How to get a good manicure.....

Getting a good manicure can be hit and miss at the best of times, when so many beauty salons fail to hit the mark. Once I've found somewhere that does it well, I try to stick with the same outlet.

Here's a few tips that I've learned over the years to make sure you're getting the best possible service.

Probably the first thing to check, is to actually make sure technicians are using sterilized utensils. Very often it's obvious that equipment has just been washed under the tap then put back into a steri-pack and re-sealed, you can tell it's been used over and over again. Do you really want the germs and dirt from other peoples fingers put onto your own? Blurgh I think not. A practice that I see so many women doing now, is buying their own manicure sets and leaving them with their chosen salon, so that they have their own personal utensils - great idea :-)

One thing that drives me insane, is seeing nail technicians sawing away at peoples nails. This is so, so bad and can cause splits and actually weaken the actual nail. Filing should be done in one direction from the edge of your nail to the centre up one side, then up the other. This way you get a nice smooth edge without your nails also accidentally being filed down too much (has happened to me on numerous occasions).

Do you always have your cuticles cut? You might want to think twice about that. Although it makes the fingers look nice and neat, you're actually cutting off something that plays an extremely important part in the health and strength of your nails. The cuticle protects the new cells as they grow in the nail bed, it also acts as a barrier to germs, dirt and grime that could cause infections in the fingers. I've never allowed my cuticles to be cut EVER and I have super strong nails to show for it. Pushing the cuticles back and trimming the excess skin is all that's really required.

It's good to give your nails a break and have some polish free days or a week or two at a time every now and then, just to let your nails 'breathe'.

The above also applies to a good pedicure and you should always give your feet extra special attention, after all, they do work extremely hard and are very often completely neglected.

Once you've found a good salon and a good technician try to stick with them, or at least try to 'train' them to do your nails the way you like them done.

Happy pampering :-)

Trying to nail it - testing out Gelish

I really don't know why I bother with manicures, usually within ten minutes of leaving the salon I've smudged and chipped the polish all over the place, plus I have a hard time finding someone to make my nails the shape I want them - I hate the squared off look, I like mine more rounded.

I have no problem with pedicures, they seem to last for ages, which is a good thing.

The last time I had my nails done, I was a guinea-pig for a girl practising her gels, tips and overlays, which was fine and the end results were lovely. However, having had gels and acrylics in the past, I knew full well that when the gel came off my nails would be a complete disaster underneath and sure enough when it did come off, they were so thin, weak, flaky and bendy they were a complete disaster. I vowed there and then, never ever again! My nails are usually very very strong and to have them like that was awful.

I'd been hearing about these other types of stronger, longer lasting UV cured polishes for sometime, Shellac, Gelish and Bio-sculpture. Many of my friends use them and I'd heard differing opinions on which one was best. I'm a firm believer however in that application is everything,if you have a good manicurist who applies the product properly, even if you're just using ordinary polish you should get decent wear out of it.

I discovered that the little salon - Tips & Toes, in the Meadows, just round the corner from me did Gelish, so I opted for that as a first try of these gel/polish hybrid brands. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of colours available, but as my nails are super short thanks to their current weakened state, I chose just light pinky colour and I decided to also have the product applied t my toes as well - in for a penny, in for a pound as they say.

It was the standard procedure for the mani/pedi combo, then the Gelish is applied. One base coat, two coast of colour, followed by the top coat. After each coating of the nail, you are required to put your finger tips under the UV light to cure the product and twice at the end. (I always worry about UV curing - skin cancer alert!). The beauty of this, is that there's no waiting for ages with your hands in dryers, no smudging or anything like that, because as soon as your hands come out the product is dry and hard, but still quite flexible.

I was extremely happy with the end result, the question now is, how long will it last? I've been told anywhere from two to four weeks, before it needs removing and replacing - the other thing that appealed to me about Gelish is that it's removed using acetone, so no filing, scraping or picking it off. Well so far, so good, I'm on day four and it looks as good as the day went on and my boyfriend kindly ran over my toes with a shopping trolley and there's not even a scratch!

So far Gelish gets the thumbs up from me :-)

No passion for shopping

I've come to conclusion that I must be completely abnormal when it comes to shopping. Unlike my girlfriends who get over excited and coo and fawn over the latest lovely shoes, or dresses, or anything shiny, shopping in fact leaves me cold.

This morning I spent two hours wandering round Dubai Mall, but only because I needed to buy presents for my family for when I head out on vacation at the end of the week. So I had my little list of some Molton Brown products for my sister-in-law, clothes for my elder niece, something cute for the new baby, perfume for mum, a book and cd for my dad and some cut offs for my brother. I knew exactly what I wanted and where to get it and was done pretty quickly. I am definitely my father's daughter, I know what I want, I go in get it and walk straight back out again.

I've never been one for window shopping. My mother can wander around shopping malls for hours on end, whereas I get a glazed look in my eyes after about ten minutes and the boredom sets in. Even my boyfriend likes to shop and he always asks why I don't buy anything for myself and just buy things for other people - I don't have an answer to that one, maybe I just never see anything that really catches my attention. So when we go shopping he always insists on making me go and try some things on and ends up buying things for me - hey I'm not complaining about that part :-)

Maybe I need a girlie shopping spree, where you all go and have a laugh trying on different clothes and making a nice time of it, but I seriously doubt I'm ever going to have a passion for shopping, unless it's for a wakeboard, motorbike or swim wear.

A pain in the back

Pain of any sort in the back can be an extremely uncomfortable and debilitating experience, which can affect the whole body. Sadly for me I've suffered my entire life, having been born with a dislocated hip, which wasn't discovered until I was thirteen months old. The doctors tried all the old tricks of triple nappying, hooking me up to a massive semi-circle metal frame and rotating my leg, sadly in the end it took three surgeries and months of being in plaster from ankles to armpits to put it right.

But that wasn't the end of it, as due to the defect my pelvis had rotated and shot all my vertebrae out to compensate and this really wasn't checked as I was growing up. In my teen growth spurt stages I'd have days where I couldn't get out of bed due to back problems, but you just learn to deal with it. These days it's the compression in my lower spine that causes the most issues, today is a bad day and I don't want to move from my bed and have succumbed to the heavy duty pain-killers. I've always been an active person, so learning to support and make sure I'm not putting too much strain on my back has always been very important. I have good days and bad days with it. A couple of years ago I managed to smash the S3 in my Coccyx whilst snowboarding, which really hasn't helped at all and I'm constantly told to stop doing all these crazy extreme sports that I love.

A few of my friends have had to give up wakeboarding and snowboarding due to major back issues. One really good friend has recently undergone spinal fusion, otherwise he was told he would end up in a wheel chair - but there was no way he was going to stop jumping out of planes or hitting the slopes or water.

Why are back issues such a huge problem? I look at the way we go about daily life and we take our backs for granted, we lift things the wrong way (always use your legs, don't bend at the back), ergonomics are terrible - basic things like not having arms on chairs that go under desks, have computer screens at eye level, have keyboards at a mid-level, you know laptops are the worst thing ever? Because the keyboards are so compact, they force us to hunch over, bring our arms in and work in with a terrible posture, the best this is to plug in a full sized keyboard and get a laptop stand. Driving positions can be bad. Constant twisting in work stations. It's no wonder that so many of us are constantly seeking treatment from professionals.

Look after your back, replacing your spine is not an option.

Holiday Happiness

It can be very hard sometimes being an expat. Sure, we might enjoy the lifestyle, but when it comes to holiday time, the majority of people spend it going to visit family. It can seem very lonely at times, when your nearest and dearest are half way round the globe and you only get to see them maybe once a year. Some people don't see their parents, brothers, sisters or even spouses for maybe two or three years - I can't imagine how difficult that must be.

It's not healthy to work yourself into the ground, where you get to that point, where there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel and time off is so very important. It gives us time to relax the body and mind, to switch off and concentrate on other things.

I'm so looking forward to heading off to see my parents and brother in a short while. I have a new niece who I haven't met yet and I can't wait! My baggage allowance will be totally taken up with gifts, but who cares, family time is precious and we should make the most of it when we can.

I'm also quite nervous as the boyfriend is meeting my father for the first time. He met my mother in February of this year, but they all have quite a lot in common so I shouldn't imagine they'll be any great issues - apart from 'When are you getting married?' Which I keep getting asked - oh why the pressure? LOL

Time off for me is about resetting things. Bringing your life back into perspective and getting ready for the grind once again, but I don't think we take enough time off or as frequently as we should.

Ah holiday happiness. I hate to wish time away, but it can come soon enough :-)

My first ride on Harley Davidson

This weekend there's a special event - the Harley Davidson Open House event, where the new 2012 models will be launched, plus a chance to purchase merchandise, with proceeds from selected stock going to impoverished women around the world, in association with the United Nations World Food Programme.

One highlight however will be a bike parade, where motorcycle riders from across the UAE will meet to ride around part of Dubai. Now in previous events such as this, literally hundreds of bikers have turned up with rides in all shapes and sizes - which is an amazing sight to see, let alone the thunderous raw of the engines.


Now I was going to take the Honda Shadow, my little purple Ronnie bike, however it's battery is struggling and it feels a bit rickety these days, so I called and asked if I could hire a Harley for the ride - all booked out - GUTTED! However, because I'd RSVP'd to the event as media, I was told that they would be sorting a bike out for me to ride, a DYNA - COOL :-)


I suddenly realise that I haven't actually ridden a Harley, nor a bike that big before, so before the event, what am I going to practice on? Hmmm let me think, the boyfriend has a Harley V-rod. Actually it was his suggestion that I have a go on his bike first and let's face it I really didn't put up much of a fight. So this morning I get all kitted up and get read to take his bike out - he's obviously nervous, he's at work and he's trusting me not to a. crash his bike and b. hurt myself - please has a little faith.


I am a tiny person compared to my boyfriend, he's 6ft 3, I'm 5ft 5, so reaching the foot pedals on his bike meant that I had to scoot right forward in the seat, which meant for a not great riding position, but never mind, suck it up and get on with it. The minute you start one of these bikes, you just have to sit and listen to the engine sound 'bub bub bub bub' - beautiful. I roll back out the driveway and get ready to pull away, giving a nice few revs - sorry neighbours. Easy enough and I decide to go for a gentle ride around the small streets to get used to it. 


The V-rod is quite heavy on the handling and you really have to lean into the corners, because the huge fat rear wheel just wants to go straight, but it means it feels really stable and not likely to fall over at any given opportunity. After pootling about the small roads, I decide it's time to get out on the bigger roads and open her up and see what she can do.


HOLY COW! You lean a little on the throttle and your head gets slammed back and I feel like I'm going to shoot straight off the back - ok, maybe not quite so aggressive on the throttle then. I love it. Easy handling, responsive, power to get you out of trouble when you need it, there's everything to like and enjoy about this bike - apart from me having to be so far forward, which would do my back in if I had to ride it for a long period of time.


But now, I'm super excited about riding the DYNA at the weekend. Getting kitted up and going out for my first en-masse motorcycle experience. Bring it on! :-)


http://www.harley-davidson.ae/

A Toby Update - The Teenage Phase

Toby - my special needs puppy is around seven months old now and he's definitely in that teenage puppy phase, where he wants to try and see who's boss. Thankfully he's now lost all his puppy teeth, which were like being bitten by a mouthful of the sharpest needles you can imagine. There were two or three, that were hanging in there for dear life, but after some wiggling and copious amounts of hide chews, they finally fell out.

Toby's soul aim in life at the moment is to see how much he can wind the cats up. Neo, the cat I've had since he was six weeks old, looks on in amusement as the puppy drops his toys in front of him, backs up then stares at him intently, like he's supposed to do something with them. Chloe, my rescue cat, just hisses and bops him every time he wanders past.

I think secretly Neo enjoys the intention and they have quite a few boxing matches and chase each other round the villa.

Toby has also discovered the joy of digging. Yup digging as many holes as he possibly can, all over the garden, then seeing how many of his toys he can bury out there. He also loves rolling around in the dirt, coming back into the villa, shaking, so the dirt all goes on the floor, then proceeding to lie down and roll around in it! I'm so glad we don't have carpets!!!

Of course he's now at that age where he is also starting to do those nasty boy dog things. I've never had a male dog before, I always thought females were far less hassle. All I can say is, thank goodness that because of Toby's disability he can't cock his leg! He's also discovered that he has a willy and you know that old saying 'they do it because they can'? Yep, he does it because he can, but at least he's not tried to mate with either of the cats - yet.

So now the question comes about getting him neutered, which will have to be done as it stops all those bad boy habits. But Toby's issue is, because his legs are not the right way round, his little man sacks are effectively being retained, which my vet says means he will have to do an operation to go in through his tummy and get up in there and try to find them - lovely!

Toby in the mean time, continues to do well and is virtually unrecognisable from the tiny pup we first adopted.

Neo - my loveable (rather huge) cat.

Chloe - my rescue cat, who was abandoned by her previous owners.