It's all about JUNE - Gemini Season

All photo's within this post belong to Jade Kelly @ Just me, Jaydee.

If you've never heard of the term "Gemini season" then let me keep this simple, it's the month where all the Gemini babies/ drama queens/ best personalities ever (haha) were born! ;)

June was a good month for me, I turned 24 at the beginning and got to do some pretty cool stuff. This post has been long overdue hence why it's sooooooo late. I love having my birthday in the early summer season because it opens up more opportunity to do more and socialise more especially since everyone more or less spends every weekend in a beer garden, which was the case around the beginning of June. 

I wanted to share a few highlights of June to slowly come back to writing again. 

So, I'll list 4 of my favourite moments. Enjoy!

I turned 24 - Most people say once you go past the age of 21 it goes downhill from there. Sometimes I think this is the case whenever I'm in a rut but honestly, your 20s are the best period of your life as you become your true self. Although for me, I'm still a 6-year-old at heart but there we go. My birthday weekend was pretty cool, even if three days off work didn't give much time to celebrate properly, I still enjoyed myself and welcomed in being old... I mean 24 is young still, right? 

9th June 2018 - SAW TAYLOR SWIFT LIVE!

Crazy fact, I've never been to see anyone live before, well not someone who makes me super happy. I was in the process of seeing forever the sickest kids back when I was 18 but due to difficult circumstances it never happened but hey, that's a story for another day!

On June 9th, I and my best friend travelled to Manchester after 4 years of wanting to see Taylor Swift live. We made it happen after months of preparation and got some crazy good seats I must say. Being in the stadium at the scheduled time (5pm) buzzed up my excitement and made the whole atmosphere so emotional yet so magical. The experience as a whole was amazing, the support acts Camila Cabello & Charli XCX were out of this world, fabulous. I was like "whoa, oh my god" and had goosebumps haha. Then when Taylor Swift came on, the atmosphere felt so uplifting, positive and just so surreal. It felt like cloud nine which is a pretty intimate feeling, it was so enjoyable. The entirety of my row was stood up dancing, if not on their own then with each other and we encouraged other rows behind us to join in. The night as a whole was flawless. I've always watched Taylor's tours on Youtube, but to be in the audience of her Reputation Stadium Tour was insanely perfect. It has to be one of the BEST experiences of my life so far, I was left amazed for days up on my little cloud and didn't want to come down! Definitely one of the best moments of 2018 too, and there have been some amazing moments throughout this year. 

"A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life." - Coco Chanel.

My biggest fear is having my hair cut by someone so inexperienced and hating it. However, I've never actually come close to that throughout my life when trusting someone to cut my hair. In June, I decided to have my hair cut because it was driving me insane. It was quite dead on the ends and with summer coming around, it needed a make-over/ new style that wouldn't drench me in sweat too (ew). Ever since I've been able to wash it more, style it, manage it and most of all, it's so much lighter and doesn't fall out as much. I guess that's a good positive! It's true what they say, once you cut your hair you begin to change other things in your life too.

"It's a beautiful day to save lives". - Dr. Derek Shephard. 

So a year ago, I decided to sign up and donate blood as I wanted to help people and make a difference. Each time you make a donation, you're informed about where your blood has been sent. I've donated three times in total as it takes up to three-ish months for your body to restore the litre of blood you previously donated. My experience the last three times have been somewhat different, to say the least.

1st Donation - Long story short, I went lightheaded. It's common in a lot of people donating the first time and it's okay because the blood carers are amazing. I just hated the fact all eyes were on me because I felt faint, but I recovered after having a cold drink and something to eat and resting when returning home. Don't let that put you off though if you're wanting to do it, just keep in mind that you're potentially saving a life.

2nd Donation - This donation went well, I couldn't bend my arm for two days but there were no major repercussions which made a nice change.

3rd Donation - I tried being funny when sat in the chair to distract myself from how nervous I felt although I'm rather unsure as to why. It took five and a half minutes for my blood to be donated which in my last experience that is a record time! In recovery, I did everything that was expected and felt fine which was good. As soon as I got home that's when it went a bit south. It began when I felt lethargic, dizzy and just wanted to vomit... in the end, deciding to go straight to bed and slept for around nine hours and the following day I must've been awake for three hours then felt sleepy again, sleeping for a further four hours and then felt back to my usual self.
The whole experience was strange, but I'd do it all over again if it meant I got to help someone. My third donation was issued at Leicester infirmary for a blood transfusion. Very much in awe and hoping it helped someone who was in need. I guess you can say I took a negative experience and turned it into a positive one, which goes a long way!

June was a good month and these were my highlights of it.
Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it :)

Thanks for reading!

Find me here: 

Instagram: @jaydeekelly 

Twitter: @crashl0nelystar 

P.s If you spotted my Greys Anatomy quote, you're awesome! x

June Goals & Achievements * round-up * | 2017

Hola, everyone! *waves* 

So after not blogging for a month or so, it's about time I posted again, so here we go. 

I always try to set myself some different goals each month. Throughout June I didn't have much on the list to label as a goal really as I'm still progressing on last months which you can find here: May Goals 2017

1. Going in for my theory test... again

A lot of people project a car theory test as 'common sense' and make digs at those who don't pass the first time. I, unfortunately, failed mine by 3 marks and the feeling of utter disappointment is a huge understatement. I revised a lot and did lots of mock tests and got a good score. When it came to the actual thing, Hazards perception was so unbelievably daunting but managed to somehow pass that with 60/75 which to me is an outstanding result. You can do all the revision in the world although remembering it is also hard to do, especially if you're me haha. I got 40/50 on the multiple choice and it encountered 43 to pass so you can imagine how crushing it was looking at my result. HOWEVER, it hasn't and will not stop me from trying again. In fact... I re-booked another attempt and hopefully this time my score will be better than ever. Gotta have a little faith, right?

2. Turning 23 
A new age, new me right? ha no, I'm the same boring old' Jaydee everyone grows to love. Jokes aside, It was my birthday at the beginning of June. I had the best birthday ever, my best friend from University who I spent the entirety of my third year with, drove 2-3 hours just to spend a few hours with me on my birthday! Had the chance to finally introduce my two favourite people to one another which made me indescribably happy. Although on the actual day, going into Meadowhall for some birthday dinner I dropped my 4-month-old iPhone and it smashed at the top corner. Might've been happy on prosecco and wine so oops haha. I could be the only person to see this as an achievement but I've made it to 23... I'll tell you why it's amazing news for me. 
At 4 years old, I had meningitis. If you don't know what it is, it's a bacterial infection which spreads around your body, affecting your hearing, sight and could experience a loss of limbs. Luckily before it could do any of that to me, my mum rushed me straight to the hospital and the doctors/nurses tackled the virus before it spread around my body. 
At age 10, I got knocked off my bike. I guess you can say it was a near death experience as I passed out half way through then woke up underneath a van after smashing my head against the pavement. I was lucky to walk away with a sliced open ear, cuts and bruising and a shattered ankle. So making it to 23 after nearly dying twice within my life, is an achievement and I'm very grateful to wake up every morning to carry on living my life. 

3. Getting back on my feet
It's been a long time coming but I'm just glad the struggle is over. It's taken me since the age of 19 to learn how to budget properly and making sure all my bills are paid on time instead of going silly with my money. My rent is £33 cheaper (was £433) as I have switched to paying weekly and it makes it so much easier. Finding a stable ground with work has helped too, making sure I'm getting enough hours while training for my new job to earn extra income. I'm so close to the end of my driving lessons, when I say close I mean... doing mock driving tests, close. It's such a good feeling to finally be in control of the things that were once brought me down. 

4. Losing weight
Let's be honest, it took me the majority of May to stop dining out. Even part of this month (June), guilty as charged. But, I have started to get more strict with eating better, along with exercising. This week alone I have had plenty bought in to eat throughout the busy work schedule and so far so good. I can continue my journey with slimming down. It's honestly the best feeling keeping your body fueled properly. I ain't doing it for anyone else, just myself - due to certain things started to eat away at my depression and anxiety which, if you suffer from you'll know how infuriating and difficult it is to maintain positive. Since May 29th up until around 15th June, remembered to keep a record of how much weight had been lost. 6 1/2 lbs lighter and it's made me realise that it is A LOT of body fat... see below to see what an average of 5 lbs looks like. It's kinda gross but seeing what you're losing is quite motivating, well it is for me anyways. I've gone from 164.4 lbs to 157 lbs - great achievement for sure. Still, a long way to go, but in order to see results change has to happen.

5. Booked time off work - finally
Never go 10 and a half months without annual leave. Biggest mistake of my life, but did my employer offer it me before? Unfortunately not which has sadly resulted in me losing last financial year's holidays. However, I've stood my ground and actually worked like a dog (lol) in order to book two weeks off which is in fact very much needed. Being a carer is so mentally draining so taking my annual leave for as long as I am should sort me right out as I'll have time to relax, blog, exercise & eat properly - all the things that are usually restricted haha.

6. Became a blood donor!
For a few years now I have wanted to sign up. Due to some health complications like having a low vitamin D deficiency, it restricted into me helping those in need until my levels were stable. Finally, my vitamin D levels are stable and have finally registered to be a blood donor! The first donation is while I'm off work on the 11th July & I'm beyond excited to finally achieve one of my biggest goals! It will most likely make next months favourites ha.  

The month as a whole has been so exciting from start to finish. Although towards the end of the month I did feel a bit run down but the best thing about June was achieving some goals, learning from mistakes and celebrating my 23rd year. All in all, it's been a good month and I'm so sad to see the end of it. Just hoping July is just as good :) 

What have been your highlights of June?

Thanks for reading!

Find me here: 

Instagram: @jaydeekelly 

Twitter: @crashl0nelystar 

xo

2 photo's from google.com - all rights reserved to them.

Unless stated otherwise all photo's are my own.