The Gallery: My Weekend

I was away all this weekend.
I was away at a conference, meeting, chatting with and having a ball with a whole host of other parents who spend a large proportion of their time blogging.
I had an absolute ball.
I met new friends, hugged old friends, gave a speech (eek) and got to stay out late and partaay.

Did I miss my kids? No not really. They were away camping with their dad having a whale of a time.
But, the brilliance of my weekend was sealed when I returned home to this sight in my back garden.
They're the reason I blog. The reason I've stuck with this online malarkey all this time.
I blog so that they will one day be able to look back on the childhood they had, see what their mum thought about raising them, see how they evolved and grew and changed. See how much I love them.

At a conference where the emphasis was on improving your blog, being bigger and better, faster and sleeker I stand by what I said at my Blogger to Blogger session: I'm all about the inspiration, about honing your voice, marching to the beat of your own drum.
The Gallery is about inspiration. It's about finding new ways to tell a story, use old photos, take new ones, look at them in different ways.
It's about writing for you.

This weekend I had a ball and discovered that I love my blog just the way it is.

This post is for Week 64 of The Gallery: My Weekend

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too (try to ignore the 'copyright' warning just this once!)

Now go forth and show some big blog love. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
I can't wait to see what you come up with.

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My Cybermummy 2011. In pictures

Ah yes Cybermummy. Number 2.
I travelled in style to our London venue with a questionable group of parenting bloggers on an excellent Hyundai car share adventure.

I met celebrities . . .

Gave out lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of Lego Minifigures from my very generous sponsors Lego . . .

Went to interesting parties . . .

Got to hang out with old friends and new ones . . .

And took lots and lots and lots and lots of photographs. Here are just a few - see who you can recognise.

I had such a blast. I got to give a talk about my love of photographs and how I set up The Gallery, I got to put faces to the names of so so many people I have talked to and 'known' for many years and just a few weeks and I got to make a lot of people very buzzy (yes, yes it's a word) by organising a Blogger Calendar together with my good friend Jay. Details will follow when we manage to pick ourselves off the floor and start editing them.

Until next year everyone . . .

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Win a Lego Queen Anne's Revenge

How do you fancy winning Captain Jack Sparrow? Albeit in Lego form?

As you read this I will be kicking up my heels at Cybermummy. But I asked my fabulous sponsors Lego if they could give me something a bit special to offer my readers while I'm there.
Something irresistible. Something with wow factor.
And this is what they offered. Do I get a WOWZERS!

It's like the Lego payload. The top of the tree. The shitzbah.
Want it? Hell I want it, so can you imagine the restraint I've had to show to actually give it away? And by I want it, I obviously mean my 8-year-old son wants it . . .  ahem.

This is Queen Anne’s Revenge (4195)
It features Blackbeard secretly looking on as Captain Jack and the motley crew attempt mutiny against Angelica and the zombies.
She has detachable captain's quarters and the minifigures include Angelica, Captain Jack, Blackbeard and Quartermaster.
It retails at £102.99, except if you're a visitor to this blog and then you can win it for FREE. Or for a fraction of your time anyhoo.

THIS COMPETITION IS CLOSED

How to enter
All you have to do is tell me this:
What's your favourite film. Ever (and yes I know it's an almost impossible question!)

There is no right or wrong answer; it's strictly names out of a hat. I will be getting the 8 year old to choose as an added punishment!

Good luck x

Rules n stuff.
The competition is open to residents of the UK only (sorry rest of the world).
No cash alternative offered.
To enter, leave a comment on this blog.
Make sure your contact details are available.
The winner will be drawn at random from all entries after the closing date.
The competition closes at 08:00 on Monday, July 4, 2011.
The winner will be asked to provide a full UK postal address with postcode. Please allow 14 days for delivery.
If a prizewinner does not provide a full UK postal address within a week of being contacted, the prize will be re-drawn and a new winner will be contacted.

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The Gallery: Week 64

Hello and welcome to week 64 of The Gallery.

I am going to make this week's Gallery prompt the easies one EVER. Seriously, if any of you moan that you're struggling I will have to come at you with a large pitchforky thing. It's THAT easy.

Why am I making it so easy? Because I will be at Cybermummy this weekend and so will have no time to think about photo themes or whatever but I'm bound to come back with like a trillion photos.

So I give you this week's theme: My Weekend.

See I told you it was easy.

Come back on Wednesday to add your link when The Gallery post goes up. Then visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with.

Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.

Appreciate the wonderful words and photos that are opening themselves up to you.

The link stays open until the following Tuesday, so don't worry if you don't manage to post your photo on Wednesday.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe to my RSS or email feed.

Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

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Nerf Gun Wars. A 5-step guide

The rules according to an 8 year old:

1. Plan ahead. Make sure you know where your 'dens' are. Behind mum is usually the best one because no one DARES fire at her.
2. Suit up. Don't worry about what you look like, if you're going to win you need to take it seriously. So wear your dressing gown: vast, valuable pockets to squirrel copious amounts of ammo in.
   Sure you look at bit of a chump racing around the house in your jeans and your dressing gown, but if you're winning who cares?
   
   

3. Never underestimate the enemy. Sure your little sister looks like a pushover, but when she's got you pinned down in the corner of the kitchen and unleashes hell on the top of your head with a volley of bullets, well, more fool you.
   She's only 5 but she's deadly.
4. Use daft voices to put the opposition off. "Oozie 9mm" in an Arnie voice works a charm. Or try "on my mark, unleash helllllll"in a gruff, angry voice. Suddenly daddy's wasted youth spent watching violent movies pays off.
5. Finally.Never EVER give dad your new Nerf Barricade gun. With compact design, 10-dart revolving barrel, whistler bullets and WAY COOL motorised firing. You keep that baby to yourself.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   We were sent the Nerf Barricade gun (above left) by Toys R Us as part of their Toyologist programme. As you can tell, we had quite a lot of fun with it!
   Nerf Barricade MREV-10, £17.99
   ★★★★★

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The Gallery: Strange New Friend

That's the question I get asked by every single person to enter my kitchen these days when they spot this little chappie sitting on the window ledge looking out over the garden.
I think he's fabulous. A touch of Lord of the Rings, a smidge of Spiderwick Chronicles and everso slightly creepy.

He was bought for me by my mum and tonight, as I'm sat here editing the photo ready for today's Gallery, hubby is looking over my shoulder saying "what the heck have you taken a photo of that thing for?" Which makes me like it even more.

This post is for Week 63 of The Gallery: 3 Word Gallery.

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too (try to ignore the 'copyright' warning just this once!)

Now go forth and show some big blog love. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Read more...

How do you explain blogging to those who don't blog?

I will be at the UK parenting blogger conference Cybermummy this weekend.
It's kind of a big deal.
I'm being sent there courtesy of the wonderful people at Lego. Hyundai are supplying a car/Blogger Bus to get me there and I'm going to spend a weekend with some people I've grown very fond of over the time I've been writing my blog.

But how do you explain that to those who don't blog? To my mother in law who, lovely as she is, just gives me a totally blank expression when I try to spell it out for her.
Take my husband for example. He calls it 'that thing you do'. Until the day we were offered a family holiday to Portaventura or the time I got to take my son to Disneyland Paris. Then he suddenly started to take interest.

But to your average Joe, blogging remains a mystery. I'm not talking about those who use blogging as part of their job. That's kind of easy to explain. I mean the 'hobby bloggers' the ones who use this platform as a sort of therapy. They mix with other bloggers in the same or similar boat, they share stories, advice, support - it's like a therapy group only with people you don't know.
Which, when you think about it, sounds really bizarre. I mean what possible appeal could that hold?Personally I blog because I enjoy it as an outlet. It means I get to write down the funny things that happen in our family, or that my children say, or thoughts that are on my mind or great things I want to share.
The fact that people come here and hang around is a massive bonus.

But to those who don't blog, or who have never read a blog, it must seem like the strangest way to spend your time. And a lot of your time.

So I ask the question: How do you explain blogging to those who don't blog?

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An Innocent carrot cake

There is nothing innocent about this cake, let me tell you.
It lures you in with its moist richness and makes you eat five slices in a row.
FIVE SLICES!

The really lovely people at Innocent sent me their new recipe book Hungry? last week and I couldn't wait to get my floury paws on it's pages.
It's seriously gorgeous. We're big Innocent fans in this house (my 8 year old would happily live on their Orange & Mango smoothies and their orange juice) and their new book doesn't disappoint.

The emphasis is on healthy, no-fuss food for the whole family. There are even recipes for all their smoothies and thickies in the back.
So anyway, I thought I'd test them out with the carrot cake. Go straight in for the big guns.

Holy moly. Big fat nom.
(NOTE: I cut ours up into bite size squares so that everyone could have a nibble and not get that 'eaten far too much cream icing' feeling. It didn't work).

Ingredients
4 free-range eggs
200g soft brown sugar
200g golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
400ml sunflower oil
400g self-raising flour
Pinch of salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground mixed spice
400g carrots, peeled and grated
150g pine nuts

For the cream cheese icing
300g cream cheese
zest and juice of 1 lime
100g icing sugar

To decorate (optional)
Grated carrot and toasted pine nuts

Method
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/gas 4 and line a cake tin with greaseproof paper (a rectangular 20x30cm tin is about right or a 25cm round tin).
Whisk the eggs, sugars, vanilla and sunflower oil together in a big mixing bowl.
Mix the flour, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice together in a second bowl and sift into the egg mixture.
Fold the mixture together until the flour is well incorporated, then stir in the carrots and the nuts.

Pour the mixture into the lined cake tin and bake in the middle of the oven for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, make the icing.
Whisk all the ingredients together until fluffy. This icing is quite tart so if you like yours a little sweeter, just add more icing sugar.

Allow the cake to cool completely before spreading over the cream cheese icing and sprinkling with the grated carrot and nuts if wanted.

I advise you make it when you know you're having lots of visitors around otherwise you'll end up the size of a house.

You're welcome x

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The Parent Blogger 2012 Calendar. Want to be in it?

No, it's not a WI calendar.
You're not expected to be naked or hide your embarrassment behind a couple of carefully placed iced buns or a laptop

No, this is a project cooked up by myself and Jay at Mocha Beanie Mummy and Jay Mountford Photography. Something a bit exciting; a bit different; a bit daft.

We are going to be producing a calendar for 2012 using photographs taken at Cybermummy 2011.
Each month will be themed and a shot set up with folks attending Cybermummy to feature on that page. Savvy? As one Captain Jack Sparrow says . . .
And the whole thing is being sponsored by online photographic developer Snapfish who have agreed to let us have 100 of said exclusive calendars to be available later in the year.

So who wants in?
There are a limited number of spaces because obviously a photograph with 52 faces on it isn't going to be much use to anyone. And Jay will probably flip her flippy thing in a fit of diva-esque professionalism if we try to squeeze too many faces into one shot.

This is something neither of us have attempted before and we're gnashing our teeth like crazy, but what the heck. We love the idea and we're going for it.
So, the categories we're running with are:

Foodies
Crafters
Mums To Be/New Mums
Tweet Stars
Ex Pats
Dads
Writers
Entrepreneurs
New Comers
Old Timers
Photographers
The final month will be a series of candid shots taken during Cybermummy.

So if you want to be considered you need to email us at CM11calendar@gmail.com. The closing date to submit your details is Wednesday, June 22 at 9pm. Any submissions AFTER then will not be able to join in I'm afraid.
We need your name, your blog URL, twitter id and which category you fit into on the calendar.

Look forward to seeing you there. x

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The Gallery: Week 63

Hello and welcome to week 63 of The Gallery.

Here in the UK there is a radio show I listen to during the week, as I'm on my way to pick the children up from after-school club.
The DJ's name is Simon Mayo and he has a feature called '3 word Wednesday' (or whatever the day of the week is).
I love it; love hearing what those Tweeting in come up with; gems such as 'Toe operated on' or 'computer says no' or 'Wine. Chocolate. Alone'.

So, in celebration of the show, and to get your little grey cells ticking over, this week's theme is: 3 Word Gallery.

Get inventive, get silly, get pondering. I wonder how many will show up from next weekend's Cybermummy conference saying 'got too drunk' or 'lost in Wigan'?

Come back on Wednesday to add your link when The Gallery post goes up. Then visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with.

Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.

Appreciate the wonderful words and photos that are opening themselves up to you.

The link stays open until the following Tuesday, so don't worry if you don't manage to post your photo on Wednesday.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe to my RSS or email feed.

Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

Read more...

How to be the most popular person at a blogging conference

In nine days time I will be at Cybermummy, the UK conference for parenting bloggers where a whole host of strange and wonderful people will be milling around chatting, listening, gossiping and, if you're anywhere near me, cackling.
It's a weekend not to be missed.

I will also be speaking at said conference about The Gallery and trying to ignore the hecklers at the back of the room - GLARES at Liz, Laura, Erica and Becky.
But more importantly than that, much more importantly than that, I will be bringing with me a huge box of Lego Mini figures courtesy of my lovely sponsors.

I have about 400 of the little blighters to give out! Well, less four that I had to placate the children with . . .
So, to all those people attending Cybermummy next weekend; If you want one, come and find me BUT NOT AT THE EVENT ITSELF.
It will be a bit like find Wally, except I'm not a wally . . . *ahem*
Hunt me down, come over, tap me on the shoulder, introduce yourself, give me a hug if you're that way inclined and you get a Lego Mini figure in return.
I repeat: I will NOT be giving these out at the conference itself. I won't even be bringing them to the venue with me. You got to find be other ways . . .

That's it.
Look forward to seeing you all there

T x

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The Gallery: Dads

Photographs like this give me goosebumps.
That father/son moment.
I don't know why I find it so poignant. Maybe it's because I know that at the age of 7/8 my son is on the cusp of becoming a young man. He's leaving behind childish ways and looking to his dad for guidance and, well, a steer on how to be a man.

Five minutes after this was taken on our holiday last year in the Loire Valley, France, this particular dad was teaching his son how to skim stones on the river.
Such simple pleasures but such meaningful times.

NOTE: I have been asked to give a talk about The Gallery at this year's Cybermummy conference at the end of this month!
Wibble.

I'm not one for public speaking AT ALL. I'm even less of one for blowing my own trumpet.
But at the heart of it is your photographs, your words, your involvement.

So if you have any particular favourites which stand out for you  (not your own), I would be delighted if you could share them with me in the comments below.
And for those who are going, I'll see you at the Blogger-to-Blogger Inspiration session at about 2.20pm where I will be speaking alongside Maggie at Red Ted Art, Rachel from Tales from the Village and Claire and Lucy from Crumbs.

This post is for Week 61 of The Gallery: Dads.

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too (try to ignore the 'copyright' warning just this once!)

Now go forth and show some big blog love. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Read more...

A peek into my shopping basket

One of my most favourite ever things to do at the supermarket (because I big puffy heart supermarket shopping) is to have a sneeky peek into other people's basket/trolley to see what they're buying.
Don't tell me you haven't done this too because I totally don't believe you.

So here you go. The contents of my trolley as I'm about to pay.
Yes yes, the beer was mine. And the egg custards *ahem*

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The Gallery: Week 62

Hello and welcome to week 62 of The Gallery.

After a lovely break from The Gallery last week, during which I kicked back and wiggled my toes and basked in the (sometimes) sunshine, we're back with a rather predictable theme.

However, before I reveal it, I should tell you that I wasn't entirely absent from your photographs during that week. I was having a root through all your former Gallery entries. Enjoying the amazing body of work we now have behind us. It really is quite magnificent.
And the reason I was rooting through all your old posts was because I have been asked to give a talk about The Gallery at this year's Cybermummy conference at the end of this month!
Wibble.

I'm not one for public speaking AT ALL. I'm even less of one for blowing my own trumpet.
But then I thought, actually, it's not my trumpet I will be blowing at all. It will be yours. Sure I can tell you how I launched The Gallery, why I did it, how I've kept it running for so long.
But at the heart of it is your photographs, your words, your involvement.

And so if you have any particular favourites which stand out for you  (not your own), I would be delighted if you could share them with me in the comments below.
And for those who are going, I'll see you at the Blogger-to-Blogger Inspiration session at about 2.20pm where I will be speaking alongside Maggie at Red Ted Art, Rachel from Tales from the Village and Claire and Lucy from Crumbs.
And if you want some tips and hints on how to improve your photography, you should pop along to my lovely friend Jay's photography workshop at around 12.15pm.

So, back to this week's theme.
As next weekend is about the men here in the UK, it's pretty obvious that the theme should be: Dads.
You're children's dad, your dad, father in laws, grandpas . . . . Let's give a big Gallery love in to the men.

Come back on Wednesday to add your link when The Gallery post goes up. Then visit as many of the other entries as you can to see what they've come up with.

Say hi, discover new people, welcome them in when they discover you.

Appreciate the wonderful words and photos that are opening themselves up to you.

The link stays open until the following Tuesday, so don't worry if you don't manage to post your photo on Wednesday.

NEW HERE? NOT SURE HOW TO ENTER?
If you're new here and want to find out what The Gallery is all about and how to enter visit here.
And if you want to make sure you don't miss any prompts or entries in future, make sure you subscribe to my RSS or email feed.

Go on, clicky click away, you know you want to ...

Read more...

When he's famous this photo could be worth a FORTUNE

I have visions of him wearing that white England jersey, winning some trophy or other for his country and then when he's interviewed in the glow of his glory, saying: "I owe it all to my mum who took me to my local park and practised with me even when she knew she looked a complete eejit. Thanks mum".

Awwww, a mum can dream eh?

If you're here looking for The Gallery I'm having a week off and putting my feet up.
See you on Friday x

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Wringing every last drop of joy out of school

Ok so I'm exaggerating. But the latest 'rules' to be enforced by my children's primary school seem to support that fact.

You remember all the cool things about school? Swapping your Panini footy cards at break time (got it, got it, want it, got it, want it, want it, got it), cartwheels on the school field, playing football with your mates with a pair of jumpers for goalposts as your mums nattered away in the playground at home time? Wham bars from the tuck shop.

Well, none of that is allowed any more.
Banned.
Health and safety.
Clearly there was nothing healthy or safe about school when I was there. Us kids who used to whack each other with hockey sticks. Do handstands up the gym wall. Play British Bulldog en masse in the playground like some huge heaving mass of bodies.
Oh, but hang on, I'm OK aren't I?

It feels a bit like school has become so sterilised and so careful as not to offend anyone, they're starting to offend everyone.
Especially me.

A couple of years ago, girls were informed that they had to wear cycling shorts under their skirts if they wanted to do handstands.
Swapping any kind of collectable cards is banned because it causes arguments.
A mini chocolate roll in your lunchbox can earn you a terse letter from the head.
And now the boys have been told they can no longer kick a ball around in the playground after school while their parents stand and chat. Despite the fact that they've been doing it without incident for the past three years. And those are only the years I know of. I'm sure this heinous practice was going on before we arrived at the school gate.

I know that schools need to be safe places for our children to be and that the staff need to minimise accidents and incidents and upset etc.
But honestly. How are they ever to learn what the big bad world is like once they're outside this protective environment?

Maybe I'm being unreasonable? Maybe learning about fair play or the art of negotiating or respecting others isn't something I should expect my children's school to be instilling in them?
Or is it?

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Who says I only ever post cute pictures of my kids?

I said: "Mia, can you give me your nicest smile?" as I pointed my camera a her, lay full-stretch on a picnic bench at our local park.
Clearly what SHE heard was: "Mia, can you frighten all the ducks and make the passers do a double take?"

For anyone visiting today looking for a Gallery prompt, I'm taking the week off.
I'm ruddy exhausted after half term and will be lying down in a darkened room all weekend.

Send cuddles and cups of tea x

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The Gallery: I'm Grateful For

We have a good life.
Sure we have had some crashing lows and some soaring highs, we've struggled, we've survived, we've wanted, we've received, we've cried, we've laughed, we've thought the whole world was against us.
But I looked upon my little family during a walk yesterday afternoon in the sunshine. I looked upon them as they sat and chatted and picked daisies and lay with the sun on their faces. And realised how very very lucky I am.
They are healthy, they are happy and they are loved.
And in light of the journey my lovely friend Chris is making to see the children of Mozambique this week, I am eternally grateful for that.

This post is for Week 60 of The Gallery: I'm Grateful For and is in recognition of the lovely Chris who set off on a journey with Save the Children on Monday.
You can follow her progress on her blog Thinly Spread.
So what are you grateful for?

If you're new and want to know what The Gallery is, go and read here, and then come right back and join in!
You can also pick up The Gallery code if you want too (try to ignore the 'copyright' warning just this once!)

Now go forth and show some big blog love. This virtual gallery of photographs is about enjoying each other's work, so go make someone's day.
I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Read more...