Chrissie's Blog

Friday 3rd Sept

a word of advice - never go back

....... well, make that four words of advice! Last week, whilst on holiday - in England - in the pouring rain - I thought it'd be a great idea to revisit the place where Paul and I spent our first night as Mr and Mrs Jackson. Aahh - the memories - a little English village, a market square, Ye Olde Worlde hotel. a  romantic bedroom (room 
4)........and that's all the detail I'll give away about that night!  
We had stayed there on our way to Wales - and as we were celebrating our wedding anniversary, what better way to say  "cheers" than to go back and do it all again (so to speak) - How things change in just a few years - the little English village has become a small town - the market square seemed to have shrunk in size and now housed a toilet block - and as for Ye Olde Worlde hotel - we stood outside, looked at each other and said " hmm this isn't how we remembered it " - how can I put this politely - it had seen better days!  In the end we thought it best not to stay in room 4 - didn't want to scar another memory!

 

Friday 30th July

Two words to stress out any Mum……….. fussy eater!  Have you got one? -  bet we’ve  all been there at some point(I certainly have) – and it doesn’t matter what health visitors or well meaning family tell you – yes we know it’s a phase and no we can’t stay calm! I loved the story this week about mum, Smita Srivastava who wanted to liven up mealtimes for her 4 year old – she’s designed a smiling caterpillar made out of bread and cucumber and a pirate ship of salad  - google  “litlefoodjunction” and”feast” your eyes!  We a have a 3 year old in our family who’s refusing to eat – the health visitors advice has been to set up a little shop with 3 choices at meal times – tell them the shop is only open for say 15 minutes and let them choose – early days but so far it’s working…. I’ll keep you informed – but in the meantime if you have advice………….

Monday 21st June

I went to my first baby shower at the weekend - I know some people moan about American traditions making there way over to this country but I was really looking forward to it.  The weather left a lot to be desired though - it was more like March than June - blustery wind and showers!!  Still - we all said we'd brave the elements and got into the spirit of the afternoon. I won a prize! It was for getting a top score on "guessing the baby food" - basically - you sniff a pureed jar of baby food and try to work out what it supposed to be - casting my mind back to when mine were little and yes - I confess I was one of those mothers that bought jars - they were nearly always called either a 'casserole" or "hotpot" of something or other - I managed 4 out of 5!  As the weather worsened "T" - our hostess (it was at her house) - said why don't you all come inside - which we all jumped at because by then we were  frozen to bits. At the end of the afternoon - with some of us deciding to leave - I got up to say 'bye" to a few people and to my horror knocked over a glass of red wine on "T's" settee - how bad did I feel - everyone was shouting out instructions as to what to do - I just stood there open mouthed - we managed to clean up as best as we could - don't think I'll be invited back in a hurry do you?

Monday 7th June

What do you get when faced with the double whammy of  more volcanic ash / air cabin crew strikes - easy - it equals more people opting for a "staycation" - it's the word of the summer. In the Jackson house last week - that's what we went for - a holiday in the Derbyshire Dales. We had a great time - although you can't half get through some serious money when faced with £5 admission here and £10 for two cups of coffee and a couple of blueberry muffins there - and don't get me started on the price of fuel!  So - all in all - a UK break is not the cheapest -  but you can guarantee you'll have a holiday to remember - if you are thinking of "staycationing" this year and you haven't done so for a while - here are two things you shouldn't be without - we have the pictures to prove it - no1 - an umbrella - do not under any circumstances take your chances - always have one handy - it acts as insurance - when you carry it the weather will be fine - and when you don't - the heavens will open and you'll end up looking like you're part of  a "wet t shirt" competition.................. no 2 ... a windbreak........ 

trust me on this one.......... last Friday we drove from 24C Norwich to Cromer where the temperature had plummeted to a blustery 15C - looking on the beach the only people smiling( I'd say, even a little smug perhaps) were those who'd cocooned themselves with this handy 

protection against the elements.   Happy Holidays!!

 

Monday 26th April

 

I'm writing this the day after the 30th London Marathon - Heart's Gareth John ran it this year - and Heart's Simon Dale took part in the Paris Marathon a few weeks ago.  Hat's off to anybody committing themselves to run over 26 miles - it's something I know i could never do. I do go 'jogging" - once a week - for about 30 minutes or so and I can honestly say - I just don't get it when people tell me they've been "bitten" by the running bug.  Friends told me two years ago  'Oh Chrissie - once you start -it'll take over - you'll love it - the wind in your hair" - and I'm still waiting!  Advice has ranged from - run with music - run without music - run in short spurts - always take a different route - the list goes on - and i've tried them all - to no avail - is it just me?  As I watched the serious and the not so serious "fun" runners on TV yesterday - nearly all of them raising money for any number of different charities - I was loudly cheering them on - they're far,far braver than I'll ever be.

'You can never have enough eyelashes' - is something my mother-in-law once said -  so I've taken the plunge and had some 3D lashes - they're false lashes that are attached to your own  - I've had them in for a week (they're supposed to last just over a month) - I like them - but what they don't tell you about in the sales blurb is how fiddly it is to put contact lenses in - not so good when you're getting ready for work at 5 o/clock in the morning.

 

Monday 12th April

I’ve come to conclusion that pigeons and collared doves are highly intelligent creatures!  After reading on the net about how we ought to be doing more for the birds in our back gardens – we decided to buy a bird feeder – how lovely we thought – doing our bit for nature.  We spent a few quid on seed plus something else in a blue bag that was labelled “treats” – filled up the bird feeder - sat back and waited ……….. and waited…. and waited.  Two weeks on – the only thing it’s attracted is scores of pigeons. And I hate pigeons!  Oh how we’ve tried adapting the birdfeeder to make it difficult for them …. except they’re now in league with a couple of collared doves who’ve also cottoned onto the free food source…….. I’ve watched them …… the doves knock the feeder -.the seed falls to the ground…. bobs your uncle – banquet all round.  As of yesterday – the feeder has been taken down and put in the shed…………. Think I’ll try it again in the winter.

Monday 29th March

Hey - it's here - at last .......... British Summer Time .......... 
woooo hoooo............ except we're not out of the woods just yet - 
we might get snow this week - boooo!   Still, the clocks have sprung 
forward an hour - how many clocks do you have to change in your house?  We have 6 (not counting our watches) do you bother changing them all or are you like us in our house - some you just can't be bothered about - we've a weather station that we lost the instructions to ages ago -  can't do anything about the clock - therefore it's only correct for part of the year! Anyone who calls round - looks at it and is guaranteed to say "is that the right time?"

We'll be talking about technology on the breakfast show this week - or 
more to the point - old technology that you still use.  This is all  
because I mentioned about an old Casio VL Tone (put it in Wikipedia) that we occasionally use at home  - it must be 20 years old - strange concept - a handheld synth keyboard - and here comes the science bit ................. complete with a calculator......... why the inventor thought you'd need one whilst playing a tune I'll never know 
- but that was the 80s for you.......... talking of which...   another 
brilliant 80s night at the Talk - we  get lots of people coming up to the DJ stand for a chat -  I love all the dressing up that goes with the 80s nights  too - especially the ones that can't wait to tell me and Rob although they love the music  they weren't even born in the 80s!!

 

Monday 15th March 2010

There was a lot of interest on the breakfast show this week in definitive guide to -  The Top 10 Things Men Assume About Women - in case you missed the whole list here it is - if you have anymore to add let me know!

1. That you're always on a diet
2. That you can't parallel park
3. You're in a bad mood because it's the time of the month
4. That you don't like manly alcohols like beer and whiskey
5. That you know nothing about sport
6.  That you can't operate a power drill
7.  That you own 10 million pairs of shoes
8.  That you're a fan of Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon and Julia Roberts movies
9.  That you have strong feelings about anniversaries and Valentine's Day
10. That you want kids.