Fifty Shades

Have you read them? Have you even heard about them?
The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy?

I came across them on the back of the TV Guide (I know odd place), there was a full 1 page ad for the full trilogy. Nothing much mentioned just a quick statement about how they were the next best trilogy to be published.

Now why is it I only find out about great sets of books when the last one is being published and everyone seems to know about them except me?
I decided that I would check them out the next time I was near a book store, as I had never heard of them and knew nothing about them.
Turns out when I did find them in the store I didn't have to go far, there they were front and centre when I walked in the shop, there was no missing this book or books as they were all there for all to see.
Wow, made me realise that these must be a really special well written book that everyone was loving.
So I read the back of them.....worked out which one was the first in the set and read the back of that again to get an understanding of the story plot.....

"Romantic, liberating and totally addictive, this is a novel that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you for ever. When literature student Anastasia Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very attractive and deeply intimidating. Convinced that their meeting went badly, she tries to put him out of her mind - until he turns up at the store where she works part-time, and invites her out. Unworldly and innocent, Ana is shocked to find she wants this man. And, when he warns her to keep her distance, it only makes her want him more. But Grey is tormented by inner demons, and consumed by the need to control. As they embark on a passionate love affair, Ana discovers more than her own desires, as well as the dark secrets Grey keeps hidden away from public view...."

Wow a new love story, my type of book, maybe it is about more vampires, maybe witches or some other weird and wonderful creature that is going to take over human love stories...?
I did read the Twilight series and thoroughly enjoyed the well written books.

I decided to check them out on Amazon for Kindle when I got home because at $30 per book there was no way I was buying them in hard copy.
Amazon had them, and at a much more reasonable price too, so I brought all 3........and then I read the first one!!

Ok, well yes, hum ok err are you sure, did I choose the right book? Are they serious about all the fuss, has anyone actually read this book? Are they sure this is what they want to promote? Not sure how this would ever work as a movie and lets face it, most powerful out there books seem to get converted into a movie at some stage nowadays. Is there a health warning attached to this book these books? Am I actually allowed to read this in public, with kids around?

Now don't get me wrong, I have actually read book 2 and am half way through book 3, I found I read them very fast out of pure fascination, where was the story going, what was going to happen, how was this going to play out?
Did I find them well written - yes and no. They are easy to read, not the greatest writing I have ever come across but if you want to loose yourself in a book then what better way than with an easy to digest story.
However that also brings me on to the story line, not sure how this has managed to play out over 3 books, a little long and drawn out, the story is predictable to a point and a little boring in places, a little repetitive I could say as well, also a little over the top I think.

Would I recommend someone else read them - maybe!
If you have not read them and want to know what all the fuss is about then yes sure read them, you will then understand and maybe enjoy them. But would I rank them on my top list of great books to read, probably not, although with all the hype they are getting I can see why people are reading them, why wouldn't you? But would they be one of the greatest all time books you just have to read? NO, again I think people are reading them purely because of the hype around them at present.

And they are making a movie!!
Although as I read on a website the other evening when checking stuff out, one person wants to know how they are going to rate this movie, because if they manage to re-enact some of the book then it will not have a rating scale as an 'R' just won't cover it. But to change the story in anyway will just loose the power and aspect of the story and therefore is just not worth making.

Watch the websites people, only time will tell what the movie makers decide to do....!

On a more lighter note - don't forget the kids pyjama give-away I have running at present. Just pop on over to this post and leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning a pair.

Wintertime Giveaway is Here

"Must be Winter Pyjama Giveaway time"

Hey, did anyone tell you that autumn is here and winter is just round the corner?
No we weren't informed either but the boys have been telling me that it was coming and why wouldn't I let them wear their winter pyjamas yet?
Finally I gave in and fished them all out of the cupboard. A quick trying on session showed that most of them still fitted and that we didn't need to purchase too many more pairs to get us through the season.
However, guess how well timed it was that I was asked to review a product for Stuck on You? Yea that is right, perfect timing now.

Stuck on You is an online store that does personalised labels and products for school and home for the kids.
And I have been asked to review a pair of winter pyjamas for the boys, told you it was perfectly timed.

1 very excited little boy with new pyjamas

They arrived in the normal post and were well packaged. No chance of any damage happening here folks.

The product itself was even wrapped in plastic, so well protected, and seeing as we are having lots of wet days at present and our postie seems to be good at pushing stuff through the mailbox onto the grass, nice to know Alex's new pyjamas weren't in any danger of getting wet!
The top is white (100% cotton) with a beautiful big logo and name of your choice. There were at least 40 designs to choose from, so something for every little boy or girl.
The trousers (100% cotton jersey) are blue or pink stripped.
The sizes are generous. Alex is just turning 7 so I wasn't sure whether to order a 6 or 8, (They only go up to size 8 by the way.) turns out the 6 is perfect for him and will even do him for next year too. In fact Ben (almost 9) tried them on too and they would have just managed him (apart from the trouser legs were a little short!) and he is now asking when he can have a pair, so going to have to go online and buy some size 8 for him!

I loved this. This is on the shirt inside the neck, so no labels to rub the boys neck and all the reminders I need when doing the washing.

The website is easy to use, I found no troubles at navigating around and completing the order, although I did have a few issues locating the sizing chart, but once found, gave me the exact information I required to make my choice on size.

So why am I telling you all of this..... because the nice people at Stuck on You have given me a 2nd pair to giveaway to you guys.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post of Life Today.
This giveaway is open to all readers in every country as Stuck on You is happy to mail overseas.
Entries close at 5pm (New Zealand Time) Sunday 3rd June.
A winner will be chosen at random after this time. I will then make every effort to get in contact with you but if I have not heard back from the winner within 7 days I will redraw another winner.

Extra entries can be gained

1. By blogging about this giveaway and letting me know about it.
2. Visiting Stuck on You's Facebook page and liking them. Let me know you have done this
3. Checking them out on Twitter (@stuckonyoutweet). Leave me a comment to let me know you have visited.
4. If you are new to this blog and decide to follow this blog then leave me a comment saying hi.

So have a great week, tell your friends and I look forward to making that draw after the long weekend that is coming our way at the end of this week.
Happy Winter to you all.

Disclosure: The product featured in this review was provided to me free of charge, by the representing company.
Opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Friend Making Monday

Over at All The Weigh, she does a Friend Makin' Monday. You answer some questions, and then you link so others can come and visit and maybe follow you and become your friend.

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: All The Weigh so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!


FMM: One or the Other

1. Shower or Bubble Bath? Bubble bath (just wish we had a bath tub in the house!)

2. Money or Power? Money

3. Country Music or Rap? Country
4. Sunshine or Thunderstorms? Both
5. Uniform or Suit? Suit

6. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
7. Beauty or Brains? Brains

8. Newspaper or Online News? Still love reading the old fashion newspaper
9. Marinara or Alfredo? Alfredo

10. Lip Gloss or Lip Stick? Lip stick
11. Beach or Mountains? Beach

12. Talk or Text? Talk

13. CNN or Fox News? CNN
14. Cake or Potato Chips? Both, sometimes I want sweet and sometimes I want savory!

15. Movies at home or at the theater? Theatre
16. Bar or Bookstore? Bookstore
17. Rock or Pop? Rock

18. Manicure or Facial? Manicure

19. Book or e-reader? Recently converted to a Kindle, although occasionally I like reading a good old fashion book!

20. Planes or Trains? Planes

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions.
Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments! Happy Monday!

Look What I Got?

When Steve came into this relationship, he came with several good assets!
Of the electrical type (dirty minded readers!).
A nice size television, a good little stereo, a huge fridge and a brand new washing machine.

The tv was a box type one and his lasted until about 2006 when a power surge went through it and we got a replacement on insurance. We eventually changed it for a flat screen last year.
The stereo is still going strong, although we don't blast it to pieces often so should do us for several more years.
The fridge was nice, but way too big and in 2002 when we moved into our first home together it didn't fit so we got a new one, however the one we replaced it with is still in use and going well.
The washing machine was a huge top loader that he had had for about 12 months when we got together in 1999.
It has seen us through the worst part of 2 babies, and young boys. It is still going and the only problem with it is it doesn't have the greatest time keeping. You can set it for a 40 min wash and it will take about 45 mins!

However at the beginning of this year I did warn him that if there was anything that would probably need replacing during this year then it would be that.
We buy all our electrical goods through Harvey Norman because they have a great money card. They are always offering 36 to 50 months interest free as special offers. So we don't shop there at any other time!
In fact we must be their worst customer because we always use the interest free part but always have it paid when it ends.
They always ask for 3% per month to be paid back, which I happily do, however I also work out what we have to pay each month to pay the balance off in the set amount of months. If it turns out to be more than they are asking for then we will pay the higher amount. Then when the 50 months is up we have paid for the goods and don't get hit with something like 26% interest!!

So this weekend they had their usually special on, spend over $1100 and get 50 months interest free.
So we did....

and I got this cardboard box!

Oh hang on this was inside....

My new washing machine

fits in right at home

I haven't had a front loader machine since I moved to New Zealand 14 yrs ago.
The man in the store was trying his hardest to convince me about them and I had to put him out of his misery eventually and tell him I grew up with them and that there was nothing I didn't already know about them!
Just to clarify, we didn't spend $1100 on this alone, we did but something else as well.

So now I have had to go out and buy new washing powder as my powder was for a top loader and would flood the garage with suds in 2 seconds if I used that. In fact, anyone know of someone looking for 3 2kg boxes of powder, my store cupboard was well stocked so now I have got some going cheap!!

Goals + 5%

I actually achieved my 5% weight lose goal last week, but due to an issue I didn't want to mention it until I had been to weigh in this week. Just to clarify that it was correct.

It seems that people have got into the habit of wearing the same clothes each week for weigh in, this is because it is amazing how much certain items can weigh.
I was lucky enough to be wearing a pair of jeans the first week I weighed in, so I decided to continue wearing them, especially as winter was coming our way and I knew I would be wearing them most Fridays for the next few months.
I have also managed to wear the same pair of shoes each week so have been happy to weigh in wearing them. However last week my ankle was playing up so I wore my running shoes, now these are known to weigh about 500g-1kg so I took them off. Then I had a wonderful weight lose of 500g which took me right down and under my 5% goal, but if I had been wearing the correct shoes would it have happened?
Who knows, so this week I made sure I was wearing the exact same things and yes I definitely got my 5% goal and also lost another 500g this week (that is 1kg in 2 weeks).

So now that I am well aware that I did achieve my goal then I can celebrate and let all know what I have achieved. Oh and also what else I achieved this week.......

The other goal I have achieved this week is the completion of my 2nd essay for the paper I am currently studying.

First essay was due in Apr 17 and I succeeded in passing this paper with 78%. Yea me.
2nd essay got sent off today and on completion of marking, which I know I will pass (positive thinking here guys!) then I will have achieved my 3rd paper and only have 1 left to complete this year.
Although on completion of the next paper I will have successfully completed my Bachelors Degree in Nursing.

So by the end of this year I will have achieved my degree and lost weight, what better way to end a year.

Studying

As many of you know, I am currently achieving my Bachelors Degree in Nursing.
Whilst this sounds amazing and you think I am well organised to be able to work, run a family and live and also get this, let me tell you a little secret, it is all by correspondence and I have been working as a nurse for the last 16 years, so these are not topics I am unfamiliar too. Also due to when I completed my training depended on how many papers I needed to complete. In my case that is 4, so by doing 1 paper a semester, it is taking me 2 years to complete. I am coming to the end of paper 3 so almost there.
In fact ask me again by about end of October and you will find me partying and praying that my last essay is a pass and then I have a degree.

Anyway, this course has been very easy but then to an extent I think they have made it very easy and sometimes this bugs me!
Shut up and go with it I can hear you all say but how can I not wonder when things are just too easy. Bear with me on this.

For starters I don't have to attend any lectures at all. I can find out sufficient information by reading some books and writing the essay. Good job I am not trying to learn too much from this.

Each paper has 2 essays, that is all you have to do to complete the paper. However the marking is way off. In order to pass the paper you have to get an overall mark of 50%. Now that is not 50% per essay that is 50% in total from both essays.
So if you pass the first essay with 60% and pass the next essay with 80% then overall you pass the paper with 70%. Well done you.
However if you fail the first essay with 40% but pass the 2nd essay with 60% then overall you have a score of 50% so you have passed the paper! Meaning that you can fail 1 of the 2 essays as long as you make up the marks on the other essay!
To me that is not right? If you fail part of the course how can you actually pass the course?

I am now on paper 3, essay 1 has been handed in and we are desperately waiting for the results, which are taking a long time in being available.
However whilst we are waiting we do currently have essay 2 to complete.
The essay was due May 17, but a week after the first essay was handed in we gained an extension. Yippee for us so now it is due in May 24.
Last week they distributed a template to assist you in writing your essay. Yes rather than getting you to write the essay from just reading the question they have actually given you a template which more or less gives you ideas and suggestions on how to write the essay.
Then a few days later they gave you a table that showed you how to distribute the words for each section so you get the correct word count for the essay!
Are you telling me that anyone writing a 2500 word essay at Degree level is unable to correctly distribute that amount of words over 5-6 sections? Come on people this is degree level 7 here, not 1st grade English essay writing!

Then today, after they have had a lecture about the essay this morning, we have suddenly gained another extension! Now ok this extension is only from 9am Thursday morning to 4pm Friday afternoon but why do I get the feeling that yet again they feel the students can't cope so lets give them more, much more.

Last year was a little of the same. I actually attended a lecture and at the end the tutor said she would be answering questions on the essay due if anyone wanted to stay behind. Well she went further than that she more or less explained what to write.
She stood at the front and went through each part of the essay step by step. More or less saying 'well in the first section they want you to define xyz, so you need to look up a definition of the words and write what it means....start the sentence something like "the definition of ........ is ......... which means ......." Oh and don't forget to reference where you got the information from.

I knew something was going wrong when she had to explain to the class one time how to reference in an essay. You are meant to integrate the references whilst writing the paragraph.

For example - The world is round (Smith 2010) although many have challenged this theory and often wonder if the world has extra parts on the side (Bates 2009).

Most of the students on the course were doing the following:
The world is round although many have challenged this theory and often wonder if the world has extra parts on the side. Smith 2010 (always just writing a full paragraph and putting a single reference at the end!)

I am not sure how I managed to drive home that day without driving off the road from shock!

Now I just keep joking that by Wednesday I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't an example essay available online for the students to use where they just have to insert words at appropriate places that are relevant to their chosen topic!

Soccer

For us the sport that has just started this season is soccer.
Ben played last year but Alex declined to play, that was until  about 3-4 weeks into the season when he decided he wanted to play! However he was too late to join a team, so had to settle with just practicing each week with Ben's team.

This year is a different story.
Here is our little soccer wanna be....

Unfortunately we have a small predicament with him playing this year.
Alex is about to turn 7, therefore he belongs in 7th grade soccer.
However this year at school they didn't have many 6-7yr old kids come forward for soccer but they did have a nice amount of 5-6yr old kids who should be 6th grade.
So they decided that the 2 who should be 7th grade would remain at this level but everyone else would join them. So now we have a team of lovely beginners and Alex!
Even though I cheer him on every week, it is difficult not too, it can also get embarrassing as he is too good. Well not that he is too good just that compared to the rest of the team he looks like a saint at this sport. He has ball skills and control, he has skills that the rest of the team can't even work out.
This has come from the fact he has been practicing with his big brothers team who are 2 grades higher for the last year and he has taken it all in.

So our predicament is:

1. Do we leave him in this team, which is the right age and grade for him, even though he way outshines all his team mates etc
2. Do we move him to the next grade where he will play with kids a year older but on a better par of skill to him?

If he had more kids his age to play in a team with then I know this wouldn't be a problem as they would all have the attention span required, however at present Alex comes off the field exhausted as he has generally run the entire length more times than we can count just so the team actually stays with the ball.

If he moves to the 8th grade team he will be small compared to some of those players but at least he will enjoy the game more as he will have people to pass to, people who will back him when he has the ball and people who will be there at the same level as him.

We should find out after the weekend if our request has been accepted by the school.

Hopefully the numbers in other teams are sufficient for this move to happen but at least it is only week 4 in the season so should be a simple move and easy for him to settle in a new team quickly.

I will keep you posted.

Mother's Day

I know this was last weekend and I had an awesome day by the way.
Just thought I would show you what Ben made for me and forgot to give me until 1 evening during the week when he found it in his school bag...

Now just need to work on his letter placements within words!

Finally Complained

I am not a coffee drinker! Just can't stand the smell or taste. It has its advantages meaning that I am never desperately in need of a coffee fix etc.
Therefore when at a cafe with friends I will go for a hot chocolate.
However I feel that we get a really bum deal as the cafes never seem to understand that we do like a drink with flavour not just a glass or cup of hot milk.

The presentation is always beautiful, nice chocolate colour to the milk, gorgeous white froth sitting on the top with a scattering of chocolate sprinkled over and finally 2 big fat juicy marshmallows on the side.

Give it a stir, mix it all together, get that breath taking first sip of milky froth with the sprinkle of chocolate and it tastes divine, take your 2nd mouthful of the complete drink and then realise that you are drinking hot milk that looks like it has been shown the chocolate!

I have always wanted to complain, take it back usually with the simple comment of "Could I have some chocolate in this please?"

Finally today I stood my ground and I did just that.......and it felt great.
They apologized and said they would make me a new drink, I was expecting them to add a little more powder and give it back to me, but a new one arrived. Now it wasn't fabulous but it was definitely better than before. The colour of the milk was a lovely dark colour and the froth was still so creamy but at least it tasted like chocolate and not hot milk.

So if you are fussy like I am, then get strong and bold and take it back, get what you asked for.
Unfortunately it will be a long battle as most of the staff in the cafes drink coffee and so therefore never actually taste their hot chocolates to see where they could improve they just continue to chuck out hot milk with colouring at their customers!

Too Much

Have we all done too much?
Have we all blown the budget? On time that is not money!

Several of the blogs that I follow, who all also took part in the A to Z Challenge during April, seem to be on mind overload at present and are not blogging!

And yes we have had a busted computer and I mean real busted. I just lost all my contact details for my life. Everything else was backed up, pictures, clip art, meeting minutes etc but not the emails and contacts! Also lost all Microsoft Office programmes so have had to repurchase and reload.
So I have not had the ability to download the camera let alone add a picture to a blog, but I just don't seem to be able to get into the mood to write a post or even add the picture now that I have the ability to use.
However I have lots to blog about, Alex playing soccer, our trip to Auckland a few weeks ago, my recent mail Art package that arrived and also my first ever giveaway.

So with so much to blog about I am hoping that by maybe writing this post about so many of us being away with a mental mind block then maybe I will feel like I have broken the tie and will now get back into blogging, although I do have an essay due next week for my degree and I have a little bit of rewriting to achieve before next Wednesday.
However once this essay is handed in I will only have 1 paper, yes that reads 1 paper left to complete and I will be an official degree holder and you can bet your bottom dollar I will be at the graduate ceremony next Feb 15 with bells on.

So please, who ever is listening to my little pray, please put my blogging mind back together, please let me have the inspiration to get back into writing something on this computer, I would really appreciate it as I have deadlines to achieve and a mental mind block really doesn't help those at all!

Games Online

Do you have a favorite website where you go to play games online?
Do you pay for it or is it free?

I have always used MSN games. Don't ask why, just seems to be one of those sites I came across early on, enjoyed what I played on there, liked the variety and have continued, when I remember, to use it.
It is a free site, with about 85% of the games being able to be played to a certain level online immediately. You then also have the option of downloading a free trial. this lasts for about 6-12 hours and from what I can remember the last time we did this, many years ago, you can only ever download a trial once per game.
You do also have the option to buy the game. Most games cost $19.95 but if you commit to buying 2 games in 2 months or 4 games in 4 months then the price per game starts to drop.
We have purchased a few of the games over the years, about 4 I think, and we have had enormous fun from having them immediately to hand on the computer. The boys have loved playing them and they are ones that it is easy to loose the time of day with.

The boys like the website Friv, which has some weird and wonderful little games. I don't know about what services are available on this site or whether it is just purely an online site for games.

My mother plays on a site from England I think and she pays a small fee for the year. Really must remember to get the address from her again one time, although once she reads this post it will probably be in the comments!

So where do you play, what great sites do you know about that you would be willing to share with us all?
And I mean sites specific to games, not those on Facebook that need friends to be able to play!

Here comes Winter

Yes that time of year has arrived here in New Zealand.
Yes I know that the weather is getting nicer for some of you in the northern hemisphere but please enjoy because it will soon go away when it wings its way back down under to us!
So it has come to the time of year when the heater is set everyday for the time we want it to come on.
The washing is rarely dried on the line outside or even in the garage as it is now too damp, so that means the washing rack has crept back into the family room by the heater.
1 layer is no longer suitable to wear and suddenly a snuggly sweater is very appealing.
No one wants to get up in the morning because it is dark and cold.

Soccer has commenced and even though the sun is shining whilst their games are being played the wind that whips around manages to find just the right place in your ear to hurt, so the woolly hats and scarfs have appeared.

I do love this time of year as well, the colours all around are beautiful, lovely browns, greens, oranges and red.
When the sun does shine everyone is out in the crisp air having fun and it re boosts your energy for when the days are cold and wet.
I do love coming home at night and slipping into snuggly sweats and sweaters and curling up on the couch with a blanket catching a show.
The crockpot is used much more and the aroma in the house is all warm and cosy. And I don't mind the oven being on making some nice hot dinner for us all to enjoy.

So to all you northern hemisphere friends, enjoy your spring and summer, enjoy your water play and outings to the beach, enjoy your BBQ's. Have fun watching the washing blowing in the summer wind drying nicely but just remember it will all go soon and then you will be in your winter but then having said that enjoy your cold dark nights with the houses lit up as you head towards Christmas, the pretty lights twinkling in the dark..

On second thoughts...I better stop now or I will have to move north back to what I remember!!

The Computer

I love our computer...well most of the time!
Sadly it has been unwell recently but is now home, it is taking a rest, as usually advised on returning home from being sick and it will be a few more days before it is up and running again and keeping up with our daily family life.
However, I am not computer savvy, well no I lie, I am computer savvy.
I know how to find the computer, how to switch it on and how to log in.
I know where to find most programmes to be able to control my life with technologies and I know where and how to use the internet. I am savvy enough in Power Point, Excel, Word, Outlook and any programme we have loaded.
I am not so flash hot at downloading things and finding them again later but I am getting better at that.
Unfortunately what I am not savvy at is actually understanding the workings of the machine!

I know that they changed the RAM whilst at the hospital and I also know they reloaded windows, which means I also realise that they did nothing to the hard drive and all our items on there.....pictures, documents, emails etc are still all intact and available to us
However what I didn't understand is that by reloading windows means that they have placed our whole hard drive in a folder and wiped all other programmes.
So currently I can't use Outlook for my emails as Outlook is not loaded on the machine.
I can't open my PTA minutes to check them as we have no Word.

Suddenly:-

• I realise what a whole heap of work Steve has to do with the computer this weekend
• I am realising just what programmes we had loaded on our computer that we had brought on-line.
• I am realising just how much this is going to cost us above and beyond the hospital fee for them looking after our dear buddy for 10 days!
• I am realising that maybe we should have kept the discs from Office 2003 that we finally got rid of last year when 2007 was installed via the internet.
• I am now realising all the games etc that have kept us all entertained on cold wet days that we downloaded.
• I am realising that we really do need to make sure that all and I mean all computer discs for the computer really do need to be stored in 1 set place!

Luckily for us we have a lap top, so all is not lost, we can check emails online but there are ones we need to save for reference to later so my inbox is filling up nicely online.

I am able to blog from my laptop but alas no personal pictures that I have on the main computer, no fun little pictures I have gathered over the years that make things look pretty but I know they are not lost, they are all resting on the hard drive.

The only good thing throughout all of this, is that we have a 1TB external hard drive that we back up to regularly and store far far away from the computer, so if all had hit the fan as they say when the computer was sick, we would have been very lucky in that apart from a few months of pictures we would have 90% of everything that was on our hard drive. There is a god sometimes.

So if anything from this, my biggest word of advice to you all is....do you have an external hard drive that you back up to 3-4 times a year or even monthly if you are a big user of the computer? Believe me if something goes wrong you may just be very grateful for it.

So leave the keyboard and mouse alone, go get in the car, drive to the nearest techo store and purchase yourself one and then back up your hard drive, when everything fails you will be glad you did!

A to Z Challenge Reflection

We survived, we got there, we succeeded.
Completed the A to Z Challenge for April that is.

Have you enjoyed it?

I sure have.

I have had to think outside my box for posts, although I did try where possible to keep them on subjects I normal mention, no major history lessons or weird and wonderful explainations of things neither of us were really interested in!

I have read some awesome posts on some awesome blogs. Checked out 1 or 2 that were a little boring or strange, but then not every blog you come across is going to suit your style or personality. At least I checked them out.
I have truely learnt things that I never knew I needed to know and some things that I wonder if.......

• Did I really need to know that?
• Will I ever use that information again?
• Why did people not manage to understand the concept "don't have word verification on!"

I guess the biggest question that may get asked is.........Would I do it all again next year?

Hmm lets see.....

• 26 posts in one month
• In alphabetical order
• With no theme attached unless you want to
• The ability to check out at least another 1900 blogs

Sure why not, I can possibly see a photo month coming on, maybe even a stitching month or a poem month. Who knows I now have a 11 months to plan it.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who took the time to come on by and visit. I enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you better by visiting back. I have gained some new followers and way more blogs to follow than I am sure I can manage, but I will give it a great go.
So I look forward to getting to know you all better over the coming year and seeing how we do next year in the A to Z Challenge 2013.

And to totally understand what the challenge meant then go visit Transitional Woman who managed to sum it all up so perfectly.

Catch you all again tomorrow....!

Weight Lose

Just quietly I am in the middle of a weight lose programme.
I am not using my blog to post everyday about my current lose, although there is a table on the right hand side showing my current lose each week and the grand total.
I am taking it slow and steady and even though it is a big deal it is not the centre of my life. I am not making it a huge deal for others.
In other words, if I want chocolate cake with marshmallow sauce then I will have it and enjoy it and not regret having had it!
This does however mean that my lose is slow, no I am not loosing a kilo a week like others, sometimes I am loosing just 100g, but it is slow and steady and I am keeping it off.
I have had some really bad weeks but they are being measured with some even better great weeks.
I have had only 2 weeks where I have gained instead of loosing but those weeks have not been too bad.

So what am I doing I hear you ask, well I am attending Weight Watchers each week, I am thinking about points on items but that is not stopping me from eating anything.
I am watching my portion sizes, so I am eating exactly the same as the family just being sensible about how much I have.
Having said that I am eating slowly, listening to my body when it gives me clues as to being full and having had enough.
I have stopped eating in the evening. I found that I was very good at snacking at about 8pm and sometimes I would even grab a biscuit on the way to bed!
I am drinking more fluid, now I am not going to sit here and proclaim you must drink more water, yes water is good for you but you can also ensure you have fluid, whether that be tea, coffee or diet soft drink. If you don't feel like eating when you first get up in the morning at least have a large drink of fluid. I am not a person who can eat as soon as I wake up, my body may be awake but my stomach is not! So I always eat breakfast sat at my desk when I first arrive at work, because of this then I always ensure I have had a drink before leaving home, just seems to work for me.

So my goal is getting closer, slowly, my first goal will be to achieve a 5% weight lose. I am currently 400g off of this goal, so hopefully next week I will achieve it, but it takes work and so this next week will be a determined effort to get there.

Doctor Visit

Don't worry all is well, apart from the computer which is sick.
We took it to the doctor on Saturday and we are waiting for the diagnosis any day now.

So please bear with me during this time as I am only really able to blog from work, and having just had 2 days off then it feels like I have been away for ages!

Catch you soon