Elf On The Shelf Week 2...

Ugh the blooming elf !!!  I have lost count of the amount of times I've said that & get annoyed with myself because I havent moved the elf or thought of a good idea.

I am so glad I am getting the practice in now before  I have children because I have definitely learnt from it.

Here's what the Elf got up to this past week;

My New Job;

If you follow me on twitter or follow this blog, (firstly thank you), you will know I started a job this week. In Retail, in a local supermarket... I have worked in retail before but within the fast food environment. I must be mad... its December... the busiest time of the year!!! Luckily I dont have too much to do with customers as my job is more with stock & with pulling the items off the shelf that will be going out of date that day and marking it down (those lovely yellow stickers).

Elf On The Shelf

Even though there are no children, well no real children, in my house both myself & Dan are pretty much big kids when it comes to certain things. So I thought I'd join in on the Elf On The Shelf shenanigans. I bought my cute little elf from Matalan & started planning.

Pinch Punch First Of The Month

I CANNOT BELIEVE IT IS DECEMBER!!!!


Seriously. Where has this year gone! So much has happened, some good and defintely some bad but seeing as its the 1st of December I thought I needed a change. The lovely Claire over at AlohaLola made me my new blog header/picture. I am so amazed by it. I can't believe its me!! Haha.

What I've Been Up To This Week;

So this was supposed to upload on Thursday but it didnt. Ooopsie.

This week has been a crazy busy week. Monday I had a visit from my ex mother-in-law. She is an absolutely lovely lady who I have known for 12 years & she treated me like her own daughter, but even though me & her daughter arent together anymore we still stay in touch & she comes to visit me & my nan every now & again. Also on Monday I was waiting in for a delivery. As our main Christmas present from my Stepmother & Father we ordered this beautiful dressing table from Dunelm. I am in love. I plan on getting the whole Toulouse Set as its so beautiful.

My Childminding Journey so far..

So as you know I started this blog to talk about my life, what I get up to, my crafting & my childminding journey. I thought seeing as I've been gone a while I would update you as to what has happened.
Starting with the childminding as thats something I'm using a lot of energy on at the moment.

Am I over my writers block????

Hey,

Well I'm back. I'm hoping for the long haul but we shall see. It's been just over a year since I started this blog & I think I managed about 31 posts. This is okay for someone just starting out, IMO. However I am not happy with this. I want to do better. I want to be better! Not just at blogging but at life.

Sunny Beach, Bulgaria

Hey,

So D & I went on holiday to Sunny Beach, Bulgaria for one week in August. It was our first week away just the two of us. D's first holiday as a couple as she's used to group holidays. It was great to have time for just us two without having to run around doing errands.

Goodbye July.. Hello August.

OMG how quick is this year going??!!!

I've been a bit absent from blogging but as im coming to an end on my course & things should be settling down soon I hope to be back to it, writing and reading. I cannot believe it is August already. Where is this year going????

#PrayForNice

Big Brother 2016

Hey,

So this is kinda an unplanned post because Tuesday night was the launch of Big Brother. I am such a TV addict & Big Bro is certainly ones of those ones that I just can't miss. I heard they were going to do a bit of a shake up this year & so I was really interested to see how that went down as its been going downhill the last few years, probably because it's been running so long. Anyways I thought I would give my thoughts of last nights launch show & on the new Housemates & The Others.....  More on that in a minute.

I have been soooo busy...

Hey,

I have been so busy lately. I've had stuff to deal with & sort out since my Grandfather died, I've had D's birthday, my aunties wedding as well as trying to complete work for my childminding course & stuff for the job centre.  I feel like it's never ending. Luckily I get a bit of a rest as my grandmother has gone to Coventry to stay with her sister for 2 weeks so that's one less thing I have to deal with each day.

Saying goodbye is never easy...

Hey,

There's an elephant in the room .. Well my mind... And before I can get back into blogging properly I need to talk about. My Bamps passing. I discussed in previous posts about the cancer so I don't want to talk about that really. I want this post to be about the funeral, the special day where we celebrated the life of my Bamp. He had his flaws but don't we all & those flaws make us ...well us.

I'm back...

Hey,


So as the title suggests I am back to the blogging world. I took a bit of a break since the passing of my grandfather. It hit me hard & it's changed my life as well as most of my families. Things won't be the same again.

Day trip; Port Eynon

Hey,


So back a couple of weeks ago D & I went for a drive to Swansea to spend a day on the beach. Swansea has so many beaches so we set off with no set plan or place in mind.

February's Blogger Beauty Box

Hey,


Today's post is all about the Blogger Beauty Box set up by Vix Meldrew. I ordered a box to try it out, for only £10 including postage I was a tad bit dubious... However I needn't have been. The February box came with 4 full sized items, a set of eyelashes & 2 trial size products. AMAZING!!!

Lan Lloft Blogger Event

Hey,

You never guess who little ole me got up to recently... I went on my own to my first ever blogger event. For anyone who knows me this is a massive thing for me to do as I am a total panicky poo & absolutely hate going anywhere on my own but I am super glad I did.

Meh

Meh..... Totally sums up how I feel right now.

Today's post was supposed to be a review of a beauty box but I feel like if I post said blog post then I'll just be hiding the truth about how I'm feeling. Not just today but lately. So instead I thought I would just do an honest post.

Videos of the week; Number 1

Hey,

So I thought I would start a new series of posts. I absolutely love discovering new things on YouTube, they are usually people singing or something funny but either way I thought that ever Sunday I would post my weekly finds. 

My stepmother's 50th.

Hey,

So last weekend I went to London, well Slough, to celebrate my stepmothers 50th birthday. Me & D went in her car & met my Auntie, Uncle & my Aunties best friend at the hotel.

30 Before 30 Update

 So back in December I decided to write a list, call it a bucket list if you may, of 30 things I want to achieve or do before I'm 30 years old. Well with me being 28 in August I need to get a move on. As I said in the first post I would update every 3 months in hope that would make me more inclined to complete more of these achievements or tasks if you may.

So here is my first update;

I don't get the hype about Lush......

Hey,

So I'm probably going to get a few gasps here but I really don't get the huge hype about Lush. Yes a 'blogger' who doesn't like Lush.... It is possible!!!!

Now I am a huge bath lover, I absolutely love a bubble bath & I do like a bath bomb but I really don't understand what is so great about Lush bath bombs. Yes their products are colourful & fun & they do some great designs but to me they are so totally overpriced for what they are & how long they last. I
like to make my money last as long as possible. 

The one thing I do like about Lush is that they are against animal cruelty. This is something that I am so 'For'. There needs to be more of this in the world.

Are you a Lush fan? What do you like/loathe about Lush?

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Asking my girlfriend .....

Hey,

So if you're on Facebook, if you're not then you so have to comment below because that's just insane, you probably will have seen people posting these tags saying things similar to;


'WITHOUT ANY prompting, ask your kid/kids these questions and write down EXACTLY what they say.'

Well some made me laugh so I decided to try it out on D & change it up a little...it was quite fun & I recommend people to do it, either with partners or with your kids. Here's D's answers.......



1. What is something your girlfriend always says to you?

I love you.



2. What makes her happy?

Me being happy.



3. What makes her sad?

When we are not together.



4. How does your girlfriend make you laugh?
O
Stupid things; saying silly things, talking in silly voices



5. What was your girlfriend like as a child?

Grown up  (old before her years)



6. How old is your girlfriend? (funnier when kids answer but a good test to see if your partner knows)

27


7. How tall is your girlfriend?

5ft



8. What is her favourite thing to do?

Have sex .... Don't care as long as I'm with you.



9. What does she do when you're not around?

Read, clean the house, catch up on the soaps.



10. If your girlfriend becomes famous, what will it be for?

Being a supernanny - new Jo Brand, no wait that's the comedian.... Jo Frost I meant!



11. What is your girlfriend really good at?

Crafting



12. What is your girlfriend not very good at?

Singing....... (Queue a gasp from myself) nah I'm joking because I knew you'd react like that.... 
Driving !!!!!! Shit at directions. 



13. What does your girlfriend do for a job?

Look after the children, educate them, teach them to be good people,teach them manners.



14.What is your girlfriends favorite food?

Chicken



15.What makes you proud of her?

For becoming a really lovely independent person who could of been a tear away, an uncaring person.



16. If your girlfriend were a character, who would she be?

The BFG.... Even though you lived with nasty people you was still nice.



17. What do you and your girlfriend do together?

Everything



18. How are you and your girlfriend the same?

We both like silly things



19. How are you and your girlfriend different?

I'm not very emotional but Chloe is.



20. How do you know she loves you?

Cause she tells me every day.



21. What does your girlfriend like most about you?

My boobies



22. Where is her favourite place to go?

Hollywood bowl




So there were so funny answers in there, & some lovely ones too. D pretty much got them all right apart from my favourite place as such, I do like to go to Hollywood bowl when we go out, it's always our fail safe but I would say my all time favourite place is at my grandparents because it has so many great memories for me. I ,say elaborate more on these answers in my next blog post. But for now I shall leave it… Let me know if you try it out on anyone & what funny answers you get or see.

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My first week of work & Nan's operation.

Hey,

So not that I think anyone really noticed but I have been a bit absent from the blog. I've been a bit stressed, ill & just  haven't felt up to sitting down and writing. But I'm starting to feel better & am getting a bit more into a routine so thought I would get back on track.

Last week I started my new job as a Private Nanny, working for a single mother with two boys ages 7&8. For the sake of the blog I'll be referring to them as I & C. The job is only 3 days a week which is lovely as I can make enough money to survive, & pay the bills & it also means I can continue to do the things I love; spend time with family & Dan, blogging, Sorting out my house & other meaningless life things. Haha.

The boys are lovely. They are polite enough, need the odd push for a thank you but generally fine. They know their routine, there is no need to nag or ask them to brush teeth, wash faces, etc. Being 6&7 they are quite independent in the sense of they don't need help with toileting or asking for food/drinks, to be fair they usually get it themselves. The first week I usually just let them do what they want in regards to watching their TV programmes, playing games, etc as it gives me chance to get to know them & also see how much they moan/groan when I do ask them to do things.....well with these two I need not worry, they didn't moan when I asked them to read to me, or do their homework or the one I was dreading most, asking them to tidy their rooms, But not a single moan from them at all. So it's fair to say I'm pretty happy with these kids. Obviously it's not going to be plain sailing but they have a good base to work with.. I only look forward to learning more from them & also to helping them grow & develop.

Seen this little poem & thought it was great.

Also last week my grandmother had an operation on a lump in her saliva glands. The surgery took three hours, and was a success, the opening that they had to stitch back up looks like it's in the neck creases & goes around the front side of her ear, but when it has healed I don't think you'll be able to really tell what's happened. She's is recovering well which is great as we were all worried how she would cope after the anaesthetic & with the Parkinson's. My Grandfathers chemo has stopped for the time being, he had 4 doses, is that the word (?), and they said that he could potentially have more in the future if needed. He got a bit ill last when Nan was in hospital, he was out of breath and extremely tired, he's perked up a bit now after having another chest drain & the specialists decided that a permanent drain needs to be fitted so he can have it drained more often. So with the both of them going through what they are I've been a bit stressed and worn out. They are off to a day at the races tomorrow for my Nan's birthday on Sunday.


I plan on having a relaxing weekend and spending it doing all the things I need to do & spending my
time with my girl. What do you have planned?

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My TBR Pile

Hey,

So I thought I would let you into a bit more about me today & I thought I would start of by discussing one of my hobbies; Reading.


I like to read but as I've got older I find I have less time to do so. However with my book collection growing by the minute I thought that I should probably organise my time a bit better & schedule myself some reading time.

I have a Goodreads account follow me here. Last year I set myself a challenge to read 15 books & I only managed 7... Oops. Told you I wasn't having much reading time. So this year I will be setting the challenge of 10... Allowing myself at least a month to read one book....easy. I hope!

I have also updated my 'to read' section on there ensuring its books I either own or want to own, I'm hoping this will be better for me so that I am pressuring myself less to read books I don't want to. I sometimes feel the need to read a book because someone has said its good & im the type of reader who once I have started a book I must read till the end.

The type of books I read are mainly autobiographies & chick lit, however I have also got the challenge of finishing the Harry Potter books as D is a big fan & not only is she wanting to take me to Harry Potter world next year, even though she's been before, we have also booked tickets to see The Cursed Child in London. So the Harry Potter Books are on the first TBR pile & then I think I will just work through my shelves.

If you want to see what's on my shelves then take a browse on my goodreads page & my Instagram, links below.

Do you have any favourite books or authors? Are you setting yourself a reading challenge??

Love Coco,

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St Dwywens Day

Hey,

So I kinda didn't get a post up last week.. I had one planned but it kinda slipped my mind. So my apologies for that firstly. So this week I hope to get two up.

So today most people in Wales who has a partner will be showering them with love for St Dwynwens Day. St Dwynwen is the Welsh patron saint of lovers. Dwynwen translates as 'she who leads a blessed life' which I think is beautiful. I may consider it as a name for my future daughter!!!!!

So the story is; The Welsh King had 24 daughters and Dwynwen was the prettiest of them all. Her father had arranged for her to marry someone , However as most love stories go she fell in love with someone else, a man called Maelon.
When she was found out about this arranged marriage she prayed to God to help her. So when she was sleeping an Angel visited her and gave her a potion to erase her feelings about Maelon & turn him into ice. (Cue a Disney Frozen scene here)
With the fact that her prayer came true she devoted her life to God & set up a convent on an island off the coast of Anglesey, which apparently you can still see the remains off. As Dwywens devoted her life to God, he gave her three wishes, she wishes were that Maelon be thawed, that God should meet the needs of all lovers & that she should never marry and that's how the story ends.

So that is the strange story of St Dwynwen.... It's basically a Welsh version of Valentine's Day. As both D & I find Valentines Day is over commercialised these days and it's a competition of whose partner can do better D & I don't celebrate it, instead we chose St Dwynwens day to exchange a gift, although to be honest this is quite a regular thing for us, we are forever picking things up for each other that we see.

So my present off D was a beautiful necklace from Not On The High Street , I've been after a star statement necklace for ages & neither of us have been able to find one anywhere. However this necklace is pretty close & it's so beautiful I am one happy girlie.

Design your own necklace

I absolutely love it. I love that it's stars, my favs, it also has my initial, my favourite colour purple & is just such a thoughtful gift off my girl.

For my girl I bought a photo frame & put some my favourite photos of us, I bought a metal sign which says 'love is in the air' which I hope we can put up on our feature wall when we live together & then I made a ' Reasons why...' Book which stated all the reasons why I love her. I'm a soppy shit about things like that. I'm 99% sure she liked her gifts.


Do you celebrate Valentine's Day or do you think it's becoming more commercial?

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Catch up..

Hey,

I hope you are all well. I just thought I would use this weeks post tour date you on what has been happening and what's upcoming in the Coco house.

So just before Christmas I had an interview for a Nanny job in a town local to me, I've pretty much got the job I'm just waiting on the start date, hopefully1st February, and for some paperwork to come through. Previously I worked as a Nanny for a family & they just employed me & joined a PAYE scheme who did all the work for them. With this family it is a single parent & they have asked me to join a voluntary scheme with CSSIW, Care & Social Services Inspectorate Wales, so that she can have some monetary help from her university until she becomes a qualified nurse. I sent the paperwork off & have now paid for that & am hoping to get the registration complete ASAP.

I've been out of work since August & I am quite nervous about getting back into work as its been so long & I'm worried about everything that is going on outside of that but I'm hoping that all will go well & I'll just jump back into it like nothing ever happened. The things outside of work life that I'm talking about is mainly family. As written previously my grandfather has cancer & is having chemotherapy for it. The chemo is going really well in the sense that he hasn't had any of the side effects, no sickness or anythng like that. He is still as stubborn as always, going to our local towns every day & cooking food for the family every Sunday... I'm glad that he is carrying on the way he always has... He's a fighter and a stubborn sod.

Also written previously is that my Nan is having to have an operation in February for a lump in her salvia glands. This is a three hour operation and quite a bit risky as its near a main nerve. My Nan doesn't give up either, we just hoping that the recovery goes as normal because of her Parkinson's Disease. So a lot of my mind in the beginning of February is going to be worrying about them as I am very close to them & I feel a little like now I've got a job I'm not going to be just up the road as much as currently am.

Went out for a meal for Nan & Bamps 49th Anniversary

I don't think I have any other news , me & D have been spending quite a nice bit of time together & have vowed to do more interesting things this year... We have our own little bucket list & we also have a lot on the calendar for this year;

The only event on here that D is coming to is Little Mix

I've got some ideas what I want to do for D's birthday but I'm not 100% set yet & I have no idea for mine either but D said she already has ideas. I feel like this year is going to be a good but busy one.

Do you have any plans for the year? Let me know in the comments.

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January's Treat Box

Hey,

Something a little different from me again today, originally I was going to use this blog to talk about my childcare business/work & my craft work however something I've learnt from reading many blogs is that the key to a good blog is to talk about what you are passionate about. So today's post is going to be about a monthly subscription box that I have recently subscribed to.

Since September 2014 I had been subscribed to My Little Box, but lately I feel like it's not as exciting and the products feel a bit repetitive so I decided to try TreatBoxUk by Not Shabby Very Chic. I got my first one at Christmas & I really liked it so decided to try it for a few months to see how they pan out.


So the concept of the box is a monthly surprise through the door, the website says;
'Remember those lucky dip bags when you were younger, well these are like those, a complete surprise but even better because they are filled with gorgeous pieces, which could be; Home Accesories, stationary, jewellery, chocolate, fashion accessories..the list is endless'

January's box turned up at my door and I was super excited to see what was in it.....

This months box came with;

Teapigs .... Flavour tea
A little notebook which will definitely come in handy for me as I like writing lists
A 206 diary
Pencils , yet another good one for me with my art
A wax melt which smells lovely
Cute stickers and memo pad
A case with a lovely quote
A magnet (which I may give to my unicorn loving friend)
Quote card

Do you subscribe to any monthly boxes? Do you recommend any? 

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