Tuesday

23/07 - Chimichangas

Anyone else remember when Cherry (was that her name?) in Two and a half men had chimichangas? She said it like chimi-chan-gas! Lol it's always what I think of.. Anyway I've been making burritos a lot lately and this week I decided to take it to another level and do a little shallow frying to bump them up to chimichanga status.. Ah-maze! So much more filling and delicious. Interested in a "recipe"? I use air quotes because its basically a mix of convenience foods with minimal cooking - lazy girls guide ;)

Monday

22/07 - Comma, Comma, Comma..

Saw this in twitter and thought it might brighten someone's Monday morning.. It did mine! Have a great day!

Sunday

21/07 - The Weekend Project

I spent most of my weekend on the project below, had I not had the assistance of my brother I might still be making the drawers now.. They seriously took FOREVER!!!! I am so happy with them, they're perfect for makeup storage but there was I thinking the hard work was over and me came the fun bit.. I don't think I've ever had ALL of my makeup out like that before.. Quite overwhelming. It took a few hours to get everything straight but I love how its organised and the two units aren't full so I have room to grow which was what I wanted. Very happy girl!

The units are from Ikea and are called Alex, there is a tall 9 drawer version but I preferred the shallow drawers of this short, wide, 6 drawer version. Oh and yes I will be doing a full tour of it soon over on my beauty blog!







Friday

19/07 - More Work Stuff

In the hot seat today is Joanne.. She and I are all that are left of the temps, we've both been there for more than a year and we've both been given out notice. In a few weeks (end date TBC) we will be without work.. Great!

We are considering applying for a permanent position with the same company as a job share (between us we want to work 5 days) so that's a maybe but for now I think I'm looking at about 5 weeks. The most annoying thing is that it's fallen on the kids holidays.. For the remainder of my time I will basically be working just to pay the childminder.. In fact my calculations have me losing money on the deal *sigh*.

It made me realise that if you have 2 kids under school age you couldn't afford to go back to work, my childminder charger £3.50 an hour.. That's £7.00, I only earn £8.50 and after tax.. If this was a permanent thing it would make no sense at all.. Crazy!

Luckily I have the last week of the holidays off so I can spend that time with Ella while she's off.. And I guess plan my next move. It was expected but it still sucks to be let go, I'll miss everyone (almost) I work with so its sad but I like to think everything happens for a reason

Thursday

18/07 - #ShareACoke

I'm positive I'm not the only one excited about the Share A Coke tour. I could never get anything with my name on it as a kid and the novelty of personalised items has followed me in to adulthood, strong! I queued twice with several people to make sure I got a complete set (and one for my Mums friend, Deana) - if you want to know when they're coming to you you can look online here. The bottles where we were were free and they were one per person but I hear it varies place to place..

Wednesday

17/07 - United States Of Tara

I am completely bereft that United States Of Tara was cancelled after on 3 seasons. We just finished watching them (in 2 weeks) on Netflix and I already miss her. The general gist is, Tara has multiple personalities not all of whom are particularly nice characters and the show follows her, her husband and two kids and how they cope with the disorder. It's not something I would have ever chosen to watch but Netflix has a new feature called "Max" which suggests shows based on other things you've watched (brilliant idea) - Max (spookily Tara's husbands name) recommended Tara and I wanted to recommend it to you guys.

We've come to the conclusion that we live everything from Showtime so we're making our way through other series made by them now.. Californication, Weeds and Dexter to name a few (I believe HBO is the same thing but correct me if I'm wrong - if so SATC is another) and you may have seen ads for the new Netflix original series, Orange Is The New Black (from the creator of Weeds) which also seems really good from the first couple of episodes.

I've mentioned before that we watch Netflix on US DNS settings so we get more content and although I usually point those with questions in the direction of TheDoofa.com I will put together a "for dummies" how-to if you'd like cause its just so much better than the UK version.

Anyway.. Go watch the show and if you already love that or anything else mentioned I'm hopeful for more suggestions from you guys!

Tuesday

16/07 - Heat Sick

My twitter feed makes me feel like the only one not enjoying this heat wave but I am really not.. I'm a. Autumn/Winter gal and can't wait to get out the fluffy socks and blankets.. Heat makes me irritable. I'm not the easiest person to live with at the best of times but while its like this I'm attributing my mood to "heat sickness" - and it's not just me, the baby hates it too. Unlike his parents Milo loves being outside but even he has had enough, seeking comfort on the cool hearth.

I'll admit, I was wallowing a little because I'm not going on holiday this summer but after the last couple of weeks I've made my peace with it, sunbathing makes me tired and annoyed and I don't need to pay hundreds of pounds to be stuck somewhere foreign feeling that way for a week.. New York in the snow however..

Grumpily Yours

Monday

15/07 - Doodler


When I was a kid I was never far from my paper and pencils, I would sit and draw for hours. Much as I LOVE the developments in technology the Internet, iPads, laptops, tv etc consume my life. I used to scrapbook, when I look back at my most recent book it suddenly stopped when I discovered YouTube and blogging.. Those things are still creative of course but when Ella gave me crayons and a notebook and asked me to draw her something I realised how much I missed it.

We have a couple of nights away for Ella's birthday next month and I think I'm going to scrapbook the trip with her, she lives to draw and I want to encourage practical activity as much as possible so that she doesn't get sucked in to the vacuum of technology too early

What hobbies have you lost to the Internet?


Friday

12/07 - BMI Baby

I don't know exactly how short I am (5'2" I think) but I know I'm not tall. I don't buy into this BMI thing but I have often thought over the years that were I taller I may not look as chunky as I feel I do. I'm top heavy - not in a big boobs sense just in that my top half holds more weight than my bottom, my arms, my tummy etc. I've always had slim legs so that's never been a huge issue but I wonder if I was taller.. Hmm. I don't have a problem with my height at all and I hear from my taller friends that they can out on a stone and not notice whereas I would feel just a few lbs so I guess that's a good thing? Less chance that my weight will get away from me at some point with out my realising. I guess what I'd really like is a longer body, my legs are long for a dwarf but my torso is comically compact and my midsection has always caused my periods of negativity about my body. It's annoying but ultimately we have to accept the shape we are and either live with it or step up the diet and exercise and do something about it. Bucking the trend I've done less time at the gum since the warm weather hit but every time I take outfit photos for my blog I resolve.. More crunches.. Starting next week..

How's your body image?

Thursday

11/07 - God Bless Medication

Between these (antibiotics) and the pain killers I am already feeling so much better but not surprisingly there's not much going off today so I'll be back tomorrow - hopefully with something more interesting. Oh and thanks for the well wishes and shared experiences yesterday both here and on twitter, much appreciated!!

10/07 - Up All Night


Although I'm technically writing in the early hours of the 11th I haven't gone to bed on the 10th yet so this still counts as today's (yesterdays) post, right? When I say I haven't been to bed that's not strictly true.. I am in bed and have been for several hours but I'm so uncomfortable it's impossible to sleep. For the past few days I've been suffering from the symptoms of a UTI (AKA Cystitis) and deliberating over whether I should post about it.. it's a little TMI after all. Over the past however many years I have had the same symptoms occasionally, usually not for more than a couple of days and they have always gone away on their own so long as I drink plenty of water etc etc.. not this time. I'll warn you now it's going to my TMI heavy so if you'd rather not.. you know what to do. Today I was extra uncomfortable and suffering from what I thought was trapped wind (another frequent issue - I know, glamorous!) it was a dull ache in my lower back and a bit annoying but nothing horrendous. I came to bed as usual with the same discomfort and as the evening progressed so did it. Right now it's like agony, I'm not sure if I'd call it pain.. it's really, really uncomfortable and if I move I might let out a yelp but I think the fact that I want to have a little cry is probably more due to the lack of sleep than anything. It doesn't matter how I lie it feels awful, The out of hours doc said to call back immediately if symptoms worsen but that what I described coupled with the existing UTI suggest kidney infection. Obviously being the internet-body that I am I have done a little research and it can be pretty scary stuff, luckily it sounds like I caught it early and I will get antibiotics tomorrow so it should be gone within a few days but it made me think. I'm someone that's always got some kind of tummy trouble, I don't go a day feeling totally 100% and the discomfort I put up with because I think it's normal is maybe not so much. There was one occasion when my husband had what he described as the worst pain in his side and I am absolutely convinced it was trapped wind (lol) but because he's never experienced it before he had no idea and I can see how a sudden pain in your side could be frightening. Because I'm used to these irritations I could quite easily have gone days if not weeks without seeking help for this infection because I assumed it was just normal pain.. is it weird to think pain is normal? I don't know.. these are my 3am ramblings and I've taken a pretty hefty pain killer so I should probably go and attempt some rest before the school run in the morning. 

One last thing, do as I say not as I do - do not look up your symptoms online or you will convince yourself you're going to die. True story.

Tuesday

09/07 - Always A Good Idea

With the warm weather most of you will be dreaming of exotic beaches and relaxing by the pool, not me. I'm waiting impatiently for winter when I will return to the homeland .. New York City. I've seen so many NYC instagrams recently that I can barely contain my excitement! On the flip side to a mummy daddy alone time break we're also planning a little Disney vacay with the kids in the spring.. I wanted to do it this autumn but Lee ran out of holiday days *boooo* so it will have to wait until the new year. When we last went Ella was 3 and milo was just a seedling, at 8 I know Ella will get more out of it and little Milo is micky obsessed so I'm hoping it will be a good trip. The only stumbling block as I've said before is Milos sleeping but we're away for a couple of nights in the UK next month so that will be a test of how well he does. I think come April he may well be in a big boy bed so that will be easier..

Any tips for travelling with a 2 yr old are very welcome!

Monday

08/07 - Candle Cleaning

I've had these used up candles (plus one other I've misplaced somewhere) hanging around the house for months so today I decided to finally attempt to clean them out. A few of you had mentioned in comments on the vlogs that if you pour hot water in to them it's easier so with no further research I gave it a go. Stupidly this is the only photo I took so I can't show you the after but when I clean out my missing one I will update with better pictures. I let them for probably 4 or 5 hours with the water in and something bizarre happened, the wax melted and rose to the surface and as it cooled it set on top. At first the jars were still warm so I didn't want to mess with them too much in case the water inside was very hot but when I checked them just before bed the wax disks popped out easily so that I could clean out the remaining gunk - mainly glue from the wicks. Not only that but I am left with a good amount of wax to use in my oil burner.. not bad, huh? I've heard other say they put candles in the freezer to clean them out and I know there's a chance that glass can break when in contact with boiling water but I'm pretty sure this is the easiest, most effective way to do it. 

If you have another technique let me know!

Khi

Saturday

06/07 - Escapism

After yesterday I decided to immerse myself in a little escapism this evening.. I thought I'd share the new game I'm playing, it's awesome! I've been playing the sims game for probably more than 15 years now and at 27 show no sign of losing interest.. Am I alone in assuming if have "grown out of it" by now?

Friday

05/07 - Work Limbo

I know many of you worry about me venting my frustrations about work on the Internet but you needn't. The job I hold has never been secure and never less than right now so I very much doubt any rants or rambling in here or my vlogs will do much to make it worse. With a break for the baby I've been at my current job for 2 and a half years and I'm still a temp. I am paid considerably less than a contracted employee to do the job I do and in recent months that's made me less and less attached to the job. You guys know I've been considering going it alone as a full time blogger for a while now and that decision is a tough one that I just can't make. I'd planned to reduce my hours but in the coming weeks it may just be taken out of my hands entirely. It could be for the best.. It's hard to make that leap and if I lose my job I know I'll be fine so I'm not fretting too much financially but in the past week we've lost 2 people and today it was Danielle (pictured). You may know her from my vlogs or on on twitter as @officialskinner. Danielle really brightened up a very tense working environment and when she left I will admit.. I shed a tear. She will really be missed and the one other temp and I that are left are now left in this no mans land wondering if we'll be told we're no longer needed at a moments notice. Like I say it's not the money, it's the people. You see these people everyday, they become like family and suddenly you may never see them again.. Oh and you don't have a job. I've been made redundant before, the whole office just like this and it's absolutely gutting on a social level. Right now I don't know what I'm hoping for, it's going to be a totally different place to work now and I can't imagine it will be for the better but for those of you who have been following the wok drama, this is an update. It's very much a one day at a time situation and once I do eventually go I'll tell you the WHOLE story ;)


Thursday

04/07 - I Heart (Hate) Blogger


I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the blogger app on my iPhone. I love the idea of blogging on the go and especially for this blog I want it to be as easy as possible to post daily excerpts without having to sit at my desk. I already take my beauty blog pretty seriously, I treat it like a job now and so this is my little haven of relaxed ramblings. Unfortunately for the last few weeks the app has been temperamental, I write my posts and believe I've published them until days later I take a look and.. they're not there. I'm not sure if it's my internet connection when I'm away from home or what but this evening I managed to 'retry' every post and they went up fine.. just not when I wrote them and isn't that the point of daily blogging? *SIGH*

Anyway.. just a little post to say I'm trying to keep on top of it and will be more diligent in future, I appreciate those of you who have followed me over to this more personal space so I don't want you to wonder where I've gone.. I am indeed still here with lots to say!

Wednesday

03/07 - Twitter Party Reminder

Thought I'd take a second to remind you guys that I'm running a Twitter Party with Fee from MakeupSavvy.co.uk 7-8pm tonight. The invite is below, anyone can join in using the #SEVENTEENonthespot and if you do you will be in with a chance of winning 1 of 6 goody bags so.. why not get involved?

Tuesday

02/07 - What The Pollen?

Guys, what the f**k is going on with the pollen right now? I have never in my life seen it like it is at the moment, it's crazy! I hear it's the highest pollen count we've had for 50 years and that they expect everyone to develop some form of hayfever this summer because of it, whaa? No surprise I have been feeling fluey for the past couple of weeks. I actually had no idea what the fluff was until I asked you guys in a vlog.. it looked like a dandelion (above) but I never thought it could actually be related.. turns out it is so if you're eyes are itchy, you're headachey and suddenly have the sniffles... this is why!

Monday

01/07 - Sports Day Snapshot

Today was Ella's first sports day I actually managed to see between bad weather and work schedules. As you can see Milo enjoyed himself, cheering on his sister and Ella came second in the obstacle race - woohoo!