I'm back again with the list for this weeks songs! As always, feel free to have a listen to some of them as they might give you an idea of what you could sing in your singing lesson!

• Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry & The Pacemakers
• Annie's Song by John Denver
• The One That Got Away by Katy Perry (x2)
• Take A Bow by Rihanna
• Tomorrow from Annie
• Roar by Katy Perry 
• The Fear by Lily Allen
• Why Does It Always Rain On Me by Travis
• Fireflies by Owl City (x2)
• When I Grow Up from Matilda
• Grenade by Bruno Mars
• Count On Me by Bruno Mars
• Video Games by Lana Del Rey
• Waterloo by Abba
• Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble (x2)
• Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves (x2)
• The Queen & The Soldier by Susan Vega
• Sway by Anita Kelsey

Well, as I predicted, I wouldn't be doing this everyday! To be honest I kind of prefer it this way as then I won't panic when I haven't done my post for the day!

So I'm at a bit of a stump about what to write about for this blog now apart from the weekly songs list, so to keep things busy I've decided to do the '30 Things About Me' tag! Now, I may not be able to post this everyday (so forgive me!) but I will try and at least do some a week. So here is Day 1!

I originally started doing this on my Youtube channel, however I just don't feel like I am getting to grips with the whole talking-in-front-of-the-camera thing. So I've decided to move the Empties/Empty Products posts onto here! I have a ton of them to get through as I was intending to put it as a video, but here are a select few for now!

Lee Stafford Hair Growth Shampoo, Conditioner & Treatment - I ordered these from Boots online a few months ago as I getting pretty desperate with my hair not growing at all! They all had a bit of a strange smell to them but I just grinned and beared it whilst thinking that it might get my hair to grow again! I don't think it really stimulated the growth, but my hairdresser did say that since using it my hair felt a lot fuller and thicker. Another thing about the bottles is that it is near-enough impossible to get the product out of the bottle without taking the lid completely off!

Will I buy it again? Probably not! I've had nicer smelling hair products...

Avon Naturals Vanilla & Soy Milk Room & Linen Spray - I am SO gutted that I have finished this as Avon do not make this scent anymore! I have put off finishing it for ages as I knew I wouldn't be able to buy it again (if you know me well you will know my favourite smell is vanilla). Alas, it had to be done and I had to use it up so I could start using the new ones I had bought. So Avon, if you ever read this, PLEASE bring this back!!!

Will I buy it again? I would if I could!


Will I buy it again? I doubt it, which is a shame as I used to really like it!

Benefit That Gal Brightening Face Primer - I LOVE this face primer by Benefit, I love the smell, the feel and how it helps my make-up to stay on my face. I first started using this only when I had nights out and events as I didn't use primer before this, but it gradually went into my everyday routine.

Will I buy it again? Definitely - I just need to save up a bit and work my way through Pore-fessional!
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer - I got this free little tester sachet through ASOS a few months ago and completely forgot about it until it came in the post a few weeks later. I thought I would use it as I had finished That Gal and could try something new. Unlike the former, this one is a see-through primer and for some reason I don't really take to them, and unfortunately this wasn't any different. It smelt a bit funny and felt odd on my face, but I can at least say I tried it.

Will I buy it again? I don't think I will.


I hope you have enjoyed this post, if you would like to see my original Empties video, you can watch it below!

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend! For all of you who aren't at Reading/Leeds Festival, here are the songs that have been sang in this weeks lessons! Also Happy Birthday to my lovely boyfriend who is 23 today!

• Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley
• One Love by Bob Marley
• Fireflies by Owl City (x2)
• Pack Up by Eliza Doolittle (x2)
• A Thousand Years Part 2 by Christina Perri
• Annie's Song by John Denver
• Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers
• Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Make You Feel My Love by Adele
• Mamma Mia by Abba
• Love Story by Taylor Swift
• Eternal Flame by The Bangles
• All Time Low by The Wanted
• The Fear by Lily Allen
• Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
• In My Dreams by Paul Mealor (Military Wives)
• Tomorrow from Annie
• Hand In My Pocket by Alanis Morissette
• Music by Madonna
• Number One Party Anthem by Arctic Monkeys
• Eternal Flame by The Bangles
• Constant Craving by K.D Lang
• Sway by Anita Kelsey
• Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble

I've been thinking about writing this blog post for a while, but I've just never quite realised how I've wanted to put across my story. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (C.F.S), otherwise known as M.E (the long unpronouncenable words myalgic encephalomyelitis) in 2011 whilst I was in my second year of university, but I had suffered the symptoms for approximately two years before this (and also suspected to be more).

Since writing my post a few months ago about my gallbladder operation I have wanted to talk about my experience with M.E. I do sometimes find it difficult to talk about, mainly because of pre-conceptions of what other people think and therefore act around me.

So, I'm going to split this up into parts, as I'm going to be covering about 5 years of my life in these blog posts.

I guess I will start with what M.E actually is (Just for the record, I will always refer to my condition as M.E and not Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/CFS, as I just feel that the latter doesn't describe my condition correctly - people just assume I'm tired all the time and it's not just that).

As described at patient.co.uk,

Myself just before I was diagnosed with M.E - hence wearing comfy clothes (a hoodie and most probably jogging bottoms too!)

"Chronic fatigue syndrome/ME is a condition where you have long-term disabling tiredness (fatigue). Most people with chronic fatigue syndrome/ME also have one or more other symptoms such as muscular pains, joint pains, disturbed sleep patterns, poor concentration, headaches. The cause is not known."

It's also worth noting that approximately 250,000 people in the UK have M.E/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, whether it be severe or mild.

I used to live a fairly normal life, probably not too much different from what I actually live now. Before my symptoms began, I was completing my A Levels, I was a Young Leader at my local scout group, in a relationship and walking at least 2 miles a day. I was also had a Saturday job at Topshop and was a size 8 in clothes.

My symptoms started pretty much as soon as I started my foundation year of university. It first started with abdominal pains that were more focused to the right side of my body, and to this day I still experience this now. The pain could range from being an annoying ache or the most painful thing I had ever felt, and could spread across my whole abdomen. I would become dizzy and have sweats and nearly end up in hospital. I remember walking back to my halls of residence after finishing my lectures for the day and nearly collapsing in the street and seriously scaring my friends who were with me - that was when I realised that something was seriously wrong.

At this point in time I was also working at a well-known home improvement store as a cashier (or mainly manning the refunds desk as I was able to sit down - another symptom I have is that I cannot stand for long periods of time without feeling dizzy and eventually blacking out - I will go into more detail later about this). All was well and good when I started the job but as I got more and more sick this was reflecting in my work. Obviously the company could not sack me on the grounds of illness, and so instead kept me on a temporary contract and let me go when it ran out. I knew their real reasons for why they didn't want to keep me but if they had sacked me for being ill it would then give me grounds to take them to court! I felt this was incredibly sneaky and I was absolutely gutted to lose my job, it really made me feel like I couldn't manage anything as I was also struggling at university at the time. My job there was also my main income to live off at university as my whole loan went towards my rent - this gave me even more stress that I didn't need and I was very lucky that my parents funded my living costs in those months where I didn't have a job.

It was also around the time of losing my job that my relationship of around 17 months ended due to it not working out as long-distance. This was the last straw for my health and in the summer holidays I spent a majority of this time bedridden due to my M.E. Around this time my abdominal pains were getting increasingly worse and so I was hospitalised with suspected appendicitis. Typically, whenever I get sent to hospital for something my body gets better and my pains subsided for a while so I got to go home! (Of course, it never was appendicitis...)

• Grenade by Bruno Mars
• Count On Me by Bruno Mars
• Cannonball by Little Mix
• A Thousand Years by Christina Perri
• Want U Back by Cher Lloyd
• Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
• Mardy Bum by Artic Monkeys
• Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble
• Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley
• Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves
• You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry & The Pacemakers
• If I Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Riatt
• Love Story by Taylor Swift
• Mamma Mia by Abba
• Make You Feel My Love by Adele
• Move by Little Mix
• The One That Got Away by Katy Perry
• Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Rehab by Amy Winehouse
• Hand In My Pocket by Alanis Morissette
• Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon
• Stand By Me by Ben E. King
• Fireflies by Owl City (x2)
• When I Grow Up from Matilda
• Let It Go - Demi Lovato
• A Thousand Years (Part 2) - Christina Perri
• Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
• How To Save A Life - The Fray
• Out Of Reach - Gabrielle

Here is a new kind of blog post I'm trying out, where I will write every song (and if it is sung by multiple students) that has been sung by my students this week! I hope it will give you an idea of the wide variety of songs I hear all the time, and feel free to check some of them out for yourselves!

This weeks songs were;

• Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley
• One Love - Bob Marley
• Stand By Me - Ben E. King
• Bang Bang Bang - Selena Gomez
• Fireflies - Owl City
• Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
• Sway - Anita Kelsey
• If I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt
• The One That Got Away - Katy Perry (x2)
• Move - Little Mix
• Eternal Flame - The Bangles
• Roar - Katy Perry
• When I Grow Up - Matilda
• Rehab - Amy Winehouse
• Out Of Reach - Gabrielle
• Top Of The World - The Carpenters
• Only The Lonely - The Motels
• A Thousand Years (Part 2) - Christina Perri
• Son Of A Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
• I Will Never Let You Down - Rita Ora
• Ghost - Ella Henderson
• Somebody To You - The Vamps ft. Demi Lovato

The Disneybound Challenge ended a few weeks ago now, and I just want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who donated, I managed to raise £130.50 for Action for M.E!

I just wanted to write a little summary of what I thought of the challenge, so here goes!

What was your favourite outfit?
I think my favourite outfit has to be a tie between Eeyore and Giselle! I really liked Eeyore as I feel I got the outfit and accessory spot on, and with Giselle the dress was perfect for the weather! (and lots of pink!!)


What was your favourite make-up?
My favourite make-up had to be for Rapunzel, I really had fun trying out the pink and making it look brighter and more refreshing than my usual look.


What was your least favourite outfit?
I would have to say Grumpy for this one. It made me feel a bit bloated and not flattering for my figure. The colour of the top wasn't quite right either. I wasn't meant to wear a cardigan but as you can tell from the picture the weather was rubbish!

Easiest to do?
I would say the easiest one to do was Aurora, as I just wore a blouse and jeans! I am quite proud of that I managed to combine both colours of her dresses! (Also everyone though Giselle was Aurora!)


The one no one could guess?
There didn't seem to be just one, there seemed to be two that no one could guess correctly! These were Will Turner from Pirates of the Caribbean and Khan the horse from Mulan. To be fair I realised I chose the Will Turner outfit from the more recent films, but it was one of my favourite outfits!



The one that everyone could guess?
Belle by far. The yellow dress just gave it away!

Least comfortable?
This one would have to be the outfit for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. My reasons are because I wouldn't usually wear a bodycon dress (especially for teaching) as I constantly worry about my figure in these sort of dresses! I remember it being a pretty warm day so it wasn't the nicest thing to wear in the heat.

The smartest outfit?
This is a tie between Jafar and Maleficent! I enjoyed wearing Maleficent as it was quite feminine (but hot!) and I felt Jafar was quite business-like! I hate my hair in the Maleficent photo though!

What did you think was spot-on?
I think there were a few that were very similar to the original characters - namely Eeyore, Grumpy, Ariel, Giselle, Flynn Ryder and Belle. Do you think the same?

Did you enjoy it?
Of course! It was fun and different, and other people have said so too! I think this is because most of the time when people fundraise it is quite a 'sporty' type event like distance running or swimming so many miles, but I'm not able to do that because of my M.E. It was definitely strange though when it got to July and I didn't have an outfit planned!

Will you do it again next year?
Who knows? :)