How my Diet is going.

I'm approximately 5'7" tall, and at Christmas I weighed 11st (154lb)

I decided to take part in Dry January which was the only reason I weighed myself. I never normally bother, but I wondered if the lack of alcohol would lead to weight loss.

I added a Diet app to my mobile devices and PC and went for the 'calorie counting' option.

Fat Secret Diet App

I am not here to body shame anyone, nor to tell you how to diet if you choose to. I'm just sharing my experience so far, since January the 1st.

During January, mainly due to the sudden loss of empty calories in all that wine and beer I was no longer consuming, I lost a pound a week.

At the start of February, with some joy I was back to beer and cava, but as I had discovered that both non alcoholic lager and non alcoholic red wine were actually quite nice, I decided to stick to having alcohol at weekends only, and of course to include it in my daily calorie allowance.

Non alcoholic Red Wine

For slow weight loss my app suggested I stick to 1700 calories a day. That felt OK to me and so that's what I've been sticking to. For me using the app to record things helps me to stop and think...do I need to eat? Am I hungry? Is this the best option?

Seeing what is in each meal has made me make different choices and discover some great new foods that have helped me stay on course on my diet. I'm still losing about a pound a week, I hope to get to 10st..but I wonder if I could get down to 9st 7lb which I think would feel right for me.

So, things I have discovered.

• non alcoholic wine and beer - lots less calories, satisfies the urge for a drink, tastes nice
• savoury popcorn, delicious, low calorie, great for snacking on and takes a while to eat thus keeping you busy too.
• Quorn, much lower calorie than meat. Excellent sausages fried up in a tiny bit of oil with onions and tomatoes. Really filling for next to no calories.
• Water, drinking lots of water has helped keep hunger at bay, it's good for you to stay hydrated too. 
• Planning meals - not every meal, I'm not that organised! But planning a salad for tea when you know there is a high calorie lunch in the offing, or having a light lunch when there might be (real) wine at dinner.
• Cottage cheese. I love cottage cheese, the low fat versions with pineapple are delicious and filling. Tasty snack or addition to a green salad.
• Balsamic vinegar, hardly any calories compared to thick salad dressings but really full of flavour, excellent drizzled over crisp green lettuce.
• Sushi, I found a brand of sushi with only 200 calories a pack. really nice low cal lunch!
• Low fat Greek yoghurt, really filling, low calorie and even the addition of a spoonful of honey doesn't take it too far into the 'treat' zone. Also nice with fruit or on a hot Quorn chilli.

  

  Quorn 'chicken style' fillets with spicy tomato sauce and rice

The diet is going well, I'm still on track, even though I took the week o f half term off completely - didn't record food or exercise and had more than usual of both! I still lost a pound. Partly as I still find it easier not to snack too much.

I plan a snack at 10.30 am with a cup of coffee (I have breakfast at 7am) so I'm really eating every 4 hours or so, with a longer gap in the afternoon (where I might just have a coffee). Looking at my diet history I start the day with fairly high carbs, about 300 calories, then have about 150 calories as a snack, 400 calories for lunch and the rest as a blow out dinner (I'm often under the 1700calories I'm allowed)

So am I always full? No. Does it need will power? Yes. Is it difficult?...well I'm not finding it difficult so far. I haven't had to cut out anything, just change the portion size or plan other meals around it , sometimes finding a better, lower calorie thing to replace part of a meal. I'm finding I eat more vegetables, especially salad and leafy stuff...at this rate I'll start to tell you how great kale is! (don't panic, I'm not going to start adding cauliflower to everything and pretending to be a caveman)

You can follow what I'm up to on the app at fat secret if you are interested. Are you dieting? How's it going?

Load of Bollocks

It's charity Tuesday!

I'm a lady. I am the mother of a teen girl. I do have a husband but I'll admit we rarely discuss testicles. I mean, you don't, do you.(except you - you weirdo)

But apparently we should do! It's all well and good us ladies marching about with our boob awareness and Cop a Feel campaigns and the like, but we mustn't leave out the chaps!

So gents, don't be afraid to 'talk balls' (you do enough of it usually) get in there! Talk Balls to your sons, your friends. Make testicles top of the chat list this Friday in the pub. Mums of sons, pluck up your courage! Talk Balls!!

Over 2,200 young men aged 15-44 are diagnosed with testicular cancer each year. (One of my mates had a testicle removed due to cancer when we were about 18 - he's now a grown up (!) father of two)

Orchid’s ‘Father and Sons’ campaign hopes to encourage men to feel confident talking to their sons about testicular cancer, and ensure they know how to check for signs and symptoms.

Orchid commissioned a survey and new stats show:

• 42% of parents do not regularly talk to their children about health issues or concerns
• 20% of parents never broach the issue with their children
• 30% of parents do not feel confident discussing how to check for signs and symptoms of testicular cancer
• 76% would sooner refer their child to a GP rather than raise a health-related concern with them directly
• Only 36% of 18-34 year olds are confident recognising the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer – a remarkable 20% lower than breast cancer

Watch the video (it made me laugh), share on twitter, #talkballs

For advice and support on testicular cancer please visit www.orchid-cancer.org.uk

Day out to London, China Town, Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year! This year is the year of the sheep, I'm not sure if that is auspicious or not as I have no knowledge of western horoscopes never mind Eastern ones! I am a snake, DD is a rabbit and that's about all I know.

The last time we went to China Town DD was about 8 and it was the year of the rat, I think she still has a lucky red rat somewhere that we bought there.

This year we tool a leisurely train trip and a wander to China Town. We strolled from Victoria past Buckingham palace, being in the right place at the right time to see a royal palace coach drive by.

We walked through Green Park , then on past The Ritz, and took a look at Eros in Piccadilly before exploring Soho, DD was wearing tight skimpy shorts and has legs to die for so no surprise we got a lot of catcalls, stares and general hassle. I think she was torn between terror and pride. A whole education at each sex shop window, a discussion as to how sticky a 'private viewing booth' might be and then we escaped to China Town.

 We went to a little restaurant we had had recommended to us and I had some dim sum (best spicy dumpling soup ever!) and Dd had lemon chicken, her favourite Chinese dish.
I avoided some of the more unusual items on the menu...

But I did have some fried squid and chilli sauce.

After lunch we went to the half term hell that was Hamleys. and then staggered to a Turkish coffee shop for coffee, hot chocolate and the prettiest little macaroons (which I totally forgot to photograph but were delicious)

Then home on the train with only a tiny visit to Paperchase first.

The train was absolutely packed and I had to use my Southern Rail Priority seat card to ask someone to give me a seat - DD joked "what if they have a hidden disability too? Does it become like disabled Top Trumps?" I think she may be on to something! And thanks to the deaf man that stood so I could sit down. And to the lady that offered to stand too.

Home exhausted by 9pm

Book Review - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

I bought this book on advice from an online friend. Everyone told me how amazing it was. No one seemed to have found it boring or badly written so I bought a copy. I liked the idea that it mentioned  Berwick on Tweed, where I went to high school. I also thought the premise sounded interesting, a middle aged (old?) man who decides to do something fairly odd for a fairly odd reason and does it on a whim and totally unprepared.

It is not a spoiler to let you know it's about a man that walks, he walks a long way in an attempt to visit and possibly save a friend from his past. On his journey he thinks a lot, realises things about himself and his family, and also meets other people who help or hinder him by turns.

So first, the good. I liked the writing and the story got going pretty quickly. While the main plot got moving quickly the characters were explained slowly as Harold walked, and we realised things as he did. The characters themselves were brilliantly written, realistic and tender. Harold was shown as both weak and strong by turns, the characters, like real people, were not clearly good/bad, strong/weak but a mixture of complex thoughts, ideas and emotions. Small things became magnified and the finale of the book was incredibly moving. I cried unattractively (there was snot) through the last couple of chapters of the book.

Then the not so good, there were things written in a way so as to trick the reader into thinking one thing while another was true and this was a sort of twist at the end. Sadly I saw it coming from the beginning. This didn't really spoil the end but I felt a bit cheated knowing the author was trying to keep secrets from the reader, and yet not well enough to actually trick me! There were several bits where the new characters Harold met were glossed over into a quick paragraph. I found this a real shame as each person he met was usually written with great care and they were each very interesting. To suddenly have a paragraph that effectivly siad "then he walked a load more and met loads more people" felt lazy and a distracting. I wanted to know about all of the people he met. Maybe the author thought it would make the book too long but I would have liked it.

So my conclusion. It wasn't a great book. But it was a good book. Worth a read, though not in public and you may need tissues. It was well written I just felt the author could have given the reader a little more.

For Goodreads I'll be giving it 4 stars.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - by Rachel Joyce.  This review written as part of

Wolves, and my take on 50 Shades

When my lovely teen daughter (hereafter known as DD) got into the car this morning she automatically flipped my car radio from radio 4 (don’t judge me – I’m 49) to radio 1. Because the film of the 50 Shades book series was premiered yesterday they were talking about it and even had Jamie Dornan in the studio. After 30 seconds, totally unprompted DD turned and said ‘why do they keep saying it’s a romance when it’s about abuse?’ (we have read some of the book together, I expect, being a teen she has read more with her school friends too)  And it's a good question.

Abuse of power in life and in relationships has obviously gone on for a long time, long before a mediocre set of novels and a film, portrayed damaged people in a damaging relationship, so why are we all (OK not all, but a fair few of us judging by twitter and the blogosphere) up in arms about this one? Maybe because it’s suddenly mainstream, discussed on Radio one at breakfast time, used by every marketing agency going (stop it, it’s lazy at best and vulgar at worst – have some pride). Maybe because young women like my daughter are talking about it in the playground and lots of them are not like DD, lots of them are seeing it as ‘real love’.

Look how much he loves her! He follows her! He wants her all to himself! He loves her so much she is his and his alone, she’s not allowed friends! It’s so romantic!

Last time Dd and I discussed a relationship in the media with this much hype it was the Twilight saga. Both DD and I loved the books (again, stop with the judgy looks) and we quite liked the movies (despite Kristen’s constant miserable expression). I was very Team Edward (I love vampires) and DD was Team Jacob (I believe her reasoning was ‘I like my men hot and hairy’ can’t argue with that!) so we talked about the dynamic of each relationship. We concluded that Jacob loves Bella more than Edward does. Edward is selfish, hungry and obsessed. It looks like love but it’s obsession and desire. Jacob lets Bella go because he wants her to be happy. Yes the old “If you love something let it go” is a cliché but it’s also true.

Christian Grey gets away with his obsession and desire and selfishness because he is rich, handsome and powerful. Just as Edward is.

I don’t want stories like Anastasia and Christian’s to be banned. I want them watched, but what I do want is people to stop romanticising an unbalanced relationship. To stop saying that control, stalking and violence are romantic or the fault of the victim (I can’t help it – I love you so I get angry)

Fantasy is fine, S&M is fine, it’s all fine if you know what it is. But Fifty Shades is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

And if my daughter ever dates a wolf I’d like it to be a Jacob Black style wolf, not a Christian Grey one.

What do you think? Have you read the book or seen the movie? Did you love or loathe them?

Valentine Gift Ideas - With Flamingo Gifts

I was recently made aware of Flamingo Gifts. A simply wonderful online retailer of all things lovely! I was almost instantly in love with the site and that love was set fast after they sent me some pretty things to play with!

I can't help thinking they are the perfect place to buy Valentines Gifts. They really do have something for every one. I decided to do a top ten, but it was hard to restrict my love of the goodies on offer to ten, so if you need to know what I really love, check out the new Pinterest Board I made just for Flamingo Gift products (yes they are that good!)

So here are my Top Ten Gift Ideas for the one you love (also suitable for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas etc)

1. I'm going to start with a slushy romantic one but we all know that I will get silly soon. This is rather adorable though and would also make a lovely wedding present.At only £5.99 and 1p postage it's not going to break the bank either, so if you are on a budget you can still spoil your significant other.

And they lived happily ever after £5.99

2. Next is a more personal idea, something for the one you love rather than the home, and yes it's a teeny bit cheeky, perfect for holding business cards or little love letters, or even french letters (see what I did there?) The perfect gift for your mummy or daddy blogger other half?

Condoms pocket Box - £5.94

3. Next in my countdown of awesome gifts, the cute and practical Clippy bag - fill with your own photos (no downloading beard pics off the internet, laminating them and using them, that would be wrong, and I certainly haven't done that with mine!) to personalise it and make it the cutest Valentine ever, you could add little love notes too!

Clippy Photo bag - £8.00

4. Still on a bag theme (we can never have too many!) For the romantics how about a weekend bag? Let your loved one know you fancy a weekend away..or maybe that you are thinking of taking them on a quick get away (I hear Brighton is nice) Stylish and unusual, a really great bag!

Weekend Bag - £39.99

5. Or why not show your love that you want them to be your companion by buying them this super Tardis Shower curtain, I'm not convinced it will make your shower cubicle or bath bigger on the inside but you could try it out - let me know how many people you manage to squeeze in!

Dr Who Tardis Shower curtain - £24.99

6. Something beautiful for the beautiful one in your life? These bangles showered with tiny hearts are just adorable. Unusual and pretty they will set off any outfit (top tip - don't present your girlfriend with a jewellery box on Valentines day unless you are proposing marriage!)

Heart Bangles in gold plate - £16.99

7. If you have a real fire, or like to cosy around a garden fire pit then these mystical coloured fire dust sachets are just the romantic thing. 10 sachets for £12.99 with each sachet giving you around about 30 minutes of colour changing flames. So snuggly. Let your lover know they light your fire *nudge nudge*

Fire Changing Dust - £12.99 for 10 sachets

8. Ok how about something more light hearted - maybe you are only just into a relationship and you don't want to go all crazy yet..how about something bacon themed! Flamingo Gifts have so many awesome bacon flavoured and scented stuff I really don't know where to start - click the picture to see the range, honestly they are warped, they really love bacon...so...go bacon!

Bacon Candy  - £5.50

9. Oh and who could resist a retro tin to keep all those love letters, cinema tickets, photos and romance memorabilia in? Flamingo gifts have a beautiful range of Wu & Wu retro tins, from biscuit tins, sewing kits, tea and coffee tins to this colourful 'Special Things' tin...if you are feeling very flash why not pop two tickets to Paris inside...or a pizza voucher , your call.

Peacock Tin - £8.99

10. And finally for anyone pissed off at Valentines day and feeling pretty miffed and unloved, why not treat yourself to a gift. Flamingo Gifts stock a huge range of Lolita hand painted glasses at £16.99 they really are lovely (they sent me a tattoo themed one to try out!) Beautifully packaged and large enough to have a proper drink! Also pretty enough to use as decoration. Too nice to hide in a cupboard. Check out the range on the site. But this one, is just for you.

Single and Loving It Wine Glass - £16.99

Big thanks to Flamingo Gifts for letting me try some of their fab items, and I'm certain I'll be visiting often for gifts in the future. Such lovely things.

Do check the Pinterest Board for more of my favourites.

And snap, the job’s a game

Mary Poppins was my daughter’s favourite movie when she was little, in fact I’m not so sure it isn’t still. She adored Mary of course and the fun that the children had with her. As a child with an older dad DD could see similarities with the Banks’ children’s desire to play with their dad (although DD’s dad is a SAHD so she has plenty of time with him, he’s not at the bank all day)*

Maybe my blogging is like Mrs Banks’ militant marching! DD would even forgive the dreadful animatronic robin, to watch the story of Mary and the children having adventures in pictures and across the London rooftops. (With rather mysterious chimney sweeps – and if you think that’s odd you really should read the book – dark is not the word!

So through her childhood I have taken advice from the lovely Ms Poppins. Particularly the advice that boring tasks can be made fun and then, “snap! The job’s a game!”. I was reminded of this when someone on Twitter asked how to stop yelling at their child to do things (such as get dressed!) because none of us like yelling but sometimes stuff needs to be done. I suggested a game. How about a race to get dressed – works well with siblings but mums and dads can play too, or a treasure hunt for the clothes? Maybe with a timer too – a race against the clock!

@Rachel_IRL make it a game? Race to get dressed? Hide the clothes and hunt to get dressed? Reward with breakfast?
— Tattooed_Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) February 6, 2015

(Btw I wasn't implying no breakfast for naughty children! LOL more the sort of "first one dressed and downstairs can choose the cereal" sort of thing.)

Lots of things can be part of a game if you try, and while you might think you don’t have time to play sometimes (often!) it’s quicker than the nagging, the whining and the shouting!

So a cry of “we are off to hunt for food! To the wheeled hunting machine!” will often fill car seats faster than “go and get in the car…where are your shoes? No! now go and get in the car!”

Don’t we all recall playing at not stepping on cracks as we walk down a paved street? Eye-spy is a great game on a walk or a car journey, start with a list of 5 things to spot, distraction is a great help for tired legs (for a while at least!)

And “Who can find the blue crisps and 3 red peppers?” Can make shopping not only fun and faster but educational too! And rewards are nice too – remember the spoonful of sugar? Why not try that in the supermarket! “Any one that helps fill the basket can choose one yogurt/smoothie/comic etc of their own when all the shopping is done…”

What are your games to get things done? Do you play or are you the boss? Have you tried any games that have gone spectacularly wrong?!

Botox - would you?

I’ve seen a few people online on Facebook or twitter extolling the amazing properties of Botox lately. I’m not going to moan on about how it’s made or what’s in it, or the dangers of untrained people administering it, I’m going to assume that’s all taken into account and dealt with.

What I really don’t understand is why. I get that it works, that it paralyses the muscles and so causes less wrinkles. But it paralyses the muscles and makes you less human. A lack of facial muscle contractions takes you one smooth (pun intended) step closer to Barbie doll plastic 'perfection'. The loss of expression seems so close to erasing a personality. The adverts even tell you how you need to start early because you need to stop any lines being created. I've looked at some before and after photos and I'm not sure I want to go from looking mildly grumpy to looking blankly surprised.

I like my lines. They show that I have history, experience, life, behind me. I’m not exactly the old ‘wise woman’ of days of yore, but I do feel comfortable in my ‘lived in ‘skin’. This week I tried some new makeup (I don't 'do' makeup) and I was surprised and mildly freaked out by the weird 'airbrushed' effect it gave me. I wore it for a day but I'm not sure I'd wear it again, maybe when I'm off out for an evening, because..I didn't look like me!

Me

Staying fit and healthy is one thing as you get older, but trying to stay permanently young? I’m not a fan. I’d like to be the sort of person to say “you do what makes you happy! You go girl!” but I fear that it’s not a good thing to want to stay young looking forever, it’s the same old thing that women get told daily by all forms of media, we are only worth our looks. Our looks are what define us. Dress well, dress sexy, wear make up, look good, look young, look sexy…all of which is fine I guess…but not at the expense of “ugh you look old and are therefore ugly..and worthless”. Do men have this pressure too now? Do men get Botox?

What do you think? Would you love a course of Botox injections? Why?

Spying - is it ever OK?

Spying. Is it ever OK.

I’m not talking about countries sending agents undercover, or industrial espionage. I’m not talking hiring private detectives, or wearing false moustaches, or cunning disguises and following people. In fact I don’t really think I mean spying…maybe I’ll start again.

Watching what your kids get up to. Is it ever OK.

Ah that sounds better. More like what I’m going to talk about with the added benefit it makes me sound like less of a weird stalker of my own child.
I adore the DD, infuriating as she can be, and since the age of 8 she has had a mobile phone. At 13 she got a Facebook account and now at 15 she has a laptop of her own, snap chat, twitter, a blog (long neglected!) , email…well you get the picture. She has a busy online life.

When she was younger we added an app to her phone that would either ring the phone when the phone was lost (even if the phone was set to silent) or would send back a location text to the texter (you needed a secret code of course) and she knew about the app, she liked that it helped to find her phone, and she understood that it would also let us find her location if she had the phone with her when she went out.

Once she got Facebook my biggest worry was not her being groomed and kidnapped (though that was up in the top ten worries), my biggest fear was cyberbullying and the worry that she wouldn’t tell me. So I set her email to forward to mine.

Her email still forwards to mine now – I never read the email, I usually just delete it, but there is security in knowing that it’s there. That if there was a problem I can check what’s going on. (Not that that was of any help to Breck Bednar’s mum who knew exactly what was happening and even called the police) DD knows that I get the emails and that I don’t read them. She seems ok with it, my own computer log on at home is not secret; she can check my emails as easily as I can check hers. We are friends on Facebook too, she asked me! And we follow each other on twitter, and Pinterest.
Mainly I’ve found the fact we are open and talk about online issues helps the most, she knows not to reveal too much about herself, she knows that people lie and she will talk to me about things that upset her.

 I read recently that some parents think microchipping their children with GPS tracking chips is the way forward! I was stunned, even I think that's a step too far!

Do you keep an eye on your child’s online life? Is it OK to? And when do you stop! I don’t want to be the spying mum but it’s hard to let go. (Hello Mum, I know you are reading this, I'm fine)

Oh and I do tease DD sometimes…when I get her YouTube notifications…she does watch an awful lot of Tom Daley videos…

Pocket Money - or 'should I pay my kid to live here?'

People are often confused about pocket money for children. To give or not.

On the one hand it can seem as if randomly throwing some cash at a child is spoiling them beyond reason and yet expecting them to have no money of their own and thus no power to buy their own things is controlling on a parent's part.

Many parents will suggest 'let them earn it by doing jobs around the house' but then the other side will counter with 'but they should help out anyway, no one pays me to mow the lawn'. And this is true but someone somewhere is paying you something...(unless you won the lottery, are an independently wealthy peer of the realm) You either get some sort of government payments if you don't or cannot work, or you get paid if you have a job. So it would seem reasonable to give your child the same life, albeit on a smaller scale. (and no you can't send them up chimneys anymore - and yes they can get 'a real job' but they must be 13 and can only work part time)

The thing about pocket money is that it can help a child to learn, it can let them understand waiting, budgeting, saving, the value of things and these are vital skills for later in life. Your 10 year old may moan he can't afford the latest transformer toy because he spent his money on a Dr Who comic, but this a good lesson to learn now, before he arrives at University and spends a month's book budget on beer (bad example I bet he does that anyway!)

So let's assume you do think that a child should be given pocket money - now the inevitable problem of 'how much?' rears it's head! How much is too much, what is enough? what should a child be expected to buy with that money?

Of course I cannot answer for you. You have different circumstances and a different child to me! But things to take into account ar the age of the child, will any money be saved and how (would a bank account be a good idea, many teens like the 'adult-ness' of this and they can manage their money with a bank card)? Will your child have to buy things out of the money or is it proper 'treat money' to spend on non-essentials and days out etc. Will your child be expected to buy Christmas gifts for the family out of it for example.


So here is what we did, and what we do now. DD has had pocket money since she started school and was old enough to understand what money was. Initially she was just given 50p a week and it was for sweets or a small toy or whatever she wanted, she would often save it for a few weeks to buy something she wanted.

As she got older we continued to give her the 50p but we added the chance to earn more, do good homework and get 5p, be polite 5p reward, keep your room clean 10p etc

So by about 10 she was earning a £1 or £2 a week.

She is now 15 and gets £2 a week for existing, She also earns money in £1 or 50p increments for doing chores, getting good grades, doing homework without fuss etc. She 'takes home' nearer to £5 a week. I also top up her phone (GiffGaff - bargain sim deals!!) with £5 a month. So sh'e is probably getting £25 or £30 a month. (oh and that's another thing, paying weekly or monthly? Some choose to pay a child monthly to encourage bugeting but that can be tricky if they earn bits and pieces as the month goes on, you may need a book to keep notes!)

She doesn't have to buy her own shoes or clothes, but if she wanted something extra she would. She does have to find money for birthday gifts for her school friends, but at Christmas I often match what she has saved for gifts for the family. She saves a fair bit and tends to have shopping sprees with her mates. She has a bank account and likes using her debit card. Maybe we are lucky, but so far she seems pretty good with money, she doesn't 'borrow' and she understands about waiting until you can afford things.

What do you do about pocket money? I'd love you to comment. Am I over generous or really mean?

Online Chemist - Direct to you - a review

I work full time. I squeeze in blogging in lunch breaks and after work. I have a teen so I'm a mummy taxi sometimes too, especially at weekends. And while this menas that (retired) Mr TM gets the joy of most of the big foodshops (lucky him!) it means that shopping for me is a bit of a chore. Finding time to get stuff on the way home from work, limited to where ever is open, no time to browse...

So it was nice to be asked by Chemist Direct to check out their online Chemist Shop. They offered me a voucher code for  a discount in exchange for this review, so here it is.

The first thing I checked was whether the website was registered with the Pharmaceutical society. It's a way to ensure that you are buying medicines safely and legally. I'm pleased to say that Chemist Direct is registered and proudly display the logo and registration number on their homepage.

The site was easy to search and had lots of clear pictures of the products on offer, they have sale sections with all sorts of offers. And then the site is split into catergories such as Pet, Beauty, Mother and Baby, Vitamins, Healthcare etc and they even have an online Doctor. An online Chemist is not only convinient it means that you don't have to sit and chat face to face about an embarrassing problem!

I spent a good hour browsing the cosmetics and the perfumes, looking at the great value branded products and the electricls too (yes there is a sexual health section, they they sell sex toys, no I didn't buy any)

I chose some nail polish for DD (remember how keen she is on nails?) and some lovely aftershave balm from Crabtree and Evelyn for Mr TM and then some lip gloss and powder for myself...lipstick, powder and paint, is she is or is she ain't? well yes I am!

Delivery is free on orders over £30 and they often have fabulous clearance bargains with up to 70% off recommended prices so your money goes further, great for gift buying or as a treat.

I like the fact that you can shop 24 hours a day, the site is easy to use, and they accept payment via Paypal as well as the usual card payments.

The products are great value, there are some real bargains and bulk buys available too to save even more.

They arrived promptly and well packaged. Today I'm rocking some L'Oreal 6 hour glossy lip gloss (in Golden Tattoo colour naturally!) and DD is looking forward to some Bubblegum Pink 'Model's Own'  nails.

Why not start your first shop with £5 off using this link

What’s been happening in the world of TM - a catch up post

What’s been happening in the world of TM . Well Dry January is finally passed and I managed it without too much hassle. The discovery of a nice non-alcoholic red wine and a non-alcoholic lager did help. I also discovered a fair few juices and soft drinks that I liked too, not least the lemonade from Cawston, sharp and delicious, and the yummy rhubarb and apple. It was equally nice to celebrate a month of the booze with a whole bottle of cava on Sunday, leaving me a tad tipsy and struggling to make sense in tweets.

I think @tattooed_mummy has been celebrating the end of #DryJanuary! 😂 pic.twitter.com/CBrH20UTX1
— Samantha Gouldson (@SamGouldson) February 1, 2015

The experience of dry January has meant I plan to go back to only drinking alcohol at weekends, and sticking with my new non-alcoholic discoveries in the week. This is partly down to health but more down to my weight! Since before Christmas extra lard seems to have been sneaking its way under my skin in that cunning way it does. As you will remember I found a nice free diet app to help me keep track of what I was eating, and by cutting down I’ve so far lost half a stone in January. I hope to continue the slow weight loss until I’m under 10 stone, at which point I will be less strict with my diet but still keep an eye on things. As a deliberate (I’m pretty sure) attack on this, people keep bringing cakes into work, I am resisting.

I received my tower of London poppy back in January and finally put it all together and set it in a plant pot (next to my home-grown avocado) in the conservatory, it’s giving a splash of colour and reminding us daily of the futility of war – not that anyone in power seems to have noticed that, but still…

My tower poppy finally in place, with it's avocado friend. #towerpoppies @TowerPoppies pic.twitter.com/2OuoDb3GDt
— Tattooed_Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) January 31, 2015

On Friday DD bravely had a 3rd tooth extracted – ready for her new braces, in preparation for gorgeous film star teeth, I’ve promised she can have them whitened too when they are finally straight, people will mistake her for an American!

On Saturday we had a teensy bit of snow that barely hung around long enough for comment.

Our Dogs, RIP

On Sunday afternoon Mr TM foolishly mentioned he had been toying with the idea of getting a dog again. It’s been over a year since we lost our last dog and the house is ominously hair and mud free, his daily walks are boring and I think he would like to remedy all that. Of course DD and I were way too excited and keen and instantly began scouring lists of rescue dogs. Initially put off rescue when we saw some of the ‘rules’ the smaller charities had, we were heartened to see that the Dogs Trust is keener on making sure dogs and people are matched up and happy than in red tape, also the adoption fee was much less! Mr TM has now forbidden us to speak of dogs again until he’s made up his mind. This is me not saying that there are some extremely cute dogs at the Dogs Trust…and if we got one (which I’m not talking about) she would probably be a small, cute, young female, not a Jack Russell …maybe a staffy…but as I said…I’m not talking about dogs.