Hi all, I hope you have all had a good week. 

It has been a good week for me with my hubby being off part of this week. He returned to work yesterday and today. 
I return to my part time job tomorrow. It is amazing how life just springs back to normality. 

You have to go with it otherwise it is easy to be lost and left behind. 

This will be my last Friday Feeling blog and I will still be blogging on a Friday but on my new page Everyday living and lifestyle Weekly Blog/Vlog page. 

I am looking forward to the change. Sometimes when you begin to crave for something new it time to put some things into a keepsake box, trash or into "A come back again Later" file. 

I have re-found an old obsession, playing the free Sims City game on my tablet. I am one of those who will be really into something and then get bored, go onto something else and come back to what I was into before. 

I am also liking the new series of Our Girl, not too convinced by the the kidnap if you saw it too, and how she tried to escape I wouldn't think it would be that easy. However it is a TV drama, which I must remember and not real. I suppose the creators of the TV program have to differentiate the reality to it being for entertainment purposes. I still like the series and it is gripping.

I am craving for Strictly come Dancing to return in full swing, I so looking forward to seeing Judge Rinder strut his stuff, plus others. I am so excited because my friend is working on the program. So it is double special this year. 

Yesterday I saw the trailer for The Apprentice new series. Looking forward to seeing what the tasks are this year. There is always one contestant who instantly irritates me. I haven't seen the line up yet, but going to wait until the series begins. 

As for The Great British Bake Off, which I feel I have to mention as I am a big fan. Why change it when it didn't need to be?
I think it's gone to Channel 4 because they have gone more educational and factual, as I do watch many of their factual programs such as the Gok Wan programs and Secret Eaters. So it may be because they want a good cooking and baking show. ITV have tried their own version, but they didn't quite work. 

The Music I am loving at the moment is the Kings Of Leon's song called, Waste A Moment. It is my song for this year. I LOVE IT. 

I would love to go and see them live. 

So I am going to round up the blog here, and wish you all a great weekend. 

I have my first Weekly Vlog up on YouTube, I just added the audio to the video this morning so once published I will post and add to my site for you to watch. 

Many thanks for reading, 


​Carrie X 

Hi all I hope you all had a good week. It was an emotional one for us this week, saying farewell to someone close to us. Mark Challoner, one of my husband's brothers. However he will never be forgotten ever and we are going to make sure our son always remembers his Uncle Bluto, as there was a bond there that I have never seen between a toddler and an Uncle. 

Thank you so much Blutes, for what you bought into our lives, for making me feel welcome into your home and life, I am so going to miss you, just wished I had known you for a lot longer. 

I am not going to put rest in peace because I don't feel that it is appropriate for the type of person Mark is. He is an adventurer and enjoyed doing so many things and I know he will watch over Henry, my husband and the rest of the family. I hope that whatever pain he may have felt has gone and that he is a free spirit now who is always going to be in our hearts, until we meet again some day. 

I put this little tribute together of so many great time spent together with The Blutes (Mark) and so happy that I got to know Mark for the great, fantastic guy he is and what he bought into our lives. His laugh and smile is so memorable that it is going to be hard to think I am never going to see his beaming smile again. 

It is also my husband and I's 10 year wedding anniversary today. He let me sleep in today and cooked a lovely breakfast.

Happy Anniversary my love and more great years to come. 

Below is a song by George Benson, Never Gonna Change My Love for you. 

This was one of the songs played on Tuesday at Bluto's funeral and really sums up how I feel about everyone in my life right now. 

Many thanks for reading, 



Carrie X

One day to go before I take on the 25KM Thames Path Challenge walk and I am really looking forward to it.

It is walking from Putney to Hampton Court, I am raising money for Help for heroes and my mum is walking in honour to raise money for The British Heart Foundation.

​See Fundraising details on my Home page. 

I have all my gear ready see picture below, and if you are also doing a walk for charity this year, or thinking about taking part in a walking fundraising challenge then here are my tips for getting started:

1. Never jump before you can walk. Start adding more walking into your daily lifestyle, so if you don't live that far from work for example then walk it. Just set up a map on your phone or carry a little map with you. 
2. Work your way up. Build up to walking 5KM, to 10KM, to a half marathon and then onto the bigger challenges, even if you have already booked a walking challenge, work up to the event, by taking on those distances first mentioned above to help you prepare for the event. 
3.What ever shoes you have used, apart from stilettos, not advised, for walking and are comfortable to wear then wear them for a walking challenge. That's unless they have become worn, then change them but remember to practice walking long distances in them, slowly working your up to the bigger distances. Not advised to do a 5KM on first day worn. 
4. Prepare for all weathers. Living in the UK it is hard to tell even checking the weather forecast before hand how the weather is going to be. Prepare for all. Take a waterproof jacket or a fleece, sunscreen, winter event then remember thermals and avoid any clothing that can cause chafing. You will be walking so your body temperature will increase, so you may not need full coverage whilst walking but once the event is completed you will need to prepare for when your body cools down.
5. Book an event that you have plenty of time to prepare and train for. There is no point booking a 10KM walk for next week, when you find it hard to walk 10 minutes down to the shop and back. So book an event you know you can spare the time to train for, and do a training schedule. Download this templates I have prepared below for you or use it as an example and guide to create your own. 
The first schedule I have created using an existing word document, is for one month at a time, which is a great way to break down the training. 
The Second is a schedule for when you have a month, a few weeks and days to go. 
6. Set up a training folder on your computer and in physical form, so you have all the details of the event you are taking part in and your training schedule. Great way of keeping everything together and to take with you for the day of the event. 
7. Check your emails or mail, as the charity or event you book to do will send you information leading up to the challenge, right up to the week or days before. It is important you know if you have to register before the event and at what time. They will also give you details of when the event will start and from where. 
8. As well as a schedule keep a training journal for each training and walking session you do, great way to keep track of your progress, how you coped in different weathers and if you have any fears. 
9. Technique: Back straight, never slouched and let you feet and legs take control, so your mind can wonder, and your eyes can keep track of where to go. 
10. Prepare for Travel issues. If you have to travel to the event, plan your route ahead on how you will get there and if there are disruptions on the roads or transport. 

I have Published another What's in my bag video, see link for new video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqoY7YAsJJU

I have been sticking to my new Diet change see my blog I wrote on my Monday Check in Page. I wrote about giving up normal milk and having Hot water and honey at the start of each morning and my herbals teas, and I have been sticking with that. I am lovely #fennelteabags which are the Twinings brand. They have no caffeine in them at all, and I think I am going to have to avoid any caffeine drinks altogether. 

I did try to have a black Earl Grey Teabag that contained Caffeine and got a stomach ache again. As soon as I drink hot water and honey or my herbal teas, or decaffeinated tea or coffee with Soya milk I feel fine.

When training for an event the same as diet changing, you do have to listen to your body.

So I am ready to take the challenge on and start my weekend with a buzz. 

Have a good weekend everyone and see next week. 

Many thanks for reading, 

Carrie X 

 

Hey all, happy Friday. Sorry for not posting a blog at the beginning of the week, my little dude, Henry had an ear infection and so wanted to focus on getting him better, which he is.

It was a good bank holiday nevertheless and we just went for a coffee and chilled. We went out on Saturday, Elv and I but was cut short due to Henry not being well, but it was still a good morning and afternoon. 

We went to Hyde Park had a picnic, a drink by the Serpentine and then a look around some shops, then train back to my mums to have dinner there. Then we went on home. 

I have published my next Charity shop challenge video see link: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRDyTxPaC94
​
I will add this to my Charity Shop challenge page once I have posted my Friday blog.

Below is a photo from our weekend in Hyde Park taken when we had a drink in the little bar and restaurant place there.  

I have also been doing some free online study there is a brilliant website called 
https://alison.com/course/?utm_source=YahooBing%20CPC&utm_medium=YahooBing%20CPC&utm_term=Free%20online%20courses&utm_campaign=G113-GENYB-UK-S&

Brilliant if you are wanting to learn how to create a blog yourself on Wordpress which is one web host I use, aswell as Weebly.com. Here you can learn how to do web design, so creating a website from scratch and not have to pay a penny. 

I have been doing some training hours, always good to enhance your knowledge. 

I am now also going to do weekly vlogs again, up until Christmas. So first one has been filmed and will be uploading this first one shortly. 

Today I filmed another Haul video of the items I bought over the bank holiday gone, and I am going to be starting my Autumn clear up again. Boy oh boy, gone so fast. 

I also am going to add some new images to my gallery page too, so having still bits to do I am going to get on and do them. 

So keep reading and I will keep posting. Have a good weekend and I will post again next week. 

Many thanks for reading, 


Carrie X 

It has been a strange week mixed with sadness and trying to be a normal as possible. I wish sometimes that I could live in my son's body for a week and see what he sees. I wonder if he knows that his Uncle Bluto isn't going to be visiting anymore. 

My husband I have been watching a programme called Celebrity Ghost stories as it was Elvs brother, favourite sort of program. They had one story where the child kept looking in the corners of the room as if looking at something that only she could see. The celebrity was an American actress so I wasn't familiar to who she was, but she talked about seeing photos in each one their was a slash light across the photos and that the ghost in her home was attracted to the child and was worried because of what may happen to the child, because of this spirit. 

The actress talked about how she still goes over in her mind about the confrontation she had with the ghost, and what she saw.

The night after we received some sad news, my hubby heard my son talking, which he usually does at night and then at the end said goodnight three times, very quietly and then fell back to sleep. I didn't hear it as I was a sleep myself. Well my hubby has had his own sightings of the paranormal and thinks that Henry was talking to his brother, and since then, Henry has just a couple of times been saying goodbye to something whilst looking out our window in our living room, which looks out onto our back garden. It does get me wondering if young babies and toddlers can see things that no one else can?

I often have had experiences where my nan for example, I kept seeing her still in my dreams and we would have fall conversations and I'd think I must have got it wrong, she is alive and I had the same experience when a co-worker at Butlins died suddenly, but was when I was in my 20's. I never as a child when my real dad's parents died ever saw them in my dreams, but I would go back to where they used to live in Fulham and in the dream I would feel this fear of what if I do see them.

In the dream I would sense the smell of scented soap, as my nanny Rose who have loads of them in different shapes and sizes, and I am not sure if that is in memory or if that is my nan sending me a message that she is still there in spirit in my dreams. Who knows?

​

My mum is the biggest sceptic going and when I told her, I knew she wouldn't believe it and give another reason why Henry would have said goodbye that night, when that was the only night he has said Goodbye at night and not any other time afterwards and same when looking out of our back garden. 

I remember a friend of mine who had suffered a loss, she was travelling on the underground and a white butterfly had flown into the carriage and then out again. It does get me wondering, do we actually go or do we go back to where we care about or to whom we care about, or can we become something else. I know some people reading this may think I have lost the plot but it does get me thinking about what happens after death. 

To some people it is a sensitive subject, I think it is because we know it is there and it will happen, but no one ever knows how or why. I think it teaches us that we have to celebrate what we have around us, and I am going to focus on the good times, keep those who have passed their memory alive so Henry remembers them and knows who they are, and to keep on living the best we can. 

Yesterday we took Henry to Humbledown, which is a little farm and adventure park near where I live in Surrey and it has some animals and different play areas. It is designed for children I would add pictures to my gallery page soon. I updated this page today. It was a little pricey for what is there but they had this brilliant little cafe which was like a soft play cafe all made out of wood. I thought, what a brilliant idea, they should have more cafe's like this, not just in parks but in all different areas. 

On the way back my hubby so happened to be driving home from work and gave us a lift. He has #radiojackie on and they play some good tracks and today they played one of my favourite the Bee Gees You Win Again. See video below.

I am off this weekend, which I am very looking forward to and my husband and I are up London spending some time together and going to enjoy the bank holiday. 

Have a good weekend everyone. If you have any paranormal stores please share I would be interested to hear. 

Many thanks for reading, 


​Carrie X 

It has been a testing week and I am going to say it knowing that there will be people who will disagree with me, but there is no such thing as sleep deprivation until you have become a parent. This is from someone who has suffered all her life with insomnia and have never been a good sleeper. 
 
I suppose I should be adding this to my The Parenting Adventures page, but as this is Friday and I am sharing my world on my blog, well this was a huge point of my week, trying to do all I can to help Henry clear his cold. It must be so confusing and uncomfortable to them at that age, as I am sure they are like, "why is this thing they call a nose bothering me it isn't doing what it supposed to?" "What is this all about?". 

As soon as my hubby and I put our heads on our pillows last night, a minute after turning the light out our son wakes up and cries. I am like "What but he was soundos he looked very settled", he wakes up jumping up and down in his cot. 

We take him out of the cot into our room to sit on our bed to calm down and now he is all smiles. I am like "What you little devil, I love you but you are trying new tricks to get us up so you don't have to go to bed".

It did really get at me, I was like "I don't believe I fell for it" I mean I think he generally wanted a cuddle and some comfort but it was the way he grinned when he was up in our room as if to say "Yes I woke them up and now I am watching TV in bed like they are, its about time", as if he had pulled a prank that had worked. All I am thinking is "Why can't I get bedtime sussed out?" I thought we had, ok so the ritual we had did go a bit out of contents but we still follow more or less the same pattern. Thankfully YouTube lullabies on my phone were at the ready and instantly my son was settled and ready to go back to sleep, as so were we. 

2am: He is awake again and making like a raspberry sound, which is his way of trying to clear his nose and can hear he is getting upset. My husband is happily in snooze land, so I go into his room and try to give him his inhaler, he wasn't interested, I give him his water, wasn't interested, then gave him some Calpol, finally he was happy to receive this. I think he has worked out from his eyes that whatever that is mummy gives in me by spoon can help him. I don't always like to give this to him as it is medicine still and I don't believe it should be over used, but it is there as a last resort. 

In any case it is important to me that Henry gets a good night's sleep so trying to help him get back I turn off his radio and put on lullabies on YouTube again and once again he was a sleep. He was still sleeping up until about 6:45am this morning, which is late for him and I was dead to the world, took me forever to come round into wake up mode. 

However I still have started to complete my To Do list, doing some bits last night helped give me a kick start and did my run, have some breakfast and now catching up on more bits before picking up Henry from Nursery.

I am looking forward to my weekend off next week and then soon be off to Poole celebrating my 10 year anniversary next month. I will be posting more on my 10 Year Anniversary page this coming week, and posting more videos. 

Have a good Friday everyone and weekend, 

See all next week.

Many thanks for reading,


Carrie X 

It is Friday and what a scorcher today. Henry has got a bit of Hayfever again so going to have to give him some anti-histamine medicine again. His skins isn't too bad, but I did strip him off earlier and give him a bath, which helped him cheer up as he woke up after his nap a bit grumpy.

I filmed a recipe yesterday, which I hadn't for a while and it was one I had promised to do a while back.  My Easy Chicken Curry which I will upload soon. I am trying to use up what I have in my kitchen as I wrote in my blog on Tuesday about doing an Inventory list as I was fed up of the food we were wasting. If you keep doing so it can add up. I got to say it has made a difference.

I just need to do one of the what we have in our shed and chest freezer.

I have published too more videos this week, my Weekend Haul and an Avon unboxing video.

Today I paid some money towards my 25KM walk fundraising page that I have created for when I take part in the Thames Path Challenge from Putney to Hampton Court.

If you would like to help raise funds for the cause here is the link to my JustGiving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Carriesrealworld

I also cleaned my kitchen which I do every Friday as it is the main room we use all the time and so we are continuously in and out. A lot of germs can linger in the kitchen so it is so important to clean it every week, if not able to do everyday. I clean mine twice a week thoroughly and then do quick cleans on other days.

Yesterday I dusted the bedrooms and the one thing I do regularly is clean the door handles and knobs as these are being used to open and close doors all the time, and we do tend to forget that germs can linger on these too. So it is important to clean these regularly. I use Flash All Purpose spray for these.

I have been enjoying the Olympics and we have had the music channel Vintage on this week throughout the evenings. They do play some good tunes.

I am also starting to plan for the next seasons coming, to have a clear out and to continue to build and make our rooms nicer and less cluttered.

Tonight we are having salad with some chicken, mushrooms and potatoes. I am going to get my bag ready for work and then see if I have time for some reading.

I did check out some money saving tools and budget templates you can use, if you are like me trying to manage your money a lot better I will add these soon.

Anyway going to end blog here, but I will blog again next week.

I hope you all have a good weekend and enjoy the lovely weather.

​Many thanks for reading,


Carrie x  

Hello and welcome to another Friday Blog. It is a very hot day today in Surrey so got a Maxi Dress on. Usually they are too long but this one I have which I bought from Ebay some years now, still in good condition, has always been a perfect length and my go to dress when it is hot outside. I just got back from picking up Henry from Nursery who had a good day. He has had two good days this week, it is always difficult when you hear bad feedback, but he is learning what gets a good response and doesn't, but is at the stage where he wants to continuously test the boundaries. He gave me a cheer as I walked in to meet him and take him home.

They had all the really smaller children downstairs today and some other children arrived to do the afternoon session. Henry didn't have such a good night last night and is going through the motions of testing what gets the most response. When I went into his room when I heard him cry about 01:11am I checked if he wanted some water ​and he took it, but was mucking about with it and smiled as if pleased he got one of us to get up and see him.

So I settled him down again and he fussed but let him try and settle himself but he then began to get loud as before, so went into to see him again and turned up his radio slightly which we put on to help sooth him. The third time I didn't go in and his crying turned into laughing which made me realise that he was doing what he could to get a response. When he didn't get a response he made the noise as if to cry again to see if this will work. Realising it didn't he did quiet down I then poked my head around his bedroom door to check on him to show that I am here and show that he doesn't have to make all that noise for a response he did settle back to sleep.

When it comes to bedtime and sleep, you can do all the bedtime rituals in the world but sometimes like us adults they will struggle to sleep and their reaction to this is to cry for attention and sometimes play about. So my advice is to do the 3 times test, go in once to see if your child may need his/her blanket on, would like some water and I always check his nappy and if his nose is blocked.

If your child begins to smile at you and muck about then it is wise not to get into conversation or make eye contact. Lay them down and say good night and then leave.

2nd time check to see if they need something to soothe them, perhaps a cuddly toy, but just be careful that it is not near their mouth or nose, and doesn't have any bits falling off or they could bite off, just place it in the cot so it is at the side away so it can't fall onto the child in anyway. Babies and toddlers can suffer with separation anxiety and so often they will grab your attention to reassure themselves that you are there. Or play some soothing music.

3rd time if it is clear they just want your attention and want a response from you, to not go in. It is important to listen to the amount of gaps there are between the cries. ​​​You will learn more about your child as they grow and you'll know when they are in real distress and when they are just trying to grab your attention. They learn what sounds as soon as they know how to make noise what grabs mum and dads attention. They will often use it to test the boundaries.

I hope those who have also had sleep issues find these tips useful. Remember you are not alone. ​

What I am happy about is that Cold Feet is back soon, yay and because they have the box set of all the passed series on Sky Boxsets I downloaded some episodes of the first series to get ready for the new one.

If you are new to the series of Cold Feet then it is a mixture of comedy and drama where you one minute want to laugh out loud and the next cry. The three couples in the series were in love, got married and had a child, but then turned sour leading to affairs and divorce. Oh and one of the ladies sadly dies in a car crash.

I would say it is a resemblance of real life I think that is why it was so successful because people could relate to it, in a way and brilliantly written.

See Trailer video below of the new series to get you excited to. ​​

It has been a good week. After a week of splurging which I did save for as we were always going to be out last weekend, it was good to get back to some normality.

Have a good weekend everyone and I will blog again next week.

Many thanks for reading,


Carrie X ​​​

Hi and welcome to another Friday Feeling blog. It has been a busy week. Monday Henry had his Paediatrician Appointment about his development and seeing what else the health centre can do to help support Henry's development as he is behind in some areas.

It can be difficult to hear that being a parent, but Henry is progressing and doing new things each day that I know by watching and observing him that he will catch up. Some Children it just takes time. Every Child is different. The more experiences he has the better it will help with his growth and learning to speak more so he can eventually say full sentences.

Then on Tuesday and Wednesday we took a drive up after meeting daddy from work up to the Epsom Downs. It is our favourite thing to do, now my hubby finishes at the same time everyday rather than different shifts each week. It can make it difficult to plan anything when parents work different hours. We just want to make the most of the time we have together, I am really enjoying those times.

Thursday Henry and I went to #LEGOLAND, with nanny and Henry's cousins, Ava and Ruby. I hadn't been there since secondary school back when it was called Windsor Safari Park. I hadn't been there since it changed to being #LEGOLAND and it was a great day out. I will post about this more on my Tales of my Travels page next week. I would recommend the resort to those who  have #youngchildren, they will love it.

​​​Today we were supposed to be going to see Tears for Fears in concert but due to events we aren't able to go, and so were going to go to Nottingham instead to visit my husband's brother but he has now moved back to Lincoln so going to see if we can get a transfer there instead to see him in hospital. Please do not ask further wish to keep this private for my husband's family sake.

Then Saturday I am going to have a my haircut and spend some time just Elv and I chilling and having some time to ourselves, then Sunday spending some times with our son, and perhaps have a coffee or two.

So here is to the weekend and lets hope it is a good one.

Many thanks for reading,


Carrie X ​​​​