Tuesday 26 November 2013

I'm Sorry...


Hello Everyone,
 
I am writing this today to explain my very long absence from the blogging scene and to give you what you will hopefully accept as my explanation and deepest apologies.  I don't really know what else to say so I am just going to jump straight into it.
 
A couple of months ago my Mum found a lump on a particular part of her body.  Without going into too much detail this particular type of cancer runs in our family so obviously we went into a massive state of shock and were extremely scared.  We went to numerous doctors appointments, hospital appointments and my Mum had a few slightly scary tests done.  Two months down the line I can look back at this moment in my life and say thankfully it is over as all tests came back clear, no cancerous cells what so ever.
 
As I am sure you can imagine this was an extremely difficult and worrying time.  I spent every moment thinking nothing but the worst and was surviving on little food and little sleep.  Nights were the worst because I had nothing to do and no one to talk to to take my mind off it and ended up surviving on little or no sleep at all.
 
Around the same time as this was happening I also took on some extra responsibility at work.  It was exciting and scary all at the same time and after a brief training course I was left to my own devices.  This extra role came with a lot more work and stress than I was anticipating and what with doing it along side my current job role and what was happening outside of work I drove myself into a state of stress.
 
I was worrying about blogging and I had put up my first YouTube video at this point which also added to my stress.  Writing and talking about beauty products seemed like such a stupid idea in the grand scheme of things.  Every time I sat down to write a blog post I would end up thinking "I could be close to losing my Mum and I'm going to sit here writing about a lipstick".  At that time of my life blogging didn't seem the right thing to be doing so I ended up turning my laptop off and walking away.
 
Being away from the blogging world has also meant my YouTube channel progressed no further than that first ever video, twitter got ignored, instagram went unnoticed and Pinterest went forgotten.
 
With the stress I was under at work, in my personal life and the stress I was putting on myself with Internet stuff something had to give and the only feasible option was to take an impromptu break from blogging, so that is what I did.
 
That was two months ago and I didn't expect to be away so long but I didn't want to come back too early just to have to leave again so I took my time and made sure I was 100% ready before I wrote this blog post as my starting back point.
 
Over the passed two months though I have not been actively blogging it hasn't been far from my mind and I am super excited to be back with a whole host of new ideas and blog series.
 
I want to continue with the nail of the day posts, product reviews and other bits and pieces, I want to make more of an effort with empties posts, hauls and monthly favourites.  I have a few new series ideas such as one brand face posts, a dupe series and many more.  I also want to start doing more book reviews, lifestyle posts, home décor posts and any other things I feel like writing about.  I know they are not beauty related but that is why I titled my blog Beauty N More.  I wanted the freedom of writing about anything I wanted and that is an option I have not used to its full advantage ever but I want to start now.  If those posts don't interest you then you don't need to read them, I won't take offence.
 
You may have noticed that my blog layout and design has changed.  I kept looking at my blog and just felt it didn't look very good, wasn't very professional, was kind of hard to read and the colours didn't go very well together.  I spent some time updating it all, changing background colours, text and even my header.  I hope you like it as much as I do, though it isn't finished yet.
 
I have decided not to do any Christmas gift guides or dedicate myself to doing any Christmas themed posts what so ever, instead over the next few weeks between now and Christmas day I shall be writing as and when I want to about whatever it is I want to though I do hope to write 3-4 blog posts per week whether they be Christmas related or not.
 
Between Christmas day and new year I will be taking the week off from blogging to sort out any finishing touches to my blog layout and design, sort through all my e-mails so that my inbox is organised and plan blog posts for the new year.
 
Starting January 1st I hope to have sorted a brand new blogging schedule and will start to introduce all of my ideas that I have been thinking about recently.  I really am excited to be back and I hope that I can spend the next year being really dedicated to this blog and making it something to be proud of and I really hope that you can all help me to achieve this.
 
In regards to other internet sites I will also be making a concerted effort to tweet more, instagram more and use Pinterest so I hope you will come and see me on those other platforms also.  YouTube will remain a one video band for the time being but maybe in February when I have settled into the swing of things in day to day life after the magical Christmas season and once I am settled into my new blogging routine I can venture back in front of the camera.
 
I just wanted to end this post by saying a really huge thank you for being so patient, a massive apology for not being around the passed couple of months and that I look forward to starting again on my blogging journey.
 
Thanks for reading,
 
Speak Soon and lots of love,
 
Natalie xxx

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