Listography - Top 5 Things I Love About Kids

Oh Listography, how I have missed thee!
KateTakes5 is only doing this feature once a monthn instead of weekly which I am gutted about but I will make the most of the ones I can do!

This months subject is close to my heart, not only because I have children but also because I work in a Nursery so I have 71 children to refer to!  I hate other peoples kids, not the ones I know but the ones in the street/ bus/ shopping centre/ supermarket! 
  I love kids that I know personally and get to spend almost everyday with them!

Here are my top 5 things I love about kids:

1 - The way they make you, as an adult, do stupid things!

For instance, I have pulled many a funny face, told a silly story or made up completely random things just to entertain, losing all self dignity and professionalism! When at home, I have been known to chase my son around a room or wrestle him to the ground just to entertain!

2 - When you get random bouts of affection

I love it when my son tells me he loves me for no reason.  Or when a child at work runs up to me and hugs me!  I get that warm, fluffy feeling inside!

3 - Teaching them new things and seeing them apply it to life

The best thing about being a mum is teaching your children new things and when my son learns from me I feel an enormous sense of pride and achievement. 

4 - When I can talk to kids like an adult!

Dont get me wrong, kids should be kids and act like one.  But having a normal conversation with them without talking down to them like a child is so much easier!

5 - The excitement

The joy in kids faces when they explore or do something fun, you cannot beat the look on their faces!

xxx

Listography - My Top 5 Albums by Male Solo Artists

Ooh I love it when Listography goes all musical!  I have not joined in for a few weeks as some of the topics have not related to me in any way!  Now this weeks theme I thought would be a walk in the park for me, being a huge music lover and cd collector.  However, looking at my taste of music, it mainly consists of heavy metal, indie groups or pop groups!  My male solo artist section leaves a lot to be desired, mainly showing off best ofs and lame chart hits that I'm embarrassed to mention!
  However, I have managed to pick out my favourite albums by male solo artists even if I am clutching at straws towards the end!  Dont judge me, here we go:


1: 
Damien Rice - O:  A beautiful album that I adore playing although I definetely have to be in a depressing mood to hear it, otherwise it leaves you feeling depressed either way!


2: 
Bryan Adams - On a Day Like Today:  I have made it no secret on my blog that he is my guilty pleasure and this is my fave album by the man himself, perfect to listen to on a spring day!


3: 
David Gilmour - Live:  Oh dear god!  This album, all be it live, is amazing!  I get goosebumps from beginning to end from the Pink Floyd front man, I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of guitars!

4: 
Robbie Williams - Life Thru a Lens - His best work, this album takes me back to being a teenager and I really think it is well written even if Robbie was a little bitter in those days!

5: 
Bruce Springsteen - Working On a Dream: opening track Outlaw Pete sets the scene for this album, a great comeback from the man himself as he showcased this at Glastonbury three years ago and blew me away!

Phew, that was tough!  Now pop over to Kate Takes 5 to see what others have chosen xxx

Listography - My Top 5 Mugs!

Mugs, as in the cup, not faces!  This weeks Listography is a great one!  Kate, who hosts this weekly event, did not think this topic would go down well with us bloggers, but she has had many link up and Im happy to be one of them!
  I was sitting with my fiance when I remembered this weeks theme and the look on his face when I grabbed my camera and told him I was jus popping off to take pictures of my mugs!
  So here they are, these proudly sit on the top shelf of my kitchen cupboard with the door shut!

1:  The Cupcake - I received this from a friend when I told her I wanted a pink kitchen.  I had my pink kitchen for four years and since moving to my new home I have a white kitchen but with a cupcake theme so this fits in perfectly.

2: The Easter Egg Mug - This is my favourtie mug because I had this as a child but lost it.  So when they brought out a Smarties easter egg with mug included, I just had to buy it to reminisce about Easters of long ago!

3:  The Souvenir mug - Everyone has one, a mug to say you have been somewhere else other than England!  This mug combines two of my loves, Ibiza and Frogs!

4:  The Celebrity mug - This was a christmas present from a friend, because I am a huge Madonna fan!  This artwork is from her GHV2 album although not the best of artworks, I still love this mug!

5:  The Mug You Never Drink Out Of - this is from the Disney Store and those of you that are aware of their mug collection, they do the most beautiful china cups that should only be bought for show!  And this is my 'show' mug, never to be drunk out of!

So there we have it, a collection of mugs that I tried to make as interesting as it can get!  Im off to have a peek into others' kitchen cupboards and see what mugs they have on show!











Listography - Top 5 Phrases That Drive Me Crazy

Over at Kate Takes 5, this weeks themed listography has made me giggle and gives me an opportunity to have a good rant!  The english language these days leaves a lot to be desired, with the introduction of texting, facebook, twitter and other such lazy ways of communicating, (although I do all three!).  Because of this, some new phrases have developed that I particularly despise and some old phrases poke there head through that have sadly stayed with us!
  Here are my top 5 phrases that drive me crazy:

1:  'Thats jokes!' - used by the kids of today, I cannot stand this phrase, I mean, what is wrong with saying 'That's so funny!'  Why turn a perfectly fine sentence like that into something that makes me sound like I have come from Mars?!!

2:  'At the end of the day' - Kate chose this one too, and whenever I hear it I have to finish the sentence by saying, 'It gets dark!'

3:  'Do I hate it when people answer their own question? Yes I do!' - Although not a specific phrase, it winds me up when people do this!  Its not necessary!

4: 'Basically' - just one simple word yet very annoying!  Basically, what?  You are about to tell me something very basic because I don't understand the hard version?!

5:  'I'm well jel!' - A broken down version of  'I am really jealous' courtesy of the not very well spoken TOWIE stars!  Now I am from Essex and I have never used this phrase in my life, and hearing others' use it now makes me cringe!

Thanks for the rant, Im now going to pop over to listography to see what other bloggers have chosen!

Listography - My Top 5 Most Visited Websites

Over at Kate Takes 5, her listography theme this week is showcasing our top five most visited websites.  This is quite an easy one for me this week as I seem to spend my whole life on the internet!  So, hopefully  mine are not all social network related!  Here goes...

 
1:  Blogger.com - Of course this is my most visited, I blog nearly everyday and when Im not ranting in a post, I am relaxing reading everyone elses'!


2:  Facebook.com - surely this must be on most peoples lists!  I get ridiculed for going on here constantly but its not as often as it looks!  I do check facebook on my phone, mainly when I am bored to pass the time, but it also a good way of promoting my blog!


3:  Amazon.com - my basket and wish list are busting at the seams! Thats because I am on it everyday clicking 'add' to all my personal recommendations!  I dont always buy my items but its a nice feeling to know that I can walk away when ever I want to!


4:  Pinterest.com - Oh how I love thee!  I have come across so many wondrous things on this website that I cannot comprehend they really exist!  I have been inspired and motivated by this website and long may it continue!



5:  Barclays - I was surprised that this was in my top five but then I do alot of online banking, so I know exactly what is going on with my account, plus its so much easier to transfer money to and from accounts, even when the bank is shut!

Now Im off to Kates listography to see what other delights I can come across xxx

Listography - Top 5 Tips for Bloggers

Oh no, a really, really hard list for me this week.  I almost feel like I don't have a right to participate in this week's Listography but Kate said it does not matter how long you have been blogging for to answer this so I will take her advice and pray!  I have been blogging for 9 months now, and I am still learning as I go along.  So this list will be based on the things that have helped me to keep going with my blog, even when I thought there was never anyone reading it!


My top five tips for blogging are:

1:  Keep it fresh - I feel that it shows your readers that you care about them if you are constantly coming up with new ideas, new pictures, and sometimes even a new page layout to show you care, to show that you are putting in the effort and to keep new ways of showing who you are as a blogger.  For me, this makes it more fun and keeps readers guessing what you may come up with next!


2:  Join in with challenges - To keep me on my toes, I have joined the Day Zero Project and the 365 Day Photo Challenge so that even if I ran out of ideas for posts, I always have these to inspire me and keep me going!  They have both generated my highest stats too so I know people are visiting my pages through these projects, plus I have so much fun challenging myself and giving me something to do!

3:  Join in with memes, link ups and giveaways - not only do these generate many a page view and visitors to your blog, but I have also met some great people and had so much fun seeing the different themes every week and thinking about how I will participate even if some subjects are hard!  My favourite link ups are The Gallery, Mix Tape Mondays and of course, Listography!

4:  Read and comment on other blogs - Not only is it polite, but I have also been inspired by reading other blogs.  To comment, I never really did this at first unless I felt strongly about something but now I realise that not only can commenting get you some readers too, but it also helps the blogger!  When I receive comments, I get that lovely warm feeling that somone has taken their time to comment, so to do the same for someone else is great!  I also enjoy seeing what other people have to say, what things they have come up with and their take on blogging.

5:  Join networks such as twitter and facebook - The banes of my life!  But they have given me the most followers and any excuse to go on these sites always helps!  Networked blogs is a site on these social networks that keeps my followers updated automatically so I don't have to remind them myself to look at any new posts.

Wow, I got through it!  Those were the best I could come up with, so now Im popping over to Kate Takes 5 to see what tips others can give me!

Listography - 5 of My Best....

Yay, Listography is back and for the first of my list for 2012, Kate Take 5 has asked us to chose our own best ofs' which is a chore in itself for me! (Ok, so Im just being lazy!). So here are some random things that I favouritise!!

1 - My Best Day of the Week - Saturdays!  It falls between Friday and Sunday during the weekend which means I get to have fun, relax and spend time with family and friends! Hooray!

 

2 - My Best Website - this is not a difficult one for me, it has to be Amazon!  I am totally addicted and my basket is bursting to be bought!  What makes the addiction worse, is that they have personal recommendations on there so they even know what potentially I may like!!


3 - My Best Gig I have Ever Been to - I dont know why I have made this so hard for myself as I have been to over 60 gigs and to chose just one is very difficult!  I'm going to have to pick Muse at Wembley Stadium 2010, just because it sticks out for me as being magical!



4 - My Best Stage Musical - Again, another hard one but I thouroughly enjoyed seeing We Will Rock You, twice!  Being a big Queen fan I was in my element when I went to see this, and would gladly go again!



5 - My Best Blog Post - Generating a total of 700+ views, and being my favourite highlight of 2011 is Meeting David Tennant!

Now pop over to Kates to see what others picked as their 'Bests' xxxx

Listography - Top 5 Things That Make Christmas, Christmas!

I hate chrismas, I am a right old scrooge but its only been the last couple of years that I have been like this!  I just think with all the hype that people create over one day is just ridiculous plus its cold and dark!  However, thanks to Kate Takes 5 I have managed to succumb myself to the goodness that is Christmas, so make the most of this list as I shall return to grumpiness after!

My Top 5 things that make Christmas:



1:  Watching Scrooge the Musical - a family tradition of ours, my Mum and Dad introduced me to this version of the classic story and they have watched it every year.  The songs remind me of christmas and the old, 19th century feel to it makes me feel quite sentimental and nostalgic.



2: Doctor Who Christmas Specials - The only thing I really look forward to watching on Christmas Day and the best one was the last ever David Tennant episode which had me crying my eyes out over the festive period!

 

3;  Baileys and After Eight mints! - both of which I only really have on Christmas day, and if the festival had a taste, these two items is what it would taste like!

4: Putting the Christmas tree up - its taken me a little longer this year to put up our tree because I feel so un-festive!  But now that its done, it looks so pretty and magical and cosy!

5:  Visiting Santa - every year I have taken Jacob to see the top man himself, but this year I left the duty to his grandparents!  It makes me feel like I was six again when I visit him with Jacob but this year I have just not been in a christmassy mood!

Now pop over to Kates Listography to see some proper jolly posts instead of my miserable one, to get into the festive spirit!

Merry Christmas and Bah Humbug!

xxx





Listography - Top 5 Xmas Tunes!!

Kate this week has handed over her listography to These Precious Things who has chosen the festive theme.  Being the scrooge that I am, I was not going to join in this week, but then began making a list in my head anyway so thought I would share it!  I must stress that I hate christmas songs - mostly because they do not get played at christmas any more but about two months beforehand so that by the time christmas comes, I hate it!  So, the point of my list is to highlight the fact that there once was a time when I loved christmas and these songs remind me of the magical christmas' I had as a child:


1:  East 17 - Stay Another Day

Being a huge fan of the band at the time, this one song always reminds me of being a teenager, and the warmth and fluffiness of xmas

2:  Queen - Thank God Its Xmas



Love anything Queen related, and this song reminds me of shopping!(Probably because it gets played all the time in December!)

3:  The Darkness -Dont Let the Bells End



Got to have a bit of humour through all the madness and this song always cheers me up!

4:  Cliff Richard - Mistletoe & wine



Oh dear,  I cannot believe I am putting Cliff on my list but this song reminds me of family xmas' as a child, the excitement of seeing all those presents and eating chocolates, the nostalgia from this song alone makes me long for it all again!

5:  John Lennon - Happy Christmas (War Is Over)



Ahh, love this one, I definetely feel all xmassy when I hear this!

I just have to add that my favourtie xmas song of them all is Fairytale of New York but I didnt include it because Im sure everyone else did!  Plus, Coldplays song, Christmas Lights from last year is in there but thats because Im a Coldplay fan, not because it reminds me of xmas!

Bah Humbug!

xxx



Listography - Cartoon Characters From My Youth

Another enjoyable subject to get us thinking over at Kate Takes 5 blog for this weeks Listography.  Specifically cartoons, I am excited to think back and reminisce a time when life was more simpler and the only worries I had was hoping Mum was not putting onions in the dinner again!  Here is my list of cartoon characters  that stand out for me from my chidhood:

1:   Tom and Jerry - I was not a hge fan but I remember my Dad putting this cartoon on and he was more of a child about it than I was,laughing his head off at the ridiculous scenarios the famous cat and mouse put themselves into!



2:  Tasmanian Devil - Every Saturday morning, probably during SM:TV Live they would show the Looney Tunes and I particularly remember enjoying this crazy cartoon character, that splattered and spun around in front of my eyes!

3:  Stop It and Tidy Up! - Not many people remember this cartoon, voiced by Sir Terry Wogan, and I cant remember when it was shown but it was a favourite of mine, and thouroughly enjoyed the opening credits where these strange characters would represent some type of behaviour!

4:  RaggyDolls - Im sure Joanna Lumley voiced one of these characters!  I loved this programme!

5:  Mutley - Another cartoon that my Dad introuduced me to was Wacky Races and he does a great impression of the famous laugh this dog does! 



Ahhhh, that was fun!  Now pop over to Kates blog to see others' entries and to join in yourself!



Listography - Top 5 Gadgets

This weeks Listography over at Kate Takes 5 is a tricky one for me as I am not a huge fan of gadgets although I do have a fair few in my home.  I just find them an annoyance, especially when they break, an expense that is not necessary and something I lose interest in quite quickly!  Saying this though, when I do get round to buying the latest gadget, for the first few months that I have interest in a product, I realise how wonderful it is to have!
  So, my top five gadgets that I cannot live without are: (and I will try not to be too obvious here!)

1:  Hair straighteners - before I owned my first pair, I had awful kinky hair, especially when I had a bob at the age of 12, that just did not sit right on me!  But now my hair is long, there is nothing better than frazzling my hair to make it as dead straight as I can get it!



2:  The Ipod - Although I dont listen to mine as much before I learnt to drive, this is one of my fave gadgets!  Being the huge music lover that I am, the frustration of having a Walkman, or portable Cd player used to drive me mad!  Because the tape would be chewed up, or it would take forever to rewind, and the CD would jump as I walked along and it would be embarrassng trying to change the CD on the bus! Hail the Ipod for all my less embarrassing musical needs, plus more!



3:  My mobile phone - A very obvious one where we all think, "what did we do before our mobile?" but I have to say I feel lost without it!  It helps me when Im bored, helps me stay in contact with the world, provides me with a camera, music and the internet, what more could us humans want?!



4:  Iron - Not being much of a domestic goddess, ironing is one of my favourite chores, (when I have a small pile of clothes mind!).  There is nothing more satisfying than taking out those creases and having neatly pressed clothes! Plus, it keeps you warm in the winter!

5:  Laptop - As Kate also listed this, I totally agree with her!  What a magnificent gadget that has opened up a whole world to me including social networks, shopping online, blogging and writing for my own leisure!  I have even found the benefits of a laptop for my son, and for storing all my photos, and I have many!

I found that a difficult listography this week but will now pop over to KateTakes5 to see what others have come up with and probably kick myself at other' suggestions!

Listography - Top 5 Random Things I Like

I love Listography days!  And todays subject leaves me laughing because I am such a random person in general, so my list should really be more than five, but Im no rule breaker!

So, Top 5 random things I like are:

1:  Heat magazine - having bought and read every single one for 8 years and never missed one!

2:  Sitting in a coffee shop, preferably Costa in a Waterstones, reading and writing to myself

3:  The smell of a new book

4:  Looking inside peoples' homes when walking past!

5:  Wearing my socks at bedtime!  And as my fiance kindly points out, wearing odd socks at bedtime!

Gosh, thats was harder than I thought!  Please check out KateTakes5 blog for others choices of randomness!

Listography - Top 5 Men I Used To Fancy

Or in my case, Top 5 Boys I Used To Fancy, as considering my age, it would have been wrong to fancy men at the age of 10!!  I have not taken part in Listography for a couple of weeks so I did not want to miss out on this one!!  Proper showing my age now!

1:  Jason Donovan - In his Neighbours days, I loved the Scott and Charlene relationship and longed for it to be true in real life!  He was my first proper crush and I still have his album proudly in my collection!!



2:  Keanu Reeves - When I first watched Speed, I fell in love with this man, and embarrassingly, remember crying myself to sleep at night because I loved him so much!!! Oh dear! But, he is still in my list today, I just dont have the tears as much any more!!



3:  Tony Mortimer - Lead singer of East 17, I was a huge fan of them and was lucky enough to meet him briefly!  I thought he was "well fit!" but nowadays he is far from my type and I see he is a bit more "chubbier!"







4:  Phillip Schofield - The silver fox is still a crush of mine now, but back when he presented Going Live, I lookd forward to seeing him, and of course, Gordon the Gopher!



5:  Jamie Theakston - um, what was I thinking?!!  I think he is a bit of a creep now, but back then he was right up my street!!



I seemed to have formed a "type" back as a teen, the clean cut, boyband type look!  Thats definetely not the case these days, in fact, quite the opposite!

Thank you to Kate, over at Kate Takes 5, please check out others lists, which is what I am about to do to make me feel better about my list!

Listography - Top 5 Worst Jobs I Have Done



This weeks listography, hosted by KateTakes5 is an interesting one as I feel like I have been lucky in life with my choice of jobs, thats not to say I havent had some right messy situations!
1:  Mcdonalds - My first proper job where I worked my way from the bottom to become shift manager, along the way clearing up left over Big Macs, squashed chips on the floor and of course, the monotonous cleaning of the toilets!  I was there for 4 years and although there is still a stigma these days of working for a fast food chain, it opened up great opportunities for me and have been lucky enough to stick with managerial positions ever since!



2:  Bakery/ Delicatessen - My first Saturday job was working at a Kosher bakery in Southend, and it involved serving coleslaw, bread and taramusalata to the elderly first thing in the morning!  I hated it, and what made it worse, was the place got shut down because of certain creepy crawlies discovered out in the back where I used to collect the bread! UGH!!!

 

3:  Hairdressers - I took my work experience at my local hairdressers as I aspired to be one but this soon changed after two weeks of working for free here!  The women were snotty, rude and treated me as a tea runner so I didnt learn anything about hair!  I did wash hair but after the fifth granny hair wash, I soon realised that a hairdresser is NOT what I wanted to become!!



4:  Nursery Assistant - My current job, which I thouroughly enjoy but it has its down sides like every job and as the old saying goes , Never work with children!  One child last week decided to projectile vomit all down my skirt and legs when I wasnt looking, and I didnt even bring a change of clothes!  I had to clasp my skirt together whilst stumbling to the office to get a clean skirt, without myself vomiting because of the smell!!  Ah the joys!



5: Waitressing - My current evening job is being a waitress which I do enjoy, except for when you make those all embarrassing, cock ups in front of the whole restaurant!  I remember at my old restaurant, carrying a tray of two glasses of red wine, with two Pepsi's on, and as I went to take one off the tray and give it to my table, the whole tray went flying over them!  Smashed glasses, spilt red wine and shock horror of faces, my mind wanted to cry but my face just laughed!  Needless to say, the customers were not impressed and I had to give them a round for free, as well as continue serving them for the rest of their time there!



Dont give up the day job!