The Babymoon

Image Photobucket: acerentacargreece

What the... Just when you thought you had heard it all, BOOM; they hit you with another pointless, unnecessary word.  So what is it this time?  Hold on to your hats because it’s a good one…  Babymoon!!?!

Having scrawled through the internet, assuming that it has some reference to our solar system, it turns out that the word Babymoon was first penned in a novel way back in 1996.  Since then it has slowly been growing in popularity and is now becoming more commonly used in pregnancy circles today.  So what does it mean?

There are a number of meanings - One relates to the bonding period, where parents spend time together as a family after the baby is born (Maternity and Paternity to you and me).  The other, and this is where it gets good, is when expecting parents take a holiday or spend time together before the birth; making the most of their time and money before the baby consumes both.

Really!  I mean... Really, Really! Because you haven’t been able to spend time together or go on holiday before getting pregnant?  Yes you may need some R&R, but trust me; if you wait till after the birth you will appreciate this break so much more.

Is it really worth the money?  If you are more than comfortable financially then I guess this doesn’t really matter.  However bear in mind the costs involved with raising a child and you may reconsider.

Is it the best time to be travelling?  For us men, journeys are still pretty much the same.  Have you considered what it might be like travelling whilst heavily pregnant?  Also, if you are close to the due date, a last minute holiday isn’t ideal unless your plan is for the baby to be born in the back of your car in a grungy layby?

So what do you think? Each to their own, I suppose...

Go Nuts!

Image Photobucket: uri118

I have a walnut tree in my back garden, not by choice; it was there when I moved in.  Walnuts have never been top of my list of things to eat as I have honestly never really liked them.  Having seen my dogs get stuck into them every year, I thought it would be an idea to gather them and utilise them.  After all they are free!  However I was not prepared for the amount of work that would go into this process.

I searched the Internet for the best ways to collect and store the walnuts, all of which offered a different way.  Trial and error lead me to the final solution.   It is recommended that you allow the nuts to fall when they are ready and then collect them from the floor.  This turned out to be a race between me and the dogs to see who could get them first.  After collecting them I would clean off the mud and scum and then need to dry them out.  This was the first challenge.  It is said that the nuts should be left in the sun for a couple of days to dry out.  This is all very well however I have dogs and I live in the UK?  October (when the nuts are generally ready for harvest) is not the height of summer so finding a sunny day between the rains is rare.

Trial one – dry them in the oven.  This is fine although I had to use a very low heat so as not to roast the nuts.  My oven isn’t the biggest so this was a very timely process.

Trial two – Lay them on a towel to dry.  This started well, although the towel will remain damp and therefore risk the growth of mould.

Trial three – Clear the spare room.  This turned out to be the solution that worked best for me.  I placed a large piece of card over the spare bed and covered that with newspaper.  I then spread the walnuts over the card and left them to dry.  To ensure that the room was ventilated and would not again cause mould, I set up a fan to circulate the air and assist to speed up the drying time.  Every day I would go in to check on them.  This involved stirring them so that they were properly aired.  Talking to them is optional but I found it makes the process more personal.

Three weeks later and the nuts are ready and over 3000 walnuts have been collected!  A decision was made to sell them and donate the proceeds to charity. 

So why go to so much effort?  Well here is some info about walnuts.

Walnuts are healthy nuts that can be very good for your heart.  Research has proved that walnuts contain cholesterol lowering properties which have also been noted to reduce the risk of heart disease and inflammation.  Walnuts are high in omega 3 fatty acids which play a part in reducing triglycerides levels which helps to prevent the clogging of arteries by increasing HDL levels (high density lipoproteins) which are good cholesterol, this helps to reduce LDL levels (low density lipoproteins) also known as bad cholesterol.  As well as having healthy heart ingredients, walnuts also contain vitamin E, B vitamins, fibre and various minerals.  A handful of nuts each day will be sufficient enough for a person to receive the cholesterol lowering benefits.

Walnuts are also said to contain sleep inducing properties?  If you find you are having difficulty nodding off, have a few nuts before going to bed.  This has not been proven although shouldn’t do you any harm.  Unless of course you are allergic to nuts; if this is the case I recommend that you do not eat them.

Get into Walking

Image Photobucket: loriclancy

Look, we have to start somewhere, and like the saying goes ‘don’t try to run before you can walk’ actually makes perfect sense.  Why try and do more than we have to?  More often than not it boils down to a misunderstanding and an urgency to get the finished product before we have even walked out of the door.

I am a strong believer that it is better to do something, than nothing at all.  If you can’t run, who cares!  The person who sprinted past you had to start somewhere and will probably stop for breath once they get around the corner.

If you are looking to get active but don’t know where to start, start by walking.  It comes naturally to most of us and is a great way to lose weight, see the sights and meet people.  If you don’t want to go it alone then get a friend to go with you.  It costs nothing, with exception to a little of your time, but what is 20 minutes at least 3 days a week?  I will tell you what it is, it is a start!

Always remember that to embark on a new fitness routine or nutritional program will require, in part, a lifestyle change.  It may not need a huge change, however (and I am going to use a really scary word) it is a commitment.

Check out your area and find out where you can go for a walk, whether it be the local park or simply around the block.  However you look at it, keep an open, positive mind and take the first of many life changing steps.

The Ugly Baby

You have just found out that a friend (or partner’s friend) has just had a baby.  Aww how sweet?  Or is it?

We all know when a baby is born they, more often than not, look like a 70 year old version of themselves.  Aww, not so sweet now!

The inevitable photo is circulated, or uploaded onto social media, but the baby is not so sweet; oh no, it’s an ugly baby!

If you, like me, find it difficult to hide most of your thoughts and feelings as they are often penned in black permanent marker across your face for all to see.  Here’s a few do’s and don’ts when faced with an ugly baby.

Do – Find out (in advance) the sex of the baby.  You don’t want to rush in with praise for their baby boy when in fact it is a girl.  Remember, this is an ugly baby so looks will definitely be deceiving.

Do – Offer some kind of praise and complement for the new-born.  I usually find saying ‘awwwwwwww’ helps.  This is an open ended complement which can have a number of meanings; the main one is in sympathy for the parents.  But it works all the same.

Do – Take a gift, yes a gift!  Most men (me included) wouldn’t bother if it wasn’t for pressure from a partner.  It doesn’t have to be anything expensive; it can be a small token.  At least you have something to talk about if you are afraid to say anything about the baby

Don’t – Stare.  This is a big no no; the longer you stare the more likely your true thoughts will start to display on your face

Don’t – Act startled, point, laugh or say, ‘Oh’.  These are sure to get you in a little trouble, if not with the new parents at least with your partner.

Don’t – Refer to the new-born as ‘it’.  Once you know the sex make sure you use the correct term e.g. he or she

Don’t – Pick out specific features.  Unless you are really good friends with the parents and understand each other’s humour.  Commenting on ear size, eye alignment or hair colour should be avoided as it is only going to end one way. 

There are many more things that can be done to lessen the impact of coming face to face with an ugly baby, but I am sure that these small tips will help you survive, at least the first visit.  After that… Good Luck!

Bubble Football

Do you like football?  Do you like inflatable’s?  Put it together and what have you got... Bubble Football, and it is awesome!  I was introduced to this by a friend and I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself.  

So what is it?

Bubble football takes the ‘beautiful game’ and merges it with inflatable ‘bubbles’ which are worn by the players.  You attempt to score goals in the opposing teams net as you would in traditional football, however trying to do it with a bouncy castle strapped to your back and a kamikaze opponent lunging full force at you; well that makes it a whole different ball game.

I recently discovered that the ‘Bubbles’ can be hired so you can get your own team together and have a knock about (term used quite literally).

This is definitely on my list of things to do for 2014!  Watch this space!

One Man's Worth

How have Manchester United managed to get themselves into the mess that they are in with the ridiculous weekly wage packet Wayne Rooney receives?  What has he done that is so exceptional that has resulted in a 300 thousand pound a week pay deal?  Anyone?  Any idea?

Seeing how money is thrown around by the top teams now-a-days, it is hard to be surprised when you hear that another player is being paid in excess of 100 thousand pounds a week to kick a ball about.  Surely you want value for money?  I know I would!

Let’s take the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season so far for example.  Wayne Rooney is paid 300K per week and has scored 15 goals, Luis Suarez is paid 120K per week and has scored 29 goals, then there is Daniel Sturridge who is paid 70K per week (with it set to double to 140K per week for his good run of form) and he has scored 20 goals.  We go back to my point about value for money!

For me, Wayne Rooney should be top scorer without questions every season.  For what he is being paid, I want to see him take on entire teams single handed and score a hat trick of goals at least every other game!  His team mates say he is hard working?  I don’t see it myself.  When I watch Manchester United play, I see him as lazy.  He is one player who can go 89 minutes without any impact on the game, but make one pass in the final minute that will lead to a goal (which the scorer of the goal still works for) and everyone is like ‘oh Wayne is pure class’?

 

For that wage, I don’t want moments of brilliance, I want brilliance for at least 80 minutes of every game that he plays!  Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo spring to mind.

Maybe it is time that top players are made to work for their money by way of performance related pay.  If you underperform, you don’t get your full wage for the week.  If you consistently under perform for the season then your wage is cut for the next season.  If you’re unhappy, jog on!  See who else will have you for that money.  Oh, no one will; which is why despite being unhappy at Manchester United you have decided to sign a new deal.  So much for the love of the sport!

Fashion Or Faux Pas

Can someone please explain to me how wearing a smart suit without socks has become a fashion trend?  I don’t understand.  To me it looks not only like your trousers aren’t long enough for your legs but that you have forgotten to put socks on.  This look can be summed up in but one word, sloppy!  Why ruin a smart, trendy and expensive look by showing off your wonky, hairy ankles?

This look can only work with a casual trouser or Chino, loafers and one final and very important ingredient... Summer!  There are many things that are so wrong that they are right, but I am sorry to say this isn’t one of them.

Gender Specific Books

Now, the other day I caught wind of a report suggesting that we should do away with gender specific books as it demeans our children?  Erm... excuse me, WHAT!  Let me start off by saying, who cares!  We have lived for decades with books written for girls and books written for boys and it hasn’t caused any ill effect on either sex (from what I can see).  Just because the title of a book says “Hardy’s book for boys” doesn’t mean it is going to burn the eyes out of any female that dares to peek inside.  Books are books! I don’ think it makes a difference whether they are written primarily for girls or boys.

The campaign ‘Let Books Be Books’ is part of the campaign ‘Let Toys Be Toys’ which asks children's publishers to take the "boys" and "girls" labels off books and "allow children to choose freely what kinds of stories and activity books interest them".

I get it, I understand – the idea is to remove the sections in a library which state ‘for girls, for boys’ so that the children can choose what they want to read without influence.  So if a boy with a proud, manly dad picks up a pink book about a princess with a magical pet butterfly, will he be able to read it because he chose it, or will the parent intervene and tell him that it is a girl’s book and that he should choose something else?  Where is the real problem here?  How much of it is society and how much of it is parenting? 

Society has dictated that pink is a girl’s colour and blue is a boy’s colour and we have simply gone along with it.  The same with toys, suggesting that trains and planes are for boys and dolls and doll houses are for girls.  It is one thing for society to dictate this; it is another for a parent to enforce it.

My little girl reads books about trains, farms, princesses and magical lands.  She also plays with cars, bikes, dolls and doll houses; because she chooses to and we as parents support her decision without question or suggestion of gender. 

You can remove the label ‘for girls and for boys’ but I do not think that this is going to prevent society from following a trend that is decades old.  So parents it’s up to you.  If your little boy plays with dolls, do you let him?  What if your little girl wants to read ‘the dangerous book for boys’, do you let her?  If the answer is no, well there’s the problem.