Need a pep-talk?

Just a quick post - I came across this yesterday and have vowed that when I can get back into our back bedroom (aka the office) again I will print it out and put it on the wall. Failing that I will try to read it at least once a week, or whenever I need a pep-talk. Pay particular attention to point 7.

Unethical me

Lovely Louise has tagged me in a meme, first started by Dom at PR-otagonism. The idea is to admit publicly to the products you use that normally you would be too ashamed to admit to in polite company.

One of the things I have tried to do in recent years is boycott Nestle and when you look at the list of Nestle products you will see that this is very difficult to do - with a 4 year old (and a 34 year old) it has proved impossible to do without those Smart*** chocolates and chocolate covered ****pops (my OH doesn't do the boycott). Because of this I don't buy Nescafe or from the Body Shop and when I suffered yet another cellulitis infection in my face last year I checked the product list before opting for Clarins face care (I've managed to get mine to last almost a year Louise).

Cleaning products - I know wonders can be done with white vinegar and a touch of lemon juice but by the time I am persuaded to don the rubber gloves (well I actually don't as I'm allergic - to the gloves not cleaning, though it has been voiced) only industrial strength stuff will do. With washing powder there is only one brand that one or other of us isn't allergic to and I'm afraid it isn't Ecover.

Cat food - we go for the foil (unrecyclable) pouches over the (recyclable) tins kept in the fridge. This stems from a stint the in-laws had in feeding our cats (about 5 years ago now) where they didn't keep the tin in the fridge and 'forgot' they'd already opened a can - yep we returned to a cupboard full of maggots.

Pre-prepared ready meals - I know they are bad for you, I DID watch all those undercover programmes, I know you can't recycle all the plastic they come in. But sometimes you just need to reach into the freezer for a meal for one. We now have a fussy eater in the family who will only eat one particular supermarket's children's version of macaroni cheese (I've tried hand making it) - and now they've put broccoli in it which hasn't detracted from his love as he picks the green bits out. My OH also works for said supermarket so is always bringing home the latest ready meal to try. Must try harder.

My laptop - I already have a PC upstairs in it's own 'room' for work. The trouble is I feel so confined in there and I like to be able to Tweet, Facebook and blog (maybe even edit) from the comfort of my sofa/kitchen table/bed and can do so in the presence of my son without having to lock myself away (we've told him computer games only work on the PC - I know we're cruel).

My brand of diet fizzy pop - I grew up on Panda Pop (delivered by the milkman), then I moved South and met a girl from Atlanta who introduced me to her hometown's brew. I've been lectured on the evils of 'the corporation' and I know it's fairly hypocritical given my stance on Nestle - in my defence I buy their biggest rival most often and I wouldn't have converted if it hadn't been for the demise of this. I have limited my habit though and do buy own brand lemonade and dandelion and burdock.

Nappies - we don't need them anymore but for 3 1/2 years we used them and they were DISPOSABLE. Why should anyone in their right mind still use disposable nappies? Well I still have vivid memories of 'the bucket' from my childhood and the stench that emanated from that place (my younger sister is 4 years younger than me and her arrival was so shocking that I have rather vivid memories). In my late teens I had a Saturday job in a well known pharmacy on the High Street and I worked on the baby department. One of the first tasks I was given was a nappy test - taking several brands, cutting them up and pouring water on them (much like the ads) to check absorbency. I got some of the gel from the inside on my hands and that caused a severe allergic reaction - so I vowed that I would use terry nappies if I ever had a child. However, when push came to shove (pun intended) I was kind of in a wilderness when my child was born - none of my friends had children, our parents hadn't had children for 25 years, we got free samples of disposables, I had been warned that some local nurseries only used disposables, etc., etc. So disposables it was. I seemed to be validated in my decision several times over: when I saw someone stripping their child to be weighed I noted with interest the 'real' nappy - with all its layers and linings it was too much for my 'baby brain' to take; my aqauintances in the 'yummy mummy club' who used real nappies complained of chapped hands and bad eczema - with my skin complaints it didn't seem worth it; the babies who wore real nappies seemed to have horrendous nappy rash; it is expensive and time consuming to find clothes to fit 'nappy bottoms'; and well - they leak. Still I am concerned about the landfill factor and am determined to 'do better' next time - if there is one.

My car - ethics didn't come into buying my car I'm afraid. I needed a 5 door (after injuring my back lifting DS out of the back of my 3 door) that wasn't to expensive to buy or to run. Being a larger engine size than my 106 it is becoming increasingly more expensive to run. Working from home I shouldn't need a car - however I already pay for my son to go to 'breakfast club' at nursery school to cover us for being at least 1/2 an hour late in the morning - not because we aren't awake but because HE WON'T GET DRESSED or IN THE CAR - adding a 20 minute walk (and that's 20 minutes adult walking without dragging a preschooler) into the equation would cause me to meltdown slightly earlier in the day than my usual 4pm (hence the ready meals for tea). Public transport is either not available or prohibitively expensive in our area (it's the same 20 minute walk to the nearest bus stop) and if I did get the bus into our market town I wouldn't be able to buy anything I need as the market consists of someone selling motor spares and a fish van and the town only has travel agents, estate agents and £1 shops. My pledge for the new school term is to do the collection run by foot - particularly as 'we' move up to proper school in January. Again - must try harder.

On the plus side since we moved to the Midlands 3 years ago we have a recycling wheelie bin (in Surrey we didn't even have a wheelie bin as some think-tank had decreed that it made it easier for criminals to wheel your possessions away after they'd burgled you) and this is always fuller than the general waste bin. We also grow a small amount of veg in our back garden and have a share in an allotment. I've taken up knitting again so handcrafting presents for loved ones (and hopefully saving us all some money on heating bills).

I've enjoyed writing this - though it shows how I've totally failed on the ethical states - I tag Ms. Well Words, Reluctant Blogger (Summer's nearly over RB) and Stuff -em-up the Hill Backwards (because I've always wanted to type that).

A Christmas Present to myself

I will probably forget (by next week but I've just ordered myself a Christmas present. The book in question is being released in hardback to raise funds for the charity OneinFour - the organisation run for and by people who have experienced sexual abuse.

That back to school feeling

It's a good job that my work for August has been delayed as I would now be panicking about getting everything done after a few days off sick. So everything happens for a reason - doesn't it?

There is something about the end of August. That almost back to school feeling. My son's not yet in school - though he'll be heading back to nursery school - but already we have the feeling that the holidays have been long enough - still a week and a half to go!

However without my son's preparations I still have that 'back to school' feeling on the work front I've bought new pens and pencils and a pack of sticky notes, I've finished my accounts and got some work lined up.

I'm ignoring the fact that I won't get much done in the first week of September due to a family wedding (though I may be able to fit a couple of client visits in whilst we're 'south of Watford') and the fact that both my parents and my OH are away on holiday AT THE SAME TIME at the end of September - don't ask why my OH gets a 'holiday' (his 3rd fishing trip this year but I'm not counting). I'm banking on all those academics sending their manuscripts into the publisher and demanding completed books by the end of the year!

Right I'm off to unfurl my new academic year planner and stick on lots of coloured strips .... well it always pays to LOOK organised.

The Silly Season

It's the silly season again - not only the school holidays but holidays for many others too. Now I've returned back to my roots in the Midlands I've been reminded that many industries shut down for the whole month of August for 'Work's holiday'. With most of my work being in the academic area of publishing the same can be said for my clients too - they have no deliveries, or the ones that are promised are delayed until September and if you are lucky enough to obtain work then you can't get hold of the author to answer queries as they are in some remote corner of the South of France for the entire month. This is the first year I've had to cope with a child 'off school' (though only nursery school in this case I'm acutely aware that I need to have some arrangement in place next summer when he's in full time school).

However with our fairly unplanned and unscheduled visit to my sister-in-law in Australia (who was only going to be there for a year and we'd never get the opportunity again etc., etc.) in February, and the rise in cost of absolutely everything, I can't afford to take the month off and was pretty pleased with myself in that I'd managed to secure some work for the whole of August - guess what, the author hasn't delivered yet as he's decided to extend his stay in the South of France. grrr