Raisie Bay

Roller Coaster


Photo by Mark Asthoff on Unsplash

Maybe last week I was a little too optimistic. I can’t seem to pull my family out of this slump of misery. The little ones are okay, in fact they’ve just had a fun weekend. But the adults are all grumpy and sad. We are in proper ‘Bah Humbug’ mode.

Maybe it’s the onset of winter that’s caused it, maybe it’s because Christmas is creeping up. It’s always been a difficult time of year for us. 

I Go Up!

I am flitting from one mood to another. I’m happy because I have Christmas shopping done, even the food, including the turkey, is ordered. The kids are going to be overjoyed and I don’t think they’ll mind that they won’t have tons of presents to open, the ones they have are fabulous. The adults have also been bought some lovely gifts, I don’t think anyone will be disappointed this year.

I Go Down!

Then I’m sad because I can’t seem to help anyone feel happier. I am always trying to be positive, it’s important to start each day with a positive attitude otherwise you are just setting yourself up for a bad one. But am I really burying my head in the  sand and ignoring the problems just so I can say I’m positive? 

I’m not ignoring the problems, but I do feel as though I’ve exhausted any solutions I may have had. We go around and around in circles, the poison has been fed and I just can’t cleanse it, it won’t go away. It’s a ghost that haunts us forever.

Life is a roller coaster, you’ve just got to ride it! (Thanks Ronan.)

My cold is better, yay! I’m so glad to be rid of that. Sadly, all the illness I’ve had over the past couple of weeks have totally outed the good results I get from my IVIG treatment. Roll on next week for my next dose.

We haven’t had any more car accidents! Graham has his confidence back and is driving well but I’m still avoiding going out if I can. I’m a nervous wreck. I feel like I want my car back so I can drive myself again. That makes me nervous too, but at least I will be in control and it just might help me get over my fear. But the car is still in the garage and it looks like we may not get it back for a few more weeks.

We have the decorations up! Star and the Little Man really enjoyed putting the decorations on the tree and I haven’t changed it, it’s their work. Sadly, Boo was really upset we put it up without her. She’d gone for a fun day out with her friend and her  Mum. 

We had a fabulous day at Inflata Nation, a huge inflatable theme park which we were given tickets to review. It really is a lovely place and the kids were so excited. Sadly, Graham has started his neck hurting again from the bouncing (yes, adults are allowed in too!) And Star has hurt her foot, it was a risk taking her, but we can’t let her miss out on everything. She will heal, she generally does pretty quickly. 

This is all just the daily stuff and already you can see the roller coaster is affecting us. I guess it’s just life, but I would like to get off for a little break now please.

Mix It Up Linky
Debs Random Writings

My Sunday Photo December 2nd 2018

It’s Beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The tree is up!

Yesterday we decided to put up the Christmas decorations.  Boo had gone out with a friend for the day but Star and the Little Man were quite keen to help with the tree and in fact I just let them get on with it. 

We’ve chosen a new home for the tree this year and it’s a bigger space than usual. Now, I’m thinking that my tree looks way too small. Or my kids are getting real big. Or a mixture of both. After Christmas I’m getting rid of this tree and buying a new, bigger one next year. 

I always think Christmas trees look better in the window, when I was growing up we always lived in houses with big bay windows and that would be were our Tree was put up each year. In this house we do not even have a window! What we do have is large patio doors, but you can’t really put a tree in front of them. 

Ah, we don’t even have a chimney for poor Father Christmas!

Have you put up your Christmas decorations yet?

Sunday Snap
Photalife

Word of the Week 30th November 2018

Hello and welcome to the new home of Word of the Week, a nice and simple weekly linky, with everyone welcome to pop by and share. You reflect back on the past week and sum it up in one word. Then share your word with us in a blog post, with as little or as much explanation as you like.

There are not too many rules with this linky, just remember to read at least another couple of posts in the link up after adding your link. Do try to stick to the theme of summing your week up. I will read and comment on all posts and tweet them out for you. Please add the badge below to your post so that others may find us and join in. If you comment or tweet then please use the hashtag #WotW

If you are unfamiliar with the Word of the Week linky then please feel free to ask any questions. New linkers are always welcome, we love to hear what you have been up to in the past week.

My Word of the Week

Achoo

a box of tissues, a mug and glasses and the word 'achoo'

I would have so liked to have used the word Birthday this week. I love how some people can make their birthday’s last a whole week, but not me. Mine was over before it even began. Okay, I did get some lovely gifts and lots of cake, but I didn’t really do anything special (is having a take out special – not when we do so every week anyway.) The day passed just like any other really. 

Then…I caught a cold, stinking horrible head cold. Hot flushes, snotty nose, sneezes, coughs, sore throat, headache. YUK! It’s starting to get better now, but it’s not made for a good week. I had things to do this week and I’ve done nothing. All I’ve wanted to do is sleep.

That’s enough feeling sorry for myself. It’s only a cold, it’ll be gone soon and life can go on. Do excuse me for being a snotty misery guts this week. 

Raisie Bay – Word of the Week



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Audibles Best Biographies and Memoirs

Do you like finding out more about celebrities, hearing about the real person? These audiobooks are Audibles latest offerings in celebrity Biographies and Memoirs.  

Michelle Obama – A Life

Michelle Obama – A Life

Audible – £28.09 or free with a 30 day trial of Audible

By: Peter Slevin
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 18-08-15
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios

An inspiring story of a modern American icon, here is the first comprehensive account of the life and times of Michelle Obama. With disciplined reporting and a storyteller’s eye for revealing detail, Peter Slevin follows Michelle to the White House from her working-class childhood on Chicago’s largely segregated South Side. He illuminates her tribulations at Princeton University and Harvard Law School during the racially charged 1980s and the dilemmas she faced in Chicago while building a high-powered career, raising a family, and helping a young community organizer named Barack Obama become president of the United States.



From the lessons she learned in Chicago to the messages she shares as one of the most recognizable women in the world, the story of this first lady is the story of America. Michelle Obama: A Life is a fresh and compelling view of a woman of unique achievement and purpose.


©2015 Peter Slevin (P)2015 Audible, Inc

Mel B – Brutally Honest

Brutally Honest – Mel B


Audible – £18.99 or free with a 30 day trial of Audible

By: Melanie Brown
Narrated by: Melanie Brown, Phoenix Chi Gulzar Brown, Andrea Brown, Zaraah Abrahams, Bruce Lester Johnson
Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 27-11-18
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios

Please note that this audiobook contains explicit language and content some listeners may find distressing.

The memoir from the real woman behind the leopard print, for real women everywhere. 

As one-fifth of the iconic Spice Girls and judge on X Factor and America’s Got Talent, Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice, has been an international star since the age of 19. And yet there are sides of Mel that no one has ever seen or really known. 

Brutally Honest is an exposé of the struggles and acute pain that lay behind the glamour and success. With deep personal insight, remarkable frankness and Melanie’s trademark Yorkshire humour, this audiobook removes the mask of fame and reveals the mother, wife and daughter behind the Spice Girl everyone thinks they know. 

The audiobook edition features narration from Melanie, her daughter, Phoenix, and her mother, Andrea.


©2018 Melanie Brown and Louise Gannon (P)2018 Audible, Ltd

Robert Webb – How Not to Be a Boy

Robert Webb – How Not to be a Boy




Audible – £19.99 0r free with a 30 day trial of Audible

By: Robert Webb
Narrated by: Robert Webb
Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 29-08-17
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios

Rules for Being a Man:

  • Don’t cry
  • Love sport
  • Play rough
  • Drink beer
  • Don’t talk about feelings

But Robert Webb has been wondering for some time now: are those rules actually any use? To anyone?

Looking back over his life, from schoolboy crushes (on girls and boys) to discovering the power of making people laugh (in the Cambridge Footlights with David Mitchell), and from losing his beloved mother to becoming a husband and father, Robert Webb considers the absurd expectations boys and men have thrust upon them at every stage of life. Hilarious and heartbreaking, How Not to Be a Boy explores the relationships that made Robert who he is as a man, the lessons we learn as sons and daughters, and the understanding that sometimes you aren’t the Luke Skywalker of your life – you’re actually Darth Vader.

Giles and Mary –  A Tale of Two Nobodies

Giles and Mary – a Tale of Two Nobodies

By: Mary Killen, Giles Wood
Narrated by: Mary Killen, Giles Wood
Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 02-11-17
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios

What is life for Gogglebox‘s Giles and Mary outside the willow-patterned cocoon?

Giles is a countryman who relishes solitude. His wife, Mary, thrives in company and enjoys frequent escapes to London.

After 30 years in a marriage of opposites, Giles and Mary have adapted to a life of domestic misunderstandings within comical misadventures.

In The Diary of Two Nobodies, you will have the unique opportunity to discover, first hand, what occurs when a man who sees himself as a cross between Mr Bean and Basil Fawlty shares his life with a woman who identifies closely with the Queen.

Accompanying this diary is a candid and amusing Audible Sessions interview with Giles and Mary, in which they discuss how they made it onto Gogglebox, what the most annoying things about each other are, and why ‘nutty’ is their go-to term of endearment.

Audible – £13.99 or free with a 30 day trial of Audible.

This post contains affiliate links because I am an Audible affiliate. I’m also a huge fan of Audible and love receiving my new audio book every month for just £7.99 You can choose anything, I have a six volume set of Sherlock Holmes in my collection which would have cost nearly £70 if I were not a member. 

Since I got sick my eyesight is troublesome. I’ve tried the opticians and have reading glasses, but although they help they don’t stop the tiredness I get in my eyes. 

I would have to give up reading but since I discovered Audible I’ve devoured more books than I have done in ages. I love it! And the best thing is, I can carry on listening to my books while crocheting or even doing to the housework. You don’t have to put your book down to make a cup of tea, just take it with you in your ears.

If you join audible or buy a book from my list you’ll be helping me to add to my listening collection with no extra cost to you, so thank you in advance. 

Transport and Animals Activity Books

What could be a better stocking filler this Christmas than an activity book or two. They are great for keeping the kids occupied on visits to relatives or restaurants, or to enjoy at any time. My kids love activity books, they are the best boredom busters and can be taken anywhere.

Today I’m bringing you two books from the fabulous Alain Gree, Transport and Animals.

Transport Activity Book

This entertaining transport-themed activity book will be very popular with any child that loves things that go! Activities include spot the difference, colouring in and other engaging puzzles to keep children busy for hours on end.

front cover of activity book for children showing images of transport such as bus, car, aeroplane and bike.
Transport Activity Book by Alain Gree

Publisher: Button Books
ISBN: 9781787080225
Number of pages: 64
Dimensions: 295 x 220 mm

Animal Activity Book

This fabulous animal-themed activity book will keep young children entertained for hours. The pages are packed with all sorts of beastly business, including dot to dots, spot the difference, colouring in and mazes.

front cover of Animal Activity book with illustrations of several animals including a lion, a tiger, a giraffe and an owl
Animal Activity Book by Alain Gree


Publisher: Button Books
ISBN: 9781787080188
Weight: 64 g
Dimensions: 295 x 220 mm

My Verdict

I love that these books are so packed with fun activities. Each page is full of colourful illustrations which invite the child to join in. The books have 64 pages so there is plenty to do. In the middle of each book are four pages of stickers which the child can use in the books to complete to puzzles and pictures. 

Puzzle page from the Animal Activity book, showing a snake shaped animal race game, a Jungle pals word search and two animal jokes
A puzzle page from Animal Activity Book

At £7.99 each book you will get hours of entertainment for your child, and while they are having fun they will be learning too. The books will engage the child with the lovely illustrations and fun puzzles while teaching them skills such as problem solving, counting, observational and motor.

The books require some reading and writing skills so would be suitable for children who have those. There are also pictures to colour and the stickers which can be enjoyed by all children.

a page from the transport activity book showing a rocked activity, some boat sums and a map reading activity
A page from the Transport Activity Book

Disclosure: I was sent these books in return for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links

A little Note About Positive Reviews on Raisie Bay

A little Note About Positive Reviews on Raisie Bay

Some people only write reviews when things go wrong with products, which is good because it lets people know that there could be potential problems. I’ve also seen negative feedback with say things like, I had to return this item because the colour did not suit me…is this useful?

I write reviews on most items I buy because I like to give genuine feedback. If I have a genuine problem with a product I will write my review in the appropriate place.

I write reviews on my blog too, but they are mostly positive. Why? Because I only write reviews for the things I’ve loved. If I don’t love them I let the person who sent me them know with details why and then let them decided if they would rather me write a negative review or not write one at all. It’s always the latter.

This is my blog, my place and I’ll let you know about the things I love. If you want to find out what other people have hated about the product then you will need to look elsewhere.

My reviews may all be positive, but they are still genuine.

Where to next?