Saturday 20 June 2009

I was "Tagged"

No, not by the prison service, but by Blueberry Heart and swapaholic Beki . Both tagged me with the same thing. I have to reveal 6 unimportant things that I love - so here goes.

1. People watching. I love to watch body language and also eavesdrop into conversations! Bumblebee cottage calls this being a "Sticky beak" (Australian phrase). Hubby calls it being a nosey bitch!! Ive been to see Judi James a couple of times recently - The locals "Business Link" do networking evenings and Judi has been guest speaker doing "Body Language at work" - it has been totally fascinating. My friend and I only went along because we set our selves a challenge to see how many "Free" nights out we could get. At the Business Link evenings, you got a free meal and the guest speaker, and tons of free fun people watching!! Which brings me onto ....



2. Freebies. I discovered the Moneysaving Expert website a couple of years ago - and in particular the "Freebies" Forum. I have become addicted. I am totally amazed at what you can blag for "nowt". You can literally do most of your Christmas shopping for free if you are tenacious enough, and I keep my teenage daughter supplied with free cosmetics and toiletries. We all go to the cinema at least once per week and often twice for free. We have had free restaurant meals, Spa days, Race meeting weekends, clothing, magazines, fancy goods. I took part in a blind testing for face cream and the cream I tested is only available at Harvey Nicks and cost £150 per tub - it was lovely, but its back to the Nivea now!! The best bit about the freebies is that you get most of them through the post, so the postie doesnt just bring bills anymore - talking of which, I do a Royal Mail survey and get at least 18 free postage stamps a month(often more) and a £6 High Street Voucher just for posting 2 envelopes a week.

3. Camping - I know Ive said this before, but you cannot beat sitting out at night watching a meteor shower in the middle of no where. Best entertainment ever.

4. Comedy - we all four have a very similar sense of humour and we love stand-up comedy. We watch endless repeats of "Mock of the Week" and "QI" and I love that we all sit and laugh together. We often get to see live comedy too - which is great (as long as you don't book seats near the front!!) Our current favorites are Michael Macintyre, Russell Howard, Stephen Fry and Jason Manford.

5. Real Coffee. I can only drink instant when I am camping (when any coffee is good coffee!!). I always start the day with 2 cups of freshly brewed coffee and then the worlds alright by me!!

6. Proper breakfast. By that I mean one that is sat down and enjoyed, a leisurely affair (with no work to dash off to!!) I love American breakfasts, the way they have a zillion ways to do an egg. Done properly, a good breakfast can be the best meal of the day. With hubby doing shifts, if we want to go out for a meal together, we often go out for breakfast instead of a meal at night. We have found some great little places that offer a great start to the day, and it is so much cheaper!! Failing a "Full Monty", a bacon butty is a great second best .
I am supposed to Tag 6 people now, but I don't want to pile the pressure on you - however, being a Sticky Beak, I would dearly love a bit more about you all - so feel free to pick this up and "spill" a bit more about youself.



I made the Chicken (as I promised I would) from a recipe over at Barry and Lesley's place

I can confirm that this was exceptionally simple and quick to make and totally delish. The whole family loved it, and strangely, there's only me that likes mustard!! None of them noticed it!! Have a go.



And finally, just in time for the Fathers Day goodies, I recreated the Newspaper Bag. I used a cereal box in the end for the pattern. It was a bit fiddly, but it ended up looking ok. I dont think I could be bothered to make loads though. The presents looked ok just wrapped in the newspaper with a bright ribbon around them for a contrast, so I think i'll stick to that in future.








9 comments:

Blueberry Heart said...

again, my eyes are a-weeping with mirth!! LOVE your tagged answers!!

BH x

Lisa said...

I agree with the breakfast thing. On holiday it can be the best meal of the day.
We've seen Russell Howard live, he was fab. Also recently seen Mark Watson and Rufus Hound. Both were great.
Lisa x

Selfsewn said...

My fav meal in the US is breakfast! Love it!!!
Camping Iove to of course.
And comedy is good too, love qi but prefer the darker side,
We are going to see Stephen lee in London next month!

The Ample Cook said...

Just brilliant. I love the way you write.

Well done with the bag!

Rosie said...

Love your 6 things - I'm with you on the coffee. Love Stephen Fry in or on anything (just re-watched Peter's Friends after all these years)and QI is one of my favourite programmes; so glad Kingdom is back. Love Victoria Wood and Bill Bailey too:)

Lazylol said...

Hi Diane - love this post! The chicken looks lovely. Your answers are great for the six things - i love the MSE website too. Great advice but I haven't done the freebie thing yet.

lesley said...

Hello Diane,
I love the newspaper bag!! Great idea.
I'm glad you enjoyed the chicken in parma ham..actually I didn't know there was mustard in the dish until I read Baz's recipe LOL...I don't like it...so he didn't tell me..but I really loved the flavours!

Michela said...

Hello Diane!
..I have a lot of free cosmetics and toiletries, which I usually give friends.. If you don't mind you could e-mail me your address at michela.c81@libero.it!
I'll be glad to send them to your daughter!

Bumble Bee Cottage said...

It feels so weird that you quoted me; this blogging is a strange business sometimes. I'm in total agreement about the coffee issue being a bit of a bean lover myself. I'll take on your tag challenge but it might take a few days for me to post it as my Dad is staying and we have transformed our study into his bedroom so I don't want to be using the computer too often; like now for example! Best be off now.