My 2008 Wishes :)

[mysecretgardens.livejournal.com]

Hello everyone!, happy holidays :). I'm Claire, a 20 year old university student, hailing from Ipswich, England (although my family is from Ireland and I'm very proud of my Irish heritage :)). I'm a bit of everything, a belly dancer, hopeless romantic, occasional singer with a love of all things mystical and magical. I love travelling and culture and have a bit of an obsession with Masquerade Balls, Italy and Romanian gypsies (I have quite eclectic interests really, lol). I'm really excited about Christmas this year as my boyfriend and I will be spending Christmas day with my parents and then on Boxing day we're off to Ireland to go visit his family, so it looks set to be a fantastic time this year - I get to see all the people I love and cherish :).

My wishes this year are as follows:

1) Any advice on how to beat emetophobia. I've suffered from this silly phobia for years now and it's quite out of control these days and has caused me to have some OCD like tendancies. I'm sick of having red raw hands and having to wash up everything loads of times before I eat, so I would love some advice from people who have beaten phobias before. I've spent over £500 on hypnotherapy in the past to try and beat it and it didn't have much of an effect at all, which was quite disappointing, but I'm still hoping that one day I'll be free of these constraints I limit myself with!.

2) Anything from my amazon wishlist, used books, etc are fine, I'm not fussy in the least :). - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/3FTVVDK3X7POQ

3) Tanning advice!. I am the palest person in the world, no lie!. My fathers Irish (although he's always ridiculously tanned!, it's so unfair!) and my mother is a redhead, so mix the two together and you end up with someone who is literally whiter than snow. I've tried normal fake tans, but they just turned me orange and I even tried the gradual build up fake tan moisturisers (such as johnsons holiday skin) but they just went all streaky on me :(. I'd love to have a gorgeous natural looking bronzey glow to my skin.

4) For everyone to do something to help the homeless this Christmas. I have this fierce dedication to helping the homeless and it really upsets me when people take the stance of "Oh well, it's their own fault!". True, many homeless people may be drug users, but does that mean we should just forget about them?, no. There are loads of things you can do to help, you can donate food or clothes to a local homeless shelter or church if you don't want to give money, or even just a chat. I've met so many wonderful and interesting people just by chatting to them. I remember one night, after I'd been out clubbing with a good friend of mine, we were walking back to my car and this lady asked me for a spare cigarette, so I gave her one and we walked with her for a while and she introduced us to her friends and they were all sitting in the door way of H&M, we stayed there for well over an hour having a laugh and a joke and they were truely fantastic people who'd just lost their way a bit and the dedication and loyalty they felt towards each other was amazing. Just spending a small amount of your time taking note of the people who are quite often forgotton can be a really rewarding experience on both sides. When we're all celebrating with our friends and families, just take a moment to remember those who don't have their families around for support and have ended up in less than fortunate circumstances.

5) Cupcake dolls, butterfly trinkets, any small unusual things - I'm such a hoarder, my room is an aladdins cave of sparkley bits and pieces, I make use of everything - I have old keys rings hanging from fairylights, an unbelievable ammount of photographs, broken jewellery stuck on my walls, everything - if it's sparkley or unusual, I'll find a use for it!.

6) Emails from people with similar interests to me, I love recieving interesting emails and would love to hear all about you!. If you're into anything strange and unique all the better!. I'm a people person and I adore hearing all about the lives of others, so feel free to send me an email :). - clairefitzm@aol.com

7) Easy recipes for interesting dishes. I'm a horrific cook... absolutely dreadful. This is partly because of my phobia (as I'm stupidly careful when it comes to food, just incase I ingest something that'll make me sick, silly me!, lol). My boyfriend gets a bit grumpy sometimes because he's always the one who does the cooking, I think I've only cooked him about 3 meals in all the time we've been together (which is a year and a half, and we lived together for a good 4 months during this summer), so I'd love to be able to cook him a lovely meal that'll make him go "WOW.. Claire CAN cook!" lol.

8) Advice on how to build up your confidence / self belief. I've been offered some amazing opportunities and for some reason I always back out, whatever it is!. I had the opportunity to go for an amazing internship in America and I backed out. I also got asked to do a couple of photoshoots with some talented photographers, so I went a long with it and had a bit of fun, and then I decided I was hideously ugly and backed out of working with one of the best photographers I've ever met. I seem to be riddled with self doubt and I desperately want to be the strong, go get 'em kind of girl I know I could be, with a bit of self belief! lol.

9) Your festive traditions, what things do you do over Christmas that have been passed down throughout your family? I love hearing stories that survive through the ages :).

10) For you all to have a wonderful time and cherish the people you love!.

My email address is: Clairefitzm@aol.com

I'm sorry this is so long!, I natter on for ages! lol.

Much love, Claire x

Comments

[kosko-milo.livejournal.com]

8) I just to have the same problem, I had no faith or confidence or belief in myself and it took me a long time to get over that self doubt, but I have. You can too. I found what helped me the most was lying to myself, over and over and over, and then I started to believe those "lies" and today I am a different person. Tell yourself you are pretty, that you are beautiful, that you are smart and capable..over and over and try to stop the self negative talk. Don't put yourself down, if you don't believe yourself fine, say thank-you to compliments even if you don't believe them. By putting the energy forward to change your behaviors will help you change your beliefs, at least it did for me. I hope that helps!! Remember you a wonderful person and are worthy of your praise, try and be your own best friend.

That said, I struggled with this for a long time but that's why I know it is possible to become who you've always wanted to be.

[mysecretgardens.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for that, it sounds like a wonderful idea and I'll be sure to give it a go :). I'm glad you've managed to get over your self doubt and I hope you continue to go from strength to strength :).

[downloadable08.livejournal.com]

6) I visited a gypsy village when I volunteered in Romania in 2002. Would you be interested in an e-mail with some pictures and stories?

7) Are there any particular foods that trigger your phobia (raw meats, etc.)? I'd hate to give you a recipe you can't use.

8) This is something I still struggle with, but I can tell you what's helped me. The biggest thing has been realizing that I'm unique. It's been a curse in the past, because it means that I'm different from everyone that I know. It wasn't until uni that I started to see it as a blessing, because it meant that no one else could fill my place in the world. You, with your interests and talents and dreams, are special, and the world would be a poorer, less interesting place without you. :D

9) In my family, we always open one present after dinner on Christmas Eve. When my brother and I were children, it was an attempt to tide us over until Christmas morning, so our excitement and anticipation didn't keep us awake all night. Now that we're grown, it's a way for the two of us to reconnect with our parents before the craziness of Christmas day with the entire extended family.

[hantastic.livejournal.com]

1. My emetophobia actually takes second place to my wicked OCD, but I found that cognitive behavioral therapy was a MIRACLE in helping me treat both of them. I paired it with drug therapy, which I'm still on, but I really do credit the CBT in helping me learn to be able to so much as leave my room each morning. I highly suggest looking into it, and good luck. CBT can be enormously challenging at times, but it really does help your brain to re-wire itself.

3. There's no such thing as a beautiful, healthy, bronzey glow if you're naturally fair. Tanning is, in no uncertain terms, visible skin damage. No tan is a healthy tan, unless it comes out of a bottle. As you said, those look like rubbish, so why not just embrace and celebrate your fair skin? I'm as fair as anything, and I used to tan out of insecurity, but I finally gave myself a good kick in the ass and decided that being healthy is much better than a lifetime of wrinkles, age spots, and possibly cancer. I say get yourself a great exfoliating scrub, a fluffy loofah, and some really great moisturizing lotion like cocoa butter. When your skin is smooth and moisturized, it will shine with its OWN beautiful glow :)

[twilight2000.livejournal.com]

Welcome!

Let me suggest that you tag your post - it'll make it easier for folks to find you!

Twilight2000, mod

[maika-75.livejournal.com]

Hello!

I do believe I might just be able to send you a little something or two from your wishlist...but so that I don't forget, if you could email me at katewoolard AT hotmail DOT com with Holiday Wishes in the heading, and a link to your list in the body?

[enna-xor.livejournal.com]

9. On Christmas Eve we go to my grandma's house, and all the grandkids are allowed to open one present from her - it's always pajamas (my mom and her sister got to open one present on Christmas Eve when they were kids, and it was pajamas as well). So we all change into our new matching Christmas pjs, and take a group picture in front of the Christmas tree. We go home that night, spend Christmas morning at home, then Christmas evening go back to grandma's for dinner, and more presents.