Bone density and avoiding Osteoporosis / Osteopenia in severe M.E / CFS

If you have severe M.E or any type of long term illness it's worth thinking about bone density.

My experience

A friend with severe M.E was diagnosed with severe Osteoporosis at the age of 21, I was 25 at the time and immediately asked if I could be tested. My consultant told me to expect it to show Osteoporosis and my GP referred me for a DEXA scan. It showed I was at high risk of fractures, especially hip ones. With treatment a follow up scan showed my bone density had improved, I am sure if it hadn't been for my friends diagnosis my bone density would still be getting worse. I posted on Facebook and several other people went to get tested.

Risk factors

Risk factors include poor diet, low weight, low vitamin D, long term steroids and not weight bearing. At various points over the years I've met all those criteria and yet no doctor had ever raised the possibility of bone loss.

Testing

Aside the traveling aspect the actual test is fine. They can either do a DEXA scan or an X-ray of your heel bone although I'm told the results aren't as accurate of the heel bone as the DEXA. For the first part I had my hip scanned, I laid on my back and they strapped my foot turned inwards to give the best position of my hip for the scan. As my feet naturally turn inwards these days this was pain free and the scan didn't take long. Next they put a block under my knees so my spine would be flatter, again as I lay with my legs up normally this was fairly comfortable. The arm moved up and down my spine and took about 10 minutes. It's not noisy or claustrophobic at all and doesn't touch you. You don't need to get undressed or changed into a gown for the scan.

I also had bone profile blood tests done and vitamin D

A picture of a DEXA scan

Treatment

I was started on massive doses of Vitamin D and also calcium (both prescribed) and given a physio plan. Although standing and walking is clearly best I was given tiny exercises to do through out the day like pushing my knee into the bed or foot against the footboard, anything to add a little resistance through my bones. We also discussed starting on the pill as Oestrogen can help but I decided against this. There are also drugs (Including oral or IV) for Osteoporosis but we decided to wait and rescan with just vit d/calcium/physio.

I rang The National Osteoporosis Society helpline and spoke to a nurse who was very helpful and sent me some information in the post. I obviously knew the old advice to drink milk (although I know some disagree with that) but they told me about things like research that eating prunes can help and about the different drug options. Their site is full of information www?not.org.uk

I would add that you don't need to have osteoporosis/osteopenia or scans to start treatment. Prevention is really important and if I could go back in time I would work on this from day 1 of becoming severe. I asked my physio of what kind of duration of being bed bound would bone density start becoming a problem, she said the honest answer is she doesn't know, even as professionals it's not something they tend to think about in young people.

For more help on preventing or treating bone density problems see here

The stockings were hung...

My stockings are up on my beautiful new stocking hanger from my friend Karen

Donating toys and gifts to children in hospital

This was written by someone I know who is a doctor. I run a charity for seriously ill children and can grant most wishes for young cute kids with cancer and provide 10 different holidays but it's much harder for other conditions!

Last year I worked in a children's hospital at Christmas time, and there were so many presents donated, mostly from corporate donors. The entire large meeting room was taken over with gifts to sort. There were hundreds too many presents, so some were leftover for birthdays and other occasions. We still had boxes full of Lego packs in June. 

This Christmas I'm working in child and adolescent mental health, still in a hospital ward. We have had no presents donated and I don't imagine we're going to. Our patients will have one present each, chosen by the therapy team, paid for out of the ward's budget - scrimped and saved from the budget that is meant to cover food, activities, and other expenses. 

If your company, or RAG society, or someone you know is thinking of donating gifts to the poorly children in hospital this Christmas, ask them to donate them to the poorly children in the mental health hospitals instead. They're not as cute and photogenic and good for corporate image, but they're less likely than a sick kid in a medical hospital to have loving family showering them with gifts. Any gifts to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) would be appreciated, both by the young people, and by the staff trying to stretch the budgets to give the patients a nice time. 

It would be lovely if the world could start to address the stigma of mental health, and the disparity of only caring about children with physical problems rather than also those with mental problems.

EDIT: This is the link to the list of CAMHS wards in alphabetical order. They aren't all NHS, but even the private ones will have lots of NHS patients because of CAMHS underfunding and bed crisis. http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/qualityimprovement/ccqiprojects/childandadolescent/inpatientcamhsqnic/membersdirectory.aspx?theme=mobile
This link shows you CAMHS units on a map, by region, but doesn't seem to work from a mobile http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/qualityimprovement/ccqiprojects/childandadolescent/inpatientcamhsqnic/mappingofcamhsunits.aspx

Good generic presents include things for an older child or teenager: arts and crafts things, colouring books, cookery things (my patients love cooking and baking!), remote control cars and helicopters, nail varnish, age-appropriate DVDs, nice smellies. Nothing sharp or that could easily break. 

Corporate or larger gifts for a CAMHS ward would include games consoles, sports equipment, cooking equipment (smoothie maker?!), a TV or radio - but best to consult with the ward you're donating to.

Cards would also go down well, even if it just says eg "to young people and staff at [hospital], seasons greetings"

Sent from my iPhone

My Christmas gift creations

I've been planning lots of blog entries but never seem to get around to writing them. I wanted to share some of the Christmas gifts I've made this year and also some gift ideas. I've been busy crafting but I've only been doing small projects which can be done in bed, hoping to start baking next week though!

First up we have this decoration for my friend Cat. I've blogged in the past about the cream decorations I had purchased from Dot Com Giftshop but wasn't too keen on when I saw them in real life. This year I found a nail varnish in my friends favourite colour and set about painting with it hoping for a result like the gold ones last year. To say it didn't go well would be an understatement, it looked mouldy! We decided that maybe Mouldy Chic is the new Shabby Chic but thankfully after several more coats it no longer looked mouldy although it wasn't the colour I had hoped for.



Next up is a sugar free alternative to a sweet cone or hot chocolate cone. My friend is dairy, gluten and gelatine free so needs a healthy alternative to a sweet cone. I got some red skinned peanuts and cashew nuts as she likes both. I first planned to make a Santa head by filling the majority cone with red nuts and then a circular shape with the cashews. My plan was to turn it upside down, add a white pom-pom to the top of the 'hat' and add wiggly eyes. I changed my mind and decided to go for a candy cane style stripe with the 2 nuts.



Next up is a gift I got for most of my friends. Each year I get ornaments made from Artscow, never buy straight from their site as they do mega discount codes if your patient enough to wait. Often I go for photographs relating to the person or quotes, this year it's Harry Potter quotes. Harry Potter is full of fantastic quotes but 2 of my favourites are 'It is not our abilities that define us, it is our choices' and 'happiness can always be found in the darkest times, if someone only remembers to turn on a light'. I selected the background, colour and font and got them delivered to me. They arrive on red ribbon which I think looks cheap and they look much better after switching to a coordinating coloured ribbon.

Before and after ribbon change





As little stocking fillers I had some personalised glass cloths printed. I used different pictures for different people and added text to some of them. These are for my family and cost me a grand total of 63p each including shipping!



I've made snowmen and snowflake Oreo pops for people as a 'Happy 1st December' gift. I wrapped them in cellophane and put a Christmas sticker on the back to neaten things.



I've been working on this Design Works cushion for ages but it's so difficult to sew the buttons on as the material is thick and the needle is thick and blunt! I don't think I'm going to get it finished in time.



Not so much handmade but I've put together a selection of After Eight Mints for my Grandpa. He doesn't like much these days but these are the one thing he does still like. They now do straws and segments so I got those and also some normal ones for us to play with. Last year we did the challenge when you tilt your head back, place the mint on your forehead and use your muscles to wiggle it down to your mouth. HINT if you want to cheat make sure you warm the other persons one slightly! I discovered this as I was hot and while everyone else managed to do there's mine was still on my forehead (not helped but us all having uncontrolled hysterics!). I even leant forwards and it remained stuck to my head!




Earlier in the year I made this for some newly weds. It's for their first Christmas tree as a married couple.



Last but not least a close up video of the stockings I've been working on for a few years (yet to be fully finished!).

Oreo Snowmen (head and body) and Oreo Snowflake Pop tutorial

I've been busy making Oreo snowmen and Oreo snowflake pops.

I've seen lots of Oreo snowmen heads but they never have a body. I did a search and still couldn't find any although I did find these adorable snowmen heads.



I decided to have a go at making some using normal Oreo's and mini ones (from snack packs) but quickly learnt the key to good looking Oreo pops is doubled stuffed ones.

To make these snowmen you need,
Double stuff Oreo's
Snack packs of Oreo's
Lollipop or cake pop sticks
Candy melts
Things to decorate with.


Start by gently separating the 2 halves of the both the double stuff and mini Oreo's, be prepared for plenty of breakages, you can either 'glue' them back in place or enjoy eating them (would be awful to let them go to waste...).



Take the mini Oreos and using the candy melts 'glue' the top of the stick into them. You don't want to have any of the stick poking out of the top. 'Glue' the other half on.


Make a dent in the 'stuffing' of the larger Oreo, before 'gluing' the stick in and adding the other half on top. You want the big Oreo and mini Oreo to touch.



Put the Oreo's on sticks in the fridge for a few minutes to firm or have a cup of tea while enjoying the broken ones.

Dip the Oreo's on the stick in the candy melts, it helps if you add Trex/shortening to the candy as it will make a smoother coating. Stand them up to dry, I used a block of polystyrene but anything like that will work. When dry do a second coat then decorate.



These were decorated with coloured pearls and little tubes of writing icing.





Wrap in cellophane or eat straight away!

Meerkat Madness!

Yes that's a Meerkat and yes it's in my mouth!



Someone then turned a photo into this!



Will blog soon about my annual day out of bed but thought I would share the meerkat moment (in case you are wondering, it was checking my ears and mouth for grubs, pleased to say that no grubs were located in me).

Final picture of my annual day out with Holly

Perfect Party UK Balloons

My day to day name is Vikki but my not so secret identity is The Balloon Fairy.


A picture of me about to release some balloon with forget-me-not seeds inside in memory of some children who sadly passed away

Perfect Party UK are asking bloggers to blog about balloons, as you will know if you saw my balloon fairy blog a couple of years ago I LOVE balloons.

My earliest balloon memories are of discos held in a school hall. There would also be a big net over the ceiling full of balloons, the highlight of the disco would be when the net let down the balloons and we would all desperately try and get a pretty marble one or a long wiggly one!

My love of balloons has never faded and we keep a party canister of helium in our garage. Next week it's my Mums birthday, shortly followed by my Dads and then Father's Day. I have purchased some balloons and will secretly blow them up and tie them to bedroom door handles over night so the balloons are the first thing they see. My favourite balloons are either foil or bubble (bubble are made of a clear plastic which are thicker than your average latex balloon and apart from looking better they stay floating for a very long time). Its a cheap way of making a big impact, Perfect Party UK have a huge range all under £3 each!

It might be a tad sad but I have spent countless hours researching different balloons so I can find the perfect balloons for occasions or people and I'm pleased to say Perfect Party UK stock my top 3! Check out these airwalkers, Spider-Man who when filled looks like he is climbing on the ceiling and a giant Minnie and Mickey. I sent Minnie to a little girl following her second kidney transplant, do you think she liked it?




So you get that I like balloons but why am I The Balloon Fairy? I will copy this from my previous blog entry;


'I love balloons, they can mean celebration, happiness, get well or good luck wishes, congratulations, sad goodbyes and even 'just because'.

I had some helium left over recently and so today we blew up some balloons. My original plan was to do some and have Mum tie them to the front door of a neighbour (who has the same illness as me) with a note just saying they were from the balloon fairy. I realised it was her 18th birthday this week though so blew up lots of balloons which mum took up with a card. This isn't the first time there has been a balloon fairy. A few years back when I was doing better, I managed to go to a dinner organised by the local paper and they presented organisations/charities with a donation. As soon as I entered the room I clocked the heart balloon bouquets and thought of how they could make kids smile. I was able to ask an official if it would be possible to take some home to give to some local children, they said they would find out for me. So we have dinner, then the cheques are presented and everyone was moved so I could join the others for a photo at the front of the room. After it had been taken they announced that children's charities can take the balloons and to my horror they all seemed to instantly vanish before me (all the other charity people could walk!) and there was chaos trying to move me an inch forward. I told my dad 'forget me, the balloooons, the balloooons' (seriously, anyone would think they had bunches of winning lottery tickets rather than some heart shaped balloons), some kind guy over heard me and snagged me quite a few. Everyone who was with me pointed out we could never get that many balloons in our car and I informed them that they should be positive and when there is a will there is a way (I'm not sure if positivity effects the laws of physics but hey it's worth a try). My dad had recently got a new car which didn't have a boot the size of his old one (which got mentioned every time the boot was used) and my wheelchair alone filled it. That left 4 of us and about 18 balloons, we had them crammed into every nook and cranny, I even had my leg over some so they wouldn't obstruct Dads view, thank god it was dark! We concluded that if we were in an accident we would be fine due to this very large air cushion surrounding us but when rescued we would be all squeaky as its helium! My insanity paid off though, the next day balloons were delivered to a boy who had recently seen his sister die and a family where a mixture of illness and disability led the family to crisis point, they got home to find their porch filled with balloons from seemingly no where (although they guessed it was us). The kids apparently loved it and decided it was the balloon fairy!'

My first nappy cake in a long time

Excuse the photo, it makes it look wonky!

#hearthomebettaliving

Heart Home magazine has teamed up with Betta Living to run a competition about readers bedroom styles.

I thought I knew my style until I went onto the Betta Living site and looked at the different style options. I liked so many, if only I lived in a mansion and could have one of each room style! In the end I decided upon ‘White Glass Teen Range’. I love how bright and open it would make even the smallest of bedrooms feel. Its minimalistic and I like that I could frequently change the colour scheme and feel of the room with accessories.

I selected a bed called ‘Metis’ from the Betta Living site as I felt it fitted into the minimalistic look well. For Christmas a friend gave me a butterfly garland which I would wind around the metal frame as I’m very into butterflies. I would add a pop of colour to the room with coloured throws, and I’ve selected a few different ones to change seasonly. I chose ‘metal handle 10’ as I think they fit in with the bed well.

Watching tv in bed on a Sunday morning is one of my guilty pleasures but often I think a television set ruins the look of a room. Betta Livings pop up TV solves that problem and I would feel a little James Bond like operating it!

My greatest shopping weakness is shoes and I’ve always dreamt of a walk in wardrobe where I can display the shoes in an organised way instead of just throwing them in the bottom of a cupboard. As I don’t live in an episode of Sex and the City nor own a giant house I’m not going to have a walk in wardrobe but this shoe organiser from Betta Living is a fantastic compromise. I can pull it out and sigh happily looking at my shoes and they won’t get damaged either. The other storage item from Betta Living I would like is a pull down hanging rail. I’m a wheelchair user and currently have to ask someone if I want something off my top rail, the pull down rail is a great idea for anyone but would give me greater independence.

The other piece of furniture I selected was this very comfy looking buttoned loved seat in cream. It looks great to curl up in and read a good book and talking of books I found these 2 cushions with my favourite quotes from Harry Potter on ‘Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only someone remembers to turn on a light’ and ‘It is our choices that show what we truly are far more than our abilities’.

So this is my bedroom style, check out my Pinterest board to see the items in more detail and where you can get them from. 

Will you vote?

Someone asked me if I plan to vote in the general election. This picture says everything I would reply with

The perfect weekend in London with Royal Garden Hotel and Tots100

I'm lucky to live less than an hour outside of London and yet our family has done very few of the usual tourist site seeing that there is to be done.

Asked by Tots 100 to imagine what you would do if you won a 5* weekend break in the beautiful Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington. It got me thinking-how to decide when there are so many things to do?!



I think we would be up early and go and look at some of the exhibits at the Science Museum and have lunch there. It's free to get in and the lunches there are restaurant quality. Afterwards we would head over the Roof Gardens (high above Kensington High Street), it's so hard to believe your on a roof when your looking at a giant tree or admiring Bill, Ben, Splosh and Pecks the resident flamingos. The Roof Gardens are also free.

With the money saved we would splash out on some tickets to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the evening. Royal Garden Hotel is so well situated for a wide range of things to see and do and being close to a tube station it's easy to travel all over London.

Before turning in for the night we would have a 'Midnight' feast inspired by the wonderful chocolates and sweets Mr Willy Wonker made in the show.

After all the dashing around London the previous day we would stop and enjoy the wonderful facilities Royal Garden Hotel has to offer. From the luxury bedrooms to relax in with fantastic views, the spa or beautiful grounds- all perfect to enjoy a chilled out day and escape from hectic City life.

We would go home refreshed, happy and with a hundred happy memories to treasure





#rghfamilies

Personalised Magic Cape gift

Mum and I came up with the idea for a special magic cape for a special boy called Connor who we are very fond of. You can read about Connor here.

As its his 13th birthday we didn't want it to be childish and Mum really wanted it to be black with red lining and Connor is sparkly letters. A lot of the red and black capes we found though looked quite Dracula like. I wanted stars and a rabbit coming out of a hat. Needless to say we failed to find what we wanted!

I turned to Etsy and found a seller who could clearly see as she makes the most amazing tutu's. Is it wrong that at 30 I really want one of her tutus?







I messaged her with our ideas and she said she could help. Today this arrived!



It's so well made, silky soft (Connor has sensitive skin) and beautiful, the picture doesn't do it justice. It's lined in red with gold ribbons to fasten.

Thinking of buying a toothbrush as a gift?

I was searching around the Internet looking for gift ideas for this Christmas and ended up on Wilkos (who do some lovely Christmas bits). Under the 'Gifts for Her' category I saw an entire section dedicated to toothbrushes.

My dear readers, if your thinking of buying an electric toothbrush for Christmas then I implore you to watch Rhod Gilbert's stance on them.


Last year someone Dad was working with in Central London made the long journey to Blue Water after work to select a present for his wife. His choice...you guessed it an electric toothbrush. Dad suggested watching the video and getting something else to go with it!




Ps)Only other fans will understand why my parents couldn't stop laughing in baggage reclaim when a luggage handle (not attach to a suitcase or bag anymore) was going around and around!

Object of festive desire!

Quite a few bloggers I follow do regular posts with items they are lusting after and inspired in particular by Jen at Ramblings of a Jaffa Cat I thought I would have a go. Here is my list to send to Father Christmas, do you think he accepts Pintrest boards or does he still prefer letters to be sent up the chimney?



Secret Garden Postcards to colour by Johanna Basford. I have the matching colouring book and it's BEAUTIFUL, I would highly recommend it to anyone, it's suitable for older children and adults.

I've posted before about how special the poem 'Twas the night before Christmas' is to our family and every year I search for something (non tacky) that reads it but without luck normally. I found the perfect thing last year and wanted to buy it for Mum but it's only available in America and shipping cost more then the item itself! However someone Dad works with offered to bring it over, I have a sneaky suspicion it's going to be my 30th birthday gift, always to be treasured :)

I love love love all things gingerbread, from cute gingerbread men hanging on the tree to the ones you eat. I stumbled on the Yankee gingerbread range last year and treated myself to a cute t light holder with 3 tea cups and 2 gingerbread men. There wasn't a single one in their range I didn't lust over though!

As I said I love gingerbread, not quite as much as this lady although I'm a little jealous she got to live in a real house decorated as a gingerbread house but I do love it. I would either like a pretty gingerbread house or a kit with the decorations to make one. I did try once but the kit I had was broken, I couldn't stick it back together in bed (at the time I couldn't sit up) and it didn't have decorations like I thought it did so a bit of a disaster!

Thorntons vanilla fudge, yum and a chocolate orange in my stocking.

I came across an adult dot to dot book which I thought was a great idea and would be fun, by adult I mean ones aimed at grown ups rather than the rude and crude ones you can also get!

Also I love the whole Bucilla felt Christmas kit range, my main object of desire is the cute tree skirt (also with tiny gingerbread men, sense a theme anyone?). Actually I lie, not the whole range. 99% of the range is beautiful and tasteful and then thrown in at random is a kit to make a felt decoration for the toilet seat and tank, I'm not joking, LOOK.

Lastly I would like to go to New York in December, ice skate in Central Park, make a snow angel, see the displays in the shop windows and go to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (which is on Netflix and AMAZING, if you haven't seen it check out this little trailer here). Oh and eat a slice of pizza so big it requires 2 hands!

I hope this gives you some ideas if your stuck trying to find a gift for your loved ones.

A short update

Hello, long time no post! I'm afraid this is a short post too. I've not been very well the past few months so have done very little except sleep, rest and when able sew.

I nearly finished my JOY stocking although lost a piece so need to see if I can get a replacement.


I spent August in hospital, not my favourite of places but the staff there are so lovely.

I'm currently working on a little project for my upcoming birthday, I will post details when it's underway.

Until then....

Debenhams garden competition

I love our garden, we have worked hard over the last few years to make it pretty, we enjoy looking out at the colourful flowers and the birds feeding but it's not a space we use as a family. We have a patio at the bottom of the garden which just houses some overgrown pot plants but that is all.



Debenhams have asked bloggers what they would do to improve their garden if they won £1500 of items from their fantastic garden range. You can read about the competition here

I would like to improve our garden by making it a place people come together in, friends, family and neighbours spending summer evenings sipping a cool drink and enjoying each other's company.

I would start with a fire pit, I think there is something about fire pits that brings people together. Maybe it goes back to our cavemen days or maybe we are just like moths drawn to a lightbulb- either way everyone loves a firepit! I fell in love with Debenhams Moon and Stars firepit at first glance, the nice dark red colour and the cut out stars and moon shapes which would project onto the table. When I read the description though I loved it even more to find it has an enamel cooking grate which would be just perfect for putting bananas and chocolate wrapped in foil on or for warming marshmallows.



I think if your hosting a get together you don't want to spend the whole evening in the kitchen or running backwards and forwards to it so when I saw this unique Romana steel pizza oven I immediately thought it was a brilliant idea. I've never met someone who doesn't like pizza, it would be easy to make a few earlier in the day and just put them in the pizza oven when people arrive, it's cooked by burning wood so would have an authentic taste which you don't get if you use your usual gas or electric oven. I also think it would be a real talking point. Seeing as it has a storage shelf and 2 side tables there would be no need to run back and forth to get everything you need.



Although pizza would be the main meal, it wouldn't be an outdoor get together without some BBQ sausages. I would be cooking them on this stylish BBQ, being a real charcoal one people will smell that mouth watering smell before they have even come into the garden. One of my favourite BBQ things is brushing pitta breads with garlic and butter and grilling until crispy, a perfect snack while waiting for the pizzas to cook. If anyone is late the height of the grill can just be adjusted so no burnt sausages at our house!



I selected these 4 pink flora spotted porcelain bowls to present crisps in. Crisps served from something pretty makes them look much more luxurious and these are so pretty. When not in use for get togethers I would use them as decoration on the windowsill in the kitchen.



I don't think I have ever been to a BBQ where glasses or china plates were used and at least one didn't get smashed, however serving drinks in plastic cups makes it look like your treating everyone as kids and the same for plastic or paper plates. To get around this I would use the fun Pink curly straws hi-ball cups which I know both kids and adults would like- who can resist curly straws? For the plates I would use these melamine plates with a beautiful bold pattern designed by Matthew Williamson. The pink and green porcelain bowls and pink curly straw cups will tie in perfectly with the plates giving the impression a lot of planning and styling had gone into the evening.




For lighting, in addition to candles I would have 2 large Litecraft outdoor illuminated ball lights on either side of the patio to provide the extra light.



Last but not least I would have this Verdi planter. I wouldn't plant anything in it but instead put everything we might need in it in advance, thus cutting down trips back into the house but at the same time without cluttering up the table.



I think these items from Debenhams garden range would create a stylish look and most importantly cast a friendly peaceful atmosphere where both guests and hosts can relax and enjoy themselves.

Idea for cotton candy /candyfloss

I love it when you have an idea and it actually turns out like you pictures.

Presenting my jazzed up candyfloss /cotton candy /angel hair

Presenting birthday tickets to Harry Potter Studio tour

For Mums birthday I gave her an IOU for tickets to tour the Harry Potter set. She's wanted to go for ages but felt guilty as I'm a huge Harry Potter fan but too ill to even consider going. As I didn't have the actual tickets to give her I did a special letter instead.

I've not tea bag stained anything since I was at school but used a wet tea bag to make a piece of paper look like parchment, while still wet I sprinkled a few grains of coffee on. Then I wrote in green pen as Dumbledore himself wrote in green and added a red seal with a H on the back. On the front it had Mums name and our address but with 'master bedroom' added.

The letter said;


To

Happy Birthday. You are invited to Hogwarts. Sadly you are past the age limit to be a student, your too tall to be a house elf and have CSE's instead of OWLs so can't be a teacher.

Due to this we are inviting you following a bribe from Vikki. You will walk down Diagon Alley, enter the Great Hall and see Hogwarts from dawn to dusk.

Vikki will also bribe us to give you the devices to hear about what your seeing,

Enjoy your visit,

A Dumbledore

My Sheflie!

Move over selfies because here come the Sheflies!

Victoria Plum are helping you find your home style with a fab quiz (my house style icon is Joey Essex according to the quiz), you can take the test yourself here, it will help you Selb up your own Shelfies – and win £250 in the process!

Victoria Plum and Tots100 are also asking people to take a picture of a shelf (shelfie!) and write about it, so without further ado here is my big shelf;




I have a big shelf in our garage
Which I filled at the start of our marriage

My subconscious must worry about BO
As I've 34 deodorants stacked high to low

Cherry blossom is my choice of smell
Created by 5 litres of shower gel

Whitening toothpaste to make teeth shine
Simon Cowl's have nothing on mine

I'm a bargain hunter not a hoarder
Now off to get my shelfie in order!



#GreatBritishHomeQuiz

National Yogurt Week

May 19-25 is National Yogurt Week and the Yogurt Council is asking bloggers to share their favourite recipes as a celebration of all things yogurt.

I've always liked yogurt but in recent years I've learnt how nutritious it really is. There are lots of adverts on TV for special drinks containing probiotics, these are often expensive and packed full of sugar but did you know yogurt naturally has probiotics. Marketing tells us it helps 'regulate the digestive system' which it can do, but research has shown the bacteria in our intestines also plays a big part in our immune and neurological system, pretty cool for something that tastes lovely!

My favourite way of eating yogurt at the moment is with oats and fruit. Oats contain prebiotics and we all know the benefits of fruit. Here is what we do,

3 cups of oats (I'm normally a grams and oz kinda girl but have cup measures and find it works well for this)
1 cup of milk (any kind)
3 cups of natural yogurt



Optional: Linseed or sunflower seeds
Jam/purée
Selection of fruit

Combine oats, milk, seeds and yogurt together and give it a really good stir. Add your chosen fruit, my favourite is raspberries and my Mums is mango and stir carefully. You can add a teaspoon of jam or fruit purée if you like things sweet. Put in an air tight container and leave over night. It will last a few days and is lovely as breakfast, desert or a snack.



Raspberry with no added jam



Fresh raspberry with a teaspoon of raspberry jam


Mango pulp is a great addition


Check out loveyogurt.org for more information or @loveyogurtuk on Twitter and Facebook