Category: Bloggy Stuff

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The Gallery – Frightfully Over

(Sadly I had to remove the image from this blog post as it was being hotlinked to from a Chinese website where the man said they were his kids).

I’m actually quite sad that my kids are not really wanting to do much of the Halloween type things this year.  I can probably safely say that they won’t go Trick or Treating – or Guising as we call it up here for too much longer.

Yes, eldest and littler might go their own ways, and yes, middler is probably going to want to do it until he’s 25, but other people wouldn’t understand a big kid knocking on their door and enthusiastically reciting a joke like:

Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?
A. Because it’s Christmas next week.

Eldests costume had middler in tears for about half an hour before we ventured out, and there were very few people going from door to door.   A few doors asked us to take as many sweets as they could carry as they’d not seen any guisers.

It was absolutely freezing, so I can totally understand why.

Needless to say, we didn’t stay out long, and only managed two streets before littlest and I put our feet down and made the other two join us in heading home.  Entrepreneurial eldest and middler were all for cashing in on the lack of door knockers and would have stayed out much much longer…..

Here they are, my Frightful Kids.

 

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The Gallery – Books

I thought I’d join in the Gallery Blog Link Up this week.  It’s been a long week and a half off school with the kids, and they’re going a bit stir crazy as they’re grounded.  One thing that can always help to diffuse things with the special needs middler is to sit and read a book to him, but not the bread makers bible, obviously.  That’s me putting a book out of sight in a hurry I’d guess.  I can’ really remember.

It’s all his own choice.  Sometimes he’ll let you, and other times he won’t.   Our books are more than dog-eared, they’re often trashed and ripped.   I grew up to respect and revere books as something special, so accepting damage to books is something I have had to learn to live with.

My kids books don’t get packed away, or sent onto anyone else after my kids are finished with them.  They are so well used here, that they end up in the bin if they last.  This book has an awful lot to answer for with pre-teen behaviour, I can tell ya.

I think the one advantage of an 11-year-old who can’t read is that the books are read again and again and again and again, and then some more.

I always have a stack of books, even when my Kindle is still full.  My mum has a pile of mine that I am waiting to get back, and this is the stack that I am planning on reading next.  I’ve managed to have the house bookcase full of work things so now books have nowhere to go. They are in cupboards, drawers and in the bottoms of wardrobes.  I am much better at giving my books away and my neighbour always has a stack of ones I’ve not read.

I love my kindle apps, but there are times I just want a good old-fashioned paper book to read.

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Guest Post : Chloe from Cookie Jar Life takes my ticket at Britmums Live in London

Last weekend was the Brit Mums Live conference event for bloggers.  I couldn’t make it so I gave my ticket away for someone who wouldn’t have been able to go otherwise.   Chloe from Cookie Jar Life went instead of me, and I’m not sure how she dealt with having my badge to tootle along all day with her, so hopefully she remembered a nice thick marker pen to write over it.

Chloe has written a post of how she found the day, and I’m glad she had a nice time as it can be a little daunting entering a room of 500 people when you don’t know anyone.

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Saturday 23rd June I put my usual routine to one side as I set off to London at the crack of dawn for the event of the month #BritMumsLive.

To say I was a little nervous was an understatement. By the time I reached The Brewery I was already a bit shaky, this was to be my first ‘big’ blogging event.

Welcomed by lovely people I soon headed off into the hub to observe and see what was going down.

Wonderful people everywhere, feeling a bit taken back by it all I kept my space at first then @helloitsgemma and @northernmum1 turned up and I felt more settled.  Walking around the businesses tables there was so much to offer, and of course brilliant freebies as well.

The first session I attended was the ‘Blogging for the Greater Good’ which I found very informative, and I hope some amazing things come out of what the ladies said.  I learned that we can of course help many charities if we wished, but a message will be stronger if you focused on that one thing close to your heart.

Next I disappeared off to ‘Secret and Lies – bad behaviour online’ which to be honest opened my eyes up to how people truly react to trolls and abuse.  I having only experience being sent hurtful comments once, just went for the ‘ignore and delete’ method.

At lunch I was joined by the lovely @dorkymum who put up with me for the rest of the afternoon, and we had some fun having a look round the tables again in the hub and attacking the photo booth. We also found the fruity cocktails and cake!  I was in love 😉

The afternoon workshops of ‘sod the stats’ which I love it was an amazing group of ladies talking, and it was plain and simple to see why blogging should just be about what makes you happy.  Finally I went to ‘writing about your life for non-fiction and memoirs’ which to be honest wasn’t for me.  I did feel a little bored and realised that I wasn’t far enough ahead in my blogging ‘career’ to have any use of it.

The evening was by far the best part of my day, totally shocked by the fact I actually got speaking to Cherry Healey, put me in a great mood.

To listen to the blogger’s keynote speeches, well what can I say… I have never laughed and cried so much in the space of an hour or so.  There were some truly beautiful words read up on that stage. Overall I just loved meeting so many new faces, having the opportunity to experience it all.

I will definitely buy a ticket and return next year.