Cuts down on back breaking weeding!!

This weather is great, warm sunny spring days then a little rain to dampen down the pollen from the Rape fields perfect..... apart from... weeds....weeds are taking over patios, flowerbeds and driveways once again! I decided to tackle them head on with Roundup weedkiller and got cash back at the same time!!

Whether you are a keen gardener or just enjoy spending time in the garden, weeds do nothing at all to improve the overall look of your outside space. Roundup is a multi-purpose fast acting weed-killer that works its way right to the root of the problem, killing most types of annual and deep-rooted perennial weeds, including grasses, dandelions, docks, nettles, thistles and bindweed. It is inactivated immediately on contact with the soil, leaving no harmful residues behind, great as the kids are trotting around.

I got £5 cash back on my purchase of Roundup Ready to Use "Pump 'N Go" - just great!!
The 1 litre Roundup trigger spray is a handy, lightweight option that is ideal for spot treatment of weeds. It has a unique 3-in-1 action trigger spray, giving the options of a jet spray for high accuracy, a fan spray for broader areas and a foam spray for treating weeds in flowerbeds and borders. It says the first effects can be seen in around 48 hours and they sure can, my Dandelions have almost gone from the driveway and no daisies live on the patio this eve!!

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

eBay - depending on how you view it, it's either the scourge of the 21st century or the saviour of our recession bitten pockets!

Personally in our house, we love it. Himself is in the shed, making shelves, and generally having a good old sort out, so consequentally has found a myriad of junk....errr bits of treasure... From old motorbike parts, some fenders and even a once lost sink off a narrowboat... tonight will see me cleanign all these ready to photograph and sell on.

I, on the other hand, have been in my jewellery and make-up drawers to find bits and bobs of unused stuff. Last week I sold a bag of Jessica Nail Polishes for £6.50 on the site. OK this is not much but hey they were all 2nd hand (and listed as such so no nasty surprises for a buyer!!) I never used them any more and £6.50 is better than a drawer full of tat ...I mean treasure for someone...

Plus all those £4's, £3's and £6.50's add up, a few months ago I draw £100 out of my eBay account to put in the holiday savings fund!

All I can say is - if you've not become an eBayer yet - give it a go!! You do end up walking round the house wondering what you can sell though....beware Himself...do not stand still for too long!

Cheaper than a week in Spain and safer than a week in Mexico!

The website says "Tantruth contains the latest innovations in tanning technology. With satin extracts, duo self-tanning agents and a light fresh fragrance to leave the skin pleasantly scented, you will have a luxuriously deep tan, giving you that bronzed sun kissed look all year round."

So armed with my credit card I went on http://www.beautyexpress.co.uk/ and bought my Tantruth Secret Sun for £4.95 - I decided that it was cheaper than holidaying abroad this year (and safer!!). With no holiday plans for the year ahead but a pale skinned body glaring back at me in the mirror I needed some help....

Secret Sun arrived..... I opened the pack, sniffed and was pleasantly surprised, it had a little of the 'tanning cream' smell to it but not much. I applied the cream, probably a little too liberally first time round and ended up with a few streaks. Second application went much better on day two - after exfoliation this time!!

I'd say it was easy to apply so long as a little care was taken but most of all the colour - it gave me a truly golden tan. I am so happy with the colour, better than most other fake tans I have tried.

Although the downside, at the moment I'm poorly with suspected Glandular fever....and people are looking at me and saying how well I look, purely because of my golden tan!! OOoops!! I'm getting no sympathy cos I look so well, feel terrible, but look well!!!

Spice up Your life!

We’ve discovered Heinz Tomato Ketchup is turning up the heat this summer as we have discovered Heinz Twisted Ketchup, a new spicy tomato ketchup range!

For just £1.19 we’ve found Ketchup in exciting, spicier flavours, the three new sauces - Mild Chilli, Piri Piri & Lime and Fiery Chilli are perfect for when I’m looking to give my favourite foods a unique twist.

Each distinct sauce offers a different level of spiciness, so there’s ketchup to suit all taste buds. To make it easy, Heinz has even put chilli indicators and different colours on the bottle to highlight the level of heat of each variety – just choose how hot you want to go and mix things up at meal times!

For those looking to give their food a gentle kick Heinz Twisted Ketchup Mild Chilli delivers a delicate Mexican flavour and is great with everything from classic chips to burgers or fajitas. Josh, our 7 year old thought this one was his favourite, and he’s a choosy young thing!

If you fancy being a bit more daring then there’s Heinz Twisted Ketchup Piri Piri & Lime. Packed with a unique twist of lime, it’s delicious served with grilled chicken, fish or prawns and will be sure to spice up summer BBQs – this was my personal favourite, lovely with a sausage roll!

And for Jack, 13 year old and allegedly ‘hard as nails’ Heinz Twisted Ketchup Fiery Chilli was his favourite. Putting a dollop in his spaghetti Bolognese gave it some extra punch and he nearly finished the squeezy bottle on his burgers when we had a BBQ on Saturday!

We liked the fact Heinz combined the spiciness with real flavour and didn’t just go for heat! At £1.19 we were impressed with the price too!

A pad that'll never be dead as a Dodo!

In our house a memory is a rare and almost extinct thing. Even the kids don't really have one to speak of and me and Himself? Well we're in our forties so we have no chance.

Take a look at www.dodopad.com though and you may find the solution to an ailing memory. Nope, no pills, potions or brain surgery but a fabulous book to list and keep everything in one place.

The DodoPad is a sweet little A5 folder in green and purple, nicely decorated and with jokes and little quips throughout its pages. It's loose leaf and with plenty of spare pages to note down things to remember, plus there is even space to file things you'd rather forget....BILLS!!

Each section of the DodoPad is required in everyday living, there's room for birthdays, and other general reminders, as I say room to file bills until paid, a place for holiday information and Christmas stuff so you're all ready - ready for anything!

I love the little 'holsters' for bills and notes!

This is such a girlie product - it makes loosing your memory nearly worthwhile!!

Now...where did I put my pen to write in the pad???

A cheap cut of meat becomes a banquet!

My latest purchase, as you know is a Crock Pot. Bought from Tesco Direct at £19.99. It’s a 3.5 ltr but they come in all sorts of sizes. We have finally got round to trying it out and boy do we think it’s the greatest purchase ever!

Apparently it uses the less electricity than a light bulb. You leave it on for hours in the corner just kinda doing its own thing, then when you’re hungry and want your dinner, lift the lid to an amazing concoction!

So I left himself in on his own all day and wondered what I may come home to. Now apart from the vacuuming being done, all the ironing and also some gardening.... a wonderful smell greeted me too...A joint of pork had been purchased from Budgens, for £4.00 - this was cut into 3 pieces, with 2 going into the freezer for another time (it was huge!!)

One piece was placed in our Crock Pot, with a Sharwoods Black Bean Sauce - also on special offer at 89pNow I didn't say this recipe was cordon bleu...it was only a man cooking.... proving how easy a Crock Pot is to use!He popped 2 tbl spoons of golden syrup in with the pork and the Sharwoods sauce, and put whole lot on high for four hours, which caramelised it all. Turned down to low for rest of day until I came home from work. Served up with cous cous that had had fried oinions, fried mushrooms and chopped apple stirred through it. All in all a simple yet yummy meal.And verdict from himself? And I quote...."I can't believe how easy the Crock Pot is to use. I left it alone all day and it did its thing!! It was great!" Bless him... he’s not stopped raving about it since!!

There’s a few sites on Facebook too – so if you have one and are stuck for recipes then take a look at sites such as Slow Cooking with a Crock-Pot - the official UK site on Facebook or even http://www.crock-pot.com/.

Lots of recipes you will find use cheap cuts of meat, cos the cooking is such a slow process, it cooks everything so tenderly, our prok fell apart on the forks! Buy as cheap as you like cos the Crock Pot will make it taste fit for a king!

Eating trousers on...

Oh my goodness, we ate the most amazing tea last night, pork in black bean sauce with fruity cous cous.... my new Crock Pot coupled with himself at home all day.... I could learn to love this!! Just finding out recipe for him, then I'll post it here!