• Wear old shoes and trousers: car boot sales can be very muddy!
  
• Have lots of loose change. When things cost 10p, you don't want to ask for change from a £20 note! Also, it's easier to barter when you have the right money!
  
• Barter for everything! There are no fixed prices at car boot sales, and sellers almost always tell you a price higher than they will accept (even if it is already cheap!)
  
• Take carrier bags, as sellers often run out!
  
• Go very early if you want to find the best sales. Later in the day, such treasures will have already been snapped up!
  
• Go quite late if you are looking for cheap bargains: as sellers are packing up, they are much more likely to sell you that beautiful green glass vase for 20p when their earlier asking price was £2!
• Similarly, going on a day when the weather's bad will help you bag the bargains, as sellers just want to get rid of their stuff and go home!
  

Car boot sales are great for buying kids toys too. Last year, money was a bit short so we went to the sales just before the kids birthdays and found loads of great stuff they wanted which we otherwise couldn't afford. Clothes in every shape, size and design are found in plenty, so if you don't mind laundering second-hand clothes, there are designer bargains galore.

If you want to find listings of car boot sales in your ares, try CarBootCalendar.com which features all major UK car boot sales, flea markets and antiques fairs. Friday Ads also have regular listings of such sales and you can narrow your search by postcode.

An alternative, If you prefer to keep your boots clean, is to visit visit ibootsale from the comfort of your own home! You can even list items for free if there are things lying about at home that you want to get rid of.

Do let me know if you're a lover of car boot sales too by leaving your comments below. And if you're a CBS virgin, why not go out and visit one with the kids? It's a very cheap day out!

A while back, a routine smear showed that I had abnormal cells: a pre-cancerous condition called dyskaryosis. I panicked at first, as I'm sure many women do when their smear results show abnormalities. After all, we don't often discuss our private female parts!

I was more than relieved to learn that dyskaryosis is not cancer, merely a condition which could become cancerous if left untreated for a number of years. Ten to fifteen years, as the doctors explained, though of course I wasn't taking any chances! I was referred to the hospital for a colposcopy (a detailed examination of the cervix) in order to find the most appropriate course of treatment. For me, this meant removing the affected cells using a treatment called diathermic loop: where heat is passed through a loop-type instrument to cut away the bad parts and cauterise the skin to prevent bleeding and infection.

It may sound painful, but believe me it wasn't! I had my treatment yesterday, and I wonder now why I'd got so worked up about the treatment in the first place! After the initial consultation and explanations, the treatment itself only lasted a matter of minutes and I barely felt a thing. Just a little aching and light headedness. I still ache a little now, and was told to expect some bleeding for the next few weeks until all is healed. No tampons, bubble bath or sex for a whole month, but this is a small price to pay for peace of mind, I'm sure!

For the next few years, I'll need smears more regularly than usual, just to make sure the problem doesn't return. And if it does, early detection will ensure it is most easily treated!

Most instances of cervical cancer occur because women have "slipped through the net" and haven't been screened as regularly as they could be. So, if it's been a long time since your last smear, please do yourself a favor and have one done. I know they're not pleasant and most uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, I'm sure you'd prefer to know you are healthy, or discover a small problem which can be easily treated, than leave it too long and discover the worst!

Technorati Tags: dyskaryosis diathermic+loop cervix cancer

A while back, a routine smear showed that I had abnormal cells: a pre-cancerous condition called dyskaryosis. I panicked at first, as I'm sure many women do when their smear results show abnormalities. After all, we don't often discuss our private female parts!

I was more than relieved to learn that dyskaryosis is not cancer, merely a condition which could become cancerous if left untreated for a number of years. Ten to fifteen years, as the doctors explained, though of course I wasn't taking any chances! I was referred to the hospital for a colposcopy (a detailed examination of the cervix) in order to find the most appropriate course of treatment. For me, this meant removing the affected cells using a treatment called diathermic loop: where heat is passed through a loop-type instrument to cut away the bad parts and cauterise the skin to prevent bleeding and infection.

It may sound painful, but believe me it wasn't! I had my treatment yesterday, and I wonder now why I'd got so worked up about the treatment in the first place! After the initial consultation and explanations, the treatment itself only lasted a matter of minutes and I barely felt a thing. Just a little aching and light headedness. I still ache a little now, and was told to expect some bleeding for the next few weeks until all is healed. No tampons, bubble bath or sex for a whole month, but this is a small price to pay for peace of mind, I'm sure!

For the next few years, I'll need smears more regularly than usual, just to make sure the problem doesn't return. And if it does, early detection will ensure it is most easily treated!

Most instances of cervical cancer occur because women have "slipped through the net" and haven't been screened as regularly as they could be. So, if it's been a long time since your last smear, please do yourself a favor and have one done. I know they're not pleasant and most uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, I'm sure you'd prefer to know you are healthy, or discover a small problem which can be easily treated, than leave it too long and discover the worst!

Technorati Tags: dyskaryosis diathermic+loop cervix cancer

This video may give you an idea of the great floods we have been experiencing here in Sheffield. My family and I have all been very lucky: our homes and businesses have escaped most of the flood damage and danger. For those whose homes have been wrecked by the bursting rivers, and those families tragically devastated by death and injury, I offer my heartfelt prayers.

Technorati Tags: sheffield | floods | flooding | yorkshire | river+don | flood+video

This video may give you an idea of the great floods we have been experiencing here in Sheffield. My family and I have all been very lucky: our homes and businesses have escaped most of the flood damage and danger. For those whose homes have been wrecked by the bursting rivers, and those families tragically devastated by death and injury, I offer my heartfelt prayers.

Technorati Tags: sheffield | floods | flooding | yorkshire | river+don | flood+video

Continuing my Tasty Tuesdays series of quick, simple dishes, I'd like to present you with a really easy recipe my kids love to eat: Quick Kiddie Carbonara. Okay, so it isn't strictly carbonara since it doesn't involve making any tricky sauces, but it's fast, fun and good for them. So why not give it a try?

Here's what you'll need to serve four hungry people (halve these amounts of you're only cooking for two):

• A packet of spaghetti (or your preferred pasta)
• Four rashers of lean bacon (we use turkey bacon instead) chopped into bite sized pieces.
• A cup of grated cheddar cheese
• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• A knob of butter (or a drizzle of olive oil)
• Salt and pepper to taste

And here's how to make it:

1. Boil your pasta as directed (the time will change depending on the type of pasta used)
2. Fry the bacon in just a little oil until they are cooked. You could grill them, but be sure not to make them too crispy!
3. When the pasta is cooked, rinse with hot water from the kettle, drain and transfer to a big bowl.
4. Add a knob of butter (or a drizzle of olive oil), the mayonnaise and chopped bacon rashers. Mix well. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. You could always omit this step for the kids, and season only the grown-ups portions instead!
5. Share between four bowls and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Enjoy!

You could make varieties of this using different ingredients instead of the bacon. We've tried and tested canned tuna and cooked chicken breast, which are also heartily enjoyed in this recipe. The kids love to help me cook this as it's simple enough for them to do a lot of the preparation themselves!

Next week, I'll be posting a recipe for us parents to enjoy. In the meantime, why not have a look at previous Tasty Tuesday recipes for more simple recipe ideas?

Technorati Tags: tasty+tuesdays simple+food kids+recipes carbonara

Here in Sheffield we've had the worst rainfall in many years. We've been issued severe flood warnings, rivers have burst their banks, traffic is at a standstill, and several people have been hospitalised due to the floods.

But it's not all doom and gloom! Safe at home we've been devising a list of things to do on a rainy day, to help you and your little ones feel much more cheerful amidst the rainclouds!

Here's what we've come up with so far: