Ah… so the end of the Easter holidays approaches. I’m back to work on Tuesday and I’m dreading it. Don’t get me wrong,  I absolutely love my job, but it’s the transition from long lazy days in the countryside to frenetic school runs and being ‘Mrs Teacher’ again that wearies my troubled soul.

To cheer myself up I did three things which I am sharing with you today so if you are also suffering from ‘The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul’ you can try them out too and see if they help!

Walk a Dog on a Spring Afternoon

You need a dog for this, and local sheep help as well. The whole of the Easter holiday has been marred by constant rainfall. The grass is so long you can barely see the house and currently there is an old three- seater sofa nestling in the front lawn. I am trying to summon up the energy to do something about it but not just yet.

Our next door neighbour keeps calling us ‘The Dingles’ cheeky sod. The old sofa is out in the garden because we ordered a beautiful new one from John Lewis in a funky teal blue. It had been reduced massively (to around 200 quid)  so we thought it would be perfect to make the house look nice for our cottage guests arriving next week.

Unfortunately, it is so uncomfortable you may as well be perching on a rim of cardboard leaning against the side of a shed. But it looks pretty so it’s staying.

As well as the disappointment of the sofa I had a very frustrating day dealing with a company who shall remain nameless (Carpetright). The details are so boring just thinking about them makes me want to lie down somewhere with a large duvet over my head.

Suffice it to say: they didn’t turn up when they said they would; hung up on me (twice) when I called asking for a delivery time; accused me of lying when I told them they said the fitters were coming at 11 (I wasn’t lying); and then after all of that the laminate was four inches too short because Rob hadn’t measured the corridor properly. His excuse? He didn’t have a tape measure so used his feet to work out how long the corridor was. He, ‘didn’t think they’d use EXACT measurements’. (Cue my eyes rolling so far back in my head I lost my contact lens.)

Luckily, by the time we finished lunch the mist and fog which had lain heavy as a damp cotton wool for the past month, began to lift. A glorious, tender warmth began to stretch golden fingers across the lawn, caressing the worn leather shoulders of our old, abandoned sofa.

Dog started nudging my knee with a wet nose. Her lead was in her mouth. She gazed at me beseechingly. Walk! Just what I needed.

I still wasn’t talking to Rob so marched out into the Spring air leaving the whole family to their own devices (literally in Son and Daughter’s case).

Dog’s Favourite Giant Puddle

Outside it was pure loveliness. Dog’s Favourite Giant Puddle had pretty much dried up but it was still jolly muddy, and I very quickly regretted not wearing my wellies.

The glory of the sun, the shiny grass and THE LAMBS!! The little things were frolicking all over the place and Dog was very sensible and grown up and didn’t try and savage the sheep. I was very proud of her. (Out here they just shoot any dog which looks like they might worry the sheep)

Here is a video of my view today. It should be lovely and peaceful but note the high pitched screeching/beeping sound. That is the little voice activated alarm we have attached to Dog’s lead as she keeps losing it around the house. It’s supposed to whistle if you clap your hands or shout for it. It NEVER does. You could be right next to the damn thing, yelling your head off, and it will remain deathly silent.

Stand in the middle of a field where the only sound is the distant trace of bird song and the bloody thing never stops going off.

But look at that gorgeous sky. It cannot fail to lift your heart no matter how much of a pain Carpetright can be.

And to top it off the walk back, lined with daffodils…

Ended with us walking through a field of sheep with their lambs. Look at them eyeing us suspiciously!

I was happy to see a mum with her two lambs had strayed right into the footpath. I tightened my grip on Dog’s lead but she was perfectly well behaved and, apart from a friendly wag of her tail, barely acknowledged the sheep. What a good Dog she was.

Paint your nails bright red

 

This never fails to cheer me up. Like finding and wearing a good red lipstick – check out my posts one and two for recommendations – and since discovering gels I have never looked back.

Wasn’t it infuriating in the old days when you’d pay good money for a manicure only to wipe it all off when you reached into your bag for your purse? I remember once getting my toes done. To be extra safe I’d worn open toed flip flip type slippers (in November) and waited in the salon for ages for it to dry. The minute I walked through my front door Dog greeted me with her usual enthusiasm, and placed both furry paws straight onto my newly glossed toenails. She slid off my feet taking my £35 pedicure with her. Sob.

No more though! The gels last a good few weeks and harden instantly. A little tip: Watch your nail technician/beautician carefully. Does she put a cap on your nails? (When she runs the varnish across the ends of your nails) this helps them to last longer so always protest if they don’t do it.

This colour is Merlot and I can highly recommend my beautician (she does brilliant eyebrows and waxing also). If you’re in the south east I’ll let you know her details!

Have a Dermatude facial

Following my skin nightmare, a result of an Easter binge, my products had helped to restore me to my middle-aged loveliness.

To add the final finishing touch I also booked in with my beauty woman to get another Dermatude facial.

They are insanely brilliant. Here’s a link to their site.

And you can find an impressive set of ‘before and after’ pictures on this Pinterest board

My beautician got me onto this facial a couple of years ago. I can’t really afford to do it every few weeks – as they recommend – but I really wish I could! So instead I either save up and have three or so in a row, otherwise I just save it for emergencies when my skin looks like crap.

I’m not going to lie to you, yes, it hurts like buggery at times – but the results make it worth it. It’s OK on the cheeks and chin but it’s a bit sore on the upper lip and REALLY makes you wince when it gets to your forehead. It’s also got a weird effect when the roller gets near your nose. Something to do with the vibrations make you want to sneeze as it seems to drive out all of the liquid from your sinuses. An unexpected bonus!

Basically, my understanding is the roller is made up of needles which punch tiny holes into your skin. In healing those holes, the skin tightens and seems fresher. I think it also takes off a few layers. You probably want to have a look at the actual website – don’t go by my nonsense! It definitely plumps out lines and evens out discolourations.

My beautician had to have a special licence to do this and went on a number of training courses. She’s been doing my bits and bobs for over fifteen years and I trust her completely. Make sure you do your research to ensure the practitioner is properly qualified as it does puncture your skin. (You don’t bleed or anything)

The way it works is a healing gel is put on and then the roller is run over your skin working in sort of quadrants. You start on a smaller roller and as your tolerance improves you go on to a deeper one. The practitioner should always use a lighter one around your eyes and lips.

So what’s the result? Well,  here is a picture of my right eye before and after treatment. It’s not going to get rid of big lines but can you see the improvement it’s made on the fine lines around my eyes? It also seems to make the big lines softer – almost a blurring effect.

The next morning you won’t believe how soft and dewy – yes, DEWY, your skin feels. I even found myself looking in the mirror going, ‘wow, my skin looks GREAT today?! What the…? Oh yes, I had a facial yesterday.’

Honestly, the difference is that striking.

The second effect is that any products you put on over the next few days seem to sink in more deeply and last longer than usual. I always get out my good stuff after my facial as I know the serums and oils will work even better after I’ve had a Dermatude.

So there you go, the three things I did to cheer myself up. What do you all do when you’re feeling a bit low, grumpy, and fed up? (Especially when you other half is driving you mad!)