Long Awaited Return!

Hello lovelies!

Wow, it's been well over two years since my last post and SO SO SO much has happened and I can't wait to tell everybody!

First thing's first, I'm very sorry for the long break, my health deteriorated massively for a good while, it's far from being back to normal now but I've recently been slapped by motivation to get back to blogging.

I'll give you all an update about my life in general right now then get on to something more personal and important to me if that's alright! 

Well in 2015 just after I was diagnosed with an ovarian cyst I actually met a guy and we have been dating for 2 and a half years, his name is Simon we are now living together with my grandmother and although it is quite difficult and sometimes cramped we are very very happy. He's honestly the most amazing man I've ever met and looks after me better than I could've expected. On December 14th last year, which happens to be my birthday Simon got down on one knee and proposed, since then we have been very happily engaged for almost a year and are hoping to tie the knot around either the end of 2018 or 2019 depending on finances, although admittedly I have already bought my wedding dress, oh I wish I could show everybody it but it shall have to stay hidden until the big day. 

In September 2016 I started university on a social work degree at University of Sunderland, I was absolutely miserable for two months on the course and got very little support partly because I wasn't able to stand up for myself and tell the lecturers what I needed, however one day after discussing whether or not I should drop out or do social work part time Simon pushed me into the office of the programme leader of Sociology. I absolutely adore sociology and Simon knew I would be happier there, it was a struggle but after a while the leader decided I could change courses and managed to get caught up within a couple of weeks and since then I've been overjoyed studying a subject I adore, I finished this year with 6/12 assignments being first class and the rest very solid 2:1 grades. 

Other than that there have been many ups and downs, me and Simon have both lost friends, gained new ones, had many many new experiences both together and separately, we have tried to move out, been screwed over by our local council, lost that house and moved back in with family but all of it has been a good experience for really growing up and maturing. I've been learning to cook, learning to love myself, learning to go out and be unapologetically confident in who I am, I've seen the Rocky Horror Picture show LIVE (OMG WOW!!!!), I've done things I never thought I would in my entire life, and it's been a hell of a time!

We have attended appointments and the Centre for Life to find out about our fertility as a couple, I've learned a lot more about myself and about my medical conditions which has been very enlightening. 

So, with that update out of the way there's something very important I need to move on to if I may. When I was only a little sprout, about 5 or 6 I was diagnosed with a disease known as Pro-opiomelanocirtin Deficiency Disorder (POMC), which is a very serious and extremely rare condition that causes severe early onset obesity, my dad also has this condition and it affects us both very differently, I don't want to say too much about it as I will get to that soon.  Recently I've been learning a lot more about my condition that affects pretty much every single aspect of my life, I've been looking for treatments, trials and support for people with this and similar conditions, I've connected with some lovely people who have taught me quite a lot in a very short amount of time and one thing I have realised about this condition is that there is not, anywhere near enough information or awareness about this disease for the general public, schools or even in GPs surgeries. Thus, I'm making a major shift in the kind of blog this will be, I am going to be posting a lot more about this condition, my journey and others' journey living with this, I will hopefully be able to contact others and find out about how they live with it. I want to document everyday life of somebody who has POMC, how it affects them, what kind of support there is available. Should I be lucky enough to trial a drug that's being tested to manage it now I want to document the process of taking it honestly, without any faffing or fussing. People need to know the truth of such a condition as it is very serious, life-threatening and difficult to live with as I have found out first hand. I would appreciate it if these posts can be shared as the purpose of this blog now is to raise awareness of POMC even if it is just in a small way, every little helps after all. 

However, do not despair as I am fully planning on keeping the lifestyle aspect of the blog running and I have many more ideas for advice posts, support, general discussions and so on but the posts may be less frequent than before as university is going to get more heavy workloads particularly in years 2 and 3. Please bear with me if posts aren't coming as thick and fast as liked. 

Thanks for reading and I hope you all come back to read more!

P.S. I want to thank everybody who, in the two years that I was gone, continued to read and comment on and share my blog posts, you're wonderful people and you're the reason I came back to this blog instead of beginning a new one! I hope you're all having wonderful lives yourselves!!

Love,

Katy. xo

Back to College and Catch Up!

Afternoon lovely people,

it's been a fab two weeks off despite the ups and downs but honestly I've thoroughly enjoyed myself. I've not blogged for a while purely because I've spent quite a lot of time out of the house this week with friends, having BBQs, shopping, and such other fun things. overall it's been a rather busy holidays and I had planned to spend them just chilling out, reading, doing some cross stitch and knitting (19 going on 90 here!) but I've really enjoyed what I've ended up doing. 

I hope everybody else has had a great easter break too filled with chocolate and lazing about. With the two weeks off I've managed to get a couple of blog post ideas drafted which will definitely be posted over the next few weeks but most importantly after nearly 2 whole years I've finally managed to book a singing and piano lesson with my favourite music teacher!! I am so so so excited about this because I've been waiting to do it for ages and now i actually have an income I have a lesson for Friday at 5, music is one of my biggest passions and I adore singing and piano as well as clarinet so hopefully within a few lessons I'll have my mojo back and be playing Beethoven's 'Moonlight' Sonata soon enough. 

Anyway, because it's back to college tomorrow *insert sarcastic comment* I thought I'd do a quick post before I have to go an get all of my things together for the morrow, so far I have a to do list that goes onto back and front of a sheet A4 paper, oh the joys. I'm also going to spend some time researching jobs I might want in the future because I seem to be flip flopping and I'm gonna need my personal statement started soon so hopefully that'll help. Anywho, I shan't bore you lot anymore I just want to wish everyone a happy easter and a good start back to the last term in college/sixth form or wherever you are!!

Love Katherine. X

Happy Easter!

Good Afternoon everyone!

Happy Easter to everybody out there and I hope your day is going well and you've got lots and lots of chocolate eggs to open!

This is basically just a very quick post because it's been on my mind in the run up to easter; I myself and a religions person, I attend a Catholic church and I'm hoping to have my fist communion later this year, I've always loved holidays like Easter, Christmas, giving up things for lent, but I feel like the meanings behind these holidays are being lost. Obviously I'm aware that there are non-religious people who celebrate these holidays too, we live in a pretty secularised society and culture nowadays but even some self proclaimed "seriously literalist" catholics, protestants, methodists etc. that I know of seem to get more concerned with the capitalist and commercialist aspects of these holidays rather than taking a moment to remember why we celebrate any holiday we have in the first place. I mean, I'm not suggesting people stop what they're doing and think of Jesus, no not at all, I'm just saying that for some people it's important to remember the foundations of the holiday, back to basics and such and if that's what you or anyone else wishes to do that's your choice... anyway I'm getting right off topic now so I shall end this post there, I hope every single person's Easter Sunday is wonderful and enjoy all the eggs that were given... I know I will be!

Love Katherine. X

Day Trip to Whitby!

Hello everyone!

I'm really very happy to be back into the swing of blogging and posting but admittedly the break this week has been pretty sweet. I mentioned in my previous post (here) that because of a relatively free week I was able to go to Whitby with a couple of my best friends, Annie and Aidan, and although the early morning start and the A19 motorway meant I wasn't exactly overjoyed to be going to begin with I was extremely happy we all went because the day was just brilliant!

I've been up early everyday this week and yesterday morning wasn't an exception, I think I got up around 7:00am and quickly hopped in the shower and hopped back out after practically using all my honey and almond scented soap that I got from Whitby the last time I was there; what can I say? I like soaps!

After my lovely shower I managed to get my hair done, make up on and get dressed all in the space of 20 minutes which for me is pretty darn good! Also as a little 'NOTE TO SELF' here I will be doing a post on what I wore to Whitby sometime in the next week which will include hair, beauty and fashion. Anyway, after that I set off for Aidan and Annie's house and got there at like 9:15am which was making good time; we spent an hour at their house then set off for Whitby after fuelling up the car. I'd been dreading this part for a couple of days because, although I'm a good driver, I panic LOADS when it comes to the Teesside motorway because I had a very close call there once with another car. I was terrified and every time a big wagon passed I would make noises like someone deflating a balloon. Every now and then there were cigarette breaks for Annie and Aidan but we managed to get to Whitby in one piece by around 12:20pm. 

We headed straight to a really lovely restaurant named Hadley's Fish Restaurant where myself and Annie had traditional fish and chips and Aidan had Haggis and chips, that really turned my stomach. We also managed to get through two pretty big pots of tea while we were there, Yorkshire tea is the best! I've got to say everything there was wonderful, the service was friendly, fast and really welcoming, the food was delicious and very good quality and the décor was just so cosy; fairy lights everywhere!

After lunch we all had a look around the shops, stopping at some stalls, smelling the soap shops, and of course going into the weird little Gothic shops that Whitby is pretty renowned for. After a while though Aidan went up the 199 steps to get some pictures whilst me and Annie went into a pub called the Duke of York, which was anything but welcoming, put nicely. We all had drinks and then I remembered that the parking ticket on my car had expired by about an hour and a half so it was a mad dash back to the car to make sure I hadn't gotten myself a ticket, thankfully I hadn't so we all stressed for nothing!

We all then decided to go to the Gothic shop up the top of Whitby called Pandemonium, unfortunately I was parked on double yellows so I ended up staying in the car and watching for traffic wardens while Annie and Aidan went in and looked around, I'm not all too keen on that shop so I'm not envious that I stayed behind. Oh and on the way out of that area I managed to get myself stuck going the wrong way in a one way street, that was... interesting to say the least. 

On the way home after what can only be described as a fantastic day for everybody, all three of us decided to pick a topic to discuss on the way home, this topic was one of my favourites (sarcasm alert); zombies. Turns out that I'd be pretty inept in a zombie apocalypse, Annie would most likely survive and Aidan would probably be the one to get seriously injured. Half way home we all started to get hungry so we stopped at a little place called the Cross Keys and before we even got food we left we waited for over 40 minutes just waiting to be seated, get drinks or have our orders taken. Definitely won't be going back there, put it that way. So, we ended up at KFC in Teesside park attacking our chicken pieces, Annie and myself got flat pepsi (not nice, don't ever try pepsi with no syrup). Finally we got home about 8:30pm and all of us were knackered, it had been a really long but a bloody wonderful day and I for one think we need to go on more trips like that. Good company, good times. 

Thanks for reading everyone!

Love Katherine. X

Last Week Summary and This Week's Plans

Hi All!

This post is a little late as I usually post it on a Sunday but I wasn't in the blogging mood last night so I ended up reading instead... unforgivable I know. Anywho, as many of you will know last week it was half term for those of you at college or school or whatever, and for most people it's a lovely time to rest and relax... not for me this time. I thought I'd been busy at college lately but I haven't had a minutes peace this week. No rest for the wicked I suppose. Monday and Tuesday were spent attempting to get an assignment done, it wasn't a particularly difficult one but I had to explain to job roles in the children's workforce, 4 pieces of legislation that affect looked after children and evaluate regulatory bodies al in 1,000 words; for me that was like climbing a mountain because I really struggle when it comes to writing a little about a lot, you've probably all gathered that I tend to babble quite a bit.

So, those two days were literally full of research and coursework from the minute I got up to the minute I went to bed, no lie, it was a thrilling 48 hours, I can tell you that for nothing. I had planned on spending Wednesday just relaxing and reading or cross-stitching something that involved me not moving and drinking lots of tea. Well, that didn't work out, my elderly uncle came over on Wednesday morning and I offered him a lift home so he wouldn't wait for the bus in the rain. I was about 1/4 of the way there when I was pulled over by a massive tuck, the driver got out and told me I had a flat tyre, this came as a bit of a shock because it must've gone down during the night as I had planned to take my car to the garage to get a slow puncture fixed in the tyre on Thursday, it happened a day earlier anyway. When I checked it, it was pretty bad so I thought I'd get myself through to the garage right away, which I did. In the waiting rom for 20 minutes before the mechanic came in and asked me when my last service was, September last year and everything came back perfect. No, no, no, no. Turns out all of my tyres were below the legal limit tread depth and my break pads were over 95% worn, which is not exactly safe. My usual Richard Hardie garage in Durham had either not checked my car properly (important to note it's not even 2 years old yet and I had been twice about brake issues before!) or they'd given me correct info. So I ended up going back to the garage on Thursday and having my brake pads changed and all 4 tyres changed. That took up Thursday too. Friday I went to a house party with my three closest friends and ended up having an extreme fun night in which funny videos and pictures were taken. I completely lost Saturday to sleep to be honest which was much needed after Friday. With all my work finished and myself recovered from Friday's antics I was determined to read all day Sunday... No. i had at least 7 people from my college class asking me what to do on this assignment despite the fact it had to be handed in today (GO NERDS). Lord knows why people leave things so late. So I ended up spending my day on the phone to people explaining it properly. No reading done again. I must apologise for my very long rant about my week haha.

This week is really short, today and Tuesday is college and college is closed on Wednesday for staff training so I'll be getting my cute butt down to work and spending sometime with the kids there on Wednesday and Thursday! Eeek very excited for it :)

I believe I'm going for a meal on Friday with a friend from college and no doubt I'll organise something for Saturday to keep me occupied. I'm very hopeful that this week I will actually get some reading done haha!

Thank you all for reading! I hope you're all having wonderful weeks and had a fab half term!

Love Katherine. X

Weekend Summary and Next Weeks Plans

Happy Sunday everyone!

I hope all is well with you all today? Yes? Awesome. This week has been an odd one to say the very least, jam packed with Valentines Day reminders and plans with friends. As per usual I started my week off my getting up at 6am everyday for college, as if 6am even exists it's far too early. Anyway, Monday my class did the CPR training session for people within the college and we managed to get around 140 people trained in hands only CPR, it was oodles of fun, some girls in the class dressed up in fancy dress, others were manning the free cake stalls, we had the Vinnie Jones 'Stayin' Alive' DVD clip playing on repeat on one stall and some music playing on another while me and 3 other girls were stationed each in front of an Anne doll (dolls used to simulate CPR) I was teaching child CPR. There was also a baby/infant CPR doll which was interesting to watch how it's done on a child. That was fun, also me and a good friend made extremely impromptu plans to go swimming on Monday night which was great, I absolutely love swimming and it was such fun to go; we also ended up going on Tuesday and Wednesday night too so I'm thinking that I'm going to add Monday and Wednesday nights to my exercise plan, as I'm still sticking to that resolution. 

Thursday I was back at work with the children which was as lovely as usual, I absolutely adore it there and I can honestly say I never expected that I'd love it as much as I do. That's got me thinking about having my own children at some point in the nearish future, but for now I'm quite happy looking after others' children. Friday I wasn't feeling my best so I stayed home and tried to get an assignment done that I've got to do over the half term, I had a mini-meltdown over that because I'm struggling to cut my work down and there's a 1,000 word limit on the report part and I always write far, far too much. NOTE TO SELF: Work on that. 

However, I've given up on that and I ended up reading Skulduggery Pleasant Death Bringer which i hope to finish tomorrow. Yesterday I went out for a meal with a friend to a restaurant in Durham called Sambuca which was lovely, me and my friend had a three course meal each (starter, main, dessert) a soft drink and a coffee all for £14 which was in my opinion really great for the quality. I'll definitely be going back there. Today I'm chilling again with my book and some Disney films later on.

Next week is pretty eventful, I've made plans to clean my filthy car tomorrow which is a pretty big job considering it hasn't been cleaned out since Christmas Eve 2014. I'm also going bowling on Tuesday with a friend from college and her boyfriend/his friends for her birthday which I'm really looking forward to, Wednesday I am going to start that assignment have to do and Thursday I'm at work then over to another friends house as it's his birthday and me and his fiancée are planning a little party with one of our friends to come up and have a house party type affair the next day. Friday is also a half day at work too which I'm looking forward to. Next Friday another friend is coming up to see me and two others for that house party which I'm extremely excited about as it's always a great laugh when we are all together. I swear I am doing nothing when it comes to the weekend though, I'll be exhausted after this week haha.

What are you all up to this week? Whatever it is I hope it's fabulous! 

Love Katherine. X

What Have I Been Up To?

My night is sorted!

Hi All!

I haven't posted in a while now and, once again, I'm very sorry about that but I've had so much going on right now I literally haven't had any time to myself at all. 

I mentioned few weeks ago that I'd started my college placement working with children in a local daycare centre, well I've been there almost everyday whenever I can simply because I love it there so much. I've fallen in love with a couple of the children there and they're practically my best friends whenever I'm there and oh gosh they're so adorable! I initially started going more often to get my hours up quickly as I need a minimum of 100 hours before placement ends, I wasn't too keen on the place to begin with but I think that was because I was nervous and slightly intimidated but now I feel right at home each time I go and I'm being given more responsibility which is wonderful. Also I've been offered a job later in the year once a couple of girls leave which I'm so excited about, I'll definitely be snapping up that position mind!
I went on a date with a friend (non-romantic) I met at a Sunderland Uni open day last year which was nice as I haven't seen him in ages, although I doubt it will be happening again soon because of both of our work/college commitments which is a shame, I'm glad I got to meet up with him thug because when we're together it's a right laugh. 

Also I've had a few things to organise with college, as a student representative for my class I've been running around helping my tutor organise parents evening, attending meetings as there have been a few serious bullying issues I've had to report, thankfully they've been sorted now, I'm extremely stubborn when it comes to out college's bullying policy. Also I did a reading/demonstration session with some people in my class who might want to study health and social care too. Finally at college, as well as trying to get all my assignments sorted I've been helping my tutor arrange a campaign to train as many people as possible in hands only CPR which will take place at my college on Monday morning/afternoon, I think it's a fab way to raise awareness about Heart Month and also it definitely will help everyone involved out on their CV and personal statements. :)

So, as you can all tell it's been pretty hectic this week and probably will be until next Wednesday (half-term) but I honestly think I'd be lost without having lots to do, I'm a pretty active and practical person to the more I have to do during the week the better. 

Now it's the weekend I am definitely taking the time to relax and have some much needed me time; unfortunately I'm poorly again (what is wrong with me at the minute?!) so I'm in bed at the moment tying this up although I have a lovely evening ahead planned, my grandma is making me stir fry for tea and I have Ben and Jerry's Phish Food Ice Cream for later. My candles are ready to go, my hot bubble bath is running with my lovely lush smellies, and my onsie is laid out ready for me, as is a damned good book to read. So after I've written this post I shall be off to enjoy my evening and I hope you all are too! Hopefully I will have a couple more posts out these next few days, if there are less than usual I'm probably with all those adorable babies at work!

Thanks for reading and thanks for sticking around even when I was less than active on my blog this week! Have a lovely night all!

Love Katherine. X

Weekend Summary and Next Weeks Plans!

Hi everyone!

This week has been much busier than usual as I've had college and work, which although it has been lots of fun, has been very stressful. 

So this week I got results back from my last couple of assignments and both were fine so thankfully I didn't have to re-do any, but our class was given 3 different assignments to do, two of which are pretty heavy and we need to start referencing all of out information which is a pain in the neck to be honest. Out of the 3 assignments I managed to get 2 done within a day which I was really pleased with because it's given me this weekend off before I have to start my new assignment tomorrow evening. That was Monday through to Wednesday, I also had my first day of work/placement on Thursday which I was really apprehensive about becauseI haven't done childcare is a very very long time so I was pretty worried about that. I shouldn't have been because the whole day was just wonderful, I even ended up working on the friday from 7:30am to 6:00pm, the atmosphere at work is just so relaxed and all of the children are adorable and really easy to look after, I was even offered a permanent part time job there! I'm definitely taking that once I get my NI number sorted properly which should be roundabout August. 

So the week itself had been pretty busy and unfortunately I've not had as much time to blog although I am doing my best to blog at the very least once a day. 

This weekend has been all about relaxing and unwinding. I'm a major stress head and I've been struggling with the amount of things i've had to do lately, my tutor tends to rely pretty heavily on me to direct the class when she isn't there and she's been off a bit this week, so if any of my classmates have needed help they've come to me and it can be pretty hectic sometimes. This led me to thinking that because my last proper holiday was in 2012, that I should probably think about booking myself and maybe a friend a nice short brea  sometime in February or March just to get away for a while and really get ourselves well and truly chilled out. Basically, this weekend has consisted of me listening to Celtic Woman, Carrie Underwood, reading my favourite books and looking for holiday cottages around the Cornwall or Devon area, I've found a very nice one but it's £183 for 3 nights and 4 days which isn't exactly in my budget just yet although I'm definitely going to geek somewhere if I can't book that right away. 

Next weeks is hopefully going to be a bit slower than this week as again I have college Monday through Wednesday and work on Thursday. Tomorrow I'm meeting Aymie for coffee and starting any and all assignments I get tomorrow to make sure that I stay on the ball with them all. I believe that set of the week is just college stuff, reading and hopefully I'll manage to get out to Waterstones on Friday and buy myself some lovely new books!

So, that's m week/weekend in review and my plans for next week, what's everyone else up to or been up to this week? Thanks for reading. 

Love Katherine. X

Update on New Years Resolutions!

Afternoon All!

It's been a month since Christmas Day and almost a month since I made my 2015 year years resolutions (see that post here) and I thought I'd do a quick update type overview of how I've been doing when it comes to sticking to my resolutions, I did mention that I would use my blog to hold myself accountable as to how I've been doing so that's just another reason to do this update/overview of the first month of my resolutions. 

• Eating/Cooking Better - My first resolution was to eat and cook healthier foods. I've made this resolution several times over the years and I've never stuck to it for more than a week or so but I'm pleased to say that I've been sticking to this resolution without much difficulty, I'm learning to cook healthier foods and I'm actually enjoying them too. I've learned several new recipes and my favourite is the Garlic and Honey Chicken (pictured right) which is very yummy.  At the moment I'm borrowing my Mam's and Grandma's cookbooks but I'm hoping to buy myself some nice cookbooks of my own sometime this week so I'll be able to make even more delicious things. Overall I'm pleased with how I'm sticking to this resolution so far, hopefully I'll keep going with it. 

• Exercise More - This one is the resolution I had the biggest apprehensions about, normally I would make resolutions like 'lose weight' or 'get down to a size...' and so on but I literally never stick to them at all. So this year I decided to change that to 'exercise more' not like go running everyday or walk 10 miles just little things like take the long way to my class in college, walk to work, park further from the college entrance and stuff. I'm extremely happy to say that I have been doing all those things and more! I've been doing simple things like that and I've also been walking for 20 minutes every other day and I even signed myself up to a Yoga class (I love Yoga) and I went last Wednesday and it was absolutely fab! I'm noticing a major difference in how I feel, I don't necessarily want to lose weight as I simply don't think size matters but I care about my health and I want to host my fitness levels a bit and it's definitely helping my health. For the past few years I've been overly stressed, not eating properly as I'd skip meals or grab unhealthy stuff before college/work for lunch and I'd go the quickest rough to get to wherever I needed to go just to save time. Thankfully between the healthier eating, Yoga and a few other changes I've made to my daily lifestyle I've been much less stressed, I feel better in my general health and I'm much happier. I'm so pleased I've managed to stick to this resolution this year and I'll definitely be keeping it up. 

• Leave My Comfort Zone - This is something I'm not very good at but I have made a major step this year in leaving my comfort zone as I am currently in the middle of creating a Demo CD to send to a vocal agency in a local town! I've always enjoyed singing and I thought this resolution would be a great way to get things started so I shall have to see how this goes and I will keep everyone updated in that front. :)

German notes :)

Image from Google

• Learn a New Language - I was most excited about this resolution as I've always wanted to learn a different language and for a while now I've wanted to learn German, so I bought myself the Mindsnacks Learn German app form the app store, I believe there's 50 lessons including numbers, colours, adjectives, grammar, months, days and lots more. So far I've managed to blast through 24 lessons and I'm really enjoying them, also I've recently found out about a 10 short night course that my college provides for only £85 which starts February 26th so if I can build up the money I will definitely be taking that opportunity!

So, I think my resolutions have been going pretty well so far and I hope that I can keep up with all of them, thanks for reading everyone!

Love Katherine. X

A Few of My Favourite Things! Tag

Hi All!I've decided to do do the Few of my Favourite Things Tag, I only stumbled across this today because I've had that song stuck in my head all day, you know the one "these are a few of my favourite things" I can't remember what movie that song is from but anyway, I started googling whether there was a tag like this and I found one! So, I took my chances and decided to do it, it's been pretty fun writing it so i hope you all like reading it!
Products/Things: Snape's wand I got from the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, Prada Candy perfume, my 62 year old teddy bear that's been passed to me from my grandma's generation, my books and my special mugs.Foods: Pizza, Sunday/Christmas dinners, Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli crisps, Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream! All at the same time of course ;)Places: Whitby, York, Edinburgh, London and Ireland, I've posted about these places previously and Ireland was included in my Travel Bucket List.
Things you'd miss if you didn't have them: My family, my friends, my iPod as I can't live without my music, my books obviously, my notebooks and finally my onesies, I adore my onesies and especially on cold days I'd miss them too much.
Things you do when you're bored: Read, play piano, sing, blog, watch my favourite box sets.
Things you do when it's sunny: Go to the beach, spend time with friends, go swimming or ice skating and do a bit of yoga.
Films: Rudolph the movie, Oliver and Company, The Book Thief, the Santa Clause movies, Brave, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland (with Johnny Depp), Pirates of the Caribbean.
Songs: Téir Abhail Riú by Celtic Woman, Galway Girl - Foster and Allen Ft. Shayne Ward, Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy, Stand By Me - Ben E. King.
Brands: Prada, Kandee (love their shoes), Converse, Cath Kidston.
Outdoor things you like: Starry nights, dark nights, bright summer colours, dark rain cloud colours, snow, being caught in a storm, swimming in the sea.
Events: Christmas Eve/Day, Boxing day, my birthday, Halloween, Winter Solstice, Summer equinox, National Book Awards.
Cartoons: Family Guy, South Park, Simpsons, Rugrats, Recess.
Buildings: Edinburgh castle, Durham Cathedral, york cathedral, Whitby Abbey. Anything in everyday life: Children laughing, seeing my family happy, cups of tea, being warm, talking to friends and reading. 
Traits in a person: Humour, tolerance, kindness, maturity, family orientated, nurturing and generally upbeat/optimistic. 

Influences: My Mam and Grandma, Sarah Millican, J.K. Rowling, Acker Bilk, Derek Landy, all women in Celtic Woman. 

Drinks: Tea, honey and lemon tea, hot chocolate, Dr Pepper with ice on a hot day, Lemon water, did I mention tea? Shlœr and tea. 

Experiences: College, Warner Brothers Studio Tour, Haven Holiday 2012 with Aymie, passing my theory and practical driving tests. 

Things to watch: Documentaries, News, Debates, Music videos, tennis, swimming cooking shows etc. 

Youtubers: Rose and Rosie, Kaelyn and Lucy, Zoelle, Sprinkle of Glitter, Beauty Crush, Tess Christine, Ugly Face of Beauty, Bethany Mota. 

Bloggers: A Bloke's Eye View, Maddy Kake, Aymie Louise, Underland to Wonderland, Me Just Talking To You.

Books: Lord of the Rings series, Harry Potter series, Skulduggery Pleasant series, Sherlock Holmes series, literally any book by Danielle Steel or Pamela Evans. 

*NOTE: Ihave absolutely no idea what's happened the the writing on this post and I don't seem to be able to sort it out, I've rewritten it several times too, so sorry for the weird writing everyone!

Love Katherine. X

Work Placement Hints and Tips: Making a Good Impression

Hi All!

Recently I've not had much time to post anything on this blog so for that I have apologies, as many of you will know from a previous post I'm currently studying Health and Care at college (and loving it!); well after three months of settling in, getting used to assignment formats, making friends and quickly grabbing myself the student representative position for my class, I can finally say the part I've been most excited about has finally arrived. Placement! From day 1 all of us on this course knew we would have to do at least 100 hours of practical work experience, excluding simulation ward time, so all the girls in my class have not stopped talking about where they would like to work and how excited they are. It's a really exciting time for everyone, particularly the younger girls in the class who have just finished year 11 and are being thrown into the world of health care work.

Well today I visited my place of work placement  for a taster and it was fantastic! Some of my peers have gone to residential care homes, GP surgeries, Primary schools and day care centres for severely disables and vulnerable people. Where did I go? Well I get to work in a local Butterflies Day Care Centre for babies and children between 4 months and 3 years old, and admittedly it was a difficult day dealing with 23 young children with no official training and 2 other staff members on hand but WOW it was such fun! Before the fabulousness of today got going I and the rest of my class was extremely nervous to start work placement, one girl was convinced an old person was going to beat her with their walking stick! So I thought it might be helpful to make a short post on how to deal with first work placement nerves and the best way to make a good first impression on your employers.

1. Introductions - It's always a good idea to introduce yourself a few days or even a week or so before you first start work, this gives the impression that you're enthusiastic and eager to start work positively. Get yourself acquainted with whoever it is you'll be working with so it doesn't seem as scary on the day.

2. Induction - Usually your place of work will give you an induction the day you begin work but its always a good idea to ask a few days before you first go. This will help you get to know your way around, and you should find out about fire procedures, fire exits, bathrooms, staff rooms, lunch rooms and so on.

3. Questions - On your initial visit to your place of work it would be helpful to ask any questions you need to know, what do you wear? Who do you report to? What happens in an emergency? What time do you start and finish? What is the lunch and break situations? Make sure you cover everything you can think of so you are completely prepared for the first day.

4. Look Smart - Obviously placement isn't a fashion show and you really don't need to look like a model but looking smart and professional with help give the right impression to your employers and clients you'll be meeting. Often employers will ask for black trousers, leggings or knee-length skirts/dresses if they're modest, along with pumps or appropriate heels. Depending on the work you may be given instructions about how to wear your hair, for example, because I am working with very young children and babies I was told to tie it up so it cannot be pulled.

5. Get There Early - Getting there early shows that you are alert, prepared, willing and eager to get started and you'll definitely make a good first impression if you're punctual!

6. HAVE FUN! - It's really important to stay professional but remember while you're getting your experience just enjoy the time you have, it is an experience after all and you are bound to meet some lovely people and learn valuable skills from your time. 
I hope this has helped someone out there. 


Love Katherine. X

College Vs. Sixth Form: My Experience

Hey Everyone!
Since it's officially my first week back to college after being ill I thought this would be the perfect time to do my comparison between sixth form and college as I've had the privilege of experiencing both environments.

Image not mine, from Google

This month it will have been five months since I and thousands of A-Level students received their final set of A-Level results. For many it will have been extremely daunting, it know it was for me! I've never excelled when it comes to exams, I get that pre-exam nervousness that then tends to linger until the end of the exam and then post-exam panic begins to rear its ugly head. I can't win.

I was utterly convinced that I would be running out of my sixth form centre with tears spilling down my face after my horrendous results had been exposed to me (and the little hoard of friends I had with me at the time) but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had done rather well; better than I had expected. I say I had done better than expected because after finding out what it was really like to be an A-Level student at a sixth form centre, I was not expecting anything good at all to come from my A levels.

After surviving years 7 and 8 at my lower school and achieving good results in most of my exams I was determined to continue my education after year 11... that was until I hit year 9 and the 'Gateway exams' arrived. I'm sure all of the people who read this that are currently around the age of 17 or 18 will remember the moment your teachers told you about picking your GCSE's and having to take the 'gateway exams', I personally was very excited about taking Music and Business Studies, music didn't turn out too well but one can't complain when the rest of the GCSE results we're, for me, fantastic. My GCSE results made the decision to continue education concrete. So, I chose to attend a sixth form college and chose my subjects, Health and Social Care, Religious Studies, Sociology and Psychology. That was when my journey as an A-Level student began. My first day of sixth form was SO exciting, I was looking forward to many more free lessons, more independence and being treated like and adult with respect by teachers. After the compulsory 3 day orientation I was really motivated that I would do well that year, I would focus more, revise more, I would get good grades and most importantly it would be easy! No. No. No.

Oh my was I wrong. Yes, despite the 6 or 7 free lessons I had per week and freedom to wander out of school in those lessons I still spent most messing about or revising for exams. Sixth Form is, excuse the language but it's bloody well difficult! If you think it's going to be just like your GCSE's you'd be wrong, the jump from GCSE standard and A-Level standard is absolutely huge! We weren't informed this before choosing out A-Levels as a group of potential students; when I discovered a C at GCSE is an E at A-Level I'm pretty sure my heart stopped and I lost the ability think for a moment... Me, an average student who barely scraped a C in maths and Science at GCSE taking heavy workload subjects such as Sociology and Psychology. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Never the less I pushed through the first few months of sixth form preparing myself for the January exams which came and went with all of the usual exam stress, panic and hours and hours of endless revision. The results were more than disappointing, I was disheartened more than I have ever been (which is saying something for me because I'm easily disheartened, or was I should say) but I am thankful for those dreadful results. Why? Well I shall elaborate. Those results shocked me, panicked me and scared the living daylights out of me! If I didn't get my head down, spend more time revising, keeping on top of the enormous amounts of work I was, and you will be, given as an A-Level  student I would fail, I wouldn't have the bright future I'd always dreamed of; so, that's what I did. I concentrated, gave up a big part of my social life, spent my time keeping focused and grounded and it did pay off. When you are able to get your head around the immense changes in the work standard, load and quality you will be given and must understand and feedback to your tutors you will be fine at A-Level. A few reasons that sixth form isn't for everybody:

• There's a huge amount of pressure put on you.
• Lots of essays and assignments due.
• Many exams and mocks the can become stressful.
• You don't get as much freedom as you'd expect.
• Often you may need to drop a lesson you enjoy in the second year. 

Image not mine, from Google

With the right attitude A-Levels will be much easier to deal with; personally I absolutely loved the free lessons I had in my final year of sixth form. However, I chose not to attend university for my own personal reasons and opted to take two years out and take up a place at a local College, now after experiencing sixth form and, to be quite honest, the very little freedom you do actually get, I was shocked as the whole dynamics of what I thought education was like, completely changed. Everything went from, teachers being on your back constantly to having your own independence at college, it was a wonderful feeling, the facilities on my current course are far more advanced than any facility in my previous sixth form centre; the opportunities offered will provide many a fantastic experience, more opportunities to gain extra qualifications. Now my current course is BETEC and admittedly this is a better type of course for myself given exam stress and such but I simply can't fault my college experience, the variety of people I've met is wonderful, I've been given opportunities for course representative positions, LGBT officer positions, board member positions and so many more chances to take positions that are never offered to you in a sixth form environment. Personally, and many of my classmates I've spoken to agree that their experience at college has been wonderful and has given me the opportunity to gain a whole new level of individuality, independence and qualifications, so I have to say if you're planning on continuing your education, don't bypass the thought of college, it may not be in your comfort zone or you may want to stay in a place where you have friends, you know the teachers and such but take some time to think about what you really want to gain from your educational experiences and what you really want to do. Yes, Sixth Form provides a good foundation for independence and opportunities but often college goes above and beyond the chances for personal and professional development. Consider college and sixth form, I have to say my experiences of both have been positive however College is a wonderful place to gain a deeper understanding of yourself and others around you. 

Thanks very much for taking the time to read my blog and putting up with my opinions.

Love Katherine. X

Weekend Summary and Next Weeks Plans!

This week has been pretty difficult for me what with having flu so unfortunately I had to put my plans for this weekend on hold and I'm hoping that I will get out to go shopping with friends next weekend. I'm planning a shopping trip with my Mam and Grandma next Friday or Thursday. The day depends mainly on whether the rather incompetent placement officer at my college finally manages to sort out my placement or not, if so I'll be in college from Monday to Wednesday next week and in placement on Thursday. 

Next week is going to be a pretty busy week because I lost all last week of college because of this stupid flu but still, I've managed to catch up and get my assignment nearly finished, I've spent some of this weekend doing that.

 So far since Friday I've had a lovely weekend that's actually been really stress free, other than trying to do my assignment I've been sat in bed snuggled up with endless cups of tea in my favourite mug that has my favourite quote on it "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" C.S. Lewis. I've also Managed to work my way through my new season of Family Guy and all three series of Miranda and American Horror Story; it's really rare that I ever get to relax like this so I love making the most of it. I've managed to get a few good posts up on the blog this week too, I'm most proud of my Advice To My Younger Self Post; finally I'm happy to say I got quite a lot of reading done this week, finishing two more books in the Skulduggery Pleasant series and moving on to the 7th book later today. Nothing in the world can make me happier than sitting down with a cup of tea and a good book, except maybe when it snows. So, there's my weekend in a nutshell. 

My plans for next week/weekend are pretty straightforward, I have college from 9am to 4pm on Monday, 9am to 2pm Tuesday and 9am to 12pm Wednesday, possibly at work on Thursday if not I believe I'm shopping with the family then on Friday if I'm free (and healthy) I'll be popping over to a friends for a chat or we'll be going out for a coffee maybe. Saturday Aymie will be coming over and we shall be doing bait of shopping hopefully and a beauty/pampering collab post. Finally I'm hoping to get my first draft of my personal statement finished by the end of next week too.

Thanks very much for reading today and I hope you all enjoy my blog. Please feel free to leave comments.

Love Katherine. X

New Years Day Round Up

Hey Everyone!

I thought'd I'd make a really quick post just to sum up what my New Years day has been like, I'm doing this because I've finished the book I was reading, I'm sitting watching American Horror Story: Coven, listening to music and I've just finished squealing with joy at some of the clothes I've managed to order from the sale on Yours Clothing that I'll openly do a blog post on eventually... The point of that little paragraph is basically that I'm bored and have nothing better to do. 

So with it being New Years today I didn't get to sleep until around 2AM this morning because of fireworks (I live close to two very enthusiastic and rowdy pubs) so because of the late night I managed to get a good lie in until 10:06AM which was great and I feel totally well rested because of it. After that I hopped in the shower and used some of my lovely smelling LUSH cosmetics stuff i got for christmas the made me smell like a bath bomb... not complaining mind you. It's important to to say that I got dressed today in an aqua T-shirt I have that says "I like warm hugs" with a cute picture of Olaf... I swear I am an adult it just doesn't show. Anywho, I ended up just going for a quick walk around the block and coming home to the smell of New Years dinner cooking which was lovely, we always eat way too much this time of year, but then again, who doesn't?! We always have a laugh when we have a big family meal, usually me and my dad will have some form of food fight and my Mam and Grandma just sit and state in horror; today he flicked gravy at me. I was mature and waited a whole 10 seconds before putting squirty cream on his head. After lunch I ended up back in my hide hole known as my room, I did some blogging and that post can be seen here if you fancy a quick peek. I also ended up doing some online shopping and got some fantastic bargains, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time listening to One Direction's album 'Four' and once this has been posted I'm going back to reading. All-in-all it has been a fantastic start to the new year and I hope it continues this way for the majority of the year!
Let me know about your New Years day so far! I'd love to hear from you all.


Love Katherine. X

New Years Resolutions 2015!

So, it's finally arrived, the last day of 2014 and the anticipation of the forthcoming year (big words, I know right?)I thought I would post my resolutions. Anywho, I'm positive there'll be countless posts on this throughout the day on other people's blogs but I thought I would make my own little contribution to that; so here's my 2015 New Years Resolutions.

• Eat/Cook Better - I'm no different to the majority of people out there, I enjoy my food and I always eat more than I should at Christmas time but in 2015 I'd like to make an effort to eat at home more often rather than grabbing something from a shop or - eek- a takeaway when I'm too busy or running late. It's really important to eat as healthy as possible particularly as you get older and I haven't been the healthiest of individuals this year, well in the last 6th months at the very least. So, hopefully I'll learn to cook some healthy new recipes.

• Exercise More - This is really important to me as keeping health as I get older isn't just important for health it's becoming very clear that I'll have to have a significant amount of physical stamina if I'm to pursue the career I would like; midwifery. I'm not one of these people who sits idle most of the time, I exercise at home and I walk whenever I can rather than using my car however I'd just like to give my fitness level a little boost so I'm going to do about an extra 30 minutes of exercise per day and build up the time spent over a few months; I'm planning on holding myself accountable via this blog and posting about my fitness routines and plans in the very near future. 

• Find an Outlet for Stress - I'm a stress head. There's absolutely no denying it anymore. Stress gets to me far too easily and it's hard for me to wind down once I've reached that level of mania, this year I'm making a point to make sure I find an outlet for all of my stress to keep myself calm and relaxed rather than manic and uptight. I have a good few ideas of how to wind down after being so stressed, those being cross stitch, knitting, reading or writing. Hopefully I'll find something that suits me down to the ground. 

• Make Time for Blogging -  I adore blogging so as my fourth and final New Years Resolution I want to make it a priority to find time to post as often as absolutely possible, it may be difficult to post everyday for obvious reasons but I'd love to make time to post every second day and more often if I can. This blog is very important to me and I appreciate all those who read on a regular basis.

• Leave My Comfort Zone - This is pretty important to me, I've always been really shy and introvert but since starting college I've been much more confident. However, I still have difficulty leaving my comfort zone therefore I am going to work hard at leaving my comfort some whenever possible. Maybe through volunteering, travelling alone (I hate that) or even making a talent show audition. If I'm feeling really brave I may even try for X-Factor... unlikely but it's worth a try. 

• UPDATE: Learn a New Language: For about 10 years now I've wanted to learn a new language, literally any new language and when I was around 11 I discovered how much I love the German language and Irish Gaelic so I'm making it a priority to learn one of these two languages, I'll probably start with German as it seems much easier... if Imanage to learn two words in these languages I'll be happy. I may even move on to trying to perfect my English first haha!

So, there you have it. My new years resolutions have been made and I have to say it will be a miracle if i manage to stick to two of these, never mind four.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! Do you have any New Years Resolutions? Please let me know I'd love to hear from you.

Love Katherine. X

I Love Christmas! Why? Read on to Find Out!

Hi All!

I know it's a little late for a post such as this one but I feel it's really important for me to post this, even if it's just to let my readers know a little more about me. For me the Christmas seasons begins in August/September for me! Some people love the bands they listen to, the TV shows they watch, the books they read and fandoms they belong to... I LOVE CHRISTMAS! In fairness I do love the TV shows, books, movies and music I listen to, watch and read but Christmas is my thing. My friends must think I'm crazy but I can't help it, I love everything about it, I love the atmosphere when you're out shopping when the Christmas songs are playing and people are moaning that its the 1,000th time they've heard that song that day, I love seeing people buying presents for their families, I love that when you wake up on a morning you see your breath and yes, even as a 18 and 8 month year old I do love pretending I'm a dragon. Childish I know but hey! That's me. There is SO much I love about Christmas like the songs which I am listening to as I write this post (Cliff Richard's 'Saviour's Day' to be precise), the decorated shopping centres, excited children talking about Santa as their exhausted parents drag them around more and more shops looking for the exact presents they've asked for, I love everything about it. One of my favourite things about Christmas is that my family has several Christmas traditions running from my birthday, which is mid December, to New Years day; on Christmas eve I always get up very early because I will always have trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve night no matter how old I am, I make sure I look presentable for all of the family visits (nice hair, Christmas jumper on even if it is hideous, make-up perfectly applied and such),I'll drop in the last few Christmas cards that need be, me and my Nana will run around the house trying to make it immaculate while my Mam and Dad go out for last minute food shopping or present shopping, sometimes my Uncle and Aunty will visit our house with huge bags of presents for us all and sometimes we go to their house, then we visit my older Uncle who we see only once or twice a year if we're lucky and usually we get home from family visiting at 4:30-5:00PM when I sit downstairs as my Grandad might visit friends, Mam and Dad will be wrapping presents and trying not to let me see, I love that part. At this point Me and my Nana and my Mam have a break from whatever we're doing and usually I will have a Snowball with a Cherry, Mam and Nana have a Bailey's in their hand, we'll watch some TV before we get back to putting things away and oogling at the enormous tree situated in the living room next to the front window which tends to get set up around November 5th. Then we will all relax for the night and get ready for the next day. That is my favourite part of Christmas, not the presents, not the shopping or anything material based. I get extremely overwhelmed at the love I harbour in my heart for my family, it reminds me how grateful I am to have my family, to have a home, food and warmth and most importantly that I am loved by my family too. Christmas is my favourite time of year for so many reasons, love, family the atmosphere, the snow OH THE SNOW! What a wonderful part of Christmas that is (no sixth form at least once), the lights on the trees in the houses as I walk home from wherever I've been, hot chocolates with cream and cinnamon, when me and my best friend get together and tease one another about how we will never tell what we've bought when we exchange our gifts. So you can see that Christmas means a lot to me. I hope it means something to you too because it truly is a magical time of year!

Love Katherine. X