Going on a Walking Adventure Ends up a Hiking Adventure

Now the sun is out to play, Aaron and I are back in the great outdoors. I don't drive, so when Daddy is at work, it means A LOT of time on my feet. We walk for miles sometimes and have done since he was born - I don't know HOW my buggy lasted through all the many long adventures it went on. All the walking keeps him slim. He has bucket loads of energy and stamina. I'm really not sure where my *coughs* healthy figure comes from, given the miles I walk. Clearly I need to change my diet, but I know this...

I've had what I thought was gout for the past year, and I have now had it confirmed by about 4 different people that it is definitely plantar fasciitis. I got flip flops the other day, the German cork soled ones... you know the ones that begin with B. They are great and don't seem to aggravate my bad foot at all. BUT they have given me a blister on my bunion.

But when Aaron goes off the beaten path (i.e. hiking) as he did just yesterday in the picture you see above, Mummy can't really follow him in these (below)... and given we have an upcoming trip to Wales, it is time to look for the correct walking attire. Looks like I can stay "in the pink" AND these are affordable:

I don't want to miss out on great views just because my footwear isn't safe enough or practical enough to get to great heights. Views like this are worth hiking for. Another pic from yesterday:

Yesterday, he had as much fun climbing on the rocks as he did playing in the playground adjacent to it. Would have loved to follow him up here but I am not really steady on my feet, even more so in incorrect footwear so I watched. But watching him happy and free range is a complete joy!

The thing I love about hiking boots is the ankle support that they provide, which I am really lacking at the moment. Having plantar fasciitis and walking cautiously and tentatively for a year has made my ankles really really weak! The above Jack Wolfskin ones seem good and high too - just what I need, and they stop just before my fat calves start ha ha!

Great thing about ordering these hiking boots from Cotswold Outdoor is:

Click & Collect: FREE

Buy now and collect from store

Standard Delivery: FREE

Free delivery on orders over £30.00. Buy now and deliver to your home.

Next Day and Named UK Delivery: £4.95

Buy now and set a fixed day delivery to your home

Returns and Exchanges

Hassle-free returns to UK stores or by post

If money was no object though, I would get these Salomon Women's Comet 3D Hiking Boots. Having worked in footwear for 6 years, I know firsthand how necessary it is to have Gore-tex when walking in the British climate! Breathable but guaranteed to keep you dry!

And of course you CAN go trekking in sandals - such as these Jack Wolfskins - as long as you have the right support - the sort of sandal that can be adjusted in three places: heel, ankle and toes. That means you can jog along, without any slippage. Great security for 360 degree movements.

Hopefully, with the right footwear I can keep up with Aaron and he won't be a dot in the distance like this:

Do you go on long walks trekking, hiking or trailing? What do you wear?

I am sure the road ahead contains lots of adventures for Aaron and I, given the pace at which he attacks life. I want to be right there by his side for all of it

And that means losing some weight and getting fit, just as much as wearing the right thing on my feet!

Bye for now, Liska xxx

Collaboration with Cotswold Outdoor.

Triple Points at Boots.com - use my Affiliate Link

Last week there was a day when I could not withdraw a penny from my account.  I needed deodorant, conditioner and Aaron's bubble bath.  Then the penny dropped and I remembered I had money on my Boots' Advantage Card.  That day it literally saved my bacon.

All of these things were empty! Oh I haven't included my deodorant there, which incidentally was also Sanex.  It's not a nice sensation when you wake up, and everything's empty including your account.

So off Aaron and I trotted to Boots and I had £6 on my Advantage Card so I got these three beauties!

Anyway if you love your card as much as I do, look at this opportunity to get triple points - click the banner:
                                                                        






Validity: Today, 26 June - Sunday, 30 June 2013

AND!

Save 10% when you spend £60

Code: JSUM60
Valid: Today, 26 June - Tuesday, 2 July 2013
 
Liska xx                                

Boots Christmas Press Show: 12th July 2011

Hi

Well today was soooooooooo good I do not know where to start.

I was invited to Boots' Christmas Press Show 2011.

I was simply blown away by some of the gift ideas.

I will tell you my favourites:

I loved the Hello Kitty range.  It is very adult and has been done in collaboration with Liberty so there is a Liberty print, but if you look closely, it is made up of Hello Kitties.  Really beautiful.

I love Gok Wan, as you all know from my In The Powder Room post.  Well not only did I get to talk to him and see his products, but he offered to put his product on my (his words): tits (or bangers as he usually would call them).  And he didn't do a quick job either.  Luckily @MultipleMummy was on hand to take a snap (forgive the photo quality but it was taken by phone - yes I regret that):

My boobs are still "shimmering" all these hours later.

The range that Gok Wan is bringing out for Christmas is gorgeous. It is his 3rd Christmas with products and the range is stunning and smells superb. He doesn't do these products all year round so grab them while you can.

Stunning Products by Gok Wan for Christmas at Boots

Gok's range is called Purely Yours, and the Body Butter is what he put on me boobies and like I say they are still shimmering and sparkly now, all these hours later.

Here he is on his stand and with Kerry and I:

Me (New Mum Online) Gok Wan and Kerry (Multiple Mummy).

In the Press Preview catalogue Gok says:

If that glam new dress demands a fab decolletage, apply a sweep of cleavage-enhancing bronzer.  

Well I thought mine was big enough but he doubled it :-)

I also loved the Strictly Dancing makeup which is done in themes:

1. Strictly Beautiful (Ballroom look)
2. Strictly Stunning (Salsa look) and;
3. Strictly Latin (Latin look)

You can see the colourings in the photo below:

They are each only £10 and a very reasonably priced fun Christmas Gift.

The product in the range I liked the most was:

A reasonable £20.

Now this is £20 and INCLUDES a handbag. There is a bronzing shimmer in there that is so lovely we said we'd pay £20 for that on its own, but sadly it is not sold as a separate.

Champneys were there with their stunning range of products and Kerry and I both had an arm massage.  I only have a photo of her and will update with one of me when she emails me:

Bit of gossip for you.  Don't trot down to Sainsburys the next time you need your Champneys exfoliating body scrub.  Champneys is now sold EXCLUSIVELY in Boots :-) Their gorgeous Oriental range comes in miniatures for Christmas in a set priced at a very reasonable £12.

There was a range there that intrigued me - Jimmi Jamms - but nobody was manning the stand so I will simply share a photo with you:

In the Press Preview it says about Jimmi Jamms:

From the couch to the corner shop and everywhere in between, Jimmi Jamms look on trend and fabulous anywhere.

We took a look at Fearne Cotton's makeup range and Kerry got talking to Fearne herself:

Kerry and I both loved this gift set from The Sanctuary and thought it was VERY reasonably priced:

Sanctuary Dreamtime Sleep in a Box only £12.50

I was very excited to discover that PhotoBox are now working with Boots.  You can now buy a Photo Book online with Boots and get 3 for 2 and expect Photobox's ease of use and quality.  Very happy with that:

I videoed Kerry asking Mark Hill how to get sexy curls in her dead straight hair.  His product will get you there.  Watch this:



Also loved this great Mark Hill gift bag for a girl's night in, priced at only £25 even though it includes a luxurious turban:

We saw Mummy Matters there which was lovely and she had her baby boy and little girl with her:

This is Kerry (Multiple Mummy) and I on the way out:

Wish I had not put that top OVER my dress :-(

 No wonder I haven't blogged as often lately... Just writing this has taken 2 hours and 40 minutes - due to photos etc... and I still haven't done my Xmas in July post for the toy event last week.

I hope I have given you some great Xmas Gift Ideas...? So glad that I was invited to this Christmas Press Show by Boots.  I now know what I will be buying for Christmas 2011.


Liska xxx

Boots at Cybermummy 2011

Just a post to let people know that Boots will be at Cybermummy. They sound quite excited about it and this is what they have to say:

COME AND SEE BOOTS BABY AT CYBERMUMMY 2011

Boots Baby are delighted to announce that they will be at this year’s Cybermummy Conference in London on Saturday 25th June 2011.

So whether you have a quick five minutes to spare or are taking the time to browse all of the stands, don’t miss out on a visit to the Boots stand. Come and pick up a lovely goody bag, packed with products for you and your child, speak to Boots Parenting Club Pharmacist Angela Chalmers, and enter an exciting competition to be in with the chance of winning Boots vouchers and lots of baby products. You'll also be able to have a look at some of the great baby and children's products available at Boots, as well as learn all about Boots Parenting Club.

Find us in the King George III Room.

Boots Treat Street

Hi

I have just had an email informing me about Boots Treat Street.

If you are like me, and have never heard of it, watch this:

I found myself saying "me too" so so many times during that video.  Since having Aaron, I also shop online, I also only buy the household groceries and things for him, etc... etc... I also no longer buy things for myself, which is where the use of the word treat comes from.

Anyway, back to Boots... Do you love your Advantage Card as much as I do? If so, Treat Street is an opportunity to get even more points.

Watch the above and then visit Treat Street here.

You basically collect Boots Advantage Card points while you shop online, with participating retailers.

Please click through to here where I explain (in June) it so much better after having been to an event all about it:
http://newmumonline.blogspot.com/2011/06/boots-advantage-card-treat-street.html

Bye for now,
Liska

STÉRIMAR Baby

Hi

Well this post isn't sponsored in the monetary sense, but I was invited to a mother and baby event where the UK launch of STÉRIMAR Baby was delivered over lunch.  This was a PR event.

I have held fire on writing this post despite lunch being on 15th February because I wanted to wait and use the product on Aaron (ended up using it on myself 3 times too despite it not being the adult version).

Anyway, I am glad I waited as I can tell you it works! It does what it says on the tin.

I really know the importance of a product like this as myself and Aaron had several colds which seemed to run back-to-back for most of December and all of January.  In Ireland, in particular, Aaron cried all night a couple of nights due to congestion.  You see normally if he was unsettled I would breastfeed him back to sleep, but he would go on, take a couple of sucks, realise he couldn't breathe, and start crying again... One night we had to put 3 saucepans on the stove and stand with him by the steam... He was so fascinated staring at the boiling bubbling water he calmed down, and the steam cleared his head a little and he slept. That's very much a temporary solution and doesn't provide the benefits to the nasal environment that STÉRIMAR does.

I went to the Doctor in Ireland as I had not brought our saline drops (which GPs prescribe) with me... same thing, they prescribe them there too.

I would say that this product (being natural seawater) is a lot more natural.

Aaron is of an age now where he moves so much that the drops no longer go in his nose (ending up in his eyes).  However the STÉRIMAR product has a squirter nozzle that you insert in your nostril and squirt up.  I freely told them at the even that Aaron wouldn't sit still to let me do it, but he did, and more than once too. Also, the way the bottle is designed, (see Sterimar packaging) it can be squirted at any angle... try doing THAT with drops! You can't!

Here's the science:

• The nose protects our lungs from external impurities.
• It warms the air and acts as a fine filter. 
• Sensitive and fragile, the nose's lining (nasal mucosa), is lined with cilia and fufils two functions (1) as an air-conditioner, and (2) as a filter :

The cilia lining the mucosa filter out any substances carried in the air and capture any particles it may carry. When the filtering action of the cilia is insufficient, the cells of the nasal mucosa produce mucus, a sticky liquid that traps any impurities.

By conditioning and filtering the air, the nose acts as the body's first line of defence against external agents that are potentially dangerous to our organism: microbes, pollution, smoke, dust, etc.

If the nasal mucosa dries out, or if the cilia are dirty and clogged, they can no longer efficiently protect us against external agents. This breach in our defences makes us more vulnerable to colds, rhinopharyngitis and allergic rhinitis.

15,000 liters of air pass through the nose every day, so the challenge is by no means a minor one!  STÉRIMARl thanks to its fine microdiffusion spray, gently moisturises and cleanses the nasal passages to aid natural healthy breathing.
Composition: STÉRIMAR is an isotonic filtered sea water solution, 100 % natural and free from preservatives that provides the beneficial properties of marine trace elements: zinc, copper, manganese, iron, selenium, ...etc...

Regular cleansing of the nose helps to restore the nasal mucosa and thus allows the nose to do its work properly.  

More importantly, if congestion is stopping you or your baby from being able to sleep this product does the trick.  I tried it two nights in a row and all I can say is it gives you a feeling like Tunes.  Do you remember that advert when we were younger: Tunes make you breathe more easily.  Well that's how I felt.  I felt like I could breathe, like my nose had been hoovered.  

AND because the product is close to the same makeup as our body water, it creates a good environment in terms of PH balance.  It's an isotonic solution with a salt concentration similar to that of the human body cells.

That is what you can feel.  You can feel that it is not alien to the body.  I always like to try things I am trying on my baby.  I finish his baby rice if he doesn't.  I lick the calpol spoon... etc... if it's not good enough for me, he certainly isn't having it.  And I like STÉRIMAR.  I will always have a bottle close to hand from now on, the same way I would a bottle of calpol.

This is a close up of my baby's precious nose:

In the UK STÉRIMAR is available at Boots, Lloyds Pharmacy, the-Co-op Pharmacy and chemists.

Finally, blowing the nose clears the nose but it doesn't cleanse the nose.  STÉRIMAR does!

Click here to learn how to administer STÉRIMAR

Bye for now, Liska x