The Liebster Award

First of all, I would like to thank the amazing Stepping into Adulthood for nominating me in the Liebster Award in the first place, For anyone who doesn't know the rules, they are:

• Write Eleven facts about yourself
• Then answer Eleven questions that your nominator has asked you
• Nominate Eleven other bloggers and ask them questions 
• Let them know that you have nominated them
• Enjoy! 

Eleven Facts About Me:

I have now done two previous blog post with facts about myself so coming up with eleven original facts was slightly tricky, but without further ado:

N U M B E R  O N E: I have a phobia of cutting my own toenails. It may sound rather strange but I don't like touching feet or even looking at them so I tend to beg someone else to do it for me. 

N U M B E R  T W O: Lately I've been obsessing over sweet chilli sauce and noodles, especially from Tesco's. 

N U M B E R  T H R E E: I am 5ft 1, the amount of short jokes and dwarf jokes I get in just one 

 

N U M B E R  F O U R: My favourite chocolate is the ' Giant Dairy Milk Buttons'. You would be able to tell I've had a bad week because you would see a pile of those wrappers in my bin. 

N U M B E R  F I V E: I have a huge crush on Ian Somerhalder, but in all honesty what straight/bisexual girl doesn't? signal afternoon is ridiculous.

N U M B E R  S I X: My star sign is 'Cancer' and even though I don't believe in horoscopes, I do enjoy reading them and my compatiblity with different signs but hey ho. 

N U M B E R  S E V E N:  My favourite band is Biffy Clyro and I'm going to see them in Cardiff in December! 

N U M B E R  E I G H T: I find it extremely difficult to be around a large group of people for more than half an hour otherwise I start to get anxious. 

N U M B E R  N I N E: I love lists. If there was a list of things that I love, lists would be on there somewhere! Even though I am unorganised, list makes me feel like I am being more organised. 

N U M B E R  T E N: My favourite thing to do (even in the winter) is to chill by a beach with good company and just talk for hours and hours

N U M B E R  E L E V E N: I'm really an impulsive person. What am I having for tea? oo salmon, no potato and chicken, no pasta? Just the other day I went in to a hair salon and told the women to do whatever she wants to it... 

Answers from Stepping in 2 Adulthood: 

1. What is your favourite song at the moment? Re-arrange – By Biffy Clyro
2. If you could only way one thing for the rest of your life what would it be and why? I do not know, sorry!
3. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life? Emilia Clarke
4. What job did you want to have when you were little? Do you do it? Hair Dresser, Nope I'm a support worker!
5. Where did you go for your favourite holiday? Turkey
6. What’s TV series are you currently (or have most recently enjoyed) binge watching? Dexter and Gilmore Girls
7. If you were stuck in a lift with 4 other people who would they be? Paolo Nutini, Katy Perry, Emma Watson and Robert Downey Jr.
8. If you had a warning label, what would yours say? Poor Impulse Control.
9. What 3 words best describe you? Hard working, Always hungry and Stressy
10. Do you have any tattoos? If so what? If not would you get one, what would it be like? I do have tattoos
11. Who is your hero? Emily Davison

 

MY NOMINATIONS

1. Try Thinking Female
2. Jay from Blissful Beauty Bird
3. Hayley from shift my booty
4. Grace from Thoughts Of Gracey
5. Hayley from Blonde Ambition
6. Bervin from Slightly Voguish
7. Heather from Stormy Weather
8. Becca from Becca Beauty
9. Angie from Angie Americana
10. Zaanri from Woman Of Worth
11. Little Blonde Pixie

MY QUESTIONS:

1. Do you have pets? If so, what’s their names? If not, what would you have?
2. Would you rather give up chocolate or change your last name to Hitler?
3. Snapchat or Instagram?
4. Which topping would you have on pizza?
5. What country would you love to go to?
6. What Films have you watched in the past month?
7. Do you have a job? If so what?
8. Would you rather live in a world where there is magic and you have powers or a world where you are rich?
9. What is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you?
10. Other than ears, have you had anything else pierced? If so, what?
11. What is your favourite Disney film?

 

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading! For my Nominations, please tag me once you've completed this challenge. I would love to read your answers! xoxo

 

September Favourites

B E A U T Y   P R O D U C T S :

Neon Nights Eyeshadow

This was originally sent to me for my 20^th birthday from my cousin. I hadn’t really used it that much until September but what a regret. For a cheapish product, I was pleasantly surprised when the colours stayed on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a neon kind of gal but sometimes adding a bit of colour in to your eyeshadow makes everything better.

Freedom ‘Pro Blush’

I purchased this in the summer and I absolutely adore the highlights! It doesn’t feel heavy on your skin which is always a plus because let’s face it who really likes walking around feeling like they have a mask on eh? Plus, it’s so cute.

Lottie London Eye brush

I bought this spontaneously. I thought I had lost my eye brush which came in a set and just picked this one up in Superdrug. But my god it was so much better than the one I had before. When someone says buying the right tools for your make up is half the battle, they aren’t lying and this one wasn’t exactly expensive so any beauty bloggers who are on a budget and want a cheap but effective eye brush, this is the one.

T V   &   F I L M S :

Dexter

I am so late in the game! A lot of my friends have been trying to convince me to watch this for so long and I didn’t listen until the end of summer and ever since I’ve been addicted (I watched two series in four days).  It’s on Netflix for anyone who wants to watch it and it’s about being in a mind of a serial killer who kills other serial killers. It’s so addictive!

Don’t Trust the B**** In Apartment 23

A random find on Netflix once again. It’s one of those programmes which you go to put one episode on but you end up watching five. It’s light hearted and just damn right funny so I would just be sat in my room laughing in tears!

X-Men Days of Future Past

For some reason, I’ve been getting in to X-Men films. This may be due to the fact when I was younger me and my brother would watch them together and maybe it was some form of memorabilia but either way I only discovered this film not long ago and My only regret was not seeing it when it was first out! It was so good.

Freaks & Geeks

After finishing Don’t trust the B**** In Apartment 23 I wanted to watch more comedies and stuff which was light hearted considering I’m so stressed all the time and what was even better was that Marshall from How I Met Your Mother was in it! The only downside to this was that there is only one season and then no more and the ending is left open to interpretation.

Bridget Jones Baby

Ok considering I was obsessed as a child with The Bridget Jones Films and I would constantly watch it when I was upset to pick me up, I was nervous and excited for this! I was so excited that I had a countdown but I was worried that they may have ruined the franchise… they did not. I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the film and got in to so many giggle fits that I couldn’t breathe!

L I T E R A T U R E :

‘The Psychopath Test’

A book written by Jon Ronson which focuses on mental health issues and media... hmm no wonder why I liked it? The way it was written was amazing and I defiantly want to read more of Jon Ronson books eventually!

C L O T H I N G 

 Jumper

Well it’s getting colder and it’s so warm and fluffy inside plus I love the colour grey. But I also like the fact that it has white stripes on the end of the sleeves.

Rain Coat

In the UK, it’s hard to know what to wear in this weather. But it rains a lot and believe it or not but it’s taken me ten years to by a rain coat! Or should I say a rain coat that I would actually wear outside because look how pretty it is and I got it from Amazon too, so it was rather cheap!

B I T S  A N D  B O B S

Penguin Necklace

For anyone who doesn’t know me, I am obsessed with penguins and I bought this Necklace at Bristol Zoo. I haven’t taken it off since. You can also see that I am wearing it in the above photos! 

‘Hippie Van’ Mug

You know when you spend the day in your room cleaning and you find a lot of neat stuff that you lost or stopped using and just forgot about it? This is what it was like when I found my ‘Hippie Van’ Mug. My dad and step mum bought me this in a time where I was struggling to remind me about my dream where I wanted to drive around in this car and travel the world and it was also pretty sweat because green is my favourite colour! And even though dreams have changed, it’s still pretty special to me. 

Is The Mirena Coil A Scam?

Over a week ago. I had the coil inserted in me. Why did I do this? Well, short answer is that the doctor’s recommended it to me. And you know, I trusted that the doctors were protecting me and looking out for my best interest. I’m starting to think this wasn’t the case.

I mean don’t get me wrong, I believe that it’s more than 99% effective and it last for five years. But what really bothered me was the lack of honesty about the side effects that there was. Whenever I read anything online; they were horror stories that made me think ‘nah it wouldn’t happen to me’ so I just shrugged. However, when I asked about the side effects I wasn’t really given any apart from ‘you may have some cramping’ they made it sound so pleasant.

Do you know what the doctor didn’t tell me?  The coil is the cheapest form of contraception only costing the NHS 90 pounds ... 

Do not get me wrong, I love to save some cash more than anyone…  But I shouldn’t have felt so pressured to do so. And I should have been told a lot more about the negative side of the coil and the negative impact it has brought on my life.

I just want to state; I’m not trying to persuade anyone not to get the coil. It does have amazing positives towards it and it has negatives just like anything does… But this is an honest account of my experience and if you don’t want to read any further I suggest you stop now.  

No?

You sure?

100%?

Are you actually ready?

Ok then.

 ‘Do you know much about this procedure?’ The doctor asked.

So I answered her honestly, and said that I didn’t really but I read a lot of horror stories on the internet and that now I was nervous and her reply which made me feel somewhat more comfortable was well ‘there’s always horror stories on the internet’.

The next thing I know; I’m lying on a bed with both feet in this contraception that keeps your legs wide apart. And you have some sort of tissue to cover yourself up. And then she measured my size.

In all honesty, that bit wasn’t bad. It was a bit uncomfortable but the best thing you can do is relax and just breathe slowly. The weird bit was when they numb your cervix, but if anything it just feels gross and slippery. And the incision itself is only 15 seconds and it’s just like an Ouchy which you get really warm (so you may want to ask your doctor to open a window beforehand because a lot of people feel faint when they get this warm).

You want to know where the worst pain starts? After the incision. The only easiest way I can describe it is like a really severe period pain. If you do decide to get the coil, I suggest you bring some sort of painkillers with you because these cramping pains get extremely worse and I wish I had known this and something sweet like a chocolate bar.

The doctor checked my blood pressure and said it was ok for me to go now. And I trusted it would get better, she did say it would die down but if anything it got much worse. So much worse. I sat down to go to the toilet, I couldn’t get up.

If anyone has ever experienced cramps where you were in pain all day and was unable to move from it, I am so sorry you have ever been through it because it’s abysmal. I’m not one for crying all day but that day I did. I just couldn’t move and what’s worse was I vomited and I couldn’t stop shaking. I had to spend the rest of the day in bed because it was that agonising.

Now when I read about people talking about the pain online, I thought it was over dramatic. It’s not. It is so much worse than a period. If you really want to get the coil done, make sure that you have nothing to do on that day because you will spend the day wanting to lie down, putting hot water bottle on you, drinking tea and tablets (this doesn’t make the pain go away – it eases it slightly but it hurts so badly). My emotions were out of balance, I kept crying over the most ridiculous things but I’m not sure if it was because of my progesterone levels or if it was because I was in physical pain and it was affecting my feelings.

Since, my concentration levels have dropped dramatically. I am constantly tired and teary; my cramps have died down slightly but not back to normal and when I am stressed or if I have over exercised it tends to hurt. I’ve gained excessive weight and my skin has gotten a lot greasier and spots have started to form. I find everything effort – I recently discovered that the coil and depression has a link which isn’t the best news when you started third year of uni.

 However, I am aware that my body is still adjusting.  But, did you know in 6 weeks’ time it might not even be there because it may fall out? (You don’t see that advertise) and it can just fall out any time. I can certainly say if it has fallen out then I will not be getting another one in. 

5 Hints to Handle Stress

Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimised by stress and anxiety? For some odd reason people feel the need to hide the fact they feel stressed or worried or anxious maybe not to worry other people about it or maybe they just don’t want to burden anyone with their feelings?

And that’s cool, I totally understand that.

But for some reason, people feeling like they can’t express their emotions; it can end up with people feel like they can’t cope and then they explode. I know I have been there several times!

It’s been three weeks since I started my last year in University and let’s just say it’s been torture. I’m already exhausted and I can feel my concentration levels already going down. Each reading task is difficult, the work load feels extreme and all I want to do is be cooped up in my bedroom watching Dexter on Netflix and eating Ben & Jerrys.

I’ve recently felt that at the moment I’m wearing this feeble mask which is slowly peeling off. I’m getting irritable on the most irrelevant shit possible. I get overly panicked over the tiniest thing (the other day I got panicked over the idea I lost my textbook which turned out it was in my bedroom). My housemates and my University friends are probably feeling fed up with me because my moods are so up and down.

But do you know what’s great? Is that knowing I’m not the only person feeling like this. Even though my friends won’t vocalise it simple phrases such as ‘I couldn’t sleep last night’ or ‘I couldn’t concentrate on that reading…’  or ‘I’m done with uni already’. Has strangely reassured me. (I am normal and not alone.)

It’s really difficult to make yourself feel motivated, it’s a struggle to get out of bed especially when it’s getting so cold!

But do you know what keep me going? In 5 years this won’t matter.

That piece of coursework you are worrying about? Yeah You will probably stress and stress over it and you will absolutely nail it.

Everything will fall in to place and sorry to say that staying in bed doesn’t just make it happen but acknowledging that you are feeling stressed and worried and coming up with some sort of strategy for it can help.

I’m sure whatever year you’re in, whether you are doing GCSE, A-Levels , 1st /2nd  Year of uni you want to do well. But sometimes it’s difficult to prioritise your work and then everything else such your social life just seems almost impossible to fit in?

Well I’m going to hopefully give you a few hints on how to manage your work load and stress management.

H I N T  O N E : P R I O R I T I S I N G  Y O U R  T I M E

I can’t remember the name of this table, but since I learnt that I found it extremely useful to see what I need to get done and what things were silly that I was stressing about. The idea is to get A done straight away and drop D ASAP but it frees your mind.

H I N T  T W O: S L E E P

This sounds like such an obvious one doesn’t it? And if you’re like me who struggles to get in to a good sleeping pattern and cannot fall asleep for ages. My suggestion is to go to bed at the same time every night, even if you don’t necessarily fall asleep straight away. Put something on, turn away from your laptop because the light bright will keep you up and move your alarm far away from your bed so when it goes off you will get up on time, slowly you will fall asleep earlier!

H I N T  T H R E E:  C R Y

Yup, you’ve got that right! Cry. Crying is a natural stress reliever and sometimes we need to just let it out. Whether it’s for an hour or for 10 minutes. It’s totally okay to cry! Just don’t let it consume you and bring down everyone around you when they could be feeling low too.

 
H I N T  F O U R:  B E  P R O D U C T I V E

It is okay to throw yourself a pity party once in a while, heck once/twice a week if you need it! But don’t let yourself fall in the trap where you don’t physically do anything all day. At least go for a walk for 10 minutes. Staying in bed doing nothing doesn’t help anyone, especially yourself. I find going for a walk clears my head. But if you give yourself small realistic goals of what you want to do in that week, when you complete it you feel like you’ve achieved something.

H I N T  F I V E:  L E T  I T  G O

Ok don’t get me wrong, you aren’t exactly cured but sometimes writing things down which are stressing you out like your jackass of your boyfriend (I mean how dare he like her picture?) or just coursework or someone in work or just life in general. Sometimes writing it down and letting it all out on a piece of paper and then ripping it up is strangely satisfying. However, sometimes simply going to the gym or colouring can make you feel relieved temporarily.

I hope that helps anyone who is struggling right now, please comment any of your tips to handle stress xo