Words You'd be happy to never hear again

Words You'd be happy to never hear again

Yep, you have a list too in your head. Words, and phrases, that before 2020 meant nothing or something else altogether. These are my top 7

From Grey to Orange

I have been growing my hair, not to have long hair but to try to grow out the home hair dye and see what colour hair I really had.

When I was younger my hair was dark brown, then at twenty-one I spotted my first grey hairs. I hated not being a teenager anyway, this just proved I was getting old (oh the tribulations of youth!).

In my thirties I had acquired a grey streak in my hair, I tried to love it and go grey gracefully. Then at a Christmas party a colleague took lots of photos, there I was with my grey streak and looking so old. I did what anyone in that situation would do, I dyed it.

Thirty plus years later I am still dyeing my hair. I've gone from boring brown to gorgeous brunette, from ash brown (yuck) to medium caramel brown (still yuck) to glorious mahogany with red overtones, then as always, once I find a colour I love - the brand changes it

"NEW AND IMPROVED" no "WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!"

So I'm going to go grey.

100 Years - Lest we Forget

100 Years - Lest We Forget

Extract from For The Fallen by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

We all have someone in our family tree that went to war, and never came home. For some the relationship was very close - fathers, brothers, sons, and more recently mothers, sisters and daughters.

Most of us will have uncles, great uncles and great great uncles who went to war between 1914 and 1918 and never came home. Many did not leave descendants because they were just boys and young men.

My great-grandfather, Charles Henry Yorke, came from a military family. He tried many times to join up, but each time he was rejected due to ill health. When WWI was declared, he joined the Medical Corp and was a stretcher bearer throughout the war.

He survived but his brother, David, didn't.

This year, 2018, is the hundreth anniversary of the end of World War I. Armistice was declared at 11am on 11th November 1918.

This is in remebrance of all that fell, but especially to those mentioned below.

My relatives - my family.

Cleaning Without Chemicals - Reducing My Plastic Footprint

Cleaning Without Chemicals - Reducing My Plastic Footprint 

Back in August I started my journey into reducing my plastic footprint. I'm commited to making a difference, who isn't after seeing those images on the TV?

I'm not a crusader, more a plodder. I think if I start with the easy stuff, then the trickier bits will just fall into place. So I ditched the plastic wrap (cling film) and it was so much easier than I thought, in fact I prefer the way I store food in my fridge now.

Then I was introduced to Mrs Hinch via her instagram account. For ages I didn't watch her stories, as I hate cleaning. Peer pressure and FOMO, (fear of missing out) made me watch.

10 Ways I'm Reducing My Plastic Footprint - and you can too

10 Ways I'm Reducing My Plastic Footprint - and you can too

When I was younger hardly anything was plastic. Shoes and handbags were made from leather, shopping bags were cloth, milk came in returnable glass bottles and so did fizzy drinks. We shopped at the green grocers and they just put the vegetables loose straight into the bag, soft produce such as tomatoes were put into paper bags first.

Meat was from the butchers and was wrapped in grease proof paper, then white paper. Chips were wrapped in newspaper, we were told that newspaper ink made the paper clean, it was more likely to be poisonous!

The Perils Of A Long Hot Summer

The Perils Of A Long Hot Summer

I'm a grandmother and can remember the last long hot summer in the UK. It was 1976. I was twenty and had not long moved to Wales after spending a year in Greece. All the summers of my childhood were long and hot, I can't remember a cold wet one before I moved to Wales. I grew up in Hertfordshire, in the East of England just north of London. It has warmer, dryer summers and colder winters than the west.

Our Weekly Journal - Days Out and Minecraft

Our Weekly Journal - Days Out and Minecraft

I may have to change this series to Our Monthly Journal! It is ages since I last posted, for many reasons.
I have had a few coughs and colds, my SAD makes me lethargic but we have been busy and I will catch up in a minute.

I have a confession - Minecraft. I'm not a spotty teenager sat in my room, I'm a Granny! And I'm hooked. If I'm not out and about with Bear I am playing Minecraft. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but there you go, I'm hooked!

Age - Does it really matter?

Age - Does it really matter?

It's a new year so everyone will be adding another year to their ages. Firstly Grandad, in January. Then our children in February, me in March, our daughter-in-law in April and son-in-law in May. Another year, another number.
The grandchildren will be joyous at the extra year and some of the adults will be sad, but why? Age - does it really matter? If you have health and happiness surely there's little difference in being twenty-nine or thirty?

Christmas Made Easy - Newsletter Number One

Christmas Made Easy - Newsletter Number One

If you haven't signed up to my Christmas Made Easy newsletter here is what you are missing!

I won't be sending emails every week, just when there's something that needs doing so you won't be overwhelmed, Christmas will just be spread across the year.

January

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas but now is the time to start planning next years celebrations. This is your to do list for January but firstly make sure you hit the sales before everything is sold out.

1. Things to buy this week while they are discounted in the stores;

• Wrapping paper
• Christmas Cards
• Napkins
• Christmas crackers
• Decorations
• Replace broken lights and trees

2. Christmas Cards;

Put all the Christmas cards with addresses in a pile and when you have a few minutes add them to your address book - don't tell me you don't have an address book!! Add it to the list above.

3. Make a note on the computer or in a book. (If in a book and you don't have one add it to your list above) you'll need this later in the year.

A list of the food and drink you ran out of and everyone loved

A list of all the food that you didn't touch/threw out or hated

A list of all the stuff you wish you had bought 

4. Open a dedicated savings account

Christmas is expensive. It is estimated that in 2016 people spent over £1000 on it. That would mean saving over £80 per month. Not many of us can afford that so start saving now to spread the cost. Decide what you can afford (even £20 a month will give you £220 by November).
Set up a direct debit or you will forget. Maybe have a penny jar? Put your loose change into it, it will mount up over the year. DO NOT TOUCH! it's for Christmas.

5. Set up a photo album called Xmas 2018

You need this to store photos of everything you buy or make in advance. By November you will have forgotten that perfect bargain you bagged in January.

Your Xmas 2018 photo album can be anywhere that's easy for you to access. Below are some free ideas but beware that some have limits on space and may cost you if uploaded using your mobile data;

On your computer
Facebook (don't forget to change the settings to only you can see it)
iCloud (Apple users)
Amazon Cloud Drive (Apple and Android)
Flickr
Google Photos
Dropbox

That's enough for January. Click on this link* for a simple, print friendly pdf version. I'll email with a very short reminder in a week or two; see how much you can tick off before then.

Happy planning


*this was only available to those who had signed up to the newsletter

This was a long newsletter as it's our first! They won't be as complicated as this again so don't despair just sign up here!

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Goodbye 2017 - Hello 2018

Goodbye 2017 - Hello 2018

January 2017 - doesn't he look small xx

It's New Years Eve and as I look back over the year I think it's been a good year. Wet, cold and busy but good. Each year starts with the promise of a warm Spring and hot Summer and in about one year in twenty we get both! This year we had some sunshine early on and then rain.

Christmas Made Easy- Sign up for alerts and tips

Christmas Made Easy

Christmas Made Easy if only that was possible. I'm sat here exhausted with only two days to go. I keep reading parents struggling to get the presents wrapped, the food shop bought and the stockings filled. It's such a busy and stressful time.

Even though I always plan to be more organised next year, it sort of creeps up on me. I suddenly realise it's too late to bake my own cake or steam my own pudding. My cards start arriving and I've missed the scout post and second class post again, so they all have to go first class knowing that some won't even make it until the New Year.

2018 is going to be different. I am going to plan it and stick with it. The difference is that I am going to share it with anyone who wants to join in. I'll send out a newsletter when appropriate (no spam - I promise) with alerts, tips and shopping lists.

BabyHub SleepSpace Travel Cot Review

BabyHub SleepSpace Travel Cot Review

Christmas is such a busy time and I am always so unprepared so I was delighted to be offered the Babyhub Sleep Space Travel Cot to review* as it really got me out of a pickle. I had nowhere for Bee to sleep when he stays over. Bear and Bee will be visiting with Mummy and Daddy over Christmas and whilst Bear has a bed in his own room I have nowhere for Bee. Previously Bee has slept in his Moses basket but he is now way too big for it. A BabyHub SleepSpace travel cot is the perfect solution for so many reasons.

5 Minute Games For Toddlers - Cardboard Castle

5 Minute Games For Toddlers - Cardboard Castle

If you have a toddler that is obsessed with knights or princesses then you need a castle. You can rush out and buy a lovely wooden one or a flashy plastic delight or you could make one out of a cardboard box.

A Christmas Carol - to Deck The Halls

It's almost Christmas and I am nowhere near ready. I panic at not getting it all done but still leave it all to the last minute. Next year....

48 Hours in London; An Itinerary for a Quick Visit

48 Hours in London; An Itinerary for a Quick Visit

*Collaborative guest post

With so much to do in London, it can be challenging to plan a two-day itinerary visit that will allow you to see all the good stuff before it's time to leave. Fortunately, with the right route, a solid schedule, and a bit of transportation-related research, you should be able to take in the best of the English capital within the course of a single weekend.

However, if you're not familiar with the area, you could waste a lot of time planning a huge list of destinations only to be disappointed by time constraints. One way to streamline the process of obtaining tickets to each attraction is to use a London Pass Mobile Ticket.

In addition, to help you stay on track and on time, we've devised a quick 48-hour schedule that can you can use as a template to design your own personalised two-day London itinerary:

Gingersnap Cinematic A4 Light Box - Review

Ginger Snap Cinematic A4 Light Box - Review*

Since I have had my own room, to decorate as I like, I have wanted a cinematic light box. They conjure up the nostalgia of the great movie era of the 40s. I love seeing all the images on instagram of beautiful rooms and a light box with a simple message spelt out. I just had to have one!
I was therefore really happy to review a  Gingersnap Cinematic A4 Light Box for the blog.

10 Funny Phobias (but maybe not if you have them) #Blogtober17 Day 16

10 Funny Phobias (but maybe not if you have them) #Blogtober17 Day 16

The theme for Day 16 of Blogtober17 is phobias, I do not have any. I'm scared of heights and I do not like needles, the dentist (both make me cry just to think of them), pain, flying, the cold, oh I could go on but none are phobias - A Phobia is an extreme or irrational fear of something.
None of mine are extreme or irrational, doesn't everyone cry in the dentist chair while waiting for a check up? Oh just me then.
Anyway I thought I'd Google some funny phobias, I know they are not funny if you have them but a fear of long words? Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia Honestly! You have to laugh.

10 Aphrodisiacs To Boost Your Love Life

10 Aphrodisiacs To Boost Your Love Life

The theme for Day 12 of #Blogtober17 is Love. Aphrodisiacs are suppose to increase your libido. For thousands of years people have believed that certain foods can boost your love life.

The Romans thought that foods worked as aphrodisiacs if they were warm, moist and made you windy.
In the Middle Ages people thought that anything that looked phallic, like cucumbers, would increase desire and in the medieval period many herbs and spices (such as basil, saffron, pepper) that were used in love potions were banned.
Honey was widely thought to be an aphrodisiac and the Honeymoon was named after the custom of couples drinking honeyed mead in the first month after their marriage. I  am not sure if they actually work but there's no harm in trying.

Joke - Day 10 #Blogtober17

Joke - Day 10 #Blogtober17

I have been doing a big declutter, I've thrown out at least fifteen bags of recycling (shredded paper and old magazines). I have shredded GCSE work, nursing courses, NVQ work and more, both mine and my daughters. It mostly went back to 2008! Stuff just put into boxes, hidden in cupboards and forgotten. I came across a sheet of paper. It made me giggle when I saw it so I thought I'd share it with you as part of #Blogtober17.

How to find your goals and achieve them

Day 6 of #Blogtober17 is Goals. This got me scratching my head, laying in bed awake and generally deciding that I do not have any goals and that I am happy plodding along, but that's not strictly true. I have goals but they are vague. They are wishes, dreams not goals. Unattainable because they have no structure and no measurable end - there is no goal. So it got me thinking (and googling) what does it take to find your goal and once found how do we achieve them?