The Fabulous Kate, over at Kate’s Life, is hosting Five Question Friday in Mama M‘s absence!

1. What’s the the last thing you bought for yourself?

I got a Kindle for Christmas, so the last thing I bought myself was some books for it.  It’s just too easy using the one-click payment on Amazon, straight from the Kindle!  Before Christmas I bought myself some clothes to wear over the festive period.

2. What is your favourite meal on a cold winter day?

Mmmmmm…. Something like a stew or casserole done in the slow cooker, served with buttery mashed potatoes.  You can’t beat good old mince ‘n tatties at this time of year!

3. Have you started looking at swimsuits for this year, and do you buy a new one every year?

No, I haven’t even thought about looking at new swimsuits.  I’m looking to lose some weight before the summer so I might have to invest in some new swimwear!… However, I did buy a couple of new bikinis last summer, so if they still fit me I’ll not bother looking for anything new.

4. If you could be any candy what would you be and why?

Hmmm…probably a Minstrel – a hard exterior, but soft centred.  Actually, I sometimes describe my eyes as a couple of Minstrels cos they’re dark brown and shiny!

5. What are you most passionate about?

Apart from my family, I’d say The Internet!  I love everything from blogging, blog-hopping, online shopping, social media and web design!

Since Mama M is away this week there’s a BONUS question!

** What is your favourite thing to “pin” on Pinterest?

I’ve just recently been introduced to the world of pinning and I must say I LURVE it!!  :) On looking at my boards, it seems that I mostly pin items for the home or furry friends!  :)  If you’ve not discovered Pinterest yet then please view my Pinterest boards here, and follow me!…

You can join in the 5QF fun over at Kate’s Life.

Happy New Year, everyone!!  Mamma’s back!!    Did you think I’d run away and left you all?? 

I haven’t been blogging very much since the beginning of December, what with the stress of Christmas, and a very busy period at work.  Then, come the Christmas Holidays, I simply wanted to sit back, relax and enjoy some family time.

Since the New Year, I’ve been busy working on my all new website (more about that later….), and so neglecting my little ole Mamma Kerr blog!  Sorry! 

Since I didn’t participate in last week’s WMW, I’d like to include one of last week’s prompts this week.

Balancing work and family life is tough! VERY tough!!  I know for a fact that I would not be able to work my 37 hour week if I had to commute to Glasgow or Edinburgh every day!  The travelling time would just push me over the edge!!

I am so grateful to live just a two-minute stroll from my office!  I can walk the girls to school every morning and then walk to work.  Plus, I can go home for my lunch break!

I am also extremely lucky to be able to work flexi-time (no set core hours), meaning I can work around family commitments, childcare arrangements, school events, etc.  This allows me to walk the girls to school every day, as well as being able to attend school shows, assemblies, nativities, etc.  It also makes it easier for me to take my girls to hospital appointments.

Okay, so I just wanted to stress how lucky I am compared to some working mothers – NOT to gloat!! – I just wanted explain how I am able to work FULLTIME!

My “Super Mom” tips are actually pretty simple:

• Prepare packed lunches in the evening.
• Set out school uniforms before bedtime.
• Mark important dates and events on a calendar where the whole family will see it.
• Pin appointment cards, invitations, tickets and forms to the fridge using magnets.
• Always carry wipes, handgel, tissues and plasters (band aids).
• Involve the children in household chores, and try to make it fun!
• No matter how busy and stressed you are, always make time to talk to your children about their day.
• Make sure your children have a good bedtime routine, which should include some time for a bedtime story.

You can join in the Working Mommy Wednesday fun with Rachel over at Occasional Boredom.

WMW Prompts for 30 November:

1. So, did you get sucked into the excitement and drama of Black Friday? If so, what deals did you snag?? And for our international gal (that’s ME by the way!!  lol), has our shopping madness spread to your area?
2. Four day weekends are nice but the transition back to work can be challenging! How are you doing with the transition?

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS

Last Working Mommy Wednesday I bemoaned the fact that we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK.  However, I am happy to say that your Black Friday Deals are actually starting to penetrate the UK market!  I spent most of last week watching Black Friday deals on Amazon in particular!  Unfortunately, most of the best deals were only available during my working hours, but I did manage to bag a funky brushed metal photo frame clock for half price!     The UK Apple website was also offering Black Friday deals!  However, much as I was tempted, I resisted the urge to bag some Apple products!

There are actually LOTS of sales on at the moment on the High Street and online here in the UK.  However, I’m not sure whether that has anything to do with the US Black Friday influence, or whether it’s to do with the bleak economic climate.  I suspect it has more to do with the latter!  People just don’t have the spare cash to go mad on Christmas shopping this year! 

FOUR DAY WEEKENDS _ TRANSITION BACK TO WORK

I might not have had a four-day weekend, but I’m having a four-day working week this week!  Today I was on strike, taking part in industrial action to protest about proposed changes to my Local Government Pension Scheme. I’m fighting to protect the pension that I’ve been paying into for 20+ years! I used to be guaranteed a lump sum, but now I’m not! I was led to believe I could retire after 40 years service in a full pension, but now they want me to work into my seventies!! They want me to contribute MORE every month, work LONGER and receive LESS when I retire!?! NO WAY!! It’s outrageous!  Here’s some background news on the public sector strikes.

The strikes meant that the schools were closed so, rather than joining a picket line, I spent the day at home with my girls.  We had a lovely lazy day at home, while the weather was miserable outside.

You can join in the Working Mommy Wednesday meme over at Occasional Boredom.

1. Do you have a go to song that always puts you in a good mood?

• B.E.P. “(I Got a Feeling) Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night”
• David Gray “Babylon”
• LMFAO “Party Rock”
• Shakira “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”

2. Are you a real Christmas tree kinda person or do you go with a real fake one?

• I like the idea of a real one, and I think they usually look better, but we have an artificial tree which we’ve been using for the past six years, and Hubby wants to make sure we get another few years use out of it!

3. What are you thankful for?

• Family
• Friends
• Health
• Home
• Job

4. Which fashion fad from the past do you wish you could wear today?

• I’d like to go waaaaaaaaaaaayy back to long before I was born and wear the fashions of the 30s & 40s when women looked VERY glamorous!!

5. Do you wait until the “low fuel” light comes on before you fill up the gas tank?

• Yes!  Much to my Hubby’s annoyance!  He keeps telling me to fill the car right up and then refill when it’s at the half-way mark, but there’s always some excuse why I can’t refuel:
  • I’m in a hurry!
  • I don’t have enough money!
  • There’s no petrol station en route.
  • The nearest petrol station is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy too expensive!
  • I’m waiting until Pay Day!….
  • There was a queue!

1. What movie do you love to quote?

There isn’t one particular movie (or quote) that springs to mind!  Here’s a few of my faves:

Mamma always said, life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re gonna get. ~ Forrest Gump.

Show me the money! ~ Jerry Maguire

You had me at “Hello!” ~ Jerry Maguire

You complete me. ~ Jerry Maguire

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn! ~ Gone With The Wind

Damn! We’re in a tight spot! ~  O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Well, I don’t want Fop, goddammit. I’m a Dapper Dan man. ~ O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Them syreens did this to Pete. They loved him up and turned him into a horny toad. # O Brother, Where Art Thou?

I’ll be back! ~ The Terminator

Hasta la vista, baby! ~ Terminator 2

Nobody puts Baby in the corner! ~ Dirty Dancing

Ditto! ~ Ghost

To be honest, I quite often quote from The Simpsons, rather than films!  The Simpsons has produced hundreds of awesome quotes of the years!  Here’s some of my faves:

1. Homer: I’m normally not a praying man, but if you’re up there, please save me, Superman.
2. Homer: Save me, Jeebus.
3. Homer: You don’t like your job, you don’t strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That’s the American way.
4. Chief Wiggum: Can’t you people take the law into your own hands? I mean, we can’t be policing the entire city!
5. Homer: Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals…except the weasel.
6. Homer: Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.
7. Troy McClure: Hi. I’m Troy McClure. You may remember me from such self-help tapes as “Smoke Yourself Thin” and “Get Some Confidence, Stupid!”
8. Homer: Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?
9. Homer: I’m going to the back seat of my car, with the woman I love, and I won’t be back for ten minutes!
10. Bart: I didn’t think it was physically possible, but this both sucks *and* blows.

2. Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

Ha!  I can’t even ride an ordinary pushbike!!

3. What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

I love to snuggle up on the sofa with Hubby and the girls in our jammies (PJs) and watch films!

4. Do you prefer a bunch of small gifts, or one really big, (expensive) gift?

Oh!  Can I not pick a bunch of really big expensive ones?!  No?  Oh okay!  I’d say one really big expensive gift!  Anything from the following list will suffice:

• A new laptop
• An DSLR camera
• The new Kindle Fire (once it comes out!)
• An iPod Nano

5. Do you ever lose track of days and show up somewhere wrong?

Yep!  I’ve turned up for dental appointments, hairdresser appointments and beauty salon appointments on the wrong day!  I’ve also turned up for a meeting at work on the wrong day!!  :O

It’s Working Mommy Wednesday! Today’s prompts are:

1. Does being a mom cause your co-workers to think of you as the “office mom”?
2. Children’s books can be, boring – have you found any that are fun to read over and over?

Have I found any fun children’s books which we can read over and over?

I sure have!!  In our house, we all love reading our huge collection of Barefoot Books together!

I joined Barefoot Books as an Ambassador in April 2008, and enjoy displaying and sharing the beautiful books at events, parties and fundraisers throughout Central Scotland.

My daughters have a whole cupboard full of beautiful Barefoot Books that they love to read alone or with Mummy. Some of the books also include an audio CD with stories, songs or rhymes! I like to give these beautiful books as gifts to friends and family, and my ‘special box’ (as the girls call it!) is a frequent source of inspiration for last-minute gifts for children’s parties!
Here’s a few of our favourites:

• The Gigantic Turnip
• The Parrot Tico Tango
• The Barefoot Book of Princesses
• Mama Panya’s Pancakes

Here’s some Halloween fun from Barefoot Books:

Read my WMW Part 1 post from earlier today: Working Mummy But Not Work Mum

Join in the WMW fun over with Rachel over at Occasional Boredom.

1. Where do you escape to when you’ve had enough?

Ideally, I like to go out for a brisk walk in the fresh air to clear my head.  However, if I have to stay indoors, I’ll usually retreat to the sanctuary of my bedroom!

2. What shows are you watching this fall?

I always watch The X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and I’m a Celebrity,  Get Me Out of Here! at this time of year!

3. What was the longest roadtrip you’ve ever taken and where did you go?

The longest road trip that Hubby and I have taken with the girls was to North Wales. which was about 270 miles.

4. Do you plan on taking your kids to Disney World?

We’ve already been!!  We went in the summer of 2009, when the girls were just turning five.  We hired a villa, and went for a two-week break with my parents, and my brother-in-law & sis-in-law.  It was awesome!  The girls had a great time meeting all the characters and watching all the parades and shows!  We’re planning on going back again, but it’ll probably not be for another four years, when the girls are about 11 or 12 and my sister’s baby girl is about four or five!  We’d like to do the Disney Cruise & Stay next time!…

5. What is something people would surprised to know about you?

I cannot ride a bicycle!!  *Shock! Horror!* :O  *Hangs head in shame*

WMW Prompt for October 12th:

How do you carve out personal time for yourself?

This is a little easier for me now that my office is only a 2 minute stroll from my house!  Some mornings I grab an extra 15 minutes Me Time in between the school run and going to work.

If the weather is nice, I might take a walk along the banks of the River Carron.  The proximity of the river to my house is one of my favourite things about where I live!  I really enjoy walking along the riverbank, listening to the rushing water and admiring my surroundings!  It lifts my soul!

If the weather is not so nice, I might just nip home for a quiet cup of coffee before heading to work.  It’s nice to just sit back and enjoy a few minutes peace and quiet!

My favourite part of working so close to home is to be able to pop home every day for lunch!  I really value my lunchbreaks now!  I use this opportunity to catch up with some television programmes that I have recorded on Sky+, such as my favourite soap, EastEnders, or my latest guilty pleasure, Cake Boss.

Join in the WMW meme over at Occasional Boredom.

1. What is your go to comfort food or sweet?

Oh that’s a tough one, cos I have such a lot of fave comfort foods, such as:

• Chicken pakora – This was definitely my go to comfort food, during my part-time studies last year! I was always ravenous after my evening lectures, and looking for something quick and tasty to eat when I got home. I often stopped by my local kebab shop for my pakora fix on the way home.
• Sour Cream & Onion Pringles – I love crisps of most any brand and flavour, but these are perhaps my favourite ones of all!
• Dairy Milk or Galaxy chocolate – Sometimes you just simply NEED a good bar of chocolate to enjoy! Sometimes a choccie biscuit will suffice, but at other times the situation calls for a big chunky bar of the real deal – Cadbury’s Dairy Milk or Galaxy – I’m not fussed!!
• Cheesecake – I never used to like cheesecake, and always preferred a slice of gateau. However, my taste has changed in recent years, and I am now a big fan of cheesecake! It’s hard to resist it!
• Olives – Again, I was never a fan of olives and used to pick and flick them off my pizza or salad. In recent years, however, I have become somewhat of an olive addict!! I LOVE them!! I especially love the Kalamata & Halkidiki olives from my Graze Box!
• Graze Box – I have recently started getting a Graze Box delivered twice a week, so that I now have healthy delicious and nutritious snacks to graze on at work, reducing the urge to scoff crisps or chocolate to keep me going when I’m stressed or bored!

2. What is the most romantic place you’ve ever been to?

• Paris – Hubby (to be!) surprised me with a trip to this romantic city many years ago, before we were even engaged.  In fact, many people were expecting us to actually get engaged over there!  As lovely as it is, Paris is a very expensive city, and is incredibly cold during February!  Furthermore, the food isn’t all it’s made out to be!  I found that most of our meals still had a pulse, TBH! :S  Anyway, enjoyable though the trip was, we did not get engaged in Paris! 
  
• Rome, Sorrento & the island of Capri – This is where we spent our Honeymoon.  All three locations are beautiful romantic places!  Rome with its ancient monuments, Sorrento with its picturesque bay and harbour, and views across to Naples and Vesuvius, and the beautiful island of Capri with its designer shops, fancy restaurants and pretty houses.  It was the perfect setting for a romantic Honeymoon!  *sighs*
  
• Venice – We visited Venice, a few years after our wedding, during our holiday to Lido di Jesilo on Italy’s Adriatic coast.  It is certainly the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my entire life!  It is simply stunning!  Traveling though the canals on a gondala, while being serenaded by the gondalier is an experience not to be missed!  The city is equally beautiful at night!  I have to say that this is THE most romantic place on Earth!! 
  

3. What is your favourite thing about fall/Halloween?

• Fall - Crisp sunny Autumnal days exactly like today.
• Halloween - My girls’ enjoyment of it all!

4. How would you spend 24 hours alone?

• Major clearout in the house without distraction
• Working on my new website
• Wii Fit and/or Zumba Wii
• Watching my faves on TV
• Bliss!! 

5. Does you husband bring you flowers? Are you the bring-me-flowers type of girl?

I love fresh flowers, but they’re sooooo expensive, and don’t last very long in my warm centrally-heated house. Hubby does buy me flowers, but only on special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, Mothers’ Day and Valentines.