Wednesday 28 November 2012

In which a 4 year old teaches me how to live.

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts - it's what you do with what you have left.  ~Hubert Humphrey

Cancer. Lots of people think cancer=death. They think that once you've cancer, you're a gonner. It is a  deadly, horrible disease that pities no one. I imagine it would be easy to give up and let it take over, to retreat into a world of sadness, anger, frustration...to think nothing but 'why me?' 'what have I done to deserve this?' 'what has she done to deserve this?'  Cancer is hard to face under any circumstances, especially when it involves a child.

Dealing with cancer is engaging in war. Once you agree to fight cancer you are agreeing to go to battle, to give everything you have to make it out the other side. Lily-Mae Morrison is fighting this battle at the tender age of 4.

Lily-Mae was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma in June 2012.

Its important that I include a bit of info on Neurblastoma because as it is so rare, very few people know what it is. It is important to make as much noise about Neuroblastoma as possible so that a cure can be found.

Neuroblastoma is a malignant (cancerous) tumour that develops from nerve tissue. It usually occurs in infants and children. Neuroblastoma effects 1 in every 100,000 children in Ireland every year. It is very rare, and very agressive. Doctors don't know as much about Neruoblastoma as they do about other cancers because it is so rare.


Everyone thinks the same thought: 'Why?'. Why does an innocent child have to fight such a battle just to get a chance to live? Is it divine purpose? Was she chosen to fight this battle because shes the only 4 year strong enough? Unfortunately, that question will never be answered for us. We'll never know why she has to go through this battle but theres one thing we do know, shes braver than most adults could ever hope to be.

As Humphrey says 'it's not what they take away from you that counts-it's what you do with what you have left.'. Cancer has already taken a lot from Lily Mae, but one thing it hasn't taken is her spirit. What she has done with this spirit is phenomenal. She has already managed to inspire thousands of people. This little girl has changed the world. She has shown us what it is to brave and what it is to enjoy every minute you have on this earth.

On September 30th 2012 a charity single was recorded for Lily-Mae in Galway, Ireland. It is a cover of Elton John's classic 'Tiny Dancer'. As the daughter of two professional ballet dancers and a lover of dance herself, Lily Mae is our Tiny Dancer. The single was released last Friday the 23rd of November. Its number 1 in the Irish Charts at the moment. I was lucky enough to have been part of this amazing act of human kindness.
This single has shown me how much one person can change the world. It has reassured me that we as humans are still kind. A choir of over 200 voices(one of them mine) assembled to sing a song for Lily-Mae along with a host of acclaimed Irish singer-songwriters including Paddy Casey, Declan O'Rourke, Mary Black and many, many more.  I  can honestly say it was one of the best days of my life. We sang our hearts out for Lily Mae and were rewarded with her beautiful smile and the humbling tears of her Mother.

I could sit here all day writing about Tiny Dancer. As many articles have already been written about this amazing experience and have been read by many, I will instead try to sum it up in 3 words:

1. Moving-Lily Mae's parents's gracious response at the recording was enough to humble the most conceited.
2. Necessary- We need to raise vital funds and awareness of Neuroblastoma.
3. Magnificent- We have come together for a Tiny Dancer. She and her family are not fighting this battle alone, we are all here to support them and catch them if they fall.




The beautiful Lily Mae and her Mum Judith listen as we sing Tiny Dancer for them at the recording of the single.



Lily-Mae’s story has had a particularly strong impact on my life because I knew Lily Mae before she became ill. Not on a very personal level as she was young but I was aware of her existence from when she was a mere baby bump. Lily Mae's Mother taught me ballet since i began dancing at the same age Lily Mae is now, 4. Her Dad also taught me in later years.  Having witnessed Lily-Mae bopping around the ballet studio as a baby and a toddler her story really pulled at my heart strings. I had to stop dancing to sit my exams etc so i hadn't seen Lily Mae and her parents in a few years. In my mind Lily Mae was the cute little baba in the studio. She was the little girl we all envied because we knew she was going to be one heck of a dancer with those genes.I can distinctly remember the photos of Lily Mae up on the notice board in the ballet studio after her birth. I did not know it at the time but the next photograph I would see of Lily Mae would be of her in Crumlin Children's Hospital fighting the battle of her life.

Lily Mae's Mum professional ballet dancer Judith Sibley is someone I have looked up to from a very young age. I can honestly say she is one of the strongest women i have ever seen in my life. From what I have seen, she is handling this ordeal with exceptional dignity and strength. She is a true representation of what a Mother should be. She was obviously destined to be a ballet dancer as she is an exceptionally talented dancer but what has become apparent to me is that she was obviously destined to be a Mum too.  Lily-Mae's Dad Leighton, from what i have seen, has been very strong also. I admire them both and can only ever wish to be half as good at being a parent as they are. 

Lily-Mae may not realise it now but this little girl has shown us how to live. Constantly smiling she doesn't let cancer get in her way of enjoying life. She still laughs and plays with her toy dinosaurs, because thats what she likes to do. Cancer thinks it can take away her spirit, sorry cancer but if Lily Mae wants to play dinosaurs, you are not getting in her way!

Lily Mae is touching hearts all over the world. Tiny Dancer is Number 1 on the itunes vocals charts in the Uk, Austrailia and Luxembourg. The music video on Youtube has over 100,000 views in just a week. The single is Number 1 on the Irish Singles Chart at the moment and we need to keep it there. The aim of the single from the beginning has been to be this years Christmas Number 1. It will be a great Christmas present for Lily-Mae and her family. It will also raise awareness and much needed funds for Neuroblastoma. We need a cure to be found so that Lily Mae can grow up to be whatever she wants to be and so that no other kids have to go through what Lily Mae is going through.


What I  want anyone reading this to take from Lily-Mae's story is to never give up, and to live your life to the fullest. Do what you want to do before its too late. Smile during the tough times and maybe they won't seem so tough. Enjoy every second you have on this earth because you never know when your time may be cut short. Don't be thinking of yesterday or even of tomorrow, think of right now, live in the moment, because right now, you are infinite.

Tiny Dancer by A Song For Lily Mae is available on iTunes NOW. All proceeds go to The Sunni Mae Trust and The Neuroblastoma Society. 
To buy the single on itunes search 'Tiny Dancer by A Song For Lily-Mae' 

PLEASE BUY IT!!!!!!!! No matter where you in are in the world, and please tell your friends about it! 
   Here are some links to go to: 
  
Facebook Page


Thanks for taking the time to read this :) 

Stay Classy, 

L xx 







Saturday 17 November 2012

Melted Crayon Art!

Greetings earthlings,

Because i haven't really selected a particular genre for this blog yet im going to try a bit of everything, so heres my first craft post! 


Melted Crayon Art: just as much fun as it sounds. 
I don't know about you but when i was in school i used to always melt crayons on the radiators for fun(rebel) so my excitement when i discovered something new could be done with them was palpable. 

The great thing about this form of art is that the end result, i think anyway, looks quite impressive for the amount of work that has to be put in. I got the idea from one of my favourite youtuber's Alfie from PointlessBlog. I enlisted the help of my other half(best friend not boyfriend..unfortunately!)It only took us about an hour in total. It was fun to do something so simple and fun together, it was like being a kid again. 

My beautiful friend at work! 


 First stage of melting (design is covered by card and masking tape) That pic is actually from my first canvas which was a complete fail but the second one looked the same at that stage :): 


The end result,purple rain! (Thats supposed to be funny cause theres a song called purple rain...)
What you need: 

One canvas- i got mine for 2 euro in euro2! 
Crayons- i bought two boxes in euro 2 so that id have a good choice of colours 
Super glue- I got mine in my ocal newsagents
Newspaper-to put underneath your canves so you don't ruin the surface underneath 
Hairdryer- to melt the crayons! 
Back paper- you can use what ever colour you want 
A pencil & a scissors- to draw and cut out your design 
Masking tape/newspaper and normal sellotape 

I'll try and explain simply what you need to do. 

Step 1. Glue your crayons along the top of the canvas. 
Step 2. Draw your design on your paper and cut it out. 
Step 3.Glue your design onto the canvas
Step 4. Cover your design in masking tape so it doesn't get covered in wax. If you don't have masking tape you can sellotape bits of newspaper over the design to protect it. 
Step 5.Leave the canvas lying flat on the ground for about 20 mins to make sure the glue holding the crayons on has dried. Trust me, it is not fun when you pick up the canvas and half the crayons fall off!
Step 6.Get out the hairdryer and get melting

Don't have the hairdryer too hot and make sure you don't melt them for too long! 

The canvas i have shown you here was my second attempt at melted crayon art. The first time i attempted melted crayon art, i had the hairdryer on a really hot setting and long story short i ended up with a canvas covered in melted wax, you wouldn't even know there had been crayons on it because they melted completely, It was a hot mess, literally.  

Once you begin melting the crayons you'll pretty much know what to do, A lot of it is up to your own personal taste, some people let the wax melt all the way down to the bottom of the canvas, the others halfway. It also depends on what design you have on your canvas as well. As you can see i have a woman holding an umbrella so i wanted the wax to pour down over her umbrella as if it were wax. Its pretty simple to get the wax to do what you want for the most part. I picked up the canvas and held it downwards or slightly to the side, depending on which way i wanted the wax to run. Once i got the wax to where i wanted it to be i would place the canvas down flat so that particular bit would dry exactly where it was. Once that bit dried, id pick it up and move on to the next bit. When you're finished and you like the design you have its best to leave it lying flat on a surface for about half an hour to dry. 

To be honest unless you do what i did the first time you're pretty much guaranteed to come out with a cool design. This is the type of art where perfection is not needed. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, let me know how you get on if you try it yourself! Also, please let me know if you like this genre of blog post or if you'd like me to move on to something new, or maybe return to something old. 
I was going to keep experimenting with genres until i find something that i think works... but what ive been doing so far seems to be working so maybe this blog will just be a bit of everything?? 

Stay classy, 
L xx

I hear the birds on the summer breeze, i drive fast.

Greetings earthlings

I must begin by apologizing for my absence over the past month. Turns out this whole 'college' thing can be pretty time consuming once you hit second year! Also turns out that i can be very, very lazy. 
I return to you all with some vital information about me: 


Lizzy Grant aka Lana Del Rey, is.my.gal. 

I love her. 

Yes, one may argue that she is 'fake' because shes obviously had cosmetic surgery on her nose and lips, what of it? She could be made 100% of silicone and i wouldn't care, talk about true love. 

I often wonder what music i used to listen to before i became Lana obsessed, then i remember....and i become even more grateful for her music. 

Whether i've been suffering from Summertime Sadness or i simply feel like i was Born To Die, Lana has been there to pick up the pieces of my cocaine heart. 

Lana Del Rey empitomises glamorous old school America and the troubling realities of that glamorous lifestyle we all yearn for. She speaks of the streets of New York and the men that have screwed her over. Whenever i listen to her music, i stare out the window and pretend to be her. Call my crazy, but i love it.  

'Drink all day and we talk till dawn'...... i think alot of us have been there!

For me, Lana takes the ordinary and makes it,extraordinary. 

Unlike many other songs i listen to, her lyrics actually mean something to me. As worrying as this may sound, i can often relate to them.  

And the music videos? My God its like the girl ventured into my imagination, took the colourful stuff, mixed it with class, put in her amazing face and put it on screen! Per.fec.tion. And she makes some of the clips herself! 

She writes all her songs too, kudos to you miss Rey. 

Although i could sit here and all day and talk about my many reasons for loving this girl, i had better leave it at that for now. 
I thought id share this love with you all because to know me is to know that i love Lana

Until next time, 

Stay classy, 

Lxx