OMCZ 12

I have been seeing this challenge popping up regularly and always love the different styles and ideas that have been used.  I cheekily contact Steph who is now organising the challenge and asked her if I could join.

From what I understand about the challenge, the idea  is for each post to have something that is pushing our comfort zone.   This post’s subject was chosen by Emma of Meet The Millards and she has chosen the Bohemian look.

I have never worn the boho look before, not really knowing if it would suit me or even if i had anything that remotely fit the bill.  I dived into the back of my wardrobe however and I think I have managed it ok.

 

The dress is from Joanna Hope although I am not sure where I purchased it from.  The gold sandals are Hush Puppies from +Very.co.uk and the earrings were a sale bargain in +Dorothy Perkins 

Check out the other ladies who are pushing their comfort zone.

Dear Readers

 

Day 27 – A Letter to My Readers

Hello.   First of all, I have to say how amazing it is that I actually have readers at all.  It still astonishes me that someone would take time out of their day to read something that I have written, and even more; bother to comment.

I want to say is thank you.  Thank you for reading and thank you for anyone who leaves a comment.  I am going to use the well over used phrase here, that bugs the hell of me on reality TV shows but, you have NO IDEA how much it means to me.

From the start of writing this blog I have grown into the person I always wanted to be, but was too scared to be.  I have battled many demons, from old issues, to confidence, to feeling secure and happy in myself.  I'm not quite there yet but I am definately getting there.

I am on the right path now and am excited to see where the road takes me.  Hell, I’m even modelling in Plus North in September, something that at this time last year I never thought possible.

The writing on this blog may be mine, but the positive comments and encouragement from the people who read it are what have spurred me onwards.   Not all comments have been posted on the blog, some have been said to me via Twitter too, and in person via people who I never even thought would be interested in my blog.  All of these have been so important to me.

So THANK YOU.  Really thank you.  Because each positive comment has given me what every person needs in their life, confidence, and hope.

Burning Money

Day 26 - Something you read online

This title recently caught my eye £500,000 of Public Money to be spend on pavements for fat people

Once my head had exploded, steam stopped coming through my ears and my incredulous shouts of “What the bloody hell?” stopped I re-read the article in order to try and find some real meaning and reasoning in it.

Are they suggesting that fat people don’t currently walk on pavements as we are afraid of breaking them?  We park our cars on concrete. There is not an epidemic of fat people causing earthquakes or paving slabs splitting as we walk, so I’m pretty much sure that pavements are self from us.

Are they intimating that fat people are scared of pot holes or cracks in the pavement more than thinner people?  Anybody can fall over a defective pavement.

My only guess for what they are doing is this:

They obviously have problems with their pavements and are getting a lot of tripping claims coming through. They presumably don’t have the funding in their budget to make the repairs to the pavements, so need an excuse.

I have a vision of some bright spark in the roadways department coming up with an idea.

“Hey guys, I’ve got it!!! Put through on another department’s budget, pretend it will benefit something. Blame the fat people. Everyone hates them. Say it’s of benefit to them to get them to lose weight and we’ll get it through on “Health in the Community”.

This article blows my mind. What does it do to yours?

Check out the other ladies in the challenge and see what articles they have chosen.

Beth http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk/
Claire http://lifeonadifferentlevel.blogspot.co.uk/

Felicity http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/

Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com 

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/
Lisa http://lookingforlisa.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Mary http://channellingliz.wordpress.com/
Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/ 

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk
Nikki http://nattynikki.com 

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/Verena http://APlusSizeFashionObsession.blogspot.co.uk

Vicky http://TheCurvedOpinion.com

Review of Butterfly Print Tea Dress

+Simply Be recently let me choose a couple of pieces for review.  When I found the Butterfly Print Tea Dress, I knew that this would be a must have.

I chose this dress at first as I thought that it would be a great work dress as it looked cool and comfortable.  Perfect for the office.  After trying it on with various combination though it would look just as well out for a lunch with the girls or on a date!

I have styled this dress today with dark coral shoes to bring out the same tones in the butterfly pattern together with a black statement necklace.    This is a great look for a summer’s day but it could equally be easily restyled for winter with a cardigan, coloured tights and a big belt.

I know I will get a lot of wear out of this dress as there are lots of different ways to wear it.  It feels a little vintage on me, which I love, and the next combination will most definately include some classic Mary Jane style shoes!

 Butterfly Print Tea Dress £35.00

Shoes (past season) +Dorothy Perkins 

Sticks & Stones May Break My Bones

Day 25, Saturday: Something someone told you about yourself that you'll never forget (good or bad)

At the ripe old age of 34, I feel that I know myself pretty well. I have good and bad traits just like anyone else and I try my best to work at the bad ones.

During a, let’s say parting of ways, with a friend he told me that I was an immoral and a two faced person. At the time and for a good while afterwards this really hurt me as I don’t honestly believe that I am either of those things, but the fact that those words were chosen completely made me question myself and the way I act to others.

My friends mean the absolute world to me and I have always tried my ultimate best to be a good friend.

Eventually I was convinced by the people closest to me that what he said wasn’t true, and that it was more intended probably to hurt me than anything else. Which was a success because it did really hurt me and is something I won’t forget.

What I ended up realising is that whilst I have changed a lot from the person he used to know, all my steps have been in relation to moving forward and having confidence to be the person that I am.  He was changing himself to be the person he thought that someone else wanted. He isn’t the person I used to know either.

I didn’t hurl abuse back and didn’t say the things I wanted.  I won’t now either.  The friendship may be over but I know that on my part it was ended with dignity and not insult and name calling. 

I may always remember it, because it marked the end of a friendship spanning over 15 years, but the words no longer hurt me.  I don’t believe in looking back anymore.

Check out the other ladies in this challenge x

Claire http://lifeonadifferentlevel.blogspot.co.uk/

Felicity http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com 

Lisa http://lookingforlisa.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Mary http://channellingliz.wordpress.com/ 
Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/ 

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk 
Nikki http://nattynikki.com 

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Verena http://APlusSizeFashionObsession.blogspot.co.uk 

Vicky http://TheCurvedOpinion.com

Cracking the Heart Open

Day 24 - Your 3 Worst Traits

Everyone has bad traits. You can either work on them or embrace them, I am trying to work on mine.

Impatience

I have infinite amount of patience when it comes to waiting for things. Be it waiting for a long planned event or waiting for a long delayed bus to arrive, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Where impatience catches me out is when I am trying to teach someone to do something. If they don’t understand immediately I am instantly irritated. I have been actively working on this and am trying to improve.

Too Trusting

I wander around in the world with my heart on a plate. Like the Ood in Doctor Who, I automatically put my trust in people, give them my loyalty and once you are a good friend of mine; you get a little piece of my heart too.

For the most part this works well in a friendship and I have some absolutely amazing best friends whom I adore. It also works against me because I have had heartbreak when I have invested my emotions in people who weren't worth them.

Finally, the one I can't shake.....

Presumption

I was reading today the brilliant blog of Callie Thorpe From the Corners of the Curve She was talking about when she met her boyfriend and she presumed that he was a “chubby chaser” and it was only upon seeing a photograph of his ex size 8 girlfriend that she really believed that he loved her for being her. The whole of her.

That is what I want. My head and my heart both presume I can't have it. I walk into a room and I automatically presume that any men in that room wouldn't fancy me, wouldn't want to spend time with me; wouldn't want to be seen with me, would be embarrassed. I can't shake it.

I am much more confident than I used to be. I wear my clothes with confidence now and my head is raised a little higher than before. I have self esteem and self respect. I don't cross the road now when I see a group of people.

Except when thoughts of the opposite sex come into play. Then I am back to square one. Where I am still the girl that moved away from a date at the bar when his friends appeared, in case he would be embarrassed to be seen with me. I'm 34 for fuck's sake. I need to shake this feeling or I really will be alone forever.

No by the way, I don't need a man to “complete me”. But it would be kind of nice not to walk through all the days of my life with just me.

What the hell is it about blogging that makes you just slice your heart open and pour it onto a page? It is quite cathartic for me in some ways, but then you read something back at the later date and you can't quite believe that you were quite that open.

So there you go...... Day 24 of the #30DayBloggerChallenge.... It's surprising what comes out of your head when you start typing on a page....

Check out the other ladies, hopefully their traits will be a little more amusing than mine!!

Beth http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Claire http://lifeonadifferentlevel.blogspot.co.uk/

Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com 

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Lisa http://lookingforlisa.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/ 

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk 
Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.com 

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Verena http://APlusSizeFashionObsession.blogspot.co.uk 

Vicky http://TheCurvedOpinion.com

It's a Hard Knock Life

Day 23 - What You Have Learned that School Didn't Teach You

I have gained many things in my life that were not as a result of what I was taught in school.  The "School of Life" has taught me many things.

Working from the age of sixteen has taught me a good work ethic.  I may not have been to college or university but that doesn't make me stupid.  I just chose to take a different path.  I have been employed full time for seventeen years now and am proud of where I have reached.

In school you are allotted into your groups.  Be it cool, geeks, goths or emo, or whatever was around when you were at school, you are automatically morphed into a pack and that is where you stay.  Individuality is frowned upon and doing things just because your friends do it is the norm.

I am proud of the fact that I am not a lemming.  I do what I want and am not afraid to say what I think.  I actually think that the sheep mentality that the public gets can be downright dangerous.  A person on their own is intelligent; a group seems to get progressively less intelligent the more members are added.

I could add more things, but this post is in dangerous of turning into a rant, and that is another day!

Check out the other ladies and what school didn't teach them.

Beth http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Claire http://lifeonadifferentlevel.blogspot.co.uk/

Emma http://www.meetthemillards.co.uk/ 

Felicity http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com 

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Lisa http://lookingforlisa.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Mary http://channellingliz.wordpress.com/ 
Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/ 

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk 
Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.com 

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Toni http://theonlywayistoni.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Verena http://APlusSizeFashionObsession.blogspot.co.uk 
Vicky http://TheCurvedOpinion.com

A Rant a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

 

 

I love to rant. Really love it. I find it a really good way to get something off my chest and I always feel better afterwards. There are a variety of rants on this blog about subjects that have warranted it. I don't rant at people of course; that is just plain rude!

 

 The thing with ranting of course is that it is spur of the moment thing, not done to order. So what I will do instead is share with you a previous rant that I have had on the blog.

 

The title is What Does a Daily Mail Reader Look Like?

 

I was going to just put the link, but will copy out the text here so I am not having you clicking all over the internet.

 

If I were asked to think of someone who I would like to physically resemble, I would have said Rachel Weisz. But now I’ve changed my mind. I want to look like a Daily Mail reader, specifically, one who writes some of the comments.

 

Now the elusive Daily Mail reader has never been seen out in the open. From comments made though we can begin to deduce what they must look like.

 

Here’s a profile:

 

Facial Features

Given various comments made with regard to “huge nose”, “needs plastic surgery”, “would need a bag over their head to be attractive” “ugly”, “disgusting to look at” etc etc it can only be deduced that the Daily Mail reader has perfect features, albeit features that would not be so perfect as to be labelled “too bloody good looking for their own good” or “vain” or “must be a slut”.

 

Body

Again, after perusal of the comments it is impossible to accurately guess the size and weight of a Daily Mail reader, other than it is “just right”. Things therefore that cannot be said about a Daily Mail reader’s body are “you need to eat more pies love” “Fetch a harpoon” “Must have had a boob job” “Tits like a sparrow”, “disgusting” “intolerable” “can’t even look at” “a bad role model” etc.

 

As with the facial features however, we must also note that the Daily Mail reader’s body cannot be so perfect as to then be described as “whore” “vain” “who the hell does she think she is” “must have had plastic surgery”.

 

Given the above, I have finally come to a decision of what the Daily Mail reader looks like. EVERYONE ELSE.

 

No one has the perfect face. No one has the perfect body. No one has any right to criticise the way that someone else looks.

 

So whilst I cannot accurately describe the physical features of a Daily Mail reader, their personality traits should be seen from a mile away. Look out for rude, obnoxious, insecure, under confident and, if one of them ever reads this, probably angry and already writing a comment below of how I should lose weight, wear a bag over my head, live in a hole underground so I can’t be seen and hold up a sign apologising for the way I look.

Check out the other ladies in the challenge and see what they are ranting about!

 

Beth http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk/
Claire http://lifeonadifferentlevel.blogspot.co.uk/

Emma http://meetthemillards.blogspot.co.uk/
http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/
Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/
Lisa http://lookingforlisa.blogspot.co.uk/

Mary http://channellingliz.wordpress.com/
Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk
Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.com

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/
Toni http://theonlywayistoni.blogspot.co.uk/

Verena http://APlusSizeFashionObsession.blogspot.co.uk

Beautiful South

I have been so engulfed in the 30 Day Challenge lately that I am trying madly to fit some outfit posts in with everything else I have to do.

I wore this outfit on Sunday, just two photographs unfortunately as they were taken just before I went out for a meal with the family.

I wore a beautiful black top with a Bow Lace Jumper from South at +Very.co.uk - click the link for better photos of it and also Tile Print Peg Trousers, again from South at +Very.co.uk , £22 and £25 respectively.

The red cardigan you have seen before, I think it was £7.00 from Primark.  My lovely lovely bag is from last season at +Next and the shoes are from I don't know where, old but I love them!

The Best Bits

Day 21 – Your Five Favourite Blog Posts (Your Own)

Today’s topic is a bit of an odd one as it asks you to choose your favourite five blog posts that you have written.  It is a little like holding an awards ceremony but giving all the accolades to yourself….

In the end I decided to choose five posts for all different reasons, either because the subject was important to me, it was a milestone, a good memory or simply something I really enjoyed writing.

So in no particular order!

Written in September 2011, Trophy Hunting - Are We Still Neanderthals?

Animal rights is a subject close to my heart.  Trophy hunting isn’t something that appears a lot in the popular press and a lot of people don’t know it exists or even what it is. 

Written in December 2011, Think

I wrote this piece whilst thinking of my dad.  There are too many people on the roads who have no care for their safety, or the safety of others.  The “I’ve only had a couple” people and the ones who drive through a red light to show off to their friends.

Written in August 2012, Great Britain

I was still engulfed in Olympics fever when I wrote this post and reading it back now makes me remember how proud I felt of our country during the Olympics and how proud I felt to be British.

Written in January 2013, I am not a Lemming

January of this year was a time that I was finally beginning to find some confidence and realise that we aren’t all the time, and that is good thing.

Written in March 2013, SimplyBe AX Paris Dress Review

The blog post that inspired my first real smile in front of a camera. 

So that’s my top five.  Check out the other ladies involved in the challenge for their top five posts!

Beth http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Claire http://lifeonadifferentlevel.blogspot.co.uk/

Emma http://meetthemillards.blogspot.co.uk/ 
http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com 

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Lisa http://lookingforlisa.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Mary http://channellingliz.wordpress.com/ 
Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/ 

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk 
Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.com 

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Toni http://theonlywayistoni.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Verena http://APlusSizeFashionObsession.blogspot.co.uk 
Vicky http://TheCurvedOpinion.com

Get Real

Day 20 - Get Real - Something You Are Struggling With

I'm struggling with this post.  No pun intended.

That is a very good thing though.  For the first time in my life everything is good, no, great.

I have the usual financial things that many people are dealing with at the moment and do wonder if I am going to live in the land of singledom forever, but in myself, I am happier today than I have ever been.

So am happy to report, I can't do this challenge today.

Beth http://tinkerbellandthelostgirls.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Claire http://lifeonadifferentlevel.blogspot.co.uk/

Emma http://meetthemillards.blogspot.co.uk/  

Felicity http://felicityhart.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Karen http://toodulltoblog.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Kaye http://www.polishedcurves.com 

Laura http://laurapantslifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Lisa http://lookingforlisa.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Mary http://channellingliz.wordpress.com/ 
Mhairi http://www.lilybobombslovelylumps.com/ 

Natalie http://awheelbarrowfullofstyle.blogspot.co.uk 
Nikki http://nattynikki.blogspot.com 

Steph http://seeingsp0ts.blogspot.co.uk/ 
Toni http://theonlywayistoni.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Verena http://APlusSizeFashionObsession.blogspot.co.uk 
Vicky http://TheCurvedOpinion.com