I am excited to dive back into doing project 365 weekly updates. I have had a very long break. Probably haven’t posted a weekly update since April. A number of reasons stopped me feeling like I wanted to write personal posts on my blog. However, I thought its high time I cracked on with things again. Whilst I have been away, I have started entering lots of giveaways. I have had mixed luck winning in the past and was interested to see what yields I would have with a bit of effort.

My Wins So Far

I have had a little luck already and enjoyed a few wins. A twitter win of £50 worth of sandpaper went down a treat with my dad.

Whilst the boys were over the moon with our WWE tickets in Liverpool thanks to Smyths Toys. I will write more about that separately as it was nice to spend the day in Liverpool. That’s my most impressive win so far this time round. In the past I have had some nice money wins so I am holding out for a cash or voucher prize ideally. But getting the chance to go to an event like that where the tickets cost quite a lot was a real treat for my boys. When you are winning the time you spend entering competitions doesn’t feel wasted.

I had some Ricola soothe and clear sweets that I know my dad will also appreciate. I do enter lots of different types of competitions if I think it will benefit someone in the family or one of my friends. It’s nice to share a little kindness that way!

Everyone was keen to try the Chika’s wholegrain rice crisps and nuts I won. I like that these rice crisps are quite thin and very flavoursome. It’s fun when your wins can introduce you to new tasty snacks.

I also had some Moorish humous as part of that prize. My mum quickly claimed that as she loves humous, she told me it was very nice too!

Also I have had a couple of books as prizes, one on calm parenting which I think I definitely need at the moment! Then a romantic story book (stashed away for Christmas for my mum, sssssssh! don’t tell her) and a book for my youngest (Fireborn) which he is currently enjoying reading.

Liverpool

We had a fab day out in Liverpool. I love the Superlambanana sculpture and was glad we spotted it whilst looking for a shop for my youngest.

A lovely lunch in Bills followed by an indulgent treat each from Heavenly Desserts. I opted for the waffle with Nutella, cream, bananas and strawberries. The boys settled for cookie dough with ice cream and my husband had a cheesecake.

It was quite a long day, and we didn’t arrive home until 11pm, which is very late for a Sunday with school and work the next day. But the WWE wrestling was good fun and well worth the tiredness. The atmosphere was great, lots of loud music and everyone getting involved chanting out for the different wrestlers. I used to love WWE as a kid so I can tick off finally watching it live thanks to my winning streak! Some of the wrestling moves are quite impressive.

Squirrel

We have figured out why our food waste keeps mysteriously getting tipped out onto the street. I saw a cheeky squirrel sat on top of it the other day. Afterwards I went outside and realized he had almost chewed his way in! So do watch out squirrels have super sharp teeth. My poor food waste bin looks quite nibbled.

Pottery Painting

Over half term we went pottery painting. I was pleased to do a reindeer and the boys did a dragon and a tortoise. It’s such a calm relaxing activity we all seem to enjoy. The kids much prefer doing their own thing these days. But occasionally we can spend some time together when they will tolerate each other’s company. Usually my eldest and youngest clash, to be honest they would give the WWE wrestlers a run for their money at the moment! It’s not exactly part of this weeks update but seeing as I have gone so long I might as well include a different weeks content. I did after all used to like going back through my updates as a way of remembering what we get up too. Here is my reindeer, it has been fired since and I will show you what it looks like in my next update (when I finally collect it that is!).

Blogging

I managed to get some posts live this week. The Christmas gift guides can always be a bit of a bind as other bloggers well know I am sure. You always feel a HUGE sense of relief when they are ticked off and out the way. I do have some gorgeous gift ideas though, so check out the best gift ideas for adults and my gift guide for children if you are looking for inspiration.