Silent sunday:30/11/14

Lurpak cooks range

My husband love to cook and I am always on a diet or baking lol. So when I got a chance to try the new Lurpak cooks range I was very keen. I had two to try the first being

Cooking Mist

This is a blend of Lurpak with vegetable oil making it super easy to apply with no fuss. It is great on vegetables to oven roast, and ideal for the baking tins to make sure there is not sticking. Much healthier for you as you use so little, but great on taste. As with both products if you go over to Lurpak web site there are lots of yummy recipes to try out.

Cooking Liquid

This is had a lovely flavour but the vegetable oil stopped things from burning, Yummy to use with frying meat and fish and also once again great for those baking tins.

I found both super easy to use, had a great flavour and you did not have to use much. This last point has got to be good for health and your pocket !

So jump on over to its a long link but it will take you straight to all the information.

http://www.lurpak.co.uk/uk/our-products/cooks-range/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAkdajBRCJ_7_j6sCck7wBEiQAppb2i2caRX-yIQXMvz-ld-30s-QsBU8Wf3wS6e8w3HjRvM8aAtxP8P8HAQ

Please note I was not paid for this review only receiving a sample of the product

November SnapHappy:photo a day - Thank you

I thought I would start taking part in  photo challenge #SnapHappyBritMums. You are given photo prompts everyday to get you to think about taking more picture, well more picture in my case. So the theme for the 25th November is "thank you". I am sure that as busy people we forget to say those words to the ones we love, but it doesn't mean that we don't feel it. So I need to say a huge thank you to my family. My husband Kevin and my children Matthew and Natalie. I love you all so much and my heart is full of pride for you all. Never ever forget that xxxxxx

Baby shower magic

I am a little late this Monday with joining up with The olivers madhouse linky. Normally I am ready and can't wait to share. This past weekend has been very busy as it was my daughter Natalie's baby shower. Its been an exciting year for us as a family. In June this year our first grandchild was born his dad being my son Matthew (my oldest) and his mum Karen. He came a bit early and even made his own baby shower lol. He had just arrived when my daughter told she was expecting a baby. Wow in the space of a week we had one grandson and another grandchild on the way lol.

Natalie has not always been well and there have been some worries during the pregnancy but thankfully things are going ok.
So this weekend was her baby shower and both my husband and I worked really hard to make a special day for her. She invited lots of friends and thankfully on the day lots turned up, there will always be people who say they are coming but for whatever reason can't on the day, which is always a worry but the numbers were good.

My husband was doing all the food ! he is an excellent cook and well used to cooking for lots of people so had no worries there. When all the food was laid out I think you will agree it looked fab.

My job was the cake and the decorations which I really enjoyed doing. I also had lots of helpers so the work went fast.

The kind climber is the future Uncle Colin and the guy in the blue shirt the future Daddy Ian. We had lots  of fun games which my daughter in law was in charge of and much fun had by all.

It was very hard work but I think Mummy and Daddy had a good time and so did all the guest I hope.

www.theoliversmadhouse.co.uk

Silent sunday:23/11/14

Ryvita Review

My taste buds were in over drive this week as I got to try two yummy flavours and they were yummy!

This January rather than your normal resolutions, why not try a healthy diet full of versatility instead.

1.Healthy Breakfasts : Crisps breads Soldiers. Break a slice of your Ryvitas multigrain crispbread into soldiers and dip into a soft boiled egg for a delicious and nutritious breakfast.
I love this one it was really yummy with a lovely flavour.

2. Luscious Leftovers: Perfect cheese on toast crispbread. Why not try something new for lunch by adding a layer of grated cheese to sweet onion flavour.
were lovely and so perfect to have with cheese or ham yummy.

Ryvitas have been around since 1925 which is amazing by today's standards . So check out these flavour as they were so nice and well worth it.

https://www.ryvita.co.uk/

Tetley Tea Review

So I have had a very interesting review this week for Tetley Tea. Now you can be forgiven in thinking how interesting can tea be! I was the same but was really surprised at how much I did learn.  I was really  amazed that tea tasters take at least five years to train, who would have thought it. I think the role of the tea taster is so interesting and if you would like to more then go to.

http://www.tetley.co.uk/docs/librariesprovider6/default-document-library/the-art-of-tea-blending-here.pdf?sfvrsn=0

We in the UK are used to the cute adverts on TV with the little Tetley people, but in real life there are a Tetley tea folk team. This consists of

A team of 47 skilled individuals based in the UK, India and Africa
909 years worth of experience combined.

So I think there are lots of hard working people out there making sure we get our cuppa's everyday.
 I got to try three types of tea lucky me!

The first was Green Tea with Mint.

This was a lovely fresh and gentle green tea with added mint for a nice cool edge. It really found it pleasant to drink and I think it would be so nice in the summer . Think I would make it cold and add some fresh mint and maybe fruit and make a punch type drink.

The second was Green Tea with mango and passion fruit.

Once again this was a combination of the fresh green tea with an exotic blend of mango and passion fruit, all deliciously tropical. I thought this one was yummy and fruity and like the mint I think it would be nice cold in the summer as well.

And last I got to tea Extra Strong.

This is a tea to drink when you need a lift. A blend of deep, full bodied Assam and brisk African tea, this has a strong bright colour and lively on the taste buds. Its perfect to have any time and would go with all kinds of foods.


If you are are really interested in the story of Tea got and visit the Tetley Tea web site as there is so much information for you to learn the tea story.

www.tetley.co.uk

Please note I was not paid for this review , only receiving a sample of the product

Wedding Memories

Well its Monday again and gosh the week just flies past. I am as always doing one of my fave link ups with Magic Moments. 

This week I thought I would share a little old school magic moments and embarrass myself  on the way lol. This is a picture of me taken in 1969 at my brothers wedding. I was the little one in the front I should add. I was 10 going on 11 and I was loving getting dressed up.

My mum made the dresses which were a lovely pale lemon, with a white over poker dot on the top. I had my hair up and lots of tiny flowers pushed into my hair. What you cant see by this picture, was that it was in January. It was very cold and very foggy and most of the pictures look like night time. Later we had a a great party next door in the church hall lol. No fancy venues in those days!

Many years later I myself was married ( 1979 ) in the same church, and my husbands parents were also married there. I think Pat was a beautiful bride and my mum made her dress as well!

Bridesmaids

The beautiful bride Pat and my brother Tony

The church holds lots of memories for me and It is nice that we could share all our wedding day from one place.

Have a lovely magic moment day x

 

Silent Sunday: 16.11.14

Week One: Shake the Crave

So believe it or not its been a full week since I started the Shake the Crave 90 challenge. So I set off the week full of hope as you do on a new diet.
I have the chocolate Shake the crave and I have to say after a bit of fixing I can make a mean one now. I have a bullet machine which I find is great to mix up my shakes, but you can also at a push put it in a plastic bottle and give it a darn good shake.
I add a few ice cubes to mine and sometimes I may add a piece of fruit to make it a little thicker.
Its really easy to mix once you get the hang of it and the chocolate one tastes yummy! Id drink it even if I wasn't trying to lose weight lol.

I have health issues so fitness which is meant to be a big part of this challenge is hard for me. I did manage my walking DVD once and a short walk to my daughters. Not much I hear you say but huge for me, and little acorns so they say. I am hoping once I lose some weight things will get much easier for me and my health.
I have been replacing my breakfast and lunch with my Shake the Crave, and then in the evening have a proper meal. I try to drink plenty of water during the day, but as yet have not given up my much loved tea ! I only use a small amount of skimmed milk and no sugar so I think it will be fine.

I have to say that I have felt better this week. I suffer with chronic pain and at times you can feel very under the weather and worn out. I think I have had more energy this week and I would go so far as to say my pain has been better. Now is that just a coincidence or the shake I don't know? I think I am far too early into the 90 days to say. However, feeling better for what ever reason is good enough for me.
I find that when I have my shakes during the day for the most part I am fine and not over hungry. My issue comes after I have my proper meal, then I get hungry but once again that could just be evenings! Time on your hands, television you can see what I am saying. I have to be totally honest and say I have cheated a wee bit a couple of times but not badly.
I am hoping that as time goes on my body will adjust and with the help you can get from the Shake the Crave web site I can improve things.

So the time has come to reveal if I lost weight at all this week. So drum roll please good or bad

End Week one Wednesday 12th November 2014   Lost :  3 pounds !

yay me lol . I know that if those little cheats had not happened I would have lost more and also if I could have done my 30 Min's for fitness. Saying that I am happy as a weight loss is a weight loss. So onto week two and I will post my results next wednesday.

www.shakethecrave.com

please note I was not paid for this review only receiving a sample of the product

The Times They are a changing!

I have decided Jollyjillys is changing! No don't panic its not a complete make -over , just a little fluff.
Ever since I started the blog I have been on a steep learning curve. I remember those long gone days when my niece Emma over at The syders started me off , I have been learning. I have gone from " why" to "yay" in a short few years.  Between Emma and my son Matthew I slowly found jollyjillys and started to grow my identity.
If you are wondering about the name and how I came about it there is a story lol. When Emma and her brother Sam were little they called me jilly. It was never Jill just jilly. Now most of the time I think I am jolly and upbeat. So there it was Jollyjillys was born.
My blogging journey has not been easy and there has been much to take in. I think I always will be learning , as there is always something to improve or find out about.  I also think you are never too old to learn, I am proving that lol.
I still seek advice and I like to try alone first but often I have to shout for help. I think that's ok as most other bloggers seem kind and will help if they can. I have been lucky enough to chat to lots of lovely people who have been kind and give me tips or hints when they can. Through reading posts I came across an event that lot seem to be chatting about. It was called BritMums live and it did look great. I considered going to this event but to be honest I was nervous and thought I really did not know enough to go. I thought it looked like the place to meet other bloggers and brands and to be able to improve my blog in the future.

I decided then and there that by next year I would go and be brave. Well it took yet another year before I got the nerve to consider it lol.  I wanted to push myself because I feel I learn so much. I also felt it would be wonderful and special to represent a brand at the event. Even though I am not a high profile blogger I still felt I could offer much to a company. I set myself a task to find that brand to work with, but also a brand that I believed in.  I had recently had used a wonderful site called
Lifestorybank, and thought it was a brilliant idea. Let me tell you a little about them and why I think its a great idea.
As I get older I am aware that I am the keeper of the family memories . My parents are long gone so are most of my older family members. I suddenly thought that if I passed away all my family history would be gone. Lifestorybank allows you to record and store those memories for the future, and its so easy to do. If I could offer you a tip I would say go over to Lifestorybank and check it out, its a fab company.

So when Lifestorybank wanted me to represent me at BritMumslive I was over the moon. I am delighted they have faith in me and I plan on doing a good job for them. I can't thank them enough and I will sit and store those memories so my history will not get lost.

So I have lots of plans and I am hoping to put them all in place. I will be outlining a few this week and I hope you think they are good ideas. I wanted to prove I can get better and make Jollyjillys a really good blog in 2015.

You can find out lots more about Lifestorybank at

www.lifestorybank.com

Happy Anniversary Mum and Dad

Mum and Dad on their wedding day

My day is as always on a Monday, linking up with The Olivers Madhouse for magic moments.  This weekend was one that had a special date, a date that I expect I only remember about these days.
It was my dear parents wedding anniversary and I wanted to share a little about them as I felt it was fit and right to do so . Sadly they are both long gone but I remember them with much love and happiness. My parents had been friends for a long time. My mum went on to get engaged to someone else, an Canadian Airman in fact. Sadly he was killed in world war two and it took her some time to get over losing him.
She started going out in a big group and my dad was part of that group. After awhile he said "lets have a party" and when asked why he said that they may as well get married lol.
It started a very long marriage which was for the most happy . It gave me a fab childhood with a ton of memories of good times. Even though they passed away a long time ago, I still miss them but I can smile at all the wonderful fun times we had, and I am blessed to have had them as parents.
So I hope Grace Edith Fitzjohn and Thomas Fitzjohn had a great party over the weekend and I love them with all my heart.

Happy anniversary Mum and Dad

Silent Sunday :9/11/14

My 90 Day Shake the Crave Challenge

Recently I was asked to try out a diet drink called Shake the Crave which help you to lose weight .
I was impressed with the day I did try but as a real diet challenge I did say you would need much longer to be fair. So I was delighted to be asked by Shake the Crave to be one of their 90 day testers.
So with the help from them I am going to start tomorrow and hope you will follow my 90 day journey.
So for the next 90 days I am going to post on Wednesday's to keep you up to date with my progress. Also I am sure there will be moaning and all sorts so I will say sorry now lol.
I have lots of health and mobility issues so I know it will be a challenge but one I really need to work also for those reasons.
I would love to hear all about your weight loss journeys and how you are getting on. So wish me luck and I will start this Wednesday as day one. I can do this! And pop over to Shake the Crave to find out lots of information and help.

www.shakethecrave.com

Please note I am not being paid for this review, only a sample of the product has been provided

Family Memories

Well its Monday yet again, boy the weeks fly! or am I just getting old lol.  As normal for me I love to take part in my fave link up with Theoliversmadhouse for magic moments.
I was running through all my pictures to think about what I would pick this week. I am came across a whole lot of old family pictures, many of which brought back huge memories.
I was very lucky to have wonderful parents. I was really close to my mum who was my world. My dad worked very long hours so I did not get to see him much, but when I did he was a good dad.

My dad

My mum was great and I loved her so much, both were taken early but I think my world is better from them being in it. I love old pictures as I love to look at fashion and fads and how things have changed or not.
Sadly most of the people in these pictures have passed away but I loved them all and wish they were still around. I wish I had told them I loved them more but I hope they knew.

my mum at the front, my nan and my aunts at the back.

Silent Sunday:2/11/14