Table of contents for 13-Jul-2017 in Pick Me Up!

Welcome To Your Thursday Pick Me up! What A Holiday! I’m off to Walt Disney World in Florida soon and I can’t wait. I’m a Disney geek! I even had Beauty and the Beast shoes at my wedding last year... 26.2 …is the number of miles I ran in the London Marathon. It was incredible, especially crossing the finishing line on The Mall. But it’s a long, long way! What A Distance! Did I mention I ran a marathon?! After, I couldn’t walk for three days – but I’d do it again! Read about my experience at www.lifedeathprizes.com/firstmarathon What A Gig! I’ve just seen Nashville In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. AMAZING! Jonathan Jackson who plays Avery was my schoolgirl crush – his film Camp Nowhere is still a…

Becky Turner- Knowles, 20, Canterbury I was just 8 years old and getting married. ‘I do,’ I smiled at my boyfriend in the middle of the school playground. My friends giggled. Then... ‘Why would you want to marry her?’ a boy shouted. ‘I don’t!’ my groom then called out. Laughing, he ran away with his friends. That’s when it started... That night, I sat in my bedroom thinking. Why me? All my friends had ‘got married’ to their boyfriends. They hadn’t been humiliated. ‘It’s because I’m not skinny,’ I decided. I still had puppy fat, while my friends were thinner. From that day on, I felt different. I felt wrong. When I hit puberty, it got worse. I saw my friends get breasts and curves. I was still just…round. Mum Claire…

Energy Savers 1 Say no to baths Take short showers rather than long baths! 2 Ping dinner Microwaving food for 10 min instead of oven cooking for an hour saves around 20kWh per week, £156 over the year. 3 Switch sense Unplug the TV, laptops and games consoles before you go away on holiday. 4 Hanging out Give the tumble dryer a break and hang clothes on the line to dry whenever possible. 5 Don’t be a drip Turn your taps off properly! A dripping tap can add up to 165 gallons of hot water a month to your bill – more than one person uses in two weeks… 6 Shut it! Close the fridge door as quickly as possible after you open it, as up to one-third of the cold air inside can escape otherwise.…

Real-Life PLUS Trends, Info and Advice Sophie Green, 22, Framlingham S tand up straight,’ my mum da, 47, said. She was forever lecturing me about my slouched posture. Aged 16, I didn’t pay much attention. But one day I bent over and Mum gasped. ‘Your back’s so humped,’ she said, showing me in a mirror. She was right. It looked like my whole body had folded in half. An X-ray revealed an increased curve in my spine, but doctors didn’t think it was anything to worry about. Over the years, I just got on with things. But as time passed, I started getting crippling back pain. Eventually, I was assessed by an orthopaedic surgeon. ‘The curve is within normal limits,’ I was told. As time passed, I started to get crippling…

Gemma Hunter, 41, Rossendale G azing at my sleeping son, 16, worry surged through me. ‘You’re going to be alright,’ I said. Days earlier, he’d been rushed to hospital with chest pains, and I was worried sick. The outer lining of his heart was inflamed and he needed medication to treat it. That night, in August last year, I’d opened the window to let air into the stuffy hospital room, when I spotted a spider across the room. It had distinctive markings. Dismissing it, I put my feet up and tried to get some sleep. But in the middle of the night, I awoke with a start. The spider was on my bare right foot, wouldn’t budge. Reaching down to brush it off, I felt a sharp pain. ‘Ow!’ I gasped.…

Strawberry & Chocolate Tartlets Serves: 12 Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 20 min □ 12 ready-made cooked pastry tartlet cases □ 400ml double cream □ 200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into even pieces □ 2 egg yolks □ 400g strawberries, hulled and sliced □ 1-2tbsp sugar □ Few fresh mint leaves to serve 1 Preheat oven to 180C/ Gas 4, and stand tartlet cases on a baking sheet. 2 Heat cream in a small saucepan until hot, taking care not to let it boil, add chocolate and stir gently until melted, then stir in egg yolks. 3 Pour chocolate mixture evenly between tartlet cases, then bake for about 10 min until just set. 4 Remove from oven and put on a wire rack to cool completely. Arrange…

Julie Fisher, 36, Berkshire D izziness. Not that unusual when you’re 37 weeks pregnant. I was at home, waiting for the arrival of my second baby, and about to get my son Jamie, 5, from school. But I was feeling really offcolour, my vision going blurry. I can’t drive like this, I thought, calling my mum Mary, 56, who came straight over. ‘It’s like vertigo,’ I told Mum. ‘Or flu symptoms.’ ‘Doctor, now!’ she said. I had my blood pressure taken on both arms. ‘They’re different readings,’ he said. ‘And low. Go to hospital.’ Until then, the pregnancy had been perfect. I’d worked until the last minute at a local transport company. My husband David, 36, drove us to the maternity unit at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in nearby Reading. ‘This…

Clare Scarborough 38, West Glamorgan I didn’t think I’d win again. I was just playing for fun really B ack in 2011, chatting to my sister-in-law, she told me that it was fun and I should try it! She was talking about Pick Me Up! Bingo! The thought of playing at home in my PJs sounded too good to be true. I signed up, got to know the games. My favourite was Sapphire Bingo, a 90-ball bingo game. I had a few wins, and I really enjoyed myself. Last December, my husband Peter, 40, was at work and I was at home with our children aged 20, 18, and 14. I bought some tickets for Sapphire and watched telly as the games played out. I must’ve become engrossed in the TV,…

Flattering Fashion Get Moving! Try the Myprotein free 28-day dedicated fitness programme ‘Don’t Sweat It’. Each workout can be completed in less than 30 minutes. There’s a video, nutritional advice, recipes, supplement tips and dos and don’ts. Download the guide at fitness-guides.myprotein.com/en/Summer_Guide_UK.pdf Try this…. Twinings Buttermint Tea, £1.69, Co-Op With a lovely vanilla-mint flavour, enjoy a virtually calorie-free cuppa to help stave off those hunger pangs! Fab Lollies, box of 6, £1.99 The brand turns 50 this year and it’s celebrating with a box of six birthday-cake flavoured lollies! Topped with sprinkles, and just 78 cal each. …Breads Take 3... Food Swaps The Secret Of My Success NAME: Angie Wolfe, 48, Coalville, Leicestershire VITAL STATISTICS: I’d battled with my weight and other health issues, including depression, for years. I ended…

Nicole Crawford, 27, Sydney, Australia A t 18, I didn’t have a care in the world. I loved partying, going to the beach, trips with friends. But, on 7 February 2009, my life changed forever. It was a hot summer’s day. I was in the back seat of a softtop car with my friend. Two guys we’d recently met were in the front... The next thing I remember is opening my eyes in hospital in Intensive Care. ‘You’ve been in a car accident,’ explained my mum Sandra, now 53. ‘You broke your neck.’ And that’s when I realised... I can’t feel a thing. My arms and legs were dead. I couldn’t even wiggle my toes. And I could only slightly move my neck. I learnt that my friend had broken her…

Dr Arabella Onslow has been a GP for 11 years and was Rosemary Conley’s Health Professional Slimmer of the Year in 2012 after losing 10st. Hot spells Q I have terrible hot flushes from the menopause. I tried HRT, but it worsened my already pretty low mood. What else can I do? Denise, Farnborough A There is evidence that some anti-depressant medication can be equally as effective as HRT for hot flushes, and of course may help with the low mood. Dislocating joints Q I frequently dislocate my knee and fall, cutting myself and needing stitches. But they’re so painful because the local anaesthetic doesn’t ever seem to work and no-one believes me. Kelsey, Howden A You may have joint hypermobility syndrome, which has a very distressing association with the failure of…

Soon another body was found, and then another... A s South Carolina police officers tried to unlock the shipping container, they heard something move inside. Then came muffled screams and cries for help. When they finally broke the lock and opened it, they couldn’t believe their eyes. A woman was chained up by her ankle and neck. Kala Brown, 30, had been missing for two months. Now she’d been found caged and chained up like a dog. When police asked who’d done this to her, she gave them a name… Todd Kohlhepp. He owned the land where the container was situated. Kala told how Kohlhepp had shot dead her boyfriend Charles Carver, 32. Days on, investigators dug the body of Charles from a shallow grave. Shortly after, another body was found,…

Emily Bonney, 18, Blackpool E mily, are you with us?’ a teacher asked. I was 8 years old and so exhausted. Felt worlds away. At lunchtime, I didn’t play with friends. And had a wheezy cough. ‘It’s probably a chest infection,’ my GP said to my worried parents Lesley, now 51, and Dave, 50. But I was sent for an x-ray at Blackpool Victoria Hospital just in case. Doctors spotted a mass on my chest. ‘It’s cystic fibrosis,’ a specialist said after tests. A life-limiting genetic condition that fills the lungs with mucus. And there was no cure. Mum burst into tears. A heel-prick test at birth can inform parents if their baby has cystic fibrosis. But I hadn’t had the test. I spent three weeks in hospital, living on a…

Natasha Puszczynska, 34, Nottingham Hearing my boyfriend talking about his day at work, I felt so envious. Simon, 36, ran a board-game cafe in Derby, so his job was his passion. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my job as a sixth-form teacher. But 10 years ago, I’d been a burlesque performer, and I missed having a fun hobby. I’d always admired aerial performers. Their routines were graceful and exciting, with the added danger of being high above the stage. I’d been desperate to try it, but just hadn’t had the time. Now that I wasn’t doing burlesque, there was nothing stopping me. Except…I weighed 13st and was a size-18. Not exactly the body type you imagine twirling on a trapeze. Was it even possible to learn aerial moves with…

Natasha Davies, 30, Swansea G oing back into hospital with my baby Bobby in my arms felt so wrong. Just three months before, me and hubby Richard had brought our boy home. An extra special moment for us as, before Bobby was born, we got bad news. ‘The right side of your baby’s heart hasn’t formed properly,’ the doctor said. We were warned he might not live, and if he did he faced a lifetime of surgery. Happily, after a five-hour labour, in July last year, Bobby was born, pink and screaming. Alive! There was more good news. ‘He doesn’t need immediate surgery,’ the doctor told us. But now we were back to hand my baby over for openheart surgery. The op involved improving the bloodflow to his lungs. I was…

Jealous of his own newborn baby Hiding ... in fear of her life Head-butted as she held her kids Sarah Jackson, 41, York C rowded round the bar with my mates, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Jason, 22, a friend I’d known for a couple of years. My heart skipped. I’d always secretly fancied him. ‘Want to go for a drink – just the two of us?’ he asked me. A few days later, we met in our local bar. We hit it off and started dating. And by March 2015, we were official. He was younger than me but that didn’t matter. Jason was caring and thoughtful – everything I’d ever wanted. My daughter Rebecca, then 5, adored him, and he treated her as his own.…

Snack For Less Packets of Ryvita Original Crispbread are now only 79p (normally £1.59) at Tesco until 20 July. They’re really tasty topped with tuna or dipped into soup! Beauty Bargain Update your make-up bag thanks to Home Bargain’s new Olivia Hale range. All products are just 99p each and the collection includes everything from nail varnish to eyebrow palettes. Stay Safe Protect your skin in the sun with 50% off HEVL SPF50 Face Creme. Use code SUNNY50 at skinshop.co.uk before 1 September. Good Hair Day Save £20 on GHD straighteners at Supercuts until 30 July. Now is the perfect time to invest if you were thinking of splashing out. Come In Handy Boots have slashed the price of all Hill & Noble Hand Creams, making them just £3.33 each…

1 It’s a rare genetic condition □ True □ False 2 It causes nausea and fatigue. □ True □ False 3 It can be treated with medication. □ True □ False 4The cause is unknown. □ True □ False 1 FALSE It’s a condition involving an imbalance or rocking/swaying sensation, often only felt and seen by the sufferer, that occurs after exposure to motion, e.g. a flight or cruise. 2 TRUE It can also cause disorientation, headaches and sensitivity to light. 3 FALSE There is currently no effective method for curing or treating the condition. Traditional treatments for vertigo, dizziness and motion sickness have little effect for MdDS sufferers. 4 TRUE There’s no known cause, though research suggests it’s often triggered by motion sickness. Getting a diagnosis for MdDS can…

What The Cluck? ‘Tastes like chicken!’ says a Z-list star, when they try odd nosh in Bushtucker Trials. Here’s our handy chart of tastealikes..! MY HEAD HURTS Weird and wonderful hangover cures from around the world. But maybe DON’T try them at home! • Mexico: bowl of tripe soup. • Puerto Rico: rub half a lemon under your drinking arm armpit. • Ancient Greece: sheep’s lungs and owl eggs fry-up. • Ancient Rome: eat a deep-fried canary. • Sicily: dried bull’s penis. • Mongolia: cocktail of tomato juice and pickled sheep eyes. • Native American: lick a friend’s armpit. • Iceland: boiled sheep’s head stew. Sloths are clumsy on land, but are great swimmers I’ll Tell You What I Want, What I Really, Really Want… How much do you know about…

Hilary Hahn, 37, Oldbury, West Midlands Ninety per cent of my stomach was removed I hadn’t always been fat. When I’d got married in 1999, I was a slim size- 8/10, around 9st. Attractive, toned, and with a flat stomach I took for granted. But after having my son Rayan at 21, I suffered postnatal depression. Prescribed antidepressants, I struggled on. But, trapped in an unhappy marriage, eating helped get me through. My crutch. I’d fill up fatty sandwiches with anything I could. Jam, peanut butter… The weight piled on. I hid my flab under baggy clothes. ‘If you wear that denim skirt again I’m going to cut it off you and burn it,’ my sister Virginia, 46, used to say. ‘It’s like a tent!’ Everything looked like a tent when…

Write On! Icing Tool, £9.99, www.prezzybox.com Whether you’re the next Mary Berry or a first-timer, this pencil tool will make decorating your baking a piece of cake! Fill it with icing and get ready to ice away on any bake, from cookies to fluffy muffins. Toffee + Vodka Ice Cream, £4.99, Selfridges If you’re after a boozy treat, this is just the thing! Not only is this a super indulgent treat, it’s also the strongest alcoholic ice cream on the market at 6.51% ABV. Hic! Chill Bill Fridge Freshener, £9.99, www.firebox.com Fill this pretty penguin with baking soda, pop him in the corner of your fridge and let him soak up all of those horrible smells that can come wafting out of the fridge. You’ll never fear opening the door…

Want the perfect... Try one of these… Nourishing: Umberto Giannini Pool Proof Leave-in Hair Protection This leave-in formula contains coconut and olive oils to naturally nourish your hair. It has built-in UV filters too, meaning your hair colour won’t fade in the sun. Protective: Philip Kingsley Swimcap This clever product is designed to work just like a real swimming cap. It’ll help to protect your tresses from sun, chlorine and salt water. It also washes out really easily afterwards and leaves your hair like silk instead of straw. Non-greasy: Solait Hair & Scalp Sun Spray SPF30 You wear sun cream to protect your skin – so why not treat your hair the same? This light, non-greasy spray protects against UVA and UVB rays to stop sun damage in its tracks.…

Cara Marie Bowers, 43, Colchester, Essex I saw my chance and ran towards him. Don’t ask why! T here was a noise coming from the kitchen… someone was in my flat. Alone in my bedroom across the hall, I felt my heartbeat quicken. Whatever am I going to do? It was just after 1pm, one afternoon last October. That morning had been non-stop. After I’d waved my girls Lauryn, 16, and Ellie, 13, off to school, I’d set to work. A few days before, I’d had a clear-out and sold a pile of unwanted stuff online. I’d arranged with the buyers to pick it up before that lunchtime and now I was just waiting for the last buyer to collect a top. I’d made £13 so far, and piled the coins…

Kate Wilshire, 31, Bristol I was over the moon to find out I was pregnant with my third. And as with my other pregnancies, my mum Sharon cracked the same joke... ‘Imagine if you followed family tradition!’ she laughed. See, Mum gave birth to me in the car on the way to hospital. Though my births with Bonnie, 5, and Heidi, 3, had been speedy, I’d always made it to the maternity ward. Soon, it was 20 October 2015, the day before my due date. I felt huge, but life as a mum didn’t stop and, tired out, I was soon heading straight for bed. But, at 4am, I sat bolt upright. Contractions! ‘I’m in labour!’ I yelled to my partner Aaron, 35. Thankfully my mum was there, so she could stay…

6-12 July 2017 ARIES 21 March–20 April Some strong characters are affecting your life lately who aren’t making it easy for you to be yourself. Remember who you are and what’s important to you. This week it’s imperative not to agree to what you don’t want, or you could set limitations you won’t be able to change. Call: 09058 170 710* TAURUS 21 April–21 May Don’t put off until later what you can do now, my friend. You‘ve spent far too long already this year doing what other people have told you was right and it’s about time you stood up for yourself. A new attraction could change everything. In fact, I really think it should! Call: 09058 170 711* GEMINI 22 May–21 June Don’t add fuel to rumours that…