New Year's Resolutions in the Almost Average household

Good day to all you great people out there! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have your sleeves rolled up ready to tackle 2009 because today is New Year's Day and it's time to get cracking and get prepared for the year ahead, no matter what it will bring!I love this time of year and New Year's Day is my favourite of all. For me, it's a special day that always brings new hope, carrying a certain freshness coated with positivity and good intentions that beats Christmas Day, anniversaries and even birthdays hands down. After all, the feeling of hopefulness is one of the greatest possessions...

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My Festive Stocking Fella

I've been wondering what to do with my old laddered hosiery, which has been piling up on top of my cupboard for months. A few scraps of material and a couple of buttons later, I came up with the perfect solution just in time for Christmas...and with it... a little festive greeting.So Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you have a brilliant time and manage to keep those festive bins looking as slim as Scrooge's old dusty wallet. Thank you for a real fun year and cor blimey it was a good 'un.Well, that's me signing off for a while but I'll see you in 2009, when I'll be pondering my new year resolutions....

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Great expectations

I've had to think carefully before writing this post. After all there are only 5 days to go until Christmas Day and I've realised that this year I have been living in a HUGE state of denial.And it's the kind of denial that makes you want to run to the hills and live in a cave for a week and then come out when it's all over.Yes I know, perhaps I need therapy.Especially when you see the evidence...I've only written one card - and yes I know today is the last posting day before Christmas.I've not bought any crackers - we're going to make hats and Mr A will make up some jokes instead.Our presents...

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Today's Twitter with Working with Nature

When I've not been busy on the blog, the book or indeed preparing for Christmas, I've been having a really good Twitter. Not just twittering to myself, but twittering to others over at www.twitter.com, where everyone else is having their fair share of tweets too. And it's fab, you get to meet all sorts of new peeps or tweeps as twittering people are called.And one of those gorgeous tweeps is the lovely Allyson Proudfoot, who runs the Bellingham Soap Company, making luxury soap and skincare products under the brand Working with Nature. If the name sounds familiar, it's because as well as having...

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My Trashy Update!

What a couple of jewels I've discovered this weekend. Having spent the last few weeks indoors at my computer, it was a true delight to go out and play. And look what I've found.My first discovery was Raspberry Rascals, a fantastic children's shop that's just opened in Langton Place, Bury St Edmunds. Here's Heather, the founder, sorting out a few clothes that I decided to buy for the children.Now this shop might look expensive, but Raspberry Rascals isn't just any old new shop if you get my drift. It's a gorgeous nearly new store aimed at children under 5. With clothes, toys, books and...

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A right rubbish matchmaker

Oh...I'm feeling like Cilla Black on Blind Date...I've been matchmaking...and it's so exciting...but not how you'd think!This particular story begins with an evening out with friends at an Indian Restaurant last night. An evening of hilarity and good humour, full of all sorts of innuendos...the fun, the laughter...well you know how it is!One minute you're having a regular night out innocently enjoying your meal. Then before you know it time's whizzed by and the hot towels arrive, a refreshing treat at the end of the evening.Of course I couldn't wash my hands without asking THE question about...

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Liquid Soap Virgin

Sorry I haven't got time to blog much at the moment, busy writing book and all that. But I did tear myself away to make some new liquid soap for the bathroom.I've never made it before, so I thought I'd video it so we could all see how easy or indeed difficult it was. What's great about the ingredients is that they're all natural and don't contain any nasty chemicals and they can be used to keep refilling any old bottle you've got hanging around. And of course it's one less thing to pick up at the supermarket.So how easy is it? Well here's the videoAll ingredients can be purchased from Summer...

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The Hen Party

My weekend was so exciting. I went to a neighbour's house to meet up with some special girls. It was a Hen Party run on behalf of Omlet for people interested in keeping chickens. Truth of the matter is I've been feeling broody for years and these ones had me running home clucking with intentions.So if you fancy the idea of keeping some too and want a sneaky peek at how to handle a chicken, check out the video below. They're gorgeous! (Huge thanks to Graham for agreeing to be uploaded and featured).__________________________________________________...

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All in a Christmas lather

Blimmin 'eck. It's Sunday night and there's a bit of a lather going on in the Almost Average household.I've been falling over myself with responsibilities with the dawning realisation that the festive season is upon us and the one thing that I really want for Christmas isn't really possible. It might sound drastic but I could do with the whole thing being pushed back a few months.Blubbedyrubbedyflibbedy-woo. The tell-tale signs are starting.Take last week. Mr A went brought our Christmas tree home and put it up on Wednesday (we always do it early in our house). I had explained that it would...

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We would love you to recycle this packaging...

"....but you have to separate the cardboard from any plastic. Just pop it along to your local recycling centre, and place it in the relevant bin."Well what can I say? I must be in chocolate heaven and so close to Christmas too! Not only am I sat enjoying a box of yummy Thorntons chocolate mints, but the considerate product designers have included instructions on what I should do with the packaging.It's common knowledge that one of the problems with getting people to recycle is the lack of knowledge about whether something can be recycled. Indeed 48% of recyclers interviewed for WRAP's Barriers...

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Just look how I fell off the wagon!

Now if you'd spent a whole month trying to avoid buying nothing new, what would be the first thing to encourage you to part with your cash? Bet it wouldn't be a tub of dishwasher powder! Something with a touch of luxury would probably win the day and who could blame you.But for me it was pure unadulterated minimal packaging that broke the financial fast, a tub of Bio-D dishwasher powder, a gleeful alternative to packaged tablets that are not just fiddly to open, but make it difficult to be more economic with measures, especially those with the plastic wrappers that dissolve in the dishwasher.By...

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