So, the other day, I had to ask my boyfriend how to shave my face…….

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Yes, you read that correctly. I actually did have to ask my boyfriend how to shave my face! You are probably thinking why?????? The reason is that I have started a course of laser hair removal on my face and in between sessions I need to shave the hair. This is not a normal activity for me and therefore I am not 100% sure of how to shave my face!!

Let me take you back, since I was young, I have had hair in places that I don’t really want to have hair in. I remember being in high school and absolutely hating the dark, long hair that grew on my forearms – so I shaved it off! My mum and other adults told me that I shouldn’t do this as it would grow back thicker and darker. I thought, ‘I actually don’t care, I just want it off me!’ The hair didn’t grow back thicker or darker, so they were wrong, but I wouldn’t advise this method of removal for arm hair.

Another area unwanted hair grew, was on my face, particularly on my top lip, this hair I hated!! Boys would often point it out, like I had chosen to grow a moustache on my face…….get real!

My mum advised bleaching the hair and introduced me to Jolene. Anyone who has used this knows about the smell! Using Jolene, I had to mix it into a paste and cover the hair I wanted to bleach, then sit and wait for it to work. It did work but then one day, a lad pointed out that I had a blonde moustache, great! Being a teen girl and dealing with this facial hair was tough in those days. I mean this was before we were that bothered about make up or getting our eyebrows done but facial hair was a big no, no.

As I got older, I discovered tweezers and plucked any excess hair off as quickly as I could find it. Looking back at my eyebrows in those plucking days, I looked like I had plucked far too much. They were not in a great shape!

Then I was introduced to threading, finally, a way to get rid of all this excess facial hair and have amazing eyebrows! If you’re from Manchester, then you will probably have visited or at least heard of Maryams Beauty Box  – my eyebrows had never looked so good after a visit to her and my face was as smooth as a babies bottom.

This may sound sad to you, but it is actually on my bucket list, to get rid of this hair using laser hair removal. For some women, this may either not be an issue or they are not bothered about excess hair. I guess it’s a personal preference and personally I will be glad when it’s gone! But don’t body shame women about this kind of stuff, we don’t choose where hair grows on us and it can be difficult to manage. Looking back I think a lot of my frustrations with my hair was linked to my identity. My father is Pakistani and I didn’t grow up with him in my life, this affected me in many ways but I think it definitely affected the way I viewed myself. That’s a story for another day……

So, roll on to 2018, I’ve finally taken the step to undergo laser hair removal. I am hoping this will be a more permanent form of hair removal and I can finally say good bye to my moustache and chin hair. I always thought laser hair removal was too expensive but not with the deals you can find on Groupon, its much more affordable. I have had one session and need to leave 8-10 weeks in between sessions, until then I need to keep on shaving with the help of my fella.

At my age I am able to be open and talk about this, I know when I was younger this was not so easy. I hope that by being honest in areas like this it takes away the embarrassment from young girls, that actually most women will go through this or some form of body issue. We need to find a way to be happy with our bodies, while also taking care of them. I encourage young women to find a way to accept how we were created in my video How to look beautiful with no make up on  But I also understand that most of us have our hang ups and there are some things we can do to make ourselves feel more comfortable in our skin.

I will update you on how the process goes, in the meantime let’s keep pressing on to be who God created us to be!

Love

Amber

x

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How Audible saved me from hours of wasted time!

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Well the title of my blog might be a bit dramatic, but it certainly has had a massively positive impact on my life! In actual fact I love my audible app.

Audible is an Amazon app for listening to audio books. I have it on my phone and use it mainly in the car, on the commutes to work.

I have been a book lover for years, I can’t even tell you how many books I have read – no I actually can’t because my memory is so bad! But I love reading. Being a single parent, working two jobs and just generally being on the go for most of the time, I don’t always have time to sit down and read like I used to. Reading at bedtime used to be the shout for me but more often than not I am too shattered to do that these days.

When I was an at home mum, I would love sitting in the garden during the summer and just reading book after book – in between the school runs and nap times of course! Summer days are few and far between now and I don’t have all that free time with my employment.

So, the number of books I was reading was rapidly dwindling! I had to think of other options and I remember a few friends saying they would listen to books on the drive to work. So, I signed up to the free 30-day trial with Audible.

My first book to listen to was The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis. What an amazing book! Probably one of my favourite books. So that was it, I was hooked. I signed up and receive my one credit a month for my monthly subscription price of £7.99.

It has made driving so much more fun. I rarely get frustrated when sitting in traffic, especially if it’s a really good book I am listening to. I actually don’t mind how long my journeys take on those occasions.

It has helped bring back my love for books and forced me to make more time for reading. Nothing beats a real book though.

I also love being efficient and making the best use of my time, so what better use of the time sat in a car than to be listening to a great book? I often envy those on public transport because you can sit and read in those circumstances, ensuring its not a wasted journey.

Granted I can’t listen to my book when I have passengers, I have been given some odd looks when this has happened. Especially when I was listening to The Handmaid’s Tale and that came on when my boyfriend got in the car! It sounded very random.

Most of the books I have listened to have been really good, but I have listened to some poor ones too. These remain unread in my library and a waste of a credit really. They can be poor sometimes because the narrator is just not someone I can listen to for hours or simply because its not a great book. I try to choose books that are going to enhance my life and expand my mind. But overall, its been a great addition to my life and I would thoroughly recommend signing up.

What book are you listening to? Can you recommend any really good ones?? You can join me on Goodreads to see what books I have been reading. Drop me a comment or a message and help me fill my audible library with great books!

Let’s press on and be who God created us to be!

Love,

Amber

x

I’ve got a lot to say and need to find a way to say it!

.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’ve considered writing a blog many times, but I don’t think I’m that great at writing, particularly writing that requires you to use your imagination! But when researching how to write a blog, I figured if I am writing about my real life then there isn’t much requirement for me to use my imagination, so here goes!

So why? Recently I have felt this real frustration that I have so much to say but just don’t know how to say it. I am a fairly vocal person and those of you who know me, will know that I started my YouTube channel this year – Chronicles of Amber. This was a great way to really focus on issues around my faith and being on the journey of being a disciple of Christ.

I was really enjoying the Vogging via YouTube and persevered through some tough times. The editing and uploading of the vlogs actually took up most of my time, sometimes these took a ridiculous amount of time!

Then I hit a really tough part of life, that maybe I might explain, but that’s for another time – far away in the future. It really knocked my confidence and I took a month break away from social media completely, including my vlogging. That month was so refreshing! You must try it, I think we underestimate the impact time spent on social media can have on us.

I have, slowly, returned to social media but I have yet to pick up the vlogging……there seems to be a block there that I can’t get past. I know time is a healer and when the time is right I hope to return to it but until then this seems to be a good way to communicate with you.

So who? For those that don’t know me, I’m Amber. I am a mother of two children, who you will no doubt get to know through my blogs. I work as an Office and Events Manager for a Christian Charity (I love my job!!!!) and I am a Christian myself. I’ve lived a colourful life to say the least and I strongly feel that those life experiences are opportunities to share and help others on this journey of life.

I have been through some stuff, much of it caused by decisions I have made in life, but I refuse to let any of that be wasted by keeping silent about it. If what I have been through can help even one person from making terrible life choices, then that will bring me joy and will have all been worth it! I know there is value in each and every one of us, that there is a purpose and a plan for our lives, it just takes some time sometimes to see that. I feel called to empower, encourage and inspire others to be all that God has created them to be and I hope that this blog can be one of the ways to do that.

Let’s press on and be who God created us to be!

Love,

Amber

x

Got a lot to say
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