Be you review

I am very excited as I have been asked to do my first review on my blog! I am nearly 53 and like many women of my age (those younger it will come to you !) I am going through menopause. When I was asked if I would like to review a new product for just that thing, I jumped at the chance.

The menopause is a significant change in women's lives. This invigorating blend of herbs, minerals and vitamins has been formulated to help nourish tired body's, providing a range of nutrients research has shown to be particularly important for women during this time. Taken daily as a supplement it helps the body's systems regains a natural equilibrium and maintain a balanced state of mind and mood.

Taken as two daily capsules with water. Can be taken on an empty stomach due to its food-sourced ingredients.
The pack comes as 60 easy to swallow vegetarian capsules. Suitable for those on a vegetable,vegan,coeliac and diabetic diet.
Price from www.betteryou.co.uk is 1 x 60 £10.20

So I have been taking these for the full 60 days now so I thought you would like to know how I got on. I found them very easy to take and as long as I left them were I could see them I remembered to take them!! I'm not sure if they have helped but I do feel like my moods have been better this past 60 days. I can't say for sure if it is down to the tablets but I do feel like my health has improved a little. I think its down to each person to give them a go and see, at the end of the day it can't make things worse and it may help. I think I will carry on taking them and maybe I will come back and keep you all updated as to their effects!

www.betteryou.co.uk

Please note I was not paid to carry out this review and only was supplied with a 60 day trial of vitamins.

Magpie Monday .. Table

Magpie Monday again and I must say I'm rather pleased with myself this week!
We just got some new sofas and we needed a coffee table for drinks and so on.
What with the upcoming wedding moneys tight, so I thought I would check out eBay.
Thinking of magpie Monday and finding a bargain I was on the hunt.
I lost out on a couple as I got outbid, then my eyes found a really nice one. It had no reserve so I waited my time.
By the end I was really wanting it and the money was low.
So I waited until the last 10 seconds and bid ! Well long story short I won and best thing I got it for £4.40!
Think you will agree I got a great deal!
pop over to Me and my shadow to see some more.

http://missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.com/

Slimpod Review

Slimpod Review and I am so excited. As you know if you read my blog I am having huge problems with my weight loss journey. So I was very excited when I got the chance to trial a new product which has been developed to help you control your weight.

 

What is a Slimpod? Slimpods are a series of unique voice recordings which help people to achieve permanent weight loss. Unlike other methods of losing weight, there are no diets, no calorie counting and no willpower required. Slimpods have been developed by Harley Street experts and use modern approaches to the science of unconscious persuasion to gently retune the mind and adjust the way slimmers think about the world, especially in relation to food, health and fitness. Weight loss becomes simple and it’s easy. Slimpods cost £24.99 + VAT = £29.99. That's it, nothing more to pay. Slimpods have been used, studied and endorsed by Mr Gideon Felton, MRCPsych, a senior psychiatrist at one of London's leading hospitals.
What do I have to do to lose weight? A Slimpod can be downloaded from the Thinking Slimmer website or bought from us on a CD. At first you listen to the recording for 10 minutes a day for 21 days in a row while the Slimpod begins to work with your mind and cause the weight loss changes you’ll soon begin to notice in your body. Many people listen when they go to bed and fall asleep listening – which is good, as the ears never sleep.

What do I do after 21 days? You keep listening to your Slimpod for as long and as often as it takes until you feel confident you're well on the way to achieving your weight loss goal. How long this takes depends on how much weight you want to lose. Some people keep listening every night while others find that “topping up” twice a week is enough –everyone is different. Just keep on going until you hit your slimming goal, however long it takes. If you have received a second Slimpod as a bonus - such as Keep Weight Loss Going or Keep Weight Off For Good - don't be in too much of a hurry to move on to it unless you are 100 per cent confident that the first Slimpod has completed its task. If you do move on to the next Slimpod and you feel it's not doing what you expect, please go back to your original Slimpod for another week or two. Sometimes it helps to move gradually on to a new Slimpod, say using it every other day for a few weeks, before making a permanent switch.

Will I lose weight straight away?

Everyone wants to lose weight quickly but it’s not a race. What we want you to achieve is permanent weight loss. Some of our slimmers start to lose

 weight almost immediately, while others take several weeks to start the process. One lady lost 18lbs in her first three weeks – and that was just the beginning. She’s now lost more than 36lbs. Our experience is that most people can lose up to 7lbs weight in 21 days but it is after four to five weeks that the biggest weight loss happens. The average weight loss in tests with a Slimpod is 16lbs over 10 weeks. What you probably WILL notice early on is a series of surprising differences in how much less you want to eat and how much more you want to do.

How does this differ from other weight loss methods?

You’ll find that WordWeaving used on Slimpods is nothing like anything you may have seen on TV, films or the stage: there’s no sleep-like trance, no swinging pendulums, no funny voices or weird music. It’s just like listening to an old friend who has the uncanny ability to influence the way you feel about yourself, your attitude to food and how you look after your body. Weight loss just happens naturally and easily. The technique we use is very similar to one that the NHS recommends, called "mindfulness."
Slimpods have been used, studied and endorsed by Mr Gideon Felton, MRCPsych, a senior psychiatrist at one of London's leading hospitals.

Why are there so many different Slimpods?

People have different reasons for losing weight, so each Slimpod has been tailor-made to help achieve a specific weight loss goal, whether it’s dropping a dress size, dropping two sizes or more, fitting into a wedding dress, losing baby fat or controlling middle age spread. We also have a Slimpod for men who want to lose their love handles and FitPods which make you want to exercise more, such as the Couch Potato Cure. The WordWeaving language we use in each Slimpod or FitPod has been crafted to achieve the desired results so it will not work on someone who has a different reason for slimming.

Why do I need to keep a success log while I'm slimming? Everyone who has used the Thinking Slimmer method says the success log is  an essential tool. Your unconscious mind is responsible for most of what you do  (or don’t do) every day. Completing your daily success log just before you  listen to your Slimpod will accelerate the weight loss process by bringing  to the attention of your mind the differences you want it to make. The more small successes you  record the more there will be, as your mind shifts towards a state of permanent, positive change about your relationship to food. Slimming is about believing, not depriving yourself on a diet. slimpod and the lovely gentle voice of Trevor for around 2 weeks now. I have found it very relaxing and always fall asleep and wake out hours later, with the earphones digging in my head! I must say I was not at all convinced it had a hope in hells chance of working for me. I have had a long story with dieting good and bad. Last year I had a gastric band and I thought the future was bright. At first I did lose weight but then it slowed to almost nothing. I felt sad and very embarrassed as I had told people and I felt they thought it had been a waste of time. So although I was not sure I did as asked and listened to my slimpod every night. Well I am pleased to say I have stuck to my diet and in the last 2 weeks I have lost 8 pounds!! I have no idea if its diet or the slimpod or both but what ever it is it seems to be working. I feel in control again and I will be continuing to listen every night and fingers crossed this time I will get to goal weight. I would say buy a slimpod and give it a go , its working for me. I did not receive any payment for this review only the use of the slimpod http://www.thinkingslimmer.com/

Singing star

Singing star is what comes to mind when i look at my flashback Friday picture.  Its a photo of my daughter Natalie who is totally a singing star. She has always performed since she was little, but it was not until she was around 8 that I could hear she really could sing.
Since those early days she has sung at some top venue's and with some famous people. Sadly due to health problems and luck the big time is yet to call.
This picture was taken when she was around 15 (shes 25 now) and was for a charity event. I was so proud of her and I still am when she sings, she has a truly beautiful voice. Its never too late to reach your dreams that's what I tell her, so fingers crossed that important person who can help is out there.
Happy weekend.

Head over to

http://cafebebe.co.uk

to see more!

Handmade Thursday ... M & M

Handmade Thursday again over at White Lily Green. I for once do have a hand made by me this week!
My daughter in law Karen is a teacher and every year the school have a sports day. Each group at school has a name and colour, and Karen's is blue. So on sports day some of the teachers dress up in fancy dress, but it has to be in the right colour.
The first year I made her a blue smurf which was very cute. Last year it was Avatar and then this year we decided on a blue M &M!!!
I did think at first how the heck was I going to do it, but in fact it was fairly easy and could be adapted for other things.
I got two plastic hula hoops ( I got them from ASDA only about £2) and then laid one on the fabric and went around it with a pen to get the shape. Then making sure you leave a seam of about a 1/2 inch cut it out. You need 4 circles altogether . This was for an adult and we used about 4 yards of 60 inch wide satin in total.
You then join the circles together leave an opening of about 12 inches at the bottom.
Then you can turn it to the right side and squeeze your hoops in the gap. Its a bit tight but the hoop with bend so it can be done. The hoop then pushes out to make your circle. You can then hand sew the opening shut.
I then applique the eyes and mouth and the M & M on the front.
I made some simple shoulder straps and side ones and put them on using Velcro.
I think it can out fab and Karen won best outfit.
You could adapt to make a fab pumpkin for Halloween or anything really use your imagination lol

<http://whitelilygreen.blogspot.com/

Mother and daughter day

Mother and daughter day ... That's what I did today . I went shopping with my youngest child Natalie. We drove a fair way to a huge shopping mall to spend some time Shopping. Living in the countryside we don't go to big shops often . I'm ok with that as I prefer the country life. However, it's nice to visit sometimes. We don't do expensive stores but we still have fun.
As our children grow up we are lucky if we still have a close relationship. I'm really lucky as I think I have a closeness with both my children. Matthew is 29 and we can chat daily for ages which is wonderful.
When they were small I used to tell my mother I could not cope! She would tell me enjoy them while you can as they grow so fast. How right was she was and how time slips past.
I would say love them enjoy them. And if like me you have a daughter make sure you have loads of mother daughter days!

Magpie monday -Button catalogue

Today I thought it would be fun to join in with Magpie Monday! My find today is really something I was given but its still a find. The mother of my daughters friend called Jackie, lives behind some shops. One of them was a knitting shop that had been in the town for years and years. When the owner decided to retire she gave Jackie some things from the shop. Then over the weekend she was having a clear out and came across.....

She very kindly thought of me and passed it on. When I got it I was delighted as it has pages of button samples. There are buttons of all shapes and sizes and colours some of them really pretty. I use buttons in my craft so you can imagine I was delighted.

I will have to make something using the buttons over the next few weeks and come back and show you.

So a huge thanks Jackie for thinking of me!

Have a happy Magpie Monday!

http://missielizzie-meandmyshadow.blogspot.com

Hair Raising

Hair raising is the only way I can describe this picture! I was a university and as part of our course we had to take pictures of ourselves being a different person. We all had a huge amount of fun dressing up and being silly. You have to remember we were all around our late 30's at the time so being silly was something that rarely happened.
I came across this Tina Turner type wig and its spoke hair raising to me! Its not the best picture I have ever had taken but every time I see it I think of the fun days with my friends.
I think as adults we don't have enough times like this, to be silly and have fun. Maybe we should attempt to do that and just be a fool sometimes.
I think this is a great Hair raising picture I hope you will as well!
Happy Fathers day as well to my dad, long gone but never forgotten. If you still have your dad tell him you love him today.

Santa I can explain

Santa I can explain ..... the picture I have used today does say it all for me. Its of my son Matthew when he was about 10 or 11. My husband is a fire officer and every year at Christmas he would throw a party for children in care at the fire station. He would get local businesses to donate food and gifts and the kids had a fab time.
I would go along to help hand out food and clean and we would also take our children along as well.
Matthew really thought he was too old for Santa this year but wanted a gift anyway. I think the picture said it all the look on his face was priceless. I think he guessed this was one of the firefighters and not the "Real" Santa ! Makes me laugh every time I see it.
Happy weekend!

http://cafebebe.co.uk

Jollyjillys .... Daddy

Dad is a special word and one I miss being able to say to my own Dad. Today over at the Sticky fingers I saw the Gallery and its theme "Dads".
I really wanted to use a picture of my children with their dad, but as normal I could not find it lol.
So I picked this picture of me and my dad, a long time ago!
My dad was very hard working and only got one and half days off a week. We did not have a very close relationship because of that, but I still loved him.
His big joy was the sun! he loved to be somewhere hot and warm.
Once a year we always went to Spain on holiday, which must have taken a lot for my parents to save up for.
This is me and my dad on the beach in Spain, with him sunbathing just as he loved!

Sadly he passed away 12 years ago so I do miss him. We never really appreciate what our parents do for us until they are not around anymore! I always wish I could have been with him more and made an effort as I got older.


So enjoy your dad and tell him you love him all the time!

http://stickyfingers1.blogspot.com

My weight loss story

My weight loss story has been long and hard. and if I thought about how many years I have spent worrying about weight I would think how stupid!
I was not an overweight child until i was about six when I started to gain , the doctors were confused as my family did not have a weight problem.
I have let my weight over shadow most of my life, and I wish I could just live but its hard to let go of a thing you have held onto for so long.

I have been slim in fact very slim when my son was small, I was that tiny my mother often used to say "please don't get that thin again" and she was right I never did.
In 1994 I was slim again and it was wonderful I felt great and able to do anything I wanted. Then a silly slip and I did damage to my back and then a fall and damage to a knee, and the weight slowly came on. I don't think I was eating much more but I had gone from fitness classes 7 days a week to little or nothing and I believe that's when things went from bad to worse.

Over the years since I have tried every diet in the book and then last July I went in and had a gastric band. I was so full of hope and sure by this summer I would be slim! Sadly not really happened as fast as I would have liked , although I am 28 pounds lighter its been very slow.
My joint problems have got much worse and its hard but I keep on trying. My niece told me to check out a blog called  www.newmumonline.blogspot.com as they had a little group going called
Mumentum were you could chat about weight and any tips and so on. They are also running a blog hop for fellow slimmers to join in the fun.
I will keep on and take each day as it comes, today was a good day I stuck to my diet and got a wee bit of fitness so I know I can try again another day.

I may be fat but I am a person, I have a brain and feelings and a life!

week at a glance

Week at a glance is something I came across at a blog called For another one . I thought it was a really great idea for a post so here goes!

Week at a glance .... well its been a wet week in the UK we have had loads of rain but they still say we will have shortages of water ????? However, it has been good for the garden and it does make our tiny island very green. I don't mind rain if I am at home and it brings memories of my daughter Natalie dancing in the rain when she was little lol

(picture from The Guardian)

We have been working on the house this week. We converted our garage to a studio apartment for our daughter a few years ago. She is now getting married in September and as her partner Rob is living here space was short. So  clever daughter found a sun room or conservatory as we call them to add to the side.A door was made  through into the garage part and they now have a one bedroom apartment with a nice sitting room.

Its been a huge amount of mess and work but they will have so much more space, even if it means she may never move out lol. Its so hard for young people to get there own home these days. No mortgages and high private rental rates mean there is little or no chance!

I also look at my week at a glance and see bridesmaid dresses! Those who read my little blog will know what I mean. Those of you that are new ( and welcome) I am making 7 bridesmaid dresses !!! These have been sending me rather slowly mad lol the stress involved is high but I think i am nearly there. I so hope on the day they look good and not homemade, so watch this space.

Weight loss ...... I am the first to admit I have been abit lacking in this department for a few months. I just lost my way but I am going to be better this week and I did lose a pound last week . I have a lot to lose so anyone reading this going through the same , keep in touch with me .. we can do it!

So that is a rough guide to my week at a glance I hope you will come back !

http://for-one-another.blogspot.com

Trooping of the colour

Trooping of the colour is a Royal event held in London in June every year.
The Queen's birthday is in April but the trooping of the colour is held in June to mark her public birthday, and also in hopes of good weather.

They were all very lucky today as we have had some heavy rain, I am sure most people who attended in the lovely hats and suits were praying for dry weather!
The Queen who has just turned 85 looked wonderful as normal in a beautiful pale blue coat and hat , and was smiling and happy throughout.

I really did enjoy watching the soldiers and their matching, and you can't help wondering how they do it.

I know they started work toward it in April and watching today it really showed. The huge part of Trooping of the colour is this very technical matching, and I have to take my hat off to them today!

I guess for many young soldiers in the troops they were glad it was a cool day, as on a hot one they can lose as much as 6 pounds in sweat! Normally you see at least one or two fainting, but I think all was well today.

It does make you very proud when you see events like this, as I think the UK does it all so well. I would love to see it in person but the cost and crowds means sadly it was not to happen for me this year.

If you can see any highlights then do as what ever your opinion of the Royal family, it was a very colourful and clever event. I think they all did wonderful to remember everything under such stress.

And lastly it was nice to see Prince William riding his horse, wearing the same Red Irish Guards tunic with blue sash he wore for his wedding. He looked very proud and handsome on horseback for the first time at the Trooping of the colour.





Handmade Thursday

Handmade Thursday over at White Lily Green, has come around again and like other weeks my "Handmade" stash is low! The happy news is apart from one bridesmaid dress I am nearly finished, so maybe then I can enter into Handmade Thursday fully!

Today is also a slight cheat so forgive me!! Its not my Handmade Thursday but my mum's!
This is a picture of bridesmaid dresses she made for my brothers wedding in the 60's and yes I am the chubby child in the picture lol.

They were pale lemon and the top part and sleeves had very fine white with a small swiss dot pattern over the top, they had tiny bows on the back and was very pretty.

 She also made my sister in laws wedding dress which was so beautiful. My mum sadly passed away over 20yrs ago but I still miss her everyday. I don't think the 7 bridesmaid dresses I am making will look at good but I hope she would be proud I am carrying on the family tradition!

Happy Handmade Thursday!
http://whitelilygreen.blogspot.com

Osmond Brothers here I come!

Osmonds Brothers here I come!
Yes dear friends its sad but true .... I still love the Osmond Brothers!
I was mad about David Cassidy at the age of 10 then a friend told me about this new pop group.
Well I took one look at them and I was hooked. Every inch of my bedroom walls were covered in pictures and I collected anything and everything I could find.
I even told my poor niece Emma over at mama syders that she could not like anyone else lol and bought her Donny Osmond picture socks!
Over the years I grew-up and married and had my family, but I still could not hear them without getting all silly. I must say even at the age of 53 I only have to hear "Puppy Love" to   end up in tears.
I can't believe its been over 40yrs since that first picture and here they are just about to go on tour again.
I think Jimmy was on twitter and said of a UK tour so I went on the hunt. I am not really keen to visit London these days, but found they were at a local theatre I knew this maybe the last time I see them in concert.
I had planned to stand at the box office until it opened but I chickened out as I thought it was a bit daft as my age. So I sat on the phone with no luck then got   in    via the  lovely Internet.
We the end to this rather boring story is I got the third row, the best I have ever had for one of the many Osmond's Brothers concerts I have ever been to.
I am also grateful that my super daughter does not mind being dragged with me, so thanks Natalie. I even had my son Matthew trying for tickets for me, a truly family event lol.
So if you are in Essex next march, look out for a large amount of ladies (of a certain age !!) chanting,

" We love the Osmond's"

I'm a blogger ..Oh yes I am !

I'm a blogger..oh yes I am!
Back late last year my neice Emma who has a fab blog called Mama Syders told me about blogging. My first reaction was "why" ! I did not understand why someone would do that and for what reason. She was very patient with me, and sat and helped me set up my blog.My son Matthew also  helped with the design for me, and its the super wee lady in the header thats down to him.

I made a couple of posts then lost interest!!
Then around Feb this year she said " Aunty you have a nice looking blog.... write on it"! So I thought why not give this a go!

One of the many question a new blogging may find like me to answer is, "what do I write about" ! I didn't know what at first but then as time goes along you do find you have more and more to say.
I was also very scared of making a mistake or upsetting someone, and it made me very nervous at first of sharing my blog. I started as I have gone on and talk about my life really. I'm not a young mummy blogger but I am still a mum. So a big part of my blog is family and how special they are too me.

I'm still learning everyday and look to other bloggers for help and inspiration to make my blog better.
I really love it now and about from my craft its my favorite hobby and I thank Emma for that.
I properly still going to make mistakes and for that I'm sorry but as a 53 year old newbie I hope you will forgive me!
So go and blog it will open out a whole new world!

Silent sunday

http://www.mochabeaniemummy.com/silent-sunday

Handmade Thursdays wall hanging

Today over at White Lily Green its handmade Thursday. I have been sooooo busy with the bridesmaid dresses I have not had time to make much. This is a wee little wall hanging I made a while ago. I was pleased with it as I looked at a large flower I had in the garden and copied it to make the quilt. I was an exercise in design for me and I really enjoyed doing it!

http://whitelilygreen.blogspot.com

Small steps

Ok day two of the weight lose journey with the biggest loser club! I had to post a birthday card to a dear friend and thought I would walk to the post box. Now to some this would be easy as its only about 15 mins there and back , but to me its a long way. I have a very bad back and now knee so it is not easy with this weight to walk far without pain.
Its been ages since I went out alone and it did feel strange at first! Then I kind of liked the idea and as it was a nice day thought I would have a walk by our church.

Its a very beautiful church and very old 1400 or less I believe. The gravestones can be very interesting as the names and dates are so long ago. Its very peaceful so I walked over to a cute little stone wall and stood and admire the countryside. I was brought up in a big city so it is a joy to live somewhere so pretty.

 

I know it was not a long walk but I enjoyed the air and the alone time, and I can build on these mini walks. I would have like to stroll out across the field but hey, there will be another day when I can.

Happy Thursday!

New month New me!

Ok today is the first of June and panic has set in!!! Those of you who read this blog will know my daughter Natalie is getting married on Sep 17th this year. Now I have my outfit but I must say the dress is a wee bit tight around the tummy area. I have been on a long weight lose trail since last year without any huge success. It started in July last year with a gastric band being fitted and hopes were high I would be slim by this summer. Sadly it has not really worked out that way with only a 28 pound weight loss over the year. Good to some but a drop in the ocean to me! I have felt very down by it and very embarrassed also as people expect the weight to fall off you, and I'm sure some are talking about it.
So I came across the Uk version of the Biggest loser and their online slimming club. They say you can lose 14 pounds in 6 weeks or your money back, so I thought why not.
So start date for real is Sunday and then I am going to promise myself to stick to it as the plan tells me.
I hope you will give me support and I would love to hear from anyone who is also trying to lose weight like me. Lets exchange views and foods and a slim and healthy summer.