After a call from my mum the other day she was screaming in delight over the phone because she had found her home entertainment surround sound speakers. It was a present from me and my sibling’s years ago and after 3 years in her new house she finally found it in her garage. As my mum has a thing with heights she asked me and my partner if we would mind helping her put them up. She meant we do the work whilst she watches! We went over and had a quick look, there were front left and right speakers, rear left and right speakers, a centre speaker and a sub woofer.
We were worried the wires wouldn’t be long enough but after laying them out they were just about enough. The surround sound speakers are by Pioneer from 2004 but haven’t been used for the last 3 years. We set up the speakers in each corner then proceeded to hammer in cable clips to keep them secure. The best thing to do before starting is to decide how you want the wires to travel along the wall and ceiling. By doing this it saves time and possibly the need to buy wire covers afterwards.
It’s always best to place speakers symmetrically and in the corners to the wiring can be hidden easily. When you position the DVD player in its place start hammering in the cable clips from the speakers to the DVD player. It’s much easier to work backwards so you can fold the wires together should they be too long after. Work down a corner of the wall and across the skirting board to join the DVD player. It shouldn’t take more than 2 hours.
At the end you will need to test that it works and adjust the distance settings so that the sound is projected evenly throughout the room. You may choose to buy wire covers to cover any trailing wires that are an eyesore. In most cases it’s not really needed if you have a painted wall then the wires can be painted instead. The cost of wire covers are £5.44 for a 2m strip, so depending on how big the room is you may spend a lot of money. The one thing you should remember is that if you don’t plan in living in the house too long then don’t worry about it. When you move you’ll be taking your surround sound with you so don’t think too much about what prospective buyers will think.
Avon cosmetics have been around for the last 50 years and during this time have vastly expanded their range. I remember as a child my mum would order perfume, creams and make up for herself and gift sets for friend’s birthdays. Nowadays Avon now sells lingerie, sleepwear, jewellery, health and fitness equipment and many more. With a dedicated customer service team I have found that ordering over the internet is much convenient and sometimes cheaper than waiting for the local Avon representative. Ordering Avon online you can be sure that products and offers are still valid and in stock. In the past by ordering through a representative the offers finish and stock runs low.
Is Avon cheaper than other branded cosmetics?
Some products are cheaper whereas some such as foundations can be slightly more than standard foundation sold by L’Oreal, Maybelline and Max Factor. I do find that the choice for makeup is a very wide range. Buying gifts from Avon is also very simple as there is so much to choose from including jewellery and spa products.
Sign up to Avon’s A list
Avon has recently started a new scheme where you collect loyalty points depending on how much you spend. Since I have a wedding to attend I know I will be spending a lot of money on Avon cosmetics in the next few months. Whilst I was ordering the other day I signed up to Avon’s A list, what I should’ve checked first is how much points you need to reach each level. The offers change every 3 weeks and you even get special offers especially for you on your birthday. As an A-list member ordering and reordering is much easier and keeping track of orders better too.
There are 3 levels copper, bronze, silver, gold and platinum after you have reached the highest level (platinum) you can still take advantage of the offers in the levels below. You need to order at least once a year to keep points accumulating otherwise the slate will be wiped clean.
After 30 points you can start redeeming against the offers in the bronze level, these are the points needed for each level.
Copper- up to 29 points
Bronze- 30 – 59 points
Silver- 60 – 99 points
Gold- 100 – 249 points
Platinum - over 250 points
Avon and Charity
As part of being a customer for Avon you can help support charities such as Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence. There are often products that support the charities and when bought a percentage is given to them to help support these charities. There are also exclusive gifts that can be bought for Breast Cancer that are not sold anywhere else, keep an eye out for these offers and help make a difference today.
For Valentine’s Day I decided I didn’t want to cook and suggested to my partner that we go out to eat. As we had just been to eat at an Indian restaurant we decided to have Chinese food but locally as we didn’t want to travel too far. I discovered The East a restaurant that makes food influenced China, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. As this was a wider choice than the plain Chinese, Thai food we decided we should try it. The East is in an old pub house that has been updated for fine a la carte dining but it also has a licensed bar too. You can also get takeaway food and there is adequate parking. The East is located near Stanborough Park and has many good transport routes, I pre booked my table as I knew it would get busy and I’m glad I did.
Upon arrival at 6.30pm there were already a few couples and families with children, the decor are very in keeping with Chinese traditions and they really make an effort. There were fresh flowers on the table with a single candle and helium filled Valentine’s balloons. I ordered the Miso soup for starters and my partner had Won Ton soup. I’ve never had Miso soup before and really hated it, there was seaweed and tofu in it but it just didn’t go. The seaweed made the soup very bitter, my partners Won Ton soup with prawn was very delicious. When we asked for some hot chilli oil it was brought to us without a spoon, the waitress only noticed when we were nearly leaving!
I ordered Cantonese Roast Duck with some plain noodles and a portion of rice and my partner ordered The East sizzling special (lamb) with a portion of noodles. After the soup we had to wait nearly an hour before the main course was served and by this time we were getting very annoyed. The noodles and rice were not hot at this time, they were just about warm. The Roast Duck is supposed to be served on a bed of steamed vegetables but all there was were green leaves, no carrots or any steamed vegetables. When our food was served we had to wait nearly five minutes before we could alert a waiter that we had no cutlery!! The East sizzling special was very tasty but nothing exciting. One portion of noodles is enough for two people and the same goes for the rice. We ordered a third coke as two would’ve been too much but it was sent to the wrong table! After 10 minutes I had to remind them I was still waiting. I wouldn’t advise any fizzy drinks as it is diluted with water, after 30 minutes it’s tasteless.
How much it cost
They were in no hurry to serve us our main course but when we stopped eating they were eager to clear up after us! We had all the leftover food packed to go as there was so much of it; we then waited to order from the dessert menu. After 10 minutes I was fed up of waiting and got the bill, it was just under £50 at £48.50, £5 of this went on a service charge, and they didn’t do anything!!! I have been to restaurants where they actually serve you the food and accept this charge but at The East they were not very efficient. The meal was for two starters, two main courses, two portions of noodles and a portion of rice.
The Verdict
I understand it was Valentine’s Day and they were very busy but it was very ridiculous, waiting times are too long and they forget the basics like cutlery! I have been to other restaurants on Valentine’s Day and have not had problems with service! There was a couple that also waited an hour for the main course and as soon as they finished the had enough and just left! This was not a pleasant dining experience and I will not be advising it to my friends and family let alone visit another time. If you want a place of fine dining then this is not the place for you due to service but the food is not bad but nothing special either.
No matter how organised and careful you try to be when you’re going on holiday, sometimes it’s all just a matter of misfortune. Having done a checklist of all the things that I needed to bring with me and checking the textboxes to make sure I’ve packed everything, I still manage to forget one or two things for some reason. As I locked away the suitcases and put them in the car, I left the keys on the sofa and it’s only when I was halfway through to the airport that I realised this.
I was thinking about all the options and I decided to break the padlock at the airport and have them replaced. This needed to be done before the luggage was checked in so I looked for somebody who worked at the airport (Gatwick it was) and explained the situation. The person worked with luggages at the airport, weighing them to let you know if you’re overweight so that you can shuffle things round, and I thought he would know better than anyone else. He advised me to go to an airport security officer and they would have the necessary tools to break the padlock. However when I asked the airport security, he told me that they didn’t have the right tools to do that and pointed me to go to some place where they sell suitcases.
The suitcase shop was my next journey and the person in the shop said they only sell suitcases and they didn’t have any tools instore and I was then suggested to go to the “Lost/Stolen” section of the airport. I was running out of time and all this going back and forth was not doing me any good but I had to get rid of the padlock one way or the other. Once at the lost/stolen/left counter, I told the person there what the problem was and he said that he could help me out. All he did was take two long screwdrivers, put them through the padlock and push them against the padlock and bang, the padlock opened. I was really shocked that the padlocks were broken so easily but I was more relieved than anything else. I bought another set of padlocks from them and quickly ran to the checkin counter.
Now that I think about this whole thing, I was quite lucky to be honest. Of course I’ve found out that most padlocks that we use on suitcases are easily broken but I now also know how to break the small padlocks if I ever lose the keys again (or forget them).
Despite the many government attemps to reduce drink driving, many are still doing it. If you know you have to drive, then you shouldn’t even have one drink because the temptation is always there and although you might think that you will be able to control yourself and stop at a pint, chances are that you will be so overwhelmed that you will have drank more than you’re supposed to.
The bad thing about this is that from a complete stranger’s point of view, you shouldn’t be driving back home now because you’re not in a proper state but alcohol will make you think that you’re alright and will be able to get home safely. The over-confidence is a real killer and it’s just so sad that many people are too weak to resist the temptation of driving while drunk.
While many people realise that insurance for drink drivers comes at very high premiums, what people do not understand is that there’s a very fine line between becoming a completely drunk driver and one who’s just under the limit. When you go out socialising, it’s usually hard to refuse drinks or drink something that’s going to make you feel less macho. This is why it’s important that you decide beforehand whether you’re going to see and meet people and will have a nice time and eventually have a few drinks and then decide how you’re going to get back home. You can ask friends or other people to drop you home or get a cab. The point that I’m trying to make is that it’s fine to drink and socialise but you should avoid driving whilst drunk.
After all the hype over Alli the diet pill I was very surprised that two of my closest friends were taking it in a last attempt to lose weight before going on holiday. The excitement over Alli has now died down but there are still some people out there who are undecided and still have lots of questions to ask. As I have spent a lot of time with my two friends I have decided to write a review of Alli diet pill to help people make an informed decision.
Who can buy Alli?
Alli has been around for some time but was only available on a prescription up until about a year ago, you can now purchase in most pharmacies including Boots. You must have a BMI of over 28 for a licensed pharmacy to sell Alli to you. My friends are not by any means fat one is a size 12 and the other a dress size 10/12. I was very shocked to hear that they were taking Alli but also curious as to how they got hold of it. The answer was the internet! One of my friends purchased Alli over the internet as they are not so regulated but this isn’t advisable. She first went to Boots but when they saw it was for her they laughed, her BMI must’ve been no more than 23 so she was refused.
Does Alli weight loss pill work?
Alli does cut the amount of fat that is absorbed in the body by blocking it out through taking the pill. If you eat healthily and avoid fatty foods as well as some light exercise this did help my friends lose weight. Within 5 months my friend who was a size 12 was wearing size 8 clothes! She had to buy new clothes and looked scarily unhealthy and gaunt. My other friend didn’t look much different, so I think she must’ve been abusing the diet pill by still munching on the bad things she should’ve been avoiding.
The side effects of Alli weight loss pill
You can read about the side effects on Alli’s website but seeing it firsthand I had to tell you from my point of view. You take Alli 3 times a day with each meal, after taking the pill you will need to go to the toilet between 10 – 30 minutes afterwards. With a really bad stomach you’d expect to do a poo but what actually comes out is oil, yes oil! It’s really disgusting and hard to remove from the toilet bowl. If you have to go to work then expect to need the toilet a lot. With Alli you never know when you need to go and one of my friends didn’t make it to the toilet once. One of friends felt really sick taking Alli but preserved because she was stubborn, it paid off in the end but after seeing what my friends went through I’ll stick to going to the gym.
Alli should only be used if you are obese, taking Alli when you are already a reasonable size is silly when you should just go to the gym and eat sensibly. If you can live with the oil leaks, flatulence and unexpected use of the toilet then go for it but remember it will also put strain on a relationship and you won’t feel like having a sexual relationship.
My kittens are now 9 months old both with very different personalities one is very greedy whilst the other is very laid back and plays it cool. When they were very little I use to buy Whiskas kitten food, they seemed to enjoy for a while then they just stopped eating. They would go for a whole day without eating so I decided to change. I then bought a supermarket own brand kitten food and found that it contained less meat but more juicy with lots of gravy which they liked. Then just as last time they went off their food again! My mum feeds her cats Whiskas cat food from the tin so I tried this instead. For the first few days they loved it but after that they have now gone of their food again.
Cats seem to be very fussy eaters and mine do not really enjoy eating meat but fish is their favourite. When I have my dinner I have noticed if I give them some of my food they love it whether its meat, chicken or fish they gobble it down in no time. I have found my kittens to be the strangest because they eat a lot of human things that my friends say that cats don’t do. I recently tried to add gravy to their food because I know this is their favourite, they lick the gravy off and all they have left is dry food. This also didn’t work, I have been tempted to make homemade cat food but I worry that if I cannot give them any for whatever reason they will not eat. I also travel a lot so I cannot rely on my mum to make homemade cat food. Homemade cat food will be 100% meat, chicken or fish whereas bought cat food have a minimum of 7% which is disgusting no wonder my kittens enjoy home cooked food.
Do your cats eat the following?
Sweet corn, on the cob, popcorn, tomatoes, KFC, peas, potato, crisps, cheese and sweets. I don’t give my kittens these foods intentionally but when I’m sitting down and they come to me they trick me into giving them some. Just out of curiosity I give in but they do surprise me, my mum’s cats don’t eat half the things I give to mine. I’m not sure if my cats are strange or if other people’s cats are weird? I don’t ever give my kittens chocolate as this can be very bad for their heart, even though they will make their cute little face to say they want some.
After buying my house the garden needed a makeover so I set out to find all the local or recommended garden centres in Hertfordshire. My neighbour who is much older than me and absolutely adores her plants advised me on a few places not too fat from where I live. I decided to visit them all before I purchased any plants and flowers. I prefer to buy everything in one place as you can’t keep track of how much you’re spending if you buy from loads of different places. I took my mum with me and off we went to check out the Garden Centres in Hertfordshire.
What garden centres are there in Hertfordshire?
The first thing that strikes me is there aren’t that many to begin with but they are scattered all over the place so we planned our journey and visited them all on the same day.
Aylett Nurseries in St Albans – this was the closest to me and had the most extensive collection of bulbs of all colours and varieties to purchase. As there are always on offer you can’t complain too much about the price. Since I have a really big garden the prices there for everything is outrageous! The staff was friendly and they did have some nice flowers and plants but I just couldn’t believe what they were charging.
Wyevale in Codicote Garden Centre – this garden centre was impressive in terms of presentation and range but again massively overpriced. They didn’t seem to have the lesser known varieties of plants and flowers they were all too common. The garden centre is never busy; this might be because of their prices!
Nottcutts Garden Centre in St Albans – although they had an impressive range of bedding plants and friendly staff, there were still some of the most sought after plants that they did not stock. Prices were also very silly.
All of the garden centres in Hertfordshire seem to be very overly priced, there are certain things like different variety of roses and fruits like grapes that are hard to find. Due to be a very picky and hard to please person I prefer to select and buy all my plants and flowers for my garden but after visiting them all I was left very disappointed.
I do have a very large garden so this may have an impact on my decision to buy certain plants for example it will cost a minimum of £80 just to buy tulips for my driveway and entrance to my house. Imagine how much it would cost to buy for a garden 5 times as big. In the end I went to good old Crews Hill in Enfield. It has everything and more, if you can’t find what you’re looking for you just pop into the local nursery next door it is fantastic. Buying all my plants in Hertfordshire would’ve cost me in excess of £2,000 but by bulk buying in Crews Hill I only spent £1,200 making a saving of £800 which went on a well deserved outdoor furniture set and barbeque.
I wouldn’t recommended any of the garden centre in Hertfordshire but try local nurseries and even supermarkets that tend to be cheaper for the same product. It’s also worth looking on the internet as you can buy rare roses and plants that are not usually available in a garden centre and if you are lucky to find it you will pay over the odds.
As winter is nearly over and the warmer sunnier days are now approaching I look at my garden and I’m happy that I prepared it for winter so I have nothing to do for the next few months. It has been 4 months since I last did any gardening and the thought of having to do it all again after so long makes me really lazy. So while I look out my window watching everyone complain and slave over their garden to prepare it for Spring I can relax and know that I did it all in the winter months.
How to tidy up garden for winter?
As the weather in England is very unpredictable I wasn’t sure when the weather would take a turn for the worst. So in September I bought seeds, bulbs and plants and did all my planting, most things can be planted September / October for it to flower in spring. As for the plants I bought flowers and shrubs that would survive the frost and snow and still bloom from spring right through to autumn.
I washed down the patio in October and removed all weeds from bedding; I cut the grass so it wouldn’t grow until April. I pruned the trees and roses and cleared out all dead plants and unwanted shrubs that I didn’t want to maintain.
The advantages of winter garden tidy up
Tidying up the garden in winter allowed me to spend time inside without having to worry about the plants in the garden. By planning ahead and buying all my seeds and bulbs in the autumn it also saves me from having to plant them in spring. Now that we are a few months away from Spring I can already see my Daffodils starting to grow. Whilst I can sit back and watch my garden flourish those who have neglected the garden last winter will have the boring task of tidying up the garden instead of spending time in the great outdoors. Since I last cut my grass in October it won’t need cutting for another couple of months at least. As all my shrubs, trees and flowers have been pruned I won’t need to do that until October as well.
It really does help to be organised and do the tedious little garden tasks that people seem to forget. By having a healthy happy garden it will also help to sell the house in the future if it has been well cared for. Once the initial things like planting have taken place you only need to remove weeds every now and again leaving you to sit back and enjoy the sunshine. It’ll also mean that when the weather improves and you want to hold an early Spring Barbeque you won’t have to spend hours clearing away your garden as it has been done well before hand.
My best friend and I were talking the other day about taking prenatal vitamins, as she wants to start a family straight after marrying her long term partner we were discussing how she should get ready for starting a family. The first thing to do is to take a prenatal supplement to aid you to get the best nutrients and vitamins you need for your body to support a growing baby. With so many prenatal vitamins to choose from where do you start?
Choosing a prenatal vitamin?
The first thing you should do is visit your doctor because if you have a family history of certain medical conditions you may be able to get medicines on a prescription that is not available over the counter. This is also helpful if you have had a miscarriage as you will need a higher dose of folic acid that is essential for the development of the baby’s’ spinal cord and brain development. If none of this applies to you, you will have the hard task of picking a prenatal supplement. There are too many to choose from, some more expensive than others and some that are own brand from your local pharmacy or supermarket.
Should you go for a cheap vitamin or a more expensive vitamin?
There is no right or wrong answer as even the cheapest tablets have had to pass thorough testing to be allowed on the market. What is important is to decide what is best for you and baby. Make sure that the antenatal supplement you are buying contains the following: folic acid, iron, vitamin D, vitamin C, Vitamin E, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12, vitamin K, Selenium, Magnesium, Zinc, Iodine, Biotin and Copper. There are more that can be part of your antenatal supplement but the above are the most commonly found in antenatal supplements. You should take one a day with your main meal and on a full stomach. Do not exceed the recommended dosage.
As most of these vitamins are found in the food we eat anyway the supplement is take ‘just in case’ you’re not getting your daily average for a women that is pregnant or trying to conceive. Your GP will advise you to start taking supplements 3 months before trying to conceive, this is advisable as your body will be in tip top shape when you do conceive. The first 3 months are the most important as the baby is developing organs and neural tube so to prevent any defects or disabilities antenatal supplements are advised.