5 Random Acts of Kindness - Number 1

I was given this bag as a first year student midwife by my niece at Christmas. I was overjoyed she'd bought it for me as I'd seen it online months prior, liked it but hadn't purchased it and regretted it. So a bag, a fairly normal tote bag, I was as giddy as...well, a child at Christmas lol! And this bag came to uni with me, digging into my shoulder as I hauled around the likes of Mayes' Midwifery (one of the bibles for midwifery students). And stuffed to the brim during placements with food, personal learning logs, lighter textbooks, uniform and the sexiest orthopedic-looking shoes imaginable. This bag was almost always with me.

When I finished my training I figured it's time to shed the L plate. I was a bit sad, I love this bag and shared my sorrow on various social media platforms that it was time to stop using it. And someone got in contact asking where I got the bag from, they were about to start their midwifery degree and said they LOVE this bag and need this bag. Well there was only one thing to do. I sent the bag to them, this inconspicuous bag can see another midwifery student survive the hard, long slog of three years with L plates!

The spinster!

This tweet came up on my twitter feed and really made me laugh. 

The town I live in is almost 10 years behind the times! I tell people I don't have kids and their response is either of surprise or "Oh, I'm sorry." I don't need an apology or the tone of pity in your voice, my baby-maker isn't broken...well I've no indication to make me think it is. I was once told by a midwife I know that it's easy enough, I don't need a man in my life but I should crack on and get my head out of the clouds waiting for love! This was a rare occasion I found myself speechless. 

I've been asked so many times why am I still single, don't I want a family, am I the other way inclined?! My answers are I don't know, yes, no but why does it matter?! 

As Kelly's tweet suggests, times have changed and in most forward thinking places it's perfectly acceptable to be 30, career focused but still want a family. Just as it's equally as acceptable to be settled and secure with family life.  Whatever you choose just make sure you're happy! 

P.S. Happy 30th Birthday Kelly Osbourne 🎂🎁🎉, welcome to the club, it's pretty cool! 

Find employment - DONE!

This is a particularly exciting one for me :)

I've been a full-time, mature student for the last four years...well we could debate the 'mature' element but we'd be here all day! As I've mentioned before I had a quarter-life crisis. I was 25, living in Liverpool, some close friendships ended, the guy I was seeing called it a day and I was miserable at work. What was initially a summer job at the age of 16 in a department store became a part-time job which supported me through uni, then a full time job after I graduated from my first degree, a bit of ladder climbing and all of a sudden I received an email informing me that I was approaching a significant anniversary, well done for dedicating 10 years of service to the company! And the longer I was there the more I wished I wasn't. I was stressed, lonely, often surviving on a shoe string and it all got a bit much and I had a bit of a breakdown. I was suffering with depression, I've had episodes in the past but this was overwhelming. A month off work, returned to my family, spent a week in bed and then with so much support from family and friends I did some soul searching. I knew I needed to leave that company but I was so fragile I didn't want to just find another job where I'd soon be just as miserable, this was the time where I actually had to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Most of us are in the position where we work to live, not live to work. Work is what drags us from our beds, keeps us from our homes and means we have to spend time away from our loved ones...although work is often a welcome break from said loved ones! As work is the most time consuming element of our working life I knew I had to find a career that excited me, challenged me and I could be passionate about. I wanted something where no two days would be the same.

One of my sisters planted the initial seed of Midwifery, it intrigued me. My other sister put me in contact with someone who was then training to be a midwife. The more I learnt about the profession the more I wanted to know, the more I knew the more excited I got and ultimately, the more I was sure this was the path for me! The day I handed my notice in, I literally felt a weight lifted. All the tension in my neck and headaches went, the stress melted, the misery was relieved.

Despite what most people think, midwifery isn't actually about babies...well it is, but babies are just a small fraction of what the job is all about. Pregnancy is about growing a baby, and birth is about the arrival of a new baby but midwifery is about women. For women, their lives revolve around the child they are growing. And the midwife is there for the woman, not so much the baby. Supporting women, caring for them, assisting them, empowering them. And when I figured that out, that's when I knew midwifery was for me. It's bloody hard graft and I'm sure most people have seen all the media about recent industrial action over pay because so few seem to appreciate just how hard the work is. And from the midwives I know, they love it so won't stop but just want and deserve more recognition and appreciation, isn't that deserved for everyone in the NHS? Anyway, I digress.

So, midwifery. I went back to college, then I went back to uni for 3 of the most challenging years of my life. But I've made it. I've completed my training and got myself a First Class Degree with Honours and then the job hunt commenced. I trained at a small unit in the north-west and decided a while ago that I wanted to complete my first year as a Newly Qualified Midwife (NQM) in a larger, busier unit. So I applied, and I was invited for three interviews all with very different and very daunting assessment formats. And then I received three job offers. It was a tough decision for a variety of reasons and lots of lists and pros and cons were written and deliberated and then I made a choice, finally. I'm really quite indecisive. I chose a maternity unit in London, that's going to expose me to so many new experiences.

I've been waiting for aaaaaggggggeeeeeessssss for all the paperwork pre-employment stuff to be sorted and today the final thing has been confirmed. So now I'm just waiting to hear when HR can fit me into an induction course then I'll be heading south to the big smoke!

I've been so excited but now it's all going ahead I'm terrified. I cannot wait to receive my first pay. I am ridiculously excited to assist the first baby into the world as an official Registered Midwife. But it is terrifying because I've spent the last three years learning by experience under close watch and direction from some marvelous midwives. And although I know I'll have a lot of support as a NQM and I need to take some pressure off myself, I'm still so so nervous.

But for this list, that's the first thing achieved. I have a job, all the checks have been processed, all that's left to do is find out a start date and move.

So a NQM in my 30th year, another reason this year is so significant.

Start and maintain a skincare regime

This probably seems a bit of a pathetic one, or at least a very girly one. Let's face it - no pun intended - it is a very girly thing. But a couple of my tasks/challenges are about looking after myself a bit better. I've always washed, removed make-up, dabbed on some moisturiser and put on the occasional face mask but that's it. So I decided my face needs a bit more TLC as my biggest organ ages more visibly than any of the others!
To celebrate my 30th birthday me and 7 of my favourite girls went for a short spa break at The Woodland Spa in Burnley and had a divine time with lots of sparkling drinks, cocktails, great food and an amazing day recovering in the spa...with a few more cocktails and glasses of Prosecco. I had an amazing hot stone massage and facial. To my surprise the beautician told me my skin was dehydrated, on reflection this may have been a result of the excessive alcohol consumed that week but I had always thought my skin was very dry. Anyway, leaving the spa my face felt as soft as a peach and virtually flawless - despite being hungover!
So that was when I decided I had to start putting my self-care intentions into practice. To be honest I'm not going to bore you with the science or attempt to advise on what brands are better etc. So in a nutshell I love Lush and Body Shop both for their ethical stances and their products and I own a wide selection from both brands. I particularly love the Body Shop's vitamin E range...I popped in, discussed my skin with a sales advisor and purchased the cleanser, toner and moisturising sorbet - the latter being a definite new favourite of mine, it's fabulous!
And I started using them daily and still am! Well almost! It's strange but cleansing, toning and moisturising is quite a commitment, which was unexpected and a wee bit time consuming. But I've actually found I enjoy it, it's almost like a little daily pampering session and thus far, my skin is in bloody good condition.
I read that if you perform an action on 21 consecutive days then that's when it becomes part of your routine. A habit. So this is one challenge that I think is safe to say is embedded in my life, it's now a firm part of my routine in the evening. My skin feels and looks better, well to me it does, which in turn makes me smile and ultimately I feel better about myself, a little less self conscious and a little more confident. Crazy, in an attempt to reduce blotches and blemishes I've improved my self confidence. That's a good thing, isn't it?