While I’d love to buy a drink for each and every single of the one hundred bloggers heading to the Zoo this Sunday, I don’t think it’s fair on those of you that can’t make it.

How about I make you all some cake? Yes, that photo is me in the kitchen, rustling up something tasty, wonderful and celebratory – but oh, what rotten luck, with our low-tech social networking, you can’t even taste it!

Well fear not, I’ve managed to magic up with a bit of blagging and barefaced cheek blogging goodness some cracking goodies for everyone to have a shot at bagging.

And here they are and they could be yours, just drop me a comment on this post, or a tweet @nixdminx and I’ll pick the winners of these darling goodies by December 10. I’ll be adding a few more over the coming week too, so keep your eyes peeled lovelies x

Karaoke Golden Ticket

I’ve got a Lucky Voice Golden Ticket on offer. That means two hours free singing in this most glamorous of establishments with cocktails and microphones galore!  It’s so much fun, you’ll want to say longer…I ended up staying an extra three hours on my Birthday last year.

If you can work out what this song is below, will you let me know…the lyrics aren’t recognisable but I think we sang it more than once!

Super Lush Sweet and Dreamy Box

This gorgeous Sweet and Dreamy Lush briar box of rosy dreams and sugar candy baths (quite tempted to keep it actually) could be winging it’s way to you ahead of the Christmas Party Season and could help you get over all those dreadful hangovers feel fresh as a winter daisy.

Festive Fun: Peter Pan tickets

This is one hot show this Christmas – I have two tickets to see the Peter Pan show at the 02 from lastminute.com*.  It’s also a little known fact that my birthday falls on the same day that the original book was published (Peter Pan by J M Barrie)

Kitchen Goodies from Simple Human

Thanks to Simple Human for the Sinky Caddy & Drainer – I would hate for you all to be scrubbing pots and pan without some kind of stylish kit…

Tickets to SeaLife

Here’s one to fill the days after Christmas when you simply have to get out of the house, two tickets to Sea Life – take your pick which one you want to go to

Transformers DVDs

Blockbuster movies are always great for rainy days and I know this one is a goodie. I have four, yes four!, DVDs of Transformers 2 Revenge of The Fallen

I really enjoyed the first film, so please let me know what you think of it – but remember it has a 12 rating.

Thanks to Lush, lastminute.com, Simple Human, Lucky Voice and Paramount DVD for their generous offer of prizes – it always helps to keep the readers happy! x

*valid for performances Monday to Thursday before December 17 2009

Simply put, it’s been an incredulous and fabulous year.

November 29 2008 was the day I clicked ‘publish’ on my first wordpress post. I was amazed I’d even managed to work out how to set up a blog, but compared to what was going on in the world, it was really easy.

I knew from the start of the credit crunch I was heading for a sh*tstorm – working as a contractor for one of the biggest companies in the world, and with a job offer on the table, nothing was set in stone and I became more nervous day by day as the stock markets crashed…an invisible fall out dust was settling across desks, it was suffocating, it was paralysing people, it was as if we were under attack. People mouthed frantically to each other behind the glassed vacuums of ‘private’ offices in a vastly open plan glass space. I took cab rides through the City and the cabbies drove at the suits as if they wanted to mow them down.

This was really shit.

I knew I should look elsewhere and so did everyone else but to no avail. Jobs I went for evaporated, people I knew were sacked by email or text.

I had a ‘war effort’ breakfast with a colleague and by the time we had eaten our scrambled eggs and half drunk our fancy coffee – 40 people were out the door leaving laptops, mobiles, blackberries and thwarted ambition behind.

My Christmas present for 2008 was my P45.

So what?

It’s the frailty of corporate life that makes you question your personal values – who am I without this junk, without this stuff? Who am I without a job, a career, a profession, a hope? Ego no longer plays a part, it’s a great lesson.

So this…

Against all odds, and the backdrop of possibly the worst financial meltdown I’ve seen in my lifetime, I’ve been lucky enough to find a new and exciting way of life that’s helped me to overcome what was initially a hugely daunting prospect.

More to follow…

In fact, even more true to style, everything fell through at the last minute dont’ even ask and we’ve resorted to Plan C.

We’re having a great time and I was keeping everything crossed that there would be wireless where we are staying – and phew there is….

I’ve been inundated with scintillating, titillating (in more than one way) and just plain old good reads for the carnival, so I hope you all have time to get some good reading in and enjoy the visit.

Since I’ve burnt my bum and I’m putting my laptop at risk of sand damage, I’m posting as much as I can and hope I haven’t missed any of you lovely ladies out. If so, please poke me in the comments section and I’ll update.

I’ve had a lot of people who’ve had more than one post to send me – marvellous I say! Keep up the writing, the wit, the humour and they mayhem, I love it all….

It’s been a hard day sun bathing, fishing with nets and spending time on a quiet island in the Balearics without a Brit in sight (what a relief) so now for a bit of blogging about Blighty…

This is pure and utter madness – The Fab Five Go to Bestival – thanks to Debbie at Parentdish and her merry throng of bambinos, she also writes for a few other blogs – busy lady!!

OMG has sent a fab story in for the carnival about her pregnancy milestone…or should I say smilestone with that piccie???

And one here from Most Least about how not to do reviews on your blog….she will not be the first and certainly not the last blogger to bring up this point and I say keep it up too, that’s what blogs are for – airing, sharing, caring.

Really Rachel has a bit of a moment when the Heffalumps pop up on Skype.

The lovely AMM has sent me a Thames Valley Mums rant rave post ‘and another thing’ she is also on the look out for new stories so if you live in the area and have some good stories, click here on how to get involved.

Maternal Tales from the sunny south coast has a lovely story about her daughter Renee – we’re looking forward to seeing you next week in Bognor too!

Amy of And One More Means Four – has sent in this story about life lessons. It makes me snicker with a fabulous quote ‘When more than two of them are ill, I’m f***ked.’ Being one of six children, I still have vivid memories of group throwing up and running out of buckets – I kid you not!

Here’s one from the lovely Noble Savage on Not Best, Just Normal – or as I’d say, how the media have gone tits up then down about breastfeeding.

Cafe Bebe has also brought this media boob into the spotlight with a round up of what people are saying in our small but perfectly formed blog world.

And another expose but of a rather different kind from Rookie Mum who lets it all hang out in the shower.

WAHM-BAHM has a birth story to share with us.

Have a Lovely Time is stirring up controversy by asking if you should let your kids go naked on the beach….join the conversation if you will.

And You’ve Got Your Hands Full has a pop at Mums and White Powder – that’s washing powder – just checking you’re all still here!

Here’s Brits in Bosnia’s tale of bright lights big city – I suggest a regular drop in to this blog, it’s a goodie and really interesting – much more than just the ex-pat lifestyle on offer here.

Ooh – here’s a new one on me – Mum’s the Blog – it’s very swish and chic – which means I like it ) Especially chocolate buttons on toast…for breakfast!

More than Just a Mother has sent in her story of the 18th Century Cupboard - it’s a bloody corker this one – it made me cry laughing.

Another fave of mine Sticky Fingers has been kind enough to send in a little posty here. She’s off on holiday to the US of A.

New Mummy has a two parter – but seeing as I’m paying 3 euros per hour for internet access, you’ll have to drop by her blog for part deux about her train ride (sorry NM!).

Time Management Mum has a great entry about the capsule collection – since I’ve just opened my suitcase on day three of my holiday and found items I packed for another trip still in the case, I must pay more attention..

TwentysomethingMum has a bit of a mare when her two year old sings Lily Allen lyrics…

Here’s another one of my faves – the Rubbish Diet – and her post on there’s more to life than pants - well we’d all like to hope so wouldn’t we?

Tatty Weasle has sent me this story about prep school – and I’m glad to say it has a very wry and dry side to it – good girl you!

And Best 10 Ten Toys has some bright green dietary advice – a kind of pick your own if you will. In fact, someone has gone to the trouble of writing a book about it, I just hope the pages don’t come stuck together.

So there you have you wonderful bloggers and I’m hoping you can all link back to my blog when you publicise your posts appearing here – so signing off for now until we return from our sun drenched sands and meet a few of you in the beautiful Bognor Regis for another great experience.

Ciao for now lovelies xx

I got a text yesterday from a dear friend who I used to work with, we both share a love of theatre, men and good wine.

This text was to tell me that he’d spotted ‘My Blog’ in the Tots 100.

This is quite ironic.

He looked at me quizzically when I first told him about ‘My Blog’. After two bottles of wine I blithered showed him the site and how it all worked and how amazingly clever I’d put it all together and how it runs – he was slightly more won over.

This is also quite ironic.

I was thinking how on earth would he know about Tots 100? How many gay men read parenting blogs?

So I texted him straight back.
‘Sally twittered a link the list’ he replied.

Wow, I thought….then I wondered again.

Sally, Sally, Sally……she must belong to UKPress…because that’s the only list me and my friend both follow…hmmmm.

Bingo – she’s a journo and badabadabing – she created the Tots 100 – I lover her!

And thanks, I am chuffed to bits again to be at number 36 – it matches my bra size….which is also….ironic….

I’m am so chuffed – in fact gobsmacked to be a new entry in the Top of the Pops (well Moms and Pops) – it’s brought back memories of me and my brothers and sisters (six of us, a veritable bratpack) dragging out the dressing up box on a Sunday night, sticking polystyrene cups wrapped in foil on the end of bamboo sticks and glamming up to sing the Top 40 to an audience of two screeching, coughing, choking and (looking back, I hope) laughing parents.

This is obviously a sign of my age – whatever happened to Top of the Pops, 45s (flexi-discs????), chart show run downs and seeing my brother (then 11) drag up in a shiny gold and orange number over his Leeds footie kit? Who knows.

I digress darlings, caught up in the flow of nostalgia, I’m neglecting to mention what has brought this all on. It’s the Tots 100.…

Thank you lovely ladies for this lovely present! I was advised to post this gift in the sidebar, but I don’t know what one is, well I do really, but you lucky buggers bloggers on typepad can do this I can’t on WordPress right now…and I’m a little bit confused too, because looking at the code I can’t enlarge it (if you saw my last post you know I’m not one to undersize my images).

So that’s a drat and double drat from me but I don’t care! I’m gobsmacked-blown-away-cheshire-cat-like-and-have-a-warm-fuzzy-feeling-all-over. And it’s made me think a bit more about my months of blogging.

So what’s the big deal? It’s a huge deal because blogging has become a true essential in my life, it’s an extra pair of hands in parenting.

I began at the very tail end of last year because I’d hit a big wall and been quite seriously credit crunched – a new job had sadly evaporated almost as the world economy crashed and burned and I was left facing January 2009 with apparently no hope. So there I was wondering where to go, what to do and how to keep busy and out of trouble.

Hmmm, oh well, I thought. Perhaps a blog would help keep me sane. So I started to write, a bit gingerly at first, a real scaredy cat, but then I got hooked. I had no expectations, I didn’t think anyone would even read it.

But guess what – it has kept me out of trouble, sane at times and even better, some lovely people have even taken the time to read it and speak to me. Wow!

I kid you not, if I was a psychologist, I would recommend it as therapy.

Blogging has been really given the thumbs down by a lot of people ‘in the know’ in the media, such as Janet Street Porter here slagging off all us child-laden saddoes who have a reason to live,  but they don’t understand the real reasons why people blog. It’s rather like the time when paste up designers refused to learn DTP. Failure to embrace the future means it will reject you. I’ve always loved Janet Street Porter’s work but I think this time she is wrong. I can’t wait for Janet Street Porter to start twittering and feel the noise – come on rise to the challenge!

Anway, back to those of us back at the ranch who put the kids off to bed and sound off in the 2.0-scope. Why oh why do we venture into this new and unknown territory? Perhaps it’s very much like parenting and we are all curious and want to hear about other people’s experiences. Well if you don’t, I certainly do, and I hear these reasons from blogging parentsall the time about why they do ;

1. Catharsis
What a great place to indulge that need to let out niggles, worries, wants, whatever it is in our lives, it’s better out than in!

2. A diary
I believe bloggers are journal writers. The most beautiful thing I ever read on a blog was that these blogs are ‘love letters to our children’ – so whoever wrote that, I’m sorry I can’t remember where I read it, but it is the most poignant and touching belief and a beautiful thing to define, so thank you…

3. A discipline
Blogging is a way of keeping addled minds on the straight and narrow – be it sleepless nights, unemployment, separation, forthcoming nuptials, long haul flights, ex-pat living, we all need to verbalise it, albeit online. Apparently, poetry helps to fend off depression, I truly believe that blogging has the same effect.

4. Connecting
I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that blogging would enrich my life the way it has. I’ve met interesting people, read great stories, had amazing conversations and feel that the other bloggers I connect with are interested people with a common goal – it’s not about business or self aggrandisement, we’re raising the next generation and all of us in very different circumstances but it’s a great new playing field we’re on and so much fun to boot. But that aside, it’s affirmed my Motherhood, flippant as I may be, being a single parent is no easy road but through blogging it seems easier.

So, while I’m still agog, and possibly sounding a little twee, I have to raise a toast (be it sliced brown Hovis or champagne) to all those others who have created this extraordinary new cultural phenomen. Here’s my shout out here (or rather post-bedtime whisper) and a big thank you to all of you who in the first instance reached out to me and gave me that little nudge, that kind comment and more than occasionally a huge laugh and also left me reaching for the tissues to either stem the eye watering laughter or the honesty of a bad experience that made me cry. I may not know you all so well but I just want to thank you for being there, that’s all

Violetposy
A Modern Mother
Rosie Scribble
Potty Diaries
Jo Beaufoix
Dulwich Divorcee
MTFF
Alpha Mummy
I promise That I will Do My Best
Single Parent Dad

PS: I don’t take saccharine. I’m giving you all a cup of builders’ tea with two heaped spoons of Tate & Lyle, enjoy! Btw, tagging maybe a bit scraggy, sorry all x

House rules of the meme. Respond and rework. Answer questions on your own blog. Replace one question. Add one question. Tag 8 people and so on.

1.What are your current obsessions?
Weeding – my garden (freak plants) and twitter (freak followers).

2. Which item from your wardrobe do you wear most often?
Since I only grab smart stuff from my wardrobe, at the moment it’s my Cacheral black Spring jacket. The rest is usually off the floor from my tall boy.

3. What’s for dinner
Oatcakes with cheese…overdone the fruit and salad today.  Miniminx got the works.

4. Last thing you bought?
A bag of goodies from Space NK. After agreeing with a friend to try botox or fillers after too much wine the other night, I wimped out the following day and decided expensive face cream is best.

5. What are you listening to?
Spotify has had me in a timewarp today; Thin Lizzy, New Order, Psychedelic Furs, Bob Dylan – great antidote to Hannah Montana…and all the Disney muzak I have to listen to on the Disney Channel

6. Do you have a pet and if not, why not?
Shelley the tortoise, the prodigal pet and avid dancer…

7. Favourite holiday spots?
South of France – has to be good wine region or Thailand

8. Reading right now?
About four books, Zadie Smith short story collection (not as great as I thought it would be) and Yukio Mishima The Sound of Waves (still struggling with it after White Tiger blew it out of the water), just finished The Honoured Society by Norman Lewis (this mafia history made me feel paranoid in Florence), Baedeker Florence Guide (saw everything I never got round to seeing in Florence in this book) – avid reader obviously…

9. 4 words to describe yourself.
Bonkers, eccentric, fun, grumpy in the morning

10. Guilty pleasure?
Doing the national lottery online – it means I don’t have to queue in the newsagent so it’s secret squirrel!

11. Who or what makes you laugh until you’re weak?
My friends and family…laughing is my biggest sport

12. First spring thing?
A holiday – 6 days in Ibiza, was lovely

13. Planning to travel to next?
Possibly Madrid and looking into Nashville this Summer and my week in Mexico looks like it’s down the tubes now

14. Best thing you ate or drank lately?
A lovely Rose brought back from France by a favourite friend and a wonderful dinner in Florence – lovely anti pasti

15. When did you last get tipsy?
Saturday night, and didn’t get a lie in on Sunday…tell a lie, last  night in Chelsea

16. Favourite ever film?
The Big Lebowski – I laugh as soon as it starts, but actually Godfather II is really the one – gripping, shocking, stunning wardrobe, the players look divine – the wardrobe was inspired

17. Care to share some wisdom?
To thine own self be true

18. Favourite song?
It’s Spring and I’m nominating Cat Stevens as the soundtrack for April and this song from Teaser and the Firecat – How Can I Tell You

19. What’s your favourite perfume?
At the moment it’s Vera Wang Truly Pink

20. Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Johnny Depp – he’d look great in drag

So now it’s mine turn to do that tagging….

Yummy Mammy, recessionista, Stickfingers (if you can manage another one!), writeonmum – how’s jury service? Sharon Rose, Almost Frugal, Shoestring Alley, The Rubbish Diet – please recycle this meme!

Take the time Miniminx had a school trip to the beach. With bucket and spade, wearing her very cute stetsun sunhat, carrying a bag with a swimming costume and all the associated beach paraphernalia, we walked to school. She actually skipped and sang ‘The sun had got his hat on.’ all the way. Lovely.

We arrived a bit early and bumped into the head master.

‘Good morning’ big cheesey grins all round.
‘Hello’
‘Do you know where the coach is?’
‘Ummmm, coach? What coach…?’
‘For the trip today, the one for year 3.’
‘Ooooh, the trip.’ at this point I knew something was up
‘It’s next week’ Shit, shit, shit, what an idiot.

I covered my mouth with my hand and feigned coughing as a foil to the hysterical laughter I needed to quell. Two big blue eyes look up at me, one very cute mouth pouts and trembles. Cue big blobby sobs from Miniminx. Cue me cringeing all day at work. Two years later we can laugh about it together (I still laugh about it alone…what a meannie).

And then last month, we got back from Ibiza at midnight with Elizabethan Dress up Day at school in the morning. I got up early and made a paper ruff and dressed Miniminx in her garb. We got to school a few minutes late and had a peek into her classroom.
28 kids in white shirts and grey skirts sat on the carpet looking at the teacher.
Oh bugger….Miniminx gave me a silent howl and cue big blobby sobs.
Double bugger.

‘Ssssssh, they’ll hear you, let’s sneak out and get you home and changed.’

We ran home, I rang the school.

‘There’s no dress up day today, nothing in the diary sorry’

Confounded, I got her back into her uniform and then we hightailed it back to school. We got to the classroom and discovered that it actually was dress up day and the kids were getting changed after lunch. We had that instant Mother-daughter telepathy, locked eyes and shook our heads – the uniform was staying on for the rest of the day! I walked home for a medicinal coffee or four after two hours of behaving like a headless chicken – at least I didn’t have a job to go to.

And now, I’m back in the world of work. It’s a change and days are much more regimented. I woke up this morning to the alarm and got up after another cheeky few minutes sleep. I woke up little sleepyhead Miniminx and started the usual prework pick and pack malarky – lunch box, healthy snack, drinks, swim kit etc. Then I checked the time on my phone – surely it was nearing 8am. It was 6.20am. An extra 100 minutes were a bonus, so I decided (yes, very Doris Day of me) to do some baking. Raspberry and blackberry wheatfree muffins for breakfast and some flapjack for the lunchbox.
I even took a packed lunch to work for myself.
I even managed to get Miniminx in the bath and hairwashed BEFORE school.
With everything shipshape and ahoy, I booked a cab and we were out the door heading to school and Miniminx was ready to rock and roll at breakfast club.

We walked across the sunny playground, we smiled, we chatted. Miniminx waved at her friend. She stopped walking and looked at her friend again who was looking over at us curiously. Then she looked down. And so did I.

The horror.
FLIP FLOPS!!!
FOUR FLIPPING FLIP FLOPS!!!!

We had both forgotten to put shoes on.

Miniminx became hysterical. I mean big sobbing blobs of tears all over my new dress, she was mortified.

‘I’m – wear – ing – flip -flops ! MUMMMMMMMMMMMM’
‘Whoopsy daisy, how did that happen?’
‘I CAN’T GO IN TO SCHOOL LIKE THIS!!!’
‘Darling, it’s too late to go home and change,’
‘I have to go home now’
‘Can’t you wear your PE shoes’
‘I don’t have them at schooooooooooooool’
‘Darling, it’s a genuine mistake, no one will tell you off.’

Into breakfast club we went – it’s like Ministry of Sound in the good old days, but for under 10s – but the poor little thing was inconsolable. We chatted, she calmed down and we said good bye.

I left the playground under a cloud and sporting a tear-stain pattern on my new dress. Shit.

When I picked her up, I asked how she’d got on with the flip flops and she told me she had borrowed someone else’s shoes and a pair of socks and it was all fine in the end.

There were lots of ladies wearing flip flops in the office today. I sat down at my new desk, I looked down at my feet, without a trace of smugness, thinking flip flip, flop flop…where’s the coffee, I’ve done a day’s work already.

You know me, I’m always at a loose end these days but I do manage to keep myself pretty busy. So today’s ‘job’ was to get back to basic communication and create a flyer and publicise my ‘Lost’ notice to my neighbours and use some good old fashioned door to door leafleting.

I found myself inhabiting a strange new junk mail world as I opened creaking gates and posted my flyer through the NO JUNK MAIL stickers on letterboxes. I met a nice VSO lady on the way round, she was doorstepping for volunteers, and a rather gorgeous delivery man who eyed my leaflet very sweetly (he obviously thought I was the neighbourhood kook, and I guess he’s right).

The whole thing was quite scary. While I managed to get a good old gander at the decor and decay of the houses in my close vicinity, I was terrified of being pepper sprayed or worse, attacked by dogs. Thankfully I was not, and amazingly that was my whole morning taken up.

I’m sure you’re wondering by now what my particular ‘Lost’ thing is.

Well, when we moved here last year, Miniminx and I thought it would be a great idea to let our gorgeous little tortoise Shelley experience the great outdoors and experience summer on the lawn. I’ve never seen her so lively, she chomped and tiptoed her way around the garden like Angelina Ballerina, she grew, her eyes sparkled, it was a good thing. Whenever we brought her inside, she would walk up to the french doors and gaze longingly at the big wild world outside and even bring herself up onto two legs. So you got it, we gave in and set her loose. She’s a born wanderer, and started disappearing for the odd day, and come back, then a week and come back, and then three weeks and back. But by September she had upped and left us. I was worried that she’d taken up home with the tortoise four doors down or worse, snaffled by the foxes under the shed. Worried as I was, I knew she could peck her way out of any situation, but come the snow, Jack Frost would get her. I have had terrible dreams about her demise over the last few months and felt haunted by her loss. While I feared the worst, and Miniminx has shed a few tears, I’ve always kept the faith strong and believed she would return triumphantly in the spring.

So the nature of my DIY-Direct-Mail shot was a last concerted effort to find Shelley. It was quite poetic…

HAVE YOU SEEN OUR TORTOISE?
Our lovely tortoise Shelley has gone walkabout.
We have a feeling she may wake up out of hibernation in your garden because we’re neighbours. Her usual habitat is XXXX XXXXX, so if you find her keeping your lawn in trim please call us on XXXXXXXX
We have all the documentation to prove she is ours.

You get the idea.

Much as I’d like to say I felt a bit smug about my little lost tortoise campaign, I was actually feeling really guilty for losing her. And how upset Miniminx has been. And what if an empty shell is found in someone’s garden and they drop it by. And was I showing myself up as a complete and utter loser. And, and…so enough of all that, I had done all I could, and that was that, it was now in the lap of the gods.

I decided to get busy with the garden. I picked weeds at random and ventured to the bottom of the garden to check on our resident newts in the water butt. I know I’m naughty but when they’re basking in the water they look a bit dead so I’m not averse to poking them with a stick. Phew! The floating one was alive. I looked around the shed and felt a bit glum. Then I spotted the new ringweed shoots (that hideous scourge of any garden) I became a toxic avenger, brandishing the weed killer and spraying it with venom. I my eyes darted around the foliage, something moved, or did it?

‘OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ I boomed.
There was a shell, a Shelley shell. With little feet sticking out of it, but no head. I grabbed the poke-the-newt-stick and gingerly reached out towards my muddy beloved.
‘Is she…..?’ I whispered to myself
‘Is she….?’ I reached over and tapped her shell. She moved! Her head popped out.

photo credit Bob Gibbons

‘ALIVE! YESSS!’
I ran inside shouting
‘The tortoise, she’s back! Hurray!’
A startled cleaner jumped up and down.
‘Sweet’ she said. Maybe I should have offered her £20 ages ago and she would have found her in the manner of my iPod?

Weirdly enough, I’d been checking tortoise web sites to find out what I should do with one straight out of hibernation. So I put the taps on in the sink to get the water running and filled it, adding some sugar.

I headed back outside, darling Shelley had the appearance of a little space creature that had just landed – slightly dazed and looking around wildly (well as wildly as a tortoise can) at her new surroundings. She was covered in mud so must have tunnelled out of somewhere pretty recently. What a result!

She is now bathing in the manner of Cleopatra in a large warm bath and happily chomping on greens. I still can’t quite believe she just appeared, but hang on a minute. On second thoughts, do you think some bastard got the leaflet, realised that she belonged to us and then just lobbed her over the fence in a panic?

I’ve obviously lived too much of an urban life. For just a moment ago, I got a call from a concerned neighbour.

‘Hello, I got your note’
‘Hi’
‘I haven’t found her, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for her’
‘Thanks so much. But do you know what? Oh, you’ll never guess what.’
‘What?’
‘Can you believe it, I just found her at the bottom of the garden. Alive and well and she’s reviving after hibernation in the sink, happy as larry’
‘Aaaah, that’s such a lovely story, that’s made my day’
‘And mine, thank you so much for calling’
‘No problem, that’s really great’

…now, much as I’d like to think it would be a better story if this caller had been the secretive tortoise-over-the-garden-lobber, I’m not going to believe it.

I’m happy to have my other little baby back…

The ‘news’ being the result of my interview. Waiting is just the worst thing and especially when your future is a stake, it becomes the kind of wait that makes you clean your house inside out, iron and fold things, generally do anything to distract yourself and keep busy and of course, gaffer tape your mobile to your leg so you don’t miss the ‘call’.

So I heard, and first it was luke warm news but with an exciting twist. Perhaps there was another newly created role which would work for me – would I be interested? I bought into this 100% as it was a far more exciting proposition and I was up on the moon for a while.

As calls came and went, this turned into a red hot fireball which then unexpectedly blew up in my face. So now the cold tap is attached to the garden hose and drenching me so to speak. What a day, and it’s not even 6pm. I’m just plain old keeling over.

Not sure where to turn now. It seems I’m more likely to win the lottery than get a job. I’m going to really, really panic for now and take stock when I’ve calmed down a bit – so probably by tomorrow I’ll be back at it. I had my hopes up and now they’re dashed again.

What’s a girl to do?

Well, I shall be drinking red wine tonight (if the head cold allows) and mouthing along to my karaoke (can’t upset the neighbours can I?).

And tomorrow, as Scarlett says, is another day…and how lucky I went down the garden centre to buy some seeds for a vegetable patch, perhaps they’ll keep us fed over the coming Summer months….

This surely is frugaletarianism at it’s absolute best, happy reading.

Bin there…
First I bring you The Rubbish Diet , better than a bogof (‘buy one get one free’ for the uninitiated), it has a great round up of eight or so ways to keep your bin empty, your belly full and change in your purse.

Charity Begins at Home

Shoestring Alley is a great take on living for less and putting aside money for the future. So the lucky girl will be having a great holiday and a cushy Christmas in 2009.

I really like Potty Mummy’s new frugal ways – I’ve been taking a few notes, especially on the meal planning side…and you can save yourself a thousand quid or so, not bad eh?

Violet Posy shares her shabby chic style and tells us about her chair make over.

London for Free

The lovely Susanna at A Modern Mother sent me this post which makes me proud to be a Londoner. Our melting pot metropolis is possibly the most expensive city in the world, yet we still manage throw open the doors of our great institutions for free. Find out how you can have a free workshop at The National Gallery.

For Frugal Fashionistas

Bargain hunters will be delighted to discover Recessionista Sister who is up on all the latest high street deals so check out her posts, and keep yourself plush and lush for less.

Buying Designer Clothes has tips on customising your wardrobe and keeping on trend for just a few quid.

Sharon Rose has a fabulous Fashion Thrifting blog and waxes lyrical about her designer bargains.

Effing Had Enough of this Crunchy thang

Writeonmum bucks the trend of hiding behind the sofa when the bailiffs arrive and shares her peace love and crunchiness to solve our financial woes.

From Across the Pond

Mom Most Travelled gives a tutorial on how to make colourful play silks for the kids – just swap food colouring for Kool Aid and it’s a winner.

Almost Frugal has some reading tips – The Tightwad Gazette and Your Money or Your Life for a start – and asks what unlikely reads are helping to shape your journey towards frugality as she shares her own – and there are a few surpises.

Tighten Your Belt is happy to share advice with regular tweets on making every cent count. Sign up to the updates and check out the first top 20 tips here.

Nixdminx

My top tip? It’s a state of mind.   ! I’m getting on a cheap flight and heading to the sunshine for a few days to stay with some very good friends and spend time rather than cash…who knows, I may have a job soon and my lady of leisure lifestyle will be over.

Thanks everyone, please send us your top tips too, I hope you all enjoy new and interesting ways to live more for less!

And let’s not forget

“Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves.”

- Dorothy Parker