Saturday 26th November 2011 – 'In His Shoes' (329/365)
Competition: FAB Ultra Repair Lip Therapy
Every morning when I get up and get ready for the day, there are two things that always go into my pocket; my phone and my lipsalve. I can't get through the day without moisturising my lips every hour or so, I hate the feeling of dehyrated chapped lips, and of course they are ever so attractive to look at!
I was recently sent a lipsalve with a difference from one of my favourite FABulous companies: First Aid Beauty. The Ultra Repair Lip Therapy is amazing and has left my lips feeling soft, supple and rehydrated. It's allergy-tested and fragrance free, making it perfect for sensitive skin.
ShowOff ShowCase: The One That Did Do Better (But I Wasn't Expecting It)
Regulars to my blog, and to this ShowCase will know that once a month I have the theme of: The One That Should Have Done Better providing another opportunity for those unloved posts to have a little more attention and possibly widen the readership.
After the last SOSC, I was asked by @The_Moiderer if I could do the opposite theme at the next opportunity; not 'The Most Popular Post' but an opportunity to highlight a blog-post which is consistently read or soared on the stats chart but was never intended to be a ratings winner. And because she's one of my favourite bloggers, and one of the first people I started following on twitter (60,000 tweets ago) I am unable to refuse her!
Finding a post for this link-up has proven difficult. People have different reasons for blogging: while some use it purely as a resource and a diary for themselves, others use it to communicate with the wider world. I'm one of those who thinks that the minute you press publish then you are sharing it with anyone and everyone to see, and therefore it is done with the intent of being read. However, there are some posts that I accept might not have as many readers as other posts: my 365 photo-journal hardly gets any attention for example.
I've got one post which sits head and shoulders above the rest. Unfortunately it's a competition and I don't allow competitions to be linked up. I will tell you though that it was a review and competition of NIP+FAB Frown Fix and has had 1000 more views than any other post on my blog, and has at least one hit a day. Sometimes if it's in the news I get a spike of 100 views that day. Bizarre.
The post I'm linking up is a mixed-bag. Yes, the initial purpose of it was as a sponsored post for NetMums and it was to write about the Family Friendly Football Festival. However, it was a big family day out for us and we had a really positive experience. In the month since I published it, I've had 200+ views on it. Reviews tend to get a quarter of that over the course of several months. Further to that, because it was a positive review, I am now being followed on twitter by The Football League and my review was retweeted by them to its 45,000 followers!
So which is the one that you weren't expecting? Which is the one that was actually written just as a rambling aside to yourself but everyone was fascinated in? Link it up below and see if you can get an insight into the workings of your readers minds.
ShowOff ShowCase is only successful when people read and comment on each others' blogs. Please take five minutes to show some love for the link-ups.
Please add the badge to the end of your post so people can easily return here to read the others.

Friday 25th November 2011 – 'Flora' (328/365)
The Boy Reads…
I'm sure that this is the same as with most toddlers, but when The Boy develops a liking for a book, then it is read over and over again. Tonight (as one of my working days) was my turn for the bedtime routine and I was pleasantly suprised to see that Mr. TheBoyandMe and The Boy have been practising a little pre-reading skills:
Thursday 24th November 2011 – 'Ten' (327/365)
Walking With Purpose
Earlier this year, a Facebook 'friend' walked across from the Welsh borders to London to deliver a petition to Downing Street and raising money on behalf of Help for Heroes. He walked from Gloucester to London!
As an ex-military man and currently a paramedic, it was an action which was close to his heart and meant a great deal to him. I sponsored him without a second thought and kept a close eye on his progress, and I felt a great relief and pride when he made it.
However, he was incredibly lucky because he came home from active service without a scratch on him. Many servicemen and women aren't so lucky. And it is these people who are the focus of the Help for Heroes campaign. The people who have lost limbs, suffered injuries we can't even begin to imagine and choose to focus on helping others.
Like Jonathon, who sustained a gunshot wound to his spine while serving in Iraq. Jonathan is going to be doing something quite amazing with the help of his dad. He is attempting the 17,590 feet trek to Everest Base Camp. Watch the video and check out his expedition. Then afterwards, why not pop over and donate? I have.
This is a sponsored post, part of which is being used to sponsor Jonathan on his expedition.
Wednesday 23rd November 2011 – 'Barred' (326/365)
The Gallery: Pride
And so this week's theme from the towering inferno that is Tara is:
Something I Am Proud Of.
It can be a person, something you've created, a photograph you've taken, a time in your life you're proud of, an achievement, your home, your car, your kids.
At a time when there is an awful lot of bad news emitting from whatever media you choose to watch/read, it's time to look closer to home and appreciate the things we have.
So show us all what you're proud of and let's lift this gloom.
As I rapidly approach my first bloggoversary, I contemplated a snapshot of my blog but decided that was too much like tempting fate for me. Instead I am going with this image:
Now before you assume it's another cute picture of my son (which of course it is), read the writing on his chest.
The Boy has really good manners, I mean really good.
He always says 'pwese' and 'thank you'. Always! And it's not something that we've had to teach him, he just says them without prompting, without reminding, without chastising. He has obviously just picked it up from hearing those around him asking politely for things, and it highlights to me how important it is to watch what is said in front of children because they learn through osmosis.
Recently, his confidence has soared and he is now no longer so shy around strangers. He's perfectly happy to start chatting to cashiers in the supermarket, the vicar at the playgroup I'm considering enrolling him in, the old dear who stops and admires him. "Huwwo lady, how are you today?" or "Huwwo, what's your name?" (learnt from aforementioned vicar) are regular phrases coming from his mouth.
And it makes me smile, to see his growing confidence, his friendliness, his courtesy and caring attitude coming forward. It gives me a little inkling of the man that he will one day be.

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