Slacker ... Update

Well what can I say ... I think the title says it all really. This poor little blog has been neglected :/ Ooops. No excuses really, just didn't feel like writing about things I'd like seen as I have no money to buy them hehe :P.

So New Years has passed, It's 2014 and I've decided I'll update my blog more often as one of my resolutions :). Besides writing about your goals and plans has got to be good for motivation right?
A few things have happened in the past 8 months; Sam turned 2 :O (Omg I have a 2 year old), Jenson turned 1 (where is the time going?!) and I've lost another stone since the last post :D.

There probably won't be many hauls or anything like that up for a while as we have our holiday booked and are saving hard for that but I'll be updating on my weight loss goals and meal plans etc.

So my WW class is back after Christmas and I did put on (which I expected) but 4.5lbs isn't as much as I had expected so I got off lightly :P. I've since lost that and I'm sitting at 11 stone 1 lb (155lbs). Ahh I just reaaaally want out this stone I feel like I've been dancing around the 11's for ages lol. Well I'm on track and hopefully will be out of the 11's next week :D

Heather
xo

Wishes

So when the bank balance allows it we all like a little splurge right? Depending on my mood sometimes the mummy side of me shines through and I want to spoil my boys with cute outfits & cbeebies magazines etc that get ripped & thrown in the toy box :/. Or I like to buy things for my boyfriend like pick him up a few new T's or underwear ... even just a can of energy juice that he loves or something. And of course I loove to buy for me too!
SO here are a few Makeup items that I've got my eye on :P.

1. Is Benefit's 'They're real' mascara -  I've seen & heard good things about this & I'd love to give it a go myself :) Although I'm not too sure about the plastic brush as I do normally prefer bristles. I'll definitely do a review if I do get my hands on it though.

2. Mac Fix+ Fluid ... When reading up on this item it's supposed to be a 'setting spray' but, when I was at the Mac counter the girl actually used it on me before putting on some moisturizer to help it sink in & wow my skin looked dewy and radiant all day. I just loved it. Maybe I'll try it out as a setting spray too :)

 3. Also when I was at the Mac counter I used these 'Lustre Drops' as a highlighter. A few drops really went a long way & my cheek bones looked great :D

4. Lastly is something I've just recently found. It's the Urban Decay naked basics palette. I currently have the Naked1 palette & was thinking about getting the 2nd and then I found this. Seen as I don't use all the colour range in the 1st one I figured it would be a waste to buy the 2nd only for a few colours but, this one I would use all the colours & they are all a matte finish too so even better for a natural day look :)

P.S These are things I would like to buy but It doesn't in anyway mean that I will run out & buy them as soon as I get paid. There are understandably other things more important than a bit of makeup & nice clothes but hey ho we all love shopping even if it is just window shopping :). So if it comes to then end of the month & there's a bit of extra cash left in the pot then why not buy everyone a wee treat? After all we only live once :).

HeatherAlana21 xx

Queen B

Last week a few friends and I went to Manchester to see BEYONCE!! & oh my gosh she was amaaaazing.

I have always liked Beyonce & her music but not followed her too closely but now I have a new found love for her lol. I love that whole empowering women thing she does, were she makes you feel amazing like you can do anything :) Also I've always liked the way she presents herself from her clothes to her stage set with the video backdrops etc :).

Anyway the girls & I traveled all the way from Glasgow to Manchester on the bus (a whole 5 hours) & it wasn't as bad as I thought. I didn't even crack the book out ;) We spent a few hours trailing around with our suitcases while we waited to check in at our hotel. (StayCity apartments, which were lovely btw) & even enjoyed a cheeky few in the pub. Eventually after much deliberation I decided to go with a black dress from River Island & I was glad as my midi wouldn't quite have concealed the cider belly I got later :P. Here's some pics:

Weight loss

Back in 2010 when my friends and I got back our holidays I was horrified at myself in the pictures. I hadn't felt good about myself for a while but the pictures were just the icing on the cake.

 

So having been to weight watchers years previously my mum convinced me to give it a go. I joined in July 2010 at 12stone 2.5lbs (the heaviest I had ever been) and by the time it was october I had lost 20.5 lbs and got down to 10 stone 10. I was feeling great & everyone would comment & say how well I was looking.

 

It was around this time that I met my boyfriend & a little while later we found out I was pregnant so naturally I gave up weight watchers & put on weight as ye do aaaaand I jumped right back upto square 1. I tried again in early 2012 but I only went to one class as we decided to try again for another baby.
January 2013 at 40 weeks pregnant I weighed a whopping (for me) 14 stone 10lbs .

 When I gave birth to Jenson I breastfed for a few short weeks and I lost a stone and a half ... then I put on a cheeky few pounds.
So the last week in March 2013 I have rejoined weight watchers and I am enjoying my journey to my goal weight (which I haven't actually set yet but It's somewhere in the region of 3-4 stone). Today I got my 3rd silver 7 which means I have lost 21 lbs my most ever and I am down to 12 stone 3lbs; almost back where I started at the 1st time wow.
 I am a happy bunny & it's just exciting for me as I start to feel better about my body & actually enjoy shopping sometimes :D. Here's hoping my journey is a smooth one & I'm sure there will be more updates on this to come.
Heatheralana21 xx

Sam's birth story

So the 12th of September 2011 (my due date) came and went without so much as a braxton hicks. Like all other pregnant women out there I was fed up. It was my due date & my baby STILL wasn't here. I'm sure that when we reach that 37 week mark and baby is 'term' you kind of think 'oooh I could go any time now' but no. Not for me anyway :( The sleepless nights (with no baby) were a killer as I was up for no reason as well as all the general pains. And people asking if I'm still pregnant?! Don't even go there lol.

 

 

A week later on the early hours of Monday the 19th I was awoken by a cramp like feeling then an additional pain under my bump frequently too. I called the hospital & they said to take a bath and have paracetamol so I did that but I was excited that something was finally happening :D. I was booked in for a sweep on the Tuesday and the midwife said I was 3cm yay! I thought it can't be long now. I had continual contractions every 10 minutes from then until I gave birth to him on Thursday!

Anyway on Wednesday evening my mum came over straight from work as she was worried about my pains and she wasn't happy about the pain I was in so she called the hospital & told a little white lie; that my contractions were lasting longer than they were. They want them to be lasting over a minute but mines were only around 30 seconds but coming every 3 minutes.

So we made our way in to the hospital around 8pm after Bobby finished work and I was 5cm yay! We were staying in :D. When the gas & air just wasn't cutting it any more I had a shot of diamorphine (great stuff ;)) lol. & around 1am I started pushing. Finally at 2.15am on Thursday the 22nd of September 2011. Sam was born weighing an ickle 6lb 13oz. He was just so perfect. The euphoric feeling you get when you see your baby for the 1st time is just unreal & it makes all the hard work worth it. I hope every woman out there who wants to gets to experience it at some point <3.

Everything was hunky dorey except that my body decided that it wanted to keep my placenta. The umbilical cord was so freyed that the midwifes couldn't even tug on it to help me as it was just coming apart. The midwife said she had never seen anything like it & was astonished as to how he survived <3. After 3 different people trying & 'examining' in there they decided I needed surgery to remove it as I was losing too much blood. Great I thought, all the hard work & they're gonna give me the bloomin epidural anyway? But that didn't happen they actually put me under. Thinking back now I'm not sure why, possibly because I had lost a lot of blood?

After my surgery they brought me round & I was in hell. I cried with the pain I was in & couldn't stop coughing because of the anaesthestic which just made things worse. Then they told me that I hemorrhaged during surgery & lost 1.5L of blood and would require 2 transfusions :( So I spent the day in the high dependency unit basically out of it on pain killers :/ then I was finally moved to the ward.

I hated being in the ward. I hated the fact that I had a catheter, I was so sore & weak to move & I had to carry a bag of pee about?! I was just a 1st time mother & it takes time you get to know your baby & when he cried he was so fragile and tiny I was worried about how I was holding him etc. I'm an only child and had never been around any babies. I hated having to ask for help from the midwifes but I was really struggling with mobility & strength. I just wanted home, to have support from people I love and more help with Sam oh and my own bed! Also to add to things I didn't have my phone so I had no way to speak to my family & bobby and he didn't know he could come at any time so I had to sit alone while all the other girls in the wards partners came and went :(.

Well they said I would have to wait for blood work to come back before I'd be assessed to leave & when it did on the Friday my iron levels went from 6 to 8 ... Not the 12 they wanted. But I just kept on smiling and telling them I felt fine & they did decide to let me out. Thinking back now I think wow I don't think they should have done that but all was good & I really couldn't have spent another night there.

 My little monster is now a whopping 19 months old AND a big brother?! pfft. Who'd have thought lol. Here he is now:

   Jenson's birth story coming soon :) xx

Haul :)

On Saturday was my best friend's 21st birthday party so last week I went a little shopping trip :) Bobby (my boyfriend), the kids & I went up to Glasgow for the day & enjoyed a little day out with shopping & lunching. Well I can finally post what I bought seen as she now has her present :D.

Top Left: Chanel Rouge Allure Luminous Intense Lip Colour in 104 passion. £22.50

Bottom Left: Black studded double strap handbag from River Island £40. It has gold tone studs a zip pocket and longer adjustable strap.

Top Right: M.A.C pro long wear spf 10 foundation in NW20 £24

Bottom Right: M.A.C powder blush in Style £17.50.

The Chanel lipstick & bag were for my friend and the rest of the makeup was a naughty treat for me :P.

So far I am absolutely looooving the blusher. I had been on the look out for a new peachy toned blush for quite a while as my complexion can be quite rosy & this one is great. It's a frost finish so I don't even feel the need to highlight :). As for the foundation, this is the 1st time I've ever bought foundation from M.A.C & one of the girls colour matched me. I normally just go in to a shop and take the lightest colour as I am so pale! But it turns out I'm not as pale as I thought hehe. Anyway the girl was lovely & great at her job, she made me want to buy everything she used on me but I wouldn't have been able to justify that one to Bobby ;):P

Anyway check out my friend's blog here. She might even do a review of the lippy :)

xx heatheralana21 xx

How I wash & clean my make up brushes.

Washing your make up brushes can seem like such a chore (lets face it, it's boring) but we all know that putting on our make up with a nice clean brush makes it sit & blend so much better. Also what is the point in us cleansing and toning etc if we then rub a dirty brush over it?

Well I read somewhere recently that you are supposed to wash your makeup brushes weekly especially if you use a liquid foundation ... woops. It's pretty rare that I get to/remember to wash my brushes that often but when I do here's how I like to do it. 
 
Take a small amount of shampoo in the palm of your hand (I prefer to use baby shampoo as I like to think it's gentler on the bristles) This one's just from Tesco.
 

Take one of your brushes and swirl it around in the shampoo on your palm and you should see the product coming off.

Gently rinse the brush in warm water & repeat. Make sure you angle your brushes downwards because if you get water running down the handle it can get into the glue and cause the brush to come apart :/

Re-shape your brushes with your hands so they set properly & lay them flat on some kitchen roll or toilet paper & leave them to dry :).

Oh the brush set I have is the Coastal Scents 22 piece set which you can get for about £35 online. It's great & has plenty of brushes to choose from to suit your needs. If you're looking for a good brush set but don't want to fork out too much money I'd definitely recommend it :).

HeatherAlana21 :) xx