On The Fence ~ Or In My Face

Have you ever had that awkward moment when some one shares their opinion, only for you to sit in stunned silence because its exactly what you told them days ago. We've all had that happen I'm sure, most likely a sign that they were only half listening at the time (if at all!). The real fun lies when you've had a strong debate (shouting match) about it hours or days ago, which ended with you being told how unformed and stupid your views were.

Box of OMG Review ~ Ever After High Competition

It's time for the new Box of OMG, from the individuals who brought us Box of Awesome, this box is definitely aimed at girls. The specially themed box is publicise Ever After High and does a great job with an all encompassing Ever After High Thronecoming Box 'sleep over' kit. 




There's also a competition at the end to win this months featured book, so keep reading!

Hope For Creativity ~ Take 2!

Well after an eventful end to my last attempt I tried again. I was feeling desperate and irritated at the waste of time and initially messed about with some other ideas. I won't show you the awful outcome, but I now know my talents do not cover unicorns, butterflies, mermaids or generally anything that could ever be termed animal.
Onwards and upwards, I decided to stick with my initial sketches. In the process I also discovered that my 'talents' do not cover repeating the same image. This time my idealistic older lady turned out more Manga than the realism I prefer to attempt, but strapped for time I just went with it.

Scottish Home Baking Awards 2014 Cake Winners

The Winning Chocolate Category at Scottish Baking Awards 2014. From Taystful Bakery in Blairgowrie.





Highland Coo winning Novelty Cake today at Scottish Baking Awards from The Cake Baikery.

The winning Sugarcraft cake entry by Fiona Ferguson.


The Chocolate Tree in Edinburgh's Creation, which was one of the astounding raffle prizes!

Scottish Home Baking Awards 2014

Well September was a busy time for all Scottish bakers and home baking fans. On the 28th of September the Scottish Home Baking Awards hosted its annual awards ceremony at Mar Hall on the banks of the river Clyde. I was on holidays from my delightful workplace when my esteemed leader called me to ask if I would be willing to give up one of my days off to attend. I must admit the decision to trade a day of household drudgery and children, with cake and champagne required little thought.

[Ended] October Beauty Competition

Double deal competition, this time we have  Spatopia London  Dead Sea Body Wash 250ml and Spatopia London Dead Sea Body Scrub!

Obviously brand new and unopened. A great little gift for the woman in your life, or a cheeky wee treat for yourselves.

[Ended] October Hair Treat Competiton

Twisted Sista Hair and Scalp Super Strengthening Shampoo 250 ml

Twisted Sista has designed a range of products that are designed to rescue and repair damaged hair.

The shampoo cleans hair without stripping it of natural oils it has added keratin to reduce breakage and strengthen, macadamia oil to thicken condition and nourish, and Baobab oil to enhance shine, maintain health, and add UV protection to hair.

It can be used on all hair types and leaves hair smooth, glossy, and smelling amazing.

Bzzagent Heinz Beanz and Pulses Review

It’s over 100 years since Heinz Baked Beans were first launched, bringing taste and convenience to the UK- changing mealtimes forever- and now the nation’s favourite beans brand is set to take you on a journey of discovery. From the humble haricot bean to kidney beans, cannellini beans and pinto beans, with their NEW range of Heinz Beanz and Pulses.

Hope For Creativity 2014

Founded by Moira Landry, Hope for Creativity is a non- profit charity organisation aimed at providing art supplies to children in homeless shelters. Since 2009 she has personally delivered thousands of art packs to homeless shelters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and at 17 was named as a Distinguished Finalist by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. She fully supports her charity and raises the awareness of homelessness and the affect on children in particular.

Maleficent ~ Movie Review

With yet another take on a Classic, Disney has followed up the Julia Roberts version of Snow White (Mirror Mirror), with the re-imagined Sleeping Beauty; Maleficent. Its lovely to think that perhaps all these spell wielding evil-doers of our childhood were secretly misunderstood, after all; winners write the history in reality as well. However working in that logic is some what flawed if translated into reality, who really believes that ancient baddies like Attila The Hun were just looking for 'true loves kiss'.

The Magic Science is Flawed

Well clever old me I found a bargain in my local Pound shop (Science Worx - Crystal Magic Tree), and being an educating type of parent I decided to give it a bash. I'll admit I didn't have particularly high hopes, but the packaging looked as you would expect from a children's science project kit. 

Stay at Home Mum to Funtioning Team Player

Those of you who may know me might be aware that I live predominately online, as if this wasn't noticeable by my blogging and networking sites. However I have in recent months dipped my toe in the murky waters of reality.
A common issue for most stay at home mothers is the inability to have an adult conversation. Warning signs include talking at length to charity collection people (because its often the only adult conversation you will have for days!) and shouting at over excited presenters of children's TV. Realistically a little part time employment was in order before I completely regressed into singing Cbeebies theme tunes and making sentences from alphabet letters.

The Expendables 3 ~ Movie Review

Summer 2014 is a great time for the action heroes, any time is really, but Expendables 3 is the highlight I was waiting for. I honestly wonder if they sat around wishing for the good old days before just deciding to go for and gather up as many of their cronies as possible.

Box of OMG Review ~ Box 7 Competition [Ended]

It's time for the seventh Box of OMG, from the individuals who brought us Box of Awesome, this box is aimed mainly at girls. As usual the goodies were varied to appeal to a range of ages, but you have got to love a Moshi Monsters plushy. 


There's also a competition at the end to win this months featured book, so keep reading!

Box of Awesome Review ~ Box 9 Competition [Ended]

Box 9 of Box of Awesome is full of lots of paper was my initial reaction, but after a quick ruffle through the pile I was actually quite impressed with the haul this time. From sweets to books, and a jumbo collection of Wheres Wally, which sent me right back to childhood! I received the Mega Box this time, and there's a competition at the end so keep reading.

Scottish Scorcher Surprise

Yes my grand plan of competitions for all of last week has died off in the shock of a rare stunner of a Scottish Summer. Between a hectic broiling in the workplace, and lurking around my house searching for a cool spot; I am more than a little worn out and starting to melt.

Competition Time ~ Model Undercover

Right time to celebrate and spread the word about my fabulous blog!
First up we have book 1 in the Model Undercover series by former fashion model Carina Axelsson.
A Crime of Fashion, a great crime solving detective set against the backdrop of Paris Fashion Week. Ideal for young teens, and adults as well if I'm honest!

Competition Time ~ Mission Survival

Still with me? Great because there's more!
Next up we have book 1 in the Mission Survival series by Special Forces television star and adult author Bear Grylls. 
Gold of The Gods is a great adventure survival story for young teens and definitely starts the series off with a bang. 

200,000 Views Shocker

Well guys and gals, I've made it : 200,000 views. When I started this blog in February 2013, I honestly expected nothing other than a few lost people stumbling across my mumbles. By March I had 428 views and I was over the moon, just over a year later and last month alone I had 55,000 views. I think its fair to say this has been a bigger success that I could ever have hoped.

I know that the competitions have helped my profile greatly, but I like to think that the reviews have been helpful to some. I would even hazard a guess that the topical rants and thoughts are interesting to a few of my more dedicated readers.

Over the past year my life has changed drastically with the addition of gainful employment added to my repertoire of reviewing goddess and perfect mother (tongue in cheek obviously). Far from giving up the blog, I feel that it has pushed me harder to better utilise my free time, not that it stops me spending far too long on Facebook each day!

Unfortunately I occasionally feel it's a pointless exercise, when I started I was so hopeful I set up Google Adsense for advertising. I was refused until I started getting regular 500 views a day, but I got there. That was a short lived adventure into the world of commercial writing, at 1500 views a day my account was blocked and after multiple appeals I still don't know why. Re-reading the miles of terms and conditions hasn't helped and I can't get an answer form the conglomerate itself. If you know some-one looking to advertise let them know I'm right here!

I think I shall plod on regardless; spreading the good word of new gadgets and gimmicks, airing my opinion more professionally than the Metro or Yahoo reporters, and running occasional competitions. Fingers crossed for the future and proper recognition of my endless talents!

The Lies of Secret Keepers

The phrase 'can you keep a secret' is abused from playground age until it turns into a ridiculous form of grandstanding. They are really asking if it is okay to use you as a sounding board to justify their choices or opinions. I'm sure we've all heard a 'secret' rumour or been confided in over a matter of questionable choice. Surely by confiding in another, the person in question is actually saying that they can't be trusted to keep their own silence.

Box of OMG Review ~ Box 6

It's time for the sixth Box of OMG, from the individuals who brought us  Box of Awesome, this box is aimed mainly at girls. In the two months since the last box arrived, they seem to have been working hard to stuff the box with goodies. 
There's also a competition at the end to win this months featured book, so keep reading!

Death of The Funeral

Respect be dammed! A funeral contains secreted bottles of alcohol, a fashion parade, loud insults and an epic display of a clashing variety of addictions.
At least that's what I recently witnessed. My face twisted with disgust and my heart sick with shame. 

Bzzagent Optrex Eye Revive Moisture Mist Review

This campaign is for Optrex Eye Revive Moisture Mist and it involves the eye spray itself, 5x pass along vouchers for £2 off.

Optrex have been caring for eyes for quite a while now and most are familiar with their products. However the eye drops haven't always been suitable for everyone, with many finding them awkward to use. Now Optrex have come up with an elegant solution, an eye reviving spray that also benefits the delicate skin around the eyes.

Bzzagent Scholl Express Pedi Review

This campaign is for Scholl Velvet Smooth Express Pedi and it involves the Pedi Express device its self, 5x pass along vouchers for £10 off, and three bottles of 30ml Velvet Smooth Intense Serum.

Founded in 1907 Scholl have long been campaigners for better foot health through their range of products. The Express Pedi is an excellent example of their ability to combine practicality with user friendly design.

Bzzagent Nestlé Toffee Crisp Cereal Review

This campaign is for Toffee Crisp Cereal and it involves a 330g box of cereal with 11 servings (recommended portions), 10x pass along vouchers for 50p off, a pack of post-it notes and a logo'd pen.

 

Box of Awesome Review ~ Box 8

 Box 8 of Box of Awesome's bundle of goodies is full of lots of popular bits and pieces, from sweets to books from popular television shows. I received the Mega Box this time, and there's a competition at the end so keep reading.

Remington Stylist Easy Curl Review

The Remington Stylist Easy Curl (Model Number CI6219 for those in the know), retails for approximately £30.
It lays claim to all the normal boasts of perfect curls, minimum effort and salon professional transformations. I beg to differ.


Bought at my daughters behest, to bring some form to her poker straight hair, I chose this particular version because it bore no resemblance to my 90's tongs and appeared idiot proof.

Castlevania: Lord of Shadows 2 ~ The Watcher

This had been bugging me for a while now, I knew that some sort of comment was required for such an anticipated game. I loved Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, but sadly felt a little let down by Lord of Shadows 2. Four years we've waited for the sequel with tempting snippets and trailers released at periodic intervals.
Last year they even went so far as to drop Mirrors of Fate on us, a tag along storyline originally for the Nintendo 3DS (Picked up on other consoles later in the year and the PC in March 2014), it followed the storyline of the descendant of Gabriel. Apparently his family were destined to be whiny, angry children hell bent on unknowingly destroying their linage (Who would have guessed?!).

[Ended] Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder Competition

Finally today we have a competition for best-selling Norwegian author Jo Nesbø's latest childrens novel. Part of a series of 4, its an absurdly humorous tale of children's crime sleuthing.

[Ended] Competition For All The Lovely Ladies

 Spatopia London  Dead Sea Body Wash 250ml. Obviously brand new and unopened. A great little gift for the woman in your life, or a cheeky wee treat for yourselves.

[Ended] Rage Xbox 360 Competition

Well this is the month for number crunching. We passed 40,000 views, beat 1000 in one day and halfway through the month we've passed 10,000.
As a little reward to all my followers I'm going to throw some more competitions.

First up Rage Anarchy Edition.
Brand new and still sealed, this was a bonus pack released in 2011 and available by pre-order. It was the winner of more than 20 E3 awards and comes with the bonus content of; Double Barrel Shotgun, Rat Rod Buggy,Fists of Rage and Crimson Elite Armour.

Box of OMG Review ~ Box 5

                                                                                                    

After a break over Christmas this is the fifth Box of OMG to land on our doorsteps. From the individuals who brought us Box of Awesome and aimed mainly at girls. Despite the short break from receiving goodies this box felt a little sparse with a plethora of stickers, a book and some 10p sweets. I had thought this was the normal box, turns out it was the Mega box, apparently bursting with goodies.

Box of Awesome Review ~ Box 7

Well we skipped January, but Box of Awesome are back with their 7th box. The stickers are back in force, along with a new toy, book and a TMNT toy. Whilst not as bountiful as I would have hoped after the short interlude and disappointingly no mega box in sight. It was still a nice little box of goodies.

[Ended] Competition For 3 Free Steam Games

Well wowsers! My last competition was a massive success, I've decided to just jump straight on another one. This time the lucky winner will grab 3 games for PC gaming engine Steam;                                                    Overlord II,  DiRT Showdown, DiRT 3 

I'm using Rafflecopter and I think I've managed to cover most of the social media outlets, if you have a different preference or any other suggestions, let me know for next time and I'll do my best to accommodate.

Thor: The Dark World ~ Movie Review

Well its been a while since Thor (Chris Hemsworth)  rocked worlds in The Avengers, reigniting a love for Marvel across the generations. Harking back to the supposedly destroyed race of Dark Elves led by Malekith, now reduced to tall tales after for eons of Asgardian civilisation. However when Jane Porter (Natalie Portman)  falls through an anomaly searching for her absent Thor, she becomes infected with the Malekith's weapon of mass destruction the 'Aether'. Cue Thor's instant return to her side with tales of planetary convergence and dark matter swallowing all the nine 9 worlds.

Knights of Badassdom ~ Cinema Review

 It is rare that the reality of geek-dom crosses swords with the new fashion interest of nerds. Featuring the Dungeons and Dragons expansion of LARPING, real time role playing, this new film injects humour into the hobby. In fact it leaves with a strong sense that running around woods with a foam sword, shouting about healing potions and point, might actually be absolutely awesome! For such a blatantly mid range film it has no shame in its corniness and showcases some surprising famous faces.