Municipal Cupcake

Taking a break

2010-12-22T21:10:00.001Z

I'm taking a break from blogging, gang. I'm finder it more difficult to justify the time that it takes, and it has become more of a burden than a pleasure. After a nasty comment on one of my other blogs, I began to feel a little vulnerable, and perhaps it's now time to close some of the doors I have very publically opened. It's been a journey of about two years and I hope you've enjoyed the view. Thanks for reading,
Alison Bayne

My little shepherd

2010-12-16T13:13:00.000Z

I am so proud of him!

All I want for Christmas...

2010-12-16T11:57:00.001Z

1. World peace,of course; that's a given.

2. Some kind of miracle tablet that is both an antihistamine and an antidepressant AND YET does not cause drowsiness.

3. No more snow, thanks.

4. Plenty of time to myself, preferably reading all my new books from ReadItSwapIt and Bookmooch, ideally in the bath with a trickle of Radox Muscle Therapy bath soak, the soothing sister of Radox Stimulate Black Pepper & Ginseng Shower Gel.

5. The tenacity to continue going to the gym and eating more healthily in the face of mince pies, Quality Streets, Pringles et al.

6. A bathroom that's fully painted.

7. An even kitchen floor

8. A great big hug that goes on and on without having to lead anywhere

9. Children who like doing Christmas things and also don't mind entertaining themselves sometimes, without constant need of Cbeebies

Dark Angel

2010-12-10T20:51:00.007Z

My Survey

2010-12-02T16:56:00.000Z

As you probably know, I'm a member of My Survey and thought you might like to join. They've revamped their website recently and joined forces with another market research company, which means even more surveys to answer. I've just got into it again, and have amassed enough points to get £10 on paypal, which will be useful for Christmas shopping. In case you haven't heard of it, My Survey is an online community of UK residents, participating in market research studies and sharing their thoughts on products, services and a wide range of topics.

Why not considering joining?
- You will be rewarded for your time: My Survey Points – redeem them for PayPal credit, gift vouchers or donate them to charities and Prize Draw entries – your chance to win £2,000 every three months
- Your opinions shape new products
- This is purely for research and we do not sell or promote anything
- Participation is always 100% voluntary

To join My Survey, please click the link below or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://uk.mysurvey.com/index.cfm?action=Main.join&r=10000002850

Stuff. Stuff I've been doing/ thinking, that sort of stuff

2010-12-01T22:22:00.001Z

1. I have PMT so forgive me if this isn't awfully positive and slapstick. It's a good job I haven't got the power to cancel Christmas.
2. I have not left the house at all today, due to the snow and my son being poorly. I'm feeling so trapped!
3. School closed early for my daughter but my dear friend collected her for me.
4. Probably school and playschool will be closed tomorrow and we'll be in the house all day again.
5. I am feeling guilty about how much telly my son is watching. I know he's ill but I still feel bad. And it's good quality stuff, like Camberwick Green and Show Me Show Me, but I still feel I should be entertaining him myself all day.
6. I have found an app which restricts internet surfing so you can't spend all day on it. Probably ought to use it.
7. We had home made beanburgers yesterday, they were really good. I got the recipe from my new book: Low-Cost Living: Live Better, Spend Less.

This is the perfume I want for Xmas!

2010-12-01T21:04:00.001Z

Absynthe! The advert sounds a whole lot better in Swedish.

Avon - cosmetics, beauty, make-up, skincare, fragrance, work from home

Postal Scam Warning

2010-11-24T21:21:00.002Z

The Trading Standards Office is making people aware of the following scam:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate number).

Do not call this number as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed a substantial amount.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 0207 239 6655.

· Further information from Trading Standards (external link)

2010-11-16T21:55:00.000Z

Exchange your books at BookMooch.com

S.O.F

2010-11-03T20:10:00.000Z

Have a look at this:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/save-our-forests

The government is floating plans to sell off our national forests to private firms. This could mean ancient woodlands are chopped down and ruined. We need to come together to stop this happening.

I've just signed a petition to save our forests. The more of us take part, the stronger the message will be - click here to sign the petition:
http://www.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-forests

Things to celebrate

2010-11-01T20:28:00.001Z

1. I now have an mp3 player; my husband gave it to me for my birthday. Not only is it nice to get with the '00s, the major bonuses are that I can listen to it whilst blogging and drown out "The Unbelievable Truth" (my DH is a Radio 4 fiend), and I have found that guided meditation tracks work much better with headphones. Also, I got 50 free tracks of my choice from some music download site or other, including Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks, which I have loved since my dad used to play me the 7'' single.

2. I now have seven Magnificent followers - the highest on all my blogs. I know this is not a vast amount, and I would always like more, but let's just say it's quality, not quantity, which counts. Thanks, magnificent seven, for sticking with Municipal Cupcake.

3. We didn't get any trick or treaters last night, because we were at my in-laws for a very successful early bonfire night and quietish fireworks display (the kids are scared of loud bangs). Last year we got lots of kids coming round but we switched all the lights off and didn't answer the door. Instead, we crept grumpily round in the back of the house, bashing our shins on furniture, and cursing the Americanisation of Halloween.

4. I got some birthday money, which I've spent on Amazon, and there are also some books heading my way from Bookmooch and ReadItSwapIt, so I am going to have even MORE tomes to read as the nights draw in. One arrived today, but it's an Enid Blyton for the kids ( The Children of Cherry Tree Farm (Rewards) ); I'm going to enjoy reading that aloud to them.

5. I've gone all subliminal, since I reviewed Glenn Howard's Complete Relaxation, and it is so easy! You don't have to think, you can even go to sleep and your subconscious does all the work. With good results so far.

6. Not only have I got purple hair, courtesy of Schwarzkopf, I have also discovered a brilliant lipstick to match, from Superdrug's GOSH range. A bit more forgiving than my student fave from Rimmel, Black Cherry, or the Barry M blue lippie I aspire to, you can see details here.

Gym'll fix it.

2010-11-01T19:50:00.000Z

I awaited my next Gymophobia re-assessment with a certain amount of trepidation.

Summer holidays used to be a time of weight loss, tan-gain, and general sunniness. Now, with two kids, they are a time of stress, frustration and lack of school-run-related exercise. Unable to work out in the day, my Gymophobia attendance dwindled to once or twice a week instead of the recommended three visits.

Once term began, I was back in the saddle but had some catching up to do, and then I was struck down with stomach flu with left me aching and breathless even when I wasn't AT the gym.

Then Second Born, from whom I caught the stomach bug, went on strike during several school runs and lay on the pavement instead of walking, resulting in me carrying him over my shoulder for 300 yards, and moderate injuries to my neck and upper back muscles.

Having cancelled my re-assessment twice, I decided to just get it over with this week, and the results were disappointing. I have lost another half inch. Woah. And, although I am not on a weight loss program, I didn't expect to shoot up to 10st10.

But you know, my BMI is still okay, so I'm consoling myself that muscle is denser than fat and I'm probably pre-menstrual, I can touch my toes at yoga (when I couldn't 6 months ago) and I look a bit better in leggings than I used to. So it is all good, really. Bike-riding and running are my next plans. Oh yeah. Ain't nothin' gonna stop ME!

So! I am 35!

2010-10-27T22:35:00.000+01:00

Hi! I haven't blogged for a while. On all my blogs I was having problems posting links and images but this appears to be sorted out now I have swapped IE for Mozilla Firefox (which is way cooler). I'm having a great time, I love being thirty-five and the world's my oyster! More posts soon and sorry for the lull.

Do you bookmooch?

2010-10-20T21:04:00.002+01:00

As well as the Read It Swap It site, I use a web site called BookMooch to exchange books with others.
http://www.bookmooch.com
I have just joined and am hoping it'll be a useful way to get rid of my old books, and get books for free in exchange.
The site is commercial free and costs nothing to use.
You can see my bio page here:
http://bookmooch.com/bio/ecoworrier

Bet you can't relax ME!

2010-10-19T11:35:00.022+01:00

Hypnotherapy. Not really been there. Guided meditation and creative visualisation, yes, but hypnotherapy seems like a step up from that, and whilst my best friend swears it enabled her to stop smoking in a jiffy, hypnotism as entertainment has always sat uneasily with me, and so I have shunned it, until now, as a therapy.
Glenn Harrold's Complete Relaxation CD, which I listened to for the first time this morning, soon changed my tune! This was a new experience for me, but I have been so stressed and ill with a stomach bug of late, that I was prepared to give it a go. Multiple cups of coffee, snappiness with my family and a desperate need for sleep during the day, all pointed to the fact that - although my inner reserves are a lot stronger than they used to be - as an empath I am very susceptible to stress and other people's emotions, and I am taking it out on myself and my husband and kids. Bear in mind that I already AM taking the tablets, and I have just finished a year of weekly counselling sessions, and you'll perhaps appreciate why I'm on the look out for weapons of stress reduction.
So there I lay, arms folded, certain that there was no way Glenn Harrold could relax me. Surely, I was too highly strung, too sensitive, too good at picking up other people's bad vibes, to let anything go and relax? Anyway, he was a bloke. I wasn't going to do what a BLOKE said - what did he know about being me? As a Northerner, I don't often get to hear the dulcet tones of Kent, but Glenn's voice (a cross between Ross Kemp and Andrew Lincoln - and, in my book, that is a serious plus) made me think maybe I could just switch off for a little while...
This CD is so much more than relaxation. It truly brings the therapy into hypnotherapy. Although my body fought it to begin with, my limbs did let go of the tension that held them together, and it is testament to Glenn's skill that my stubborn mind was able to benefit from the affirmations and positive suggestions, in spite of my mental insistence that I was too tense, too depressed, a lost cause. Instead of meeting my body's desperate need for rest by crashing out in bed wherever possible, this half-hour of guided hypnotherapy is a far better way to rejeuvenate and re-programme my mind, as well as being much quicker and productive than several hours' sleep in the daytime. I intend to listen to one of the thirty-minute tracks each day, and I have every faith that the results will be mind-blowing.

To mop or to mope?

2010-10-10T21:18:00.001+01:00

You know how many times I've fallen off the Fly Lady bandwagon. Don't get me started on How to be the Perfect Housewife. A shiny spirit is more important than a shiny sink, but can you kill two birds with one stone? Can you turn housework into something that's good for your soul? Ben Bushill, author of The Transformation of Housework(Capall Bann Publishing, £8.95), thinks so; inspired by his pioneering book, here are ten ways to bring spirituality into housework!

1. "Let go of your negative feelings as you let go of your rubbish," says Ben. Making the connection between the yucky stuff in your bin and the ugly stuff in your life, try saying "I throw away all feelings of ...(shame, guilt, regret etc), right now" as you put the bins out.

2. Instead of detesting the washing-up, see it as a chance to mess about with water and bubbles. Put on a bit of hand-lotion, don your Marigolds; "this is a chance to soothe your hands and your whole body...with water therapy"

3. With "horrible" jobs, such as cleaning "stinking, damp" cupboards, says Ben, "it is the starting that is difficult, it is the idea of having to do something that seems so nasty that makes the job difficult." But just make a start! "Once you actually get going at it and stop thinking, the revulsion fades".

4. Faced with mouldy grout, or a blocked sink, connect the task to yourself. "If you can feel that you are cleansing part of yourself, then suddenly the job is more worthwhile," explains Ben. Before you start, "reflect on something that is mouldy inside of you, either physically or emotionally. If you have any aches and pains in your body, take a few seconds to tune into them...As you wipe away the dirt, feel your self cleaned and you body becoming fresher."

5. Julia Day, in Patchwork of Magic, suggests that if life's become dull and dingy, "give the windows a good clean and concentrate on all the light pouring into your life."

6.When you're scrubbing the walls and floor and have dirty water to pour away, Julia says "as the black water flows down the drain, think of all the bad things leaving your life."

7. Instead of thinking about how resentful you feel, as you tidy away the sippy cups, lego, assorted hair accessories, dinosaurs and six pairs of your husband's shoes, focus on how organised your life is becoming. It's mind over matter!

8. Decide to enjoy a task. If playing a CD in the background or sharing housework with a friend helps, do that! Change your attitude so that what you are doing becomes "a positive experience, rather than an exercise in resentment and grumpiness." When peeling potatoes for example, decide to relax your shoulders and let yourself sink down into your feet. "Let a feeling of stillness and energy fill your body," suggests Ben; be open to calm and enjoyment.

9. See the link between the grimiest parts of our houses and the darker sides of ourselves, neither which we want to look at. You can release your negative feelings as you deal with the dirt and mess. "When we can accept the darkest parts of our houses, then we are halfway" says Ben, "to accepting the darkest parts of ourselves."

10. "If we learn anything from our housework, from the never-ending cycle of chores," says Ben, "then it is that nothing is permanent, nothing stays clean." This might be seen as a bad thing but it means that everything passes, however dire things seem, "your negative feelings will change."

Email the Chancellor

2010-10-01T15:40:00.000+01:00

I've just emailed Chancellor George Osborne ahead of his speech at the Conservative Party Conference on Monday 4th October, asking him to publically commit to protecting the poorest children both in the UK and abroad when laying out plans for the toughest government spending cuts in over 40 years.

Save the Children are doing some great work to improve the lives of the world's poorest children. I find their work inspiring, so much so I've decided to get involved. Will you?

It's very quick and simple - all you need to do is click the link below, fill out your details and hit send to email George Osborne.

http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=7&ea.campaign.id=7917&ea.param.extras=tracking:eaf

Let's work together to make a difference.

Save the Tiger with WWF

2010-09-27T11:55:00.001+01:00

One of the best photos I've ever seen

2010-09-20T21:40:00.000+01:00

Fantastic and chilling set of photographs depicting an abandoned mental asylum.

2010-09-17T19:18:00.000+01:00

Sole-gazing

2010-09-16T12:55:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, while waiting at the lights, I saw a cyclist in stiletto boots. The mother in me was disappointed to see that she wasn't wearing a helmet, but the woman in me thought "Wow, look at those heels! She's mad! But great!"

Gone are the days of staggering back up the hill from Lancaster in silver platforms at 3 a.m. I'm doomed to wear flat shoes for another decade, I think, since I walk everywhere in all seasons. Clarks have become my shoes of choice but Tu's price range is more within reach for me. Like tigger, my shoes must bounce.

Unless they ache, blister or don't fit into a pair of shoes on the sale rack, I don't pay much attention to my feet. Perhaps I will remember to paint my nails now and then, and intermittently, I treat the rough skin on my heels (without much success), but essentially, they are just made for walking.

Interesting then, to read that aspects of the feet reflect character traits and emotional issues we face. Ann Gadd's study, Finding Your Feet - How the Soul Reflects the Soul (£9.99, Findhorn Press) holds up our feet as a mirror to our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances. I found out that while I have a (perhaps rather dull) Modern English foot, my husband has a Greek foot, and these have significant meanings, as do the colours of our feet and any podiatric problems we have. Readers are also encouraged not to label their feet as "good" or "bad" and to see that deeply-held attitudes to feet connect to deep-seated emotional patterns.

Holistic professionals will be interested in Gadd's thorough explanation of the mind-body connection in specific relation to the chakras and feet, and the concept that feel can be "read", just like palms. The A-Z Aspects of the Feet section spoke to me most loudly. I have always had flat feet but I had not considered that this might reflect the issues I have with support and grounding. "People with flat feet generally feel that they lack support in life or are not supported by those around them" says Gadd. "They feel vulnerable and ungrounded, and may very often have boundary issues. It is as if the foot collapses (or is drawn to the earth) in an attempt to feel grounded and supported."

Not only does Gadd offer a diagnosis, she also suggests ways that we might heal emotionally, and learn from what our feet are trying to tell us. It was helpful for me to read that we "are constantly supported in life, but often we just aren't aware of it." If we feel unsupported and alone, while life collapses around us, Gadd's message is that "it may simply be the end of an era, thus opening the way to the beginning of a new, more enjoyable period of our lives." This was certainly a different and more positive way of looking at what can feel like loss or disaster, and one that would be a challenge for me.

Gadd's work has made me focus deeper on grounding myself and I look forward to acting on her suggestion that those with support issues might benefit from leaning against a tree or lying on the ground, feeling "its solid comforting support". Whether I realise it or not, I am being supported on my life journey, even if it isn't all going according to plan.

Now I just need to go find a tree.

Readers can buy a copy of Finding Your Feet here, for 20% off

Not to be sneezed at

2010-08-31T20:40:00.001+01:00

If you'd known me at primary school, you'd have seen me rifling through the Lost Property sundries fairly regularly. Every day, whatever the season, and whether I had a cold or not, I required at least two mansize handkerchiefs to cope with the amount of sneezing I did. And I would lose at least one a week. They were too big to fit in my pocket and were constantly in use. By secondary school, I had to dry them out on radiators during lessons. That was hygienic, wasn't it? Even now, thirty years later, I never leave the house without a hankie.

House dust mites, cats, pollen and feathers are among my identified irritants - these allergies run in the family, so were accepted as normal by my parents - but I also helpfully have a condition called perennial allergic rhinitis, which means I react as if I have an allergy, all year-round, even if I'm not actually allergic to something. I would probably sneeze in a vacuum.

Over the summer holidays this year, I noticed that I tended to sneeze even more when stressed out. By Friday most weeks I would feel like I was coming down with a cold, but it didn't usually develop into anything worthy of attention. So it was a revelation to me when I read Ann Gadd's work on what our habits reveal about us (The Girl Who Bites Her Nails & The Man Who Is Always Late, £9.99, Findhorn Press) and discovered that "allergies are expressions of subconscious, repressed aggression". The body regards whatever is breathed in as hostile, and so expels it with force; in "fighting the irritant, we hope to expel our subconscious fears."

Gadd encouraged me to look at the actual substances causing the reaction, which would in turn give me clues to the areas of life in which my irritants may lie. I was fascinated to see that cat fur may relate to a more primal, instinctive aspect of self - such as independence, femininity and intuition (or our reaction to them), and with dust mites, it may be a reaction to the dark side of our personality or of life.

Another eye-opener was the idea that being allergic to something paradoxically gives the sufferer an element of control, as "loved pets have to be got rid of, rooms must be cleaned to absurd degrees, smoking is banned". Others are forced to comply for the sake of the sufferer. The sneezer's approach is one of passive aggression "I can't help it". Gadd says this aggression often comes from a deep insecurity coupled with a desire for attention or recognition; this makes a lot of sense to me.

It was only when I left home that I successfully found medical treatment for my nose, and my condition is more manageable these days. Interestingly, since I got married a decade ago, my nose has ruled my life less and less. And I never dust.

Readers can buy The Girl Who Bites Her Nails And The Man Who Is Always Late
direct from the publisher at the special price of £7.99, saving 20%.Buy now.

An Eco-Worrier's Cost of Living

2010-08-18T14:35:00.003+01:00

I'm finding it hard to achieve a balance between the Ying that is fairtrade, locally sourced, organic produce, and the Yang that is BOGOF, rock bottom prices and money-off coupons.

Since growing up outside a small Midlands town where jumble sales were a major event and it was a mile's walk to the nearest bus stop, I have always loved a bargain. Discounts, sales, free gifts, Ebay, Home Bargains, Asda Smartprice - bring 'em on. I enjoy the challenge of living frugally and making my money go further.

Yet the more ethical, Mother Earth-loving, eco-worrier is uneasy with this kind of consumption. While I'm saving pennies, who is losing out? Who made the things I'm buying? Who profits? If I don't try to live more ethically, I can't moan about the state of the world. I have to set an example to my children, so I need to put my money where my mouth is.

But, we're a one income family, with two children. It's so hard to buy eco-products and organic food when they cost much more than their bargainous counterparts. On the one hand our bank balance is saying we can't afford to live a truly green lifestyle; on the other hand, the planet is depending on everyone to do just that.

"The main way we can care for the earth is by using less of its precious resources", says Marie Sherlock, in her book Living Simply With Children. Here are my tips for living ethically on a budget; I hope they'll inspire you.

BANKING. When NatWest, with whom I've banked for over a decade, wrote to me to let me know they were no longer offering any interest on my current account balance, I suddenly lost interest in them. It doesn't cost anything to switch bank accounts, although it does take several weeks, so you need to prepare for the change over. I am in the process of switching to the far more ethical Co-op bank. It doesn't matter if you don't have a Co-op bank branch near you, you can use the Post Office or the internet to manage your account.

SUPERMARKET. I am still stuck in the supermarket habit but have recently changed from Sainsburys to Waitrose. This is something I truly felt we couldn't afford to do. However, I was keen to support the John Lewis Partnership's ethics (Waitrose is part of John Lewis). Instead of having shareholders, the Partnership is owned beneficially by its employees; Waitrose believes that "the long-term future of the Partnership is best served by respecting the interests of all our stakeholders: Partners, customers, suppliers and the wider community. We look actively for opportunities to improve the environment and to contribute to the wellbeing of the communities in which we trade."

I have found that by shopping online each week, I have managed to spend about £25 less per week than I was spending when I pushed my trolley round Sainsburys. This is partly because Waitrose's least expensive range (Waitrose Essentials) is such good value, but also because I can keep an eye on what I'm spending, it's easier to stick to the list, and there's no clothing range to tempt me. With Waitrose Deliver, delivery is free when you spend over £50, and they often offer discounts to loyal customers.

DOUBLE-UP. Look for natural, ethical and eco-friendly products that have several uses, instead of buying lots of different items. Weleda's Calendula Shampoo and Body Wash is one such example. It'll save you buying a shampoo and a separate shower gel for a start. And although it's been dermatologically tested on infant skin prone to eczema and dermatitis, Weleda's Calendula range is perfect for adults too. So there's no need to buy separate products for each member of the family. What I especially like is the natural fragrance - it doesn't smell like a baby product. There's a fresh, lavender top-note, an underlying fruitiness, and a floral base that leaves hair and body deliciously fragrant, cleansed and soothed.

DON'T SHOP. Make sure you and your kids have better things to do than go shopping. Going round the shops and spending money can become a treat or a hobby, when in fact it is just consumption. The high street is designed to make you feel special, guilty, inferior, superior, indignant - whatever it takes to get you to open your purse. So comparison-shop, get at least three quotes, and buy on-line whenever you can.

For example, I wanted some frankincense recently, for a religious ritual. Firstly, I knew it would be expensive, otherwise it wouldn't have been chosen by the Three Wise Men, right? Secondly, I knew joss sticks would suffice. I was then tempted to head into town, looking for a store that would stock the right type. I knew this would involve visiting a number of shops, all of which would have appealing products. I don't get a chance to shop on my own very often and I knew the browsing would make me want to spend up. Instead, I searched on Ebay, and bought 20 frankincense joss sticks. Total cost? £1.19 including delivery.

SWITCH. The money you save by using comparison sites to get the best deal on insurance, utility bills and so on, can be spent more ethically. Saving over £400 recently by using http://www.moneysupermarket.com/ to switch my home, contents and car insurance providers, means that I have £400 extra to spend on eco-versions of the groceries etc that I'd normally buy.

BUY USED. If your self-image does not depend on the type and quantity of possession you have, then you can handle buying second-hand. It's a great ego-state, very liberating - and cheap! Books, CDs, DVDs, clothes, bedding, furniture, cars, bikes, toys; none of them have to be new. If I can't find an item I want second-hand on Ebay, freecycle, amazon or local charity shops, I take that as a sign that I need to reconsider whether I really need it.

No time for Skincare?

2010-08-12T21:30:00.000+01:00

Check out the latest post on Mumtopia:
Mumtopia: Skincare to Go

Check out my professional profile on LinkedIn

2010-08-01T22:23:00.000+01:00

Alison Bayne - United Kingdom LinkedIn