For Rosie: My Piano Song draft - Listen on Youtube

I have created a draft one minute version of my song which I have called 'For Rosie' (in remembrance of my cat!). Comments and advice are welcome - but please remember I have never composed a song before, so be constructive!

Here is the song on YouTube:

Christmas Wrapping

Deciding how to wrap your presents may not be such a decision for most people. But I do like to think about how best to wrap the presents that I have chosen and to make them look pretty - with ribbons and the like that I have collected over the year (Yes, so eco of me!)

Unfortunately, I am still waiting for some of my presents to arrive so I am leaving the presents for those people to wrap up later. However, I am very indecisive! For my nephew, I wrapped up one of his presents (a Cars cup) in Toy Story wrapping paper and fashioned it into a rocket (just about recognisable as a rocket anyway!). I have wrapped up some of the adults but not yet added ribbons! Hopefully I will find time to do so (with my sister and two kids visiting from Australia, I don't seem to have much time!)

At work, I was speaking to a customer who said she hated wrapping and would just cover the presents in tissue paper and put them into Christmas bags. This does seem like a hassle-free and quick way of wrapping presents which could easily be decorated further with ribbons!

A Week Until Christmas!

Happy Christmas everyone!

Remember to make a delicious Christmas pudding!

If you don't know how, check out this brilliant video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih5mTrE3iCk

Etsy - And My Book Available On It!

So, recently I came across Etsy. A wonderful site full of handmade and vintage items. The only thing that put me off, is everything was in dollars (and me being in England..) but for the uniqueness of the gifts, it is definitely worth it! Especially with Christmas fast upon us!

So check out my book listed on Etsy, and take a look at the other wonderful items too!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/88672248/where-i-like-to-sleep-childrens-book

Where I Like to Sleep

Where I Like T...

Rosie's Tail

By Rachel Moorshead

Book Preview

Where I Like to Sleep is the outcome of my idea to create a book about my cats. From looking at photos, I decided there were so many funny places my cats liked to hide and sleep that the book had to be about where the cats liked to sleep. This became THE line of the book in the way that many other children's books have a recurring line.

So, find out where my curious cats like to sleep. I am selling the book on Blurb.com at £8.45 currently. Take a look at this 15 page preview or better yet buy a copy at:

Where I Like To Sleep by Rachel Moorshead | Make Your Own Book

Top 5 Eco-Friendly/Energy Saving Gifts for Christmas

Using less energy and thus emitting less CO2 is very important. I know I always find myself lecturing my family and friends about it or reminding them that they can recycle that letter and envelope or that old TV. So I thought what better gifts could I get that would really show my personality and help them save energy and money. So here are my top 5:

5. Sun Jar Solar Light

This is a good gift for anyone in my opinion because it is pretty and everyone could find a use for it. It is a solar light that is a nice yellow orange colour. I imagine it would look very pleasant inside or outside.

This can be bought from many online retailers such as big names, such as Amazon and Play.com, or Home4Eco, for £16.99+:

http://www.play.com/Gadgets/Gadgets/4-/1147936/Sun-Jar/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:1147936%7Cprd:1147936

http://www.home4eco.com/gift-ideas/sun-jar.html

4. Mobile Phone Enviroplug ~ £9.99+

This plug works with mobile phones and some other devices. It turns off once the mobile phone has finished charging. Useful when charging a phone overnight.

This can be bought from many online retailers from £9.99:

http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Mobile_Energy_Saving_Adapter.html

3. Radiator Booster ~ £24.95+

As seen on Dragon's Den, this device increases the efficiency of one radiator - saving money. I personally have this in mind for a parent as their bedroom is above a garage and is often cold. Therefore, I thought this might help to warm their bedroom up faster and keep it warm.

This can be bought from many websites from £24.95:

http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/Radiator_Booster.html

2. Efergy Elite Energy Meter ~ £39.99+

An energy meter shows information about energy consumption and where it is being used. Please note that energy monitors need to be clipped to an energy meter to tell the consumption. In addition, this particular model has an in-depth memory so it can show you how much energy was used last week or last month - very useful for comparisons and for seeing if you are using less energy each month.

The function of this device will help households to understand their own consumption and where they could lessen it. So, might not be suitable for all recipients but possibly family and close friends.

This device can be bought from Eco-friendly product websites such as Green Stamp from £39.99:

http://www.greenstamp.co.uk/product_info.php/cPath/33_72/products_id/65

1. USB Rechargeable AA Batteries ~ £8.50+

I think this is amazing! As a household, we do go through lots of batteries - especially households with young children as EVERYTHING needs batteries! This is definitely better than buying new batteries every time - think of the price paid, the packaging (OK, most of it is cardboard which can be recycled but recycling uses energy too!), the recycling of them after - or the dump they end up in for those who are too lazy to recycle! Yuk!

They work like normal AA batteries and when they run out, you plug them into a USB port to charge them up and then away you go.

I will be buying at least two of these even if they aren't presents because I love the idea of them! Goodbye to storing dead batteries for ages to recycle them and to nasty leaky batteries!

These can be bought in the UK from many online retailers including big brand names, such as Argos and Play.com, as well as Eco product sites such as Nigel's Eco Store and Home 4 Eco. Prices from 8.50.

http://www.home4eco.com/energy-saving/usb-rechargeable-batteries.html#

http://www.nigelsecostore.com/acatalog/aa-rechargable-usb-batteries.html

Get Some of Your Money Back from Online Purchases: Quidco

I have been using the brilliant site called Quidco (http://www.quidco.com/user/1081615/) for over 6 months now which I would definitely recommend. It is a cashback site that gives you cashback from the purchases you make online. How can it do this you ask? Well, basically, sites like Quidco get a commission for referring someone to the website that you purchased from. Cashback sites like Quidco pass on this commission to you.

For example, if you wanted to buy something (e.g. XBox) from Argos that cost £200. You would sign into the Quidco site and search for Argos, where you would find that they offer 1.5% cashback on all items. This would give you £3 cashback which may seem small but it adds up quickly - especially if you shop online a lot.

From the Quidco website, you click on the link 'Get cashback' that sends you to the Argos website - this is very important as this is how your purchase is tracked and your cashback awarded. It is 100% safe and won't get your payment details. It just registers the referral and hours later you will get an email confirmation of the amount you spent. So once on the site, you choose and purchase your item and pay.

I first registered on Quidco when I was searching for my new phone. I looked up the cashback rates on Quidco and got £30 cashback which I had paid into my bank. There are lots of good deals on mobile phones so it is definitely worth it for that. Since then, I have forgotten to use it numerous times on numerous purchases, unfortunately. But my cashback is still adding up from all the times that I do remember - £2 here and there add up after time!

To be honest, if you are going to purchase your item online anyway - you might as well get a little bit of cashback from it, at no additional effort to yourself! And Quidco is the #1 UK Cashback site and as a user myself, I would definitely recommend it. So have a look: http://www.quidco.com/user/1081615/

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http://www.quidco.com/user/1081615/