Thursday 27 December 2012

best friends


I just wanted to dedicate this post to one of my best friends in the whole world, Leah. In the past year I haven't seen Leah (or any of my friends) as much as I would like to, because of spending the majority of my time on the Wirral. I just want to say I love you lots, and I'm looking forward to lots of new adventures in 2013 :) even though we're all getting a bit grown up now, I still have lots and lots of time for you! So this is one of the things that will be going on my list of resolutions :) I will be back with a full list in time for the new year. This time of year really gives you a chance to reflect, and makes you appreciate all the people you perhaps take for granted sometimes.
And I have to mention one of my other best friends, Nicola. I love you lots too :)

p.s. I will post very soon with a list of Christmas wonderfulness!

Monday 24 December 2012

Christmas eve, some painting & new boots









Happy Christmas eve lovely people :) I hope you've all been enjoying the festive season! At my mum's house we have been enjoying it very much, eating lots of delicious food and watching countless movies :) today we had a roast dinner with cider soaked ham, oh it was soo good!!! Followed by chocolate cheesecake with Baileys cream - can't beat it! These are just a few snaps from the last week - Indigo ready for her playgroup party, doesn't she look cute in her party dress? Then opening her present from Santa at the party - it was a big puzzle. Next up are two paintings I did for my little sister Willow, which she gifted to the two friends with her in the pictures. Last but not least, a pair of boots I ordered a little while ago from Brand Alley, but have only just got around to wearing. They are BullBoxer boots, but I can't remember the exact name of them. I fell in love!!! I think they're absolutely beautiful, from the gorgeous colour of the brushed suede to the studs and stars they're adorned with. They were probably a whole size too big (I'm an awkward half size, so always order up) so I've had to pad them out with two pairs of insoles and very thick socks. I just couldn't bare to part with them :) I'm very excited to see what Christmas brings. But something I'm even more excited about is for everyone to open the gifts I got them. I love giving gifts, finding something I hope someone will love! I hope you all enjoy your Christmas, whatever you're doing for it :)
Merry Christmas!!! xxx

Sunday 23 December 2012

getting crafty with salt dough



















milkybar yogurts, reindeers, making salt dough, bear cookie cutters, heart cookie cutters, getting messy hands, rolling out the dough, pressing down the cookie cutters, pulling away the edges, cooking them, waiting for them to cool, getting some old paints out, making the shapes look pretty, Indigo decorating a heart for her best friend Isobel, all of us going to Lynn's house for a crafty salt dough afternoon on Saturday, Jenna with Riley & baby Matilda, lots of Tilly cuddles, Phoenix, Ty and Joe playing on their DS's, Phoebe, Indigo & I getting crafty with Jenna & Riley, waiting for a long time for them to cook, eating homemade vanilla ice cream and cola slush, eventually painting some of our creations and bringing the rest home, mark's visit Weds-Thurs, receiving all my gifts from Mark & his family, a delicious roast pork dinner made by mumma bear, Mark having to carry back just as many gifts from me to him, mum & I accompanying Mark to the train station then doing a little shopping in Nuneaton, a dizzy turn for the last couple of days (please go away by Christmas), watching Avengers with mum, Zenobia & Willow, eating Twiglets, watching Four Christmas's, doing OU work this morning, watching the Borrowers and enjoying the rest of Sunday in a very lazy, PJ clad fashion :)

Thursday 20 December 2012

home for christmas & tinnitus/vertigo hope












On Monday night I got home for Christmas :) officially no more work until the 9th January - hurray!! It has been a very busy few days, the first of which was Tuesday. I had my appointment for my 'second opinion' on my ear/vertigo troubles, at Leicester Royal hospital with a specialist named Mr Peter Rea. I was dubious to say the least, as I had really given up all hope of ever being 'normal' again. I have lived with ringing in my right ear and on/off vertigo for over a year now!
Our dear friend Lynn took me and my mum to the hospital for 10.40 on Tuesday morning. We waited for a short while, before I had a hearing test. I was in there for a while and apparently (as Lynn and mum were watching) the lovely man who was carrying it out kept trying all the sounds I couldn't hear but should be able to again, just to be certain! After what seemed like another very long wait indeed, I was finally called in to see Mr Rea.
Mr Rea asked me lots and lots of questions, where it all started (suddenly with a bout of labrynthitis last year before Christmas), what happens (continuous right ear ringing, and bouts of dreadful vertigo/sickness, lesser bouts of dizziness) and so on. He asked about all of my other health issues too, such as my B12 deficiency, headaches. He asked about a lot of details, so I felt he was being very thorough. He said my hearing test was all wrong, he jokingly wanted to cover the top half and diagnose me without it haha. I have low frequency hearing loss in my right ear, which is very unusual! Mr Rea asked me to do a number of different things, such as closing my eyes and marching on the spot (I moved, significantly!), walking in a straight line (badly), leaning my head off the edge of a bed (don't worry I'll catch you!) and so on. He decided that I need balance tests, and a CT scan to look inside my middle/inner ear, and I will get the appointments in the post. He said he can't decide which of two ways it will go at the moment, but the tests will decide that. He also said he has a lot of conditions/diseases in mind, some very rare, that he would like to investigate. He was 90% certain he will be able to diagnose me, and do something in the way of treatment/easing my condition. I am going to meet with Mr Rea at the end of February, after my tests. It was all so hopeful, and he said not only am I intriguing but also a challenge. I feel very lucky that he has taken on my case, and am crossing my fingers for some kind of conclusion rather than the "it just happened" I got from the previous consultant.
One thing I was shocked by, other than the lack of enthusiasm and total disregard to how this condition affects my life, was also a total lack of intelligence on behalf of doctors I have seen previously. Just last week I was diagnosed with an ear infection in my left (good) ear, and given Otomize to spray in my ear. Mr Rea said those were not the symptoms of an ear infection, and I should stop using the spray immediately! Also, I was given a hearing aid for my right (bad) ear, and Mr Rea said I should never have had it as hearing aids don't work for my type of loss (which of course, having never used the thing, I already knew). It's only now I'm reflecting on my appointment, that I realise how awful this is. Not only do hearing aids cost the NHS a lot of money, but there must be people in the area where I was being 'treated' previously that are going on suffering in their lives because they have had to accept that 'it just happened' to them too. So, anyone with any similar problems, or even any problems in general that you can't get to the bottom of, I urge you to continue seeking answers :)

Sunday 16 December 2012

a new addition to the bear family ~ Almond





Meet Almond - the latest addition to our little bear family! Rennie & Munch are still on their extended stay at my mum's house, and Matisse was getting a little lonely. As you can see, Matisse is taking good care of Almond :)
Tomorrow is my last shift at work this year! Then tomorrow night I will be travelling back to the Midlands to spend Christmas and New Year with my family. I am excited! Especially to be around all my siblings who will no doubt be getting very excited about Christmas. Apparently Indigo, my 3 year old little sister, has been singing... "Twinkle twinkle little star, wonder what my presents are" haha :)
It will no doubt be a very hectic, but fun couple of weeks! Firstly though, I have to get my hospital appointment on Tuesday out of the way. It's an appointment for a second opinion with an ENT specialist in Leicester. I am very hopeful that this man will be able to help me with all my ear problems (or at least some!), and he came highly recommended by a family friend who knows him.
As soon as the boring stuff is out of the way, I have heaps of wrapping to do, and Mark is coming to spend a day/night on Wednesday to Thursday so all his presents must be wrapped before then!! I am planning to do lovely festive things with my little brother and sisters too :)
Are you all getting in the Christmas spirit yet?!

Friday 14 December 2012

Next Festive Window Competition


Hello lovelies, Jess at Feeling Stylish is hosting a Next festive shop window competition. I couldn't resist the opportunity to try and create something full of Wintery gorgeousness! I have no knowledge of Photoshop or any of that jazz, so I stuck with trusty old Paint! It was a bit tricky getting things layered over each other, but I think it turned out ok :)

I decided to go with an outdoor woodland style theme, complete with woolly and cosy outfits for a young boy and girl. I have a younger brother and sisters, and they were recently kitted out with new Next clothes by my mum. The children's clothes are such good quality and so nice that I knew I'd have to use children's wear in my shop window. I thought these mistletoe lights were so cute! I even managed to keep to the theme with these lovely bark baubles, I love trees and the textures of them so I really love these baubles. Do I even need to mention the adorable stag plush? He's lovely isn't he!

You can find all the things I used for my shop window here:
Mistletoe Line Lights £22
Bark Trees £12
Faux Fur Tree £15
Knitted Stag £10
Bark Baubles £9
Reindeer Fairisle Sweater £14-£15
Dark Wash Check Lined Jeans £13-£14
Brown Biker Boots £29-£33
Navy Fairisle Pattern Knitted Dress £16-£18
Fairisle Pattern Leggings £4.50-£5.50
Spotty Leather Boots £30-£36

Good luck everyone :)

Wednesday 12 December 2012

constellation nails, winter & foxy feet





Last weekend was mumma bear's birthday, so I went home from Friday til Sunday to spend some time with my family :) I had a wonderful time as always, but it was very, very busy!! On Friday night I saw my two best friends, Nicola & Leah. We caught up like old times, had a McDonalds drink (tea, hot chocolate, banana milkshake!!), and spent a fair bit of time laughing. I miss these two ladies, and we definitely need to make lots of plans for next year!! Saturday saw mum & I wrapping up billions of Christmas presents. My mum buys for everyone, and I said I'd help her get it all done because she was worried about all the wrapping!! It was very productive and a job well done, as we managed to hand a lot of them out the same day (hello SPACE!). Saturday was of course mum's birthday, and she had some lovely gifts as pictured in the third photo above. The main thing I got her was the pretty vanity case at the back of the picture, as she had been after something to store all her make-up etc in for a while. I know she's been cleaning and rearranging in her room this week, so I think she must like it :). The final photo is Munch - long lost Munch!! Not quite as lost as Rennie though, who appears to have gone with Indigo's toys into the garage whilst the new playroom is being built!

On Saturday evening I cut my mum's nails down for her, and decided to paint my own. I settled on this lovely pink from H&M, which has a gorgeous glimmer-y finish. On each ring finger I used some of the Constellation Nails from MUA at Superdrug. My sister, Zenobia, had these on her nails and she let me try them out for myself. Following this, on Sunday I went into Superdrug in Liverpool on my travels back to the Wirral, and picked some up for myself! I've got to say that I read many reviews saying these are one night only nails, but mine are still going strong 4 days later. I applied two thick coats of top coat to keep them in place, so maybe that's why. The Nail Constellations are just £3. The second photograph is a magnetic paint by W7 which is my sister Willow's. I painted her nails with it for her, as she was going to the Clothes Show on Monday (she went last year, and loved this year just as much!).




As you can see from the first two photographs, Winter has well and truly set in!! Half the day had passed before this frost had disappeared. It is absolutely freezing!!!! I had to go to the doctors this morning with a suspected ear infection, and sadly my suspicions were true. I have been prescribed some antibiotic spray, which I tried this evening and it's not too pleasant, but not too bad either. After the doctors Mark & I went into Liverpool for a browse, as Mark had a couple of presents he still needed to pick up. I searched in so many shops for a new knitted headband, and I still didn't find exactly what I wanted. I was just looking for a plain black one to match my scarf, but there were none to be found! I settled on this navy one from New Look, which is very nice, and only £2.99 as I used the 25% off voucher which is available at the moment :) aren't these foxy slippers amazing?! I fell totally in love with them in Primark of all places (I bought the best pj bottoms I've ever worn in there the other day - I will share those another day). The slippers are knitted loveliness and best of all were just £3. Has anyone else had any Primark bargains lately? I only ever usually find socks, tights and slippers!!