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Does losing weight mean I am fatphobic?

- TracyB Leave a comment

This is a post that has been rattling around in my head for some time now as I think about my own weight loss. Any regular followers of my blog or Instagram will know that between in 2016 I joined Slimming World and lost almost 3 stone in weight by the middle of 2017. It wasn’t an easy task and obviously with having chronic illness and chronic pain I had to do it with food alone as I cannot conventionally exercise ( before my illness I used to go running 3 times a week). The weight had crept on over a long period of time and was a combination of my lack of being able to exercise, reaching for the sugary foods for a quick energy boost, and also my age. I have since kept that weight off for well over a year now and feel much better in myself having changed my eating habits for the better. Yes I still have the coffee and cake meet ups with friends, meals out every now and then, and also nights out drinking on occasion and I do all of these with absolutely no guilt attached. I am thankful I do not have the emotional connection to food that some others have and therefore don’t turn to food when I am stressed, or tired, or upset etc.

However, recently I have seen more and more people talking about, and living their life by, the whole ‘ body positivity’ approach and encouraging others to do so as well, and I love this mind set and approach to life and I also follow quite a few accounts that promote this on a daily level. But it has made me stop and think………….does the fact that I have actively lost weight and feel better about myself for doing so now make me fatphobic?

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My Sk:n Treatment- a Glycolic Peel

- TracyB Leave a comment

I had the pleasure of attending the Dartford branch opening of the Sk:n clinic a while back which you can read about here

A week or so afterwards I had the opportunity to try one of their treatments that they offered called a Glycolic Peel. This isn’t a normal ‘fluffy style’ facial that you could get elsewhere, this is a treatment. It is the one most suitable for sensitive skin before heading down the microdermabrasion route. The treatment itself lasts about 25 minutes in total and overall is a very pleasurable experience. If you wear make up there they will remove it but leave any eye make up alone. There is several stages to it and you will probably feel a tingling or a bit of ‘heat’ when they apply the actual product that is used.

Ok not an attractive shot but this is me having the treatment and you can see the darkness around my eyes in this picture
Ok not an attractive shot but this is me having the treatment and you can see the darkness around my eyes in this picture

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sk:n – launches in Dartford

- TracyB Leave a comment

Last week I was invited to the opening launch of the Dartford branch of sk:n which happens to be inside the David Lloyd health and fitness club.

Now I don’t know about you but I sometimes feel slightly intimidated by these sorts of places  (anything beauty related really) as I expect everyone in there to be young, beautiful with perfect make up and hair and therefore, I feel uncomfortable walking in with my walking stick for a start, my wild curly hair that has a mind of it’s own and the minimum of make up applied ( sound familiar anyone?) I have come to the conclusion I would make a rubbish footballer’s wife!

This couldn’t have been more different. Yes, I know it was a launch and so people will be welcoming, however there were all sorts of age groups and types of women there to see what was on offer, which instantly made me feel more at ease.

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It’s been ages!

- TracyB 4 Comments

I haven’t been around much as I made the decision to invest some money and get some super tech person to upgrade and overhaul my tired little blog.

I had no idea what I was after to be honest but I wanted a more professional, clean cut look rather than something I had thrown together myself. It was time to get someone on the case who actually knew what they were doing! This is where Geek Fairy comes in. She was absolutely fab, gave me links to look at colour schemes and sorted out the header etc. As we emailed back and forth the idea evolved where I wanted muted, almost vintage style colours. Then when I saw it I had the idea of the knitted stitches which fitted in with my craft side of things as well.

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Teaching your children through Apps

- TracyB Leave a comment

Teaching your children through Apps

So what do you think? A good or bad idea? Unfortunately we are in a technical age where this is becoming second nature! In fact I have to ask my boys how to do some bits on the laptop occasionally. But it doesn’t all have to be Play stations and Xbox’s and kids zoning out to mindless shoot ’em up games. With I phones, tablets and I pads children from a very early age can get in on the act for educational stuff and learn to be comfortable with technology at the same time.

Check out the web show below for tomorrow:

Log onto our live and interactive show where Jon Bentley discusses how to make sure your children are getting the most educational benefits from technology

Show date: Tuesday 29th January 2013

Show time: 12.30pm

There’s no denying that smart phones and tablets have become an essential part of life for millions of us, changing the way we work, socialise and communicate. Whilst they use to be solely the domain of businesspeople and the most technologically advanced, now they’re popular throughout the generations and even amongst pre-schooles.

Research from Vodafone shows that savvy toddlers first start using smart phones or tablets at a tender 2 years 4 months and that many parents are using Apps to help their children learn to read, write and count.

But how can parents make sure their little ones are benefitting from the technology and aren’t accessing inappropriate material?

Log onto our live and interactive show with Jon Bentley, former Gadget Show presenter and Libby Pritchard from Vodafone, who will discuss how children can benefit from smart phones and tablets and how parents can make sure their children are using these devices safely.

Jon Bentley and Libby Pritchard join us live online at www.studiotalk.tv on Tuesday 29th January at 12.30pm

Click here to submit questions before the show

 

 

Trouble with the Curve

- TracyB Leave a comment

That’s the title of a newly released (this weekend) film that I had the chance of going to see.

It stars the legendary Clint Eastwood, Justin Timberlake and Amy Adams, and follows the estranged relationship between a father and daughter and loosely based around the sport of baseball.

Have a look at the down loadable link below:

Trouble with the Curve

This is a character based story and is a slow burner that simmers throughout enticing you to want to know what has made these characters how they are!

I like these sorts of films, you are not detracted from the story by loud, unnecessary stunts and noise. Clint Eastwood plays a fantastic ‘grumpy old man’ and actually you can almost feel his frustration as his general demeanor has changed so much from the ‘Dirty Harry’ suave days. Although he is cranky you want to slap and cuddle him at the same time. Amy Adams is a great counterpart to the dad. Successful but lonely striving for success in other parts of her life in order not to deal with the ‘father’ issue. Justin Timberlake, an acceptable eye candy, was a great fun, forward but like able character.

I’ve got to say the dads ‘old cronies’ club that seem to be at every game to are a fab bunch, showing that your sense of humour does not diminish as you get older.

Like I say, sometimes these stories are my favourites. The father/ daughter relationship keeps you captivated and it was nice that when the truth was out the relationship did not magically fix itself, but still kept you guessing if they would ever see ‘eye to eye’.

This is a heartwarming, enjoyable film great for a lovely quiet Sunday afternoon.

Here are some pics from the movie to get you wondering:

Trouble with the Curve

In cinemas now

Live Interactive tech-IQ Test!

- TracyB Leave a comment

Go on admit it would you know what tablet does what, and I’m not talking about the kind you get at the chemist!!

I for one struggle with new technology, I am a true ‘technophobe’, always thinking that if I try something new I will probably break it! In fact it is sad to admit that I rely on my OH and my 14yr old to get me through anything I need for the blog………….ssssshhhhhhh don’t tell anyone.

So here is your chance to find out all about the latest gadgets and which one does what!

Log onto our live and interactive Tech-IQ test, with Pollyanna Woodward where she will be testing the nation’s tech savviness and advising us on the latest ‘must have’ gadgets in the run up to… Christmas!

 

Show date: Friday 16th November 

Show time: 2.30pm

Do you know what Wifi means? Or how to Tweet? Can you download music, upload photos and use an app?  Do you know the difference between a tablet and a laptop? And is it true that the younger you are the more attuned to technology you are?

The internet, smart phones, tablets and social media are now categorised as essential to millions of us, but just how much do you really know about gadgets and the big World Wide Web we orbit? Moreover, have you ever tested your Tech-IQ to figure out whether the products you buy and use are actually suited to your technical ability and lifestyle?

With gadgets such as tablets continuing to dominate our Christmas wish list this year, how many of us actually know our Nabi from our Nexus or will match the tablet with the task?

And should we be taking into account our technical ability when we are buying new products or putting them on our Christmas list? Luckily for us, one of the UK’s largest technology retailers Argos, has teamed up with Pollyanna Woodward to help match up which tablets suit what Tech IQ.

To find out how her own family compare, Pollyanna will be joined by her mother for a family tech-off.

 So how good are you?

Log onto our live and interactive Tech-IQ test with Pollyanna Woodward, where we will be testing how tech-savvy you actually are and what tablets and gadgets will suit you and your family

 

 Pollyanna Woodward joins us live online at http://www.studiotalk.tv/show/live-techiq-test on Friday 16th November at 2.30pm

Click here to submit questions before the show http://www.studiotalk.tv/show/live-techiq-test

FOR MORE INFO CHECK THE WEBSITE

argos.co.uk

 

Lost in London…….aged 11 yrs!!!!

- TracyB 6 Comments

No not a story about me as the 11 yr old but my own son.

Monday saw us heading back up town for another audition (remember my youngest is a ‘luvvy’ at heart and wants to be an actor). Anyway this really is nothing out of the ordinary for us. A short notice call a few days before with address details (normally quite obscure tiny offices in London’s backstreets) so we headed off as normal.

Audition done and return journey in process until…………….

Yes we went to get on a tube when my son walked on and the doors closed!!!! Leaving me on the platform…………OK PANIC NOW.

So told screamed at the guard that my son was on his own only to realise the tube he got on was going in the wrong direction that we were going! CAN THIS GET ANY WORSE??

Again the guard seemed a bit too chilled for my liking when he said I should go to the operations room WTF????? No you take me there and bloody tell someone my 11yr old son is on the tube going in the wrong direction…….EXCUSE ME IS ANYONE LISTENING TO ME ( i’m the mad shouting, hysterical lady crying down the phone to her husband telling him she has lost her son!!!- I know not a pretty sight)

However, by the time we got to the operations room they then had to calm me down to tell me they had my son at the next station with the guard!!!! OMG OMG OMG

So went back down to platform and got on next tube, still bawling my eyes out ( what a bloody picture) with people looking at me as though I was a complete loon (understandable I think).

Turned up at the next station and burst into tears again as my son came up and gave me a huge hug!!!

He was calm, and I asked him what he did.

‘Well I thought I would get off at the next station and wait for you to come along. But a nice young man offered to get off at the station with me and tell the guard what had happened’ ( there are some nice people out there! but we still warned him afterwards of the dangers).

So 11 yr old is calm, and 41 yr old mum is a complete wreck?????

He told me that he wasn’t panicked but he was worried about me because he knew I would be having a meltdown- talk about role reversal!

Anyway, all’s well that ends well and all that. For me I don’t think I have ever been so stressed in all my life. My M.E is affected considerably with stress and for the last few days I have been unable to do anything or eat properly so I know that is definitely the fallout from Monday!

However, everything happens for a reason and now we have at least got a contingency plan- if separated go to the next station and the other will follow!!

 

 

 

A Night Away and No Kids- Selfish or Not?

- TracyB 4 Comments

A night away with no kids is what I have planned for tomorrow night!

This is very VERY exciting in our little world. There is very little that we do without having the boys with us. This was booked so that when my boys were away with scouts in January my OH and I decided we could sneak away for a night and enjoy a change of scenery and time without the kids. However, it didn’t work that way and the only time we could book was TOMORROW night( Friday 10th), so we went ahead and made arrangements.

So tomorrow we see the boys off to school then we can get ourselves packed up and head off to Lewes!! Ok not somewhere too exotic but a break non the less. The hotel looks fab with a swimming pool and sauna, lovely restaurant and bar and great rooms.

Now we are skint beyond belief this month however this was a Groupon deal we booked before Christmas so has come as a great treat!

We look forward to an Afternoon Tea and sparkling wine on arrival, a 3 course meal with wine in the evening and a full English Breakfast in the morning before we leave…………..all already paid for too!!

So the images above may not actually be what we will get but it wont be far short!!

Now my only problem is the bloody snow!!! I normally love the snow but this time I really want it to piss off so I can go on my fab overnight stay……………………………PRETTY PLEASE I SOOOOO NEED IT RIGHT NOW!

I'm so hoping I do not wake up to this tomorrow- selfish I know!

What have you got planned for the weekend?