I Spy…

It’s time for I Spy again but this week could be a challenge as that pesky Motherventing has picked a tough one for us. It’s so easy to get involved if you want to join in. You just have to post a photo for Mum Of One’s choice of letter and let us all have a guess.

So this week it is:

 

I spy with my

little eye something

beginning with…

 

So what’s this then? I have to admit it is the only thing I think of when you say X. E calls it his ‘bash’ although that is more indicative of how he uses it than its actual name.

What’s on your MP3?

You’ve probably seen lots of people posting the 5 songs that come up when they shuffle their iPod. After seeing Motherventing had come up with 5 groups I’d never even heard of I was feeling pretty old and out of touch. I fear my iPod is likely to confirm this but here goes:

The Cardigans – My Favourite Game

OK, I suppose that could be worse. What’s next?

Mix-Tape Monday – First Song I Ever Bought

I’m having such fun taking part in Boo and Me’s Mix-Tape Monday meme. I’m spending far too much of my evenings fiddling about on You Tube when I should be doing something more productive but it’s been brilliant so if you’d like to have a go do head over and link up.

Our mission this week is to share the first song we ever bought. Mine comes from 1986 so I must have been 7 or 8. I actually bought two albums at the same time, or in reality I sweet talked my Dad into buying two for me. The second cassette I came home with was Bad by Michael Jackson which is of course a classic and got played a lot over the years but the one I consider my ‘first’ was the queen of pop herself, Madonna.

Was NaBloPoMo a good idea?

Image by chrischapman via Flickr

As you might have guessed by the flurry of activity on the blog, I’m taking part in NaBloPoMo. Yep, you read that right, it’s short for National Blog Posting Month. It just means that I’m challenging myself to post at least once a day throughout November. Well I’m half way through now and so far I’ve managed to keep up with posting everyday. I’ve taken the easy option occasionally with a Silent Sunday but there’s also been the contentious issue of elective C-sections, how to publish a blog on Kindle and my thoughts on my birthday along with a few memes, some photos and even a music video. Variety is the spice of life after all. Here’s a full run down on my NaBloPoMo posts:

1. Should women be allowed to demand a C-section?
2. What Halloween looks like at our house
3. The Gallery: T only stands for one thing in this house
4. Dear So and So: The Coveted Toy Edition
5. Saturday is Caption Day
6. Silent Sunday
7. Mix-Tape Monday
8. This week baby I promise…
9. Publishing your blog on Kindle for the technophobe
10. Where I do it
11. A Happy Birthday
12. Saturday is Caption Day
13. Silent Sunday
14. Listography: 5 Random Things I Like & This week baby I promise…
15. Erm…this

But is this a good idea? It’s obviously got me posting more. My stats have gone up a bit and people are still commenting. It’s nice to be sharing the challenge with lots of other bloggers who are doing the same. On the other hand the pressure to post something has taken a bit of the fun out of blogging. Also, once I’ve written a post I normally wait until the following day to post it and have a quick read through it before I do but I haven’t been able to do that. It definitely increases the chance of me accidentally posting something inappropriate on the spur of the moment. Stand by for the graphic details of my next argument with Hubs or 500 words on why I love Hawaii 50. Most annoyingly I’ve had much less time for reading and commenting on other blogs which has always been half the fun of blogging for me.

So fellow NaBloPoMoers, how are you finding it? Do you think you’ll make it to the 30th?

#SilentSunday 6/11/11

I’m slightly cheating with a two part Silent Sunday today but I’m just a rebel like that.

Listography – My 5 Guilty Pleasures

I was in two minds about taking part in this weeks Listography as Kate is asking for our guilty pleasures and as I have too many to list this one could be a toughy for me, not to mention the potential to lose all my readers when you realise how sad I am. Ok, let the soul baring begin…

Andrew Marr

Balding men are not normally my cup of tea but there is something about his huge enthusiasm for current affairs that I just love. One of my biggest treats is Hubby taking the kids out on a Sunday morning so I can watch The Andrew Marr Show with a cup of tea and a biscuit or two without interruptions. More often than not he is unfortunately replaced with Fireman Sam.

Armageddon

I like very many ‘credible’ films but I cannot help myself when it comes to Armageddon. It’s like a compulsion. Whenever I come across it (and that’s a lot when you have Sky!) I have to watch it. I honestly couldn’t tell you how many times I seen it but I always laugh and sniffle and then have ‘I don’t want to miss a thing‘ stuck in  my head for the next 3 days.

Image via Wikipedia

Gene Hunt from Life on Mars

The less said about this one the better I think.

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Stationery

Women are supposed to like looking round clothes shops, aren’t they? Not me. Give me a WH Smiths anytime, or even a Staples. I love stationery in all its forms, the multi coloured post-it notes are a particular favourite, and you can’t beat finding a biro that’s nice to write with. I once had a job that meant I had to be in charge of the team’s stationery cupboard and all related ordering and was in absolute heaven. Where’s my Office Depot catalogue…

Singing along very loudly in the car

On my way back from last weekend’s wedding I realised that the contents of my iPod closely resembled the previous night’s disco. Lots of power ballads, easy listening, 90’s pop/rock and the odd recent party tune. This is because singing is compulsory in my car and must be done with enthusiasm despite the fact that I really can’t sing (and I’m not trying to be modest there, I mean REALLY can’t sing). Perennial favourites include Bon Jovi, REO Speedwagon and Avril Lavigne (and The Prodigy, although you never hear them at a wedding).

Oh, the shame…
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Flash Back Friday – How did I get from there to here?

A friend who I haven’t seen since I left school recently posted this photo on Facebook. This is me (with the sunglasses) and my friend Ros at Glastonbury in 1995.

We were 16 and that morning we’d sat our last GCSE exam. Eight of my best friends drove down to the festival from Stratford in two cars. This was the first weekend of the long summer which was probably the last time we all truly had nothing to worry about. No husbands, kids or houses. No studying to do or ‘proper’ jobs. Most importantly, no concept that we might get anything less than everything we wanted from the lives that lay ahead of us. We danced and drank and chatted and met up with more friends. We smoked and got sunburnt and lost in the dark with the complete disregard for our own safety that only teenager can pull off.

Since then life’s got real. As well as the husbands, kids and jobs this group has also had to deal with redundancy, serious illness, infertility, negative equity, the loss of parents and depression to name but a few. We didn’t see that coming when we were lying on the grass listening to Pulp and eating a Pot Noodle.

I’m not complaining. I think we’d all say we’re happy in our own ways. This photo brings back such amazing memories but it just makes me a little sad that it’s not really possible to maintain that level of crazy confidence and positivity once you get out into the real world.

Want to take part in Flashback Friday? Just pop over here.