Silent Sunday: Happy Easter.

Easter at West Midlands Safari Park

Silent Sunday: Harry Potter Series.

Our family's Harry Potter 'for reading' collection.

World Book Night.

Calling all reluctant readers! World Book Night is happening on 23 April 2015. 

What is World Book Night?

World Book Night (WBN) is an annual celebration of reading and books. It sees volunteers who are passionate about reading give out books in order to get those who are reluctant readers or unable to access books easily reading. WBN is run by The Reading Agency, a national charity that inspires people to become confident and enthusiastic readers to help give them an equal chance in life.

Volunteer.

As you know by now, I am an avid reader and a complete bibliophile, so of course I have become a volunteer for WBN. 
This means I'll have around 20 books to give out to friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, Tom, Dick or Harry; in fact anyone who I can physically hand one to. This year the book I am giving out is Dead Man Talking by Roddy Doyle. Who just so happens to be one of my favourite authors.
To become a volunteer for WBN, you need apply in advance. Applications for this year are now closed, but click here  if you want to find out more about volunteering for next year. When you apply, you get to choose your top three books from a list of twenty titles. If you are accepted as a volunteer, then WBN allocate you a particular title. Usually one from your top three depending on what is available. There is always a great selection of titles to choose from in a variety of genres. The selection of books is put together with the 35% of the UK's population who do not read regularly or own books in mind. 

What's the point?

A significant number of the UK's population- 35% do not read for pleasure or own books! I think that is quite a large proportion of us not enjoying the benefits, regular reading can bring. In this constantly developing technological world in which we live, the benefits of reading are easily overlooked. Stress-relief and relaxation, improved sleep, developing a more empathetic attitude are just a few of the bonuses of reading. Not to mention the latest research into links with reading and improved mental ability in later life.
WBN does make a positive difference to peoples lives. The details of which can be found in WBN's Evaluation Report 2014.

The books.

WBN give away 12,500 copies of each title and 250,000 books are printed for WBN. There is a great selection this year...

So, are you a reluctant reader or a complete book nerd like myself? Do any of the books on here take your fancy? I'd love to hear your thoughts on World Book Night or your reading habits. Feel free to drop me a line in the comments below.

Silent Sunday: Hogwarts in the Snow

Hogwarts in the Snow.

Silent Sunday.

My Three Things. Week 3.

Ok, so I've got to week three of My Three Things. I love writing these posts, they're not too time consuming and they're such a good way of evaluating your week without beating yourself up! The original link up came from Claire over at Confessions of a Single Parent Pessimist, so be sure to pop over to her and to say Hi and have a look at how her week has been too.

3 Things That Were Not So Good This Week.

• My diet: Healthy eating? Can't even remember what that is, even my body is craving a salad! Ate loads of junk, I deserve to feel like crap.
• Lost a friendship. Say no more.
• Not had enough money to get out of the house and visit places as much as I'd have liked to. Stuck in a bit of a rut for motivation and ideas of things to do that are suitable for us as a family. 

3 Things To Focus On  Next Week.

• Preparing for back to school! My biggest L starts secondary school in September, so although we have most of the uniform, we still need to get shoes, bags, coats, and of course they have to be the 'right' ones. So if anyone has any tips on what are the 'right' ones for senior school, (I'm thinking bags and shoes here), do let me know.
• Getting out and about more. I really want to get out of the house this week, so far we have a trip to Drayton Manor in the diary and also a visit to the Think Tank museum, which I am ashamed to say I have never been to, despite it being only a 15 minute drive away from home!
• Homework! Both my daughter and myself have work to be getting on with. Must buckle down this week!

3 Things I've Done Well This Week. 

• So I mentioned that I'd had my confirmation that I'd got into my first choice university last week. This week, I've had even more good news on that front. The university have awarded me and academic excellence scholarship, which I am both very proud and in great need of. I was so thankful when I received the phone call on Wednesday.
• Cat rescuing. I went back to my roots and got involved in a bit of animal rescue this week. Some poorly feral kittens needed a place to crash whilst they awaited a cattery space, or they would have been put to sleep. So they came to stay in our outhouse for a while. It made me realise how much I miss working with animals.
• I also managed to get a bit of gardening done this week. The 8 bin liners of garden waste are still waiting to be taken to the tip though. Oh well, it's a start!

Feel free to join in with #3things this week, and as always I love to read your comments and thoughts. Remember to give me any advice on secondary school must haves too! Thanks for reading. 

Confessions of a Single Parent Pessimist: Single Parent Spotlight: Rebecca Jones

Here is a post written by Claire over at Single Parent Pessimist, featuring yours truly! I enjoyed answering the questions, it made me focus on the positive things about single parenting.


Confessions of a Single Parent Pessimist: Single Parent Spotlight: Rebecca Jones: The aim of these interviews is to show how AMAZING us working single parents are.  I’m sick of seeing the bad press single parents get...

My Three Things. Week 2.

This is my second week of My Three Things. The original linky came from fellow blogger, Claire over at Confessions of a Single Parent Pessimist.
So here goes; The Good, The Bad and The Optimistic... But not necessarily in that order.

3 Things That Were Not So Good This Week.

• My alcohol consumption! I drank far, far, too much on Friday night. I'm still suffering today!
• I spent too much money on unnecessary things, this includes the alcohol from Friday night! Along with 'treats' that we as a family really didn't need, considering how little spare cash I have at the moment.
• Gardening. Not so much that I didn't do it well, more I didn't do any. At all. I planned to. I failed!

3 Things To Focus On Next Week.

• Spending some time with my Biggest L. It is her birthday today, she wants to go shopping to spend her birthday cash WITHOUT Little L! Looking forward to girlie time.
• Gardening... Weather permitting of course. Got to get on top of it!
• Clear out! I need to have a good sort out of clothes, toys and books and get stuff on eBay. I need the cash and I need the space!

3 Things I've Done Well This Week.

• I have now officially been accepted into university. OK, so technically I didn't achieve this, this week, but I did receive my official confirmation from UCAS. So I'm proud of that!
• Family time! Had a lovely week spending time with the kids and other family members. On Thursday we had a little get together with my Mum, aunts and family friends. I really enjoyed this. And today, is my Biggest L's 11th birthday. We all went out for a family meal, and just had a lovely day in general.
• I read more! As planned last week. (See Week 1's post).

Let me know your your plans for the week ahead, and be sure to comment if you're linking up.

My Three Things. Week 1.

I came across this brilliant linky from Claire at Confessions of a Single Parent Pessimist. The idea of My Three Things is, each week, list three things that have not gone so well, three things to focus on for the forthcoming week, and three things that you've done well. I think it's a great idea to gain some perspective and focus on day to day life. It's about recognising that whilst things may not always go to plan, there are always positive things to concentrate on. So here we go...

3 Things That Were Not So Good This Week.

• Healthy eating. I am trying my best to stick to Slimming World, but completely lost sight of my goals this week. The main meals I eat aren't so bad. It's the snacking on naughty treats that has been problematic.
• Finding things to do. Ok so this one isn't entirely my fault, I have been without a car and completely skint for the past few weeks, but I have been lacking motivation to get out and go places with the kids.The summer holidays are proving expensive, but there are always local parks, museums and galleries. I need to stop making excuses!
• Reading. As you know I start university in September, and as I will be studying English, Literature and Creative Writing, I have a reading list as long as my arm. Trashy TV needs to take a back seat.

3 Things I Want To Focus On Next Week.

• Healthy eating, I need to get back in the zone, concentrate on my goal and stick to it. I will keep away from custard creams!
• Get out of the house more. I plan to keep busy this week and exhaust the kids!
• Turn off the TV and read more. This is a no brainer, as I much prefer reading anyway.

3 Things I've Done Well This Week.

• Caught up with an old friend and organised more time to spend together. It's something we've both been meaning to do for ages, and we've finally done it.
• Walking. The bonus of not having my car last week was that I walked everywhere. I used an app on my iPhone to track the number of steps/miles/calories burnt and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I exceeded my goal and covered a fair few miles.
• I have not overspent this week. This was not really through choice because I have had to pay out for my car. However it has proved to me just how much I do overspend in the supermarkets each week, and that a lot of it is probably unnecessary. I can see now that I can cut back a bit and that we won't all starve. 

So, over to you, make sure you keep me posted on your #3things, and be sure to visit the other blogs in this linky.