Merry Christmas 2016.

I hope everyone is having / has had a good christmas. I will be spending my day swimming with dolphins, which is not a traditional christmas, but it is certainly going to be a good one!











Let me know what your christmas traditions are and whether you had a good christmas. I'll be back next week with a new years rosultion post!

The Christmas Tag

I thought I would do something slightly different this week, as it has been a mad week of finishing assignments, shopping, packing and preparing for the holiday. I am going to answer some of the questions from a tag I found online.

• What's your favourite Christmas film?

I think my all-time favourite Christmas film has got to be Elf, I watch it every year without fail! I also like the polar express as well.

• What's your favourite Christmas colour?

My favourite Christmas colour is a deep purple/wine red colour, especially for clothing it look really nice at this time of year.

• Do you like to stay in your Pj's or Dress up for Christmas?

When I was younger I used to dress up in all the new clothes I had been brought, but now I put on my new pj's and stay comfy all day.

• If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be?

Since we are going to America this year, I actually only brought one person a Christmas present and that was Connor. However, I am buying presents for my friends whilst I am out there, so technically they are still Christmas presents, they just have to wait until January to get them.

• Do you open your presents christmas eve or christmas morning?

We have always opened our presents on Christmas morning, although last year me and Connor brought each other a stocking of presents which we opened together Christmas eve.

• Have you ever built a gingerbread house?

I don't think I have ever build a gingerbread house, if I have it clearly wasn't very impressive because I have forgotten about it.

• What do you like to do on your christmas break?

Previously during the Christmas break I have spent my time shopping and wrapping presents and also finishing off any school work I have to do before the new year.

• Any Christmas wishes?

My Christmas wish this year is different to what it would normally be, but I hope everyone has a good day and that the weather is hot where we are because it would make our plans even better.

• Favourite christmas smell?

Spiced Apple candles or anything with cinnamon is my favourite Christmas smell by far, I love the small no matter what time of the year.

• Favourite Christmas meal or treat?

I always look forward to the turkey at Christmas because it is one of my favourite meats, but my favourite treat has got to be pigs in blankets!

•  What are you doing for christmas this year?

This year we are actually on holiday for Christmas which means our day is going to be very different to what it would normally be at home. The weather is expected to be around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and we will be spending the day swimming with dolphins.

• What's your favourite christmas drink?

One of my favourite Christmas drinks is actually a soft drink. It is the Glitter berry J2O, which is a spiced cherry flavoured drink with edible gold glitter. I discovered it a few years ago and as soon as it comes out in shops ready for Christmas I get a case.

• Candy can or gingerbread men?

Candy canes.

• What's your favourite christmas song?

My favourite Christmas song is I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday: Wizzard. It's quite a classic song and I feel like no matter how old you are it is a song that you listen to every Christmas

• Have you ever man a snowman?

Yes.

Make-up Revolution 12 Days of Christmas: Are you getting your money's worth?

I was recently lucky enough to be brought the make-up Revolution 12 days of Christmas gift box by Connor as an early Christmas present.

The original price of this item is £50, However during black Friday it was on offer to beauty card holders for £25 on the Superdrug website and is also available on the Tambeauty website for £35 (This may not be true now, depending on when this is being read)
I am really pleased with everything in this gift set and can't wait to start using them, but before I do so I thought I would do some research to find out whether it is really worth the money or not.

The Gift box contains:

• Aqua Priming Base £6
• Makeup Setting Spray £5
• Ultra Strobe Cream £8
• Srtobing Stick 
• Contour Stick  (Freedom have one for £5)
• Blusher Palette (normally £6)
• Ultra Strobe Balm Palette  £8
• Eyeshadow Palette x2 (Similar ones cost £6 each)
• HD Pro Brow Palette 
• Nude Lipgloss set £4.50
• Focus and Fix eye Primer £2.50

All of these products come as full sized products, apart from the ultra strobe cream which is 30ml, rather than the full 50. Also what is to be mentioned as well is that some of these products such as the blusher palette, eyeshadow palettes and the contouring and strobing sticks are actually exclusive to the gift box and the HD brow palette is also not available to buy in it's own, but is along with 2 brushes and a primer as part of a Christmas gift for £12.

Based on the prices listed above the value is £52 without accounting for the brow palette and the strobing stick, as they are not on sale individually.
I would say this product is definitely worth the money I paid for it, and is still worth the more expensive price of £50. If this is still available on the website I would recommend getting hold of it quickly as it is a great way to try out some new make-up trends.
Don't worry if you missed out, next Christmas there will certainly be more gift boxes available to purchase from this brand!

Top 3 Jumpers this season: Primark Picks

The city I go to university in has a much bigger Primark than my home town, which means whenever I go in there is always so much more choice in both items and sizing.
A few weeks ago I took a trip into town with a friend who came to stay and we went a bit mad in primark, especially in the jumper section! However, the three jumpers that I did pick up have quickly become staple items in my wardrobe and my go to when it is freezing cold outside.

The first is this nude / almost mauve number. I had my eye on this for a couple of weeks before we went shopping so I knew straight away that I was going to buy it. I bought it in a size bigger so it was more cosy, but it is a longer than normal jumper anyway, so if you are someone who likes jumpers to cover their bums then this is perfect. It is also quite thick and very soft as it is part of their 'cotton' range. I picked this up for £14, so the most expensive out of all the jumpers, but still an extremely good, affordable price for students.

The second is this grey jumper. this is different to jumpers I would normally wear as it has quite a box type structure to it, which doesn't normally suit me, but when I tried this on I couldn't leave it behind. I really like that cut out detail that it has in the back, as it makes it that little bit more unique compared to your bog standard grey jumper. This one was only £10 which I think is an amazing deal. I have also recently spotted it in a blush pink colour, so I may have to treat myself to another!

The third and final jumper is this super fluffy pink one. I normally wouldn;t go for something this fluffy, but when I tried it on it just couldn't resist how soft it was. I also don't have any jumpers with such a loose turtle neck style, so I am glad I found this as it is really comfortable and kind of doubles up as a scarf on those slightly colder mornings. This one was £12 and they also had it in a cream/ off-white colour, but for me personally I would stain it straight away so I won;t be adding that one to my collection.

I hope you liked seeing my go to jumpers? Do you have any jumpers you reach for on a frosty morning? Let me know in the comments.

i'm Back! Re-Launching my blog.

It has been a long time since I have sat down and wrote a blog post for a number of reasons, the main one being moving to university. After 2 months, I think I have worked out my routine and balance of university work and free time.allowing me to start blogging again.

I was originally planning to re-launch on 1st January, but there are a few Christmas related posts I would like to do and I would also need to write a lot of the new post in advance due to being away until the 11th January. Therefore, I have decided that I will re-launch today, and throughout December there will be a post at 12pm every Sunday and in January there will be new posts on Wednesdays and Sundays at 12pm.

I'm excited to start getting back into this. If anyone has any post ideas, let me know in the comments section and also don't forget to subscribe to email reminders to make sure you don't miss out on any of my posts!

3 Months Post Operation

Before I get into this update I wanted to clear up a few things. The first being the fact I haven't posted anything for almost a month. The main reason for this is the fact I moved to university and also I was able to do a lot more things and go out a lot more than I had been able to previously. 

The second thing that I want to address is the purpose of this blog. It has recently come to my attention that certain people think that I am using it as a way of attention seeking, which is not the case at all. I am posting about my experience with a less common operation to help inform other people that may be going through the same thing in the future, as when I was looking for advice and other peoples experiences there wasn't many to look at!  As for my other posts about make-up, books, or my experiences they are in no way attention seeking, but rather a way of sharing my thoughts which may help people make decisions about buying products.

The main thing to take away from these points is that if you have a problem with what I am writing, are not interested in any of the topics I post about or are just reading to pointlessly criticise on the sly, then I would suggest that you either don't read it at all, or have the decency to actual make a comment on the related post.

Now that those things have been addressed I can now tell you about the changes with my ankle over the last month. There are three main changes that I want to talk about, that have really made a difference to recovery.

1). I had my last hospital appointment at the end of September, where they took more x-rays both weight bearing and non-weight bearing. I then met with one of the specialists I had been seeing and he was very pleased with the recovery since I was last seen in August. I was given the all clear to walk fully weight bearing whilst wearing my insoles. I was also told at this appointment that I would no longer need to go to regular appointments as they were pleased with the outcome, so now I only have to go back if I have a problem with either ankle in the future. I also managed to get some pictures of the metal plate and pins that are in my ankle too!

2). I can now walk! This may not seem like a big thing, but after being on crutches for 6 weeks, and in an air cast for 5 weeks, still using crutches every now and then, being able to walk without any support (apart from my insoles) is a big achievement. A few days before I had my last hospital appointment I realised that it was actually a little bit more comfortable for me to walk in my shoes rather than my air cast. This was because the front panel of the cast was digging into my shin every time I took a step, as my ankle and leg had started to move more within the cast as my muscle started to build back up.
To begin with, I struggled to walk 'normally' as it was still painful and very stiff, so I had a very odd limp and often used my hip to move my leg rather than my knee and ankle. (I didn't realise I was doing it at the time). Since moving to university I have been forced to walk more than I was whilst at home which means I have recovered much quicker. The first few days were very painful, especially when the path was uneven and caused my ankle to twist in ways in was not flexible enough too and I struggled to get my foot into any shoe because of the swelling. However, after just over a week the pain was almost completely gone, it didn't feel as stiff and the swelling was nowhere near as bad. I am now also able to stand on my right foot (on one leg) without holding onto anything, and I can twist it about a lot more. Although It almost back to normal I still can't stand on my tiptoes and after sitting in lecture for 2-3 hours, it often clicks and crunches when I start to walk on it again.

3). My final change is that all my 'scab' has come off of the scar down the side of my foot and has revealed a very small, neat scar that I am sure will fade away to pretty much nothing. I also no longer experience pain in my hip.

If you are having an operation like this in the near future and are worried about the recovery time, I would say that after 3 months you will feel almost back to normal, obviously that depends on how healthy you are and how well you follow doctors instructions. I know when I was looking for advice there was a lot of people saying they were on crutches for months and months and that they still weren't recovered a year later, but from my personal experience (3 months and no physio) I don't think it takes that long to feel like you can walk 'normally' again, admittedly I could go for a run, or jump up and down exercising, but I can definitely walk just as well as I could before the operation.

If anyone does have any questions about the recovery period, or about the experience. Feel free to ask and I will try and answer them the best I can 

Liquid Lipstick Collection

As most people already know, I am quite the fan of make-up and have an ever growing collection. That being said the biggest part of my collection is lip products. I recently discovered 'liquid lipsticks' and they are now my go-to lip product as they are so easy to apply and long lasting. As you can see I have quite a few, most of which are matte finishes as that is my preferred style. I also prefer nudes colour to bright pinks and red as they are much easier to pull off on a daily basis. I have left links to all the shades avaliable at the end of the post.

From Left to Right:

• Make-up Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer: Velvet Vamp  
• NYC Liquidd Lipshine: Wine n Dine
• Make-up Revolution Ultra Velour Lip Cream: Say Yes it's What We Do Best 
• MUA Luxe Whipped Velvet: Majestic 
• Make-up Revolution Ultra Velour Lip Cream: All I Think About is You
• Rimmel London Show Off (Apocalips) Lip Lacquer: Celestial 
• Wet n Wild Vicious Varnish High Shine Lip Stain: Legendary Face 
• Make-up Revolution Salvation Velvet Lacquer: What I Beleive 
• Rimmel London Show Off Matte (Apocalips): Atomic Rose 
• Make-up Revolution Ultra Velour Lip Cream: Can't We Just Make Love Instead
• Make-up Revolution Ultra Velour Lip Cream: Their Eyes Can;t Find Us
• MUA Luxe Whipped Velvet: Spry 
• Make-up Revolution Salvation Intense Lacquer: Barely There
• Make-up Revolution Salvation Intense Lacquer: More Than I Could Give
• Make-up Revolution Ultra Velour Lip Cream: Move Your Mouth Forever

When doing these swatches I noticed that the Make-up Revolution Ultra Velour Lip Cream in Can't We Just Make Love Instead was an exact dupe for the Rimmel London Matte Show Off in Atomic Rose. If you like this shade then I would suggest purchsing the Make-up Revolution product at £3 rather than the Rimmel London at £6.49, as it save you almost £4.

If you enjoyed having a sneak peak at my make-up collection, let me know in the comments and I will share some more with you. Also let me know what your staple lip product is and why.

A Day Trip to The Beach

Yesterday I spent the day at Skegness with my family. Skegness is somewhere we used to visit every year camping when we were younger, so it was nice to go back for a day trip as we haven't been camping for so long!

We got up at 6am with the intention to set off at 6:30, but of course, that is not the time we ended up leaving as Luke has great difficulty rising before lunchtime as a 14 year old. The drive took just a little over 2 hours and we arrived in the town at 9:15am. Due to it being a Sunday this meant that nowhere was open until 10am, including anywhere to get breakfast, so we stopped off at Mcdonalds for Luke to get breakfast (He insisted that he was too hungry to wait 20 minutes to go for a proper breakfast).

The day started at Morrisons Cafe, where me, mum, Zoe and dad had a big cooked breakfast. Whenever we used to go camping we would leave at 6am and always stop at Morrisons for breakfast as nowhere would be open that early, so we carried on the tradition and it was very yummy! In fact, it was that nice that I had eaten most of it before I realised I didn't take any pictures!

The next stop was Fantasy Island. Fantasy Island is essentially just a giant market full of junk, but occasionally there are some good things. I picked up some bed sheets and egg cups ready for university and also a couple of pairs of sunglasses. Once we had walked around the entire market and brought everything we wanted to we headed back to the town and seafront, which is about a 5 minute drive. We looked around a few shops in the town before stopping at a bakery to get some cakes to eat in the park. There wasn't actually any cakes that I fancied so had some cheese straws instead. We sat on a bench in the park whilst we ate our cakes, I also took this opportunity to take off my air boot and let my foot move for a little bit. 

Arcades were the next things we did, a fair amount of time was spent at the arcade on the pier, winning tickets before heading down to the beach. Instead of going on the sand we sat on the wall as the sand was still quite wet from the rain the previous day. Of course, you can't go to the beach without getting fish and chips, so that is what we did. I actually ended up having sausage and chips and I was feeling a little bit sick from all the walking I had been doing. (It had been the furthest I had walked since having my cast taken off, with no crutches and one crutch) But it was still very nice!

Finally, Zoe, Luke and dad went on the fair, whilst me and mum waited on various benches as I had given up on walking or standing at this point, even though I was having a good day. Before heading back to the car we had ice-creams from a place called Bizze-Lizzes where we used to get ice creams from all the time when we went camping.

The journey home took longer than the way there and we arrived home just before 10pm and I went straight up to bed and fell asleep. As I am writing this I am still quite tired and am aching, but it was a lovely day out and I am lucky that I can spend the day resting.

Make-up Revolution Blusher Palette Review

Last week I shared my thoughts about an all matte palette from one of my favourite brands and today I am talking about two more palettes, expect this time they are blusher rather than eyeshadow.

Much like the eyeshadow palette I have had these two a long time, so I have had a chance to used them multiple times and decide what I really think about them. I will leave links to both palettes I have talked about at the end of the post.

The first one I am going to talk about is the cream blusher palette, which I ordered right at the beginning of the year in the sale. I decided I wanted to try cream blusher as I had seen a lot of people using them online, especially during the 'clown' contouring craze and I already owned quite a lot of individual powder blushers. When I was scrolling through the website looking for a blusher I liked I came across this palette and decided staright away that I wanted to try it. I paid £6 for this product, which I think is an amazing deal for 8 fairly large pans. When I first used this product I was a little bit worried about the texture as they were very creamy and I didn't want them to look greasy or slide down my face throughout the day, but that doesn't happen at all. The colour pay off is really good, meaning a little goes a long way, so it is very easy to accidently apply too much and look like a clown. The only negative thing I have to say about this product is the fact that some of the colours are a little bit too bright for my liking, but that is down to personal opinion rather than a fault with the product.

All About Creams Palette

The second palette I am talking about looks almost idetical to the first one, However it is a powder formulation rather than a cream. This palette I brought in a christmas gift set for £10 which came with two brushes, so i'm not sure if its avaliable on the webiste anymore.. I have previously tried lots of he individual powder blushes from the brand and loved every single one, so decided to but a palette as it would be more travel friendly for holidays. When I recieved the product I was shocked with the quality, normally when you buy a palette containing tis many products the quality isn't as high as buying the individual ones, however they feel the same if not slightly better than the indvidual blushes. If you haven't tried any of the blushers from Make-up Revolution I would highly recomment trying out one of their blusher palettes as you have 8 different shades to try out, which works out £2 cheaper than buying them all individually.

A more recent blush palette I have been loving is Blush Godess which includes 4 blush shades and 4 highlight shades for only £6! If you have tried any Make-up Revolution products that you think I might like please let me know in the comments, so I can try them out.

Back to School Essentials

I'm not sure when everyone goes back to school or university, but I know that my brother and sister both went back to school today and I go to university towards the end of the month. I thought I would share some of my back to school essentials in case anyone still needs to do a last minute stationary run.

I have gathered together a huge amount of stationary, so that I had plenty to last me for the entire year. Of course not everything is essential, but it's aways better to be prepared for anything. Below I have listed all the items in the picture to give you a rough idea of the kind of things you might want to buy, if you haven't done so already.

Top 10 Essentials:

Pens 

I prefer to use rollerball pens, rather than ink or gel

Pencils 

Both HB and coloured pencils are useful

Sharpener and Rubber set

Pencil Case 

Of course you need some way of transporting all your stationary

Revision cards 

You might not need them at the beginning of the year, but at least you have them ready for exam season.

 Post-it Notes 

I have way more than any person would need, but they are useful for jotting down things you need to get finished.

NoteBooks 

A lot of schools provide exercise books, but in 6th form or university you are expected to bring your own.

Ruler 

You may also want to buy a full geometry set, depending on what year you're in.

Highlighters 

These are always helpful when taking notes from textbooks or annotating work.

Memory Stick 

If you know a lot of your work is going to be computer-based it is definitely worth buying yourself a memory stick as it makes it much easier to work on the same thing at both home and school.

Of course you don't have to buy everything I have mentioned and you can definitely buy more if you wish to do so. For example, I brought a lot of extra things that wouldn't be classed as essential. For example: Fine Liner pens, Whiteboard markers, Plastic wallets, gel pens and an excessive amount of post-it notes.

I hope everyone has a good first day back at school/college or university.

Make-up Revolution Ultra Mattes Palette Review

This week I have been sorting through all of my make-up and organising it into boxes ready for when I move to univeristy in 3 weeks time. Doing so has reminded my of how many products I have that I love using on a daily basis. One of these is the Ultra Mattes Palette from the brand Make-up Revolution - one of my favourite drug store brands. 

I have had this palette for a few months now and have used it many times, so I thought why not share it with other people who may also like it. You can order this palette online from here or here, or alternatively you can buy it from a Superdrug shop and it only costs £8, which I think is an extremly good price for 32 different shades. Recently the Ultra Mattes 2 palette has been released which I am yet to try, but it can be purchased here or here, again for only £8.

The main reason I always reach for this palette when I do my everyday make-up is the fact all the colours are matte, that probably seems silly to say because obviosuly they are all matte, it is a matte palette, but I have so many other palettes that have lovely neutral shades in, however they are always sparkly which isn't ideal for using in the crease or when you want to go for a more sutle look. I love having a palette that is all matte as it means that I have 32 different neutral shades to choose from instead of 3 or 4, meaning I can create so many different make-up looks.

One look that I have been loving recently is using peachy shades mixed with a little bit of the dark brown in the crease and the cream colour in the top left corner all over the lid as it is a very natural look. If I want to make it look a little bit more fancy I add a little bit of my highlighter to the inner third of my lid and it's done.

I know there have been a lot of mixed reviews about the Make-up Revolution products, a lot of people love the brand whilst other people don't like the products at all. I am one of the people that love the brand and all of th products that I have tried from them. I think the quality is really good for the money you are paying, of course its not going to be as good as a palette that cost £40, but I personally believe that it depends on how it is applied to how long it lasts anyway. I have never had a problem with any of the products I have used when I have applied them using primers and my real techniques brushes. I used to put my make-up on at 7am and it would still be there when I got in from school at 3pm.

If anyone is looking for some matte eyeshadows or just looking for a good starter eyeshadow palette I would highl recommend this one, as it gives you so many options for a really affordabl price.

In Real Life, My Joureny To the Pixelated World: Joey Graceffa

I haven't read a book in over a month which might be quite surprising considering I have posted 4 other book reviews in the last month, but that is because during July I read a lot of books whilst I was lying in bed. It only takes me a couple of days to read a book if i get really into it which means I had lots of reviews already lined up before I even started by blog.

I am now back to enjoying reading after taking a little break and this is the first thing that I decided to read. It has been sitting on my book shelf for quite some time now as I bought it after I saw youtube star Zoella had read it. I don't regularly watch Joey's videos however, when he first started to become big on Youtube I had seen a few of his collabs and vlogs so I knew a little bit about him.

If you have never heard about him before or only know a little bit like I did before reading this book then you are likely to enjoy this book. (that's if you're into youtube) The book really goes into detail about Joey's childhood and the reasons why he started his Youtube channel including the journey he took to get to the point he is at now with over 6.5 million subscribers.

Something I really like about the book is the fact it is truthful and completely open. In a lot of autobiographies people choose to only talk about all their good childhood memories such as family holidays and special occasions, whereas Joey not only talks about some of his good memories, but it also open and honest about the struggles he faced growing up in a household with an alcoholic. I think this a great quality about the book as it just proves to people that what you see of someone online isn't all there is to them and that everyone had their own personal battles and problems that they have to deal with. I personally think that writing a book like this is a fantastic way of helping other people who may be going through a similar situation - which was Joey's aim.

As I mentioned before even though I don't regularly watch Joey's videos I have a lot of respect for him after reading such a personal experience that he has made public to the entire world. If he was to release another book I would definitely buy it straight away as I really enjoyed his style of writing - it felt more like listening to a friend telling you a story rather than reading a book.

2 Months Post Operation

It seemed fitting to give a little update on how I am doing with recovering from my operation today, as yesterday was exactly 2 months since I had the surgery. In my original post (which you can read here) I talked about the reason why I had this operation and said I would leave recovery until I was fully mobile again. However, that is not why I am writing this post - I am still not walking properly. Instead, I am writing this post in case anyone else has had this operation or is going to have this operation and wants to know exactly what it is like afterwards - the things the doctors don't tell you.

 I have spent ages looking online for advice, but it appears that not many people have shared their experiences with this type of operation, so that is what I am going to do.

A quick summary of what I have experienced up until now is 2 weeks in what they call a 'back slab' cast, a further 4 weeks in a light weight cast (all of which was non-weight bearing) and 

I am currently in an air cast boot, which I have had for 2 and a half weeks weight bearing as and when I can. I will be doing a post on my whole experience once I am fully recovered which will have a lot more detail, but for now understanding where I am at is enough.

I had my cast removed on the 11th August where I was then fitted with an air cast boot to help me transition to full weight bearing. I only have to wear this boot for walking which means times like this when I am sat in bed, or watching TV I don't need to wear it. It also means that I have finally been able to have baths again which was something I missed for the 6 weeks I was in plaster.

When my cast was first removed I was sent for x-rays and saw the specialist where we discovered that I had some desensitisation on the outside of my foot. When he touched that side of my foot it sent a weird feeling that I can only describe as painful pins and needles down my foot. When I signed the consent forms I was told this was a risk however, the doctors said I may loose feeling on some parts of my skin due to nerve damage, not that I wouldn't be able to feel certain parts of my foot at all. For example, when I place my foot flat on the floor I have to look at it to check the outside of my foot is actually touching the floor because I cannot feel it myself. It also means that I can't feel my baby toe or move it like I used to be able to.

Another thing I wasn't warned about was the fact I would lose all the muscle on my calf whilst in plaster. The first I heard any mention of this was when I went for my 2 week cast change where the doctor said I was already starting to lose muscle. However, as you can see from the picture below I have no muscle left at all which is making it very hard for my to try and walk because everything pulls and feels like it's going to tear or snap.

Something else I have also struggled with, which is related to the fact I have no muscle left and all the tendons have become stiff  is moving my foot. To begin with I could not move it at all, but I can now move it up and down slowly - nowhere near as much as I can on my left foot though. However, no matter how hard to try I cannot move my foot from side to side using just my ankle, the only time it moves is when I used my knee to rotate it. As for doing circles with my ankle that's pretty much mission impossible,

I have searched for ways to strengthen and loosen my tendons and muscles, but a lot of them are for people who have broken their ankles, rather than had an operation that alters the shape of their foot, so they are able to do things such as circle their foot and stand on their tip toes with no problem.

I move to university in just over 3 weeks and I still cannot walk unaided which is starting to worry me a little bit now, as I won't have anyone to help me with things I cannot do. I also have a hospital appointment the day before I move which is my 12 week x-rays where they want to take the air cast boot away from me which means that in the next 3 weeks I need to not only learn how to walk in the boot without crutches, but I also need to learn to walk without the boot which is going to be extremely difficult as walking with crutches is still very painful at times.

I have decided that starting from today I am going to go on two walks a day - only around the block to try and strengthen my ankle and get used to walking on it. I am also going to try and do some of the exercises I have found online multiple times a day in an attempt to be walking by myself in 3 weeks time.

If anyone else has experienced a similar operation and knows of anything I can do to help please let me know in the comments.

Crazy Weekend

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I missed my post on Monday due to having a super busy weekend. If I haven't pre-written a blog post for Monday I normally do one on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning at the latest as they go live at lunchtime. 

This weekend was one of the busiest I have had in a long time, as I haven't really been getting out/ doing much due to being on crutches still. However, on Saturday night myself, Connor, Zoe and my mum and dad went out for a meal to celebrate my exam results. (Luke was away on a Cadets camp) After the meal we came home and tried some of the muffins dad had brought home from work and stayed up quite late talking about all kinds of things.

On Sunday morning we all got up quite late and I spent time going through my tenancy agreement for the apartment I had found for university and signing all the relevant bits that needed doing by the 22nd. We then when out to do a little bit of shopping as dad needed some more work trousers and I wanted to have a look at some bits ready for when I move out. I ended up buying quite a lot of things, but all of it will come in handy! Luke also came home from his camp on Sunday evening so we ordered kebabs as a welcome home meal because he had been living off of army camp food for 8 days.

Dad went back to Norwich on Monday morning, Zoe went shopping in Milton Keynes and me, mum and Luke went to Daventry to go and buy Lukes new school uniform. We left the house at around 8:30am as we were getting the bus which would take 45 minutes. When we got to Daventry we then got a taxi to the school shop as we weren't sure how to walk there and being on crutches it would take me a very long time. However, we decided to walk back from the school shop which did take a very long time and in the process I ended up with a huge blister on my right hand. Luckily, I had discovered that I could walk a small distance with just my left crutch on Sunday, so that is what I did. It was not a very pleasant experience, in fact it was quite painful as I walked for miles with one crutch, stopping every now and then to add a little more air into my boot.

I have struggled with trying to walk with just one crutch for a long time because I am too scared that it will hurt too much, but that situation just proved to me that although it is painful, I can still do it and I need to keep practicing if I want to be down to one crutch when I go to university next month. 

Pretty Is - Maggie Mitchell (Book Review 4)

I really enjoyed this book. Before my operation I started buying more books to read whilst I am off for the summer. I tended to buy books from supermarkets such as Tesco or Asda as they do the 2 for £7 deal which makes books much more affordable than buying them individually from Waterstone or Whsmiths. I actually didn;t pick this book out myself, I had already selected one book and was unsure of which book to get as the second one and Connor pointed this one out and i knew straight away that it was definitely going to be something I would want to read.

The book itself is split into 4 main parts, rather than chapters as many other books are, so I am going to speak about each part as a lot happens in each section.

Part One

On the back of the book it mentions that two girls named Lois and Carly were abducted at 12 years old, but went on to live very different lives with new identities. In this first section we learn a bit about the girls current identities now that they are almost 30 years old. Lois has become a teacher and also written a book under the name Lucy, whilst Carly has become an actor under the name Chloe. I enjoyed this section as it included both past and present events, where both girls spent a lot of their current lives looking back and reflecting on the details of when they were abducted and also the reactions of their families when they were discovered in the cabin. Something that is also really interesting is that both girls are aware of one another, yet not in contact. Lois has seen Carly in movies and Carly has been cast to play a role in the film based on Lois's book. It is all very complicated, dark and mysterious, but it really hooks you in.

The section is broken down into characters, by this I mean Lois will narrate about her life and what she is going through and then Chloe, it alternated between the two for the entire book. (excluding section 2)

Part Two

Part two is a little bit different to the other sections of the book, in both the way it is written and the details it focuses on. Instead of being written in first person as all the other sections are this one is written in third person and is an extract from the book Lois wrote. Her book is based on the girls abduction, but is not 100% true to what actually happened, things have been twisted slightly to make it more appealing to the reader and stop people linking Lucy to Lois.

Within this section there is a lot of details about when the girls were taken in by their abductor and the kinds of things they got up to whilst in the cabin, such as reading and playing cards. It also focuses on the way they were treated by the man who took them and how it was not the way you would expect a kidnapper to act with two young girls. Right at the very end of the section there is a page describing how the girls were discovered by the police and what happened to the kidnapper, but nowhere near the amount of detail you would want at that point in the book, which again keeps you hooked.

Part Three

This section returned to the style of writing mentioned in section one and focused very largely on the girls current lives and the problems they were facing. Lois was having problems with a student at school, but not the ordinary behaviour problems something much more dark and twisted ( I don't want to say too much and give away the story) whilst Carly doesn't appear to have anything dark and twisted happening in her life. A lot of her time is spent thinking about her father and step mother who used to drag her around the country for beauty pageants when she was a little girls. However, Carly does finish the section with a dramatic exit. (Not death)

Part Four

For me this was personally the most interesting section of the book. That doesn't mean the other were not interesting, this just had more mystery and everything started to fall into place and become clear to the reader. It continues to follow the same theme as section three by focusing on the girls current lives, but their journey towards being reconnected through the film production. A lot happens in the last section that makes everything fall into place, but there really isn't much that can be said without ruining the plot of the book so I will have to leave it at that and recommend that you give it a read!

Overall I really got into this book. I normally go for easier reads - the romantic drama types or high school expeiences, but I am glad I branched out and read something slightly different and will most certainly be reading more 'thriller' type books over summer as they are so captivating and when you make it to the end and everything falls into place it is great, especailly as you cannot work out the ending at all throughout the book.

If you like reading, but are on a budget you can pick up some great books on the 2 for £7 deals, so there is no need to miss out! Also if anyone has read any 'thriller/mystery books like this let me know in the comments because I am on the hunt for some more to read.

Results Day

As many people know it was A-Level results day yesterday, which meant there were thousands of students all over the country frantically waiting to find out whether they had achieved the grades they need to get into university. 

From 8 am you could log onto the UCAS website to find which university had confirmed your place based on your results. I logged on at 8am expecting it to take a long time or crash since thousands of students would have been trying to access their accounts too. However, this was not the case, I got in straight away and found out that my insurance choice had confirmed my place as I had missed the grades for my firm choice.

I then went up to my school at 9am to collect my actual grades. At this point I wasn't worried at all because I already knew I had my place at university regardless of what was inside the envelope. Even though I didn’t get into Bristol University which was my first choice I am not disappointed, in fact I actually think getting De Montfort is much better for me in terms of being able to get home much quicker, which is very important with all the hospital appointments I am still having to go to.

The grades I needed for Bristol were AAB which are very good grades, however I ended up with ABBB, but like I said I am not disappointed in any way at all. I still achieved very good grades which I am proud of considering I missed a month of school and spent the last 8 months of school hating it. As much as I would have loved to be going to Bristol university, I know I am going to get on much better closer to home at this stage in recovery from my operation, but there’s nothing stopping me study my masters in Bristol one day.

I hope everyone got the grades they were hoping for and are on the journey they wanted to be on whether that’s going to university, starting an apprenticeship or continuing into their second year of A- Levels.

Also good luck to all the GCSE students that receive their results next week.

Me Me Me - Charlotte Crosby (Book Review 3)

This week I decided to read something a little different to what I normally read and opted for an autobiography. This is the first autobiography I have read and it has definitely made me want to go out and buy some more!

Charlotte Crosby is best known for the time she spent in MTV Geordie Shore, but also has her own workout DVD's, clothing range and Youtube channel. I loved watching her on TV as she is hilarious and also very inspiring. When I brought the book I wasn't sure how much I would like it as I have always had the opinion that biographies are slightly boring and don't really contain anything you couldn't find on the internet. However, Charlottes book changed that opinion. 

It was very easy to read and contained lots of  funny stories about when she was growing up. It did not feel like I was reading a book, but instead felt like I was listening to a friend share their funny memories. If you have watched Geordie Shore and love Charlotte you definitely need to read the book.

Has anyone else read the book? Let me know your favourite autobiographies in the comments

Why I Had an Operation on My Ankle

I think this post is likely to be quite lengthy, as it was a long journey towards having my operation, so grab a drink and get comfy!

I have had a problem with my right ankle since the age of 10/11. In primary school, I used to be part of the cross country team and competed in races every year, as well as the athletics team which also competed in some competitions.

When I was in my last year of primary school, I took part in a race - the same one I had done for the past 3 years except this one didn’t end so well. I finished the race and came in the top 30, but as soon as I stopped running I couldn’t walk. I was trying to go over to my mum and pap (he used to be a runner when he was younger, so he used to be near the end to cheer me on) but my ankle collapsed on me. The race was in a big park close to where I live and there were people from St.Johns ambulance there in case anyone got injured during the races, instead of having to wait for ambulances. I went over to them to find out what I had done to my ankle and why I couldn’t walk and they assured me that I had just pulled a muscle and it would be fine after a bit of rest. Clearly, that was not the case as I have now had an operation on that same ankle.

Fast forward a few years and I had been to see numerous doctors about why I was still in pain when I walked and why my ankle swelled up so much if I did anything physical at all. This meant that I was stopped from taking part in any sports and P.E lessons in school, which was very annoying as I had always done sports before I hurt my ankle. Most of the doctors said I had a very flat foot and that was causing all the pain, but I tried every type of insole including custom made ones and nothing helped at all. Eventually, I was referred to the specialist in Northampton and had x-rays and MRI’s to find out what was going on.

When my uncle was 9 he had similar problems and had to have an operation during which they discovered he had a bone missing from his foot, so he ended up having a bone taken from his knee to correct it. When the x-rays and scans came back they showed that I didn’t have a bone missing, but instead actually had an extra little bone which they suspected had actually been a fracture that had gone untreated for so long. However, this didn’t solve any problems. The specialist was actually extremely rude and told me that if I wanted anything done I would have to pay privately because no one would do something to a child. Of course this was extremely annoying because I had been having these problems for 5 years at this point and no one was willing to try and so anything to stop it, so I went back to my own doctor who referred me to another specialist – the one who carried out my operation and we finally made progress.

The first appointment I had with him, he suggested that I may have a condition known Marfan's syndrome which is a condition that affects the connective tissues in your body which multiple different physical problem such as hypermobility in joints or stiffness. This would mean that any treatment such as surgery to correct my foot could be reversed by my own connective tissue. (my tissues could cause my ankle to collapse again) I was sent for heart scans, eye tests and met with a Marfan's specialist, but the results indicated that I suffered with EDS rather than Marfan's which meant that operating was more of an option.

After many hospital appointments with multiple foot and ankle surgeons it was decided that I was going to have an operation to correct the non-existent arch in my foot. There was speak of two different operations that could be done one involved putting an internal brace into my arch to hold it in place and the other involved lengthening the outside of my foot which would push everything back into place somehow. (I’m not really sure how it works) After the surgeons had a meeting together they decided it would be best to avoid the brace as it was something that my foot could reverse again itself because of the hypermobility.

My operation was arranged for when I finished my A-levels, has I had already missed a month of school from having my appendix removed in October, which meant that my summer was going to be spent in plaster, not being able to put weight on my foot.

It’s been just over 6 weeks now since I had the operation and I still have a long way to go until I am fully recovered, but when I am I will write another post about the details of the operation and the stages of recovery.

Barry M Speedy Dry Nail Polish Collection

Today I thought I would share my  favourite nail polishes with you and it just so happens it is an entire collection that is affordable for people who are on a budget, but still want to treat themselves to pretty nails. These Polishes are £3.99 each from both Boots and Superdrug, but there are always different deals going on. For example, I brought the collection on a 3 for 2 deal and I know Boots often have a 2 for £7 deal as well making them that little bit more affordable.

From Top Left to Bottom Right:

Dragster
Pit Stop
SuperSonic 
Stop the Clock 
Winning Streak 
In a Flash 
Full Throttle 
On Your Marks
Road Rage
Pole Position
Eat My Dust 
Kiss me Quick 
Speed Demon 
FreeStyle 
In a Heart Beat 
Turbo Charged 
Get Set Go 
Dead Heat 
Lap of Honour 
Personal Best 
Need for Speed
Slip Streak 
Sprint Finish 

As you can see almost all of the colours are named after something racing related matching the collection name which I think is really cool. 

There are also a few colours in the collection that are shimmery, these are Supersonic, Speed Demon and Turbo Charged. The reason these nail polishes are my favourite is because they really are speedy dry, it takes around 5 seconds and the nail is dry as long you don't but a very thick layer of colour on of course. You also don't need to do too many coats to match the colour in the bottle, in fact with many of them you can get away with just the one coat and you're good to go.

My top 3 colours from the collection are FreeStyle, Personal Best and Full Throttle. have you tried the speedy dry collection, let me know what your favourite shades are in the comments below.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green (Book Review 2)

Last week I finished reading yet another John Green book and really enjoyed it, as it is very different to books I have read previously. The story is about two teenagers called Will Grayson, both lead very different lives which eventually cross each other to make a great ending to the novel. 

One of the things that made this book different to ones I have previously is that alternative chapters are written from each Will Grayson's Perspective, the way in which the reader can distinguish between the two characters is the fact one it capitalized and the other is all lower case. Something that makes it even more unique is the fact that each of the Will Grayson characters were written by a different author. (John Green wrote all the odd numbered chapters and David Leuthan wrote all the even-numbered chapters). It is essentially like reading two different books at the same time that have the same ending.

The thing that stood out the most to me when reading this book is that it is the first book I have come across that focuses on the LGBT community in a non-stereotypical way. I have read books previously where the main character has a 'gay best friend' who is portrayed as your stereotypical overly feminine male, but not a book that has been about the LGBT community without being stereotypical.

Has anyone read any other books like this that I might enjoy?

Family Holiday - Orlando (2015)

Whilst organising my laptop the other day I came across some of the photo's from our holiday to Orlando in February 2015. We are going back in December, so looking through them is making me even more excited, so I decided to share some of them with you!

I love looking back at holiday photos, especially when I know I will be back there again soon and able to take even more!