13 Jul 2011

[ . . Wonderful Week . . ] The big three-o


Well it's arrived. I have now turned 30.

If you have been a regular reader you will know that I wasn't particularly looking forward to the milestone but actually it has (so far) been pain free. I should have known that really but after a mini meltdown when turning 25 I wasn't that confident. I have always had a thing about milestones and anniversaries.

So I am now 30, a wife, and a stay at home mum. Blimey I couldn't have predicted that at 25!

I had a wonderful weekend celebrating the event with my nearest and dearest friends and family. A tea party for friends on Saturday, dinner with family on Sunday and a walk on Monday. Perfect.

The only thing that I'm not too happy about is completely failing to finish my 30 before 30 list. In fact I have only got about half way through. So I am going to have to turn it into another list because I am keen to finish it in some form or another. So do I go for 12 before 2012, 101 things to do before I die, 31 before 31, 40 before 40. I'm just not sure.

For the time being though I am just going to concentrate on being me and the best mum, wife, daughter and friend I can be. Blogging and the list are going to have to come second (or should that be fifth!?) because at the minute I just don't seem to be able to find the time to do it all.

Hope to see you all soon and any thoughts on the list please let me know.

x

5 Jul 2011

[ . . 30 before 30 . . ] 7. Go on a date with Mr B

This one off my 30 before 30 list actually makes me laugh now I read it back.

Like many of them I added it because it is something that we never used to do enough of. But now, we have the perfect excuse. The loving and doting grandparents can't wait to baby sit for little E so, well, we have to keep them happy now don't we ;)

Probably the most memorable real date of recent times was on my due date when we went out for dinner to take my mind off things and if you are a regular reader you will know it did the trick as little E arrived the morning after. Since then we have been out for dinner quite a few times which we used to love to do in the 'old days' and then most recently the pièce de résistance has been to go to a gig.

This really takes me back to the old days. When Mr B and I first met he was in a band. In fact that was his golden chat up line. Needless to say we used to go to gigs quite often - Mr B's and others. We have been very fortunate to get some great tickets and see some now quite large bands in small dingey places.

Ones I can remember off the top of my head are Scissor Scissors, Ed Harcourt, Death Cab for Cutie, Flaming Lips, The Magic Numbers, Iron & Wine, Cake, Grandaddy, Kings of Convenience, Supergrass, M Ward, and Midlake. No doubt I have forgotten some classics which Mr B will tease me about.

But, most recently we drove 40 miles to see Fleet Foxes and The Bees who were supporting. We have seen The Bees a lot of times and they are one of my favourites, what I call happy music which is always good. They weren't really up to their usual standard but they were only the support so I will let them off. It was the first time we had seen Fleet Foxes and they didn't disappoint. Having had their albums on constant repeat in the car since E was born I even knew all the songs.



We had such a great time but did struggle to talk about things other than baby E but I guess that is inevitable these days.

We do now need to plan our next date though, we don't actually have one lined up. Hmmm..? Do any of you have regular 'date nights'? What are your favourites? Cinema, meal..?

2 Jul 2011

[ . . Wonderful Week . . ] This time last week...

...I was on my way home from CyberMummy feeling a little bit tipsy and absolutely exhausted.

The day for me was a complete mix of emotions. I had a bit of a wobble leaving my boys at the train station and I had completely underestimated how overwhelmed I would feel in a room full of over 400 women. It was bizarre. I have been to many conferences in the past but never one where there was quite so many women. I am used to being the minority.

My arrival at the venue was slightly marred by the fact that my phone had completely crashed so I was in a bit of a panic. After being saved by one of the wonderful hairdressers who let me borrow his power socket I started to calm down and made my way back in to the main room. And bang. It hit me.

I had actually come all the way to London, on my own, to a room full of strangers, out of choice. Was I completely mad?? I made my way to grab a cup of tea (sugar always helps!) and in no time it was time for the first keynotes.

The first by a Facebook bigwig was interesting and not the 'sales pitch' I thought it would be. What is there to sell I guess. But to be honest I wasn't really listening and was more interested in scanning the room playing 'spot the blogger'. It was then I realised I hardly recognised anyone. I didn't have long to ponder the thought though as Sarah Brown (yes that one) was next on and was utterly engaging, inspiring and to be honest quite surprising.

Then it was time for more tea and another sugar hit. As I stood enjoying my tea, waiting for the sugar to kick in I glanced around the room and it hit me again. I really was on my own. Suddenly everyone seemed to know each other and already be in pairs or groups. The few people I spotted on their own, and therefore was brave enough to introduce myself to turned out to be PR's. I really was wondering why I was there.

The rest of the day seemed a bit of a blur. A mixture of really interesting and thought provoking sessions and absolutely nerve racking, moments of loneliness. Finally it was 6 o'clock, the main sessions had finished and I thought I would leave early. Stumbling out with all the freebies and getting some dinner before the train home seemed like a good idea but I decided to grab at least one of the free glasses of wine first.

Well that went down quite nicely and gave me a bit of perspective. I had spent quite a bit of money to get myself there and I was actually thinking about leaving early? No, I had to make it worth while so, more wine, deep breath and well, I started to introduce myself to people. Deciding that I didn't care if I seemed like a stalker, after all what did that matter. It was probably my favourite part of the day.

In no time at all it was 8 o'clock and time to leave to get the train. I was ready, but in the end I had had a good day. The highlights for me really were meeting some great twitter and blogging friends (you know who you are!). I am not sure that the sessions have given me the direction I wanted for my blog but I am not sure anyone can do that. It is up to me.

After all it is all about the niche. And well, my niche is I guess me and at the minute this little chap...


Cheeky boy :)

All the sessions were live blogged from CyberMummy and you can find them here.
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