5 Things: May 2017

It's been a while so i think we need an update, some pretty big things have happened recently...

01. IVF Update

We have done a full round of IVF since i last posted on here, thats crazy isn't it! So i bet your wondering why i haven't posted anything,? Surely id have something to say?!? Well i do, but It's ridiculous how bad i am at updating my blog. :( I want to be better and i promise to try harder, pinky promise.

The injections weren't too bad this time! Thats the first thing :) I think i am used to them now. I was on 3 this time, I was on Merional for my stims, as well as Fragmin (blood thinner) ad then cerotide after 5 days to stop my ovaries ovulating. I reacted to the stims well, I had more follies on one ovary (11) than the other (7) but they were all growing at the same rate (which didn't happen last time) so that was great.
I had a scan on a Wednesday and they were planning for my collection to be on the Friday but my follicles were not big enough (between 13mm-17mm and only 2 at 18mm) and so i had to go back on the Friday and was told my collection would be Monday. Because of this my trigger was Buserelin and i took it on the Saturday night.

At my Friday scan more follicles had appeared and I had around 25/30 follicles if not more (my memory is hazy) so the nurse told me i wouldn't be able to have a fresh transfer. This basically means that when they take my eggs out and fertilise them they won't put them back in right now. They will be frozen and I will have to wait 3 months to put them back in.

Although this was gutting I understood the reasons why because by Sunday my lower stomach was so swollen and and i felt so full, i kept running to the bathroom needing a wee because it was pushing on my bladder. I was so swollen and felt sick.

We also had a call on the Friday afternoon to say that the chemical hadn't arrived at Knutsford and Dr Harris was going mad about it. They have had 3 months to prep for this!!!
I was mad, but I am quite laid back so I just got on with it because it isn't something i could change and I just hoped everything would be okay. The nurse said they would try their best to get he chemical to Knutsford by Monday morning.

On collection day I was pacing the room because it was uncomfortable to sit down. I couldn't wait to get these eggs out! The chemical hadn't arrived yet...I was nervous.

We got 12 Eggs, and the chemical did arrive but it was un-usable! It had been 'open' for 5 weeks beforehand. So this was it, we were on our own and hoping we got fertilisation.

I felt fine on the drive home and relaxed all day. But on Tuesday morning i was anxious about the call...

By 10am Tuesday, We had it confirmed that we had 4 fertilised Embryo's :)

I rang for an update 3 days later and were told all 4 had progressed to the next stage, 1 was good quality and 3 were average quality. We had to prey they would reach blastocyst stage.

By the following Monday we were told only 1 had reached the early blasto stage and had been frozen. WE GOT ONE!

So now we wait 3 months (3 bleeds) before we can put it back in. However its not all sunshine and happy feelings, oh no. On the day before we put it back in it has to be thawed an it has to develop overnight. If it doesn't develop it won't be able to go back in and we are back to square one...and we will only find out on the morning of transfer. How sickening! I really really need to google the shit out of FET (Frozen Embryo Transfers)

It's a crazy, emotional and long drawn out process. But hopefully it will result in something amazing.


02: Finding out my Mum has Cancer

This happened during my IVF treatment, and it happened very quickly!
My mum informed me she was seeing a doctor as she had been bleeding irregularly. The GP immediately referred her for a scan of her womb. When they did the scan, her womb lining was double what it should be and the nurse told her they wanted to take a biopsy there and then.
After they took it they sat her down and basically told her they thought it was Cancer but they would send it off to be tested straight away and let her know for definite. I mean that's how quick it was, how crazy!

She told us all and we prepared for the worst. Now this sounds silly but i wasn't worried. I don't know why but i just kept thinking, she's too young to die, there so many things we still have to do together, theres no way this is the end! And i literally didn't worry. I was so calm.

me, my sister Katie, my cousin Hayley and my Mum <3

Weird huh! The Monday i got my results that 1 egg had reached Blasto and been frozen was the day i went with my mum and dad to get her results and they confirmed she did indeed have Cancer.

She had Stage 1a Cancer in her womb.

I honestly felt relieved. Stage 1! So Lucky. Obviously there's still risk it might have spread but stage 1 is the best you can hope for in this scenario. It's been caught so early.

8 days later she had a hysterectomy.

As i am writing this she is sat on the couch recovering, it's been just over a week since her Op.

We will find out in a few weeks if she needs any further treatment (if it's likely to have spread)

Keep your fingers crossed for us!


03: Not sure how to follow that!...Re-Decorating!

We recently purchased a new sofa from DFS. It's the Dynamic Sofa (see below) but it hasn't arrived yet, it will take 10 weeks to be made and delivered. I really really cannot wait for it!! It's a pale grey, fabric, recliner sofa. I swear our sofa now is so uncomfortable, I just cant describe how bad it is. To be fair to it though we got it for a bargain and its actually from Canada. When we bought our house a friend of the family was selling his girlfriends sofa. She had shipped all her furniture from Canada to here to live with him. Obvs it didn't all fit in his house so this was to be sold. It was a three seater, a two seater, an armchair and a pouffe all for £120!! Bargain. It has served us well over the past 4 years but now its time to go!

Roll on July when this beaut arrives...

I love recliners, I always have my feet up at home so this sofa is ideal. My mum has one and i just love going to hers and putting my feet up (its the small things in life eh!)

Obviously this means i need to redecorate my living room to match it. Rick isn't too impressed but to be fair its been the same for 4 years now so we deserve a refresh.
The wallpaper above (from Wilko's) is the one i am going to buy because its such a nice colour, the picture doesn't do it justice. In real life its gorgeous!..and the right kind of pale grey colour, it's textured and a bit glittery.

I have also seen a mirror in BnM's that i really want and a rug in Wilko's that i want as it is super comfy to walk on. It is however £60 and i don't think Rick will let me buy that just yet, that money could be spent elsewhere (like the garden).

Mirror with bevelled edges, £20!!

I will be doing a before and after of this room to show you :) I haven't actually purchased anything yet apart from the sofa though so it won't be anytime soon. I think I will show you my pinterest board for it though soon.

04: Beauty Haul and Wishlist.


I love a good beauty haul, my only problem is everything i like is pricey! Like I really really want the Anastasia Beverly Hills: Modern Renaissance Palette but its around £40 and i just can't justify it.

I bought 3 palettes from Make up Revolution a couple of moths ago that are dupes for Too Faced. I am actually really liking them, they were cheap and are hella pigmented and long wearing so it seems silly to pay loads of money just for a name. For some reason though i think ABH Modern Renaissance Palette would be worth it. gahhhh I wish i had it so much!

Onto the things i recently bought:

Alert! Beauty Haul!...small beauty haul! :)

The Ordinary: Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5

I have heard SO SO much good stuff about The Ordinary. Fleur De Force raves about them so i decided to try a product out as my skin needs nourishment (and their prices are very cheap so why not!) plus so many people rave about them. 

Tbh I actually wanted to try the foundation but it's sold out everywhere!! So i'm on the waiting list for it and so many people want it!! God only knows when i will get to try it. 

I have only just started using this so i will let you know if i like it.

Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick: Rose Matter

I purchased my first Jeffree Star Liquid Lipstick in the colour Rose Matter. Its a gorgeous colour. Quite bright but totally wearable everyday. I am wearing it in the photo below.

Next on my list is Mannequin. I just ordered it today so hopefully this will arrive in a few days.

Anastasia Beverlely Hills Dipbrow Pomade: Soft Brown

I also got another Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade, this time in soft brown. I have this in dark brown and have had it for over a year and its quite dry so i figured I would buy another but this time go lighter as my hair is lighter. I'm also wearing this in the photo above. I haven't used another brow product since discovering the dip brow! So you can tell i like it :)

Primark

I recently went to Primark too... There isn't much to say about Primark that you don't already know. You can great basics for a decent price. That the bee all and end all. I actually nipped into New Look on the same day and tried a few things on and was dissappointed. Its the same kinda stuff as primark but a bit more money. Seems pointless.

I have only posted a picure of this one outfit because I got this in different colour variations.

I got these trousers in 3 colours, these are a pink/blush and I also got them in Khaki and some white linen ones. Perfect for summer, As is the top! I also got this in a pale mint green colour. The shoes are a nude platform that isn't too high, so hopefully wont hurt the balls of my feet.

Lastly, I thought i'd show you this...it's recently been Easter, as if you didn't know!! (hehe)
Isn't this just the best egg!! (apart from Cadburys obvs) I mean the Mr totally did good with this one, I adore Lindor.

05: My New Office (Dressing Room)

I recently decided to ditch a massive set of drawers in my little dressing room to make room to incorporate a desk/dressing table. I had a bunch of old clothes in the drawers and i just wasn't using them to their full potential so its gone! as are the clothes.
The desk I found on facebook actually and i managed to get it for £20. I am hoping it will encourage me to spend more time in this room, on my laptop making more blog posts!

and the lighting is pretty damn good :)

I'd like to shabby chic the table but i haven't bought any paint just yet. Thats another project on the list!

I have a list as long as my arm!

Peace out.

Lush Caca Rouge - A Review

I LOVE Ginger hair, like seriously love it! My pinterest 'Hair' album is full of ginger pictures, and so when I heard about Henna for hair being really natural and safe to use i thought i would research it a little more and eventually bought some from Lush :)

Now to be honest, at the moment I am mostly blonde/ginger, and i'm happy with this.

I had recently used ColourB4 to get back to my blonde hair/brown roots. I did about a week of it and decided it was just a bit too blonde, And so i put a Clairol Nice and Easy Natural Auburn dye on it to give it back its ginger tinge. However the ends didn't really take to it and are still very light.

I like it though. I think lighter hair compliments my skin tone.

This is before i put the Auburn on

So this brings my onto my next point...i'm not quite ready to go fully ginger, especially with Henna. It's hard to remove Henna, it's so permanent! Because Spring and Summer are approaching i think i will want to keep my light hair, so my aim is to go ginger next Autumn.

In prep, I decided to use my Henna to dye my hair extensions, plus i really didn't want to have to sell the Henna i had bought.

My extensions, are currently a mess, half ginger half pink! (Don't ask) I can't wait to get them ginger!!.

A Review Of Lush's Caca Rouge

The Henna came wrapped in a bit of cardboard paper, so i stored it in a tupperware until i was ready to use it. The day i decided to use it, i opened it up and was surprised to find it came with gloves! I don't know why i was surprised as it is hair dye, but i just didn't expect it. It also had instructions inside on how to prep and use it.

I decided to snap it in half, as i knew i wouldnt need it all, i probably split it 60/40 and used the 40. Then i got a knife and started shaving bits off it (see below)

 Whilst i was doing that i boiled the kettle and poured some of that water into a perspex jug. As i chopped the henna i added it to the boiling water and stirred. I read a lot of reviews of people putting the perspex bowl over a pan of boiling water, i didnt feel the need to do this. It mixed very well. Maybe it is because it was chopped pretty fine.
Once it was all added and stirred it was a nice consistency, a bit like...hmm..a bit like a thick sauce.

I popped the gloves on and went to the sink to put it on the hair extensions.

And then the fun began!! 

I just realised i didn't take a picture of them covered in the Henna, doh! I did make a timelapse though, thats on my instagram if you are interested.

I wrapped it in cling film and then in a towel and placed it in a warm room near the radiator :) I hear warmth helps it to develop. 

I left it for about 5 hours because i went out. I think it usually takes 1-2 hours but you can leave it as long as you want. 

Then I washed it off in the bath below, and it was really easy to be honest and my extensions didn't feel damaged. I have to say the smell of Henna isn't too pleasant, it stinks :)

Here's how it turned out...

In the picture above it is semi-dry, basically it was left overnight to dry. I haven't done anything else with it yet, I plan to dry it fully and then straighten.

Overall i really liked using the henna, i can imagine it'd be messy to do it on your own head but i definitely want to do it eventually. 

I hope this helped a few of you, if anyone actually reads this. And i will be doing another review when i do it to my hair in Autumn 2017.

ICSI - Round 2

ICSI - Round 2

We had an appointment at Knutsford with the head of Embryology regarding our failed ICSI cycle. He didn't really have any solid answers for us, apparently its so rare (1%) to fail at the point of fertilisation with this type of IVF. He could only really advise to use Oocyte activation next time, because the egg hadn't activated last time.

He said that because both the sperm and eggs seem in perfect condition there's no reason why we can't try normal IVF. This was a bonus piece of information! Our doctor at Wrightington pretty much told us we would never get pregnant naturally/on our own. However this was at the beginning of treatment and since then my other half has stopped smoking. So i guess it really has made a difference!

We get to start again in March, and we are doing half normal IVF and half ICSI (with Oocyte Activation) so lets just hope we get a decent amount of eggs.
They are upping my meds slightly from last time i think so I hope i will get more than 9. Although i am slightly worried about OHSS as they said i was at risk of this last time (i had 23 eggs before collection- all sizes)

I will keep updating along the way. I hope February flys by!

Brockwood Hall Lodges - Millom, Lake District - NYE 2016

*that awkward moment when you forget a blog post is just a draft and not live!

I really sucked at doing Blogmas, i'm sorry! I am completely crap at keeping blog promises. So my resolution for 2017 is to not promise anything. And thats a promise!

I have been away for New Years Eve so i thought i'd tell you a little bit about it, and show you pictures... Me and my group of friends decided we wanted to go away again this year, we did this 2 years ago and as couples & kids we all went and stayed at a lodge. It was brilliant so we really wanted to do it again this year.

We booked this almost a year in advance! :) Brockwood Hall Lodges in Millom.

The Drive:

We set off on the 30th December, and on this day last year i passed my driving test. This is the first long drive I have done since passing, quite shameful i know. I only went on the motorway for the first time in November when Rick and I went to the Trafford Centre in Manchester, so this journey was a little daunting. 

Honestly though, it was a breeze. There wasn't one moment i felt uncomfortable or out of my depth. The car however did struggle. It's only a 1 litre Peugeot, poor Peter Peugeot struggled getting up those lake district hills...Sometimes i had to get into 2nd gear to get to the top! When we turned into the road that Brockwood Hall was on i had to actually get into first gear half way up. Hahahah. But other than that it was great, i felt like i was starring in my own Top Gear episode zooming through those roads.

Brockwood Hall:
The Hall itself was impressive as we drove up the hill, such a sight! And the scenery around it is glorious. You can see for miles!
We had arrived before check-in so we parked up and waited in the Hall for our friends to arrive. One couple had already arrived and their lodge was ready so we decided to nip there for a brew. The staff were so friendly and helpful during the whole stay. Housekeeping came everyday and asked if we wanted them to clean etc. If we ever needed anything they would get it...(like an extention lead we really needed)

We ended up all going for a meal at the Hall on New Years Day, there was around 19 of us and they put us in our own private room. The food was great value for money and so so tasty. We had no complaints at all. The only thing i could fault was the Coke, it tasted awful. But they didn't charge us for it, so that was great service.

On the site they have an indoor heated pool, which i am ashamed to say i didn't actually go in (i spent a lot of time in the hot tub) Others in our party did though and they said it was great; there are changing rooms in there and its right in the middle of all the lodges. Right next to it is a childrens' park.

 Entrance to Pool (above)

The view from our balcony - Pool Entrance (above)

The Lodges:

The lodges are cozy and each one has a Hot Tub :)

We had a few problems, the first night a few lodges had a power cut, so a lot of us only had tea around 10:30pm which was a bit of a nightmare especially when you have kids. Ours thankfully was fine though. One of the lodges had to have a bedroom door kicked through because it got stuck/locked in, so the maintenance guy has to kick it in and replace it. Sounds more dramatic than it was, they fixed it in the end. In another the mirror fell off the wall. But other than that there were no complaints. They were tidy, stylish, warm and had everything you need.

I forgot to take pictures when we arrived, plus it was dark so here are some just before we left.

 This tub did have a side panel but the guy was here to clean it as we were leaving.

My messy room, we had put the bed together but i put them back as they were when we left.

We went on a few walks, and we had a trip to Lakeside aquarium on Windermere whilst we were here but the rest of the time we chilled, drank, played Monopoly Card game and relaxed in the Hot tub :)

If you're visiting Brockwood Hall or for any reason would like to ask me any questions, feel free to do so in the comments. Peace out and HAPPY NEW YEAR!