. Then we went to Center Parcs for a mini break and we had a lodge with a hot tub and it felt so nice to be in the water. I haven't been properly in the water for over 4 years so it was bliss. Dad was going to get me one until we found out how much they are lol. Even without a hot tub, it's so nice to be able to lay flat in the bath.

I did some filming with the BBC for the Rotary Club Young Citizen Awards. It's really nice because I've won jointly with a friend from Alder Hey, Hannah and we're going to collect our awards together this Saturday. I'm a bit nervous about it cos it's on live television and I don't like being filmed. I get really nervous so I'm just hoping that I can say thank you, smile and run lol.
So this weekend, I'm down in Bournemouth and we're staying in The Suncliff Hotel which I hope is nice. I'm going to pretend is Spain or something lol! The awards are on Saturday and I think that they are shown on BBC at 11am or 11.30 or something like that.

The LEJOG cyclists are off to Lands End to start their ride next Thursday. They have got to cycle almost 1,000 miles which just seems impossible. You can read their blog here.
We are officially launching our charity on Tuesday 24th April, at Booths in Ulverston. The LEJOG cyclists will be arriving at about 4 o clock, before heading onto Scotland the following morning. I'm hoping to get there and would love to meet as many of you as can make it.
I'll be in trouble if I don't add the link to our Kilimanjaro challenge which my mum is attempting. Click HERE to see the team so far and sponsor them.

I promise that I will try to update much sooner next time!

LEJOG-ing Blogging

One thing I forget to do when I wrote on here was mention the LEJOG blog to you all. Simon, Cathy and gang are all keeping a blog in the lead to the big ride in April. Please go and have a look at it if you get it a minute because it's really very funny in parts. Anyway you can find the Team Alice on Tour blog here - LEJOG BLOG.  They are happy to accept sponsorship for all the miles that they are peddling and there's a link on the blog I think :)

The other thing I want to mention quickly, is that the Kili trek is now properly booked (I know that because mum is looking more panicky) and they have a team just giving page up and running so that you can all dig into your pocket and support them. They are hoping to be able to raise enough money to buy a holiday caravan for our families to stay in - how cool.  Surely my mum climbing up the world's tallest freestanding mountain is worth at least as much sponsorship as my sister raised running 5k?  Ha ha I hope so, you can sponsor them HERE - they might even do a funny video of it all if you sponsor them enough!

Finally, Dave Askham sent me some really cool photos today, arranged by his friend Simon, who works on the pylons. It's their take on the Lunchtime atop a skyscraper … "Teatime atop a pylon" and I've made it my main photo on here this week!  Thank you - brilliant photos and made us all smile.

Hello :)

Well you know that I had a break away in a cottage. That was really nice because we were allowed to take Mabel with us and that made it perfect. We didn't do loads of things, just a few trips out and lots and lots of crafts. The cottage had an arga in it which would have been really nice but it was making really bad fumes, so they had to turn it off and we all had headaches for ages.  When we got back from the cottage, we went to a place close to us called Eden Lodge cos it was my Gran's birthday and we had a lovely lunch, it's my favourite place to go at the moment and they're always really nice to us.

Last week was busy doing things for the charity and I'm really happy to tell you all that Alice's Escapes is now a proper charity, all registered and everything. I was so excited when my mum told me - I really did wonder if it would happen cos everything seems to take ages. So now I'm made up that I'm here to actually plan things for the charity and I'm so looking forward to getting our first family on a holiday.

We now have some proper events booked in and the first thing will be the Coniston race which our friend Lesley is organising. There is a lovely group of Team Alice runners and they meet up for training runs and on 31st March, they are going to be running around Coniston Waters for Alice's Escapes. They even have proper Alice's Escapes running vests so you should see them if you're there.  Lots of them are also running the Coniston to Barrow in May, which is 23 miles.

Team Alice On Tour - LEJOG

Then, on 20th April, Mabel's Uncle Simon (from the kennels) is leading a team of cyclists on quite a big bike ride from Lands End to John O Groats (LEJOG) which is miles and miles. I'll have to check exactly how many but I think it's nearly 1,000!  Every day, we'll be stopping off somewhere overnight and you can see the route for each day on their blog. So if you're somewhere along the route, you'll have to come and cheer them on - they've got really cool cycling jersey's sponsored by 'Fuse Fashion Network' and I've got to say a huge thank you to Wendy Hallett who was very generous in supporting me.  

In May, we are entering the largest ever team into the Keswick to Barrow.  Luke, who runs the THHN in Torbay is coming up especially, which is really nice of him. It is because of Luke that I started Alice's Escapes and the beach hut mug I originally designed raised money for the THHN.

And the last thing is that my amazing Mum has booked the Kilimanjaro trip and on 27th September she will be flying out to Tanzania to climb the world's tallest freestanding mountain. Mum has been to Africa 3 times and she always said that she'd climb Kili one day.  Dad is doing it too and early in the morning on 4th October, which is also my Granddad's birthday, they'll be standing up there with an enormous smile on their faces :)  Quite a few of our friends are going with Mum and Dad, so it will be special to know that they will all be together out there.  Mum and the rest of Team Alice will have Just Giving pages so if anyone wants to sponsor them, I know they'd be really grateful - it's not easy to climb big hills when you're as old as my mum and dad are lol.  We are hoping to raise enough money to buy a lovely holiday caravan so that our families will always have somewhere to stay, especially in the summer months when our business supporters might be full up.

Is anyone going to see the Olympics this summer? We applied for a few things but didn't get anything and then wished we'd put other things down - but we didn't put everything down cos we didn't want to end up with everything and having to pay thousands. It was a bit impossible and after all that, I watched a program about how some people are still selling packages and guaranteeing really good tickets that we've been told are sold out. It made me really mad cos it's making the Olympics into something that only very rich or famous people can get to and it should be something that everyone can experience.  We were really glad we didn't get tickets in the end, because then we saw the price of hotel rooms and you could go on a nice 5 star holiday for the same price, apart from I can't actually go anywhere abroad but you know what I mean.

Well, it's the 1st of March tomorrow and it's one of my best friend's birthday - so happy sweet 16 to Clarissa, can't wait to see you on Saturday. Next week, I'm going to the Love Barrow awards on Friday which I'm kind of excited and nervous about at the same time.  I got a lovely new dress sent from Emma at the weekend and if I can find something to cover my horrible legs, I'm going to wear it to the awards evening next week cos it's really nice. They came to film me and Milly for them and it took about 5 minutes for Milly's piece to be filmed and about 5 hours for mine! I'm hopeless and kept getting mixed up, I was glad that they had a sense of humour and laughed with me! After the Love Barrow Awards, I'm really excited about Crufts! I can't believe that it's come round and that I'm actually feeling okay still and it looks like I'll be fine to go. I'm getting to go to the Best in Show on Sunday which is really exciting because I haven't been to the final judging before.  I've been saving my Christmas money for ages, well since Christmas doh, and I'm going to enjoy buying a special present for Mabel.

Okay, that's it. I'm going to go and do some tweeting now cos I've been a bit bad lately and not doing it as much. Today Davina McCall has been rowing across the Channel with John Bishop to raise money for sports relief and just before I started this, I saw that they had made it back to Dover, so that made me really happy for them.  John has already cycled nearly 200 miles before he rowed across the channel and now he has to do 3 marathons over 3 days! Doesn't it show what you can do when you put your mind to it? I think that's part of the reason I am still here now, I don't really think too much about not been here and I always make sure that there's something to look forward to and something to do.  And when I do go, no one will ever be able to say that I didn't do anything with my life.

Hello from my cottage :)

So much to say! I've been quite tired the last few weeks but I think it's partly Milly's fault cos she got a cold at school and passed it to me and it always takes me ages to get rid of anything. I was a bit miserable last week and that's not really how I like to be but there's been loads of hassle with getting things in order for when I need more care and although they are definitely trying to help us now, it really seems to be that we just live in the wrong area and that I'm the wrong age.

My charity is still slowly coming together and I'll be so excited when we get the charity number through as there are so many things we can't do until that is sorted. I keep thinking that it's a good job I've lasted longer than they expected me to, cos I wouldn't have been around to see it otherwise.  I went down to London this week and we met up with Emma Forbes again, who is our amazing charity patron. We sneaked into Selfridge's and shared some chocolate cake and laughed about our dogs. 

We had booked tickets to see Blood Brother's which is something I have always wanted to see, but I wanted to see War Horse even more, but hadn't got any tickets ever cos we're always last minute when we know we're going. But my friend Cathy was tweeting with Jack Holden who is Albert and without me knowing they managed to arrange for me to go and see War Horse AND to go backstage and meet everyone and I even got to stroke Joey!!! So War Horse is now my favourite show, I really loved the way they make the horses come to life and forgot that they were puppets.  So big smiley hello and a special kiss to Jack, Matt, Luke, Alex and Shaun who made my week and special hugs to Cathy for spending ages arranging it for me, I loved it.  

Then I went back to Alder Hey for a check yesterday. I kind of thought that it would be bad news cos I've been quite tired and I've been coughing and whatever, but things aren't really moving that fast and we decided that I'm not going to pop off quite yet.  I've got to tell Barry, my consultant, to have a nice holiday cos he's gone off to Dubai for a holiday in the sun (I told him it will be too hot lol). 

And I'm on holiday in a nice cottage in Herfordshire (I can't spell that and can't actually say it either), but I've got Mabel with me which is making me happy.  Milly has brought one of her best friends Lucy with her so she's happy and Mum is on her second glass of wine so she's happy too lol.

In just a few weeks, I'm off to Crufts. It's the highlight of my year and although Mabel can't be in it, I still love to go and have a look at all the different breeds. I really enjoy the agility and the fly ball as well, the dogs get so excited, they're like children.  This year is special cos when i went last year, I never thought I'd be here this year, so I'm going to doubly enjoy it :)

Will update when I get back from my break x

My new mug

I'm trying to be good and update my blog a bit more cos everything keeps thinking I'm dead or something when I don't, so here it is. I have had lots of good news in the last couple of days.
Firstly, my new Emma Bridgewater mug comes out tomorrow and I am so excited that I can't stop thinking about it.  My first mug raised a huge amount of cash for the THHN and this mug is going to be raising money for my own charity, Alice's Escapes.  It's so nice to know that my charity will be there after I'm gone and that other kids like me can always have a holiday with their family. I think that you'll be able to FIND MY MUG ON HERE from tomorrow. We had fun seeing your photos last time and I'm hoping to have a new photo album on my Alice's Escapes Facebook pages so that we can see pictures of everyone with their mug again.  I still have the picture of Holly the Labradoodle with her mug on my wall :) and I loved the chickens and the Spiderman photos. I challenge you to do something unusual with your mug - my mum has said that she'll take hers up Kilimanjaro with her and raise a toast to me at the top! 

The second thing that is really interesting to look at, is our Team Alice on Tour LEJOG blog - I like saying that, LEJOG BLOG, LEJOG BLOG ... ha ha you go wrong very quickly!  If you have a look at their blog, it tells you all about the training, the route and our wonderful sponsors. On the right side is a list of the different days and if you click into them, you can actually see exactly where they'll be cycling every day, how far it is and if there are any big hills! If I wasn't already dying, I think that cycling 100 miles a day would finish me off!  I'm keeping focused on living and I'm hoping that I might be able to do an appearance along the route, but from the comfort of the support car.

My charity is coming along and we have had more generous offers from local businesses. I'll get told off for not remembering them all, but one new accommodation provider is Park Cliffe at Windermere and I'm so excited about them supporting us, cos caravan holidays are one of my favourite. So, huge thanks to them and all the other businesses who are supporting us.  Park Cliffe have also kindly offered to make us their charity of the year as have the ladies of Dunnerholme golf club in Askam. We're really grateful to everyone who is thinking about how they can help us.  Our registration to be an official charity has gone in and we're all hoping that will be back very soon and then we will be able to offer collection tubs for you to have in your shop or work. 

Mabel is still so lovely and I'm hoping to get to visit the people at the home this week - I was away all of December and haven't managed to get back there yet this year, cos I've been so tired, but I'm going to try on Friday if they'll have me lol.  I think Mabel has missed her little trips there cos she gets lots of biscuits. Mum is trying to fit lots of walking in so that she can do the K2B - she's organised a huge group of Team Alice walkers and it wouldn't look very good if she can't do it. Ha ha I know she'll do it really.  Mum has also booked the Team Alice trip to climb Kilimanjaro so she's kind of committed to that now. As soon as we're registered, we'll have Just Giving sponsor sites and you can sponsor her, Dad and the rest of the team.

So that's all folks lol, Alice xxx

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

Too busy to go

I've so much to get done that I've decided I'm just to busy to go anywhere yet.  If my cancer could just listen to that it would be good LOL.
I always get too far behind on my blog and then I can't remember things, so I thought I'd write tonight cos I can't sleep and I'm going away for the weekend.
Jay has invited me down to watch my first ever football match and I don't know whether I'll get it or not, but I'm going to try to understand all the rules and bits.
Then we're going to meet someone special on Sunday and I think we're doing a Christmas Fair thing as well cos I want to get a load of things.  I don't know what's there exactly but I know that I need to get loads lol.
After that, Dad has to get on a train to come back to work cos he loves work lol and me and Mum have been invited to go to the real Lush factory in Poole and see how it all gets made and even have a go. I am so excited because Lush is one of my favourite things in the world. When I go to hospital I always take some Lush things with me and all the nurses love the smell of my room.  This was something on the bit of my bucket list that I never put up on here so I didn't think that I'd ever get to do it, so it's even more special.  We're going to stay with our friends Jan and Paul cos we haven't seen them for ages either.
When I get back, mum is going to go and find a real Christmas tree and then we're going to decorate it.
Have a good weekend and I'll be smelling gorgeus next time I write.

Lazing in the lodge

Hello, I've had lots of messages asking why I haven't updated and I'm pleased to say that I've not died yet, i've just been busy lol.

There's a lot been going on. I've been down to Devon with my family and we stayed in a really beautiful lodge at Finlake which was offered to us through the THHN. We had a really nice week doing not very much, watched lots of DVDs and me and my sister got invited to go for horse riding at the Finlake riding stables.  I haven't been on a horse for years so I was a bit nervus but once I got going, it was really good fun. We also went to Angel's Tea Rooms in Babbacomb which is our favourite place to visit when we go down there. You've got to go, it's amazing and I love the heart shaped scones.

When we got back, mum did some more decorating cos she's trying to finish our hallway that she started two years ago lol.  She also did my room and I've got nice sandy gold walls and aubergine cushions and bits and it looks really nice, I'm dead pleased.

I've been down to Pets at Home in Barrow to see Jason and all my friends there and Milly bought loads of things for our rabbit and then she cleaned his house out which is her old playhouse so it's huge for a rabbit. He's quite lucky I think!  I'm dead excited to see the treat packages that Mabel is going to be on soon. I'll be sending them to all of Mabel's doggy friends with a ribbon on.

We took Mabel to see the old people down the road again. They all give her biscuits which she loves, but some of them forget who she is and tell us that they've never had a dog before. Mum is dead patient and just says oh haven't you, well we'll come back should we.  And we know that when we go back they've probably forgotten us again. It's quite sad but mum said at least they won't sit there worrying about things at night cos they won't remember lol.  Anyway there's a couple of them who do remember Mabel and their faces are really happy when they see me walk in with her so that feels really good.  I'm hoping to go again this week, but I've got my infusion tomorrow so I'll have to see how I feel.

Tomorrow will be my last infusion which is a bit weird cos I know there's nothing else.  My scan isn't booked for a bit so I think that it will be too late to do the radiation thing by then, so there's nothing else now.  I know I can't keep having things done but if they did the radiation now on all the lumps on my neck, it might just help a little bit.  But I don't know and I suppose it probably costs a fortune and if I hadn't done my blog I wouldn't even have been given the trial stuff cos they'd already sent me home, so I suppose I've had longer anyway really.

You will probably laugh at me because we're having Christmas in November this year as well as in December ( i hope). I've got a chocolate advent calendar and on Tuesday when it is the 1st, me and Milly are going to start our Christmas thing. I've bought a new gold tree for my room (cos it's gold) and mum is going to decorate the house and all that.  We were going to have Christmas Day on the 25th but it will be year since my little friend Fergus got his wings so it wouldn't be right to do it on that day so the 26th can be Christmas Day and we're going to have a proper lunch and open a gift and have a party for my friends on the Sunday. Last year I was so ill at Christmas that I didn't even open a present and dad had to eat his lunch on his own. So we aren't been miserable we're just making sure that we do get one this year. 

I can't say too much but I'm really excited that I'm going to be launching my own charity very soon. It will help lots of other kids like me and it will something that my mum can do to keep her busy. I think that the website will be working very soon and that I will be able to tell you all about it in the next week or bit more.

Sorry I was a long time writing this. Have a nice week, love Alice :)

A lot to say :)

I've had such a busy week that I am having to think about what I told you last time (I can't see what I wrote when I do this).

I think it was my Grandad's birthday and we all went out for a meal which was nice to be together but our meal was horrid.  I made Grandad a photo album of mainly me and Milly and he loves it. Mum had got him a Emma Bridgewater 'Papa Bear' mug cos thats what she calls him lol.

The day after, I went to Alder Hey and I had my scan as well.  The new drug has been helping massive amounts on my chest areas but the cancer is just not playing and it is growing new lumps in my neck.  So I don't think that there's anything else really, unless they blast them with more radiation or something? I've had radiation before but not on my neck so maybe they can do that. 

After Liverpool, we went down to London and the train was a nightmare.  We missed the first one so that was our fault but the second one had no seats and then the man on the train told everyone to get off at Preston as the line was closed further down, so we got a train back to Oxenholme to get our car and by the time we got back, the line was open again! Anyway, Kevin at Oxenholme put us all in first class and I slept almost all of the way cos I was so tired, but the seats were nice and comfy.  We arrived at our hotel, The Mayfair, after midnight and it was really posh. There was a bit of a mix up with our room so we got upgraded to a suite and it was amazing - it was bigger than our house.  On Friday daytime, we all loved the rooms so much that none of us went out!

At night time it was the Inspiration Awards and everyone came to our suite for drinks before we all went.  When we got there, we stopped the taxi and sneaked in the door at the side so I didn't have to go through the cameras lol.  It was a lovely night and I met Beverley-de-Gale who is such an inspirational lady - I'm going to add a link somewhere. I was really nervous so I was glad my category was first, but I still couldn't believe it when I won.  I was terrified so I ran on and took it off Jay Bothroyd who was presenting it and then I ran off again.  But when I went backstage with him we laughed about it, I said I didn't know what to do and he was really nice.  The singers were amazing and we all really enjoyed listening to them.  We met Sky who is the founder of the awards (he is dead dead funny). Then it was Milly's turn to find out and I was really happy that she won her category too.  She was much better than me and managed not to fall over in her huge heels and stood on the stage looking really good. And Mum said I've not to really mention this but that doesn't normally stop me, so (ha ha).  Sky went on stage and started reading about this amazing group and we were all just listening and then I heard dad go oh no, and then Sky called our entire family up for a special award. Mum's face was so funny and she couldn't even talk properly on stage.  After that Mum was dead excited to hug a lady we met backstage and I didn't have a clue who she was, and mum was like, what, you must know who she is! It was Annie Lennox (I've looked her up now, doh). 

The next day, we had to go back to our life and move from the very posh suite to the Premier Inn at Euston lol.  Our room there was about as big as the bathroom in the Mayfair, but it was fine and staff were really nice too. At the awards, Dad promised me and Milly a treat and so we asked to go to the theatre.  We wanted to see War Horse but the only tickets we found were really expensive and so we ended up going to see the Wizard of Oz, which was brilliant and we all really enjoyed it.  We got the train back up on Sunday - the Virgin man at Euston was so unhelpful when we tried to sort out getting on with my wheelchair, but then a lady told dad to go to mobility services and they were really helpful and smiley with it!  We arrived back into Oxenholme to the smiles of Kevin who had waved us off on Thursday.  I enjoyed visiting London but I was glad to be back in Cumbria!

On Monday we did a radio interview at like 6.45 and I went blank and there was this silence on the radio and mum had to help me.  Then, I was back down to Alder Hey and neither of us felt like the long drive cos we were so tired.  Although my scan wasn't really good news as such, I feel so much better at the moment and they've decided that I can finish off the stocks!  So I had one on Monday and I have my final one in two and a bit weeks and then, if there's no radiation, I guess that's it. 

I've only just got up today because yesterday was one of those days and the first thing I've opened is a gorgeous huge card from Emily, congratulating us all.  It's so funny that I'll try to scan it onto here.

One of my missions at the moment is talking to any card companies that want to help me gain more bone marrow donors by raising awareness through their 18th cards, and I'm really happy that both Hallmark and Clinton cards have been in touch with me. A few others have been in touch for more details but a lot haven't - I'm waiting!

Next week, mum is taking us off for a break with the THHN and we're staying at a place called Finlake. Dad has to work, but I can't wait and I'm taking lots of DVDs and planning some duvet days lol.  I will update from Devon and when I get back I won't have long until I can share with you my really big news. No, it's not a cure for me, but it's something that means so much to me and I'm hoping that Cumbria will support me!

Another for the bucket list

I have a few missions in my head. One is going to become real very soon and then I can tell you about it, but there's another thing that's bugging me. It's really good that I'm getting so many people to join the register, but what about when I'm not here? I don't want it all to stop and I've been thinking lots about how to carry on telling everyone forever.  I said something the other day and I can't even remember why I said it, but I said that it's a pity that the card people don't put details of Anthony Nolan on the back of their 18th birthday cards.  And that made me think why don't they - it's a really simple idea but for whatever reason it doesn't happen and I really think that it could work to encourage young, healthy donors.  


So my next mission is to start another Twitter campaign and contact all of the big card companies like Hallmark, Clinton, Carte Blanche, Camden, Phoenix and the internet places like Moon Pig and Funky Pigeon, and get them to think about doing something about it. Such a little thing could make such a big difference and I bet that some of their workers must have been affected by cancer and in need of a transplant.  There's must be loads and loads of 18th cards bought every day and I want them all to have a message on them.  


So email me and I can come and meet you with one of the Anthony Nolan people.  I really, really need this to happen!

Big Smiles :)

I have had probably the best weekend that I've had for ages and ages.  Alton Towers was brilliant and they really looked after us and the Chocolate room was really cool. There was a really cute teddy waiting for me with a load of balloons! It had loads of chocolate hidden and every time you walked in, it had all these sound effect things, like been on a steam train.  We had a good meal in Flambo at night and Cristina looked after us with lots of smiles :)
They even gave us fastpass tickets so we didn't have to queue which was good. I really did try to do a big ride.  I nearly did 'Air', but I was a bit unsure so mum said she'd go on and wave at me and I could think about it.  Uncle Gary stayed with me and mum took Rhys and Sammi with her, but they were gone for ages and the ride had stopped but we didn't know why. When they arrived back, guess what?  They'd got on the ride and it had clamped their legs and then it had tilted them so they were hanging face down and then it broke down.  So they'd been stuck in it, hanging there for about 20 minutes.  Mum thought it was hilarious, but it put me off.  I loved the mine train and we all laughed cos it was quiet and they gave us extra goes and every time we went through, we shouted 'Choo choo' (cos that's what the man had to say but he was laughing with us).  So thank you Alton Towers, I had a really brilliant brilliant time x

On the way back from Alton Towers, we called in to see Leigh and Rachel at Emma Bridgewater and we met some new people too.  It was really good to see them and they were having a coffee morning downstairs, so we bought some cakes and I painted a new bowl for my cereal with Mabel on it (mum smashed my last one by accident). I got some bits in the shop for presents and I bought a chocolate labrador mug (we already have a yellow one and a black one). I've got another reason to try and get to my 16th birthday, because I decided that I'd like a pottery party there for me and my friends.  Mum said that we can book a hotel down there so it's not too much on one day.

And then, my weekend got better because I went to the Andrew Collinge Salon in Liverpool to get my wig. We were really late because the M6 had an accident on it and the traffic had stopped but we phoned and Amy was really nice and said not to worry.  I got to meet Andrew who was a really nice man and he introduced me to Olivia who was doing my hair.  It was really weird because you have to put it on so that it can be cut into a style on your head.  I was watching myself in the mirror and I just couldn't stop smiling. Gemma did mums hair and mum was so happy and it looks really nice.  So I'm going to put a photo on here of me with my new hair, because I love my new hair. Thank you to everyone at Andrew Collinge and the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Me and my new hair

We were staying in Liverpool for the whole weekend as my treat and I got to go to Pizza Express for my dinner and on Saturday I found a dress for next Friday.  I was really worried about finding something to wear but I'm quite happy and I think I look okay in it.  I haven't found any shoes yet but I'm looking.  I know I don't have to worry, but I'm a bit nervous about the awards night. We are going to London on Thursday night so that I don't have to travel on the day of the awards and we might get to stay an extra night and do a show on the Saturday night.

Yesterday, mum did a workshop thing at the Apple shop in Liverpool and she started to put her photos in order but she has got thousands of them so it was a bit of a mess. She's trying to do a video of me but she is finding it hard to work her new laptop. But they were really good and then today she had a proper lesson and she said it was really good and that she thinks she gets it now. So I'm in my bedroom doing this and Dad is doing work stuff (for a change NOT) and Mum is in the study doing her photo thing.  So I've got to say a special thank you to Chris and everyone in the Apple store who helped my mum.

So I've had a really nice weekend :) I better go now cos we're going to go and meet my sister from her school trip. I can't wait to see her and here about her adventures.

Alton Towers ahoy :)

Yay guess what, I am going to get to go to Alton Towers this week yay!  I've only been to Alton Towers a few times and I've never stayed in the hotel there, so I'm really excited that they have offered to let me go and sleep in the Chocolate room.  I'm going with my BFF Sammi and my cousin Rhys and I can't wait. I'm so glad that I get to do it and I'm even going to push myself to go on just one really scary ride lol and I might even buy the photograph to prove it.

Then, I'm back in Liverpool and as well as hospital things, I'm going to Andrew Collinge and I'm going to feel really special because I'm getting my wig and they're going to cut it into a style for me. I'll post a photo on here when I've got my new hair so you can see what it's like. My sister is going away to Scotland with her school so I get to choose a treat weekend and I said stay in Liverpool, because I only get to go there when I'm in hospital and it's a really nice city. Mum is going for a lesson in the Apple shop because she can't work anything and I'm going to look for a dress for the awards night which is the week after. At night time I want to eat pizza and then maybe listen to music somewhere. Oh and I want to go on the duck boat thing that I keep seeing. It's a yellow bus that drives around the city but then goes into the water as well. Sounds a bit mad but it looks fun.

A bit ago, we bumped into a girl who was out for a walk with an old lady from the care home across the road from us.  The lady said that she was really sad that she'd had to leave her dog and she fussed Bess and Mabel lots.  So Mum checked our insurance and we gave Mabel a really good wash because Labradors are always dirty and we went over (mum phoned first). It was so lovely and I was really glad that we went and most of the people were really pleased to see Mabel (they didn't really notice me or mum) and Mabel was very well behaved too. Lots of them told us about the dogs they'd had and their names and other stories.  When we came home, we both said that it felt really nice that we had done that and we've decided that we'll go over a few times a month and see everyone.  They were lovely people and all the staff were friendly and happy to have us there too. Plus Mabel got lots of hugs and some biscuits so she was very pleased too.

Before I go to London for the award night, I need another scan done. I don't like the scans because they're quite long and the machine is really noisy. We told them that we don't want to know the results before I go to London because it might spoil the weekend.  It might be bad luck to be planning two weekends but it does feel nice to be doing normal things and not thinking too much about hospital. Today, we saw our friends Phil and Diane, and Phil said to me and mum 'are you planning on being around at christmas' and we both started laughing.  Phil meant were we planning to go away or stay at home and we both thought he was asking if I was planning to be around.  So I laughed and said 'I hope so'!  I'm trying cos it's my 16th birthday the week before so that means I can ask to try archery.  I have done a bit of it but I'm not sure if anywhere does it around here so mum is going to find out and maybe I'll have a go at that too.  I might even add it to my list.

Keep telling everyone you know to join the bone marrow registers, don't stop and if you're going to send an 18th card, you could print out some information and put it in their card for me. Wouldn't it be good if every card company printed information about the register on the back of their 18th cards. Maybe that's a new mission for me!

Dresses!

I am still looking for a dress to wear for the awards in a couple of weeks. I would laugh if I had other things to wear, but I've lost a lot of weight since I last went anywhere and they're all huge on me. I've also got loads of scars everywhere and I want to hide them. Oh and my legs aren't great either! I'm hoping that my wig will be ready before the awards, so I should at least have some hair. And I want to get it done in London on the day of the awards, because it's made of real hair and you can do anything with it.

On Saturday, I got to go to the Lantern Procession in Ulverston for the first time in 4 years and it was amazing.  My Mabel lantern was still wet at about 2pm and so mum had to use the hairdryer on it.  Loads of our friends had made lanterns as well, some from my bucket list and lots supporting Anthony Nolan and Bone Marrow Awareness.

Me with my Mabel lantern

The Bucket List Lantern

Today, I went to Apollo Cinemas in Barrow to watch 'I don't know how she does it'.  The Apollo have given our family an honorary lifetime membership and we laugh because when I go in, they just say 'Hi Alice, just go on through'! The film was really funny and if you get the chance to see it, go.  

Mum and me have been busy planning something very special.  I can't say what yet, but I will do soon.  But it will be amazing and it will help lots and lots of other people and I hope people will support us doing it!

I've had lots of lovely things sent to me and it's really difficult to write back to everyone but I want to say thank you so much for thinking of me. I love the bandanas, especially the ones from other countries and today I had Australia on my head!  I also got a cute Angry Birds T-shirt from Tracy in America, thank you.  A few schools have written to me, I got some really cute pictures drawn from Kenya and I'm enjoying a whole stack of letters and things from the International School in Alicante. 

The last thing but the most important is that mum found out that two more people who signed up through my recruitment clinics are going to donate their cells very soon.  I can't explain how happy it makes me to know that they've got a chance. I keep thinking about all the people that will be able to have a life because of the people like you who have listened. So thank you :)

Oh and you can still vote for me and Milly in the awards by clicking on the link at the top of this screen!