I'm still alive!

I haven't written anything for ages, but I am still alive. Last year was nuts.  My partner of 19 years, partner and carer too, went on holiday and didn't come back.  She only told me she was leaving me when she should have been home.  So that took a bit of getting over.  I'm okay now though.  Though I could really have done without an extra health problem.  A really painful hip finally sent me to see the GP.  She prodded and felt, and sent me for a xray.  At least my hip is fine; it's referred pain.  Spondylosis of lumbar spine and it's so sore.  I always thought I would have to get a stairlift, but because of my multiple sclerosis.  The stairs are so difficult, painful and exhausting at the moment.  To get up them and down.  First stage tomorrow.  The gas meter is getting moved.  So if the road is dug up tomorrow, it's my fault.  Outside my house that is, not everywhere in the UK.  And there's a certain New York man I'm really rather fond of...

March wins and filled in that PIP form

Three wins on the first of the month.  I so love to be told I'm a winner.  Which is funny really, that's almost better than the actual prize.  Almost.

£50 gift card thanks to @BandQ.  Very handy, Lisa has plans to freshen the kitchen at some point this year.  Not looking to replace anything, but it's a bit dark.  So she's going to paint the cupboards and walls.
Hamper of chutney, jam and marmalade from Deerview, Sussex thanks to Rosemary and Porkbelly.  Good reason to have cheese for lunch.
Tickets to the National Photography Show from LDN Fashion competitions.  My Dad was happy to use these.  Gave him an excuse to go.
A basket of goodies thanks to Joanna Victoria Mmm Biscuits...
£50 to spend at Abakhan - Not used their website but been visiting their store in Mostyn for years for fabric and craft stuff.
Febreeze fabric refreshner.  Small prize, but handy to have.
Thank you Fuss Free Flavours for Bryn William's cookbook, Bryn's Kitchen.
And a couple of vouchers for Ginsters sausage rolls, instant win from codes from pasties.

And I filled in that horrid PIP form.  It asks such personal question, things you would really only talk about with your doctor or carer.  Or not at all because it's so bloody depressing.  Still.  It's done now, see what they make of it.

February wins - chocolate and other lovely things

More soup and a microwave mug.  Small but handy. 

Cadbury's Valentine Treasure Box - thank you Christine at mummyof3diaries. I love chocolate.  No, really.  

A poster and dvd of Momentum from Erisea magazine

A really cute Trunki with a teddy, book and puzzle inside it from ohsoamelia.  Such lovely timing, I sent the Trunki, book and teddy up to my cousin and her new baby.  What a gorgeous gift to be able to give.  Okay, so the baby won't be able to ride on the Trunki for a while, but it is amazing how fast they grow.  We rather wish they did grownup size too.

£30 House of Fraser voucher from Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary.  Always happy to read her blog, she lives on Shetland.  So far away!

January wins - yay, a tablet!

Really pleased with my first win of the year - Delia Online / Spanish Persimon Competition Winner‏ - Samsung Galaxy Tablet worth £150. My partner's hasn't worked right since my mum dropped it on the floor, so this was great.
Soup and microwaveable mug from Tesco.  Crosse and Blackwell, winter vegetable.  Did make  me giggle when Lisa collected the can from the post office.  Why didn't they send a voucher?  The microwave mug is handy, with a lid so I can carry it and not two soups it everywhere. 
Another box of Dorset cereals turned up, don't remember winning more of them, but very welcome.
And a months supply of Cherry Champ, Gym Vit competition from The Melton House.  Not convinced they will make any difference to Lisa's exercise recovery.  It has beetroot in, but wouldn't it be better to eat the actual vegetable?

December wins 2015

False eyelashes. thanks to Fashion&stylePolice, @Olojay on twitter. She sent them straight to my daughter.

£10 iTunes from Sweetbeats daily. Added to Lisa's Christmas present.  That competition is still going, like I need any more excuses to eat sweets. 

Taken For Dead by Graham Masterton, thanks Ali The Dragon Slayer.  Yay, a present for me at last!

KrispyCreme assorted dozen - a scrabble friend fb'd me this one, and I clicked it without looking at it. I sent the voucher to her to use, and she sent my daughter some more eyelashes.

Massage in London thanks to Le Coin de Mel. Mel was fine with me entering to give to my daughter. I'm in North Wales, but my daughter's in N7.

Month of XLS tablets thanks to Sonia at mummyconstant. Lisa was hoping I would win some to help her shift her tummy this year. They aren't cheap either!

Case of 9bars, I won and Lisa won.  Lisa's arrived today, and I don't like them.  Still, a friend here does, so she will probably end up with lots of them.  And I bet my daughter will like them too. 

£5 Marks and Spencer voucher. Another one for Rach. 

£50 ish Walker picture books. Lovely big parcel.  They neighbours have most of them, and a couple to another friend for her two little ones. 

And the last, and tiniest prize of the year. A carton of Del Monte fruit juice.  Well, who doesn't drink juice? 

So Lisa and Rachael did the best out of my December wins, but that's okay.  I get to see the screen tell me I'm a winner.

       

November wins and a very important birthday

Theraline pillow - gives lots of support for pregnancy or breastfeeding.  Will save this for friends.
One pack of Pampers baby wipes - Thanks to @Pampers_UK.  Handed straight to next door for the twins.
Cheerios Family Calendar Competition - they were giving away lots over the month, and I won one.  Only just remembered about this tonight, and cobbled one together with photos of Max and one of Lisa as a werewolf for October.  We'll see if I managed to follow the instructions correctly.
£10 iTunes voucher from Sweetbeats.  Well done to Lisa for spotting the magic word WIN in the supermarket and buying me a Wham bar.  The competition is still running, so it's a good excuse to eat sweets. 

Now for the Very Important Birthday.  No, not mine, 46 isn't a particularly special number, but it was my Gran's 100th birthday!  As you can imagine, all the family travelled from all over for it.  Rachael caught the night train from London to Edinburgh which had me singing Guns N' Roses to myself until she arrived.  (I'll add more details at some other point)

October wins

I know, I know, it's January tomorrow.  Thought I'd best catch up.

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Eighth Season on DVD - FHM clickies
Thalgo Indoceane Silky Body Milk - Emerald St, looking forward to smelling that
Dorset cereals, bircher muesli - daily runner up prize
Danny Collins on dvd - heyuguys
Sicario soundtrack on cd - heyuguys
Red ipuppies collar - Watches2U
Perfect partners shower oils - Aromatherapy Associates on fb

Some friends are big comedy fans, so The Big Bang Theory found a good home.  The body milk smells gorgeous, I must remember to use it.  I'm more likely to lie down on the bed and have a nap after a shower than think of applying lotions.  I've been doing the Watches2U daily competition for years, so was a nice surprise to get an email saying I'd won.  Funny that it was for a small dog collar.  Looks very cute on our neighbour's terrier. 

Hedgehogs and September wins

Paperback, Thomas Quick: The Making Of A Serial Killer - Picture House cinemas on facebook
Wychwood tshirt - facebook instant
Box of fairy non-bio pods - supersavvyme
Far from the madding crowd on bluray - HeyUGuys
Die Again by Tess Gerritsen - Dead Good Book Club
Cumberland Cream polo shirt - Jennings, Explore more
The Good Lie dvd - Empire daily clickies

Two tshirts from alcohol daily comps, yay!  The Wychwood Halloween tshirt confused our local landlord.  Where did you get that?  Where's mine?  Heh.  He can have the Cumberland Cream polo shirt, it's enormous.  

Don't think Thomas Hardy is quite Lisa's thing, so I'll watch that with some chocolate when she's out.  

Great timing from Aldi - they were late with sending my swim pants win, so sent me a box of 10 to make up.  Lisa took them round to next door for their twins and they'd just been wondering where to buy swim pants.  So it's good to know they'll be used.  Do wonder what the twins will make of swimming.  I remember Rachael adored it straightaway.

Hedgehogs.  We did have the occasional prickly visitor.  Max did not approve of them.  His face!  He looked so very confused at a hedgehog when he met one.  Very happy to be told to leave it alone and just stay with me.  If he knew one was in his yard he would grumble and turn so he was facing the room instead.  We now have up to 7 visiting a night for the banquet of 2 brands of hedgehog food, mealworms and lots of water waiting for them.  Not that we are soppy idiots or anything.

August wins

Aldi Swim pants from win summer clickies - twins are bound to grow
Bottle of turtle wax - not exciting but will get used
The Tiger Who Came to Tea in hardback - love reading
Signed copy of The Modern Way to Cook - The Flexitarian
Wipes from @Pampers_UK - straight to next door for the twins
2 English Provender Co curds - All About a Mummy - lemon and ginger ones
£50 love2shop voucher - ShopEatSpeak consumer panel


My daughter loved the Tiger Who Came to Tea, she would chuckle every time that tiger drank all daddy's beer.  I never got bored of reading it to her either, unlike Thomas the bloody Tank Engine.  Winning this reminded me that I always meant to read Judith Kerr's When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit so I bought it for kindle.  Same precise, touching and funny language.  A book for children, but I still enjoyed reading it.  Buy it for your preteens, very topical with the huge number of people trying to escape violence and poverty today.  Maybe read it first so you are ready for any questions.  

July wins - better late than never

The Yellow Balloon dvd - heyuguys
Fermented Foods for Vitality & Health - cut out and keep
The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne - @bwpublishing 
Nivea for men sensitive pack 
Knitting Basics - cut out and keep
£5 Bernard Matthews voucher
Hardback copy I Take You - heatworld daily entry

Glad I remembered to post this, I need to chase the heatworld win.

Fermented Foods does sound a bit strange, but thought Rachael would be interested.  Sounds suspiciously sauerkraut-ish to me, but it's not arrived yet.  We will see.

I enjoyed The secret life and curious death of Miss Jean Milne by Andrew Nicoll, so give that a try if you enjoy historical crime fiction.  Just looked on amazon to give a link to book, and it's only 49p for kindle.  The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne on kindle  Don't know if it's on promo for a short time, but I would say it's definitely worth buying for that.

My neighbours now have their gorgeous babies at home after a little while in SCBU.  So beautiful!  But sorry everyone, as beautiful as they are, they aren't mine to share, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  

Lots of wins in June

Diamond glass set of 2, Win something
Multipower giro pack - recovery stuff, tshirt and drinks bottle
Demolition Dad - Mumsnet
Fatboy Slim Collection - no idea where from
Kajaki on dvd, Car Mechanic
12 bottles of salad cream - Heart
Sunglasses - TV Choice
Cadbury Puddles - Thanks Jo at given to distracting others
Pretty Is, First reads / Orion. I am very selective with book giveaways, no selfpublished.
£50 cheque from Take a Break.  

So nothing huge, but I do love being told I'm a winner.  The salad cream win was hilarious.  I was trying for an itunes voucher, but no.  Lisa collected a huge very heavy jiffy bag from the post office with 12 bottles of the stuff.  On her birthday.  She doesn't even like the stuff.

A Few May Wins

Forgot to post this, but look!  I'm a winner again!

Drummond Park games bundle including Rapidough. Thank you to Mary at http://over40andamumtoone.com/

A pack of sensitive baby wipes. Small but handy.  Thanks to @Pampers

Sample of Pantene Classic Clean

Head and Shoulders Smooth and Silky shampoo and conditioner.   Thanks for both to supersavvyme.co.uk.

We gave Rapidough to our neighbours.  She's feeling rather large and tired with her growing belly of twins so this was fun to play with his girls.  They really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

No Wins in April

None at all.  Not even a tiny one of a packet of biscuits like I had last month.  Isn't luck odd?  I can't even remember when I had a month without a win.  This month has started better though; just had an email from Mary at over40andamumtoone to let me know I've won some games.  Look!  Drummond Park games.

So I'll keep on entering.  May is already luckier for wins than April.

March Win

The comping fairy has deserted me, just about.  Still, it couldn't last forever.

I won some Pick Up biscuits.  

And checked my other messages on facebook to see I'd won Half a King from Harper Fiction in February.  They sent it out to me anyway, thank goodness, so do check your other messsages if you enter for prizes.

Lisa did win a treadmill on ebay.  So it doesn't look that great in the living room, but it's very useful.  I can use it without help to get on or off it.  It upset me to use the exercise bike.  Silly maybe, but I found it really maddening that I couldn't put my foot on the pedal without help, and that made me want to use it even less.  The person she'd bought the treadmill off had also bought it off ebay.  When she got it home she couldn't get it in her house, hadn't realised how to fold it or take it apart at all.  So she wasn't happy when Lisa turned up with her allen keys and fitted it in her friend's car.  Still.  Handy for us!

Bittersweet February

Our beautiful dog Max was put to sleep at home this month.  Poor sweet boy, apparently his heart was still healthy, but his joints were paining him too much.  I was too upset to post straightaway, but we can remember him with smiles now.  

Like when he was half grown and a dalek (compost bin) was delivered over the garden gate. His barking changed from a proud defensive woof, to a panicked little boy yelp as this black monster appeared in his garden from nowhere. He turned back to brave when I went outside to see what was going on. And bit that dalek as I picked it up and moved it into place. What a sweetheart.

A few little wins - 

Ivan Ramen - book - cut out and keep
A Most Wanted Man on bluray - heyuguys
Mornflake gift pack, cereal and wartime cookbooks - Eat In clickies
Cuddly comforter, little soft orange thing from Hipp
Birds of a Feather The Complete ITV Series Two - Yours clickies. Not sure why I clicked for this one.
Villeroy and Boch 3 hanging daffodils - just in time for St David's Day.

So I'm really trying for a holiday now we don't have a dog to keep us at home.  Or a weekend or even a night somewhere fairly close.  See what the comping fairy brings.

Wins and TWINS

First my January wins.

Not a car but a lovely little trike thanks to Bex. This Gorgeous trike  has found a home with Daisy, and when she's grown out of it, her brother Sol will enjoy it I'm sure.  Their Dad is a useful man to know; he used to be a plumber and is now a paramedic.  Thanks to Bex for running the comp, and thanks too to costcuttersuk.com for sending it so quickly. It was here the next day!

I'm on a list for a heart shaped hand warmer, see if it appears, Natures Finest

The Pizza Bible thanks to cut out and keep

Pair of cineworld tickets thanks to Freesat, nearest cineworld is Llandudno, so I sent these to my daughter.  Handy little treat for her.

A voucher for baby kale

And a cheque for £15 for finding Rebus the dragon in a local info leaflet. So check your junk mail for comps before you chuck it in recycling.

And now for TWINS

My neighbour came round last night waving her scan. TWO little peanuts! A bit of a surprise for her. Dad is thrilled, mum doesn't know yet whether to laugh or panic.  I've been entering for baby stuff, they will need it.  Oof!

December wins

I didn't do many of the advent comps this year, there were so many of them it quite put me off.  There are enough other prizes to win, so never mind.

6 Cadbury chocolate bars
Art Nouveau Pattern Give-Away, 12 cross stitch patterns in pdf, really pretty designs. My mum's got them, to share with the village craft group if she likes.
I have been selected to be a Pukka Supper Pie-oneer. So that's 36 vouchers for family size pies appearing soon. I'm so glad they say I can share, I like pastry, but can't eat that many.
Thank you Agata@BarkTime, I've won a Zoflora bundle and £25 pets at home voucher.
Thank you over40andmumofone for Blanche, the blue nose stoat. Very cute.
Nice Pecks calendar from the Happy Egg Company. Very handy. 
Three lovely coffee table cookbooks, thank you tinnedtomatoes.
And on the last day of the year, email from an Eat In clickie win, Dreamboys 2015 Calendar. Hilarious. Those lovely roosters are more fitting for this house.

My Big Christmas Giveaway

No, I don't mean it's MY big Christmas Giveaway, but that's what it's called.  It's actually Michelle at I Shall Not Covet that is running this huge competition.  If you haven't seen it already, then go have a look.  If you are overseas, then sorry, but you can still go look at what you could have entered to win.

There's a rather enviable list of prizes from 15 sponsor companies with a combined value of over £1400.  I'm not going to give a complete rundown of each one, go have a look, but here are my 3 favourites.  And they aren't the most expensive items.

Olivia Burton watch, supplied by The Dressing Room
Paul's Boutique Mila bag, supplied by  My Bag
Masterful Collection Pearlescent White Makeup Brush set, supplied by Nanshy

Funny, I don't even wear makeup, but those brushes are just so pretty.  We could give them a good home, you can see that Lisa likes playing with makeup, even if not exactly in the usual fashion beauty sort of way.

November wins

Lisa won the first prize of the month - first prize for her Halloween fancy dress on November 1st.  She says if she had known she was going to win she wouldn't have encouraged the landlord to choose goodies from Lidl.  Still, we enjoyed the shell chocolates and fizz.

I had a fairly quiet month for new prizes, but still fun, and there were enough parcels arriving from previous wins to be most satisfying.

Manny dvd and poster - Bike magazine daily clickies
YA novel Demons and Thieves - UKMums.tv
Couple more chocolate bars from Cadbury
Cinnamon disinfectant, most festive, useful to have with an elderly dog at Christmas
Voucher for a Co-op Christmas pudding - Lisa gave this away, neither of us like it

Fancy dress

No, this isn't me.  This is Lisa getting ready to go to the pub.  Max wasn't at all sure about it all.

She won first prize, which she does find funny as she's in her normal clothes.  She only decided to go as a werewolf when she saw a latex prosthetic to buy very cheaply.  So she watched a few vids on youtube on how to apply fur and that kept her quiet for a bit.  Some cheeky sod asked how she'd got grey bits in her hair to match.  Hmm.  No, that's called being 40.