Leibster Blog Award

Was just sitting down this morning, contemplating another day of looking at a screen and trying to think of things to say, when I checked in on my blog and found that I had been given an award!

Am thrilled it's called a LIEBSTER AWARD and it was given to me by one of blogs I really enjoy reading There are Cuckoos in My Nest - which is a lovely, quirky, honest  blog about being a "reluctant stepmother," amongst other things.

Part of the award involves nominating 3 to 5 blogs with less than 300 followers which you enjoy reading.
If you get the Liebster award you should link back to the person who gave it to you.
It's a great way to share blogs that might not otherwise be seen or ones you want to share with others.
As a recipient you must share the love and pass it on by:
1. Creating a post where you blog about the Liebster award & reveal your 3 - 5 blog picks.
2. Let them know you chose them
3. Copy & Paste the blog award on your blog or as in my case make it into a photograph and attach it.

My Awards Go To:

My 9 year old son The City Boy

My lovely neighbour  who writes the Bush Babies Blog  - love her blogs.

I Heart Natural Beauty always has something wise to say.

And last but by no means least. Older Mums Are Fun....

Just ate some mini easter eggs and thought it maybe an idea to find some alternative Easter Gifts!

Lavender Easter Chick Small

I thought this cute chick would make a fab Easter present and the site has other cool easter gift ideas too.

RSS FEED

Help! How do I get a RSS feed? Anyone

On a Snowy hill that looked like a scene from Narnia, I crashed into a Tree!

On Christmas Eve we went tobogoning (still can't spell that word) and I crashed into a tree with a huge thud on my right thigh. I lay there for a moment, unable to get up and wondering if if was broken. I broke it once before aged 16 in a car crash. I hobbled back to my room and went to bed with a painkiller. But when it was time to get up, I couldn't walk.  It's hard to describe pain, but when I accidently knocked the top of my thigh the agony was unbearable and shards of pain went shooting through me. I began to cry and my 9 year old son who was with me, burst into tears.  I sat on a chair, unable to move forward or back. An ambulance was called and the drivers gave me gas and air which momentarily dulled the pain but not enough to get up from the chair. After two hefty doses of morphine,  they managed to carry me to the ambulance, while I tried not to throw up. The nurses were in festive mood, covered in toy antlers and coiled with glitter. Thankfully nothing broken but a huge hematoma (like internal bruising) and three weeks later, I'm still limping. It hurts at night and some nights more than others. It hurts in the day and going downstairs. In fact now both knees hurt going downstairs. The whole incident makes me feel so old. I was just trying to have fun with the children, but am too heavy and not lithe enough.

Today my lovely friend STAR gave me acupuncture and tomorrow will have a bit of physio, got to remember to be pleased that my femur isn't broken again. Last time was in hospital for three months! 

Get Santa

We were invited to the Royal Court to see the seasonal show "GET SANTA."  I took my fairly jaded 9 year old son who reads Dickens and was fresh from Dick Whittington the night before. 10 year old Holly -played perfectly by Imogen Doel, who is straight out of drama school - lives with her mother and  step father who just happens to be a  dog named Bernard. Her real Dad turns out to be a cat! Holly doesn't like Christmas and doesn't want presents, all she wants is to find her real father and she thinks that if she traps Santa he will be able to tell her where her father lives, her reasoning being that he knows where everyone lives. My son loved the teddy who turns out to be a malicious, desperate teddy with a Russian accent, who accidently comes to life, when Santa's son Bumblehole turns up at Holly's house. He claims to be Holly's father, stuck forever as a teddy after a witch cast a spell on him. There follows a strange plot twist where Teddy realizes that if they trap the real Santa they could use strands of his magic beard to keep him alive for ever. What teddy doesn't realize is that the spell will only last one day, Christmas Day, and so we see Christmas Day turning up again and again, the adults becoming more and more weary, "I suppose we better open the presents again - Bernard takes to wearing all the hats he's received one on top of another. Of course it's all resolved in the end, without becoming sentimental. We both came away feeling more festive than when we had arrived. Great fun, quirky and original -  perfect antidote to the normal Christmas pantomime.  For ages 7+

Movie Survey

I LOVE MOVIES

If you have a few minutes spare you could do this movie survey which takes a few minutes and is fun. It's from  a site that sells all sorts of movies, including cult films. It asks all sorts of multiple choice questions like what was your favourite film of 2010 and   what was the scariest movie  out of a choice including the Omen? I couldn't watch The Omen after the scene in which the nanny jumps out of the window and I've never been able to watch the Exorcist.  What was sad though, was the question how many times do you go to the cinema? I never go to any movies any more unless it's a children's movie. Before we had children we used to go to the cinema at least once a week - now never. 

My top two films are Days of Heaven with Richard Gere and Sam Sheperd and Fanny and Alexander by Ingmar Bergman. What are yours?

Boggle Flash - Genius Christmas Present

I was sent a boggle flash to review and when it arrived we played it and all became addicted. Literally. You have to make words out of the five  letters that appear on the cubes and do it against the clock. The letters change every time you reset it and play again. The boggle works out how many words you managed to make and how many you could have possibly thought of.  It's really clever as you can't just play once and it appeals to all ages. It says 8± on the box but my six year old daughter loves it.  You can play together or alone.  We took it out to a pub lunch the next day and soon my 9 year old son had a small crowd of children looking over his shoulder all waiting for a go and helping him out. 

 Its a genius present: It retails at £24.99 but you can find it on amazon, which I have linked above for £10 less.