my cruise on the Oriana with P&O it was fab

this will be updated with all the fab details of my cruise to the Canary Islands on the fab P&O boat Oriana

My new Facebook page

I thought I would learn how to make up my own facebook page today, I have seen others do it, so knew it couldn't be that hard. I would link it to this blog so it gets a wider audience.

heres what I did.
First I actually googled this term "making a facebook company page for a blog" as i had sort of figured out what to do but hit a bump on this page here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/create/
I was not sure what box to choose, was I a brand or a company or an artist etc lol, anyway I managed to find this very helpful page
http://prothemedesign.com/how-to/a-bloggers-guide-to-creating-a-facebook-fan-page/
I followed their instructions and I now have this facebook page up and running. 
http://www.facebook.com/tamalynsday
all very exciting!!

I welcome all my followers to come and like my page, I hope to post family days out, interesting stories and fabulous competitions to enter and anything exciting that I win will be posted too.

Time flying, Children off to Further Education, Losing weight & Keeping fit

Too Busy for my Blog

well lately I have been too busy for my blog, I have been entering competitions a lot, spending time with my children sorting out my daughters University finance, accommodation, etc and my sons 6th form stuff - need to apply for EMA and he has an interview for college tomorrow for Electrical Engineering level 3 Btec. My youngest son has had to make his GCSE choices too which has been hard as hes in all the special lessons so needs a little extra help with study. hes finally chosen History & Geography because he loves them (i had a word with the teachers and they will help him) and Engineering Btec level 1.

They are all 2 years apart in school which has been great so far but very stressful when it comes to leaving school and choosing university and getting student finance etc ha ha

My daughter has chosen Liverpool John Moore's University and the course is Applied Sports Psychology - she has done the btec level 2 & 3 sports in school and she just needs to get a C in Psychology A level to get onto the course, which we are hoping she gets!! I am currently saving up and buying bits and bobs for her Uni room so if anyone has any tips, please post them in comments. so far I have 2 bath towels, 2 flannels and a cutlery set, my daughter bought herself a posh cheese grater - she has no sense at all

The University itself looks great, its all been redone and cost millions and seemed very high tech inside. we met some of the current students so we could chat and my daughter asked lots of questions. her accommodation is a 5 minute walk away so will be very handy for town, shopping and the nightlife etc. Am actually quite jealous :(

i started the 28 day at DW Sports today, its my nearest gym and its pretty expensive but  they are doing a deal where you pay £28 for 28 days off peak and peak time so pretty good as I still haven't decided if I want to join for 6 months at a time, seems a lot of money and i could get lazy and change my mind!!
Its my school reunion on the 22nd June so since I stopped smoking 17 months ago and have put in a little bit of weight (over a stone) i thought i would try and get fit and lose some of that extra weight, my ideal weight would be 10 stone, this is needed so I get fit lovely into this stunning Faye dress by Erdem worth £825

I won it in the
London Fashion Week competition with Emerald Street.

Its fab! but I will be needing a slimmer stomach before I can look good in it, or miracle knickers ha ha but seriously its the most amazing dress ever, Its something I would look at from afar but never actually dream of owning! this is the amazing world of entering competitions.

Its also my 40th Birthday on the 26th June and the local fun run 5K raising money for the local school and other causes so I will be in severe training for the next 28 days!!

Today I met my friend Helen and spent 20 minutes on the cross trainer, 10 mins on the running machine and 10 mins on the rowing machine, then a lovely swim a relaxing gossip in the jacuzzi lol

I have also been using my exercise ball to do some crunch's and any abs exercises i find on the Internet, YouTube is pretty good - try some of these if you feel the need:

Kathy Smith Flat Abs Workout - You Tube
10 Minute Ab Workout on the Stability Ball with Laura London Fitness - You Tube

Ball Ab-Busters! ★ Best Abs workout with stability Ball 

  

I still haven't found the best way to exercise that i can actually stick to for longer than a week - think I maybe just very lazy to be honest

Glasses Direct + Sunglasses Shop Giveaway

The Sunglasses Shop and Glasses Direct have come together to offer a very special competition prize. You could win a pair of Prada sunglasses (RRP £215) and a pair of glasses of your choice from Glasses Direct!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please visit the original blog for more info on the competition HERE

 

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Slow cooker - joint of beef, pork and lamb - easy & quick recipes

I bought a slow cooker a couple of years ago, I didn't really use it but tried out a few recipes and kind of left it alone. These days I literally use it every few days. I have cooked the most amazing things in it and I don't use recipes these days I just throw the meat and veg and stock in and leave it and 8 hours later I have a tasty casserole!


easy sunday dinner roasts! - fast, tasty and so easy to make

Beef for Sunday Dinner
A cheap joint of beef from a supermarket or butchers, I put this in the slow cooker, throw a few squirts of golden syrup over it, paste some english mustard around the sides and put on the lid and leave it for 8 hours on low or 4/5 hours on high. leave to cool slightly before carving

Lamb in redcurrant sauce
Leg of Lamb or any Lamb joint, some nice fresh redcurrant sauce or any jar, put the lamb in the slow cooker, add the redcurrant sauce on top, close lid and leave it cook. low for 8 hours and high for 4/5 hours. leave to cool slightly before carving

Pork sunday dinner
Cheap joint of pork - any kind. throw it in the slow cooker, add some apple sauce - home-made or a jar, just a couple of tablespoons and close lid, cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4/5 hours. leave to cool slightly before carving

now these days its very easy to buy slow cooking sauces, eg Schwartz Slow Cookers Chicken Curry,  I have tried a chicken curry one where you just add some chicken, onion, spinach and add the sauce which tasted lovely, I have also followed recipes such as a slow-cooked duck l'orange, which was absolutely amazing! I also make up the odd casserole, i put any meat in for example: chicken fillets/pork loin steaks/pork chops/chicken thighs/legs etc, then add chopped onions, mushrooms, any vegetables i can find, fill it up with water, add some chicken stock or beef stock and leave it cook on low for 8 hours. tastes amazing.

you can literally do whatever you like with it, so play around, make it up as you go along. Very handy for going to work in the morning, you could prepare it all the night before, leave in a bag in the fridge, add to slow cooker in the morning, leave it all day on low for at least 8 hours, a lovely dinner ready when you get home. Most of my meals serve 5.

any questions please ask, i am not a professional cook but can try and help lol

slow-cooking sauces are readily available at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury's

My Book Reviews - My favourite Zombie Books

My Book reviews on good reads


Sanctuary: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse by Joshua Jared Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

i really enjoyed this book, it was a fab zombie tale and i couldnt put it down. cannot wait to read more from this writer.

View all my reviews

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End by Manel Loureiro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

great book, fast paced, i read it in one night as i couldnt put it down! great zombie book it thats the genre you like. i also loved the fact it was based in spain.

View all my reviews

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

loved it, i wanted to read it after i saw they have made a movie, i had a gist of the story from the trailers at the cinema and it was as good as i had hoped and thank god it didnt make me cry like the notebook!! great writing as usual, fab storyline and cannot wait to read some more books by nicholas sparks 

View all my reviews
 

White Flag of the Dead by Joseph Talluto

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

best zombie series ever!

View all my reviews

The Remaining by D.J. Molles

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

a great series, i enjoyed reading them and read all 3 in less than a week. it was a good take on the zombie genre - a man in a bunker all prepared for the end of the world, but was he? the zombies are fast and very dangerous in this book, it kept me on the end of my seat, am now awaiting book 4!!

View all my reviews


The Undead Situation by Eloise J. Knapp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

one of the first zombie books i have read, it kept me on the edge of my seat and i stayed up all night reading it, it really quite scared me. thanks to this book i have since read countless zombie novels but this is in my top 10 of favourite zombie tales

View all my reviews  

Competitions

Some of my favourite purchase competitions currently running:

Ends 18/09/2022 - Patchs Cider,

win 95 x £70 Patch Plant voucher codes,2,660 x £35 Patch Plant voucher codes.

Opens on 09.05.2022 To enter online , purchase any Inch’s product, then scan the promotion QR code (found on point of sale materials and targeted social media) or visit www.inchscider.co.uk/patch and follow the on screen instructions (enter name, email address and Date of Birth) and upload a picture of your can, pint or pack of Inch’s.  1 entry per person per day, limited by email address. enter here

Latest Asda Compeitions, some are purchase only, please read the terms and conditions for each one - enter here

 

 

Giveaway - 2 uncorrected Proof copy Books - Competition

2 fab uncorrected proof copy books to give away to one lucky winner - UK only

I recently recieved these lovely books, unfortunately I already have them in my collection, so thought it would be nice to offer them as a prize so someone else can enjoy them. 

Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce

Publication Date: 3 Jan 2013

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anthem-Jackson-Dawes-Celia-Bryce/dp/1408827115

Megan Bright and Jackson Dawes are two teenagers who first meet each other on the hospital ward where they are both being treated for cancer. Megan is scared and worried about her illness, but Jackson seems to be an old hand, having been on the ward for ages. And everybody loves Jackson! He is a whirlwind of life and energy, warmth and sparkle. Megan will need to borrow some of Jackson's extraordinary optimism to face her and Jackson's future. A moving story of first love and a remarkably powerful debut novel.

 

 

The Disgrace of Kitty Grey of Mary hooper -

Publication Date: 9 May 2013

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Disgrace-Kitty-Grey-Mary-Hooper/dp/1408827611

Kitty is living a happy, carefree life as a dairymaid in the countryside. The grand family she is employed by looks after her well, and she loves her trade, caring for the gentle cows and working in the cool, calm dairy. And then, of course, there is Will, the river man who she thinks is very fond of her, and indeed she is of him. Surely he will ask her to marry him soon?


Then one day disaster strikes: Will disappears. Kitty is first worried and then furious. She fears that Will has only been leading her on all this time, and has now gone to London to make his fortune, forgetting about her completely. So when Kitty is asked to go to London to pick up a copy of Pride and Prejudice, the latest novel by the very fashionable Jane Austen, Kitty leaps at the chance to track down Will. But Kitty has no idea how vast London is, and how careful she must be. It is barely a moment before eagle-eyed pickpockets have spotted the country-born-and-bred Kitty and relieved her of her money and belongings. Dauntingly fast, she has lost her only means of returning home and must face the terrifying prospect of stealing in order to survive - and of being named a thief . . .

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2013 - kids, life and a power plate!

Welcome to 2013 - kids, life and my new power plate!

Life has been pretty busy since Xmas, i have my 3 teenagers who are all planning their futures, my daughter is busy applying for universities for a Sports Psychology degree - i am busy wondering how much it will all cost
my son is applying for college and 6th form for engineering level 3, Physics and something else and i am wondering which one would be best for him
my youngest sons is about to choose his options! now that's a hard one too as hes not quite up with his peers and he wants to do history and geography GCSE's aghhh

me? well i am busy trying to keep fit, i seem to have put on a stone in weight since the summer and it could either be the non-smoking (14 months and counting) or my under active thyroid that i seem to have, i just started a low dose of thyroxine so am hoping that helps. so today the 30th Jan i weigh 11 stone 3 pounds!! - thats a first i only weighed 9 stone exactly when i was 9 months pregnant with my first child lol a little scary!


I started the gym at DW sports fitness 12 days special and that was fun but its finished now and i cannot really afford £28 a month off peak which is a shame as i would love to go on the treadmill every day. i would run locally but i live in a very hilly part of wales and i hate running uphill ha ha actually downhill is not good either. i did start the NHS's couch to 5K as my post here describes but its the hills that stopped it, they are everywhere. An ideal prize for me would be to win a treadmill! heres hoping... ha ha

So after reading reveal and seeing all those glamorous bodies, i decided to buy myself a power plate, now all the famous people are trying it and i have found numerous exercises i could do on it, apparently just 10 minutes on it is equivalent to 60 minutes normal exercise - i know that it may seem a really lazy way to exercise but at least i will be in the nice and warm, visit back soon as i will be posting the results of my trial very soon

if you get stuck with yours, please visit these youtube videos for some ideas
power plate part 1
power plate part 2
Tone those abs!
and for that man in your life so he doesnt feel let out,
build a 6 pack! :)

Now if you are looking to lose some weight, get fit or even give up those smokes finally, then please visit the brilliant Get Fit Feel Epic campaign from Moneysupermarket.com. they have a handy calculator which will tell you how much money you could save if you give up smoking and cut down on drinking, eating fast food etc. Maybe this will help in your struggle like me to lose those pounds and feel a bit fitter!
The Zip tracks your steps, distance and calories burned and syncs it with your computer or Smartphone. You can monitor your fitness, challenge friends to compare progress and cheer each other on as well as exporting your data into other apps like My Fitness Pal that you may already be using.
The Aria tracks weight, % body fat and BMI allowing you to sync it with your computer or Smartphone. The scales automatically recognise up to eight users, allows you to see trends in your weight loss by using visual aids such as graphs, set weight loss goals and manage calories, plus they’re sleek and stylish to boot!

They also have a fab competition on their blog / to win a Fitbit Zip Wireless Activity Tracker, worth £49.99 and Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scales, worth £99.99 and i am entering with this blog post!! wish me luck