Avocado Week...Let the fun begin!

Well, how has it been for everyone else.....welcome to November!!!!

Last week was 'Avocado Week' and the guys over at the AVACADO BROTHERHOOD (You gotta love that name, sounds like the next installment of assassins creed!) have decided to launch a blogging initiative.

Now any group that can have such a relaxed attitude to a competition has my vote. The initiative to 'Blog-an-avo' was launched at an annual dinner where the group enjoyed a leisurely dinner and cocktails!

Cheers!

Now, Avocado's form a staple part of the diet in the Elvy household and simply blogging about them and talking about their creamy decadence would be a cop out. Anybody who hasn't tasted an avocado would not appreciate my musings.....and those that already loved them would just smile knowingly and think...

IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?

So lets ramp this up in stages....

1. Take your avocados.....

2. Slice and add to top off  a cracking Nacho's dinner!

There are three things that top off a great Nachos dinner..

1. Sour Cream

2. Jalapeno Peppers

3. Avacados (sliced or creamed)

But the avacado is so much more and to honour that I am going to have a little fun.

I have this week been selected to feature as a followed fan on the RUSSELL HOBBS facebook page. Over the next four weeks I will be one of 4 fans and 4 experts, uploading recipes onto the COOKERY CHALLENGE wall. 

Now this is where the challenge will be....

I will feature during my uploads 2, 3 and 4 ..... 'AVACADO MAN' and he will be looking to pass comment on my meals....maybe marking me out of 10, or just general observations. 

LET THE FUN BEGIN..........

Where dreams come true!

When people talk of the 'Must do' places to visit.....if you have kids the one place you'll always here being mentioned is Disney. 

And then you have the three options.

1. FLORIDA - Most peoples first choice, but a long way to travel and it's going to cost a lot.

2. CALIFORNIA - The advantage of adding 'Hollywood' to the itinerary, but still going to cost you an arm and a leg.

3. PARIS - Cheaper, closer and still too much to do in one visit!

So where would the 'Elvy' family be talking about today....

The 'Disneyland' Hotel

If you get the chance to travel to this remarkable place, you should allow at least three days just to cover the park and not leave feeling that you didn't quite do it all.

In addition you should contemplate staying in a central Disney hotel. It will cost you more, but how many times are you going to go to 'Disney'. That extra money will buy you early entry, character dining and a few other things that are simply magical.

The Grand Staircase 

Beds fit for a princess.

There are many picnic areas within the park and with the food costing a considerable amount, purchasing snack materials to keep you going through the day is advisable. Make sure you all eat a good hearty breakfast and this will keep you going until evening. The Disney village has a huge range of eateries for the evening, but you must remember to attend the Wild West show where you can watch great action whilst feasting on a traditional hog roast and banquet.

Finally, if I could give you one more word of advice..... Take your mother in law.

You'll buy so much stuff that she'll come in handy to sit on that suitcase....

  Because you'll come home with a damn site more than you went with!

The above is a blog about a recent holiday for Travelizer where they are offering a great £800 prize.

Fingers crossed.

Putting myself in Arms way!

Well my arm is back......after 7 weeks in plaster and 3 in a splint the Doctor has announced with great reverence, 'Looking good to me!' Now although he was holding my hand at the time, I would like to think that he meant the broken wrist was mended. My belief is even more firmly held considering the followup comment included the phrases 'This feels really good' and 'Keep using it and it will get harder'

I firmly believe that the arm resulted in my recent dip in good fortune and September was lean on the comping front. I did pick up 12 prizes, generally small, but including a Le Creuset Pan and electric rice cooker from Blue Dragon, some towels from Yossi at appliances Online, a £100 shopping voucher from Mecca Bingo and a £100 Amazon voucher from a rug company.

Mecca brief...a new bingo call. Loved this, good excuse to terrify the wife.

But....we all want to know.....what is 'Team Elvy' up to, now that I'm back......well September was lean, but we still had fun.... October though...Watch out, The girls and I are on a mission, the photos and video competitions are on!

Amy is set up as the Face of Galt , The family have been cooking and Heinz Ketchup, Carluccios and Tesco are in our sights. Add a lot of other vid and photo comps are lined up....life is good!

Heinz entry - Cook a lasagne!

Carluccios - Mushroom Stroganoff

Watch out! The Elvy's are coming!!!!

Holiday time for the Elvys!

Well, its the Bank holiday weekend, which for me means my holiday is actually nearing its end!

The whole family have enjoyed a great break, taking a long weekend break last week to Liverpool to visit 'The Morgans' The whole visit was truly amazing, and despite the current handicap (Arm in plaster), I enjoyed the Friday trip to Gullivers World in Warrington!

This ride span you round and round, whilst going back and fore. It wasn't too bad though, look at the size of the other riders lol!

Other rides included small rollercoasters, slides, and more. It was a great way to spend the day. The girls are at a great age now for this place, Amy (5) just scraped by on the minimum height for some rides and Phoebe (9), didn't get bored, enjoying everything. I'd say the proposed age range of 5 - 14 is right for these parks for maximum enjoyment.

We also visited the Penny Lane branch of the Tavern Co to enjoy a recently won meal from Nivea. Four adults and Four children descended onto this Mexican themed eatery and as we have previously experienced, the meal was amazing, service incredible...and with £100 towards the bill, with tip, it cost us just £30!

And it didn't end there.... The Saturday saw us hit Liverpool 1, and with a fair on the green we relived the day before....until the rain stopped play!

But that just led to a trip on the Liverpool 'eye' and we watched the amazing Landrover experience taking place in the dock!

Aberaeron carnival on Monday! so the holiday is NOT over yet. Not so much comping this week, just the occasional dabble. The kids are still singing 'Garofalo!' (See previous blog). I did complete 19 of the 24 photo challenges in the photobox live comp. Didn't win....but it was great fun, even if I did stay up until 4.30 am!

Will try and get some decent comping in over the next couple of days before I go back to work, and fingers crossed for a cracking September!

Be good everyone!

Team Elvy cooks 'Garofalo'

Cooking with Garafalo Childrens pasta.

And so, as I completed my daily chill down after a long day at work, my eyes settled on the Facebook  Garofalo Page and widened as I read of their proposal.

Their idea was to ask the readers and followers to send for some free childrens pasta and together with your children, create a dish and send them the link, enabling them to share with everyone else.

Competition Link

Well, followers of 'Team Elvy', know that I don't really need any excuse to hit the kitchen, and with the other 'Team Elvy' members (Mummy '34', Phoebe '9' and Amy '5'), this was a no-lose situation. We would have a fun day in the kitchen cooking free pasta and get to share our creation with the people of Garofalo....and their followers.

A week after sending my email, the pasta arrived and, having done my homework, I was aware that the pasta created by Garofalo was recognised as a truly exemplary pasta, of a very high standard. The company have been around since 1789 and they have a great History . The product range is diverse and if you check out their news page, you'll notice a regular stream of awards being won by this company.

The pasta we were sent was, as my little Amy will tell you in the short film we made, really 'cute'. It appeals to the children, which is obviously the aim...but truth be told, Mummy and Daddy  kinda liked it too. You can't really not smile at the 'cute shapes as they fall into the pan...or onto your plate.

Well....How did it go?

You Tube Link

Cheese and Smoked Ham Pasta.

Ingredients:

500g Dried Pasta shapes (Garofalo bambino in this case)

Salt

1 Pint Whole milk

50g Plain Flour

200g Mature Cheddar Cheese

150g Butter or Margarine

4 or 5 Spring Onions

3 Salad Tomatoes

100g Smoked Ham

Small punnet of Baby plum tomatoes

Mixed Salad leaves

Garlic (fresh, puree or dried)

1 French Stick.

Method:

Pasta-

Add the Pasta to a large saucepan and cover with boiling water.

Add salt to taste, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Sauce-

Take 50g of butter, put it in a large microwavable bowl and melt (in microwave)

Add the flour and stir.

Gradually add the milk and whisk, before returning the mixture to the microwave.

Take the sauce from the microwave regularly and whisk, adding the onion, ham and cheese near the end.

Side Salad-

Use the salad leaves, tomato 'flowers' and anything else that takes your fancy.

Garlic Bread-

Make your garlic butter by mashing your garlic into the rest of your butter or margarine with a fork. You may choose to add chopped chive, parsley or ground pepper. Spread this liberally over pieces of french bread, cut in half and in 4 to 6 inch sections. Add to a pre-heated oven. 

Garlic bread will take approximately 10 minutes.

Drain Pasta, stir into sauce. Spoon onto a plate decorated with a side salad and garnish with garlic bread....

RESULT - FUN & FANTASTIC

Losing my Mojo! BUT is that a bad thing, it's a holiday

A new month has seen my mojo break....along with my wrist, now covered in a rather fetching Green plaster....and it will remain so until mid-September.

Prize winning may have slowed, so far this month I have picked up 5 smaller prizes, but that said, with the kids off we've had some fun. Holidays are imminent, off to Liverpool, so all is good....

AND WALES WON THE RUGBY!!!!

***************************************** 

I do want to share a little something with you all though...

How many of you have heard of a game called 'Thomas'? 

The rules are simple.

1. Spread sweets on a plate.

2. Send a child away.

3. Other children pick a sweet and call it 'Thomas'

4. Other child returns.

5. Child may keep picking AND KEEPING sweets until they pick 'Thomas'

This video is the result of a very predictable 5 year old being totally stitched up!

Absolutely HILARIOUS!!!

We did however, give her another go!

Hopefully the prizes are stockpiling for September, the month that marks a year of comping!

Created a few entries for some creative comps, and am working on another as we speak, so I remain as ever optimistic!

And the month ends...

Well, its been a fantastic month until the end as I enter August with my arm in a cast after breaking my wrist.

It's been a crazy month and a very busy one. Following our London adventure the prizes have rolled in. At the start of the month I won AltonTowers tickets and a free £100 meal out AND a pink NOKIA N8 (Got £350 on ebay!)....and it rolled on with an ipod shuffle, £200 meal at Nobu, hamper, £50 cash and more!

I would say that I have also discovered the funniest group on Faceook, go check out these guys - Caralot site

I have been having some fun with the 'effort' comps and I promise an update soon. Roll on August :)

Fewer but bigger!

Interesting week. As you will know, last week the family went to London to take part in a Television show casting. We enjoyed the trip BUT.... unfortunately the adventure has ended....The Elvy's have not moved forward and although you will see us in the shows first episode (probably), we will not be moving on...

And so, I can move my focus back to the day to day comps. 

The Fanta Competition gives me a daily buzz, as does the brilliant trading game at American Express 

I've thrown a couple of pics out this weekend and a couple sent out on Friday won me a Nokia N8 from Phones4U, so with that being only my fourth win of the month, it's another nice win (worth £400). It should get about £250 on ebay, so very nice and most welcome.

I am also enjoying the video comping....Check out this one...

Elvy video for Isklar 

GIFTED comp on Facebook

DRAGON Comp

London Adventure

Team ELVY

Forgive my lack of posting last week.... But the Elvy's have been on an adventure to the BIG CITY!

The girls have never been, and it's now 10 years since Louise and myself last went!

It all started a while back when I entered a very basic recipe on Tesco's Real Food Facebook site. It was your standard tea time basic, 'Slick and quick Wrap and Dip'

THEN....A phone call! A very nice young lady called Laura from RDF Television phoned and over the next few weeks I sent a few videos of the family...

The ELVY PATAKS Video and the various LG Olympics ones from May.

They obviously thought we had potential as we were selected as one of 40 from thousands to attend casting in London!

We enjoyed a little pampering with professional photo shoots, make-up and such. I also as lead team member  had to complete a 'Cook off' challenge in a professional kitchen FILMED!

ELVY 1 in Make-Up

Now that was scary!!!! and not only that, the programme presenters were Matt Dawson and Lisa Faulkner. They were very nice and it was great to meet them!

Elvy's 2,3 and 4 being interviewed.

And so we shall soon be appearing on a screen near you soon . Keep an eye out and you'll see us on your screens in  Tesco's REAL FOOD FAMILY COOK-OFF

Now will we progress further? Probably not. The competition was fierce and only 8 teams will progress into the series 'proper'. We were ourselves however and as an experience for the family it was a memory to treasure!

so for now.....

........TEAM ELVY signing off!

As a footnote, Only two prizes in the last two weeks (Been focusing on this London trip) but they were nice. £100 towards a night out with Nivea and 4 Alton Towers tickets with Fanta (Both Facebook)
 

Another week in Elvyville

Well, you may ask, why are you NOT at a Concert in London? Yep, I sold out!

BUT.... We are going in three weeks to London, so twice in a month would have been too much.

So firstly, the catch up. A GOOD comping week - In the last Seven days, SEVEN prizes!

EMR Accountants (£20 M & S Voucher)
Find Me A Gift (Ga Ga Mask)
Kelkoo (£50 Amazon voucher)
Style Birmingham (Catwalk show tickets)
Fudge Kitchen (Box of Fudge)
Sendit.com (Star Trek bottle opener)
and finally a CD of JLS from Durex :)

But let's backtrack to why we're all going to London!

OOOOOOh....Now that's the BIG QUESTION!

In the meantime, I continue to cast the net out in search of the next piece of amusement....

Pink food, Pink Lady apples, Bittrex Taste testing......It's ALL Good!

Cooking with the Elvys

Now the Elvy's are a family that have never been your typical stay at home types. We are not exactly Olympians, far from it. But.... we do like to have some fun.

Today was surprisingly a nice day, not at all what was forecast, so we enjoyed an afternoon at the beach, little Gustybustyboo swimming out to sea and the girls making sandcastles.

And then we set to making tea..... today we went for the simple Cheese and bacon pasta, the wife filming as she complained of being too windswept to appear on camera. Following the phone conversation earlier this week we planned to upload a few meals for the Tesco Real food comp.... so.....ENJOY...

Cheese and Bacon Pasta with the Elvy's

WOW!

Another week...

with an AMAZING prize to finish it! and an interesting phone call in the middle...

I've actually picked up FIVE prizes this week. (Not including the free cheese consolation from Colliers)

1. A prize from  Greenalls Gin (as yet unknown, but expecting it is a small gift)

2. Cracking prize from Hyundai Cars comprising a family ticket to the Three Counties show AND a Hamper to be collected. Was planning to go today BUT the weather is bad so will probably have to pass this up....big shame, They might send me the hamper, that would be nice, but who knows. Got up this morning at 7 am to go, but it is not good out there!

3. A wicker basket with salad bowls, dressing bottles, tongs etcetera from Apetina - By the way, first time I've eaten Feta Cheese and it's disgusting :)

4. A pair of Boxers from Boden Clothing

5. And from Harley Davidson a cracking prize....2 VIP tickets to Hard Rock Calling next Sunday to see Rod Stewart, Bare Naked Ladies, many more including...ADAM ANT...Yay!!!!! At £325 per ticket, this is a cracking prize and I hope I'll be able to go, It'll take a lot to stop me!

So with this week earning prizes worth  about £765..... I am one happy bunny....

AND THEN.... 
                                       .......a nice chat with a lady from RDF television. Could the ELVY family see themselves cooking on a TV show? Let's see, I like to be silly, Mrs E likes to be sarcastic and the girls....little tornado's!
My answer was of course,

 'Does a bear Crap in the woods?' ( Which is of course....Yes)

 so now we must contemplate our assault on the kitchen and family friendly creations..... Watch this space!!!

Calming down!

Well, that's that for another year. The little angels have fled Aberystwyth and the next batch have put their stuff in the houses and gone home to wreak havoc! It wasn't actually too bad this year. I am concerned about TWO properties which are looking the worse for wear...BUT...I feel very organised this year and a P.M.A. approach (Positive Mental Attitude) leads me to believe they will come good soon enough!

Just in case some of you were unaware, Aberystwyth has been enjoying an unusual state of affairs at present with the retirement of the COUNTY traffic wardens. We are essentially a Parking free county until May 2012....It is so relaxing to just park and go! Check out this News report! parking chaos?

Having worked through last weekend, the arrival of this one was much appreciated and I enjoyed a long lie in until 10 on Saturday, VERY nice! Woke to Louise screaming at the children which though not pleasant, was understandable...they are pushing the buttons at the moment. Love the little darlings, but they can be trying :)

The week has been another good one on the Comping front and I have picked up 4 this week including -

1. Some cosmetics from SCOTTISH FINE SOAPS. I could choose any two items so that was nice. Chose an aftershave and a shaving set (£35 Value) Sottish Soaps site

2. A very nice Sterling Silver chain from BUTTON & CO. JEWELLERS. Wife has already claimed it. (£142 Value) Button & Co site

3. An inflatable Turtle from TURTLEWAX. Well you  gotta have a random! (£2 Value) 

4. A Wand from THE WAND COMPANY. Fancy remote control as seen on Dragons Den (£50 Value) Cool wands!

THREE of these were from Facebook with the Wand being won from Twitter. I am enjoying much greater success with those that I 'play' with and create a little poem or ditty. I've uploaded a few more that caught my eye. Below you can see me 'Bonding' with Phoebe! 

Very grateful to some sources of inspiration out there including Di Coke and her blog, The various 'Head's up' messages from a certain Mr Russell Hide on Facebook and many others.

Looking forward to another week. I've got FIVE on my 'to do' list. Finding it hard to keep up sometimes and Loquax is 50/50 at best!

Anyway, it's miserable out there today but must take the dog out....so onwards, Ill scream upstairs to the Angels that they have TEN MINUTES until go time! Catch you next week...

And we're off....

This is the only weekend of the year where I have to work. All the students are changing and I must fly around like a proverbial blue bottomed insect checking out their houses, how they've left them, and what we need to do to put them right lol!

With such stresses during the day...it means I am more likely to be silly at night. After creating the most wonderful pasta meal for me and the wife (Kids had eaten), I settled on the computer to 'comp' as she caught up on Eastenders....and then as I checked Twitter I saw my next mission. With FIVE hours on the clock 'Audio Affair' set us a challenge!

To #win the last and final #iPod Touch (latest 4th generation), just tweet something creative with hashtag #AudioAffair included. GOOD LUCK!

And I was off. A little chuckle and I started with the Morse Code (figured it to be original)

@AudioAffair Di-dah Di-di-dah Dah-di-dit Di-dit Dah-dah-dah, Di-dah Di-di-dah-dit Di-di-dah-dit Di-dah Di-dit Di-dah-dit #audioaffair

I then moved into the stranger world of Musical lyrics...

Touch (me), Touch (me), I want to feel your pod-y! (sereneading you with a little Blondie!) #audioaffair

But I was only just starting and the inevitable switch to Moviemaker and child manipulation followed!

I probably wont win BUT IT WAS FUN!

And so the game continues! 

I've got to say, these creative comps are fun and I LOVE the challenge. I hope a few of these happen in June

JUNE! Sunny and FREE over Aberaeron

Well a new month is on us and the family have gone North to Liverpool to spend a few days with Uncle Barrie and the new arrival, my little nephew - Samuel!

On the plus side this means I get to kick back with GUSTYBUSTYBOO (The dog) and chill at home. As I write I have coffee on the side table without a coaster and I am munching crisps with abandon.... this is FREEDOM and living life to the max lol!

I am looking for my next project on the comp front, I like one with a twist or one to think about. It's a good distraction from the day job and allows me to be a little silly!

MAY was fantastic. I managed to win 21 times! Only December was better. This included two large prizes including a smartphone from LG and the £250 of Morrisons vouchers! Other prizes included a signed Manchester United Football shirt in a champions league comp, loads of cheese, tickets to see John Bishop, £50 Size? voucher, a family sized George Foreman grill etcetera. so definitely spoilt in May!

MAY bringing fun and laughter

This month was a busy one at work. As the Students get ready to leave and the next batch get ready to arrive, the office gets busy....BUT.....

A good challenge is hard to resist and when LG published a list of 'Events' on Facebook, I thought this would be a good way for the whole family to get involved in a little weekend fun.

 During what was a  long weekend, we all attempted some very unusual events. Above you can see my efforts at Peanut butter eating!. I was untouchable winning easilly.

Other events included Kerby, Pushing a bean tin with my nose and tee shirt speed changing.

To see the full events unfold go check their site

http://www.facebook.com/LGUK

I actually ended up winning two events and won a phone for my efforts. Well worth the 'Sports Injury' that I sustained.

CHECK OUT THAT NOSE!

Well that aside, what a cracking month. May has seen many wins from my comping hobby. The wife still finds my enthusiasm charming, but as the postman calls almost daily, even she is known to smile! Roll on June.....

Barbecues, Days out and..... maybe some more lucky days?

Easter Fun

It's a Long weekend to celebrate Easter, so time for some fun.

The above is a comp for Pilgrims choice cheese on Facebook. As with all competitions, first you think.....then you laugh, contemplate, cogitate and do.

A block of cheese. 1 hour and two little helpers.....result as above :)

No Pain from Spain.....

Everyone knows that fruit is good for you.

Everyone knows that the Spanish people are happy and relaxed.

So it doesn't take a genius to work out that Soft fruits from Spain are healthy, uncomplicated and delicious!

There are many dishes, many recipes, many varied ideas for their use...........

BUT

Just wash and eat, It's not Rocket Science!

For more informantion -

http://www.foodsfromspain.co.uk/