Friday 30 November 2012

Snapfish Photo Gifts


Anyone that knows me will know that I am forever taking photographs. Weather it's with my camera on a day out or a quick snap with my phone, I have hundreds, so besides putting them in frames and ending up with no free wall space, I was looking for ways to create unique items using my photographs. So when Snapfish offered me the chance to make a unique photo gift on their site, I jumped at the chance. I have used a few websites before to order prints but this was by far the easiest site to use. Some of the others are so difficult and confusing to navigate around the site and upload your files, but Snapfish have simple to use upload tools and give clear instructions all the way through. It only takes a few minutes to register on the site and once you have signed up you are ready to go. You are immediately taken to your control panel where you can upload multiple image files, save them to specific albums, use the very handy auto correcting tools, which make sure your photo is at its best by correcting exposure or red eye. There are even easy buttons which allow you to upload files directly from sites like Facebook, which made it a lot easier.


Once you have uploaded your files, you can search through the products and decide what you want to create. There are so many things to choose from you are bound to find something you will love. You can create photo books, key-rings  mugs, wall art and so much more. Once you have decided on what you want to create its very simple to personalise it. You simply click a button to choose which photo you would like to use and its done. You will always see a preview of the item with your photograph on, so you can judge if its okay or not, plus you are given a warning if the resolution is too low as this may cause your printed image to be blurry or pixelated when finished.
I ordered a keyring, mug and a wooden photo panel, which is a panel or wooden with your image printed onto it and then it's given a high gloss finish. I love the photo panels as they save the need to buy or hunt round for frames that match your décor.


Even though I was given a low resolution warning on my photo, the finished product was absolutely stunning. The finish was immaculate and the picture was so sharp. Snapfish offer a high quality product at such an affordable price. They are without a doubt the best company I have used for my photograph printing and they have delivered the highest level of quality work. With this is mind, I would recommend anyone looking to create something great with their photos to join up to snap fish. They have great offers on at the moment and have some great ideas for special Christmas presents. Head over to Snapfish now and create some beautiful gifts to treasure your memories forever..

Playing Catch Up..

I have been out of Twitter and Blog land for just a few short weeks, but its seems like a lifetime! It seems to have the same kind of ratio as human to dog years and I have so much reading to catch up on it is unreal. Things took priority for the past few weeks and with Christmas fast approaching, I had so much to do, so my poor blog had to take a back seat.

Things are still going great with Weight Watchers, I have officially lost 2 stone and reached my 10% milestone so I am very happy with that. So besides the weight watching, Christmas shopping and catching up on bits and bobs, that's pretty much what I have been up to these past few 
weeks.




I have so much reading and writing of posts to be getting on with so TTFN.. :-)

Saturday 17 November 2012

Saturday Caption Day - #SatCap

Its Saturday again, which can only mean on thing... SatCap time :-)

We were watching a movie the other day and it was chilly so I told Aalliyah to go and get her fleece and pick  a teddy... Well it seems she couldn't decide as I came in from the kitchen and found her like this!


Do you have a fun caption to go with this snap? Why not head over to Mammasaurus and have fun captioning many more photos.



Friday 16 November 2012

My Reasons To Be Cheerful #R2BC

OK, So here they are.. A little late but could not find enough minutes in the day yesterday!


  1. A really good weigh in at weight watchers this week. I lost 4 pounds which means I am only 3 pound away from a 2 stone weight loss. I am so proud of myself, having always been big, I never thought I would be complaining that my clothes are too big lol.
  2. I have made a nice big dent in the Christmas shopping. I have picked up some fantastic bits online and in town. I think I am more excited than Aalliyah. I have noticed a lot of people have started to xmas decorate already. I am looking forward to decorating the tree with Aalliyah..But not till December.
  3. Aalliyah had her first gymnastics class this week. I knew she would take to it like a duck to water as she is forever springing about at home and at the end of the lesson the coach told me how impressed she was with Aalliyah. She told me she was a natural and would definitely be interested in Aalliyah joining their squad :)
So there are my reasons to be cheerful this week.. What are yours?


Wednesday 14 November 2012

The Gallery - The Eighties

OK, So the theme this week is "The Eighties", but being born in 84 meant I only had 6 years of the eighties to endure, so no perm pics here lol.

I think this picture was taken in around 89, so just in the "Eighties" bracket.


I am on the left in the "nice" lime green costume. Needless to say I have never had a photo taken in a costume since! In the middle is my very good friend Siobhan who I lost contact with for many years and in the past few years have got back in contact with each other. She is also a mummy now, so we can share in our experiences as parents together too. Not only that, but her beautiful little girl was born on Aalliyahs birthday :-)
On the right is a girl called Jade, who I will only ever remember for the biting and pinching that she did and the constant temper tantrum screams coming from her flat lol.



Head over to Sticky Fingers Blog and check out the other entries :-)



Tuesday 13 November 2012

How Your Child Sees You Meme

I was tagged in a fantastic blog post over at The Olivers Mad House, and jumped at the chance to take part. Those of you that know me, and Aalliyah, will know that one thing Aalliyah does constantly is draw. So when I asked for her to draw me, she quiet happily agreed.

So this is how she sees me!



I am very chuffed! So much slimmer in pencil lol and I knew I wouldn't be drawn without my famous face full of freckles.

Thank you Aalliyah.. I love you xx

I am tagging the following fabulous peeps to take part! 

Bubbly Apples - www.bubblyapples.com

(Apologies if you have done this meme previously - Please ignore)

Monday 12 November 2012

Office Hero



One thing I buy a lot of is stationary  I am forever buying pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, paper etc. Having a budding little artist/writer/poet as a daughter means I am always having to replace things in her big box of goodies. Aalliyah is constantly writing or doodling and I go through so many notebooks and pads its unreal! So I was super pleased to find out that Office Hero are offering 1000's of stationary and office supplies at the cheapest online prices and far cheaper than the leading retail stores. 

They stock so many essential items such as paper, notepads, drawing pads, all kinda of pens, stationary sets (which are perfect for students) as well as the useful office items such as staplers, hole punches, flip chart easels, whiteboards and more.

They also sell office furniture and essential office machinery such as photocopiers and printers, so which ever end of the scale you are, you are sure to find what you need at Office Hero.

Check out the links below to view all their fantastic offers.




Thursday 8 November 2012

CeraKook Ceramic Knives


Since starting weight watchers, I have been eating a hundred times more healthy which means I am filling up on my fruit and veg all day everyday. But with so many new meals being cooked my kitchen knives are failing to cut the mustard when it comes to the chopping and slicing of all my vegetables. So when I heard about new CeraKook knives, I was keen to learn more about the product.

The ceramic knives are extremely durable and lightweight making them easy to handle, with a lesser risk of any "chopping" mishaps  They are stain resistant and the ceramic coating on the blades make sure nothing sticks to the surface, making chopping and slicing all the more easier.



The knives are available to buy separately as well as in a set. Every kitchen should have a decent set of knives and you can't go wrong with the Cerakook range. They offer different sized knives for your different needs, from a 6 inch chef knife to a 3 inch paring knife. They also have a fantastic nifty peeler, making your fruit and veg a doddle to peel. The knives are available with a white or black coloured blade. 

The site is fairly new and any orders currently placed online are "pre orders" as the knives are not ready to be shipped until the end of November. Hardly a long wait at all, but to compensate for the hold, CeraKook are offering up to 20% off their products. Meaning you could pick up this fantastic knife set for just £59.95! But hurry as they will soon shoot back up to full price!


They come in a beautiful presentation box, and if you spend more than £40 they are offering free UK delivery. So with Christmas round the corner these would make ideal gifts.

Check out the links below to see the latest offers



Reasons To Be Cheerful #R2BC

I love how the #R2BC is on a Thursday, as this is also my weekly weigh in day at Weight Watchers. So I can always wait until later on in the day as the scales might give me reasons to be "not so" cheerful! But today was another fab day with regards to weight loss. I have lost another 2.5lbs this week bringing me up to a total weight loss of 21 pounds! Which earned me my 3rd silver seven. I am over the moon at how well I am getting on with the pro points plan.



My second reason to be cheerful this week is that I finally repainted my lounge. I know its a pretty simple one, but I have had all my paint for months! I kept saying next week and it turned into months, so I finally got it done.. Only 4 more rooms to decorate now!!

My 3rd and final reason to be cheerful is the Christmas spirit which has started oozing out of all the shops with their window displays, the T.V with its festive adverts and all the people I speak to on Facebook and Twitter commenting on how they have started their Christmas shopping or how much they want to start decorating for Christmas  I love Christmas so much and get more excited than Aalliyah I think! I have started my Christmas shopping and bought some new decorations for my tree today :)

You see.. Simple things that make a big difference to my week. What has made you happy this week?

Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy from the Heart

Saturday 3 November 2012

Saturday Caption Day #Satcap

Its Saturday!! Which can only mean one thing.. Time to caption! Here is Aalliyah and "Dolly". For those of you who haven't read my previous post, Dolly was a dead, hung girl we made for our Halloween party. Here she is before we made her "dead" and "hung".


Head on over to Mammasaurus and have fun captioning more! I am spending the day repainting my lounge but will come on later to check out all the entries.


Thursday 1 November 2012

Knowing Me Knowing You Meme

For those of you that don't know me, My name is Emma and I am a complete newbie to the "blogging" world. I have been blogging on and on for the past month or so, but I would say it has only started to gain momentum in the past few weeks. 

The purpose of this meme was to bring bloggers together, to learn about the person behind the computer screen. I myself know how hard it is to form new friendships as a new blogger so to me this is a great idea!


The Rules:


  • Nominate five other blogs in your post ( All must have less than 250 subscribers)
  • Post five random facts about yourself.
  • Answer the five questions that the "tagger" has asked you, and then list your own five questions to ask others.
  • Let your five friends know you have tagged them by commenting on there blog/tweeting them.
My five random facts:

  1. My confirmation name is Monica and was only chosen as a group of us all chose names from the show "Friends" (Great religious meaning there lol)
  2. I still have an irrational fear of the dark. (Have to have hallway or bathroom light on when I'm in bed lol)
  3. I'm a bit of a Call Of Duty addict. Granted I can't play half as well as the guys on there.. But I give it my all and get very angry in the process lol
  4. I have 2 tattoos. One of my lower spine and one on my shoulder (Both wording)
  5. I am a massive Dr Who fan! But can't stand the new episodes with Matt smith lol


Here is the five questions I was asked to answer:


  1. What is the most embarrassing experience you have ever had?
Hmmm.. How do I choose? I am the most clumsiest person ever so have taken an embarrassing tumble more times than I can remember, but I would say the most embarrassing thing to happen to me was being in labour and having to have the normal "dilation checks" as you do and being escorted to a ward with zero power, so having a friendly little helper having to hold a huge JCB builders torch over me while I was examined.

    2.  What is your most treasured childhood memory?

The number one thing that stands out for me is sharing a room with my sister. I remember we had everything matching, and I believe at one point it was a Pierro Clown theme. (No wonder I have a fear of them now) I remember constantly making up dances and performances with my sister and one that sticks out in particular was a dance we did to Shakespears Sister's Stay. We practised for hours and them performed it for our parents.

   3.   What is your favourite meal?

That's easy.. Boiled gammon joint, potatoes and cabbage. Proper comfort food!! Haven't had it for so long (Following pro points plan and trying to be good) 

   4.   If you could go to any destination in the world, where would it be an why?

OK, So it's not a far away land or exotic location, but I would love to go to New York. Having struggled with work and finances, I have not been in a position to be able to go on a holiday like this and so Aalliyah is yet to experience her first plane holiday. She would absolutely love New York more than me. So now I have quit smoking (Nearly a year now) Hopefully back in employment very very soon! This is definitely our first holiday :-)

  5.   If you could wish for just one thing for your child, what would it be?

This is by far the hardest question of the lot. How do I choose just one?? I guess one of the main ones, is that I wish that she is happy in whatever she chooses to do. Many people can have big bank balances, big cars and even bigger houses and be the loneliest people in the world.

I am tagging the following five people to take part:

http://glitzygleam.blogspot.co.uk/
http://themumstodolist.blogspot.co.uk/
http://mumtales.wordpress.com/
http://theoliversmadhouse.wordpress.com/
http://teacakeandmyboy.blogspot.co.uk/

Your five questions to answer:

What one thing (material object) could you not live without?
What is your favourite blog post?
If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
If you could go back in time what one thing would you change and why?
If you had one wish right now( at time of writing post) what would it be for and why?

Let me know when you have done your post and I'll check it out :-)