The College Comeback - Doing It Maturely

Going back to college as a mature student, well, that's a different story to the usual college experience. When you're 18 and wildly into partying, there's a different culture to being 25 and chasing a dream career. Chances are, you've been out of the education system a little while, maybe you didn't have such a good time in college first time around.

Image: Google

In order to succeed at anything, preparation is key. Prepare yourself for the course ahead. Know what you're getting into. For me, I'm taking on a special purpose award level 7 from Dublin Business School in Digital Marketing. I have been through the module headings, spoken to the lecturers, emailed and called the college with questions, and I've taken online courses that give me a stronger grounding in the concepts I'll come up against in lectures.

Don't get too overwhelmed. Keep lists and plans. Invest in a FiloFax or a diary of some kind. Write down your deadlines, make notes of meetings you need to attend. Spend time in the library. Read on the bus or the train. If you know the things you need to do, you can tackle them more easily and the act of checking things off a list will motivate you to keep going.

Image: hercampus.ie

Having an end goal is great, but short term goals are key to maintaining momentum. You see it all the time, people who go into something feet first and end up drowning in work, with no real focus or drive or direction. Knowing what you want at the end of the course is of course a huge driver, but do you know what you need to do at the end of every month to keep you moving towards that end goal? Short term goals will keep your wheels in motion, and every one you meet is one step closer to the dream.

Plan for after the course. Apply for jobs or internships. Know what you're going to be doing when the course finishes up and you graduate. Have a plan stepped out so you're not going to flounder when you finally have your qualification.

Image: quotesberry.com

Take breaks, though. Remember to look after yourself. I've been talking to friends about my impending studies, and one thing I've noticed myself saying if that I'll be "climbing the walls". Probably not a good thing, girl! So I'm going to make plans for one or two weekend breaks, archery, and friends. Keeping the balance in life means you can maintain some sanity in the midst of all the academia. Go for cocktails once in a while, eat dinner with your other half, watch B-movies with your friends. If you plan and prepare well, you won't have to worry about taking weekends off!

Enjoy your college experience, dear reader, and take from it everything you can possibly get! 

I wish you the best of luck, 

Amy,

xo

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Things They Dont Tell You About... Dieting

Dieting. Probably the number one topic on all our minds in the new year is losing that Christmas weight. Now, dieting is all very well and good, but there are plenty of things you haven't been told about the process...

Image: Google Images

If it really worked, you'd only have to diet once. 

Dieting is a great thing. Go on a healthy eating kick, lose the sugary crap and eradicate the fizzies, hurrah for you and your newly build temple to good health. However, if it really worked like we all think its supposed to, why do we spend so much of our lives trying to shift that last five pounds, when when we've it shifted, going back to our old ways. Diets may work, but they don't work like you think they do, and they certainly don't work for a long period of time.

Dieting might be a great theory, but the practice will suck. 

Sorry to be a Moaning Myrtle here everybody, but diets are only good on paper. I have read up on countless diets over the years, trying to lose my belly fat, and what looks great on paper winds up in an Eddie Rockets binge three weeks in. Find the balance that works for you, stick to that and don't bother with the Atkins or the GI. You'll hate every second of deprivation, so don't even try it. Cutting out something entirely is a recipe for disaster... if you want to get rid of something, wean yourself off it.

Sensible choices win out every time. 

I'd love to have a lean, amazing body like all the Hollywood A-List celebrities do, but do you know how hard they work on their diets? Some of these people don't even do it themselves, they have people to cook for them, to keep them on their diet plans!! How are you meant to measure up to that?? You're not. Make smart choices, instead. For me, that's no added sugar, no added salt, very little bread, brown alternatives where I can for rice and pasta, padding out meals with vegetables, and keeping my fitness up. For you, that might be as little as ten squats in the morning while the kettle boils, green tea and lemon instead of Lyons on weekdays, and a Caesar Salad instead of a panini at lunch. Little, buildable choices make for a much more sustainable lifestyle.

You are allowed to slip. 

Did you know you're allowed to fall off the wagon?? Even as I type this I've fallen off the wagon but every day is a new chance so make it count. Every morning I used to have the strongest, sweetest cup of Lyons gold blend you can imagine, with milk in it. Now I have herbal tea, no milk, no sugar, and that in itself has made me feel so much better. But I do enjoy Mint Crisp Dairy Milk. I love Manhattan Popcorn, and I won't ever turn down Club Orange. Slipping is proof you are human, and its okay. If you eat clean 3 meals and 3 snacks per day, 7 days a week and one day you just crave a Turkish Delight? Have the Turkish and enjoy it, because guess what? It's okay!!!

If you have any suggestions for a TTDTYA post, please leave me a comment!! 

Amy

xo

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Things They Don't Tell You About... In Laws

In Laws... I know you shuddered reading those two tiny words, you can admit it to me, because I do to. Anyone in a longterm relationship can understand; The In-Laws are an ever present fixture in your life, whether you know it or not. 

Image: Valley Girl Gone Country 

Before I go into this I must preface this with a disclaimer. I'm in a relationship for almost four years now, and I refer to his Mam as the MIL. That's just handier for me than anything else. And since this relationship is a stable, loving and has been very much maintained over the last four years, I can confidently make the assumption that it's not going anywhere any time soon. So with that said, I'm going to get into it. Lord, here we go!! 

You wont ever be good enough...

You may have been working under the guise that his or her mother and/or father loves you. You're a shining beacon of love and stability for their child, after all. But they don't. Yes they may be extremely fond of you, think you're amazing as a human, but most of the time parents are never happy with their son or daughters partner. If you're going out with the oldest or god forbid an only child, you're up shit creek. Sorry, but there it is. You could be married for 10 years, have 3 kids and be as in love as when you were starting out, and you wont ever be good enough for their firstborn. You might as well accept it now. Unless you take a bullet for them, you're always going to be "upgradable" in the eyes of the In-Laws. 

You are allowed to hate them...

Personally, I've nothing but great time for C's family, but there are those of you out there not so enamoured by your OH's folks. I promise you, that is 100% okay. You are allowed to not like them, you're allowed to hate them. What you're not allowed to do is to bitch about them to your OH. They wont thank you for that insight. Yes the MIL might rearrange your kitchen cupboards or comment that the newly polished mantel is dusty, but you just need to find a neutral source to rant and rave to. If I have to rant, I'll always pick someone who doesn't know the parent I'm ranting about, and go at it like a woman possessed. Hating them is absolutely okay, but you have to let it out to someone who your effing and blinding wont hurt. 

In Laws have in laws... 

It seems like the world is adept at forgetting that to be an In-Law, you will probably have had to have an In-Law experience yourself. You could learn a thing or two from yours. If they're awful, just plain mean and you despise them, do everything in your power to remember how they made you feel, and then use that to be the best In Law you can possibly be when the time comes! If you're having a great time with yours, then aspire to be like them in the future. The cycle doesn't have to remain the same. If you hate them, cling to this and remind yourself that you hated the whole debacle, so your kids wont have to worry about you being an arsehole to their spouses. 

There you have it, 3 things that don't crop up as common knowledge about your Mother and Father in Law. 

I hope this helped, or at least was mildly enjoyable to read! 

If you have any other topics you want me to cover, just name it below! 

Amy

xx

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Conch Healing Update - 1 Month

It has now been one month since I had my conch piercing done. I have been monitoring my healing closely in order to give you a full debriefing, in case you are thinking about getting one yourself!

Please Remember: I am by no means an expert on any kind of body modification or adornments. I am merely sharing my experience with you. As such, I take no responsibility for your piercings or their healing times. You should, at all times consult a professional for 100% water-tight advice. 






Piercing: Inner Conch (left ear)
Gague: 1.6mm
Material: Surgical Grade Steel bar, one Surgical steel ball, one hardened plastic ball. 

As you know, after I had my piercing done initially, it was beyond sore. I couldn't even wiggle my ear without wincing, but that initial pain only lasted about 3-5 days. It was red and angry for those few days but when your after having a relatively thick metal bar shoved through your ear, it's bound to be pissed off. 

I couldn't sleep on it for 3 weeks after the initial tenderness passed, even though I was taking Arnica to bring down the swelling and bruising, as recommended by Wildcat. I also took a short course of zinc to aid my immune system in the first stage of healing. 

Now, for the big stuff. 

I think it may have become very mildly infected after about 10 days (It was over Christmas so I couldn't get to Wildcat to ask), but I used Easy Piercing soap, saline and antibacterial spray to clean my ear 2/3 times a day and keep the seeping at bay. This meant that the possibility of a crust forming on the jewelry was minimized. I also used Tea Tree Oil (which is a natural antiseptic) on a cotton bud around the barbell and surface of the ear, and then pushed the barbell back and forth gently to allow the oil to penetrate the piercing and ensure the barbell was left sanitary. This isn't actually recommended and I cant guarantee it will work for you, but it did for me. I used 100% pure Austrailian Tea Tree Oil that I got in my local chemist.

Tea Tree is not usually recommended but Betadine (which is a medical antiseptic ointment) cannot be gotten in any chemist anymore. I used this to make sure that whatever was festering in my ear would not get a chance to spread. Tea Tree is usually only warranted in the event of a hypertrophic scar forming. It dries out your skin like crazy so its really only useful to use it once in every 3 days. I did use it twice a day for 5 days to a week to eliminate any infection that may have been lingering but once it was back to normal I stopped using it.  

I have been cleaning it every day but sometimes leaving it for a day so as to allow the tissue to heal without my interfering with it. I have also been into Wildcat to get a different ball on the top of the post (the ball really has no bearing on the healing according to the girl who put it on for me) and since I got the new larger ball, I have been able to sleep on it because it doesn't move as much. 

The piercing itself did not weep or pus after the 3 week mark which allowed me to stop worrying about it. The barbell has been kept clean and dried after every cleaning. I haven't used the tea tree on it since the infection cleared up, though I intend to pop a bit on once a week from now til the the initial healing time is finished to eliminate the chance of any keloid or hypertophic scarring occurring. 

NOTE: When I had the ball changed after 3ish weeks, I asked the piercer was there any signs of infection or scarring and she said no. She said that the dried skin can be a combination of initial sea salt soaks and tea tree but it was nothing to worry about and the skin has gone back to normal now. I did also get one or two serious bangs in the ear that made me cry like a baby from the pain, but they haven't affected my ear in any way, just hurt like a bitch!

All in all, my conch is healing very well and I am thinking about getting my right ear done to match. 

My Acrylic ball on the stainless steel healing bar

If you are thinking about getting this piercing done: Please remember that it is a very thick piece of cartilage and it will hurt like hell while its healing, to the point where I swore I would never cheat on tattoos again. Getting the piercing was by far the easiest part of the whole operation, the aftercare is the part you need to be aware of. I have also had to go to my optician and have them re-shape the left arm of my frames to avoid bumping on the bar but that was a small job and they actually commented on how unique the piercing was while they did it.


I hope this was of some use to you and if you are thinking of getting your conch pierced, go for it, it's a beautiful piercing.

Amy
xx