Happy Birthday to ME!!
I promised myself that Id celebrate my 25th birthday in style...quarter of a century old only happens once am I right? Now I know I wrote about my aging before and what that meant to me but i never wrote about the amazing friends who made my birthday something so amazing and a 3 day even in which people traveled the country just to celebrate with me! I am extremely lucky to have a friend like Gill and i have said this on Oh so many occasions...Gillian kicked off my birthday celebrations with my friend Dean who not only brought me out and filled me with cocktails but drove me all the way to Cork City and home again to achieve this!! Major Brownie points for these guys!! An amazing night was had an we rang in my official birthday on midnight of October 27th 2014!! You Absolute Legends - I both Love and Adore Ye!! The two people who were determined that i spend the actual night of my birthday out and somewhere other than the bleak reality of the town we actually live in!! Not our soberest of nights, thats for sure!! 
To my darling friend Emma who essentially planned my entire Kilkenny birthday adventure! There are not enough words to thank you! It was an incredible night filled with incredible experiences...and Lewis dressed like a zombie - Halloween Weekend dontcha know!! To Aisling who came all the way from Dublin with Lewis - Literally Putting her life in his hands haha...and to Emma for putting her life in the hands of the public transport system #trainbaby!! Another huge mess of a night where we had dinner, drinks and most importantly hilarious experiences that i wont forget anytime soon! To three people who had a major impact on my birthday - a day filled with hairbands, vodka, an elmo onsie and a birthday card written in cold coffee.....don't even ask!! All in all a major success story I would say!!
I think overall i'm extremely lucky to have such amazing friends in my life, people who will travel the country to make me happy and give me a memorable experience. Of course there are people who I haven't mentioned, people who were extremely generous to me on my birthday also...family and other close friends. And I realise that's what birthdays and celebrations are all about, spending time with friends and family and making memories!! Roll on 26 i guess!!
Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on........(Its a Father Ted Reference)
I can honestly say I've learned something major about myself in the past few weeks! I've learned that every experience should be embraced and truly appreciated because we just never know when it's going to be taken away from us and we definitely never know whats going on in someones mind! I realise this is an immensely deep start to a recap of a trip to the Cliffs of Moher but i feel like it should be addressed regardless. I went to the Cliffs as part of my 100 things to do in a year challenge and because I wanted to see the real Ireland which not many Irish people actually do, and of course I loved the scenery and the absolute beauty of the place (even the newlyweds having the wedding photos taken there) but one thing constantly stood out for me. Aside from the free WiFi offered at the Cliffs is the constant signage for the Samaritans. It is deeply saddening to think that people come here and see no out or not other options in their life but to commit suicide, and it was unfortunately not something i had previously considered. I was talking to my friend Gill who has recently returned from the Grand Canyon and was commenting that there was signage everywhere warning people to not feed the squirrels which is something i could not comprehend in comparison to the signage greeting me in Clare. While I do sincerely hope that this signage does work and does deter people from making such a drastic decision I also question what we as a society are doing for people who are struggling with their mental health. I truly hope we are doing more than putting up signs and hoping for the best! On the other hand these signs did make me stop and think about both myself and others who have been to the cliffs and what may have come of them and it only seemed fitting to stop and look straight up into the sunshine and just feel grateful for my life and everything i have been given and every friend I have and every future experience i should be presented with.
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| Yes i know....it was suuuper windy!! |
I was very lucky to be able to spend the night in Clare in the beautiful cliffs of Moher Hoteland as a result had the opportunity to experience some other amazing things! I did of course go to visit the Birds of Prey Show and The Ailwee Caves (duh cas I love owls) and even ventured out to visit Father Teds house. I can honestly say this trip did lift my spirits and also change my perspective about things in my own life also. I do think its important to appreciate every day and to live each day to its fullest. I've never hidden the fact that I'm a deep thinker and natural born worrier but I genuinely think that for the first time in a long time I'm beginning to see things clearly! You cannot please all of the people all of the time and lets face it you shouldn't have to! I'm finally beginning to see that I have to live my life for myself and do what makes me happy as an individual and although it has taken me almost 25 years to learn this lesson I think perhaps in the long run it may have been worth the wait!!!
The upside to all this is of course being the sense of relief I feel knowing that realistically once I'm happy the people who love me will be happy for me too! I realise this blog entry was a bit deep and meaningful and in fact more so than intended but it felt necessary to say!
Peace Out
xxxxx
Cheers to the freaking weekend....i drank to that...or not!
No 99. Give up alcohol for a month!
First things first, I'm Irish, and its no secret that we as a nation are fond of partaking in an alcoholic beverage or two to celebrate momentous occasions such as birthdays, weddings, wednesdays, the usual. However what will come as a shock is my decision to consciously remain sober for an entire month! Pretty selfless if i do say so myself. Think of all the apples and grapes and various other fruits that wont have to be murdered for my benefit.
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| Tequila Sunrise...Amsterdam Style |
Ok, Ok, so technically i didn't choose this month to go sober, it more happened upon me through the grace of God and also post-op recovery, but nonetheless it has infact been exactly a month since i last consumed an alcoholic beverage. I'm not denying that i could murder a tequila sunrise right about now, i'm merely saying that through will power and the fact that im not 100% upwardly mobile, that I, as an Irish citizen have gone a whole month without consuming alcohol. (Time to pop the Champagne?)
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| Bols Cocktail Museum Amsterdam |
The downside to this amazing feat however is the realisation that apart from heading out and downing shots, there really isnt a whole lot to do in the vicinity, and lets all face it theres only so many nights you can watch re-runs on tv, Cue; nobody puts baby in the corner....Dude we get it, you love her no go on stage and dance so i can belt my little heart out with the closing song....NOW I'VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIIIIFFFEEEEE....
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| Michael Buble Concert Dublin |
Ahem....anyway! The point i'm making is not that drinking rules of you have to drink to have fun because i genuinely don't believe that to be true, the point im making is when recovering from an operation make sure you convince all your friends not to drink too, or at least get them to hide their drinking from you! Dear Lord there is nothing worse than waking up fresh as a daisy on a sunday morning to snapchats of the night before where your best friend rand butt naked down a one way street and met the man of her dreams! (Totes not based on actual events)
Peace Out
No.73 : Change My Hair Colour.
Blondes have more fun right? Us brunettes are just all business and super serious! Men don't find us attractive and we don't turn heads in a crowd? Well lets find out! As previously mentioned I recently chopped the majority of my hair off and went for a pixie cut and it was of course my natural brownish/reddish hair colour that I was then left with after all the black dye had been removed. So now all that remains is to go blonde! Its obviously the next progression! I should at this point in time mention that I am not now nor have i ever been trained in how to do hair, lucky for me my friend (Who i'll refer to as Z) is a trainee hairdresser and always looking to practice/experiment! And thus the blonde ambition began!! (I have made a YouTube video to accompany this blog and to provide a visual of the whole fiasco)
Firstly we decided to go blonde without using bleach and applied an all over light blonde on my brown hair, which turned my hair a light brown with streaks of dark blonde, but it looked overall very natural. After this i was determined to be BLONDE though and through Google and YouTube I felt that not only was this easy to accomplish but I could get Blonde hair in one easy step! BLEACH!! (The one thing we had been avoiding) So after persuading Z that bleach was the way forward we began our bleaching process.
Sooo that brings us to bleach no.1 - Z applied all the bleach to the ends of the hair to let that process first before doing the roots. Z used a bleach powder and a 30 volume developer. After the bleach was washed out the ends of my hair were a nice pale blonde (as can be seen in the video) but unfortunately the roots of my hair were a vivid orange colour which was not exactly desirable. The advice we received after this was to apply an all over blonde and use a purple/blue shampoo. *purple is opposite yellow on the colour wheel while blue is opposite orange* However when I went to my local Salon Services Store (aka Sallys) the lady working there had never heard of a blue shampoo. This was a bit disheartening because I was of course looking for a quick fix but I am now aware there is no quick fix! She did however advise me to buy Silky Colour Ultra Lift 901 which is a light ash blonde and said to put it in as an all over colour, she did then disclose that she was infact a trained beautician rather than a hairdresser and so I contacted a relative of mine who is a qualified hairdresser (and was less than impressed that I had bleached my hair at home) who advised me to either dye my hair back brown, which i didn't want to do, or bleach the roots and other ginger parts and hope they match up. Thankfully I was able to do that as I had used 2 deep conditioners on my hair following the first bleaching attempt;
- Osmo Deep intensive moisturizing conditioner. €6.99
- Schwartzkopf fibreforce intensive mask. €11.99
I did not attempt bleach number 2 until 48 hours after the first bleach as i wanted to give my hair a break and let the oil build back up on my scalp and hair before bleaching again, which brings us to today. Again Z used bleach powder and 30 volume developer and applied it to only the orange/ginger parts. We had been advised to leave it on for 10 minutes and to judge it by eye which is what we did. Unfortunately we were now a bit wary about how long to leave the bleach on and as a result did not leave the bleach on long enough to completely get rid of the orange which then left me facing having to bleach the hair a third time!! (I can literally hear my hair crying out for me to just leave it alone)
So after another 2 day break my cousin decided to fix it herself, shes a qualified hairdresser, because looking at the orange was killing her inner perfectionist! So for the third and final bleaching session, bleach and 40vol peroxide were used only on the roots, this was left on for about half an hour and then washed out, following this a toner was applied which we had not previously done, and all the damaged ends were cut off which wasn't really too devastating because my hair is short now anyway. Overall my hair is still in really good condition thankfully and it doesn't appear to be damaged but just a bit dry today because it was bleached literally yesterday! So i'm going to continue on my deep conditioning treatments and try using the olive oil as i have been advised and hopefully that will restore my hair and i can find out once and for all if blondes really do have more fun!
Peace out
xxxx
So after another 2 day break my cousin decided to fix it herself, shes a qualified hairdresser, because looking at the orange was killing her inner perfectionist! So for the third and final bleaching session, bleach and 40vol peroxide were used only on the roots, this was left on for about half an hour and then washed out, following this a toner was applied which we had not previously done, and all the damaged ends were cut off which wasn't really too devastating because my hair is short now anyway. Overall my hair is still in really good condition thankfully and it doesn't appear to be damaged but just a bit dry today because it was bleached literally yesterday! So i'm going to continue on my deep conditioning treatments and try using the olive oil as i have been advised and hopefully that will restore my hair and i can find out once and for all if blondes really do have more fun!
Peace out
xxxx
Life is a roller-coaster....just gotta ride it!!
No.24 - Ride A Rollercoaster
I don't know if people realise exactly how little there is to do in Ireland! Hence why I made the list! I also don't think people realise how hard it is to find a rollercoaster in Ireland! Like really i overestimated Ireland!! Now i know people are thinking "Stop being so deamatic, theres plenty of rollercoasters in Ireland", well newsflash there is not!! However the majority, actually all, of the credit for this one goes to the one and only Charles! The boy who found me a rollercoaster!! Albeit an oddly terrifying one in a park where only last week a ride broke down leaving 6 people stranded in the air, but we overlooked that fact in favour of the rollercoaster completion factor!! I should at this stage point out that this is not in any way like a rollercoaster you see in a theme park or on tv....but the fear on Charles face is real!! VERY REAL!
Needless to say we were unprepared for the camera!! Well some more than others haha! And if this photo wasnt proof enough that Charles and Fairground rides do not go hand in hand then surely this video will be!!
I cannot even put into words how much this video makes me laugh! i had a truly amazing day...despite the strawberry syrup incident! Those little buggars are gonna be the death of me (Literally), so rollercaoster, waltzers and ice cream, what more could a girl ask for!!
Needless to say I am extremely grateful to Charles for this day and the laughs we had! People forget how important things like that can be, and that every smile makes a person feel better!!
Peace Out
xxxx
Feeling a little bit Cinderella!!
Soooo needless to say the list is slowly but surely getting accomplished!! I did in fact buy a ballgown, (Actually i bought 2, a girl has to be prepared), and go to a ball!! Future lesson for all ladies buying dresses off e-bay!! Dear Lord give yourselves enough time! Not only did i only give myself 3 weeks to receive a dress from Shanghai But i also knew that i would have to get it altered on arrival.... (unfortunately these hips do not lie) which meant that on the day before the actual ball i was in a dressing room half naked being poked and prodded with pins and needles but the most accommodating dressmaker i have ever met! Nothing creates a bond like standing in your underwear in close confinement with a stranger! The ball was a major success and I was so proud of all my friends for completing their last ever year of College, even though im gonna miss them more than i can put into words but im so excited for them to begin their next chapter in life!! And to this amazing lady who has shaped my life in more ways than she can ever know, I wish you all the best in life Laura! You are amazing and one of my best friends, I cant wait for you to achieve your dreams! I LOVE YOU! XXX
I should also take this time to write about the other amazing achievement of mine! I don't know if anyone has ever considered completing a 5k race/obstacle course but i highly recommend it!! It was without a doubt the best hour of my life...even though im a complete girly girl, and broke a nail like 2 minutes into the race Im so completely impressed with myself for completing something that i would never in a million years have thought i would do! Cheers to my Mam for the pictures...as with the one above....unfortunately she was not blessed with the best photography skills, but she tries!! The best part about the race was that all the money went to Crumlin childrens hospital and that is an incredible place and i cant even begin to praise the work they do there!! First Class!!
Aside from these amazing feats i did also manage to send my message in a bottle, which is now the reason im battling a head cold! Never walk knee deep into the sea at midnight in May, especially in Ireland!! unfortunately i do not have a picture of this as i was using my phone as a flashlight to walk in the water, but i guarantee that it has been done! And if anyone ever finds it I would LOVE to hear from you!! I have also ventured to the Giants Causeway and had an amazing time at the titanic Museum, So incredible to see something so amazing in our own country! And i had a great weekend and made some amazing memories!
Unfortunately Exams took over for a few weeks and i was unable to get a whole lot done but im deffo back on track for the summer thank god! Looking forward to being able to post more frequently!!
Peace Out!
xxxxx
The Rubix Cube Conundrum!!
I doubt i'm the only person who has experienced the immense rage build up inside them when trying to solve a rubix cube!! But just in case you havent let me set the scene!! Almost a year ago my younger brother, the amazing human being that he is, presented me with a rubix cube as a gift. And i had the usual response "OMG thanks, i'm deffo gonna be able to solve this"....these are the ramblings of a deluded Irish Lady!! Not only did i not solve the rubix cube within 2 minutes as i had thought...this thing followed me everywhere! It haunted me!!!! I must say I'm one of those people that prides themselves on always achieving what i set out to do...however not so much the case! Once my brother jumbled up that bad boy and handed it to me, I waved goodbye to every morsel of free time and rational thinking that I had every previously known. Now to his credit he did provide me with an instructional video....
Helpful right?? Am how about no! Now not only do i have an unsolved rubix cube but i cant stop rapping about how to solve one!! Cue sleepless nights and countless wasted lunches followed by an actual dream where i solved the rubix cube!! which i must say is worse than dreaming its Christmas, You can imagine my dismay to wake up and see the unsolved cube staring me in the face!! Now fast forward to last week....while procrastinating and doing anything possible to avoid college work i once again turned to my rubix cube, Like a good boyfriend always at my side in times of need, and began my rubox cube mantra.
"I swear to God, If you dont get your act together me and you are over!! I know ive said it before but this time i mean it. Ive wasted too much if my time and energy on you and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. YOU'RE MAKING ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL IN FRONT OF ALL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!"*
*Deep Breaths Caroline....Deep Breaths!!
But it seems that my procrastination was not in vain, on this blessed day the stars aligned and the Gods graced me with their patience and strength and low and behold....I SOLVED THE CUBE!! This was of course followed by sheer astonishment on my part, then of course a victory lap of the house proclaiming that I had infact achieved the unachievable, "Maybe I should be president"....no, no time for that now! I have to focus on my rubix cube solving career!
What I was not prepared for however was the cloud of doubt that surrounded my family when they heard of my achievement! Haters gonna hate, but this was a whole other level! Only in Ireland can an achievement as significant as this be quickly belittled by your family, who don't even stop what they're doing, in the space of 3 minutes!! So to sum up;
- NO, I didn't take the cube apart and put it back together (because the cube didn't have this option...cheap ass version)
- NO, I didn't peel off all the colour stickers and stick them back on again.
- NO, I didn't buy a new cube! If you've read my blog or know me at all, I'm far too poor for that!
- NO, i didn't enter the cube into an online cube solver. I didn't even know such a thing existed until after the event.
- Finally, NO, I did not realise that i couldn't put this accomplishment on my C.V.
So here I am now, 24 years old, and elated! There is no moment in life that will ever best this moment for me! Not marriage, not graduating, nothing! My purpose in life has been fulfilled!....or so I would have thought....
Here's what they don't tell you!!
Dear Rubix Cuble Solvers,NOBODY CARES!
- Your mother doesn't care, she just wishes you'd put that much time and effort into cleaning your room or studying!
- your friends don't care...dude you disappeared for a year to hang out with a cube!
- Your boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't care, well cas duh you don't have one! See the last point!!
- you now have a gaping hole in your life that your rubix cube used to fill. So, what now?
Now my friends, time for me to spit some truths!! Your life as you knew it is over! There's no more alone time, no more waking up in the middle of the night because you cant sleep from thinking about it! no more lunch time rendezvous, no more anything.IT'S OVER! And just like that its fades into memory...maybe now you'll use it as a paperweight, or a novelty decoration in your home, maybe you'll put it in a box and uncover it in years to come, but the fact of the matter is this, you stuck with it kiddo and that's what matters! They dont teach that kind of dedication in school, you cant buy that kind of dedication in any store! It was within you, just waiting for the tiny cube to draw it out and look at me now, Ms Bigshot!! Rubix Cube Solver 2014 Bitches!! And I knwo what some of you are thinking, Why not jumble it up and start again?, Well to those people i say!
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There's no point in being a damn fool about it."
Peace Out!
xxxxx
London Baby!!
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| Me catching the Hogwarts express!! |
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| My amazing Mother and I at Les Mis |
Following which (a week later really) i did also get to see a comedian which was also on my list!! Really knocking em out of the park here! I got to see the incredibly talented Sarah Millican perform in the Olympia in Dublin. Such a hilarious person i laughed the whole way through and i couldn't have picked a better comedian to help me complete part of my list!
It truly has been an amazing month!!
Peace out xxx
Drink free month......not so much!!
It's safe to say I have tried and failed!! Holy moly alcohol is too tempting!! Damn the social pressure!! I lasted 17 days!! ONLY 17 DAYS!!! What the hell!! Thank god there's 11 more months!! I'm completely living up to my Irish stereotype!! (I'm on the right)
But here we go again! I'm putting off my drink free month until February and moving an item up the agenda!! Dinner with friends is gonna happen next week instead!! Nothing like a nice dinner and glass of vino!!
As an update I have booked a weekend in London!! Which should hopefully allow me to get some of my list accomplished!! LONDON BABY!!!
Peace out xx
Follow me on twitter!! @Carolinesheeha1
Only the second day of the year and already it seems that i'm getting things accomplished!! I've booked flights to London with my Mam (She's super excited) and I have emptied all my New Years Eve pocket change into my piggy-bank! I have somewhat cleaned the clutter - to an extreme extent that even my actual physical wardrobes left the building - it was a necessary move! Only to be replaced with what i can only describe as uber chic 25 year old wardrobes and the necessary quote from my mother.. "they don't make them like they used to ya know"...ugh I know I know.....
I am proud with what I seem to have so far achieved...I did also donate clothes to my local clothes bank however I did since find out that unfortunately the charity that is being advertised on the clothes bank receive no profit from the donations that are received so I'm not going to count that as donating to charity. (It didn't seem right)
Also...day 2 without alcohol and feeling good! Its a nice feeling being able to plan your upcoming weekends around events that don't involve getting drunk so needless to say I'm feeling optimistic and excited for all upcoming plans :) This hasn't been the most exciting of posts but i promised to update as much as possible and that's what I fully intend to do! :)
Peace out xxx
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