It's been a while

When I started this blog over 20 years ago it was as a simple online diary. And no one read it but that didn't matter because I read it, I could share things with family, friends and weirdos I met online and it was my tiny bit of the web.

Back then I didn't have my own domain and I had zero clue about the best way to edit and add images. But I took an evening class (remember them!) in web design and passed with distinction so felt a tad more comfortable with html and all the elements of a webpage. I bought a domain (or 5) and carried on. 

While my daughter was young 'mummy blogging' suddenly became a thing and I sort of fell in to it, reviewing items, visiting shows and festivals, writing posts in exchange for goods. But I was hardly one of the big players, though briefly shortlisted for an award which meant I did get to attend a fancy reception in London, I didn't win anything and gradually I went back to just waffling (like now). Slowly I just blogged less and less. 

When I changed jobs, after 27 years in the NHS I thought I would have more time but I seemed to fill that with other things and blogging took a very, very back seat. And then COVID happened. Like millions of others I was forbidden to leave the house for weeks and months on end...surely I would blog now! Guess what, no, no I still didn't really blog.

The last post here was in 2023 just over a year ago when COVID finally found me. (I still don't have all my sense of taste and smell back)

But today here I am! And I have a plan. I will once again blog for me. And to start with I will blog for the 12 months prior to the previous post. I had the cunning idea of finding a photo on my phone for each month and blogging about it. 12 posts to get me back into the habit of blogging. 

So this rambling introduction doesn't count. But here's an image anyway, because every post needs a focus and AI needs something to steal (more of that in another post later) 

How to create the perfect family holiday

I was thinking (as it's sunny) about holidays. It seems that holidays can mean different things to different people and there is no 'perfect holiday' that would suit everyone. Of course Americans don't even use the same word and they call them vacations! But whether you take the family on holiday, on vacation or away for a break, the way people do it varies.

I wondered what people thought about planning a holiday and what they expect from it. I've already mentioned the dangers of relying on holiday review sites for information, and when you see how people look differently at vacations you'll realise why. What one person sees as a positive point can be a negative to someone else.

For example, even in my own house (3 of us) we have different ideas of 'fun on holiday' . Mr TM likes self catering as we get more room, it's easier to do what we want, when we want and meal times are flexible. He also likes to swim but gets bored laying around all day. Miss TM, the lovely DD likes a hotel, with a widescreen TV and free wifi. She likes to swim and lounge by a pool and also loves a hot tub, she loves a posh hotel. I like both but favour a more adventurous holiday, staying somewhere unusual like a narrow boat or a tree house, hiring a car and exploring. I like to eat out but at local restaurants, the sort rarely used by tourists, and I like to visit local attractions and also meet people and find out about different cultures.

I asked a few parents what they liked too, and of course the answers varied just as much.

Emily at Emily and Indiana said "A holiday to me is spending proper quality time as a family. No interruptions, lots of fun and creating as many memories as possible! And in a hotel, I want a break from everything!"

Emma from Life According to Mrs Shilts agrees that it's the break from the chores that really makes a holiday "A holiday to me means no cooking or washing up, we work so hard the rest of the year I don't want to be doing that on holiday"

Nikki at Yorkshire Wonders went all out for a cruise! "My favourite holidays are with my family, where we are all catered for so everyone is happy. So, a bit of sunshine, new places to explore, organised activities for the kids and lots of nice food and wine! We cruised last year and it was fab!"

As did Emma at Island Living 365 "For us holidays are very important. We use them as a an opportunity to spend time with the rest of our family. We also believe that it's really important to show the girls that there is a big, exciting world outside of Jersey"

Louise at Pink Pear Bear is more flexible with her approach, it seems that a change is the main aim "Going on holiday is a total break from the everyday chores for me. Well, it would be if we stayed in a hotel with a kids club!
For the last few years we have done self catering and so there is still the same amount of work, washing etc but it still feels better being somewhere different and in the sunshine somehow!
It's also about reading books, something I rarely do now. When abroad, I like to really soak up the culture, enjoy the food, see the sights etc. But chilling by the pool is also nice too! "

Hannah at Hannah Spannah agrees that it's being somewhere else that makes a holiday - getting away from the mundane. "My holidays as a single mum are either self catering or camping so there are still all the jobs to do but it means being somewhere different. A change is as good as a rest and that's true. I love the opportunity to just play together and explore."

And if you follow my other blog Tentsniffing for Beginners, you'll know that I also adore the camping life. Of course I'm not alone in that either.

Claire at Tin Box Traveller says "It's all about leaving behind the routine of every day life, exploring new places and getting lots of fresh air. We enjoy all sorts of breaks. The more varied the better. And they don't have to be expensive. I've come back from short camping weekends with recharged batteries and feeling like we've enjoyed quality family time."

So from a hot, all-inclusive holiday abroad, to a weekend in Wales self catering, from a Christmas cruise, to a road trip with the family it seems that there is something for anyone, even if every holiday isn't for everyone.

What is your favourite holiday and will you be going abroad this year or staying closer to home? A time to be spoiled or just time to be together as a family...or alone to read?

Blog post props and backgrounds that are already in your home

I'm a lazy blogger, we all know that, and so far I have spent more money on this blog (buying domains, posting prizes, travel to events, blogger meet tickets etc) than I have ever made from it, and it's easy to be disheartened when you start out in blogging seeing all the gorgeous photographs that are out there in blog land.

You have a few choices with regard to blog photos I guess, you could not bother at all and just go with a text blog, you could buy stock images (I sometimes use 123RF for royalty free stock images) , you could learn more about photography and buy lots of fabulous props, or you could make do and be damned. I opted for a mix, I try to take reasonable photos and I buy the odd stock image when I really can't get what I need from stuff I have lying around the house.

Yeah I bought this one :-) Copyright: bialasiewicz / 123RF Stock Photo

And that brings us nicely to :

Ideas for blog props

Whether you realise it or not, you are bound to have lots of props around your house, or cheaply available from local shops. You don't need a light box (although they are fab!) you can use natural  light, lamps or even good old camera flash (tape tissue paper over a cheap camera flash to help soften the light).

For back drops and flat lays look at your floors. Tiles and wood are both great, as are nice laminates, but don't forget the smooth white interior of a bath tub, or the fake fur coat you could use as a backdrop for small items. Grab samples of mosaic tile lino at carpet shops, and wallpaper samples from DIY shops. Off cuts of white laminated MDF can be useful too, check the garage or shed! Charity shops can be a rich source of unusual fabrics too.

Children's toys can be great too, blackboards laid flat as a base, or a Lego mat, board games can be good visual aids to all sorts of posts, and a snakes and ladders board can be an effective background.

When you are looking for items to include in the photo, empty photo frames are good, also vases, trays, pretty cups and saucers, and strings of (fake unless you are posh) pearls. Shiny green apples and fuzzy ripe peaches and lots of other fruit photographs well.

In fact the kitchen is a ripe (pun intended) source of props for all sorts of posts, not just recipe ones. Jars full of coloured lentils and herbs as a blurry background, glasses with jewellery, wine bottles, wooden chopping boards and sets of retro scales; my house is full of retro things and antiques, but whatever your style, take a look around.

The garden can be a good place to photograph things too. Either with a simple grass background, or flowering bushes, daffodils in the spring and snow (if you are lucky) in winter. Take some of your own 'stock' photos when you get the chance! Some wellies in the snow, a toy among the snowdrops, a picnic on a blanket on a sunny lawn. And look for some rustic additions too, bricks, logs, piles of sticks, bird baths and old terracotta flowerpots.

I'd love to add more suggestions, so please add them in the comments or pop over to chat on my facebook page.

Bloggers' Christmas Gift Guide

It's November and time to think about Christmas. Already many blogs are featuring gift ideas from brands that they like, I thought I'd take a different tack and go with a list of gifts bloggers would like to see wrapped under the tree on Christmas morning.

Copyright: kryzhov / 123RF Stock Photo

So I asked some bloggers about their dream gifts, what would they be asking Santa for? I set them a budget of £50 and this is what they said:

Angela at Cosmic Kick feels that the holiday season is a good time to sort out the ravages of the year and so she will be hoping for some Clarins Eye Revive Serum this year. I use Clarins products too and they are rather lovely, so it's nice when someone buys you something from the range (hint).

Lucy at Lucy Loves is keen to try the Charlotte Tilbury Legendary Muse Eyeshadow Palette and even  though I'm the sort of woman that rarely wears makeup I can see why! Such gorgeous golds, perfect for the party season and beyond. Autumn and winter sparkle, just lovely.

Rebecca at Queen Bee Becca and Isla at Isla Roses are both hoping for some makeup brushes this Christmas, and no doubt many other women will be after the same, it's one of those things you forget to replace, or you just buy a cheap one, so wouldn't it be lovely to get a nice set like the Makeup Revolution Collection or the Spectrum Selections set.

Kitty at Kitty Rambles a Lot would like some Curlformers, heat free stylers for amazing hair curls. (they do sound quite amazing,I'm tempted to get some for DD)

Lauren at Belle Du Brighton made me laugh by suggesting that 50 packets of Oreo cookies would be her dream! But she also said that Lush bath products would be welcome so I guess she's fairly easy to buy for. Chocolate and relaxing in the tub.

Copyright: poznyakov / 123RF Stock Photo

Louise at Louise Rose Railton is also all about the relaxing scents, and would like Santa to treat her to some classic Yankee Candle Melts, a lovely set including the melt warmer to scent a home with three holiday themed melts.

Laura at Mummy Lala is a woman after my own heart and would love some exotic perfume for her Christmas present, specifically the lovely scent of Dior, a 30ml bottle of Miss Dior fits the budget.

Steph at Hello Baby Blog is in love with most items on the SWYC website, but she went with this lovely personalised seagrass beach basket. Something so pretty and so practical.

Lucy at Hello Beautiful Bear would opt for more sparkles but in the form of this delightful Irregular Choice Owl purse. Fun and useful it's a great gift. A purse you'd enjoy pulling out in public to rummage for that odd 5p.

Samantha at Coco Butter Blog would hope Father Christmas would be slipping a Michael Kors card case in metallic leather into her stocking on Christmas eve, a bit of glittery glamour each time you opened your bag.

Chermaine at Chammy in Real Life would choose the swishy sophistication of an over-sized cardigan, great for the cold winter evenings and this one from thirteen clothing looks like the sort of thing that would easily fit the day into night fashion criteria, looking good with jeans or a more fancy evening outfit.

Anna at Anna International is also after something of a more practical nature, and is yearning for warmth and softness while she blogs, in the form of a gorgeous luxury faux fur hot water bottle. (she lives in Yorkshire in an old miners cottage...I'm guessing that's chilly!)

Emma at the Cheshire Wife would like the comfort and style of a Mother sweatshirt, and not only stylish and perfect to relax in, but the sale of every sweatshirt supports women's charity works too. The FMLY philosophy is that style should not only look good, but help others, too. £10 from the sale of the Mother sweatshirt design goes to WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL, who help women in 8 war-torn regions rebuild their lives through training programmes. They give women the skills, resources and knowledge to create positive sustainable change for herself, her family and community.

Jenni at Chilling with Lucas is hoping to unwrap some beautiful silver earrings. I feel a real theme of sparkly Christmas gifts in this list - are bloggers actually magpies?

Lucy at The Parent Game may be a magpie, but she is also planning where to store her sparkles, she chose a multi-drawed jewellery box for her perfect Santa gift. Something I need as my jewellery is currently spilling across my en suite!

Copyright: tunedin123 / 123RF Stock Photo

Sophia at Tattooed Tealady and Lucy at The Two Saving Sisters are both after the helpful and beautiful Lifeplanner from Erin Condren, (I suspect that many of the bloggers that click through that link will want one too now)

Evija at From Evija with Love would like a delicate and pretty tea set for one, perfect for snacking while blogging and still looking lovely on Instagram, Make every sandwich special with this Royal Albert 3 piece set.

Anca at Anca's Lifestyle would like a cocktail set and maybe some drinks to get her started. She wasn't sure where to start so I had a quick look around using our £50 budget and came up with this fun set from Amazon for only £15 leaving plenty of cash for an addition of a couple of bottles of something tasty.

Kate at LesBeMums would like a heap of comic reading from her favourite comic store, I hope Father Christmas knows her favourites.

Not all of the bloggers I asked were looking purely at fun and frolics though, a couple saw Christmas a chance to get some extras they needed for blogging,

Sam at Testing Time Blog was after some better lighting for her blog photos and so Emma (a Cheshire wife) suggested this Pop up Lightcase. While Ami at Ami Rose was after a tripod like this compact one from Currys.

Thanks to all the bloggers who told me what they lusted after this Christmas. Feel free to come and tell me what you would like to see under your tree this year over at Facebook.

Stationery haul giveaway

I think it's been a while since I've done a giveaway - and as I'm just a little blog (yes I know you imagine I'm world famous but really dear reader, I'm not) it's just a small giveaway that I am funding myself.

So here we are - a few fun bits of glamorous stationery to help you organise your life (or just your blog!) or to use as a gift.

The rules of the giveaway are simple, you must use the rafflecopter entry thingy below. There are lots of ways to enter and you can do one or more of the entry methods. None are mandatory - sadly as I'm paying the postage this giveaway is open to UK addresses only.

Don't Piss on my Parade

Ah bloggers. What are we like.

Well some of us are lovers and all nice and snuggly and supportive of each other, and some are snarky bitches (I'll let you decide which camp I fall into).

A recent semi-viral blog post suggests that all 'mummy bloggers' (and man oh man how I loathe that term) are 'fucking shit'. (and no I'm not linking to it) Don't hold back lady, tell it like it is. I mean obviously first you should use a paragraph or two to remind us that you made gazillions of dollars from your blog and had all the hits and were excellent and that, but then tear us all off a strip for being boring, parochial and tedious. No go ahead, we'll wait. Because you see, most of us don't care. We don't care what you think. You are one person, on the internet! and we all know what the internet is like, full of rude trolls hoping to get popular by being vile.

The honest truth is that blogs, bloggers and especially parent bloggers (we are not all mummies) vary. Some are good, some are boring (and even the great ones write the odd boring post) , some are hilarious. And loads of us write for ourselves. I've been writing this blog, with hardly any readers for over 10 years. When I first started it I had zero hits a week. Zero. But I didn't care because I'm fucking amazing (see we can all swear, ever though it's neither big nor clever) and my blog is about me, for me, by me. Guess what! It really is all about me! If someone wants to read about me or what I like or what I reviewed, good luck to them, I love to have them here, it's fab! (You still reading? yes you - I love you!) If someone wants to send me something to review even better. I don't make money from my blog, I have fun here.

Most parenting blogs are like that and that is great, it is what they are for! They share parenting worries, triumphs and funny stories, cute babies and tales of losing the cat in the dishwasher. We parents like to have a network of friends and when some parents are distanced from 'real life' friends by circumstance the club of parents online can really help. New parents can feel supported and relieved, older parents can feel that our knowledge isn't wasted, and we can laugh at some of our old mistakes being made again. Mummy and daddy blogs don't suck, they help.

I'm sorry that you, dear Ex-Mummy Blogger, are so bitter, twisted, and generally disillusioned with blogging that you felt the need to slag off everyone else rather than just quietly saying goodbye and walking away from blogging. It takes a special kind of mean to piss on someone else's fun because you are not having any. I assume you were the kid that took the ball home so no one else could play. That's sad. I hope you stop hating yourself, and stop hating everyone else too. Personally I shall continue to read mummy blogs (and daddy blogs) sometimes I will laugh, often I'll cry, or nod, or get advice; and sometimes I'll skim read (like I did most of your hideously unpleasant rant) but bloggers seem to me to be fairly awesome.

Copyright: coramueller / 123RF Stock Photo

Thank you if you read this ragey post and thank you if you are a blogger, keep doing what you do.

You can't comment here (Not even 'great post' :-)) as I switched off comments - so come chat On my Twitter or  Facebook page.

Thanks to Mummy in a Tutu who inspired this post - go and read her take on the whole kerfuffle. (she let's you comment - tell her it's a Great Post! she loves that :-)

Blog on Win - my review of a blogging event.

I need to tell you about a blogging event I attended a week ago. I am a shy person in real life (I know - hard to believe) so I usually don't do the 'meeting other bloggers' thing. And I've been blogging for 10 years now - much longer than most of the organisers of the events, so it feels a bit weird if I'm honest.

But Blog On Win - held by the BlogOnUK team at Winchester was great! It was held at the Winchester Science Centre (which I didn't even know existed - looks great and is now on my list of places to visit for a day) and apart from the dreadfully poor wifi and total lack of mobile signal (even in the car park!) the day was excellent.

Unlike many of these events it was cheap to attend so I didn't feel ripped off and didn't have to consider getting sponsored to attend. There was coffee and yoghurt when we arrived, a 'make your own' name badge set up - which I actually loved as it meant we could decide what we wanted to be known as for the day.

Lots of great brands were there too - and after the first talk by Peter Lunn (which while not really telling me anything I didn't know - did emphasise where I was doing things right, so that's always nice!) DD and I (for she is a blogger too and had a ticket) mooched about chatting to the various promotional folk in the hallway. DD loved the Little Ondine nail polishes, wanted to win a talking parakeet (she didn't @Goriami did) and we both enjoyed playing with the toys at the Trends UK stand, some fabulous gadgets! I spent too long looking at Hotter shoes and DD secretly wanted a Teenage Ninja turtle toy but she was content with a cute Zelf! We tried to tweet some of the fun but as I said, there was no signal. How odd to be at a blogging and social media event and being cut off from the internet.

There was an interesting talk about working with brands, and it was good to be able to ask questions, and not be judged for a lack of knowledge, when I started blogging working with brands just wasn't a thing, now it seems to be all some blogs do!

3d pens!

Lunch was sandwiches, and yummy cake, DD aquired sweets from a friendly blogger, and we bought charity raffle tickets (we didn't win anything) DD also played the tombola and won a T shirt for Mr TM and a selfie stick!

Last fun of the day was spent with the Scummy Mummies, forcing us to reveal our horrific and hilarious bad parenting moments - my favourite was the mum that sent her son to school with his pyjamas on under his uniform because "I just couldn't argue anymore" I think we've all been there! The Scummy Mummies were, of course, an absolute scream!

It was lovely to meet so many people I know online too- and the whole day was friendly, open and un-cliquey. I felt relaxed and among friends, if I had one criticism it would be that it was a bit 'mummy' orientated - but some days it seems that's the way blogs are going. I'd love to be able to take DD to a blogging event where she felt more included.

Zigamazoo Giggles

DD was very impressed with the size of our goodie bags (yes plural! - I was impressed too but I'm playing it cool)

Beard at Blog On Win

So a huge thank you to all at BlogonUK and to the Winchester Science Centre, to all the brands, and to the speakers. I hope to be going to more events now!

Online communication, social media and the perils of reading between the lines

I was chatting to Mr TM this morning because a blogging chum had dared raise her head above the virtual parapet and declared that vlogging (video blogging) was not for her. She wrote that she didn't like it, and wouldn't do it.

I agreed with her as did several other people, we also discussed whether maybe it was age related as young people (and here I cite DD as an example) frankly love Youtube and vloggers and would probably cheerfully watch video blogs of other young people unwrapping lipstick and boxes of Lego until the cows come home.

But some people suggested she may have 'upset some people' and she (and I ) wondered why. Why does having a personal opinion upset people online, because it certainly seems to!

In our discussion Mr TM and I decided that maybe, particularly on twitter where characters are in short supply, but also on blogs, the fact that there is no dialogue only a statement means that not only can you not quickly clarify your position, as you would if chatting, but also people read what you haven't written...and I don't know why.

For example, If I state "I loathe bananas" I am stating just that, I, me, personally, dislike bananas to an extreme amount. But often the reader, a passionate lover of yellow bent fruits, reads "Bananas are loathsome" they may also read "and therefor anyone who likes them is an idiot, only fools like bananas, bananas should be banned." But it's not there, it's not a subtext, no one said it.

So Internet people, chill, let people have an opinion, read what they write, not what you think they mean and even more importantly, check who they are, some people, myself included, often post things online in a very tongue-in-cheek way.

By the way, I did find Wolf Hall last night dreadfully boring.

I have more American readers than British ones

I like to check my stats for the blog, I use Google's basic blogger stats page, the Webmaster page and even StatCounter (I sound obsessed, I'm not they all offer slightly different things)

I love to look at the search terms that found the blog, lots are hilarious! And I like to see if people stay to read more than one page, and do they use the tabs I've created to sort the blog a bit. Do my visitors pop off to look at my camping blog? But I also like to see where my readers are from. A lot of hits are bots of course and so much spam! So I can often discount certain 'guilty' countries if they have high hit numbers. But I can't help noticing I have more American Readers than British ones.

I wonder why. I am clearly (so I assume) a British blogger. I use the moniker 'mummy' rather than 'mommy' in my blog title and my online user name. I blog recipes of Eton Mess. I talk about Jubilees and London Olympics.

I do discuss teen parenting or course - a fairly universal concept I'd imagine, at least in the Western world. And I've been known to throw out advice on potty use (both adults, at festivals, and children). I've ranted about breastfeeding and about birth plans.

But my political rants are mostly English based, and they are rare. And my walks and 'what I've been up to' posts are very English.

Maybe that's the answer, maybe the Americans like a slice of slightly angry British life? Or maybe all my British readers are nervous of being tracked and are using American Proxy servers!

Let me know! Are you American? Do you read my blog often? Why? and I'd love to know how you found me. :-)

Pimping your Blogger blog with your own domain name

I look at lots of blogs and can't tell if they are Wordpress or Blogger blogs. I can't tell (until I come to comment usually!) because the blogger has bought and is using their own domain name.

You don't need to self host or do anything too clever to have your own domain name, as I have discovered. In fact several people have told me that domain ownership is addictive! And at least one person confessed they owned their own domain but had been at a loss as to what to do with it!

Oh, what's that? You wonder what a domain name is? Sorry - I jumped ahead, take a look up at the address bar, that's my blog address up there, it was www.tattooedmummy.blogspot.co.uk because that's the address that Blogger allocated me, based on the name I wanted. Now it's www.tattooedmummy.co.uk because that's what I chose and bought.

A domain is

•  in Computing - a distinct subset of the Internet with addresses sharing a common suffix or under the control of a particular organisation or individual.

So blogger owned the name and the address, they still host my blog, but now that I have my own domain you only see that. Still with me? See it as a sort of forwarding address, with the real address hidden.

Ah but how did I get the magic domain name? Well I found a site selling the domains, there are lots of sites selling domain names, I chose 123-reg and it seems quite simple, you check if the domain you want is available, pay for it and you own it! I also chose a privacy option as an extra too, so that my name is not instantly available as the blog owner on https://www.easywhois.com/ or such sites. (I might just be a teensy bit paranoid)

Adding the domain to your Blogger blog is so simple even I can do it. Though no one told me it can take 48 hours for the transfer to work, so initially I panicked I'd done it all wrong! I did have the top tip to set up a 'Test Blog' on Blogger though, and test all the linking and forwarding to that one. That way you don't risk messing up your lovely blog.

Setting up the domain is easy - there is a guide on 123-reg and one on Blogger. Between them they have all the info you need.

Find the 123-reg one here and the Blogger one here. As long as you can read and type you are all set - and anyway, it's just a test blog right!

Feel free to ask questions in the comments - I can't promise to know the answer but I'll try and help where I can!

Well would you look at that!

I only went a paid good money for my own domain. Bloggers will understand I imagine. For the rest of you, well I expect you feel a bit 'meh' about it to be honest.

For anyone looking for my blog it means that my url address has changed, I'm now at www.tattooedmummy.co.uk and no longer at www.tattooedmummy.blogspot.co.uk though they will both still find me.

Easier to remember I hope. So if you have book marked my blog (and I hope you have because I'm needy like that), or if you have listed my blog or even a post on your blog I'd simply adore you if you deleted the 'blogspot' bit of the address, because we really don't need it anymore.

So hello and welcome to my shiny new domain. Sit down, have a mosey through the old posts. There is cake.

There is always cake

Britmums - See you there on Friday night?

A few of the mums that are going to Britmums live have written short blog posts of introduction. Here are a few as examples.

Britmums Live Linky

I'm only going to be at the Friday night awards ceremony (*excited BiBs finalist face*) and I shall be sober as I'm having to drive to and from the station, (*sad face*) but I shall be looking forward to meeting some of the lovely people I tweet with, and blog writers of the blogs I follow, and of course meet some new people too!

About me ; I am 48, married with one daughter the lovely dd, who is 14. I don't do glamorous, I do slightly scruffy and festival-chic. I like ball gowns in inappropriate settings, like fields and supermarkets. I may appear shy or snooty, I'm a bit snooty, but not shy once I get to know you. Do say hello.

 

I will be wearing a black maxi dress from "Everything five pounds" and yes, it was £5. I'll also be wearing my gorgeous tattoo necklace with my twitter user name on, which was handmade for my by the lovely Vicki at starsNscars.

I  shall look like this. (note nervous smile)

Can't wait to meet you!

Disclaimer : No one sponsored me for any of this, I shelled out hard earned cash....hence the five pound dress! I don't regret the necklace though, it's lovely. I won't be wearing the pith helmet, I bought a sparkly hairband/tiara in Accessorize instead.

Camp Bestival Has New Stuff!!!

As you know (if not why not) I have been blogging (daily) over at Tent Sniffing for Beginners, a countdown to Camp Bestival because I'm a bit excited to be going there this year as an Official Besti-Blogger!! I'm covering different topics each day, stuff like getting kids to sleep, mobile phones, food, security, lots of past festival pictures, a giveaway or two, loads and loads of stuff, do take a peek!

And Camp Bestival are sending me emails to make me even more excited (I hope I don' burst with joy before we get there!)

The latest exciting thing is that there are THREE new arenas! (and the return of an old favourite)

 Ringmaster Rob da Bank says: “*drum roll* Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, the team at Camp Bestival HQ proudly present for your delectation and wonder, a host of beloved and brand new venues! Please welcome to our circus arena the Travelling Barn, The Pigs Big Ballroom, Caravanserai and Project Wild Thing! 

 Our new venues are causing the family and I a huge wardrobe dilemma: we'll want camouflage face paint and explorer gear for the feral activities in the Dingly Dell with Project Wild Thing, cowboy boots and chaps for the all-family toe-tapping hoe downs in the Travelling Barn, dancing shoes and circle skirts to swing along to Greg's Greats in the Pigs Big Ballroom and vaudevillian circus outfits to explore Caravanserai! Can't wait to discover it all with the nippers and a different outfit on every half an hour! See you there.” 

I'm really excited about Wild Time with Project Wild Thing, who will have a village tipi based at the entrance to the Dingly Dell. I've always loved the dell area and getting back to nature is lovely so I'll be looking forward to exploring the listening spots in the woods, trying the creative nature writing sessions, wild story-telling, an un-nature trail, creature mask making, bird spotting (and stepping), shadow drawing, a perfect digital detox for screen addled minds, Camp Bestival are sure Project Wild Thing will help kids and their folks re-connect with the wild and they’ll help you take that habit back home. 

Ticket Info

Ticketline / 0844 888 4410 / www.ticketline.co.uk/camp-bestival

Adult Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) - £195 Adult Tickets are for anyone aged 18 or over on 31/07/2014

Student Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) - £180 Student Tickets are for Students with valid ID

Age 15 to 17 Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) - £113 Age 15 to 17 Weekend Tickets are for anyone aged 15 to 17 on 31/07/2014. These ticket holders must be accompanied by a Ticket holding parent or guardian over the age of 30*

Age 11 to 14 Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) - £88 Age 11 to 14 Weekend Tickets are for anyone aged 11 to 14 on 31/07/2014. These ticket holders must be accompanied by a Ticket holding parent or guardian over the age of 26*

* NB: All teens (aged 11 to 17) MUST camp in the same area as their families with a maximum of 2 teens per adult (over the age of 26)

Age 5 -10 Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) - £20 These ticket holders must be accompanied by a Ticket holding parent or guardian over the age of 21*

Age 4 and Under Weekend Ticket (inc. camping) - FREE (but ticket still required) Age 4 and Under Weekend Tickets are for anyone aged 4 and under on 31/07/2014. These ticket holders must be accompanied by a Ticket holding parent or guardian over the age of 21*

Camping Plus Plot - £125 Advance Car Parking - £11

Campervan Ticket - £72 per vehicle

Caravan/Trailer tent ticket (includes a car parking space) - £83

All Tickets:
- will incur a booking fee.
- are non-transferable and cannot be re-sold

You could have knocked me down with a feather...

This morning I checked twitter, like I do, are the roads clear for work? How are the Euro Elections and local elections doing? Did anyone famous offend anyone not famous by saying something thoughtless but not actually offensive and now twitter have hashtagged it and got the pitchforks out...you know the sort of thing.

But what I saw was a tweet saying

Good luck to all the short-listers for the @BritMums #BiBs2014 finals today.I feel honoured to have got this far
— Aly Hodge (@plus2point4) May 23, 2014

and my response was ...ahem, not pleased

@plus2point4 @BritMums STOP REMINDING ME!
— Tattooed_Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) May 23, 2014

Because whilst I was swept up in the joy of the Brilliance in Blogging awards when they were first announced, and while I was thrilled to be in the shortlist (seriously proper thrilled, because I hadn't begged and I hadn't nominated myself!) I had genuinely managed to forget (even though reminded on Thursday!) that the finalists would be announced on Friday.

I had chatted to DagwhoBlogs about why I wasn't looking forward to finding out the finalists

@dadwhoblogs once the finalists are announced, I'm no longer schrodinger's cat, I'll know I'm not going to win!
— Tattooed_Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) May 23, 2014

and we'd had a little friendly natter about how nice it was to be shortlisted.

And THEN the finalists were announced. So of course I went to look...to let the cat out of the box, or to find it dead.

Oddly I scrolled quite slowly, I really didn't want to know...but then, suddenly, there was my blog, this blog, this actual blog that you are reading! In the final! and there with me was DadWhoBlogs! Who'd have thought it.

@dadwhoblogs *grabs your hands, swings you round, does happy dance...then faints* #bibs2014
— Tattooed_Mummy (@tattooed_mummy) May 23, 2014

I'm so happy and so excited and ...well...speechless (obviously not)

Thank you so much if you voted for me. Thank you too if you voted at all. The BiBs seem such a great way to find new blogs, to make new friends and to give bloggers something to aspire to. It's rather lovely to be appreciated by your peers. (and a few random weirdos on Twitter)  Thank you all and please check out all of the simply super finalists at the BritMums Website. Now I'm off to add any I don't already follow, to my Bloglovin' list.

Feeling Extra Sociable

It seems that through a clerical error ... due to my skill ...because everyone loves me ... for some reason I have been shortlisted for a Blogging award with Britmums.

I have been selected in the category 'Social Media' which includes social media as an adjunct to blogging. Y'know, Twitter, Pinterest and that. I think I talk too much.


Hilariously the category is sponsored by Pinterest. And those that follow me there will be aware that my Pinterest is ...a little odd shall we say.

Anyway, if you like this blog, or love my weird Pins, or like a natter on twitter do consider voting for me. I'd love to add 'Award Winning' to the front of 'Blogger' when I brag about what I get up to in the evenings.









Oh and pop over and check out my Pinterest Boards *nudge nudge*

There are some great blogs shortlisted, and as long as they are not in my category *wink* feel free to vote for lots of them!

Cookies

Bloggers seem to talk about cookies a lot and yet on Blogger I have no real control over the cookies that Blogger collects. (I do have control of the hobnobs though, do have one, would you like tea?) With this in mind I was pleased to read This Blog and see their summary

 
and also the frankly brilliant info graphic. Shared here with permission.

Year is the New Accepting!

Now we are talking! My blogging mojo, having taken a pause has been kick started by an old Daily Prompt from http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/daily-prompt-blank/

Click over to your favorite blog, and pick out the 4th and 14th words (that aren’t “the” or “an”). Drop them into this phrase:

“_____ is the new _____.”

There’s your post title. Now write!

And so without further ado I shall pop over to ....BIGFASHIONISTA's blog and (and this will be risky!) find my words!

Year is the New Accepting!

sounds a tad 'Yoda' to me.

But maybe next year could be a time to accept. A time for looking at other people and what they do that is 'different or weird' and just accepting that assuming your 'different or weird' doesn't hurt or adversely affect anyone else then maybe it should just be accepted.

It's not a human trait to accept it seems. We love to push against authority right from when we learn to talk. NO! we should proudly as toddlers. Suddenly realising that we are autonomous. And as we grow, first as sulky teens, then as new workers we are keen to resist. Why? We ask? Why should I? How dare you? You can't make me!

We hate to be told what to do, yet at the same time growing humans need guidance and help. Where do we draw a line? Should we have no rules at all? Of course not (as Monica once said in Friends "Rules control the fun") Rules can keep us safe. But they can confine too, we need a happy medium. 

But what of those unspoken rules? The things we rail against that don't matter. What women wear. What time children in other families go to bed. What food we eat. How much screen time we have.

Maybe next year could be a year for just accepting? And see where we end up, like leaves in a stream...

Commenting on a Blogger Blog from an Apple device

Gratuitous Picture of Cake

I don't know if I mentioned it but I won an iPad.

Now as a confirmed Android user I had never planned on venturing over to the dark side that is iOS.

But I have been assimilated. No one would turn down a free iPad.

I knew from comments on twitter and elsewhere that my blog was out of bounds to iOS users. They could read but they couldn't comment. I heard it all the time.


"Oh I wrote a huge comment and then when I clicked submit it vanished"

"I can't comment now, I'm on my iPhone/iPad/iPod, I'll do it later form my PC/laptop"

So when I got the iPad up and running I vowed to solve the issue. They were right of course, Apple's standard browser (and the beautiful shiny straight jacket that is the iPad doesn't let you choose a default browser like Android does) doesn't let you comment on a Blogger blog. For shame Apple.

I tried my favourite browser (the one I use by default on Android) Dolphin, but that didn't work either. I was sad.

So I Googled for an answer (using Dolphin, out of spite) and found this helpful blog post.

And discovered that the FREE browser Opera allows you to comment on a Blogger blog. I tested it on Big Fashionista's blog, I probably should have tested it on The Chimping Dandy's as he's still mad at me about the iPad thing. (Did I mention I won an iPad?) and it worked like a charm.

Hoorah! I have used Opera in the past on Android but it's not my favourite. But it will fast be my favourite on iOS if it allows me to comment easily on blogs! Download it now from the App store (just search Opera Browser), then leave a comment ;-)

Soylent Green (and increasingly Spam) is PEOPLE!

"First of all, congratulations on getting the job, you deserve it for being such a nice nature loving person. And secondly, bees are indeed awesome, I love bees ever since I can remember, even though when I was I child I only knew that “bees help the planet make flowers”. "

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

That's a blog comment that was awaiting moderation. What I have left out is the link it contained. I can't help noticing that human spam is now the norm. It seems we have realised that the only way to prove to a machine that a comment came from a human and is therefore not spam, is to ensure it actually did come from a human.

With unemployment high in many countries, and with internet access now available in countries where pay is extremely low it  was inevitable I suppose that people would start to employ real people as spammers. Give them a link or two, and pay per comment they manage to get posted. Not phased by having to sign in, or by having to pass the dreaded CAPTCHA test these humans can just rapidly type a reasonable splurge as a reply, add the link  and on they go.

The only way to defeat this human spam at the moment seems to be by being human, so I have moderation turned on on this blog for every comment after 24hrs of the post going live. You get 24hrs of un censored comment time, then I'm on the case.

Do you have a blog? Do you find this style of human spam is increasing?

hmmm human spam. I think I'll rename it, to Soylent Green.

Rainforests, chocolate and nits

Dd has hair longer than Rapunzel's (she doesn't but it is waist length) and luckily she no longer seems in the age group for the dreaded nits. But when she did we were fans of shampoos that repelled the wee blighters and we discovered Vosene do several good shampoos and sprays. As she has grown so has the Vosene range and we now use the shampoos for grown ups and we adore the after swim wash.

I blog and tweet about Vosene a bit and so it was nice to be invited up to London for breakfats at the Rainforest cafe. DD and I had never been so we thought a day out would be nice. Up bright and early we even had chance to explore Picadilly before the bacon started :-) We explored M&M World which, at 9am on a Saturday was empty! What fun, the staff spoiled us with free M&Ms.

 

Then on to the Rainforest Cafe with it's fantastic 3d rain forest interior, interactive floors, fish tanks, water falls, animal sounds etc - I really hope to convince DD that we should return sometime for a treat.

 

And it was great to see the new Vosene products (I use the one for grey hair!) I'm keen to try the ones that have no SLS or SLES in them! and the bath oil. The new scent of the nit repellant spray is lovely and some of the new fruit aromas were yum!!

 

We had a fabulous time, met up with some bloggers we already knew and some new ones. What delightful children you all have by the way! No whingers or screamers, just fun happy cheeky kids.

 

So here are the photos from our trip. (including the walk back through St James park)  Are you in the pics? Do comment!

Created with flickr slideshow.   Were you at the meet up and blogged about it?  Link up below