Typecast

In my thinly-veiled attempt to take over the blogosphere, today I am omnipresent. I am " Blogger On The Spot " over at the Babyrambles blog so hop on over there and have a read of the interview ( I felt ever so important ).  Emily appears to be impressed but I think she's actually agog! When you've finished there then have a look at my Filofax review   over on the Philofaxy blog... of course, that's if Laurie hasn't smudged the text by drooling over yet another Planner. And finally, in case you missed it, I took part in the Guest Post Day yesterday and swapped with Karin from Café Bébé whilst she posted here .  Coincidently, we both planned to write about the same subject and found out that we have a lot more in common that we originally realised. Enjoy! Picture credit: Google Images

Hello everyone.  It's guest post day again (thank you to Erica at Little Mummy for organising us all).  I'm guesting over at Karin's blog for one day ( Café Bébé ) and she is posting here.  I hope you enjoy what Karin has written for you and don't let the glare from her tiara blind you.  Please feel free to comment here in reply to Karin. * * *  Hello and thank you for joining me at Nickie's blog!  I'm Karin, better known as Cafe Bebe .  I started blogging a year ago and haven't looked back.  My blog is about my trials, tribulations and triumphs as a first-time, stay-at-home-mum to the gorgeous Little Miss and wife to my brave hubby.  I happen to be an American Expat as well...don't hold that against me! ;)  Nickie's amazing post is over at my blog right now so do pop over and visit Cafe Bebe after reading my post.  I'm sharing with you some memories...hope you don't mind! FIVE YEARS AGO.. Five years ago there was quit...

E vasive, subtle movements  mean that I can S idestep  the paranoia which faces me and, when I C ircumvent  the emotions that manifest whilst A voiding  that situation, it seems that I can P ass  off my insecurity as E lusiveness ... as always. I have written this for the Writing Workshop that is   run by Josie at  Sleep Is For The Weak .   This week was  Workshop #25  and I have written my own take on prompt #5 - a simple word prompt: "ESCAPE".  I've tried to be clever here and written a poem (of sorts).  Each line of the poem starts with each letter of the word "ESCAPE" (an  acrostic ) and the first word in each line of the poem means "ESCAPE".  Maybe I've tried to be too clever and it doesn't work?  Please feedback in the comments section. You can find all the other Workshop posts  >>> here <<<

During my high school years I had a great friendship with a girl called Vikki.  We had plenty in common - our mothers had been friends at school for a short while and then had met up again in hospital on the 3rd May 1972, each after having a baby on the same day... Charity 3-Legged Race, 1987 Kirkham Club Day, 1987 Myself and Vikki seemed to have a penchant for dressing up and taking part in ridiculous events "for the fun of it" however, life has mysterious ways of creating new paths for us.  Vikki became pregnant at the age of 16, left home and moved into a flat in Blackpool.  We lost touch as she had different responsibilities. I moved away from home at the age of 18 and also found a flat in Blackpool... 2 doors up from Vikki!  What a coincidence - don't you think that sometimes, things are meant to be?  I also became pregnant but moved again (to a different town) and had my baby.  There wasn't really anyone else who I had anything in common ...

Tonight, with some trepidation, I went to see what was billed as "a hilarious romp through the history of the humble knicker" at the Thwaites Empire Theatre in Blackburn.   The stage was set with suitcases, wooden mannequins dressed in historical attire and a traditional coat hanger adorned with various hats.  The vicar's wife (Rosemary Hawthorne) entered stage left, introduced herself and immediately launched into the history of undergarments, starting 200 years ago, ending the first half at WW2 and hitting the audience with everything they personally remember in the second act. It's a slow starter, and we did wonder if we were missing the humour in the show as there were some people were laughing raucously and we were just smiling or tittering politely.  However, as Rosemary got warmed up, you realise that she is leading you into a very unique comedic, yet historical and informative evening. During the second half (and a slight set change), it ...

... then I am probably over at Mumable . I am one of the authors of the new parenting website, Mumable .  This website is brand new and is currently building up content from a group of writers who are both dedicated to parenting and who have experience in blogging. As the Mumable site is just finding its feet there are plenty of ways in which you can become involved.  You can apply to be an author , you can comment on the articles that are regularly published on all aspects of parenting, you can sign up for the newsletter and subscribe to updates via a multitude of social networking links. I have written articles for Mumable about my journey from a young parent to young grandparent , our family's experience with ADHD , my worries about the marketing of adult magazines , the cost of clothing and social networking for children . There are an abundance of other subjects covered; celebrity interviews , health , learning and development , nutrition and recipes , par...

Welcome to my world (at work). This is my desk at work and where I spend the majority of my waking hours.  It is also what has defined me over the past few years since returning to the high-flying world of administration - I shall try and introduce you to everything. My official job title is "Senior Administrator".  The unofficial job title is " Jack Of All Trades, Master Of None " or " NICKIE... WHY DOESN'T THIS WORK?  HELP!! " Starting from the bottom left of the photo you have: Work needing my managers attention. The invoice file - part of my job is to demand money.  I try and do it without menaces. Certificates that need destroying after the machine at Royal Mail chewed them up . The patterned spiral notebook is the office Bible.  It holds all the costings for the current year and other relevant information.  I control this book.  My BOAT. My Book Of All Things is my saviour.  I record more or less all of my work notes in here a...

The package was waiting for me when I got up this morning.  The postcard inside read: Hi Nickie, Hope you enjoy the random assortment of little things.  From Charlotte.

Editors note:  This is Julia's story - the third in a series that I have called " Cancer - Your Story ".  If you are interested in sharing your story please click on the link and  contact me .   Related Links : Julia at " What Will Julia Do Next " (Blog) @JfB57  (Julia on Twitter) All " Cancer - Your Story " posts Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt -  Pink Sherbert Photography * * * When I was a child, the word cancer was never spoken out loud. It was referred to by ‘the C word’ or in a way reminiscent of Les Dawson mouthing ‘down there’! It was certainly something you did not admit to having or knowing anyone with. My mother became ill with cancer in the autumn of 1975. She had discovered a lump under her arm.. My parents were of the generation that kept physical things very private. My father was not really involved with what was happening & Mother did not share the workings of her body with anyone, let alone her daught...

Not here... oh no... over on the (Unofficial) Starman Fan Club blog...   An amazing and exclusive interview (in unusual circumstances) with the one and only Andrew Stone of Starman and Pineapple Dance Studios .  Go on - nip over and have a read... http://starmanfanclub.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/interview-with-a-star-man/

Wow! 9 minutes in and already I want to punch at least eight of the contestants in the face I feel that I have wasted my life and I am totally inadequate at everything I do.  Here we have 16 and 17 year olds who have had their own businesses for three years and more whereas MY sixteen year old is languishing in his bedroom playing war games on the X-Box with some other no-mark from America and hasn't even got a Saturday job.  He should be revising for his GCSE's, which start next week but, let's face it, if he doesn't know it now, over-cramming isn't going to make it any better for him. I am thinking of making him sit in the room with me - we shall both wear suits - and hope that some of their business acumen rubs off on us both but I daren't venture into the room of stiff sheets and boy smells to drag him out.  Plus, his "suit" (out of school uniform, which actually IS a suit - ironically, he attends a business college) consists of trackies, train...

... so says  William of Wykeham . I have expected my children to have good manners since they were old enough to demand something and worked bloody hard at instigating it.  A biscuit was not given up until a grunt that sounded something like " Ta " or " Pees " had been uttered, no matter how much of a tantrum ensued and I always made sure that appropriate manners were used by everyone around them to set a good example.  Good manners are now second nature to my children - they say "please" and "thank you" without a second thought, they open doors for people and they stand aside to let people pass.  I have had strangers comment on  this, saying " Oh you're ever so lucky.  My child is rude and ungrateful. " It is hard not to reply with a comment about parenting techniques but I've always accepted the compliment graciously, with a smile and a nod and an inner self-appreciating smirk. Our children are forever being berated by olde...