Make Yourself at Home ~

Serious Questions or Simply for Entertainment. This blog can be anything you want it to be ... Click the FOLLOW button ... makes me feel better. Add your message to Gills' Guest Book. Post a Comment at the end of a blog ... Email me with your questions: gmhesketh@yahoo.co.uk


Sunday 29 July 2012

5 Minutes to ...

We all know our brain is a muscle and needs exercise and training like the rest of our bodies. Successful speaker and writer, Kim Chamberlain has a range of puzzles and activities for people with busy lives to dip into ...


Kim's new e-book is out now:
5 Minutes! 199 activities to put more life into your life


A simple, easy to use e-book packed with a wide range of suggestions for how you can deliberately make use of short amounts of time.


Activities cover: People and relationships; Fun and pleasure; Personal development; Skills and knowledge; You and your body; Something practical

Many activities are no cost or low cost, and can easily be fitted into a busy lifestyle. Only £1.99


http://www.kimchamberlain.com/e-books-activities.html




Enjoy, Gill

Something Fishy here ...

I know it's summer and all things green and salady but for those rainy days, a Fish Pie is soooo easy to make, feeds lots of people easily and it's inexpensive. Plus, you can use those tiny tomatoes you've probably grown in a pot in your garden, yard, sun lounge or patio during the summer.


Ok, this is how easy it all is ...
You will need ...

Some fish- preferably fresh - [a small piece for each person]
A few potatoes
Small tin Garden Peas
Drop of Milk,
Leftover Chunk of Cheese
Salt, Pepper, Black Pepper
Going-soft Tomatoes

Make up enough mashed potatoes for half of your dish
Put the fish, salt, pepper, drop of milk in a shallow dish
Cook for a few minutes in the oven.
Sprinkle with the drained peas
Spread the mash on top [you may need to drain some of the liquid off the fish first]
Sprinkle with cheese
Add sliced tomatoes
Sprinkle with black pepper
Put back in the oven [quite hot] to cook off the tomatoes and crisp the cheese.

Done !
Eat !
Enjoy, Gillian

Thursday 26 July 2012

Thinking on your Feet ...

Thinking on  your feet ...

Relax ... Listen ... Have the Question repeated ...

Use stalling tactics ... Use silence to your advantage ... Stick to one point ...


Read More ... Try these brilliant tips from Mindtools ... 
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/ThinkingonYourFeet.htm

Gillian

Saturday 21 July 2012

Flying High ...



Chances are, you'll be heading off on your summer holidays soon. Maybe you're going abroad? You've been looking forward to it for a few weeks ... bought some new shorts / T's / swimwear etc. You're sooo busy finishing everything off before you leave the office that you overlook something off the obvious holiday stuff list ... so here's a little reminder:


  • Always check the hold and hand luggage allowance with your flight company before you pack.
  • Plan to arrive at the airport in PLENTY of TIME as it's probably grown since your last visit ~ and airport security now takes FOREVER.
  • Don't factor-in airport shopping - you probably not have time [unless you arrive the day before !]
  • Don't wear an underwired bra if you don't want frisking at airport security!
  • If you need to take essential medicines in your hand-luggage [over 100ml] ~ this will need supporting documentation and prior approval by airport and airline.
  • When travelling with a baby - cow, soya or breast milk will be allowed - but you may be asked to taste it !
  • Check each other's passports before you leave the house.
  • If you're driving to the airport ~ allow yourself plenty of time to take the transfer bus from the car park.
  • Don't buy a bottle of water / pop / other before airport security ~ this WILL be confiscated.
  • Remember NOT to put any perfume or liquids in your hand luggage ~ these WILL be confiscated.
  • DO take a small see-through PVC re-sealable bag with any lipsticks, creams etc that you need to have with you ~ the contents of these need to be under 100ml.
  • Containers larger than 100ml capacity but with less contents will also be confiscated.
  • Make sure you don't have any sharp objects ~ tweezers, scissors, swiss army pen knives etc.  in your hand luggage ~ these WILL be confiscated.
  • At airport screening, you'll have to empty your pockets, remove belts, accessories containing metal parts etc.
  • You may be asked to remove your shoes ~ bear this in mind if you are travelling barefoot.
  • If you're taking a lap top ~ this will need to be placed in the tray for screening.
  • Make a note of exactly what is in your tray ~ when you go through the new security screening unit ~ you won't be able to keep an eye on your belongings.
  • Try to remain calm, security staff will have no sympathy ~ it's in their job description. 
After following all of these rules, zig-zagging between the nylon ropes for well over an hour, feeling nauseous from the overhead lighting, chances are ... you'll have to wait some more as your belongings undergo a second screening ... you'll be lucky enough not to have to stand spread eagle in one of the new security screening booths - you'll be allowed to go through the shallow screening 'doorway' where no-one will be observing the coloured lights as you pass through ... the contents of your bag will be emptied out in front of the world - even though everything is correct ... while your lap top remains on the conveyer belt in front of every other traveller passing by to collect their hand luggage!

Once you've survived security, your partner will realise he's gone through the whole process - [unknowingly] with a swiss army pen knife in the bottom of his man-bag !

Being led along the Wizard of Oz path and force-fed the perfume shop probably won't be a problem ~ you'll be under so much pressure to get to the 'gate', that you won't even have time to impulse buy. Don't panic, you'll get another chance when the junior flight attendant screeches the 'benefits' and prices of every product on board in their 'Sale Today' down the microphone. If you haven't paid the extra for the on-board meal [chicken or beef], and the smell of cooked food in tin foil containers is tempting you, try not to take up the panini experience ~ you'll be disappointed. Don't worry about nodding off, the junior flight attendant will see to it that no-one gets a ten minute nap during the journey with her constant barrage of tea/coffee service, headphone sales, game and/or film opportunities and scratch card musts. Even though you already sponsor NSPCC, Cancer Research Youth Music and a Donkey Sanctuary, she manages to guilt you for not taking up the opportunity to help those less fortunate than you. 

Enjoy !

This is a guide only ~ For exact airport security guidelines ~ see www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Publictransport/AirtravelintheUK/DG_078179

Now, after all that, you'll definitely be in need of a holiday ! Keep calm and carry on ... you're worth it


PS
Don't forget whilst you're away ~ use plenty of sun tan lotion ~ and drink plenty of water !


Enjoy, Gillian











                      

Friday 20 July 2012

A Shade of Rose ...



Does the thought of reading from a Kindle turn you off ? Do you find yourself reading news headings then glancing briefly over the smaller text? Do the letters jiggle around on the page? I don't want to go all intense on you ... and I really want to talk about children who are slow readers but this blog would turn into a novella or two.


So, when one of my sons was finding it difficult to read and write; not being able to make sense of what he read, unable to copy correctly from the board or write in a straight line, I took him for an eye test. He explained that the 'words moved about on the page' 


During his eye test, the optician suggested he should try a colour overlay test:


'Cerium Coloured Overlays - coloured sheets of robust transparent plastic, developed by Cerium Visual Technologies, which can be used for all reading tasks. The use of an overlay has been shown through research to enable an increase in reading fluency, efficiency and duration. The same research also demonstrated that the colour selected will vary for each child.' 

www.ceriumvistech.com/

Basically, my son had to look into a box-type unit at print with different colour overlays on top of the print. Part way through the test, with a blue-green overlay in place, he began to read fluently. 

The instrument independently changes the 3 parameters of colour, hue, saturation and brightness while the eyes are colour adapted.  This will give a final colour which is extremely precise to each individuals needs. The colour will be different for each person and the precision coming from a choice of over 100,000 colour combinations now available. In its most effective form this prescription will be delivered as Cerium Precision Tinted Lenses.
www.ceriumvistech.com


So, some years later, when I was studying for a degree, and after spending three times longer than anyone else to read texts, documents, white papers, newspapers, my own essays! - I went for an eye test ... 


You've probably guessed the rest of the story ... and now, wearing my rose tinted glasses, all the letters are standing still on the page. Gaps have appeared between the letters, making the words clearer. I can read faster than ever.


So if you find yourself relating to any of the above, take half an hour to have a colour imagery test ... then see how fast you can read 50 Shades of Grey !!


Go on, you're worth it, Gillian











Wednesday 18 July 2012

Yes Minister ...



Do we really know where our ministers fall in the hierarchy of all things governmental? 
In the UK the governmental hierarchy is as follows:
A Secretary of State is the senior minister in a government ministry.
A Minister of State is a junior minister in a ministry and reports to the Secretary of State.
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is an even more junior minister who usually, but not always, reports to a Minister of State.
The Ministry of Defence is staffed by the following, which explains the difference between the departments of defence and armed forces:
* Secretary of State for Defence
* Minister of State (Armed Forces)
* Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Veterans) 
* Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for International Defence / Security) 
* Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Defence Equipment and Support)
Shadow ministers are exactly that, they are members of an opposition party and they 'shadow' a government minister so that there is always a spokesman to argue against every government minister. In the UK we have two main opposition parties so we generally have two shadow ministers for each government post.
Yeah I knew that ... ?? !

Saturday 14 July 2012

Is this you?


Sometimes, just following the rules gets boring ... go on, break some ... do something unusual ... something out of your comfort zone ... something specifically for someone else ... or if you're caring for someone else, do something just for YOU.

Change your name for a day
Buy a bike
Bake a cake
Play a sport you've never played before
Go to a library
Go fishing
Invite the neighbours in
Go to a place you've never been to before
Paint something
Go on a picnic - even if its raining
Read 40 Shades of Grey/ Gray
Join a choir
Find some new friends [but don't forget your old ones !]
Say NO for a change

Just do something different and feel the fun.

Enjoy, Jill