New Bag. Check

Evidence of intelligence. Check.

No money. Check

New stationery. Check

Student clothing. Check

I start my Uni degree on Monday – Wish me luck!

So on Sunday 29th August I had plans to go to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. I was going to take lots of photos and choose the best one to submit to Tara’s Gallery – this week’s theme was to publish a photo you’d taken on Sunday 29th August 2010.

I didn’t go to the festival as planned and I only took one photo that day (completely forgetting about The Gallery). That photo is below;

Erin’s first lunch at school!

This actually turned out to be a very poignant picture as part of the reason for The Gallery was to highlight the fact that three mum bloggers are visiting Bangladesh to raise awareness for the Press for Change campaign.

This photo highlights the stark difference between what we can afford to provide our children with while children on the other side of the world suffer from malnutrition and starvation. To think I was worried that I had no fresh fruit that day.

So we’ve had our first shipment from Toys R Us. We’re officially toyologists!

In the first large box was a Chuggington Interactive Railway. As I browsed the price sheet and saw that it retails for £49.99 I was quite surprised, seemed kind of expensive although the train set has some clever audio features (‘smart talk technology’) whereby the trains speak to each other. Extra trains are £9.99 each and there are a few other ‘add ons’ too. The set includes a crane, bridge and roundhouse so there’s no need to buy anything extra to start. The box also includes a huge pack of batteries which was very welcome!

Erin says

I love the trains, they’re so good.

She was busy playing so couldn’t get much out of her!

It’s had a lot of playtime though, several hours over the first week which has dropped off slightly now.

When asked how much out of ten she said she’d give it she said 100! Hopefully now she’s started school she can sort out her ropey maths

A great toy that I think’s got a bit of longevity in it.

We attended The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo again this year. We’ve been to several tattoo’s (we got together while working at the 1999 tattoo) and been lucky enough to see our sister and brother in law perform (drumming and piping)at another. This year it was my brother’s turn as a PTI gymnast. My brother’s done two tours of duty in Afghanistan and will become a Sergeant this year in the PTI corps. I think you can guess how proud I am of him

Here’s a video of his section in the tattoo;

Bear with me while I go off on a slight tangent. During our much talked about trip to Florida this year we watched the Believe show, you know the one with the big killer whales. Before the show started there was a tribute to the American armed forces, they had videos from troops in iraq and they asked servicemen in the audience to stand for a round of applause. The response was huge and you could feel the emotion of the crowd, as I sat there I must admit that my default response was that it was all very american and a bit over the top. On reflection though I think that the Americans actually have it right, they’re proud and they aren’t afraid to show it. There were kids in that audience, lots of kids, and it was a great way for them to be made aware of the sacrifices that are being made and it was done in a very uplifting way. We could do with a bit of that over here.

I had my reservations about taking Erin to the tattoo with us, it didn’t finish til’ well after eleven and she was really tired by the time we were done, but she loved it. She drummed her hands at the pipes and drums and clapped at the dancing and gymnastics. She also asked questions. She asked about soldiers, about what they do and why. She also asked about the pictures that were beamed up onto the castle, and I’m glad I had the courage to tell her the truth; they’re the men and women that have died to make sure that we’re safe. I go with the honesty is the best policy on these issues, life is what it is and I don’t see the point in sugar coating it (don’t worry we still ‘do santa’!).

The Tattoo is a great opportunity not only to celebrate our military but a chance to honour our fallen and the wives or husbands and children they’ve left behind. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has raised over £5m for charity – military and civilian, one of it’s main beneficiaries is the Army Benevolent Fund which supports soldiers but crucially their families too.

So when I think back to that Believe show and the respect they showed their servicemen and women I want to shout a big ‘hell yeah’, because they do deserve a bit of public recognition. They do deserve our respect and gratitude. Our children do deserve to know that there are girls and guys out there watching our back and there’s nothing cheesey about giving them a round of applause once in a while. You don’t have to condone a war to be grateful that someone was willing to lay down their lives for you and your family to be safe.

I was going to put a specific clip here from the Tattoo, however I couldn’t find it and when I searched for ‘Here’s to the heroes’ I found only American military tribute videos(!) So I put together a little something myself featuring my own (second rate) photos and my friends (premium quality) photos along with a few thought provoking quotes.

Last year I promised myself that I’d get it sorted. I told myself that it had spent too long unloved. I was going to spend long weekends giving it my undivided attention. I was going to create borders, learn how to grow vegetables, paint the fences and furnish it with lovely pots of plant type things.

This is a public apology to my garden and the poor neighbours who have to put up with it.

I even paid a lovely young man (the next door neighbour’s nephew) to come in and do the labour for me and I have let it grow back. Garden I am sorry, I have failed you.

This is my secret shame…

Gravel shame

This is gravel that I laid this Summer, except I didn’t have enough…and well…it looks rubbish. I haven’t got round to laying more yet

Border shame

As you can see I laid some gravel and even some attractive mini fence stuff (I’m not sure what the proper name is) but now it’s all become overgrown.

Clematis shame

We decided to clear a large and unsightly (for the majority of the year) clematis, this was the result. Another job to be completed.

Pond shame

I was going to fill the pond with soil and teach Erin how to grow vegetables. That has not happened. As you can see. Shame.

and finally…

Back Garden Shame

Speaks for itself really

Ok that’s it, beat me with a stick…

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I’m a lucky mum, Erin makes me proud a lot. But some days just stand out above all others. I’ve never felt the way she made me feel on her first day at school. I was literally bursting with pride, it was an incredibly special moment that I will treasure forever. I don’t expect to ever feel that way again, maybe except on her wedding day (although thankfully that’s a long way off!). Thank you Erin.

Choose a Topic

First you need to decide what you’ll write about. Blogs cover all subjects so whatever your interests you’re sure to find a corner of the blogosphere where you can share your passion.

Whatever you decide to blog about make sure you have plenty to say because there’s nothing worse than starting a blog and finding you can only write half a dozen posts on the subject before exhausting your knowledge or sickening yourself of the topic.

Choose a Name

Choosing a name for your blog is not unlike choosing a name for your child. Choose something that you like, something you think represents you well.

Also make sure that it’s easy for your readers to remember, as a new blogger you need people to remember you if you are to gain a strong readership.

Choose How To Host Your Blog

Keeping it simple, you can either;

* Start a blog on blogger

or

* Buy a domain name and use wordpress

Blogger

Blogger blogs are free but are essentially owned by blogger. They are ideal for beginners with no technical knowledge at all. Blogger has a step by step guide and you will have a blog in under fifteen minutes. Blogger allows *anyone* to start a blog. If you can use a mouse and you can follow instructions you can start a blog on blogger.

The disadvantages are as mentioned that you don’t own your blog and you don’t have as much choice on how your blog looks. It doesn’t often happen but blogger can close your blog down at any time if they take a disliking to your content.

Domain Name

This is more complicated and more costly. Most serious bloggers will have their own domain which involves purchasing a domain name from the likes of 123 reg.

Once you’ve purchased your domain name you’ll need to find a company to host your website, 123 reg can do this too, but I use a company called Laughing Squid.

You then use wordpress as your blogging platform.

Unfortunately that’s where my technical set up knowledge ends. I have a friend who set my blog up, most people either are technical and do it themselves or have a friend that can do it for them. If not then you can pay someone a one off fee to do this for you.

Choose a Look For Your Blog

On blogger the look of your blog, the bit your readers see is called a template. In wordpress it’s called a theme.

In blogger you choose your template from a selection which you are offered during their step by step process.

For wordpress simply search for ‘free wordpress themes’ in google and a selection will come up. Your webmaster will help you choose and customise your theme, if this is part of the price (check first!).

Choosing your look is like choosing an outfit most people combine something they like with something that is functional. You’ll need to consider the following;

Layout

Whatever information you’re providing it will need to be organised on the page for readers to consume. Think about where you’ll put your main content, pictures, links to other blogs etc..

Colour

By all means pick your favourite colours, it is after all your blog, however bear in mind that some combinations are easier to read from than others. For example many people find it uncomfortable to read white text on black background.

Make it Personal

Consider how you’ll make your blog personal to you (or your business). Customising your blog can be exciting and involve adding a customised logo in your header or a picture in the sidebar. Remember there are millions of blogs so try and make yours a little unique and memorable if possible. I have a rotating header on mine that features a few pictures of my daughter and I and things we’ve done.

For more information like this sign up to the Free Mum Blogger E-Course

Or

If you’d prefer the entire course in downloadable format (an eBook) then I’m currently offering 50% off The Complete Mum Blogger eBook when you use the code ‘mumblogger50′.

People who start their own business are the ones who stop talking about their dreams and plans and actually make them happen

Matt Thomas, Starting your own shop

I’ve heard variants of this so many times now that I’m forced to believe there is some truth in it.

Almost every entrepreneur I’ve ever studied has had a somewhat ‘rags to riches’ story and if not ‘rags’ then they were certainly no more than an ‘average joe’.

The only thing that differentiates these success stories from the rest of us (that would like to be successful business people) is they took action. Instead of just pipe dreaming they actually took a small step that led to another step and another, until they found themselves running successful businesses.

When others reverted to the (supposed) safe haven of a job they took a risk and gave it a go.

It’s a powerful idea that anyone with an idea and a bit of passion and a willingness to work hard can make it, an idea that resonates enough with me to give it a go myself. For some of us we find ourselves at a point in life maybe due to a redundancy or becoming a parent where the potential benefits of having a go at something for ourselves is greater than the benefits of finding employment. This may be financial or lifestyle related, however the risk/reward ratio is clearly tipped towards creating a business or going freelance. It’s the position I find myself in right now, it’s a rare position to be in, I’d hazard a guess that an opportunity like I’ve discussed only arises perhaps two or three times in one’s life and it’s important to spot the opportunity and capitalise.

I’ve done the sums and the net benefits of pursuing a degree and business opportunities are better than my job prospects and potential wage right now. The intelligent decision is to take the road less travelled, even if that road poses more risk and criticism.

Everyone has an opinon on what you should do with your life, but only you know how your unique set of circumstances stack up.

Is now the time to take action on that business idea?

We’re on the eve of ‘big school’. My five year position as House CEO and Stay at Home Mum have come to an end. As I reflect on my overall performance I’d probably give myself a B-. I did ok. I did my best in a position that I wasn’t naturally suited to.

It’s time to move on to the next phase, a phase I’ve been needing for a while now.

Last week I signed papers and went into business with Antonia Chitty. We’ll be creating and running a number of e-courses helping small businesses harness the power of social media and blogging. I’m very excited about the opportunity and plan to put plenty of effort in to ensure it’s a success. It feels fantastic to be ‘in business’! I’m currently creating a six month e-course with multi-media content and lots of other bells and whistles, it’s giving me the chance to utilise the skills and knowledge I’ve gained over the last four years.

I’ve mentioned a few times now that I’m starting university, it’s not something I really need to do but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I think it will be worth it. I’m hoping that the experience sparks new business ideas, gives me an opportunity to make contacts and one day it may be useful if I decide I want to get a job. I don’t start for a few weeks yet but I’m sure there’ll be many tales to come

Finally, there’s a general sense of moving on. We’ve been discussing holidays and future plans, and I’ve even made a list (I couldn’t help myself – I love lists!).

Do you have a list like this? I’d love to see other people’s…mostly because I’m nosy!

So that’s me, what about you?

Do you remember this advert from the 80′s?

Retro or what!

Well Truprint are looking to create that advert with crowdsourced ten second shorts of you smiling and saying ‘Truprint’. Upload your video to youtube before 27th August 2010 to enter your short. Not only could you end up being the new star of the Truprint ad but you could also win £50 of Truprint products.

Full details of the competition here

I’ve been messing about with the original ad (and probably breaking a few copyright laws!). Spot the difference!