SLIMPOD..... what have I let myself in for?

I have taken delivery of a Slimpod. Well I already own the iPod Nano so along with my iPod and headphones.... I have downloaded "Slimpod"

Its a 10 minute hypnosis style thing, that I must listen to for 21 nights before I go to sleep.

As I'm about 2 stone over weight, I need it and will try anything once!

Tune in soon and I'll let you know how I'm getting on....

Check out http://www.thinkingslimmer.com/ to buy your own Slimpod.

Dear So and So....

I bumped into Dear So and So on the 3bedroomedbungalow blog and thought "Aha!" that could be cathartic so here it is....  my little Dear So and So blog post, it could turn into a moan, a rant or a giggle, who knows....read on and find out!

Dear Waterboard,

Thankyou for trying to repair my leak, but I'm not impressed that its now leaking UNDER the property, and I've no clue what to do!  I phoned today wondering how much my cheque would be - in respect of the leakage allowance, but discovered its not yet mended....and the potential now for huge problems, just does not bear thinking about.

I hoped you could help further, but alas I'm on my own.

Regards
Potentially Damp Resident of Plough Close


Dear Friend,

I had a friend, she was a good friend, I liked her a lot.  But sadly all good things come to an end.
I don't know what happened - why you and your father have decided to stab me in the back, I think it's jealousy weirdly enough and others have agreed with me.  I just hope whatever lies have been said have been worth it and you both can sleep easily at night.

Regards
Disappointed of Northants


Dear Hubby,

Well I call you hubby, you're not yet but we will be married one day I'm sure!  You're out tonight, I hope you're having lots of fun at the Comedy Club with the gang.  I've made a great dahl for tea tomorrow, I love the way you love the meals I cook - and I know we'll turn into 'Dad and Ann' one day where you don't want to go out cos you'll miss my cooking just like they do.  It makes us laugh now!

You're always there for me, no matter what gets me down, makes me happy, p**ses me off or give me a belly laugh - you are my constant, my rock, my hero.  Although I tell you every day, I'll tell you again - I love you.

Love, hugs and kisses
Your darling wifey
xxx


Dear Mischa,

I realise you are a cat and cannot read this....

Since I have 'adopted you' I've been able to have my little cat cuddles, and as you live elsewhere I don't have to hoover up the cat hairs!! What a result!

I had my own cat but when I moved out of an unhappy home I had to leave my stunning Persian cat, Pagan behind.  You, little Mischa, help me not miss him so much.  I come and feed you over the road when Mark is at Ellie's.  I love it when I park my car when I get home from work - you know the sound of my mini and you come to the end of the carport makign your little "mew mew" sound that sounds like a buzzer!

Long may you greet my homecoming!

Love
Aunty Cat Lover
x

CyberMummy 2011......we're attending...

The John Crane Blog: CyberMummy 2011......we're attending...: "Carly, over at MummysShoes has organised a Meet and Greet for CyberMummy. We've placed the event in our diary and will be attending this year"

I added this to the John Crane Blog, but I'm really attending as plain ole Helen at Enough on Our Plates..... Not sure whether you'd know me as this Helen though!!

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

The Blessings of Marriage

I have recently received two lovely little books - The Blessings Book and The Blessings Book of Marriage.

These are both pretty little hardbacked books. The Blessings Book is currently £7.99 and the Marriage one is £8.99 from the website at http://www.theblessingsbook.com/

The idea is that each book has lots of beautiful sepia pictures together with plenty of spaces for you to write down all the little things that make you happy on a day to day basis. Maybe someone pays you a compliment or maybe your husband buys you flowers - you can write down what happened together with how it made you feel at the time. Then, when you feel down, you can read through your book and remember those happy feelings to cheer yourself up!

This would make a lovely and unusual Christmas present for someone. I have also noticed on the website that they also do a Blessings Book of Baby Blessings which at £8.99 would make a unique present for the new arrival.

Photos of yourself.....

If you're like me, you hate photos of yourself!  And on Tuesday, where am I off to?  yep a photoshoot, I predict I shall hate every minute!  But have to grit my teeth and bare it, as its for work and I cannot wriggle out!

The photograph above is one of my favourite photos of me, I'm in Gran Canaria on holiday, and we saw these Fuel for Life advertising hoarding, so me and my friend mimmicked the models on there.  We laughed and were maybe a little bit tispy.... but I think the photo just shows fun and laughter.

Let's hope Tuesday I can recreate the fun! 

Little Red Riding Hood - a Wolf's Eye View

It's storytime on the blog..... enjoy...

Looking through the trees I can spot a small girl, she’s skipping and singing too. The basket in her arms looks full, maybe there is food in there? She looks a happy child, one of those well fed, rosy cheeked sorts. The singing is nice, it’s soothing my aching head.

The loud grumble of my stomach reminds me how long it’s been since I’ve eaten.

Life here used to be good, yes prince of the forest that was me! Then they started cutting down the trees, people moved in and now I my once shiny coat is scarce, bald bits litter my back and the once sharp glint in my eyes is all but gone.

You see once the trees are cut away my tasty morsels also leave the forest, like the squirrel family from the proud oak tree down the path, they kept breeding each year and springtime would be like a fast food restaurant amongst the weighted branches.

I’m now forced to live on a less nutrient rich fast food diet. I pull dis-guarded McDonalds from dustbins with lids weighted down with bricks, as if that would stop me? And on Saturday nights I can lie in wait by The Kebab Stop, where I risk being seen by humans as I leap from shadow to shadow hoping to gain the prize, a half eaten kebab, no chilli sauce if possible…

“Grandma, Grandma!!!!!” the child’s voice snaps me back into reality and back to my quest, I need proper food. As this adorable child dressed in red skips ever closer to the little forest house, I sneak round and in through the back door, now what can I do with this helpless old lady………….

24 hours later...

The TRIA has been well and truly tested and so far I love it, it is well easy to use.

I've done both legs, my bikini line and under my arms too.  Firstly remembering to shower, shave and try myself thoroughly.  Hubby walked into the bedroom as I was doing my bikini line and wondered what on earth I was up to, as the TRIA is an odd looking contraption, and I was standing, legs akimbo with it aimed at my bits and pieces!!

There's no pain, not even any discomfort to be honest.  Even under my arms where it could be sensitive. 

So, now we need to wait two weeks.  I can shave in between times but no waxing, plucking or Veeting.  The hair follicles need time to go through their normal growing cycles so TRIA can catch them at the right time.

I don't know yet whether its working, I am assuming that it is, apparently hairs will begin to fall out in about 10 days or so. 

So far, 10/10 for the TRIA, but check back in two weeks for the next installment and update....

:-)

Mrs Impatient is here..... looking at her charging unit....

I've been looking for a while at the Home Laser Hair Removal treatments and wondering whether to take the plunge....  

The plus side, they promise to give you a totally smooth and hair free body for good, permenant hair removal....for ever!!   Well you can't say fairer than that can you?  So why haven't we all rushed to the shops and bought a kit?

The downside is the high price tag.  OK if it works the price is worth it.  But what if, horror of horrors, you spend your hard earned and it becomes something that lounges in the bottom of your drawer?

So "Enough on our Plates" is here to help.

I have been sent a TRIA Permanent Laser Hair Treatment set to try.  Take a look at http://www.triabeauty.co.uk/  to find out what all the science is, on this blog we'll get down to the nitty gritty of how it'll work for you, not what the marketing people say...

TRIA is currently a heart stopping £575 on their website.  But as they say, compare that to a lifetime of razor buying, or leg waxing or salon treatments, cheap by comparison....if it works.... let the story begin...

The postie arrived this morning, bringing my parcel.  Gosh I was excited - I really was ( you can call me a little bit sad ).  I had to work this morning so I was very good and left it sitting on the table.

The aqua coloured box sat there like an expensive box of chocoloates calling me to nibble.  But nibble I did not, I was good and left well alone until work was done.

I love packaging and so far the TRIA is captivating me with its lovely box, even the charging unit had its own little box to keep it all neat and tidy...talking of the charging unit...

I opened the box and began to read the instructions - drat!! I should have not had my resolve of earlier and opened the pack, cos now I had to charge it for 3 hours to ensure it was all fully charged and ready to use.

Oh how I wish I'd looked earlier!

So I plugged it in and waited.  I ate lunch, I drank tea, I waited.  3 hours isn't long t wait really but due to the fact I'm the worlds most impatient person, coupled with my excitement, I felt like an eternity.

I bided my time by reading the instructions thoroughly.

Three hours later....

TRIA was charged and ready to go.  I sat on the sofa with a charged TRIA in my hand and giggled, why was I so nervous?  Well they say it can hurt a bit, bit like an elastic band clipping against your skin and so I was a little scared to press it on my skin!  Silly I know but each time I went near it I chickened out.

After around ten minutes I told myself not to be so stupid and go for it.  I did. I felt nothing. I laughed even more!  I turned up the setting to medium and felt a little warmth so left it on medium.

You are meant to do a patch test and wait 24 hours, so I did my entire left leg,  cos I AM IMPATIENT I told you that!!

I am currently hoping I don't have a reaction on one leg now - cos that would be (a) embarrassing and (b) serve me right.

Tomorrow I will be doing both legs, underarms, and anywhere else I'm allowed to and will log in and let you know progress.  The skin and hair looks no different when you're done, apperently hair will begin to fall out after 10-14 days.  So it is hard to know where you have been.

I need to do this once a fortnight for the first few uses.  I'll keep you posted on progress.

Ah yes I must just tell you this,  TRIA says to shave before use, as it targets the follicles not the hair, so I duly did.  Although I did wonder what would happen if I had not.  Enter willing guinea pig (otherwise known as poor unwitting partner).

He has some patches of hair on his back so he is well up for trying the TRIA and being smooth and hair free.  I said I had to do a patch test on him and would do an inch on his back, I said he should shave but I wanted to know what would happen if he did not.  Being a typical 'hard' man he agreed, removed his T shirt and sat on the floor before me.  I set TRIA on low and pulsed on his skin, "oh" he said "I didn't feel much"  so I turned TRIA up to medium....

"OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" he said.  Oops, lets just say you need to shave before a treatment cos it can hurt.

Log in again soon to see what happens next and how hair free and smooth we become (fingers crossed).
We'll do some before and after shots and hopefully it'll be so fabulous you will all run out and buy one.  Let the trial begin!

Stop Press! Santa has a cat in his pants!

Mew has been having fun with Pets at Home's latest offering - Santa's Pants!

As you can see by the picture above the item in question looks like a pair of red trousers with a black waistband (not much of a surprise there then!). They are very lightweight as they are made from a polyester fabric with a band of white sheepskin round the end of each 'trouser leg'. They seem robust enough to withstand some serious play.

The waist end has a metal ring set into it so that it stands upright on the floor making a hole through which the cat is supposed to run coming out through one of the leg holes.

There is rustling paper inside the fabric to further entertain the cat and two black pom poms which dangle from the waist for him to play with.

Being an older cat Mew hasn't spent a lot of time running through the pants but he loves playing with the black pom poms and we do occasionally hear him rustling about inside when we are watching TV.

I do think that they would be ideal if you have a kitten or even better two kittens as I think they would get some serious play out of this!

http://www.petsathome.com/ current cost - £8.99

10% off toys! What great timing!

We've spotted that Center Parcs, Treasure Island Toys and John Crane Ltd have all got together to offer a 10% discount deal on all John Crane Toys!

Hurrah, just in time for Christmas....OK so its a little early, but hey, I have just been into my local garden centre and ALL the Christmas decorations are up and on sale.  I was rather shocked!

So anyway, follow my link and do a little Christmas toy shopping early, go on impress your friends!

Click the link here to save money now!

Cat litter for cats and husbands!

We have recently tried Smartbedz Universal Pet Bedding and Litter for out cat, Mew, and we have been very impressed!

The litter is made from 100% straw which is dried and made into pellets which are dust free, so great if you have allergies to contend with, bio degradable and eco friendly. Being soft pellets they are easy to pick up if they get kicked out of the litter tray and they don't damage ther flooring either.

The pellets absorb moisture and odours quickly and effectively and once used they can be composted, dug into the garden or even flushed in small quantities. We have also found that they burn well on our log burner!

The 5kg pack costs about £6.50 whilst the 10kg bag costs about £11.50 and it lasts much longer than conventional litter so it is good value.

I bet you want to know why they are good for my husband too don't you?

Well he managed to spill a full bottle of olive oil on the kitchen carpet and, whilst I got a lot of it up with kitchen roll, there was still a lot in the carpet. I looked for online advice and someone had suggested using cat litter so I put down kitchen roll and poured a layer of Smartbedz on top. Within a minutes I could see the pellets becoming darker as they absorbed the oil and after two lots each down for 24 hours the oil had all gone and the carpet looked as good as new!

So there you are a great cat litter that is good for the environment - what more do you want?

The John Crane Blog recommends SES Baby Soft Clay

The John Crane Blog: SES Baby Soft Clay: "Ooh Baby, Baby! Baby Clay is a new innovation from SES Creative by John Crane Ltd.

We liked the above review of this new innovative Baby Soft Clay - we also know it smells nice too and comes off hands easily.

Wicked Vision - Sports Boomerang - a review by 9 yr old fan....

Me and my dad played with our new boomerang by J age 9

It was tested on a very windy day so it took a little bit of mastering but we managed it and I loved it.  I got very out of breath running round but not as much as dad did.  It always seems to come back when thrown, so I liked it a lot.  It made dad laugh too.

We took the football to the park on the same day, and when we wanted to stop playing boomerang it just fitted into dads back pocket and was safe whilst we played a new game, until we went back to it.

They are made of plastic and mine was red.  They cost about £5 from http://www.play.com/ .  Its very thin but much stronger than it looks.  The only problem with it being so thin, as that dad kept panicking... cos everytime I threw it and it banked round to come back to me - I went to catch it and he thought it was going to take my hand off!!  Silly dad it's not a James Bond contraption that Q has made up!!!  Although a metal one could be a really good weapon for spies!!!

I liked the packaging it came in too, it was well funky and cool - plus it was really easy to get out and start playing!!! Take note other toy companies!!

A new way of walking!

I have recently had the chance to try a pair of MBTs. A pair of what? I hear you ask - MBTs which apparently stands for Masai Barefoot Technology and they are shoes which promote a whole new way of walking. In fact they are marketed as the anti shoe.

The range includes shoes, trainers, sandals and boots and I chose a pair of sandals which are smart enough for going out whilst being casual enough for every day wear.

I read the instructions - yes instructions for how to wear shoes - which advised me to get used to them gradually so that I didn't suffer any aches and pains. It also explained that since the base of the shoe is curved I had to put my heel down first and roll the shoe forward to walk.

It sounds odd but I found that my new sandals felt very comfortable as soon as I put them on. They did feel kind of odd as I felt slightly off balance at first but I soon got used to them. I started by wearing them for half an hour at a time and gradually built up to wearing them all day.

The shoes are supposed to exercise your legs and I can certainly feel the muscles working as soon as I begin to walk and, although I can feel the exercise working, I don't find that my legs ache the day after wearing the shoes as I thought that they might.

I have already been told that my legs look slimmer and more toned and I have lost a few pounds in weight too so what more could I ask for?

http://www.mbt.com/ is the website of these amazing shoes and here you can find the full range together with lots of information.

The only down side is the RRP which is £150 for the sandalls that I have although there are places that sell them cheaper than this - a word of warning though beware of cheap imitations as they may damage your body.

HoMedics Outdoor Massage Roll - kinda odd...but the cows were fascinated!

As we were off on holiday this week and doing a little 'stay-cationing' (thereby saving the pennies) I thought a few treats for the week were in order.

As we were on the boat, there could be no spa days or relaxing in the tub full of bubbles, but how about a massage?

For only £49.99 at Argos amongst other places the HoMedics Outdoor Back Massaging Roll can be found. Our friends there, sent us one to try.

The nifty item in question has:

- Variable intensity 4 motor vibration massage

- Convenient remote control with 2 massage programs

- Durable fabric for outdoor use - water, mildew and mould resistant

- Easily fits most outdoor and patio furniture

- Rolls-up for easy storage in supplied draw-string bag - perfect for a picnic

The roll bit, according to the pictures goes under your knees, as I originally had it as a pillow under my head - this was not good and made all the little massage points vibrate in all the wrong places!

It was easily portable, and fitted nicely on the deck chairs we have aboard. So me and Himself set about testing our new toy.

The button to turn it on was in the pillow bit so I pay down and pressed.... with Himself and a number of cows in an adjacent field all looking on with quizzical faces. There are massage pads, in pairs along the length of the roll, and as you sit they are sort of by your back and knees too, but I guess that depends on how long your legs are really!

Pressing the button again ellicited a new vibration and more thorough massage - but a louder noise, so most of the cows scampered off at that point!



Himself then had a go, said he felt like he'd been using the electric sander for a few hours and he'd gone all wibbly.



The roll was very thick and nicely padded. I enjoyed using it to line the deck chair without it being turned on, I enjoyed the pad beneath my knees offering support.



The massage bit was a bit of a gimmick really, not sure it would take away any aches and pains, and the noise was just too much for it to be relaxing. Don't get me wrong it doesn't sound like a construction site or anything that loud, all in all where decibels are concerned I'd say it did not have many, I just think if you want to sit and chill out, you don't want a dull buzzing and droning sound in your ear....

My massage was a little like this, just picture it a little colder than the Greek Isles, we had all the watery surroundings, but on the River Nene, and substitute the massuer for a HoMedics Outdoor Body Massage Roll and your there!

So... liked the padding and comfort, just needed a silencer in order to chill out more..

-------------------------------------------------------

Also all week, I wore my trusty HoMedics Pedometer - and downloaded results when I got home, I do love my Pedometer!!  And it's certainly making me do more walking.... each day you not only see how many calories you have used, how far you walked and how many steps you took - you also get a little score.

I usually get 2's with the odd 3 if I'm really active.... I have no idea how far the scores go, as I have yet to get past 3!!  My aim is to get all 3's one week.... but life is just too busy to keep walking!!  I am trying though, I really  am and the Pedometer is helping the motivation!!  See the post here - Pedometer

Arty Shots from the River Nene

I went a bit mad with the camera, here are some (I think anyway!!) rather arty shots...

Sunset at Denver Sluice looking towards Salter's Lode

A night at Peterborough Yacht Club

Raindrops on the bow rail

More raindrops - this time on the lock electric box

A week on the Boat

We're just returning from a weeks holiday aboard the Persephone.  Here I am waiting to board...

We've sailed (cruised as we don't have a sail!) from Oundle to Ely and back. It's been great, the weather was kind to us, and the sun shone, apart from Friday 13th, all week long.  In fact, let's take a look at our on-board thermometer...

Yes indeed, you see it correctly!  We had two little sunburnt noses that day I can tell you!  Me from reading sat upon deck and Himself from cleaning the decks and fenders - bless him, he likes to clean... can't sit still a minute, so it keeps him from mischief!

Ely, when we arrived was lovely...

The Middle Level however, was teacherous in parts, I'll attend to all the photos now and write you a post about all our thrills and spills, and broken engines, and waiting for the tides....

Mew really is a Supacat!

My cat, Mew, eats dry cat food with an occasional treat of wet food and the one he usually eats is Whiskas Complete. I have always found this to be an excellent food for him at an excellent price.

However, things have changed in our house since Mew has had the chance to try Supacat by Burgess and he loves it!

There are four flavours in the range:

Kitten: Rich in Chicken

Adult: Rich in Chicken with Duck

Adult: Rich in Scottish Salmon

Mature: With Turkey and Cranberry

Mew happily tried (and loved) them all even though he is a four year old cat!

The food is produced in small kibbles which are all coated with the stay clean to help to keep Mew's teeth clean and healthy. This is a good idea as I can't get him to brush his teeth! LOL!
Reading the packet I found that the food is high in protein, it contains a balanced blend of vitamins and minerals and natural antioxidants to support the immune system and that it contains no artificial colours or preservatives.

The company also help and support rescue centres and encourage responsible pet ownership.

But does it taste good to Mew? You bet it does!!
He had his face in the bowl as soon as I put the food down for him! He loved it, in fact I have to be careful just how much I give him as he will eat the whole lot in one go!

He has tried all the flavours even though one was supposed to be for a kitten and he loves them all which then provided me with another dilemma - since he loves it so much how much does it cost?

Well I was in for a surprise - it is comparable with his usual Whiskas - in fact it is a bit cheaper on some sites. Currently on the Burgess web site a 1.5kg bag is £3.75 and a 10kg bag is £19.99 which is a very good price for dry cat food, especially one of this high quality and I have already put in an order for a 10kg bag of each of the adult flavours.

So there you are - we have tried a new cat food and we have a happy owner and, more importantly, a happy cat so what more could I ask for?
http://www.burgesspetcare.co.uk/shop/supacat.html

As you can see Mew is one happy, healthy cat!

My dad had Alzheimer's Disease...

I read on British Mummy Bloggers that there was to be a Mental Health blog carnival, and I remembered this article my sister wrote for Ciao, a review site. I would like to share this with you. As you can see it was written a few years ago at Christmastime...

I know that this is the season to be jolly but it isn’t always an option for everyone so I am going to bite the bullet and write what is possibly the most difficult review that I have ever written. I do not intend to go into any medical details here about what Alzheimer’s is and how is develops – suffice it to say that it is a degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure.

In July 2005 my wonderful dad finally lost his battle with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 81. I am going to tell you how the disease affected him and what we did to help him. I am hoping that this might just help to make life a bit easier for someone else in the same position as we were.

My dad had always been an easy going sort of man – he needed to be living with my mom, my sister and myself! He was very slow to anger and almost never lost his temper. The first signs that something was wrong showed up when dad started to forget things. At first we all put it down to him getting older but it got worse. He went to see his GP who sent him to the local hospital for some tests.

When he went back to his GP he was told – you have Alzheimer’s disease take these tablets – and he was given Aricept. In the Midlands this is the only help he got! Aricept is supposed to slow down the development of the disease but as we don’t know how he would have been had he not taken it I can’t really comment on this.

He continued to get worse and it was difficult for mom to look after him on her own as by that time my sister and I had both left home and had our own houses. When he rewired an extension lead in such a way that when mom plugged it in she received a massive electric shock we knew that the time had come for change. By this time dad would have been in his late sixties and mom was 3 years younger.

Dave and I had always wanted to live by the sea so we decided to buy a big three storey Victorian house in Llandudno and we had the ground floor converted so that mom and dad could come and live with us. The house had been used as a guest house and we changed the downstairs dining room into an en suite bedroom so that mom and dad had their own lounge, dining room, kitchen and bedroom and Dave and I had the rest of the house, eventually converting one of the first floor bedrooms into a kitchen for us.

This meant that I was able to take over the financial running of the house so that mom and dad didn’t have to worry about bills. They did insist on paying rent so that they were paying their way! They also helped out with the modernisation of the house as they had the proceeds from their house in the Midlands.

As soon as we moved to Llandudno dad was assessed by the local community psychologist and he began to visit the local memory clinic one day a week, which was great for him and for us. At first I was a bit worried as I thought they would all just sit there doing nothing but he came home with stories of discussing items from the news, listening to music and doing exercises. The first week he went they were listening to a CD of Stanley Holloway monologues so he was well happy as this was one of his favourites!

At this time I became dad’s full time carer.

So every Monday dad would go off to his ‘club’ and mom and I would have a day off. Mom was also beginning to deteriorate at this stage as she had Vascular Dementia so I gradually took more stress off her. For example I took over all the tablets that they both had to take by this time. I dispensed them and reordered them so that was another worry taken away so that they could enjoy one another’s company more.

Initially dad wasn’t too bad and they were able to get out and about. They got their free bus passes and they were out most days. Funnily enough dad had always had a very good sense of direction and he never lost this.

When we were children we all used to enjoy doing jigsaws so we started this hobby again. Mom and dad’s dining room got to be known as the jigsaw room as there was always one on the table. The social worker said she thought it was a great idea and she said she would pass it on to others! It meant that there was always a way for me to distract dad when he was getting on mom’s nerves – she was never known for her patience with him! When she was cooking their lunch I would go down and sit with dad at the jigsaw and as that room adjoined the kitchen I could chat to mom as well. Dad could still help by peeling the vegetables but by this time he had to be told what to do and given the relevant tools for the job. I remember mom asking him to pour out a drink to have with their lunch – she meant fruit juice or squash – he poured out cooking oil, bless him!

As he got worse he started to go to the memory clinic for respite care for one week in every five which gave mom and me a break. The support that we got in Llandudno was really good, certainly much better than when we were in the Midlands! We were invited to the memory clinic every few months for a meeting to see if there was anything more that we needed help with and for them to tell us how dad was progressing as he was continually assessed when he was there. One thing we were told was that people with Alzheimer’s tend to have the same character traits that they have always had but that the disease magnifies them. We had seen people become quite violent with Alzheimer’s but luckily this didn’t happen with dad as he had always been so easy going he tended to stay that way – well most of the time anyway!

One of dad’s favourite things was when Dave took us all out for a drive in the mountains – he loved the scenery and this could calm him down if he was having a day when he was agitated.

Dad missed his garden and since we had a car park at the back of the house we fenced it off, had it paved and built some raised flower beds. Dad used to ‘help’ us and we grew runner beans and tomatoes which he loved doing. He used to go out every day with his sweeping brush and sweep the front path mainly because he could stop and chat to people as they walked past. He used to love doing this and I always used to make a fuss of how smart it looked.

As I said at first he and mom would go out for the day on the bus and have a walk somewhere but eventually it got the point that he couldn't even go on the bus into town without getting agitated. It eventually got to the point when we couldn't let him go out on his own as we would never know where he was so we had to lock the door - he wasn't happy about that! He did 'escape' once or twice and we had to split up and search the area for him. He could still manage a walk round the block to see the sea and one of us was always ready to go for a walk with him.

We were still doing our jigsaws but he did get to the point where, if the piece fitted, he would put it in. It didn't matter whether it went with the rest of the picture or not as long as it fitted! We used to wait until he wasn't looking and whip the wrong pieces back out again! Towards the end of his life he occasionally became quite cross with me when I had to stop him doing things, which was very unlike my dad. Luckily I could usually distinguish between the disease and the patient and not get too upset. Sadly mom couldn’t do this and used to shout at him when he got mixed up and when I reminded her he was ill she wouldn’t believe that he didn’t have control over what he said and did. I suppose that was her illness taking hold. Sometimes I had to intervene in arguments and calm dad down and then try and reason with mom. That was difficult and heartbreaking at times.

Dad continued to deteriorate. He could dress himself but he needed someone to tell him which order to put things on or he would end up with his vest on over his shirt for example. He occasionally had a little accident with his waterworks but generally he could remember to go to the toilet even though he needed someone to tell him where it was. There were one or two messy incidents in the bathroom but I won’t go into detail.
I found that the best thing to do was to reassure him and then forget the incident as he would forget it anyway! He got that he just couldn’t settle to do anything not even just sitting watching TV. He wandered around the house all the time so I just used to walk round with him and chat about things to try and keep him occupied.

He still wanted to help us with the work on the house and we tried to find little easy jobs that he could do. He had always done his own DIY and he thought he could still do things that he obviously couldn’t so he needed to be watched!

Dave and I got married in April of 2005 by which time dad could barely make sense when he tried to hold a conversation. My sister's then boyfriend walked me down the aisle and made the speech at the wedding on dad's behalf. The strange thing was that dad seemed almost normal on that day. He told me how lovely I looked in my wedding dress before we went to the church and he was winking at me from his seat as we signed the register at the front of the church. The people at the memory clinic had rung and told me beforehand that they would keep an emergency bed just in case it was all too much for him and he had to go in and at about 7.30pm he knew himself that he needed to be there. Dave took him in and he got excited wanting to tell them all about his day! Bless him.

Sadly whilst we were on honeymoon he fell and hit his head and was admitted to hospital. He remained there for three months and finally died there. It was heartbreaking to go and visit him. He couldn't eat properly and was surviving on special vitamin packed yoghurts and jellies, which I sometimes fed to him.

We took a little CD player in for him and he would listen to his favourite CD's as he still loved his music. All the nurses loved him and were all surprised each time they came on shift that he was still there as they expected him to pass away quite quickly, especially as he contracted pneumonia twice in hospital and twice he recovered from it! He couldn't talk to make sense at all by this time but we still got his trademark wink when we went to visit. During all this one day he suddenly turned to me and said 'How are you?' and I said 'Fine thanks dad - how are you?' and he told me he was OK and then he went back to being unintelligible. Weird!

I did have the chance to sit and talk to him one day on my own. I told him that I was so proud and happy that he was my dad and I couldn't have picked a better one if I had been able to choose for myself. I promised that I would look after mom for him and I told him how much I loved him. At least when the end finally came I was glad that I had been able to say my goodbyes. For the last week of his life he seemed to give up and he just lay there apparently waiting to die. He died in July of 2005 and I still miss him like crazy, but I am glad that he lived with us for the last years of his life as I did have some quality time with him even if he did make me want to scream sometimes.

So there you are then and yes this was one of the most difficult posts that I have ever written. If I have helped someone else in the same situation then it was worth it. If anyone has any questions I will be very happy to help if I can. I appreciated all the help that I could get and will be very happy to pass that on if I can. If you do know someone who is caring for an Alzheimer’s sufferer do be there for them. Don’t tell them to go away for a break or to get out and join clubs – they have to stay with their ‘patient’ – they can’t go off and leave them!

It was a most difficult time for me but I am so glad that I was able to do it. This post has ended up being very long – I do apologise and forgive you if you have skimmed it!

God bless you dad and thank you for all you did for me.

FitFlop Fan here!

I now live in my Fitflops! I have black pair of Fitflops, as I had been wondering about getting a pair for a while, I now officially love them!

My first day wearing them was last Friday, when I had a reflexology appointment, I left the house at 10.50 to walk the short distance to the salon for my appointment at 11. By the time I had got there, after a short quarter of a mile walk I was fairly ...err...knackered for want of a better term!!!

I laughed with the receptionist, who had been considering a purchase and also the reflexologist too, saying they must be doing something!! I entered the treatment room, and slipped off my Fitflops, only to discover the colour of the black suede had transferred itself onto my feet – so I looked very dirty for my appointment which was quite embarrassing!!

It soon came off though with a wipe of gel from my therapist.

I walked back home after the treatment, taking it more steadily though. Since then, I have worn them around the house, into town and also into work too – they are plain black so look fine with ¾ length trouser for work – ideal!

My tired legs have stopped aching now but I can feel a little difference so far. So I’m thinking well worth the £45.00!!  Expensive for a 'flip-flop' but they are so much more!

I also suffer intermittently with pain in the ball of my foot, when it happens it is crippling and I cannot put any weight at all on it for around an hour, this spasm occurred the other day and I immediately thought to put on my Fitflops as they are very thick and spongy so I wanted to see what happened, I am so pleased to say I could walk easily and the pain subsided within five or so minutes!! It’s a bloomin miracle and I love them!

I am now looking to order the ‘Rebel’ pair which are new and look even more funky and good enough for work too.

Each Fitflop is very structured and has wobble board technology in the sole which apparently gets all the little muscles working to keep you upright and this is what exercises you and give you a taught tush (I hope!!). The top of the Fitflop is also very well desgned, they wrap round most of your foot offering good support, whereas a normal flip-flop is just a thong on top of your foot and the flippity flop all over the place – these really hold your foot with minimal toe grip to hold onto your footwear, which is bad for both foot and posture.

I’m using my Fitflops with my Pedometer and will update you on Tush firmness as the weeks go by... I am a total Fitflop convert now though – if you are undecided, I’d say – treat yourself to a pair, even if it’s only for the comfort of them – firm legs and tush will be a Brucie Bonus!!

FitFlops are available to buy at

http://www.fitnessfootwear.com/  or click FITFLOP

An honest review of Tony Ferguson Weight Loss

Tony Ferguson...hmmm...I’m not convinced. I’ve been giving the Boots exclusive Tony Ferguson Weight Loss programme a whirl but hit upon a few snags.

Price, I’ve tried the shakes at £1.99 a go, some soup and Munch Bars which are equally as expensive. So I was a little on the back foot before I began, still a little box of items were in the kitchen at the ready so I began.

Day one I decided on a strawberry shake for breakfast – I made it up in my nice pink shaker, which I love. But euch!!!! How sweet?? Ooh I did not like the chemically sweet taste of this one...... by lunchtime I was hungry, so had a few vegetable sticks and another shake – this time toffee. Which I have to say was delicious!! Very yummy, a little like drinking butterscotch Angel Delight...Mmmmm...

By evening meal time I was STARVING!!! Yet feeling very bloated and uncomfortable. We ate some roast chicken a few veggies, throughout the day I drank lots of water.

I followed a similar plan for about 3 days, until I decided I could stand it no longer...I’m too hungry on just shakes, with a hectic and stressful job I need something to actually ‘eat’ at lunchtime, or I may chew off my own elbow.

I realise the shakes contain all the nutrients I need for the day ahead but I don’t think my body realises so it needs sustenance!

Calories on the shakes are about 200 each which isn’t bad, the Munch Bar has a calorific content of over 800 calories though!!!!!! I refuse to eat that small calorific morsel for lunch when a hearty salad would fill me up more and be about a quarter of the calories.  (I've been told these are only 200 calories, and 800 KJ - I am off to check this out and will post later once I've discovered which it is)

The Tony Ferguson recipe book looks good and I intend to try the ‘Notatoes’ recipe tomorrow, this looks good!! Using cauliflower instead of mashed potato is a fun idea....

My Tony Ferguson programme came with a little folder explaining what I had to do, which was good and very nice looking. It explained the programme in depth – although the reference to natural weight loss made me giggle, I think natural is apples, salad, fish, organic food chaps, rather than chemicals in a beaker....but nevertheless the folder is very pretty.

I’m sure TF weight loss is wonderful for some people, just not me really - sadly.

I’ll keep my left over shakes in my drawer at work in case of emergencies, ie the days I forget my lunch and they can be used so I don’t have to rush to the sandwich shop and break my diet.

The website for more info is www.tonyferguson.co.uk and it’s a Boots exclusive so try www.boots.com too.

There are also Facebook pages to search for – where I was actually VERY impressed with the level of interaction, I posted a comment saying how bloated I was and they posted a reply within hours about this, saying it was normal and due to changing my eating habits. So that was good customer service in my view!

By the way – I am still 10st 6lb – but can’t blame Tony as I only tried him out for 3 days. Onwards to the next plan of action then.....

John Crane Pintoy Doll Family

John Crane Pintoy Doll Family Toy Buzz has entered the Summer Photography competition, with a little imagination!!

We're loving seeing all the entries here and hope you are enjoying visiting other blogs to see what jenny has been up to!

I've managed to lay my hands on more Jenny's if you wish to enter, it's not too late and you could win £200 worth of toys!

Now that’s a clever idea!

I have always been overweight and have been on various diets for most of my adult life. I have counted calories, weighed my food, combined types of food, been to slimming clubs – you name it I have tried it!

Now I have had the chance to try The Diet Plate. As you can see from the picture the surface of the plate is split into various sections and the idea is that you fill each section with the food group written on it. There are small sections for cheese and meat and larger sections for salad and vegetables. There is also a ring round the plate to show the amount of rice or pasta that you should eat in one meal.

The idea is that the plate counts the calories for you and I can see that this would be a really useful aid to the dieter who doesn’t have much time to spare. The plate comes complete with a booklet which explains exactly how to use it together with information about the basic food groups and a chart to follow your weight loss.

The one that I am using is made especially for females but there is also a slightly different one made for males as they would need to eat more calories. There is also one for children although I have to admit that I am not happy with the idea of using the term ‘diet’ for children. There is also a diet bowl available.

All in all I think this is a really clever idea for all you dieters who don’t have the time or don’t want to be bothered with counting calories.

HoMedics Pedometer on trial - or is that ME on trial??

I’m currently testing various items from the HoMedics Range and quite frankly love em all!!

The lovely Elaine from the PR company has now sent me a pedometer, I shall quote a small paragraph from her – “Walking is a great way to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Using the HoMedics MiBody 360 Pedometer (£49.99) you can track your movements, keeping count of steps, distance and calories burnt. The clever 3D accelerometer technology ensures the pedometer works in your pocket, in a bag or round your neck, with a 15 day memory the unit can remind you of your hard work while the results can be uploaded to your PC for further analysis.”

So with pedometer attached I began my week. Firstly you log into the pedometer and add in the time, date and your stride (you need to measure this). Putting the time and date in is rather important, as then the pedometer knows when to zero itself. I’ve not stayed watching it at midnight so have assumed this is the cut off time.

Each day you place the pedometer round your neck and walk, well just assume your usual day’s activities really. It counts your steps and measures the amount of km walked in the day. Then zeros at midnight. I logged into my laptop this evening and hooked the pedometer up, you get a nice little graph showing you steps/distance walked each day and calories used. It was a scary sight of total laziness this week!

I’ve tried it round my neck on the lanyard provided and also in a pocket, apparently you can drop it into your handbag too and it STILL works! I even popped it in my sock when I rode the exercise bike and it worked! So not only does it count steps it counts ‘activity’ too.

My main gripe about bog-standard pedometers is the awful clicking sound, every time you take a step click, click, click – really annoying! And it means you can’t wear them discreetly either. This funky new pedometer is silent, and looks rather trendy – it has the look of a Wii about it really.

I do rather like my addition to my HoMedics Collection, but now need to stop writing and go for a walk, as I have come to the conclusion I have too sedentary a job with only 2000 steps taken during a working day – eek!

As to be healthy you need to be doing 10,000 I have a hefty 8,000 to make up now, cripes better get my trainers on!!

Keep Cup helps save the planet!

The lovely PR from Keep Cup sent me a cup to try....

I wondered when she emailed what it would be, Keep Cup sounded weird, it put me in mind of the Moon Cup actually but luckily it was not so personal!

Keep Cup looks like a plain version of the card cup you get in Costa Coffee and to all intents and purposes that is exactly what it is.

Every year it is estimated that worldwide disposable paper cups alone account for up to 4.5 million tonnes of landfill, 54 million felled trees, and 340 million joules of energy. So anything Keep Cup or anyone else for that matter can do to reduce the waste is a good thing.

The KeepCup comes in various sizes, all made to fit under the group heads of commercial coffee machines, as it has the same volume as standard takeaway cups, it ensures consistent portioning of espresso and milk; plus the four separate components can be personalised in your chosen colours, making the KeepCup unique.

The idea is, you take your cup to Costa, Starbucks or similar and ask them to fill it with their coffee, you pay the same price, but know you have made a small step to saving the environment.

The KeepCup is made of food safe polypropylene, is BPA free, non toxic, recyclable,

reusable and recyclable. It is dishwasher and microwave safe, stackable, lightweight,

splash-proof and fits in car cup holders.

As a non caffeine drinker I’ve not taken mine into the local Costa to try, however I love my own Dandelion Coffee so I topped up my Keep Cup, placed the lid on tight and popped it in the cup holder in the car – perfect!

I may not drink coffee, but I do often race out of the house in the morning with no time to spare for a cuppa – so Keep Cup is lovely to have a hot drink on the move!!

Visit http://www.keepcup.com/  to order your KeepCup now!

RRP:
• 8 oz – approx £8
• 12 oz – approx £9
• 16 oz – approx £10

We love Tailball - except when it goes on the roof!

Last weekend we had visitors, so Master J was a happy boy, he loves having people round – no matter who they are, I think it’s just a 9 yr old ‘thing’. So our friends were heading over for the day. They have a five year old girl, Miss D, who is adorable! But we did wonder whether 9 year old boys and 5 year old girls could play together without a row.

To give Miss D her due, she’s a bit of a tom-boy anyway so that helped a lot.

Himself had been to Tesco and brought lots of lovely BBQ items to cook once we had sailed down the river in the sunshine. He also returned with two giant bubble wands (one pink and one blue of course!!) for them to make giant bubbles with. These were a great hit – as we all like bubbles no matter how old.

We also had a Tailball set. It’s new from Mookie Toys – you know the people who brought us Swingball, which is addictive in itself (but a bit dangerous for a 5 year old we summised). There are different Tailball Sets in the range so we chose Tailball Light. You are meant to be able to play this one indoors but I think you’d need a much bigger lounge than ours...or at least less valuable ornaments dotted around!

Master J decided that he’d test the Tailball the evening before. It consisted of two lime green, very vibrant looking bats, they also looked very robust too. Plus one ball, which seemed very bouncy, it was also green and had strips of flouncy plastic trailing from it in a tail (hence tailball) This tails seemed to slow down the balls speed making it easier for little ones to get to the target, whilst it did not stop any of its bouncy capacity. For Master J this was good.

Although Himslef and I left him to it in the garden for a while whilst we made tea...and all of a sudden the Tailball had ‘accidentally’ managed to make its way onto the roof..... we think there was a little help from a 9 year old whacking it really hard with the bat to see how far it would go.

We can confirm.....it can go a long way.

One set of ladders, a very brave husband who is not afraid of heights and much shouting of “over here a bit” the ball was back on the lawn – with strict instructions it should stay lower than window height.

On our way out the next day, we packed Tailball and it was a hit! Boy and girl playing nicely together whilst four tired parents sat in deckchairs and tended the BBQ. Bliss in a pack for only £12.99!!