songs that make me happy..inspired by Sinead (Dreaming Again)

Oooh, what a better day to post this than on a day when it is so miserable outside. So if you need a little bit of a pick me up, you have come to the right place. Turn the volume up & enjoy! :)



This post idea literally popped into my head whilst I was answering some questions for Sinead (Dreaming Again). She is creating like a mini series of blog interviews for her fellow bloggers, how exciting! :)

One of the questions was "what song makes you happy when you hear it?". In typical fashion I thought I can't just pick one song (I did eventually pick just one), I had a good few swimming around my head so I thought "oooohhhh, I know I'll create a post about songs that make me happy". Thanks for the idea Sinead :) The song I decided on was....


The Vamps - Can We Dance



But I thought I'd make a little post (probably turn out MASSIVE & waffley, you know me) & include some others with their youtube videos. So sit back & enjoy! :)


Taylor Swift - We Are Never Getting Back Together
It's all about girl power right?! & telling your ex straight that you are never, ever getting back together!

Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
We all love a good catchy song, am I right?

Luke Britnell - Think Positive
Loved Luke's original song since he performed it on the x factor, check it out & maybe his other youtube videos? :)

The Mend - Where Were You?
Remember The Mend? Ohhh yes, they were on Britains Got Talent...yesss, they were also the wild card act & then they went on to support Little Mix, incredible! Anyways check out their first single & watch this space for more :)

Little Mix - Move
Admittedly I do love all of Little Mix's album but this one is just so upbeat!

One Direction - Best Song Ever
Finishing off the post in great style, it's only the biggest boy band on the flippin planet right now...One Direction! Try listen to this & tell me within a couple of hours you aren't singing it back to yourself....go on, give it a go :)



What songs make you happy? Any of the above, throw some my way :)

I'm now thinking of creating an oldies version since these songs are all recent & current. Look back over childhood songs!

Thanks for reading.

- Anna ♥

Amazing news today, I just had to share it with you....

Just a quick post whilst I'm waiting to have a bath, ooohhhh yes...I really am that busy that I'm having a bath at 3 in the afternoon! It is miserable & raining outside so why the hell not.. :)



I thought I'd share this incredible story with you incase you haven't heard about it or seen it? Mental Health has such a huge stigma around it but shouldn't have to be that way. So here I am openly blogging about the subject (as I often do).

This story is about Jonny & 'Mike'. 'Mike' is the man who Jonny named for his search to help reunite him with the man who saved his life.

I'm going to let you read the story for yourself since it isn't my story to tell. But it is too incredible not to share it with you, so click here & you will be taken over to Rethink Mental Illness to read about the journey of finding 'Mike'.

Then if you like you can click here & read the article about Jonny finally finding 'Mike'.

But if you'd much rather watch a video about it instead, click here to see the Youtube video.



Jonny along with many others does a fantastic job at tackling the stigma surrounding mental health. It isn't something anyone should be ashamed of. If you think you might be suffering from any form of mental health illness, please approach someone about it. There is some really incredible charities out there to give you the support & help you deserve.

Here are just a list of a few of them..

Rethink

Mind

Time To Change

Samaritans



Thank you for taking your time to read this post, please feel free to share it around too.

- Anna ♥

I have absolutely NOTHING figured out....

Right now this picture seriously speaks a 1,000 words!
 
image more than likely from weheartit
 
I should probably start by explaining why I'm actually writing this post.. I've realised even more so recently I have absolutely NOTHING figured & absolutely NO idea what I want to do with my life...should I be alarmed & scared?!
 
Whilst on Skype to my friend Nicola we were both discussing this & I said 'you know what, not many people talk about it but how many people actually have their life figured out?' So I thought you know what sod it! I'm going to blog about it, I was going to call the post 'SOD IT!' but I wasn't 100% sure how that would go down really. I held back the urge to type that, but here I am...brace yourself for a waffly waffle post! :D



I've been considering volunteering for a while now, so today I bit the bullet & had a full browse through vinspired & communicated with whatever lovely person was on their twitter account today. God help them though, they must have been thinking who is this girl, seriously?! After browsing though I have realised I genuinely have no idea as of what I want to do. I feel so clueless on life right now. When people ask me what I want to do or what I enjoy, I have absolutely no idea. It's just like I don't even know myself at all..

I don't want my anxiety to hold me back at all, but all you anxiety sufferers out there will know its so much easier said than done. 'No, I won't let my anxiety control me'.. But how easy it is to manage to travel far? Or to sometimes concentrate on day to day things? Yesterday I really struggled when travelling 10 minutes up the road, to the place where I have my driving lessons so tomorrow could be fun.

All my life I've lived in the same house & same town, which I love & really do love living here. I don't want to move, I just want to be able to feel comfortable & able to explore the world. It isn't an option for me to just stay in my house & just survive. I want to be able to live, be free like a bird! Experience things, create new memories, make new friendships!

I know eventually at some point my parents shop will close, unless of course someone takes it on. But when it does close, where on earth will I be? Absolutely STUCK! I am so grateful that they let me help them out when I can, because they fully know & understand my situation (well actually I say they, more like mum does). I really want to be able to do something for myself, create my own life. Do I have any idea how to go about that? The answer would be NO! I have absolutely NOTHING figured out & I'm beginning to panic!



In all honesty, do you have your life or anything figured out?
Feel free to leave me a comment & let me know before I go crazy :)

Thanks for reading my waffle, hopefully maybe some of you can relate to me too!

- Anna ♥

My Driving Journey - Lesson 55

Hello there, lovely you! :)
Happy Monday to you!
 
It's Monday here on my little blog, otherwise known as a whole lot of chitty chat & oh my...do you certainly get a whole lot of chitty chat or waffle, we'll call it chatty chat..sounds much nicer right? :)



Monday is here & it is time for another update on my driving lessons. I only had one this week & we had planned to do one lesson next week of two hours driving to a further place but yesterday I decided to see if I could alter that one so I could practice another mock test & manoeuvres because it actually sunk in that I'm like weeks...ooohh, or maybe a week away from my test..can't tell you the exact date now can I. But trust me, once I've passed I will be shouting it from the roof!

 
Tuesday 21st January 2014
Now I'm obviously getting closer & closer to my test these posts are getting shorter & shorter by the week. I don't really have an awful lot at all to share with you about this lesson other than we covered a junction that I've struggled on each time I've attempted it. Only been towards it twice though, but I got to practice again & Sharon talked me through it so I know & understand it a lot better. I do feel I did it a lot better & I'm a lot more confident with the junction now. Here is the junction....
 
 
I've been jotting down my driving lessons every week in a notebook & this photo is taken from the notebook. Always good to write things down to remember them & if I'm struggling I can always look back.
 
 
Are you learning to drive?
How are you getting on?
Have you enjoyed following my journey, which will soon hopefully come to an end.
 
Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading.
 
- Anna ♥

Sit Down Sunday - 26th January 2014

Hello there my fellow lovely reader friend! :) (well that was a mouthful!)
I hope you've all had a super duper week & if not, always remember to look out for the little things & appreciate what went right.
 
In all honesty right now I'm feeling mega sick, I have felt like it since this morning so what better time actually to reflect on the week. Right now you say, whilst I'm feeling meh (surely meh should be in the dictionary now, do you agree?), in my pjs, wrapped in my duvet & feeling a little bit down? Great call!


 
Let's get cracking & reflect....
 
- my 22nd birthday
- went to the cinema for the first time in over 4 years
- all the lovely birthday wishes from fellow tweeters & blog readers
- getting to enjoy creating my scrapbook
- receiving parcels in the post, presents & even a youtube video..yes, Jess I'm looking at you. I will just add a screen shot of your birthday video to me..got to keep some things private :)
 
hello there Jess
 
- having the most incredible birthday cake, EVER!
- managing two days at work, progress :)
- moving forward from the past
- cuddles
- being part of Michelle (Life Outside London) best of blogosphere...AGAIN!



So that is my reflection of this week, have you reflected on your week? Be sure to let me know in the comments or tweet me if you like :) Most of you have probably come from twitter, if not please let me know where you have come from :)

Thanks for reading.
- Anna ♥

I don't know about you but I'm feeling 22....

Yeahhh you've got it....I've turned 22 today so I thought I'd do a post about my day & of course I absolutely HAD to add in Taylor Swift's video for her song 22, enjoy! :)




I'm really not too sure why people make a massive deal with birthdays, especially the years when it isn't a certain milestone. So when people would ask me what I had planned in the run up to my birthday I was just like 'hhhmmmm, not much'..I then changed my mind to 'I'm going to have a onesie day', that didn't happen. I'm partly glad about that though actually. My mum did offer to take me shopping but I turned down her offer, I don't need anything so it would of been a bit pointless. I'm going to do a run down of my day & add in a few pictures. Hope you enjoy reading about how I spent my day....



I woke up as usual (always a good sign really) & opened my cards & presents I had received. So many lovely presents, I won't go in to a list & name them all. But I will mention a few things that did make me giggle, present wise. Me & my godmums husband have a thing where he always buys me something One Direction, what did I get this year from him...nothing from him...but instead my godmum got me a flippin' one direction electric toothbrush & toothpaste! I actually don't mind these presents, they always make me giggle! Then another thing that really made me laugh was my grandma has a thing of buying people scratch cards for their birthday to put in their card...I was not missed out, she filled my card with scratch cards up to the price of £10 (crazzyyyyy?!) I do usually think its bonkers but I won on the scratch cards...a total of 22 pound! Talk about meant to be? :)

After this me & mum got ready to go & pick up my birthday cake, brace yourself! It is absolutely INCREDIBLE! Speaking of cakes, last year I had cupcakes instead of a cake from the same company & oh my goodness...they were all delicious (I didn't eat them all just putting that out there)! Also my second family (the family on my street who are literally my second family) bought me a cupcake decorating class at the very place we got ours from. The business is run by a lady who works from home & does classes too. I haven't attended the course yet but I hope to be attending very soon & I'm thinking about putting a post all about that.

Seriously, how incredible?! I can only imagine the hard work that has gone into creating this masterpiece. Absolutely beautiful!

So once we'd collected the cake we nipped in to town to pick up a few little bits. Whilst there a man was in my parents shop & doesn't believe I'm 22 & while he was there he also waffled on about how I should have a boyfriend, how I should be living in my own place, how I should be away from home....I'm sorry but I hate when people make remarks. Admittedly I did used to make remarks probably but now I have opened my eyes I've learnt so much. No two people are the same, I know of people who live at home still & are in their 40s..no two peoples situations are the same! urghhhh, some people frustrate me! I'm trying to make the best out of a shitty situation yet we still have people who don't understand! rant is over... & breatheeee! It's my birthday back to happiness!

I scrapped my onesie day idea for a trip to the cinema with my mum. A onesie day would of been ideal since I felt really sick, don't feel overly great now really but being out in the fresh air & out the house really did make me feel good. So I'm one point ahead of anxiety! :)

I've saved the tickets to put in my scrapbook..maybe more on the scrapbook in another post :)

We watched Delivery Man & used our friends 2 for 1 Orange Wednesday code so happy days all around. We were in abit of a rush getting there for the film to start at 12, safe to say it didn't start until like 20 past. Don't you just love the adverts..I actually don't mind the adverts sometimes to be honest. The film was really good, pretty funny too. I didn't enjoy it as much as I would like to of just because of anxiety still being with me. I couldn't fully settle & relax (ok, maybe I felt relaxed at like 20 minutes before the film ended) but I stayed, I managed....I partly enjoyed. I haven't been to the cinema for over 4 years so hopefully I will go more often & be better. We went to a new cinema near us, I'd never been to before & it was so lovely. Your cinema experience isn't complete without....

Admittedly this was my second, I had one whilst I was in the cinema & one for the drive home..

& you usually have snacks during the film right? We didn't think we had time to wait & decide what to have to munch on so we skipped the snacks. Instead on my way out, I picked up a SMALL , I repeat SMALL popcorn...it was HUGE! Admittedly people moan about cinema food & drink prices being high but I can't fault them for prices at all. To be honest, I can't fault them on anything. I will definitely be visiting again.

Popcorn for the journey home too..it isn't  about a 10 minute journey honest!

After the film we headed home, on our way home I phoned our local radio station to request a song during their show when you can request a song. It was quite funny because one girl runs the show & I actually emailed yesterday to request 22 to get me in the mood for my birthday today...it didn't get played though :( She did remember me though when I spoke & said my name & where I was from, she was like you emailed yesterday didn't you? & it's your birthday today..I was like yes & yes it is. So she wished me a very happy birthday & apologised because she couldn't play 22 because it had already been played like an hour before..she did add that before it was played she was like noooo, we can't play it! haha..how funny! So I requested The Vamps - Wild Heart instead...did I get it after she had approved? Noooo...but I did get One Direction - Midnight Memories so I'm not complaining! :)



That is my day in a post, my birthday will soon be over..anybody else think sometimes birthdays are over done? Made out to be a much bigger deal than they are? Admittedly I have been using the excuse of, but it is my birthday..Mum will ask me to do something & I will say 'but it's my birthdayyy'...won't be able to use that reason for another year. Gotta make the most of it right?

The rest of my birthday will more than likely be spent how I am now, sat on my bed under my blanket :) well for the next couple of hours it will be....catching up on unread blog posts & then I might put on a film, relax & enjoy my own company.. :)

Ooooh, one last thing..today is the lovely Christina's 1 year blogging birthday, please be sure to check her out (not in that way, she is happily spoken for) & wish her good wishes maybe..you can find her at kimi and me ! Massive congratulations Christina! :)

Thanks for all the birthday wishes I've received over on twitter & thanks for reading. Last night I had a birthday Skype party..I might do a post on that too..
- Anna ♥

Loving Dot, a new company

I just want to put this bit in....I really feel I do have a habit of jumping in to things very quick, I always like to see the good in people. I do often do things & introduce people to things without thinking about it for a while. I don't personally know Bethany at all. But I'm 100% sure I won't regret telling you all about Bethany, the girl behind Loving Dot.

I came across Bethany a couple of weeks ago & she has recently opened up her own online business, at the age of 16...how incredible is that! :) I asked Bethany if she'd like to feature on a post for me, to help promote Loving Dot. She was up for it so after exchanging a few emails we had a blog post ready. I really hope you enjoy it, here goes....

 Hello, I am Bethany Wood. I am 16 and currently at college studying graphic design. I blog over at www.fairybetty.co.uk and have just opened a online accessories shop... www.lovingdot.co.uk. I love dogs, cats, all things retro in style, tea and chocolate biscuits.

Meet Bethany

1. What made you decide to create loving dot as a little newborn company?
I have always wanted to own a shop and when I stated my graphic design course at college I realised it was what I wanted to do. I decided I wanted to turn my hand drawn designs into useful products for lovely ladies of all ages and with a lot of love and hard work loving dot was born. 

2. What's the meaning behind the company name? 
I wanted to make the name personal to me so our name is based on my family dog a jack Russell cross Dot. She is rather cute and although she is a jack Russell know for having short legs hers are huge and she runs like a whippet.

3. How do you plan to balance work, college, family & friends?
It's always a tricky one although loving dot is what I want to do for the rest of my life and I want nothing more than to make it a success I HAVE to put college first and get my qualifications. It's my intention to go to university but loving dot will be going with me I have no doubt about that. The last few months friend and family have took a back seat :'( I am hoping that I will get into the swing of it and have more time but my family are very understanding and help me lots. I use my college time to socialise with my friends and always leave a few hours a week to meet up with them! It's very important in my opinion whenever I speak to self employed people they always say the only downside is the lonely feeling. But I don't have that problem I guess you could say I have the best of both worlds!

4.  What kind of products can we expect to see in the future from loving dot?  
Oo you can definitely expect nail transfers and pin badges in the very very near future so keep your eyes pealed and keep checking our website www.lovingdot.co.uk I also hope to bring tote bags, greetings cards and posters.

You can always stay tuned via our social networking accounts:
Twitter: @lovingdot
Instagram: @loving_dot
Pinterest: loving dot




I'd like to say a massive thank you to Bethany for allowing me to do a blog post about her new little business. At the age of 16 I think Bethany is very inspiring & hopefully has a successful future infront of her. It wouldn't be right promoting Bethany & not actually supporting Bethany's store so I purchased two pocket mirrors. One for myself & another for my mum's friend for her daughter as a gift. Both of us are highly delighted. I would definitely recommend & suggest that you watch this space too. I mean who doesn't love unique products, I'd much rather go independent store than high street. Here is the mirror I purchased....


It'd be lovely if you sent Bethany some love & checked out her store. I don't think any of you lovely ladies will be disappointed. Adorable items, at very affordable prices. Be sure to let me know if you check out her store & if you make any purchases too.

Thanks again to Bethany & thanks to you for reading.
- Anna ♥