Where Have I Been?

Well Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog. It's been over a month since my last post, but I promise the reason why I have been absent is a very good one! I actually have several pieces of news to share with you today so lets get started with the big one...

Happy Valentines Day!

I remember a time when I was single, and I absolutely hated Valentines day. In fact I remember a time when I was in a relationship and still didn't like Valentines day. Thankfully since meeting my current boyfriend, and love of my life (sick buckets at the ready everyone!), I really enjoy Valentines Day. I am a very lucky girl and Tim always spoils me rotten on Valentines Day (not that he doesn't the rest of the year).

24 Years Old Today...

Left to right: Me one year ago, Me last weekend

Today is my 24th birthday, and honestly I feel really unprepared this year. Normally as soon as Christmas is over I start planning for my birthday, and I always have some sort of plan. This year however I have nothing. To be honest a lot of it was down to how I have been really struggling with my mental health, and seriously haven't even been motivated to do anything interesting. Tim did take me to Cardiff for my birthday last weekend, posts on that will be going up later in the month! As for today we are going out for a posh meal together, and then later in the week I am going out for a meal with my family, so it's not really as if we are doing nothing for my birthday.

To celebrate my 24th, I thought I would share with you 24 memories (some good, some bad) from my life so far, in no particular order...

1. One of my most vivid memories is the day that my brother had an epileptic fit. It was summer, I must have been about 7/8, and my dad was looking after us, I was outside riding my bike with a friend and an ambulance pulled up at the end of the close. They wound down the window to ask for directions, and the address they gave was for my house, so I immediately panicked. They rushed in and I remember that my dad wouldn't let me in, and watched through the letterbox. It was such a surreal day... thankfully everything turned out OK though!
   
2.  One of my favourite things that we used to do at School every Easter was to paint eggs. There was a contest every year where you could paint eggs as your favourite characters from books/TV etc. and there were always prizes for the best. I just remember making these with my mum and it was always so fun.
   
3. When I was four my sister was born, when mum brought her home my first question was 'Where is my baby brother?', because my parents had really wanted a boy, and even made me waste a birthday wish on one. It wasn't for another two years that I finally got my baby brother.
   
4. I went to a Church of England primary school as such we celebrated all of the major Christian holidays, one of my favourites was Christingle, because we would spend a whole afternoon making oranges with little skewers of sweets on and a candle on top. Instead of concentrating on making as many as possible, I spent my time eyeing up what everyone else was doing and sussing out which one had the most sweets. This was so that later, at the church service, I could pick up the one with the most sweeties!
   
5. McDonald's birthday parties... I must have had a least four of them, and all it involved was trying to hide in the upstairs area of our local McDonald's playing hide and seek. By the time they actually got a proper party room I was too old for it, and resented them.
   
6. When I was about 6/7 my parents took us all to Disneyland Paris, I was ecstatic. My dad took me on the ghost train a.k.a Phantom Manor, it seriously terrified me. So much so that my teeth started chattering, much like Scooby Doo's, and they wouldn't stop for like an hour afterwards.
   
7. Also during that Paris trip my dad and I started to climb the Eiffel tower, whilst my mum stayed at the bottom with my brother and sister. When we got about half way up dad said, 'Let's get back down, your mum's probably getting cold', so I never got to climb to the top. I think my dad was just scared of heights...
   
8. When I was younger I overheard my mum talking to a friend and they swore, I copied them, and this resulted in my mum shutting me in the garden as punishment, in the dark, and I'm still afraid of the dark...
   
9. Back in my childhood one of mums great friends lived only across the road with her daughter, who still remains one of my best friends. One day we were in her back garden, mum and her had a few drinks, and we were eating ice cream. In their tipsy state our mothers were pouring ice cream sauce into our mouths, this resulted in us getting covered. So my mum decide's she'll run us a bath at our house. I used to have a MASSIVE crate of bath toys, and mum tips it into the bath, and with the toys is a giant spider, so we both scream and get out, and won't get back in until my mum fishes the spider out, which she had to do, whilst drunk...
   
10. In Primary school we always did a nativity play, one year when we had a new teacher they decided to do a 'proper' nativity, it was a play which I believe was called, 'Give thanks to the Angel' and revolved around how the angel was the most important part of Christmas and the Nativity story. Everyone in school wanted to be the angel, but I got chosen, and I was super smug about it!
     
11. One time Me and my mum were watching TV downstairs and my sister was awfully quiet upstairs, so my mum went to check on her. Mum called down to me to come to the bottom of the stairs, and she made my sister show me what she had done. She'd gotten into my 'play make up' and made herself look like a clown, she cried so hard that I couldn't be mad.
    
12. My brother used to have terrible anxiety/travel sickness, and he would always be sick in the car. Mum would make him have a carrier bag in his lap to be sick in, and me and my sister would always scramble to get out the car if he was going to be sick... it was so annoying because he would always do it at the most inappropriate time, thankfully he grew out of it.
    
13. I was bullied a lot in Secondary school, like most people right? Anyhow one time this girl poured a whole pot of yogurt on my head and I had to walk right through the busiest part of the school to get to the teachers lounge. It was the most embarrassing thing ever.
    
14. My childhood dog, Sadie, used to have what we called, 'a funny five minutes' where she was zoom around the living room. She also liked to pull out socks off of our feet, which always made us giggle when we were kids. She was the best dog ever.
    
15. When I was in year 9 I had a fight with a girl from my village. A lot of people had been gossiping and fuelling both sides, telling her I had said things which I hadn't and vice versa, anyway it culminated in her hitting me. So I flew off of a bench at her and we were rolling around on the floor hitting each other. We got in pretty big trouble because potential head teachers were visiting that day.
    
16. I used to be best friends with the vicars daughter, and I'd always go over there to play and stay for dinner. Much to my mother's dismay I repeated a lot of dirty jokes that I overheard at home to the vicar. He was pretty cool about it though, and even found them funny!
    
17. In my younger days we always used to holiday at Butlins in Minehead, and I had a mega crush on a red coat called, 'Shiny Shaun', my parents still taunt me about this.
    
18. In year 10/11 I was a 'Bus Prefect' which meant I oversaw everyone on my bus journey home, and made sure no one got bullied etc. This privilege got revoked however when a year 7 boy at the front of the bus was getting bullied by all of the other year 7's, so I moved him to the back of the bus with me. He clearly wasn't happy with this and his mother complained to the school because I should have moved the boy who was bullying him. Even if I had removed the one main bully the others would have carried on bullying him... I couldn't win.
     
19. When I was applying for university, the head of our sixth-form wrote my reference to the universities, due to a very personal issue that was going on at the time (outside of school). When he gave me a copy to read I was so angry and upset because there were several spelling mistakes in it... I genuinely cried for the rest of the day and thought he had ruined my chances of going to Uni. Thankfully that wasn't the case.
    
20. At university, out at my first social for the student radio station I tried to out-drink a second year. It was pub golf so we had to have a certain drink at each bar, and drink in a certain number of swigs to hit 'par'. This guy kept shouting fresher at me so I said to him if I beat him at pub golf, then he could never call me a fresher again. I was doing so well, then in the second to last pub I threw up. It's the only time I have ever thrown up in the toilets of a pub/bar, and honestly it was the worst, I was so ill that night.
    
21. My graduation day was one of my proudest moments, but at the same time it was SO boring. Sitting through a graduation ceremony takes serious patience. Oh and the guy calling our names pronounced my name wrong... despite me telling the ushers how it was pronounced...
    
22. I once got an after school detention for drinking beer on the bus journey home, I had one sip. I literally had the worst luck with getting caught out for things like this.
    
23. I once turned up for a Lady Gaga concert a whole day before the actual date of the concert. For some reason myself (and my boyfriend at the time) were so sure it was on a Wednesday night, so we got ready and my dad drove us all the way up there. When we got to the gate the guy informed us the concert wasn't until the next day, needless to say my dad was really pissed, and I felt like a right muppet.
    
24. I went on a Spanish Exchange trip when I was in year 9/10, and we visited a monastery, and did a Tai Chi class. Whilst we were doing some breathing exercises my friend had a really funny turn and became faint. A teacher and instructor took her and I aside and we got to me what I believe they called the 'head llama' of the monastery. He told my friend to close her eyes and picture him if she ever felt faint ever again. I was thinking, 'well this is a load of bollocks' and he turned to me, looked me deep in the eyes, and said, 'and you also'. I was convinced that he had just read my mind...

So there you have it folks, 24 memories from my life so far. I hope they have been an interesting read for you all. Let me know in the comments if you relate to any of these?

10 Days of Me: 10 Secrets

I honestly don't remember where I found this challenge, but I thought this would be the perfect challenge for the month of February as it just so happens to be my birthday! Yes, I am 23 today (internal groaning), in fact I think I have enjoyed this birthday the least out of ALL my birthday's ever. I'm not 100% why, and it's nothing in particular, I have just been dreading it... With today being my actually 23rd birthday, it's only fair that I share a baby picture of me right?

I believe the above photo is from my Christening at my village church, and I'm not 100% how old I was here, but I think I was less than a year old. 23 years later and here I am, sitting here and writing to all of you, it's scary when you think about how quickly time goes really, soon I'll be thinking about having my own mini-Alyssia's... God help the world when I do!

Anyway, back to the challenge, today is all about 10 secrets, and I always find it hard to write 'secrets' because I think I'm a pretty open person anyway, but I will give it a shot...

1. When I was younger I used to re-enact cartoons that I watched, which ended in me swallowing a 2p coin, and also putting things in my ears to pretend that they were earplugs (I bet my parents had fun with me right?)
2. I used to say all manner of funny things when I was small, such as 'eye-meem' (ice-cream), 'm-m-mouse' (Micky Mouse), and 'cartickletickle' (cardigan)... I know... so embarrassing...
3. My cousin used to cheat at board games, and win all the time, the secret is, I used to let her win, because I didn't want her to strop, and I just wanted someone to play with.
4. I absolutely hate baked beans, so much so that if I touch one it makes me want to gag...
5. I occasionally sleepwalk, much to Tim's recent horror when he followed me around my flat, and I was mumbling something about scary aliens...
6. I panic whenever I am travelling, so much so that I have to have my planned route on my phone and I always triple check times/tickets etc... When my phone gets low on battery, I panic even more.
7. I had my tonsils removed when I was 7, and I refused to leave the hospital as I hadn't had a go on their computer, my dad had to bribe me with my own computer game to get me to leave. He had hoped I would forget, but as we were about to drive past PC World, I made sure I reminded him!
8. When my mum brought my sister home from the hospital (when she was born), I asked her if my brother (they had wanted a boy) was still in her tummy.
9. I was engaged at the age of 17, obviously that didn't work out!
10. When I was little I wanted to be an archaeologist and an actress, would have been the most versatile job in the world I would imagine.

So there you have it guys, 10 (not so secret) secrets for you about me. I'm not sure how many I would consider truly secret, but you know...

Friday Favourites

Welcome to my first Friday Favourites post! From now on I'll be sharing with you guys a few of the things that have made me smile from the last week, I hope you enjoy!

This video of puppies learning to howl is seriously cute...

I wish my coffee looked this cool, don't you?

This colour chart shows how to achieve beautiful butter cream icing colours, using only red, blue and yellow food colouring!

The Tardis landed in my university town this week, and there was even a Dalek! Totally gutted I missed it, but this video is pretty cool!

This week I have been playing another Hidden Object game, I always get really into these.

Personal likes from this week:

• Watching horror movies with my boyfriend
• Feeling much better due to my new diet
• The fact that I am hitting my targets at work
• Getting excited for Christmas
• Blogging more frequently 

22 before 22: Re-evaluation

It's pretty interesting having a look back at my 22 Before 22 list, and seeing all the things that I wanted to achieve this year. I have a little over two months left before my birthday, so I thought I'd have a look over the list, and see where I am up to!

• Go on a holiday without my family (Outside of the UK): This one is something that I am no closer to actually getting done. Mainly because I don't have any money for a holiday at the moment, and secondly because I now no longer have time to organise. 
• Make an item of clothing: I did buy myself a book on sewing, and I already have a sewing machine, so I should be ALMOST there. However I don't think I'm going to get this one done either.
• Write a Script: Although I have the first act of a script mapped out, I have not had the drive, or interest to pick it up again. I'm sure I will one day, just not any time soon.
• Make a Scrapbook: This was something which at the beginning of the year I was really interested in doing, but it has since lost it's appeal.
• Watch every film on my 'To Watch' list: Although I am committed to watching all the films on my list, I have found that I have to be in a certain mood to watch the films on my list, so although I do want to work my way through it, I'm going to do it at my own pace.
• Learn a new craft: I'm not really sure what I wanted to get out of this goal when i wrote this list...
• Lost Weight: I am slowly getting there, and I'm positive that I will reach my goal weight eventually.
• Start Making Youtube Videos: I'm proud to say that this has finally happened, and I'm really happy with how it's going! I'm even planning to take part in Vlogmas! If you want to check out my channel then please click here.
• Take More Photos: This is something else I have gotten better at. Ever since I got my iPhone 5S, I have been taking a tonne more pictures. Most of which have ended up on instagram, so check those out if you like!
• Walk my dog more: I have been walking my little cutie a lot more, and I am enjoying spending time with my little fluffball.
• Work through my Baking Book: I do still really enjoy baking, but considering a lifestyle change that I have made recently, I won't be baking as often as I would like to anymore.
• Read 5 Classic Novels: Although I have completed one out of 5 on my list, I haven't made any progress towards the other four, mainly due to the fact that I have a gigantic stack of unread books in my room that I am slowly working through.
• Stay in touch with my friends: This one has been a little bit more difficult. I was doing fine, up until recently when my two best friends completely betrayed me. I don't really want to go into it but yeah...
• Play a Sport: I'm disappointed that I haven't managed to start this one yet, but I do have some plans to take up a few lessons soon.
• Move out of my mum's house?: I had always put this with a question mark because I wasn't 100% sure of it happening, considering at the beginning of the year I was still at Uni. I really don't see this one happening before I reach my 22nd birthday, but I can definitely see it happening next year!
• Have a Radio Show: I did get fairly close to having my own show on a local volunteer radio station, however the radio manager was taking my show ideas a little too literally, and he would have completely ruined my concept. Therefore I decided against going ahead with the show.
• Listen to more music: I'm pleased to say that this has been happening, and the addition of Spotify in my life is certainly helping.
• See more of the UK: I have visited a few more cities this year, and I have fallen in love with one in particular, Bristol. I'm even considering moving there in the future, but we'll see!
• Write a letter to someone who inspires me: I definitely still think this is a good idea, and I will definitely get this done before my birthday!
• Maintain my blogs: As you can see, from the fact that I am still posting, I am still maintaining my blog! YAY!

Overall I'm fairly pleased with how my list is going, and I can't wait to see what I achieve when my birthday comes around.

Open for business!

Ever since the beginning of Youtube, I have longed to be a Youtuber. However my self-consciousness, and lack of equipment really put me off. At the beginning of this year I bought a DSLR camera and I promised myself that I would start making videos, but it didn't happen. Then in August I attended 'Summer in the City' the biggest Youtube gathering in the UK. After that I told myself, I'll start making videos, but it still didn't happen. Well no more procrastination... My opening video is here!

This tag video was created by the lovely Carrie Hope Fletcher of itswaypastmybedtime, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for my first video! I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you thought!

Underneath the video I have also posted the questions I answered, and I would love to see some of you answering them too, either in video format, or just on your blog. When you've done it, please tweet me @Alyssia_Rose, I would love to read/see them.

1: What are you wearing? 

2: Ever been in love? 

3: Ever had a terrible breakup? 

4: How tall are you? 

5: How much do you weigh? 

6: Any tattoos? 

7: Any piercings? 

8: OTP? 

9: Favorite Show? 

10: Favorite bands? 

11: Something you miss? .

12: Favorite song?

13: How old are you? 

14: Zodiac sign? 

15: Quality you look for in a partner? 

16: Favorite Quote? 

17: Favorite actor? 

18: Favorite color? 

19: Loud music or soft? 

20: Where do you go when you're sad? 

21: How long does it take you to shower? 

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 

23: Ever been in a physical fight? 

24: Turn on?

25: Turn off? 

26: The reason I joined Youtube? 

27: Fears? 

28: Last thing that made you cry? 

29: Last time you said you loved someone? 

30: Meaning behind your Youtube Name? 

31: Last book you read? 

32: The book you're currently reading?

33: Last show you watched? 

34: Last person you talked to? 

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted? 

36: Favorite food? 

37: Place you want to visit?

38: Last place you were? 

39: Do you have a crush?

40: Last time you kissed someone? 

41: Last time you were insulted? 

42: Favourite flavour of sweet? 

43: Whhat instruments do you play?? 

44: favourite piece of jewellery?

45: Last sport you played? 

46: Last song you sang? 

47: favourite chat up line?

48:Have you ever used it?

49: Last time you hung out with anyone? 

50: Who should answer these questions next?

Re-evaluating what is important...

On Friday I was involved in a car accident. My tires slid on the wet road, and put me in the opposite line of traffic where I was heading towards a tractor. I swerved to avoid hitting the tractor head on, and managed to bounce off of it's tire, before hitting the bank and rolling my car. This was one of the most terrifying experiences of my entire life. As I was moving towards the tractor it was as if time slowed down, and I thought about all the people that I loved, and that I would leave behind... For a second after the accident, I wondered if I had actually died. Next thing I knew there was a woman at my window, making sure if I was OK, and instantly phoning the police and ambulance for me. All I wanted to do was get out of the car, considering that I was hanging upside down with only the seat belt holding me in. Someone called my mum for me and when she arrived she took my hands an squeezed it tightly, tears falling from her eyes. All I could say was, 'I'm OK'. When the ambulance arrived and popped their head into the car to check I was fine, I even managed to crack a joke. "You OK?", my reply: "Yeah, just hanging around". Once they got me out of the car we realised that I only had one tiny cut on my hand. They still checked me over, and I had to be breathalyzed to make sure I wasn't drink driving, and we were on our way. The biggest casualty in all of this was my poor little micra Tinkerbell. Although she did a bloody good job of protecting me.

From the back she looks spotless, but this picture shows the majority of the damage. Ever since the accident I've felt really strange. Like I'm a dead woman walking... I can't really explain it, I just feel like I shouldn't be here. Even though I'm very glad that I still am!

This whole experience has really gotten me thinking about what I want to do with my life, and it's motivating me to work towards my end goal. In the past few days, I've really been thinking about the person I am, and the person that I really want to be. There are a couple of changes that I need to make, and I'm hoping to begin making those shortly. One of my biggest goals is to move on in my relationships, and I began taking steps on that front yesterday, more about that to come soon.

So the moral of the story here is, if there is something you want to do/someone you want to be, then seize your chance before it is too late!

Summer in the City!

Last weekend I travelled all the way to London to attend the Summer in the City Youtube gathering! Something that not a lot of people know about me, is that I am addicted to watching Youtube videos. I follow most of the big ones, and regularly watch their videos. Also if you read this blog regularly then you will know that I have recently started making gaming videos over on my gaming channel.  However I have also been making Youtube vlogs/sketches on and off since 2008. Making videos is certainly a passion of mine, and I keep restarting my channel, only to not be 100% happy with it and take it down again.

However being in London last weekend, surrounded by some of my biggest inspirations, I've realised that life is too short. and with that in mind over the next week I am going to be taking the leap into finally making Youtube videos regularly!

Anyway onto my actual time in London! We arrived on Friday night, and had a nice wander around the shopping center near our hotel, before attempting to catch an early night before the first day of the convention!

For some reason we both awoke at 7am on Saturday, and we were at the venue before 9:30, when the doors didn't even open until 11am!

Once the doors finally opened I made a beeline for a talk about gaming channels, and I actually ran into one of the Youtubers I really wanted to meet! I tweeted that I was too nervous to say hi and she replied:

After the panel I found the courage to go up to her and grab a quick photo, before wandering around the exhibition area!

 She's such a legend!

There were a tonne of interesting stands at the convention, including Guiness World Records, Save the Children, Disney Infinity (and other games), and this F1 stand: 

However it was Youtube themselves that had the most interesting exhibition. There was a free smoothie bar that looked like a London bus:

A beach, complete with deck chairs and sand castles:

And a crazy photo booth with a tonne of props:

We had a ball of a time on Saturday, and at the end I even managed to run into Tomska! (The legend behind the ASDF movies)

Literally so starstruck!

I also ran into a pretty 'old skool' Vlogger that I used to watch ALL the time, in fact he was my main inspiration for starting to vlog when I was younger. And even weirder, he actually went to uni with someone I went to school with! It was certainly funny running into him, as a lot of the younger 'fangirls' didn't recognise who he was! Anyway my sister snapped us together:

whataboutadam, A beautiful irish gem!

Sunday was even more crazy that Saturday, and we spent the most of the day with our two friends Hannah and Aimee, and we managed to meet a fair few people!

 I can't believe I met Charlieissocoollike! 

 Liam Dryden is such a gent!

 Lukeisnotsexy. Or as I like to think, Lukeismostcertainlysexy!

 Tish and Hannah having a bit of a moment!

I was seriously fangirling over meeting the guy in the photo below, he is such a fabulous guy, and he makes me laugh so much!

 Me and the FABULOUS Tyler Oakley!

 Tish ran into makeup guru Emma Pickles!

 I managed to track down Cherry Wallis! She is such a beaut!

And FINALLY I ran into TimH, who is my new fav film-maker!

Overall it was an amazing weekend and it was totally surreal to be rubbing shoulder with all my favourite Youtubers! I know they are real people, but having watched these people for a long time, it was surreal to say the least! Especially when we were eating in Nando's on Sunday night and Meekakitty, and Nanalew walked into the Nando's we were in... TOTALLY WEIRD! But also super cool!

So as I said above, I am going to start being more serious about Youtube, and I'll be posting more about all that very soon! Hope you enjoyed this photo heavy post!

UPDATE: 22 Before 22 List!

So seeing as it's about 6 months until I hit 22, I thought it was about time to review my '22 Before 22' list! So here is my list:

1. Go on holiday without my family (Outside of the UK): This is something that I don't really see realistically happening this year. However, this weekend I am going to London for Summer in the City, which I have ALWAYS wanted to go to. Also I might be going to Abertoir again this year with my friends, so I'm still doing pretty well, EVEN if I'm not going to get out of the UK this year!
2. Make an item of clothing: This is something that I have changed my mind about for now. Its still something that I definitely want to get into, but realistically speaking, I just don't have the time at the moment.
3. Write a script: This is one I started. For one of my final year university modules I had to write Act one of a script. So I have part of one down, I'm not sure if I'll finish this one. We'll see.
4. Do the Race For Life: I didn't do the race for life, I forgot about it to be honest, and by the time I remembered, it was too late for me to really raise any kind of money for it. This is still something I want to do next year!
5. Make a Scrapbook: I did start this, I even wrote a post about it here. Since I've been home I haven't contributed to my scrapbook. Mainly because I know as soon as I go through my Uni photos I will cry!
6. Get a tattoo: I have changed my mind about this one for now. Maybe in the future I'll get a tattoo, but for now I'm pretty happy without!
7. Watch every film on my 'To Watch' list: I have started this one, but I have a LONG way to go, I need to get a shake on to be honest, you can check out my progress here.
8. Learn a new craft: This is one I still want to do, but I'm not sure what exactly this 'craft' is going to be...
9. Lose weight: Since being home I have lost 6Ibs, I plan to lose more! (we can hope)
10. Start making Youtube Videos: This is one that I am proud to say that I have started!!!! I am thoroughly enjoying it, and it is every bit as fun as I thought it would be! You can find out about my Youtube channel here.
11. Take more photos: This is something I have been trying to do, I'm not completely there yet, but I'm happy with my progress!
12. Walk my Dog more: Since being home I have been walking my dog more, but still not as much as I would like to be! So I'm going to be fixing that!
13. Work my way through my favourite baking book and see how far I can get: This is something that has not happened. To be honest I haven't unpacked my baking stuff since I moved home. There simply isn't anywhere for me to put it! So I've decided to take this one of the list, and then hopefully I'll be able to complete some of the other things on my list instead!
14. Read 5 Classic Novels: I have read one on my list of five so far! I still want to complete this, I haven't been reading classics, but I have still been reading a lot. Just more modern things. I hope to read at least three of my five before I hit 22.
15. Stay in Touch with my friends: This one is going ok! I speak to my two best friends a lot, I need to contact the others more to be honest. So something to work on here.
16. Play a sport: This is one I haven't yet started, however I'm hoping that I'll find something I can do. We'll see!
17. Move out of my mum's house?: I honestly don't know whether this is going to happen. There have been talks about some options... but nothing is set in stone yet. 
18. Have a radio show: This one actually became a bit of a possibility for me, but I don't know where this is going to go, so that's all I will say!
19. Listen to more music: This has actually been happening! I listen to the radio more, and my sister plays a lot of music, so I am actually managing to keep up with the charts! 
20. See more of the UK: Well I have been to Wakefield, and I saw another part of Wales! As I mentioned earlier I am going to London this weekend. Then in September I am going to Bristol for a week. So safe to say I've saw a little more of the UK than I would normally.
21. Write a letter to someone who inspires me: I still haven't done this one, but I am definitely going to do it. I just have to decide who to write it to!
22. Maintain my blogs!: I'm happy to say that apart from a few months after I moved back, I am managing to maintain my blog. When I originally wrote my list I had two blogs, since then I shut down one, to focus more on the other. So I'm doing ok I think!

So there you have it! That is how I am getting on with my list! Overall I'm pretty pleased with my progress, especially seeing as I forgot about this list for a few months!!

Let me know in the comments if you are doing anything like this on your blog! I love reading these kinds of posts!

Going Pescatarian (Again)

Yes, you have read that title correctly, I am going Pescatarian! Can I get a WHOOP?

As you may or may not know back in January of this year I went Veggie/Pescatarian for one whole month. I managed to get on just fine, and I didn't eat ANY meat at all. Which was very surprising to me, seeing as I seem to find it really hard to control what I eat!

During my time as a veggie in January I actually got into a lot of arguments with non-vegetarians. A lot of them didn't understand, and would argue with me about my choice. It was actually quite upsetting, at the end of the day it was MY choice to try it, and at the end of the day I wasn't hurting anyone! In fact during that month I cooked healthy meals 100% more than the rest of my time at university. Also not eating meat is going to mean that I can't have all my favourite takeaways. I am aware that more takeaway places do vegetarian/pescatarian options however I've tried some, and never enjoyed them!

So basically, I am on a health crusade. I want to be healthier, and hopefully lose a few pounds in the process. So for the foreseeable future, I am going to be pescatarian! The reason I am going to be eating fish as well, is because it's not normally something I would eat, but with meat taken out of the equation, I'm more likely to try some fish.

I'm hoping that I will remain strong, and stick this out. I've made it one month before, let's see how long I can go this time. Wish me luck!

Getting Personal: Admitting I Need Help...

This post is one that I have been really unsure about writing. I didn't know whether this was something I should really be sharing, but then I thought to myself, what if someone else is going through what I am going through. I want always to be a role model for people going through the same things as me. So here goes...

I've been suffering with depression for almost four years now, and I am finally asking for help. A fair amount of bad things have happened in my life, and they have all contributed to my feelings of depression. I thought I could cope with it all by myself, and that I didn't really need help, but I got myself into a really bad place on Monday, and I realised enough was enough.

It kind of started when I was 17, I was in a long distance relationship with a boy I met online. I told him that I was abused by my neighbor when I was younger. I wasn't ever going to tell anyone, but then my neighbour tried to groom my sister, and I knew I had to open up. I couldn't face telling my mum, so instead I handed her my laptop and my boyfriend told her. So in the coming months I went through police interviews, and the stress of a trial. I actually went to his sentencing, I wasn't afraid of him, and I wanted to see him pay. 

After that things were good, my long distance relationship ended, and I got into a relationship with someone who I had been in love with since I was 11. We had a really good relationship, but a lot of stuff happened between myself, him and his parents. That put added stress on us, and ultimately in the end it began to drive a wedge between us. We went to uni together but by then the stress on us had become too much. I was struggling with my first year at uni, I needed support from my boyfriend. Instead of supporting me, we argued a lot, and when we did he would often ignore me for days on end. I would spend those days crying all the time, and trying to talk to him. I was worried about what he was doing, and didn't want him to be angry with me anymore. Towards the end of our relationship I felt like I was completely alone. It was at this time that the suicidal thoughts came. I tried to commit suicide several times, I swallowed a load of pills and alcohol and just hoped that I wouldn't wake up. I took off to the seafront and thought of just swimming out into the middle of the ocean until I was too tired to swim anymore. Obviously none of these attempts worked. 

Then I met Ellie and Elliot. My two best friends in the entire world, and I started my radio show. Life got better. I wasn't 100%, I had a lot of days when I couldn't even get out of bed, I would spend the day crying and eating a tonne of food. This is where I put on most of my weight. I still had suicidal thoughts, but I never acted on them. I had a couple of run in's with my ex, which often ended with me contemplating death, and crying for weeks on end. I just about got through.

Then this May I moved back home. I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't realise how hard it would be. I argue with everyone a lot, I get very stressed out and angry, I have a full time job. I began to feel like the walls were closing in on me, and I never had time to just stop and be me. 

I was so excited for graduation week, I couldn't wait to get a whole week to feel like me again. It all started off great, and then I fell out with the two people that keep me sane. Ellie and Elliot. I won't go into why, but let's just say I was heartbroken, and it completely ruined my graduation. We made up just in time for the actually graduation ceremony, but this was all added pressure on me. It all continued to build up, and I just felt like there was no hope. I snap at my family all the time, I cry myself to sleep. 

Then my lowest day came. On Monday I spent the entire day planning to hang myself. I am not proud of it. It was like I was on autopilot, I was just planning it all out, writing letters to the people I had stuff to say to. It got to about 7pm. I looked down, saw all these letters I had just written, and I suddenly realised that I couldn't go on like this anymore. So I told my mum.

Tuesday I went to the doctors, I have been referred for Therapy, and failing that I am looking at anti-depressants. I don't feel any different, but at least now the people I love know, and they can begin to support me. I can move forward now. 

I guess I wrote this all out because I wanted to say, if you are feeling the way I am, don't let it get on top of you. Talk to someone, tell someone you trust, they will help and support you. You don't need to suffer in silence. 

I'll leave you with some lyrics from a woman who always makes me feel strong. Jessie J:

'It's OK not to be OK,

Sometimes it's hard,

To follow your heart,

Tears don't mean you're losing,

Everybodies bruising,

Just be true to who you are'

Liebster Award!

So I've been nominated for a liebster award by the lovely Anne of Braids & Blouses. This is actually the second time this blog has been nominated, but the first time I never actually got around to writing the post (naughty), so here goes!

The rules are as follows

1.  Mention who nominated you for the award.
2. Each person nominated must list 11 different things about themselves.
3. Answer 11 questions that the previous tagger has left you.
4. Create your own 11 questions.
5. Tag up to 11 blogs with less than 200 followers!

So let's do this thing!

11 Facts About Me:

1. I've just finished university
2. My favourite colour is Blue (as if you didn't know)
3. I've just started a full time job in an office
4. I have a Jack Russell called Maizey
5. I have one brother called Markus, and a sister called Letitia who writes a blog here.
6. I went to university in Wales
7. I love playing video games
8. I'm obsessed with Youtube and the internet
9. I'm addicted to cheese, I put too much cheese on all my foods (well most of them)
10. I drive a seriously old Nissan Micra
11. I'm terminally single

Questions from Anne:

1. Why do you like to blog?

I love blogging because it gives me a place to escape to. It also gives me something else to think about when I am worrying about my job, or life in general. It gives me somewhere to positively focus my energy.

2. Your favourite song?

At the moment my favourite song is Wild by Jessie J, but not too long ago it was Daft Punk - Get Lucky.

3. Which fashion trend do you hate?

I'm not massively fashionable, however I can't stand camouflage printed things. You wait, this time next year it will be all the rage again and no doubt I'll eat my words... 

4. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

L.A all the way. I'd get to see all my favourite Youtubers all the time, and it would probably be the best place to get into the film industry, which is where I eventually want to end up!

5. Who is your celebrity style inspiration?

Again, I'm not a very trendy person, but I guess I do love Jessie J's style, even though I couldn't wear half the stuff she does...

6. Heels or Flats?

I do love the way heels make my legs look, but flats all the way. I prefer to be comfortable to be honest!

7. Favourite part of the body?

I've already written about this recently, but I love eyes... There's something about someone's eyes that can really tell you something about them.

8. Biggest celebrity crush?

Johnny Depp all the way, failing him I have a serious soft spot for Taylor Lautner!

9. If you could have a dinner party with 5 people dead or alive who would they be?

Johnny Depp, Tim Burton, Michael Jackson, Jessie J, and The Wanted. I've counted The Wanted as one person as they are a boy band... that counts right? Well this would certainly be a weird ass dinner party. I wonder what we'd eat... Pizza most likely!

10. A photo of the last thing you bought.

I bought a couple of books today! I love these book covers they are so cute! 

11. Favourite Book and Movie?

My favourite books are the Hunger Games Books, and I don't have a favourite movie. My favourite genre is Horror, and anything Tim Burton or Johnny Depp is always going to be in my top list!

The People I've Nominated:

Hello Old Friends - Letitia

Jade's Journey of Life - Jade

The Ker-Bear Kronicles - Kerrie

Peace Love Gaming (Link now broken) - K

What Rach Loves (Link now broken) - Rachel

Squidgy Moments - Kathleen

Lullaby for Pies - Magdalena

My Questions to My Nominee's:

1. Your Favourite film?
2. Your blog idol?
3. Your favourite music artist?
4. A picture of your favourite shoes.
5. Your favourite shop?
6. If you had to eat one kind of food for the rest of your life what would it be?
7. If you could have ONE superpower, what would you pick and why?
8. Vampires or Werewolves? And Why?
9. What was the last thing you baked?
10. If you won the lottery what would you do with the money?
11. Favourite breed of dog?

So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this quick post, don't forget to check out the people I nominated, and thanks again to Anne for nominating me!

30 Posts of Truth: Something you Love about yourself!

'Something I love about myself ' is today's prompt. It took me a little while to have a think about what I love about me, seeing as there are SO MANY THINGS that I love about myself... (haha). Anyway I finally managed to pick one thing: My eyes.

I think that my eyes are by far my most beautiful feature, back in the day when I actually used to get male attention, I was constantly being told that I had beautiful eyes. And I do love them. I think they are an interesting colour, and in case you haven't noticed I have really big eyes!

From this post.

This picture really doesn't do them justice. Around the outside of my iris' there is a strong darker line which you can see in the picture, but around my pupil there is lighter blue, and green coming through. I really wish I could capture the colour properly as it looks rubbish in this photo.

So there you have it, that's what I love about myself. Let me know in the comments what you love about yourself!

Slimpod Week #1

A few weeks ago I applied to be part of a trail of this new weight loss programme, Slimpod. I was told that it was a new way of looking at not only losing weight, but also making lifestyle changes for the better. It was founded by the lovely Sandra Roycroft-Davis who takes an active role in your personal journey, offering advice and support to all who buy the Slimpod.

So you may be wondering what this is all about so I thought I'd just give you some information from the website.

What is Slimpod?
Slimpods are unique voice recordings which help people achieve effective weight loss, whether it's 5Ibs or 5 stones and more. They can be bought as instant downloads or on CD. Unlike other methods of losing weight, with a Slimpod there are no diets, no calorie counting and no willpower required.

Slimpods have been developed by our Harley Street experts and use modern approcahes to the science of unconcious persuasion to put you back in control of food again. Because it's like having your own personal mind coach, weight loss becomes simple and effortless.

A single Slimpod costs just £29.99 and a Slimpod Plus - two great programmes in one - cosrs just £44.99. That's it, nothing more to pay. Membership and online support are free!

How do Slimpod's Work?
Slimpods avoid any notion of a diet, instead they gently nudge your unconscious mind towards making better eating choices - let's face it, we all know what they are. Slimpods don't tell you what to eat or what not to eat, but guide your mind to help it create its own solutions.

By empowering you to control what you eat and motivating you to do more, you lose weight without even having to think about it. Breaking old habits and creating new ones means you've made a lasting lifestyle change that boosts your confidence and self-esteem and unlike dieting our method means weight loss can be permanent.

The voice you hear on the Slimpods is like a normal conversation. There are no weird effects or strange music.

So there's a little basic information about it for you, but if you are wanting more information then I suggest you go to this website and read about it for yourself.

My First Week of Slimpod!

I have been listening my Slimpod for a week now, so I thought I would share some things that I have noticed. Incase you are wondering I am listening to the Drop Two Dress Sizes Slimpod. I listen to this every night just before I go to sleep, and I find that it helps me relax and sometimes I have even found myself falling asleep as soon as it finishes playing. The whole point of Slimpod is that you begin to make lifestyle changes that in turn help you lose weight. I took all my measurements before I started listening and had to right 3 realistic goals. By the end of this ENTIRE process I am hoping that maybe I'll go back to the size/weight I was when I came to university, but we'll see.

To be honest I haven't noticed that I've been eating less junk food or anything like that, but I've only been listening for a week. They recommend that you listen for a minimum of 21 days before changes can being, some people notice changes straight away, and others don't. So although I haven't eaten less junk here is what I have noticed.

1. I hardly ever feel hungry. I only eat because I know I should be eating. Some days I completely forget about eating and it will get to about 3pm/4pm and I realised I haven't eaten yet. I am aware that, that in itself isn't healthy, but I've never NOT been hungry before.
2. When I went shopping I didn't buy ANY sweets or junk. Admittedly I bought a bottle of wine as I was going out, and I bought my favourite sugary cereal (Curiously Cinnamon), but apart from that my trolley was full of fruit, veg and meat. I planned some healthy meals, including vegetable soup, and I am not a massive soup lover. In fact when we went around the bakery I caught the smell of some jam donuts and the smell actually made my stomach turn.
3. Also, rather than ordering in takeaways, I find myself going to the cupboard and seeing what I can make instead. Which is a MUCH better way of living.
4. I've found myself doing more and enjoying housework. I've been packing mostly as I am moving in a few weeks, but I used to be a HORRIBLE procrastinator, but I feel that my Slimpod is making me feel more proactive.

So although the things I have noticed aren't necessarily geared towards weight loss I am very confident that over the next few week my Slimpod will help me to make more positive lifestyle choices. Overall so far I am happy with my journey and I can't wait to see myself make more changes!

Getting Personal: Why I started/Why I love blogging!

via

During the #lbloggers chat this week the girls were all talking about the reasons behind their blogging, and I realised that I've never really talked about why I blog. I have written a short post about it before, but I didn't really go in depth. 

When I first started Univeristy back in 2010, it was the first time I had been away from my home by myself. Granted I had my boyfriend at the time, but he wasn't there all the time, in fact he was pretty terrible at being there for me those first few weeks. I began to feel horribly alone, although I had friends, as soon as I was alone in my room I felt panicky and horrible. I took comfort in the internet. Youtube became my biggest retreat, and I desperately wanted to make videos and share my experiences with others. At the time I didn't have a decent camera available to me so instead I started a blog (alyssiarose.wordpress.com). Looking back at this blog I can see that I was probably writing it for all the wrong reasons. I wrote VERY personal posts, some were targeted at certain people, and yes, they were written to hurt them. Looking back I was just very upset at the time, and was hurting greatly from my break-up and being alone at Uni. 

Thankfully I met some brilliant friends, mainly Ellie and Elliot, and they made me a lot happier. So I started blogging about other things, like gaming, and makeup. I stopped writing overly personal posts, and trying to upset people and just started writing because I enjoyed it. In November last year I stumbled across Nail Art blogs, I began obsessively reading them and collecting Nail polish. Finally I took the plunge and started Rose Tint My Nails. I found a community of wonderful women who all had Nail blogs and I made some friends. After about a month of writing Rose Tint My Nails, I decided that I wanted to revamp my personal blog, mainly so that I could write about a lot of different things. I moved my blog from Wordpress to Blogger and started taking my blog more seriously! I was so glad when I started gaining followers, although my blog is primarily written for myself I really love knowing that people out there are reading this. 

Since January I've bought my own domain, and had a redesign! I write at least 2 posts a week, have regular features, started a group for Berkshire Bloggers, and have a MILLION plans with what I want to do on this blog! This is a very exciting time for me, my life is about to change in a BIG way. I'm about to graduate and be throw into the adult world. I guess the question is, Will I grow up? We'll see!

I think one of the best things about blogging has to be the community. I love being able to chat to all the other lovely bloggers, and get advice with anything I am struggling with! I'm desperate to go to a blogger meetup, maybe someday soon!

Leave your blog URL's in the comments and let me know what made you start blogging!

Blog Design!

So this evening I helped my sister set up her blog and I designed the entire thing! (Apart from the social media buttons). You can check out the full design here.

I'm thinking of offering blog designs really cheaply. I don't know. I'm kind of on the fence about it. Let me know what you think.

If you want me to take a look at your blog then please email me: alyssiaroseslade@gmail.com