#FabFridayPost Linky 11-03

It's my turn to co-host the #FabFridayPost Linky with Su over at Ethan and Evelyn this week!
I've been contributing to this linky for a while now and its boasts a variety of bloggers and posts. Its great for a Friday morning coffee or a Friday night glass of wine!
The posts can be about anything relating from parenting, lifestyle, crafts, reviews and related competitions. Please keep it friendly - we really like everyone to enjoy their time on this little linky!

Between us, Su and I will comment on every link and pick two posts to feature next week.

The Mothers Day Interviews: Cash Carraway

This year to celebrate Mothers Day, I've interviewed a group of Mums that I particularly admire. They are all Mothers with different experiences, views, stories and opinions. Some are from the blogging and social media world whilst others are ones I know in real life. I'm running the series through out this week and we'll be talking about birth stories, parenting advice, sleep deprivation and much, much more!

My fourth interview is with Cash Carraway, writer of the alternative lifestyle and family blog The Comeback Mum. Cash lives with her daughter in London and writes from her unique perspective on parenting, life, fashion and politics. I can't remember how I found Cash's blog but I did and its certainly one of my favourites. There's nothing I love better than brutal honesty and you'll find plenty of it there! I voted for this blog in last years Mumsnet Blogging awards when it was nominated for Best Writer and Best Campaigner. 

How did The Comeback Mum begin, have you written blogs before, are you a writer by trade?
Back in 2010 when I was pregnant and living in a women’s refuge I started a blog - which I am not allowed to name for legal reasons. Some pieces from it got re-published in magazines and I was approached about writing a book but then literally weeks after giving birth my blog became the subject of a court case. The case went on for two years in which I was not allowed to write anything for public consumption. It was a pretty soul destroying time so I hid away and focused solely on being a mum.
I finally pieced myself back together and started The Comeback Mum in 2015 because I really missed writing and blogging. And I’m so glad I did, it has changed my life!
In terms of a trade I guess I am a writer. I mean, it pays the bills and has done for a while. Before I had my daughter I wrote reviews for music magazines. Then I worked on the news desk of a hateful tabloid, then on a low ranking soap opera, I got sacked from both…

How do you feel about your social media following and influence?
Social media is lovely because it means quick connection. I love sharing stories, I love hearing stories and I guess social media is an instant outlet for that. Everyone on social media is influential whether you have one follower or one million – I love how it gives everyone a voice, regardless of whether or not you agree with them!

The Mothers Day Interviews : Deborah Patrick

This year to celebrate Mothers Day, I've interviewed a group of Mums that I particularly admire. They are all Mothers with different experiences, views, stories and opinions. Some are from the blogging and social media world whilst others are ones I know in real life. I'm running the series through out this week and we'll be talking about birth stories, parenting advice, sleep deprivation and much, much more!

First up is Deborah Patrick (Debs), writer of the very popular blog Super Busy Mum. I know Debs through her Mad Mid Week Blog Hop which I regularly link up to each Wednesday. If you're on the look out for a new linky, give this one a try as there's a lot of variety and a nice community spirit to it! Debs is a Mum of five, living in Northern Ireland. She is getting married later on this year and is a keen photographer.

How did Super Busy Mum begin?
I was a SAHM with a very little {8wk old} newborn and a friend of my partners advised me to start up my own blog, having just done it herself also due to having a little baby at home also. I did, having never blogged before and I never thought I would keep it up but here I am, 2 and a half years later and I could not be prouder of my little corner of the internet. I am also not a natural writer. I'm one of those people with a funny accent who live in Northern Ireland who writes as she speaks! lol.

How do you feel about your social media following and influence?
When I started my blog I didn't realise you had to start up social media platforms to connect to it all. But I quickly learned and at first, I thought starting up a Facebook page for my blog was a stupid idea, like, who would like it? Then there is also Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and so on. But looking at my social media audience now? I'm in awe and so thankful to everyone who follows me....I'm unsure on the influence I have but I'm just chuffed that people want to read what I am waffling about.

#FabFridayPost Linky 12-02

This week I've been invited by the lovely Su over at Ethan and Evelyn to co-host her linky #FabFridayPost. I've been contributing to this linky for a while now and its boasts a variety of bloggers and posts. Its great for a Friday morning coffee or a Friday night glass of wine!
The posts can be about anything relating from parenting, lifestyle, crafts, reviews and related competitions. Please keep it friendly - we really like everyone to enjoy their time on this little linky!

Between us, Su and I will comment on every link and pick two posts to feature next week.

Here are the rules:

• You can link up to 3 posts – old or new.
• Please remember to add #FabFridayPost Badge – it is only fair that everyone plays by the same rules. If not, it will be deleted. 
• Share the love – please do not drop and run away! Comment on all of both host posts and also comment on at least 2 other posts, including the one in front of you. It makes us very sad when people runaway. After all that’s what it’s all about!

If you tweet your posts using #FabFridayPost to @ethannevelyn &  @realsareyfairy  - we will RT!

We look forward to reading your blogs xxx

Women With Influence

Last week the post I'd written last year, Don't Fear the C-Section re-surfaced itself on Twitter courtesy of Kirstie Allsopp. She'd come across it via a hashtag I assume, read my piece and deemed it worth a re-tweet to her 399k followers. How terribly exciting for me and very flattering of course. I've watched her television programmes for years and was quite taken aback by such a compliment. Fully aware that this would be the first and last time my blog received any level of notoriety from the outside world, I allowed myself to get a bit giddy about it, told anyone who would listen and congratulated myself with a large glass of wine at the end of the day. Oh yeah.
Then I got to thinking about why she'd done that, what was her motivation. Why does she care what I think about C-Section births? Kirstie Allsopp is typically known as a broadcaster of property programmes and has made a living selling vintage home ware and interiors. So I had a good google on her and discovered that it was a topic close to her heart, something she'd written an open letter about a few years ago. Having had two Cesarean births herself, she'd taken an exception to the "too posh too push" stigma and spoken out about how we should be better prepared for the eventuality of a C-Section birth, as now 1 in 4 results in one. Turned out she'd started a bit of a debate. With many women supporting and thanking her for speaking out and others slating her for promoting unnecessary birth intervention. She's not afraid to speak out about other women's issues either from her opinions on marriage and banning homework. Through to acknowledging your fertility window and considering putting that first before your education and career. You may or may not agree with her opinions but at least she has some and there relative and real. I found it really refreshing to see a woman with influence sparking a discussion about something important that actually relates to my life.

There's Too Much Fucking Swearing On This Blog

Its fair to say that there's a lot of swearing on this blog. None of it is particularly offensive in an aggressive sense, its all intended as tongue in cheek humour but I cannot deny that the profanity word count is pretty high. I'd never really considered it until recently, I'm pretty free and liberal with how I write, in that I write how I like and if I like it then I keep it. I don't write for other people, I write for myself and I've found it very therapeutic, cathartic even. I just start tapping away and if a 'shit' or a 'fuck' contributes to the giggles or exasperates my tone I go with it. Particularly if you're writing about something that pisses you off, I've found a couple of 'bastards' and 'arseholes' really help get your point across. Of course I'm thrilled to bits to discover that people actually read my nonsense and even if it is just mostly my Mum (hi mum!), I've enjoyed that I've made people laugh and engaged with them on a certain topic or event in my life. I've had some cracking comments and direct messages, many full of obscenities and 'Fuck Yes!' moments. I've laughed my arse off at some of the feedback I had on that tit post, apparently it is a real issue affecting mothers globally - not just me!

Does Anyone Else Feel Like Their Blog is Their Therapist?

I've been properly blogging for almost three months now, when I first started I wasn't really clear on what I was doing or why. I just kind of started. I wrote a post, then another, then I sorted out my Twitter account, wrote some more, started a Facebook page and now its starting to become this amazing process that I really love.

World Mental Health Day 2015

Today is World Mental Health Day. Did you know...

 1 in 4 people are living with mental health illnesses

1 in 10 young people experience mental health issues

9 out of 10 people with mental health problems experience stigma and discrimination

To help raise awareness and get people talking about Mental Health issues, I ran a guest post series on my site this month, inviting writers to put pen to paper (or finger to screen) about their own experiences.

A number of talented and brave bloggers contacted me and I was honoured to share their personal stories and articles. Here are just a few snippets of the great writing that made this series so relevant and relatable:

MONTH ROUND UP #SEPTEMBER

So last month I made the mistake of requesting a quiet September because August had been so manic. Ha! What a tit, I should have known better than to temp the Gods of chaos and disorder, because three days into the month in strolled trouble, right through our kitchen door.
Yes, the infamous Bubby-At the stray kitten entered our lives, started eating our food and watching us bathe (don't ask). No seriously she's really cute, you can read her and Finley's Best Buds for Life Story by clicking the link above.

Telling The World To Go Suck It

I've changed alot recently, maybe I've had an epiphany, maybe I'm just too tired to care what people think. Or maybe I'm en route to some kind of Michael Douglas-Falling Down type break down, ah well who knows?
Anyway, the point is whatever the reason may be, I've just got a bit braver, I just give less of a shit.
Life is just better when you don't determine your choices based on the perceived reactions of others.
I realised this the other day when I shocked myself by shouting at an old lady in Aldi. Don't worry she totally deserved it, she was incredibly rude to me for no reason and I only gave her back what she gave me. She should think twice before targeting a harassed working mother who is due her period.

Truthfully, I am in no way a confrontational person. I hate conflict and I only enjoy arguing with my husband but I've reached a stage now where I might not actually tolerate other people's bad behavior and the world is just going to have to suck it.

My First Award, like ever...

So the lovely Lexie aka Mama Berry surprised me last week by nominating me for this award! Hop over and see her when you have the chance - she's partial to a peach margarita or three - my kind of Mummy !
This award is all about sharing the new blogger love (lieb is love in German right?) and getting to know some fellow bloggers!
Lexie's come up with some pretty good questions for me, which I've done my best to answer