My Struggle With Pillows !

As you get older obviously to look after yourself from what you eat to what you sleep on , I know for certain that I always have a problem with my pillows no matter what I do or which ones I buy they die . I've tried buying both expensive pillows or one cheaper pillow to go underneath and an expensive one to go on top . Now I'm not saying there is some sort of pillow conspiracy going on but I don't think it's a far fetched idea as you might think.

I've tried those memory foam pillows and I'm sorry I find them just a slightly softer upgrade from a house brick , sigh forever am I going to be on a quest for the perfect pillows . Even when we stop in hotels I request extra pillows as I need 2 and everyone has to have 2 so we all match. 

 

When it comes down to it I suppose I'm quite fussy about my sleeping from bedding to pillows I can strip a bed in one go no problem but when it comes to remaking the bed ~ oh my goodness what a chore !!

There are many tips to help you sleep at night and finding the right pillows is just one of them ...

1. Try and go to bed at the same time every night , don't be wandering around found stuff particularly when your husband or partner has gone to bed on time < I'm guilty as charged , ooops!

2. Get as much natural sunlight as possible , I'm all for booking a holiday in the Caribbean but Mr T says " No " 

3. Move vigorously during the day ~ don't sit fir more than an hour , I've been guilty of this of late but I've dusted off my walking shoes and I'm going to get exploring.

4. Limit caffeine ,nicotine ,alcohol and big meals at night ~ well I don't smoke and I've got healthy with my meals of late.

5. Relax before bedtime with activities that are relaxing to you.

And to create a calm and restful sleep environment which I'm starting to do , I 've just had my bedroom window replaced ~ done on the day of Storm Doris !!

And as Mr T has a doddery back then maybe when he's greyer than he is now ( I've yet to go grey my what a miracle of science that is !! ) then perhaps we may look at an adjustable bed from the likes of Adjustamatic.

This is a collaboration post .

The Grateful Grumble

Ever had a grateful grumble ?

Some people might grumble that a Rose has thorns but I'm grateful that the thorns have the Rose .

I might grumble that I've nothing much to eat in the house but then I think back to the time that my mum had to go the food bank.

Some people might be sad that their fresh glowers are not blooming as they once might but I'm grateful that they bloomed as I feel they choose me to bloom for.

I grumble one day at a wet play at having to entertain 30 bright and energetic 6 year olds but I'm grateful they're so good and rounded !

"Real life for anybody "

 

Now that had me stunned you see children really are amazing in their understanding of the world , they really can teach us adults a thing or 2!

I grumble that my hair so curly whirly had but I'm grateful that my unique caring sharing empathetic head has this to cover it.

I grumble most certainly that I lost my Rollie Ninjakillercat this week but I'm grateful of the vets rushing to try and save his life.

 

Thai Pancakes

Thai pancakes are one of the hit of street food and it's always some where I have fancied travelling to as I love vibrant , colourful places that have an interesting cultural food heritage in particular. this would be an ideal recipe to cook with your children or friends as cooking together is do much more fun.

Cooking together gives you time to catch up and put the worlds to rights even if it's just talking about Peppa pig and her exploits ! The best bit of cooking I think is the end result , I'm quite an impatient cook at times I think as I want results straight away hence why I've only attempted soufflé once in my life !!

That could be thinking where else in the world I'd like to go to to experience many a culinary delights , I'm always looking always planning and that is the key I think to good travel plans along with of course planning your budget.

Ingredients

250 g plain flour
55 ml water 
1 egg
1 tbs coconut milk (or 1 tbl butter)
1 hint of salt

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients together 
2. Stir to form a smooth batter and gently fold the banana through 
3. Measure (60ml) ( which is about quarter of a cup ) measures of batter then fry in a lightly greased, non-stick pan for about a minute a side, or until golden.
4. Serve warm, drizzled with syrup or condensed milk.

 

I hope you have a wonderful pancake day and that your food may well influence you where you next go on holiday and as I have written this for Expedia they are a jolly good place to start with .

Rollie NinjaKillercat In Memory

The death of a cat is never easy and it never will be . I had lost the count of times when we went to the vets with Rollie for his annual routine injections to be told


"OOOOH he's a bit thin isn't he ?"


And we told tilted out heads breathed in and sighed out and explained


"But it's Rollie , he's always like that he lives on his nerves "



We tried feeding him first but it didn't work Rollie was Rollie and slim as a bean he was , not quite sure how a bean can be slim , who on earth came up with such a a phrase I'll never know.Rollie was very unique in the world of cats and indeed humans and I am far from unique is saying cats are brilliant

"Cats do exactly what they day they do on the tin


As the sunlight hit the ears of Jack I knew everything was going going to go on the earth would keep spinning and in some way my life would ecpdaiantly be unconvinced by my cat Jack in some way or other. One of the hard things is to type cat and not cats and I miss not finding Rollie in the sink , on the sink , on the bread board and basically anywhere else that he shouldn't of been.

The heart break is such as my son asking


"When are we going to pick Rollie up '

And that was one of the hardest things for me to take in. So I had to immediately ring Mr T and he rang the vets as I couldn't get hold of them on the Sunday despite me trying and I hadn't wanted to tie up their emergency line . Mr T rang the vets ( the news wasn't good  and J had only one lesson at sixth form sixth form so they went the the vets to say good bye . I had already said my goodbye went we went the the mergence vets on Friday , I can not deal with the end of life stage ever since losing my childhood pet cat Boots and my first cat as a couple Bilbo pretty much within a week of each other. I was at the hospital when all this was happening and it was closure of sort for my husband and son but we will always remember Rollie.

I had spoken to the vet on Saturday and this was went the vet said that they thought it was a brain parasite in the form of Toxoplasmis  and that they were going to treat him with antibiotics /steroids. The next stage the vet said was MRI scan and brain fluid and this was where we had the conversation that about the scan , the vet has to remain impartial in this situation as what ever source of action is down to the owner . I said "So if the steroids and antiobitcs don't work this is a situation that they can't come back from . The vet was good and allowed me to reach my own conclusions , there is always that glimmer of hope and I think the glimmer of hope in important in any time of need situation.


They both cuddled him as he slipped away and it wouldn't have been Rollie my husband said if Rollie had extracted some sort of revenge on them and fluffed all over their clothes.Rollie was part pedigree and really the most beautiful cat in the world and when we told him he was a cat he looked at us with his beautiful evil eyes , and with no pun intended if he had been a  little but for on the fluffy personality side then we would have shown him he was hardcore. He looked good in black and white photos ,colour you name it he was a show off in the best sense of the word . In fact he had it nailed before Kim Kardashian * I think he showed her the ropes so to speak but he did with more style and didn't have a big booty to match.

Ironically the death of Rollie Ninjakillercat is one of the easiest things I have had to write about , it is part of who I am Rollie is the reason this blog started and in all honesty , brutal honest cold hard of light of day truth combined with certain friendships I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for theres reasons.

Cat and humans are partnerships like Bert and Ernie from Seasame Street or Morecombe and Wise , Rollie was very much the straight man in the comical stakes.

Rollie 2008 -2017

Sorting Out The Family Finances

Student Finances


My son goes to University this year either at York or Nottingham to study archaeology , eeek so I thought I'd roll out some practical recipes , he's probably going into catered halls but having basic skills behind you is good. He has good GCSE cookery behind him which is a life skill you'll not forget. And choosing a good university  is key to getting the most out of the degree course you wish to study and it will set you with skills for life.

Ingredients 

Can of Corn beef

500g of carrots 

Dice Butternut Squash ( I used some frozen )

100 ml of Beef Stock

1 teaspoon of Worcester Sauce

1 teaspoon of mustard

1 tablespoon of tomato puree

Method



Place your veg is a pan and fill with cold water adding your diced carrots and butternut squash to this.

Bring to the boil and boil for about 5-7 minutes.

meanwhile , heat some oil in a frying pan next add the onion when the onion is softened .

Add the softened veg to the pan along with the corn beef and cook for 5 minutes.

Next combine the tomato puree and mustard together along with the Beef stock


Pout this over the mixture and continue to cook for another 10 minutes , stir round so everyone gets a share of the crispy bits !

When you have finished cooking the hash , you can either choose to serve with an optional fried egg or eat straight away .

 

The other side of approaching university student life is the financial side and this week I've been looking into this with the teen as we sort out some other matters at the building society . The building society my teen is at is the Nationwide , he's been there since he was a baby and even though he's now 18 he still needs financial guidance .

He can't take out a student account till 2 months before he starts his university degree and this  must be accompanied with his UCAS number , and your student account must be your own student account.

There are so many student accounts out there offering many incentives for you to sign up with them like a young persons railcard for instance but this is something we'd buy the teen anyway. More importantly there's the overdraft which isn't there as a you must use it's there as a what if , perhaps the wages from your student job are a day late or your living allowance is late.

Hopefully one for his his subjects he is going to get an A* which in many universities means some sort of financial reward.

The teen is getting to get a part time job but doesn't want to work in the restaurant industry again which is totally his choice , we did miss out one Christmas when he worked that day. But there are job advice shops at universities so he should have no trouble in finding a job that suits him and his Archaeology course. I have my fingers crossed that he is going to get a job at Betty's tea rooms if he gets his first choice of York . He has a conditional offer for both York and Nottingham university and he has worked his socks off for this.

Family Finances


Sadly at the minute Rollie aka Ninjakillercat  is rather poorly and we haven't got pet insurance so far we have spent £234 on his treatment , he is on a drip and will be receiving antibiotics /steroids for what ever is ailing him. The vets bills will continue to escalate but Rollie is family and in the mean time I have gone and insured Jack other cat which was around 36 pounds for the year and I did this through Topcashback . This contains an affiliate link to Topcashback if you haven't already signed up with them and wish to do so)


If you are in a situation perhaps a urgent car repair or boiler repair perhaps and you are perhaps going to be paid from work in the few days ,therefore being able to pay the money back then quick loans could be an option for you. You'll need to be aware that these types of loans attract a high interest  , they are designed really as a quick fix for your financial situation. You will need to pay the money back promptly so as not to see the interest keep being added.


This is a collaboration post.