Getting to Know Me

The brilliant MumofThreeWorld has tagged me in a little meme entitled Getting to Know Me in which I have to answer a series of questions so you can find out a bit more about me.

When was the last time you cried?

It was probably when Mia was in hospital when she was just 6 days old, other than that it was when Aly was born.

Are you named after anyone?

Not that I’m aware of. I was going to be called Richard but everyone thought I’d be called Dick.

Do you have kids?

Yes I have, two amazing girls who are growing up too fast. One is approaching 5 and the other is 2.

If you was another person, would you be a friend to yourself?

Honestly, probably not. I’m quite moody and I’m rubbish at getting back to people.

Do you use scasism a lot?

Yep all the time, there is an art to getting it right. Too be honest it drives most people insane.

Will you ever bungee jump?

Once upon a time I would have loved to but since the girls have come a long I think I’d rather keep my feet on the ground.

What’s your favourite cereal?
I don’t really have a favourite cereal as I get bored very quickly so I like to change every few weeks. It’s normally a form of Shreddies, Sugar Puffs or Wheatabix.

What’s your eye colour?
Blue, just blue.

Favourite smell?

One of my favourite smells is the smell of rain or maybe the smell of bacon cooking first thing in the morning.

Summer or winter?

I like the summer warmth but I also like wrapping up warm for winter. I’m not keen on the winter rain and getting soaking wet.

What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home?

We haven’t travelled that far. Before the children came along we when to Florida but with the children the furthest is Spain.

Where were you born?

Crawley, West Sussex

Do you have any special talents?

Erm no, the only slight talent I have is photography but I’m still no good at that.

What are your hobbies?

Again photography and entertaining the children

Do you have any pets?

We’ve got two goldfish. One named Jesse and the other Buzz. We did have Jesse and Woody but Woody died.

Favourite film?

I don’t really have an overall favourite, it changes with my mood from Ocean’s 11, The Hangover and the Batman Series.

Do you have any siblings?

I have one sister who’s a few years younger than me.

Well that is everything about me.

The people I tag are

MummyGlitzer

PinkOddy

Liebster award

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The brilliant Mum of Three World has awarded me a Liebster Award and this means in German sweetheart or beloved person.

Part of the accepting of this award means I have to give 11 facts about myself, answer the questions set by Mum of Three World, set 11 new questions and tag various people so here goes.

11 Facts about myself

I used to be a cross country running and have represented my school and district in events.

I met my wife Laura when I was 18 and she was 17.

I was born in Crawley.

I was present for the births of both my girls and wouldn’t have missed it for the World.

I enjoy most sports.

I’m a big kid when it comes to Lego

I only learnt to drive at the age of 28

My middle name is Richard

I enjoy gardening

I love stand up comedy and have seen most big stars live

I have never broken a bone in my body

My answers to Mum of Three World’s questions.

When did you start blogging?
I starting blogging a few years back but OneDad3Girls started in September 2011.

Why do you blog?
I blog to get things off my chest and to share experiences.

How do you fit blogging into your life?
It’s all about time management and also scheduling posts.

What keeps you awake at night?
To be honest nothing unless I’m too hot.

What makes you smile?
The girls, the little things they say or do.

What makes you laugh?
Mia’s laugh makes me laugh especially when she’s being tickled.

What makes you cringe?
Any of those reality tv shows, I can’t watch any of them.

What are your pet hates?
People who sit and talk and tell you what’s about to happen when watching a film.

What are your hobbies?
I enjoy gardening and photography but don’t get much time to do either.

What are your favourite books?
I’m not much of a reader but I will read an autobiography if I get the chance. I did enjoy Steven Gerrard’s and Gordon Ramsey’s.

Would you rather read or watch TV?
I’m not one for either really but I’ll choose TV

Now I’m going to wimp out and not tag anyone as most people seem to have been tagged but if you haven’t leave a comment and I’ll tag you and set some questions.

Reader Appreciation Award

Wham! Bam! Thank you erm BabberBlog for passing on this wonderful Award.

Should I make a speech?

As with any award there are rules (much like Fight Club apart from you can talk about it) and here they are:
1. Include the award logo somewhere in your blog.
2. Answer these 10 questions below
3. Nominate 10 to 12 blogs you enjoy. Or you pick the number.
4. Pay the love forward: Provide your nominee’s link in your post and comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been included and invited to participate.
5. Pay the love back with gratitude and a link to the blogger(s) who nominated you.

Here are my answers.
What is your favourite colour
Wow hit em hard. Its would probably be blue, as that seems to be the colour I wear most.
What’s your favourite animal?
I’m not an animal/pet person really, but I like my animals big and scary. Tigers, lions or whales (I know technically an animal)
What’s your favourite non-alcoholic drink?
I’ve tried to curb my fizzy drink addiction so now it is either apple juice or any form of J20.
Facebook or Twitter?
Twitter without doubt. I’ve now been on Twitter for about 3 1/2 years and never get bored of it. Its the first thing I check on every morning and the last thing at night.
What is your favourite pattern?
Me man, me not like patterns. Erm I can’t really think of any stand out patterns in my life. Do I need a favourite pattern?
Favourite number?
A few numbers will always stick out for me, 13 for first date with my wife or Mia’s birthday, 19 for wedding anniversary, 20 Aly’s birthday and 26 for my birthday.
Favourite day of the week?
Saturday, no work and I get to spend the whole day with my girls.
Favourite flower?
I’m not that into flowers due to hayfever and would rather fill my garden with fruit and vegetables that actually have some use. The flower on a courgette plant is pretty  or a tall sunflower.
What is your passion?
My children without doubt. Outside of them its photography or sports.
And now let the tagging begin.
I shall only tag two as everyone else seems to have already been tagged.

How Grown Up Are You?

I kind of stole this idea from At Home with Mrs M
This is a list from a national newspaper of 50 things that show you are a proper adult. As I am approaching the grand old age of 30 I thought I’d give it a go.
1. Having a mortgage - nope rented for us
2. Mum and dad no longer make your financial decisions - I’ve always been pretty financially independent
3. Paying into a pension – I have a pension but have stopped paying into it
4.Conducting a weekly food shop - yes
5. Written a Will - no, but it is on my to do list
6. Having children - yep two amazing girls
7.Budgeting every month - no, I’m fairly careful but still don’t budget
8. Being able to cook an evening meal from scratch - yes and all self taught
9. Getting married - yes 8 years next week
10. Having life insurance - in a word no
11. Recycling - yes
12.Having a savings account - does an empty one count?
13.Knowing what terms like ‘ISA’ and ‘tracker’ mean - yes
14.Watching the news - yes normally channel 4 news or Sky News
15. Owning a lawn mower - yes
16. Doing your own washing - yeah
17. Taking trips to the local tip - yes but not too often
18. Planting flowers  - yes and a full vegetable plot
19. Being able to bleed a radiator - yes it man job
20. Having a joint bank account - nope we keep it separate
21. Having a view on politicsyes and always vote
22. Keeping track of interest rates - yes
23. Finding a messy house annoying - yes, but its hard work with messy children
24. Being able to change a light bulb - yes
25. Owning a vacuum cleaner - yes, worst housework job ever
26.Holding dinner parties - yes but not too often
27. Listening to Radio 2 - nope not yet
28. Enjoying gardening - yes love it, especially with the girls
29. Spending weekend just ‘pottering’ - very rarely
30. Mum starts asking you for advice - not really
31. Carrying spare shopping bags just in case - yes normally for messy shoes or clothes
32 .Like going round garden centres - yes love it and never come out empty handed
33. Wearing coats on a night outyes I hate feeling cold
34. Going to bed before 11pmvery rarely
35. Making sure mum and dad are phoned at least once a week - nope I’m crap at that
36. Classing work as a career rather than a job - yes
37. Repairing torn clothing rather than throwing it awayjeans into shorts?
38. You iron -nope that’s Laura’s job (we traded)
39. You wash up immediately after eatingnope all done towards the end of the day
40. Enjoy cooking - yes when I get the chance
41.Buying a Sunday paper - I could live without a paper everyday
42. Always going out with a sensible pair of shoesnormally
43. You like receiving gift vouchers - depends what its for
44. Work keeps you awake at night - nope
45.Filing post - its called a shredder
46.Having a ‘best’ crockery set - paper plates?
47.Being able to change a car tyre - yep had to do that a few months back
48.Being sensible enough to remove make up off before bedtime - I try not to wear make-up
49.Being able to follow a receipt - do people find that difficult?
50.Owning ‘best towels’ as well as ‘everyday towels’ - nope, am I common?
 I’m not really sure what to make of that, I’m guessing for my age I’m about right.
How old are you? Or do you act?
I now pass this on to ladybanana and Mumof ThreeWorld in the form of a meme

 

My Shit List

I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while, its mainly a bot of fun and will get added to over the course of the year as people and things get added to it.

Most of the things on here have no real meaning as to why they are on here they just are and its my list so I can add what I want.

Ants - What actual purpose do they serve?

Drivers who don’t signal – Am I meant to guess which way you plan on going?

People who stop in front of you when walking – The next time this happens I will clout you around the back of the head

People who think they can raise my kids better than me – Advice is fine if I asked but don’t ever make out you can raise my children better than me.

The Super-Rich – Oh my life’s so hard…feck off you don’t have to work again and you have chefs and maids.

Jordan – The ‘person’ not the country. What use is she?

Ferne Cotton – I used to be able to listen to her on the radio but now she just winds me up

I’m sure there are loads more but I shall stop now otherwise I’ll sound like a mad man.

Please feel free to add your suggestions.

 

A quick Q and A

I was tagged in a Q&A post by Comfort in Sound.

It’s been a while since I was tagged in something like this, I hope you enjoy it.
First the rules….

  • You must post these rules.
  • Each person must post 11 things about herself on their blog.
  • Answer the questions the “tagger” listed for you in her post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
  • Choose 11 people to tag and link to them in the post.
  • Let each blogger know that you have tagged them

Heres my Q and A

1) which character do you prefer from only fools and horses, Grandpa or Uncle Albert and why?

I always prefered Uncle Albert, just because him, Rodney and Del Boy seemed to have better chemistry and the comedy worked better.

2) if you had 3 wishes what would they be other than money, and eternal life?

My three wishes would be for my girls to live a happy and long life, us to own our own home and finally to have the opportunity to travel the World with my family.

3) if you could live in any period of time when would you live and why?

I pretty happy living life now. It’s such an exciting time with many new developments in technology. But if I had to travel back it’d like to live around the time that Henry VIII  was King, it seemed like a crazy time and he seemed a mad hatter.
4) if you had to live as the opposite gender for 1 day what would you do?

I don’t have much desire to be a woman but I guess I’d visit a bar just to see how creepy some of us guys are.
5) would you rather be a pirate or a ninja and why?

Pirate…who wouldn’t want to be a pirate. I doubt I’d be as cool as Jack Sparrow. Ideally I wouldn’t have a wooden leg too.
6) what would be your catchphrase if you were a game show host?

The Earth Is Full – Go Home in a kind of an Anne Robinson kind of way.
7) if you had to write a book what would you write about?

If I was to write a book it would be some sort of horror story, may be a book made up of short horror stories.
8) if you could choose a fictional character from a Book/TV/Movie to be real who would you chose and why?

Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt in Ocean’s 11) this character was so cool and had it all (ok he stole it but…) he always dressed smart and in the end had millions of dollars.
9) What would you like to be your legacy to be?

The guy who changed England for the better.
10) Which Cartoon Character best sums you up and why?

It’s probably Homer Simpson just because I eat all day and love to lazy on the sofa…ummmm donuts.
11) Why is your favourite colour your favourite?

My favourite colour is blue, basically because I love seeing a beautiful blue sky and because BHAFC play in blue.

Now for my questions.

1) If you could change your name what would you change it to?

2) If you knew today was your last day on Earth, how would you spend it and why?

3) If you could have sex with any superhero, who would you choose and why?

4) If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go first and why?

5) If you could have only 3 electrical appliances in your house, what would they be and why?

6) Which 3 famous people would you hate to be stuck in a lift with?

7) Whats your favourite season and why?

8) If you could live anywhere in the world where would you chose and why?

9) If you could appear in a sporting event which one would you chose?

10) If you was sent off to live on the moon what 3 things would you take with you?

11) If you could play any musical instrument what would it be?

Now the people to tag

@Twilight_Deb

@mummyglitzer

@TomBriggs79

@babberblog

@AMummyToo

@OurPeaGreenPod

@chickenruby

@trouble_doubled

@davidinglis

@motherventing

@ladybanana

February Sunshine

The brilliant MummyGlitzer has awarded me the February Sunshine Award. The idea of sunshine right now sounds very appealing.

Basically to claim this award i need to answer some questions and pass it on to some other bloggers who I think deserve this award.

Favourite Colour – No idea why but its blue, you can’t beat a lovely clear blue sky.

Favourite Animal – I know people will complain but my I’ll say Whale. I know it’s technically a mammal but I’m not really an animal type.

Favourite non-alcoholic drink – Appletiser or just plain apple juice.

Facebook or Twitter – Without doubt Twitter, I’m kind of obsessed.

Favourite number – Either 13 or 19.

Favourite day of the week – A Saturday as thats the day me and the girls spend all day on our own.

My passion – My girls (sorry)

Getting or giving presents – It depends who I’m giving them to. I love seeing the girls faces light up.

Favourite Pattern – On a fresh morning with blue skies I love the trails the areoplanes make in the sky.

Favourite Flower -Really? Erm? I guess a single bright red rose.

Now to pass this award on.

Actually Mummy

First-Time Daddy

Judy Wharton

Diary of the Dad

All great blogs and I hope you have a bit of fun answering the questions.

 

 

My town…Uckfield

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This is just a little piece on the place I have called home for 20 years…Uckfield.

Uckfield currently has a population on around 15,000 covers 3 sq mi and is situated in East Sussex in between London and Brighton and nearby to Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells. In the town we have one secondary school and five primary schools all of which perform really well on Ofsted reports.

Uckfield isn’t really that famous but a few people have heard of it for the following reasons;
- the floods of 2000 which along with Lewes was on the national news
- Uckfield was also the last place that Lord Lucan was seen before he disappeared
- and finally Nicholas van Hoogstraten (enough said)

The town is pretty quiet with not too much happens apart from the annual Carnival and the Monthly farmers market.

What’s right with Uckfield?

- Like I said its fairly quiet with not too much trouble and crime is pretty low.

- It still has a country feel to it and with this comes some lovely woods to go walking in.

- On the High Street we’ve got some great independent shops and plus a place called Corbin’s that do amazing sandwiches and all sorts of cheeses and meats.

- We are also in easy reach of Brighton and have a train service direct to London in an hour.

- We, unlike so many towns these days have a brilliant little cinema which is underrated and underused.

What’s wrong with Uckfield?

- Traffic is the biggest problem and the High Street at peak times cannot cope. Uckfield has just outgrown it. Just 200 years ago the population was 900 not it’s 15000.

- Car parking is also a big problem. With so many people using the train station for London and the fact the station only has about 10 spaces the other car parks get so full. This of course affects the local businesses in the town. Maybe it’s time for pay and display parking

- The actual quality of the shops is the last problem. Although we have a good quality of independent shops we need a few well know names. As a guy in his 20s (just) there is nowhere I can go in the town and buy clothes or even shoes, even for a woman it is limited.
If you want charity shops/estate agents/hairdressers we have plenty of those.

Here is a quick list of dream shops for Uckfield
- Next
- Marks & Spencer
- Adams
- Body Shop
- TopShop

Plus a Subways would he good.

I think that just about covers my town.

This will be followed up with a post called “If I was Mayor”

Versatile Blogger Award

The brilliant Jude Wharton has nominated for a Versatile Blogger award.

Now that I have been nominated I have to tell my readers seven random facts about myself and then nominate 15 other blogs who I feel are worthy of this accolade. This will not be as easy as it sounds.

1. When I was 18months old I had to have a major eye operation because I had a kind of bubble growing over my eye. I can’t remember much about this and there doesn’t seem to be any photos of me at this time.

2. I was cross country champion at my school and represented my county a few times.

3. The first music concert I went to was Busted…in my defence it was a present for my wife (I must have still been trying to impress her)

4. I once did a 30mile charity bike ride and my legs have never hurt so much having not done any training for it.

5. I love pretty much all food apart from cream, I can’t stand cream.

6. In my adult years I have only cried 3 times, once for a moment on my wedding day, when Alyssa was born and when Mia was born.

7. My final random fact is erm I’m struggling… I have never been clubbing and to be honest I don’t think I’ve missed out much. When I was in my teens it was more about house parties.

Now I have completed my seven random facts I have to nominate 15 other blogs who I feel are worthy of this accolade.

- Musodad

- Mummy Glitzer

- The Chap Blog

- Big Fashionista

- The iDad

- The Boy and Me

- Diary of the Dad

- It’s a Dads Life

- Lady Banana

- The Five Fs Blog

- Mother Venting

- Boy Meets Fashion

- Chicken Ruby

- SAHD and Proud

- First Time Daddy

Wow coming up with just 15 bloggers that I feel deserve the nomination was hard and I’m sorry for the people I didn’t include.

I hope you learnt a little more about me and as always feel free to comment.

Two People I Miss

Tonight I’m in a reflective good, and my mind gone wandering to two very special people who I miss.

The two people who have and always will be in my mind are my Nan and Grandad who passed away towards the end of 2000 within a month of each other.

My Grandad was a bit of a gentle giant in my eyes, there was nothing he couldn’t do or fix. If I wanted to play football in the rain he’d be there no questions asked, fix my bike…of course no worries.

We used to live near them for a long time and would see each other at least once a week and on school holidays me and my sister would spend a week at their house.

Like I guess most grandparents he used to smoke but it wasn’t a big deal back then but he hardly ever drank. He always seemed so healthy so when he was told he had cancer it was a real shock, at the time my Nan was ill and also had cancer and two heart attacks. He was the one who was looking after my Nan and now he needed help too.

He went down hill fairly quickly and like always the protector he didn’t want his grandchildren to see him like this but I really wish I had just to say I love you.

My Nan was kind of the opposite and small lady but she had the Welsh fight in her. Like most women of her generation she gave up work to look after and raise her children. She took great pride in her family and husband and would always stand by her husband’s side.

Again much like my granddad she smoked but never really drank. Their only vice really was Vegas, they loved going to Vegas and seeing the shows and going in the Casinos.

Later on in her life she got asthma and sometimes needed a mask, and later she had a couple of heart attacks. She had one and tried to carry on putting out the washing.

My Grandad passed away in September 2000 and exactly a month later my Nan passed away and we’ve always said it was from a broken heart. They had been together since they were 13 & 14 and never left each others side.

My Grandad had a great love from Frank Sinatra and from him I also love everything about the great man. His final song that was playing at the funeral parlor was Frank Sinatra “My Way”.

I hope I haven’t let them down in the way I’ve led my life and I hope I can be just half the man, Dad and eventually Grandad that he was. I hope I do them proud.

Laura never got to meet them as it wasn’t until a few months later that we got together. I know that they would have loved her and she would have loved them.

You will both always be in my thoughts.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave any comments.

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