Remission!

A couple of weeks ago I had my monthly check-up with the Rheumatology Nurse at the hospital and, after checking through my blood test results, she surprised me by telling me that I am currently in remission. Considering I was only diagnosed in May, I wasn't expecting it to happen this year (if at all, if I'm being honest) so the news was an absolute joy to hear. She told me that the hospital I'm with treats newly diagnosed patients aggressively, increasing the medication on each visit so that the chances of an early remission are much higher. She also mentioned that the patient she saw before me who was diagnosed at around the time as I was is also now in remission so it seems there's definitely something to be said for this particular method.

The other bonus was that as my Disease Activity Score was 2.09 (the score you need to reach to be classed as in remission is 2.26) she didn't need to increase the dosage of my arthritis medication so yay! As everything seems to be going well, my next check-up is now in January so, fingers crossed, that continues to be the case between now and then.

In just under three weeks, I'm due to start my shoulder rehabilitation classes and as I'm currently without a pair of trainers, I thought I'd treat myself to a pair of Lee Cooper canvas shoes which I bought online from Sports Direct for only £9.99. I've worn them a few times to break them in a bit and they are so comfy.

In my last post on here, I did mention doing a haul post of the make-up bits and bobs I've bought recently and that will be up in the next day or two.

Thanks for reading!

Diane x

And by "huh" she meant "WOW"!

I had an appointment with my physiotherapist yesterday and, surprisingly, I was actually discharged. I wasn't expecting that to happen yet but I'm not complaining. I'm being referred to undertake some shoulder rehabilitation classes and once those are completed I can then just do all of my exercises at home which (hopefully) means one less trip to the hospital each month.


Watching: I've picked up two new shows this season and I'm loving them both. The first is 'The Blacklist' which regularly has me on the edge of my seat. Sure, it's got some plot holes but, personally, that doesn't bother me since it's so entertaining. It's really enjoyable and action-packed and, as always, James Spader plays creepy so damn well.

The other show that has grabbed my attention is 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' so much so that I've already started writing fanfic for it, something I definitely wasn't expecting to happen. (For anyone wondering, it's Ward/Skye fic.) The show just keeps getting better and better and I'm so happy that it's been given a full 22 episode order. Oh, and I loved the live tweeting some of the cast did for the most recent ep. Brett and Chloe's tweets made me giggle.


Listening to: I've been listening to a fair bit of 80s music lately and I dug out Cher's 'Heart Of Stone' album which was a big favourite with me back in the day. My reason for listening to it now might have something to do with the recent news that Joy's new project 'Songbyrd' will see her playing a character loosely based on Diane Warren who's written a bazillion songs including some for Cher. (Emotional Fire is one of my all-time fave tracks!)


Reading: 'The Husband's Secret' by Liane Moriarty. I wanted to read this book after I saw a review of it in a newspaper and once I started I couldn't put it down. It made me laugh and cry and I thought the author did a fantastic job of intertwining the various characters' stories.

Amazon (UK's) description:

Mother of three and wife of John-Paul, Cecilia discovers an old envelope in the attic. Written in her husband's hand, it says: to be opened only in the event of my death.

Curious, she opens it - and time stops.

John-Paul's letter confesses to a terrible mistake which, if revealed, would wreck their family as well as the lives of others.

Cecilia - betrayed, angry and distraught - wants to do the right thing, but right for who? If she protects her family by staying silent, the truth will worm through her heart. But if she reveals her husband's secret, she will hurt those she loves most...


Anticipating: Joy's new album. Unfortunately, it wasn't released in September but she tweeted a fan the other day and said that physical copies of it will be on sale this weekend to those attending the OTH convention in Paris and it'll then be released digitally a few weeks later. I won't lie, I'm a little annoyed that physical copies won't be available to all of her fans but hey ho. As long as I'm able to hear the album somehow, that's the main thing.


I actually went shopping last week and bought a few make-up bits so I'll be doing a haul post/review soon.


Thanks for reading!

Diane x

Eyes/Lips of the day using MUA's new Matte Palette

I recently received my Matte Palette from MUA along with their new Lash Boom Mascara and I finally got around to having a play with them the other day. I haven't got too many matte eyeshadows in my make-up collection so I was really happy when I first heard about this palette and couldn't wait to get my mitts on it.

From left to right: Top row - Unwrap, Butter, Bare, Taffeta, Fade
Bottom row - Penny, Chino, Truffle, Fog, Smoke

These are all of the products I used...

MUA Matte Palette (Chino all over the lid, Penny in the crease and Truffle for my eyebrows) | MUA Lash Boom Mascara in Black | Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Pencil in 001 Black

... and this was the finished look:

I usually wear an eye primer but on this occasion I didn't so the colours seem a bit more subtle which, for me, is fine since I wanted this palette for more wearable day looks.

On my lips I wore MUA Intense Kisses Lip Gloss in Lips Are Sealed. These lip glosses are fab and I have three shades in total. The colours are fairly sheer but the best thing about them, in my opinion, is that they're not sticky. They have a faint vanilla scent to them which might be an issue for some people but as it quickly fades I don't find it to be a problem.

I'm definitely looking forward to trying out the other colours in the palette and seeing what I can come up with.

A long overdue update...

Wow, I can't believe that just over three months have passed since my last post. How the time flies, eh?

As I had a check-up with my Rheumatologist last Friday, I thought now might be a good time to do an update.

Things have, thankfully, improved a lot since my blog post back in June. I'm now on a medication called Methotrexate which works by somehow altering a person's immune system to try and stop it from attacking their joints. I take it once a week on Fridays and then on Sundays I take Folic Acid to help alleviate the nausea that, unfortunately, accompanies the Methrotrexate. I'm still taking anti-inflammatories to help with the pain but the dosage has been reduced from three tablets a day to two. Even better news is that the blood tests I had to have once a fortnight have been reduced to once a month.

The other development is that I started physiotherapy in August and that's going well, too. I had my third appointment this morning and James, my physio, was pretty happy with the progress I've been making. I'm due to see him again in mid-October and he mentioned booking me into some classes that specialise in shoulder work as my upper body is where I've been experiencing quite a lot of stiffness/soreness.

With everything that's been going on, it's sometimes felt like I'm constantly at the hospital and there have been occasions where I haven't known if I was coming or going. The whole situation has been pretty overwhelming and, in some ways, pretty isolating. There's quite a lot of things I can't do like, for example, going to the cinema to watch a movie because sitting down for 90 minutes/two hours causes the joints in my knees to lock. Even sitting on the couch at home for more than twenty minutes can have the same effect and trying to get up from my seat is really awkward and makes me feel self-conscious and that's just in front of my family. Doing it in a cafe or restaurant would be even more embarrassing. I can only hope that at some point in the near future that will change and I can go about a more normal routine.

I still have my down days where everything kind of gets on top of me but, in an attempt to stop myself from feeling too low, I'm going to try and blog more regularly as well as getting back into writing. I've really missed it and now my fingers aren't as swollen as they were a few months ago, I can hopefully spend more time typing.

Thanks for reading!

Diane x

The reason for my absence this past few months...

You may - or may not - have noticed that I've been absent from Twitter as well as my other usual online haunts for the past few months and that if you've emailed/PM'ed during that time you haven't yet had a reply back. I'm sorry for the latter but I've got a good reason for it which I'm going to explain below.

I wish I could say I've been off doing something exciting or that I've just been super busy but, unfortunately, I can't and the reason is that I've been pretty ill since around mid-March when my left knee swelled up as did the fingers of both of my hands. In regard to my knee, I brushed it off at first thinking that maybe I'd pulled something or strained a muscle whilst playing with my nephew and that it would end up sorting itself out if I just rested it.

The whole time my family kept telling me to go and see our doctor but being the medical-phobe that I am I refused until the pain became so unbearable that I could barely walk and doing simple tasks such as showering became a real effort. A quick five minute shower left me so exhausted to the point where I'd have to sit down on the corner of the bath and rest for a bit before I could do anything else.

On the 1st May, I finally went to see my GP who examined my knee and then ordered a blood test. She prescribed me some antibiotics and painkillers and made an appointment for me to see her the following week. I'd been taking regular painkillers to try and numb the pain but they didn't do anything so I was desperately hoping what she was giving me would do the trick but no such luck. They didn't even touch the pain and I was still in agony while I waited for the results to come through.

On the 9th May, I went back to receive my diagnosis. The blood test showed that I have a condition called Rheumatoid Arthritis. I'll admit, arthritis had crossed my mind since it's on my both sides of my family but I wasn't expecting it to be Rheumatoid, though maybe I should have since my dad suffered with it pretty badly when I was a kid and, from what I've read/been told, there is an hereditary link. While the diagnosis shocked me, to be honest, it was more of a relief knowing it wasn't what I'd scared myself into thinking it would be. I've had some seriously dark thoughts going through my head.

My doctor prescribed me some anti-inflammatory medication, which thankfully has made such a massive difference, and she also referred me to see a Rheumatologist at the local hospital and I had my first appointment with him last Friday.

I was really nervous beforehand, not knowing what to expect, but he was really nice and put me at ease straightaway. I had X-rays taken of my hands, feet and chest (which apparently is standard) and I also had more blood taken. I've got an appointment to see him again this coming Friday where he said he wants to start me on "proper" arthritis medication as the anti-inflammatory meds are only a temporary measure. I'm really hoping I'll start feeling the benefits immediately so I can start getting back to some semblance of normality because even though the anti-inflammatory meds are helping, my joints are still pretty swollen and sore. My family - especially my mum - have been amazing and I don't know what I would've done without them looking after me.

So, there you have it... the reason for my absence online. It's been a hard few months and I've felt so low, not to mention isolated. Being online, as you can probably appreciate, was the last thing I felt like doing and most of the time that I've been laid up I just watched TV or slept (one of the symptoms of RA, I've discovered, is tiredness).

I owe a ton of replies to those of you who have been in contact either via email, PM or Twitter and, I promise, I will get around to replying as soon as I can. Typing isn't the easiest thing to do at the moment since my fingers and wrists are so sore and tender so please just bear with me.

Writing-wise, I'm not sure what's going to happen. I'm not going to give up since I love it so much but it may take longer for me to work on stories and updates.

Please feel free to post any questions or comments you may have and I'll do my best to reply as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading!


Diane x

MUA (MakeUp Academy) Haul

I took advantage of the recent 50% special offer on MakeUp Academy's website and all of my goodies arrived yesterday. From reading MUA's Facebook page I know a lot of people experienced problems ordering and while I did initially have trouble getting onto the site, I'm really happy with the service I received from the company. I'll admit, though, I am gutted that so many products were out of stock. I'd desperately wanted their Pro-Base Conceal and Brighten kit and having already tried some of their brushes, I was hoping to buy more of them but, unfortunately, that wasn't to be. If I'm not mistaken, I think those products are going to be back in stock later this month.


From left to right...

Bronzed Perfection | Nail Varnish Shade Bright Pink | Nail Polish Shade 2 | Nail Polish Shade Pistachio Ice Cream | Trio Eyeshadows in Passion | Blush Perfection Cream Blusher in Dolly | Lipstick Shade 14 Bare | Intense Kisses Lip Gloss in Kiss And Make Up | Intense Kisses Lip Gloss in Sealed With A Kiss | New! Hide And Conceal Cover Up Stick in Natural | Matte Perfect Primer | Trio Eyeshadows in Eden | Glitter Eyeliner in Shade 2 City of God | Glitter Eyeliner in Shade 8 | Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil in Rich Brown | False Eyelashes in Flair

I already have several of MUA's nail varnishes and I've been so impressed by how long they last, especially in comparison to more expensive brands I've tried. They've been known to last on me for a good five/six days with only minimal tip wear which is way more than I would've expected given that they only cost £1. I already owned one of the Intense Lip Glosses (in Lips Are Sealed) and since I loved it so much I couldn't resist buying a couple more shades and I can't wait to give those a try. The pencil eyeliner in this haul is my second in the same shade and it's one I'll definitely keep on repurchasing. It has a lovely creamy consistency, glides on easily and lasts really well.

Once I've tried out some of the products new to me I'll post a review on here for anyone who might be interested.

It's snowing!

As with most parts of the UK, we're experiencing some heavy snowfall today in London and so I thought I'd test out the new camera I received yesterday which was an early birthday present from my step-dad. My old one has been playing up for a while now and most of the photos I've taken have either turned out really blurry or look as if they've been taken from a mile away. I've been making do with the camera on my iPod Touch but that tends to be a little hit and miss so I thought asking for one as a birthday gift was the way to go.

I had a look around Amazon the other evening and read a ton of reviews for various inexpensive cameras and, in the end, I finally settled on the Nikon COOLPIX 3300 which cost £59.99. I originally wanted to get the purple one and while it was only a tenner more, I thought I could use the money saved to buy a SD card which is what I ended up doing.

The camera arrived yesterday and it's so dinky. I think because my old Sony camera was so bulky I was expecting this one to be the same but it's absolutely tiny in comparison.

Anyhoo, here are the pics I took of our front garden this morning...

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Look and listen...

Watching: Castle. I've been watching this show since it first aired in the US and it's now in its fifth season and I couldn't love it more if I tried. I've got each season on DVD and I'm definitely snapping up Season 5 when it's released later this year. If you're a fan of American detective dramas with a little comedy and sass mixed in you should give Castle a try.

Listening to: Memory Lane... The Best of McFly (Deluxe Edition). I got this album towards the end of the year and I haven't stopped playing it yet. I've been a McFly fan for a while now and their songs are always so catchy. The deluxe edition is a 2-CD collection of all their biggest hits as well as featuring several cover versions and rare songs.

Reading: Wallbanger by Alice Clayton. I started reading this book back in December but, due to one thing and another, didn't get to finish it until a few days ago. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it definitely had me laughing out loud. Oh, and the sex scenes are smoking hot!

Here's the description taken from Amazon:

Caroline Reynolds has a fantastic new apartment in San Francisco, a KitchenAid mixer, and no O (and we’re not talking Oprah here, folks). She has a flourishing design career, an office overlooking the bay, a killer zucchini bread recipe, and no O. She has Clive (the best cat ever), great friends, a great rack, and no O.

Adding insult to O-less, since her move, she has an oversexed neighbor with the loudest late-night wallbanging she’s ever heard. Each moan, spank, and--was that a meow?--punctuates the fact that not only is she losing sleep, she still has, yep, you guessed it, no O.

Enter Simon Parker. (No, really, Simon, please enter.) When the wallbanging threatens to literally bounce her out of bed, Caroline, clad in sexual frustration and a pink baby-doll nightie, confronts her heard-but-never-seen neighbor. Their late-night hallway encounter has, well, mixed results. Ahem. With walls this thin, the tension’s gonna be thick...

Planning: 2013 is the year I really want to finish my in progress stories. One of them only has about three more chapters left so it's certainly doable if I get my butt in gear. I've received a few messages over the past couple of months asking me if they'll ever be completed and, as a fic reader myself, I know how frustrating it is when your favourite stories aren't updated so I really need to get on top of things.

Anticipating: This year's Porn Battle XIV which gets under way later this month. Hopefully, writing a few little ficlets will help get the creative juices flowing again.

Thanks for reading!

A few favourites...

Early last year, I had a major clear out of my make-up drawer, getting rid of the vast majority of things that I'd held on to for far too long, and so I needed to buy a few things to begin replenishing the hit I'd taken.

The items featured below are a few of my favourites from 2012.

2012 Favourites!
with Barry M, Rimmel London, Real Techniques

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stain - Currently £5.00 at Boots
Rimmel Match Perfection in 010 Light Porcelain - Currently £4.99 at Superdrug
Real Techniques Stippling Brush - £11.99 at Boots
Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR in On & On Bronze - £4.99 at Superdrug
Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in Shade 11 Coral - £4.49 at Barry M
MUA MakeUp Academy Nail Varnish in Shade 5 - £1.00 at MUA MakeUp Academy

By the end of the year, I probably had more make-up than I'd had before my clear out *lol* and the items mentioned in this post are pretty much the tip of the iceberg.

Welcome!

Happy New Year and welcome to my new blog!

I used to blog pretty regularly via Livejournal but, for whatever reason, fell out of using it which is a shame since I loved it and the friends I'd made over there.

Anyhoo, while I still have my journal and hope to get back to using it - maybe I can do so by cross-posting some of my entries from here - I thought I'd create a new blog for the new year.

So, here's to 2013 being the year I get back into the wonderful world of blogging.