LADY BANANA

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Mon, 28 May 2012 19:09:00 +0000

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really, really loved this book.

It bought tears to my eyes everytime I read it, it was such an amazingly touching story of a little boy born with a severely deformed face.

It left me wanting to hug this little boy and his family.

If you are thinking of reading it do not hesitate, it's an easy reader and it's lovely.

View all my reviews

My Fitness Pal

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sun, 27 May 2012 17:12:00 +0000

I got a new app on my iPhone today - MyFitnessPal.

It very cleverly calculates how many calories you should be eating each day to reach your goal.

You can scan barcodes of food products, enter individual items, all very handy.

Today, my first day, it said I was allowed 1200.. I've not eaten great quantities of food but sadly I've gone over that by 167 calories and it's only 6pm!

I've not however done any exercise today, it's been way too hot and I'm struggling with some sunburn I got yesterday (that's another story!) so maybe it will be better tomorrow when I go to work.

Hope I can last long enough to see a difference. I'm not looking to lose tons of weight, just want my clothes to fit better (too many summer clothes seem to have shrunk over the winter)

If you would like to use this app but don't have an iPhone do not worry, it's also available for Android, Blackberry and on the website.

[Flickr]

LadyBanana — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:28:32 PDT

LadyBanana posted a photo:

[Flickr]

LadyBanana — Sat, 26 May 2012 14:26:00 PDT

LadyBanana posted a photo:

P1030305 [Flickr]

LadyBanana — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:16:32 PDT

LadyBanana posted a photo:

P1030312 [Flickr]

LadyBanana — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:10:19 PDT

LadyBanana posted a photo:

P1030311 [Flickr]

LadyBanana — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:10:13 PDT

LadyBanana posted a photo:

Time To Turn The Heating Off?

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:25:00 +0000

We have a weird communal heating system over which the tenants have no control.

It's still on.... needless to say we are BOILING!!

Back In The Old Days... (or maybe not)

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:26:00 +0000

I love playing with photos, wish it could be my paid job! Made with iPiccy

London's Cable Car

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Ages ago I'd heard about the possibility of a cable car across the Thames. Must admit I had forgotten about it.. until today when I came across this video.

It looks amazing, but I'm not sure I'll have the guts to go in one. (YES I WILL..I WILL..I WILL!!!)

It was hoped they would be ready for the Olympics, but it seems to be unlikely now which is a shame really.. BBC News

Lovely Stuff on CBeebies

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sat, 19 May 2012 18:21:00 +0000

Not having had a baby or small child around for years I've not taken any notice of childrens TV shows.

The other day whilst with Jacob (my grandson) we had CBeebies on and I saw this:

Isn't it cute! It's just so pretty to look at!

There were other shows that I was also very impressed with, such good quality programmes.

I wouldn't recommend babies or young children to be propped up in front of the TV, but for short periods they are very useful distractions!

For children a little older than Jacob there is also a fun website

New Specs

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:45:00 +0000

I'm feeling a lot better now, my *drug* withdrawals seem to have settled apart from the tinnitus which is rather annoying!

I am very relieved about that as today I had to collect my new glasses and I didn't fancy being doubly dizzy!

Not sure I like these new glasses though, they are varifocals...

I have been having to take my distance glasses off to read for ages so thought it would be good to have a pair I can keep on for everything even though I only need a very mild reading prescription.

BUT... I'm not getting on with them well at all.

I can't seem to find the right part to look through at any distance, the edges are very blurred (even though I paid for the best ones) and the middle section which should allow me to see computer easily is dreadful!!!

I know I've only had them for a few hours and people will tell me to give them time.. but there's no way I can work if I can't see the computer!

My partner has varifocals and funnily enough I can see through his better than my own so I'm quite worried they have given me the wrong lenses..

At least the optician offers a 30 day trail period.

Do you have varifocals? Have you tried them? If so, please share your experiences!

Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Growing Up Amish: A Memoir by Ira Wagler

I really enjoyed this book. It's a fascinating insight into Amish life and the authors struggle with living that life then, finally after several attempts, leaving for good.

I have also just started reading Ira Wagler's Blog

View all my reviews

Havoc and Bright Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:16:00 +0000

I have been a fan of Alanis Morissette for years and was wondering if perhaps she had gone into permanent retirement.

Happily I find out she hasn't... this is a single from her upcoming album "Havoc and Bright Lights" due out August 28th!

Coming Off The Drugs

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:17:00 +0000

For the past 4 or 5 years I've been taking Citalopram. It's an anti-depressant which worked rather well for the dreadful Pre-menstrual syndrome I was experiencing.

Although I'm not past the periods I decided it was time to try to come off the meds.

I had tried before - too quickly and suffered the most dreadful withdrawal symptoms. Head whooshes, severe dizziness, tiredness, weird very vivid dreams. It was too much to bear, particularly at work, so I went back on them and found almost immediate relief.

I discussed coming off them with the Dr back last Autumn but she suggested I wait till the Spring when the days should be brighter - this made good sense to me so I went back to see her at the start of April.

I cut down the dosage slowly from 20mg to 10mg to 5mg with alternate days drug free in the last few days.

Sunday was my last day of taking 5mg.

I have been fine until today, Thursday, apart from some incredibly vivid (but not bad) dreams.

Today I woke up feeling very tired and weak. Gradually as the day has progressed I've been feeling more dizzy and my tinnitus, which I am usually fairly able to ignore, has become quite intrusive.

I so do not want to go back on the meds - I'm so positive that I will be emotionally fine and that any pre-menstrual problems will be minimal. (fingers crossed) Actually it's about time I stopped all that monthly nonsense considering I'm now 54.. but that's another issue.

I just hope I can manage with this dizzy whooshy feeling in my head and that it doesn't last too long. I've been so good with my cessation regime I really don't deserve this!

The Olympic Helter Skelter?

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:52:00 +0000

This thing below sits next to the Olympic Stadium..

I wonder, is it a giant helter skelter?

Will we pay a £, pick up a little rug, climb to the top and slide all the way down? round and round and round?

9 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sat, 05 May 2012 08:45:00 +0000

Today is the first day of 9 days of freedom from work!

I wish I was off to warmer sunnier climes but that's not to be, but at least each day is MINE to do as I please :)

The only problem with home holidays is that a certain amount of chores still need to be done - boooooo.

OK, sunshine please show your face a little and keep away the rain!

A Difficult Situation

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:45:00 +0000

My eldest daughter gave up her job back in December and went to do some voluntary work.

She had wanted to do this since finishing uni a couple of years earlier. She raised the money and saved a lot of her own wages to enable this to happen.

Since she returned to has been unable to get a job, so...

She went to ask for some Job Seekers Allowance, just to tide her over until she could find employment.

At first it seemed she would get some but today she received a letter informing her that because she left her job voluntarily she was entitled to NOTHING!

One one hand I can understand this but on the other I am furious!

She has worked full time (apart from her years at uni) paying all her taxes and national insurance.

She is willing to work, she is not a benefits cheat or layabout.

Some people have never worked a day in their lives but get all the damn benefits going with no intention of finding employment.

My daughter is being penalised for giving up her job for a very good reason - to give some of her time abroad with no reward.

It's a very worrying situation, how the hell is she going to manage if she still can't find a job!

Just Around The Corner From The Olympic Stadium

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:10:00 +0000

Nice eh!

Return Of The Youngest

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:13:00 +0000

I have 3 adult children. For the past 10 years or so they have moved in and out of the family home, going to uni, coming back, flat sharing, working abroad etc

My eldest (son) is now happily married and father of Jacob, still living in London but about an hours drive away.

My middle daughter came home almost 2 years ago from uni, went abroad for a few weeks then came back.

Today, my youngest daughter who has also been back and forth many times, moved back in with me after living with friends in a rather large flat near the Olympic site.

The contract on her flat was up and she's going back to uni in September so it wasn't viable to start a new rental.

So... can you imagine the amount of "stuff" she has collected.. Not just the billion pairs of shoes and the piles of clothes but the more practical items of baking equipment etc, etc, etc..

I live in a very small flat, and having had a good de-clutter a few weeks ago, it's now as full as ever. There are bags, boxes and piles of stuff everywhere.. It makes me feel a bit anxious as I hate clutter. But I'm trying my best to stay calm..

One very small part of the "stuff"

What's A Legacy Blogger Account?

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 16:22:00 +0000

A couple of days ago I received this email. (below)

I actually have no idea what it's on about, what is a legacy blogger account?

I clicked the link which says it will take me to the Legacy Migration page and it asked for my username & password - which it would not accept.

So, I am confused...

Google Blogger blogger-support@google.com

Apr 26 (2 days ago)

to me

Hello,

You are receiving this message because your email address is associated with an unmigrated legacy Blogger account. As we announced in April of last year, legacy accounts will no longer be accessible after May 30th, 2012 unless they are updated to the Google Account system. Any blog content associated with this account will also be unmodifiable after that date.

To transfer your blog to the Google Account system you need to visit the Legacy Migration page athttp://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/1nIqGsTFjkBYdV right now to make sure that your account and associated blogs are claimed. If you’ve forgotten the Blogger password that is associated with this email address, you can use our Account Recovery page at http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/0z4OBeMjNRDKIS to request password information to be sent via email.

For more information, please see our initial announcement we posted to our blog at http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/6RbfWBZ9n4jTto . If you have questions, please visit our Help Forum at http://www.google.com/appserve/mkt/6ID0xofyilWzxc and create a message with [Legacy Account] in the subject line.

Regards,

The Blogger Team
Google
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
----
This e-mail is being sent to notify you of important changes to your Blogger account.

An Ahhhhh Kitty Story

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:26:00 +0000

I love a cat story and couldn't resist pinching this one from Nothing To Do With Arbroath

This sweet little cat was due to be put down due to the deformity of his back legs.

Thankfully he wasn't, and has now been operated on and hopefully will learn to walk!

Before the op...

After the op...

Hard Drive Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:46:00 +0000

For my birthday in January this year I got a Western Digital Passport Hard drive.

Nope, not a very sexy gift but it was just what I wanted so I could back up my Mac using the Time Machine.

I've used it maybe once a month (3 or 4 times) to do the backups with no problems at all, until this morning.

I plugged it in, the light came on and the gentle whizzy noise could be heard, but the computer could not see it.

I plugged and unplugged, I re-started the computer, I tried it on another computer, but nothing.

It refuses to be seen...

I contacted Amazon who are very good, they suggest I contact Western Digital first to see if they can help. If they are unable to then Amazon will (hopefully) replace it.

Now here's my problem... This hard drive has the contents of my entire computer on it!!! Not a thing I particularly want anyone getting their sticky little mitts on, but obviously if I get a replacement I will have to return it.

I know I can't access the files on it but that's not to say some boffin where it gets sent back too will not be able too.

I can't format it as it's not showing up..

What I'd like to do is batter it to death so it would be unreadable to even the most clever boffin but I can't do that either or Amazon will think the damage was the reason I wanted another one.

It's just so annoying, I really thought a hard drive would last longer than 3 months - I now wonder what's the point of backing up :(

Happy First Birthday Freddie!

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 20:01:00 +0000

Freddie cat is 1 year old today.

We got him when he was 11 weeks old, he was/is the most friendly, loving, happy cat I have ever come across!

Kitten Freddie

Big Man Cat Freddie

Furry Alarm Clock

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:04:00 +0000

I saw this story on the Daily Mail, it made me laugh so much as I can imagine my Freddie doing this!

Sad About Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:16:00 +0000

How come my feet have grown in 3 days!

I bought these shoes on Saturday, they fitted like a dream, felt absolutely perfect.

I thought I might wear them tomorrow for the first time, so got them out this evening all ready, thought I'd slip them on to check, and... OucHy!

They pinch every which way!

I actually hate buying shoes, I rarely get anything nice to fit me really comfortably..

And no, I don't have peculiar feet or anything :(

If Thinking Was Good Exercise...

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:11:00 +0000

I would be soooo fit!

Smear Test Petition

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 19:08:00 +0000

In England the age at which ladies can begin to have cervical smear tests is 25.

It used to be 21 until about 5 or so years ago.

It was argued that any changes in the cervix before the age of 25 were usually able to "fix" themselves.

However, it seems far too frequently we hear about under 25's developing cervical cancer and with girls possibly having been sexually active for up to 10 years by the age of 25 it's quite a risk.

The major contributing factor in developing cervical cancer is the HPV virus and shortly all smear tests will report if this virus is present or not.

Hopefully as time goes by we will see the HPV vaccination reducing the incidence of this disease.

I have just signed a petition to have the age of smear testing dropped to 20. This petition was set up by Hannah who was herself diagnosed with cancer at the age of 20.

You too can sign this petition HERE

Captcha Hatred

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Just have to say I hate, hate, hate Captcha's, especially on blogs!

I don't understand why people use them, surely it's better to moderate comments?

This evening I have taken the time to read 2 posts and comment on them only to get the damn Captcha WRONG and lose my comments! And this is not the first time either.

It's sooooooooooo off putting!

Vitamin D

noreply@blogger.com (Lady Banana) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:00:00 +0000

I've not posted this as an ad, simply for information.

It's a fact that too many of us have low levels of vitamin D, and the lack of sunshine in this country does nothing to help!

By Healthspan - UK's largest direct supplier of Vitamins and Supplements