By Nickie O'Hara on
Sunday, October 31, 2010
HiPP Organic sent me a range of their products for my granddaughter, Megan, to try. As she is seven months old they gave me some samples from their
Stage 2 range:
According to my daughter, Megan has loved ALL of the samples and Mummy's mind is at rest because of the organic ingredients that HiPP lovingly use in their food. The rice cakes have been great to keep in the cupboard here at Nana's house for when the anklebiters visit.
One great bonus is that all the jars and their lids are reusable - less waste and a great opportunity to store home-cooked food in exactly the right quantities.
HiPP Organic have masses of information
on their website, including the ingredients they use, the HiPP Organic Baby Club and lots of expert advice. You can also find HiPP on
Twitter and
Facebook.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Alan Dedicoat (
the voice of The Balls)
Peter Dickson (
the voice of X-Factor)
Dave Lamb (
the voice of Come Dine With Me)
Marcus Bentley (
the voice of Big Brother).
This would be the best Come Dine With Me ever. Fact.
But you would have to watch with your eyes closed.
And I will fill in for Dave Lamb as the voice-over.
I'd even write my own script.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Friday, October 29, 2010
My final
Pink Friday post is from T-J (mentioned fleetingly in
Pink Friday 4). T-J runs her own specialist
bra fitting service which offers advice for women, specifically for mastectomy/post surgery patients and plus-size ladies. You can find lots more information about T-J on her '
About Me' page on her
Bra-Blog.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Editors note: This post was submitted to me within the ethos of Blognonymous. The writer will explain who she is and her reasons for requesting that she post this here, semi-anonymously. Please feel free to offer her your advice and thoughts in the comments section.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
By Nickie O'Hara on
Thursday, October 28, 2010
I read this tweet from Mr Paparazzi this morning and had to laugh.
Songs don't 'storm up the charts' any more. They go straight in at number one or they are considered a 'flop'. I had a quick check to see who she is up against this week and
according to eli.com the competition is in the form of Judy Collins and Tim Buckley (
can you hear that owl too? Who? Who?) so I think old Chezza is safe.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
I'll never forget finding my dad, hiding out in the garage, respraying my old bike to give to my sister for her Christmas present. I was about 8 years old. I felt a mixture of emotions; sadness because I realised that she wouldn't have a 'new' bike and excitement because I was now 'grown up' and knew what my sister was getting for Christmas.
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By Nickie O'Hara on
I was pointed in the direction of the practice version of the
UK Citizenship Test online last night (
yes, I was bored and it was mentioned in one of the questions on Channel 4's "Million Pound Drop"). This test covers aspects of British history, society and culture and is a requirement when applying for settlement in the UK or full British citizenship. The test took me just over 7 minutes but you have a full 45 minutes if you need it.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
By Nickie O'Hara on
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Hello readers and welcome to the new look
Typecast blog. If you're reading this post in an RSS reader, please click through and have a look. It has been the culmination of a throw-away comment on Twitter on Saturday night, kind-hearted help from a few fellow bloggers and tweeters and the donation of a free domain name. Oh, yes... did you notice the new web address for the blog? You are now reading "
I Am Typecast" - how's that for fancy? Also, you will possibly be wondering how on earth you ended up reading one of your favourite blogs on a new web address, without actually navigating to it. That's because all of the hard work has been done for you. Everything is automatically redirected so just carry on doing what you're doing as the old "typecast2000.blogspot.com" address sends you to here. You can, of course, change your bookmarks if you really want to.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Saturday, October 23, 2010
I don't know whether this is just Blackburn or if it's happening all over the country but I am DISTRAUGHT that there are no traditional chip shops open on a Saturday lunch time. Kev wanted a portion of chips to go with some left-over curry, Michael and myself wanted a meat and potato pie (possibly with some peas on top) and Jake wanted a dab butty.
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By Nickie O'Hara on
Friday, October 22, 2010
Everyone is always looking for something a little different to raise awareness and donations for charity and let's face it - sitting in a bath of cold baked beans is so 'last year'. So when I found out that my fellow
#FridayTwiz-er, the lovely Jane Fox of
Fired4U, had organised an evening of '
Painting By Nipples' I was intrigued. She tells me that is going to be very much like children's hand and foot printing but using *
ahem* alternative body parts...
By Nickie O'Hara on
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Fellow blogger Pippa (from over at "A Mother's Ramblings") asked me if I'd ever thought about my life as if it was a film. Strangely, she wasn't the first person who had asked me this question so I have decided to elaborate on my original answer somewhat. My life story HAS to be conducted in the style of a musical with a cast of thousands - each trial and tribulation fought through the medium of song. And just like I mentioned in the original interview, I'd tap dance at some point too.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Monday, October 18, 2010
I was asked if I would like to test the Playskool Gloworld Musical Gym with my granddaughter, Megan and jumped at the chance. At seven months old, Megan is becoming very aware of her surroundings, loves tummy time and is almost crawling. Her frustration at being static has been distracted by the wonderful stimulants on the playmat.
The Playskool Gloworld Musical Gym has a variety of toys that can hang over the play gym or be detatched for interactive play. All have sensory and tactile features such as satin pull tabs, felt patches, lift-up flaps and the obligatory mirror (Megan's favourite). There is also a variety of music and even a musical mode that is baby-movement activated.
The play gym is suitable for overhead play (from 0 months onwards), tummy play and sit-up play and requires two AA batteries (not included). It is also fully machine washable which, as we all know, is a massive bonus where babies are concerned - especially Little Miss Dribble Chops (our Megan!).
By Nickie O'Hara on
Sunday, October 17, 2010
News of my
recent review posts has reached as far as the lovely people at
Aunt Bessie's. I was sent some vouchers and asked to buy and test some of the well-known food range as part of their "host-a-roast" challenge. They have also asked me to tell you about a competition to win an Ikea kitchen worth £8000 - more of that at the end of the review!
By Nickie O'Hara on
Friday, October 15, 2010
... as Mary Poppins once said.
Today marks the day that I am
exactly half way through my degree with the Open University. I began well and steadily got better at lone study. Today, I have sat my first official exam in 22 years (
apart from the Health & Safety course I did earlier this year) and have spent
the last few weeks worrying about it all.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Surely you should have known that I couldn't let a PINK FRIDAY during Breast Cancer awareness month go by without a mention of the beloved Filofax? Here is a fantastic chance to make a donation to a worthwhile cause and pick up on the return of the retro organiser.
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By Nickie O'Hara on
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
You see the theme this week? "My Favourite Photo (and why)". Do you think that is an easy or difficult prompt? I don't mind admitting that it has left me pondering a-while. Should I choose a picture of
my family,
my extended family,
scenery...? But then I remembered a precious keepsake that I have...
By Nickie O'Hara on
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Look what greeted me when I got home from work today.
Interflora had delivered a surprise* bunch of flowers with the attached note:
By Nickie O'Hara on
Monday, October 11, 2010
I am dreading this week. Friday is exam day. The first exam I have taken in 22 years. I am crap at revising and retaining information so it is also an exam that I am convinced I am going to fail.
Before I continue, I have to say that, in two years of lone study with the OU, this is my first negative experience. Up until now I have championed the system and I have enjoyed studying for my degree. This is my fourth module. It is also the last presentation of this particular module. The course has been updated and rewritten. That doesn't excuse the lackadaisical attitude of my tutor.
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By Nickie O'Hara on
Saturday, October 09, 2010
The attitude and image of bingo has been brought right up to date recently and has definitely moved on from the stereotypical blue-rinse brigade in a fug-laden room. Popularity has increased and players of all ages are now taking part. Even I am a regular player down at our local bingo hall and have been for about fifteen years now. Speed and concentration (and a bit of luck) are needed in abundance to stand a chance of winning the prize money on offer
. Recently, I've experienced the virtues of
online bingo.
By Nickie O'Hara on
I'll be honest here. When I was asked to review this CD as part of my "bargains for Christmas" posting spree I knew that it would never enter the CD tray of my stereo. As soon as Our Chief Tester of Toddler Toys (Anticyclone Amie) saw the CD, she pounced on it, babbling some nonsense, and refused to release it from her grubby little mitts. Her mummy and daddy were
ever so pleased and were looking forward to bopping along to the track listing back home.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Friday, October 08, 2010
When I took Jake out of school back in July for
our family holiday, he missed his last week ever of primary school - and his presentation day. A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from his old headmaster inviting him into a Friday assembly to receive his awards. He had already cleared it with the Year 7 (high school) Head of Year and thought it would be a great opportunity for Jake. I agreed.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
I have a massive image complex at the moment. I used to be a stick-thin size 8-10 and now I am a "
you carry your weight well" size 14-16. Finding a diet to suit is a constant battle but I've found that the dog likes brisk walks at about 7pm so we go power-walking together.
Anyway, there *is* a point to all this. I just don't get it when a
well-known national newspaper has decided that "fat" lies somewhere between Katy Perry and Beth Ditto using these images as examples:
By Nickie O'Hara on
Editors note: This post was submitted to me to within the ethos of Blognonymous. The writer would like to remain completely anonymous and is grateful for this "get it all off your chest" opportunity. Please feel free to comment on this post and offer your advice or thoughts.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
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By Nickie O'Hara on
Sunday, October 03, 2010
We're having a meme-tastic time on the blog at the moment but this is one that I knew I was going to enjoy It gives me an opportunity to talk about my favourite subjects: Me and Twitter. This is a fairly new meme, started by Kate at
The Five F's and, as usual, there are a few questions to answer but I think I've probably gone off at a bit of a tangent...
By Nickie O'Hara on
Saturday, October 02, 2010
In an earlier post I promised you that some of my forthcoming reviews and sponsored posts would be geared towards helping you save money on the run up to Christmas.
FuelMyBlog have asked me to share some information about
VoucherHub.com and their fantastic collection of money-off vouchers that are available for a wide range of items.
By Nickie O'Hara on
Friday, October 01, 2010
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month in the United Kingdom. Every year almost 46,000 people are given the devastating news that they have breast cancer - that's one person every 11 minutes.
Over the next month I will be using my blog space on a Friday to coincide with
Pink Friday from
BreastCancerCare.org.uk I will be posting some links that I hope you will find useful and some reader experiences in line with the
Cancer - Your Story series. PLEASE share these blog posts (there will be five in total) within your network. You never know... someone may need this information.
* * *
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