THE GREAT BRITISH WEATHER

After hanging out clothes to naturally dry out in the lovely sunshine, I was amazed to wake up this morning to a thick layer of white crispy ice known as SNOW!! Caversham is not known to experience much if any snowfall and not especially in April!!!!

Sorry for the blurry image. I was half asleep when I took this photo Well done boys but I think you got "frosty's" arms in the wrong place A hug from big sis.

YUMMY CHOCOLATES

How do you take your chocolate - mysterious dark, creamy milk, crunchy nut or tangy lemon?  Why not try some of our bars of chocolate to tickle those taste buds whichever way you take it.

THIS AND THAT

The wait is almost over! I just received a fax confirming my dates for the surgery - yippee. I have waited sooo long for this that there is a big grin on my face. Sadly, this means that I will not be able to process orders till the 30th of April - sorry. My long suffering husband (bless his cotton socks) will take over with me breathing down his neck. It has been very very stressful and busy down here at the Cottage. Why stressful, well, you might have noticed that few items have been out of stock for some time. I have been waiting for more than 4 weeks for my shipments and hope the boxes will soon be here. I have also been busy making new products for the Cioccolatina natural toiletries' range:

As the schools break off half day today, I am at home making a new batch of Ashanti Gold soap - off to the kitchen now.

BIG WAIST

Back in September 2006, I was diagnosed with both over-active thyroid and fibroids. I was wondering why I was loosing so much weight but gaining "a big tummy" and just put it down to stress and my exhausting trip to Northern Ghana in April 2006 as well as being a mum to a disabled daughter. 

I underwent a surgery in October 2007 to remove my thyroid and was put on thyroxin for the rest of my life.  At least, 1 pill a day is better than the 14 pills I used to take to lower the thyroid levels. 

Few months down the line, I am awaiting confirmation of another surgery to remove these huge fibroids which have been upsetting me.  I am getting fed up with waddling around and constantly being asked "when is the baby due".  The pains can be extremely excruciating as the fibroids affect the nerves (especially in my legs) so my doctor decided to prescribe Zydol ® - big mistake.  I am not one for popping pills but decided to try this medication on Saturday evening.  Well, I ended up in bed all day Easter Sunday and I have now developed a rash all over my body :(  I can't believe that a dosage of 2 capsules could do this to me.

 

Read more information on over active thyroid and fibroids.  Apparently, fibroids are very common in Black women compared to Caucasians (70:30).

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS' DAY

BEAUTY CONFIDENTIAL?

I am not one to rant but something got my back up this evening. Settling down after numerous visits to calm my daughter down for the night, I picked up the national newspaper to read. I am always interested in checking out the "beauty section". Alas, there is a mention of a beauty icon the Bio Oil which goes on as "It contains only herbal ingredients, has no preservatives and has not been tested on animals". Fair enough but check this ingredient listing out from the manufacturer's site:

Complete ingredients listing: Paraffinum Liquidum, Triisononanoin, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Isopropyl Myristate, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, BHT (butylated hydroxy toulene), Bisabolol, Parfum, Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Salicylate, Citronellol, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-Cyclohexene Carboxaldehyde, Limonene, Linalool, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, CI 26100.

Not that I use this particular oil as I make my own but I ask myself time and time again, why are consumers always being lied to? Then again it is what some would refer to as marketing!!!

4TH MARCH - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JK

Wow, I can't believe how time has flown by. I got woken up early this morning by my son who is celebrating his 8th birthday today - it is normally, the other way round. Unlike his elder sibling, JK was 5 days early weighing in at 8lbs 8oz. As an asthmatic, I decided against the gas & air and any pain relief. I can still remember the labour pains and what my husband said to me when JK finally popped out. March is a beautiful month for babies - as you still get enough time to hopefully loose the baby weight before the summer. Both rascals were born in March (so a I am a bit biased).