#dosomethingyummy - Link Up - Week 1

Welcome to the #dosomethingyummy Writing Prompt Link Up for Week 1 of our CLIC Sargent Do Something Yummy awareness campaign.

Your writing prompt for Week 1 was "What Your Children Mean To You" and you had a choice of three types of post:

1. Personal post.  Why did you have children?  How have they changed your life?
2. Yummy post.  Do you have any experience of childhood cancer?
3. Creative writing.  Imagine your child can't be at home with you.  You are missing them terribly.  How do you feel? 

So, what did you write?  I chose the "Creative Writing" prompt as I thought it would be more of a challenge for me in the first week.  You can read it by scrolling past the link widget below.  If you have written a #dosomethingyummy post please link up below but don't worry if you haven't joined in yet - the linky will be staying open for the whole of February and March.  If you are here to read the entries it would be great if you could share this post, or any of the ones linked up, on your social networks.

The Gallery : Me Right Now

Three weeks ago I wrote a post about feeling not quite right and how I was trying to get better.  Since then I have been using two Thinking Slimmer slimpods, taking Hormone Replacement Therapy, using half a sleeping tablet at night and trying to apply a Positive Mental Attitude.  The change in me has been immense - even my boss commented on it yesterday.  For the first time in over a year I've felt that goals are achievable and I can see a way forward.  This is exactly how I wanted the approach to my 40th birthday to be.

I took this picture yesterday - just a snapshot on my phone to prove not only that we had no snow in Lancashire but also that there were blue skies - and I realised that it represented me in a lot of ways.  A break in the clouds, a bit of blue sky in the distance but, also by chance, I caught the name of the building opposite... PROGRESS House.  

Now if that isn't 'a sign', I don't know what is.

Have a look at other entries to "The Gallery" 

by clicking on the logo above

#dosomethingyummy Writing Prompts - Week 1

During February I will be posting a series of writing prompts so welcome to the first in the series.  I would love bloggers from all corners of the internet to join in, get creative, be inspired to write whilst helping to promote CLIC Sargent and Yummy Mummy Week - 10th to 18th March 2012.  

Why am I doing this?  This time it's personal and you can read all about that here.  You can also download the official press release and images to use in your posts from that link.  I want you to get inspired to do something (small or massive) to help support the CLIC Sargent charity.

Gone With The Wind

GONE WITH THE WIND

The child darted around the corner as the lightening

struck. He started to run down a dark valley. All of a

sudden he tripped. When he got up all he saw was

a whirlwind. It started to move towards him. It lifted

him and he disappeared for good.

Jake O'Hara (aged 12)

My son's school submitted pupils' work for the Young Writers Mini Sagas competition and Jake's has been chosen to be included in their published anthology (which I won't be paying £15.99 for - I'll wait until it comes out on Kindle...).  They had to write on a theme that inspired them using 50 words or less.  

For Jake, it's a massive achievement.  For me, it's another Proud Parent Moment especially as he struggles with concentration and spelling at the best of times. 

I'll get him doing one of the 100 words challenges next.  Just like this has ended up as!

Everybody's Shuffling

These days I'm more of a Radio 2 girl with the occasional foray in to Radio 4 (twenty years ago I never ever thought I'd see the day where I admitted that but there you go) but I do listen to the Chris Moyles breakfast show on the way into work.  One day last week they played the Generic MP3 Player Shuffle Game and I thought, "That'll make a good blog post," but Seasider Clare got there first, didn't even think to tag me passed it on and I ended up getting tagged by Helen.

I've done something similar way back when my blog was a baby but I've changed my phone and my songs since then however the rules are similar.  Switch on your boom box, hit shuffle five times and post the songs up.  Here we go...

#FridayTwiz - Questions & Answers - 27.01.12

The #FridayTwiz is a pub quiz on Twitter.  You can find out more information in the Friday Twiz tab at the top of this page.  To keep up to date with all the #FridayTwiz announcements please follow @FridayTwiz on Twitter or 'like' the Facebook page.

Bow Bow... Chicka-chickaaahhh

If this is not true then someone had better make it come true.  Just sayin'...

Ferris Bueller, you're my hero!

My first experience of foreign shores

It was 1983, I had just finished primary school, was looking forward to going to high school and we were setting off for a two-week holiday in the caravan, in France - Mum, Dad, my sister (aged 7) and myself.  It was the first time we had ever ventured away from the UK in the caravan so Mum and Dad booked us onto an organised 'rally' with the local branch of the Caravan Club, ensured we had the necessary motorhome insurance we prepared for long car journeys and swotted up on our Franglish.  As we were newbies to foreign travel we were paired up with seasoned caravanners on the same rally and we were all (30 families) to meet the night before the ferry crossing in a field somewhere just north of Weymouth.

Getting Trolled

Having your own stalker or troll is a sure sign that you're considered "a celebrity, write interesting tweets or are special" (thanks, @polythenepram, I think).  And, naturally, that means you are popular enough to for someone to make the effort to think up tweets to try and bring you to your knees, sobbing and wailing.  Let me set the scene...

Clic Sargent's Yummy Mummy Week

Today ten children in the UK will hear the news they have cancer.  Shocked?  I'm not!  Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt (and other fund-raising goodies...).  When my daughter was being treated for Neuroblastoma in 1992 we were supported by the Malcolm Sargent organisation (now CLIC Sargent) in many ways, including provision of a washer and dryer to help with the increased amount of laundry, travel expenses to and from the hospital and we used the parent's facilities at the hospital funded by monies raised through various activities around the country.

I've been looking for a way to give back for twenty years and it's just been handed to me on a plate thanks to this blog.