The results are in.....

I know that some of you have been waiting very patiently (or not) for me to announce the winner of the Blogiversary Giveaway. For the sake of fairness, I used a random number generator which I've been trying for the past hour to embed into this post but I cannot make it work!! I don't know if I've messed up the HTML code or something technological!!! The only thing I can think of to do is to take a picture of each number.....apologies that it looks so unprofessional!!!  OK.....drumroll please.......the winners are..................................

The winner of the London Tote Bag is:

Number 5 was Crystal Jigsaw!  Yay you!

The winner of the Lipstick & Mascara is:

Number 8 was Kati C!!!

The Splishy Fire Hydrant:

Number 7 was Katie from Feeding Boys!!

The iPhone case goes to:

Number 11 is Limey.  Congrats Lady.

Lets Go to School DVD:

Number 12 was Donna!

Last but not least the gorgeous travel diary:

The lucky winner is Nelly!!!

For all you lucky winners: To claim your prize you need to e-mail me at adventuresofanenglishmum@gmail.com and let me have your address by Monday 2nd August.  If I haven't heard from you by then I'll re-draw and send the prize to someone else!!!

Commiserations to my lovely readers that didn't win a prize but I will hopefully be doing another giveaway soon so stay tuned!!!

The Gallery - Nature

Now most of you will know that I'm not a nature person.  I don't do mud or rain so when I saw this weeks's Gallery theme was 'Nature' I was a little bit lost to what pictures I may use.  There is a prize for this week's best gallery entry of a Green & Blacks Hamper......yum.....so I at least had to have a bash!!!

Once I started going through my pictures I did discover a couple of cool shots. This is one of my favourite walks in the winter:

This next picture was taken at Lake McKenzie which is on Fraser Island in Australia.  It is one of the most beautiful places that I've ever been too! 

As much as I love the two pictures above my favourite ever view is this:

It was taken at Glenfinnan in Scotland when we were on holiday there a few years ago!!  

Next week I'm going to make a concerted effort to get out and take new pictures for the Gallery......fingers crossed it'll be something simple like 'your child'!!!!!! ;-)

Fundraising for Kilimanjaro

I can't believe it's Monday again already....someone stole my weekend!!!   A while ago some of my beautiful and crazy friends decided that they would climb Kilimajaro in January 2011 to raise some money for a local charity.  Rainbows is the only hospice in the East Midlands that offers a place for life limited children and their families to find care and support.  You can find out more information here. They are a pretty amazing bunch at Rainbows but it costs £2.8 million per year to run and so any money they can raise is obviously a great help.

As the banner says my lovely Ladies are trying to raise at least £10,000 to help Rainbows and if you fancy helping them out you can sponsor them by clicking here!  They are thinking up a lot of fun ways to help them raise the money and so on Saturday I found myself with my friend Carol, who was here for the weekend, at a pamper session at one of our local restaurants.  The first thing we were welcomed with was champagne so straight away you know it's going to be my kind of event!!!

Awesome way to spend a Saturday afternoon me thinks.  Chick also got in on the action and had a facial:

We both had manicures....oooohhhhh pretty!

This is Chick with Fundraiser and Climber extraordinaire Vicky:

Me and my girl sharing some love:

The last event that they held was a Wimbledon Garden Party (when I was at CyberMummy!!!) and from what I understand that was also pretty damn cool.  I can't wait to see what brilliant ideas they come up with for the next fundraiser but I'm sure if any of you guys has any bright and original ideas to raise money then the girls would love to hear about them!!!!

Single 34 year old seeks.......

I’ve been single for a long while now and my friends have been trying to convince me that internet dating is the way forward.  Now, I don’t believe them but after reading about every man and his dog meeting people on t’interweb and getting married I thought maybe I ought to re-visit it! 

Seriously BIG mistake.  After wasting a good hour of my life trawling through pages of ‘eligible bachelors’ let me offer you guys who are genuinely trying to meet a girl some advice:

-          Get rid of the crap user name.  It may be what the lads have called you for the last 10 years but quite frankly I don’t need a ‘stud muffin’ in my life!

-          Put some clothes on in your profile pictures......okay? Thanks!

-          For the love of god learn to spell.....if you don’t know how, turn on spell check or find a dictionary.

-          If the bio line is the first thing Ladies see then writing ‘I don’t do this’ is quite ridiculous.

-          If you have ‘in a relationship’ as a status.....f*ck off!  Seriously I feel really sorry for you and your Partner and it’s only a matter of time before you are caught!

-          Try and find a more amusing bio-line than ‘caring man seeks caring woman’.....Yawn!!!  If you aren’t capable of coming up with one ask a female friend to help so I at least feel like there’s hope in the dating world.

-          Complete your profile page as much as possible!  It’s a deal breaker for me knowing how tall you are and if you want any more kids!

-          Sending me e-mails that indicate you just want sex.....just don’t do it for me!!

I don’t think that I’m fussy when it comes to men (although my friends may disagree) but there are a couple of things that I really need:

-          You have to be at least 6 ft tall.  I’m 5’ 11” and call me old fashioned but I will not be dating anybody that is 5’ 5”!

-          The spelling thing really annoys me.....see point 2 above ;-)

-          I don’t need a partner that earns a huge amount and I don’t care if you are a dustbin man or

what your profession may be.  Someone that earns under £20k is probably not gonna do it for me on an internet dating site though!  (yeah...I’m shallow.....I need someone that will buy  me Louboutins at least once a year!!!)

So, it’s looking likely that I’m not going to find my match on the t’interweb...anyone got any other bright ideas?????

The Gallery

The lovely Tara Cain over at Sticky Fingers has been running her gallery for weeks and weeks now but I've been too shy to join in, as all the entries are just fabulous.  This week however the theme is 'a novel idea' and so I figured I try it for a week and see what you all think and if you don't like it I'll go back to Wordless Wednesday's!!

Gosh I had so many ideas for this one as I just adore books and reading.  The first and most obvious one that I came up with was Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe but I think you've all seen this picture before:

Then I thought about the Highlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  This is a scene from Culloden battlefield in Scotland:

Or maybe the Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen:

I think though that my entry for the gallery has to be this!!  Can you guess which book this is supposed to represent???

The Twits by Roald Dahl ;-)

Crash & Burn

Today I crashed and burned!  I’ve known for a while that it was coming but my steps to try and stop it from happening were too little too late!!  Every six months or so this happens.  I know that I do too much and that I don’t say no often enough but for some reason I feel compelled to live life at 100 miles an hour.

This last weekend was my first at home in what seems like forever and because I’ve been gone decided that I needed to catch up with some of my real life friends and sleep.  I managed to catch up with a couple of people (who still feel like I’m not making an effort) and also saw my Grandma for her 81st birthday and visited my beautiful new cousin in hospital!!  All of which is amazing but still resulted in me running around like an idiot and not sleeping.

I try to avoid talking about work but the last month has been horrendous.  I don’t think there has been a single day when I haven’t had back to back meetings or full interview days. Obviously I’m paid to do this and can’t complain too much but to say it’s been busy would be a HUGE understatement.  Factor in on top of this five weekends away from home (CyberMummy, Bon Jovi  and other stuff that I just can’t remember!!) blogging and my poor neglected Chick and I’m properly and completely knackered.

Last night I went to a bar-b-q.  I had a lovely relaxing time sitting around talking and giggling with friends and then in the night started being sick.  I could blame the food but actually I hadn’t had any and I know it’s my body telling me to slow down.  Today I’ve sat in front of the TV and done nothing really apart from think, although I’m not sure this is a good thing!!

Why do I feel the need to live my life at 100 miles an hour? I don’t know is my honest answer.

Maybe it’s because I still have the childlike need to not miss out on anything?!  Maybe I’m supposed to live fast, die young and all that jazz???  Maybe I get it from my Mum who can’t sit still for a single minute! Maybe some of it is not dealing with my issues from the past and stuff that’s happened in my life and if I stop rushing around for more than 5 minutes then they start seeping into my head! Maybe it’s being pulled in a million different directions by life?

Whatever it is I have to deal with it now.  I’m exhausted but I can’t sleep. I’ve been having random panic attacks for a while but they are getting worse and are now so bad that each time they happen I’m convinced I’m going to die. I don’t have the energy to do anything.....probably because I’m not eating properly.   I don’t know exactly how I’m going to deal with it now but I’m going to start by tidying the house and going for a run!  A good run used to help me get everything into perspective and I feel that’s what I’m missing right now....apart from a good night’s sleep of course!!!!

I feel the need to add:  I know I’m lucky to have a job, an amazing child, a roof over our heads and generally a brilliant life....I’m just having a really rough day!!!

Blogiversary Giveaway

To celebrate the fact that it's my one year Blogiversary tomorrow and that I've been given lots of lovely stuff over the past few weeks, I thought I'd do a giveaway.  It's a random mish-mash of stuff but who knows....there could be something ideal for you!!  So here goes:

A London shopping tote (courtesy of John Lewis):

A Laura Mercier lipstick and elf mascara:

A travel journal which is so cute I almost kept it for myself!!! (Also courtesy of John Lewis)

An iPhone case:

'Let's Go to School' DVD that's not available on general release until later on this year (courtesy of Leap Frog)

A fun Splashy fire hydrant that attaches to any hose pipe....great for the kids during the Summer Holidays!! (courtesy of Chocolate Weetabix)

To enter all you need to do is become a Follower and leave me a comment telling me how wonderful I am and what you'd like to win.....Simple as that!!!  Closing date will be next Friday, 24th July and winners will be announced at some point after that!!!  Good Luck!

I'm happy to send the prizes anywhere in the world but the Leap Frog DVD will only play in the UK!  

Its my Blogiversary!!!!! Yippeee!! Time to party!

Well, actually if I'm completely honest, it isn't my Blogiversary until Saturday but as most of you have lives to lead and things to do at the weekend, I don't get too many visitors then and so thought I'd go with today instead!!!

My goodness what a year it's been!!!  Chick has grown from this:

to this:

The only thing that hasn't changed is her messy hair!!!

We've been to Norfolk, London, Derbyshire, Norfolk again, Birmingham, SkegVegas, London (again......many times!!!) and also to the other side of the world:

We've seen Tom Jones (in my early WordPress days) and Kasabian and I also sold a good portion of my soul to the devil in exchange for Miley Cyrus tickets for Chick for Christmas!!!

I've written posts about:

Our racial experience because Chick has a black doll

The pain I still feel about my Dad

I've also been lucky enough to interview:

A Hollywood Writer/Producer

Some Local Politicians

A Published Author

Without fail, one of the best things about this year has been the new friends that I've made. Quite ironic that someone who hates Internet dating with a passion has found a good few new best friends through this internet lark.  I love that it gives me an extra connection to my American Mom in California and Nelly in Australia without whom my life would be much poorer!!!  I also need to say a huge thank you to you....yes whoever you are reading this......it's because of you and your support and comments that I feel validated enough to carry on!!  Here's to the next year or ten!!!

Now I've finished being all soppy, the last thing for me to say is stop by tomorrow for some prize giveaways and help me celebrate my first anniversary in the Blogosphere!!!!

Secret Post Club

It's that time of the month again........when I get a lovely parcel from another member of the Secret Post Club set up by the wonderful Heather over at Notes from Lapland.

To be honest this month I'd completely forgotten about receiving a parcel until the Postman hammered the door down on Saturday morning!!! Chick and I ripped apart the envelope in excitement and found these lovely parcels:

A lovely shoe and cupcake theme! I did manage to control myself long enough to open the card first.  Imagine my joy when I discovered that this month's parcel was from the amazing Lottie over at No Wine on Wednesdays who was the first real Blogging friend that I made!!!! I would've been happy with just the card but I had these inside my parcel:

I'm thinking that Lottie maybe knows me quite well!! Chick was beyond excited as this month there was a gift for her too:

A huge thank you to Lottie for such beautiful things! To my recipient, I promise to get my ass into gear today and send your parcel!!!! 

p.s. I've set up a new comment system and am not sure how well it'll work so if you have any problems commenting then please feel free to e-mail me!!!

John Lewis Christmas Preview

Last Thursday, I was lucky enough to be invited to preview the Christmas collection at John Lewis (for my American readers think Macy's or Sears). Initially I said No, as I've been having far too good a time in the Blogosphere just recently and I have to occasionally go to the job that pays my bills and hang out with my daughter!!!  However my Boss and my daughter are cool enough to let me go see John Lewis on the condition that I don't bore them with it for the next month.......unlucky!!!!

So, Christmas in July is a pretty cool thing!  Arriving at One Marylebone Place (a converted Holy Trinity Church, which by the way is completely awesome and if I'm ever daft enough to get married this would suit me down to the ground) you know you are in the right place when you see the snow machine outside and this just inside the door:

As we registered (with the handsome and delectable Tim from Cohn & Wolfe) they kindly gave us all a Flip video camera!  Initially I thought this was to hand back at the end of the day but no.....apparently we get to keep them!!! Yikes.....like I didn't love John Lewis enough in the first place!!!!

So first up was fashion!  Now most of you know that I'm a 'big' girl and presume I know nothing about fashion....sorry to disappoint you but I can spot designer clothes at a 100 paces!!! I may not fit into them much but I adore great tailoring.  The Autumn/Winter season is going to be all about Military and tailoring which is right up my street.  Unfortunately I didn't take a pic of the beautiful Reiss coat that I will be lusting after until I'm a size 14 but these were outfits were almost as cool:

Who knew that John Lewis did Designer Clothes???? Nope, me neither! Of course you know already know what else I'm going to mention right???? Yep......shoes:

I love LK Bennett......Gosh, I wish they'd make me their PR Officer....they couldn't have anyone more passionate!!!  Anyways....where was I??  I didn't take any pictures of the menswear but there was a lot of Tweed, beautifully soft Cashmere and an English Gentleman feel to the whole collection but in a really cool way! I will also be buying some John Lewis men's slippers for myself....amazing!!!

Electrical was next and I have to admit that although I love my shiny Red Dell, technological and kitchen stuff just doesn't float my boat. I did however adore the 3D TV and apparently this is the way forward but not in our household whilst you have to wear these:

Obviously I'm not a chic geek ;-)  Then came the 'Home' Collection.  So much beautiful stuff I hardly know where to start.  How about this:

or this:

I also loved the bedroom setting that was just made for a Princess:

We got to touch and feel the sheets/bedspreads etc and let me tell you that my £4 supermarket sheets don't remotely compare to the gorgeousness that is quality linen, I'm already saving up for my Egyptian cotton......absolutely dreamy!

Of course then it was off to my biggest weakness.....children's clothes!!!  Chick is at a funny age being 7 (and hideously tall thanks to Daddy and I!!) because the beautiful dresses that I like her to wear start morphing into being too grown up.  Fortunately at John Lewis these go up to Age 11 and this is where we bought her Bridesmaid dress from for my Mum's Wedding.  If I can afford nothing else, I will be buying Chick this coat which is so beautiful I'm not sure if I can wait until the collection is released to get my hands on it:

Isn't it the most amazing thing???  Most of my other bloggy friends that were at the event either have babies or small ones, are pregnant or are broody and I'm sure by now you know how I feel about having any more!!! I did however have an aaahhhh at this:

How cute????  Also, I had a reminiscing aaaahhhh......'my daughter is too old' moment at the Christmas toys, most of which are wonderfully traditional:

So much amazing Christmas stuff:

On my Christmas list for this year: LK Bennetts, a Breville Cup Cake maker, a home made fudge kit, Penguin mini note books and this Lulu Guinness Clutch (in ANY colour) which I would actually sell my left foot for:

My post seriously doesn't do any justice to how amazing the event was...huge thanks to Tim and Steve for hosting us!!  Some of my biggest loves in life.....Fashion, Shoes, Chick's clothes, Christmas and Handbags but one of the best things was that I got to meet up with some of my most favourite Ladies from CyberMummy again:

Huge hugs and kisses to all of them for being wonderfully amazing and to Francesca from John Lewis who spent most of her day answering my questions!!!  I apologise for monopolising her and I'm sure she needed a huge drink by the time I'd finished with her!!!  Thank you for a wonderful day and roll on the AW10 collection appearing in stores so that I can start shopping!!!!!

Review: Chocolate Weetabix

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail asking me if I would be interested in reviewing a new cereal.  I clicked the button and said yes and they told me they'd be in touch!!!!   Now I have to be honest and admit that because I'm not a morning person I don't do breakfast until about 9.30am when I tend to grab some toast  at work! Chick however is a different story......she can barely function until she has eaten. I was pretty confident clicking the yes button that my 7 year old could completely do the review for me!!!!

One day last week we received the new cereal from Weetabix and it became absolutely clear that Chick can do this and I never need work again!!!!!  It turns out a new Chocolate version of Weetabix is being released. Now being the terrible Mother that I am (see previous post here) I do actually let my daughter eat chocolate cereal!!! Weetabix sent us this:

A taster of the new cereal and a couple of bowls.  As well as this, they sent Chick some amazing new toys from Hamleys including a bubble machine and a Toy Story 3 Phlat Ball, which she loves so much she has been unable to put down. Many a sweaty hour has already been spent in the Park chasing this around!!

Chick not only likes to eat cereal for breakfast but will also snack on it at any given opportunity. The thing that I like about Chocolate Weetabix is that it only has half the sugar of other chocolate cereals and that at £2.59 for a 24 pack it's not too expensive.  Chick obviously loves it because it's chocolate and she's a kid!!!

The new Chocolate Weetabix is on sale from tomorrow exclusively in Sainsburys stores and from September onwards is available for general sale in all the other supermarkets!

Smitten by Britain - Bakewell & Chatsworth

I'm not here again today as I'm over at Smitten by Britain. I'm talking about one of my favourite places in the UK which is Chatsworth House.  It's a beautiful country pile set in the heart of Derbyshire and looks a bit like this:

Click on the link below to pop over and see me:

http://bit.ly/bq7sWW