My Trip To The Rio 2016 Olympic Games

So as some of you may be aware of (or maybe not..), I recently jetted off to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the 2016 Olympic Games and OH MY GOD, what an incredible 16 days I had. While compiling this blog, I looked back at some of my pictures and videos and to be honest, I am in disbelief I actually done and seen what I have. Since a young age, I have always dreamt of going to see the Olympic Games. I don’t know what it is about it but I am in awe of these athletes and the whole Olympic Games World. More ambitious than ever after London 2012 (I couldn’t attend those games even though they were possibly the easiest Games to get to for me!), I began saving every penny (cent if you are going to be particular!!) I had into the RIO fund and soon, this dream was becoming somewhat of a reality. Next thing I know, it’s August 5th and I’m heading to Dublin Airport to fly to London and then Rio. This was happening. No matter what. I had a little set back 2 weeks before hand but I was not letting that get in the way. I was making a dream a reality. Something a lot of people never get the chance to do. They keep their dreams just that, dreams. Not me. I make my dreams come true. No matter what I have to do. I hope I never lose that trait. I would hate to never have goals or dreams to motivate me to succeed. Anyway, off we go on this incredible trip of a lifetime.

DAY 1 – August 6th 2016

So there was no relaxing for us on day 1, we were straight into our first event and that was Artistic Gymnastics – Men’s Qualification. We were staying in Santa Teresa, which is about 40/50 minutes via taxi away from Barra da Tijuca, where Parque Olimpico is situated. We got a taxi the first day as we were unsure of the metro and public transport situation and we were tired! It was 36 degrees on this day and although there was a cool breeze at times, you felt every bit of that 36 degrees. First things first, you have to take a picture with the Olympic Rings – and we done just that! This was one of the first moments where I realised ‘Oh god I am actually here’. In Parque Olimpico, there are many stadiums, 9 in fact. The venues are:

• Carioca Arena 1
• Carioca Arena 2
• Carioca Arena 3
• Future Arena
• Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre
• Olympic Aquatics Stadium
• Olympic Tennis Centre
• Rio Olympic Arena
• Rio Olympic Velodrome

We headed to the Rio Olympic area for the Gymnastic event and wow! It was insane to see something I am so used to watching on TV in real life with my own eyes.

I got to see my favourite Male Gymnasts: Louis Smith, Nile Wilson, Max Whitlock and Kristian Thomas. Basically all of Team GB.

Image belongs to me, Sarah Jane Allen

Imagine belongs to me, Sarah Jane Allen

Image belongs to me, Sarah Jane Allen

Image belongs to me, Sarah Jane Allen

Image belongs to me, Sarah Jane Allen

Image belongs to me, Sarah Jane Allen

Unfortunately, we did witness that horrible injury to French gymnast Samir Ait Said, when he ended his vault dismount wrong. Let’s just say it wasn’t a pretty sight and the whole arena was silent. But Team GB were incredible and Nile Wilson’s High Bar (or Horizontal bar) routine was spectacular and it is no surprise he won a Bronze medal in the individual.

DAY 2 – August 7th 2016.

We got our chill day this day. We had no ticket to any games (although I would have loved to have gotten tickets to some particular events but they were ‘sold out’… Mmm I wonder!)

We went to Barra Shopping and oh my, that puts our shopping centres to shame! Over 600 shops! We wandered around and even seen a few athletes spending time with their loved ones and family. Starbucks became my local haunt as it was the only place with decent wifi and it seems the athletes felt the same as I would run into some of them there. This particular day, I saw an Australian athlete, Brock Motum and embarrassingly, I didn’t know it was him until after.
We passed a lot of beautiful local boutiques and one that caught my eye was ‘Oh, Boy!’. The reason being because of this fabulous jumpsuit they had in the window, it had me written all over it. But I sadly left it behind, as I haven’t been feeling overly body confident lately and knew it would just sit and collect dust on my never ending clothes rail at home.

 

 

DAY 3 – August 8th 2016

We went to Boulevard Olympico on this day. It is located at the docklands, has many stages, venues of some of the main sponsors of the Olympic Games, several high definition screens to watch Olympic Games and it is home to the Olympic Flame. When we went there, it also had a massive cruise ship docked and we later found out, it was where the NBA + Olympic Basketball players were staying!! There was some incredible street art along the streets as we walked down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, earlier that morning, I saw Cody Simpson tweet saying he was playing a gig somewhere in Rio that afternoon and it was free. But I had no idea of where anywhere was in Rio so I lost all hope in seeing him. Well you could’ve just imagine my excitement when we arrived at the Boulevard Olimpico to see the exact venue Cody said he was playing at on the strip. I almost, just almost, screamed.

We headed in the direction of the Coca-Cola Experience, where the gig was. I knew I was in the right area quickly when I saw a few young girls around the place. I need to learn I am soon 23 years old and my fangirl days should be over. But my little heart was so excited and I made sure I was front row!
Before I get into to gig, the Coca-Cola Experience was insane! We got free limited edition Coca-Cola (the bar man was very friendly and asked us where we were from and when we mentioned Ireland, he started singing ‘Brady is on fire..’ and was delighted to have met some Irish people!) You could get pictures with the Olympic Torch also but of course I had only time for one thing!
While waiting for Cody, we got to watch the Australia Vs Serbia Men’s Basketball match and that was probably the reason as to why Cody was late on stage! He sang about 4 songs, short but sweet.

Image belongs to me, Sarah Jane Allen

As I was at the front, I could see Ali Simpson and Jake Boys as they were sitting in front of me. I only got a picture with Ali, who is incredibly pretty and super sweet!

But wait for it, the best part was yet to come. Cody Simpson and Coca-Cola gave everyone in the front row FREE tickets to the Women’s Handball games that night. How cool is that? For the rest of my life I can say ‘Cody Simpson gave me free tickets to an Olympic event?’

The two handball games we went to were cracking games! We saw the Netherlands Vs Argentina and Angola Vs Montenegro. We also got home very late that night.  It was after 3am!

DAY 4 – August 9th 2016

We decided to go to Boulevard Olympico again as we didn’t see it all. We found the Olympic flame at last. We didn’t do much else that day as we were exhausted from the day before. We sat and had ice cream and watched the Brazil Vs Spain Men’s Basketball game.

DAY 5 – August 10th 2016

This was one of the days I had been waiting for. It was the Men’s 3M Springboard Synchro Final = Jack Laugher and Chris Mears competing. The weather turned to a typical Irish Summer’s day, non stop rain all day! Jack and Chris were in top form in their performances and were leading the whole way, but that didn’t stop us being anxious when it came to the China duo in their final dive as they were close behind the Team GB lads. I was so proud and happy when we found out they won Gold, they honestly deserved it so much. Where I was sitting was very close to the medal ceremony and I made sure I was going to be at the barrier to seem them walking out! I was surrounded by an abundance of Great Britain fans and I did not hide the fact that I was indeed Irish but a massive fan of the GB duo! I went home a very happy girl that evening!

DAY 6 – August 11th 2016

We decided to take another chill day on this day. We opted to go see the Sugar Loaf Mountain! We got the metro to Botafogo and headed to the shopping centre. In this shopping centre, you can go to the rooftop and you can get an incredible view of the Sugar Loaf. We didn’t get to go up the mountain but I don’t think Mam would of done it anyway! We spent day relaxing in the shopping centre and had one of the most incredible Pizza’s I have ever had in the food court!

DAY 7 – August 12th 2016

It was time to go to the Basketball arena on this day and I think Mam was most excited about this event. With both of us having a basketball background, we couldn’t wait for this! The teams playing were Australia Vs China, meaning I got to see my Starbucks friend Brock play (I was super excited every time he scored!)

DAY 8 – August 12th 2016

Because the weather had been a bit overcast, it meant that we had to wait until a very sunny day to see the Christ The Redeemer and this day was the perfect day. The views from the top were incredible. We spent an hour at the top just taking in the wonderful views. Once up there, you can understand why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world. On a clear day, the statue is visible from anywhere in Rio. We got a lovely taxi driver who brought us to a place near to the Christ to get another view of the Sugar Loaf and he even took the last picture for me, to have he Sugar Loaf in my hand!

DAY 9 – August 14th 2016

From a young age, I have always wanted to go and see I was on Copacabana Beach and I have done that. I did however pick a wrong day to go as it was so over packed for two reasons: It was a Sunday and Brazilian Ladies were in the Beach Volleyball final. So I saw very little beach but I was still there. I didn’t go sunbathing or swimming but Mam and I had a few drinks in one of the beach huts and also had delicious food. We also got to watch the Men’s Gymnastic Individual finals – I saw Max win his Gold on Copacabana beach, where did you see it?

DAY 10 – August 15th 2016

At last, I was going to see some of Team Ireland in action and it was off to the Boxing Arena! We went to Katie Taylor’s fight and it seemed like it was all Irish that was in there! Sadly, Katie lost but it was so cool to see her fight. After the fight, I saw Paddy Byrnes and Gary O’Donovan but I didn’t want to go over to them as I didn’t want to interrupt them.

DAY 11 – August 16th 2016

This is without a doubt my favourite day (well apart from the 5am start!). We were up early to go to the Olympic Stadium for some Athletics. We got there at 9am and at 9:30am, all the games kicked off. I always struggle to keep up with events at Athletics as there could be up to 4 sports on any one time! When I bought the tickets, I had no clue what events I would see or who I see, so I was over the moon when I found out the one and only Usain Bolt was going to be running in his semi – final heat. Seeing him run with my own eyes is something I shall never forget. The place was going insane for him. Although, my spirits were damped when Dad informed me Michael Conlon was robbed in his fight as I had planned to go see him in the next round.

After all the events were over in the Olympic Stadium, we headed back to Barra for the Men’s 3m Springboard Diving Final. As wifi is pretty hard to find in Rio and I was nowhere near a Starbucks while in transit to Barra, thankfully, my Dad informed me (once again!) that Irish Diver, Oliver Dingley had made it through the semi finals and was competing that night so I was proud as punch entering the arena with my Irish Flag! Also, Team GB favourite Jack Laugher had qualified also so it was an evening well spent.

Just before the Diving started, Oliver’s Dad popped down to say hello to us and sure we were only delighted!

Jack Laugher was unfortunate not to get a Gold again but he did get Silver, so not a bad evening of Diving for him. But the most important part of the night had to be Oliver. Oliver produced some incredible dives and resulted in him reaching a Personal Best and a spot on the World Series next year. Oh and did I mention he is 8th in the World right now? Incredible! We were chatting to his parents after the event finished and then the man of the moment popped up to see his parents and well, he was ever so lovely to have stayed to take pictures and talk to Mam and I for a while. Without a doubt, my favourite moment of the Olympics was talking to Oliver!

Before meeting Oliver, I managed to to bag myself selfies with Tom Daley and Chris Mears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAY 12 – August 17th 2016

We decided to stay closer to where we were staying as I wasn’t feeling great. As I mentioned earlier, we were staying in Santa Teresa, probably the most popular place in Rio with tourists. We went to see the famous ‘Escadaria Selarón’. This was another one of those surreal moments as I have seen pictures of these steps on Pinterest and Tumblr for years and thought I could only dream of maybe getting the chance to sit and take a picture on them.

DAY 13 – August 18 2016

It was another early start and it was back to Olympic Stadium for more Athletics as Irishman Thomas Barr was in the 400m Hurdles race. He was so close to a Bronze medal!!! He did break a National Record. There was some incredible games on also that day, including Shot Put, Relay and various other hurdle races.

DAY 14

Another chill day again and back to Barra Shopping, nothing else exciting happened!

DAY 15 – August 20th 2016

The last day of events for me. It was time for the Men’s 10m Platform Diving Final and I was so looking forward to seeing Tom Daley. He had placed first in the prelims and I was sure he’d cruise through the semi’s into the final… I only found out as I took my seat in the Aquatics arena that he failed to get to the final and I almost cried. I was offered tickets for the Semi’s but refused as I was convinced I’d see him in the final. Minus Tom, it was still an incredible final, a few shocks and it was very close. Qui Bo, who is Tom’s biggest competitor and favourite to win Gold, placed 8th!!!!! He even got 4’s on one dive and you could hear the gasps around the venue.

Before the event, I said for one last time, I would get a picture with the Olympic Rings! This was quite hilarious as Mam was not centering her shot and I was not amused but we eventually got a decent enough photo!

Before I left for Rio, I was warned by none other than Celia to mind out for the Brazilian guys as they would be mad after me with my blonde hair and pale, porcelain skin. I may have laughed at her at the time but it was very true that day! I decided to wear a bit of red lipstick and my goodness, I had a few guys telling me how beautiful I am. I was taken back by it. It made me feel good about myself again!

DAY 16 – August 21st 2016.

Flying over Rio

And that was it. My time at Rio 2016 was over and we were heading to the airport. While in duty free, a beautiful Egyptian athlete asked me if I needed help (I was waiting for Mam) and then he passed me again and said ‘You are very beautiful, may I?’ and gave me a kiss on my forehead. I was so embarrassed but he made my day! We flew with British Airways, so that meant some Team GB members were going to be on our flight but no one I knew. The main thing about my flight was someone else who was on it. Usain Bolt. USAIN BOLT WAS ON MY FLIGHT AND I DID NOT KNOW. I was talking to the pilot after the flight and he asked me did I get his joke he said on the intercom (He said we got into Heathrow 15 minutes earlier because we had some special guests and when we landed he said ‘The last 100m are always the longest..’ I knew it was an Athletics person but NEVER thought of Usain!!) and when the pilot told me Bolt was in the flight, I could have cried!! Ah well.

I will never ever forget this trip. I still can’t believe I have been there and seen everything I have. I am so blessed to have such supportive parents, they helped make it a reality.

Now, time to start saving for Tokyo 2020.. I have the Olympic bug now! It is Gold Coast 2018 first. What a way to see the world eh?

Hope you enjoyed this blog! I did also vlog the trip and those videos should be up very soon!

Thank you for reading xo

 

Update on my story with Acne!

So back in July, I posted a blog about my story with Acne and being on Roaccutane and I was and still am overwhelmed with the incredible response I received from that blog post. Honestly, I was so scared to post that blog but all the love and support I received made me so happy I did. I have found people, just like me suffering from acne, messaging me asking questions about everything from the tablet to my beauty routine. So I decided to update you all on my progress.

I finished Roaccutane in November and I won’t lie, I was petrified to finish it. But thankfully, my skin has continued to improve daily. I still have scars from my acne but my dermatologist did say that they would take much longer to fade.

My diet, lifestyle and beauty routine are very important to maintaining my acne free skin at the moment. The most important thing (well for me anyway!) is making sure I drink plenty of water. I aim to drink 2 litres everyday, if not more. I can notice the difference in my skin straight away if I don’t drink enough water in one day. When it comes to diet, I have started making sure I eat more fruit and vegetables and less processed foods. Then there is my beauty routine, and I will admit, there is sometimes I just use a baby wipe to take off my makeup when I am tired or lazy (or drunk!) but it is so important to take off your makeup with a proper makeup remover. The one I use which I find so gentle on my skin is Coconut Oil with a muslin cloth. It leaves my face so soft and doesn’t cause any damage. I use Bio Oil every morning to help reduce my scars and Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate every night to reduce the redness. I use a moisturizer morning and night, which is The Body Shop Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream.

I have gotten one or two little spots since finishing, due to being emotional or stressed but good old Sudacream before bed clears them up.

Just so you can see the difference, here is a picture of me before starting Roaccutane.

And here are pictures of my skin now! Just a few scars and a little redness!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe the transformation that Roaccutane has done for me. It feels great not being in pain with my acne and I am even confident now to leave the house with no makeup on! I am so much happier in myself now!

Thank you once again for all your lovely and encouraging comments on my original post in July. You have no idea how much it means to me ❤

 

©Copyright 2016: All Rights Reserved.

My Year in Review – 2015

2015 can be described as one of the best and one of the worst years of my life. So many wonderful things happened, but a few heartbreaking moments also happened.

I’ll start with the good things that happened in 2015:

• In January, I got my voice back. In case you didn’t know, on December 1st 2011, I lost my voice. After 3 long years, which included intense speech therapy for 14 weeks, endless doctor visits, horrible pain and acupuncture, my voice started to come back slowly but surely. Now it’s a task to make sure I don’t lose it again!

 

• Also in January, I started my CoOp placement with I Love Limerick. There are no words to describe my experience with I Love Limerick, it was more than I ever imagined it would be. I learnt so much in my 6 months there and it helped me grow as a person and I became more confident in myself. The opportunities that came from working with I Love Limerick were unbelievable: meeting Maria Walsh, Paul O’Connell, George McMahon, Leanne Moore and of course Celia Holman Lee; helping many local and national charities; working on the Vote Yes campaign, oh there is so many incredible memories I have from my time there. Although, the best thing about my experience has to be meeting Richard. Richard Lynch is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He has helped me in ways I’ll never be able to thank him enough for; he has taught me so much, both personally and professionally, he allowed me to see what I was capable of and helped me see the career I want. Most of all, he always believes in me. Thank you Richard, I love you xx

 

•  I have always wanted to take part in the Laois Rose Selection and this year, I got the chance. It all started back in January, when working with I Love Limerick, we got to meet Maria Walsh. After stealing her crown and taking selfies with her, she mentioned to me how I should go for it. I laughed it off because I had just got my voice back, so it was kind of the last thing on my mind. But then Anne Marie Bowe, one of the ladies behind Laois Rose Centre, asked would I go for it. After a chat with Mam and Dad, I found myself filling out the form and submitting it. I am very glad I did. What an experience it was. Hopefully, I will go for it again, when I am wiser and older 😉 I would love to represent Lovely Laois one day! I wrote a blog about the whole experience, if you would like to read it, click here

 

• With working with I Love Limerick, Richard set me up with the amazing opportunity to work for Celia Holman Lee. Oh wow, I have admired her from a very young age (ask my Mam!). To me, Celia is Ireland’s most fashionable lady and always will be, she truly defines Irish Fashion! Getting the chance to work with her from May through till August was a dream come through for me. I look back on the days we worked together and it still feels like a dream to be honest; working on photoshoots, fashion shows, tv shows, even just working in her office and having chats with her! Just like Richard, she has taught me more than any college degree can about the fashion/media industry, as well as giving me life advice along the way. She has helped me realize that a career in Fashion Media is one I most definitely would love. I am looking forward to working with her again in 2016!

• As part of my course in University, I had to go on Erasmus. So I went to Tarragona in Spain (well it is actually Catalonia) and what a four months it was. It took me a while to settle but once I did, I began to love Tarragona. The new friends I made, the new cities I have travelled, the memories with my old friends, it was a wonderful experience. To anyone who is offered the experience to go, TAKE IT!

• I started my Youtube this year. After many friends saying I should, I built up the courage and made a channel. I have been vlogging since May and my channel is doing quite good. I have 39 subscribers and over 4,500 views! If you haven’t check it out yet, click here to see my channel. Also, subscribe if you can and give a few of my videos a like! Cheers!

• I got to meet two YouTubers this year! On July 11th, I met Alfie Deyes aka Pointless Blog! Then on August 12th, I met Marcus Butler! Both were so nice. Alfie was very supportive of my YouTube and even gave my video a like and commented on it, making views and comments go crazy for about 2 weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• I met a few other celebrities throughout the year also.

 

Now to the sad parts of 2015:

• On January 31st, I almost lost my dad. He had a massive heart attack. This was one of the most terrifying few hours of my life. To think someone so vital to my life could’ve been gone just like that is petrifying to think about. Thankfully, my Mam got him to hospital in time and he is doing good, with 4 new stints in his heart. I am so grateful to still have my Dad. I wrote a blog about the whole thing – here

• Cancer once again appeared into my life in 2015, with two of my family members being diagnosed, making it 3 members of my family battling cancer. Thank god, all of them are doing great at the moment and hopefully they continue to get better and hopefully beat cancer.

 

• In July,  I lost one of my friends, Lorcan, suddenly. I don’t think I will ever be over his death. I have been friends with him since I can remember. Lorcan, it was a blessing to have you in my life, even if it was cut short way too early. You’ve made me proud to be from Trumera, but most of all, you always had faith in me and because of that, I’ll never give up until I have reached where I am supposed to be.

 

• I also lost my Auntie Lorna this year, 8 days ago in fact. Christmas will never be the same again. It just doesn’t seem real that she is gone. I am expecting her to call into my house any time I hear the doorbell. Lorna was one of the most thoughtful, kindest and funniest people I’ve ever know and even though we had our disagreements at times, I was blessed to have her as an Auntie. My heart is still broken. It will take me a very long time to get over your death Lorna, if I do at all. I am glad you were in my house when I came home from Spain and I am glad we got to have that one last drink with you.

 

2015 has made me realise how much my family and friends mean to me.

My New Years resolution is to appreciate my family and friends more, more than I do now. To appreciate every moment with everyone I love, because one thing I have learnt from 2015 is that life can change in a split second.

Finally, I want to wish everyone reading this blog a very happy and healthy new year. May it be filled with joy and laughter and many good memories.

Here’s hoping 2016 will be a great year!

A little update from Tarragona

A picture taken on nice beach, as Jacob calls it, here in Tarragona.

Tomorrow (Friday 9^th of October), it will be 6 weeks since I got on the plane and moved to Tarragona.  I still can’t believe I have moved to another country, even if it is for 4 months. Tarragona is a beautiful city. It is filled with many streets of old architecture and beautiful buildings. You could walk around aimlessly and not get sick of the city. The coast line seems endless, with sandy beaches and clear blue seas for miles; you could walk it for hours on end (I once walked along it for over 3 hours!)

College here is different from at home. It is a lot more like secondary school. The lectures are much smaller, more like what a tutorial would be at home. The modules I am taking aren’t too hard thankfully, meaning we don’t have to spend a lot of time doing college work. I have found a new appreciation for University of Limerick while over here. We are so lucky to have everything in one place on campus. The URV campus is all over Tarragona. It just doesn’t feel like UL here. There is just something about UL. God, I would love to go to The Stables right now for a pint with the gang.

The staff in Danny Boy pub in Salou are starting to recognise Kate and I, as we have been there nearly every weekend for the matches. There does be a great atmosphere in the pub for the matches! Also, most of the bar staff are beautiful, so we can’t complain! 😉

We have travelled a bit. Well, we have only been to Salou and Barcelona! Barcelona is a beautiful city but it is massive. So much so, we got lost for 3 hours trying to find Camp Nou! We are going back there this weekend to see more of the city. We are going to take the tour bus around the city and I am super excited. I am going to vlog it all. The girls say I will be like Joey when Chandler and Joey go to London (Friends reference if you didn’t know). We are going to Cambrills tomorrow also. So our adventures are beginning!

Although I love it here, I do find it hard at times. I miss home. I miss my Mum and Dad. I miss my pets. I miss my Mum’s blueberry pancakes. I miss going to/watching matches with my Dad. I miss Sunday evenings in Margaret and Joe’s.  I miss having wifi all the time (we still have no wifi in our apartment, so therefore we have no Netflix or TV3 player so I can watch Downton Abbey!!) I miss the autumn/winter weather. I miss the fact I live in the middle of nowhere in the countryside. My room is at the front of our apartment so, I hear traffic and people talking all the time, meaning I find it hard to sleep at times. I miss everything about home. But I do love it here.  I am very grateful to have Sarah and Kate here with me. There have been so many good memories already; Nicole and I got up on stage with a male dancer in the nightclub one night – Sarah, Kate and I had to run away from Moroccan fellas another night – oh and I love Peggy Sue’s restaurant.  There have been so many good times so far. Also, I can’t forget about Jacob, a wonderful person who is now in my life because of Erasmus!

I have found myself thinking about Lorcan a lot more lately. The smallest of things remind me of him and my heart hurts, then I feel nothing but sadness. It just doesn’t seem real or fair that he is gone. My life is continuing on as if nothing happened. He should be alive and continuing to have a great life. It is really hard at times. I know why he is on my mind a lot more this week; Trumera are in the county final on Sunday. I am devastated I won’t be there but don’t you worry, I will be proudly wearing my Trumera jersey, especially for Lorcan. I hope they win, I hope they win it for him.

I am sorry I haven’t been posting more blogs, I guess I have lost my appetite for write at the moment. I am sure I’ll be back posting non stop soon enough 😛

I have 10 weeks lift here in Tarragona. How crazy is that? I suppose time does fly by when you are having fun.

I’m moving to Spain and I’m a little anxious..

It’s has finally hit me. In less than 4 days, I’m moving to another country for 5 months. I’ve been kind of putting it to the back of my mind, only mentioning it to people when they ask and that’s it. I’ve been trying to avoid it in topic of conversation. But I haven’t been able to avoid it over the last two weeks as getting ready for the move is all I’ve been doing. And now I’m beginning to freak out. It’s 2am on Monday morning and for the past 5 days, I’ve been struggling. Struggling to sleep, struggling to stop comfort eating, struggling with overthinking, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I am super, super excited to move to Spain for the few months. I’m moving with two amazing friends and I know we are going to have the time of our lives. But my anxiety has taken over me. I’ve found my nerves in my hands shaking more and my breathing faster and my need to surround myself with my comforts has increased immensely – which is mainly watching Gossip Girl, drinking tea and eating M&M’s curled up on the couch!

Moving to another country is a huge thing. I’ve never lived in another country away from my family. I think that is the scariest part. I am such a family person. They mean the world to me. My family have been going through a rough time, (I have 2 uncles and a cousin who have cancer at the moment and another cousin who has Williams Syndrome and has a few health problems recently..) and that’s probably one of the reasons I’m scared to leave. Not to mention, my Dad did have a heart attack at the beginning of the year!! What if something happens when I’m gone? I know it’s a negative thing to think about but if you were in my shoes, you’d think the exact same. Deep down, I know (hope) everything and everyone will be fine.

I know part of why I’m feeling like this. Last year, I went to Lyon to surprise my friend Melodie for her birthday. But I came home to a funeral. My uncle Harold, who was perfectly healthy, passed away after having a heart attack. Friday June 20th 2014, I was in Stade de France in Paris with one of my best friends having a great time seeing One Direction while my mum roamed the streets of Paris heartbroken after Dad rang her to tell her the news. To come back to the hotel and hear that news was such a crash back to reality. I went from feeling so alive to numb. So I’m scared it will happen again.

It’s a big step. As I’m writing this, my head is going mental over everything, mostly my suitcases. I’ve packed them at least three times last week and I got so anxious last week, I just had to close them up. I know tomorrow morning, I’ll wake up and unpack both suitcases again, and go through everything. Can I just bring my whole bedroom with me? That way, I won’t be so anxious! I’m just anxious I’ll forget something I will need, it’s just so hard packing your life into two bags.
I’m kind of laughing at myself for writing this because I’ve always said I want to live in London and NYC. But I know Spain will be the best thing for me. It will give me the ability to live in those places later in life.
I made a promise to myself when I was sick to never miss an opportunity that I’ll regret when I look back. This is a once in a life time thing to do really and I have to do it (no seriously, I have to or I fail my degree!) I have so much to look forward to and that helps me. I’m going to be living with Sarah and Kate and sure that it self is all the reason to go! It’s Tarragona, which is in the middle of Barcelona and Salou, so many adventures! I turn 22 while out there and we’ve made plans to hopefully go to Paris (AND DISNEYLAND!) for my birthday! Before I know it, I’ll be home for Christmas! It’s going to fly by and I know I’ll be fine.

I’ve a frame in my room that has the meaning of my name on it. For the last few days, the top two lines have been catching my attention. They are ‘alway determined to face a new challenge’ and ‘never afraid to plot a new course’. Although I’m scared/nervous, I feel like that pushes me to want to succeed in what ever it is. There never was a minute where I thought of not going.

On a a lighter note, the thing that is really annoying me is that for the first time in years, I’m missing the All Ireland Hurling and Football finals and will have to watch from a pub, it will never be the same! I always go to those matches with Daddy! (I’m pretty sure the staff at the local Irish pub will know our names by the last week in September, with all the GAA and Rugby World Cup matches!)

Anyway, It will be great craic. I’m just a little anxious, like anyone would be.

I’m off to repack these bags for the 20th time!

Acne: My Story with it!

Acne, it’s something almost everybody gets whether you are a puberty stricken teen or get the occasional adult acne (unless you are one of those perfectly spotless people who have never or will never get any kind of spot.. I’m not bitter at all!)

I got acne when I was 11 years old and I had no clue how to treat it. I was still a child and had very little knowledge about makeup and the whole beauty routine. Young teen girls nowadays have it so much easier! I struggled with makeup for a long time, it wasn’t until 3rd year when I figured out more about it! I didn’t know what shade to use or how to apply it or what was good and bad for my skin! I hated having acne. I know everyone hates having acne but I hated myself for having acne. Because I was clueless and my mum never had acne, I didn’t know what to do. I was using all the creams and lotions the shops had to offer but nothing worked. Some even made it worse. I got so insecure about it when I started secondary school because all the other girls seemed flawless. Not a spot or scar in site. I use to get so upset with my face that sometimes I would scratch it hoping that if it bled, it would go away quicker. But it only made me scar. And badly!

I would NEVER leave the house without makeup. I think since I was 11 up until this year, I have left the house about 10 times without makeup, when I was going to hospital for operations or going for acupuncture. Other than that, I wore makeup everyday. Even when I never left the house sometimes. I just hated looking in the mirror and hating my face. Now that I’m more knowledgeable with acne, I’ve learned I just didn’t get spots! I suffer from whiteheads, pustules, cysts and rosacea. All at the same time. Google them, but be warned, so of the images aren’t nice!

This is what it was like with no makeup in the morning at it’s worse. My face was even swollen because of the acne. As much as I hate looking at this, I wanted to keep it to show what I looked like.

I thought that I would grow out of it. So when I turned 21, I was like ‘Oh it will start to get better now!’. WRONG! It got worse, so much worse. In March this year, it was the worse it has ever been. I was in so much pain with it, I couldn’t sleep or make any facial expressions. My face would bleed at night time. I had cysts on my face. It was horrible. One night, I went to the stables with Sarah, Susan and Laura and I felt so crap all night and of course drinking got the little voice in my head saying all these horrible things and I ran home crying and locked myself in my room. I had one of the worst panic/anxiety attacks I have ever had that night. I do know why my acne got so bad. In January, I went to see a dermatologist. She put me on two tablets, one to produce acne to get it all out of my system and then Roaccutane. I was on the the first tablet a month before I could take the Roaccutane and that is why my skin got so bad. Timing couldn’t have been worse as I had a Ball in that time and my confidence was so low, I questioned not going to the Ball at all (I had even bought a Moschino dress for it!!!) I just hated the way I looked, no amount of makeup could cover up my acne. Of course photos were taken and I absolutely hated how I looked. The photo below is the one that made me cry when I saw it.

I HATE THIS PHOTO OF MYSELF SO MUCH! It took a lot to actually add this to my blog! Although, Sarah always makes me laugh in this!!

Roaccutane has been the best thing ever for my skin. Within two days of being on it, my acne cleared up! It is very strong. I am on 6omg a day. Oh and I can’t drink alcohol! I haven’t drank in nearly 16 weeks and I am fine with that because my skin is FINALLY almost cleared!! I have to watch my weight also as it can affect my heart. The main two things that is hard to cope with at times is that my lips are severely dry 99.9% of the time and bleed also. My skin is very dry too. But it’s fine, it is worth the little bit of suffering! Below you can see the whole transformation from March until July. I think I have one more month on the tablet and I am very happy with the results so far. I feel more confident not wearing make up and have left the house comfortably with out makeup. I know I will have scars but I can receive laser treatment after to clear that up.

This was two days on the tablet (I know I am wearing makeup!) You can see the cysts have calmed down!

Again, I know I am wearing makeup but you can clearly see my skin has cleared up so much after being on Roaccutane for three weeks

This was 2 months on Roaccutane. A little red but that is one of the side effects also.

I took this photo on the 14th of July, a little over 5 months on Roaccutane. Still a little red and I have scars but a little laser treatment will clear that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beauty routine is a very important part of my skin clearing up also. It’s only in the last two years that I have taken this very seriously. Like I mentioned earlier, I have tried every product you can think of from Ireland, England and America!  But I have finally found a few products that are my favourites and the are pictured below!!

I wear facial sunscreen 365 days a year! But I have to be extra careful with the Roaccutane tablet in the sun!

Moisturizing is a huge part in a beauty routine. I LOVE this Vitamin E Moisture Cream

Days when I don’t wear makeup, I use this Vitamin C moisturizer. It helps give your face a sun kissed glow and helps bring back a tired face to life !

I use this to remove my makeup or excess makeup that my other remover might miss! It helps calm down the redness also!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this Estee Lauder makeup remover! It removes makeup instantly!

I only started using this in June as you can only get it in England. It helps reduce redness and scars! It works, trust me!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All my beauty products are high end and expensive as the cheaper products just make my skin worse. If you want to know prices, leave a comment!

Acne did heavily affect my confidence throughout my teenage years, like I mentioned earlier, I hated the way I looked. Now I am not saying I am now Beyonce beautiful (I’ll never think that!) but I feel so much more confident in who I am in my own skin. I don’t have to worry if people are staring at my skin rather than paying attention to what I’m talking about. I don’t have to worry about hearing people talk about how bad my skin is on the bus or train or in shops or even when they pass me in the street. You can see it when I smile, there is a bit of life behind my eyes again.

It’s taken me a lot of courage to post this blog. Please understand that. I have shared photos I hate of my skin. I have opened myself up to you and the internet to my biggest insecurity.

© Copyright 2015: all rights reserved.

April Favourites 2015

It is very hard to believe it is May already. I honestly can’t keep up with how fast the year is flying by. In less than a month, I will no longer be on Co-Op with ILOVELIMERICK and I won’t be a Second Year student! 😮

I currently should be sleeping but I can’t sleep at the moment, I don’t want to say too much at the moment but my family received some bad/shocking news yesterday and I can’t get my head around it and now I can’t sleep. So instead of lying in bed looking at the ceiling, I said I’d be productive!

So even with April being a very busy month, (I know I promised to blog more but I just couldn’t find the time and when I did, I was just too exhausted!) I still had time to take note of what I was enjoying for the month, so here they are.

Music

So the first song I have been loving this month (and maybe a bit too much, I am singing it ALL the time!) is Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood BUT it is not the original I love. It is a cover by Max Schneider and Alyson Stoner that I adore so much. Their vocals blended together are incredibly beautiful and I could listen to it on repeat all day (which I have!).

Another song I have been loving is my 8 Boys, Stereo Kicks and their Debut single Love Me So. Written by one of the lads, Tom Mann, it is not the usual upbeat pop music a boy band would release as their first single. But this song is a beautiful ballad, if you could call it that. Their vocals are shown off in this song and I think the boys are trying to prove a point, that they should be given a chance because they can sing and can sing very well. And they can write songs very well! Tom’s vocals at 2:32 kill me everytime! I am super proud of my 8 boys! (Especially Tom ❤ )

Fashion

So with Laois Rose, I got to dress up quite a lot. So on the night Laois Rose Briefing, I wore a dress from Born Boutique (€69) and silver sandals from Korkys (I think they were €50, they are about 3 years old). I adore this dress. It’s such a girly dress, I felt like a princess in it and since I have lost weight, it was very flattering on. One of my favourite things about this dress is that it has pockets. 

 

So I had to get photos taken with my sponsor for Laois Rose so we had a little photoshoot in the pub. I wore a new wine coloured Tulle skirt I got on Etsy, which was €34.71 and you can get it here with a black tank top from Pennys/Primark, black blazer from New Look, black heels from River Island and hat from Topshop. I am in love with Tulle skirts at the moment. 

My last outfit is a casual one I wore to The Vamps’ Concert in April. The top and jeans were both from New Look. My black converse are from Schuh.

Book

My favourite book for April is Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Having loved Fangirl, I was expecting great things from this book and it didn’t disappoint. Eleanor and Park is all about a high school romance, but not the typical type. Eleanor is the new girl in town, who has crazy red hair and the weird clothes, so she stands out, even though she never wanted to. Park is the smart but quiet Asian boy who hates the attention on himself. Eleanor and Park awkwardly sit together on the bus but never speak to each other, until Park notices Eleanor looking over his shoulder while he reads his comics. I don’t want to give too much away but this love story is extremely cute and I couldn’t put the book down once I started. The ending killed me though, I hated it! Summer Aurora from The Guardian agrees by saying: ‘The ending left me craving so much more of it. The last page left me confused and a complete wreck. Honestly, it hurt, and I was left hoping that there was an epilogue that had gotten secretly ripped out of my copy.’ If you love soppy, cute books, read this book.

Youtuber

So recently, I have been watching a lot more of Marcus Butler’s Vlogs and Main Channel videos. Marcus is from England and just like Alfie, vlogs every day and has a new main channel video every Friday. His fame has steadily rose since 2012 and currently, he has over 3 million subscribers on his main channel alone!!! (I have 2.. Even 100 subs would be the dream!) He is very attractive but sorry ladies, he has a girlfriend. He is dating Naomi Smart who is also a Youtuber/Blogger. Below are his recent Main Channel video and Vlog.

 

Beauty

I am crazy about any beauty products that contains coconut. I love the smell and the consistency. It just always makes me feel and smell good. The Treacle Moon range is one of my favourite ranges. The body scrub and body butter are simply divine.
Make Up

Contouring is a big thing at the moment. Instead of spending a ridiculous amount of money on those expensive contour kits, I bought Boujour Paris’s Bronzer and Highlighter. Not only does it work like the expensive ones but it also smells so good. I wear this every day and it lasts a long time.

       
Home Decor

(When did I get this fancy that I now blog about Home Decor? 😛 )

Anyway, there is nothing more relaxing that reading a book or even doing some work with a beautiful candle beside you. Lately, I have been loving a candle my Auntie Margaret gave me one day. The smell is Mulberry and Vanilla and it is gorgeous.
Food

So even though I have been super healthy since February, near the end of April, I relaxed a bit with the diet. My Mum came to visit me in college one evening and brought me out to Finnegan’s Restaurant, Limerick.  I was so hungry, I even ordered dessert (I never order dessert!) I had these DELICIOUS pancakes. I don’t think I have ever eaten pancakes as nice (apart from my mum’s!) (Oh and Sarah’s!). The food in Finnegan’s is beautiful. I recommend everyone to go there if they are near or in Limerick.

Lastly, I was reunited with some of my favourites in April. Union J were supporting The Vamps on their tour and I got to meet them again, after two years. They haven’t changed a bit, they are just as sweet and nice as they were back then, if not more.

 

See you in a month for my May Faves!

You Know You Love Me, XOXO,

SJ

Oh yeah, I am going to see Tyler Oakley tomorrow in Dublin! Super excited to see him. Also, I am going to attempt to film my first ever vlog. Wish me luck.

My Laois Rose 2015 experience

Since the age of 3 or 4, I have always dreamed of being a Laois Rose. This year, I got to fulfil the dream. On January 16th 2015, I met current Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh with my current co-op placement and after robbing her crown and chatting to her, she said ‘Sure why don’t you apply for the Rose of Tralee? You’d make a great Rose!’ So with encouragement from family, friends and Anne Marie in the Laois Rose Centre, I filled out the application and sure the rest is history now.

The whole Laois Rose experience kicked of on April 10th, with our Information night in the Heritage Hotel. I had NO idea what to expect that night and was a bag of nerves! As soon as I walked into the room, I was put at ease straight away, greeted by Bernadette with a warming smile!! When I sat down among the 17 other Roses, I became even more at ease when I saw a few familiar faces and sure you couldn’t stop us chatting then. Anne Marie and Bernadette briefed us about the two upcoming dates we had and by the time they were finished, I was more excited than I have ever been before! To get to know the other Roses even more, they had organised for us to go to a local pub for cocktails, a lovely relaxing way to mingle with everyone.

On the 18th of April, we had the Laois Rose Tour. This day was about seeing what Lovely Laois has to offer and ’embracing the cheese’ as Anne Marie said multiple times throughout the day! We also got our sashes for the first time and it all became very real then. We went to the Heritage Hotel Portlaoise, Laois Shopping Centre, The Store Yard Portlaoise, Abbeyleix Heritage Centre, Timahoe Round Tower, The Maldron Hotel and Roll ‘n’ Bowl. It was a fantastic day and a great laugh. All of us got to know each other more and we really didn’t want the day to end!

Selection day – The big day! I have never ever been as nervous as I was when I woke up on Friday morning. I was cool as a breeze all week, very excited for the whole thing and then reality hit! I had my first Rose interview at 10:55 am with the three judges. The minute I walked in the room, the nerves eased a little! The judges were so lovely, I can certainly see why they are all part of The Rose of Tralee. I spoke about how I suffer with anxiety and how I did lose my voice 3 years ago and they were so comforting and supportive towards me. That made me feel a lot better. My only regret in the whole experience is how nervous I was in that interview. I panicked a bit on some questions that I could easily talk for an hour about any other day of the week. Sure I was only getting into the interview when Anne Marie knocked on the door! It was off to get the hair done then! We were treated like princess all day really. We had our group interview at 3pm and that was so much more relaxing because I got to go in with 8 other Roses who are now my great friends! We all vibed off each other, it was like a casual gossip with the girls rather than a group interview! I think we impressed the judges so much that the asked us 5 questions instead of 4! As soon as that was over, it was rehearsal time! Before we knew it, Steve was in and telling us it was almost time to kick off the show! To the two beautiful Escorts, who put us at ease throughout the evening and helping us up and down the stage, a huge thank you to you. Brendan Hennessy, the MC, you got rid of my nerves all together! I was so comfortable with him on the stage that I could of stayed up for another 10 minutes chatting away to him!

  

To the 17 other Roses, you are the most friendliest, kind hearted and fabulous girls I know. I couldn’t of asked for better girls to go through this experience with. You made the experience so wonderful, I will truly never forget it. To Ailbhe, The Laois Rose for 2015, the biggest congratulations to you. You are the perfect ambassador for Laois in the Rose of Tralee, you have beauty, a kind heart and effortless grace. I look forward to seeing you on stage with Daithi at Regionals, you’ll have your Laois Rose family behind you all the way.

To my sponsor, Eamon A’Chnoic. You have been great. I can never thank you guys enough for allowing me represent your pub and our community. This whole experience has been incredible and without your support, I would have never been able to do it.

To all my family, friends and everyone who has sent me best wishes and supported me, thank you so much. I am deeply touched with all the support I received and it meant the world to me. I just hope I done everyone proud.

To Anne Marie, Bernadette, Sarah and Teresa, Thank you so much for everything, especially the words of encouragement when I was so nervous or anxious. The amount of work you guys done with us over the past three weeks is mind blowing, and you always graced with smiles and comforting hugs. You are very admirable women and I am blessed to have been in your company. To anyone who has ever considered going for Laois Rose, do not hesitate. Take the risk. It is totally worth it.

This whole experience has been amazing. It has help me grow as a woman and has definitely helped with my confidence. I am so proud to be associated with such a great organization.

I most definitely will go again, maybe when I’m a little older, wiser and more experienced. That is if the Laois Rose Centre will have me again! 😉