Typecast

Block Pinterest from your blog or website

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:21:00 +0000

If you are worried about your own images in your blog posts being used on Pinterest (see an extract from the Pinterest Terms & Conditions at the end of this post) through the use of the Pin It bookmarking tool then you can insert a small line of HTML into the <head> section of your blog/website template to revoke access to Pinterest.

This 2-step mini-tutorial works on Blogger and Wordpress.org

(at the time of writing you cannot alter the <head> section of Wordress.com)

Information source: BBC News

The line of code you need to insert is

<meta name="pinterest" content="nopin" />

It needs to be inserted just below the opening <head> section of your template

STEP 1

Navigate to your blog/website template

STEP 2

Find the opening <head> tag.

Place your cursor after the closing bracket and hit 'Enter' to create a new line.

Insert the meta name code from above

SAVE TEMPLATE

As you can see here, I have clicked on the "Pin It" button in my browser and the pop-up alert automatically appears. It says "This site doesn't allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any questions. Thanks for visiting!"

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Official Terms and Conditions from Pinterest with royalty-free licence information underlined.

Member Content

We may, in our sole discretion, permit Members to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit Member Content. By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services. Cold Brew Labs does not claim any ownership rights in any such Member Content and nothing in these Terms will be deemed to restrict any rights that you may have to use and exploit any such Member Content.

Edit: As has been pointed out in the comments, the direct URL of your image can be used and "pinned". There will always be hacks and backdoors if someone wants to copy your content.

#dosomethingyummy - Link Up - Week 4

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the #dosomethingyummy Writing Prompt Link Up for Week 4 - the final week of our CLIC Sargent Do Something Yummy awareness campaign.

Your writing prompt for Week 4 was "Survival" and you had a choice of three types of post:

Personal post. Tell us your story of survival. What did you overcome?
Yummy post. Do you know someone who has had cancer and survived?
Creative writing. Get your kids involved again - give them the prompt word "Survivor" and ask them to draw a picture or write a story and post up the results.

I also asked if you could tag someone this week (you may have to also remind them to post their link here in the widget) because I wanted a super-response for the final week. Let's see if we can hit 50 link-ups! And, you're going to hear it here first... yes, I'm going to miss posting these prompts and linkys each week - it's been an enormous responsibility but also a fantastic experience and something that I'm proud to have been a part of, for many reasons. I will be hosting a round-up post in a week or so with lots of geeky stats and enormous thank-you's so don't forget to look out for that.

I have written my post for this week using a mixture of prompt 1 and prompt 2 and you can read it by scrolling past the link widget. If you have written a #dosomethingyummy post please link up below but don't worry if you haven't joined in yet - the linky will be staying open for the whole of February and March. If you are here to read the entries it would be great if you could share this post, or any of the ones linked up, on your social networks.

Survival

I think it’s obvious that I’ve got to come full circle and write about Rachel’s battle with cancer and, ultimately, our survival as a family. Every time someone asks me how I coped with the news that our 14-month old baby had cancer I have to say “I didn’t cope – I existed.”

But do you know what half of the problem is? I truly don’t remember a lot of it. I feel I should, but I went into mental shut-down shortly after our wedding (ten days after Rachel's initial diagnosis) and concentrated on getting through one day and onto the next. You have no idea of time as each day merges into another and all your efforts are concentrated on medical schpeel, machine bleeps, the colour of puke, how many vitamins the dietician can cram unseen into favourite foods and making sure you have an endless supply of mouthwash and swabs to ensure that no infection enters the body in the obvious places. You become used to the judgmental stares from people when you take your sharps bucket to the chemist for disposal. Flushing Hickman lines and changing dressings becomes second nature.

You learn to brush off comments from “caring relatives” such as, “I shall pray for her. God has sent this as a test" and you don’t respond with “OH FOR FUCKS SAKE, WHAT 'GOD' WOULD ‘TEST’ A 14 MONTH OLD BABY?” And when your beautiful daughter has been given the much wished for all-clear after six months of destructive chemotherapy has been pumped endlessly round her tiny body you learn not to respond to , “Aaahh, the power of prayer,” unless it is in a blog post 20 years later…

You have more children and your paediatric team ask if you want those children tested for cancer; mainly because the type of cancer was rare there are hardly any statistics about it and, because there are hardly any statistics, it is unknown if it is hereditary, gene-based or just a “fluke”. You refuse partly because you are sick of the inside of hospitals, partly because you don't want to put any more of your children through possibly unnecessary medical procedures and partly because you don't want to know the results. You have no idea what damage the chemotherapy has done to your child’s body but you don’t really care because they are a survivor and you’re just so grateful to have them with you.

But at some point in the future (or now, my past), you sit back and think: Holy SHIT… did that really happen? You look around and try to work out why or how this awful disease chose your family even though everything now seems OK on the surface. You wonder how to continue parenting and whether you are too harsh and protective because you don’t want to risk losing your baby again or whether you are too lax with boundaries because you don’t want to risk losing your baby again…

And it falls apart, and you pick up the pieces again. You patch it together the best you can and you continue muddling along because there is no plan and no script and you have to forge your own way through this parenting lark. It doesn’t matter what has happened in the past or what will happen in the future because you still have to carry on and take each day as it comes.

And then you realise that the child who you thought wouldn’t make it to her second birthday is approaching her 21^st birthday, has two beautiful children of her own and that we all survived.

A Handbag...

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:42:00 +0000

This really is my handbag... I love it!

I was stood in the queue at the post office yesterday afternoon, juggling the post for work, some packages for eBay and a couple of bills that needed paying (if I don’t keep them in my hand, I’ll forget about them…); there were a mixture of men and women in the queue.

One thing that was noticeable was that all the women were carrying handbags of varying sizes. Purses were dragged out at opportune moments, tissues were found to wipe accompanying toddler's noses, keys were thrown in to free up a hand… but the men – not a bag in sight. One grappled with loose change to pay for the price of a parcel, another pulled a bulging wallet out of his back pocket.

Where do they keep all their ‘stuff’? Or do they simply not have the need to carry all sorts of crap around with them? And if not, why not?

I've done a “What’s In My Handbag” type post twice now (Part 1 and Part 2) and have tried to streamline the contents of my bag on a number of occasions but there are always those “what if…?” moments at the back of my mind. Emergency make-up moments (ok, so the majority of men won’t have this issue), the fact that women’s trouser pockets don’t seem deep enough to keep keys in and the need to have my Filofax close to hand at all times (I know not everyone has this fixation – but maybe an address book or diary?). Are men looking at our handbags wishing they had something similar? Having said that though, I have recently noticed a number of men carrying messenger style bags slung across their body in a very masculine way (adopts Lady Bracknall-type voice: “A Man Bag?”)

My husband wants to know why I have a fixation with handbags and shoes. Do you want to know the secret? It’s because they are the only thing guaranteed to fit. But I want him to tell me what happened to men carrying a proper cotton handkerchief too?

This post contains a featured link.

For more information please see my disclosure policy

#dosomethingyummy Writing Prompts - Week 4

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

During February I will be posting a series of writing prompts so welcome to the fourth (and last) in the series. I would love bloggers from all corners of the internet to join in, get creative, be inspired to write whilst helping to promote and raise awareness of the CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy Week - 10th to 18th March 2012.

Why am I doing this? This time it's personal and you can read all about that here. You can also download the official press release and images to use in your posts from that link. I want you to get inspired to do something - anything - to help support the CLIC Sargent charity.

How can you get involved? Easy!! Each Monday for the whole of February I shall be posting a series of writing prompts based around a general theme. You choose one, write a blog post about it and come back here on Thursday of the same week and share a link to your blog post. This means that we can all read what you've written and you can see what everyone else has written. The linkys will stay open for the whole of February and March so you can add your links at any time. I would also love it if you could share any of the posts on your social network platforms such as Twitter and Facebook or tag another blogger and get them involved. If you're not a blogger but a regular reader then it would be great if you could share any of the posts on Facebook, Twitter, networking forums, by email to friends... anything.

Week 4

Survival

(pick any of the prompts)

Personal post. Tell us your story of survival. What did you overcome?
Yummy post. Do you know someone who has had cancer and survived?
Creative post. Get your kids involved again - give them the prompt word "Survivor" and ask them to draw a picture or write a story and post up the results.

This is the final week so I hope we get more bloggers than ever involved. Can we do the "tag" thing again? Pester someone to join in so that we can spread the word further, just for this final week. I would love to hit 50 link-ups this week so help me out with that final push. In your post please remember to include a link to the CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy website (http://www.yummymummy.org.uk/) and return on Thursday, for the last time, to link up.

>> LINK UP HERE <<
(to be linked on Thursday)

Additional Information

You can add a twibbon to your Twitter avatar

You can join the Facebook page

You can use the #dosomethingyummy hashtag on Twitter

The "Head Mums" supporting this campaign are:

Me *waves* - @nickie72 - Typecast

Mirka - @kahanka - All Baby Advice

Claire - @The LazyGirlBlog - Lazy Girl Blog

Susanne - @ghostwritermumm - Ghostwriter Mummy

#FridayTwiz - Questions & Answers - 17.02.12

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:08:00 +0000

The #FridayTwiz is a pub quiz on Twitter. You can find out more information in the Friday Twiz tab at the top of this page. To keep up to date with all the #FridayTwiz announcements please follow @FridayTwiz on Twitter or 'like' the Facebook page.

Theme: Movie Soundtracks

#fridaytwiz Q1: Picture of You
#fridaytwiz Q2: Beautiful Stranger
#fridaytwiz Q3: The Shoop Shoop Song
#fridaytwiz Q4: Independent Woman Pt1
#fridaytwiz Q5: Gangstas Paradise
#fridaytwiz Q6: (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
#fridaytwiz Q7: A Groovy Kind Of Love
#fridaytwiz Q8: Love Is All Around
#fridaytwiz Q9: Can't Fight The Moonlight
#fridaytwiz Q10: When The Going Gets Tough
#fridaytwiz Q11: It Must Have Been Love
#fridaytwiz Q12: Stayin' Alive
#fridaytwiz Q13: Kokomo
#fridaytwiz Q14: Lose Yourself
#fridaytwiz Q15: You've Got A Friend In Me

ANSWERS:

To read the answers place your cursor here...
#fridaytwiz Q1 Answer: Boyzone / Mr Bean
#fridaytwiz Q2 Answer: Madonna / Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me
#fridaytwiz Q3 Answer: Cher / Mermaids
#fridaytwiz Q4 Answer: Destiny's Child / Charlie's Angels
#fridaytwiz Q5 Answer: Coolio / Dangerous Minds
#fridaytwiz Q6 Answer: Bryan Adams / Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
#fridaytwiz Q7 Answer: Phil Collins / Buster
#fridaytwiz Q8 Answer: Wet Wet Wet / Four Weddings and a Funeral
#fridaytwiz Q9 Answer: Leane Rimes / Coyote Ugly
#fridaytwiz Q10 Answer: Billy Ocean / Jewel of the Nile
#fridaytwiz Q11 Answer: Roxette / Pretty Woman
#fridaytwiz Q12 Answer: Bee Gees / Saturday Night Fever
#fridaytwiz Q13 Answer: Beach Boys / Cocktail
#fridaytwiz Q14 Answer: Eminem / 8 Mile
#fridaytwiz Q15 Answer: Randy Newman / Toy Story
...and drag to here.

Blognonymous : Why Do Women Take Them Back?

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

This post was submitted to me within the ethos of Blognonymous. A fellow blogger asked if she could post this here as it didn't feel right on her own blog. I respect her decision and realise that it could be a difficult read for some people.

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 the right for more details.

- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = -

I will start by saying I know not all victims of domestic violence are women, buy the majority are and it is my experience as a women and of my peers I am writing about.

Every time I hear the name Chris Brown it reminds me of my 'story' as the only thing I can ever associate with him is him doing this to Rihanna. In recent months there has been the celebrity gossip sites talking about the pair of them getting back together and the majority of people wondering how she could do that.

What people don’t realize that for women in a relationship with a person who abuses them verbally, emotionally, sexually or physically is that bit is only part of the relationship. It isn’t ALL of it.

It can for some be a really small part that happens on a Saturday night after too many beers, or when things aren’t quite going well at work, when you are pregnant, or when you just said the wrong thing. But the rest of the time things are good, you work hard to have a normal life and to be just like any other couple. So when things happen you can compartmentalize them into that section of your relationship, just the same as another person who get annoyed at their partner who doesn’t take the rubbish out. It isn’t a deal breaker.

But then one thing will happen and it becomes a deal breaker, something gets broken, a face, a lamp, things go further than before, a child becomes involved. Whatever the thing is, that is enough and the button is pushed and you leave.

But for many that isn’t it, and this is the bit that society struggles to understand. How can you go back, forgive and allow them to do it again.

If you have chosen to be in a relationship with someone, and fallen in love with them then you tend to fall for the whole person, warts and all. If they are an abuser it is often as I said that is just part of the relationship and although you hate that part with every bone in your body that is not the person you fell in love with and want to be with. And the person you get back with is the person you fell in love with, not the abuser.

Without even getting into the deeper example of how clever these abusers can be and as it was explained to me ‘it’s like they have a rule book they all follow’ that some scheme and plan their way back. Some of course are genuinely sorry, and they are often sorry the next time, and the time after that.

I am not going to deny that there are people who snap and hit/abuse once and never again. They recognize the issues and are sorry and get help. But that is minority, the majority get worse as they are able to as we the victims stay and accept their behavior. We stay as we hope it will be the last time, we stay as intelligent women believing that small fault in their personality will fizzle out, we stay until the button flicks for the final time and it really is enough and then we leave.

But that is not the end of it, years later we still question it all, we find old emails from when we fell in love and all the good comes back to us and the bad is forgotten and we think for a bit, it wasn’t that bad, I was being dramatic, it wasn’t domestic abuse, he was just cross.

When I tell my story people have never failed to see that I was a victim, and that I was brave to leave. 3 years on most of the time I still feel stupid for being there at all and not leaving the first time. But mix that up with knowing why I stayed and it is just a mess in my head.

#dosomethingyummy - Link Up - Week 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the #dosomethingyummy Writing Prompt Link Up for Week 3 of our CLIC Sargent Do Something Yummy awareness campaign.

Your writing prompt for Week 3 was "Getting Together" and you had a choice of three types of post:

Personal post. When was the last time you got together with a group of friends?
Yummy post. Tell us why getting together with other parents is important.
Creative writing. Tell us how you are surviving the half term holidays. You also had a vlog prompt to get the kids involved with maybe an interview or something.

How did you do this week? Did you tag someone? Don't forget to remind them to link up here if they have written something. I have cheated a little bit because my "Getting Together" post is family related rather than friend related but it's relevant to last week's post. You can read it by scrolling past the link widget. If you have written a #dosomethingyummy post please link up below but don't worry if you haven't joined in yet - the linky will be staying open for the whole of February and March. If you are here to read the entries it would be great if you could share this post, or any of the ones linked up, on your social networks.

Click here to add a new link
(linky will not display after one week but is still open)

Making Amends

After my post last week, I had to dig deep into my emotions to try and make a family meet-up something that was going to be a success. My relationship with my family is a difficult one at the moment and whilst we love each other, we never seem to be on the same page. It's like when people sing 'rounds' of London's Burning... we're all starting and finishing at different times.

My sister phoned to say that she was over at Dad's this week and could they come over to see us. Yeah - drop everything Nickie and we'll come over and pretend to be a family for a few hours. Without going into great detail, my sister ignored all phone calls and emails from me last year and still hasn't explained why. Rejection, much? Gawd, I sound bitter, don't I?

So, these sort of family meet-ups are always a little strained, to say the least, but seeing all the children together takes the edge of it. Again, it's a long story and we're all really good a putting a front on but pictures like this make it all worthwhile. Plus Dad offered to shout fish and chips for all - that was twelve of us when I counted up! I can't even begin to tell you the blend of relatives here - siblings, cousins and second cousins... or first cousins, once removed ... maybe... I checked with Twitter and got them all confused!

CybHer Meet and Greet

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:45:00 +0000

*sigh* I'm being MADE to tell you who I am. Like you don't know already!! Honestly... what do you think I've been doing here, on Twitter and on Facebook for the past three years?

Sooooo, I'm speaking at CybHer in May 2012. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be talking about but I'm turning up, with or without instructions from Sian and if no-one listens to me I shall stand on a chair in the main room and shout until people either start taking notice or I am carried out kicking and screaming. Much like at the end of a good night out, really...

Anyway....

Name: Nickie O'Hara

Blog: Typecast - www.iamtypecast.com

Twitter ID: @nickie72 (main), @FridayTwiz (quizzy-type thing on a Friday night - it's all in the name really), @iamtypecast (blog feed and jail break account), @Blognonymous (an anonymous blogging collaboration)

Height: 5' 6" - I am undertall for my weight

Hair: Short, unkempt, style-less, usually needs a trim

Five things you should know about me...

I became a Nana at the age of 36.
Both my eldest children finished school with better grades than me but I have never told them.
I have a criminal record.
I am an 80s chick through and through. Total cheeze!
I turn 40 nine days before CybHer. PAR-TAY!!!

Jar Of Hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

We don't do Valentine's mush here at Typecast Towers - and long term readers may remember that I posted about that last year. This year isn't going to be much different but I have been sent a 'Rom Com' package from Warner Bros which includes the following DVD's:

Midnight in Paris (the new DVD release)
Valentines Day
Casablanca (70th anniversary edition)
Crazy, Stupid Love
Going the Distance
The Bodyguard
Lake House

plus a great big bag of Maltesers (yum!), a dinky heart-shaped mirror (handy!) and a cute little bag (great for the summer). So that's me sorted out for this evening and the rest of my week off work.

Also inside the box was gazillions of tiny metallic hearts which had spilled out into the packaging. Yoshi (the puppy) and myself were covered in them and Yoshi managed to eat a couple... might make cleaning up after him a little bit more interesting. Anyway - I wasn't sure what to do with them all until I came up with this idea...

#dosomethingyummy Writing Prompts - Week 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

During February I will be posting a series of writing prompts so welcome to the third in the series. I would love bloggers from all corners of the internet to join in, get creative, be inspired to write whilst helping to promote and raise awareness of the CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy Week - 10th to 18th March 2012.

Week 3

Getting Together

(pick any of the prompts)

Personal post. When was the last time you got together with a group of friends? Tell us about it.
Yummy post. Yummy Mummy week is all about getting together with other parents to raise money for CLIC Sargent. Tell us why getting together with other parents is important to you.
Creative post. Tell us how you are surviving the half term holidays! Or for the vloggers out there, get the kids involved. Interview them using these questions.

I hope that's inspiring enough for you? I would really love it this week if you could "tag" someone in your post so that we can spread the word further - even if it's just for one week. We've had over 30 link-ups for the past two weeks so let's see if we can hit 40 or even 50 this week. Just remember to include a link to the CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy website (http://www.yummymummy.org.uk/) in your post and return on Thursday to link up.

>> LINK UP HERE <<

Additional Information

You can add a twibbon to your Twitter avatar

You can join the Facebook page

You can use the #dosomethingyummy hashtag on Twitter

The "Head Mums" supporting this campaign are:

Me *waves* - @nickie72 - Typecast

Mirka - @kahanka - All Baby Advice

Claire - @The LazyGirlBlog - Lazy Girl Blog

Susanne - @ghostwritermumm - Ghostwriter Mummy

Review & Giveaway : Love Cases

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 15:27:00 +0000

Since bragging about receiving my new camera and Kindle at Christmas I've had to be extra careful with them because I've been scared of scratching them. Enter, stage right, Love Cases and their super-affordable cases for almost every single digital accessory you own. Have a read of what I thought and then I've got a bit of a giveaway at the end.

I've been reviewing three of their cases recently - a Nikon Coolpix L120 case (which I mentioned not so long ago when I posted about experimenting with the facilities on my camera), a memory card case and - joy of joys - a Kindle accessory pack.

First of all, the camera cases are a lot cheaper than I thought they would be. My Nikon Coolpix case has a RRP of £24.99 (but at the time of writing was on offer at almost half price) and is everything you'd expect from a well known brand like Samsonite. There are internal pockets for memory cards and an external pocket for spare batteries. The camera is a snug fit but means that it isn't rattling around inside the case and the padding ensures that any slight knocks or bumps will protect the camera properly.

Currently I'm extremely guilty of not processing all the pictures I take. I have countless albums of family photographs from years gone by but since the birth of digital photography I tend to store them on my computer, my external hard drive, upload a chosen few to our digital photo frame but a lot tend to stay on the memory card until I decide what I want to do with them. Also, I take a few memory cards on holiday so that I can get click-happy and sort out the best when I get home. This little memory card case by Hama is really handy with space for eight SD cards and four micro SD cards and has a great snap-lock magnetic clasp. It's only 14cm by 8cm so easily fits into a bag or a pocket. This dinky case currently retails at £10.99

And finally... the piece de resistance (for me anyway) are the Kindle accessories I was asked to have a look at. I was going to review a black accessories gift pack but when I was told there was a PURPLE one I could have I almost died with pleasure! Purple!! *silent scream* The Purple Kindle gift pack that I received includes a book style cover, a gelskin, a screen protector, Kindle light and a kindle charger and currently retails at £24.99. So now I don't have to worry about putting my Kindle in my bag and I've got a dinky little light for 'emergency reading'.

This full accessory kit also comes in black but, meh... I GOT ME A PURPLE ONE!!!

= // = // = // = // =

So, about that giveaway....

The fantastic people at Love Cases have given me three prizes to give away but, instead of me deciding what to offer, if you win you can spend up to a certain amount on any of their websites.

1 x first prize of a £25 voucher

(enough for a full Kindle accessory kit, a camera case or a leather iPhone pouch, for example)

2 x second prize of £15 voucher

(enough for a Kindle cover, a camera case, a memory card case or a hard drive case, for example)

Follow the instructions in the widget below to enter the competition

If reading via email or RSS subscription please click through to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#FridayTwiz - Question & Answers - 10.02.12

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:15:00 +0000

Theme: The Muppets

#fridaytwiz Q1: In which country was The Muppet Show first shown?
#fridaytwiz Q2: How many Muppet films have there been?
#fridaytwiz Q3: What is Miss Piggy's full name?
#fridaytwiz Q4: What is Kermit's nephew called?
#fridaytwiz Q5: What is the name of the Muppet Rock Band
#fridaytwiz Q6: Who created The Muppets?
#fridaytwiz Q7: What were the names of the grumpy old men in the box at the theatre?
#fridaytwiz Q8: What was Fozzie Bear's role in the theatre?
#fridaytwiz Q9: What was the occasional science fiction serial parody called?
#fridaytwiz Q10: How many guest stars have appeared more than once on the show?
#fridaytwiz Q11: In which letter does Kermit appear in the title card at the beginning of each show?
#fridaytwiz Q12: Who plays the piano in The Muppet Show and Dr Bob in Veterinarians Hospital?
#fridaytwiz Q13: Name two members of the band, Dr Teeth & The Electric Mayhem
#fridaytwiz Q14: Who ran the Muppet Labs?
#fridaytwiz Q15: Who was Gonzo's true love?

ANSWERS:

To read the answers place your cursor here...
#fridaytwiz Q1 Answer: UK
#fridaytwiz Q2 Answer: 7
#fridaytwiz Q3 Answer: Miss Piggy Lee
#fridaytwiz Q4 Answer: Robin
#fridaytwiz Q5 Answer: Dr Teeth & The Electric Mayhem
#fridaytwiz Q6 Answer: Jim Henson
#fridaytwiz Q7 Answer: Statler & Waldorf
#fridaytwiz Q8 Answer: Stand-Up Comedian
#fridaytwiz Q9 Answer: Pigs in Space
#fridaytwiz Q10 Answer: None
#fridaytwiz Q11 Answer: The 'O' in 'SHOW'
#fridaytwiz Q12 Answer: Rowlf the Dog
#fridaytwiz Q13 Answer: Dr Teeth, Animal, Sgt Floyd Pepper, Janice, Zoot, Lips
#fridaytwiz Q14 Answer: Dr Bunsen Honeydew
#fridaytwiz Q15 Answer: Camilla the Chicken
...and drag to here.

#dosomethingyummy - Link Up - Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the #dosomethingyummy Writing Prompt Link Up for Week 2 of our CLIC Sargent Do Something Yummy awareness campaign.

Your writing prompt for Week 2 was "What Family Means To You" and you had a choice of three types of post:

Personal post. What kind of family did you grow up in? Why is family important to you?
Yummy post. What happens to a family when a child is diagnosed with cancer? How do siblings and parents cope?
Creative writing. Write about a perfect family moment

So, what did you write? I chose the personal prompt and again you can read it by scrolling past the link widget. If you have written a #dosomethingyummy post please link up below but don't worry if you haven't joined in yet - the linky will be staying open for the whole of February and March. If you are here to read the entries it would be great if you could share this post, or any of the ones linked up, on your social networks.

Click here to add a new link

(linky will not display after one week but is still open)

Rose-Tinted Glasses

It is up to us, as parents, to protect our children. But I have gone through the latter part of my adult life questioning a lot of my childhood simply because the truth was outed and people who shaped my life appeared to go against the values that they had taught me.

We all know that when a couple separate or divorce everyone worries how the children are going to react and what provisions will be made for them. But what if those children are adults, leading their own lives with their own families? Are they supposed to understand, suck it up and cope? How do you ask questions without offending anyone or making the atmosphere any more tense?

My childhood was a fabulous one. I had two loving parents who also loved each other. We had a comfortable life, living in a beautiful part of the country, surrounded by a close family and fantastic friends. We went on countless holidays each year thanks to the joys of caravanning and, looking back, it was bliss. We weren’t without our usual family rows and upsets but they can’t have been that bad or I would have remembered them explicitly, and I don’t.

Dad worked hard, first in important manual positions in two local factories and then in a white collar position with incredible responsibilities. Some of his work took him away from home three days a week but he phoned home diligently each evening. Mum suffered from bronchiectasis all her life but tried not to let it affect normal family life and certainly didn’t let it become a burden for me and my sister.

See, all good!

I left home, as we all know, at the age of 18 in a blaze of glory and started my own family. I always felt that my parents were judgemental and that caused many arguments between us even when they were trying to help out. Hindsight (and what I see my own daughter doing with her own family) tells me that they were only trying to advise and support me. In many ways I wish I could turn the clock back.

Whilst I was pregnant with my third child at the age of 27 the news that dad was leaving mum broke just before they had the chance to celebrate 30 years of marriage. I was floored, especially when I found out why. But there was no-one that I could turn to and no-one I could question. My relationship with my parents was still fractured and in the process of being repaired and this just put more barriers up. I have never fully recovered from the news.

Mum isn’t with us any more. She died, aged 55, after deteriorating so badly that she spent the majority of her last couple of years bedridden or in hospital. I still fully believe that living on her own created this situation. Sometimes I think I would have had more respect for dad if he’d have waited with mum and then remarried after she died. Possibly he didn’t want to live with the burden of a sick wife any more. Maybe he should have left sooner. The pivotal point of me wondering if my childhood was as happy as it seemed all centres around my father leaving my mother. I was always a ‘Daddy’s Girl’ but now even that has been lost. Maybe dad thought he was doing the right thing by waiting until my sister and myself were grown up and making our own way in life but I’ve still never found the right time to ask the questions. Even in September of last year I mentioned something to him that had upset me and he managed to turn it around and make me feel very guilty for even mentioning it to him in the first place!

Of course this story doesn’t end here – it doesn’t even begin here. There’s way too much of it missing and so much that I can’t write about. But I defined my own parenting path at a very young age in some way from my parent’s example but also determined to do the complete opposite to what my parents did - and from that I created a daughter almost exactly from the same mould as me - determined to forge her own way in life, doing exactly the opposite to what her parents advise! And I have no shame in telling you that EVERYONE doomed my relationship from the start but we’re still here 22 years later. I would like to believe that our colourful life has made our relationship strong enough to survive anything.

But who knows?

Listography : Phrases That Drive Me Mad

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

to see other Listography entries
click the logo

It's Listography time again and this week it's all about those phrases that drive me mad. I've been told I absolutely have to stick to five this time and that is why I'm late posting. I had about fifteen at the first count, whittled down to eight by yesterday and this is the final cut.

So, in no particular order...

1. Anyone who uses a catchphrase from The Only Way Is Essex to describe something... like 'reem' or 'well jel'.
Just Shuuuut Uuuuup There's a reason these people are only allowed on non-terrestrial television. It's to limit their contact with intelligent human beings.

2. "Om nom nom."
Really? You can't say, "tasty" or "delicious". You're an adult talking to another adult, for fuck's sake!
(I'm going to get lynched for this one...)

3. "It must be a computer error, ma'am."
It's the bloody humans that programmed the computers, dickhead!

4. Those people who call me 'Hun' or 'Chick' on social media platforms.
I have idea where/how it started but frigging stop it! I'm a 39 year old grandparent. Come to think of it I don't even like the terms 'chick flick' (f'nar) or 'chick lit'.

5. "It was in the last place I looked".
What really fucking normal person is going to carry on looking AFTER they have found their lost item?

To see what didn't didn't make the cut put your cursor here...
~ upskill
~ upcycle
~ shaaaa-ting
~ #uksnow
~ "Can you be at an event in London in two days time for an event that is going to last 1.5 hours?"
~ "I'm not being funny/rude/personal but..."
~ "No offence, but..."
~ innit
~ "That awkward moment when [insert awkward moment that's probably made up]"
~ examples of text speak and bad spelling
...and drag to here.

Blognonymous : Dignity

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:00:00 +0000

This post was submitted to me within the ethos of Blognonymous. A situation that many of us can probably relate to but hope never happens to us on a permanent basis.

If you would like to contact the Blognonymous team please click on the image to the right for more details.

- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = -

“I have referred you to the Urinary Incontinence Team. They should be able to help you.” Never in my life did I imagine I would hear those words. When they came, so did the tears. I’m still unsure whether they are tears of shame or relief.

I have a clear recollection of my mother telling me that I would lose all my dignity in childbirth. I have a clear recollection of there being 12 people in the room as Firstborn arrived and yet, compared with that experience, I have less dignity now than I did at any point during my delivery.

Wherever the dignity went, other things have followed. I feel only shame and embarrassment. I have stopped caring what I look like- I haven’t washed my hair all week- for what is the point in that when I walk around smelling like an old lady? I wear oversized sweaters, grateful for the cold snap, to cover my shame: the enormous bulge where pads of nappy-sized proportions absorbs the accidents or, worse, the tell-tale wet patch.

I stay away from friends, avoid communication, avoid public outings. I stay at home, close to the loo, close to changes of clothes and safety and all that I know and love. And I eat to assuage the sadness, the shame, the anger.

Why is it that I should have this issue? I did everything right. I brought two children into this world, into a home filled with love, a home that can afford to give them everything. And it wasn’t easy. Even conception wasn’t easy, but pregnancy ended with me in a wheelchair and a lifetime of deep bone-ache to content with. An unstable pelvis.

I did all the exercises, kept all the appointments. I know where my pelvic floor muscles are and keep them busy, yet they just don’t seem to work properly. I sneeze- I wee. I cough- I wee. I laugh? I wee. The cough that I have had for over a month has had a significant effect on an already delicate issue and I now know more about incontinence products than I would wish on anyone.

I have no-one to talk to, because I cannot bring myself to tell anyone. It was only a chance comment at the doctors that made me realise this is not normal for a woman of 35. I could not look at my husband when I told him. At least it explained why I had been keeping my distance from him. I just hope he isn’t as permanently scarred by this experience as I have been. I hope that the Urinary Incontinence team can help.

#dosomethingyummy Writing Prompts - Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

During February I will be posting a series of writing prompts so welcome to the second in the series. I would love bloggers from all corners of the internet to join in, get creative, be inspired to write whilst helping to promote and raise awareness of the CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy Week - 10th to 18th March 2012.

How can you get involved? Easy!! Each Monday for the next four weeks I shall be posting a series of writing prompts based around a general theme. You choose one, write a blog post about it and come back here on Thursday of the same week and share a link to your blog post. This means that we can all read what you've written and you can see what everyone else has written. The links will stay open for the whole of February and March so you can add your links at any time. I would also love it if you could share any of the posts on your social network platforms such as Twitter and Facebook or tag another blogger and get them involved. If you're not a blogger but a regular reader then it would be great if you could share any of the posts on Facebook, Twitter, networking forums, by email to friends... anything.

Week 2

What Family Means To You

(pick any of the prompts)

Personal post. What kind of family did you grow up in? Why is family important to you?
Yummy post. What happens to a family when a child is diagnosed with cancer? How do siblings and parents cope?
Creative writing. Write about a perfect family moment.

And off you go. It's up to you what you do with the prompts but if last week's standard is anything go by then I'm really looking forward to seeing what you produce. All I ask is that you include a link to the CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy website (http://www.yummymummy.org.uk/) in your post and that you return on Thursday to link up.

>> LINK UP HERE <<

Additional Information

You can add a twibbon to your Twitter avatar

You can join the Facebook page

You can use the #dosomethingyummy hashtag on Twitter

The "Head Mums" supporting this campaign are:

Me *waves* - @nickie72 - Typecast

Mirka - @kahanka - All Baby Advice

Claire - @The LazyGirlBlog - Lazy Girl Blog

Susanne - @ghostwritermumm - Ghostwriter Mummy

Hello Fresh

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This is a featured post

For more information please see my disclosure policy

With Hello Fresh, Parents can cook amazing food at home in no time

Every once in a while a new idea comes along that makes people wonder why nobody thought of it before. Hello Fresh is a brand new grocery delivery service tailored to the needs of busy parents. With Hello Fresh anyone can easily prepare amazing food for their family and friends in their own home.

Hello Fresh delivers amazing recipes and all the necessary ingredients to your door every week. It is easy to sign up on the website for a weekly subscription. Simply choose how many meals you would like to receive and Hello Fresh does all the hard work for you.

The recipes are created by professional chefs who have worked in world-famous restaurants such as the Fat Duck. These chefs have taken the hassle out of weekly meal planning, ensuring your family has a healthy balanced diet. And don't worry; they are so easy to prepare that busy parents can create a Hello Fresh meal in no time. Kids love trying the exciting new meals. Take them on a journey around the world with dishes like Emperor’s Chocolate Chilli Con Carne, and Penne at Sunset. Pickier eaters can easily leave ingredients out of a recipe, or be bold and try something for the first time. Who knows, it could be a favourite!

In fact, Hello Fresh takes easy cooking to a new level. Recipes typically take only 30 minutes or less to prepare and don't require fancy kitchen equipment. The recipe cards are lovely to look at and provide a photo for each step, making sure that every meal is just perfect. So if you enjoy great food but want to save time on meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking, Hello Fresh comes to the rescue!

#FridayTwiz - Questions & Answers - 03.02.12

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Theme: Cartoon Heroes

#fridaytwiz Q1: Who did The Simpsons replace as the longest running cartoon family in 1997?
#fridaytwiz Q2: Which Disney character sang 'Some day my Prince will come'?
#fridaytwiz Q3: What is the world's most syndicated cartoon strip, appearing in
2620 newspapers?
#fridaytwiz Q4: The Thompson Twins feature in which cartoon series?
#fridaytwiz Q5: Which cartoon character has vital statistics of 19-19-19?
#fridaytwiz Q6: Who was the cartoonist whose satire appeared in Punch, Private
Eye and the Sunday Times?
#fridaytwiz Q7: Which British actor provided the voice of the evil Scar in
Disney's "The Lion King"?
#fridaytwiz Q8: Walt Disney ironically suffered from Suriphobia. Suriphobia isthe fear of what?
#fridaytwiz Q9: Which big screen cartoon character was voiced by Charles
Fleischer?
#fridaytwiz Q10: Which Cartoon animal's favourite food is Lasagne?
#fridaytwiz Q11: (theme tune) “Think of all the animals you've ever heard about”
#fridaytwiz Q12: ( theme tune) “He’s the boss, he’s a pip, he’s championship”
#fridaytwiz Q13: (theme tune) “...Number one super guy”
#fridaytwiz Q14: (theme tune) “...You're not foolin' me 'cause i can see the way u shake and shiver”
#fridaytwiz Q15: (theme tune) “He's the greatest. He's fantastic. Wherever there's danger he'll be there”

ANSWERS:
To read the answers place your cursor here...
#fridaytwiz Q1 Answer: The Flintstones
#fridaytwiz Q2 Answer: Snow White
#fridaytwiz Q3 Answer: Peanuts
#fridaytwiz Q4 Answer: Tin Tin
#fridaytwiz Q5 Answer: Olive Oyl
#fridaytwiz Q6 Answer: Gerald Scarfe
#fridaytwiz Q7 Answer: Jeremy Irons
#fridaytwiz Q8 Answer: Mice
#fridaytwiz Q9 Answer: Roger Rabbit
#fridaytwiz Q10 Answer: Garfield
#fridaytwiz Q11 Answer: The Pink Panther
#fridaytwiz Q12 Answer: Top Cat
#fridaytwiz Q13 Answer: Hong Kong Phooey
#fridaytwiz Q14 Answer: Scooby Doo
#fridaytwiz Q15 Answer: Dangermouse
...and drag to here.

#dosomethingyummy - Link Up - Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the #dosomethingyummy Writing Prompt Link Up for Week 1 of our CLIC Sargent Do Something Yummy awareness campaign.

Your writing prompt for Week 1 was "What Your Children Mean To You" and you had a choice of three types of post:

Personal post. Why did you have children? How have they changed your life?
Yummy post. Do you have any experience of childhood cancer?
Creative writing. Imagine your child can't be at home with you. You are missing them terribly. How do you feel?

So, what did you write? I chose the "Creative Writing" prompt as I thought it would be more of a challenge for me in the first week. You can read it by scrolling past the link widget below. If you have written a #dosomethingyummy post please link up below but don't worry if you haven't joined in yet - the linky will be staying open for the whole of February and March. If you are here to read the entries it would be great if you could share this post, or any of the ones linked up, on your social networks.

Click here to add a new link
(linky will not display after one week but is still open)

Missing Him.

I thought back to only a few hours ago when he was packing his bag and announcing his independence, determined to do everything his own way. He had taken clothes, books, even his teddy from when he was a baby. He didn’t want me to do anything for him because ‘he could do it all himself’.

I sat on his bed, wondering what he was thinking right now. I stood up and wandered around the unusually tidy floor space, hanging a jacket over the end of the bed and straightening a picture. I picked a book up off the floor and stood it on the book shelf, smoothed my imprint away from his bed sheets and tried to remember how it all was before he grew up and wanted more freedom.

It was too quiet in the house, even though it had been such a short time since he had left. I was on edge, waiting for him to come through the front door, needing me, demanding my attention, claiming he was ‘starving’ and throwing himself haphazardly onto the settee, remote control in hand.

I looked up and realised that the room was starting to darken as time ticked on. I shivered and pulled my cardigan around shoulders. I moved towards the window and pushed the curtain slightly to one side, peering out into the garden.

I caught the flicker of a torch from inside the tent that was pitched in the back garden. I saw the shape of my boy and my husband huddled in the middle of the canvas shell, heads almost touching. Father-and-son-time spent camping in the back garden. I wondered who would cave in first and demand to come back indoors.

The Gallery : Me Right Now

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Three weeks ago I wrote a post about feeling not quite right and how I was trying to get better. Since then I have been using two Thinking Slimmer slimpods, taking Hormone Replacement Therapy, using half a sleeping tablet at night and trying to apply a Positive Mental Attitude. The change in me has been immense - even my boss commented on it yesterday. For the first time in over a year I've felt that goals are achievable and I can see a way forward. This is exactly how I wanted the approach to my 40th birthday to be.

I took this picture yesterday - just a snapshot on my phone to prove not only that we had no snow in Lancashire but also that there were blue skies - and I realised that it represented me in a lot of ways. A break in the clouds, a bit of blue sky in the distance but, also by chance, I caught the name of the building opposite... PROGRESS House.

Now if that isn't 'a sign', I don't know what is.

Have a look at other entries to "The Gallery"

by clicking on the logo above

#dosomethingyummy Writing Prompts - Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:54:00 +0000

During February I will be posting a series of writing prompts so welcome to the first in the series. I would love bloggers from all corners of the internet to join in, get creative, be inspired to write whilst helping to promote CLIC Sargent and Yummy Mummy Week - 10th to 18th March 2012.

Why am I doing this? This time it's personal and you can read all about that here. You can also download the official press release and images to use in your posts from that link. I want you to get inspired to do something (small or massive) to help support the CLIC Sargent charity.

How can you get involved? Easy!! Each Monday for the next four weeks I shall be posting a series of writing prompts based around a general theme. You choose one, write a blog post about it and come back here on Thursday of the same week and share a link to your blog post. This means that we can all read what you've written and you can see what everyone else has written. The links will stay open for the whole of February and March so you can add your links at any time. I would also love it if you could share any of the posts on your social network platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. If you're not a blogger but a regular reader then it would be great if you could share any of the posts on Facebook, Twitter, networking forums, by email to friends... anything.

Week 1

What Your Children Mean To You

(pick any of the prompts)

Personal post. Why did you have children? How have they changed your life?
Yummy post. Do you have any experience of childhood cancer?
Creative writing. Imagine your child can't be at home with you. You are missing them terribly. How do you feel?

And there I set you free with your imagination. All I ask is that you include a link to the CLIC Sargent Yummy Mummy website (http://www.yummymummy.org.uk/) in your post and that you return on Thursday.

>> LINK UP HERE <<

Additional Information

You can add a twibbon to your Twitter avatar

You can join the Facebook page

You can use the #dosomethingyummy hashtag on Twitter

The "Head Mums" supporting this campaign are:

Me *waves* - @nickie72 - Typecast

Mirka - @kahanka - All Baby Advice

Claire - @The LazyGirlBlog - Lazy Girl Blog

Susanne - @ghostwritermumm - Ghostwriter Mummy

Gone With The Wind

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

GONE WITH THE WIND

The child darted around the corner as the lightening

struck. He started to run down a dark valley. All of a

sudden he tripped. When he got up all he saw was

a whirlwind. It started to move towards him. It lifted

him and he disappeared for good.

Jake O'Hara (aged 12)

My son's school submitted pupils' work for the Young Writers Mini Sagas competition and Jake's has been chosen to be included in their published anthology (~~which I won't be paying £15.99 for - I'll wait until it comes out on Kindle...~~). They had to write on a theme that inspired them using 50 words or less.

For Jake, it's a massive achievement. For me, it's another Proud Parent Moment especially as he struggles with concentration and spelling at the best of times.

I'll get him doing one of the 100 words challenges next. Just like this has ended up as!

Everybody's Shuffling

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:26:00 +0000

These days I'm more of a Radio 2 girl with the occasional foray in to Radio 4 (twenty years ago I never ever thought I'd see the day where I admitted that but there you go) but I do listen to the Chris Moyles breakfast show on the way into work. One day last week they played the Generic MP3 Player Shuffle Game and I thought, "That'll make a good blog post," but Seasider Clare got there first, ~~didn't even think to tag me~~ passed it on and I ended up getting tagged by Helen.

I've done something similar way back when my blog was a baby but I've changed my phone and my songs since then however the rules are similar. Switch on your boom box, hit shuffle five times and post the songs up. Here we go...

#FridayTwiz - Questions & Answers - 27.01.12

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Theme: Around the UK
Guest Twizmaster was @kateab (from The Five F's)

#fridaytwiz Q1: What is "Pooley's Folly"?
#fridaytwiz Q2: Which two historical ships, apart from HMS Victory, are docked at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard?
#fridaytwiz Q3: What is at 30 St Mary Axe?
#fridaytwiz Q4: Which church is reputed to have been involved in the invention of lead shot by William Watts in 1782?
#fridaytwiz Q5: For what was the Trinity Centre car park in Gateshead internationally famous?
#fridaytwiz Q6: What is the newest city in England?
#fridaytwiz Q7: What is different about the islands of Switch and Simister?
#fridaytwiz Q8: What is the most popular town name in Britain?
#fridaytwiz Q9: What is the highest and lowest motorway in the UK?
#fridaytwiz Q10: What world record does Ebenezer Place in Wick, Caithness hold?
#fridaytwiz Q11: Where is Britain’s smallest city?
#fridaytwiz Q12: Which football ground sits across the border of two countries?
#fridaytwiz Q13: Apart from curries, what foodstuff can you famously buy on Brick Lane in East London?
#fridaytwiz Q14: Why was The Elephant Boatyard in Hampshire an important feature of 1980s television history?
#fridaytwiz Q15: What is the significance of Brennand Farm near Dunsop Bridge in Lancashire?

ANSWERS:
To read the answers place your cursor here...
#fridaytwiz Q1 Answer: The nickname of the County Hall building in Aylesbury
#fridaytwiz Q2 Answer: HMS Warrior & HMS M33
#fridaytwiz Q3 Answer: The Gherkin
#fridaytwiz Q4 Answer: St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol
#fridaytwiz Q5 Answer: It was a location in Get Carter
#fridaytwiz Q6 Answer: Preston
#fridaytwiz Q7 Answer: They’re motorway interchanges
#fridaytwiz Q8 Answer: Newtown
#fridaytwiz Q9 Answer: M62
#fridaytwiz Q10 Answer: World’s shortest street
#fridaytwiz Q11 Answer: St David’s, Pembrokeshire
#fridaytwiz Q12 Answer: The Deva/Exacta Stadium, Chester
#fridaytwiz Q13 Answer: Bagels (or beigels)
#fridaytwiz Q14 Answer: It was the boatyard in Howard’s Way
#fridaytwiz Q15 Answer: It is the centrepoint of Great Britain & islands according to the Ordnance Survey
...and drag to here.

Bow Bow... Chicka-chickaaahhh

noreply@blogger.com (Nickie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

If this is not true then someone had better make it come true. Just sayin'...

Ferris Bueller, you're my hero!

= = = = = = = = = = =

Bonus section

It's a Superbowl advert for Honda... ggggrrrrr
Find the full mini-clip here