A Dog's Christmas Miracle

Brand new for Christmas, and released today on DVD, families are set to fall in puppy love with this heartwarming tale of an adorable but spoiled  pooch with mischief on her mind!  Cinnamon, the Maltese puppy is none too pleased when her owner, unlucky in love university professor Madeleine, falls for widower architect Kevin.  An unlikely romance blossoms which makes Cinnamon very jealous and determined to sabotage the relationship.

Crafty Cinnamon spoils their dates in order to keep Madeleine to herself.  With sabotage plans such as weeing on Kevin's lap when he is about to kiss her owner, Cinnamon will stop at nothing, worrying she will end up at the pound if they fall in love.  Meanwhile Kevin's son Jordan is having problems of his own.

When Kevin ends up doggy-sitting for Cinnamon the dog ups her game.  She runs away but ends up in big trouble.  Her adventure leads to a big rift between the couple with misunderstandings aplenty.  Christmas looks set to be miserable.  Will Kevin manage to save the day?

Cinnamon soon realises that having an extended family for Christmas might not be quite so bad after all.

The animals in this film "talk" to each other which adds to the fun of the film.  Cinnamon is voiced by Brenda Song (London Tipton from the Disney Channel's Suite Life On Deck) which made the kids quite excited!   I must confess that I actually wanted to give Cinnamon a swift kick for trying to ruin the relationship between Kevin and Madeleine!  However you know it all ends up happily because the story starts at the end when they are one big happy family and then tells you how they got there.  This format also means there is no need for the children to panic when Cinnamon finds herself in peril!

Kizzy has watched it twice already so that is a reflection on how much she has enjoyed this film.  It is a good family film that everyone can enjoy together.  It is a nice festive, family film with some funny moments.

A Dog's Christmas Miracle from Lionsgate is 87 minutes long and has a U certificate.  It is available to buy from Amazon for just £5.65.

Winter Worries

After all the mild weather we've been having, it was quite a shock waking up to a frosty, winter morning today.  The car windscreen needed scraping for the first time since last winter.  The gossamer spiders' webs looked beautiful, bejewelled with iciness. We could see our breathe hanging in the air.  There was at last a real sense that winter was looming.

I was glad that we had been shopping yesterday to buy scarves, hats, gloves and coats for the girls. Perfect timing!  All the recent news about the approaching cold fronts from Siberia, may actually prove to to true.  I just hope we are not thrown into the unbelievably, awful freezing conditions we had last winter.

Just in case, I've ordered snow socks for the front tyres of my car.  Last year I was resorted to tears more than once as my car slid across icy roads.  I hate feeling out of control!  So hopefully these will give me the bit of extra traction I need to keep my car going in the direction I want it to go.  I've also invested in my annual pair of fur lined boots to keep my feet cosy for the next few months.  I'm all prepared for what nature throws at us this year.

I'm trying to resist the urge to order 50kg rock salt.  There was a well timed leaflet pushed through the letterbox yesterday, clearly targeted at the worriers of the world like me!   I think my "be prepared" ethos may be getting out of hand.  I'll be ordering a snow plough next, if this obsession for coping with the winter continues to escalate.

Because I am so prepared, it probably means we will have a really mild winter.  It's usually the way.  If I stock up on Factor 50 sun cream, you can guarantee we won't have a good summer.  After buying new waterproofs for everyone for a weekend away, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  It seems that whatever I prepare for, the opposite happens.  So, hopefully my investments for an Arctic winter will guarantee that it will be snow free. (With the concession of a glorious flurry for Christmas morning!) Time alone will tell!

In the meantime I will snuggle under my slanket (all you haters out there don't know what you are missing!), crack out my thermal vests and enjoy the latest Christmas offerings from Starbucks while I wait and see if my preparations have been made in vain!

Day 7 #NaBloPoMo

Listography...Top 5 Teen Crushes

What a great theme this week for Listography....top 5 teen crushes!  Whenever I think of teen crushes I recall my big sister Carol and her crush on Donny Osmond in the 70s.  Her bedroom walls were literally plastered with Donny pics including a poster of him in his purple velvet hat.  My Nan visited one weekend and on entering Carol's room had a complete turn at the shocking sight of wall to wall Donny and had to lie down all a fluster for the remainder of the day!

As for me, I was a teen in the 80s. I actually kept a list of prospective love interests and truly hoped that I may end up married to one of them!

1: Pete Murphy

The Bauhaus frontman and the Maxell Tapes advert  poster boy, was just the most divine specimen of manhood.  All cheekbones, eyeliner and chiselled jaw, the post punk rocker was exquisite.  I saw him perform live when I was about 13.  I was right at the front and got trampled by punks in steel toe capped DMs and mohicans...but I swear Pete Murphy looked straight at me making my injuries worthwhile! Swoons!

2: John Taylor

John was my Duran Duran-ie of choice.  I sometimes wore a trilby and pretended it had belonged to him!

3: The Lost Boys (all of them!)

I would have offered my throat to any/all of the super hot vampires from the Lost Boys.  The one with the long black hair was my favourite, but Keifer Sutherland in undead form would have done too!  This is still one of my favourite films...love it!!

4:  Howard Keel...My Sugar Daddy of choice!

I've got a bit of a thing for musicals and I love Calamity Jane.  Howard Keel's Wild Bill Hickock was the older man who I would have liked to sweep me off my feet and take care of me in his strong manly manner!

5:  Tim Matheson

My earliest crush was back in the late 70s when I used to watch the Quest.  Tim Matheson and Kurt Russell played brothers separated when Indians kidnapped Kurt Russell and their sister.  The brothers were reunited some years later and then went on their quest to find their sister who was still missing.  With one in his cowboy outfit and one in an Indian get up, they ticked two role play boxes.  I favoured the tall, dark handsome cowboy Morgan Beaudine played by Tim Matheson. I wanted to ride off into the sunset with him!!

I will leave you with a picture of my real teen crush, and the man I did eventually marry...Pete, John, Keifer, Howard and Tim move aside!  This is the real man I fancy...my very own Ian!!

Silent Sunday

Day 6 #NaBloPoMo

Reeves Painting by Numbers

My budding little artist Kizzy was very excited to get her hands on the Reeves Painting By Numbers Artist's Starter Set from Toys R Us.  Big sister Megan was also very excited about helping her little sister to test it out! 

The set includes three paint by number canvases featuring pictures of Noah's Ark, a horse and some penguins.  There is also a small wooden easel, two paintbrushes, a mixing palette, a water pot and 21 small pots of acrylic paints.

The pictures on the canvases are quite intricate and definitely only suitable for older children aged 8 and over as recommended on the box.  Each section includes a number which corresponds to one of the paint pots.  Some sections require two paints to be mixed in the palette to make the right colour.

The easel is very cute, but both girls found it a little unstable to use for painting, but it will make a really nice stand to display finished paintings.

The paints went on really well and both girls really enjoyed completing the paintings.  You have to make sure you wear old clothes or an apron, but the paint did wash out from clothing using soap and water when the paint is still wet.  (Incidentally, it was my 20 year old daughter Megan and not my 9 year old who made a mess of her clothing causing me to test out the washability of the paints before making her wear a plastic apron!!)  The brushes are of a good quality with a fine tip.

Megan had one criticism of the canvases, and that was that the blue printing  was sometimes difficult to cover with the lighter coloured paints and the numbers showed through.  This is only a minor criticism and it is because she is a perfectionist!!  Kizzy said she enjoyed having to concentrate hard on the precise artwork.  She showed real patience and developed her skills doing the painting.  I was impressed with her perseverance  and diligence!

In a world of high tech toys, it was really lovely to see my girls sat down together painting.  This set was a really good introduction to acrylic painting, with interesting pictures and good quality materials.

It took three days for the paintings to be completed, so it is not a quick activity.  It took real commitment from the girls to get them finished.  However the end results were really very good.

10 Questions

The very lovely  S.A.M. tagged me in her fabulous 10 Questions Q & A.  I think however I got tagged purely so I can be mocked about my affinity to a certain product that features in question 9 ;)  But I feel very honoured to be taking part regardless of the mocking I may endure afterwards.  Read on to find out more!!

The rules of the game are:

1) Answer the 10 questions

2) Tag someone to do the same

3) Come back to my original blog post and comment that you have done so in order for us to find out who has been tagged and therefore find out more about our fellow bloggers!

So here goes!

1: Describe yourself in seven words:

Reinvigorated Mum totally loving and embracing life!

 2: What keeps you awake at night?

Literally speaking, my bed sharing toddler and my snoring husband do quite a good job of  keeping me awake at night.  Drinking too much Pepsi-Max or a Cafe Nero Espresso Frapuccino is also not good...I get terrible insomnia and lie awake thinking of ideas for blogposts, competition entries, life changing business plans etc that I think are amazing.  In the cold light of day I realise that the ideas were just the ridiculous, nonsensical ramblings of a sleep deprived brain!

3: If you could be anyone for a day who would you be and why?

Easy...I'd be my husband and live a day in his shoes.  Find out how it feels to be him and see me and our life together through his eyes.   Also, if we could do a Freaky Friday body swap style switch...just imagine how amazing the sex would be!

4:  What are you wearing now?

Skinny jeans and a black vest from Republic with my Converse pumps.  My official at-home wear of choice.  Sorry S.A.M. Nothing designer or fabulous for me! 

5:  What scares you?

I'm an absolute worrier.  I fear terrorism, asteroids hitting earth, accidents, e-coli in unwashed salad, pieces of space station falling to earth, flying/sailing, SARS/ Swine Flu/Bird Flu pandemics...you name it, I fear it.  I am also scared of monsters coming out of my wardrobe!

6:  What is the best and the worst thing about blogging?

After just over a year of blogging, I have been absolutely humbled by the amazing opportunities that I have had.  Meeting amazing people from the wonderful community that I am proud to be a part of, attending fabulous events and working with companies that have given me a sense of real achievement and fulfilment.  Blogging has literally changed the course of my life, given me confidence, direction and ambition that was previously missing from my life.  A dramatic statement, but before blogging I was an agoraphobic, overweight, directionless woman struggling to fill my days with anything other than Jeremy Kyle and biscuits.  I had nothing to fulfil the part of myself that was not defined as being a wife or mother...there was no "me".  Now I have found something that I love doing and which has given that part of me a purpose.
I am hating the rise of the bloggers who set up blogs solely for freebies and who put no effort or integrity into what they do. I hate people continually asking for things and even contacting me to ask how they can get stuff, when I've worked hard to prove myself and make my contacts.  They are giving reviewers a bad name.  I take real pride doing what I do and I've been incredibly lucky...but nothing is more rewarding than hearing back from a PR company saying that they like to work with me because I am grateful, hard working and genuinely want to go a good job for their clients.  I love the relationships I have built up with some PRs and believe it is a mutually beneficial arrangement.  I wish PRs would become more discerning about who they use for reviews, so the industry does not become saturated with lazy blaggers that will burst the blogging bubble for everyone.


7:  What was the last website you looked at?  

Apart from switching between my blog, Facebook, Hotmail and Twitter, the last site I had open on my computer was the National Railway Museum's Santa Steam Adventure page http://www.nrm.org.uk/christmas  Not very rock n roll unfortunately!

8:  If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?

Physically...I'd make my Xanthelasma disappear.

Mentally...I'd make my propensity for being overcome by dark moods for no reason disappear.

9:  Slankets Yes or No!?

I've made no secret of my love for the ultimate in warmth and convenience...the slanket.  It's a blanket with sleeves...what is there not to love?  OK...so they're made from that funny fleecy stuff that is somehow produced from recycling plastic bottles and they are synonymous with the couch potato lifestyle (hands accessible for the remote control and family size bag of crisps), but that aside it is a masterful invention combining the snuggliness, machine washability, hands free-ness and synthetic-stylishness (they come in assorted colours and patterns to suit any mood and match any sofa)  that any discerning modern woman needs in her life.  Also if you wear it backwards you can pretend to be a Jedi warrior or a Monk.  Come on ladies...share the slanket love!  I can tap away on my lap top, slanket clad from neck to toe.  They get a YES from me!!

10: Tell us something about the person who tagged you?

S.A.M. is a larger than life personality with a fondness for fine wines, high fashion and dancing on tables.  Instantly recognisable by her fabulous mane of curly locks, I was delighted to spot her at Cybermummy where I finally got to meet the lovely lady I've known since the early days of my blog.  I look forward to our paths crossing again! xxx

Finally I am tagging  Helen from The Crazy Kitchen who has turned from virtual buddy to a real life friend and Karen from Would Like to Be a Yummy Mummy  who is a fellow Slimpodder and very lovely lady :)

So pass it on for #NaBloPoMo and spread the love!!

Day 5 #NaBloPoMo

Make a Date with Take Me Out...No Likey No Lighty!

This week I have my eldest daughter home from university and am taking advantage of having Teen Testers to help me try out some of the products I am reviewing for my Christmas Gift Guide!  One of  the items to be tried out is Take Me Out, the board game from Rocket games, based on the hit ITV show.

I will hereby openly admit to having a crush on Paddy McGuiness (from his Max and Paddy days) who is the host of the dating game show.  So I was a secret Saturday night viewer!

The electronic board game makes players into matchmakers with each trying to prove that their single man is the perfect date by performing fun tasks to win Fernando's vouchers.  You have to avoid the lights being turned off because "No lighty, no likey!" and your single man won't find love!

The game includes snippets of Paddy's catchphrases, music and the sound of the lights switching off which adds to the fun of the game!  The game is recommended for ages 12 and up and can be played with 3-6 players (the more the merrier for a really fun game).

The game includes:

• 100 Single Man Cards
• 50 The Power Is In Your Hands Cards
• 1 Single Girls Pad
• 12 Isle of Fernandos Vouchers
• Coloured Die
• Rules

There are four rounds 'What I Do' which is a drawing game as the single man draws a picture for the girls to guess his job.  Round two is 'In My Spare Time' which is charades to guess his hobby.  Round three is the 'Little Known Secret' round in which the single man tells the other players a secret about himself and they have to guess if its true or false.  Round 4 is 'The Power is in your Hands' round which is like Blankety Blank and you have to fill in a missing word from a sentence.  When the single man matches an answer with one of the other players they go onto the next round, if not they switch off their light.  The final girl left and the single man win a Fernando's voucher if he chooses to date her.  (In this game girls can play the single man and boys can play the girls...it really doesn't matter so it is perfect for both sexes and mixed groups.) 

This game is loud, fast paced, fun and would be great at a girls/lads night in or for a party.  It is sure to be a hit during the festive season if you like lively family games!  It can get a bit risque and I'm sure after a couple of drinks it would be riotous if played with friends!!

Take Me Out costs £24.99 from Amazon with free delivery.  You require 3 AA batteries which are not included.  If you loved the show, you will enjoy this game. Even if you weren't a fan of the show, it doesn't matter as the game stands alone and has really clear instructions.  It is definitely more suitable for older children and adults as recommended on the box, with some of the challenges being a bit too complicated for little ones.  Kizzy is 9 and coped quite well as she could read the cards and knew what the jobs and hobbies were, even though some were a bit obscure.

My family enjoyed playing this game and here is a video showing Take Me Out in action!

Take Me Out really will be on my list of games to play over Christmas with family and friends.  It is a good combination of a few old favourites brought bang up to date in a really entertaining format with the addition of Paddy McGuinness for good measure!  

Lite Sprites...Light Up Your World With Colour

Welcome to the world of Lite-Topia, an enchanted land that shimmers with colour and light.  Little girls will be delighted to enter a world where colourful lights express feelings and emotions, and where beautiful Lite Sprites hang from the Tree of Light in their unique forest pod homes.  The magical Lite Sprites can be activated by a special wand which belongs to Prisma and makes Lite-Topia come alive with wonderful colour.  The magical wand can pick up and share colours and even has built in games for children to play.

There are four more Sprites Brook, Meadow, Astra and Bleak who form the sisterhood of light.  Each has her own special colour apart from poor Bleak who was raised in the dark and consequently has turned out to be a naughty sprite causing havoc in Lite-Topia using her powers to reject colour.  This is the fabulous story behind a range of toys which are really quite unique.

We were sent four Lite Sprites, Prisma and her Lite Wand and the Tree of Life from Wow Wee Toys so we could immerse ourselves into the exciting  world of Lite Sprites!

The wand really is quite magical.  It has a built in library of colours and interacts with the other sprites to change their colours when you point it at them and hold down the diamond button.  There are built in games and you can also hunt and collect colours from things around the home.  The wand encourages children to explore their environment to find new colours.  For younger children it is great for them to learn the name of the colours in a really interactive way.  The wand itself is really lovely to look at with its green tendrils wrapped around the orb of light.  The colourful lights and the diamond button look enchanting and magical.  There are spells children can do like the spell to unlock Bleak which allows her to change colour.  Bleak is my favourite sprite, the black sheep of Lite-Topia,  who is black and white until you cast the special spell on her which allows her to absorb colour for a short time.  Even at my age I was quite delighted by that!!  The sound effects, voice and colour really are appealing.  It is durable and sturdy too.

The Tree of Life is a magical tree house with music, light and sounds.  The Lite Sprite pods fit onto the leaves on the spinning roof.  There is a chair lift leading to a balcony and a staircase which has a sound effect as it rises up.  The whole thing lights up and the colour can be changed using the wand.  The roof spins and a carousel style tune is played as the sprites spin round in their pods and the lights flash different colours.  The set had a little lite-pet and a flower that doubles up as a ring for children to discover adding to the fun.

Kizzy, 9, and little brother Freddy, 3 played with the Lite Sprites, changing colours, casting spells and collecting colours.  The flashing, colourful, musical tree is quite delightful.  The Lite Sprites are actually very simple, non-articulated plastic dolls but the colourful lights elevate them into something quite special.  The wand is a very unique plaything that keeps kids (and adults!) entertained.  I have to admit that I did not really get the appeal of the Lite Sprites until I played with them.  They really do feel magical!  The technology which allows the wand to change the colour of the tree house and the sprites from a distance is just so clever!  Even my husband enjoyed playing with them, changing and collecting colours.   (Just don't tell him I told you this!)

The sprites can be used as night lights to give little ones some security at bedtime.  Prisma and the other sprites stays alight for a few minutes, just long enough for a child to drop off to sleep with the reassuring glow of a Lite Sprite for company.

The Lite Sprites capture a child's imagination and whether they are casting spells, collecting colours or playing with the delightful Tree of Life, the world of Lite Sprites is a wonderful place for imaginative play!

I'll leave you with a video of the Lite-Sprites in action with my Tiny Testers Kizzy and Freddy.

Lite Sprites £14.99 RRP
Tree of Life £39.99 RRP
Wand £29.99 RRP
The Lite Sprites are available at Amazon and other good toy retailers.

Top Sante Photoshoot!

After losing 3 stone and battling my eating demons with Thinking Slimmer, I have become a little bit of a minor celebrity in the world of weightloss!  After my feature in the Sun, I was approached by Top Sante to do an article along with Ian, my long suffering husband, to look deeper into my issues with food and how the Slimpods have changed our lives.  We had a 2 hour interview and today we had our photoshoot.

I was sent two gorgeous dresses from Debenhams (size 12 Yay!  Still can't believe I'm not a 16 anymore!) and had a make-up artist arrive at my house to get me ready for the photoshoot with photographer Thomas Skovsende.  We were on location at a local hotel, Goldstone Hall.

Thankfully the weather was incredibly kind and so we didn't freeze or get rained on.  Apart from my high heels sinking into the lawn, there were no problems and me and Ian enjoyed having a professional take photos of us.  We've never had professional pictures taken of us, not even when we got married, so we enjoyed the experience.  Thomas was an artist who knew exactly what he wanted to achieve and wasn't afraid to tell me I was looking "freaky" when a concept wasn't working!  I don't know how his "au naturel" shots will look, he favours taking photos of real people doing real things rather than staging unnatural poses. (Very different to the Sun where it was all 'pop your hip' and 'bend that knee' etc)

Here's a couple of photos that were taken on my own camera of me and Ian in our outfits.  I have to wait until the magazine comes out to see Thomas's shots of us.

The Top Sante magazine article is due to be published in February, all going well.  

This is Day 4 of #NaBloPoMo 

Bonfire Night Fashion with Next

This weekend we will be donning gloves, scarves and hats and venturing out into the cold, dark November evening for Bonfire Night.  Ready for rockets, sparklers and Catherine Wheels, my children will be looking forward to the explosive fun of November 5th.

Next have a wonderful range of clothing for the older children in their Winter range which would be perfect for this weekend and beyond, seeing your children through the chilly weeks ahead whilst still looking stylish and trendy.

My 9 year old daughter Kizzy would be delighted to wear this ensemble from the older girls' collection for girls aged 3-16 years old.  It would be warm and cosy, practical and bang on trend.  The layered look is really fashionable and perfect for the colder weather.

Checked Hoody £16-21

Hooded Gilet £20-26

Mid wash Jeans £16-22

Suede Duck Boots £24-30

These gorgeous Winter Warmers are fabulous.  I love the colours and the design.  The boots are great and such good value, I love the fur lining.  Find these and other key items for winter online or instore at Next.

I'm No Nigella!!

I love to cook.  When I feel motivated, I love getting creative in the kitchen and experimenting with new ingredients, tweaking favourite recipes and getting use out of all my items of equipment.  So when Russell Hobbs held a competition on their Facebook page to find contestants for their Cookery Challenge, I jumped in with both feet.  I was utterly shocked to be chosen as one of four, who would compete in a cook off against four food bloggers, taking part in four challenges. I immediately had a feel of dread, comparing my skills against experienced cooks.  Each week a different Russell Hobbs Allure appliance is the focus of the challenge, and we cook a dish around a theme and video ourselves doing so.  Despite my fear of humiliation, this is pretty much right up my street!  I do like to step outside my comfort zone and be inspired to try something different.  I may not ever win a Michelin Star, but I can give this challenge a good go!

The only problem is that I talk utter gibberish when on camera.  As soon as the Flip is switched on, I lose control of my mouth.  This is OK if you are just doing a vlog, you can just retake what you want to say and consign the gibberish to the virtual cutting room floor.  But when you are cooking, there can be no retakes.  No second chances. Once you have cracked that egg, whisked the mixture or fried that onion, you can't undo it.  What you say and do is captured forever.

Watching back footage of me gibbering on about what I'm doing, spouting random nonsense or overusing the word "pop" in place of put, makes me cringe!!  But there is no going back when recording a step by step recipe.  I have new respect for Nigella, Jamie and anyone who has ever been on Masterchef.  They make it look effortless and easy to chat about whisking eggs, "popping" things in the oven and serving up to make the food look good and not like roadkill.

So far I've made Lentil and Caramelised Onion Curry served with raita and chutney and an Autumnal Apple and Almond Cake.  I'm having real fun with it.  The recipe videos are going live at the Cookery Challenge page soon.  Public embarrassment awaits!!

Here's photos of my first two efforts which I am pretty proud of...I'm glad I've thrown myself into yet another crazy challenge and even though my embarrassing banter is an issue which makes editing quite tricky, I'm having a blast!!

NaBloPoMo Day 3 

Avocado...How Do You Have Yours?

My eldest sister was very much into her fancy foods. Coming from a quintessentially English meat and two veg family, I found her cuisine quite exotic back in the day!  She first introduced me to avocados.  This was not however a successful introduction.  My sister's ideas were fancy but the execution was not always as well thought out!  The avocado was horribly over ripe, which is definitely not the best way to eat them. My early foray into avocado was a little disastrous, but I am never one to be deterred by a bad experience.

The Avocado is sometimes referred to as an alligator pear with its leathery outer layer!  Within its reptilian skin lies a green flesh which really is a superfood.  It is recommended that you peel a ripe avocado with your hands to preserve the dark green flesh which is rich in carotenoid anti-oxidants. There are over 20 nutrients within the creamy  flesh, each one supporting our health.   85% of the avocados calories come from fat, but this is not a bad thing.  The fat is rich in health benefits for our bodies and is a mono-saturate which actually reduces our risk of heart disease.  So consuming avocado is beneficial and definitely recommended!

Over the years I have revisited avocados in a variety of ways.  My favourite way of enjoying them has to be as an accompaniment to Mexican food...as Guacamole.    I have a friend who professes to make the best Guacamole in the world.  I can't confirm this claim, having never tried every other variety in the world, but I can confirm that it is good! I've tried supermarket varieties.  I've bought long life versions in squeezy bottles.  I've even made my own. Perfect to dip, spread or pop into veggie fajitas, it adds a wonderful flavour and creamy texture that compliments the meal perfectly.

To make your own Guacomole, you can simply mix ready made salsa with mashed, ripe avocado.  It's that easy, although Avocado purists may cringe at the cheating aspect of this short cut.  But for a quick and easy side dish to your Mexican meal, this is genius!  Jamie Oliver makes a green Guacomole by blitzing up chillis, lime juice, avocado and fresh coriander.  Some people add sour cream or diced red onion and tomato.  Sometimes garlic finds it way into the mix.  Chunky or smooth, anything goes. Guacomole is as personal and diverse as you want it to be!

For me, the recipe I use is this:

2 fresh green chillies deseeded and finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
Handful of fresh coriander
3 ripe avocados mashed
1 ripe medium tomato diced
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper


Blitz the chilli and coriander into a paste.  Mash the avocado and stir in the paste. Mix in diced tomato and onion.  Add lime juice and season. Simple! Serve with tortilla chips.

 This is my entry into the Avocado Brotherhood competition!

My Name is Wendy and I'm an Addict

I can imagine myself in a draughty community centre hall.  A circle of chairs in the centre of the room are filled with nervous, fidgety people avoiding eye contact with each other, staring at the floor between their shuffling feet.  Slowly I stand up and take a deep breath as I announce "My name is Wendy and I'm an addict."  The ripple of applause rewards my admission and puts me on the path to recovery.

But what is the addiction I am confessing to?  I've battled my demons. I no longer drink and have been riding the wagon of sobriety for over 4 years.  I haven't  smoked since I was a nightclubbing teenager, back in the days when it was acceptable to wave a lit cigarette around on a crowded dance floor, risking the ignition of the alarming quantity of flammable hairspray that was synonymous with '80s hairdos.  I have even conquered the binge eating, yo-yo dieting that has plagued my adult life.  As for sex addiction?  Really, who has the time for that!  Drugs??  Hell I don't even drink caffeine and I totally hate taking  so much as an aspirin.  However, I do have a dirty secret....

I am an absolute unstoppable force to be reckoned with when faced with a bargain.  I'm not talking 50% off some designer handbag, or even the half price sale at Next.  I'm talking bargain basement, post seasonal  goodies sold at silly prices.  Things I don't need or even want.  Sometimes I don't even use them...but I MUST have them!

Today I went shopping and this is just some of the haul I returned with....

Halloween goodies galore...art sets, costumes, cups, plates, jugs, goblets, hats, masks, gloves, candle holders, scene setters, decorations, toys...all sorts of nonsense!  I just can't turn my back on the shelves of unbought Halloween/Easter/Christmas fayre that appears in the days following these events.  My garage is overflowing with things bought over the years but I can't help adding to my collection!

My eldest daughter despairs as I fill my trolley with armfuls of nonsense...but I can't help it.  It calls to me to give it a home.  Besides...who could resist buying  Make Your Own Halloween Craft sets reduced from £2 to 8p!!  I couldn't...I bought 20!!  And how about an inflatable axe for £1?!  I need one of those...honestly.  The monster windsocks for 35p were just too tempting...I got one of each design.  And you can never have too many spider napkins for 15p a pack.

So Wilkinson, Asda and Morisson's will find their shelves significantly emptier after my visit today.  But as a result my overcrowded garage has now got to house 4 huge bags of Halloween nonsense which I hope I remember to dig out to use next October!   Good job we love Horror stuff...maybe Fred can have a Monster Party for his 3rd birthday next year!  And who said that tinsel with skulls and spiders in it can't be used for Christmas??

At the end of the day, my obsession for buying mad novelty items for rock bottom prices isn't that awful.  I just thank my lucky stars however that my compulsion for purchasing does not extend to anything costing more than a couple of quid.  If I was a shopaholic with a passion for fashion and a desire for shoes and handbags, then I'd really be in trouble!  My entire stash today did not equate to more than the price of a pair of designer shoelaces...and they are going to bring much more fun!

**NaBloPoMo Day 2!**

Exciting Celebrity Announcement!

Today, the stylishly haired celebrity who is becoming the new "Face of Regis Salons" is being announced!  I am honoured to be one of the chosen few privy to this exclusive and exciting news which I am now allowed to share with you!  Just watch the short video below to find out who is going to be heading up this exciting campaign.  Plus you can find out how your own stylish locks could win you some fabulous prizes.

To celebrate Emma Willis becoming the Face of Regis Salons, there is a competition to find the UK's most covetable hairstyles in the LOCKS, ROCK & LOAD competition on the Regis UK Facebook page.  Style your Locks, Rock your look and up-Load your picture to the Facebook page.  The overall winner will receive a whole year's worth of hair services and a Canon 550D digital camera.  10 runners up will each receive a cut and colour up to the value of £100.

There is also a great competition on Twitter.  Just follow @RegisUK and look out for and RT the competition tweet.

Emma will also be writing a monthly blog for Regis at haveagreathairday.co.uk/emmawillis

I will soon be treated to my own Regis Cut and Colour and will be writing about my experience and rocking my locks!!

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NaBloPoMo Challenge

Never one to shirk away from a challenge, I am now signed up to NaBloPoMo!  I know it sounds like an infectious tropical disease, but NaBloPoMo is actually a natty little contraction of "National Blog Posting Month" where bloggers are being challenged to publish a blog post every day for the whole of November.  It is organised by the folks at Blogher in the USA, but this year we are joining in thanks to nlpmum.com.

I am quite a prolific blogger anyway.  But I'm using this challenge to reconnect with the reason I started blogging.  That is to write about me, my life, my family, our adventures.  I am going to try to write a daily post that is not review based, a competition post or sponsored.  I do love reviewing and truly believe it is a completely valid  part of the blogging world.  However, I have become a bit lazy and not really stretched myself or my imagination to the extent that I should.  So I am going to delve a little deeper and give a little more of myself this month. I'll still be keeping up with my review commitments

In the past I have found it very therapeutic to write about times in my life that I had previously kept buried.  I have written about my depression, my weight and eating issues, battling my demons and my teenage years.  I also love to talk about my five children and my parenting ideas; my husband who has been my rock through thick and thin and my extended family.  I love a good debate and usually have an opinion on everything!  So there is lots of material for a month of posts!

Why don't you join in?  The Facebook page has prompts and motivational ideas in case you get writer's block and you will find great support from other bloggers.  It is also a chance to discover some new blogs  for yourself as other bloggers will be posting links to their NaBloPoMo posts!

So with this challenge set...I will power through November one blog post at a time!