I know I've got myself a bit of a reputation online for liking a tipple sometimes in an evening, but I'll let you into another little secret... I also quite like a non-alcoholic beer every now and again... I've always enjoyed the taste of beer, and when I was pregnant with Master C I started to absolutely crave the stuff. Obviously there are rules about drinking when pregnant (let's not open that can of worms right now) but I chose to try to find alternatives, and so spent what felt like the entire nine months trying to find a good non-alcoholic beer. Towards the end I had indeed managed ... read more
Loud And Proud, Be Focal About The Stuff You Love In Your Home
Sometimes, you spend time finding the look for a room, finding the right furniture, colors, and little additions, but it feels like it still lacks impact. That might be because your focus is a little too broad. The whole room doesn’t have to define its look. Sometimes, that’s best done by one feature above all else. That feature is your focal point. We’re going to look at a few options that make for great focal points, why they help a room, and how you help them along. Link Something already there There’s a good chance that you might have something in the room that makes a perfect ... read more
Thrown For A Loop: The Best Roller Coasters That Any Thrill Seeker Needs To Try!
Picture Credit There are those who get all of the excitement that they need out being curled up with a good book and a nice cup of cocoa. Then there are those who aren't happy unless they're experiencing a truly ridiculous, white-knuckle thrill ride! Roller coasters are one of those things that you're always going to either love or totally hate. For those who don't enjoy them, there's no force on earth that will get them into one of those seats, but for those who do, there's nothing quite like in the world! If you're the kind of person who can't get enough of loops, inversions, and ... read more
A Very Pompom Christmas – 20 Festive Projects to Make
October on the calendar means it's perfectly acceptable to talk about Christmas right? I hope so, as that's exactly what I plan to do today as I review the amazing book A Very Pompom Christmas from GMC Books. Written by Jemima Schlee, the subtitle of this book is 20 festive projects to make, and that's exactly what it is. Now, I've come across Jemima Schlee before after picking up one of her previous books, Take a Tea Towel on a GMC stand at Knitting and Stitching, and so I had rather high hopes for this book and they were certainly met by it. I love a Pompom. There's just something ... read more
5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Thunderbirds are go! #ThunderbirdsDay
I'll let you into a little secret. My real first name isn't actually Penny. If you look in my passport you'll find that I'm actually a Penelope. Not the most common of names, but one that has a few famous owners. One of the most notable of which being Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds. Back at junior school the playground taunts were usually around being called Lady Penelope and other children teasing a boy in my class with the surname Parker about whether or not he was my chauffeur. I'd never really seen Thunderbirds at the time so had absolutely no idea what they were on about. Fast ... read more
As easy as riding a bike…
Do you remember learning to ride a bike? For years I struggled so much with balancing, then one day I was round at a friends house on a playdate and somehow I just mastered it. I've still no idea how I did it, but things just clicked and the next thing I knew I was happily riding around her garden as if I'd been doing it for years. There's something about riding a bicycle that I just love. A sense of freedom as you ride along with the wind in your hair. Or more accurately nowadays, with the wind rushing past your aerodynamically designed cycling helmet! It may not have the same romantic ... read more
Enhancing Your Life Both in and out of Work through Communication
Many people see their work life and their life outside of work to be two completely entities. Many people see the clock striking 5 o’clock (whenever they finish work) as their chance to leave their work life behind for a bit and concentrate on their other life: their ‘real’ life. But why must there be such a difference between work life, and life outside of work? Why can’t we do things at work to enhance our life outside of it, other than just make the money to fund it? And why can’t we do things outside of work that will benefit us during it without it making us feel down or tired? We can ... read more
Go Back To School Before You Go Back To Work
It’s a competitive world out there, and even if you’ve only taken a year off work to raise your kids, you’re still at a disadvantage from your colleagues and competition. Even if you believe you’re still qualified for a certain position, someone else might have gained experience or a qualification in the past year to give them a slight edge. No matter how old you are, or where you are in your career, it never hurts to earn a few extra skills outside of work. If you’re hoping to go back to work in the near future, perhaps your should consider going back to school first. ... read more
Meccano Off Road Racer
As a child Meccano was always one of those toys that I wanted to play with, but I never seemed to be allowed to do so. We had a small kit at home and I have vague memories of my Gran having some in her sideboard cupboard, but then I have no recollection of it ever coming out for us to play with. Instead we just seemed to always play Pick Up Sticks with her at her dining table whenever we visited. My Dad always used to speak fondly of building Meccano structures and machines when he was a lad and seeing as he went on to be a mechanical engineer I guess that makes sense. I also have fond ... read more
Goodbye old car, hello new family bus!
Change, change, change. That's what life has been full of recently. At times it is utterly exhausting, but there's certainly no chance of me being bored in the near future and I'm one of those people who seems to thrive from being busy. One of the latest big changes has been saying goodbye to my trusty old set of wheels and buying a new (to us) car. It's not a step that I was expecting to take as I'd always assumed that my old Skoda estate would keep going forever. I'd had it since LMC was only about six months old and since then it had been on numerous trips around the country, carted a ... read more