Dreamz Ice Cream Parlour

This ice cream parlour has been open virtually on my door step for almost 2 weeks now and I'd not set foot in the door............ until Monday night.

Spoilt for choice is not the word .... not only do they have a hugeee selection of ice creams but also milkshakes, smoothies and coffee.

It took me a lot of choosing, and mind changing before I finalised on ...........

White Post Farm, Farnsfield, Nottingham

Friday was a gloriously sunny day, so as we were camping near Mansfield White Post Farm seemed the perfect place to spend it.

We were really concerned when we got there at the amount of cars as we expected it to be packed, we were wrong.  It was so well spaced out and organised that the only time we ever saw a crowd was during the pantomime (which we only caught the last few minutes of).

White Post Farm is open every day of the year (Apart from Christmas Day & Boxing Day!).  As well as meeting the animals (llamas, rabbits, chicks, lamps, sheep, goats, snakes, dragons, geckos, snakes and many more), there are go-karts, shows, and food, toy, plant and pet shops.

Breathe - Faith Hill

This is one song that holds memories for me, we got married on 28th July 2007 (yup 7 years yesterday) and whilst Bryan Adams, Heaven, was our first dance this is the one I walked down the aisle too.  You see we got married in a hotel and not a church so whilst I could have had the wedding march they also suggested we could have anything we wanted................

Jammy Flapjacks

We were very kindly given a jar of homemade jam on Wednesday by our neighbor .... the boys couldn't wait to try it, but like me weren't keen on jam sandwiches/ toast.

So I needed to find a jammy recipe that wasn't Jam Tarts or Jam in rice pudding. .... YAY for jammy flapjacks who everyone agreed were amazing.

£200 meal plan challenge ............ august 2014

I've tried this a couple of times now with reasonable success but it seems no matter how much I cut back the debts are still spiralling and the money is diminishing.

We have 2 weeks off at the end of August and I am desperate to take the kids away (normally one week would be at a Haven/ Park Resorts site) but I just can't justify it this year with the amount already on the credit cards.  So step 1......... rein in the food spending (not that I think I can much more then I already have)

If you've followed the last first £200 challenge here and the not so fantastic sequel here  then you'll already know how difficult it is to plan for my husband.   For those who don't know.....

Silent Sunday - 27.07.2014

Flashback Friday - Time Busters

Many people remember Knightmare but how many remember Broadswords smaller run, BBC2 show Time Busters?

For me the main memory are the big red bus and the catchphrase "Time Busters Go...Go Go Go Go".  Like my memory of being Alana, The Girl from Tomorrow, I distinctly remember jumping over the top of my mums sofa (quite a lot) bring a Time Buster.

#mysleepout .... an update @archerproject

On the 12th of July we got all set for out outdoor sleepout.  This was to raise awareness of homelessness in Sheffield - see my earlier post  and after a week or 2 of glorious evenings we were very excited.

Have you missed me? ;)

The school holidays finally started here for us on Monday.... 6 whole weeks of having 2 boys at home again.  It's probably not such a big deal for me as I am used to having both all weekend, but for hubby (who only has 1 most of the time, and a full day with neither) it is now 4 days of utter chaos as he has to remember to actually look after them and keep them entertained.

Apologies for the marathon catch up but I've sooooo much I've been wanting to share and just not had the time ...... here's why........

Made in Sheffield: Flurt (frozen yogurt)

It's not often I get excited about 2 hours out of the house..... ok it is.... tis a very rare occurrence and as Flurt pointed out on their facebook page, yes I probably WOULD go to the opening of a crisp packet!

But this excitement was something else, a night to meet some bloggers and local independent businesses as well as having my first ever 'Flurt' frozen yogurt experience (I know now what fro-yo stands for and be warned I will be using it!).

flashback friday - paddington bear

I may have already mentioned our new favourite kids TV channel "Tiddlers TV", well it came up trumps again last week when it started showing episodes of "Paddington Bear"  from the 80's.

This is nothing like the new generation of Paddington Bear - the originals were a strange form of animation.  Paddington himself was a 3D puppet who moves between 2D animated scenes, characters and buildings.

Tuneful Tuesday - Autumn Days

Which songs do you remember from your school days?  The other week we fondly remembered "The Paintbox Song" .... this week "Autumn Days"  take the number one spot.

.  ..apologies in advance for the youtube clip, it was the only one I could find
  ..... what are you thankful for?


All together now.........................

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Microwave chocolate chip brownie recipie

Back in February I posted my super quick, fool proof Microwave Chocolate Brownie recipe....today I'm going to introduce you to a variation born from necessity.

I'm not normally one to play around with recipes as I don't trust the outcomes... but needs must.  So with no cocoa powder in the cupboards (HOW expensive is that stuff at the moment!!) here's the amazing yummy chocolaty fix I came up with.

Reading Bingo 2014 (updated 14.7.14)

This year I am going to attempt the Random House's 2014 Reading Bingo Challenge. 

What is the Reading Bingo challenge I hear you ask?   well basically you have a gamecard (below)available from Random House's website.  The aim is to tick off as many books from the card as possible (if your book covers more than 1 square, bonus!).

silent sunday - 13.7.14

Flashback Friday - The Girl from Tomorrow

Picture the scene, an 8 year old me saving the world with an alice band around my forehead with a 'jewel' (read piece of paper) stuck in the middle.  I also have 3 dots on the side of my face (thanks to mums eyeliner pencil!). Who else could I have been but Alana, The Girl From Tomorrow. 

The Girl from Tomorrow was another Australian born children's television series broadcast in 1990 with a sequel in 1993.  Each series aired 12 x 25 minute episodes and aired on the BBC in the UK.

It was based around Alana, a girl from the year 3000. who was kidnapped by Silverthorn, a criminal from the year 2500, and brought back in time to the year 1990.  Confused yet?  Funnily enough it wasn't to a child!

The 30 day shred - update

So after last week where I was soo pleased to be down from 9st 10 to 9st 7 I stepped on the scales tonight ... 9st 9!  GRRRR

OK OK so I KNOW where I'm going wrong and can't blame anyone but myself. I've been plowing FAR tooo much crap into my body!  It's just been one of those weeks where I've felt really down.

Cross stitch - London Underground update

My last London update was 26th June ..

I've managed a few more train lines since then, mainly due to having beautiful weather on Friday and 2 children both in school.  spent a day lazing on the kids trampoline with my stitching .... it's far comfier then a chair.

Still hating the stations tho (white on a light cream evenweave) and leavign them until last where I can so it's a case of colouring in the spaces rather then stitching around them.

Tuneful Tuesday - Queen, Bicycle Race

I will fondly remember one of my ex-boyfriends for properly introducing me to Queen.  His signature tune was Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (perhaps I should have known then what a player he was).

Well I couldn't let the Tour De France part without a cycling song could I .... so here is it Bicycle Race, by Queen.

Make it Monday - Fruit Kebabs

I was supposed to write this post back at the beginning of June but time swept me away and I've just

realised it never got past the initial planning stage. With summer well under way now is a fab time to teach the kids how to make them.... especially if they are as picky over fruit as mine (one week they love apples the next they won't even have them in the house).

I would like to say a hearty thank you to Zest for introducing my boys to Fruit Kebabs at Sheffield's Food Fest.... they are now obsessed with them!!

Silent Sunday - 6.7.14

Meet Barny-Straw and Barny-Choc

Hi... Hi....





I'm Barny-Straw, probably one of the quieter members of the Barny family.  I love to get lost in adventure books rather then actually leave the house.





I'm Barny-Choc and I am football mad... yay that the world cup is on.  I like nothing better then to be outside chasing a ball and can't wait to go to the park and show the boys my moves.


Mumsnet sent us to Sheffield to meet Chickywiggle and her boys and go on lots of adventures.....and we just had to make sure we told you all about them.

The 30 day shred - update

This post is my weekly update on my 30 day shred challenge - the original post can be found here.

3 shreds (in 1 week) later and I'm on 9st 7 - yayyy.  not bad considering it was 'that' time of the month last week and I had:

Flashback Friday - Dangermouse

He's the greatest,

He's fantastic,

Wherever there is danger he'll be there!

Hes the ace,

He's amazing,

He's the strongest, he's the quickest, he's the best!

Dangermouse,

Dangermouse,

Dangermouse!

If rumours are to be believed then Danger Mouse will be returning to our screens in 2015, but with a lot of technological updates.  Whilst I am sure the new generation of children will love it will it really be a patch on this British classic?

300 picture book challenge - June Update

June

We were really into The Enchanted Wood trilogy and Superworm this month ..... and as predicted the list doesn't feature much else....

• The Enchanted Wood - chapter 9-29 (book 1 in trilogy)
• The Magic Faraway Tree - 30 - 33 (book 2 in trilogy)
• Superworm x 5
• Peepo
• Rainbow Fish
• Fireman Sam - Lost in the Fog
• The Great Pet Sale

34 this month  (I am counting 1 chapter as equivalent to 1 book) 

Total: 183/300

The Tour De France ... or Le Tour D'Pain in the buttocks as it has become fondly known in our house

I promised a post on the Tour De France, after all living in Sheffield who could ignore the fact "It's coming" on the the 6th July.

The city is covered in yellow bikes and bunting....

There are t-shirts and mugs and any other merchandise you could want for sale.....

Tuneful Tuesday - The Paintbox Song

Which songs do you remember from your school days? for me it was "When the Knight Won his Spurs", "Autumn Days and this one.... "The Paintbox Song".

.  ...do you remember going really quiet when the celery was asleep?
  ..... did you get in trouble for saying "yeahh" at the end?

All together now.........................

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