Competition To Win A Jaffa Fruit Cycling Kit

This summer, citrus fruit favourite Jaffa Fruit, and its gazebo have been touring the UK as an official sponsor of Sky Ride’s city cycling events. Along with the inimitable Jaffa Fruit man, the team have been welcoming families and Sky Ride fans to fun packed days out all across the country and handing out vitamin C packed clementines as well Jaffa reflectors and Tesco money off vouchers.

We have been asked to host a competition to celebrate this event and the prize for one of our lucky readers is a Jaffa Fruit cycling kit worth £50. The prize includes a Halfords bike pump, water bottle, bike lights, bike computer, Jaffa Fruit orange shaped bike reflectors, t-shirts and Tesco money-off vouchers.

To enter simply fill out the rafflecopter form below:

UK entrants only
A winner will be selected at random after the closing date

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I Want More Of The Big Reunion...

I have just caught up on the latest installment of The Big Reunion from last week. I have to admit I love it. It takes me back to my teenage years and reminded me of some of the happiest days of my life. I fell in love for the first time, left school, started and finished college and started uni, had a job that I loved and some great mates. To be honest life was pretty simple when I was younger, there was nothing overly exciting that happened but I had no stress or worries. Yes life was pretty good back then.

My taste in music can only be described as eclectic. I love music from all generations and all genres. Looking in my iTunes you will find the likes of Elvis Presley, The Who, Pink Floyd, UB40, U2, Madonna, Take That, Robbie Williams, and Daft Punk. This is just the top 9 artists who come up on shuffle. I know for a fact I have Meatloaf, Bryan Adams, Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, Sleeper, The Lightning Seeds and many more on there too. I love the randomness that it throws out, the look on both Matt's and the boys faces are priceless when they hear some of what I have on there. I also have many of the songs from the bands who have been featured on The Big Reunion. Although most of them didn't sing any of my favourites.

I have loved seeing the groups get back together on the show but especially 5ive and 911. What can I say even though my taste in music is somewhat varied I used to love boy bands back in the day. I always have been and will always be a huge Take That, Boyzone and Westlife fan - and lets face it one or two of the members of 5ive and 911 still look pretty hot, especially Lee from 911 and Rich from 5ive!! Is it quite sad that I knew all the words to their songs? I am annoyed that I left it too late to try to see the tour but hope that I can see them all on the Christmas one instead - I may have to sweet talk my Daddy (even at nearly 30 he is still called Daddy) into buying me tickets for my birthday or Christmas. 

I really hope that they make a second series as there are so many forgotten groups that they could reunite. I would love to see Let Loose, A1 or even North and South (you may not remember these guys unless you watched their tv show on CBBC) and although they weren't an English group I would love to see Savage Garden reunite as they were pretty awesome too in my opinion. 

So who would you like to see reunited or not as the case maybe....

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Yu! Snacks Review

Now the boys are back in school one of my everyday tasks is to make their packed lunches interesting, healthy and varied so they don't end up eating the same things everyday. I like to think that I make them healthy lunches and that they enjoy eating them. So when I was asked if the boys would like to try a selection of Yu! Snacks I agreed  that they could give them a try.

Yu! snacks are a range of healthy snacks which are made from 100% real fruit. They are, great for lunchboxes or just as a snack between meals. you can buy them from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose.

The first snack that the boys tried was the Yu! Bars. They contain 40% fruit and cereal and are covered in yogurt. They are available in strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, raisin and banana. They cost 45p for a single bar 25g or £2 for a 5 bar multipack.

The boys didn't really like the Yu! Fruit Chews but I thought that they were very nice. The chews are bite-sized pieces of dried fruit, they are 100% fruit and count as one of your 5-a-day. Each bag has less than 90 calories, are fat free and have no added sugar. Even though the boys didn't like them I will be buying them in the future as they are ideal for myself as a healthy snack when out and about.

The last snack that the boys tried was the Yogurt-Coated Fruit Pieces. These are exactly what they say. They are tasty fruit bites covered in a creamy yogurt coating. They contain real fruit and real yogurt. They are available in strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant, raisin and banana. They cost 45p for a single bar 25g or £2 for a 5 bar multipack. Nathan is a huge fan of bananas and is the only fruit he will eat. So when I gave him these to try I wasn't expecting him to eat them. But he loved them.

I intend to buy some of the Yu! Snacks for the boys for their packed lunches as I know that they like them and will eat them. 

For more information, you can visit www.yuhealthysnacks.co.uk, follow on Twitter @YuHealthySnacks or ‘Like’ Yu! Snacks on Facebook.


*I was sent a small selection of Yu! Snacks for the purpose of this review - all thoughts and opinions are my own*

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Green smoothie recipe

Recipe by Pille @ Nami-Nami. Above photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the September 2013 issue of Kodu ja Aed ("Home and Garden", an Estonian monthly magazine. I've been their food writer since October 2012)

Here's a recipe for a healthy and delicious pick-me-up smoothie for those days that kids have been driving you crazy, the to-do-list doesn't seem to get any shorter however hard you try, and you simply have no time to cook anything decent for yourself. It's the matter of peeling three fruits and throwing them into the blender (and rinsing the blender afterwards). I'll find time for that any day :)

The green smoothie - if the name didn't give it away already - is the one third from the left on the above photo. Feel free to guess what the other three are ;)

Green smoothie
(Roheline smuuti)
Serves 2

2 kiwis
1 banana
1 avocado
200 ml orange juice*

Peel the banana, kiwis and avocado. Place the flesh into your blender. Add the orange juice and process till smooth. Serve at once.

If you want your smoothie thinner, then add more orange juice, ice or ice-cold water.

* Ideally freshly squeezed, but any good-quality bottled juice will work as well.

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Feeling a Little Lost.....

James had his first day at school yesterday. I wanted to write this post then but words actually failed me as I couldn't decide what I wanted to say. I'm still a little unsure now so please forgive my rambling.

It doesn't seem like two minutes since the midwife was placing a little bundle in my arms. I knew he was my last baby (we had decided before I got pregnant that with 3 boys between us already another baby would complete our family) so had decided I would cherish every little minute.

When everyone found out it was yet "another" boy there were a lot of comments along the lines of "didn't you want a girl" and "oh she'll be trying for that girl just you watch" but the truth is although I would have given anything for a girl it wasn't to be and I could have continued "trying" but seriously there has to be a time when you finally say enough is enough. We certainly couldn't afford more than the children we have and we certainly couldn't fit anymore in our home! but I am very happy with my 3 very happy and healthy boys. Yes it took me a while to get to this happy place but I now know that I'm very happy and wouldn't change them or our family for the world.

So fast forward 4 years and here we are first day at school. The years have gone scarily fast and there is so much that has happened within them.

However, I am now finding myself sat at home watching the clock (sort of). For the last 8 years I have been a stay at home mum and have known nothing else. It is very quiet in the home and although I have a list a mile long of all the things I should or could do at the minute I just don't want to do them. I know I want to go back to work but again I am unsure what I want to do. I am at a crossroads in my life and I am at a total loss as to which way to go. I have a big birthday coming up next month and one that I think i am actually quite sad to be approaching but I will meet that and anything else that comes my way head on. Who knows what the future holds, definitely a wedding and lots of school runs that's for sure. Maybe I should start up my driving lessons again, go horse riding or take up a sport.

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Fellowes Powershred 73Ci Review

Identity fraud is something that could affect anyone, fraudsters don't discriminate and will target both businesses and individuals, they simply do not care who you are they just want your details. 

Having your identity stolen isn't just an inconvenience, it can be devastating and life changing. It can make you insecure and untrusting of everyone and everything.  I would like to think that I am quite aware of scammers and the tricks that they use online, I protect my passwords, I don't send my details to suspicious looking emails (and I must get about 100 a week many of which say I've won the lottery or been left millions of pounds (I wish) or the ones supposedly from the banks saying that my account has been suspended even though I don't bank with them, or ones from Paypal saying I need to make a payment) but I'd also like to think that I am the same when it comes to protecting my identity in everyday circumstances too as I never throw personal information away in the rubbish and I always try to cut up my old bank cards.

Recently I was asked to review the Fellowes Powershred 73Ci. According to the box it is the world's toughest shredder. I was interested  to see if this was true.

The first thing I noticed is that the shredder is very well packed and upon opening the box is that minimal assembly is required (perfect for people like myself who are no good with these kind of things). All you need to do to get the shredder ready for use is to push the four castors into place ( the shredder is quite heavy and it moves a lot easier on the castors) then place the heavy motor/feed housing onto the base. It really is as simple as that.

A shredder is a great way to dispose of household documents that may expose a families personal information including addresses and bank details and is a useful tool to protect against fraud, it takes next to no time at all if you keep on top of shredding unwanted documents and personal information. One of the main things that I love about the 73Ci Shredder is that it can also shred debit / credit cards and CDs, not just paper. 

You can shred up to 12 sheets of paper at once but I tend to keep it to around 9 or 10. There is no need to take out paper clips or staples either as they can be shredded too making the shredding taking even less time. The shredder cuts each piece into 4x38mm cross-cut particles.

The shredder features a patented SafeSense™ technology that ensures the safety of the user by automatically disabling the shredder when sensing hands or pets are too close to the paper feed. An electronic sensor surrounds the shredder’s paper entry and shuts down the machine immediately when it comes in contact with the energy field created by humans and larger pets. This is great for us with three small children and a very nosy boxer dog.

The shredder has a touch sensitive back lit panel that has a range of warning lights. These are bin full, remove paper, bin open, overheat and SafeSense. These will remain unlit unless there is a problem. It also has a built in energy saving system that reduces in-use energy consumption by up to 70% when in use, it powers down when it has been inactive for 2 minutes. 

The 73Ci has a 23 litre pull out bin which is ample enough to keep you shredding away without having to empty the bin too often.

Key features of the shredder:

• Shreds 12 sheets per pass into 4x38mm cross-cut particles 
• 100% Jam Proof system eliminates paper jams and powers through tough jobs
• Patented SafeSense® Technology stops shredding when hands touch the paper entry
• Energy savings system reduces in-use energy consumption and powers down after periods of inactivity.
• 23 litre pull-out bin for easy emptying

You can purchase this shredder for around £180.00 but this will depend on where you purchase it from. It can be bought both online and in store. 

This shredder is ideal for a small office or in the home. It is quite when in use, can be easily moved around from one room to the next if needed. I would highly recommend getting a shredder like the 73Ci as it gives the user piece of mind that they have destroyed the personal information and that the paper can then be disposed of safely.




*I was sent this item for the purpose of this review - all thoughts and opinions are my own*

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Wedding Planner Book Review

As many of you may have read in some of my previous posts, Matthew and I have finally started to plan our wedding can host more than one wedding each day. We don't really have a date set in stone but we know we would love it to be either summer 2014 or 2015. Luckily for us the place we have in mind can be booked at short notice. I think the last time I looked at their Facebook page they had 6 weddings one day and only two the day before and three the day after, so I am hoping that we can be just book something with a couple of months notice once we have everything planned and paid for. We already know we are having an intimate ceremony with the boys and our close family and then a big reception when we come home for all our family and friends. As both of our families are so big there was no way we could invite everyone or have a shortened list without upsetting someone. 

Luckily for me I was recently asked to review a wedding planner book from Paper Themes. Paper Themes are a company who specialise in wedding invitations, but they also sell lots of other wedding related items too.

The planner is beautifully decorated with a bird and heart print. It looks both elegant and stylish. When I first opened up the planner I was suprised as to how well everything was set out. Inside the planner there is a guide showing you needed to plan the perfect wedding. The guide has six tabbed sections with card and plastic pockets for easy storage and reference. 

The planner has an undated calendar, space for guest lists and important contacts, bride, groom, bridesmaid, best man and usher measurements, a budgeting sheet with all the different things you need to buy or plan so you can keep track of your costs and space for your present list plus much more.

The planner is priced at £19.99. I didn't even think about using a planner like this when I first started to organise our big day as I didn't think we would need one with our wedding only being a reasonably small occasion but after a closer look I have quickly realised that I would easily forget to include a lot of things that we would want or need. Or I would more than likely lose one of my many lists that I so love to make for everything. The planner is ideal as you can keep all your wedding related items together. It isn't too big so can be carried around with you if needed too. I am hoping that by using the planner my big day will be planned and organised with very little stress. I shall no doubt keep you all posted of our developments.

*I was sent this item for the purpose of this review - all thoughts and opinions are my own*

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