The World Around Us

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The day started looking like this when I opened The Boy's curtains…

… which was just as well as I had to take the car to the garage and then walk home again, and I could really do with it not raining.

In the end, I decided to take him on the train into Cardiff instead of walking home. He's only been on the train once before, and loved it so much that I thought we'd nip in and kill a few hours. I had the foresight to put a couple of Pizza Express/Tesco Clubcard vouchers in my purse a few days ago, just in case!

The Boy adored going in on the train, but I had forgotten how short a journey it is in; six minutes and we were there! We walked over to my hairdresser's salon so I could book an appointment for Saturday for my normal cut and blow dry, but I also begged him to rectify the horrendous balls up my mother made a few months ago with highlights. If you saw me at the Tots100 Christmas Party then you'll know what I mean. I've never had highlights done professionally before; I'm looking forward to it! He'll also be cutting The Boy's hair for me as I can't find a barber or children's hairdresser who can cope with it yet.

After a quick stroll through Cardiff shopping centre, we had lunch in Pizza Express and then sauntered down St. Mary's Street to the train station. And this is when I realised what a vibrant and interesting street it is for photo-taking. So out came the iPod and Instagram and I got snapping.

What I found most interesting on our walk around, was the amount of questions that The Boy was asking about his environment and it made me realise how little he knows of the world, and how often he gets bundled into the car and driven somewhere. If Spring is actually on its way now, we need to get out more!

Listography: Top Five Mugs

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I like Kate a lot. I think she's a little bit bananas and that's something I like in a mum and blogger. Sometimes her Listography themes are a little out there, but generally they work for me. My only problem is that I don't always have time to post before she shuts the linky. This week though, she's excelled herself:

Mugs

By anyone's benchmark, that's a little bizarre. However, as I read her post and scoffed to myself, I found myself visualising my favourite mugs in the cupboard and realising that she's right: I have favourite mugs that I used for specific things. And so, because I haven't done it in a while, I'm joining in with the Listography, but I will have you know that I consider this as ludicrous as when I posted a photo of the inside of my fridge.

Bought for me by my dad when I started teaching. To me, this is the only time he has ever indicated that he is proud of the job that I do. This is used for my cold coffees, normally in the afternoon when I need an extra strong and cold frappucino. I was furious with my husband when he chipped it.

Also an excellent mug for cold coffees, especially if I'm putting whipped cream and caramel drizzle on the top. Given to me by an ex-pupil, I was cross when Mr. TheBoyandMe chipped this one too!

My sister gave me this, nearly twenty years ago, so heaven help Mr. TBaM if he chips this one! Excellent for cold milk first thing in the morning.

Quite frankly, he chips this one, then he can move out now! Handwash only due to the gold edging, this was a present from the private school I went to, on their big 110 year anniversary.

This is the original twitter mug, anyone else who has made one since is merely in NameArt's shadow. I love my twitter addict mug, had it for a year but can't use it very often as I don't want my family to know my twitter name!

Now pop over to see the other entries:

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Valentine's Day Treats

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Mr. TheBoyandMe and I don't do corny, we never have. That's not to say that we don't do romantic things for each other, but we are not the 'expensive meal, red roses, dipping chocolate' type of people that really enjoy Valentine's Day. Or as my cynic of a husband calls it 'Hallmark Day'.

However, we do mark the day with handmade cards, a nice 'dine-in' meal from M&S, a nice bottle of pink fizz and a good movie. This year, we resorted to our usual tradition and set ourselves the task of making our own Valentine's cards. This evening when he got home from work he duly presented me with some beautiful lillies and we exchanged our cards. Combine that with our meal and Valentine's Day in our house looks a little like this so far:

Guess which is the card I made?

Notice the appropriate film and Maltesers in the final photo? Well those are courtesy of Warner Bros who sent me this rather magnificent box full of Valentine's goodies earlier today:

  • Midnight in Paris (never seen, but having read the blurb on the back, I am very much looking forward to enjoying this while The Boy has his afternoon nap tomorrow. Recently released on 6th February)
  • Casablanca (classic! and this is the 70th anniversary celebration copy)
  • Crazy, Stupid Love (not a film I would usually choose due to Steve Carell, but the addition of Marisa Tomei, Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon make this a must-see)
  • The Bodyguard (which, due to the sad death of Whitney on the weekend, I will watch and cry at)
  • Going the Distance (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, recreating our long-distance relationship between Cardiff and Winchester!)
  • The Lake House (one of my all time favourites with Keanu and Sandy!)

A cracking selection of RomCom classics, both old and new. Check some of them out if you get the chance! I'm off to watch Valentine's Day with my husband and eat Maltesers!

I was sent these products for the purpose of this post. My opinions are honest and unbiased. My card was the one on the left, hubby gets 10/10 for effort on his!

Pink Lining: Queensdale Tote Bag

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I've seen quite a few mums talking about Pink Lining bags over the past year or so, and I've even seen a few out and about on my travels, but I have yet to own one for myself. To me, Pink Lining bags are the ultimate yummy mummy baby bag, but I'm more of a tummy-mummy, more of a 'is-that-The-Boy's-snot-on-my-dry-clean-only-Winter-coat' mummy. I need a practical bag which can take a beating. I've certainly never been feminine enough to own something as pretty as the Pink Lining bags I've admired from afar.

That was until they invited me to review a bag from their new season's collection and better still I got to choose for myself. There were a few bags that I uhmed and aahed over, but in the end I plummed for one of their bigger bags: the Queensdale Tote. At 35×32.5x30cm, it's not a small handbag, but that's perfect for me in the forthcoming Spring and Summer months. As a mum of a toilet-trained pre-schooler, I might not be carrying nappies around anymore but I do have to carry spare pants (his not mine!), a change of clothes, a hat, cardigan and snacks for him (and possibly me). I need a larger bag, and I've always favoured the oversize fashion.

The colourway that I chose is 'Blue Butterflies' as I'm far more of a blue girl than a pink one, however it comes in three other colourways as well: Pink Butterflies, Thistle and Dragonfly (purple), and Bluebirds and Bows (green). I love the design over the pockets on the front of the bag; two stripey beach huts, bunting and a bucket and spade. This reminds me of the 1950s Darling Buds of May era, and will be perfect for me to use on the beach or in the park during the Spring and Summer.

Inside are the characteristic pocket arrangement; two drinks holders, two large pockets, a phone holder, a key loop, a zipped section for your discrete bits, and a detachable mirror. Combine the zipped removable plastic bag (for first aid bits, suntan lotion and creams) with the large space in the main bag itself which is great for holding a change of clothes for him (or a towel and his swimsuit), and you've got a perfect bag for a mum of a toddler. (There's also a padded changemat which is nice and large.)

Extra bits that I like include the different ways that the handles clip on and off and can be rearranged to make it easier for carrying or slinging over a pushchair, and the linking strap to hold the ends together on the inside and stop it gaping or losing shape. I'm sure there's a proper name for it, but it escapes me at the moment. I personally like a zip on my handbags; I always worry about something falling out or being stolen, along with not wanting to show the world my belongings. However this inner strap and the firm clasp make the bag stay in shape very well.

I really like this bag, I can't wait to take it out on a sunny Spring day and have it draw admiring glances. And while the inside might contain a bright blue pair of Thomas the Tank Engine underpants, the outside is all about mummy!

Follow Pink Lining on Facebook and on twitter for more information.

I was given this bag for the purpose of this review. My opinion is honest and unbiased.

Review: Dolphin Tale

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It's half-term; hurrah!

For me, this is a brilliant week as it means that I get to spend all week with The Boy and do lots of fun things, like play in the sand pit as we did today. However, it's also February and therefore still cold and often raining; boo!

I'm imagining that for many parents of older children, they will be stocking up on DVDs to keep their children amused this week? Craft and cooking can only go so far towards alleviating the boredom, after a while, you need a feel-good film.

That film comes in the form of Dolphin Tale! This is a delightful family film by Warner Brothers, inspired by the true story of Winter the dolphin who was found injured on a beach and taken to a marine hospital. Unfortunately her tale was badly infected and she had to have it removed. This film tells the tale of her road swim to recovery with the help of the young man who found her, Sawyer.

With a cast including Harry Connick Jnr, Ashley Judd, Kris Kristofferson and, my favourite, Morgan Freeman, the quality of acting is guaranteed throughout, and who can resist a tail of friendship and love?

Definitely something to warm the soul this week!

I was sent a copy of this for review.

How To Go Self-Hosted

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I have spent the past month nagging Mr. TheBoyandMe to get a move on with this post on how to move from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. Finally last night he gave it and finished it! I've chipped in with some screenshots etc.

1. Choose a domain.

If you're moving from a Blogspot or WordPress.com site, the obvious domain (without losing too many readers) would be your blog name there, followed by one of the various suffixes like .co.uk, .me.uk, .com, etc. If you're starting afresh, then the choice is more free and could reflect the subject of your blog, your name, or a more generic word or short phrase.

If course, there’s no guarantee that the domain you’ve chosen will be available, so use a site like www.easyspace.com to check before you set your heart on a specific name; just typing it into a web browser isn't sufficient, as there's no requirement for a domain to have a website. With few exceptions, domain names are first-come, first-served so if someone else has the domain you want it’s unfortunately easier just to choose another.

Hold off buying it until you’ve chosen where to host your blog, though; it’s often easier if one company handles the entire process.

2. Choose a host

There are a million and one companies out there that offer domain names, hosting and support at pretty reasonable prices. Rather than listing the plusses and minuses of each and every one, I'd simply recommend Salt and Light Solutions for no other reason than they are the people who host TheBoyandMe, and have been faultless!

Whoever you do choose will be in the best position to purchase your chosen domain name on your behalf, set up e-mail and somewhere for you to store your website, and give you enough information for you to use this space.

At a minimum, you’ll need to choose a host that allows you to run PHP (it’ll be listed as one of their features) and gives you access to a MySQL database.

3. Set up the blog software

I'd recommend the self-hosted version of WordPress, available from WordPress.org, as this is what this site uses. Installation is relatively simple, although it does involve having to create a MySQL database for your blog (which your host should be able to help you with if you have difficulty).

Simply follow the ‘5 Minute install’ instructions at http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress and that's your basic blog set up.

4. Importing Posts and Comments

If you’re moving from WordPress.com to a self-hosted WordPress blog, this couldn’t be simpler; under ‘Tools’ you’ll find an option labeled ‘Export’. Export all content (including comments) from your old blog, and import into your new blog: job done!

For most other blogging sites, the process is slightly more complex: but, only slightly. Once WordPress is installed, go to ‘Tools’ then ‘Import’. Select the type of blog you’re moving away from, and follow the prompts to install a plugin that will guide you through the transfer process. For Blogger users this is reasonably comprehensive as it will even download comments that people have made; however, images may have to be transferred separately and Matthew Morley of Salt and Light recommends the separate Blogger Image Import plugin.

In either case, I’d recommend making the last post an “I have moved”, so any fans of the old site follow you to the new one.

5. Categories and Pages

The main reason that I went self-hosted was because of my photography project: 365. WordPress.com allows a main home page with separate posts on it and with each post, a separate set of comments. I had created a 'page' for my 365 photos, but discovered that it was a static page which didn't allow posts. I could only add to the text, and it would only have one comments box. The very astute Mummy Mishaps highlighted to me a week or so into the project that it was going to get very difficult to comment on the photos after about fifty days, and I wouldn't know which photo the comments related to. This is why I went self-hosted: wordpress.org allows you to have proper pages with individual posts and associated comment boxes.

In its standard installation, WordPress puts all posts on the home page but allows one or more other 'pages' to also appear as links at the top; those pages are single posts though, rather than a set of posts. When Project 365 was started, The Boy’s Mummy didn’t want each photo to appear on the home page and the thought of having 365 photos on the same page was unrealistic, so we put together a solution using two free WordPress plugins:

Simply Exclude simply excludes (see what they did there?) any given category from appearing on the home page. For TheBoyandMe.co.uk, this includes 365, 366, reviews, Toyology and competition posts.

Page Links To alters the link that a link at the top goes to. Individual pages have been created for each link, but with this plugin anyone going to those pages is redirected, in this case to the appropriate category page.

With both of these installed, and a little bit of playing with the configuration, we were able to make the blog work exactly the way she wanted.

Extra bits that he hasn't mentioned but that I would suggest:

  • Install Comment Reply Notification

I found out about this from GeekMummy and it is one of the best moves I've made on my blog. Personally I never remember to revisit blogs that I've commented on to see if the blog owner has replied. Comment Reply Notification is a marvellous system that means the replies you make to the kind souls who comment on your posts, are e-mailed to them, thus opening a dialogue which I've been told is appreciated.

  • Install Link Within

I've pinched this idea from The Moiderer, it's a fabulous little gizmo at the bottom of posts which shows the thumb-nails for three related posts to entice the reader.

  • Sidebar & Badges

I'm including this because Two Point Four Children asked me how to do this, so thought it might be relevant. You might want to put a html badge into your sidebar, you'll need to use the appearance -> widgets tool and insert a textbox into the section on the right. Into this copy the relevant html and it magically turns into a pretty picture! Ta-dah!

  • Inserting images

When you insert an image into a post it brings up a dialogue box with a url option to the image, like this:

I've highlighted the automatically filled url box because you don't want this filled; it takes up too much of your storage space and if you're doing a 366 project then you want every kb for your photos. Click 'none' to empty it. Then if you've got the image-scaler plug-in installed, you can choose the dimension of the image. Generally I go for 300 or 400 wide for my images. Try and keep your images confined to a couple of hundred kb to upload, definitely under 1mb or they'll eat up space!

Hope this is of use to some people!

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