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 |   Originally efforts for the 30 Day Blogging Challenge in July... now just a blog |
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The 30 Day Blogging Challenge ..... lets see how far I get... Pretty far it seems! Winner (1st place) for the July 2013 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  Second place for the September 2014 "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – day Fourteen Prompt: What is the one piece of advice you have received that you'll always carry with you? As a motivational speaker and mentor type thing, I give out advice all the time. Most of my advice is well thought out and used over and over again. Sometimes, however, it just falls out my month before I even know what has happened. The advice that just falls out is either really good, and I use it again, or so awful that even I want to tell myself to shut up. The latter is very rare, though, and I always cover it up well… it is fine! I swear! Occasionally, I offer advice and I think “huh, maybe I should take that on board myself”. For example, today I was doing some one-one sessions with some boys who are coming up to their final exams at school but are not doing too well. Everything I said would have been useful when I was failing school at their age! If only I could’ve gone back in time and tell myself. But then, I had to learn the hard way and I quite like that. Many people have given me hundreds of pieces of advice. Has any of it stuck? Probably, subconsciously. Can I remember any of it off the top of my head? No, not really! I think Chris’ advice about being myself sticks out for me. For years, I hid things I liked to do from people for fear of being judged. In fact, I stopped writing for a long time because one of my exes told me it was stupid. When I got with Chris, I decided lay it all out there. We have a few conversations like this: Me: I know it is stupid but look at my funky poem shaped like an ice cream C: Did you enjoy doing it? Me: Yeah, I guess so. C: If you enjoy something, it can’t be stupid! Me: Huh! *smiles* Take my advice Roll the dice Hell, do it twice |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – day thirteen Prompt: Two-fer Tuesdays: Share an item or blog entry from any of the eligible competitors this month. Include a review link for bonus points. Today’s choice was easy but I’m pleased I made it because I’ve just realised it was someone’s birthday yesterday! The same day as Chris (husband). I apologise that this is a day late. But all together now! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear 💙 Carly Happy Birthday to you! Hip hip hurray!!! A birthday is not the reason I chose Carly’s blog, although it’s nice to honour that. The real reason is that she impresses me. I think she signs up to near enough every challenge going here on WDC. Not only that, but she does it all so well! I sign up for things thinking “ohh I’m not sure I have time for this,” or “can I be bothered?”… But there’s Carly plugging away, creating masterpieces. Even on her birthday. Plus, she knows everything about Kylie Monogue. Never use Kylie as a clue when Carly is around. Your cover WILL be blown!  Review time…….. Review of "Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style"  |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day twelve Prompt: Besides communication or media devices (computers, televisions, phones, etc.) and advancements in transportation, what invention or inventions of the 20th century are you most grateful for, and why? I’m not stopping long today, I don’t think anyway! I’ll try not to get carried away with images and links etc. Mostly because I don’t think my brain is functioning well enough to do so.  I’m going to write a quick post then settle myself down to read. I desperately want to finish The Calling by James Frey. It is the first book I’ve read since July (shock) and, if I’m honest, I’m not a fan. I’ll do a proper review once it is over. I’ve been to the Doctors today. I went for two reasons, both of which have pissed me off. So, I feel the need to chill out, away from my computer, to gather my thoughts and reflect. Don’t worry though, I’m not dying or anything! Not until I’m forty anyway  Right, this is a tricky little prompttete. The “apart from” actually covers quite a lot. For example, I’m grateful for the invention of Sat Navs. But after thinking about it for a while, I think they might count as communication devices OR advancements in transportation. Therefore, I am most grateful for the invention of iced coffee. I love coffee. However, I drink everything through a straw so hot drinks are not cool (literally). I never drink hot drinks! So, yes, iced coffee is an invention that I 100% support and back. Iced coffees from coffee shops are great (although I do get funny looks when I order in winter). But these little babies are a god send for when I can’t be bothered to make my own at home (I rarely can):   |
 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day eleven Prompt: The Sunday News!: Pick a random article from the headlines and talk about it. Share your opinions and feelings about it. Encourage a conversation. I have to say, I kinda prefer the old Sunday “round up ya week” thing. I’m never on the ball enough on Sunday’s to talk about real life news. In fact, I don’t think I’m ever on the ball enough, on any day of the week. Also, the old way gave me a good reason to talk about what was going on in my world that week. I’m just putting it out there – I like to be selfish, at least once a week! It has to be good for the soul, right? Anyway, from one odd ball to another, here’s my chosen headline… Meet the grown man so obsessed with My Little Pony he's spent thousands on bizarre hobby (The Mirror) Now, since this story is from The Mirror , it was never going to be really highbrow. Perfect! This is exactly what I wanted. Whilst, ordinarily, I would never read The Mirror, you are guaranteed to find some crappy gems hidden within the… well, crap.To be honest, the headline says it all. There is very little need to actually go and read the story. Unless, of course, you really want to see a 34-year-old man dressed up as a cartoon unicorn. If this is the case, by all means, fill your boots . Mind you, I might have to show you anyway… I have no problem with people with strange hobbies or obsessions. Each to their own and all that. Anything anyone ever does will be strange to someone somewhere in the world. However, I can’t help feeling that, with things like this, there must be a reason that stems from childhood. Maybe the guy was forced to play with action figures as a kid, and nothing else. But, surely, this would have done the job:  Although, I do have one issue with this. When I was going through my girly stage as a child, I quite liked My Little Pony . But now I’m wondering what I was missing. If there are communities of adult men that like it, maybe it wasn’t as innocent as I thought? Maybe there were hidden messages involved? Maybe (hopefully) it has changed a lot in 20 years! I think I might need to find an episode to check that the following hasn’t happened… |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day ten Prompt: You are opening a new store in the mall. You can only sell five particular items. What is the name of your store, and what are you selling? I have wanted to do a lot in my life but don’t think I’ve ever wanted to open a shop. Hmm, I tell a lie, I probably did when I was much younger. Although, I definitely cannot think of what I may have wanted to sell! Okay, lets see, what would I sell? 1) Dr Who tardis (I’m not sure what the plural of tardis is… tardi?). Yes, I know, it would need to be a big shop to carry lots of tardi. So, I’d just have one for show; then customers can order their own personalised, working, tardis. I’d make an absolute fortune, for sure!  2) Helmets. Just in case!  3) Lots of copies of “The Little Book of Happiness ”. Everyone needs a copy of this. Having said that, I no longer have a copy. But it might come in useful on the more dodgy tardis trip.  4) Gobstoppers. Basically, if my customers suck gobstoppers on their tardis journeys, they’d never end. Thus, you have everlasting gobstoppers.  5) Journals. Mostly because I’m obsessed with them. But also my customers will feel the need to pen down their tardis experiences.  Come and visit me at… Travelling Safely to Happiness! |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day nine Prompt: Has something funny happened to you this week? Awkward? Potentially shameful, until you looked back later and realized it wasn't so bad? Tell us about it. And if this has been a boring week for you, write about an experience that maybe wasn't so funny when it happened, but makes people laugh now when you retell the story about it This week has been pretty boring. I haven’t been bored, per se: It is rather rare that I get bored. I’ve just felt pretty boring! I’m sure we’ve all had days/weeks like that? So, now I need to think of a story that might make you laugh… Hmm okay I have one. You may or may not find this funny, but I do, so humour me! Before Christmas I went to an event held at a school. It was basically a sports day specifically for school students with special needs. Most of the kids have complex impairments so it is a way to get them to take part in sport where they may not otherwise get the opportunity. It sounds patronising, but it really isn’t. I wouldn’t have been to loads of them if I thought they were. So, I arrived and chatted to the organisers, who I know relatively well now, for a while. Then I spotted the teacher who had arranged for me to attend come into the hall with her students and a few other staff. So, obviously, I excused myself and went over to say hello. Note: I was in my wheelchair and a few my medals were on my lap ready for me to show the kids throughout the day. I said hi to the teacher and exchanged pleasentries etc. Next to the teacher was a young looking lady, who I assumed was about nineteen and was a learning support assistant at the school we were in. This lady clocked my medals on my lap and… Lady: Oh my god, have you won medals already? (in a very very strong Essex accent )Me: errm…ye- Lady: I didn’t think we’d started yet Me: Well, no- Lady: Have you done this before? Me: err Teacher: No, Fran is a retired Paralympian, those are Paralympic medals. Lady: Oh wow! Well if you win today you’ll get even more! Me: err. Well, no… Teacher: *sigh* No, Fran is our VIP guest today Lady: oooooohhhh. So where are you from? Me: Cambridge Lady: gosh, that’s hours way! Me: Nah, only about forty minutes :) I should stop here to explain that I do not look under 16 (I wish), which is who this competition was aimed at. And my medals are 1000 times bigger and more impressive than the ones they were handing out that day. She obviously saw my wheelchair and… well, confuses easily. Therefore, I had to hide my shock when she later told me she was a qualified teacher at a mainstream school down the road. When she told me she taught drama, I think my “ahhh” (that makes sense) was slightly too obvious and audible. I had to mask it with a cough. Lest we judge! (I think you had to be there! *shrug* ) |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day eight Prompt: Does an athlete's or celebrity's indiscretions overshadow their entire body of work in their respected field? Why or why not? I really hate opinion Thursday. The prompts are (nearly) always reasonable. But I hate responding to them. There is, however, a reason why I am a huge wimp when it comes to writing opinion pieces. It is not because I’m not opinionated, either. Trust me, I have many opinions! I mean look at the post I wrote the other day ("Invalid Entry" ). I tried to be all opinionated and stuff, but floundered and pretty much ended up apologising for thinking anything of the sort.Why Fran, why? Because I’ve been trained that way! We all know that if someone is in the public eye and says something wrong, they will be scrutinised. Now, I’m not saying I am famous, by any stretch of the imagination. But in the work I’ve done, pretty much since I was 13, I’ve had to keep an eye on myself. All the time thinking, “don’t say that, you’ll get in trouble,” or “woooah, step away from that twitter conversation – it is public!” I’m not saying it is right, but that is the way I’ve lived for the past sixteen years. Which is precisely why I am currently trying to re-launch myself as a new person, while keeping the old me separate. Famous people are role models, whether they like it or not. Every single person in the public eye will have at least one (if not millions) person who looks up to him or her. Therefore, it stands to reason that if said person makes a mistake people will feel let down. Furthermore, if you make a big enough mistake, your achievements will be blurred into the background. Lets take two extreme examples. When you see these two names, what do you think? Lance Armstrong Oscar Pistorious Not long ago, these two men were absolute heroes. They’ve done amazing things. The second didn’t even have to cheat to be amazing, he just was! But now what? Forgotten? Achievements masked? Yes, I reckon so. Probably never to be revealed again. These two were once heroes to young kids and adults, alike. They probably still are to some, but it is far less likely. Some people use fame to be mean and nasty. I completely disagree with this. They don’t deserve the attention they get. But, yet, members of the public will still look up to them. Take Katie Hopkins , for example: she will undoubtedly be someone’s role model.That said, different types of “celeb” can get away with different types of things. A sports person, a TV presenter, or someone who engages with kids, will need to be pretty clean-cut and nicey nicey: Much more so than a writer, a musician (although they can fall into both categories) or a general social commentator. Hence, I’m trying to lead a double life! I get the best of both worlds. It is hard to do though: I’m pretty sure I’m going to get more twitter followers than myself soon. Now, that is embarrassing! Other happenings today:  I wrote this: "Invalid Item" I got an awesome trophy from Gaby ~ Quiet contemplation  ... LOOK...
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| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day seven Prompt: How would you live your life differently if the average human life span was 40 years? I’ve done so much on my laptop today that my hand feels like it is falling off (no exaggeration). I just had to order a pizza because I was starving but couldn’t bear having to cook. Imagine the torture: medicinal pizza! I thought I had been really productive. But I’ve just looked at my to-do list and it seems I’ve hardly done anything. Maybe I’ve wasted the day on twitter – highly likely. So… I’m dying at forty, am I? Hmm okay. To be honest, that’s fine! I’m currently 29 and I feel like I’ve done a lot. I’ve worked hard but have had a lot of fun too. There are only four big things I haven’t done yet that I think might be quite cool: - Raised tons of money for charity – I’m always trying to think of ways to do this. - Studied for a PhD – I could do this. I’ve been offered grants etc. But I don’t think I have the right mind set any more. Anyway, I have an honorary one. This will do for now. - Publish a book. I’ll work on it.  - Get an MBE. Probably never going to happen. But, if it does, remind me to put a straw in my bag! From experience I know that the palace doesn’t have straws. But it does have nice wine. I’d hate to miss out on it again.  Yes, I know, I don’t want much. Aim high, people. Aim high!! If you’re giving me ten and a half years til I’m dead, I reckon we’re okay. Even if I knocked off two of the “big four”, I’d be satisfied. You’re asking me if I’d do anything differently, right? Naaaah, I don’t think so. Seriously. Maybe I’d say, “get a decent education earlier”. However, going through years of failure taught me valuable lessons that I am, now, grateful for. But if we were all going to die at 40, that would be a different matter. The world would run in an entirely different way. If the average human life span was 40 years, there would be: • Less emphasis on years and years of education. • More teenage pregnancy (there would need to be) • Cheaper… everything, because there would be no time to save. • Less home ownership • No letters from the queen when people hit age 100 • No time to answer meaningless blog prompts • Little time for anyone to write any books • No state pension – probably • More crime Basically, we’d be screwed so it is probably best not to think about it! |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day six Prompt: Two-fer Tuesdays: Share an item or blog entry from any of the eligible competitors this month. Include a review link for bonus points I am very aware that this is probably the first time, since I started the 30 DBC, that I’ve written a late post. Granted, I have been guilty of forgetting to post entries to the board. But I have traditionally gone to great lengths to write every post before midnight WDC time. Unfortunately, yesterday, I admitted defeat. But Fran, why so late? Well, my little blogging friends, yesterday I drove for four hours and went to a Neuro Linguistics Programming (NLP) training day. The training was great and I am definitely thinking of making NLP this subject I learn about this year. But it was pretty heavy and draining. So, when I got home, I could barely speak coherently, let alone write. Thus, I am late. I figured, if I reviewed, I could gain the points back. Right?! I’ll be honest, I’m killing about four hundred birds with one stone with this post. Again, this is not laziness, just efficient. To avoid confusion, these are the birds I am killing. - A response to today’s prompt (obviously). - A review I need to write for "a very Wodehouse challenge" - A review ticket off for "WDC Addicts Anonymous" - A blog post about sending or receiving a letter for "a very Wodehouse challenge" - A promotion for something I wrote yesterday. - Providing a joyful reading experience Okay, okay only six birds not four hundred. But still a stroke of genius, I think you’ll find! Right, so the item I’ve chosen to discuss today is "The Art of Letter Writing" by the lovely Elle - on hiatus  , queen of all things Snail Mail. Interestingly, this item is much like the one I wrote yesterday – "Invalid Item" - no, I didn’t copy. My piece is a little longer than hers, because I had to write 750 words. Therefore, her item is more direct and to the point. But effectively, we are both saying very similar things.Here is my review for said item: Review of "The Art of Letter Writing" Incidentally, the first snail mail letter I received from a WDC member was in fact Elle - on hiatus . It came with a lovely candle and notebook. The candle has been used up now, but the notebook is still waiting its turn in my “notebook drawer”. Not only was it a very thoughtful package, but also it came at just the right time. As I said in my piece yesterday, you never know what your letters might be breaking up: be it a pile of bills or just a really crap day.Indeed, I opened Elle’s package as soon as I got home from honeymoon. Given that I had arrived home from Honeymoon alone, having had to leave my new husband in a hospital in Mexico, it was great to be able to spend some time opening something positive. She had taken time out from her holiday to think of me and post a very nice gift and letter my way. Granted, she may not forgive me for being busy/away during the only time she was over from New Zealand. However, she clearly still liked me enough to go to the effort for me. It was receiving this letter and package that made me understand the importance of snail mail. I currently have tons of letters to respond to. I vow to make someone’s day a bit brighter by replying to everyone over the next few months. |
 30-Day Blogging Challenge – Day five Prompt: Wildcard Monday! When you come down with a cold or the flu, do you stick to traditional remedies, or do you have an unconventional method if treating/healing? Colds are the worst, aren’t they? I mean, realistically, there is absolutely nothing you can do. It is rare, in my experience, that any remedy will actually make you feel better. Mind you, if you do find a remedy that works, please do let me know. I’m not sure I really do anything when I get a cold. I tend to buy tons of stuff when I get ill – paracetamol and the like – but don’t always take it. We basically have a cold and flu store in the “messy drawer” in the kitchen. The one thing I would say was vital for a cold or flu sufferer is good quality tissues. There is nothing worse than wiping your nose four hundred times with cheap and nasty tissues. Good tissues ought to be state issued in the winter |
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