parenting, autism and lifestyle blog
Hey readers,
It's picnic season so you need to start preparing for upcoming picnics for your next outdoor adventures. Check out my pointers below on how to have a perfect picnic.
Location is key and you need to think about where you will be holding your picnic. Remember you will be carrying your items and if you have food that might melt so you don't want it too far from your car park or unless willing to carry your items with you. If you have kids you might want to be close to a park to entertain kids, if it is hot on the day you might want to find a location that has shady places. Sometimes it is easier to go to a place where you are familiar if you want to park your car to make it less stressful as you know the layout.
Enamel plates are light, easy to pack, carry and practical, You can load them up with a variety of food and there is plenty of space so they won't all get mixed up together or fall off the plate. They also look and feel cooler than plastic and are way better for the environment than disposable dishes.
5. Bring board games.
Something to consider is bringing some board games as a great way to keep people, especially kids. entertained. Anything card-based is good and one suggestion is if it is adult based is cards against humanity (not suitable for young kids but lots of fun for adults).
6. Sticky food.
When thinking of food to take avoid ice cream and cakes that are sticky will make a mess and are fragile to transport. keep things simple as you want all the other food destroyed by mess food. If you do bring messy food keep it in separate sealed containers so it doesn't get mixed up with other food.
7. Keep it cool
5. Along with the blanket because it is great to put food down and keep creepy crawlies at bay but also ask all guests to bring cushions in their own tote bag to sit on. everyone can sit where they want, instead of having to move the blanket every 5 minutes to please the shade chasers and sunseekers.
8. Preparation.
A good tip to remember is not forgetting to bring a chopping board, it is so handy to have a flat service to prepare food and slice items. which can also double up as a serving plate for food items such as bread and cheese.
9. Water bottle.
Frozen water bottles can do double-duty to keep the food cool and give you cold water once they defrost.
Cheers for reading X
Hey readers,
I'm lucky. I live in England and have the right to have an abortion if I want to. Many years ago before having children there was this one time when I chose to have an abortion. I was with my husband at the time, we weren’t married then but I was in my first year at university, dealing with crippling depression and had already attempted suicide.
Then during the summer term, I was constantly sick and didn’t feel right, my period was late so did want most women would do in their 20s took a pregnancy test...it came back positive at that point I absolutely shit myself.
I was terrified, I really didn’t think about children at this point and when I did I knew it was not the right time. It was just not right for me, I knew I was not mentally capable of looking after a child.
I did talk to my husband (boyfriend at the time) and we talked for a long time and he agree with me. He was a saint and supported me right through. We booked an appointment with BPAS and they did a scan and then talked me through the process. They then booked me in about a week later to go to the clinic to get an abortion.
It was a clinic not in the city I lived so had to travel to another city to get to the clinic. It was all very professional and didn’t feel judged by the staff. It was done within the afternoon, it felt odd after because literally, all the pregnancy symptoms cleared within the hours of that day – such as tiredness and sickness.
Although at the clinic I was not alone there were many other women like myself going for abortion and also I like to add that a lot travelled from Northern Ireland as it is illegal to have an abortion – so that just goes to show the lengths women will go to have a safe abortion.
One of the saddest parts for me of that day is when leaving the clinic there were prolifers protesting and calling us women all sorts of nasty names such as murders and that shit cuts deep.
Emotional though it took time to register the whole situation it felt a bit like limbo until it dawned on me that it did happen and then it hit me hard. I felt bad, it didn’t help that people that I thought I could trust that I told turned on me and called me a murder, a bad person...you know all the shitty comments people call you. It hurts because they know before the ordeal you went through and used that to get to you and they know it will.
Years later when I got pregnant again and went to the regular first scan I go to for 12 weeks to check everything I had a miscarriage. Because it was my first and no one really talks about miscarriage and I have crippling anxiety I had really intrusive thoughts like it is my thought it happened and it is a result of me having an abortion because I am a murderer.
Reflecting back I know this is just the anxiety getting me when I am in a vulnerable state, now being more aware and know actually miscarriage is more common than you may think.
Regardless of some of the negative aspects of my journey, I am grateful for the fact that living in England I can have the free choice to have a child or not. It is my choice and if I ever chose again to have an abortion I can do it safely without worrying that anything terrible will happen.
I believe women should have that choice and that is sad to see in America that it has gone backwards in time with 26 states making it illegal to ban abortion and now the changes are them women will still have an abortion but not in a safe environment. Like always it is mostly down to the white middle-class male telling us women how to live which is deeply sad.
Cheers for reading X
Hey readers,
1. Breathing.
Breathe in and hold your breath 3-to 4
times in a row. Slowly inhale to fill your
lungs with air. Hold your breath for 10 seconds, then exhale slowly to release
the breath. Repeat 3-4 times, holding your breath for 10 seconds each time.
2. Bite on a lemon
or taste some vinegar.
3. Place sugar on the tongue.
Take about half a teaspoon of sugar and keep it at
the far end of the back of the tongue, Hold this for two minutes and then
swallow the sugar. Applying pressure along with the tongue aids in eliminating
the tightness in diaphragm muscles.
4. Drinking cold water.
Drink the cold water through a straw. No one knows
exactly why it works, but it could be down to controlling your
breathing.
How to reduce the risks of getting hiccups.
When eating try to slow down if you eat fast and make sure that you are
chewing your food thoroughly as fast eating can cause air to get trapped in the
food which may set off the vagus nerve. Making sure small bites and taking
frequent sips of water can help reduce the risk of getting hiccups.
Some scientists believe that hiccups are a way of telling your body to
stop if your eating too much, it is important not to pig out because your body
needs time to process and break down the food. The extra stomach acid can
bring on hiccups.
Some spices can irritate the lining of the oesophagus and stomach. At
the same time, they can also cause acid from the stomach to leak into the
oesophagus. The extra acid can bring on hiccups.
Like spices, alcoholic beverages can cause a simultaneous irritation of
the oesophagus and the stomach. And over time, excessive drinking can damage the
lining of the food pipe. Parties, like the kind some college students attend,
where people consume a lot of alcohol as quickly as possible, can lead to acute
ingestion.
The digestive system not only becomes irritated by the alcohol,
but big gulps of it cause the oesophagus to expand rapidly, resulting in
hiccups.
Are there any methods that I have missed that have helped you with
getting rid of hiccups? love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down
below.
Cheers for reading X
Hey readers,
I have purchased Too Good To Go bags before and have blogged about them before here and here.
If you didn't know how Too Good To Go is an app where you can purchase magic bags from stores such as Morrisons and Greggs for a reduced price and you get food that would typically be thrown away.
This is my first Costa Too Good To Go magic bag. I got it on Saturday and the collection time was 3-5 pm.
It cost me £3.00 and I paid on the app using the bank card details I had saved on my card.
Contents of my magic bag.
x2 Bakewell tarts - £2.50 each.
x2 Ham and cheese toastie - £3.50 each.
Feta cheese slow-roasted tomato pasta salad - £3.50.
The total for all the food would have cost me £15.05.
What is also great is you can freeze sandwiches and pasta meals so save money as they won't get through away if they have a short sell-by date.
Have you tried the Too Good To Go App? What are your thoughts? Love to hear in the comment section down below.
Cheers for reading x