Feeling Crafty!

Hello lovelies

So sorry it's been so long again. I literally don't know my arse from my elbow at the moment. It's nice that I'm busy, but equally frustrating. I'm incredibly tired, and don't remember the last time we had a weekend where we weren't doing something. And I think it's set to stay the same until the end of SEPTEMBER! Man, it's mental!

Anyway, in between starting a new job, being incredibly busy at the weekends, trying to get my arse in gear with losing weight and everything else going on, I have managed to do some crafting, which has proved quite therapeutic!

I found this via Pinterest and showed it to a friend whose brother was getting married. She was looking for something a bit different for a present for them and liked this, but wanted to do it herself... It turns out she's the least crafty person in the world, so she came to mine and I made it for her...

Her brother and his new wife loved it, so that made me quite happy, too! 

Once we'd made that, someone from (old) work saw it, and asked me to make some sort of calendar that her sister could use as a countdown to her wedding for the last 4 weeks. Again, thanks to Pinterest, I found this, and reproduced it to make this!

The lady that asked me to make it framed it and gave it to her sister yesterday at her hen do along with a dry wipe marker so that she can add to it for her last month as a Miss! 

I also made another hen do memory book this week, (as well as a penis pasta necklace), but I don't have pictures of either of those, unfortunately! 

I've got plans to make a present for the wedding (or maybe two, I'm not sure yet!). 

I'll keep you posted!

Nailed it!

I paint my nails a lot, and I have loads of nail polishes, but I hate it when they chip


Last September I had 3 weddings in 10 days. Yikes! Rather than painting my nails every time and worrying about chipped polish, I decided to treat myself and get a Shellac manicure. They cost £20 (ish), but should last two weeks.

Perfect for my little wedding bonanza.

Or it would've been, if they hadn't peeled off after three days.

In all fairness, I think it's more me than the manicure - I had acrylics done once that only lasted 4 days.


In the interest of making the most of how I look for my 10in2013 challenge, I've started to paint my nails more regularly.

A couple of weeks ago I found this guide on Pinterest (FYI - totally in love with Pinterest!).

I had some birthday money left over, so decided to buy the stuff needed to see how I got on.

I followed the instructions from the directions exactly. It's time consuming, but so worth it! 

My nails look really nice, and the finish is awesome! I've done it a few times now, and I'm really impressed. 

Now. the instructions, and a lot of the comments on the blog say that doing your nails like this will mean they last as long as a Shellac manicure. As I said earlier, my Shellac manicure only lasted 3 days. And unfortunately, so did these. 

BUT - and this is a massive but - I didn't have a single chip in any of my nails for the duration of the mani. They lifted just like the Shellac did, so I still think it's an issue with me rather than the process. And for me, it's great - it means the nails don't chip, but I can change them up a couple of times a week. 

If you're near a Sally's, I'd definitely say the £12 investment (for the Gel Coat and Top Coat) is worth it. 

SO FRICKING EXCITED!!

So, you might remember that I went for a couple of job interviews a few weeks ago and that I didn't get the job?

Well, when the guy called me to tell me know about the role, it turns out that when he told me that he would give me a call if another role came up wasn't just a nice brush off!!

He called me last night and offered me a job!

I am so excited (and a little bit shocked!).

The paperwork should be with me this week so that I can get my noticed handed in before my holiday next week.

So, so happy!!!

10 in 2013 - UPDATE!

So, one of the things I said I wanted to do as part of my 10 for 2013 list was:

9. Bake a cake I am 28 years old and I have never baked a cake without the help of my mum or a teacher. I will rectify that this year! 

At Easter, we had a charity Cake Competition at work and, despite never having baked a THING before, I decided to enter. 

I found this recipe that I thought I could follow without too much difficulty, and I (wrongly) assumed that I'd end up with some relatively cute easter bunny cupcakes to enter. 

THIS is what I actually ended up with

Not pretty, hey!? I went ahead and entered them, though. And got mocked for my "Easter Hamsters". 

The worst part about it was that it cost me over £15 for the embarrassment! 

I had to pay to enter the competition: £2.50. 

I had to buy all of the ingredients: £12.00 (ish) 

Then, because nobody else had bought any, I had to buy all of the cakes back: £5.00

March Date Night

Howdy

As part of our list of 10 things to do in 2013, Mr B and I decided that we'd have a monthly date night. We were worried that we'd get stuck in the rut of going to dinner every month, so spent some time thinking of date nights for the rest of the year - some uber cheap, some not so much - divvied them up and put them in envelopes. Then, we can open each envelope on the 1st of the month and remind ourselves of this month's date and plan it.

I decided to kill several birds with one stone and include one of my personal things to achieve this year (being more crafty!) into putting together the envelopes - some of which I made from scratch, others I just decorated up.

So, March's date night was cinema night. In the interest of keeping costs as low as possible when going to the cinema (when the heck did that get so frigging expensive!) we decided that we'd sneak our own popcorn in and eat at home. 

We couldn't resist a bit of Pick n' Mix, though! 

We actually went late afternoon on Good Friday (leaving it right to the last minute!) and saw Identity Thief. BRILLIANT! I was in stitches!

Now we're a few days into April and looking forward to this month's date night... We're all raring to go!!

Not Great News

Howdy

I heard last week that I didn't get the job that I applied for.

I was / am disappointed, obviously, but the feedback that I got was all really positive.

He told me that I presented well, I was candid and honest but that unfortunately I didn't have the client-facing experience that they were looking for for this particular role.

HOWEVER!

There is a possibility that there could be a similar role coming up in the next few months, and he'll keep in touch and see where I'm at if and when that happens.

So, slight silver lining?

In the meantime, I need to keep looking and see if there's anything else out there with my name all over it!

Shh! Don't tell!

So, one of the things on my list of things to do in 2013 was to change my job.

I've been where I am for the past 2 years, and it became apparent pretty early on that the job I applied for and the job I'm actually doing weren't really the same thing. That said, I'm also incredibly aware that, at the moment, jobs aren't all that easy to come by. So I've made do and I've stayed put.

But in the time I've stayed there, my confidence has taken a bit of a beating. I know I'm better than the job I'm doing at the moment, but I'm just not sure I'm confident enough to convince other people.

This year I decided I want to change that. And, I've made a start.

In fact, earlier this afternoon, I had a second interview for a new job. Without saying too much about it, it's an account manager role and would be a real stretch for me. There are aspects of it that I'd be able to do easily, but others that will really mean I have to challenge myself which I'm really excited about.

The second interview was a bit of a challenge for me for a start - a 20 minute presentation that told them who I think is the best retailer and why. WHAT!!! 20 MINUTES!!!
By Tuesday I'd decided that there was no way I was going to fill 20 minutes, but that I could present for 14 minutes well, rather than waffling on for 20 minutes.

When I was finished, they commented on how well I presented and how naturally I came across. Not bad, considering that I can probably count on my hand how many presentations I've done.

If I got the job, it would help me cross two things off my list, too - the company is a half an hour drive from home, so I'd definitely drive more!

I'll know next week whether I've got the job or not, and there's nothing I can do until then. I've done the best I can, and now I just have to wait.

In the meantime, it would be great if you could cross your fingers for me!?

x

Source

Birthday Weekend - In Pictures

It was my birthday on Saturday - 29 years old (or 30 minus 1, as my mum kept saying). I had a lovely day back home with my mum and brother, and I was appropriately spoilt. As part of my 10in2013 challenge, I took a few photos... here are a few of them!

Mum had a birthday cake made for me.
Awesome

One of my favourite cards!

This badge was on the card Mr B bought

We went to Ikea (don't ask!) and no trip to Ikea is complete without a
slice of Dime Bar Cake! 

My little brother paid for me to have a new tattoo for my birthday.
It was less than half an hour old when I took the picture.
And, although it looks massive, it's actually smaller than a 5p
and will be "hidden" by my watch strap when it's healed

 Mr B, my mum, brother and I went for an awesome Chinese in the evening.

Wicked, wicked weekend!

Hope you had a good one, too.

10 for 2013

Last year, I wrote a list of things that I wanted to achieve through the year. A bit like New Years resolutions, but not things I had to do RIGHT THEN and do forever.

My 10 in 2012 was a success in some ways (I passed my driving test and bought a car), but not so much in others (I'm still in the same job, and there's no Baby B), but overall it was something that I found useful.

So, I decided to right a new list for 2013.

Here it is:

1. Be Positive This is a carry over from last year. Sometimes, it's super easy to think of the bad stuff - the things I don't have or haven't achieved. But, spending just a couple of minutes every day thinking of the GOOD things really helps.

2. Get my BMI Below 40 This one is probably the toughest - not only as a physical challenge, but because it's the one I don't really agree with the most. I couldn't give a flying monkey crap about my BMI, but I want a baby. To have a baby, I need to get my PCOS under control. To get my PCOS under control, I need to lose weight. And quite frankly, I can't cope with another appointment with the consultant like we had back in January...

3. Take More Photos I love photos. But, I was really disappointed with the amount of photos I took last year so I want to take more this year. I think my main downfall is my smart phone, though - I take a whole load of photos on there that I do nothing with... D'oh!

4. Swear less (particularly at work!) I swear like a sailor. My language is FOUL and I've become more conscious of it - especially since I'm more unhappy at work. So, I want to cut down. And, I've started a charity swear jar to help. An F-bomb costs me 20p, and all others are 10p. I started mid January and have nearly £12 already! Having said that, I had 3 days this week without putting any in, and my language at home is much better, too!

5. Make more of an effort with my appearance. I have a massive amount of makeup and jewellery, but rarely use / wear it, so I want to start. Oh, and get my legs out more, too.

6. Be more crafty. I love crafting, but haven't done much really. It's a real release for me - I fully concentrate on it and relax.

7. Drive more! Although I passed my driving test, I don't really drive very often. I'm paid a bonus every month for not driving to work, and that more than pays for my bus fare, so I don't drive to work. I also don't drive places I don't know, because I panic about parking.... I need to (wo)man up, and just start doing it!

8. Cook new recipes / more regularly Cooking is another thing I love, but don't do enough of. I think like most people, I have my staple recipes and tend to stick to them, but I want to be more adventurous!

9. Bake a cake I am 28 years old and I have never baked a cake without the help of my mum or a teacher. I will rectify that this year!

10. Change job Another roll over from last year, but I'm determined. I am better than the job I'm currently doing. And I will prove it!

I also managed to get Mr B to agree to doing a joint 10 for 2013 which I'll share soon!

Wish me luck!