Typecast

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 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!

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...

If this is not true then someone had better make it come true.  Just sayin'... Ferris Bueller, you're my hero!

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, 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. Disaster #1 No-one told dad that it was advisable to disconnect the fridge from the car battery power during the ferry crossing.  After the crossing, we arranged to meet our paired couple on the dockside, we all piled into the car and... nothing.  No power to the car.  The fridge had drained the b...

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...

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. CLIC Sargent want parents and bloggers with powerful voices to get involved with their Yummy Mummy week which is being held from 10th to 18th March 2012 and here's how you can join in: Read the Yummy Mummy week press release  and use the information on your blog Talk ...

So, I'm still working with my new camera, getting used to some settings and trying out ideas that I've had in my head for a while.  It's really the wrong time of the year to be out and about and working full time makes unusual every-day shots limited but I snapped my first lunar image early one morning last week.  It's not great and a tripod has been recommended but I was testing the capabilities of the camera and if it can do this then I know that I can work to make it even better.

1.  ARE THERE CLIQUES IN THE WORLD OF PARENT BLOGGING? a) Yes b) No c) I don't know 2.  DO ANY CLIQUES HAVE SPECIAL NAMES? a) I know what they are called but if I told you, I'd have to kill you b) There aren't any.  I told you that in the last question. c) I don't know 3.  IF YOU ARE/WERE THE LEADER OF A CLIQUE WOULD YOU HAVE ME IN IT? a) Yes b) No c) I don't know 4.  DO CLIQUES HAVE RULES, SECRET SIGNS AND TWITTER DIRECT MESSAGE ALERTS? a) I can't tell you that... oops b) no... oops c)  I don't know 5.  DO YOU THINK I AM IN A CLIQUE a) yes b) no c) I don't know THE RESULTS

This is a featured post. For more information please see my disclosure policy Does sex really sell?  Should we break the taboo and talk about it more openly because we’re all adults after all.  Or do we still refuse to talk about sex because it’s ‘not the done thing’? I watched the Ann Summers advert  the other night and thought about how Jacqueline Gold has changed the way in which ‘sex for enjoyment’ has been marketed.  She has, in many ways, removed the stereotypical view of seedy, back-street shops (think: men in raincoats) and replaced it with an opportunity for women to take the lead and feel empowered by working for a successful brand.  She has given women the opportunity to run their own business by holding ‘specialist’ parties at home for their friends and opened over 140 shops smack bang (! Sorry, no pun intended) in the middle of our high streets selling sexy lingerie and other products (more  here ). Ms Gold also hasn’t for...

I know my make-up bag is a bit drastic and in need of a good clear-out so when Melaina told me that Nancy over at BRIDEface was powering up her " Make Up Bag Monday " series again, I sent her a photo of the contents of my make-up bag for her to have a nosy through. She didn't recoil in horror (surprisingly) and she is spot on with her advice.  You can read the full Make-Up Bag Monday report over on her blog and see the product/colour board that she created for me. Thanks Nancy!! Blog  ::  Facebook  ::  Twitter

I'm the first one to  take to my blog for a good old rant  come out fighting in my child's corner but that is because I know them best.  I would not allow them to be placed in a position that I knew they would possibly not feel comfortable in or be able to cope with.  Are we at risk of singling our children out more by wrapping them up in cotton wool?

I'm really surprised us children of the 70's and 80's are alive.   After all, we're all influenced by cartoons , aren't we?

I've been off work for the last two days; I haven't felt "right" for about a year now.  In March 2011 I had some blood tests checking for all the usual stuff - anaemia, kidney function, liver function, cholesterol levels and thyroid activity - but all came back bang on normal.  I've had sleep issues (sometimes due to my husband's snoring but other times just due to the fact that I don't seem to need a lot of sleep) and a night of five hours unbroken sleep is a considered a 'good night' for me.  Nothing much has improved since the blood tests.  I've put on more weight, I've had more days off sick from work in one year than I have in all the previous years put together and I've started with mild migraines.  I feel lethargic.  So, I relayed all this to the doctor (who, incidentally looks very much like Jon Culshaw which can be quite off-putting as I was expecting him to break out in to an impression of Ozzy Osbourne at any given mom...

It's the first week of the year and whilst many people are getting their houses back in order after the holiday season I've been getting my Filofax back in order.  In 2011 I had got used to using a Personal sized cover (Chameleon in Spring Green - now discontinued from sale) and loved the soft cover but I've got a bit of a collection of Filofaxes now so had a choice of style and colour for 2012.

Today brings a guest post from Jo who blogs over at Single Slummy Mummy .  Once you've finished reading here, why don't you bob on over to her corner of the internet and see what else she's writing about?

It’s a wonder I ever had any kids. Actually, scratch that. It’s a wonder I ever had more than one child. In the beginning we were at it like the proverbial rabbits so it’s no wonder that I got caught after missing one pill. However, as the night feeds, daytime tiredness and general “ If this is what happens when you fuck my brains out then I'll give it a break, thanks ” took over, the actual copulation  dwindled down to the times when both of us  were awake at the same time and there was nothing on the telly.