Typecast

Sally has asked to post this here, away from her blog. = = = = = = = = = = =

Welcome to my occasional series of recommendations.  Here are my star items for October 2011 from the gifts and samples I have been sent this month.  I will be either recommending the product or the service.  This month I have some special offer codes for you and TWO giveaways for you to enter.

I had the BEST conversation  with my granddaughter.  She will be three years old in December. Amie : Nana, I going big school in January coz I'm a big girl. Me : Yes, you're a very big girl, love.  It'll be very exciting. Amie :  Yes, I going big school and it might be raining. And in other news, Megan (almost 20 months old) shouts "NANA" (pronounced " nan-er " at the top of her voice constantly whenever she's near me.  On Thursday, she was started shouting "GRANDAD" whenever he wasn't in the room.  RESULT!

If you're not keen on reading another rant from me then click that little red cross in the right hand corner of the screen.  Maybe I'm over-reacting again but if anyone wants to make judgment on my children then they have me to answer to.

Featured Guest Post For more information please see my disclosure policy Often, parents find themselves looking for new levels of convenience during the holiday season. After all, this is obviously a busy time of year, and the added pressure of making it a special time for your children adds quite a bit of time, effort and work. Therefore, it is always a good idea to keep your eyes peeled for quicker and more effective ways to decorate, shop, etc. One thing to keep in mind specifically, if you have never done this before, is to take a look at Christmas hampers from Marks & Spencer . These gifts are available to order online, and you can have them sent directly to the gift recipient. Furthermore, they come with assortments, rather than individual items, meaning that they can appeal to entire families or groups. Here are some brief descriptions of a few of the nicest Christmas hampers available at this specific store.

It was only last week when Alex pointed out to me that he had got hooked on X-Factor thanks to my tweets and then wanted tips on how to watch TV and tweet effectively (prime position in the lounge, laptop on knee, Tweetdeck on full screen, peer over the top of the laptop - just in case you're interested) I realised that I do actually watch a lot of telly - and tweet about it too.  But who doesn't these days?  Even those who don't use Twitter comment on Facebook about what they're watching. But seriously - I started counting up and realised that I watch a LOT of crap.  Or is it just that a lot of crap is being made now and is spoon-fed to me during my prime TV watching hours?  The TV seems to be on all the time at our house, even as background noise.  We have access to god only knows how many channels thanks to our satellite subscription and there's always some schmaltzy Disney/Nickelodeon  guff or music video blaring out when I'm ...

I used to devour a fair few books a week and was a regular at the local library (by the way, does anyone remember the mobile library that used to call round?  I've just had a major flashback to the one that called to the end of my Nana's road in St Annes. Aaahh nostalgia.) but there are less and less books coming into the house now mainly because I spend far too much time online.  I've got a pile of books on my table that I keep meaning to read but if I could... just... put... down... the... laptop... BUT NO!! The pull of my internet life is too strong.  How sad is that?