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Haven't joined yet? Join MYX |
The guys of One Direction are here not only to make music, but also inspire, open eyes and help make a change! #Action1D is part of "action/2015" - a group of organizations from across the globe that call on world leaders to make the right decisions for all of our futures!
As a strong voice for this generation, One Direction reached out to their fans to help promote this campaign that focuses on important world issues like extreme poverty, inequality and climate change!
Listen to what One Direction had to say in the video below:
Video Source: One Direction
For more details, visit the action/1D website and help make a difference in our world this 2015!
What do you want our world to look like in the future? Do you have a message for One Direction? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section!
I love their accent & esp. what they've said in here, they're such a role model. I'm so sure they make many Directioners so proud of them!
what the guys are doing is really kind and lovely, I'm so proud of them.? i really really love them, I'm so proud to be part of this fandom,😤😤😍😍


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Gary McKinnon is to learn whether he will be charged in the UK on Friday after his extradition to the United States was blocked by the government earlier this year.
Mr McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, was permitted to stay in the UK on human rights grounds after medical reports showed he was very likely to try to kill himself if extradited.
McKinnon was labelled as 'the biggest military computer hack of all time' by US prosecutors
The 46-year-old computer hacker from Wood Green, north London, would have faced up to 60 years in prison if convicted in the US.
Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer QC will announce whether he will face charges three months after home secretary Theresa May stopped the extradition.
Janis Sharp, mother of computer hacker Gary McKinnon, leaves her home in Hatfield prior to Mrs May's statement earlier this year
Both prime minister David Cameron, who held talks on the case with president Barack Obama, and his deputy, Nick Clegg, previously condemned plans to send him to the US.
In an October statement, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Justice said: "The United States is disappointed by the UK home secretary's decision not to extradite Gary McKinnon, particularly given the past decisions of the UK courts and prior home secretaries that he should face trial in the United States.
"We note that the home secretary has described this case as exceptional and thus this decision does not set a precedent for future cases.
"The home secretary has acknowledged that Mr McKinnon is accused of serious crimes and that the United Kingdom's Director of Public Prosecutions will now consider whether Mr McKinnon has a case to answer in a UK court."

subset: commoncrawl


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There are many websites offering reminder services tools that integrate with a phone. These tools help with remembering the things we need to get done in business and everyday life.
These reminder services turbo charge your memory!
They offer services that convert your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments. Unlike real estate – location is not important; no computer, no problem. You can perform messaging on the go, receive reminders at work, organize chore or shopping list at home and access web services while you play.
Here's a list of my favorites:
AbbyMe.com – Send an SMS broadcast to multiple friends at specified times to remind them of events.
Jott – converts your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments.
Reqall – the best memory tool to integrate your memory with your life, putting more of the things you need to know and remember into one place. Wherever life takes you, reQall is there.
Braincast.com – Schedule reminders to go to any US based cell phone or regular phone network.
GottaKeepUp.com – Set up reminders for just about any task you can think and receive them at work, home, or on the go.
Evernote – easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at anytime, from anywhere.
MyMemorizer.com – Enter your calendar and get email or SMS messages reminding you of what you need to do.
RememberTheMilk.com – Create reminders and to-do lists, have it remind you on all the major IM programs, your phone, and now access it via the iPhone or iPod Touch.
rminder.com – Enter your reminder and receive a voice or text message to your phone to remind you. Can sync with iCal, Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar and more.
Get started with savvy online business building learn how to use your WordPress website and online presence to bring new leads and customers 24-7. Check out my FREE Savvy Online Business Building Starter Kit at www.GrabYourFreeStarterKit.com.
Copyright © 2011 Rising Star Ideas, LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide


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University of California Irvine Extension said on Monday it has opened enrollment for it's first certificate program in radio frequency identification technology, joining a handful of business schools across the country taking an academic interest in RFID. Classes at UCI begin in January.
Five courses totaling 150 hours are required to complete the program. The first two classes are being offered in the winter quarter and the remaining three in the spring. "The classes are based on business processes, rather than the technology," said Stefano Stefan, assistant director for the Business Management Legal and IT program.
Solving Business Problems with Radio Frequency Identification Technology Devices is the first class being offered next year. The class provides a technology overview and how it can fit into the business environment. RFID Technology: Principals and Practices, also is being offered in the winter.
This is the only "techie" class, although it's designed for people who don't have a background in engineering or physics, Stefan said. It will cover RFID technology and physics that can affect deployments such as tag or reader placement
Other universities and technology vendors do offer what Stefan calls "boot-camp type" classes that focus on the technology or one class in a larger program. These classes tend to focus on engineering and little about evaluating whether or not to replace bar code technology for RFID, for example. "We want to teach our students how to approach the question whether or not RFID is a good technology to replace another already in place," he said.
UCI Extension is not the only southern California university to offer classes in RFID technology. The University of California, Los Angeles has classes within its engineering department. Rajit Gadh, a professor at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at the UCLA, also is the department head for the Wireless Internet for Mobile Enterprise Consortium, also known as WINMEC.


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Welcome To East Ayrshire Carers Centre
Caring For Carers Throughout East Ayrshire
Copyright © 2014 East Ayrshire Carers Centre Ltd.
East Ayrshire Carers Centre Ltd is a charity registered in Scotland No SC024914
Registered Company No 276934 -
East Ayrshire Carers Centre
Caring for Carers throughout East Ayrshire
A carer is anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support.
Each carer's experience is unique to their own circumstances.
The causes of someone taking on caring responsibilities are varied but can include:
Services we provide…
East Ayrshire Carers Centre provides support advice, information, training, advocacy, social activities, drop in centres, benefit and money advice & respite breaks for carers of all ages in East Ayrshire. We also have young carers groups who use our facilities in Cumnock, Kilmarnock and Dalmellington weekly.
Like us?...then follow us
You can find us on Twitter by searching for @EAcarers or log into Facebook and look for East Ayrshire Carers Centre. Please track us down and share our details with your "friends" and "followers".
Social networking is a great way to keep up to date with the good work being carried out across our centres.


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The Larkspur-Corte Madera School District will hold special board meeting Monday on enrollment at the new Cove School, set to open this fall.
An opt-in period, in which parents could voluntarily enroll their children to attend the new campus, ended Monday. District administrators said those entrants are being tallied this week. If the number falls short of 325 — the target enrollment for the first year, administrators will consider a lottery.
A petition is circulating in opposition to a lottery that chooses students at random to transfer from Neil Cummins Elementary School. Cove was built to alleviate exploding enrollment at Neil Cummins, which is around 850.
With Cove on the east side of Highway 101, many parents on the west side of the highway object to the possibility of an extended commute to school and of having their children taken out of the established, award-winning school.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. in the community room at the Central Marin Police Authority, 250 Doherty Drive.
Send us your news: We want more news items from Marin's cities and towns. Email them to our City Desk at firstname.lastname@example.com, mail them to City Desk, Marin Independent Journal, 4000 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903, or fax them to 415-382-7209. For more information about towns in Marin, visit the IJ's website at marinij.com.


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|Page (1) of 5 - 07/24/02
|email article
|print page
The Foundry's Tinderbox 3Plugin effects for Adobe After Effects
The Foundry develops packages for a wide range of high- and mid-range compositing and motion graphics packages, from Discreet and Avid systems to Shake and Maya Composer. The company now has three collections of Effects for Adobe After Effects, conveniently named Tinderbox 1, Tinderbox 2 and Tinderbox 3. I've previously reviewed Tinderbox 1 and 2, which still stand out as exceptional tools for motion graphics professionals. And now we take a look at Tinderbox 3, The Foundry's latest foray into effects plugins for After Effects.
What it does and how well it does it
Tinderbox 3 is a collection of 21 plugins for Adobe After Effects. Most of these fall into the category of canned special effects, such as Lightning and Condensation. But the collection also includes some motion and time tools; "look and feel" effects like old film and bad television signals; a matte tool; and new blur effects.
For the most part, the effects are quite innovative and are not mere redundant iterations of effects already available for After Effects. Where there is crossover with already existing effects, such as the Lightning plugin, the Tinderbox version adds controls that were previously unavailable and also provides what I think are higher-quality versions of these effects than what's I've seen in other packages.
In terms of performance, Tinderbox is quite quick--with one notable exception. The Lightning plugin is zippy in its default configuration, but it becomes a slow, painful behemoth when adding numerous forks, and it's impossible to interrupt the plugin's calculation process. I had to force quit out of After Effects twice when experimenting with this plugin just because I couldn't otherwise escape out of it. So definitely save before applying this effect and certainly be wary of experimenting with complex lightning effects. (Actually, this problem renders the Lightning plugin almost useless, unless you're willing to waste time experimenting with settings to see which ones will work and which ones will not. But, if you are willing to do so, the lightning effects possible with this plugin can be worth the effort. I hope this is a bug that will be fixed in the very near future.)
It's sort of odd that the Lightning plugin would have this problem. It falls into the Tinderbox category of Generators, which also includes Plasma, Sparks and Starfield. None of the other generators have anything near a problem like this. In fact Plasma, a fractal generator, doesn't get bogged down in the least even with fractals cranked up from the default of 5 to 5,000. And the number of impulses barely causes a stir when it gets bumped up from the default 100 to 600 or so with 5,000 fractals turned on.
The other effects in the collection perform equally well. Yes, you will see some slowdown when you try to blur a billion pixels or go absolutely nuts with generators, but these filters perform within reason for whatever task is at hand (again, with the exception of Lightning).
The plugins
Tinderbox 3 plugins fall into four categories: Blurs, Effects, Generators and Tools. Well look at the general principles, functionality and highlights from the categories, as well as some specific filters that stand out.
To start off, all of the effects contain an enormous amount of controls. Just to give you an example, the Circular Blur plugin, which creates a fairly simple effect, includes no fewer than 29 individual controls. It's an extraordinary amount of control over this effect, and all of the other effects in the collection also include vast numbers of dials, sliders and other setting controls.
All of the effects in the collection also have certain controls in common. These include Blending options (multiply, darken, etc.) with blend amounts and source and effect gain controls; and Source Crops, which, of course, allow you to crop the source and choose how the extra data is processed--with wrap-around edges, reflections, color borders, etc. Some of the filters also include Matte Crop controls.
Finally, all of the effects are 16-bit and also work with 8-bit compositions.
Related Keywords:The Foundrys Tinderbox 3 Plugin effects for Adobe After Effects
Source:Digital Media Online. All Rights Reserved


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Equal parts luthiery know-how, daring design, and a passion for warm, full-bodied tone.
The Ibanez Artcore collection has succeeded in smashing any and all preconceptions in its wake as to what a great hollow or semi-hollow ought to be. The Artcore formula builds on equal parts luthiery know-how, daring design, and a passion for warm, full-bodied tone.
Under its made-for-the-spotlight Sparkle finish, the AFD75T features a select-grade Maple top, back, and sides. The fingerboard is warm, bound Rosewood, contrasted by brilliant pearl block inlays. The Artcore Mahogany neck has proven its reliability on thousands of Ibanez hollow and semi-hollow bodies throughout the years.
The old school Vintage vibrato adds country and rockabilly nuances to the rich tone of a full-hollow guitar, but eliminates old school tuning problems using 21st century roller saddles. ACH pickups are moderate output, warm in tone, yet very responsive.
Join the league of great guitarists who depend on Ibanez. Order yours today.
Our product catalog varies by country due to manufacturer restrictions. If you change the Ship-To country, some or all of the items in your cart may not ship to the new destination.


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This star rating is the opinion of the property owner only. A Self-Rated hotel has not been assessed by the AA or Visit Britain, whose official star ratings we use across LateRooms.com.
Howard Johnson Business Club Hotel Shanghai5 Self rated
118, Shimen No.1 Road, Jing'an District-, , -shanghai, China, Shanghai, 200041
Price FromView Rooms
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About the hotel
The Howard Johnson Business Club Hotel Shanghai, which opened on November 28, 2008, is the first Business Club in China and the 21st hotel in the company's Chinese portfolio. This new brand of Howard Johnson hotel meets the needs of business people requiring a convenient downtown location, meticulous service, comfortable accommodation and full-service facilities, especially for longer stays. Managed by Howard Johnson International (China) and owned by Shanghai Zhong-Kai Group, the hotel is conveniently located in the middle of the city's business and shopping district, and is a comfortable and central base for your extended business trips to China's flourishing financial capital.
A 15-minute walk brings you to People's Square or to the prestigious shopping, business and entertainment areas of Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road. Public transport links are also excellent, with both the Yan'an elevated highway and Metro Line 2 only one block from the hotel.
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Facilities Show/hide
- Main
- Hotel Non-Smoking Throughout, Disabled Facilities, Air conditioning in rooms, 24 Hour Reception, Smoking allowed in bedrooms, Safety Deposit Box, Tea/Coffee making facilities in each room, Trouser press in each room, Iron And Board In Each Room, Minibar in each room, Telephone In Each Room, 24 Hour Room Service, Concierge, Laundry/Valet Service, Wake Up Call Available, Currency Exchange, Interconnecting rooms available, Doctor on call, Porter, Lift to all floors
- Parking
- Car parking available onsite
- Business
- Wi-Fi Available, Meeting Facilities, Wi-Fi Available In Public Areas, Business Centre, Secretary Service, Translation Service
- Dining
- Restaurant, Lounge Menu, Bar
- Leisure
- Gymnasium, Indoor Pool, Fitness Centre, Sauna, Steam Rooms, Massage, Beauty Salon/Manicure, Jacuzzi, Tennis Courts, [Channels] News, [Channels] Sky Sports, [Channels] Movies (Free), [Channels] Movies (Pay Per View), [Channels] Foreign (European), [Channels] Music, [Channels] Childrens
- In Room Entertainment
- Video/DVD Player, TV, Satellite TV, Radio
- Accessibility
- Disabled Access Public Areas, Disabled Access Bedrooms, Disabled toilets on ground floor, Wheelchair Access, Wheelchair Access To Reception
Useful Info Show/hide
- Between 14:00 and 00:00
- By 12:00 hours
- Up to 12 years old
- The price shown is based on the occupancy and dates you have searched for. Prices and availability are subject to change based on the arrival date, number of nights and occupancy searched for. All prices are inclusive of all local taxes.
- Pets are not allowed
Customer Reviews
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Awards Season is Here!
Now, some of us like awards shows more than other…I happen to LOVE them, which means I am in luck, because we have a plethora of them to choose from in the upcoming weeks and months.
First up, the People's Choice Awards, which will air Wed Jan 9th, and has Jason Aldean performing. Of course we're excited about our 8 Louisiana Grammy nominees, and on Feb 10th, we'll find out if Hunter Hayes or Wayne Toups get to take home the trophies. (We're saying YES right now!) But we also have tons of Hollywood type awards shows coming up, so for all the info you need to know, and maybe plan your viewing parties, check here for Awards Central.
Looks like it's going to be a fun fun time watching the rich, beautiful and famous walk the red carpets!


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Bicycle Given As Christmas Present Begins Journey To Rusty Heap
Gift News: A bike bought at the height of Olympic fever and given as a present this Christmas has begun its journey to becoming a useless rusty heap.
Danny Fietsen, 36, bought the bike for his seven-year-old son, who became obsessed with cycling this summer after Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 Tour de France and seven Olympic medals.
"At the time all my lad would talk about was bikes and Bradley Wiggins," said Fietsen.
"He even made some fake sideburns out of cardboard and complained if we made him wear anything other than spandex shorts – so I bought him a bike for Christmas. And now that bike is neglected and rusting next to the shed. It's like kids have really short attention spans or something."
Fietsen is still hopeful that the bike might be useful later in the year.
"He's really into all these David Attenborough documentaries on TV right now – so if he develops an interest in wildlife, in a couple of months we can go and look at all the bird shit that's covered the bike."
Story: Simon Swatman


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Bill Belichick tells Media Day he likes finger puppets, Home Alone
Super Bowl media day has become known for its zany atmosphere over the last few years, with reporters wearing crazy outfits and asking even crazier questions. New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, on the other hand, is generally associated with grumbling and sweatshirts.
When the two collided at Media Day on Tuesday, Belichick dropped his generally dour attitude for a few questions at least, like when Jerod Mayo's daughter asked him what his favorite stuffed animal was.
Little girl: "What stuffed animals do you like?"— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 27, 2015
Bill Belichick: "I like a little puppet that you can put your fingers in. A little monkey."
And yes, the adorable little girl asking questions is Jerod Mayo's daughter.— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) January 27, 2015
Belichick also answered a question about the last three movies he had seen. The first two were Unbreakable and American Sniper, exactly the type of fare you would expect from an NFL coach, but then the coach took a left turn and mentioned Home Alone and Home Alone 2.
Belichick: Last 3 movies I saw "Unbroken, American sniper, Home Alone (and bonus) Home Alone 2" #MediaDay— Ben Eagle (@benjamineagle) January 27, 2015
Maybe the strategic Belichick is inspired by Kevin McCallister's ingenuity and quick thinking.
The media knew it was going to get a different Belichick as soon as reporters saw the coach's laid-back footwear.
#Patriots coach Bill Belichick sporting a hoodie and flip-flops at Super Bowl Media Day pic.twitter.com/YzuFGA774C— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) January 27, 2015
- Brendan Maloy


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Trends and composition of private food and agricultural R & D expenditures in the United States
This article presents new data on the level and trends in private sector R & D on food, agriculture, and agricultural inputs. Private food and agricultural R & D grew about 4.6% annually between 1960 and 1986. The growth rate went down to 3.8% between 1980 and 1986. Much of the decline was accounted for by the decline in agricultural machinery R & D. Research divided by sales increased during the 1980s, indicating that the slowdown in R & D growth was due to the slowdown in sales rather than mergers or decreasing productivity of R & D.
To our knowledge, this item is not available for
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Volume (Year): 6 (1990)
Issue (Month): 3 ()
Pages: 191-207
|Contact details of provider:
| Web page: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1520-6297
References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Farrell E. Jensen & C. Arden Pope, 1987. "The changing structure of US agriculture and implications for research in agribusiness firms," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 3(2), pages 139-150.
- Frederic Scherer, 1984. "Using Linked Patent and R&D Data to Measure Interindustry Technology Flows," NBER Chapters,in: R&D, Patents, and Productivity, pages 417-464 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Vernon Ruttan, 1980.
"Bureaucratic productivity: The case of agricultural research,"
Public Choice,
Springer, vol. 35(5), pages 529-547, January.
- Ruttan, Vernon W., 1978. "Bureaucratic Productivity: The Case Of Agricultural Research," Staff Papers 13911, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
- E. Pasour & Marc Johnson, 1982. "Bureaucratic productivity: The case of agricultural research revisited," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 301-317, January. Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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by Christopher Santarelli
Twelve GOP Senators have sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Schulman demanding answers to concerns that the agency may be targeting the Kentucky 9/12 Project specifically, in addition to other conservative-leaning groups.
"It is critical that the public have confidence that federal tax compliance efforts are pursued in a fair, even-handed, and transparent manner – without regard to politics of any kind," wrote the Senators.
They continued, "It is imperative that organizations applying for tax-exempt status are able to rely on a consistent and foreseeable review structure from the IRS. Any significant changes to the IRS review process should be implemented only after appropriate notice and opportunity for comment from the public and affected parties."
The move was pushed by Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, joined by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), John Cornyn (Texas), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
The Blaze reported in February that the Kentucky 9/12 group filed for non-profit status back in December of 2010. They finally heard back from the IRS on Valentines Day of this year. (A mere 14 months after they sent in an initial request.) Their return message was not in regards to any issues or concerns brought up in there original application, rather a letter requesting detailed documentation to answer 30 questions with sub-bullets (88 total separate inquiries) and only a two-week period to comply.
Read more here:


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The 2014 Stradalli R7 Has Been Launched with a New Design That Helps Eliminate Rider Fatigue
Stradalli Cycle has launched its new 2014 Stradalli R7 road bike built around Stradalli's revolutionary R7 frame with its radically thin seatstay and oversized chainstays.
April 30, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Stradalli Cycle, the affordable high performance carbon bicycle manufacturer, is pleased to announce the release of the 2014 Stradalli R7 full carbon fiber road bike which has been designed to help riders fight their worst enemy fatigue.
The new bike is built around the superlight R7 frame, which weighs just over 900 grams, and includes hydraulic disc brakes on both the front and rear wheels. As well as the light frame and the disc brakes, the new 2014 Stradalli R7 road bike uses a Shimano DuraAce Di2 9070 11 speed electronic groupset. The fully programmable shifter give the rider excellent performance and modulation.
The R7 frame, which is Stradalli's lightest frame to date, has several revolutionary features which help riders maintain their strength during long rides. The frame uses a thin seatstay that provides the maximum comfort regardless of the road conditions. The unevenness of potholes, and rough asphalt are all absorbed by the frame and when combined with the oversized chainstays the rider is able to transfer more power from the pedals to the wheel.
"The 2014 R7 based road bike demonstrates the latest innovation from Stradalli. We are proud that our bikes and frames are on the leading edge and yet are priced for consumers," said Thomas Steinbacher, CEO of the Stradalli Cycle Company. "The R7 frame is our lightest yet and when used with the oversized chainstays, more power is transferred from the pedals to the wheel."
The revolutionary R7 frame is not only lightweight but was designed from the ground up to be vertically compliant yet laterally stiff. The design includes various innovations including the tapered fork which creates a responsive front end for better handling.
About The Stradalli Cycle Company
The Stradalli Cycle Company is based in Florida and sells worldwide to the keen athlete who demands the best equipment. With years of experience in both high tech manufacturing and design as well as a passion for cycling, Stradalli brings passion and innovation to the road racing and mountain bike markets.
Categories: Bicycle Tours
Tags: Carbon Bikes, Shimano DuraAce 9000, Stradalli Cycle


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Shoe Sales Associate - Open Sell
in SELINSGROVE, PA
Job Description
Do you have a passion for shoes and personalized service? Join our Shoe Sales Team and help achieve the goal to find the perfect shoes for every customer!
Our Shoe Sales Associates help our customers determine type and quality of merchandise, make suggestions and maintain the shoe department's visual presentations.
We'll value your:
- Passion for shoes
- Ability to make a great, positive, long lasting first impression
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Strong customer service and selling techniques
- Previous shoe and/or commissioned sales experience preferred
- Prior experience with Point of Sales (POS) preferred
This position is compensated at a competitive hourly rate.
Schedules include a variety of day, evening and weekend hours.
At Bon-Ton, we want to give back to our associates. We offer competitive pay, great associate discount, 401k plan (once eligible) – including potential company match and great volunteer opportunities.


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This beautiful area rug is from the Mohawk Home Serenity collection. A soft and soothing color palette consisting of 30 colors ranging from mossy greens, blues and earth tones gives this collection a flirty, botanical feel. Traditional garden, floral, Ikat and medallion designs are updated in a fresh color palette for this special collection.
- 100% Polypropylene
- Rug gripper recommended and extends the life of your rug, prevents shifting and sliding and protects hardwood flooring from scratches
- Machine Made
- Naturally stain-resistant and resists fading
- Rotate your rug periodically; vacuuming is the best way to remove everyday dirt and dust (special care should be taken in the fringe area as vacuuming with a beater bar can catch and pull the fringe, causing separation), professional cleaning recommended
- Regular vacuuming helps rugs remain attractive and serviceable
- Please Note: The digital images and product dimensions on our website are as accurate as possible. Due to differences in computer monitors, some rug colors may vary slightly. Lengths and widths may vary from the published dimensions. We do our best to provide you with an exact measurement, but please be advised that some variation exists. Patterns may vary slightly according to shape and size selected.


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Brace yourselves for part 2 of Suzanne and Ben's wedding! Ben and Suzanne got married at the gorgeous American Martyrs Church in Manhattan Beach. The ceremony was filled with fantastic entrances, laughter, and joy… and as always it was a very entertaining experience brought to you by Ben and Suzanne!!
Ben's grandpa blessed the rings and gave them some good advice
You guys were made for each other! I love it!!
The wedding party and Suzanne and Ben went to the Manhattan Beach Pier to take some fun photos. People were definitely curious to see what was going on with this crazy group! I think you will get a kick out of these shots down on the beach!Suzanne is amazing! It was freezing and very windy… and when we asked her to head down to the sand, her initial response was to just go back to the bus and get warm. And then Suzanne's awesome attitude kicked in – and she said screw it let's do this!!! Totally worth it! You guys are rad!Inside the Marina Del Rey Marriot the reception room was just gorgeous. Everyone did such a great job making it so beautiful.
Ben designed their cake topper and it had a light and it was spinning around.Haha! He was mocking their engagement photos… hilarious!The groomsmen and Ben surprised Suzanne with a choreographed dance… they were very impressive!The dancing was wild. And even after the wedding ended, there was an after party at a lounge nearby. They just kept rocking all night long!
Whew! After looking through all of these photo's I just need to take a deep breath. There was so much going on and so much planned for this wedding! It was so awesome. It really was a day that was distinctly Suzanne and Ben. And we love going to weddings where we feel like the bride and groom are represented properly! We had fun, and we know they did too! What a party you threw! So happy to be a part of it all!
Thanks again to all of the vendors who made it happen!
Venue – Marina Del Rey Marriot
Flowers – Flower Art from the Heart
Music – Vox Djs
Cake – Torrance Bakery
Hair & Makeup – Label me Lindsay
Transportation – The Big Red Bus Company


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The Mason is a great sun reader that includes bi-focal powered lenses. The aviator frame includes adjustable hinges for comfort, while the rectangular lenses provide UV sun protection. One of our most popular pairs of bifocal sunglasses!
- Spring Hinges
- 99% UVA/UVB Sun Protection
- Metal Frame
- Flat Top Bifocals


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Monkeys, like people, have a brain region that responds selectively to the voices of other monkeys, according to new research. The finding should pave the way for studies on the neural basis of voice recognition and may help shed light on how the human brain changed as speech and language evolved.
In people, a small patch of the temporal lobe of the brain revs up in response to human speech but not to other sounds. This region is thought to play a role in recognizing individuals by voice, a talent we share with many animals. Yet little is known about the neural basis of voice recognition in any species. Recent studies with monkeys have claimed to demonstrate a voice region analogous to that in humans, but not all scientists have been convinced.
In the new study, neuroscientists led by Christopher Petkov and Nikos Logothetis, both of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany, used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor brain activity in macaques while the monkeys listened to a variety of sounds. Those included coos, grunts, and other macaque vocalizations, as well as the calls of other animals and natural noises such as thunder and running water. A small region of the monkeys' temporal lobes became active in response to monkey voices but not to other sounds, the researchers report online this week in Nature Neuroscience. The team also found that this brain region can distinguish the voices of individual monkeys: Responses diminished when the researchers played one monkey's voice repeatedly but perked up again when a new voice was played.
The monkey voice region may provide clues to the evolution of speech, Petkov says. One possibility, he notes, is that neural circuits in the brains of our distant primate ancestors, used for recognizing and evaluating the calls of other individuals, became the precursors for the neural circuits that evolved to handle more complex verbal communication such as speech.
"They've done a really nice job" of demonstrating that monkeys have a voice region very similar to that in the human brain, says neuroscientist Asif Ghazanfar of Princeton University. It's noteworthy, however, that the monkey and human voice regions are positioned somewhat differently in their respective temporal lobes, Ghazanfar says. He suspects that the voice-recognition region of our primate ancestors' brains migrated toward more recently evolved regions that decode and produce speech in the human brain--an example of the kind of neural reorganization that happened as language evolved.


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Life's Treasures are Here.
In The Hills of North Orange County.
In a spectacular setting overlooking the charming towns of Brea and Fullerton,
two of the nation's premier homebuilders, Shea Homes and Standard Pacific
Homes, are bringing a vision to life. That vision is Blackstone.
Spanning approximately 800 acres, most of which is preserved as natural open space, Blackstone is a community that will fulfill your dreams every day, from the moment you wake up in your beautiful new home and look out on expansive scenic views. Later in the morning, you'll send your children off to excellent schools, and after school and on weekends, you'll get together as a family to enjoy an abundance of recreational amenities as well as nearby stores, restaurants and movie theaters.
Everything you love about Brea… and so much more.


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The Robert Street and Park Avenue street improvement projects in Pierz were supposed to begin this year. Instead, the project was stalled because the city couldn't obtain needed easements around several homes in foreclosure.
But, those easements have been procured, and the city is once again moving forward with the project that it wanted to do in conjunction with its Safe Routes to School (SRTS) project.
Scott Hedlund with Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH), the city's engineer for the project, told the Council Monday, plans for both projects were about 95 percent complete. He said a staff meeting was held recently, which included the Rich Prairie Sewer and Water District (RPSWD).
Hedlund said another preliminary assessment public hearing must be held, since more than a year will have lapsed since the last one was held.
Hedlund drafted several assessment scenarios for the project that will cost approximately $867,101 — $592,684 for the city and $274,417 for RPSWD.
In one scenario, based on properties being assessed per lot at 10 percent of the city's cost or $56,599.36, the 29 properties affected would pay $2,096.27 per lot. Property owners who own two lots, with their home situated in the middle, would pay half that amount for each of their lots.
Another scenario, the prices get a little higher, as property owners would again be assessed per lot, but at 18 percent, found the cost rising to $3,773.29 per lot, and property owners with two lots and a home in the middle, again paying half of that for each lot.
In a third scenario, the prices get even higher for some.
In this scenario, each property would be assessed per square foot of frontage, again at 18 percent. Based on this scenario, the highest assessment would be $6,537.68 for one property owner, and the lowest assessment figure showed $670.53.
The Council set Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 5:30 p.m. as the date and time for the preliminary assessment public hearing. The City Council's regular meeting will be held at 7 p.m. that same evening.
Typically the Council meets the second and fourth Mondays of the month, but due to the Veterans Day holiday, Nov. 12, that meeting was moved to Nov. 13.
An SRTS project update meeting was set as well. It will be held on a night that does not conflict with a regularly scheduled Council meeting, that being Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 5:30 p.m.


text:
Measuring cheese moisture/fat
March 29, 2003
The Infralab measures moisture and fat in semi-hard and hard cheese at-line, enabling cheesemakers to manage yield optimization and increase product shelf life. It provides safe, noncontact, accurate measurements.
NDC Infrared Engineering, 5314 N. Irwindale Ave., Irwindale, CA 91706. Tel. (626) 939-3810.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to Food Engineering Magazine.


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Want to know why so many American companies are willing to go to great lengths to play nice with the Chinese government? That headline is your answer. That 485 million number. Here's another number for you: 15.5. That's the percentage increase in Chinese Internet users over a year ago. Massive jump. Big caveat: this is all information from the Chinese government by way of the state-sanctioned China Internet Network Information Center. That body also reports that 318 million people in China are accessing the web on mobile devices. The 15.5 percent increase is actually down slightly from a year ago when the number of internet users reportedly rose 19 percent.
485 million Internet users in China
Follow John Moe at @johnmoe.


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Cerealus Holdings LLC
Waterville, ME 04901, US
Cerealus is a product development company focused on biomaterials. We are seeking a total of $250,000 with the instrument being convertible debt. 5 yr maturity, guaranteed by the State of Maine 12% return for 5 years.
Cerealus has three patents issued. Cerealus focus of development has been centered on cellulose as a substrate and as a raw material for new product development. We are currently pursuing a go-to-market strategy over the next 12 months. The funding we are seeking will be used to enhance a network of market representation, tools and equipment for carrying out this market introduction, and continued product development at the University of Maine.
The market for biomaterials is growing at a tremendous pace as efforts to reduce fossil fuels, and fossil based materials is being driven by large and small companies alike. The platform chemistry is evolving from sugar to replace many of the current chemical raw materials and intermediates. In fact, the US Department of energy has submitted a list of 12 important chemicals that should be derived from biobased materials. This space is an exciting sector to be, as developments are occurring at an exponential rate. Cerealus has an early entry into this space with its work with cellulose, corn starch, corn protein, and nano-cellullose. Cerealus envisions a range of products based upon these raw materials beginning with our current offerings.
Products / Services
Ceregel – Cerenano
Encapsulating agent for filler modification in paper making. This patented (China, Korea, pending in the US, EU, and Brazil) technology is used in paper making to reduce costs by improving the strength of the base paper. The added strength is then leveraged to utilize less expensive raw materials or reduce the weight of the product.
The use of Ceregel along with nano-cellulose is expected to be an integral part of our growing business in the packaging sector. It is projected that by 2025 all packaging will be bio-based rather than petroleum based. We are working with several clients developing the technology and would expect sales to begin in 2017.
Managing Director Executive Officer
Anthony Jabar, Jr
Tony Jabar founded Cerealus in 2004 and has over 20 years experience in specialty chemicals, biotech, agrochemical and life sciences.
Tony started his career with Monsanto in St. Louis, MO. He has also worked for National Starch and Henkel. From 1998 until 2003, Tony was Director of Development at Global Protein Products, an early stage biopolymer company located in Maine, where he developed a biodegradable substance to preserve vegetables.
Tony was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the USDA for his work in agricultural research in 1999, and in 2005, was awarded a patent (US 6,844,181) entitled, "Method of Increasing Crop Yield." He currently has two additional patents for agricultural crop protection and barrier compositions. His patent for encapsulation has been awarded in Korea and China and is pending in the US, EU, Canada, and Brazil.
He is a graduate from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, as well as the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Institute.
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I'm well known by my friends and family for having an iPod attached to my body. My ears often get a quick glance before anybody starts talking to me. So needless to say, music is a big part of my life, and there are only a handful of musicians I would consider myself a true fan of.
Lostprophets is one of those bands.
Like many fans, their breakthrough track "Last Train Home" is what brought them to my attention. And back when the track was released in early 2004, I didn't expect to like them for so long.
But almost six years later, I'm still proud to be a fan. And having recently been to see them live for only the second time - the last time was back in 2005! - and looking forward to my third time in May, I think it's about time I wrote an opinion on them.
Hailing from Pontypridd, Wales, Lostprophets formed in 1997 and have released four studio albums and three EPs - the most recent being The Betrayed in January 2010.
They've been nominated and won numerous awards, achieved two top ten singles and have reached Number One in the Alternative Songs chart.
Current members include Ian Watkins on vocals, Lee Gaze on lead guitar, Mike Lewis on rhythm guitar, Stuart Richardson on bass, Jamie Oliver on turntables, backing vocals and samples and Luke Johnson on drums and percussion.
Past band members have been DJ Stepzak on turntables and samples, Mike Chiplin on drums and percussion and Iian Rubin the most recent member to leave in early 2009, also on drums and percussion.
Getting hot, thirsty and occasionally hit, shoved and jumped on might not be everybody's idea of fun, but Lostprophets put on such an immense live show, that these things become minor inconveniences. On both occasions I've been to one of their tours, the crowd has been fully involved, and I've not seen one person who hasn't enjoyed themselves out of the thousands who flock to see them.
In the four years worth of live shows I missed, Lostprophets seem to have adapted themselves to the stage and now seem to be more comfortable up there.
Having the good fortune to have met the band personally after the show last week (25th February), I'm also pleased to say that the majority of the band are extremely nice in person, taking the time to have conversations as well as the usual pictures and autographs. As for the rest of the band, after entertaining a crowd of 2000+, tiredness is to be expected and some of them still took the time for autographs and pictures. There's no way you can hold it against them though, the energy they put into the show would leave anybody too tired to talk.
So why do I like Lostprophets so much? The clever guitar riffs and immense bass lines play a part, the heart thudding drum beat and colossal introduction to with turntables to most song play another part, but I guess my heart really belongs to the lyrics and vocals. Having not been able to understand a word of what Ian Watkins was saying during our conversation, I now find it quite surprising how he sings with such clarity. With catchy tunes, amazing vocals and very catchy lyrics, it's no wonder Lostprophets have made it this far.
The band also make an effort to stay connected with fans and share information and news in the form of a band Twitter, individual Twitters, Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Flickr, as well as a YouTube channel for video updates.
The Fake Sound of Progress (2000 - 2002) is regarded as the band's least popular album but was still certified Gold. "Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja" was the first single to be released by the band and achieved medium popularity, making it to number 33 in the US Alternative Chart and number 41 in the UK singles chart. "The Fake Sound of Progress" attained number 21, the band's second single and last to be released from the first album.
The album, Start Something was released in early 2004 and through its success; the band became more extensively known internationally. Selling over half a million copies in the US alone, the album quickly became the breakthrough album, achieving number 4 is the UK album charts.
"Burn Burn" was the first single to be released from Start Something, achieving an impressive number 17 in the UK charts and started to get the Lostprophets noticed a little more.
"Last Train Home" was released next, the breakthrough single. Reaching number 8 in the UK chart and number 1 in the US Alternative chart, this was the single that really got the Lostprophets noticed.
"Make a Move" was next to be released, reaching number 9 in the US Alternative Chart, followed by "Last Summer", one of the bands slower songs, reaching number 13 in the UK singles chart.
"Goodbye Tonight" was released as a UK single only, reaching 42 while "I Don't Know" was released as a radio single, reaching number 11. Goodbye Tonight was the last single to be released from Start Something.
Following the success of Start Something, the band released Liberation Transmission in 2006 and entered the UK album Chart at number 1.
"Rooftops" was the first single to be released from this album and hit number 8 in the UK singles chart and is widely regarded as one of the bands most popular songs.
"A Town Called Hypocrisy" was released next, reaching number 23.
"Can't Catch Tomorrow" was the third single to be released from Liberation Transmission, and although didn't achieve high in the charts (35), has since become one of the Lostprophets well-known songs.
"4am Forever" was the last single to be released from this album, one of the slower and more emotion-filled songs from the Lostprophets. It reached a disappointing 34 in the charts.
The band's fourth studio album, The Betrayed, was finally released in January 2010 after numerous delays, following problems with the label and producers. Reaching number 1 in the UK Indie Album charts and number 3 in the general UK album charts, this album is by far the best, in my opinion.
"It's Not The End of The World, But I Can See It From Here" became the band's first single to be released in 2 years and reached number 16 in the UK charts.
"Where We Belong" was released next, reaching number 32. This is personally one of my current favourite songs.
"For He's A Jolly Good Felon" will be the next single to be released on the 5th April 2010. The video has already been recorded in Manchester during a day off from their current tour and will contain an exclusive B-side.
With successes ranging from number 1 albums and singles, it's no wonder Lostprophets has become a favourite band of many - mine included. Having stuck by the band for the past 6 years, I hope I'll be able to still call myself a fan in another 6, following more success and popularity.
With each album and single being better than the last, it's impossible to see where the band will be in a few years. I recommend Lostprophets to pretty much everyone. The catchy lyrics and clever beats will almost certainly pull you in.
With my ticket in hand for the next UK show in Cardiff, I eagerly wait to see what will be produced next by this amazing British band.
The London Underground - or the tube, as it's more common know - is fast, convenient and as a tourist, stopped at all the places I wanted to go.
Split into nine different zones with thirteen different lines, the Underground covers almost all area of London within the M25.
With so many different lines and zones, the tube is extremely confusing at the best of times and can take a while to get used to, but there are large maps available for viewing and some major stations also offer smaller pocket maps, it's worth grabbing a few of these are they are easily lost and ripped. The lines and zones are clearly marked by a variety of different colours for each line
As a lone parent with a young child, hauling a pushchair around can be daunting at the best of time, and out of hundreds of stations, only a handful within Central London offer step-free access. Not really a problem if there's two of you, just an inconvenience, but if you are by yourself or are wheelchair bound, this can be a major problem. Although I am able to manage stairs with a pushchair, the sheer amount was extremely intimidating though the steps at 99% of stations aren't steep in the slightest and luckily, a lot of passer-bys offer a helping hand.
The step-free access stations are clearly marked on all maps - including your handheld ones.
Although the Underground network is huge, most stations are not and you can start feeling claustrophobic very quickly, especially as the major stations are extremely busy almost all the time.
As with all public transport, peak times such as the school run do get really busy and it's worth avoiding these times, especially as pick pockets will be using the Underground.
The waiting times for the tube vary depending on which line but during the daytime, I never seemed to wait more than a few minutes.
Prices vary depending on which zones you're travelling within, though as a tourist, I didn't need to venture out of zones 1-2, which cost me £5.60 (after 9:30am) for unlimited travel, reasonable value in my opinion, though if you needed to buy one of these for more than a couple of days, it would probably be worth getting an Oyster card. If you need to travel to more zones, this would obviously be more expensive with zones 1-3 going up to £6.30 (after 9:30am) and so on.
For your money, you get a ticket that's extremely similar to a train ticket with a black strip on the back for the machines at each station to read. The machines at the station let you in and out and with every station I went to, a couple of members of staff were watching over the process.
At every station I used, there was an extra wide machine for wheelchairs and pushchairs - even if it wasn't a step-free access station.
Each station I used had a good number of staff around, mainly working on public safety and making sure people don't jump the barriers. Extremely reassuring if you get lost, injured or pick pocketed.
The trains themselves are quite narrow, adding to the sense of claustrophobia and I personally felt sick looking out the windows and seeing the tunnel wall just inches from the windows.
On most trains, there was a designated area for pushchairs and wheelchairs, and in general, people did seem to respect this. Each train differs with its seating system and you can either get the two-seater facing forward classic or the multiple seats in a row under the windows. The seats themselves, although cushioned, weren't too comfortable and not at all roomy.
Overall, I would recommend the tube if you're able to get down the steps with ease. It truly is the fastest way around London but as expected, does get extremely busy. If you're using the tube for just a couple of days, it offers good value for money but I can see travelling in London all the time would prove expensive. Although I didn't have many problems with the stations, I hope they improve the situation surrounding step-free accesses and add more escalators or lifts, even if to those stations that prove most popular.
I'm barely out of my DooYoo training wheels myself, having been here for just two months. However, with me still being new to the site, I feel I'm able to point new members in the right direction as I've only recently got onto the right paths myself.
*Writing Reviews and Churning*
There's a multitude of information available for the product you're reviewing.
Churning out reviews that barely scrape 150 words won't win you any favours, will damage your reputation and will probably lose you money in the long run. Think quality, not quantity. Yes, while you "only" earn 15 DooYoo miles per view, if your review is of decent quality, more people will read it and more people will come back to read your other reviews. The 150 word is a minimum, not a target; you don't have to stop writing once you hit 150 words! (If you did, my advice would end here)
You don't need a reputation, I hear you cry!
Well, you do. I'm sure the people who get nothing but Not Useful and Somewhat Useful's get a little advice from DooYoo, and I have seen members removed and banned.
While the £££ signs may be lit up in your eyes right now, slow down, take a breather and actually think about your review. You don't have to review every single thing today! There's 365 days in the year and the 5 review limit isn't a target.
*Ratings, quick rating and revenge ratings*
150 DooYoo miles doesn't sound like much. Why would you need someone to look at your reviews when you can just earn money from writing them? Just because someone rated me, doesn't mean I have to rate them back.
True. This is very true, you don't. And I never did. But looking back at my first 15 or so reviews, I have an average of around 4 ratings each. I never rated back and those people stop rating me, they took the time to read my review and give me an opinion but I never gave it back. These days, I do the same thing. While I don't expect ratings back every time, if I spot a name I've reviewed 7 or 8 times and never received even one back, I won't go to that review.
Unfair, you may say. But almost all of us are here to earn a little extra cash while being part of a community and I'd prefer to lend my time to someone who will lend it back.
Quick ratings annoy me endlessly. A quick rating is where you rate back the same thing you received. What's wrong with that, you may ask. The person who rated you hasn't written the same thing as you, even if it's on the same subject! Giving someone a Useful on a crowned review because they gave you one doesn't really cut it, and I have my own little black book of quick raters who I now avoid.
And look at it this way, for every 1000 rates you receive an extra £15.00 for your effort (based on 15 DooYoo miles). And it's easily done; I'm almost at the 2000 received ratings mark! It is worth rating other people, and rating them properly.
REVENGE RATING! I hate this. Hate hate hate. I usually try to leave a few words of advice to try and help out new members and give pointers on where they're going wrong. I don't have to do this and I could just rate Not Useful and leave. But I don't, so when I receive a Not Useful or Somewhat Useful back, I do get a little upset, yes. I always report revenge raters and it's only you who will lose out in the end.
Thankfully, since I've put up a guide to my ratings on my profile, my Not Useful or Somewhat Useful ratings haven't moved up much.
*Community Spirit*
No, it's not in the terms and conditions. It's not what you signed up for. You don't need to take part in the community.
But it helps if you do. I also like to send messages to a few people when I've really enjoyed their review or I've found something in common with them. It makes the site more social, more fun and less about earning money. If you're having fun on the site, you'll be here for a lot long, rather than leaving when the novelty of the site has worn off.
You never know, you might make some good online friends.
You have one somewhere, don't lie. Let it shine through in your reviews!
While not going overboard and reaching 1,000 words, tell me how you came across the product! Give me an experience! Picked up any handy hints and tips relating to the product? Share!
Personally, I don't mind a little personality in reviews I read. It gives it uniqueness and makes it yours and yours alone. While I don't need to know how many tins of soup and what kinds were in your Tesco trolley when you picked up the bread you were planning to dunk in them, it is nice to know how you came across the bread. Is it a family favourite, was it recommended (and why was it!), was it on special offer and where (so I can find myself a bargain!). It's all GOOD kinds of (irrelevant) information.
I've read so many reviews where it's said something like "there are other kinds of this product but I don't know what..." and it's completely put me off and made me think the author doesn't really care about what they're saying.
Google is an amazing tool. Having a quick look for missing information won't hurt your review and yes, while it may take a few minutes, it does make the review so much better. Accuracy is a key part in a review.
It's often the most boring information that makes the review so much better. Things like nutritional information (I'm on a diet so I find this information invaluable!!), ingredients - although I don't always include this, it is important to some people, particularly people who can't eat certain things, people with allergies, vegetarians, vegans, etc.
Price!!! Even if it's only an approximate, I want to know how much the product will set me back if I ever decide to try it.
It all makes for a good review, and while it's boring, it's important too.
*Spell check, vocabulary and grammar*
It's not hard to stick your review through a quick spell check. There are some free online ones if you haven't got a program like Microsoft Word. Capitalization and grammar are also extremely important. Please please please proof read your review. Net/text speak is a big no-no too. I dnt want 2 reed sumthin' this thx.
Vocabulary is also important, using the word 'good' 4 times per paragraph gets repetitive and it seems like you haven't put much effort into your review.
Spacing your review is important too, it makes it easier to read and more attractive. It's also easier to write in actual paragraphs as you're less likely to churn and repeat the same information.
However, too much spacing can, at time, be annoying as the scroll button works overtime.
Overall, just be honest, include all information in your review, follow the rules, rate back and spell check, you'll soon get into the DooYoo habit and it will all become second nature.
I booked this hotel on a whim. Travelodge were doing their £9 sale and this was the only one in Central London to take part in the offer - or at least, the only one I could find.
Staying for two nights, the total cost was £32.90 - £9 for one night, £12 the next and £5.95 each night for breakfast.
Finding the hotel was extremely easy; a ten minute walk from King's Cross train station/King's Cross St. Pancreas tube station, with no awkward directions - just a walk down the road leading from the station to the hotel. On the way down, you pass a Starbucks, McDonald's, several shops and cafes.
Arriving at the hotel, I was pleasantly surprised - reviews I had read on the hotel after booking had said the building was old, shabby and worn - this didn't appear to be the case. I arrived at approximately 5pm and found no queue when I arrived.
Being a mother of a young baby, I'm used to hauling a pushchair up and down steps and was pleased with the fact the entrance to the hotel only had four or five to contend with. Though I don't struggle with stairs, wheelchair users and other lone parents may find these difficult as they are rather steep.
The lobby area was clean with a restaurant attached to the left. Although there were three or four computers at the reception area, only one member of staff seemed to be attending, though this wasn't a problem as it was quiet. Check in was quick and simple. As my room was pre-paid, all I had to do was provide my name and confirm my address and I was handed an electronic key-card. The staff member wasn't overly friendly and welcoming but by no means rude.
Going towards the lifts, I passed half a dozen computers which provided internet access at £1 for 20 minutes and a vending machine offering snacks such as crisps and chocolate and those all important toiletries that are easily forgotten such as shampoo and body wash.
To access the corridor leading to the rooms, you need insert your key-card into the door, giving you a sense of security and safety.
Going into the corridor, I was met by three lifts - though I only witnessed two working in the dozen or so times I used them. The lifts themselves were extremely small, barely fitting my daughter's pushchair in - though people still seemed to want to cram themselves in to the tiny space and rub shoulders with strangers.
Getting out the lift, a badly placed vending machine meant I had to squeeze out the lift into the corridor. The vending machine itself offered a bottle for coke and water for around £1.50 each. The corridors were slightly narrow and two people wouldn't be able to walk side by side. The signs were extremely confusing to begin with - maybe it was just my floor, but there were no arrow signs showing which way to go. Luckily, the corridor had plenty of turns and leads you round in a full circle, so although it took a little longer, we still got there.
Arriving at the door, I noticed it was already and the wood around the handle was damaged. Though this was unique to my room, it was a worrying factor. After vigorous testing from inside and out, I was assured the lock itself wasn't damaged and nobody could get into the room whilst I wasn't there; it just needed firmly shutting and quick check upon entering/leaving. Though not convenient, it wasn't too much hassle.
Upon entering the room, I was slightly shocked at the size. After passing a small bathroom and storage cupboard, I entered a twin bed room with a desk, TV and bedside table. The room's walkway was very narrow, barely big enough for me to fit the pushchair in, but it did fit. The room itself was very clean and fresh, as with almost every Travelodge I have stayed at and I was not disappointed with the cleanliness at all.
On looking around the room, I noticed there was a lot of storage space - extremely handy for a room this size - with a huge wardrobe as you walk in, a kind of built in chest next to this and then the desk with four average sized drawer and one large drawer. In between the beds was a bedside table fixed to the wall with two more decent sized drawers.
As with most budget hotels, there were no 'frills' like chocolate on the pillow or biscuits, however a kettle, two cups, spoons, tea bags, coffee sachets, sugar, milk and sweeteners are provided as well as multiple vending machines throughout the hotel.
Bins were provided - one in the main room and one in the bathroom - but these were small and both got full after just a few hours.
I had forgotten to book a travel cot for my daughter and I thought this would be a problem as the hotel had hundreds of guests. But after explaining the situation to the front desk, I was happy to be told one will be on its way up soon. Again, the staff member wasn't overly enthusiastic but having worked for Travelodge myself, I don't hold it against her.
15 to 20 minutes later, a different member of staff delivered the cot. Not an unreasonable amount of time but would have caused a problem if someone was in a rush.
After settling in to the room, I made my way to the restaurant in the lobby. There was an adequate amount of table although at busy times I can see that you probably would have to wait for one.
For a small hotel restaurant, the menu was alright. There were six or seven different meal options in each category - starter, main meal, dessert, children's menu - and a licensed bar. Each meal seemed to be around the £6, decent for Central London. I was provided with a high chair and the waitress seemed friendly enough. There was a widescreen TV attached to the wall and the volume was of perfect volume - loud enough to hear but not interrupt a conversation - and was set on a general music channel.
Although it was only 6pm and the restaurant hadn't been open too long, the soup wasn't available and I had to make a quick alternative decision.
The portion sizes were great and I felt full after my starter and half my main meal.
If you don't fancy anything from the restaurant or you find it closed, there were two fast foods places directly opposite the hotel and more up the road by King's Cross station.
Going back up to my room, I decided to run a bath for me and my daughter. The bathroom was extremely small and I had to squash myself right in to be able to shut the door. The bath itself was also small, especially in length. Not a bath you can lie down and relax in but doesn't cause a problem if you're just sitting up. I was able to straighten my legs in the bath and to adequately wash myself and my daughter.
I was pleasantly surprised by the towels provided; they were of extremely good size and in excellent condition.
Although it was January, snowy and extremely cold outside, it was by no means cold inside. However, it wasn't very warm either. A small radiator with temperature controls and an off button was beside the desk.
The windows opened about 2 inches and was slightly hard to open - even harder to close. The curtain hung from two separate rails which overlapped, which completely blocked light from entering.
Having read other reviews for this hotel, I was worried about the noise level from the neighbouring rooms but on both nights had no problems - or complaints! - and didn't find any problems with thin walls. However, on a few occasions I could hear people walking past my door and their conversations could be clearly heard - even if they were talking quietly. Luckily, the corridor didn't seem to be busy and I heard no noise past 10pm.
The beds themselves were clean and comfortable, but I did notice one was firmer than the other - perfect for catering to different needs but could cause a problem if both people want a softer bed! The sheets and duvet cover were simple and extremely clean. The duvet was tucked in tightly under the bed, so much so I had to get out to loosen them. There was one pillow per bed provided however a spare can be found in the wardrobe.
There was a set of light switches on the wall above the bedside table, controlling all the lights in the room - barring the bathroom. The light above the second twin bed seemed to be well and truly on its way out but was perfect for me as it worked well as a nightlight for my daughter - though it obviously wasn't meant for this use.
Using the bathroom again in the morning, I noticed a small bar of soap and two disposable plastic cups had been supplied. The mirror and sink area was big enough for two people (as long as you don't need to close the door!) though the sink itself wasn't. I couldn't seem to get any cold water through the taps, no matter what I did. I'm not sure if this was just a fault with my room or was a recurring theme throughout the hotel.
Before leaving the hotel for the day, I rechecked into my room. Again, this was a quick, easy and simple process of confirming a few details and having my key-card reprogrammed for that day. I was happy enough to leave my belongings in the room whilst going out all day and upon returning, had found my room had been cleaned - I had mixed feelings about this. When I used to work for Travelodge, we used to ask our longer stay guests if they would like their rooms cleaning while out. I wasn't asked and although it was great coming back to a clean and tidy room, I did have the initial panic about my laptop, cash and belongings as some things had been moved around - though this proved an unfounded fear. The bins had been emptied, sheets changed, floor hovered, refreshments replenished and other general tidying up.
The TV was small but for a budget hotel, I wouldn't expect anymore. Ten channels were provided, including the usual BBC One, Two, ITV, Channel Four and Five as well as a music channel, news channel and Cbeebies - plus some radio stations to boot.
The only major quibble I have about my whole experience in this hotel was with the travel cot. Although hardly any travel cots come with sheets, I wasn't provided with anything to cover the mattress which seemed to be stained several times. As my daughter often sleeps on her knees with her bum in the air and face on the mattress, I did find this unacceptable and had to make do with stripping the spare bed for the sheet to cover the stains.
On both mornings of my hotel stay, I had breakfast. As mentioned before, advance booking is £5.95 and two kids can eat free with each paying adult.
I thought this was extremely good value for what was on offer. The breakfast was an all-you-can-eat buffet and consisted of several different things.
Cornflakes and Rice Krispies were on offer for cereal with fresh milk. Cooked breakfast was sausages, bacon, scrambled egg, beans and tomatoes. I witnessed these being replenished twice - though the first time I came down was pretty early and the food seemed to have been left out for a while. The hot foods are provided on big metal trays keeping them warm.
White and wholegrain bread could be found next to an industrial toaster that was constantly left on. Butter, jam and marmalade were served in small cartons.
Blueberry muffins and fresh Muller fruit yogurts in multiple flavours could also be found on the breakfast buffet as well as tea, coffee, apple juice and orange juice.
The morning staff seemed much more lively, cheery and friendlier than the other shifts with one staff member in particular who took a shine to my daughter and made our breakfast experience all the more pleasant.
Checking out was simple. I just dropped my key-card into the slot on the reception desk and was on my way.
Overall, I was extremely happy with my experience at this Travelodge. As I experienced none of the problems I have read in other reviews, I would happily recommend this hotel to anybody who wants to stay in a convenient Central London location and rooms can be found from as little as £19 if booked well in advance and even £9 during sale times.
More importantly, my daughter was happy and relaxed in this hotel and didn't seem to mind being away from home like she usually is.
Weight Watchers Malted Danish is sliced white bread with malted wheat flakes and wheat bran produced by Warburtons and comes in 400g loaves.
I found this bread while reading through my Slimming World books and decided to give it a try.
I was quite impressed with this bread at first. Tasty, healthy and unique to other breads, Malted Danish provided me with a healthy range of bread to aid my weight loss. Providing one slice of bread for half a point on the Weight Watchers diet or one healthy B choice for three slices on the Slimming World diet.
The bread comes in a plastic loaf bag, helping the keep the bread fresh, soft and tasty and offers you around 14 slices per loaf. The bag itself is mainly green, with transparent windows to see the bread and the Weight Watchers and Warburtons logos. On the bottom is the nutritional information and allergy advice.
This bread is extremely delicious, tasting fresh, succulent and soft, this bread is definitely not lacking in the taste department like some other weight control breads.
The only quibbles I have with the bread is the size, with each piece being around 2.5 - 3 inches in height and around 2 inches in width. Very small for a piece of bread, but 2 or 3 slices does adequately fill you up. The bread does not toast well either, turning extremely hard, dry and crunchy, quickly losing heat making it harder to melt butter into the bread.
There's a slight aftertaste with this bread but it is by no means unpleasant.
Each 20.4g slice of bread contains just 49 calories, 2.5 g of protein, 9.1g of carbohydrates, 0.6g sugar, 0.3g of fat, a fantastic 0.1g of saturates, 0.8g of fibre, 0.09g of sodium and 0.2g of salt, making this bread one of the healthiest on the market and is suitable for vegetarians. This bread contains wheat gluten and Soya and is made in a bakery which uses milk, sesame seeds and barely.
Weight Watches Malted Danish is available at most - if not all - major retailers and is priced around the 60 - 85p mark, dependant on where you buy it, providing you with fantastic value for money on top of the healthy benefits.
Overall, this bread is fantastic. Healthy and tasty, it's always my first choice of bread for sandwiches and with meals, though most of the time; I use other bread for toast. Providing you with fantastic value for money, I recommend this bread to anyone who wants a healthier alternative to other brands.
Pepsi Max is like the Coke Zero of the world. A sugar free diet product without the actual dreaded "D" word. Pepsi's producer, Britvic, describes Pepsi Max as a "low calorie cola flavoured soft drink with sweeteners".
I'm normally a dedicated Diet Coke person but I came across 6 cans of Pepsi Max for £1.32 in Tesco the other day. Working out at just 22p per can, I decided it's worth the plunge and give Pepsi a fair try.
At first, Pepsi Max tastes like Coke Zero with more bubbles. Not bad, as long as you don't drink more than two mouthfuls at a time in fear of burning through my windpipe.
Pepsi Max comes in a black steel can, which proudly displays the nutritional information and plenty of reminders that this is, in fact Pepsi, not Coke.
As mentioned before, this tasted like Coke Zero with more bubbles, at first. But after a few more mouthfuls, began to taste sweeter than normal Coke zero, Diet Coke and normal Coke put together.
The fizziness of this drink doesn't do it any favours, leaving your tongue tingling and your throat burning - though this does seem to be a problem after 10 minutes as Pepsi just loses all fizziness randomly.
There's an aftertaste with Pepsi Max - after the bubbles have disappeared, that is - which reminded me of cheap 9p cola; sweet and substandard.
Pepsi Max boasts it contains just one calorie per 330ml can and 0.3g of protein. Fantastic, if it weren't for the fact Diet Coke and Coke zero boast the same thing and don't lack in the flavour department.
Usually available anywhere that sells Coke, Pepsi costs around the same price (unless it's on offer).
Overall, I wasn't impressed with Pepsi and will be sticking to Diet Coke in the future - no matter how many special offers Pepsi appear in.
As with most stores, there are a lot of positive and negative things that can influence you to use them. With BrightHouse, the negative often outweigh the positive, but if you have poor credit, you're pretty much compelled to use them.
I have been a BrightHouse customer for a few months now. When I first went in, I was drawn by the brilliantly displayed TV's and instantly wanted one.
While asking about the credit agreement and terms, the salesperson was slightly pushy. Though nobody is forced to say yes in any situation, a person who is easily led or falls under the slightest pressure who feel bound by the situation.
BrightHouse offer insurance which is compulsory unless you can prove you have your own contents insurance. This is relatively low price. On top of this, they also offer replacement and repair for approximately £5 a week (on my product). I find this extremely useful as it also covers me for returning the product with no penalty and no need to pay the remainder of the contract and also lets me put the account on hold for up to a year.
I wasn't given the exact product I wanted, which was a little disheartening, but instead was offered a "QR" product (quality refurbished) which I've had absolutely no problems with.
BrightHouse isn't the cheapest place you could go to, and if you are able to, I would advise anyone to get their product elsewhere - even a credit card would offer a cheaper price when you calculate the APR. However, BrightHouse provide goods to those who can't.
But BrightHouse isn't all terrible. The staff - generally, although my salesperson was pushy, a word with the manager steered my opinion - are absolutely fantastic, professional and extremely helpful. Direct debits aren't an option and weekly payments are a must, however I am able to phone the store every week and pay by debit card, saving me a trip to the store. The payments are affordable; I personally pay £13.21 a week, including both of my insurances. Delivery is set at £24 and late payment fees are £3 - they won't budge on this, as I found out during a hospital stay.
Periods are never fun and a big inconvenience to any woman's life, so I find tampons a Godsend. Discreet, odour control and unnoticeable, I prefer tampons over sanitary towels.
I've used many brands of tampons, usually buying what's on offer and I tried Lil Lets for the first time a few months ago and haven't switched back to any other brand. Lil Lets are compact enough to fit in your pocket with drawing attention to itself and comes in a white and pink polka dot cellophane wrapper, not a paper one, ensuring it isn't torn by the movement of your bag or pocket.
Lil Lets comes with a plastic applicator, not a cardboard one for an easy and more comfortable insert.
The tampons come in a relatively small box, offering 12 individually wrapped tampons. The colour of each box varies on which absorbency you have chosen.
Lil Lets offer a no leaks guarantee and I was sceptical of this at first. I get extremely heavy periods and have always found leaks with any brand I use. But after a few months of using Lil Lets, I can safely say this is true. The tampon expands outwards not downwards once it starts absorbing, and because it expands outwards only, stays a comfortable fit for the duration the tampon is used.
Lil Lets are available in most - if not all - major supermarkets and pharmacies, though I have started seeing these in some corner shops more frequently. I personally get these from Asda at around £1 per box, providing extremely good value for money.
Overall, if you use tampons, I would recommend these due to the no leaks guarantee, size and prize. A fantastic product making a woman's life even easier.
Lucozade Apple is an energy drink produced by the GlaxoSmithKline group, made popular by the original and orange flavoured drinks.
I was given one of these by my niece who seems to love them, but the complete opposite is to be said for me. I was genuinely unimpressed by this drink, something I don't come across often as I like most things.
Lucozade Apple comes in the regular Lucozade bottle - long, thin and slightly wavy - the only difference is, the plastic wrapping is green.
I made the mistake of trying this while actually thirsty, resulting in my finishing half the bottle in a few gulps. I soon regretted this. Lucozade Apple tastes nothing like apple, as fate would have it. I would describe it more as carbonated soda water with a hint of synthetic apple.
And then there's the bubbles. Lot of bubbles. Too many bubbles. While, yes, it's a fizzy drink, the amount is just ridiculous.
There's an aftertaste of... bubbles, to be honest. Your tongue just tingles.
And here's the biggest problem I have with this drink. The nutritional value. While non-diet drinks aren't healthy in most cases, I find it disgusting Lucozade Apple would claim 57% of your Recommended Daily Allowance of sugar. No, I'm not lying, I'm really not. 262 calories also claim 13% of your RDA and 0.01g of salt at 1%. It's just the sugar. All 51.7g per 380ml bottle of it. And the whole bottle contains a whopping 2% of apple juice.
You can buy this drink (I don't recommend it though!) at most retailers with a price tag of around £1.10, depending on where you buy.
Overall, you're probably best just adding 51.7g of sugar to regular apple juice if you really want an energy boost, it would probably be tastier.
Galaxy Caramel is yet another addition to the Galaxy family. Produced by Mars, they explain that Galaxy Caramel is "signature Galaxy smoothness enhanced with luscious caramel".
I'm not sure how long this addition has been around, but I saw it for the first time yesterday (I tend to stay clear of the chocolate aisle!).
I was really impressed with this; the pieces are bigger than the average Galaxy bar though still holding their famous wavy shape.
The packaging is much like any other Galaxy chocolate bar. Rich tones of browns and bronzes on the outer packaging with Galaxy scrawled across the front with the nutritional information, ingredients and contact information on the back. The inner packaging consists of shiny bronze foil-like paper.
This chocolate bar has a very intense taste. You can taste the signature smoothness of Galaxy almost immediately in every bite-sized chunk, quickly followed by a very rich and silky caramel.
Although this tastes like heaven, heaven very quickly gets sickly and too sweet, which in turn, leaves your mouth feeling slightly dry. There's an aftertaste of caramel with this product, which is to be expected, but this disappears quickly, leaving you feeling slightly nauseous and on an extreme sugar rush - though if you have more self-control than I possess and stop munching at the first signs of it becoming sickly, this probably wouldn't happen!
Each piece (8.4g) - that's right, each PIECE - contains 42 calories, equal to 2% of your Recommended Daily Allowance. Not bad, you may be thinking, but check out the rest of the stats; 4.8g of sugar, 5% of your RDA, 2.2g of fat, 3% of your RDA, 1.3g saturates, setting you back an outstanding 7% of your RDA and 0.03g of salt, 1% of your RDA. Which may not look terrible at first glance (apart from that 7% saturates!) but remember, this is each piece, will you really stop at just one?
135g of this rich, creamy chocolate bar will set you back around £1.25, dependant upon where you buy it and is available at most - if not all - supermarkets and larger convenience stores.
Overall, this chocolate bar tastes like it was made in heaven itself, but quickly gets sickly and will set you back a minimum of 7% of your RDA of saturates for just one piece. Tasty but extremely unhealthy.
Domino's Pizza is one of the best known pizza chain stores in the UK and USA. Domino's gained in popularity very quickly whilst sponsoring TV shows like The Simpsons and Take Me Out.
Although Domino's isn't cheap, they do offer special deals quite often, like the famous 555 deal - five pizza's for a fiver each - and often get vouchers delivered to my door. I first came across Domino's after seeing multiple TV adverts and decided to see what all the fuss was about. I was extremely impressed by the high quality and freshness of all the ingredients.
Domino's have a variety of pizza's, including all the usual classics like Hawaiian, Vegetarian, Pepperoni and Cheese and Tomato. They also have their own unique variety of pizza's too including Meateor, Texas BBQ, Vegi Volcano, The 'Sizzler' and many more. The pizza's come with a dip, slotted into a hole in the pizza box in which you can dip your crust into, the perfect way to reduce waste for those crust-haters. As well as pizza's, Domino's also sell drinks in 1.25 litre bottles, extremely tasty sides like Garlic Bread, Potato Wedges, Chicken Wings and Chicken Strippers, amongst others and desserts too, including Ben $ Jerry's ice cream in multiple flavours, Cookies, Waffles and "Chocolate Melts".
What impresses me the most is the delivery time. The last time I ordered Domino's the whole process of ordering, baking and delivering took an incredible 25 minutes. The pizza's and sides were obviously fresh out the oven as they were piping hot and filled my house with the smell of delicious fresh ingredients. Domino's can be ordered online or over the phone and paid in cash or credit card.
Pizza isn't one of the healthiest meals around and should be enjoyed as an occasion treat. Domino's is available in most cities and towns and your nearest one can be found on their website. The price and size of pizza's vary, although Domino's certainly isn't cheap with a large pizza being around £15.
Overall, Domino's is the perfect tasty treat, providing freshly baked ingredients and excellent sides and desserts.
TU is Sainsbury's own range of clothing. From kids clothes, coats, jeans and t-shirts to accessories, hats, belts and gloves, TU have something for everyone.
I first came across TU about a year ago when I moved and Sainsbury's became my local store. I would mainly buy clothes for my daughter as they produced some high quality, extremely cute and even well-known charactered clothes like Upsy Daisy from In The Night Garden, Winnie The Pooh characters, Fifi and many others.
I also bought some jeans and a cardigan for myself but the adult range seemed to be heading for simple and "safe" clothes and were rather bland and plain.
All the clothes I bought - for both me and my daughter - were of extremely high quality and I was impressed with all aspects of the clothing.
Sainsbury's stock would be updated often, resulting in some real bargains and sales, mainly consisting of the adult's range of clothes. The clothes are available in sizes from 8 to 24 for the adults range and all ages for children. I was a little disappointed to see they didn't have a "teenage" section, though this might not be true for other stores.
Prices vary depending on what you're looking for, but apart from baby clothes, I never bought anything at full price as I felt I could get them cheaper elsewhere. Adult coats were in the region of £25 - £50, jeans were around £8 - £30, tops were £6 - £20 and accessories ranged from £2 - £15.
Overall, I would recommend TU for baby clothes as they have a variety of different styles and designs, however I feel you could get better quality adult clothes elsewhere as TU sticks to simple, boring looks.
I found out I was expecting my first child on a complete whim. I had no reason at that point to suspect I was pregnant, but got a test anyway. Some mothers just know.
I was scared, excited, shocked - pretty much all the emotions I could feel. And pregnancy was confusing, full of choices and options and things I didn't know I would have to think about. But one thing that I didn't have to think about was where I wanted to give birth. Hospital.
Most people don't like hospitals, and I'm one of them. Boring, clinical and sometimes scary, hospitals aren't a nice place to be at the best of times.
I had a reasonably healthy pregnancy and my due date came and went. 10 days after I was due to give birth; I was on my way to the hospital to be induced. Good thing I planned a hospital birth as I would have been bitterly disappointed by my daughter's late arrival.
Of course, I go into full blown labour at the bus station and end up in an ambulance going to the delivery ward - not the way I had planned the day, but at least things were moving now!
I was extremely surprised by the delivery ward. It's recommended you visit the ward before you give birth but due to circumstances, I was never able to.
The beds were bigger, comfy and electronic for ease. The rooms were bland but not clinical, taking the some of the scare factor away.
For a first baby, I was extremely lucky to only have to endure 6.5 hours of established labour and a pushing time of around 10 - 20 minutes. Although this is a relatively short time, it didn't stop it being any less painful and my plans for no epidural went straight out the window after a few hours, something I wouldn't have been able to have at home.
I never thought childbirth would be nice but I never expected my daughter to open her bowels half way through the labour. This produced a problem in itself as it caused an obstruction in the birth canal and a few minutes into pushing, I see the midwife going to get a doctor. They thought they would have to take me for an emergency c-section as I was exhausted, struggling and baby was starting to get distressed.
Imagine if I was at home?
Luckily, I persevered through, throwing everything I had into getting that baby out and in the end, I didn't need the c-section.
Because my daughter had opened her bowels, we did have to stay in hospital for 24 hours to make sure she hadn't swallowed any.
If I had of opted for a home birth and I hadn't have been able to persevere with the pushing and needed that emergency c-section, would my daughter be here now? Probably not. Would I have been able to manage the pain at home? Probably not. And would I have avoided hospital after the birth? Definitely not. So although home births might be more calming, relaxing and maybe even easier, you can't bank on having a healthy, easy and problem-free childbirth. And I would opt for having multiple doctors, midwives, strong pain-relief and emergency medical equipment around me over the comfort of home with one midwife with some gas and air any day.
The Chicco DJ Walker Seventy is a baby walker with the added feature of a removable toy. There's much debate about walkers as some say they delay a child's first unaided steps and others say it speeds the moment up.
This product was given to me by a friend whose son had grown out of it. It's a unisex walker and had a variety of different colours on it.
Although I was given this walker without the detachable toy (apparently this broke after being dropped a few times), I was quite impressed with it at first. My daughter reached all her milestones early, apart from any which involved her legs, so I thought this would be great to help her use them.
At first, I would have to put a blanket at the front of her as she would lean forward and push her chest onto the tray which proved quite painful. Once she got the hang of sitting up straight, she would love to sit in the walker for hours, but still wouldn't use her legs. The walker has a fairly large tray space which is moulded into the walker and is around an inch deep. There's a bumper around the bottom of the walker, wider than the seat itself, saving nasty finger trapping accidents. The walker can be folded flat by a small lever underneath the tray and can easily slide behind the couch for easy storage.
As she got a bit older and a bit heavier, bright red rings would appear around her thighs from the seat of the walker. These looked extremely painful and would take a while to disappear and seemed to be quite itchy - think sitting on the edge of something and then getting off to find a little indentation and red mark in your skin.
I stopped using the walker after this and it seems it hasn't been missed. My daughter eventually started standing without the aid of this baby walker.
These are available at most baby stores, major retailers and online and I've seen them at around the £25 - £35 price mark.
Overall, I would not recommend this walker, especially to a baby or toddler who has yet to develop any leg strength.
Slimming World, as the name suggests, is a slimming club where members go to find help and support in losing weight.
I've always been a big eater, from being a young child. So it's no surprise I turned into an overweight young adult. Although I was bullied most of my way through school, it never occurred to me to change and lose weight. I personally never hated my size because I was still able to do what I wanted; it just seemed everyone else had a problem with my weight. So I trudged my way through my teens and then arrived into my twenties, expecting my first child.
My mum has always been a big woman too and she was on and off at Slimming World. A few months after I gave birth to my daughter, my weight was causing me to be tired all the time and at times, leaving me almost too tired to be a good mum. So I joined Slimming World.
I was extremely impressed at my first session. My consultant was extremely friendly, funny and so down to earth and laid back, my social anxieties were pushed aside and I signed on the dotted line.
I'm still amazed at how much I can eat and still lose weight every week. Food optimising is extremely simple, the plan is brilliant and so easy to follow and best of all, absolutely nothing is banned!
Slimming World have a simple system in place. You pick what plan you're going to follow that day - either green, original, extra easy and a few others - and stick to it! You get "free foods" which are (depending on the day you've picked!) both obvious and extremely surprising. You can quite literally eat as much free food as you want and you're still guaranteed to lose weight. Free foods include fruit, vegetables, meat (original day), pasta and potatoes (green), eggs and so much more!
You're also given "healthy extra's", the extra's that are healthy only in moderation. Things like milk, cheese, bread and cereals. You're given to healthy A choices - dairy products - and healthy B choices - breads, cereals, soups.
And then, my favourite thing, the Syns! Syns work on a point's type of system. You simply check how many syns is in your treat and deduct it from your weekly allowance! 105 syns a week, or 15 syns a day. Generally, chocolate bars are in the region on 8 - 13 syns, biscuits are around 2 each and crisps are around 8. With the Slimming World plan, nothing is banned and in theory, you CAN have a chocolate bar a day and still lose weight at the end of the week (I should know, I've done it more than once!)
Sounds too good to be true and believe me, I was sceptical at first.
Slimming World costs me £4.95 a week (it has very recently gone up from £4.50, the last price rise was around 13 years ago) and it's worth every penny. I "stay to group" every week to share my losses and gains and to hear of others progress. It's extremely encouraging, non-judgemental, friendly, full of tips and advice and supportive.
Best of all, you can pick your own "target weight" as Slimming World encourages you to be healthy, not slim and celebrate your little milestones like losing 10% of your body weight and every 7lbs you lose. There's also a "Slimmer of the Week" and "Slimmer of the Month", where you receive a selection of goodies given to you by other members (mainly fruit, cereal bars and yogurts).
Slimming World also have their own magazine on sale in shops (you can buy this at your group at a discounted price), recipe books mainly incorporating your free foods and low-syn treats and desserts and their own range of cereal bars that are extremely tasty. The website is also extremely helpful, giving you recipes and letting you track your progress every week in the form of charts so you can watch your weight go down and gives you the all important mid-week support when your willpower starts to wander.
Overall, Slimming World is extremely easy to follow, so helpful and supportive, non-judgemental and just a fantastic way to lose weight, meet new people and to get out the house and have fun! I recommend Slimming World to anyone who wants to lose weight - and you're guaranteed to do it, even if you have a chocolate bar a day! And as for the cynics out there who think this plan doesn't work - I've lost over 3 stone with losses as big as 7lbs a week in just a few months - I'm living proof it does work and I'm not far from being a healthy, maintainable weight and now have more choice in clothes as I don't have to go to specialist places!