Birthday haul: minimalist and sustainable

Last week was my birthday and as I'm trying to reduce the amount that I own and live more sustainable I wanted to bear this in mind when people asked me what I wanted as presents.  Some of the presents were gifts that people have given me without asking, but others are things that I asked for specifically.

The first was the scarf from Jura made up of the Jura tartan I showed in my holiday haul earlier this year.  I really liked the design of this, the fact that it was made using colours (and dries from local plants) seen in the surrounding landscape of Jura in winter, and that it was all locally made.  You can only buy this when you are actually on the island so I like the fact that it would be rare that you would find someone else with the same scarf.  My parents had brought it for me as a present, but I've been wearing it since it was brought.

My notebook (of the electronic variety) had recently died and I am needing something I can use to type up the SVQ coursework which goes with the traineeship I am doing at the moment.  I had been looking at other notebooks and laptops, but decided that a tablet would be more convenient and much easier to carry around.  Rather than buying a new one I decided to get a second hand tablet as this would mean not producing anymore carbon or using up resources that are coming scarce.  After looking at a few (and reading the reviews) I decided to get the Hudl 2 from Entertainment Exchange.  Even though Tescos doesn't make these tablets anymore a lot of people have said that this is a good product so I thought it was worth giving it a go - so far I've been very pleased.  I was going to buy this myself, but my partner asked if I wanted it for my birthday so he got it for me instead.  

I have a friend who now lives in Canada and every year we send each other products, usually with some local chocolates.  We never usually request anything from each other so it's always a suprise. This year she sent me a build your own Buxom palette and Buxom eyeshadows in Champagne Buzz, Spoiled Sexy, Hot or Yacht, Big Spender, Cashmere Craving, and Gold Status which can be slotted into the palette.  She also sent me a Sephora Rouge Mat lipstick in Wanted!  Buxom is cruelty free (though not it's parent company) but unfortunately the Sephora Collection is not.  However I still appreciate the gift as the colours are right up my alley.

The last present was a gift from my work colleagues and is possibly my favourite.  We're all waiting for our first pay to come through so all gifts have been quite 'home made' this month.  As we're building upland paths this is a particularly apt gift and they did manage to find a particularly 'nice' rock (we've been saying that quite a lot these last couple of weeks).  I do really appreciate the thought and effort, especially as they would have had to carry this off the hill and it is quite a bit heavy.

Beating PCOS: the start of my journey

Eight years ago I found out that I have PCOS.  I had thought that it might be something that I had as I did have a number of the symptoms and I finally found a doctor who was happy to send me to get tested (the other doctors just thought that it was unnecessary until I wanted to get pregnant).  Unfortunately that doctor has now left my surgery, which I'm upset about as she was a great doctor to have, but I am grateful that she thought it was something worth looking at.  I thought I would write a little series on PCOS, what it's like having it, and what I've done to help alleviate the symptoms naturally at home.

So, what is PCOS?  PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and polycystic ovaries contain a number of follicles which are under-developed sacs in which eggs usually develop.  In those with PCOS these sacs are unable to release an egg preventing ovulation from happening.  The actual cause of PCOS is unknown but it is connected to abnormal hormone levels in the body.  One of these is insulin, a hormone which controls the sugar levels in the body, with many women with PCOS being resistant to the action of insulin in their body causing it to produce higher levels to overcome this.  High levels of insulin can cause the ovaries to produce higher levels of testosterone, which interferes with the development of the follicles and normal ovulation.

Other hormones have are effected by this syndrome are a rise in luteinising hormone which usually stimulates ovulation but can have an abnormal effect if levels are too high, the lowering of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) which binds to testosterone in the blood reducing it's effects, and a rise in prolactin (in some women) which stimulates the breast glands to produce milk.  Why these hormones change is not known and there have been many suggestions as to what the causes are.  These include starting in the ovaries themselves, in the glands that produce the hormones themselves,in  the part of the brain that controls the production of the hormones or by the insulin resistance itself.

The reason I wanted to get tested is that I displayed a number of the symptoms, which for me were irregular periods, excessive hair growth (most obviously on my face), and a rapid  weight gain all starting when I reached puberty (my teenage years were so much fun).  The tests my doctor sent me for were a blood test and a pelvic ultrasound.  The results of these combined with my other symptoms showed that I did have PCOS.  I wasn't overly impressed with the doctor that gave me the results (not my actual doctor) as he didn't give me any advice about the syndrome or information on where I could receive help, but instead just told me to come back when I wanted to get pregnant.  Obviously getting pregnant is the only important thing to a woman?!

The most common symptoms for those suffering from PCOS are:

• Irregular periods, with most women missing periods or having fewer periods and some women having no periods at all.
•  Excessive hair (otherwise known as hirsutism), usually on the face, chest, back and other areas where men usually have hair.
• Acne on the face, chest and back .
• Hair thinning or hair loss similar to male balding.
• Weight gain and / or difficulty losing weight.
• Darkening of the skin, particularly along the neck, under the breasts and in the groin.
• And finally skin tags in the neck and armpit area.

Unfortunately, despite what the doctor who informed me of my results seemed to think, infertility isn't the only problem which comes with PCOS.  There are a number of other health issues which are associated with this syndrome and is a problem that is more that just whether or not you'll be able to get pregnant.  These are:

• Higher levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, raising the risk of hear disease and stroke.
• Higher blood pressure, a leading cause of heart disease and stroke.
• Diabetes, with more than half the women with PCOS will get diabetes or glucose intolerance before they are 40.
• Sleep apnea, caused by the fact that many of the women with PCOS are overweight or obese.  Sleep apnea also raises the risk of getting heart disease and diabetes.
• Endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus) which increased by problems with ovulation, obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes - all of which are common in PCOS.
• Lastly, depression and anxiety.  It is not known if these are caused by the hormal imbalances produced by PCOS or by the results of PCOS such as being overweight and hairy.

 So that is PCOS in general and how I found out I had it. Over the next few months I will be adding blogs about what it's been like having it and what treatments I've decided to have to help with some of the effects.

App of the Moment: OS Maps

So, this might seem like a strange app to talk about when it comes to living sustainability, but as spending time outside in nature is know to have beneficial affects on us anything that helps make it easier is always a good thing.

Once you have downloaded the app and registered you can then use the menu on the left to work your way around it.  When you buy an OS Map it now has a scratch off section which gives you a unique code in connection with your map.  When you click on 'Redeem a map' you can add this code in and then download the map onto your device which you can then see on 'Maps'.  This section gives you the list of all the maps you have brought and which ones are available for you to use immediately (which depends on how much storage you have on your device).

To find out where you are on the map you've opened you just click on the sites symbol at the bottom left. It then produces a little red arrow at the most accurate location it can (you'll need your GPS on for this).  Clicking on the stacked papers symbol on the bottom right gives you different types of maps to help you find your way around.

I've only ever used the usual Ordinance Survey map or the satellite map to help me work out where I am, but the night map is definitely something I want to try out at some point.

One of the other features I've found useful is being able to hold you finger down on a spot to get the GPS coordinates.  This is good for finding your location to give to other or to plot a route from where you are to that location.

There's also a section in the menu to plot a route before you've even left the house or to record a route you are walking to keep for later reference.  I haven't really used these parts of the app yet, but I do want to look at them in the future.

So how do I use this app.  For me there are two ways that I use it.  The first is to have a wonderful around an area just having an explore.  Once it's time to go home I use the app to find out where I am and how I can get back home again.  I only do this in a location I know is relatively safe and there aren't any cliffs to accidentally walk off in a fog.  The other is when I'm actually going for a proper walk, such as when I'm walking in the Cairngorms.  In this case I've already worked out my route on the paper maps at home and then I use the app while I'm walking to make sure I'm on the right track, to help locate the right path, and to help when visibility isn't great.  Having it on my phone does make it a lot easier than pulling out the large, flapping paper map.  However I still keep the paper map in my bag with a compass for safety.

Do you use the OS Map app? If so what do you like about?  If not do you have a similar app that you use and prefer? Let me know.

Project Pan 17 Update #5 and Other Products

With the swap over this month from one type of job to a completely different one I wasn't sure how much I was going to get through and, as expected, there hasn't been a huge difference in most of the products.

Apart from one and that is the Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl Waterproof Eyeliner in Superblack, which is now finished.  I thought I had a little more to go and, as I'm only now wearing makeup on the weekends, I thought it was going to be a while before it went.  However, when I was putting it on last week the last part of the eyeline fell out and landed on the floor.  So, I'm calling it done.  It is a good dark colour and is really easy to apply, but the staying power isn't as good as I remember (thought that could be due to the age of it) and it's on the grey area list on Logical Harmony so I'm not going to get anymore of their products for now.

I have been able to get a bit more use on my eyeshadows.  I've now used around half of the Coconut About Me and The Body Shop purple eyeshadow which I used more of this month.  The eyeshadow in Sea Shell has also finally shown some actual movement with the pan being much larger than before and I'm going to carry on using this over the year.  There's also been a lot more movement in Sable as I am now using it as an undereye powder and a base shadow on my eyelids.  I'm not expecting a lot more movement in these shadows for the next while as I want to get some more use out of my Urban Decay Naked 1 palette for the next couple of months.  One thing I have decided to do is to get rid of the gold shade from my H&M palette (middle of the very right column).  This is because I have golds in my Urban Decay palettes that are much better quality and are less powdery, with much better staying power.  It is unlikely that I will ever reach for this (H&M is also in the grey areas of Logical Harmony) so I might as well get rid of it.

You can't really see any movement in my Urban Decay and it'll be interesting to see how much I get through over the next few months, but it may be that I need to do a 'Pan that Palette' on this palette specifically next year.

I've actually been quite enjoying wearing the Barry M nail varnish in Cyan this week, mainly because blue is my favourite colour, so it hasn't been too much of a chore.  My use has been pretty consistent, but I have noticed that the formula has begun to get a little thicker now so we'll see how it goes over the next month.  Barry M is a cruelty free company, but I want to look at more natural nail polishes in the future so I probably won't buy this again.

There is much more progress showing on the Barbara Day eye primer (again at the top) so it looks like there is finally some actual movement in this.  I will keep using it throughout the year, but it is very unlikely that I will finish this by the end of the year.

As before, there is no obvious change in my MUA powder foundation in Shade 4 and the Bourjois blush in Ceidre 48.  I'll be amazed if I hit pan on either of these by the end of the year.

I didn't manage to finish the Jean Paul Gaultier Eau De Parfum by the end of this month, but it is very near to being finished.  I will carry on putting this on every day but, as it won't be as much as before, it'll probably take a couple more months before this is completely finished.

The other product is the Soap and Glory Thick & Fast Super Volume Mascara in Super Jet Black.  I was actually quite disappointed with this product as I was expecting thicker lashes which lasted.  Unfortunately, while it did make my lashes a little thicker it also flaked everywhere and I was constantly having to clean it up carefully (it smudged a lot across my skin when I tried to move it) throughout the day.  I got around this by putting a waterproof mascara over the top, but I'd rather not have to do that.  This and the fact that whether or not Soap and Glory is cruelty free is a grey area I won't buy this again.

To see my previous posts on my 2017 Project Pan:

• Introduction
• Project Pan Update #1
• Project Pan Update #2
• Project Pan Update #3
• Project Pan Update #4