Hmm

For the last couple of days I've been going to bed after midnight. The result is that I keep waking up later and later.

Which really isn't good for someone like me who is very prone to oversleeping.

So, from now on I think I need to be in bed ready to sleep before midnight on workdays.

Also I'm hoping to get internet in my apartment soon. I thought I'd be ok with just phone internet but turns out I miss the convenience of a computer too much.

In Japan

I've been in Japan for 12 days now! Every day has been so busy though - and for the first week I didn't have internet access on my own computer - that I haven't been able to write yet, even though there's been some hilarious/interesting things I really wanted to talk about.

Sadly I can't remember what a lot of them are now...

Training for my job finished last night so we all have a couple of days before going to our schools. Today we're doing hanami, cherry blossom viewing, since we arrived in the right season for it!

I'm not sure I have the battery for my camera with me though...

Well, I'm hoping to get back into writing at least something every day, so, fingers crossed I have time/energy/things to write about~

Very slow day at work

It's actually my last day of work too! Yup, on Monday it's off to Japan... my supervisor treated me and a colleague to a nice casual lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant - I'm so full now!

I've been struggling with my attention all day, because tonight is my leaving party and we're going to two new places so I'm very excited to see what they're like cause I've heard good things about them~

I just have to get through 2.5 more hours of work...

So sleepy that I...

...left my phone on my desk yesterday when I left work...

Sleepy...

Been extremely tired the last few days. I slept a lot at the weekend because I could, took a sleeping pill on Sunday night so I could get rested for work on Monday, and accidentally slept too long today and was a bit late for work.

I've also started sneezing, sniffing and having itchy eyes again so I'm wondering if hayfever has suddenly come upon me, although I always thought my hayfever was around April/May, not March... unless it's cat allergies again.

I'm sat at my desk trying really hard to stay awake, though I wonder if that's "food sleeps" - the other younger colleagues and myself went out for burgers and fries - and I got a milkshake to sip casually this afternoon, which I just finished after near 2 hours of casual sipping - as a sort of goodbye lunch. The food was fantastic but now I'm so sleepy...

My friend put it a good way - red meat, carbs and dairy must be good insomnia busters. I should bear that in mind.

Last night I managed to get some nude coloured bras which I desperately needed for my new work gear. I actually got two nude and one black, and another Uniqlo Airism vest top in white (have two nude and one black already). I had to stop myself from buying pretty tights while I was there, even though I really want some.

I ended up going to Marks and Spencers since I wanted practical bras that wouldn't break the bank, and my friends have raved about M&S's comfort levels.

But I have to say that on the whole their bras aren't for me. Out of the 5 I tried on, only 2 fit properly, and there were only 5 in the whole store that I could wear as work bras. The rest didn't particularly tickle my fancy either, so I'm back to wondering why people rave about them so much. I suppose two pluses for them/raving about them are their 2-packs and the fact that they go up to very large cup sizes...

My allowance has come in so I am a bit tempted to go to Victoria's Secret, since it'll be at least a year before I can go there again... Although, something I have noticed with their bras is that the back strap and shoulder straps stretch very easily, so much so I now have to wear them on tighter settings. This normally happens with bras as they wear out and the elastic stretches, but I think my VS bras win the award for it happening the quickest.

Procrastinating

My brain really doesn't seem to want to be at work any more. I guess it's just like when you're at school or university and the exams are over but you still have to go to class, even though you know you'll be out of there so soon so you can't make yourself concentrate.

Right now at work, except for the odd task from my supervisor, I'm just writing out my handover notes and tidying everything up.

Actually as of half an hour ago my notes were all finished and I'm just reading them over now in case I've forgotten anything or something doesn't make sense.

But mostly I'm wasting time on the internet and thinking about all the things I need to do before I leave one week today.

That's so soon! And I'm not completely ready yet! What should I do? I feel like I have no time at all! And I'm trying to fit in seeing a lot of different people after work and I think all of a sudden all my evenings are full up... which means I don't have an evening to go back to London Bridge to my parents' apartment for the last of my things :/ I guess there's always the weekend for that...

So much to do, so little time/concentration! Doesn't help that this weekend I felt the urge to sleep a ridiculous amount so I did...

Lush: Product Review no.2 - Ultrabland

After the flu, I had a problem with red blotchy skin which was getting me kinda down, so, remembering how good their Cosmetic Warrior was for getting rid of my acne, I wandered down to Lush again to ask for their advice.

The salesgirl recommended two products to me: Ultrabland and one I can't even remember the name of. All I can remember is that it reeked of lavender, and the smell of lavender gives me an intense headache.

Ultrabland's key point is that it is a very bland concoction for problematic skin. It's oil-based, so it can't be removed just with water, so you have two options, and I tried them both.

The first one is to use a damp muslin cloth. I thought, well, since this is how I'd been washing my face with Liz Earle (and since I removed my Cosmetic Warrior with a damp cloth just because I find it easier to remove masks that way), I decided I would do that. It kind of works. But, something I didn't notice, was that it was leaving a ring of dirty oil clumps in the sink after draining the water (I filled the sink with water and would soak and wring it out between wipes). Good news is that it ate clean through my make up at the end of the day, something that Liz Earle couldn't always do.

Coincidentally, I noticed the grime it was leaving in the sink around the same time I sprained my ankles, so I decided to go with option two, which is to remove it with toner. I had run out of Liz Earle and wasn't so sure I wanted to use an expensive (Benefit) toner to remove it, so I had bought one of Lush's aromatherapy sprays, especially as the salesgirl said that could only help with my blotchiness.

Removing it in this way requires a lot of cotton and a lot of toner, since Ultrabland really is quite oily (mind you, it doesn't feel bad because it's natural oil and not like... I don't know... pizza grease being rubbed all over your face. After removing it with toner, it still felt oily, so I then followed it up per usual with regular toner and then moisturiser.

This way is fairly effective, and - best of all for little old me with sprained ankles - it doesn't require water so I could do it from the comfort of my own bed.

But all in all, near the end of the pot, I got a bit sick of the oiliness. So I really had to push myself to finish it. It was also about a week past its expiry date by the time I finished it, but it hadn't gone mouldy or started to smell so I figured there was no harm in continuing to use it.

Summary:

• Oil-based and eats through make up
• Quite a nice almondy smell
• Smooth and unoffensive to the skin
• Bit annoying to remove
• Lasts a while, and about a week after its expiry date it's still ok

Score: 6/10. Would I recommend? Yes, particularly to people with dry skin or don't have time to moisturise etc in the morning. I ended up using this product at night and during the next day my skin still felt soft and neither dry nor oily.

Will I go back to it? Only as a make-up remover or if I have blotchiness again.

Appearance

I have to admit, I've not been taking that much care over my appearance lately. I think it was a combination of the flu/throat virus tiring me out, the optician telling me I had to stop wearing contact lenses for a little bit, and maybe just my own apathy/lethargy/depression (apparently this plays a factor and I can understand that - when I'm feeling low I sleep more and so have less time or can't be bothered to make myself look nicer).

I shouldn't let that stop me though. Fact is, when I've put a bit more effort into what I'm wearing or how I look, I tend to feel a bit better about myself. I know it's silly that make up can have that effect, but it does.

I think my ankle has had a lot to do with it in the last couple of weeks. Because of the pain in my ankle, I can't stand still for very long - even standing at the sink to brush my teeth or wash my face was too much: I ended up sitting on the (closed) toilet while I brushed my teeth and switched to skincare that didn't need water (Lush's Ultrabland, which I was using to cure the red blotches on my skin), so I could take care of my face while lying in bed with my ankles propped up.

I'd even been skipping showers/baths cause it's too painful standing in the shower trying to keep my balance, and sometimes I just didn't want to be lying around in the bath.

But I decided to push myself into having a bath and washing my hair - even redyed it this weekend, before my roots started majorly showing! And tonight I'm gonna wash it again, after doing my laundry and hoovering my room. Not been able to hoover it and every time I want to do laundry the machine is either being used, or people are coming to view the flat so don't really want my delicates on display for strangers...

Last night for the first time in a while I painted my nails (subtly sparkly powder blue) and looking at them today makes me feel better. I'm also wearing little pumps instead of my trainers, which I've been wearing constantly for nearly 2 weeks. Hard to feel nice and ladylike when wearing proper trainers!

Tonight I hope to do a bit more pampering/preening and maybe tomorrow I can finally put in some contacts and put on some make up. I've just been neglecting myself a bit lately. I've been indulging in resting when I can, and of course can't do much with my ankles, so it's made me feel a bit down lately - the rest I'm getting because of my ankles actually bores me cause I'd rather be doing other things before I leave the country in 12 days...

I'm looking into some new haircare too, cause, despite having my hair cut recently and conditioning it regularly, I've got split ends and they just look tatty and frizzy even if they're not splitting...

Lush: Product Review no.1 - Cosmetic Warrior

Last year I came off my contraceptive for a little bit, thinking my acne had gone away and it was safe to be extra-hormone-free. Unfortunately I ended up having to go back on a different contraceptive, for my mood rather than my acne. I don't know if it was that or stress, since the spots came up along the jawline which is the "hormone" area, but either way, I had some horribly red and painful spots around Christmas last year. The Liz Earle products I reviewed last entry didn't do anything to help, so I asked a fellow acne-prone friend if she had any good cures.

She swears by natural masks and cleansers you can make from ingredients found in the kitchen/larder.

I was mortified!

I can't put food on my face! It's food - the objective is to get it into your mouth without getting it all over your face! Plus, I have an OCD-suffering brother and whenever he eats when I'm around he asks me if he has food on his face or on himself and then I wonder if I have food on myself and I don't want food on myself because it's messy and doesn't belong there!!

So I pouted away for a few days when I suddenly remembered my colleague used to work at Lush - it's food designed to be put on the face!! And so like a happy little schoolgirl I plodded along to Lush with a friend - he also adores Lush products so was glad to take me along~

We went to their Covent Garden branch, which is still my personal favourite to go to, although I have to admit that as far as I can remember, I have only been to two in London. The shop assistant who helped me was lovely, but sadly she doesn't work there any more.

She recommended Cosmetic Warrior, one of their fresh face masks. I forgot to take my own pic of it so I'm borrowing the one from the website in good faith:

The main ingredient for this one is - as I'm sure you can guess - garlic, though it also contains white grapes and raw egg. As such, it has to be stored in the fridge and has a relatively short shelf-life. I think the expiry date on mine was three weeks from the day of purchase, and I did actually manage to use it all up in that time. Handily, somewhere on the packaging for all their products, there's an expiry date.

Now, if you want something that smells like roses or a spring meadow, this isn't for you. But neither does it smell like garlic or rotten eggs or anything like that. To me it just smelt faintly like clay, or just something very natural, but I like that - it means they definitely haven't added something chemical just to make it smell nice.

It goes on dry skin, should be left for 5-10 minutes and then washed off. I used it once a day since I had a lot of spots, but even after the first usage the spots had decreased in size, colour and pain - miraculous! And, once the spots were gone, there was no scarring. So many products/spots have left scars when they disappear, even if they don't pop. I was so happy to not add more scars to my face!

So, in short (since I appear to be quite rambly today):

• all natural
• fresh
• smells like...nature
• keep an eye on the expiry date and keep it in the fridge.

My score: 9/10. I took off one point for the shelf life, even though it's not that big a deal. And yes, I definitely recommend and a friend has taken me up on that advice (I need to check in with her to see how it went).

I'm ecstatic that I can get this in Japan - colleague who used to work at Lush also lived in Japan and warned me that not all the UK products are available there.

Liz Earle Facecare

I keep meaning - and mentioning - that I'm going to write various posts and then never get round to it.

I mentioned a while ago, back when I first moved into my current place with my sister, that I was going to try out Liz Earle's face-wash and toner. I went through two bottles of toner and one and a bit bottles of face-wash before switching (I'm about to go back to the left over face-wash though as I need to use it up before I go, or at least, use it up so it wasn't a complete waste of money).

The method for the face-wash feels nice, but really it could be applied to any face-wash or face soap. Fill the sink with warm water and soak a muslin cloth in it. Rub the face-wash all over the face and neck. Squeeze excess water out of the cloth and buff the soap off the face. Rinse the face and pat dry. The soap itself feels nice and silky, but I didn't feel like it was doing anything for my spots when I had them. Sure, my face felt exfoliated, but that was just cause of the cloth, not the soap itself. In fact, when I used it in the shower and didn't use the cloth, it didn't feel nearly as nice afterwards. It does smell nice though, and is very good at removing make up.

The toner is lovely, refreshing and cool with a beautiful floral fragrance. But again, I didn't feel like it was doing much. In fact that's all I can really say about it. Cause of the nature of the dispenser, you end up with a lot of it on the cotton and consequently it runs out quickly. I hate this, cause I'm used to toners that last ages. Granted, these toners are expensive, but because they last for so long, I don't feel like I'm being ripped off.

Summary: 

• Products smell nice
• Not overly expensive either
• The soap lasts a really long time.
• Toner runs out quickly
• Not effective against acne

I give both products 5/10, and I would recommend them to a friend, but warn them I didn't feel like it did a lot if anything for my acne.

At the moment I have one spot above the bridge of my glasses near my right eyebrow and it is driving me mental...

Accident-prone

I fell down the stairs on Friday on my way to work. What happened was I cause the end of my boot on the edge of the stair and fell a few stairs with that foot twisted under me, so the ankle, bent at the wrong angle, took all of my body weight and I banged into the radiator at the bottom of the stairs.

I shouted out but my sister was asleep with earplugs in so couldn't hear me. The cat came running up to me though and ran up to my face to make sure I was ok, and even tried to leave the house with me. So cute of her~~

I managed a day at work and a contact lens check up, where I got more bad news. My lenses are fine, but the ophthalmologist said there's something stuck in my cornea and I have to go to hospital to have it taken out. I'm putting it off a little though to see if the problem resolves itself cause I can't feel anything and my eyes aren't watering or painful for anything like that.

My sis said her ophthalmologist told her to go to the eye hospital too when she had abrasions on her eye but she didn't bother and it fixed itself, so I'm going to take a break from contact lenses and add eye drops daily and go back and see them on Thursday morning. If they tell me then that I need to go to hospital, then I will.

I've been giving my foot a lot of rest. My sister taught me how to bandage an ankle (pretty easy but I'd never done it before) and we iced it and put some freeze gel on it and it's already so much better with much less swelling. I still can't walk properly, but at least I don't have to use my umbrella as a walking stick any more.

Full of pancakes

Less than one month til I move to Tokyo!

Don't really have time to say much more than that, just waiting for a document I need to proofread and then I'm getting ready for bed.

Happy Pancake Day! I'm stuffed.

"Mental Virus"

My virus has taken it's toll on me so much that it's affected my mood, mindset and mentality.

Had anxiety attacks and just feel plain awful.

Ok I was gonna write an entry but it's so whiney that I'm just gonna go shower instead.

Busy Sick Busy Sick

I haven't been updating for a while because I've been alternating between really busy at work and then getting ill, normally with just the sniffles and my normal ailments, but last week I started to get a pain in my throat which became a full-blown virus.

I've been on a lot of bed rest. I took a day off work and - except for the day this week where I did 10 hours - I've been allowed to come in late or go home early.

Right now I've got a bit of a headache, sniffles, wet cough, sweating, reduced appetite and weirdly passing a lot of water. Perhaps overshare but meh. So I'm trying to keep my fluids up even if I'm not eating much.

Tomorrow is a 12 hour day at work, I need to be there an hour earlier than usual too. Which sucks for someone like me who is not a morning person. I'm fine with staying late, but coming in early is bad for me. But it can't be helped, it's the big meeting for the grant I've been handling the paperwork for. It's going to be a long, long day and I might have to go for dinner with the attendees of the meeting afterwards too.

My CoE is on its way from Japan, so soon I need to go to the embassy to get my visa. And I received a card from the staff at the school I'm going to be working at, so I need to send them a card in return. And finally write a card to my former student. She sent me a Christmas card but I was far too busy/disorganised to send Christmas cards this year, despite buying some.

I got a new lipstick last week, Shu Uemura, a lovely purple one which I can wear to work. I'll hopefully wear it tomorrow. Need to look all pretty for the meeting. In fact, I think I'll do my nails. Maybe I should write the cards before I do my nails... but I'm not sure I have the mental capacity to write cards atm. This entry itself is just rambling!

Back at work

I'm back at work after 2 weeks of holiday. It's only the second day - only the first full day for me, mind - and all I want to do is go home and sleep!

I'm exhausted! I'm still having insomnia but forcing myself out of bed to not be late for work in the mornings. Yesterday I at least had time to wash my face properly and take all my supplements, but not this morning.

There's things I need to do, but I'm busy every night this week :( which also means no gym for me. I've been trying to find the drive to get myself to the gym for a while now. The closest I've come to working out was a 2 mile walk I took on Sunday to the nearest open train station (my station was closed as part of engineering works). Was a nice walk for sure, and just the push I needed. But now I'm too busy seeing friends and family to go to the gym this week. Except for possibly Thursday, and perhaps Friday, but I do have something scheduled as a maybe on both days.

The doctor gave me some sleeping pills to try and reset my body clock. These pills worked really well last time, but I lost the pack so she gave me a prescription for some more. Now I just need to find the time to go get the prescription filled! Hopefully tomorrow at lunch I'll have some time.

I would have gone today at lunch but I spent this lunch chatting to my colleague while we both ate in the kitchen, and then filling in a medical customs declaration for Japan...

...because I've booked my ticket now (!). After some initial confusion as to whether or not I was supposed to wait for my Certificate of Eligibility (turns out it's my choice but it only arrives about a month before your departure date), I decided to go ahead and book it. So I have the date I'm leaving London, provided nothing goes wrong with the Certificate.

Monday March 11th.

So I've been trying to get things organised as much as possible. Checked in with my doctor yesterday, filled out as much as I can of the medical customs form, bought 3 smart skirts, have made a note of other smart clothes etc I have my eye on... informed supervisor at work of when I would like my last day of work to be...

Speaking of work, I should get back to it. But I'm just not enthused about work right now. I need to rest.

Food info from Boots WebMD

Finally remembered to bookmark the Boots WebMD page so I could put some of the info on here.

1. High fat foods aren't the worst for belly fat. The worst are alcohol (especially beer) and calorie-dense foods. Genetics, diet and lifestyle all play a role.
2. Sugary drinks and oversized portions are also bad. Alcohol however has a particular association with fat around the abdomen - the liver is working too hard burning off alcohol and then doesn't burn off the fat.
3. Salads can be bad if eaten at a place that drowns them in dressing e.g. typical crispy chicken bacon salad with Caesar dressing and a large soft drink would have around 540 calories and 35g of fat, and is worse for you than 3 hamburgers.
4. Trans-fats are the worst kinds of fats for belly fat. They can redistribute fat from other parts of the body to around the abdomen. They can be found in margarine, pastries, biscuits, crackers or fried and convenience food.
5. Green tea, blueberries and soy all show promise for reducing belly fat but more research is needed.
6. Fast foods are bad for belly fat because they are typically high-fat, calorie-dense, and come in large portions.
7. Whole grains are better than refined grains i.e., brown pasta and brown bread are better for you than white pasta and white bread.
8. Popcorn is actually a whole grain food and can be good for fending off belly fat. But not if it's smothered in butter or toffee etc. Whole grains tend to be better because they're high in fibre and take longer to digest, satisfying hunger and helps you more efficiently use blood glucose, lowering blood glucose levels and reducing fat.
9. Men are more prone to storing belly fat than women. Women before 40 tend to store fat in hips, thighs and buttocks, but after 40 the body fat is redistributed to the belly when oestrogen levels drop.
10. Belly fat is usually the first thing to go when you begin losing weight. Belly fat is typically a "visceral" fat - more metabolically active type than others, so is easier to lose.
11. Strengthening your core muscles helps to hold in the belly fat, but not to lose it. Aerobic exercises (running, swimming, cycling, tennis) are some of the best to reduce belly fat.
12. Belly fat is more dangerous than fat around the hips and thighs because it is "visceral", which wraps around the inner organs. It produces hormones and chemicals that can cause hormonal and blood chemistry imbalances and inflammation. Researchers think the belly fat's location near the portal vein (carries blood to the liver from the intestines) makes it easier for fatty acids produced in the breakdown of belly fat to travel to the liver, where they can raise the amount of fat in the blood.
13. Belly fat has been linked to heart disease, dementia and osteoporosis, diabetes, bowel cancer, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and other health problems.
14. Cutting calories and getting more physical exercise is the best way to reduce belly fat. Most scientific evidence suggests that a calorie-controlled diet rich in fruits, veg, whole grains, low-fat dairy, beans, nuts, seeds, lean meat, fish, eggs and poultry is the foundation to reduce the waistline, combined with 150 minutes of exercise across most days of the week.