The Round Up: England Women's World Cup Journey

On Wednesday night, our England Ladies team unfortunately lost out on their World Cup final dream in the most heartbreaking fashion when a last minute own goal from England's own Laura Bassett ended the lionesses history making journey meaning Japan will take on USA in the final today. 

Yet, there was still a chance to make some more history as the team prepared themselves for a 3rd place playoff against the mighty force Germany, ranked 1st in the world. Even more daunting is the fact the Lionesses had not beaten two-time World Cup winners Germany in 20 attempts, so nerves were running high. 

The game remained goalless for the full 90 minutes, although there was opportunity for Germany to score 3 times within the first 10 minutes. It took an impressive goal line clear by captain Steph Houghton to prevent the tournaments top goal scorer Celia Sasic from leading the European champions.  Houghton had the best opening of the first half but mistimed her shot from seven yards. There was also a strong penalty appeal as Kemme appeared to block Potter's shot with her hand. England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley made some superb saves, protected England from a Sara Daebritz's header. 

The game dragged on into extra time, then England were sent a blessing. In the second period of extra time, England were rewarded with a spot kick after substitute Lianne Sanderson was brought down by Tabea Kemme. Fara Williams, who is England's record cap holder, beat retiring German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer for her third penalty of the tournament and gave the lionesses the lead. 

When the whistle blew, England sunk to the turf and celebrated as they most certainly deserved to do after a phenomenal World Cup campaign in which the ladies created history with a performance that was the second best by an England senior team following the 1966 win by the men's side and eclipsed the 1990 men's team, who finished fourth in Italy.

Coach Mark Sampson regarded that he had always believed the girls to be legends and so they are. This World Cup journey has inspired a generation of girls to tie up their football boots and aspire to achieve what just half a century ago would not be possible. Former England international Rachel Yankey on BBC Three describe the campaign: "I don't think anyone believed they would go the full seven matches. They so nearly went to the final. It is amazing but these players believed. They created history."

This tournament has shed a new light on Women's football as a nation learnt of the new pride. I personally have been quite emotional seeing the women I admire do the unthinkable and make the game I love creditable to all those who doubted the female game. Kelly Simmons, the Football Association's director of women's football, summed up perfectly England's 2015 World Cup journey in saying that the tournament has led England to 'fall in love with the Lionesses'. 

The Round Up: Women's World Cup

The Women's World Cup got under way on Saturday 6th June when the host nation Canada took on China in Edmonton. This year, the competition will feature 24 teams for the first time, for many this being their first major tournament as a women's side including Ivory Coast, Thailand and surprisingly Spain also. 

After a 90 minute battle between the host side and China, including China's Gu Yasha curling a free-kick against both posts and Josee Belanger hitting a drive for Canada which rattled back off the bar. It took an injury time penalty in which Canada's golden girl Christine Sinclair, who's scored 154 goals in 224 international games, to cause riot in the home crowd of a record breaking 53,000 with a coolly taken shot which sends Canada to the top of their group. 

Other scores include New Zealands defeat against the Netherlands on the opening day's other match with a curling strike by Lieke Martens from outside the area in the 33rd minute. Group B's results include a 4-0 victory for Norway against Thailand, leading with 3 goals before the half time whistle. Favorites Germany dominated against Ivory Coast with a 10-0 win with Celia Sasic scoring a hat-trick within the first 45 minutes, Germany only fell short by one goal of matching the record they set with an 11-0 win over Argentina in 2007. However, Ivory Coast's goalkeeper Dominique Thiamale showed some true talent and the side have her to thank for preventing a complete annihilation.

England will be starting their World Cup campaign on Tuesday against another favorite France who knocked out England at the quarter-final stage four years ago. The lionesses have never won a knockout fixture but new head coach Mark Sampson, taking charge for his first major tournament, has a great chance to change that record. Hopes are high for the side ranked sixth in the world to dominate after a 100% qualifying record and supporters hope for a long World Cup campaign for England ahead. 

The Round Up: the FA Cup

Arsenal become the most successful club in FA Cup history as they retain the title for a record breaking 12th time, further earning manger Arsene Wenger an equally-record breaking sixth triumph, over taking George Ramsay who held the record with Villa between 1887-1920. 

The Gunners dominated throughout the match in a magnificent display of football skill, taking the lead 5 minutes before half time by a Theo Walcott goal. Sanchez followed with an undeniably brilliant 25 yard thunderbolt, arguably a FA cup finest. Mertesacker, left unmarked, head a third goal and Villa were dragged through the mud when Giroud completed the harrowing of Tim Sherwoods's side moments from the final whistle, Villa handing Arsenal the title in a 4-0 defeat. 

Yet, what is next for the club? After finishing 3rd in the Premier League, 12 points behind champions Chelsea, many question whether next season may be on of more silver wear for Arsenal.  Striker Theo Wallcott believes that the Premier League is the Gunners next target, "That's two FA Cup wins now but this is one of the best squads we have had at Arsenal so we should be achieving more. We need to start well in the Premier League next year." 

Next season will be an interesting on, with three big names all fighting for that title, no one can seem to call what will happen. However, after a record breaking win in the FA cup for Arsenal, spirits will be high for the season 2015/16 for the developing club. 

Not forgetting that the Woman's World Cup held in Vancover starts on the 6th June. England remains hopeful of a possible win, yet a warm up knock down 1-0 defeat against the hosting side Canda may prove to the ladies that this will not be an easy ride. Still hopes are high for the strong England side, good Luck to the lionesses!

The Round Up: The Royal Baby

On the 2nd of May, Britian were glued to their TV sets as an over due Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to hospital in the early stages of labour. They didn't have to wait long as 8:34 GBT at St Mary's Hospital in London, and weighed 8lbs 3oz, a little princess was born. Fourth in line for the throne, just behind her brother Prince George, and is where she will remain regardless of whether any other brothers are born due to changes in the law made by Queen Elizabeth herself. 

Prince George visited her new sister, clinging to his father the Duke as they entered the Lindo Wing, waving to adoring crowds briefly. Suprisingly, this is only the third time the prince has been in the public eye, since his christening and at last Aprils Australia Tour. 

Celebratory crowds caught a glimps of the new princess, draped in white a little less than 10 hours after her birth, cradled by the stunning Kate Middleton. After a brief meeting with well wishers, the growing family went back into the hospital.

She is yet to be named but bookies favourites include Alice and Charlotte, other candidates are most fittingly Victoria, Elizabeth and Diana. For such a modern royal couple, I find it hard to believe they'll name her such old fashioned name but it is likely that Elizabeth and Diana to be found somewhere in the mix.

A royal baby is exciting as it is but a princess is something to celebrate since Princess Anne was born in 1950 was the last born princess. The UK celebrate and await the name of the little princess as London lit up pink. 

The Round Up: Exam Season

As most people from the age of 15-18 well know, exam season is soon upon us. Us girls here on Almost1998 will all be sitting exams in the dreaded month of May. With my exams starting in less than three weeks, I wanted to focus on how to cope with exams as although some have commended me for my work ethic, it is not easy. I'm aware this has already been done on our Life, Advice and Rants section but I thought a little reminder wouldn't go a miss. 

1. Revision is key 

If you were not gifted with a photographic memory or a Sheldon Cooper size brain, without revision you will struggle. Learn what is the best environment for you to revise in whether that be sat on the sofa with the TV on or locked away at a desk, although it has been found that revising in a similar environment to what you will be tested in will help to remember your revision. Attempt different types of revision such as flash cards or poems (a personal favourite is mind maps).

2. Self motivation 

May seem impossible but only you can put your butt into gear to get the revision done. I've found this to be the back bone of success, it is up to you as an indvidual to get your mind focused and be the steering wheel of your revision. 

3. Test yourself 

Look at past papers and questions, even if you have your notes to one side of you, you are still learning how to structure exam answers and key information. I always chose the oldest ones first as those questions are more likely to come up than the more recent ones. 

4. List what you have to do 

Writing a list of the revision you will do that week and how you will do it, cross it off once you have done it to gain a sense of achievement. That will help improve work ethic if you feel as though you've been getting stuff done. 

5. Have breaks 

This is my downfall, I feel the need to get everything done and feel anxious when I don't. Breaks are important to let your mind relax and take in all the information in, too much and you'll exhaust yourself (flash back to my exams of 2013). However, just remember that doing 20 minutes of revision does not entitle you to 3 hours break, 5 minutes every half an hour to have a cup of tea will be beneficial. 

I hope this helps as we approach the most scary time of the year. Just remember that you are the only thing standing between you achieving the grades you desire, focus and remain calm. You will only get what you are willing to put in. Good luck! 

The Round Up: Easter

The only holiday which cannot decide on an annual day to occur on but still we all love Easter. I for one have substantially stuffed my face with chocolate and now lay spread out in order to remove the aching food baby from my stomach. Much to the dismay of most people, Easter is not all about scoffing chocolate until you begin to bleed Cadbury's but is regarded as a time of reflection as we remember, for those who believe, the crucifixion and rising of Jesus Christ. 

Pope Francis has called for peace 'above all' in Syria and Iraq during his traditional Easter Sunday message. He addressed to the faithful rain-drench crowd to 'ask for peace above all for Syria and Iraq  that the roar of arms may cease and that peaceful relations may be restored among the various groups which make up those beloved countries. May the international community not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding in these countries and the drama of the numerous refugees" He concluded by saying 'We ask for peace and freedom for the many men and women subject to old and new forms of enslavement on the part of criminal individuals and groups.'

Each year, Easter is a time to reflect on the tragic events which occur within our world and is a time to hope for a better things to come. Even if you do not consider yourself religious, we pray that there will come a time when we live in a world free from such evils and experience a better world. The likelihood of such eternal peace is unlikely, yet hope is what spurs us on, the possibility of that peaceful world may occur for generations to come. 

So while you indulge yourself in roast lamb and chocolate bunnies, take time to recall on the world we live in today and join with many others that the best is yet to come. 

And eat loads! Happy Easter!

The Round Up: French Alps Plane Crash

As most of you have probably already seen on the news, flight 4U 9525 crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday killing all on board including co pilot Andres Lubtiz, who has been accused of deliberately crashing the Airbus in order to commit sucide. 

When recovering the wreckage of flight 4U 9525, the black box exposed the hidden truth behind this horrific crash. The transcript revealed that the pilot left the cockpit, supposedly to go to the toilet, when Lubtiz locked the door and began descending the plane. The recorder then showed the screaming of the pilot at Lubtiz to open the door. The co-pilot can be heard breathing normally throughout the final minutes of the flight. During the very last moments of the flight, passengers can be heard screaming.

It is believed that Lubtiz had been suffering from depression although the hospital were he had been patient at recently denied treating him for depression. With the discovery of a discarded sick note in his Duesseldorf apartment and confirmation that he attended a medical clinic just days before the crash, the suggestion is that this quiet man was hiding something. That secret may eventually reveal why he took not just his own life but the lives of 149 others.

It is hard to comprehend how someone, even if in the unstable state of mind Lubtiz was believed to be in, could deliberately crash a plane and take the lives of 149 innocent people. It's difficult to imagine how depressed a person could be to destroy not only those lives, but the lives of those countless family members who mourn the passengers of flight 4U 9525. We may never know what was processing through the co pilots mind as he deliberately put that plane in descent, however we can deduce that those innocent lives were not one of them. 

The Round Up: Solar Eclipse

On Friday this week, not only was it national happiness day, the last day of winter and more importantly mine and blogger Ellie's birthday, Britian was plunged into darkness as the Moon came between us and the Sun for a solar eclipse.

In all parts of the UK, the eclipse reached at least 83% with the darkness peaking at 9:35AM. Unfortunately, due to the weather conditions, London and the South East just saw the grey day get slightly gloomier. The best place to see it was the Shetland Islands, where 97% of the Sun's disc obscured by the Moon. 

Millions of people in Britain and Northern Europe glimpsed the best solar eclipse in years and next year Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawsi and the Pacific, estimated for the 9th March. Sadly, the UK will no experience a solar eclipse on this scale again until 2026. Let's hope in 11 years time, us poor Kentish people will actually see the eclipse and not just the grey gloom of Great British weather. 

The Round Up: Almost1998 so far

Almost 1998 has been going now since the 12th of January and I wanted to relive the past 2 months, the highs and very few lows of this blogging experience. So far, we have received over 5,000 page views from people all over the country, mainly from the UK but we have also branched off to other countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. The most popular post being a Celebrity Culture piece 'My

2015 Brit Award Predictions'. It's hard to deny that this culturally fitting post deserves the top spot, n insightful prediction and I might say, rather accurate. Everyone is keen to keep up with music awards and have a guess on who will win the top prizes so understandable this accurate piece provides people with an insight on what to expect.

Our most popular pieces seem to have a recurring theme, that of what appeals to students. Life Advice and Rants post on 'School Work' and Beauty's 'Empties' show how students deal with both school and

how they look. Although other articles such as 'Be Yourself' teaches us to accept who we are, make up makes us feel confident and having those essentials that we splash the cash on helps to emulate that inspiring article.

All our posts have been inspiring, funny and intelligent, most like the girls who write them. On behalf of the blog, we thank everyone who reads what we write. It makes this all worth while and puts real meaning that people appreciate what we write. Both our Twitter run by Charlotte and Tumblr run by Ellie promotes this blog excellently and without that, we wouldn't have been able to reach over 5,000 page views. We try our upmost to post daily and give our heart and soul in what we write. I'm proud of all the girls and their brilliant writing. Let's hope for many more posts to come.

The Round Up: Disneyland!

I apologise for not posting last week but I was busy with 5/7 of the group having fun in Disneyland! This time a week ago, we were running around Disneyland Paris, enjoying the exciting rides and generally acting like children. Some how we managed to excuse a 3 day trip to Disneyland as an educational excursion by going to a media conference for 3 hours. Oh the flaws in British schooling systems.

The first day consisted of travelling. Neil the coach driver managed to escort 30+ students to the wood loving Hotel Cheyenne. I really liked the log cabin Wild West theme and could hardly fault our accommodation (other than Ishy's hair band stealing bin moving maid), we settled in to our first night by wondering through the Disney Village and eating at the famous Planet Hollywood. Somehow we managed to jump the queue and 11 of us got death glares as we tucked into our delicious meals. By the time we went to bed, we were exhausted.

The second day was when we steped into the magical place of Disneyland! Our first ride of the day was a very swift walk to Thunder Mountain where we shoved small children to be the first ones on the ride. There, 11 assemble was born and the most misfit crew joined in union to jump queues to fit us all on the ride. Our 12 hour Disneyland run about was brilliant, our favourite ride being Indiana Jones and poor Lily and Sam were introduced to Small World. Although Goofys Springtime Teaparty got a little repetitive, we still enjoyed the parade later in the day. Emptying our purses in the Disney store and eating at the poorly decorated Pizza Planet, we slept very well that night.

After our breakfast made lunch, we headed for Disney Studios after a slight problem involving Rosa's tiny memory and a park ticket. A certain favourite of that day was surely Areosmith, followed by Crush's Coaster and, although Ellie and Lily wouldn't agree, Tower of Terror. Sadly our day was dented
by the only educational factor of the trip, the Media Live conference. The conference was quite interesting, especially the speaker from Sony. Yet soon enough, we were back in the park enjoying our last hours in Disneyland. The 11 assembled when we got back to watch Cheetah Girls while singing the French subtitles and breaking the code of conduct.

Our time in Disneyland was brilliant and us at Almost1998 made some new memories and new close friends that we never anticipated. What I'm most proud of is that we managed not get lost and survive 3 days in eachothers company. Hopefully there will be more exciting trips for Almost 1998 I'm the future.

The Round Up: The Oscars

Today's the day when the big names in film gather to be awarded for the hard work of bringing entertainment to our cinemas. It could be none other than the 87th Academy Awards, the Oscars! This year, it is to be hosted by the halrious Neil Patrick Harris at Hollywood's 3,300 seat Dolby Theatre. I am particularly excited about Neil Patrick Harris hosting, many saying he has big shoes to fill after Ellen Degeneres hosted last year however I think Harris will steal the limelight as the loveable magical character we know he is, promising "a hint of magic" at the ceremony which starts 23:00 GMT.

Those battling for this years Best Picture Award are eight big titles which have dominated not only our cinemas but every Academy Award this season. The contenders include:
-American Sniper
-Birdman
-Boyhood
-The Grand Budapest Hotel
-The Imitaion Game
-Selma 
-The Theory of Everything
-Whiplash 

Oscars experts expect top prize to go to either Birdman or Boyhood, Scott Feinberg (the Hollywood Reporter's Oscars expert) thinks Birdman is a safe bet. However, dark horse American Sniper has taken in £259 million at worldwide box office, making it the highest grossing film among the Best Picture nominees.

The British are taking the Oascar's by storm, leading the British charge is Eddie Redmayne who is
strongly tipped to win top prize with his astounding performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is also in the running for Best Actor with his role as Alan Turning in The Imitation Game. Other British nominees include Rosamund Pike, Felicity

Jones and a personal favourite, Kiera Knightly. Good luck to all waving the Great Britain flag at the Oscars.

 Here's to another Oscars, let's hope next years box office reaches the standards of the nominees tonight!

The Round Up: Valentines Week

It was Valentines week not only on Almost1998, but for pretty much the whole world. Originally, Valentine's day was a celebration of early Christian saints named Valentinus. One of the most popular

accounts was St Valentine of Rome who was imprisioned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. According to legend, during his imprisonment, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius. An embellishment to this story states that before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.

Valentine's day wasn't associated with romantic love until It wasn't until the High Middle Ages when courtly love began to flourish. In the 18th century, it evolved into lovers presenting flowers, offering confectionary and giving Valentines cards.

The true meaning of Valentines day isn't about whether you have a Valentines buying you chocolates, flowers or cards, as long as you have someone who loves you, that is a Valentine. It may well be a lover but it maybe a sister or a best friend p, someone who you love enough to want them to be your valentine. Valentines day has been commercialised into this big product placement for lovers to shower each other in gifts, to some degree that is flattering and some may express their love that way however that's not the only way. For most girls, a single rose would do just fine or a bar of their favourite chocolate, something to show you know them. If you and your friends what to go out for a meal on valentines day, it's not just because you compensating for a lack of a lover, it's because these are the people you love enough to spend Valentines day with.

Love comes in all shapes and forms which may not come under the stereotyped 'Valentine'. With this in mind, I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines day and just like St Valentine of Rome himself, I

sign out as,

"Your Valentine"

The Round Up: This Week on Almost1998

This week on Almost1998, We started off with our own fashionista on 'The Beauty of Ruffles'. If you're anything like me, knowing how to make an outfit that little more interesting is a daunting task. Ruffles provide a simple yet effective embellishment, jazzing up any old garment as our textiles guru tells us and even easy to do it yourself. Very fabulous.

The life of a student with a desperate desire to have flawless make up at a tight budget isn't easy. 'eBay and Amazon Beauty Bargains' is the perfect guide in bargain make up. From nearly Technique brushes to helpful lippy storage, we all could benefit from compromise in our make up bags. Cheap is good, it means we can splash the cash on the real stuff. (Cough, MAC lipstick, cough)

Good or bad, change can be hard to deal with. Although the latter is clearly much harder, 'Dealing with Change' is another helpful guide on Life, Advice and Rants to lend a helping hand to those who particularly struggle with change, no matter what kind. It can be difficult alone, we've just go to hold our head high and take life as it comes.

Dizzy with doughnuts was the Thursday article this week, simple to make and I can confirm simple to eat. Beautifully decorated, yet again baking for even the cooking challenged like myself can have a go at those delicious doughnuts. Let's hope they taste as good as they look!

This week was a special one for Celeb Culture. Pregnancies, shock apologies and pufferfish tattoos, we were enlightened by the unknown land of celeb world. Let's hope the Grammy's don't disappoint in giving us more juice and exciting world debuts. Here's to next week.

Even in this modern world, racism is still a consistent topic which will not eradicate from our new world. 'White Privileged' explored the continuous stereotypes embedded into our society. Hopefully there will come a point when racism is finally removed.

And that was the round up of the week! Next week is valentines week so let's enjoy some gross cute stuff for a week. Yeah, that will keep the readers.

The Round Up: 70 year Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

"We survivors do not want our past to be our children's future"

Auschwitz survivor Roman Kent touching words from the Auchwitz memorial event this week. 70

years ago on Tuesday marked the liberation of Auchwitz, the concentration camp were some 1.1 million people were executed between 1940-1945. Today, only 300 survivors live to tell what the human imagination still struggles to comprehend of the Nazi genocide that took place there. Prayers for the dead were said before candles were lit at the Birkenau monument to the victims, small points of light where Europe remembers a time of darkness.

It was emotional to hear the words of those who survived Auschwitz having lived through one of the 20th Century's worst acts of hatred and imnumanity, survivor Halina Birenbaum said her greatest duty was to "tell others how much people in the camps had wanted to live".

Even after 70 years, it is important to remember the horrors experienced by those who suffered within the barbed wire fences of Auschwitz. We need to remind ourself of humanity's lowest point, were incomprehensible evil was conducted by humans to humans. It is feared that by the next pinnacle anniversary of the Holocaust, there will be no more survivors left to recall the horrific events which is vital for us to always remember. To remember the loss of life caused by one mans obsession with power. To remember those who bravely survived. To remember the unthinkable. 

 No amount of documentaries or ceremonies can put into perspective the terror of Auschwitz, however we continue to recollect in order to prevent such abominations to happen again. Those survivors shouldn't fear that their past will be their children's future, we as humanity should step up to prevent this from ever happening again, to understand the value of human life over anything else.

 As Cathy Ashley, chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust added: "By hearing, seeing and sharing these powerful stories and memories, we are challenged to confront all forms of hatred and discrimination wherever we see them."

The Round Up: The Sun's Page 3: Revolting or Revolutionary?

To round up this week, I wanted to take a look over this week news. Due to my lack of political knowledge and diplomacy, I decided to write about the supposed demise of The Sun's famous page 3 model. From last Friday, the 44 year legacy of the topless model was apparently removed with mixed reviews. Liberal Democrat women's and equalities minister Jo Swinson and The No To Page 3 campaign group were among those to express their delight at the apparent change. Some claimed it to be a victory for feminism. 
However, no more than a week after this alleged removal of the page 3 model, The Sun published 'Nicole from Bournemouth’ modelling little more than a necklace and a cheeky wink. Titled 'Clarifications and Corrections’, the Sun stated ‘We would like to apologise on behalf of the print and

broadcast journalists who have spent the last two days talking and writing about us.’ It seems as though this page 3 tradition is yet to be extinguished but is the page 3 girl really revolting or (dare I say) revolutionary? 

Personally, I do not like the idea of 'the feminist'. The bra burning, man hating stigma has embedded itself too deeply into what society declares is 'the feminist' and now has made women look past equality toward slightly more superiority, something which we should be avoiding. I'm not saying all feminists fit into that category, in many ways I am a feminist, but feminism can take simple statements too literally. The notion of the pin up girl has been in our society for decades, World War 1 soldiers keeping their favourite pin up in the back pocket of their uniform for some degree of comfort. I find it hard to belief that we can completely remove the page 3 girl, some traditions, no matter how more modern our society is, simply cannot be avoided. 

These models know what they are doing, this is the career they have chosen and good on them! What's wrong with showing a bit of skin? Absolutely nothing. The female breasts are not sexual organs so why do we treat them like they are? These girls are showing off the female body and showing us that we should be confident in how we look. The problems only begins when people are provocative about this particular type of modelling. There is a fine line between flashing a bit of boob and full blow pornography, something I find the general public struggle to distinguish. Should we be shaming these young ladies for posing without a top on? Of course not, they are beautiful young women being proud with their bodies and we should respect that.

I think the majority of people who oppose the page 3 model believe that it's objectifying women to men, something us ladies struggle with. It's not the modelling itself that is the problem, it's the attitudes men have been exposed to. Men can appreciate the female body on the page 3 of The Sun and still respect women, however others can't. Removing the famous pin up will not solve men's  attitude towards women in our society, that is something we have to expose them too, the idea that men can find women attractive and yet still respect them as human beings. That is were this belief that the pin up girl is degrading to women, it's all about men's reactions. Maybe we should spend less time hiding them from it and more time educating them about appreciating and respecting women.

So is the page 3 pin up revolting or revolutionary? I would go with the latter, we as women shouldn't be shaming the exposer of our biology but embracing it. We are all human in the end and eventually society will catchup with that equality in mind.

The Round Up: First Week of Blogging

What a week it has been for Almost1998! Our first week of blogging has almosted come to an end and I'd like to say without too much drama but I'm sure not everyone will agree. Only a few hiccups such as the deleting of a label on our blog (thank you Jamie), slight writers block and the lack of blueberry muffins actually eaten. Somethings just cannot be forgotten 
can they Loren.

We started off the week with a tutorial on how to make beautiful nylon flowers which I'm sure our creative readers will be busy bees making this week. The simple things make the greatest impacts and a gorgeous nylon flower ticks them boxes. 

Next up was our very own make up guru with vital tips on having flawless skin without the need for photoshop, the lifesaver foundation of Nars is highly rated and I'm sure the girls will be dipping into their pockets to be saved by this product, as will our readers. 

It's always good to be pushed into the right direction, especially when it comes to ourseleves so the Be Yourself article was an inspirational piece to read. We're all a little lost and to have that little push into believing that being yourself is the best thing you can be, well you cannot go wrong really. 

Baking trays at the ready, we dived into making Amazing Blueberry Muffins and for even the most hopeless bakers, i.e myself, could have a go at what look to be delicous muffins but I wouldn't know as Loren scoffed them all before the rest of us even got a look in. Rude. 

It's only been the first month of 2015, however The Best Celebrity Moments of 2014 refreshed our minds on the whirlewind year the celebrity world experienced. From Kim Kardashians derrière to Brangelina to the mind numbing song 'Happy' which makes me quite the oppostie to happy, we can defintely say that 2014 is the year to beat in regards to celebrity culture. Here's to 2015! 

Yesterday, we experinced the LGBAT+ community and what it consisted of. I'm sure this was new to all that read it but it's nice to see what other people believe in and to understand it a little more. I'm sure will hear more in the future. 

Well that's the round up of the first week of Almost1998 and it has been enjoyable one. Let us toast to many more to come!