Beauty product of the month - May

I haven't bought many beauty products this month but something that I do buy regularly is new nail varnish. I love wearing pretty pastel colours in the spring and found this lovely babydoll pink that I thought would look perfect in the sunshine.

I love the light shade and think it suits my skin tone especially as it makes me look more tanned! It is a good shade for both hands and feet and at a mere £1.99 it doesn't break the bank either! I bought this bottle in Superdrug but it is probably available in other make up retailers as well.

What products have made your fav list this month?

Positive pic of the week #9

This weeks positive pic is Juice.

As I have mentioned before I decided to do a two day detox to try and get myself under 10 stone and I am pleased to say that with a little help from this juice I managed to do it! Hopefully the hot dogs that I just ate don't push me back over again :/

I made the juice myself in a juicer and will put a post up in the next couple of days with the ingredients. Also the little milk bottles I purchased for my daughters birthday are a perfect size for a shot of juice. If you are trying to kick start a health routine or want to drop a few pounds I find juicing is a great way to start and if you get the right fruit and veg mix that don't taste too bad either!

If you have a pic of something positive that's happened in your week then please join in and post on the linky below...

50 books 2014 - May

This month I have managed to get through four books with a little help from the half term, giving me some extra reading time. I mentioned before that I would like to read at least one classic and this month I chose Lady Chatterley's lover. I thought it would be quite a hard read but was pleasantly surprised and I think I would like to read a few more classics in the future.

I came across this book in the free section of the kindle books and was surprised to see a Jodi Picoult book there so downloaded it straight away. I learned afterwards that it is in fact a short story but nevertheless it is a great read and it is an introduction to the character Serenity Jones who features in her upcoming novel.

Serenity is a psychic who has her own TV show and when she tries to get into contact with a war veteran for his young widow she gets more than she bargained for in return, but will this boost ratings or threaten her future as a TV psychic? This was an enjoyable read and I am looking forward to a full version in the new novel.

My partner actually downloaded this book onto my kindle as he only ever reads crime books. I didn't pay much attention to it for a couple of months but then I read the first few pages and realised it was based in Hackney which is where I grew up so was intrigued to carry on reading.

This is a troubling tale of the gritty life teenage gang members lead in inner city London. One young boy is murdered and the search is on to find his killer, the main suspect is very nonchalant about the situation but how does he feel when his little brother decides to follow his footsteps into the life of crime? At the same time there is also the tale of the detective on the case and his journey to a life away from the harsh realities of life on the estates. Great read if you don't mind a bit of violence in your novels.

 

Some people feel really motivated by self help books such as The Secret while others are quite cynical and see it as a money making tool for the people behind it. I have read a few 'Chicken soup for the soul' books and I loved them as they were full of feel good stories but this book does seem a bit repetitive. 

The main theme of the book is the law of attraction. There are many contributors to the book who all try to convince the reader that positive thinking can bring you anything you want, I am not saying it cant, its just a matter of belief. Positive thinking obviously worked for them as they have all achieved what they want and there is no harm in it so why not I say?

I thought it would take me forever to get through this book as I remember trying to read classic books when I was younger and struggling to understand a word, however the only thing I struggled with was when the character Mellors was speaking in his Yorkshire accent. There were a few old fashioned words that I didn't know the meaning of but because I was reading on my kindle I could just touch the word and the meaning would come up which was really useful. I did find it quite amusing when a couple of my 'word of the week' words came up but at least I was familiar with them!

The story is about Lady Chatterley (Connie) and her discovery of herself, she seems like a feisty character and had a bit of 1920s girl power about her. Connie's upper class husband has been paralysed through a war injury and is therefore unable to physically please his wife. This causes tension between the two of them and she seeks love in other places, but what will happen when she decides to provide them with an heir to the Wragby estate? The book is quite raunchy in parts and rather than romantic I found it to be a bit crude, almost like the author was trying to shock the reader with his words! Worth a read if you are a fan of classics.

 I have now read 17 books out of my 50 book target so still have a long way to go but I am really enjoying spending more time reading and hope to get through at least 5 next month!
My #50books2014 challenge is linked up with Sara over at Ups & downs, smiles & frowns.

Word of the week - Amelioration

I feel like so much has happened this week and so much progress has been made, especially in the house.

We have had all the scaffolding taken down, the fence has been fixed and a new front door has been put in. The best thing is that my drain has been cleared, every time I used the washing machine or dishwasher the water was coming back up into the kitchen sink. It was really annoying having to use a jug to empty the water out, that I was only washing what was needed and had a massive pile of dirty clothes, now I have finally emptied the washing basket!

On a personal note, I have wanted to lose a bit of weight for a while, ideally I would like to be 9 and a half stone but I have found it so hard to get below the 10 stone mark. This week I decided to do a detox and just have water, juice and fruit for a two day period (yesterday and today) This morning I weighed myself and was 9st 13lb! I am hoping to lose a couple more pounds but I am going to take it slow to try and keep it off!

Apart from the miserable weather, it has been quite a pleasant half term and I am actually looking forward to going back to work. I love the last term as everything exciting happens at school. Staff and children find out their new classes/teachers, there are end of year assemblies and parties and playground duty isn't so bad when the sun is shining!

For your information the word amelioration means to progress or advance and comes from the 1650s word meliorare meaning to improve.

My Prime 5 - Pet hates

What better way to start my prime 5 than by having a good old moan, it's better to get it all out in one go so we can move on to better and more positive things!

 I am quite an easy going person, I don't let too much bother me but like everybody I have a few pet hates, these are the top 5 things that bother me...

1. Buses - At the moment I am not driving so I don't have much choice than to get on the bus but everything about them annoys me! Waiting for one to turn up, when it turns up it's packed and you have to squeeze on, when they are so packed that the driver skips right past your bus stop without even a wave! Smelly people, the passengers that hold the bus up looking for their fare/oyster card, the ones that leave their kids to mess around and play on the stairs, the ones that sit on the outside seat leaving the window seat empty and the worst are the ones that put their bag on its own seat like its paid for it when they can see others want to sit down! I think I actually prefer walking, plus it is more healthy.

2. Shoppers -  I shop in most supermarkets but I have to say Iceland have the worst shoppers, you know those ones that fill their basket and then get into the queue only to put their basket down by the conveyor belt and carry on their shopping.This is always happening in there, I had an incident once where the woman in front of me disappeared, all the customers in front of her had gone and the checkout guy called me over, then out of nowhere she pushed past me with her extra food and muttered under her breathe 'don't let me start an argument in here today' I was shocked at her rudeness and felt like slapping her but I like to be the better person and ignored her, karma is a bitch!

3. Tagging - I hate it when Facebook friends tag me in pictures or statuses. It's bad enough when you are in the picture (usually drunk and looking really rough) but its when they tag pictures of themselves or their kids and put my name on it, why?? I am not in your picture and the rest of my fb members do not want to see it! Also those family members that want to tag themselves in all of my pictures, leave them alone, they are my pictures!

4. Alarms - That ringing sound in the morning when you are in the middle of a nice dream, it's just not natural! I am definitely not a morning person but will happily wake up to the sound of birds and sunlight shining through the window, instead its usually a really annoying beeping sound that I have to constantly snooze....Zzz

5. Smoking - I have never smoked and have never seen the point of it. My mum has smoked since she was 9yrs old and even now at 54 and with a lung disease she continues to do it. Growing up some kids will follow what their parents do and start smoking but others like me are completely put off. Most adults I know that smoke actually want to give up and I think more needs to be done to help them. What actually are the good points to it because I struggle to find any yet so many people start?

So those are the things that get on my nerves, what really irritates you?

Write your own post on your top 5 pet hates, add a My prime 5 badge and link up at the bottom of this post. The linky will be open for 2 weeks to give you plenty of time to join in