Bumblebee Ramblings

I suppose you can say I did a vlog. Trust me the bumblebee I describe in the video smacked into the car and scared me. Imagine if it got inside the car.

My Birthday look

I know I hardly ever show my face on my blog. But as I was so happy with my Birthday look this past weekend I felt good enough to share. My Birthday was last week and I am grateful to God for allowing me to see another year. I hope and pray I finally get fit though. 

Moi

Anyway this is me sipping on a Singapore Sling. If it was not my birthday I doubt I would have spent £7 on one drink. It was absolutely gorgeous and really just tasted like pop so I downed that in no time. For my makeup I am wearing Urban Decay Naked palette, Sleek blusher in Sahara and Mac lipstick called Up the Amp. After consulting the lovely beauty bloggers on twitter @JennMUA @Vexinthecity @MissVirtue I settled on a brown bronzy smoked eye. When I tried on the lipstick in the shop it made me look like I had clown lips, but I  bought it anyway as I have wanted this shade for a very long time. Plus beauty bloggers and general beauty enthusiasts assured me I would look good with it. 

Singapore Sling Cocktail

There is no local Mac store or counter where I live, so I have to travel to Nottingham, Birmingham or Leicester. Nottingham being the closest I went there this time and I was very disappointed with the service. To think it was my birthday week and I had money to spend but the sales ladies were useless.

One more thing I have long stopped wearing dresses by themselves. I always opt for a dress that would look nice with leggings. However I thought I would be daring and just try something different. I wore a one armed black dress. The armed side was chiffon and the cuffs were covered in jewels. So on my bare arm I wore a bracelet that had matching bling. I have body issues which meant although I let the leggings go. I still opted for a pair of tights.

Thai Dusit - Thai Fish Cakes starter

As my birthday fell in the week I went for a meal on Saturday at a restaurant called Thai Dusit. The food was lovely. It is a pity some friends let me down at the last minute. Though overall I had a good time and met up with other friends whose birthdays also fall in January.

Happy Birthday to you

It is my 1st born child’s birthday today. He is now 5yrs old and will be one of the oldest in his class. To help him celebrate I thought I would do something different. He got gifts as usual but also instead of a party we took him to Sundown Adventure Land. Which is a theme park aimed at young kids. All the rides in the park they can get on with adults. All the children were having so much fun and did not want to leave. Even better it was such a lovely day too.

Brow shaping

I bought this product called Eylure Eybrow shapers in Boots. When I first used it my eye brows has been waxed a fortnight before and had some strays that needed removing. It worked perfectly. I just cleaned my brows with either white rum (thats the Jamaican in me. Over proof white rum has so many uses) or clean and clear or something similar. I was so amazed.

So with fully grown brows and faced with a night out with my girls to celebrate Shezza’s 3.0 birthday I thought I would have a go at a complete reshape. These things are like a very strong  sellotape. You get 3 strips which contain 21 shapers for different parts of the brow. I almost messed up my brows. Thankfully my husband has his uses.

He shaped them using a brand new loose razor. He told me he rescued my brows. So I guess I will still try to do them myself but also seek a professional of some sort.

Do you think he did a good job? I am wearing in the pic about 3 different shades of Barry M dazzle dust,( unsure of colour) numbers and Sleek Mascara. 

You’re Beautiful Woman

I had the pleasure of attending the You're Beautiful Woman event in London on Saturday 15th August 2009. I was invited to attend by the wonderful Ondo Lady. It was such a pleasure to meet one of my blogging buddies in the flesh. She is such a lovely lady.

The event was held at the Highgate Newton Community Centre. I travelled from the East Midlands to London just for the day. Got lost with my friend, though thankfully a nice lady offered to give us a lift and we reached safely. Even better it turned out a handful of my friends were in attendance.

We listened to some inspiring seminars and delighted in the many black business women and men in attendance. Fine hand crafted jewellery, bags, hats and handmade beauty products. Business opportunities and more. The food smelt delicious.

One of the seminars I attended was by Noreen Mak’Osewe called Bag Lady put your S down. She used a bag as a way to describe emotional, mental, financial and spiritual baggage. Key point for me was when she said that a bag only fulfils its purpose when it is in use. If your bag is weighing you down you must think about what it is you have put inside of it.

I will be doing some more posts of some of the stalls and entrepreneurs I had the pleasure to meet. So do look out for those. Also if you did not attend please try and attend next year. You will not be disappointed!!!

UK carnival season

I have missed a few carnivals this year. I used to make it to at least 5 across the UK each year. However priorities change. If I am able I will take the kids to Notting Hill, London Carnival’s children’s day. The only carnival in the UK that gets major coverage like mud fest music festivals is Notting Hill. There are many many Caribbean cultures spread throughout the UK. Many of those communities have their own carnivals. Including the small cities. Though if London is out of reach Leeds carnival is spread across the same days.

Today I went to Derby Carnival procession day. It was okay. It was something to do and helped to wear out the kids. Certain stewards (e.g. number 27), just need to work on their people skills. The police need people skills too. You do not start off rude and expect because you are wearing a yellow vest or badge you will be respected. A simple please or just general manners goes a long way. The costumes that me and my friends saw, were lovely. I pray I can go to Trinidad & Tobago for their carnival and have a week long party. That is something I would love indeed.If I had the time I would set up my own carnival troupe playing the best steel pan and soca vibes around. I would do my research.

Ibiza was amazing!!!

I am so happy that my friend invited me to come to Ibiza for her birthday. It turned out to be 3 peoples birthday celebrations. I had to wonder if I was over dressed as I had on my Roca Wear tracksuit that my husband bought me a few years ago that I do not really wear. Everyone else was in shorts and mini skirts.

Baggage collected and already feeling the heat, I was sweating buckets. Lets hope it has sweated some of this excess fat away. The sun’s hotness was so intense and fierce. Compared to JA that has a breeze (which I think is warm anyway) it was just hot hot hot. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. The vibes were nice on the island. Everyone was just so chilled out and just focused on having a good time.

Our first day was Saturday and we spent the day catching the sun at Kanya which is a bar and restaurant with a swimming pool and sun loungers. The food was nice there too. At Cafe Mambo we watched the sun set. Its one of the things I do not get to appreciate in the UK. Maybe I need to move to the coast. Bora Bora beach was so chilled out. I have seen many many women with their chest on display and no one blinking an eye lid. I was tempted but backside not quite brave enough for that.

The workers as I will call them really try to cater to your needs. Everyone wants you as a customer and always seemed to offer you free shots or champagne with your drinks and also many 2for1 offers. Drinks were still expensive. In club Eden a bottle of alco-pop WKD was 12 Euros!!! Yikes.

I am always apprehensive on going on holiday surrounded by British folk as you tend to get everything catered to British tastes and that bad behaviour is all over the place. But no Brits seem to behave themselves well on this beautiful Island. My only complaint is the currency. I hate Euros. The prices of everyday goods are so inflated and cost more than they do back home. Even duty free was slightly off limits. Besides a handbag and some sweets for workmates I had to say forget that.

I so want to go back and bring my boys. As I am told there are other parts of the island that cater to families. When I do I will do all inclusive. Though still explore the island.

This is a video I took on my camera of Brazilian dancers in Ibiza Town.

February snow!!

On Sunday went to church as usual. It was so cold outside. I almost thought to myself I should be staying inside. However I was ready and off I went. By the end of service snow was lightly falling. It is beautiful to look at it when it is light.

By early evening the snow was picking up some pace. Everywhere is covered in snow. I was just so amazed to see it coming down thick and furious. I woke up this morning to the chill factor of thick snow. I had to spend a few minutes getting the snow of the windows . So what do I do? I open my car door turn on the wipers and end up covered in snow and the inside of my car too. I just was not thinking. Maybe the snow clouded my brain lol.

Last time I faced driving in the snow, I was skidding and quite scared. This time I made sure I got to the main road ASAP. Driving was a breeze. The place just looks so bright and frosty. The weather reporters say more snow is eminent but it will change to sleet than rain to wash it all away. I do not think I could manage Canadian snow.

As for London. Oh my days!! I just have to wonder why is it so easy for London to come to a stand still. There is no reason for the nations capital to be brought to a standstill. Public transport not looking so great now huh. Plus the strikes against the Italian foreign workers at the refineries are walking up and down in the snow.

Anyway I am fully prepared now and have bought myself a winter essentials car kit. I know I should have bought it when winter began, but hey. It comes with 1 litre screen wash, 400ml deicer spray, lock deicer, scraper/squeegee/sponge, chamois di-mister pad and a bottle of WD40 spray. All for just £9.99 from Halfords.

Listening to the news now and apparently there is more snow to come. Russia threatens our gas supply with their feud with their neighbour. Now they have given us their snow. LOL.

Spontaneous Treats for self - perfume

Today in between getting money in accounts for direct debits and getting the children from Nursery I walked into The Perfume Shop. I just felt like I could do with a treat for myself. My boys will always get treats all the time. For my 3yr old now that he has DS Lite when I update my games I am sure he will do well too.

Anyway I was just in the need for a perfume. What I wanted was one of my favourites for years. YSL Yvress which used to be called Champagne. I still think Champagne was the better name. It is quite a strong fragrance that settles in beautifully. I usually wait for special offers as 100ml costs around £60. I will buy some when the perfume folk come to my work as they tend to sell it at half price.

So in the Perfume shop, I am stuck between another favourite scent and that is Lacoste a Touch of Pink. There are offers around in Boots and other shops whereby you get a free pink Vanity case with your purchase. So tempting as I love bags.

In the end I went for DKNY Delicious Night. I bought the 50ml gift set as the kind lady in the shop told me as it was on offer it worked out cheaper than the 50ml on its own. So I have save about fiver. The gift set included a 100ml body lotion. In addition to that I was given a free DKNY Delicious makeup bag that came with a lip gloss and body lotion.

I am going to be smelling sweet. It is such a warm scent so alluring. So lovely. I just tend to prefer eau de parfum over eau de toilette scents.

Other scents I have recently bought are Christina Auguilera's Inspire and Roxy Love by Roxy. They are nice fresh scents and are okay when I want a light scent.

I just need to leave the Razac lotion alone so it doesn't clash with the parfum I just bought.

My Birthday and Obama Day

So It is now official that Barack Hussein Obama is now officially the President of the United States. Well done.

Anyway the same day America swore in change I celebrated my birthday. Well I went out for a meal at a posh Chinese a few days before. It was a lovely affair. I am truly blessed with some wonderful friends. God is good to me.

On Tuesday I spent the day having my eyebrows waxed. I always get bumps, but I was given some after wax treatment. The bumps didn't appear the same day, but some are there. Maybe I need to wax them more often so the skin gets used it. I also spent a couple hours in the hairdressers having my 100% natural hair treated, trimmed and flat ironed. Yes I use heat on my hair. Change is good sometimes.

At work I got some lovely comments as my style changes so often but the most bizarre comment was 'its so soft'. Now I must wonder what was it supposed to feel like. Mmm. Certain comments you just know you are gonna get. One work colleague she was so lovely, she just said my hair looks nice and that she likes all the syles I wear. So I do wonder what they will say when they see my afro in the summer?????

There is something about Obama that has the world buzzing. I loved the way he was dancing and really getting down with people on inauguration day. Michelle looked gorgeous as usual. Apparently her eyebrows was considered too high and so was re-grown and lowered to soften her look.

Well the world is watching America now. Let's see how this president turns out.

I did not really get into too much about Obama only because there are loads of articles around.

Hello, Hiya, Wha Gwaan 2009

I had a lovely New Years Eve. My friends invited me to theirs for some food and drink and good company. I was in two minds whether or not to go. After all when you are not feeling joyful you do not want to spread that around the atmosphere. Well I don't. If I did not get the invite I would have gone to church or stayed in.

I do not think I am slow driver. I will not say what speed I was going at on the M1 but I was weaving and cruising like I have been driving for years. I just could not take the drivers that were slowing me down in the fast lane. I had to go in the middle lane up my speed and then they realised they need to speed up. Any ways I reached safely and that is the important thing. Kids and passengers.

The food was lovely served, barbecue chicken wings, curry mutton, rice and fried dumplings. Yummy. It was washed down with various alcoholic beverages. We played a few drinking games. One to do with tapping hands on table and the person who messed up had to take a shot. I got caught a out a few times. The shots were not bad. In the picture there is a stand alone shot glass and also a shot glass in the middle of another drink. I was convinced the middle glass would lick me in my face but no that does not happen. I might have to repeat this game for my birthday in a few weeks time

These days you will find me reading spiritual books and doing something positive. I have no resolutions. I just want to as always make sure my children are happy, make sure I am happy and learn something new as often as possible. Not forgetting growing spiritually and getting oh so close to God through Jesus for He is the way.

Now if only I could get someone to give me a £10 so I can give my car a nice new years mini valet. That M1 drive has left it so dirty that it's starting to look like a different shade.

The UK is freezing right now. Please no more snow. I hate driving when snow has left its mark.

Dublin what a city

It was my good friends birthday towards the end of last week. So since K likes to do things different instead of just the usual meal and drinks a group of us went for a city break. Well we did do the meal the week before though as not all could make it.

It is way too cold to be travelling on a ferry boat or any sea journey at all. Plus given how far we would have needed to drive to get to said ferry is unthinkable. Our flights were with RyanAir. Booked advanced as far as possible and only paid about £35 for our tickets. The Hotel was similar in price.

Only problem was we could not check in the hotel till late in the afternoon. So the three of us that arrived early took a stroll through the city to get some breakfast and have a look round. Breakfast on the Friday was at a lovely Italian restaurant. Dublin is heaving with people. The city is very much alive.

I read about problems facing immigrants especially those from non EU countries. Having mentioned that though there were loads of cultures there. The two that stood out for me were the Africans (mainly Nigerian) and the Polish. I was so eagerly anticipating a black person with an Irish accent but I was not able to experience that. Next time I might get to see Samantha Mumba, unless of course I needed to travel to a different part of Ireland.

Unfortunately we did not have a enough time to go on a tour bus. We simply ran out of time. Which meant we couldn't be the tourist we wished for lol. The tour bus takes you to the Guinness Factory , Christ church and many many more places of interest.

Dublin night life is so lively. People seriously can drink and making drinking look like a skill and fashion. The pubs were heaving. One of the pubs we went to was called the Temple Bar , in the Temple Bar area. It was heaving with people. Drinks were expensive - 3 came to £35. A lovely guy as drunk as can be, hovered around us and kept us entertained with his dancing skills and chat.

We ended the night in The Academy. This place had 3 clubs inside and we made a b-line to the RnB room. The DJ was rubbish but played various music from dancehall to grimy HipHop. The guys were a let down. There were some cuties and some men with manners. My girls know who I mean. One guy had the worst chat up line ever. I told him I was not interested and he comes out with this line '' ...you don't have to be scared because we are the same colour''....LMAO. If only he knew he got jokes.

Saturday there was a teacher protest about cuts taking place. All I could hear was ''No ifs no buts, no more cuts''. I hope they achieve what it is they wish to achieve. If you do not know about Primark then you are not a bargain hunter. Years ago before Coleen Rooney helped to make the place trendy, people would secretly shop in there and hide their carrier bags. Now it is one trendy fast fashion place to shop. In Ireland it is called Penny's. I was in awe Penny's was huge and they just had some different type of stuff in there. Primark fans need to go to Dublin.

Dawson's Lounge is the smallest pub in Dublin. You have to walk down narrow steps to get there. It is beautiful inside and everyone was so nice down there. Our nights out ended in Café en Seine. It is like a a big bar with two levels that goes on forever. The vibe in there was amazing.

Dublin is more expensive than London. You pay double for everything. I did myself proud and just let my money stretch best it could. Could never live there as far colder than where I live now.

I will go again one day maybe a day trip in the summer.

PS. I ate an an organic restaurant but cannot say if I truly enjoyed the food because my belly was running after. My friends reckon it was because I am not used to organic food. mmmmm

Party time

My aunty seems to feel that everything I do involves my friends. This is not true. It is just that my friends have children and we bring them to one another's birthday parties. As for our own birthdays, we do the same. So when Aunty J called and I said oh it's my friends birthday and we are going out for a meal. She was like it's always my friend this my friend that etc etc. Maybe I am missing something. Dunno ;-\

Anyway's yeah. It was my good friends birthday. She is godmother to one of my boys. These days I am not out a lot just as and when. I do make the effort for birthdays and events. Credit crunch recession or not, you can still enjoy yourself providing you know your limits.

We went to a very pricey Cantonese restaurant. Unlike Chinese takeaway that just smells of grease, the food was light and yummy. I do not eat pork and am weary of seafood. I am starting to try but still have my limits.

Everyone just ordered what they would like and then we just all dipped in and tried what we wanted. I went for Szechuan chicken , egg fried rice, chips and curry sauce. Order by others was, barbecue ribs, Singapore chow mien, Singapore fried rice, prawn cocktails, beef.

The pinot grigio rose' wine was beautiful and went straight to my head. I was sipping it like pop on an empty stomach. Everyone was feeling the effects of the wine.

The night ended going to a a few bars and dancing her bums off . The music at the last bar was sweet. It was a mixture of dancehall, garage, hip hop, R&B and old skool. I can still whine and show dem young gal how to move to the beat.

We all enjoyed ourselves.

M.A.C. and Bullring

Ok before anyone tells me I already know a few months ago I said that I wouldn't buy any more make-up however I think I just can't help myself. I took a drive to Birmingham to get the basics for myself.

The Bullring shopping centre is so beautiful. I just love the fact that it is easy to get around. The toilets are easy to find two. Useful for someone like me who has to remind her son, its toilet time. I will be going there again soon. They sell all the American treats that I grew up loving. Such as Reese's pieces, Hershey's and Oreo's. If the queue for the Krispy Kreme doughnuts was not long I would have bought a dozen.

Anyway my main reason for going Birmingham was to buy some MAC products. I bought foundation StudioFix in shade NW43. I would have thought that I needed one of their C shades or NC shades as I have yellow undertones. But it looks good. I also bought powder blush in shade 'format', pink bronze pigment, and black tile eye shadow.

So that brings my MAC collection from 2 items to 6. I was supposed to buy a mineralizer but could not remember the shade that my friend used on me. I will definitely look to buy that next pay day as I am so into light barely there coverage. The brush the MAC lady used felt so nice on my skin it had white tip. I think its the 187 brush. But at £25 too much money for me to spend. There is always Ebay.

I would love to win £1-5k shopping spree in Bullring so I could buy some makeup from MAC, Bobbi Brown, Bare Escentuals, Nars, Fashion Fair, Iman etc etc and then splurge on clothes and whatever else takes my fancy for me and my kids.

My challenge to self is to master the black smokey eye. I can do brown and purple really good so far.

Stupid truck and domain names

Today was almost catastrophic. I was driving along decided going to take a different route so I can avoid traffic. This big ole truck, articulated lorry. You know the ones you need to see more than just the rear wheels to be safe. Its the ones that caused me to fail a test.

Anyway it just stops in the middle of the road doing nothing. No indication or anything. I see the car in front of me take over. I hesitate at first than decided to just put my foot down and go. Backside the driver pulled out. If I was going any slower my 2 boys would have suffered something. The driver beeped me. These lorries cannot see you from behind but they can see you coming up the inside. I just thank God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, after all it could have been worst.

Good news for me. My friend is busy putting her hair braiding blog together. She has skills...though I have to pull out my sympathy card to get my hair done sometimes. I reckon she would cuss me out if I linked her before she has finished her tweaking. Just know that she has skills. B is always telling me that I need to buy some domains because they are affordable etc etc etc. Well she inspired me today. Between replying via my blackberry, my laptop and phone I did just that.

So now I am the proud owner of www.lushesbrownthoughts.com . Which means I need to add some oomph and spice to this blog. If I spoke my mind on what certain gal and man get up to that would be entertaining. mmm. I will think about.

Though will see how the weeks go by

Blackpool was cool but.....

I was convinced by friends to join them and go Blackpool for the day. This of course would mean that I would be driving down the full two hour journey myself. A distance I have never driven before. My only real concern was not being able to keep up with those who knew were they were going. My only backup was my teenage passenger who could only look ahead and behind to see the other cars, (there were 5 in total) and the satnav which kept telling me to exit at some random place when know one was turning off.

I made it there and back safely. It was a lovely day despite the rain. I am sooooo happy and proud of my almost 3yr old. He walked up and down for about 9 hours and didn't complain. I was grateful that although at the last minute his dad kept his baby brother at home.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is a really nice place to go and visit. You have the seaside of which the night view is lovely. The theme park bit is opposite and its huge. They cater for all ages. You have a choice of getting a wristband that gets you on all the rides or just buy a few tokens. The majority of us all that went bought wristbands. I thank my good friend for helping a sister out.

We were told the wristband bought on the day would be £18 for kids 2-11 and £26 for 11yrs and older. Backside when we reach the prices were showing as £25 and £32. I would have been happy just to walk round and lose some weight for the day.

The sore point of the day was when we reached the ticket desk and my friends were redeeming their tickets bought online. To be told that they need a newspaper cut out to get the discount otherwise will need to pay another £20 each to get a ticket. You what! My friend just asked this blond girl behind the desk some questions just to explain because tickets were bought online and did not mention any conditions. You know what that bimbo said. "I can't be bothered to deal with them anymore". Damn cheek.

Now this is the best bit which makes me laugh. She ran round the back bawling her eyes out making out to the duty manager Adam that we were being horrible to her. He came out pointing fingers being rude. He was taken aside and explained what and what went on and also pulled up for his behaviour. He apologised. But you know what sometimes you need to take things further and they will be receiving a letter of complaint. He was talking discrimination and no one mentioned that. So you know in the back of your head what his agenda was.

Anyways that was that. I tell you now the rides are huge and definitely thrilling. The Pepsi Max is said to be one of tallest roller coasters in the world. You are taking 200ft in the air and then it just drops you turns you sideways. I didn't know whether to scream or laugh or simply duck. Other rides I went on were Iron Bru, Rat race and a few kiddie ones with my son. I point blank refused to go on the haunted houses, passages etc they have.

Food choices were alright. We ate all you can eat Italian. I did not like look of the pasta so just ate pizza non stop till I was full and garlic bread. mmmmm. Of course no trip to the British seaside is complete without buying sugar dummies, candy floss and loads of candy rock. I think I splurged a bit here so will be giving some rock away. After all I still need to get in shape.

One more thing. I had to drive back in the dark and my friends disappeared from my sight. But luckily I caught them up and reached back safely.

Find out more about Blackpool Pleasure Beach here.

Carnival weekend

Its the time of the year when the school summer holidays are drawing to a close. If your kids have not returned to school they will in a matter of weeks. The summer bank holiday is here and conveniently means that many people would have gotten paid early. It also means summer is drawing to a close. However why not go out and enjoy yourself Caribbean style.

Both Leeds and London are hosting their annual caribbean carnival this weekend. London's Notting Hill carnival goes back to 1965 and has been held every year since. Immigrants from the Caribbean faced racism all over the UK. The west indian folk of Notting Hill decided to celebrate the tradition to bring the community together and forget about the negatives. Sunday will host the children's day and parade followed by the Monday which caters to more adults. The lady said to be the founder of London carnival was honoured with a plaque. Please read more about Ms Jones here.

Over in the midlands Leeds' carnival will equally be as busy. It may not draw in the millions that London does, however it does pull a huge crowd and continues to grow year by year. 2008 sees Leeds' Caribbean carnival celebrating its 41st year. Like London, sunday and monday are covered.

Expect to see colourful costumes, music from the caribbean and Diaspora, plenty of food and drink. Not to mention all ages having a good time. I pray that both carnivals are peaceful and no violence occurs.

To get you in the mood here is a video from soca greats Destra and Machel a classic song Carnival

I used to go to about 4 or 5 carnivals each summer across the UK. My love for such events have changed. Been there done that. Maybe I need to go to T and T and experience a serious carnival.

Read more about London carnival here and here and also

Read more about Leeds carnival here.

Weekend of blessings

I have had such a nice weekend. A busy weekend to say the least. I have made sure that I consume less calories in the week so that I could splurge on alcohol and food.

My friend got married on Saturday. Her dress was beautiful, she looked amazing. In fact she had some tomboys in there and what a transformation. The service was beautiful as can be expected at weddings. The one thing I took away from the service was the story about the motorbikes and the bends.

It reminded me of one of T.D. Jakes' sermons I watched on telly. Anyway, Pastor more or less said that when a married couple is riding a motorbike together down a straight road they will need to make sure when the bends in the road come, you need to bend together. It would not be good to go opposite ways. That is the gyst of it.

Then of course there was the double christening of my 2 friends sons on Sunday. Aww both boys looked gorgeous. J threw up on pastor which had the whole church in giggles. Even more so because Pastor made a point of mentioning that J decorated his clothes before lol. R was just not in the mood for pastor to hold him. Don't you love children?

The reception was heaving with people. It was so hot in that bar. Me with my Bugaboo Bee and baby in tow. I had to change into flats. Them high heel shoes I was wearing hurt badly. I drank to my hearts content. I must have consumed 3 large glasses of Rose' , JD and coke with a sneaky splash of hennessy and some Grey Goose and lemonade.

My husband is on holiday with my eldest so his friends and brother were watching me. Typical. They had the cheek to throw away the remainder of my wine. Telling my grown self no more drink. I was slowing down anyway because I need to tend to my baby. I ended the night with a hot chocolate and a piece of christening cake. yummy.

Summer time, Hot sunshine

Well the last week has been so nice. The sun has been shining bright and hot. Driving in the sun is rather new to me. I now understand why people complain about the rays of the sun on your arms when driving.

I bought some tanning oil. I know you are probably thinking what is a sister buying tanning oil for. Well I have varying shades as you do and I figured that I can use it to even out my skin colour especially the under neath's of my arms that seldom get exposed.

I bought Calypso carrot oil which gives a brilliant deep tan and Calypso Aloe Vera after sun gel. My friend came back from holiday and her skin looked healthy and well tanned. I might go on holiday this year but in the meantime it is rather hot in the UK so I might as well make do.

Now I am not sure if I can use sun cream with the carrot oil. The carrot oil has no SPF. My favourite sun cream is Nivea and I buy SPF 50+ for the children and for myself I usually buy SPF 30 or higher. I know I can probably get away with a lower SPF however few years ago I was in Miami and I suffered a mild sunburn on my chest. I didn't burn or peel. It just let me know that I need to be protected.

Hope you are enjoying the summer sun.

London is what it is

Oh my I am feeling so refreshed and rejuvenated right now. I just spent under a week in London with my close friends who I met at University. I have known them for almost ten years and they go back even longer.

My journey on the train was okay. I grudgingly handed over £50.70 to the cashier for a walk on ticket. Luckily I managed to get on a Meridian train which although takes 2 hrs instead of the hour and forty minutes of the faster train, it is a comfortable ride. Taking the bus to my friends area was alright too. London has the edge on public transport as you can just push your pushchair on the bus. No hassle with folding whilst holding the baby etc etc. Of course the public transport fares in London are expensive but you do get more out of your money than you would elsewhere. The underground is okay. But I have never been a major fan. Its hot and stuffy down there, however it gets you there quickly. My aunty prefers the bus as she says the Tube can often take the long way around. I suppose you have to just see what it is like for you.

Friday night was spent with the girls. We just chilled out and relaxed ate food and fruit juice. I wish we were sipping bottles of Rose' that would have completed the night nicely. I always get cussed when it comes to cooking. But I only cook because I have to. Curry goat/mutton is not something I cook all the time because I do not have a pressure cooker and it takes a while. I ended up cooking this dish for Sunday dinner served up with boiled dumplings and rice.

London does have some major issues regarding the youth, though this is a UK wide problem. I witnessed a group of teenage boys aged about 17 ish and two were fighting in broad daylight grabbing at each others throats. The positives of London is that its a cultural melting pot with loads of things to do from Museums and events in the park night life you name it London probably has it.

London is a hair haven for me. I splurged on hair products which I will mention in my hair journal real soon. I also bought hair to put my hair in single braid extensions as I so need a new hairstyle right now.

London brings out the best in me. I always leave feeling inspired to do better than what I am doing now.