London for #SkyGarden #TheLionKing

Last week we had an incredible crazy day in #London though we are all poorly in varying degrees, we had bought  #TheLionKing tickets and I was not wasting them. So doseing ourselves up we decided to go.

But it nearly didn’t happen, somehow none of us slept until 4am and getting up at 6am to get ready to go was a nightmare, ended up leaving super late!! 8.30am in fact. Totally forgetting it’s a weekday not our usual Sunday visit, so by the time we got to East Finchley ALL parking spots had gone! Omg what to do now?? Hubby checked out Google to look for more parking and we headed to Central Finchley, and omg there was ONE spot left!! Tight and oddly angled due to one car, but being a whizz at parking, Hubby soon dropped us off first, then did his magic!! Prayers answered, we are finally on our way. Didn’t get to London until nearly midday. Going to be a short fast visit.

First stop was #HydePark to eat our sarnies, because yes I’m that person that goes with a packed lunch, crisps and pop. Rather than trawl all around looking for somewhere to eat all day. So we picked the water view, and my goodness the sunshine, blue skies and views make this the best restaurant ever.

We saw the biggest swan, well maybe not, but I personally haven’t ever been that close to one, to realize how big they are. Lots of noisey ducks and very cheeky brazen squirrels. My day was amazing already!!

Next up was visit Knightsbridge house because it’s pink, and why not, daughter picked this out. We discovered houses on this street are sold at 6.5Million pounds, I can barely believe it.

It’s a bloggers dream, what a backdrop for fashion photos. After this we headed to the V+A museum mainly for loo I confess. But we had seen the marble online and wanted to see it for ourselves.

It was more grand than I ever thought, really pretty and I’m so glad we went. We’ve previously booked the #SkyGarden for this visit, so our plan was to head over to there. We take tubes, and it’s obviously busy, crowded and tiring. But we always survive it, just about. We booked it for 4pm. My hips were shattered already, and I needed a lot of painkillers to stand in the queue. Airport like searches, even my walking stick went through the x-ray machine! But in the fastest lift ever, we were transported up 35 floors, to the most decedent garden with views ever!! But boy it was cold too.

Once up there the sun started to set and it was the most romantic dramatic location. It was amazing

Not long later it was time to peel ourselves away, to grab a Maccies and buy supplies (sweets and pop) ready for #TheLionKing not many photos now as once there you can’t have your phones out. Burger was lovely, just what we needed, along with a very much needed cappuccino too.

We were greeted by some lovely staff, that helped regarding stairs, as we were high up. And now it was time to enjoy the main event, (we’ve only seen Wicked before) and omg!! I was mesmerized, enthralled and thoroughly entertained. Seating caused a lot of pain I won’t lie. It’s crippling to sit at 90degrees and with little support, so I’m grateful of the interval. I’m so pleased I hadn’t actually seen any spoilers for the production, nor had I even seen the film (bad I know) but I think I enjoyed it more because of that. It was full of humour, emotions and sheer amazing talent. I walked out feeling exhilarated and extremely lucky that we’d seen it.

All exhausted, it was a tube ride back to Central Finchley and then for hubby an epic drive home. I feel so blessed he does this for us, it was certainly a memory to treasure a lifetime.

My only downside is the cost to me personally, this one day on Thursday cost me Friday, Saturday, Sunday of NOT moving at all, I was broken in every joint, my back and hip especially. Monday it eased off enough to attempt some physio, but that was a mistake, soon back to painkillers and heat. Tuesday was officially Physio but it got cancelled, we went for a short walk instead, so joint got some physio in,  to see deer and ducks locally, but now again its wednesday (nearly a week later) I’m totally bodily broken. So as lovely as #London was, It takes a lot out of me.

At home physio… What I do at home

We are nearly at the end of the month already, and I’m only just getting up and moving about, after being so poorly for so long. But now I’m back and ready to kick butt.

We were out in #London last Thursday for the day, to see #TheLionKing and visited the sky garden. Blog post to come on that later, however what I will share is, I had my photo took and I look enormous in it, so that’s my ah ha moment. I need to get moving, and shift some lbs… Wanna see the photo?

But as ever I can’t actually move much… My catch 22. Pain and lack of mobility are my nemesis. I even use MyFitnessPal again to note calories, I’ve rarely gone above 1600 in my whole life, so I’ve had to reduce mine to 1300 to adapt slowly and consistent. So far I’ve lost 4lbs overall, 2lbs being before London.

Now for exercise I’ve started these at home, really it’s just physio but daily physio, to build up stamina, strength. Because what also happened due to London, was that because of pain, I spent Friday in bed solidly, Saturday I barely moved, Sunday I was better but only just. Today (Monday) I felt like I could do something. So this workout is tiny for most, but for me hugely challenging.

Slide wall squats 15reps

Omg super hard on operated side. Leg raises 15reps

Hip bridges with both legs bent 15reps

Single leg hip bridge 10reps (double what I did at hospital physio appointment)

This is still hurting my operated side to lie on, 19weeks post op. So it’s difficult due to that 15reps

Front leg raises, easier than side ones as not leaning on operated side 15reps

Pure hellish clam raises, again hated due to lying on that side. Really difficult, super stiff 15reps

Dead bugs, to help my back pain, and work on core without stressing it. Not bad at this 15reps

As you can see it’s not huge, or complex by any stretch. But for me, it’s massive, these challenge my pain barrier and stiffness to the max.

Express yourself with Letter boards #Gingersnap

A couple of weeks ago, I approached Gingersnap about their #LetterBoards I wanted to see this latest board that has become popular. And they agreed to send me one for a review. Gingersnap is here and they do a lot more than just letter boards, I spotted a lot of Valentine’s gifts here too. Here is the link for the board itself

So here it is… First I must explain I’m a tired, overwhelmed housewife, and being 40 plus I’m not usually into gimmicks.

I’d loved the light boxes I’d seen before but never bought one, as the batteries or plug limited the options for me. This one appealed more as it’s totally mobile, you can use anywhere. That fits into my life so much more.

And at 10inch x 10inch you can fit a lot in, the 300 letters and symbols give you a HUGE variety of sentence,words, quotes to write. I got the midnight blue one, so the white lettering really stands out. But I’ve seen they do a Tiffany blue (this one is pure gorgeous) and Baby Pink too, so pastel lovers are well catered for. You can stand alone, or hang on the wall, I opted for standing against things, so it’s to hand whenever the mood strikes to have a change of message.

At first I thought, what would I write?? A few friends and I are sailor’s mouthed fiends, so it was tempting to put cuss words. But being an adult, I ended up using it as info for the family, announcement, or quotes, or even advertising this blog!!

We could have used this at my eldest daughters wedding last May. Or even the announcement of my first Grandchild, noting his monthly milestones. Literally you could have so much fun, writing anything your hearts desire.

And I’ve had so much fun doing it, it’s captured a light-hearted side of me, gave me something to think about, be creative and even now I’m thinking you could help children, grandchildren to read, to spell, have educational learning play. It’s way more than it first appears, and you can utilize it however you like. For that I give it a huge thumbs up, I’ve really enjoyed it. I would add that I found storing the letters in organza bags easier for me, but they aren’t included (maybe add some?) So I could store them quickly and compactly.

Every little helps… #Biocare

Hi guys, I’m feeling on top of the world now, after a bout of serious flu type illness, I’m back.

Thanks to antibiotics for sure, fruit and water. And countless painkillers. It’s been long and hard and honestly tiring too.

And since then, I’ve been given #BioCare #ImmuneIntensive 7Day Pack to try, to boost my immune system, and give me those vitamins I’m sorry lacking after being so ill.

You have one sachet a day, for your Zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin D doses. Instructions state to add to water or juice.

Now I’m a baby, and seeing powder in a drink, does churn my tummy. Such a baby!! So I added to squash, orange squash. And I think I would of been better with plain water really. As the sachet gives you a red berries flavour, so it didn’t need an orange squash to make it taste nice.

It surprisingly mixed in well, looks sparkly going in, almost like those rose gold powders for prosecco!! And down the hatch it went. At the bottom there was a slight after taste, but nothing bad, just extra strong red berry. And I being the highest baby in having anything like this, managed it.

The feeling of feeling like your doing something good, carried over into my eating well that day too, so I can see you eating and drinking well in those 7 days and infinitely feeling better inside and out. A great way to boost your immune system, and give you that clean eating head start too. I’m glad I got over my fear to try these, I’d do it again, preferably before I got poorly, to see if that could prevent being ill or at least half the time poorly.

Physio at last. 18 weeks post #HipArthroscopy

Well it’s back to the physio gym today, now that I feel strong enough too. It’s been 2 weeks since I last went, or did any physio at all. So it’s feeling stiff and fused.

• Stationary bike 5mins
• Resistant band slide wall squats 20reps
• Leg press 40lbs 20reps
• Hip bridges 20reps
• One legged hip bridges 5reps
• Kneeling leg lifts 20reps
• Swiss Ball pelvic tilt 20reps
• Swiss ball single leg lift 20reps

Of course she promised to go easy on me, but no way was this easy. The single hip bridges were bad form, weak quad and glute, felt that instantly. Only managed 5 reps of that. And the Swiss ball leg lift was wobbly, core is immensely weak and needs working on a lot. But even lifting from the knee seemed arduous and painful. Clearly I could do with practising these at home. Maybe on a static chair at first, then get my Swiss ball out too.

Although I’ve had a few bad flare ups and setbacks, overall I think I’m progressing. The waddle with the walking stick is ever present, so I limit my times walking unaided, so I can build stamina, but not cause suffering to the joint. But I must confess, it’s disheartening that still after all this time, all these surgeries, I still waddle, and still suffering groin pain when I walk too much, or sit at 90degree angles.

Hoping its not going to hurt too much later on, thankfully tea is premade so I don’t have chores to go back too, so I can rest and heat the joint for the rest of the day.

Strictly comes to Birmingham #StrictlyBHam

Yesterday was crazy,  so not what I expected sat in my PJ’s and coughing up my organs!! I stared at my phone, in sheer disbelief that this message read I’d won tickets for #StrictlyBHam last night and to be there by 7pm.

Yes I’d entered the competition held by  Novell Tanning on Facebook, but never did I expect to win. But I did. Now I confess I don’t actually watch #SCD as usually I watch comic superhero style shows (The flash, Arrow, Inhumans) you know the good stuff. But I love dancing, so I was excited.

We only just made it, thanks to all the traffic jams, road blocks and road works in Birmingham. And oh my god the parking was tight!! Husband needs a medal for this.

We asked a marshall where to queue, and got directed properly to the right one, thank goodness as it was freezing!! Once inside we located our seats and OMG they were super close seats ( I’d imagined we’d be up and towards the back) not almost centre and front!!  We bypassed the book as it was £12 and I knew I’d never read it again, but awesome for a fan. And the glitter 10 paddle I would of bought but at £5 was a bit steep for me. So I decided I would woop and cheer instead.

 

The celebs and their dancers performed these dances.

Alexandra Burke & Gorka Marquez – Jive to Tina Turner’s Proud Mary (this was full on, lots of dancers to watch at the same time)  and the Quickstep to The Gold Diggers’ Song’ (the footwork was amazing!!)

Susan Calman & Kevin Clifton, Quickstep to Bring me Sunshine ( bit tearful after this dance she was) and the Samba to the Wonder Woman (this had me giggling) theme tune

Davood Ghadami & Nadiya Bychkova – Paso Doble to Live and Let Die (very James bond esque) and Charleston to ‘The Lambeth Walk’ (this one I loved, as it’s less serious)

Gemma Atkinson & Aljaž Skorjanec – American Smooth to Downtown (such colourful costumes, blown away by them) and The Paso Doble to Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ (striking dance and looked beautiful)

Debbie McGee & Giovanni Pernice – American Smooth to Memory from Cats (this was outstanding, I can’t believe her lifts!! And how tiny is she) and Salsa to ‘I can’t take my eyes off you’ (such elegance, poise and grace)

Jonnie Peacock & Oti Mabuse – Jive to ‘ Johnny B. Goode’ (just WOW I was foot tapping  and loving this one) and American Smooth to Cry Me a River (truly beautiful)

Joe McFadden & Katya Jones – Charleston to Alexander’s Ragtime Band by Ella Fitzgerald (hilarious, thoroughly enjoyed this concept)  and Argentinian tango to Rag n’ Bone Man’s ‘Human’ (eye watering lift, standing ovation here)

The accompanying dancers were sublime and their last performance (if I could put a video on here I would!) Was breathtaking and easily the best performance of the night. Hearing the singers and live band made the evening so much more special and enjoyable.

The judges were on top form, sometimes the humour bit too (toilet humour) for me, bit crude and panto style which isn’t for me. But from the howls around us, I know I’m alone in that thought. The funniest score of the night was the 4 Craig gave Susan and Kevin for the wonder woman samba. (This is easily my fave dance of the night) most entertaining anyhow.

As the judges got the audience to there feet after that spectacular last performance, we decided to leave, as we knew there would be a crush and rush to all leave at the same time. And honestly with a walking stick, a rush of people scares me to death. So we sneaked out, to an empty corridor, and easy to get to toilets (thank goodness) and empty car park. Perfect. We definitely timed it well. Just as we drove past outside the arena, we saw them all piling out, we sure made the right decision.

Home exhausted and sore (hip hated the seats) but I’d had an incredible time, laughed so much and not at the innuendos like everyone else, forgot I was poorly for a few hours, and saw some amazing talented dancers.

 

 

 

2018 has not gone to plan so far….

Hello my lovelies, Well 2018 is sucking lemons for this household right now. We have all collectively been ill on and off since before Christmas. I got much much worse on the 30th Dec, resulting in tonsillitis and bacterial infection, that can potentially affect my hip operation site. And they (mini moon and Mr moon, are now developing it, and have just started their antibiotics) we are taking it in turns to nurse eachother.

At the moment I’m currently halfway through my second lot of antibiotics, much stronger more aggressive ones, as the hip pain is very very out of control and character. So you can imagine, I’ve done no physio, in fact I’ve barely moved off the sofa. I’m even sleeping on the sofa, as it allows heat pads and hot water bottles to sit in position better.

This week I’m 18 weeks post hip arthroscopy and if I’m 100% honest my hip feels worse than before surgery!! I never expected to say that, especially as I’ve done nothing at all. Silver lining it shows that instead of being worn away, worked out funny, the pain instead has to be from illness, so could potentially go away as well.

So I’ve been occupying myself with #Spiral on #Bbc4 a French police crime series, that is fast paced and very addictive.

And just last night I found #Beforewedie a #Walterpresents on #Channel4 another police thriller (I love crime shows) hoping I soon get sucked into this.

I’ve had some jewellery to create and post, but it’s been extremely difficult to do while feeling so woolly headed. But I managed a little bespoke order off to USA, one for #Dysautonomia and #Lupus

Hoping in 8 days time we are fit enough to go and see #TheLionKing in #London

The Ordinary Skincare I’ve been loving

Hey guys, this post is about my skincare products I’ve recently bought. After months of normal exfoliating my face, a persistent dry flaky patch on my nose, would consistently make my foundation textured. It drove me nuts!! So I pleaded with my beautiful blogger friends for their advice, as they around my age, and have tried everything and anything too. And I trust their opinions. And overwhelmingly the answer was THE ORDINARY.

Now I’d seen these floating about, I’d wanted to try them before, but hadn’t got round to it yet, so now was the perfect excuse. And even better I had #Glossybox dots that they now conversation into money to spend on #LookFantastic (you get glossy dots for filling out surveys after each glossybox you receive) and I’d built mine up all year, so I could get 3 products off the website.

I chose the #10%LacticAcid+2%HA for its exfoliating nature, I knew it could be quite stripping, so for my first weeks usage I diluted it with a cleanser. Until I knew my skin would tolerate it. (If you knew me in real life, know that I’m literally allergic and intolerant to everything, from soaps to perfume, to food and wine) after using this for 7days I’ve really started to notice a smoother cleaner look to my foundation, so this is clearly working. I’ve been using for a week, then taking days off, then back to it again, so my skin has a break too. I will definitely be repurchasing this, I love it. Smell is fine, texture is thin but only need a little amount.

To finish off my evening routine of using the Lactic Acid one I then top it off with the #ColdPressedRoseHip Seed Oil to moisturise my skin, it’s very oily so I do all this at night, so it has all night to soak in and feel the benefit. Skin stays shiny all evening, but it’s so worth it. It feels luxurious, soft and smooth. There’s definitely a difference. It’s a thick texture, only need 3 drops, smell is pleasant to me. Definitely repurchasing.

Now that I had the evening routine settled, I was also happy with daytime cleansing. For my third product I chose the #Primer I have a love hate relationship with primers, I’ve used #LauraMercier #Rimmel #MakeUpRevolution ones and they don’t always work for me, sometimes they would make the dry flaky nose area worse, or make my make up slip off. So my idea was to try this primer and the skincare, to see if they made a difference. The texture of this is silky soft, and the results are 75% better . So that’s an improvement. Am I convinced it’s better because of primer alone? No, I actually think it’s the skincare products, rather than primer making foundation sit better. But I do like the feel. However I HATE the scent, it smells green, mossy. Thankful that once on the face I can no longer smell it, but opening the bottle is pretty awful. I don’t think I’ll repurchase this because of the smell. * PRODUCT UPDATE* I will be repurchasing, just tried a different primer (one from my glossybox and textured nose is back, so even though the Lactic Acid and Rosehip Oil reduce it, the Primer definitely works to allow foundation to sit better. So that’s me convinced its the one for me!! I’m sold.

As you can see in 2 months I’ve used about a third of each bottle, and they are priced around £6 so if you work them out at £1 per 6 months use available in each one, it’s highly affordable, excellent value for me, and in no way do they feel cheap or nasty. They feel like something you’d pay a lot for. Have you tried them? Which ones? What is your opinion?

 

 

 

Land Physio Appointment, first session of 2018

Welcome back my lovelies, this week was a week of getting back into routine following Christmas then illness, both wiped me out good and proper. And though I’ve been gradually getting back into homework physio, I knew this appointment would be a killer!!

And I wasn’t wrong!! Just when I think I’m getting strong, this session shows me exactly how off I am. But there’s some improvement, so that’s good.

My first exercise is always a warm up, no resistance 5 minutes stationary bike. (This used to hurt my seat bones after my triple pelvic osteotomy, but now it feels different??)

Then up is the 40kg leg press. I personally hate this one, as I don’t like the extreme bend in hip, it’s hates 90° and deeper angles.

Swiss Ball pelvic tilt, goddess knows why my body hates such a simple easy exercise, but joint really hates it?? No clue why?

Omg this was new!! And so goddamn hard too. Think this one is what hurt me for hours and hours afterwards. Simple looking, but hip flexor obviously isn’t strong enough yet.

I adapt this to be on my elbows and forearms, as my wrists are too weak, too subluxing to hold me up. Thank you #EhlersDanlosSyndrome but adapting it makes it good and ok to do.

Hip bridges are the easiest exercises for me so far, and I’m doing them at home daily too. Finally an exercise I don’t suck at, and can do without whining.

Another seemingly innocent looking movement, that actually kicks my backside a lot. And I can feel it working a lot so I dig deep for it.

I finish off with slide wall squats, I also do these at home, using a foam roller on my back to allow me to slide down the wall. I’m getting better at it each time. Feels good to have 2 exercises I’m reasonably good at.

After all this, I’m done. Not just a bit tired, I’m flat out useless for anything afterwards, straight home, kettle on, PJ’s and heat therapy to ease pains off. Seriously love hot water bottles and heat packs so much so, my mum and mother in law both got me some for Christmas!! What could be better than the gift of pain relief??

Hoping it doesn’t take days to recover from this session, though I’m writing 12hrs later and I can tell you now, I am so much stiffer and sorer than before!! So I’m guessing I may need a rest day or two, before starting my homework physio continues.

January blues?? Glossybox proper cheered me up!

Yay!! It’s glossybox time. And though it’s just the standard pink box, I’m keen to get my hands on it. 

I’d seen the sneak peek of the #DrBotanicals #MoroccanRose Facial Oil, do I knew this was going to be my best item straight away. It’s £55 for full size, and though 15ml it’s still worth £17.95 if you bought it, that’s my box worth of money already.

But it doesn’t end there! This was the only NON FULL SIZED item. And that was worth it, these others are equally as good.

#EvelynIonaCosmetics Green Tea Primer, now I’m not actually sold on primers, as some make my foundation weird. But I’m going to give this a go, and it’s cruelty free and paraben free. FULL SIZED £22 evelyniona.com

#NailMedic Nail and Cuticle Energizer Oil. After wearing #Primark false nails, I find my nails need tlc, so this was a welcome addition to the box. FULL SIZED £5.99 pretty womannyc.com (side note, I love the pink and purple oil divide, mix it up, it settles back, twist it around watch the pink always stay on the bottom) love science, and it entertained me!! 😂😂😂😂😂

#Apicia Cream Blush, I’m not a blush girl, well I thought I wasn’t, until I started using #Nars Orgasm one, so I’m definitely going to try this out. I feel I’m more of a powder girl, but willing to test out a cream version. FULL SIZED £22 apicia.fr

Then finally up is #Boots Beauty Beneath Supplements bit of a wildcard as I hear many don’t like to take supplements, and things they don’t know or trust. But I’m willing to give it a shot, containing 19 nutrients for healthy glowing skin (which I don’t have, I have tired, sallow, dull skin) meant to boost your own collagen (yet I have a lack of collagen because of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, so would they work??)

Collagen is adds structure and strength to our connective tissues, a defeat in this collagen can weaken bones, skin, organs, and blood vessels. So let’s test them out.

Not a bad box this month all in all. For £13 I easily got £100+ worth out of it. And there’s nothing I won’t use, or not looking forward to trying either.