Typecast

Do you want to know what I've been humming along to recently?   Welcome to the music inside my head..

I know I'm not quite the norm when it comes to being a grandparent ( stop sniggering at the back, you know what I mean ) but when I read research highlighted by The Telegraph it appears that children cared for by their grandparents whilst the parents go out to work are better developed both in social and emotional aspects. To me, this is only representative of traditional families where, maybe, the grandparents are old enough to have retired and are in fairly good health.  It doesn't take into consideration that there are many families at the extreme of this research, i.e. living longer gives us more reason to start our families later.  But also very much not when your family includes a non-traditional ' Granny at 36 '.   I never wanted history to repeat itself with my daughter also becoming a teenage parent , for both selfish and unselfish reasons.  I wanted a gap where my husband and I could have a break from little people running around and revel...

This post was submitted to me within the ethos of  Blognonymous . The author said to me that she felt a bit better after writing it all out, which does go some way to prove that writing is cathartic, but she is in such a difficult situation that she definitely needs some words of comfort or someone who has experienced the same.     If you would like to offer any kind of support in the comments but prefer to remain anonymous yourself then there is  a "guest comment" facility - sign out of Disqus (if you have used it before), write your comment, click "Post as..." and you will see "guest" appear as an option. If you would like to contact the Blognonymous team please click on the image to above for more details. - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - Sometimes I feel like I’m suffocating, I potter along day to day and then it hits me again, I feel a panic and I can’t find a solution so I cry, I look around at the t...

This week, Kate wants us to share our beauty secrets .  I don't spend a lot of money on make-up and beauty and it shows but I've fallen in love with Natio products since winning a box full of them over on In The Powder Room last year.  I also had a gift voucher to spend ON ME FOR A CHANGE at Debenhams so I've bought some new bits and pieces from their range [insert lots of hearts here].  So here is what I am using and loving at the moment (all images stolen borrowed from Debenhams ) Natio Ageless Rehydrating Toner and Gentle Cleansing Milk This leaves my skin feeling really fresh and now that I'm getting close to the big "Four Oh" I know I need to start taking a bit more care of my skin instead of relying on my pillow to remove my make-up at night.  Natio Tinted Moisturiser in Natural A new discovery.  Where has tinted moisturiser been all my life? Natio Mineral Pressed Powder Bronzer I've always been a bit of a cheek-pi...

I don't blog to win awards but the recognition of nomination from my peers really validates the amount of time and effort I put into the content here.   Can I count on your vote for a couple of awards?  I'll make it really easy for you to click through and tell you what to do. First of all I have been nominated for THREE awards in the Brilliance in Blogging Awards (BiBs) organised by BritMums.  Change, Inspire and Outstanding.  I'm pretty pleased with that as it encompasses what I try to achieve with this blog.  You can see the shortlist here and then vote for me (and other pretty amazing bloggers) by clicking on any of the BiBs images below.           Next the MADs nominations have opened - I was a finalist in the Most Innovative category last year and would love to receive enough nominates to become a finalist again this year.  There are loads of categories available  (click the link to have a read ...

An email from Sally arrived last week with the subject header " Give Up Clothes For Good ".  I thought she'd finally flipped and was asking me to run away with her to a nudist colony.  You'll be pleased to hear that I presumed wrong. What she was actually telling me about was the collaboration between Cancer Research UK and TKMaxx and the Give Up Clothes For Good campaign happening in April.  The money from these donations goes directly towards research aimed at treating and preventing childhood cancer which is why you need to donate in this way for this campaign. I don't really own any expensive items of clothing but the two items I am going to take to TKMaxx are: My beautiful Anna Scholz dress that was given to me by Simply Be for the MAD Blog Awards 2011 .   I received LOADS of compliments about this dress and loved wearing it but it really is a "one moment in time" dress for me.  It has given me confidence to experiment with col...

We had the new dog cage delivered today (bargain -  £35 on ebay  - free delivery) but it's FECKING HUUUGGGEEE.  I'm thinking of moving in myself. Yoshi has been for a wander round in it, dragged his toys and blanket in and out, pissed in it twice, had his tea in there and keeps having a little snooze in it. But in the picture, he looks a bit bewildered by it all.  He probably thinks it's a luxury apartment after the small cage he was in until last night. Anyway, how do you think the dog repaid this random act of kindness?  By throwing himself into the canal on his walk and almost dragging me in with him!  Oh yes, indeedy. He is snoozing now - probably dreaming of a cheeky little duck giving him the bird.

Editors Note:  This is Phil's story.  You may know him as @extremeironing or @theredrocket .  Phil has chosen to share his story in this way to raise awareness and (hopefully) donations for the hospice that helped his Mum during the last month of her life.  There are more details at the end of the post but, for now, over to Phil.  Thanks for reading. Picture Credit | Flickr To share your story in this way click on the image for more details. =====00000===== I look at my watch.  It is 5.37pm on 7th May 2011 and my mum has stopped breathing.  My own breath skips a beat too.  Is this it; is this the moment? Then she breathes again.  A short, gasping breath.  She's not finished yet. Her breaths have become more irregular in the past 20 minutes or so and it feels like a turning point.  For the first time in the past week there's only one member of the family sat next to her in St Michael's Hospice (excluding t...

We all know what I think about Mother's Day  and I've written before how life is hard without Mum here to run things by.  It doesn't matter who the matriarchal figure in our life is but what is important is that we ensure that we value the work that the mum-figure in our life does for us.  I've been taking part in a debate about how we reward our Mums over on Parentdish .  You've still got time to vote in that debate (as long as you're voting for my viewpoint) which includes the chance to win a trip to a spa!!  Click the banner image to find out more. MoneySupermarket.com have pulled together this infographic which (according to survey results) puts a monetary figure on the work of a mum.  I'd say we're worth much more than this... priceless, in fact. This infographic is featured content and was supplied by moneysuperermarket.com For more details please see my disclosure policy

My name is Jake O'Hara and I am [ 13   Ed: you're 12 until the end of May ] 12 years old.  I went to see Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in 3D at our local cinema with my friend who is also called Jake.  My mum has typed up this review because she said I had to write it out like homework [ Ed: I really did.  See the picture at the end ].  She might have added some notes but they are probably not funny [ Ed: I'm hilarious, deal with it ] and she has added all the links and pictures. This film is about Sean (played Josh Hutcherson) and Hank (played by Dwayne Johnson) going on a hunt to find Sean's grandfather, Alexander (played by Michael Caine) who is supposedly lost on a mysterious island. Sean knows his grandfather has found the mysterious island because he sends a letter to a radio station saying, "I have found the mysterious island." Sean copies the letter and tries figgering [ Ed: I liked this spelling of "figuring" so I left it in ] ...

Click here to enlarge (opens in new window)  Thank you to everyone who joined in with the  #dosomethingyummy writing prompts and linked up. Week 1 - Children Week 2 - Family Week 3 - Together Week 4 - Survival " Do Something Yummy " week runs from 10th-18th March 2012

Nothing funny/unusual/dangerous/exciting/interesting ( delete as appropriate ) is happening so there's not much blog fodder about at the moment.  There's plenty going on with the "Usual Subjects" [sic] :  Grandchildren, Allotment, Shit Happens, Rants... so here's a quick run-down. We went down to the allotment and took the puppy down for the first time at the weekend.  I also picked up Amie-Leigh and took her for the first time.  Yes, on a number of occasions I did think I was mad too. There's not a lot going at the allotment at the moment - lots of building fences and sheds but not a lot of planting preparation.  It's a bit cold at the moment so we haven't put the new planting beds in yet. Oh, and we lost the greenhouse in the bad winds earlier in the year.  Still there was a great stage shed base for Amie to jump around on, some chickens to discover and lots of muddy puddles for her to jump in.  Yes, her mummy loved me when I took her hom...

This post was submitted to me within the ethos of  Blognonymous . Some of you may know who the blogger is when you read through but when family and friends read your blog you sometimes need somewhere just to let it all out - and that's what Blognonymous is here for.     If you would like to offer any kind of support in the comments but prefer to remain anonymous yourself then there is  a "guest comment" facility - sign out of Disqus (if you have used it before), write your comment, click "Post as..." and you will see "guest" appear as an option. If you would like to contact the Blognonymous team please click on the image to above for more details. - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - Some of you will know who I am and I'm fine with that, I just can't have this on my own blog at the moment, too many people in real life read ... Before the Awful Terrible I was the most laid back person, I live...

This week's Listography is photo-based and I'm getting a bit more experimental with my camera work.  These snapshots were all taken on my phone though and sort of sum up each and every week.   Visit Kate's blog to see more Listography entries . The drive to and from work... My trusty Filofax and Kindle... A spot of baking using mum's old scales and mixing bowl... Scanning the skies for a decent sunset... Wine o'Clock!

This morning, I heard my alarm sound from my mobile phone.  I leaned out from under my thick, king-sized duvet and switched it off.  I swung my legs out of the bed and pushed my (not really all that cold) feet into a warm pair of slippers.  I washed with clean, warm water, I brushed my teeth with clean, cold water.  I woke my son and pressed for him to get a move on so we could have breakfast - a choice of foods from the cupboard and that all-important first cup of tea of the day.   We left the house and climbed into my car.  I drove him to his school which is in the process of being rebuilt and becoming a brand new high-tech super-school and I continued my journey on a smooth, flat road all the way to my office.   And here I am now, sat at a desk surrounded by all sorts of modern technology and I hold a senior(-ish) position within the company.  I am lucky enough to be able to pursue my career choice and earn enough money  so that w...