Thank you to everyone who's helped raise money!

Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of my book(s) within the last 2 weeks: all 20 x royalties are going to Charlotte's Helix, the pioneering eating disorder DNA project set up in memory of the amazing Charlotte Bevan who passed away from cancer a couple of weeks ago and who had such a positive impact on so many families' lives in the fight against eating disorders.

Feeling a bit down and stuff...

I think it was dear Charlotte's death last Monday that started it off but I've been mega down in the doldrums for a few days. You know, those days when you latch onto negative things rather than positive... For example today when I got my first negative book review on Amazon and - typically of me - I took it personally, despite the fact that I have umpteen excellent reviews.

Donating my book royalties to Charlotte's Helix

I am donating the royalties of the next 20 books I sell to the extremely worthwhile cause, Charlotte's Helix, the DNA eating disorders initiative set up in memory of Charlotte Bevan who passed away from cancer yesterday. Find out more about Charlotte's Helix here - and visit my website to find out how to buy the books direct from me - or search 'Bev Mattocks' on Amazon. Or simply donate to Charlotte's Helix anyway. Thank you.

Boadicea in her chariot, guns a-blazing in the fight against eating disorders and poor treatment

On the 9th March 2010, I discovered the Around The Dinner Table forum for parents of young people with eating disorders. It was like an oasis in a desert. I immediately posted my first post there and, within moments, the second parent to respond was a lady I came to know as 'cjbSuffolk'.

"I'm not seeing much jubilation..."

... said Ben this morning as he popped onto the scales to see that he'd gained a kilo over the past week. But, as I explained to him, I was still a bit dazed. It was very early on a Saturday morning and I'd just woken up with a stonking headache (despite an alcohol-free January in a bid to be kind to my body after a rather enthusiastic consumption of red wine in the lead up to Christmas!)

Got a Kindle? Get my 2011 and 2012 blog posts for £1.53 each

For a limited period, I have cut the prices of the Kindle editions of my 2011 and 2012 blog posts to just £1.53 (the lowest price Kindle will let me sell them for, and unfortunately Kindle books - unlike printed books - include VAT). You can find them here: 2011 posts and 2012 posts. Meanwhile, when I get some time, I plan to publish the 2013 posts, too.

Relatively quiet here

Everything has been relatively quiet. Ben is busy revising for uni exams which aren't until the end of the month, and so he is still at home. We are still working on gaining the bit of weight he lost during the first term at university, and will weigh him again on Sunday to make sure everything is still heading in the right direction. If not, he has agreed an increase in calories. And that's about it, really, for now!

On the menu tonight is...

When Ben was a little boy, I got him to eat home-made nut-and-cheese balls in spaghetti sauce by telling him they were my sister's recipe: Alison's Cheesy Balls. Basically, if he thought my sister adored these tasty nutty rissoles, then he wanted to eat them too. It's some time since we've had Alison's Cheesy Balls for dinner, but tonight Ben himself has cooked them for us - and I can't wait! You can find the original Rose Elliot recipe at the bottom of this blog post I've just found.

C'mon feel the noise!!!!

Something I haven't heard for FIVE LONG YEARS! The sound of a load of teenage boys messing around, making a heck of a lot of noise and having fun in our house. Not since Ben's birthday in December 2008 has there been so much yelling, laughing and crashing about. And eating. I am in seventh heaven.