Weight concerns...

Weight blog
Ok so im doing this post about my weight, or should i say my lack of weight and why i am always this way.
This post isn't to make people feel sorry for me or to make other girls jealous, it is to show people that not every girl that is abnormally skinny has an eating disorder and not everyone wants to be stick thin.

Ever since I can remember I have been tiny. Small in height, small in shoes size, small in weight; pretty
Much just small in everything. Growing up my nickname was Minnie or titch as I was so small and my family always used to say, when you turn 11 or 12 you will put on weight, your brother filled out at that age. However when I finally got to that age, nothing happened.

Through secondary school I wasn't bullied for my weight but I was called anorexic* and bulimic* on the rare occasion! This didn't bother me that much because I knew it wasn't true, what was more hurtful was the fact I couldn't come back with an answer that would make these bullies stop thinking it, because I didn't know what the answer was myself. I was skinny, too skinny and I ate quite a bit for Someone my size, but I couldn't explain why I was the way I was.

The most weight I have ever been Is 7st but that was only for about a month and then I lost it again. My weight is pretty much opposite to most other people's in the sense I can drop weight at the click of a finger yet It will take me a long time to put on weight, and when it goes on all it takes is a little tiny illness or smaller amount of food and my weight will decrease again!

So why does this happen to me?

Until I was 17 no one knew. I had blood test after blood test which stressed me out even more as I hate the thought of losing blood, silly I know. I had prescription drugs coming out of my ears, you name it, I was on it, and I was diagnosed with anaemia, diabetes, bulimia! Again... You name it I was at some point diagnosed with it... But they were wrong.

One day I felt so unwell mum took me to hospital and finally I had loads of tests done on my body and they found out I had high calcium levels.
My calcium levels were the highest they had recorded in a young person for years. This meant I had to have a gland in my throat, the parathyroid gland, taken out as it was containing too much calcium.

Finally, after a month I had the operation and it went all o.k. Also I started to get more colour in my face and put on gradual weight. I went straight up to 7 stone from 6 in a month and managed to keep it for a while. I could eat without throwing up and I could actually enjoy food and the feeling of being full. It felt amazing.

To this day, I am so happy that I had that operation and that I don't have to deal with the symptoms of being sick and being so skinny anymore. I won't have to explain to people why I look so unwell without having a
Explanation as to why I look like that. I don't miss that at all.


I will always be small I think, I will never be massive but I look a healthier size than i did before hand. I am small frames anyway so luckily it suits my size, and I have filled out a little bit. The only thing I know have to deal with is when people don't believe that I eat a lot. But when they get to know me they realise I eat as much as the next person it just takes time for my body to gain weight.

I believe my story proves that just because one person is skinnier than another, it doesn't make them prettier, it doesn't make them healthier and it certainly doesn't make them more happy. Everyone has their own body and their own size and as long as they love it and are confident then other people will too.

It also proves that when someone Is underweight, it doesn't mean they always want to be that way. Just because someone is small doesn't mean they are anorexic, bulimic or are on strict diets. It could naturally just be the way they are. Just like overweight people may just have a condition or symptoms which makes them this way. Not everyone can control their health and their body size .

Blog 5 - Cover story dreams

I have so many dreams to just be able to write about fashion, relationships and advice. To be able to write my personal stories to everyone, to express my opinions and views and I guess that my major dream would to write in the pages of Cosmopolitan Magazine.


Cosmopolitan is my idol when it comes to magazines, it has everything, the juice, the advice pages, the real life stories, the star signs, you name it, it has it. Its everything that I would ever want ever month squeezed into 200 pages and therefore my cover story dreams would be to write for the advice/problem pages of cosmopolitan magazine.




 

Blog 4 - The coolest thing i found on google.

The coolest thing I have found on google is when you type in 'Do a barrel roll'.




Either try it yourself of check out this video!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TutBxEmKLXA

Blog 3 - 3 books you need to read

My top 3 books that i have read and would recommend are...

3) Wuthering Heights - i had to study and analyse this book for A-level English. It took a while to get into the story line but when you read a couple of chapters it turns into such a heartbreaking love story. its a very sad, moving read.

2) A child called it - this book is meant to be based on a true story about a boy growing up who was severely bullied by his mother. I read this book twice as i loved it so much and i cried both times. It is extremely sad and made me realize i was to have the family and upbringing i had. 

1) Noughts and Crosses - My favorite book that i have read is Noughts and Crosses. This book is based on a love story where two people cannot be together due to society, race and their families. I read this book on my plane journey home from Australia and the week after went out and bought the sequel..knife edge. 

Blog 2 - My last meal ever

So this is my first blog of 40 blogs. I have to do 40 blogs in 40 days all on different topics. This one is what would be my menu for my last meal ever, so I am going to write out my dream menu.

Starter

Garlic dough balls

Coca cola

Mains

Rare fillet steak with cheesy mash and mushroom sauce

A glass of rose wine

Desserts

Caramel cheesecake

Chocolate milkshake

Blog 1 - The One Thing I do everyday

Blog 1
The one thing I do everyday.

Okay so the second blog on this '40 blogs challenge' is the one thing I do everyday. So even though I do a lot of things everyday the most creative/different one I can think of is that I do something productive.
The one thing I do everyday is be productive.

I have a tendency to get bored easily and my brain switches off and I am quite impatient at times, so to keep myself occupied I always do something productive at least once a day. Usually it is clearing out my room, creating/designing cards or writing a blog or diary entry. Other days where I don't have time as I have work I make myself challenges  such a making a certain amount of tips at work or doing a Sudoku puzzle to keep my brain busy. This stops me from getting bored and also makes me feel like I have done something accomplishing throughout the day.

So the one thing I do everyday Is be productive!

40 Blogs in 40 days

I have recently wanted to broaden my horizons and blog about things other than fashion, and card-making so I searched for things to blog about online and I got a few tips. I found a few websites which gave me blog ideas and so I have decided to set myself a challenge of 40 blogs in 40 days and I am going to cover all of the blog ideas that I am interested in on these websites.

So here are the 40 topics.
 The menu for your last meal ever

·         The one thing I do everyday
        3 books you need to read 

·         The coolest thing I found on Google

·         Cover story dreams

·         A turning point

·         Thoughts winter brings to mind

·         Technology I can’t live without

·         What I wish they would invent

·         How I overcome challenges

·         Top 3 YouTube videos

·         The one thing I wish I’d known before…

·         If space travel were here today

·         My favourite quotes

·         Inspired creations

·         How to know you’re on the right path

·         What technology will be like in  10 years

·         Write a review on anything

·         Something from your past

·         Bad habits

·         My love affair with..

·         Fashion: your top 5 items

·         Top 5 movies

·         Something I could never give up

·         The once place in the world I want to go too

·         If I won the lottery what would I do

·         Dreaming big enough?

·         One person im glad I met

·         If  I were my mother I would tell myself

·         If I could interview someone dead

·         The hardest thing you've been through
        My bad habit 

·         9 things you just cant handle

·         The most difficult decision you ever made

·         Celebrity dinner, who would you invite

·         My favorite thing to do

·         An embarrassing moment

·         What makes you fall in love
        Why I blog 

Festive Card Designs

I have decided to design my own christmas cards for my close friends and family this year and these are what i have done so far 

Rough copy designs of crafts from a magazine 

Handcrafted Christmas present and sequin card 

Crafts from Poundland and The Range 

A holly design christmas card 

Chinese Cards

These are my Chinese card designs that i made which were inspired by a card magazine.

Quote of the day

This quote is so true

The Perfect Date?

What is your idea of a perfect date?

Dates, Dates, Dates!

Dates - the start of friendships, relationships and sometimes even love. But what makes a good date? What makes a perfect date? Is there even such a thing as a perfect date? In this article I interview 2 men, 1 woman and I also answer the questions myself to see how different peoples idea of a ‘perfect date’ really is and just how differently men and woman think when it comes to romance.

 The Men

Name: Joe

Age: 21

Interests: Rugby, Socialising and Music

Name: Lee

Age: 21

Interests: Football, PlayStation

 ,Technology.

Where will the date be/ what venue and why?

Joe:   Reasonably classy, that we could have a meal, but not too expensive. I would not want to seem like I’m trying to show off. However I would need to be nice enough to give off a good impression, and have a good atmosphere so the conversation can flow easily.

Lee:  Going for meal first somewhere not overcrowded which serves food we both enjoy which is neither too cheap nor expensive before going cinema. I don’t want to give off the impression that I’m trying too hard and not being myself. 

Who will pay and why?

Joe:  I would pay, however I would not like the girl to expect me to pay. I would pay because I would want to treat the girl as it was a date.

Lee:  I would pay, however if they wanted to split the bill between the two of us then I would happily oblige. I would like to pay as I want to treat the girl but if she prefers to split the bill then we shall do that.

 What will be the topic of conversation and why?

 Joe: I would not set a topic of conversation, would just get to know them better and try and make it relaxed so we could both feel comfortable and enjoy the date.

Lee:  I would maybe start with just getting to know her slowly and let her ask any questions she wanted to. I don’t want any fixed topic as I don’t want anything to seem awkward but instead for the conversation to keep flowing.

What would be the best thing that your date could do/say during the date?

Joe: Just enjoy the night and smile a lot. Making a girl laugh would be important to me but if they were able to open up in a more serious way it would be amazing as well.

Lee: Would like to see that she is smiling and laughing in my company and that she is enjoying the time out with me.

 What will be the end result/ what will happen at the end of the date?

 Joe: Drive the girl home, walk her to the door and say goodbye with either a hug or a kiss on the cheek. If was more of a kiss it would be good, however I would not be overly bothered.

Lee: Would walk her home and say that I hoped she enjoyed herself and if she wanted to maybe do something again sometime soon before saying goodbye, give her a kiss on the cheek or a hug. If it was more than a kiss on the cheek I wouldn’t be too bothered but would still be happy.

When asked ‘what is your idea of the perfect date?’ most people instantly answer with a venue or a place…do you agree that this is the key to the ideal date and why?

Joe-Lee:  Not at all, being with the right girl is much more important than where you go. Can still have a great time regardless of the location or how much you spend.

The Women

Name : Catherine

Age: 21

Interests: Socialising , Football and Arts/Crafts

Where will the date be/ what venue and why?

Catherine: A sociable restaurant or bar, where we can get to know each other, have good conversation and enjoy some good food.

2) Who will pay and why?

Catherine: I will offer to split the bill. I do not like men paying for me, and believe it’s fair to split the bill.

3) What will be the topic of conversation and why?

Catherine: Anywhere that the conversation leads, as long as it flows. I would like to talk about our interests and see how much we have in common.

What would be the best thing that your date could do/say during the date?

They would have to have a sense of humour and probably make me smile. If they can make me smile and make me laugh then I will have a good date.

What will be the end result/ what will happen at the end of the date?

Catherine: I would say goodbye to him with a hug or kiss if the date went well and we would arrange a second date.

When asked ‘what is your idea of the perfect date?’ most people instantly answer with a venue or a place…do you agree that this is the key to the ideal date and why?

Catherine: Definitely not, I believe that it is a combination of common interests, a spark and good conversation. It doesn’t matter if we are on a beach or in a bar, as long as we can communicate well it would be a good date for me.

Random Designs

These are just two designs of cards I made tonight.

Made from different glitter card.

I am planning to make sets of 4 for each design to put into packs.

 

 

 

 

Inspiring...

I saw this quote today, and I just stood for a good 5 minutes at it taking in what it said. It made me think about what I wanted. It is such an inspiring quote...'Go confidently in the direction of your dreams....live the life you imagined'.
This is the quote I will look back at and remember when I am struggling and need to remember to keep going. In my eyes better to try and fail than to not try at all.

Such an inspiring quote...I hope you like it too.

Bunny Card Design

I found this design of three bunnies attached together to make a card in my card magazine, so I decided to give it a go. Here are a few photos of my process and result.

I started off by tracing each bunny and scoring the card

where relevant.

 

Once I had traced them I had to cut out the card around the 3 bunnies.

I then coloured them in light coloured shades and finished them off. I still have

a lot of cutting to do on them to get my final result, but this is just a preview of

my rough result.

 

 

Hope you like it.

 

If you have any craft designs or blog sites let me know.

Turquoise Love

I bought this outfit for my mum not long ago, and I just wanted to put it on my fashion blog as I love it.It is a turquoise/green sequined dress, with turquoise/green velvet shows. LOVE!

 Sequined Dress - New Look

 

Velvet Material Shoes - New Look

 



As an outfit! 

 

Bloglovin Link

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Card Magazine Love

I bought this card magazine today to get my back into crafts for Christmas, as I want to design and create my own Christmas cards. I will keep you posted. 

If you have any cards you have made or Pinterest/blog links, please let me know. 

Golden Celebrations

This weekend was my auntie and uncles Golden (50th) wedding anniversary, so I took some time out to design and make them a photo collage as well as a hand made card. Hope you like them. 

Card designs

I have got back into my card making and designing recently so I have uploaded a few of my old designs to show you my work.

If you are interested in buying any cards, collages or you need any cards made, please don't hesitate to ask me. 

     Set of 2, red and white

    Thankyou cards set of 3

     Set of 2 birthday cards, purple

     Purple Christmas cards set of 3 

    Set of 3 pink cards

 

  Single card 

    Single set purple card 

Wentworth Prison

Okay...so I just finished watching the second episode of the new drama: Wentworth Prison and its safe to say I am COMPLETELY addicted. It is such a good series so far. Its one of them programmes where you I just cant figure out what happens next and it keeps me on the edge of my seat. I literally cannot wait for next weeks episode. I definitely would recommend it, it's on Channel 5, Wednesday at 10pm.

Holiday Fashion Day Seven

This is my last blog of my holiday fashion diary as I had to wear most of my clothes over again and mix and match in the second week, but hope you enjoyed my holiday outfits.

Daytime 

     Top, shorts and flip flops all primark 

     Crop top topman skirt lipsy flip flops Garage 

       

Holiday fashion day six

Today we went on a trip so I wore comfortable shoes and clothing and at night I had to dress up so I wore a dress. 

Daytime

    Dress and silver gladiators primark

Night time

     Dress matalan 

Holiday Fashion Day five

I met some friends my age in the hotel last night and they invited me out to a bar tonight in town so I had to wear something to go out in.

Daytime

Pink dress and flip flops primark 
Night time

Black crop top Topshop, black patterned skirt

with black belt and black Wedges

Primark.

 

Holiday fashion day four

Daytime

    Patterned top new look shorts and 

     Flipflops primark 

Night time 

     Clutch bag river island black wedges   

     And shorts primark crop top topshop 

I decided to wear heels tonight and a bit of a different outfit as we planned to go to a club tonight. 

 

New buys!

Today I bought a new bikini from the hotel shop. I wanted a strapless bikini as I have a pet-hate of tan lines. I also bought a new day bag as I didn't have anything to take down to the swimming pool to hold my towel, book, sun cream etc. Here they both are...

Holiday Fashion Day Two

It's day two of my holiday in Bulgaria and I have now got used to the type of clothes people wear around the hotel during the day compared to night. It appears that people wear very casual wear throughout the day such as shorts and t-shirts under a bikini as well as maybe a sarong/kaftan here and there, whereas at night the dress code is a bit more formal with maxi dresses and dresswear for the women and trousers/shirt for the men ( however some people seem to be still dressed casually)

Daytime

     Black boob tube and white flip flops

      Primark and black patterned shorts  

      Turkey

Night time

Black Patterned dress H&M, white flip flops,

Silver bracelet and a gold/white beaded clutch

River Island. 

Holiday Fashion Day One

DAY 1 

Daytime

Today was my first day at the hotel and as we got here in the middle of the night, our first meal of the day is breakfast. I decided to go casual to breakfast and around the pool today so I opted for this ( see pic below) 
I decided to opt for this as I was only lazing around the pool but I didn't know what the dress code was like around the pool and to breakfast , for example if people wore clothes or just sarongs/towels so I went for the safest option. I can clarify it was the best option as everyone was in clothes and not sarongs etc. PHEW!

         Black tank top Black and white            striped skirt and flipflops all primark 

Night time

Again, as it was the first day today, I still didn't know the dress code for dinner i.e. casual/smart. Due to this I just decided to go for one of my favourite outfits that I had brought on holiday with me. It is summery and can be seen as casual yet somewhat 

      Denim jacket, coral skirt, white boob  

      Tube orange skirt and white flip flops

       All primark 

Bag Love

I had to buy a bag for my holiday the other day and I found this beautiful coral coloured leather bag. Reduced in the sale. Score. Take a look.

Mount Kili Interview

Last month one of my close friends Olivia Dand was one of 34 out of 40 students who climbed and reached the top of Kilimanjaro for charity.  I interviewed Olivia shortly after her trip to learn about her best and worst parts of her climb, what it felt like to finally get to the top, and the question I’ve been dying to ask, where do they actually go to the toilet?

So Olivia, you climbed Kilimanjaro last month with your University (The University of Southampton), was this a compulsory trip or did you choose to do it yourself?

Yes, I chose to do it myself. There were six universities that did it overall; it was with a company called Student adventures. The trips run all summer so when 1 set of Universities come back another 1 goes. There are constantly people climbing the mountain back and forth.

How did you train for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro?

You can’t really train for altitude as there’s nowhere in the UK high enough where you can feel that kind of altitude. I just made sure my fitness was good, if I was going to fail on reaching the top I would have wanted it to be due to altitude not because of my fitness. I trained at the gym constantly up to the date of the climb and just a week before I did the London to Brighton cycle.

So how long did it actually take you to reach the top?

It took us 6 days altogether. 4 and a half to go up, that was including the summit and 1 and a half to go back down.

And how was the summit for you?

It was the best and worst experience of my life. It was brutal. You’re just so exhausted with all the walking for 6 hours in the pitch black but when the sun finally rose it was great.

Sounds amazing! Congratulations on reaching the top.

Was the descent much easier than the ascent?

I found the descent harder than the ascent because I was constantly putting pressure on my knees. Going up the mountain is so slow that is exhausting but not painful, whereas coming back down was painful. I was so dizzy and exhausted from the first few days I felt like I was drunk, I had to be piggy backed from the top back down to base by one of the porters that worked in the mountains.

How funny!

 And what was the weather like?

We were so lucky with the weather, it was beautiful.  As you are so high up you go through different weather systems. The first dsy was very humid and sticky, then by the second day we were above the clouds. You go through so many levels of clouds so it gets very cold, very quickly. As soon as your above the clouds it is extremely cold.

I bet it is, and was there any bad weather at all?

On the third night there was a hurricane. We were camping in Baranca camp and suddenly some of the tents were flying everywhere. Also, the roof of the toilet flew off and nearly hit our head guide, so we were told to stay in our tents whilst the guides put rocks on our tents to ground them.

Was it scary?

I was quite scared yes. You could hear the wind getting closer and then further away, there were periods of it so you were just kind of waiting for the next bit of wind to hit. My friend and I just decided to stay in our tent and sing songs.

Good idea. Did you get any injuries or sickness during the climb?

Yes, I got really bad altitude sickness. On summit night I was passing out and being sick, I was practically dragged to the top by a mountain porter.

So where did you go to the bathroom and how did you dispose of your rubbish?

Ha-ha. We went to the toilets at each base camp, there were portable toilets and as for our rubbish, none of it could be left. You weren’t allowed to leave traces of yourself so the porters and the guides disposed of your rubbish or you kept it with you until the end of the trip.

I had to ask ha-ha. So, what was the feeling like when you finally get to the top of Kilimanjaro?

Surreal!  After preparing for a year and finally standing there at the highest point of Africa it felt so surreal. It was crazy I could see the Earth curve around. I felt relieved and overwhelmed and the views were amazing, but then it dawned on me I had to go all the way back down.

Wow! And what was your best memory of the whole trip?

All of it was amazing even the worst times, but my highlight was the summit night. It was freezing and even our bottles of water had frozen and with 6 long hours walking in the pitch black it was tough but when the sun rose at 6am and you could finally see where you was walking it was an amazing feeling. It was overwhelming and emotional, even some of the boys cried. I think it was just where everyone was realising they were nearly at the top and the sights were just so beautiful.

How much money did you raise and for what charity?

The charity was the Meningitis Research Foundation and as an individual I raised £2,500.

That’s incredible! And finally, would you do it again and also would you recommend other people to do it?

Definitely! I have got a lot of other things planned that I would like to do such as the Great Wall of China and the Everest Base Camp Trek so I am not in a rush to do it again but I would love to clim Kilimanjaro again one day. It has inspired me to do many more things which I am looking forward to but I would definitely recommend people to do it. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.

Well I think that’s all thank you Olivia, Congratulations in raising that much money for charity and for reaching the top and good luck with your future experiences.  

 On the Kilimanjaro trip the students made over £110,000 between them for the Meningitis Research Foundation as well as achieving a massive personal experience of climbing a mountain and witnessing the highest point in Africa. Sadly, 6 students didn’t reach the top however still raised a lot of money for charity and will have the memories with them for the rest of their lives.

Congratulations, all.