Name 3 things – famous crushes as a teenager

themadhouseofcatsandbabies has come up with a good link this week, and has made me delve back a few years to when  I was a teenager.

This could be an embarrassing one, actually this is going to be an embarrassing one.

1. Peter Andre – I know, I know you don't have to say it. But he was all floppy air, six pack and what's a teenage girl meant to do. I had a giant poster of his on my wall.

2. Lee from 911 – gosh what was his surname? Brennan. I remember having a poster of him on my wall, and it falling down one night and scaring the hell out of me.

3. Shane Filan – You know the dashingly handsome one from Westlife. This teenage crush however didn't go away. I still think he's absolutely gorgeous now. There is just something about him that even as a fully grown adult makes me swoon.

Seems like I like fresh faced, floppy hair boys . I would like to hope my tastes have improved over the years, but I can't promise they have. Although I definitely go for a manlier look these days.

The English Language

I've always known it to be completely confusing and wondered how people every manage to learn it. It has become more apparent recently though.

Since entering year 1, J has been getting spellings weekly and most of them are words you just have to know. I can't explain why they are spelt the way they are. Those phonics they teach feel useless too, as half of the words can't be sounded out.

The past couple of weeks have been particularly confusing.

Last few weeks we have had words such as; coin, join, foil and soil. I explained to him this is an OI sound and which letters to use. This week he has got Toy, Boy etc. and when I asked him to spell them he wrote 'boiy' 'toiy', so remember what he had previously learnt about the sound. Only for me to confuse matters by explaining its the same sound but different letters.

Other examples are:

Made, paid, stay. They all have the A sound but are spelt differently. How is a five year old meant to get their heads around that? How did we ever get ours around it? I sometimes wonder how we just know how to spell such words.

Does anyone have any tips on how I can help him understand? I'm finding it incredibly hard to help him in a way he can understand. I know that he does the test and the words are gone from his mind almost instantly as he is so intent on learning the next batch.

Year 1 homework and it's already causing me stress, what will it be like next year when I have two of them coming out with homework.

My Makeup Bag

During my packing this morning I emptied the contents of my makeup bag onto the floor. Half of the stuff I never use and I looked at it and thought this needs a serious overhaul. This was the contents.

So I had a little sort out and now I only have stuff in my bag that I use, not all of it I use daily but most of it I do.

Take a look at what is inside.

My favourite item without a doubt is my urban palette. I am not a big spender on makeup, as I was never sure the expense was justified. However in an impulse moment I ordered the Naked palette and I haven't regretted it for one second. At almost £40, I managed to justify it by breaking down what each colour was worth. I have used it almost daily since it arrived, both for daytime wear and evening wear. Since owning the palette I have started blending, I never used to use different colours or shades but I am now a lover of the different effects you can create. It was worth every penny and I will buy it again when mine runs out, which wont be for ages.

I ventured into boots a few months ago and into the No 7 range, I was baffled by the number of foundations. I had already decided to change as I wasn't loving my previous foundation and decided to get the colour match done. It was so easy and took the hassle out of choosing the right shade. They also tested the foundation on my skin to make sure I was happy before I made my purchase. I opted for the stay perfect foundation, as I never touch my makeup up throughout the day. This is the first time I've ever used one of the counters, they are not exactly common place in our small town but I will definably be doing it in the future.

Currently I am using a Barry M mascara, purely because it came free when I purchased some nail varnishes. If I am honest I don't love it, I have tested many different mascaras and haven't found one I completely love yet. Maybe I need to venture into the next price bracket? What are your favourite mascaras?

This year I plan to gradually improve my makeup and skincare, by buying a few decent key pieces. I hear primer is good, I didn't even know what it was until recently. This is something I will be considering as a purchase in the future.

So what are you must have makeup items and why? I would love to hear about them, so I can look into them and see if they may suit me.

Frame it Friday

For me the choice is obvious this week. My Frame it Friday (yes I know it's now Sunday) is getting the amazing news of securing a house.

After months of stress, tears and frustration I was at the point where I feared we'd be homeless. It had got to such a scary place for me that when my ex husband offered us to go and stay with him if worst came to it; I seriously considering it. That is how desperate I felt.

However I viewed a property a week last Wednesday and received a call first thing Saturday morning telling me my application had been successful and the landlord had chosen me over the other applicants.

The house is gorgeous and quirky. Three floors and lots of steps throughout, there is something about steps in houses that I just love. Since getting the good news I have been frantically packing as I move two weeks tomorrow and I am away for the weekend prior to the move. Bunk beds have been ordered ad received, new bedding and lamp shades for the boys have been purchased. Then today I purchased myself a gorgeous lamp for my bedroom.

My mind is constantly racing with ideas of what I want to do and buy, my colour schemes have been chosen and I can't wait to get in there and make is MY home. Where I am now was never made into a home and I am not making that mistake again.

New chapter of my life is about to begin and I'm going to make sure its a good one.

 

 

Stationary

I am starting my new course very soon, module one is sat in my inbox waiting for me to get started. This led me to dreaming about pretty new stationary. I do love a pretty notebook, I rarely buy them as they end up sitting around untouched or with only a few pages every used.

I ventured over to paperchase online for some inspiration – a very dangerous move because immediately I fell in love with a notebook. It's a linen cover, with beautiful butterflies adorning it. I have a slight addiction to butterflies.

It's a good job my purse was not within reaching distance as this notebook wasn't the only one I fell in love with. I almost tried to justify needing a cute mini notebook with an owl, a spiral bound notebook and the butterfly one. I could have a different notebook for every occasion. Of course I'd have added some pretty pens to my basket as well and before I know it I'd have spent a fortune.

Unfortunately I can't justify £10 + P&P for a pretty notebook. I am going to have to settle for a cheaper one from one of the supermarkets. Which ultimately will do the same thing, allow me to scribble down my thoughts and idea and thats what is most important.

Name Three Things

After posting yesterday I received a suggestion from @MsSBurns that joining some linky's might be a good way to get myself back into the habit of writing again. She then pointed me in the direction of The Mad Houseof Cats & Babies.

 

 

 

 

The theme this week is three songs that make you happy..

Bryan Adams – Summer of 69

Purely because it's one of my favourite ever songs, and takes me back to my teenage years where the only worry I had in life was having fun.

Olly Murs – Oh My Goodness

Guaranteed to make me smile. It reminds me of someone special and despite everything that has happened it still manages to put a smile on my face.

The Easy Way – Westlife

Westlife had to appear in here somewhere, they were part of my life for 14 years. I have made some amazing friends through them and they are still part of my life even now Westlife are no more. This song is light hearted and fun and makes me want to have a little dance. “Why don't we grow a tree?”

What are three songs that make you happy? Why not join in here.

New year, New...

…. Blah! I am not into that stuff this year. I would like to promise I will blog more, that I will do more crafts, that I’ll clean my house more. All of those things but I am not going to.

Life is a bit of a mess at the moment, but I spend most waking hours and most of my sleeping ones worrying, thinking and stressing about it so I don't want to blog about it as well.

This needs to be something more positive, I need things in my life that I do for ME. That I do because I enjoy them, because they distract me. I have just paid for an online writing course as a start to this. I love writing, or at least I used too. Life got in the way and I lost my passion for it but I want to get it back.

Writing my blog again would be a good start on my writing journey, but I feel lost as to what I should even blog about. Or if anyone would be interested in reading what I have to say anyway. My main focus was on my life and me children, but I don't think I want that to be the focus any more. If I even decide to write again.

At one point I was toying over the idea or attempting a beauty related blog. I am not the best girl around though so I am not sure if I would be that good at it. Wouldn't hurt to try some posts though I guess?

Does anyone care to read? It has been about 16 months since I last blogged. Does anyone have any idea of what areas I could explore?