An Ode to HOUSEWORK.

Oh house, why don't you ever clean yourself?
I am sure I didn't leave that towel on the floor and toothpaste in the sink.
Why is my sparkly kitchen surface suddenly covered in crumbs?
Why is there a stray buttered knife left on top of the dishwasher and not in it?
I really don't remember leaving stinky socks in the hall or trainers on the stairs.
I don't remember inviting those cobwebs to nest in my corners and I'm certainly not waiting for the dust to settle.
Why is the toilet seat up again?
Oh house, seriously now! Give me a break!
I am sure you are secretly snacking while I am asleep and leaving mess.
Why are the windows smeary and the carpet dirty?
The washing pile is now taller than me.
I'm pretty sure I cleaned the oven last week, it can't need doing again?
The toilet seat is still up.
It's ok, I can do this.
Out with the duster, out with the hoover, a spritz of polish and everything looks new.
A spray of surface cleaner here, a dabble of surface wipes there.
Feather duster in those corners.
Polish of the mirrors.
Perfect!
Quick mop of the floor then wipe and open the windows.
Huge dent made in the pile of washing.
Feet up, telly on. Coffee. Bliss!
What a sparkly clean house I have.
Dinner gets cooked.
People come over.
Clothes get worn.
Crumbs be dropped.
Life continues.
I'm sure I didn't leave that towel on the floor and toothpaste in the sink?
Why is my sparkly kitchen surface sunddenly covered in crumbs?
Why is there a stray buttered knife left on top of the dishwasher and not in it?
I really don't remember leaving stinky socks in the hall or trainers on the stairs.
I don't remember inviting those cobwebs to nest in my corners and I'm certainly not waiting for the dust to settle.
Why is the toilet seat up again?
Oh house, seriously now! Give me a break!

*SIGH*

Happy Fathers Day Pops!

Just a little post to say to my lovely Dad 'Happy Fathers Day'!

I hope you have a lovely day today and the sun stays shining for you! Thanks for everything you do for me and hubby and for making me laugh :)



Does botox actually make you look older?

Lately I have noticed a few more lines around the eyes to show where the good times have been and a few more furrows in my brow to show where the frowns have been, which got me thinking about the kind of treatments and 'fixes' that are out there to get rid of these little blighters. Nowadays it seems everyone is on an endless quest for eternal youth fuelled by the media who glamorise the lives of the young, rich and famous and point out the flaws of the once young, rich and famous.

 I know a couple of people who have had botox done and say to me that if you only have it once, maybe twice a year by a professional who knows what they are doing you should still look natural rather than the celebrities who have it done once a month and have ended up looking well, a bit odd.

So, because I have been looking into treatments to give my skin a bit of a lift (we are talking at best derma facials people) it did make me look into the results a bit more and study pictures of celebrities who are well known for their love of fakery and those who aren't. The one thing that stood out to me the most in every botoxed celeb is the fact that even though their faces may be wrinkle free, they actually look older than they really are! I don't know what it is about them. Hair and make up styles probably play a part also however botox free celebs favour heavy make up from time to time too and still look as though they belong in their age group.

I can't quite put my finger on it...

This discovery was the final nail in the coffin of my 'botox' plan. I have got a stubborn faint line on my lip that I hate and ALWAYS notice whenever I look in the mirror and it is a constant reminder to why I gave up smoking (apart from the life threatening reasons why of course). That line is the main reason I have even looked into such treatments and came about writing this article however rather than fiddle with said line maybe I should just keep it so it reminds me I don't want anymore forming. 

And even though I might not have a perfect face (far from it!) Hopefully I still look my age,  unlike some other folks I can think of....

*Photos courtesy of dailyrecord.co.uk and heatworld.com

Fearne Cotton and Jodie Marsh, both 31:

They both have completely different styles which could also make them seem different ages but I can't help but think it is because Jodie has had a bit of work done. It makes you look ageless almost because you look fake. Think of Michael Jackson in the end, if you hadn't known his age would you have been able to guess it? I love Jodie's foxy, firey, youthful red hair but still think she looks about five years older than her 31 years.

*photos courtesy of fanpop.com and huffingtonpost.com

Taylor Swift and Amy Childs, both 23:

Both beautiful young girls however Amy's love of botox and whatever else makes her look at least five years older in my view yet she is almost a year younger than Ms. Swift! Taylor looks fresh faced and embraces her youth with cute, fun fashion whereas Amy embraces all things big, bling and fake which only adds years onto her very young age. At 23 there really is no need to have had any kind of surgery or extreme beauty procedure done. You're only just an adult!

*photos courtesy of telegraph.co.uk and mirror.co.uk

Dawn O'Porter and Katie Price, 34 and 35 respectively:

Ok so Katie is nearly a year older than Dawn but I can't help thinking that Dawn looks like she is only just around her milestone 30th birthday (in fact I thought she was the same as me, 28) whereas Katie, well again I don't know what age she looks really. I think of women in their 30's being in their prime, carrying that bit of youth over from their 20's mixed with a little bit of life experience. Personally, I think Katie looks like she has had a hard life.... maybe having been married goodness knows how many times, she has!

All of the above - to me - are naturally beautiful women who did not / do not need any artificial help to enhance their appearance. Proof if any were needed that there really isn't anything more beautiful than what you were naturally blessed with or youth.

Lesson learnt! I think my smokers line and I will stick with face creams and lots of water for now then.

When it comes to men: Is less more?

I read this week that apparantly men really don't like fuss when it comes to us ladies and when I say fuss I mean radical or quirky fashion items and heavy make up.

 

In general (of course there are exceptions) men like to see a natural, girl next door looking face on top of an LBD and classic heels rather than smokey black eyes, wild pink ombre hair and brogues, a tartan skirt and band motiff tee with 'geek' glasses.

 

Is this true?

 

News that men do not like it when they can see make up on a woman's face is not new. I have heard that time and time again in fact I remember reading it in teen magazines in my youth and it always stuck with me when applying my 'face'. I must admit, I myself don't like it when I can see make up on a woman, that whole extra layer on top of their skin with a life of it's own so I can understand why men certainly don't. Also, men are very well publicised for not being the most observant of creatures so if they can notice your make up then yes you probably are wearing a smidge too much.

Our dress sense though? Are we gonna get it in the ribs for enjoying fashion or using our style to define who we are? Come on guys...... not cool! I can kind of understand this to a point. I love fashion and I love being a bit quirky too and there have been plenty of times when my husband has gone 'you're not wearing that are you?!' I have also seen people who are maybe a bit too 'out there' with their attire or fall in the 'fashion victim' colomn (Eek! I hate even writing that, people should wear what they wanna after all shouldn't they?) I digress, all in all my hubby gets that my style is all down to my creative flair (creative is all I have dammit) and of course he married me knowing this so over all he likes it. When pinned down and asked to give a writable summary of his thoughts about it he simply said 'It's nice that I like to be a bit unique and he likes who I am and my dress sense shows who I am.' He also liked that I can look very different in appearance one day to the next... a comment was made along the lines of having four different wives.

What are the rules then for a lady out there looking for love? LBD every time? Leave the dungarees and wedge heel trainers locked up out of sight at home guarded by a troll? What about this guy seeing the true you? Surely if the LBD isn't your style you shouldn't have to go out and buy one? I love dressing up as much as I love dressing down; I love a classic feminine dress with killer heels and red lippy but I also love jeans, converse and scruffy tied back hair. I think it is important to be who you are and surely that is very important on your first date too isn't it? Otherwise he might get a shock a couple of months down the line when this girly girl he has been dating suddenly swaps her cutesy look for something a bit more funkier or edgier! And if he likes YOU then he will like how you come packaged too won't he?

So, as Oscar Wilde said:

I'm turning into my mother.

The other day whilst faffing around in front of the bathroom mirror either squeezing or plucking something unwanted, I got caught sight of something. I gasped in horror and edged closer to the mirror to get a better look. My heart sank. There, poking out of my head like a crazy antenna was a wiry, coarse grey hair. 

 ''OH PLEASE NO.'' I whimpered.

It could have been a stray blonde hair....in fact I convinced myself after said incident that it was but if I am being very honest, the texture and colour says to me it was a grey hair.

A GREY HAIR.

The first signs of my youth fading....I stop dying my hair to give it a health boost and this is how it repays me.... (excuse me while I dramatically drape myself upon the sofa, hand - to - head, 1950's movie style).

The long and short of it is we can't stop growing older and as much as numbers scare me and I know always will, I also know deep down that as long as you keep happy and healthy that is all that matters. It is mad how you suddenly notice age's effects on you though.... I am not talking about the physical ones either.

I am definitely not the person I was ten even five years ago. The things that used to interest me or what I thought was fun or even what I ate is completely different. As a child, me and my brother used to sulk to the point of tears when our mum dragged us to Battlesbridge Antiques Fayre on a Sunday morning, to us there was nothing more boring than looking at old junk but now, I love the place! I love looking at old furniture and hunting for a bargain, to me it is now an idyllic way to spend a Sunday morning.

I find myself saying things to people like 'I love your curtains.' or 'Where did you buy that candle? It smells lovely' I get excited about painting a wall in the house or buying new bedding or ornaments. I have even started baking... BAKING!? I have never wanted to bake before, now I seem to do it every other week. I still love Friday nights as much as I ever have but now when it gets to 8.30 I'm not just heading out for the night all glammed up I'm on the sofa in a food coma from dinner, in my joggers watching Corrie. 

I even found myself saying this sentence the other week whilst out: *face palm*

'Look at those girls out with no jacket, I bet they're freezing'

The shame.

The 20 year old me was screaming 'YES! You know they are but a coat doesn't go with the outfit and you don't want to be in a cloakroom queue at the end of the night.' The irony about me thinking that is when I do go 'OUT out' I still don't take a coat for the same reasons... It has obviously been such a long time that I don't realise it anymore.

I look forward to going to bed, I say things like 'I am dying for a cuppa', I roll my eyes at teenagers, I get up early even at weekends, the list is endless!

I am definitely not the same person I was in the first flush of youth but you know what? I don't care! I like the person I am. I don't need to go out on the lash every weekend to feel like I have had a good time. I prefer spending  money on nice things for the home or for me or my hubby than booze and cigarettes! I also know that despite all this I am still a teenager at heart. I love being silly and immature, I spend far too much of my wages on clothes, I love seeing my friends and hate getting up for work. I love lazy days watching films or playing games and am a sucker for a shiny new must have gadget or fashion fad.

Yep, I definitely like the 28 year old me rather than 20 year old me. She is more content that's for sure!

There is still that immature side of me though who is thinking that as my next birthday is my last in my twenties I should do something a bit crazy. Not sure what yet though... ideas on a postcard please!

My weekend in Pictures....

FRIDAY NIGHT: My sister in law came to stay and we indulged in a 20'' pizza feast and a movie!



SATURDAY: I went for coffee with my friend Chris who I did a scriptwriting course with to help set me on my creative way then came home and ran off some of Friday night's pizza!



SATURDAY NIGHT: After a busy day exercising, writing and doing housework we went for dinner with our friend up the local pub.

 

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend! Here in Essex the sun didn't shine as much as I hoped it would have however we still had a nice couple of days. I was SHATTERED this weekend, all I wanted to do was sleep! I could have quite happily slept and done nothing nor seen anybody and that would have suited me nicely! I did however do all the household stuff that needed doing and spent some time catching up with special people which is always nice.

 

 

Monday is here again and I am surviving on coffee to keep my peepers open1 It isn't so bad though is it? The week soon flies by back to the weekend again.

 

 

 

Have a good one!