My top 10 everyday things (Your Top 10)

Member Name: buckhysen

Product:	Your Top 10
Date:	17/03/09 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Helps put a smile on my face and keeps me moving forward in life

Disadvantages: None really

Hmmmm, My top 10! Quite frankly this could be anything, top 10 singles, albums, DVD's, childhood toys or something as random as top 10 favourite sleeping positions. Nope, not sure why that popped into my head either (Wonders how many will now go and check if someone's written a review on it) ;o)

Thinking about it I decided to go with the top 10 things I use, see and/or enjoy in everyday life. Obviously leaving out mundane things like soap, toothbrush and toilet.

I like to think my life is pretty active, compared to most of my friends and family anyway. Like most I do have a couple of friends that are always up a mountain or diving off something high but to be honest that's not really my thing, but compared to most friends who seem to spend pretty much all day glued to Facebook these days, i think my life is a bit more fulfilling than that. i.e. I like to get out every day and take my kids to the park, out to eat, bowling, visit friends or whatever it may be.

With regards to work I very much doubt I am the hardest of workers. I used to be.... working 12-16 hour days as a milkman, but after missing a fair bit of my eldest daughter's first year I vowed never to miss so much again, so decided to work self employed at home, and only work as much as I needed to survive.
Now, as a single Dad I have found this is the best set up for us. I work part time mostly only when the kids are at school, and the rest of my time is spent taking my kids out, spending time with them and doing mundane housework. although I do also love to cook a lot.

So with that in mind here are the top 10 things which just about rule my life on a daily basis.

My girls
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I really can't imagine life without my two wonderful kids. There's not a day goes by when they don't make me smile and laugh. Despite a tough time of things with their Mum, who they no longer see, they really are the happiest of children. Of course they argue like any other kids and drive me mad at times, but generally we have a great time together. Going out, seeing friends or just being silly at home.

They spend most weekends with my parents but even then I often go and see them so almost every day they are the main part of my life, the reason i get up in the morning and work.
I am a big believer that adults also need time to themselves and to unwind but I have never understood why any parent would not want to see their own children as much as possible. It has always baffled me and so although I never planned on being a single parent and sometimes find it hard work, I wouldn't change having my kids full time for anything.

My family & friends
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I don't see all that much of my extended family really. I have a few uncles and cousins who I will see several times a year but not really all that often. But I do see my parents and my Brother & his girlfriend (Soon to be wife) 3 or 4 times a week. We are quite a close family and are always going out for meals, going on holiday together and days out, etc and I really do treasure my family.

I have quite a large number of friends which I've known through school, past jobs, current work, newer friends, etc but I'd say I only have a handful of very close friends who I see 4 or 5 times a week. But I prefer it that way.

A good friend to me is someone who is there for you, is interested in your life, wants to spend time with you and go out, rings you for no reason other than to chat, etc. Nowadays it seems attitudes have changed a lot and a lot of people see friendship as sending the odd message on Facebook or sending you useless friendship applications and emails, yet never ring or meet up. So although these people are still friends, I wouldn't class them as close friends.

I do really appreciate my good friends, some I've only known a short time, others for 25+ years, and I always try to ensure I make time to see or speak to them at least 3 or 4 times a week.

My PC
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I think most people rely on a PC or laptop to some extent nowadays. It seems to be an extremely important part of everyday life. From work to banking, storing photos to catching up with friends and family and I for one would be lost without my PC.

Firstly I do almost all of my work through my PC. whether it's updating or designing websites, doing some accounting work or editing and making up videos, I certainly need my PC for most of it.

Then there's my photo collection, which is all kept on my hard drive. I have thousands of photos of my girls, days out, concerts, sporting events and old school photos, etc. I've managed to restore old worn out pictures of family and friends and could never have done any of that without a PC.

It's not until I have a problem with my PC or no power that I realise just how much I rely on it. I think it is such a wonderful thing to have in this day and age and cannot believe some people don't have one.

Don't get me wrong, I can quite easily go days without logging on, and don't worry at all about not having one when I'm on holiday, but with regards to the amount of things you can do by having a PC these days I think it's a must in modern day life. It makes life so much easier.

Cooking
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Ever since I was about 13 or 14 and seemingly the only person at school who could cook an egg (Fried & scrambled) I've always loved cooking.
I don't declare to be a Gordon Ramsey, but I do think I can cook most basic things without too much trouble and follow recipe's very easily (Mostly).

Cooking to me is starting from scratch or baking something, not simply taking something out of a freezer and sticking it in the microwave or under the grill (Which many of my friends think is proper cooking)... and I try to cook something most days of the week, especially when I have more time.

Some of my favourites are pretty basic really.... Lasagna, Spaghetti Bolognese, Corned beef hash, pasta, Italian meatballs, etc but if I have a spare few hours and not much work then I will try something a bit more adventurous.

I have found in recent years that by reading cookery books and watching videos online you really can improve the most basic of cooking. i.e. Scrambled eggs. And add a whole new taste and dimension to very basic recipes.
Luckily I am in a position to spend more time than most on cooking, but it is something I try and do most days, and really enjoy.

My camera
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Again, I'm certainly no professional when it comes to taking photos, for the most part I set my camera to automatic and press the big button on the top and hope for the best. But I must admit I do love my camera and literally take it everywhere with me now.

Whether we go to the local park, out with friends or to a concert, night out, etc I usually have my camera with me. I have taken so many fantastic shots over the years and have so many memories from years ago that I think it's a fantastic way to keep things fresh in your mind and remember great times out and about.

I probably have about 10,000+ photos on my hard drive which spans right back to the mid 80's. I often get requests from friends and family to have a look at photos from years ago, from a night/day out or just so they can remember something.
It just amazes me how many people go to special days out, concerts, holidays, etc and don't take photos. How can you remember things like that in years to come if you don't capture it?

I find if I look at a photo from a day out years ago, the entire day comes back to me and I can remember most things about that day, or even that time in my life.
Sometimes I show old friends something and they find they had totally forgotten it until they see the picture, and that for me is why I think taking photos is invaluable.

My Handycam
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As an avid short film maker I love having my Sony Handycam with me when I go out and about.
I wouldn't say I use it every day but I do use it a LOT.
I have literally hundreds of hours of footage on my hard drive, from my short comedy films, to video of the kids, friends and family, days out, holidays and concerts.

Again, like with photos I think it's an invaluable way to remember past days and nights out, it brings back lots of memories from really good, fun times.

With regards to film making I do enjoy filming such daft and silly footage and then editing it all and making a film from it. I enjoy the process of it all and seeing a short film from such random video that I've taken.
I'm certainly no Steven Spielberg but it is a really fun hobby.

TV & DVD player
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As I get older (36 next month, Eeeek) I find I watch less and less TV & DVD's. Quite simply because I never seem to find the time. But when the kids are not here and I have a free day or evening then there's nothing better than slobbing out in front of the TV and watching my favourite programmes and DVD's.

I probably do watch TV or DVD's most days, although I tend to Sky+ EVERYTHING now and when I have a spare hour at the end of the day I'll go and watch something. But I'm not really the kind of person who can sit and watch TV or DVD's for hours on end, I much prefer to get out and about. But during the winter, on cold nights and on a rare day to myself I do tend to catch up and enjoy sitting in front of the TV.

Comedy
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I absolutely love comedy! Whether it's something daft and silly on Youtube, a programme like Only fools and horses, Alan Partridge or the Royal Family, or one of my hero's like Billy Connolly, Peter Kay or Lee Evans.

Laughing is the best sound and feeling in the World and it's the one thing I find is guaranteed to cheer you up if you are feeling down.

I often chat to friends when they feel down and they sit at home, feeling sorry for themselves and quite often it's because of something very trivial, whereas when I get days when I feel low, sad or just run down I usually listen or watch something funny. There's no better way in my book to cheer yourself up by watching or listening to comedy.

Try it! It really does work and it really helps you forget whatever it is you are down about. Obviously it might not help if you suffer from depression, but even then you sometimes have to grit your teeth, get up and turn things around yourself. It can be extremely bloody hard, BUT comedy is a huge source of joy, or at least it can be if you want it to be.

Music
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I'm sure most people would put this in a top 10 list of everyday things in life, but you have to really. Can you imagine life without music? I certainly can't.

My music tastes vary a lot and what I listen to totally depends on my mood. But I do have a few favourite artists that I will usually listen to, which include Queen, UB40, Elton John, Aerosmith, Coolio, Eminem, etc

I pretty much like anything from 60's to the current day, although I do think that modern music is pretty rubbish. I do hear some great tracks but compared to the 80's and 90's I do think modern chart stuff is quite poor. Then again maybe that's middle age fast approaching? lol.

One thing is sure and that's that I do listen to music every single day. I'm usually working at my PC in the day so I usually have music on from my play list. I find I mostly listen to older stuff but do occasionally find some classic new albums which I really enjoy.

I have also re-discovered my passion for going to concerts again in the last couple of years, after not going to a live concert for around 14 years, and try to go to a live event at least once a month if I can.

Insulin
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This is kind of a tongue in cheek choice as obviously as a diabetic I need to have my twice daily insulin injections. But it is surprising how good having insulin makes you feel.
Which sounds a silly thing to say as obviously you would die eventually if you didn't have insulin as a diabetic, so having it obviously makes you feel better. But if ever I'm late having my injection (Which is not very often) or have not had enough insulin, or had too much food, it is amazing how quickly this twice daily shot of liquid will pick you up.

When I first became a diabetic at the age of 11 I hated it. The strange thing was just a week before finding out I had diabetes my Dad read me a newspaper interview with then Tottenham footballer Gary Mabbutt, about having to have injections every day, and I thought it would be the most horrible thing in the world to have that.

Added to that back then diabetes was not treated the same as it is now, so I was just told, NO MORE SUGAR, NOTHING, ZIP!
As I remember it we didn't eat a lot of sweet things as a family, but no longer being able to have fizzy drinks and sweets, etc was hard at the time. Especially as this was before Nutra sweet in fizzy drinks, so diet coke's, etc were disgusting.

Looking back now I took to being a diabetic quite easily. My daughter is a diabetic now and she has found it a lot harder to cope with than I ever remember coping. In saying that she is now finding it much much easier after having it 4 years.
But for me now, after having it almost 25 years it is an everyday part of life, having an injection. It's like having a drink or going to the toilet, I just don't think about it.
But then I guess you would be like that after roughly 20,000 injections LOL :o)

There you go.... My longest review to date. Well done if you are still awake :o)

Summary: Everyone has a top 10 list of something... this is mine!