November 2025 Life Updates
- Ash
- Nov 27
- 7 min read
Quick Disclaimer - This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through these, I may earn a small commission. Please see my "privacy policy" for more information.
Hi friends! Welcome back to another monthly life update for November 2025! So what have Ashy, Benji, and Luke been up to this month?
My health updates are craaaazy. Also, this life updates post may be a bit more negative than my usual bubbly self, so hopefully that's okay; it's just a reflection of where I am in life. I think it's important to feel your emotions and sit with them in moments of sadness and also self-reflection. Being realistic is important; we can't get swept up in toxic positivity.
Previous 2025 Life Updates:
January 2025 Life Updates (9 Min Read)
February 2025 Life Updates (9 Min Read)
March 2025 Life Updates (6 Min Read)
April 2025 Life Updates (5 Min Read)
May 2025 Life Updates (5 Min Read)
June 2025 Life Updates (5 Min Read)
July 2025 Life Updates (6 Min Read)
August 2025 Life Updates (6 Min Read)
September 2025 Life Updates (6 Min Read)
October 2025 Life Updates (6 Min Read)
PIN IT!
November 2025 Life Updates
30th Birthday Updates: I celebrated my dreaded 30th birthday. I say dreaded because I feel so behind in life. I don't own a house, haven't done heaps of travel, and don't have the same desire to get married or have children like many other people my age do. I just want to survive, but I still feel very behind. I know everyone's life paths and timelines are different, but it's just hard to feel like I've achieved a lot before turning 30. Being chronically ill and not knowing what's going on isn't helpful either. I also don't want to live in the past, but I did find uni was where I really thrived. I'm hoping I can get that thriving back soon.
For my birthday, Luke, Benji, and I went on a little pre-birthday trip to Torquay. It was pretty cool, except it would have been cooler if we were able to go for a swim. You can check out my Torquay Travel Guide "here". There were so many good foodie spots there, AND we saw an Emu who ended up on the road with some police trying to escort him off (he was all good). We also went out for a birthday brunch at The Glass Den, Coburg, then on my actual birthday, we had lunch at Luke's parents and went out for dinner to Maison Bâtard. You can check out my foodie review "here". I tried so many foods I didn't think I was going to ever eat. Can I tick that off as my "do something adrenaline junkie" goal? Hehe.
As we're still on the birthday stuff, a few of my really close friends forgot about my 30th birthday and didn't message me, so I felt really sad about that, a few in NZ. Am I just a really awful person and don't know it? And I really wanted to go to the museum, but didn't get to as my plans got decided for me. Hopefully, I'll get back to the museum soon.
MORE HEALTH UPDATES: I feel like health updates are just non-stop at the moment. I went back to my GP, who referred me to a gastroenterologist re gut inflammation, and I saw her yesterday. Next Friday, I am getting a gastroscopy + colonscopy, so I've got a whole week of laxatives and a "white diet" to prepare for it. Thankfully, I'm going under sedation, so fingers crossed I'm out the whole time. Last time I had a colonoscopy, I was out like a light and then woke up in a random room, pretty confused. The prep IS the worst. I believe they're checking to see what's causing inflammation in my gut (i.e., IBD (Crohn's or UC), SIBO, or anything else that could cause the raised blood markers). I was also given some medication for my excessive sweating, which is helping a little. I will NOT be leaving my house at all next week LOL. Oh, and we know I don't see the POTS specialist till next year in December. Gah, but salt does help. I notice that when I have salt on toasties for lunch, I can go for a walk with my heart rate not rising as much. I also don't have any news on blood disorders, as the haemotologist just wrote back to my GP saying my blood markers are from my weight gain (which isn't the case because they were like that before I gained weight, and my GP was annoyed he didn't want to do a biopsy). So, we're still in the dark there.
On top of these health things, the slipped disc in my back has started to give me sciatica in my left leg, where my whole left leg goes numb, and sometimes it gives out. The GP suggested seeing a physio again - which I'm going to organise next year because there is so much going on for me right now. It's annoying because sometimes I just fall down for no reason. I have some stretches to do from my old PT in CHCH, and have been trying yoga for sciatica too.
I had a haircut and a dentist check up and omg, everything was all good at the dentist, yay! I just have to get some tooth mousse to put on at night to help with how many fillings I have - I would much rather that than anything else, especially with how many issues my teeth have given me (and I brush and floss every day). I think my Neutrafluor mouthwash has also helped with all the fluoride.
The YouTube videos I put out are as follows: Weekly Vlog: Tawny Frogmouths, More Health Updates, Halloween + More // Torquay Travel Vlog // 30th Birthday Vlog //
The Freaky Friday Files I put out are as follows: Spooky Halloween Facts // The Unsolved Mystery of "TV Man" // The Death of Cindy James // I'm wanting to work on more Iceberg stuff too cos that's fun!
TV Shows that Luke and I have been enjoying are: Man On The Inside S2, 30 Rock, Below Deck Med, Big Brother Australia, Crime Night, Spicks and Specks, as well as most of the shows I put in my October Life Updates.
TV Shows that I have been enjoying are: Loot S3, Morning Wars S4, Palm Royale S2, and The Diplomat. Wasn't sure about The Diplomat at first, but now I'm hanging out for season 4 already.
The books I have read are as follows: 1. Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown 2. 50 Things to realize before it's too late by Manoj Chenthamarakshan 3. Dear Dolly: On Love, Life and Friendships by Dolly Alderton 4. The Unbelievable Facts Book by Henry Bennett 5. Life Is Short And So Is This Book by Peter Atkins You can check out my November 2025 Book Reviews "here".
SAVE TO PINTEREST
One of my friends came over for dinner one evening and made me a cute little birthday/Christmas hamper and put in a toy for Benji. It was so cute, and I am very grateful.
We went to brunch at Saint Lloyd with a few of Luke's schoolmates. Luke and I also had lunch at Francis Winifred one day. Other brunch places we went to, you can check out in my Torquay travel blog (linked above).
I've been having super weird dreams, some of them are just a blur - I may have had a concussion from a fall, but I'm not 100% sure, so that could be the reason, or maybe I eat too much cheese LOL anyway. I did have a dream last night that the laxatives I have to take for my procedure next week didn't work, and I had to do it all again. I'll be so mad if something like that happens.
I finally got some cute compression socks and my 2026 diary - it's made of velvet, it's so pretty. I like the compression socks, but I'm not sure how much they help. I'm excited to wear them on the plane.
I was also doing really well with my sleep, getting up between 6 and 7 AM, but the past week, my body has just felt so exhausted, so I've slept in until 9 AM a few days. I feel like such an unproductive member of society when I sleep in. I'm going to try and get up as early as possible next week, especially as on Friday I need to be at the hospital at 8 AM.
Tomorrow, I have a psych appointment, and I got an email last week saying that they're shutting down the clinic that's in walking distance from my house, but the psychologist will continue to see us at two other different clinics (they are kinda far), so it'll be interesting to see where I need to go.
I FINALLY MADE A FREE DOWNLOAD for my blog! You can check out the free digital wallpapers "here".
There was a T20 game at Luke's cricket club, and he wasn't playing, so he took Benji down to watch and hang out with him. He got so many pets!
My mum's cat Bella, back in NZ, is on end-of-life medication, so we're not sure how long she's going to last, but she was told last year she wouldn't make it to Christmas 2024, and she's still alive. Hopefully, we get to see her one last time. She's 16 and 1/2.
Luke and I saw the Lego Myer Christmas Window - it was pretty cool and very fitting for Hamish Blake to be the voiceover (cos he hosts the Lego Masters show).
I still haven't worked out how to get my search bar back, so I apologise. Hopefully, I can figure it out soon.
Things that I am looking forward to in December are:
Benji's 2nd Birthday (on the 20th).
Spending Christmas in NZ after not being there for 3 years (finally, some compromise) and seeing family and friends. We have a 6 PM flight on the 21st.
Going to CHCH's new pastry shop.
Getting my favourite NZ snacks (obviously jelly tips and Lewis Road Creamery, and Cookie Times).
My procedures being over and done with.
Thank you for reading! Wish me luck for next week. There won't be a weekly newsletter on the 5th of December for that reason. I'll put a reminder in tomorrow's newsletter.
Ash x
Some more photos!
PIN FOR LATER
Comments