Meeting at College on Tuesday

First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has supported me throughout the past week or so and even longer than that for that matter! I have been going through a lot lately and dealing with a lot of stress and your support has meant the world to me so thank you all for always being there for me - it means a lot and I just hope I can repay you all back in some way!!

I had a meeting on Tuesday with the College near where we live. As some of you may already know if you have been reading my Blog, I am currently taking my Year 9 Options which is where you basically choose which subjects you want to do in the last 2 years of School. You have to take Math, English and Science and then you can pick any other subjects you would like to do.

The meeting on Tuesday at College was about a course that I am hoping to do. The Course is based on Health and Social Studies and lasts for 2 years. During that time, you learn a lot about health, first aid, how to look after small children etc.

The teachers at the meeting were really friendly and they gave me and my mum lots of really useful information. Because I have been off school for so long due to my RSD and other health issues, we have to get my Pain Management Doctor to write the teachers a note telling them about my RSD, how it affects me etc.

I have to go for an interview on the 22nd and 23rd April and I should find out a few weeks after than if I am going to be accepted or not!! I really hope that I will as I think it will be really useful for me seeing as I want to be either a Psychologist or Physiotherapist.

Will the Course be a lot of hard work? Yes, there is no doubt about it and I have been told that already by all of the teachers. Am I prepared for it though? I think I am yes! I know it will be a lot of hard work but I think it will all be worthwhile as long as I can cope with it and I remember to pace myself! The teachers on the Course already know about my RSD and said that if I get onto the course and need time off, that is fine as long as I catch up in my own time! I was SO shocked on Tuesday as one of the teachers was a nurse and she actually knew what RSD was ... not many people have heard about RSD so that was a huge surprise!!!

I will keep you all updated and let you know when I hear anything else - please keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Makeover Day!

For my Birthday, I got a great present from my mum and dad and got to go for a makeover day!!

I had the Makeover done just over 2 weeks ago now and I had such a great time and it was so nice to get pampered as I am pretty girly and it is something that I haven't been able to do a lot of since I have had RSD as I just haven't felt up to it really!!

Me and my mum went to Manchester, UK, which is about an hour and a half away from where we live and we both had a lovely, girly day!!

I got to have my hair done and the hairdresser was really nice and wasn't pushy and actually asked me how I felt and whether I wanted anything changing once he had finished etc! The hairdresser put lots of short layers into my hair and I love them - beforehand, my hair was always VERY curly and used to stick out a lot but since I have had it cut, it has stayed straight throughout the day after I have straightened it and it is very easy to manage!!

After I had my hair done, I got to go and have my nails and make-up done! That was lovely and the nail beautician gave me a lovely massage but didn't press down too hard on my RSD arm which was very good as it is still pretty sensitive!! I decided to have my nails painted red and picked out a lovely colour ... there was that many to choose from which made it extremely difficult!!

After my nails were finished, I got to go and have my make-up done and I really enjoyed that - it was so nice to get pampered!! The beautician went for a "smokey eyed" look but didn't put too much make-up on because of my age ... I liked it a lot though and think it really suited me!! She also gave me lots of hints and tips on how to hide any imperfections, spots etc etc!!

When my make-up was completed, me and my mum went and sat down whilst we waited for the photographer to come and take my pictures!! The photo-shoot was so much fun, and the photographer was very understanding about my RSD leg as I told him I only really wanted "head, shoulder and waist" shots as I was still very self-conscious about my leg!!

It was amazing what props they had to take the pictures and how they got me stoood in different pictures etc ... the Photographer could literally just put a pink piece of paper over the lens on the camera and it would make the background pink but not me - sooo cool!!

I took 3 outfit changes so that I could have a casual look and 2 dressier and party looks! The Photographer came up with lots of great ideas on how to get me stood so that they could achieve the best pictures etc!!!

Once the pictures were finished, we were told to go and have a drink as it was an hour wait to go through all of the pictures! Me and my mum went and had a coffee and a bit of something to eat in Starbucks and when we returned, the Photographer said that he wanted me to do some more pictures as they had a problem with the lens and some of the photos had disappeared!!

By that time, I was getting pretty tired and my leg was hurting a lot but we managed to get some lovely, casual pictures!!!!

After the second photoshoot was finished, me and my mum got to go through all of the pictures! They took about 40 pictures and it was extremely difficult trying to choose what pictures we liked and which we didn't!! I think we would have kept them all but it would have cost a LOT of money that we just couldn't afford!!

Eventually, we came up with 13 pictures that we thought were the best and the Photographer gave us a good deal on them ... they were still pretty expensive but my mum said it was well worth it so she didn't mind too much!! We haven't got any pictures of me recently because of my RSD so it is nice to have some good pictures that we can put in the house!!

Here are some of the pictures below ... i'm sorry for only just putting them on but I have only just found out how to resize them onto my blog lol! I hope you all like them!!



I like the above image as I think it looks very casual and I don't look too old in it!



I love this image as I think it is very bright and pretty unusual - when I had the makeover, the Photographer told us to go for a black background instead of the yellow but it just didn't look right!



I like the "close-up" look on the image above!



I absolutely loved the chair that I was on for this picture shoot - it was a shoe and I really wanted to take it home as it was so young and funky lol!



I like how I am sat on the steps on this picture and even though you can tell that my leg is rotated out to the side, I don't think it is too obvious and think anyone that doesn't know I have RSD would just think I had it like that for the photo to be taken!!



I love the pink background on this image as it is just like me ... really girly!!



A lot of my friends and teachers say that they like this picture the best as I have a lot of attitude in it and that was the look the the Photographer and I was going for!



I like the close up look on the above picture also as I think it is really different and you don't see pictures like that too often!!



I like how I have my arms on my chin on this picture and think the pose is really good!



This image is probably my favourite but I really do like them all!

I was in a LOT of pain when these images were taken but who would have known it?! It just goes to show that even though you have RSD, you don't have to put your life on hold and that a bit of pampering can make a BIG difference!!!

I Have Seriously Had Enough Snow Now!!

I have seriously had enough snow now!!!!! The UK is currently having the worst snow storms in over 18 years and it is horrible; all of the roads are blocked, cars are going skidding everywhere, schools are closed and my mum has had to have time off work for 2 days now!! I was supposed to have had a Physiotherapy appointment today but had to cancel it as it is horrible near where we live and around the hospital grounds!!

It was my Birthday yesterday - I have just turned 14 and I can't believe it ... it only seems like 2 minutes ago that I was 10!! We were going to go out with my family for a Birthday meal but couldn't get because of all of the snow and black ice that is on the roads!! They have been and supposidly "gritted" the roads but it certainly doesn't look like they have done a good job!!

I did have a nice Birthday all in all though, I got to spend lots of quality time with my mum and got lots of lovely presents and money! A very big thank you to Felicia for sending me a present ... you really shouldn't have Felicia!

Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow so that we are able to go for my meal - the weather has really affected my leg!! Me and my mum are going to see the Pussy Cat Dolls on Thursday for a late Birthday treat so that should be fun if we are able to go ... I have seen them live before and they were excellent!!!!

I hope you're all doing OK and thanks for reading my rant!