Go Fish!

An element of nostalgia hit me today when I was going through the memories on my Facebook page and found the following status update:

The reason why I felt the warmth after reading it is because not only did it take me back to a great night out I had with my friends, but it was also a conversation that prompted me to begin this blog and was the opening piece!

Four years later, I have been lucky to have had some of my writing published, been a runner up in a short story competition, and have attracted over 27,000 page views all achieved through the support of my amazing friends, family and army of Twitter followers!

I have to admit, I never imagined all of this would happen when I first started it, so I want to thank everyone for your continued support, it really does mean so much to me.

If you want to read that opening blog, click here and watch out for a new short story coming when I hit the big 3-0k mark!

When tomorrow comes

As an avid X Factor fan, I was gutted to see that Jamie Benkert didn't make it past Bootcamp, but have still watched with anticipation over the last 2 weeks as we have seen Rita Ora and Grimmy battle it out with the audience to get their final groups together in the 6 seat challenge.

Despite Grimmy's poor start to his category, I was cheering at the TV like a true Gogglebox contender as I watched the amazingly talented Che Chesterman and Seann Miley Moore easily gain seats, and was cursing and shouting with just as much passion with the audacity of Mason Noise and his arrogant backlash towards Simon for not allowing his 'art' to get the air time it deserved. To top it off, I was on the verge of heart palpitations when poor Tom Bleasby got swapped and brought back on again after Grimmy realised he'd made the wrong choice. It was all just too much for a girl to handle on her own on a Sunday evening!

I survived though, but tonight I heard, despite the rollercoaster he went through, Tom Bleasby has quit the show due to personal reasons. Taking to twitter he has said "the X Factor is just one path...one that wasn't right for me. I will make music".

I have to hand it to him, it must have been hard to make that decision especially when you are given so much exposure and could potentially go on to great things from such a platform, but if you know in your heart it's not right, you have to follow it, and it shows a lot of strength in doing so.

I don't doubt that something amazing will happen for him, especially with his appearance on the Ellen show last week where he sang live and un-rehearsed with Jessie J! Whether that has had an impact on his decision, I don't know, but judging by the reaction he has had, I don't think on this occasion he needs X Factor. I think he just needs a straight out record deal and he'll be laughing...or maybe singing!

No doubt this weekend's programme will be just as dramatic with the editors showcasing his departure and airing who Grimmy will give a second chance to. Not to mention watching part 2 of the groups fight it out in Cheryl's category, whilst hopefully we see Simon eating a huge slice of humble pie after his disrespectful reaction to finding out he has the over's category. Roll on Sunday!

If you didn't catch Tom on the Ellen show, you can watch it here:

"Hold my Heart"

Every now and again I like to put pen to paper and try my hand at a bit of poetry, and although I have previously shared one or two with you, I was put to the test recently when my best friend, Becky, asked me to write something and read it at her wedding which took place on Friday 11th September.

Being one of her four bridesmaids, I already had an element of responsibility, but when she asked me to do this, I knew I couldn't let her down. Initially I started to write very much as I usually do, but what I wanted to say wasn't flowing and I was suddenly struck with what I feared was writers block!

Realising I was just over thinking it, I took a step back for a while and low and behold, in true Tanya style, the words came to me at the most unexpected and inconvenient time whilst sitting at work one Wednesday afternoon! Quickly scribbling them down (the perks of always carrying around a notepad) I found I had the beginning of what I wanted to say and surprisingly enough, it was in the form of a poem.

After tweaking it here and there, I finally had my reading and with the approval of my sister and an emotional thumbs up from Becky's mum, I knew it must be ok. What I hadn't bargained for when I got up to read it was being overcome with emotion as I was reading it in front of the bride and groom and their guests! I did it though and the response I have had since has been so overwhelming, and most importantly, Becky and her now husband Dan, absolutely loved it. Win-win all round!

So now they have heard it, I thought I would share it with you all here too:

"Hold my Heart" by Tanya Shirley

 

Hold my heart I am here to stay

As we stand together on our special day.

Face to face as we say "I Do"

Hold my heart it's me and you.

 

Hold my heart the pledge we now make

Through the good and bad, we will not break.

Today we are here side by side

Hold my heart forever confide

 

Hold my heart and then take my hand

As you look my way we will understand.

The love we have will always be

Hold my heart for the world to see.

 

Hold my heart a new journey now

The promise we made is our love to avow

Together as one, we align

Hold my heart you heart is mine.



Jamie's got The X Factor

So after a short break from blogging, I find it only fitting to come back to what I love by writing about someone local. Sitting down this afternoon to catch up on last night's X Factor I watched in anticipation waiting for singer Jamie Benkert to audition in front of Simon, Cheryl, Rita and Grimmy for a place at Bootcamp.

 

Any regular readers of mine will know who I am talking about. It was nearly two years ago that I wrote a piece on him after a friend got in touch asking me to do a write up on a charity single he was involved with.

 

Since then I have been watching in the background on Facebook and Twitter and keeping up to date with the singing he has been doing so it was very exciting to see on Friday when he posted to social media that he had auditioned.

 

Seeing the clip of him being compared to Olly Murs did make me chuckle given I had the same thought back then too, and knowing he was an Olly tribute act over the summer, I was intriegued as too how Jamie would be portrayed on the show.Naturally, Simon's mention of the movie Single White Female after his audition set the stage for the producers and editors to portray Jamie as Olly himself!

 

Despite the goulish music and the extensive focus on Jamie's admiration for Olly leading up to him singing, I have to say the boy did good! Starting off with an original song, 'Dance All Night', which again was referenced by Cheryl and Grimmy to Olly's 'Dance with me tonight', Simon asked him to sing his second choice and straight away he entertained the audience with a mash up of Hold On We're Going Home by Drake and Uptown Funk' by Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars.

 

Thankfully, the judges were impressed and Jamie made it through to Bootcamp with a yes from three of the judges. Although he didn't win over Simon Cowell this time, mainly I think because he appeared somewhat bemused by the whole Olly comparison, I think next time he will. However, it's Nick Grimshaw that will have the final say as he will be mentoring the boys.

 

So get rehursing Jamie because im sure I'm not alone when I say it will be amazing to see you go through to the live shows. Good luck and I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

Check out Jamie's audition here:

 

 

 

Aloe Aloe Aloe

Aloe Vera products have been taking the world by storm recently with the rapid growth and popularity of the Forever Living range that has seen a rise of people setting up their own independent business to promote and sell these goods.  

Founded in 1978 and growing in over 150 countries, it has only really been in the last year or so that I’ve seen a significant increase of people on social media driving these products to its success.

Forever McAloe is one of these independent businesses that has taken on the range and is rapidly going from strength to strength. Run by husband and wife team, James and Olenka McMahon, who started out their venture from their home in Bath, Forever McAloe is proving to be not only growing into a successful venture, but the duo are now helping to develop other people to follow in their footsteps. They have even reached out to others as far Cape Town and the USA!  

The Forever range includes life balance, fitness and weight management, beauty and wellness, animals and home and even make up. All the while, ensure Aloe Vera is the main embodiment of each product.  

But why the sudden interest and what it is about these products that make them so good? Well when I had the opportunity to sample some recently, I was obviously happy to put them to the test and find out for myself what all the fuss was about.  

Here is part 1 of 2 sets of products that I have tried:

Aloe Lips

 

This is without a doubt one of the best lip balms I have ever tried! Made with Jojoba, it not only tastes really nice (no I didn’t eat it!) but it made my dry, cracked lips so soft very quickly! I was a bit apprehensive about this at first because Aloe Vera has an acquired taste but with the added Jojoba, it made using this very pleasant. I was really impressed at how well and quickly it moisturised my lips without them feeling greasy or heavy with product. I will happily purchase this again, and of course it's perfect if you’re on the hunt to kiss a Prince or two! 

 

 

Aloe Heat Lotion 

I admit, I wasn’t sure whether I would ever use this one, mainly because I already have two different varieties of heat lotions in my bathroom cabinet which go unused, however the testing Gods were obviously out in force because I only went and slept awkwardly last week and woke up with horrendous pain in my neck and down my back! Thinking it would get better as the day went on, I found myself buying paracetamol at lunchtime because it wasn’t. It was only when I was at the till that I remembered I had this and as you can imagine, I was gutted I didn’t have it to hand, but as soon as I got home I put it to the test.

Initially, the smell of it wasn’t great, but this is common for these types of lotions so I didn’t let it put me off. It wasn’t long before the heat got to work, and I found myself using it not only for the pain but also to kneed out the knots in the neck too. It wasn’t sticky or greasy and made my skin feel soft afterwards too. Double bonus!  

This is also a good product to use after a long day at the office or if you’re need to relax your muscles and joints after sport.  

Aloe-Jojoba Shampoo and Conditioning Rinse

By sheer coincidence, I was given a bottle of this shampoo and condition around the same time as getting the samples to try so I feel like I’ve really been able to put these to the test. As I have highlighted blonde hair, I’m quite particular about the products I use in my hair, especially as I wash it every day, but I had it on good authority that these were really good products so I was excited to try them out. 

Both are PH balanced and contain Aloe and Jojoba oil which helps to strengthen, moisturise and condition the hair. The shampoo is also a natural alternative to many medicated varieties so I was expecting good things from this.  

Although I haven’t noticed any difference to the colour improvement of my highlights I have noticed a big change in the feel and appearance. I’ve been using this for the last month now and my hair is definitely a lot softer, I haven’t noticed as many split ends, it’s a lot easier to brush through and style especially straight after washing it, and I'm not waking up every morning with a greasy Maine, so happiness all round! My next step is to continue using these products and try and wash my hair every other day instead so watch this space for an update on how that goes.  

Aloe Moisturizing Lotion

This smelt lovely and reminded me of summer. Containing collagen and elastin, this is lanolin free and safe to use on the face, hands and body,.I decided to test it on my very dry elbows, my hands and my shoulders which were a bit dry and flaky.  

I purposely only used a little bit each time as I have previously been told by friends that “less is more” when it comes to this lotion, and they weren’t wrong. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a little really does go a long way and I managed to use the 3.5ml sample pack over 5 days! Definitely 5 stars for this product and I would happily invest in buying more. 

 

Overall, I have been pleasantly surprised with these products and would recommend them. I’m starting to see what all the fuss is about, and am looking forward to trying out another batch next week. Keep an eye out as I will be back with another write up soon!

 

You can find out more about Forever McAloe on Facebook and Twitter or you can visit their website http://forevermcaloe.myforever.biz/ 

 

 

 

 

An interview with Shervin Roohparvar

Shervin Roohparvar (photo: William Callan)

If there's one thing you can always count on when it comes to reality TV it’s the eclectic mix of people that end up on our TV screens. Whether you like the crazy, in-your-face types, the funny ones, or the shy, retiring kind there’s always someone to suit everyone’s taste.  

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing entrepreneur turned reality TV star Shervin Roohparvar, star of America’s Shahs of Sunset about a group of young Persian-Americans living life and working in Los Angeles whilst keeping up with family demands and cultural traditions. Produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions, the show on Bravo is now into its 4^th series and has been taking reality TV by storm stateside.  

Shervin’s down-to-earth and humble character made it easy for me to understand why the producers chose him for the show. Despite the initial concerns about whether it would be the right decision for him, he discussed it at length with his parents, but realised this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he couldn’t say no to, and the belief he has in himself and the person he is, meant he had nothing to lose.  

“I’m not someone that’s scared very often or fearful of many things…it was very surreal as I entered a world I was unfamiliar with” 

Making the most out of life and the opportunities that present themselves, Shervin set up his first business venture selling computer parts with a friend whilst at college but soon found himself battling with the decision to carry on his studies to become a doctor or continue with the success he was having down the business route. The latter option has since proven the best as he now owns his own brand of headphones as well as owning exclusive night clubs/bars in LA.  

Despite the struggles he faced in making these decisions, they have helped to shape who he is today. He owes a lot of his success to his parents’ generation who emigrated from Persia to America to create a better life in a country where they didn’t speak the language and weren’t familiar with the culture, and so had to start a new life from scratch. The admiration he has for the hard work they endured from learning a new language and building new careers shows an incredible strength that he very much believes shouldn’t be taken from granted.  

“They’ve taken so many sacrifices and done so much for our generation to have this freedom to be what we want to be and how we want to do things in life that it would be an extreme disgrace to waste it.” 

Listening to him speak so warmly of his parents’ wish for a better future gave me an insight into how grateful he is to them but also how much he looks up and admires what they did, and because of this has adopted these values throughout his own life.  

On asking how he felt about being more popular since featuring in the reality TV show, Shervin said it was very strange to be recognised initially, but found it flattering when people asked him for a photograph or a shout out on social media. Thankfully the reaction he has received has been a positive one and he talked with much fondness about the younger generation reaching out to him for advice which he really enjoys being able to give.  

 

“The most rewarding part is I’ll get a message from a young adult who is about to go to college asking for advice. To be looked at by these people as a role model is very flattering and I enjoy thinking I am helping someone to make a difference with their life.” 

 

 

Photo by William Callan

Asked if he would like to do another reality show, he did say he would like to go back onto Shahs. Despite the initial nerves where his heartbeat could actually be picked up through his microphone, Shervin is now a lot more relaxed about being on the show and would happily go back on if invited. 

“With Shah, what you see is what you get. If you weren’t being yourself you would get called out on in. Nothing is staged and if they felt like you were purposely trying to set something up, they would put you in your place pretty quick and that’s made me respect the show.” 

Devoting a lot of time and energy building up his empire, Shervin is now very much ready to settle down with someone special in his life and be able to share his success with. Talking of coming home to an empty house and how it would be nice to come home to someone who shares the same beliefs that he can look after and love.

In the meantime, while he is on the quest to find love, Shervin is looking forward to some much needed time away in Europe later on in the year where he plans to visit Spain with his brother before heading back to LA to continue working on new projects. 

If there was one thing I did take from this interview it’s that Shervin is a genuine and kind hearted man. He hasn’t let success go to his head and appears extremely level headed so I can see why he made for great reality TV. There definitely needs to be more of him in the world!

Happy birthday to me!

Today is my 35th birthday. Yes....35th! I still can't quite believe it myself given that I still feel like an 18 year old! My body has kindly been reminding me I'm not though: hangovers are worse, tiredness is more apparent, stress is more apparent with my aching and knotty back and staying in on a Saturday night in my PJ's with a cuppa is so much more appealing than putting on my heels and heading to town for a few drinks!

I know, I know, I'm ONLY 35 and should get a grip but there's a part of me that feels a little bit scared that I am this age now. My 'to-do' list isn't getting any shorter and I'm beginning to think I need to fast forward a few things so I can tick them off.

Despite the age anxiety, I can't deny I had an amazing day with my friends and family. A lovely lunch, lots of presents, birthday cake, prosecco, vodka, cuddles with my nephews and a cheeky Jagerbomb thrown in for good measure!

Evening bubble bath done, I am now curled up on the sofa watching the BAFTA'S enjoying a lovely cup of tea and another slice of cake!

If it's your birthday today too then I wish you a very happy one. I hope you have been as blessed as I have with a great day and lots of love from those close to you!