February in photos

Hello honey buns!

It's time for what I did in February in photos. Click to enlarge.

Policemen kissing - a Banksy rip off or a real one? We do have a Banksy nearby//me & Mookie
Face//nails//horrid Fibro rash
First Drown Soda order//sneak peek of my back tattoo


Meeting Maggie over from Chicago//Merchant Navy memorial
Tower Bridge//St Katharines Docks//cheeky hubby
Yours Clothing 99p dresses//a lovely sunset


Eating less meat//the storms wreaked havoc on the coast
Not so much driftwood as a drift forest//fisherman's wares//let me in
First day with my new glasses//hubby on our impromptu date//I prefer myself pretty


Morticia vibe//I got Rachele'd!!
Pretty flowers x 2//fish finger sandwich
Depression hits hard//more slap


So, what did I/we do in Feb? Not as much as usual. We met Mookie and Mike for lunch and fun, which was lovely, even if the weather wasn't. ;) I did Fatshion February and posted an outfit a day for the whole month and really enjoyed that. I fell in love with Drown Soda jewellery and we visited hubby's parents in London for the weekend.

Hubby and I went to the beach a couple of times and froze our arses off, but it's wonderful to blow the cobwebs away! I was very lucky and got my hands on 3 Yours Clothing 99p dresses. Depression kicked the crap out of me for a lot of February, and I had the most painful period I'd had in about 18 months so I was chomping codeine like TicTacs. It was a bit of an up and down month, a lot of which was spent in bed afraid to face the day but it's over now. :)

Onwards and upwards, March has been a much better month so my next photo update will be a bit cheerier!

Have a fab rest of weekend.

Fibromyalgia life hacks

Hiya!

I've had Fibromyalgia now for 6 and a half long years, and in that time I've learned a few things about how to make life slightly better. I wanted to share this experience in case it helps anyone else.

The weather

Seems a funny one to start off with, yes? No. Fibro people are incredibly sensitive to the weather. If I get too cold I get a chill which can last days. If I get too hot I very easily fall prey to sunstroke. If it's too windy (even on a hot day) my dry Fibro skin can chap painfully. What's the answer? Be smart. On a really hot day wear cool loose clothing which covers almost all of your body, preferably light in colour and made of cotton or linen. Think about people in really hot countries - they don't expose vast areas of flesh so they don't cook in the sun, they wear loose fabrics so the air can circulate and they often wear light colours - beige or white.

On cold days wear layers so if you get too hot you can take one off. It doesn't mean you have to carry huge woolly jumpers about with you - I  always carry at least one large pashmina in my handbag, sometimes two, so if necessary I can wrap them around my head/neck/shoulders. Carrying a compact umbrella at all times is a good idea, because getting wet and cold makes my bones burn for days. You'll learn over time what kind of weather affects you and dress accordingly, but if in doubt layer as you can always take something off.

Footwear

Now you have Fibromyalgia you might feel like you've been on one of those vibrating fitness plates for a month. You might notice your joints feel tender, like every step you take shock waves through your body. You need to wear appropriate shoes. When I was first diagnosed I lived in Vans trainers, until I got Achilles bursitis and spent months in pain before an even more painful cortisone injection finally sorted it out. Now Dr Martens dolly shoes or boots with rubber soles are my friends - the soles are just the cushioning I need between my feet and the ground. I need to minimise the time I spend walking on concrete. Where possible I walk in woods, as the spongy earth is much less aggressive on my joints. I might be able to walk for only a couple of minutes on the street without pain some days, and maybe 10 times that on soft earth. It might be a dent to the ego to give up sexy shoes for nanna shoes, but if it stops your achilles heels from feeling like they're about to snap, or stops cramp it'll be worth it.

Clothes

Since I've been ill I've subconsciously changed the way I dress. I don't wear trousers with zips or buttons except on very rare occasions as my dodgy bladder means I need to get my trousers off quickly or I will pee all over them. Often I'll start pulling them down as soon as I get off the sofa as the urge to pee is so strong. I live in leggings and prefer dresses I can just pull on and off over my head, again avoiding anything fussy like buttons or poppers as my hands are weak and often numb for an hour or so when I wake up. My clothes have to be soft above all, as my skin is so dry and fragile that rough clothes can make me bleed. I get a huge amount of pain from putting on and taking off my bra so sometimes I wear one of those stretchy pull on bras. They don't give a lot of support but it stops me feeling like my arms are being ripped off by angry Silverback gorillas. You'll learn which bits of your body need adjustments and dress accordingly. At first it might feel like you're turning into an old person, but who cares if you're more comfortable?

Rest

This might seem like a no-brainer, but I spent the first 2-3 years of my illness trying to prove I was still Superwoman - with horrible effects. I passed out twice through sheer exhaustion (once in the house and once in the street.) I worked so hard despite signs I was falling apart that one day I didn't even have the energy to lift my arms in the shower to wash my hair. I spent weeks confined to the sofa and bed after trying to do normal things like carry shopping home, go on 4 mile walks, have big days out to London, etc. I had more falls than I can count. I cut myself, burned myself, scalded myself, put my back out, had bruises almost as big as my head. You have to listen to your body. All the things you think are your responsibility? Some of those things have to be delegated or binned altogether. This brings me onto..

Stress

You have to minimise stress. Ideally you need a supportive partner (who may have to bear the brunt of working if you're too ill to) who will understand that you didn't choose the illness, you don't want to be ill, but you are. Fighting against chronic illness makes it worse. Believe me, I've been there. The only reason I'm not in tears of pain every day is because I've said 'Sod it!' to so many things. Having to give up work was hard. Giving up most of my hobbies was hard. Saying goodbye to a whole bunch of people who couldn't understand or couldn't deal with the new me was hard, but without all those things my life is better. If you have people in your life who don't believe you or don't support you, where possible you need to cut them out of your life. You NEED support. You need to be believed. No one chooses to go through hard times, but when they come there's no point in asking 'Why me?' It's how you deal with things that matters. In many ways chronic illness makes you selfish. You have to be to survive. You have to make YOU number 1, and after doing exactly the polar opposite all my life I now have to.

Better nutrition and exercise

You may find you've developed problems like IBS or an irritable bladder with Fibromyalgia. I've had to cut out alcohol except vodka and Crabbies, because everything else makes my irritable bladder agony. I minimise my caffeine intake as too much gives me panic attacks. My body needs more expensive, better quality food now. I used to live off any old junk but now my body tells me it is a temple and I feed it accordingly - low sugar, low meat consumption, high fruit and veg consumption, lots of water, no white carbs. Gentle exercise is important in Fibromyalgia. For me swimming is no good as I have CFS/ME too and it makes me so tired I become a danger to myself - I walk and talk like a drunk and am prone to falls and other accidents after swimming as it's too intensive, and I think the heat makes it worse too.

For me yoga has been the best thing. I do about 20 minutes 3 times a week when I can, but anything you do that's gentle will help stop your muscles seizing. When I do yoga I have more energy in the day and sleep better at night, as well as having less pain. You have to find your 'sweet spot' through trial and error - you need to walk the fine line between not being so tired that you are worse off, but you do enough that you feel better. I would suggest starting with as little as 5 minutes a day, every other day. Even gentle stretching is good - anything to loosen up those muscles. You will learn to exercise the smart way for you. We tend to drive to somewhere flat so I can walk without the pain of the steep hills we have locally. I can walk further on the flat and don't get terrible cramps and burning in my back and legs that hill walking gives me.

Drugs

As Fibromyalgia is a series of complaints there's no 'fix', you can only treat the symptoms. I'm on anti depressants, a muscle relaxant, migraine tablets and pain signal blockers. There are more 'whole body' type treatments you can try like massage or acupuncture, but you may not be able to get them on the NHS. Every time you get a 'big' new symptom, go to your GP - don't just put everything down to Fibro.

A good bed

I can't tell you the importance of having a good bed and a good mattress. If you're anything like me you'll spend a lot more time in bed once you're ill. It's of paramount importance you lie in comfort as a good night's sleep with Fibromyalgia is often as elusive as unicorn poop. If you're not actually asleep, you need to be resting in comfort. I spend about 12 hours a day in bed - trying to sleep and being asleep consumes half my days. I still get up feeling shattered.

Short cuts

Don't be afraid to use things to make life easier for you - electric toothbrushes, electric can openers, can grippers, etc. There's a whole lot of sensible advice about things you can do to make life easier for you here on the arthritis UK website.

Other Spoonies - not necessarily Fibro sufferers - what are your chronic illness life hacks? Feel free to share in the comments.

Thanks for reading.


Short Tall and Inbetween - One Dress*

Hello lovelies.

Happy Friday! I've been dying to show you this daisy print doll dress since I was sent it because I'm a little bit in love with it. OK, a lot in love. The dress is by Simply Be and it fits me like a glove.

You may remember I did another 'Short Tall and Inbetween' post with 4 lovely ladies in January. It was an idea Kathryn came up with and Simply Be have kindly agreed to send us all another dress to show how it looks on a variety of sizes. It's a genius idea!


It has an on trend exposed zip at the back and a dipped hem, which for me is heaven as my bubble butt normally leaves me short of material to cover it fully. As you can see the length is good - at the front it comes just above my knee (I'm 5ft 5 and a half) and at the back it's a couple of inches longer, even taking the butt shelf into account. It really nips me in at the waist due to the cut and makes my boobs look fab whilst skimming over my tummy. My husband says 'It gives you a lovely shape!' so I'm happy with that. There's plenty of room in the skirt to twirl about in. That never gets old for me. Simply Be also do this dress in a bird print, which is also divine. I think they should make this dress in ALL the patterns. It's a winner.

I know daisy print was massive in the 90s but I was a tomboy then so I'm getting to re-live the grunge era from a more feminine perspective.

You can see the dipped hem here

Close up of fabric & necklace

The dress is 100% viscose and unusually (in my experience) for Simply Be, true to size. I normally have to size up in Simply Be fitted items but I'm wearing a 28 here and it feels made to measure.

Dress c/o Simply Be*
Bag (just seen in back view photo) Primark
Necklace and bracelet, Sister Vintage
Earrings, birthday gift from my lovely friend Elaine
Leggings, Pink Clove
Shoes, Rocket Dog

Please check out the other lovely ladies:

Kathryn
Sera
Em
Megan

I can't wait to see how they've styled theirs.

Are you feeling the second coming of 90s style? I am, now I just need to get some dungarees. I used to live in them back in the day.

Thanks for reading!

My confidence with Curvissa

Hiya pickles.

When I was at the Curvissa event we were asked to answer a brief questionnaire about what makes us confident. Here are my answers which they kindly made up into a graphic.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I forgot to mention Tess Munster as a body confidence role model as well, whom I adore.

I didn't really have any confidence up until a couple of years ago. I was put on my first diet by my mum (dragged to the doctors) and had to see a dietician for ages. That didn't exactly give me the foundation to be confident about myself at all. I grew up being brutally self-aware and HATED being looked at, or being in public at all. My weight has yo-yoed up and down for almost all my life, and I only stopped dieting a few years ago when my health got shit. That may seem counter intuitive, but you try living with a couple of chronic illnesses and you see how much energy you've got for self-flagellation. That's 20+ years of trying to shrink myself.

So what happened? The internet! First of all I found fat confident women on MySpace, and they gave me hope. Then 2-3 years ago I discovered plus size blogs, and I told myself I could never put myself out there like they do, but I read on and I was aching to take part.

Eventually I had what I call a 'soft launch'. I did an outfit post or two and no one said 'Burn the witch!' so I got more confident over time and here I am. Now I wear things I never would've dreamed of a few years ago and give far less of a shit than I used to. I'm never going to be the most comfortable of people in social situations because I came out of the womb anxious (it took me almost a lifetime to realise it - I thought everyone tormented themselves to the nth degree about everrrrrrrrrthang.)

Plus size blog reading helped me feel more confident, like there was a place for me in the world after all. Blogging myself has given me even more - I know my shape and what suits me so much better from looking at photos of myself I take almost every day (vain, yup!) and my own body has become normalised. The more I look at myself, the more I like myself.

So yes, now I am confident.

If you like you can answer questions 2-5 in the comments, I'd love to know what makes you feel confident!

Thanks for reading.


Outside My Comfort Zone 29 Pastels OOTD

Hiya lovelies!

This fortnight's challenge is pastels, chosen by Hollie, who said:  

Pastels are here for Spring & Summer but I'd love some inspiration from you lovely ladies. I want to see you flourish in fondant colours. Pinks, Mints, Sky Blues... the list goes on. I don't want to hide away this Summer so this will be good practise!


I don't have a lot of pastels. In fact (off the top of my head) my 'collection' as it stands is: 3 vest tops, one bracelet and a hair flower. Pastels don't really suit me until I have a bit of a tan, which is why I've avoided them I guess - there ain't a lot of sun in these parts! :) I'm loving the trend for pastels this year though (especially all the pink) and need more colour in my life. The vest is more mint green in real life but appears a tad darker here.

I'm hoping I haven't worn this exact outfit before, or at least I'd have been unfortunate to wear it twice as the skirt and the vest are both a couple of sizes too big. Before I started blogging I always used to drown myself in sizes-too-big clothes as I thought they minimised (they really don't) and sometimes it's a habit I refer back to without thinking. My waist and boobs have vanished in this outfit, so it's not my favourite outfit, but hopefully you'll forgive me. ;) I have no lipstick on as my tea was on the side going cold - the blog always comes first.

Hair flower, Primark
Necklace, old Superdrug
Ring, Debenhams
Cardigan, Just For 5 Pounds
Vest, Simply Be from 3 pack
Skirt, old Yours Clothing
Shoes, old Evans

How do you feel about pastels? Are they up your alley or a bit too 'My Little Pony' for you?

Thanks for reading.

Stickers and postcards....of ME!

Hello honey buns!

Did you know that when you've had Rachele draw you you can buy stickers and postcards with your face on? 




Naturally I bought both because I was so stoked to be captured so brilliantly. I think I'll send one of each to my mum, she'll love them.

If you've been immortalised by Rachele you can go to her Redbubble and order your cards and stickers. They come from abroad so if you're in the UK they can take a couple of weeks to come, but are worth it. The postcards are normal postcard sized and the stickers are about as big as the palm of my mind, so you're getting a good size for your money and they're both good quality too.

Will you be getting some stickers and postcards of yo' self?

Thanks for peeking!

Lacy Grey OOTD

Hello lovelies!

Happy Monday...if such a thing exists. ;) On Saturday the manslice and I decided to go out and get some fresh air in the late afternoon. It couldn't have been any more fresh, it was deceptively sunny with a biting wind. Here are a lot of photos with my hair all over my face, wincing from the cold. Don't tell me I never bring you the glamour! Haha.


Hubby looking serene until he realised how chuffing cold it was


Must chop those hanging loops off!

Anyone else get earache when it's windy?

Funky beach shelter




I'm wearing:
Necklace, Drown Soda
Boyfriend coat, New Look.
Dress, ASOS Curve similar here
Leggings, Simply Be
Boots, New Look (wide fit)

After we got back in the car the heater went on full blast to un-numb our frosty fingers and we had a cosy night in in front of the tv watching Breaking Bad. What did you do this weekend?

Thanks for reading.

Make up organisation of dreams

Hello honey buns!

I've kind of grown out of my habit of stockpiling make up like there's a zombie apocalypse coming, but I still have a huge amount of it. Hubby kindly bought me the 9 drawer Alex storage drawers from IKEA last year, which is pictured in the photo below, but I want to refresh the whole portion of the room where I'll be sitting to do my make up. It's my next big project.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

My aunt very kindly gave me a vintage dressing table a couple of years ago, which I adore, but I'm giving it back to her for a couple of reasons. Firstly the plan was always for me to sit at the dressing table and put my make up on in daylight (on the days we get some!) but that hasn't really happened. Our bedroom doesn't really get any light in it except for right by the window as it's north-facing. Our ceiling in the bedroom is about 10 feet high, and the curtain rail curls down at either end (cheap plastic crap) so I can't touch the curtains at ALL or else they fall off and then hub-features has to go up a ladder and sort them out, and then he moans, so they're always shut. Bah. My aunt is happy to have the dressing table back, so it gives me room to plot for a better set up.

I've already bought some new curtains for the bedroom, and once the dressing table has gone back to my aunt there'll be a lovely big gap, in which my dear husband can stand on a ladder with a drill in hand and put up a new curtain rail (once we buy one.) Then I can sit in the sunshine and put my make up on like a normal person at my new desk instead of having make up scattered all over the living room, like I currently do. This is the desk I'm after.

The second reason I needed to send it back is because I can't open the drawers any more. After hub-face stood behind me laughing as I tugged on the drawer handle with both hands trying to open it the other day it made me realise it's been peeing me off for too long. The drawers are really stiff, as you'd expect with a 40+ year old dressing table, and my arms have got weedier over the couple of years I've had it and I HATE (with a passion) being reminded that I'm less strong than I was before. So right now I'm avoiding using it for any reason at all. Sulk.

The idea of having a table and drawer unit which match in colour is quite appealing too, I must say - because as it is it's very mismatched. The only downside to not having a proper dressing table is I won't have a big mirror, so I'll be looking to buy something like this mirror below. It's from Argos, is £29.99 and measures H52, W56, D2cm. Big enough to see my face in without too much squinting! Hurrah.


The drawers in the table go back deep (I've seen them in Youtube videos before) and look like they'll hold quite a lot of stuff. I intend to use the large lidded plastic storage boxes you can get anywhere under the table to store things like belts and other accessories in, and on top I would probably at some point have a couple of these Muji acrylic storage boxes, when the money fairy lands on my shoulder. They measure 26cm x 17.5cm x 16cm and the internal drawer height is 2.5cm. That'd hold most of my every day make up, I'm sure, with the less used stuff squirrelled away in drawers.

I'm more into skincare these days than make up, as since I've been taking better care of my skin I feel I don't need as much make up to look alive. But it'll be nice to store the stuff I have, and of course I'll need somewhere to store my excess skincare bits until such time they're ready to be used.

What would your ideal make up storage set up be?

If I get enough birthday money for my juicer (I want a juicer for my birthday so I can cram in more fruit & veg) and have any spare left over I'll put it towards the desk.

Thanks for reading!


Wiggy monochrome OOTD

Happy Saturday!

I decided to take my birthday night out wig out for a spin. Whilst squinting a lot, apparently! ;)


I've bought a few wigs before, but I've never had one as full as this one. It was £22 which is really good I think for such a full, long wig. I wore it out to take a parcel back yesterday and may as well have had a dick on my head. Everyone stared. Wait till I'm in my full get up for my birthday. Mwoohahaha. Do you wear wigs?



Wig, Geisha Wigs
Hair flower, old New Look
Dress, ASOS Curve
Leggings, Very
Shoes, old Very

What are you up to this weekend? The weather's gone to hell in a hand basket so I think we might make a blanket fort and catch up on some films and tv.

Thanks for reading!

Evans polka dot dress OOTD

Howdy!

When I went to Lakeside with a few other plus bloggers a few weeks ago (my post about it here) I fell in love with a dress in Evans but didn't get it on the day because I had a strict budget and I didn't want to go over it.

On looking back at the photos I really liked it and decided to buy it along with what I hoped would be the trousers of dreams. I hoped they'd be as good as the wonderful crepe trousers I had in my early 20s. Sadly the trousers of dreams weren't half as dreamy in the flesh (boo!) so I'm sending them back, but at least it got me off my bum to order the dress.


Duck face!




Boyfriend coat, New Look - some stock back in now
Necklace, Sister Vintage
Dress, Evans
Leggings, Very
Shoes, old Evans

Are you sick of seeing me in polka dots yet?!

Thanks for reading.

Curvissa Event

Hi lovelies!

On Saturday I went to London to attend an event hosted by Curvissa. The email invite sounded wonderful so I was really excited.

The event was a chance to try out Curvissa's new spring lines and take a modelling workshop held by Curve Project London. This is a long post so grab yourself a cuppa!

Mookie (Anne-Lise) kindly met me from the tube at Parsons Green where the event was held. We were the first to arrive and were greeted by the lovely Sarah from Curvissa who handed us a purple flower garland and a name badge, and gave us a drink in a cute pink glass. After everyone arrived the Curvissa girls gave a quick speech about the day ahead and then the beautiful Saffi from London Curve Project took over and gave us the rundown and then got the rest of her team to introduce themselves to us. It quickly became apparent to me that we were going to spend the day with a group of warm, happy, smiley and professional people and that feeling only increased as the day went on. In fact I have the kind of feel-good vibes you normally have about a wedding or another huge event of that kind. Forgive me if I get a bit 'evangelical' but it really was the best day.

We were soon split into two groups - one to begin catwalk training immediately, and the other to pick outfits and go into hair and make up. Myself, Mookie, Becky and two lovely competition winners were in the group to start training, so we met Les Child, who is a renowned choreographer and a total hoot. My first attempts at walking catwalk-style were very comical and resulted in Les shrieking 'Eyes up! Eyes up!' as I walked around looking at the floor. Les is a tough love mentor (yet hilarious at the same time) and wasn't shy about pointing us in the right direction. When you have a limited time to instil excellence you need short, sharp pointers. We laughed our way right round to lunch time as we practised our sassy walks. We had lunch in the courtyard outside eating finger nibbles, sushi and fruit. We were catered for INCREDIBLY all day. It was a very hot day and we were kept topped up with lots of water and juice, and after lunch when we were feeling the strain from the catwalking there was a cheeky prosecco and some Coke for a caffeine injection.

After lunch it was our turn to pick clothes and go for hair and make up. Becky actually found me the dress I wore, which was from Lovedrobe (via Curvissa.) It looked so nice on me I'll be buying it later on. It was really good to see and feel the clothes and shoes, and I'll be doing a wishlist post in a day or two to show you some of the lovely new items they've brought out. There are some lovely fresh cheery spring lines.

I was really laid back about what I had done with my hair and make up, leaving myself totally in the hands of the professionals. A lovely chap did my make up and he did a really good job. I looked like me, but better. He used the lightest of touches and it reminded me less is more. When it came to my hair I had the benefit of two lovely ladies, one who prepared and curled my hair, and one who finessed it and gave me a lovely 50s style 'doughnut' bun on top of my head and a curled under fringe. I felt like a million dollars! There was such a feeling of support from everyone all day - from the Curvissa ladies who were excited to show us their lovely new ranges, the Curve Project team who were all so enthusiastic about their work, and there were also a lot of compliments shared among us lucky ladies who were being pampered. We were telling each other we looked fab in our outfits, hair and make up. It was so lovely to be surrounded by such genuinely nice people, and it gave me a buzz which still hasn't worn off yet. Every person there was a people person through and through. You can tell when someone likes people and when they're faking it, and everyone was fantastic. It's the kind of environment you can grow in.

You might think learning to walk a catwalk and being watched by a room full of people would be daunting, but it wasn't, not after the first couple of minutes. I knew everybody there wanted good things for us and that made it easy. Before long I was walking with my head held high, holding the gaze of anyone looking at me as I did so. Once we'd all had hair and make up and had chosen an outfit to wear from all the lovely things Curvissa had brought for us we went for photography, both singly and in groups. It was a bit scary at first standing in front of a man with an impressive piece of kit hooked up to a laptop and studio lighting. It was very different to posing in front of my camera on a tripod pulling funny faces and grabbing my boobs, as I usually do! I think I ran the gamut of my usual poses and probably forgot a few more with nerves, but I hope the photos will be OK. They'll be back in a couple of weeks and I will share them EVERYWHERE when I get them - just you try to stop me!

Here are some photos from the day from my Instagram and from Curvissa's account, London Curve Project's and Hollie's IG.


We'd been told not to arrive wearing make up to make things easier for the make up artists, and here's my nervous no make up selfie just after I arrived!


The building where the event was hosted, The Worx is lovely and light and airy. This is the foyer.


Les teaching one of the ladies to sashay.

A few shots after hair and make up, and in my dress.



How good does my hair look with my new glasses?! 50s ahoy!









After the photography we all walked the catwalk and it was filmed, in fact there were cameras on us all day, not just when we were posing for the photographer. It's something I got used to very quickly as we were all having so much fun. It was lovely to meet bloggers I've met before - Hollie, Becky and Mookie - and it was great to meet Beka, Sally, Gemma, Charley and Nat.

When the event was coming to a close I wanted to go and say thank you and goodbye to everyone, so Mookie and I went to say our farewells. I felt quite sad at this point as I didn't want it to end! We were sent on our way with a lovely goodie bag, some organic juices and a day full of memories.

Thanks to the Curvissa team for the invite and for being so lovely to talk to. Thanks to Saffi and the Curve Project London team for giving me the chance to feel catwalk fabulous. I'll finish with something choreographer Les said. "Life's a catwalk. You've got to razzle dazzle them!"

So, to clarify the images will be coming back in about 2 weeks and I will post them as soon as I get them. I'll be doing a post about the lovely Curvissa goodies within the next couple of days.

Thanks for reading. Have you ever had your hair and make up done professionally? I think I've acquired a taste for it!

How to deal with conflict on the internet

Hello lovelies,

I've written a guest post about how to deal with conflict over at Vicky's blog The Curved Opinion.

Go have a look and let me know what you think!

Beauty - Scholl instant hard skin remover

Hello lovelies,

I'm going to be talking about foot care so if feet turn your stomach, give this post a miss!

I have a problem with hard skin on my feet, or to be precise, with my right foot especially. I've mentioned in the past how I had an accident in my 20s where a metal bolt pierced my knee cap, and now my left leg is at least an inch shorter than the right. Because I carry more weight on my right leg, I get a LOT of hard skin on that foot and hardly any on the other. (I also walk a bit like a penguin because of the difference in leg lengths!)

I'm not yet ready to give you photos of my feet because I've been hiding them for years. I had thick, yellow hard skin which looked and felt absolutely disgusting. Even thinking about it makes me want to hurl. My hubby calls me 'Leather feet'. What a charmer! ;)



I've used it twice so far and my feet are transformed.



The first time I used it I did it on dry feet, and the amount of skin which came off was frankly astounding. Then last Thursday (about 2 weeks after I first used it) I used it again in my huge pamper session I did prior to the Curvissa event. First I did it dry, and again I got quite a lot of skin off my right foot. I soaked my feet in hot water with oil and tea tree oil for 10 minutes then used it again and the feet I was left with afterwards looked like someone else's. I didn't think it was possible to have feet like a normal person again.



I'm still a bit reticent to show you my feet as I've been afraid of anyone seeing them for so long now, but I was confident enough to walk around in my bare feet some of the time at the Curvissa event, which is massive for me. I painted my toenails a pretty orange for the Curvissa day and I need to sort out a couple of polish chips, then have one last go over with the tool then I will post pictures of my feet.

I bought the tool from Tesco for £8.50 and it's worth every single penny. The only downside is the holes get quite clogged up during use and you will have to use some kind of bristle brush to clean them out with. I'm using an old dish brush. If you have been suffering with hard skin for a long time you need this in your life! Before this I was using a JML Pedi Pro, which is did improve my feet slightly, but when compared to this it falls sadly short.

I thought I'd mention how/where I do my feet. Because bending over from standing causes me dizzy spells I lay two towels out in front of the sofa, one to catch the skin that comes off, and one to dry my feet and legs with after I've soaked them in the bowl. I also shave my legs in a bowl in front of the sofa. When you're disabled you have to adapt. :)

You can buy the Scholl instant hard skin remover from Tesco, Amazon, eBay and various other places. I bought it with my own money. I think hubby will have to change his name for me to 'Silky feet!'

Do you have a hard skin problem?

Thanks for reading.