Stressed Mum

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What a great day at the City of Manchester Stadium. City fought hard and came out deserving winners with a lovely goal from Carlos Tevez.

Cech had much more work to do than Joe Hart and City kept up the pressure. Vincent Kompany was superb, as were the rest of the team. The stress of watching, losing my voice through singing and shouting and jumping to my feet every few minutes with the rest of the crowd left me exhausted, buzzing and very happy.

I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures from outside the ground before the match. Even the sky was in City blue!

I wasn’t sure I needed an iPhone but since it arrived I have become addicted.

I use it to check emails, Facebook and Twitter. I do my online grocery shopping with Ocado, check in with Foursquare and sometimes even use it for phone calls and texts!

I recently downloaded the WordPress app and here I am writing my first blog post from my iPhone.

I’m not sure how I’ll get on typing posts up on the tiny keyboard but turning the phone sideways to make the keyboard wider certainly helps.

It will probably be easier to post photos too, but that’s for another day. Today I’m just going to write this short post and see how it looks.

I hope you’ll give me some feedback and maybe some advice too and then a longer, more interesting post will hopefully follow.

Neat and tidy - how long will it last?

I have been having a sort out. You need to understand that there are currently seven people living in our house. Two of them have moved back home complete with all their student house possessions and one is just here for the summer. One has a collection of shoes to rival Imelda Marcos and one is into music. He has keyboard and digital drums in his room. The main problem is the piano which is being delivered tomorrow. It has to go in the lounge.

I began by moving a pine bureau from the lounge into the hall. I opened the drawers and found many photos from when the children were young. I couldn’t just put them back without looking could I? So I spent an hour looking through them, remembering good times when they slept at night and played out during the day, unlike now. Then I moved the shoe rack in the hall into … nowhere because I need to clear out the cloakroom to make room for it. In order to clear out the cloakroom I need the owners of the coats it contains to identify and remove them so that only those which are actually worn remain. Ditto shoes. Everyone was asleep or out so I gave up and made meringue instead!

When I managed to pin them down they didn’t want 90% of what was in the cloakroom so I now have a lovely streamlined look. I also have a big bag of good coats for the charity shop and a few items to freecycle. There are still a few stray items but a job well(ish) done I think.

Now does anyone have any idea where to stash the contents of two student houses?

I recently began selling Jamie at Home products as a self-employed consultant. The concept is not unlike the old favourite Tupperware party. Get a few friends round for a drink and a chat and to hopefully buy some of the products on sale and the host gets commission to buy goods on the night, or bank the points to save up for something special.

The difference is you get to watch an exclusive DVD of Jamie Oliver cooking up a lovely recipe using all those must have products. So far I love it. Some friends have had parties for me and the home, kitchen and garden products are such good quality they practically sell themselves. The hosts are happy with their free stuff; I have an enjoyable evening, am kitting my kitchen out and earn commission too. I still have a couple of parties booked in but need to find a few new circles of people to hold parties for me. I think that will be the hardest part but worth the effort as I love all my new kitchen equipment and look forward to earning some money for a night out.  If you have any great ideas for getting new hosts then let me know.

I especially love the new outdoor products and I am getting some of these items together in anticipation of a lovely summer!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. For Christians this is a time of self-denial and preparation for Easter. It lasts 40 days and represents the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for his public ministry.
As a child I gave up various things during Lent; sweets, biscuits or sugar in my tea. In my teens we all wanted to sit at lunch with the girl who gave up puddings for Lent so we could eat hers!
In past years I have given up wine (difficult!), cakes, chocolates etc. This year I want to do something which might make a difference to other people as well as to me so I looked at Christian Aid’s Count Your Blessings ideas for Lent http://www.christianaid.org.uk/images/count-your-blessings-2010.pdf
This involves thinking about how we live and how others live and contributing money for all the blessings we enjoy. For me it won’t just be about putting the money on one side to help others but I hope it will encourage me to appreciate what I have. I have printed off the calendar and made a start, maybe you will too.

I saw this on A Mothers Ramblings and loved it so thought I would share it with you. It originally came from American Mom in England.

I have only managed 37 so far and am unlikely to do most of the others so maybe I will have a go at my own list. I’ll share that too when I’ve done it.

1. Started your own blog (You’re reading it!)

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped (Never!!)

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child (or 4!!)

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (No but seen a couple of good ones in Iceland)

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (They don’t come much stranger than my family!!)

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance (why would I wish for that?)

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling (Snorkelling on The Great Barrier Reef – I’m so lucky!)

52. Kissed in the rain (A long time ago!!)

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theatre

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favourite childhood toy (My Barbie dolls)

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar (not very veggi!)

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone (No thanks)

78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book 

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve (Does been kissed by a stranger count?!)

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club                                  

93. Got a tattoo

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

I don’t actually think I want to do all 99 anyway! Most of the American ones are a no-no for me as I have never been to America and have no particular desire to go (sorry to all my American readers – nothing personal you understand!) I’m sure The Blue Lagoon in Iceland, where I have swum, is better than The Great Salt Lake!

Do let me know if you put this on your blog or have any great ideas for my list (be sensible, I’m not as young as I was!)

It has been a while since my last post. Life has been busy, and stressful. I have been ill and one of my daughters involved in a car accident, fortunately she is ok just a broken ankle.
I decided it was time to get back to my blog and back to baking so this post combines the two!
Latest fun thing for me to make is bagels. I have to follow a low fat diet at the moment and they are great for that. I have tried out different types of flour and different toppings and decided that I like fennel seeds as a topping and 75% white, 25% wholemeal mix for the flour (although all white is good too!).
I use 450g flour, 1tsp quick yeast, 1Tabsp sugar, 2 tsp salt and 300ml warm water to make the dough. My trusty Kenwood Chef makes short work of the kneading and then I leave the dough to rise for an hour.
The fun aspect is dropping the bagels into boiling water with three tablespoons of sugar dissolved in it. After the dough has risen and the bagels shaped (twirling them round the handle of a wooden spoon is quite fun too!) they are dropped, 3 or 4 at a time into the water. They rise up to the top and you turn them over. After a couple of minutes you lift them out, drain off any water, sprinkle them with yummy seeds if you like and then bake them for 25 minutes. Delicious!
Check out my photo and give them a try, they really are easy. Let me know how you get on

Well it has been a busy month so far. Back to school, college and university for four occupants and a new degree course for me has meant a lot of time spent shopping, sorting, driving and working so I have decided now is the time for a major clutter sort out.

 I really need some more space in the study so that I can work whenever I get some time so that will be my number one priority, the kitchen is okay for now as it is quite new but the kids lounge and all the bedrooms could do with some attention so they will be tackled one at a time once the study is sorted. The garage also needs major de-cluttering but I hope that task will fall to my husband!

 We are major hoarders in this house so not only will we have to let go of some things which are rubbish but also those things which one day may come in useful and those which conjure up memories when we look at them. A lot of the children’s old stuff falls into that last category but as three of them are now grown up I am going to be strict with myself.

 Clutter not only looks untidy and makes it difficult to clean but it causes emotional stress too. It is frustrating to have to search every time you need something. I know it will take time to get the clutter under control but I also know it has to be done. So I am going to make a start by clearing the pile of papers on the right hand side of my computer. I knocked my coffee all over them this morning so they are slightly damp and have to be sorted NOW.

 If you have any tips or strategies to help me I will be grateful to hear them. I will keep you posted as I go.

I took my son to Imperial War Museum North yesterday. If you haven’t been and you are in striking distance of Manchester you should go.

I was immediately impressed by the dramatic architecture of the building and the inside impressed me even more.

It was educational, moving and entertaining all at once. It is hard to describe the sound and picture shows each hour which cover the high, white walls of this ultra-modern space with the images and memories of war, which touch your heart and make you wonder how anyone could wish the horrors of war on their own people or any other yet also bring out the courage and humour of people who coped because they had to.

My son is twelve and the exhibits contained the right mix of facts, images and artefacts to keep us both engrossed for almost four hours. A timeline from the start of the First World War to modern times explains how wars started and who was involved, a special exhibition on prisoners of war gave a different perspective to the conditions of their lives and their escape attempts than any film I’ve seen.

There is a pleasant café overlooking the canal and the added benefit of The Lowry Outlet being only five minutes walk away across the bridge! An excellent day out.