getting to the roots of things

This blog post is a follow on from recently upload youtube video click here to view Living with chronic headaches.

Chronic head aches can be severely debilitating and soul destroying, I have been suffering with them for over a year now! They came on a few month following a full face impact into a side of a bus! Ouchhy you may think. Yes it was not to mention highly embarrassing landing as a heap on the floor of the bus! A kind man got up to lift me up off the floor and dusted me off. I felt sore and  disgruntled more than anything and  annoyed that the bus driver failed to notice anything had happen, 

but following on from the accident I had some discomfort around my nose and a slight headache, It was expected after such and impact but it wasn't anything I was overly worried about, If anything
I counted all my fingers and toes that I got away with only slight injuries. So I persuded the company
to report the accident.. not for Selfish gain more to get the drivers to slow down and take bit more care on there narrow country roads! where many have sheer clif top drops YIKKES!! yes very Yikes,
 but went through with claiming compensation, But soon enough the whole incident was all forgotten about and I carried on with my Employment and the rest of my life.

Then came September some six months later, I started to suffer head aches the odd one or two was unusual for me so this was more of an irritation to me, but then moving from to the end of September the begging of October they started to get worse. They where getting more and more frequent going from one or two a week to nearly everyday. The pain was getting more and more intense that the general Paracetamol wasn't killing the pain or for that matter getting any where near touching it.

This is the time to PANIC.....no no it wasn't but was the time to go on the hunt for my Gp.
This is where the fun begins ( If only hey) I use the term fun is a very sarcastic way.

Unbeknown to be me this was the start of weeks and months escalating to a year long battle with every Medical professional that I needed scans and referrals. that sad truth about the NHS system is that if you come in walking or make you're own way to hospital that you are likely to be made to wait subjected to a torrent of unnecessary questions and stupid waiting times, If however you are transport less or deam your Condition bad enough to require and AMBULANCE then to call one you are straight in. no waiting around for doctors to or nurses to treat Mr student with the bad case of the hangover, but are seen and treated like a Genuine person will and Illness!

What I find increasingly frustrating is that then NHS rather spends hundreds of our (taxpayers) money on pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms rather than spending that money on scans test and specialities to treat under lying causes and treat them. Why dope someone up too the eyeballs and give them enough pain relief to knock out a bull, wouldn't it make more sense to spend the money on treating the person and getting the off there case load?! This I feel is what I'm constantly Coming up against. The figure fixing statistic forming poor approach to health care. It's no longer there in interest of patient or there care but more to satisfy the local health board and to 'save' money. Although I can't see alot of saving going on to be honest.

All in all I feel extremely let down by the NHS, I feel frustrated that it's still a service in which I am finding myself battling against to get basic help, Some thing has to change and very soon,

Have you ever heard a goose say thank you.

 So today was one of those days that as you stand peering out of your rain covered window
in a deary Thursday morning. What on earth did I get up out of bed for?!

The day started well, despite the weather, I resolved to keep my optimism that I would be able to
get everything done before dark. This largely consisted of walking the hound at least twice and motivating myself off the sofa and to go film a video for youtube. After all I was the one responsible
for setting myself the challenge of the week long up load. Everyday this week something as come up and has forced me to film later and later comprimising my good day light hours in which I can film.

Today was going to be one of those days, only difference was that I didn't realize how much of my time would be take up, so after my first assesment of weather and how much light I had.  I decided that I needed a sit down and plan this video (without a plan I just babble on for ages). Then came the STORM

I heard something on the news the night before about severe weather front heading for Britain but as we are some distance from the sea I didn't really take much notice.

But boy was this weather strong or what?  I walked the dog at 10.30am and was drenched through too erm.....well I'm sure you can guess where. The wind was strong but nothing I hadn't seen before! I came inside tried and failed at hiding from the wet rat... Oh wait, it was a dog. 
I could hear an awful roar from outside. The wind and rain came hurtling towards our house as we sit at the very top of the valley. It hit our house with some incredible force and well, it caused havoc. We had rain filled gusts of up to 70mph blowing apart anything standing in it wake. Our chickens had taken to hiding in their house, the geese resolved to acting tough guys and stayed in the garden out in the elements.  Well not really, the wind had shut the door to their house!

So after battling  with the wind and running around like a mad women to stop stuff flying away and damaging the house and cars, my mum and I decided we seen enough of the tough guy act from the geese ( I mean there is only so long you can keep that up for). We got them a fresh clean bed and opened the door to let the gooseys in! Sid and Gussy where thrilled to be in the dry and in nice comfortable house, after a bucket of food was brought to them Sid shoved his head in to gobble up a mouth full of poultry wheat then looked at my mum with his head cocked to one side and squawked a thank you. Delightful!  That's why you have animals, even when the weather is foul!

April showers,

This Blog post is going to be a little bit different,
 







This blog post is about  one little girl she's only 5 years old, called April Jones.
 I choose to write this blog to commend all those selfless volunteers that up'd the sticks and got out to look for April, This is the biggest abduction case in living memory, It's was the case that one small town in Wales will never forget for good and bad reasons, Meer hours after this small child was reported missing by her understandably distraught mother, every police officer from Ceredigion and Powys was drafted in to assist in the search for this little girl as well as the 200 volunteers that got out of bed and where out in the wet and the dark well into the small hours of the morning some only had a few hours sleep before returning in the daylight hours to continue searching for April Jones.

Also Mountain Rescue was then drafted in as they have the equipment and expertise to be able to negotiate the challenging terrain. These guys where nothing more than an inspiration how they worked tirelessly through there exhaustion to find this little girl!

By Tuesday the volunteers had almost doubled, by Tuesday evening the mountain rescue, police RNLI and RAF, welsh Ambulance service (very handy if any of the search party comes a cropper!)  and police where preparing them selves for there night time search, looking in every nook and cranny even in caves.  For any evidence that might give them some clue as to where this little one had gone.

By Wednesday the search was really looking ominous the police where pleading with the public who may have any vital information too Aprils whereabouts, the police had set up base in the local Leisure centre. Here was where they could get changed into dry clothes and receive fresh hot food waiting for them! This food is not the £ 3.50 sausage burger and the £2.10 cup of coffee you would have to pay in the cafe, this food was free to all those who was out there in the thick of it. food was being brought in from all over Wales England Scotland. some people in Midlands where getting up and 4am and filling there cars with food drinks and spare clothes and driving to Machynlleth. This for me as some one who doesn't live far from this incident was amazing to see. how the community came together almost as an instant reaction to April's mother plea to find her daughter,

While food was being brought in, the volunteers realised there was food there that was perishable if they weren't kept cool. So a request went out for a fridge, and before the hour was up along came three fridges. Then they realised they needed someone to fit them and before they knew it an electrician was there setting up the fridges so no food went to waste! Which is important when you have over 150 hungry people to feed. The morale amongst the professionals and volunteers remained strong and optimistic that they will find this little girl.

By Thursday most volunteer search teams (general public) had been stood down only those who knew the area or have specialist search skills, sniffer dogs and RAF and police helicopters had also been called in and where using heat detection equipment to see if they could detect the body heat of from her tiny self! But sadly this was to know avail and she remained missing!! I cannot  imagine the distress this must be causing Aprils family, But never the less the search continues.

A special request from Aprils mother.

Despite there being no results of the whereabouts of April. The family are remaining optimistic as others may be feeling helpless and frustrated at this situation. Aprils mum had a request, for every one to wear a pink Ribbon as a mark of solidarity and to share the optimism that her little girl would be found safe and well and returned to her arms where this little one belongs.

 
So the Pink Ribbon mission was started and before long the whole town was pink. Every bus stop, street light, railings and shop window was some pink reminder that this little girl was still missing. people where out and about wearing the pink ribbon. But this was only a symbol that every one was united to one goal and that to find April Jones and bring her home but after seven days this was looking more and more desperate. parents in shops where extra vigilant watching there children in fear of someone snatching there child. One parent couldn't  find her child in Morrisons and the whole store went on immediate lock down! he was only to be found perusing the sweet isle. But never the less to his mother this was a real fear that her child was missing!



A pink Balloon will make you cry!

As requested by April's mum Coral. Hundreds of people descended to the florist party shop and where else that sold pink helium balloons. this must have come as a shock on a Monday morning as one florist  reported to sold 800 balloons, at 7.30 on Monday the 8th of October hundreds of balloons and lanterns where released into the night sky to mark a week since this innocent little girl went missing.
 
Hundreds if not more came to the castle in Aberystwyth accompanied by April's godmother to release our Balloons and 7.29 a minute silence was called, I can tell you it was the quietest  minute I have ever heard in my life even the small children went quiet. was very very moving. then the count down 3...2...1 for little April no one there could contain there tears and  every one wept it was so sad, As we all knew at that point that the prospect of bring April home alive was looking very grim, as some had faced the reality of the whole situation. Others remained optimistic and carried on hoping for April! I really do admire those people, I just hope for closure one way of another for her family as I'm writing this we are going into 15 days since her abduction.

The rescue efforts of the professionals and the self sacrificing volunteers is completely unprecedented. Mountain rescue have clocked up 9,250 accumulative hours. To put this into context it would take one person working full time 5 years to work that many hours,  this is an inspirational  effort that hopefully  we never have  to see again. but defiantly never ever to be forgotten!

I would like to take time and dedicate this Blog post to all those people in uniform and those who were not to them!  and I hope with all my heart that one day soon 5 year old April Jones is found!

April Jones Abducted 1 October 2012. 

 

Beauty and the Beast

This is a blog post with a different kind of beauty. This is about how we can touch the hearts
of those around us with something as simple as a smile or a mere acknowledgement.

Today I had the privilege to meet a young man called Nathan and his mum
Nathan is 8 years old with a dilating disability which sadly prevents him from walking.
among many other things. but he's was a bright young man with the love of life and his very
favourite thing DOGS, This was never more evident today when he spotted my chihuahua Beast (real
name) she is eight months old long coat who like Nathan loved life and meeting new people. His
entire face lit up the moment he cast his eyes on my little dogs face he gestured to me that he wanted to stroke beastie. So I knelt down to let beast jump on my knee so Nathan could stroke her.

Beast was more than happy to suddenly receive this unexpected fuss and she is a people loving dog!
Nathan wanted to give Beast a kiss and a cuddle as any little child would so after aquiering
permission from his mum I gently placed Beast on Nathan's lap. I could not fault Beast as she was so good she just sat on Nathan's lap while he's cuddling her and kissing her. To see Nathan so happy and so Content was lovely and to see his mum happy as well was extremely heart warming that I made that little boy smile just by sharing my dog for five minutes!

So never forget if you see some one who make look down to perhaps more disadvantaged to you
then a smile or a gentle acknowledgement can really brighten there day, and cheer you up as well. 

All Made Over!!

So I'm a self confessed make-up addict.  I've been fiddling around with my own make-up for a few years now and 9 times out of 10 I would get it wrong.  But I was happy - after many many hours spent watching the likes of Pixi Woo and Lauren Luke I eventually got the hang of make-up. The thought occured to me that if I could good at this I could be in with a chance to earn a few bob! WIN!  I realised I had to practise, as you know what they say "practise makes perfect" (did ya see what I did there?). I set off in search of my best mate, sat her down and attacked her with make up (in a good friendly way of course!)  And tada! I did my first make up look on someone else. Now I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous but pleased to say it all went well! Here is a picture:

So now, with my new found confidence I decided to invite family members to have their make-up done as well. My rather reluctant sister Lani let me do her make-up. It's a beautiful soft green and gold look!

I used a cream matte base from MUA and then used the soft green from my Beauty UK Palette on the outer edge of the eyelid and took it up and out slightly.  Next I took a gorgeous gold from my MUA Dusk til Dawn palette and used in on the inner portion of the eyelid. For the eyeliner I used a black eye shadow from my MUA Dusk til Dawn palette and used my eyeliner brush and made a very fine line with the black eyeshadow I flicked it out ever so slightly. This is a fresh and light look for day/evening time.  It would be perfect for summer evening BBQs or meeting friends.

I hope you all like this post, I have loads more planned so make sure you subscribe

take care and don't blow away this summer! :)

Outfit for day and night!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a good weekend! I sure did and have had a second wind and am going to churn out some more blogs! 

Today's blog is my outfit of the day and how you transform

 it for the night time. I hope you'll enjoy it! 

Here I'm wearing my black skinny jeans from Primark, they are distressed black denim and are super comfy.  With that I have a purple jersey top from F&F in Tesco. And as I can never be sure of the weather in Wales  (i.e sunshine for  5 minutes) I wore a corduroy jacket.  Accessory-wise I wore a pearl string necklace. This outfit is nice to wear shopping or meeting  the girls for lunch or that long awaited date...

 Here I have Jazzed up the outfit for a funky evening look with plenty of colour and fun but still sophisticated that you could get away with ordering a drink with out being asked for ID, but still fun and funky! I have cinched in my top with a black elasticated waist belt and wearing my dragonfly necklace from Astrid's Garden. I have kept the colour theme going by wearing my Pashmina scarf as this colouful and keeps out that evening chill! 

I know your are dying to know where i got my shoes! Yes, these really are my babies!  I got them on sale in Matalan I'm not sure they still have them as they where last season! sorry Girls! 

                                                    

Here's a slightly closer up of my face (Yikes!) I didn't break the camera. I have added some extra flick to my eye liner to create the cat eye look and added some orange lipstick! Nothing too complicated, no outfit has to be a stress just a couple of accessories and some funky heels and a smile and your all set for the night!!

                 

                              I really hope you have all enjoyed this blog and this has inspired 

you with your outfits!

have fun girls!!xxx

MUA lippy licious!

Today's post is about Budget make up and more importantly lipstick!

I love lipstick but having a small budget I couldn't really afford top brand lipsticks and I never found a cheaper alternative that I liked. Until I found MUA  . It's a make up company that sells all there products from between £1.00 and £4.50, the quality is amazing and have a good amount of product

considering the price!

                                                                                                         

My favourite lipsticks are

Shade: 1

Shade:16

Shade:7

I have previously featured the the shade shade 7 ( shimmery pink)

In my MUA make up tutorial. Check it out if you want to see me wearing it

Shade 16 is a beautiful Orange colour and is fun to wear on a sunny day to pep your self up a bit for the

summer (or rather lack off!). You could at least pretend it's summer with this lipstick on!!

Shade 1 is a beautiful wine coloured red. It has a lovely texture and it isn't oily or slide off your lips. You put it on your lips and that where it stays! Phew!!

I'm going to do something a bit different now! I'm not going to show you on my hand as that's not what lipstick is for, so hold on to your chairs and check out my photo's!

This is the Orange shade 16 

This is the pink shade 7

Wow this red lipstick really plumps up your lips!

not that I need it eh!! But it's gorgeous all the same! :)

shade 1

I really hope this helps all you budget babes 

out there! I love my MUA and I hope you 

you enjoy yours! 

see ya! 

                           

 just in-case you would like some further opinions on MUA  in-case my word isn't enough to have you rushing to the shops! I linked to some beauty guru's  video's link

Cat capers

Hey just a very quick post!

As it's very wet and miserable outside today.

I thought it be better to stay indoors and make something.

I'm sat in my lounge I got out Holly Bolly the rabbit or aka psycho rabbit down to play with the cats!

A sight to see I tell ya, not many rabbits can bully all the cats off the sofa!

I thought I'd slow her down from her menacing behaviour by giving her a carrot!

Hmm well that was the plan, but rabbit turned her nose up at it!

Typical but Umlaut the cat, not one for passing up and opportunity to have something to munch on decided  to crunch it!! Not one normal pet in this house!

Here's a picture of the cat's veggie ventures!

Sheer stroke of Genius

Hey Guys I stumbled upon a sheer stroke of genius!

Today's blog is for all you glitter nail varnish fans out there. As beautiful as it is, it's sheer murder to remove from your nails. Short of scrubbing yourself to death or removing the top layer of nail as I

had to do the other day because I was away and forgot my cutex.

I personally do not recommend that method! lol.


 But you may be wondering where exactly am I going with this?

 hmm yes thought so!!

Have no fear I have since come up with a free cunning method of removing this stubborn glitter!!

you will need the following:

                                                             

One shot glass

 Three cotton pads

 Nail Polish Remover

Now you got those ingredients together have you worked out where I'm going yet!

Have ya ??  have ya??

I'm going to insert some picture diagrams here to help with my explanation!

 So grab you shot glass (Resist the Malibu!!)

  and place one of the three cotton pads

  in the bottom of the glass.

                                          

put the two remaining cotton pad around the sides

of the shot glass so the inside is covered with the cotton

pads.

Next pour in about quarter of the shot glass full

and let it soak into the cotton pads.

And now you're ready to remove your stubborn Polish and glitte.r

Leave your finger in to soak (if your removing glitter) and you can

twist it around your finger too!

I hope this helps you gal's out there! This also works well on toes!

Please Subscribe and Comment as this makes me do back flips

and me and the pet rabbit do a little jig!

Ciao for Now!

Fortunate Find

 Hey everyone

I have an exciting new post for you this evening. I happened to stumble across Caite paint pot

nail varnish. I was at my friends after an afternoons riding. We decided we need a pamper session

and a relax, so after some decision making and a good couple of cups of tea later my friend decided that we would paint our nails. I asked if she had any colours that would suit me and she emptied her nail varnish box on her bed! I was very excited to see  Mistress by Caite amongst her colours. I instantly got green eyes and I was amazed she beaten me too it. One the more expensive varnishes!
I put it on my nails and instantly fell in love with it! It was so true in its colour and so glossy! Without the need of any top coat to glossify it! It was perfect, went on smoothly and the long narrow bristles made for easy, even and precise  application leaving me with a gorgeous nail. And it only needed one coat!

I set about looking online to get my own little bottle of colour and I was pleasantly surprised to find

it retailing at a very modest £9.00. For the quality I think this is a very reasonable. So I decided I'd need to consult my bank account before splurging out on all of them. So I went to sleep on it!

After casting my beady eye over twitter, I noticed that there was some free make up to be had with

Glamour magazine so off I set as I'm not one to pass up on a free goody!!

After some windy country road negotiating I arrived in a cosy village shop only to find they only stocked

"Tractor Forever" and "TV times"! Hardly up there in the latest fashion trends!(the only draw back to living in the darkest depths of Wales)   Not one for giving up I trotted off with my bestie by my side of to another cosy village shop that didn't have Glamour but did have Marie Claire. I lifted the magazine from the rack while negotiating with myself that it was a sad substitute but I couldn't return home empty handed I noticed that there was a free gift and was even better than Glamour (sorry Glamour). It was a bottle of Jelly bean Caite nail polish. Unable to control on sheer excitement I yelped out a yippee and rushed to the counter to pay for it!

The Nail varnish I like is called Jelly bean.

Unfortunately this is not on their website for reasons unbeknown  to me!!

 But that enough waffle from me. Here are some pictures of me wearing my jelly bean, it's a hot pink with some purple shimmery undertones, making it very slightly iridescent. It's glossy, very highly pigmented and is silky smooth in appearance! I hope you enjoyed my post and leave a comment.

Thanks very much, ciao for now!xx

Easy Do-it-Yourself Heatpack

So we're still feeling a bit chilly and looking for something to warm up and snuggle into! (While we're settled on the sofa watching Dancing on Ice, wondering how they spin on one blade!!!)

I thought I would sit down and get out my...erm (mums) sewing machine and get on and make a lovely fleece wheat bag that is so incredibly easy to make and affordable! All you need is a decent amount of fabric, any fabric with a good thickness will do (Not metallic though!!), 1 sewing machine and some whole grain wheat, this you can often buy from a health food shop for a few pounds! I also added some dried lavender which gives off a lovely aroma when the bags are heated in the microwave, perfect for helping you wind down after a busy day at work.

I chose some really funky colourful fleece for my creation. I started off with a long piece of material about 50cm across, and folded it to make a rectangle 20cm wide. I then cut of the excess material and loosely pinned the edges together. Making sure to leave a small gap at the first corner, I sewed all the edges together. The gap I left not only allowed me to turn the entire thing inside out, it provides an entry point for the wheat/lavender mix. After filling and sewing the gap up, the beanie is complete! All that is needed is 2 minutes in a microwave, and you have a perfect little warmer for your neck! You can use it on your shoulders too!

Not only are these wheat bags great for warming you up, they are lovely if you have tense or sore muscles, say after going to the gym - the heat will ease and stop them cramping!

Remember that we aren't the only ones that can enjoy the heat bags lol - despite the expression on his face he was purring when I took the photo!

Don't forget to watch my tutorial here and hope you get to try this out too!

Sara x

MUA Gems!

Hey Guys, hope you are all warm and cozy on this cold winter evening!

I thought it be nice to share with you my latest find in the world of make up! I visited my local Super-drug and found some beautiful MUA products. Some of them were only a pound, so I thought it was worth a try (won't break the bank if they are no good!). I was pleasantly surprised they are as good if I dare say better than the more expensive brands.

Shimmery eyes!

Even though the transfer of colour from the brush to my eyelids isn't great, if you take the time to build up the layers, the finished result is a beautiful, shimmery depth of colour.

Beautiful glowing cheeks!

I have been using the No.7 natural blush for many years, so I thought it be time for time for a change! I got the MUA blush in Shade 2, this will last me a long time as you seriously only need a tiny bit to make you cheeks look rosy! I'm looking forward to continue using this new blush!

Lush lips!

So onto the best product - I bought a beautiful lipstick. What girl doesn't want to buy herself a new lipstick?! Again with the low price I was very skeptical as to the quality of the lipstick but as with the the other products, I wasn't disappointed. It's a lovely juicy pink colour, looks gorgeous on the lips, glides on really nicely and is so glossy it doesn't need any other glosses on top!

So in conclusion I'm very happy with my products and look forward to buying and trying some more!! Have a watch of my tutorial showing how I did a simple shimmery look with these products on my Youtube Channel!

Have a great day :)

Sara x

Wax Hand Bath

Hey guys!

I thought I'd write a quick blog about my wax hand bath.  It's the ultimate pamper tool - turning your hands from dry, cracked and flaky to luxuriously smooth hands!

It's brilliant if you have been out in the cold and need to warm up in the long winter evenings - this is perfect :)

It uses paraffin wax (this is the stuff they use to make things like candles and crayons) which, when used for treatment, is great for muscle swelling and inflamed joints - this may be of interest to those among us who have arthritic hands.

In this picture you can see what the bath looks like. This particular bath is no longer available as we bought it from Woolworths (They've closed down now) but you can still get one online for around £25-35! If you are interested in getting one, have a look here.

It's really simple to use, and I have done a video demonstrating how to do your own home-treatment, so go grab a cuppa and enjoy the show at my Youtube Channel!

Sara x