12 Mar 2013
by Tamsinin Fascinating Things, Review Tags: Doodle Doll, Handmade, Mommy, Squidge, The Love Bucket
About a month and a half ago, Tabitha drew the most awesome doll ever. Then she drew on the reverse so it looked like a three dimensional character from a cartoon, cut it out and handed it to me with an expression of total pride. I was blown away. I’m 40 and I can’t draw as well as she can at the age of 6!
Then I read an article in Ideas Magazine which talked about a lady called Stacey and her business, The Love Bucket, where she makes Doodle Dolls. These are accurate and identical copies of your kid’s drawings made into gorgeous, felt dolls. Some of the whackier drawings actually turned into the best dolls. Well, I think so anyway.
I had to get this Daphne drawing made into a Doodle Doll. I knew T would adore it and I was soooo excited about seeing it made real. So, I scanned in the pic, sent it to Stacey and POOF the doll was made. I would like to add here that it was one of the easiest things I’ve done this year, the rest of my admin and making has been fraught with kak. In this case I sent the scan, she sent her bank details, I paid her, the doll arrived. And it all happened in under a month, which is superb when you consider how she makes these dolls by hand.
This is a picture showing you the drawing beside the doll:
Today the Doodle Daphne Doll arrived and here is Squidge with her. She is SO happy with her she even made me strap Daphne in the car so she was safe while we were driving. I have never seen her so in love with a toy before. MELT!
30 Nov 2010
by Tamsinin Get Fit For Charity, Review Tags: Charity, Exercise, Fascinating, Fat, Free, Get Fit For Charity
- Image from: http://www.brmemc.com/
I electrocuted my stomach and I liked it. Wahooo!!!
But first, before I reveal all, a word from our sponsor…
“Oooh, it has been AGES since my last post. The utter madness of my approaching holiday is sucking up every last minute. And, to be fair, I did fall over and play endless Peggle on the weekend because I was a big lazy git. HA! Sorry, please come back. I love you.”
So, what am I wittering on about today. Well it is actually a review of a product I was sent about a month ago. A Slendertone Abs Kit.
Now, let me tell you, I was sceptical. I’ve always wanted one of these but I’ve also always been very wary of their claims. If I have a load of fat wibbling about on my belly then there is no way that flexing the muscles is going to strip that fat away.
This time, because I am on the Get Fit for Charity Challenge (back in full swing there, mates!) I have been eating six times a day, on a strict calorie regime, and exercising every morning at around 6am. It was obvious that I would lose weight on my belly whether I used the Slendertone or not, so I decided to do a controlled test.
For two weeks I ate the same food and did the same exercise, the only difference was that for one week I did sit-ups and for the other week I used the ab buster. The first week was the sit-ups. 90 sit-ups spread over three different positions with varigated holding times. By the end of that week I’d lost 1.5 inches on my waist at the thinnest part, and .5 inches on the fatty bit just above the hips.
In the second week I used the Slendertone. After two days I realised I was doing it wrong and had to start again. I wasn’t really pushing it to the limits. Once I pushed it to really zap me, a sensation that I have come to REALLY enjoy, I was actually stiff the next day. Genuinely stiff.
This took me by surprise. For nearly 40 years I thought these were gimmicks, and yet I was feeling more burn after using the Slendertone that I did when I was doing sit-ups. I did this every day with two rest days, over a period of seven days. Exactly the same schedule as the abs in my usual routine.
So…want to know the results? I lost two inches on my waist at the narrowest part and .5 inches on the fatty bit just above the hips.
It appears that the Slendertone works just as well as standard ab exercises and has measurable results with a controlled diet and exercise regime. I can’t say that it would compete with, say, a workout like Shaun P.’s Insanity, but for anyone looking to tone their abs while watching CSI, this is great.
The entire system really appeals to me. I love running and gymming and all those things, I do. But after a day of running around with school stuff, work stuff, house stuff, admin stuff, blah blah blah, it IS nice to flop on the sofa, plop on the Slendertones and get exercised while doing NOTHING.
I just have to add, though, putting them pads on your bare flesh? COLD! Is very COLD. I pull that face you get when you are about to get in cold water or do something you know you have to, but don’t wanna.
So yes, I electrocuted my stomach and I liked it. Yeah, baby, yeah.
22 Nov 2010
by Tamsinin Bedraggled Mum, Review Tags: Exercise, Face, Free, Husband, Review, School, South Africa, Squidge
I did. It was all inspired by the post entitled “My Face Fell Off“. Someone from the Modern Herbals offices got in touch with me and recommended I try out their Syno-Vital Hyaluronan product which is made from….the same stuff that you find in the vitreous humor of the eye. Awesome.
Eye- juice. How could I resist?
The box arrived all nice and shiny and I whipped it open to find lots of little silver packages lurking inside. I was instructed to rip off the top, tip the contents into some water, and chug it down. All before food!
Now, I am rubbish at remembering to take pills of any kind. You should see how crap I am at remembering my echinacea so I don’t get sick in SA. I had to put these guys right next to the bread bin so that I wouldn’t miss them when I went to make breakfast every morning.
It actually worked! I took the sachets every single day for 30 days. The taste was, ahem, unusual. It’s an almost faintly salty, flat flavour that doesn’t offend the palate but does kind of make you feel like you really are drinking eye-juice.
So what is it? Hyaluronic Acid is a natural part of the body found in the joints for lubrication and it binds 1000 times its weight in water, making it the ultimate natural moisturiser and nutrient carrier. Oooh.
As we age our bodies produce less of the stuff (stupid aging) so theoretically if you use this every day you will be keeping your body nice and moisturised and your nutrients will be wonderfully transported.
This particular product is made from premium grade Hyaluronan with a molecular weight of between 2.1 and 2.5 million Daltons. Sadly this is NOT Timothy Daltons. Not even in his heyday. Sorry. I still don’t know what a Dalton is but it looks important here and these guys apparently have far more Daltons than some competing brands.
At first I didn’t notice a difference at all. And I honestly did peer into the mirror a lot, an experience I don’t particularly relish anymore.
It was a hellish month – these 30 days that I took the product – with The Husband and I getting about 4-5 hours sleep a night. Squidge was struggling to settle into school and had bizarre sleep patterns, we were both manic with ridiculous amounts of work, and I started my diet (that hasn’t been going to well. Am very ashamed. More on that tomorrow).
Needless to say, the Syno-Vital had one montrous task ahead of it. I monitored my skin and I have to say that, in spite of no sleep and lots of work, I wasn’t looking as haggard as I usually do after a month like this. It looks like this stuff really works. I’d be interested to know how well it would do when I am well rested! So I have plans to buy a box for South Africa holiday and do another check.
I waited for another three weeks after the product finished to see if my skin reflected any changes. Again, it was a tough few weeks with me getting about 3-5 hours sleep a night and, let me tell you, this was a period of definite Face Falling Off.
As I am not a scientist I can’t say that I discovered any miracle results as my tests were not entirely scientific in nature. However, I can say that a month ON the sachets vs. three weeks OFF the sachets shows a difference. Not a massive difference, I only took it for 30 days, but a difference nonetheless.
Considering the cost of creams and other such things, I am inclined to make this my new beauty regime treat. I like the fact that it does more than just make me “appear” younger, that it also promotes health and well being. I didn’t get a cold while I was taking it, but am suffering from a monster one today.
Connected? Maybe…
18 Oct 2010
by Tamsinin Bedraggled Mum, Review Tags: Husband, Review, Tired, Turning 40
I was recently sent a box of Syno-Vital Hyaluronan from Modern Herbals. The name made me giggle too. It sounds so imposing and formal. And faintly terrifying. The PR who sent it to me told me that my post about my face falling off is what did it.
Honestly, I am not really sure how I feel about that. I mean, it’s one thing to confess to a saggy face, it’s another to be offered help because you’re terrifying the natives.
I now have a month’s supply and I’m taking it every morning, before food, for the entire 31 days to see if it has any effects on me. I am quite excited. If this stuff can stop my face falling off, then I’m a subscriber. YES!
Wouldn’t it be nice to say goodbye to the terrifying visage that greeted me after a week of sleep deprivation. Ohhh, yes. I’ll keep you posted.
It does taste weird though. And the Husband calls it “Eye-Juice” because Hyaluronic Acid is found in the vitreous humor (fluid) of the eye.
One can only hope that they aren’t draining eyeballs for this stuff.
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