Bizarre linkings

Every now and then I have a look at Google Analytics, my stats analysis program, to see how people come across the 21st Century Mummy site.

It often makes interesting reading as you never know what you are going find.

People's keyword searches often make me laugh, and I do find it a giggle that they have happened along my site with searches such as: Naughty Mummy and Hot Mummy. My only message to those people is...you naughty naughty boys (or even naughty girls in this day and age I suppose). How people find my site by searching on Naughty Milkman, I really don't know... (honest!)

As well as keywords, it is also possible to identify other websites that have linked to mine and have consequently referred people to the 21st Century Mummy site. Again, there is often the odd surprise or two...including...the following post where I found my Wookey Hole review translated into German. Apparently in German I am a 21 Jahrhundert Mama:

http://travelernumberone.blogspot.com/2007/10/21-jahrhundert-mama-wookey-bohrung.html

And I'll never forget this one, where I found my experience of working with Adrian Edmondson's brother up for discussion by a whole host of Jennifer Saunders fans. (I'm not sure how they thought I was a man though). Take a look at:

http://www.alexicon.org/jsaunders/forum/viewthread.php?tid=357

Well, having linked to me, I thought I would do the honour of linking back and I hope you enjoy the experience.

Meanwhile, I thought this might be a good topic for a tag, so henceforth I am tagging Picklesmum, Ingenious Rose, Jo Beaufoix, Man about the House and An English Mum for a post on their bizarre linkings. Have fun!

Flash your desktop

Picklesmum has tagged me to show-off my desktop, after showing off her lovely pictures of Russell Brand...It was a difficult decision, whether I should use my laptop or my desktop PC. What dilemmas for a 21st C mummy.

Anyway, given the fact that I was using my laptop at the time. I've settled on that and here it is.

So now I am tagging Cookiebee, Little Mummy, Ingenious Rose, Manic Mama and the Life of Bryan.


*****
Here are the instructions

A. Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by:
[1] Going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).
[2] Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V).
[3] If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

B. Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

C. Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

AUTUMN A N N E

Jo Beaufoix tagged me recently to choose one (or more) of the games that she herself had been tagged with. She did a brilliant job, which you can see here...

...As for me, I'm taking the easy option. I've chosen the Middle Name game. You'll soon see why, but first, let's start with the rules.

The Rules:

1) You have to post the rules before you give the facts.
2) Players must list one fact that is relevant to your life for each letter in your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name then use a name that you like.
3) When you are tagged, you must write a post containing your own middle name game facts.
4) At the end of your post, you must tag one person for each letter in your middle name. Don’t forget to comment them telling that they are tagged and to read your post to get the rules.

Ok...this should be easy because my name is ANNE. Poor Jo, hers is Elizabeth. Anyway, here goes...

A is for Autumn

I have loved autumn since I was a little girl. Autumn always meant "back to school" and catching up with my friends. There was always the fresh new uniform and the new winter coat. I still love the first chill which prompts me to grab my scarf and gloves and enjoy their warmth.


So, I am pretty happy at the moment as Autumn is fast approaching. So be gone you disappointing summer and welcome to my reliable old friend.


N is for Noses

I've got a thing about noses. I am really fussy. I don't like noses that are too big, noses that are too small or noses that are too hairy. I am sure that Goldilocks would understand why I can only cope with noses that are "just right".

I don't think that my nose is too big, or too small and hopefully not too hairy. However, it is nowhere near "just right". In fact it's bent due to an accident which resulted in me breaking it when I was 14. I should have known I was too big to do tumble-overs on a safety fence in a Welsh village. Well, there was nothing else to do at the time and there were only 3 TV channels. Yes three! That's how old I am.


Even though I am not good with in the nasal area, I am tempted to order these "Pick your nose" cups when I next have a party. I first saw them in a quirky little shop in Paris, but you can also buy them from here.


N is for Naughtiness

I love Naughtiness, not to be confused with nastiness. Naughtiness is one of those words that sounds like it should be. It just sounds so naughty...say it a few times...go on......naughtiness, naughtiness, naughtiness.

I was a naughty little girl. I would wait for April Fools Day in the same way as most children wait for Christmas. I used to relish the opportunity to play mischief. I used to love hiding, behind a door, under the coats in the coat-stand or even up in the trees.


"My Naughty Little Sister" was one of my favourite reads. She was always naughtier than me, so made me look like an angel by comparison.

I love my children's naughtiness. I don't mean the pushing or shoving or fighting over toys, but the daring aspect to their characters. I love seeing the glint in my children's eyes when they know they are being naughty. Seeing the cheekiness and the creative spirit coming alive is just adorable.


E is for Emily

If my eldest son had been born a girl, he, or rather she, would have been called Emily. There was no reason for the choice of name other than the fact that we really loved it and we hadn't met anyone called Emily who was horrible.


In fact we didn't even know anyone called Emily at the time. However, since then we have met lots and most have been lovely! So here's a big thumbs up for all the nice Emilys all over the world.

(photo of Emily Bishop courtesy of www.corrie.net)

As it states in the rules, I now have to tag four people, one for every letter in my middle name. So, Picklesmum, Ruby, mummyonashoestring and Mr Bean look out..you've been tagged.

The best things about blogging

Erica of Little Mummy is the co-ordinator of a great new website British Parent Bloggers, which will feature lots of hints and tips for parents as well as regular features on blogging. She has tagged me to write a meme on "the best things about blogging" and as a result of the tag will compile a list of responses to publish on the site.

So, to help Erica along ,the best things about blogging for me are...

• The sanity it brings, through having a forum to harness your thoughts.
  
• The opportunity to focus on the ordinary things in my life that would otherwise be forgotten.
• The outlet it provides for me to develop my creative writing. I love writing but my career is full of technical documents, including software guides, training manuals and research documents. This is so much more refreshing.
• The online community. Other people's comment and stories are so interesting.
  
• It's free
• (and that also means free therapy)
• It's something you can do at 2am, when you've been woken by a three year old climbing into your bed and you can't get back to sleep because your phone rings (very loudly) at midnight. You think it's an emergency but it's a stranger dialling the wrong number! Aaarrgh, thank goodness for blogging!
  

I am now tagging another British Parent Bloggers member Man about the house, where I sometimes can be seen lurking, as well as two bloggers closer to home, Picklesmum and Ruby of Living in Bury St Edmunds fame, whose blogs often give an insight into family life in Suffolk.

The Meme

Give your own ‘Best Things About Blogging’

The Rules

1. Answer the question
2. Linkback to the person that tagged you and to BPB so that I can read them all (Erica would like to put together a top ten/twenty list!)
3. Tag 3 people - they don’t have to be BPB members but try and choose british parent bloggers if possible.

Me Me Me Me Me

Ruby tagged me for a meme last week, prompting me to pull together 8 random facts about myself. Sorry it's taken so long but as regular readers know, I've been having too much fun. Anyway, grab a cup of tea and settle down for...


Random Fact no 1:

While growing up in Wales, I had to dress up for our annual St David's Day class photo. It was always a funny occasion, digging out the frilly Welsh hat, the shawl and the little apron (or pinny as my mam used to call it). Oh I nearly forgot, we also needed a daffodil or a leek with which to decorate the shawl (we were probably aged 5 or 6 in this class photo and please note, I am not the one picking my nose).


Random Fact no 2:

My dad died when I was very young, just before I turned 5 years old. He was killed in motorcycle accident. I still miss him and I hate motorbikes.


Random Fact no. 3:

I love peacock feathers. Many people think they are unlucky. However, studies of Feng Shui indicate that they bring good fortune. Here's one I drew yesterday ;-D



Random Fact no. 4:

In 1984 I sat in on a BBC Wales radio show broadcast with Molly Parkin. I was a 16 year old media studies student. She was a naughty novelist. I didn't know at the time. I just remembered she had a strong character and dressed strangely.


Random Fact no 5:

I love crystals. I normally get mine from the Crystal Merchant in Bury St Edmunds.




Random Fact no 6:

Before having children I set up this news service for a consultancy in London. It's still going strong seven years later.



Random Fact no 7:

I hate plastic boxes but love Wicker baskets.




Random Fact no 8:

I am a now a very proud owner of a corset designed by Terry Fox. It was an unusual treat from 21st C Dad last Christmas, after he'd earned himself a serious promotion. It is the prettiest garment I have ever had and I will cherish it forever. It took me months to choose which design I liked and because it was handmade I needed several fittings, so I didn't get it until last week. To spare blushes, let me stress it is an outer garment that can be worn with jeans and is not an undergarment ( I certainly wouldn't be flashing my undies on a public blog). Anyway, after my final fitting I kept it on and paraded it through the streets of Bury St Edmunds before coming home to clean the floor. I felt a bit like Cinderella in need of a fairy godmother to send me off to the ball.


I hope you've enjoyed my personal meme. Thank you to Ruby for the opportunity to have a good ponder. I would now like to tag Ingeniousrose, Erica at Little Mummy, Melanie at Beansprouts and Mr Bean at I Need a Coffee.

My next task is to work on another meme on blogging. So watch this space and wait to be tagged ;-D