I've been busy guest-posting again!

You can find the story of the first time my husband told me he loved me here at the Kids One Stop Shop.

It was actually posted yesterday on Valentines Day but as husband spoilt me with a nice pie, a big bar of Milka Daim and my choice of film, I thought the least I could do was give my attention to him rather than my laptop!

Here's the song that inspired my post and which still features heavily in the soundtrack of our life together:

Enjoy!

Have you visited Dorky Mum? You should and not just because my post about the day I rescued a drowning dog is being featured on her blog today!

Seriously though, Ruth (aka Dorky Mum) has been writing some honest, brave and inspirational posts lately, like this one about her experience of postnatal depression and this one about her visit to Downing Street as part of the campaign work she does with  Save the Children.

She's also been sharing some heartwarming family anecdotes like this one about Dorky Son's giggle dreams.

I'm so pleased to have had an opportunity to write a post for a blogger whose writing I very much admire. Thank you Ruth!

This is me:

Thank god for photo editing software!

I last had a haircut in December 2010. That's right; nearly 14 months ago. As a result, I'm currently rocking Season 6-Buffy-climbing-out-of-her-grave hair. In non-slayer speak what that means is I have hair that's dry, frizzy, full of split ends and which spends most of its time either in 2 plaits or scraped back into a ponytail.

This isn't how I want my hair to be.

In my life before children, my hair was always a source of self-expression. I had fun experimenting with different lengths, colours, styles and accessories and if something didn't suit me, it didn't matter because the great thing about hair is it always grows back, or the colour can be changed, or you can add a fringe/layers.

You can change how you feel about yourself simply by changing your hairstyle.

My hair doesn't make me feel good; I need a change so I'm giving YOU the power to choose a new hairstyle for me.

Here's how it works:

1. Read my points-to-bear-in-mind
2. Take a look at the styles I've chosen
3. Vote for your favourite style in the poll on the right-hand side of my blog

Points to bear in mind:

• I have thick, heavy hair.
 
• I don't own a hairdryer or hair straighteners. I won't be buying either of these things. I'm a minimal fuss kind of gal and I don't have the time or inclination to sit in front of a mirror making my hair either full of volume or poker straight. I like to roughly towel dry my hair, run a brush through it (or not) and then leave it to dry naturally.
 
• I don't own any hair products (although I'm prepared to invest in some) so I don't want a style that requires me to put loads of goop or spray in my hair.
 

Choose a hairstyle for me:

OPTION 1) SHORT & SHAGGY

OPTION 2) SHOULDER LENGTH, LAYERED & A LIGHT FRINGE

 

 

OPTION 3) LONG, LAYERED & A LONG FRINGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have until midnight on Friday 17 February 2012 to place your vote in the poll. Whichever style receives the most votes is the style I'll be asking a hairdresser to reproduce on my hair.

Happy voting! 

Okay, so I'm a bit late to this party but over at SyFy, they're asking everyone to vote for the greatest episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from the 20 they've listed. Then, over the weekend of 03 and 04 March, they'll play the results in ascending order.

First of all, fair play to the SyFy team for managing to pick 20 out of 144 episodes. I think I'd have found it a lot easier to list the episodes that didn't hit the spot for me than to try and narrow my favourites down to 20.

Secondly, the deadline to vote is tomorrow, 07 February, so what are you waiting for? Get over there now!

So which episode have I voted for?

That would be the one where Buffy loses everything; her friends are injured, her watcher is kidnapped and tortured, she's wanted for murder, and her mum finds out about her "secret identity" and in shock, disowns her.

But all the pain and heartache allows her to come to terms with the fact she has to kill Angelus in order to stop him from opening a hell dimension. She finally accepts there's no possibility of restoring Angelus' soul and that her true love, Angel, is gone.

Fine and dandy you say? Well it would have been if, at the eleventh hour, just as Buffy defeats Angelus and is about to kill him, Willow hadn't managed to restore his soul. Before her eyes, he becomes Angel again; the man she loves and never stopped loving.

But it's too late, the hell dimension is opening and there's only one way to close it and save mankind. Buffy tells Angel to close his eyes. She kisses him and then she kills him.

Yes, my vote was for the two-part, Season 2 finale episode "Becoming". It breaks my heart everytime and leaves me in floods of tears. Just writing about it is making me tearful.

If you haven't seen it, seriously, watch it. I defy you not to cry.

Image credit: hidinginneverland.tumblr.com

Let me take you back to a couple of weeks ago when I was reading the introduction to the fashion category of the Love All Blogs weekly showcase, which is written by my very dear online friend, Liz of Margot and Barbara fame.

As I don't buy any newspapers, watch the news and rarely buy any of the so-called gossip magazines, I'd completely missed that awards season had already started this year with the Golden Globes.

Okay, it's not headline news but the reason why it caught my attention is because none other than my favourite vampire slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, was on the red carpet. Thank you Liz for bringing this to my attention!

Now I adore SMG. I used to snip pictures of her out of magazines and blu-tack them around my mirror. I even had full length posters - of SMG herself and of her alter ego Buffy - stuck to my bedroom wall. I won't tell you how old I was at the time!

Back then, and even now, I thought that SMG is one of the most beautiful women out there. She has a simple, classy style and to me, she is an incredibly positive role model; strong, driven, hard-working, independent, modest and secure in herself. Over the years I've regularly engaged in the "all the ways I'm similar to my hero" game. We're the same age. We both gave birth to our first child in 2009. And well, yeah, that's pretty much it!

Anyway, if you haven't seen, here's the outfit that Sarah Michelle Gellar wore to the 2012 Golden Globes:

Image Credit

I don't know about you but I like it! I think the blue is a very complimentary colour choice. It's dramatic and individual and SMG looks healthy, glowing and elegant.

This dress has certainly managed to divide opinion though; attracting, on one side, positive coments and on the other, relegation to the media's worst-dressed list. Which camp do you fall into?

So, what actually prompted me to write this post? Well, it was this news article courtesy of the Daily Mail Online. It really managed to wind me up with its patronising tone and its message that it's only okay for a woman to be "badly dressed" if their outfit was chosen by a two-year old.

Am I the only one that's heartily sick of "fashion" and the seemingly neverending list of what we should all be wearing and in which particular combinations? I mean, who is it that determines what is fashionable and what isn't? What actually qualifies them to do that? And why on earth do they assume we all want to look like couture clones of each other?

What frustrates me even more is the way in which the media, and others, are so quick to label and mock anyone who doesn't conform to "the fashion rules". How did we become so intolerant and judgmental?

I don't deny that I'm interested in celebrities but it just feels quite saddening that a lot of what we're told about them focuses on what they wear, the things they own, how much they weigh and who they're dating. What sort of message is this sending to the world?

Do we really want our young, impressionable children growing up believing that you're only worth something if you're attractive, thin and rich? And if you see someone that doesn't fit that criterion then it's fine, and expected, to criticise them? That's not the attitude I want my children to have.

What I'd like to see is a more responsible attitude being taken to "celebrity gossip" rather than what appears to be such glee in sniping and bitching at what are essentially very superficial qualities. Maybe I'm getting old but I'd much rather read a gossipy but ultimately positive and inspiring piece rather than something that's running someone down.

What do you think? Do you love or loathe celebrity gossip? Do you think people are influenced by what they read about celebrities? And how can we combat any negative messages our children may pick up about image and weight? I'm interested in your thoughts.

Phew, rant over!