Month: October 2014

BMW on driving a hybrid car

I’m all about saving money and staying healthy at the moment. The cost of our life has just gone up, and that’s not something we have the slack to accommodate. I take part in a feature on local radio about money-saving tips, and I can tell you, it has really made me think hard about how every small decision adds up over time. I’ve also been flung headlong into thinking hard about my family’s health; not just where an individual issue is concerned, but the health of our whole family, and the desire to make our environment a much safer …

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10 Minute Dinners: Fast Sausage and Lentil Casserole Recipe

10 Minute Family Dinners guaranteed to please     What do you pull out of the bag when your kids are hungry and you need to put dinner on the table, but time is short? Beans on toast? Microwaved curry? Tin of soup? Or would you rather have a hearty, healthy casserole that will feed the whole family and only takes 10 minutes to prepare? That’s the challenge OXO gave us when they sent us some of their Herbs and More flavour pots to create a recipe for their 10 minute dinners list. In fact, they asked to to make …

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Simple but delicious: food on the Costa Brava

Catalan food - Surf and Turf Paella

Mummy, I’m on fire! And he was – kind of. As part of our weekend break on the Costa Brava we took a drive out to the gorgeously secluded La Vinyeta for a spectacularly different kind of dinner. As we pulled into the privately-owned vineyard, the sun was setting over the vines, and the distinctive smell of a wine cellar wafted over to us. Olives and grapes mingled in the fields, and we paused to squeeze and inhale the aroma of the fruits as we wandered down to the kitchens.   Catalan food to please the whole family. The wonderful chef Jordi …

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Beauty Legacy – who do you #FeelBeautifulFor?

Who do you #FeelBeautifulFor?

Image credit: Stephanie Belton If your best friend said that about you, she wouldn’t be your best friend for very long. It has already begun. GG, at 9, has started to compare her body and face to what her friends have. She’s not the only one – they are all doing it. It has become a ‘thing,’ as they begin to fret about their shape, their hair, and the minor features they believe to be less than perfect. I have always told her how beautiful she is, because she actually is. She has a smile that can light up a …

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Diabetes: Wot so Funee?

Type 1 Diabetes - how a child is coping

Now I know what you’re thinking. What could possibly be funny about diabetes? And you’d be right. It’s not funny at all. Every single aspect of it is just bloody awful, and the fact that it is occurring to a child makes it infinitely worse. But you know what? She is doing it. All those fingerpricks, injections, snacking at odd moments, not snacking when she wants to – she is beginning to take it in her stride. And she has found things to laugh about – oh what a joy it is to see her infectious smile still there, to …

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Review: Nintendo 3DS XL console

Creating Mii on Tomodachi Life by Nintendo

Right, the kids are at school and I have the house to myself. *Looks around shiftily and draws curtains.* You’d be forgiven for thinking I have an illicit visitor to entertain, and in a way, I do. You see GG and the Bug have been given Nintendo 3DS XL consoles to review for Netmums. They have promised to play and explore all of the features on the new ‘elements of joy’ in our house, and I have promised to write up everything we’ve discovered about them so you can decide which Nintendo DS console is right for your family. But …

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Verulamium Spa: how to relax in style.

    It’s been a stressful few weeks here. People tell me I’ve never looked better, and that’s down to the weight I’ve lost; I wish I could have lost it training for my half marathon, or eating a sensible diet, but actually, it’s all down to stress. Every cloud… To be honest, when my 2 closest friends suggested a spa morning I didn’t think I’d be able to take advantage of it. The enormity of what is happening in our lives right now doesn’t allow for random and happy thoughts to dwell for any length of time, and everything …

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Instant Ink – never miss another homework deadline

I saw something last night that took me out of my norm, and threw me right back into the chemistry lab of my schooldays. My daughter and I visited a local secondary school so she could start deciding where she’d like to go. Part of the tour involved the science department. I watched as my 10 year old fed a copper solution to a hungry bunsen burner, as her face lit up with ‘epicness’ when the flame turned green. She, like her mother 35 years ago, is going to love Chemistry, and I feel excited for her already. But one …

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