Stepping Into Study

When people ask that age old question "If you could go back in time and change something what would it be?", my answer is always the same. I would have gone all the way with my education. I wasn't a bad student and actually remember getting some pretty decent grades but I was young, naive and thought I knew better so ended up leaving school not having sat my exams. Something I have always wanted to do is get some form of formal qualifications under my belt since leaving school without any. Now don't get me wrong as much as I love my job (at times), working in retail is not something I saw myself doing long term and it is far from being a passion of mine. 

I have a huge interest in delving into the world of photography. It has always been an ambition of mine to study photography and one which has quite often been scoffed at by people around me. Maybe that's one of the reasons I have put off doing anything about it for so long, but if these past few years have taught me anything its that you should do what makes you happy right now. Don't put things off and don't be too scared to just go for it! With this in mind I have been scouring the local college website recently and found some interesting courses I would be keen to enroll on. I am eager to start of with some access courses to ease me in to the world of studying and get some basic qualifications behind me before moving onto a more specific course type.

Reading through the courses really excites me. I have always wanted to make a career out of something I enjoy doing just for the love of it. I love pictures (Taking them more than posing for them) although my large roll of selfies on Facebook would say different. I love the thought of capturing magical moments for someone and giving them wonderful memories that they can treasure forever. Now as much as I love snapping away on my smartphone, I think a decent camera is definitely on the cards if I do enroll on one of these courses and I am thinking that If i do take some access courses beforehand then what better way to reward myself if when I pass than a new camera? As I will be just starting out I haven't got a huge list of requirements when looking for a camera, just something tough, compact and purse friendly. I have seen a few decent cameras that fit the bill and the Panasonic Lumix Waterproof Camera really stood out for me. Its a really durable camera which given that I have dropped my phone a million times is a must for me. Its cute, compact and really affordable too and with the added benefit of being waterproof , even swimming selfies are not out of the question :)

I am hoping to call into the college at some point in the next few weeks to start the study ball rolling so will of course keep you all posted on the outcome.

I would be keen to hear from other late students who have studied or are currently in adult education. Have you taken a course later in life? 


**This post has been written by myself in collaboration with Panasonic.

The Gallery - Detail

Ok, So this is not necessarily a new photograph, but it's one that I love so decided to share. I just love the rippled effect that the waves had on the sand. It felt like soft cobblestone underneath.

I am linking this post up with "The Gallery" whose theme this week is "Detail"

The Gallery - Selfie

OK, So technically is it still a "selfie" if someone else took it? Well I am not one for making the duck face pout in front of the mirror and taking those selfie shots so I have chosen this "kind of" selfie shot which was actually taken by Aalliyah. We were on our way home from Blackpool and I was miles away watching the world in a blur as we whizzed home on the train.

I am linking this over at Sticky Fingers blog for this weeks Gallery. Head over and check out the other entries.

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Saturday Is Caption Day

As much as I love a bit of chocolate, I adore sweeties! They remind me of my childhood! Me and Aalliyah love the fizzy types and really enjoyed our fizzy fangs! 

Do you have a funny caption to go with this photo? Head over to mammasaurus blog where you can have fun captioning more great pictures. Have a wonderful weekend.

The Gallery - Relax

So the theme this week is "Relax" . Something which a lot have us have been able to do as it's the summer holidays. I find I can have a more relaxed morning without early alarm calls and rushing out of the door with toast hanging out my mouth praying I make it on time.

For the past few days Aalliyah has been nose deep into her book (My Sister Jodie - Jacqueline Wilson) and she has been randomly bursting into fits of giggles at the clearly comical writing. However during the last chapter she went rather quiet and in fact her giggles turned to tears as she was met with the all too common "sad" ending.

I think she certainly has the right idea on how to relax though? Maybe all that blood rushing to her head helps soak up all that literature ;-)

Head over to Sticky Fingers and check out all the other Gallery entries this week.

The Gallery - Play

So the theme for this week is "PLAY".. Something me and Aalliyah seemed to have done all summer holiday so far! With a recent trip to Gulliver's you can imagine the abundance of photos I know I have of Aalliyah playing, running, jumping, skipping and hand standing over EVERYTHING! But there is one particular photo which I just had to share.

This is Aalliyah and her friend Caoimhe enjoying some play time in the ball pit. What amazes me about these two is that even though there is a 9 year age gap they always play so beautifully together. I try for ages to get Caoimhe to smile, Aalliyah comes along and Caoimhe is instantly in fits of giggles. These two young ladies also share their birthday and I always call them birth date buddies. I think this is why they have such a beautiful bond :)

Head over to Sticky Fingers to view the rest of the Gallery entries for this week,

Silent Sunday

Saturday Is Caption Day #SatCap

As terrified as Aalliyah looks on the drop down tower, she did actually go on it about 20 times after this! We had lots of scary fun last weekend at Gullivers Land.

Do you have a funny caption to go with this shot? I'd love to hear it. Then why not head over to Mammasaurus where you can have fun captioning lots more pics and even upload your own!

The Gallery- I made....

Blog land with be alive with beautiful pictures of handcrafted cakes, chic furniture which has been restored by hand and amazing crochet shawls as the theme this week is "I made this"

While I am quite capable of making a cake that not only tastes great but looks gorgeous to the eye too, I am by no means a crafty kind of person. While I would love the inner flair which would make me turn a drab old chair into an unbelievable chic focal piece that would make everyone green with shabby envy! Sadly I am the type of person that would just go and pay for it "ready made".

But there is one thing that I did make.. Something which is so perfect, nothing I can ever make will come close to make me feel so proud of creating such an amazing masterpiece.

And here is that beautiful creation....

Yes there were a few male chromosomes kicked in shhh .. keep that quiet.

Aalliyah truly is the love of my life and I will never make anything as precious as her.

I'm looking forward to seeing all your beautiful chic and creative pictures this week. Head over to Sticky Fingers to check out all the entries.

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Saturday Is Caption Day #SatCap

Happy Saturday everyone! It's time to caption again. Here is Aalliyah doing what she does best, acting the clown! Don't know where she gets it from?!?

Do you have a funny caption to go with this picture? I'd love to hear it :)

Instantgram Review

I am ever so slightly addicted to one app in particular on my iPhone.. Instagram! I use it daily and must confess that I am one of these people who capture snaps of various meals. I don't just randomly take pictures of my food for no reason, I do have a lot of followers who like me are losing weight with Weight Watchers and find such posts both inspirational and supportive. Foodie pics aside, I love sharing snapshots of my life through Instagram. Whether it's pictures from a day at the seaside or catching Aalliyah in the middle of some random funky chicken dance, there is always a magic memory to capture.

I was delighted when I had the opportunity to review the printing services offered by Instantgram. They can make high quality prints and magnets from your instagram photos. Most pictures we share with instagram, we give a bit of tweaking using the different filters available, so when you choose your prints for instantgram, they are already edited and looking great! There are two options to choose from, you can either order a set of 9 magnets each measuring 5cm x 5cm or you can choose to have a set of high quality square prints. These come in 2 different sizes. Either a set of 24 squares measuring 4 x 4 inches or a set of 48 mini squares each measuring 2.5 x 2.5 inches.

The price is fantastic as its a flat rate cost of $17.00 for either the magnets or the squares, which is very competitive when you look at local printing costs from similar items. They provide a free shipping service and although these come from outside the UK they arrive quite quickly. I received mine in a little under a week.

Its very simple to order and you can link to your instagram photos when ordering to make it really easy to choose which photos you want printing.

Here are just a few of the great magnets

...and here are some of the great printed squares. They are durable photo card and really good quality.

The prints and magnets are both great quality and I recommend them to anyone looking for a new way to keep treasured photos. They also make fantastic gifts.

Silent Sunday

Saturday Is Caption Day - #SatCap

No I haven't just melted a mars bar and smeared it all over my face.. It was in fact a mud mask. Nothing like a bit of self pampering.

Have a funny caption to go with this photo? I'd love to hear it. Then why not head over to mammasaurus where you can caption loads more photos and even add your own!

Have a great bank holiday weekend, what ever you are doing! Lets hope the sun keeps his hat on.

Saturday Is Caption Day! - #Satcap

Well it's Saturday again.. So here is my #Satcap entry for this week! I really don't know what possesses Aalliyah to do these random things, but she wouldn't be Aalliyah without her weird and wacky personality :-)

Do you have a funny caption to go with this picture? If so I'd love to hear it! Why not head over to Mammasaurus where you can check out loads more entries and have fun captioning!

Saturday Is Caption Day - #SatCap

It is Saturday again, (boy do these weeks keep flying past) which can only mean one thing.... Saturday Caption time! Do you have a funny caption to go with this picture? Those poor chicks.. Aalliyah looks set to devour the whole of "chickville".

Have a go at captioning some more great photographs with Mammasaurus.

Have a great weekend!

My Easter Break - In An Egg Shell

Ok, So we are done with the snow, ice and freezing cold temperatures of winter and Easter came to mark the beginning of spring, sunshine and an indication that summer was on its way! The only problem was that when I woke up on Easter Sunday morning ready to forget the diet for one whole day and devour everything anything in sight, I was greeted with the not so pleasant site of lingering snow which had been laying around taunting me and my thoughts of summer for days! Looking out of my window I could see the wooden bench in the garden topped with snow and my flower pots each with a frozen layer of ice. I turned around expecting to see gifts under the tree, not chocolate eggs and daffodils. Needless to say I was not dreaming of a white Easter and I'm pretty sure no one else had banked on it either given the sizzling temperatures this time last year.

Yes I realise I have moaned for a whole paragraph about the weather, but hey.. I'm british and thats what we do best!

Anyway, In spite of the weather, both myself and Aalliyah still managed to have a wonderful Easter as I hope you all did too. There was the typical roast dinner. I opted for a nice joint of pork for the ever so selfish reason that I hadn't had roast pork since starting weight watchers in October, so we were having it.. End of story!

Me and Aalliyah had lots of fun making some Easter inspired treats for her class, which she gave out on the last day of term, when she also came home with some goodies for winning first place in the egg decorating competition.

No Easter is complete without a bit of bonnet making.. Aalliyah also made her very own town called "Chick-ville"

Plus we had a beautiful Easter stroll in the Spring sunshine snow. There is just something so "British" about seeing a beautiful blooming daffodil..poking out of 4 inches of snow! 

Surely we have had the worst of it now? We have put up with an Arctic Winter and now Sprong (Spring gone wrong) Can we please just have a sizzling summer full of sunshine, sunshine and that other thing that went missing last year... Oh yes.. SUNSHINE! 

Good luck to the first person that moans when it's too hot!! You know there will be someone!

How did you spend your Easter? I hope what ever you did you had a wonderful time celebrating.