Recently, the lovely English Mum started a post called Around the web in 20 clicks listing her top 20 recent reads. I got a mention in Tara's post of the same name, although she actually had 24!
I wondered if I should have a go myself. However, I don't think I could ever choose. Then I had an idea.....
I am not big on storing things in my browser's favourites. I do favourite some things - mostly long and obscure URLs that point to a particular page that I use from time to time. The rest of the time I just type in the address bar and I often use the auto-complete feature. There are certain sites whose addresses pop up as soon as I type in a single letter because of my regular usage, so I thought I would go through and list the sites that are stored in my browser when I type a single letter into the address bar. There aren't 26 as some letters don't give me an answer but this gives you a flavour of my internet usage habits and where I like to hang out.
And so, I give you my browser's A to Z guide to the web.
A is for A|Wear, an Irish clothing retailer who sell to the UK. I was very lucky earlier this year and won £1000 store credit on their site so I am forever planning what to buy from them. I still have about £300 to go and it's been fun picking stuff, ordering it, and it turning up - all without costing me a penny!
B is for Blog Up North, a blog written by Garry aka himupnorth. We've been twitter buddies for what feels like forever and it is because of him that I started writing (I wrote him a couple of guest posts earlier in the year) which led me to start this blog. Form an orderly queue to thank or complain as appropriate.
C is for Chorley Guardian which shocked me as I really don't read it all that often these days.
D is for Disqus - which you may recognise as my commenting system. I log on to reply to comments so that I don't miss replying to anyone that's taken time to comment on a post.
E is for English Wikipedia's main page - again, I was surprised by this as I don't think I visit too often. I am more likely to access Wikipedia direct to an entry from Google.
F is for Feedburner which creates a blog RSS feed, allowing people to subscribe to my blog via readers or email.
G is for Google, which I guess is not a shock really. I am forever googling pretty much everything.
H is for He Tore A Hamstring, a blog written by Rohan. He writes a lot about sport - in particular Liverpool FC - but also about his life. He writes poignantly about his struggles with depression but also last year, he lost his fiancée Dani and many of his posts are inspired by her, documenting his journey through grief and his enduring love for her. Some of his posts have just blown me away.
I is for (I am) Typecast, a blog by Nickie. A couple of weeks ago on Twitter, Nickie was asking opinions on new blog templates etc and the conversation turned to domain names. The lovely Marylin from Pure Unadulterated Softthistle offered her a free domain. I came up with the name "iamtypecast.com" which turned out to be available and the rest is history. You can read the full story of that night here.
J is for JAG's Fitness Blog, written by Jo. I've known Jo for several years online, mostly from the Handbag discussion boards. She started her blog to document her weight loss journey in 2009 and lost 50lbs in a little under 6 months. Her posts document what she's eating, how she's training and other details of her life. She is truly inspirational and her blog has a sizeable following.
K is for Kirsty's Gone Bananas blog. Kirsty lives in Florida, although she is half British. She has a daughter who suffers from epilepsy and at the moment, she is blogging about that throughout National Epilepsy Awareness Month. She also hosts the Friday Food Fight, along with her sister Karen who blogs at If I Could Escape and who has recently moved to the UK with her family.
L is for Lancashire Evening Post for which, the entry for C also applies. I don't read it that often but I do look at the news.
M is for my mailbox. Not a lot to see here, move along now.
N is for National Rail Enquiries - and I don't go on trains that often. Still, it's useful to find out train times - the fares bit is rubbish tho.
O is for Ocado. They're the only internet food retailer I will use now as they are so reliable and they rarely make mistakes. I booked my Christmas food shop with them last year and then spent an agonising 8 hours waiting for it to turn up as we were knee deep (ok, ankle deep) in snow and the delivery lorry bringing orders up from their warehouse blew a tyre on the motorway. They got here - but the van got stuck on our road. I don't use them all that often, but it's always a nice treat when I do.
P is for Pizza Hut. Not entirely sure why - although the kids love pizza, we don't go there very often.!
Q is for Quidco. This site allows you to earn cashback on your internet purchases. Liking a bargain, I always check for deals before I buying anything large!
R is for Random.org which is a random number service. I used it to help me draw entries for the competition I ran a couple of weeks ago.
S is for Sticky Fingers, written by Tara. It is, of course, home to The Gallery most weeks so I'm constantly visiting to load pictures or to check the prompt. However, the whole blog is great and unsurprisingly, it has some great pictures too.
T is for The Five Fs blog! Hardly surprising, is it?!
U is for, erm, nothing.
V is for Very Bored in Catalunya. It is a blog about Very Bored and her life as an English ex-pat mum of one in - strangely - Catalunya (northern Spain).
W is for Who.Unfollowed.Me, a tool to discover who has unfollowed you on twitter. I know some people use it and agonise over any unfollows. To be honest, it doesn't bother me unless it is someone I am very close to. I guess I just like to know who has unfollowed me. Sometimes, I do ask people why they have unfollowed if I feel I know them well enough to do so and it is usually a twitter problem. I generally check it 3 times a week although sometimes I forget to do it.
X, Y, and Z are for .... erm, again, nothing.
So, there you go. I think I may have revealed myself as obsessed by blogs, stats, information, saving money and food and possibly retail therapy. I fear my browser says way too much about me.
Showing posts with label guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guide. Show all posts
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Monday, 13 September 2010
Parenting - a bluffer's guide
The other day, I was drawn to this post by Paula at Battling On. God knows, we have all had times like she's having right now, and we will all have more to come. I blogged recently about being made to feel like a bad mother during a trying moment in the school holidays; a more trivial bad day, but I reckon we can all think of days, weeks, even months when they've felt like Paula does and she received a lot of support from her readers.
Earlier in the week, I had a Twitter conversation where I'd told Garry from Blog Up North (who'd described himself as a dad who was "fumbling along") that anyone that cares if they are a bad parent or not is a good one. And it's true, because the really bad ones don't care about anything or anyone except themselves. They don't care about their children which leads to neglect or worse. We all know the horror stories; I don't want to dwell on them here. It's not the place to do it, because that's not what this post is about. What I'm saying is it we know what bad parenting looks like and it's pretty extreme.
Bad parents are, thankfully, few and far between, leaving the rest of us muddling along, but basically good parents. Parents mostly do a good job but beat themselves up continually about everything that is not going right in their family or as they had hoped.
It's understandable, really, because everyone has an opinion about parenting. Other parents, non-parents, grandparents, health professionals, teachers, the Government and the media. They all have an opinion on how we parent and worse, they like to share it with us. They tell us where we're going wrong (not always through words - a look can say a thousand sometimes), and what to do to correct it to become the perfect parent overnight. Like right, that'll happen! Wherever we go, whatever we do, we feel judged - and we all judge other parents. Yes, all of us. Small wonder parents feel like they are drowning when things are going badly and show no signs of improving.
However, no-one else can completely judge the situation unless they're living it with us. When we're struggling as parents, all we need to get us through the tough times might be a hug, a cup or glass of something strong and a friendly listening ear, to get it all out and share some of the load. But also we might need advice, preferably of the "Have you tried?" or "We tried this and it worked for us" variety rather than the "Do this or you've failed as a parent" variety. And sometimes, we need the perspective of someone removed from the situation to help them see through the fog of panic or despair.
An advice-giver needs to remember that their advice might not be taken. We, as parents living our nightmare, know our situation and family best. After all, you, the parent, are the expert on your children - no-one knows them better than you; they are a unique mix of genes, parenting and education, as are you. I read parenting books when I was first a mother from "parenting experts" but do they know my kids? No. I used some of the ideas they had - because they gave me fresh perspective - but I didn't slavishly follow them because they didn't suit my family. All experts give us is a toolbag of extra shiny tools at our disposal. Parents can use them, and a few wobbly home-made ones, on their children and that's when it becomes a craft. That takes practice. Judging by my crafting abilities, it takes me quite a few goes and a lot of practice to get anything like that looking right, so by that parallel, I'm going to fail a few times at this parenting lark and have to have another go or six before I get that right too, then start from scratch each time I have to make something new.
Only this afternoon, I read a Facebook status from a friend who had had a bad night with her very young baby because she had not swaddled her and then had barely slept. It turns out that several people had told her to stop swaddling "because she'll get addicted to it", so she had tried stopping and it hadn't worked. She was panicking that she had already failed and that the baby was already addicted. Thankfully, lots of other people pointed out that she was just a baby and that if that was what helped her daughter to sleep soundly, then do it. Having already "given in" and swaddled her baby, who immediately slept peacefully, she's realised that you have to do what you have to do. She'll worry about it later, crossing that bridge when she comes to it.
Because after all, they change so quickly, our children. One minute, we're despairing that they will ever be able to do something, the next they're doing it. One minute, they are reducing you to tears with their behaviour, and the next, they are amazing you with their maturity and impeccable manners. My main mantra as a parent has always been "This too shall pass" because it will, for good or for bad. The bad times will go, however desperate and relentless it seems when they're hanging over you like a black cloud. The good times will go too, so it is double-edged, reminding me to appreciate when life is good with the children, and they're both amazing and delighting me.
So this is my bluffer's guide to parenting. Don't take it to heart cos it represents me and my style. You can always share yours in the comments if you like.
- Take advice if you want to, but feel free to ignore it. If I ever give advice, I try to qualify it by saying it worked for me if it has. I'd be thrilled if someone took it and it helped them, but I'm not going to be offended if they don't. No-one should make you feel obliged to take their advice. It's not the law to follow it. It's not their life, it's yours.
- Make it up as you go along. Cos we all do. Yes, even the perfectly turned out parents that seem to breeze through everything. They're just better at being the swans - serene on top, paddling like mad underneath. What worked last week might not work this week. But one thing is for sure - it will change.
- Do what you have to do to survive the hard times, whether it be shouting, crying, drinking wine, cake or a cup of tea away from the kids - without guilt. You just have to do it. It keeps you sane. What's wrong with that?
We're all bluffers at this parenting lark. The most important job of all but requires no qualifications, admission exams to pass or minimum standards to meet. Everyone has their own parenting style, and most are bloody brilliant at it, because we love our children and have their best interests at heart. If we can, we should support rather than criticise the parents having a tough time.
Because next week, next month, next year, it could be us.
(If you would like information on various aspects of pregnancy and early parenthood, the NCT provides evidence-based information which you can find here. Hope it helps)
Earlier in the week, I had a Twitter conversation where I'd told Garry from Blog Up North (who'd described himself as a dad who was "fumbling along") that anyone that cares if they are a bad parent or not is a good one. And it's true, because the really bad ones don't care about anything or anyone except themselves. They don't care about their children which leads to neglect or worse. We all know the horror stories; I don't want to dwell on them here. It's not the place to do it, because that's not what this post is about. What I'm saying is it we know what bad parenting looks like and it's pretty extreme.
Bad parents are, thankfully, few and far between, leaving the rest of us muddling along, but basically good parents. Parents mostly do a good job but beat themselves up continually about everything that is not going right in their family or as they had hoped.
It's understandable, really, because everyone has an opinion about parenting. Other parents, non-parents, grandparents, health professionals, teachers, the Government and the media. They all have an opinion on how we parent and worse, they like to share it with us. They tell us where we're going wrong (not always through words - a look can say a thousand sometimes), and what to do to correct it to become the perfect parent overnight. Like right, that'll happen! Wherever we go, whatever we do, we feel judged - and we all judge other parents. Yes, all of us. Small wonder parents feel like they are drowning when things are going badly and show no signs of improving.
However, no-one else can completely judge the situation unless they're living it with us. When we're struggling as parents, all we need to get us through the tough times might be a hug, a cup or glass of something strong and a friendly listening ear, to get it all out and share some of the load. But also we might need advice, preferably of the "Have you tried?" or "We tried this and it worked for us" variety rather than the "Do this or you've failed as a parent" variety. And sometimes, we need the perspective of someone removed from the situation to help them see through the fog of panic or despair.
An advice-giver needs to remember that their advice might not be taken. We, as parents living our nightmare, know our situation and family best. After all, you, the parent, are the expert on your children - no-one knows them better than you; they are a unique mix of genes, parenting and education, as are you. I read parenting books when I was first a mother from "parenting experts" but do they know my kids? No. I used some of the ideas they had - because they gave me fresh perspective - but I didn't slavishly follow them because they didn't suit my family. All experts give us is a toolbag of extra shiny tools at our disposal. Parents can use them, and a few wobbly home-made ones, on their children and that's when it becomes a craft. That takes practice. Judging by my crafting abilities, it takes me quite a few goes and a lot of practice to get anything like that looking right, so by that parallel, I'm going to fail a few times at this parenting lark and have to have another go or six before I get that right too, then start from scratch each time I have to make something new.
Only this afternoon, I read a Facebook status from a friend who had had a bad night with her very young baby because she had not swaddled her and then had barely slept. It turns out that several people had told her to stop swaddling "because she'll get addicted to it", so she had tried stopping and it hadn't worked. She was panicking that she had already failed and that the baby was already addicted. Thankfully, lots of other people pointed out that she was just a baby and that if that was what helped her daughter to sleep soundly, then do it. Having already "given in" and swaddled her baby, who immediately slept peacefully, she's realised that you have to do what you have to do. She'll worry about it later, crossing that bridge when she comes to it.
Because after all, they change so quickly, our children. One minute, we're despairing that they will ever be able to do something, the next they're doing it. One minute, they are reducing you to tears with their behaviour, and the next, they are amazing you with their maturity and impeccable manners. My main mantra as a parent has always been "This too shall pass" because it will, for good or for bad. The bad times will go, however desperate and relentless it seems when they're hanging over you like a black cloud. The good times will go too, so it is double-edged, reminding me to appreciate when life is good with the children, and they're both amazing and delighting me.
So this is my bluffer's guide to parenting. Don't take it to heart cos it represents me and my style. You can always share yours in the comments if you like.
- Take advice if you want to, but feel free to ignore it. If I ever give advice, I try to qualify it by saying it worked for me if it has. I'd be thrilled if someone took it and it helped them, but I'm not going to be offended if they don't. No-one should make you feel obliged to take their advice. It's not the law to follow it. It's not their life, it's yours.
- Make it up as you go along. Cos we all do. Yes, even the perfectly turned out parents that seem to breeze through everything. They're just better at being the swans - serene on top, paddling like mad underneath. What worked last week might not work this week. But one thing is for sure - it will change.
- Do what you have to do to survive the hard times, whether it be shouting, crying, drinking wine, cake or a cup of tea away from the kids - without guilt. You just have to do it. It keeps you sane. What's wrong with that?
We're all bluffers at this parenting lark. The most important job of all but requires no qualifications, admission exams to pass or minimum standards to meet. Everyone has their own parenting style, and most are bloody brilliant at it, because we love our children and have their best interests at heart. If we can, we should support rather than criticise the parents having a tough time.
Because next week, next month, next year, it could be us.
(If you would like information on various aspects of pregnancy and early parenthood, the NCT provides evidence-based information which you can find here. Hope it helps)
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