100 Word Challenge For Grown Ups Week 13

I missed the deadline for 100WCGU last week - try as I may, I was completely unable to come up with anything! I did marginally better this week, but thought I may as well submit it anyway. It does prove my really rubbish taste in TV. To be fair, I don't indulge in TV very often so I'm not greatly fussy!

5 Things That Made Me Smile This Week

Photo by photostock

1. I logged into Facebook the other day to find a friend request from my grandmother. She lives quite a while away (not insanely far but far enough for me as I don't drive) and we don't speak much, so I was glad to see her on there - if a little shocked because she's not great with computers!

Blogger Comment Problems... AGAIN!

Known Issues for Blogger: We're investigating reports of users not being abl...

We're investigating reports of users not being able to comment on IE8/9 from the embedded form. We hope to have a fix out shortly, but in the meantime we encourage admins to switch to either the full-page or pop-up forms which should be working without issue.


Thanks for your patience, and we'll make sure to update this post as soon as we have more info.

latest update on Thursday, October 06, 2011

I'm also having this problem with Google Chrome, is this the same for everyone?


Not only that, but I seem to be unable to find a way to switch the comments to a pop-up box.


AND the text from this post was creeping into the right sidebar. Hoping that's fixed now...


AND the layout of the post keeps appearing in some weird, broken sort of way.

Seriously starting to consider a switch to Wordpress, any thoughts (you're probably better off tweeting, @GoldAndThree)?

What REALLY Grips My ****

*Inspired by Britmums Blog Prompt, my biggest pet peeve is_______ :)*

It's something that has come up quite regularly over the past few weeks and to be honest, I've been dying for an excuse to rant over it!

5 Things That Made Me Smile This Week

Photo by David Castillo Dominici

1. Awards. Goldilocks was very pleased to come home with a Merit Award on Monday, given to her for "fantastic participation in Welsh activities".  I have blogged before about how much she loves to speak Welsh and I'm hopeful that her enthusiasm may help her focus in the classroom.

I'm Trying To Be Cross With You!



Photo by Ambro



Last night I read a post over at TheBoyandMe called Tension-Breaker and I swear it cursed me!

Big Bear was in my "bad" books yesterday. While picking up an order from Asda for me he decided to phone and see if I wanted anything while he was there:

Him: "...or she'll only whinge later..."

Me: "Hello?"

Him: "Oh hiya babe, was wondering if you wanted anything from Asda while I'm here?"

It turns out he immediately knew I'd heard him. Mistake number one.

The Birds, The Bees and The Chickens

Photo by Clare Bloomfield

It's a question most of us remember asking and all of us dread being asked:

"How did that get in there?"

When I got pregnant with Little Bear, I told Goldilocks that there was a tiny baby in my belly and that it was going to grow into a real baby. She didn't quite believe me at first, but then was thrilled. I worried about the awkward questions, but told myself that I would make sure I told her the truth in an age-appropriate way no matter what questions she asked. So I waited. And waited. Then I waited some more. Eventually...

The Welsh Carrier Bag Charge - Useful Information

Picture by digitalart

As many of you will already know, the Welsh Government is introducing a carrier-bag charge in Wales this Saturday, 1st October 2011. Many people are still confused about this - I've been on their website today to find out more. Here are the facts:

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups - Week 11

I really struggled with this week's prompt! Had writer's block for most of the week, was pre-occupied for most of the weekend and when I did start writing it on one subject, I suddenly had a massive wave of recollections and ideas! I decided not to write several, but I may just be greedy if I have time today and change my mind!

Anyway, the prompt for this week was Out of the mouths of babes.

10 Great Christmas Lies

Photo by Stuart Miles

I admit it - I'm a terrible mother. I tell constant lies to Goldilocks - from Father Christmas to dreamcatchers and everything in-between. For the most part these have has harmless effects but I do remember feeling terrible when she sulked Christmas Day because Rudolph didn't wait for her to get up: she had been looking forward to meeting him. We all lie and at some point we all get caught out, covering it up with another lie just to keep the magic going for a little bit longer. Here are a few I've used, had used on me or known other people to use.

5 Things That Made Me Smile This Week

Taking Stock...

Photo by Federico Stevanin

1. Little Bear's First Steps. They were to Big Bear, of course! He's always been the favourite which is actually really nice to see.

I Don't Want Him To Be Born



Photo by Louisa Stokes


For the past few months my attention span has been, in some cases, limited. This is very much the case when it comes to my hospital bag - 38 weeks and 4 days gone and my hospital bag is still not packed!

Whenever somebody has asked me "Why on earth isn't it done yet???" I tend to fall back on my go-to excuse for all things I've previously procrastinated on: I didn't have the time.

Well, considering pelvic girdle pain (PGP, formerly known as SPD) has made me housebound, we all know that is not the case. Thankfully nobody has pointed that out to me yet - I have been saved the embarrassment of having to shuffle my feet and "Oh, erm... well..."

The truth is, I'm not sure I want this baby to be born.

Would You Back Corporal Punishment?

I was disappointed to read an article on the BBC News website this morning that said almost half of the parents of the UK supported corporal punishment in schools:

10 Ways I Save Money On The Weekly Shop

Photo By Grant Cochrane

With the "big move" looming, a new baby on the way and Christmas around the corner, I've been thinking alot about money. I've cut down on groceries and other bills, improved on the payment plan I had on the single debt I have and had started putting money away for emergencies (a process that will have to start again as I've had to buy a new laptop!). Whereas I'm not overly worried about the subject, keeping on top of my money by budgeting and seeking out the best offers for things etc has become something of a new hobby! This will no doubt be a useful hobby to have in years to come, as I will have to tighten my purse strings even further when Big Bear and I move in together!

Here are my own 10 tips to saving money on the weekly shop!

100 Word Challenge For Grown Ups - Week 10

This week's prompt was a photo of a sculpture in Luxembourg Gardens. Initially I struggled to come up with anything but I hope this will do - definitely a lot more tame than last week!

Dear Secret Diary...

5 Things That Made Me Smile This Week

Taking Stock...

Photo by winnond (NOT of my bathroom)

1. New Bathroom - On Wednesday I had yet another scan and actually got out first thing in the morning to do the school run and get on my way. In between the school run and going to the hospital, Big Bear and I popped for a brief visit to the New House and he showed me the progress he'd made. The best sight was definitely the upstairs bathroom - everything tiled and plumbed in just the way a bathroom should be! It was lovely to see and I can't wait to start using it!

"If I die, you were the one" Tragic Teen's Final Message

I found this story earlier in the Daily Mail (It's not all about benefit-bashing, after all!) and it broke my heart to read. This beautiful 17-year-old knew that she might die and used her last moments to tell her boyfriend how much she loved him...

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups - Week 9

“Mary thought the sun shone out of his arse – she didn’t half have a shock!”

5 Things That Made Me Smile This Week

Photo by Tina Phillips

Taking Stock...

1. Goldilock's Waiter Shock - My Dad took me out for a lovely meal in an Indian restaurant on Saturday, to round up on my week-long 21st birthday! When the waiter came round to take our order for drinks, Goldilocks decided she wanted to be different. Instead of ordering Pepsi or lemonade like the rest of us, she put on her poshest tone and said "Sparkling water, please."

How Much Sex Is "Not Enough"?

Photo by photostock

According to today's news, France is now leading the world in the money-for-sex market. Not only can you seek out a prostitute and pay for sex, but you can also get married and after a messy divorce pay for not having sex.