Blogging

Oh crap. I am very, very honoured to be in the list of BIB finalists 2013 , but find myself this year in yet another category that my friends and family are going to laugh about. Last year I was in the Travel section so I spent much of my time scrabbling about trying to go to places. I managed a few trips, but not enough to really warrant the hallowed title of "Travel Blogger". This year I find myself in the "Lifestyle" section. Which is GREAT. Because "Lifestyle" sounds fabulous don't you think? I'm just not really sure what it means and now I'm going to have to rush around re-inventing myself yet again - and probably move to the country or at the very least get an allotment in an effort to look like I'm making the effort to actually have a lifestyle. Do you think you need loads of time to actually manicure your lifestyle? If so, I'm out of the running already. Because. I'm not really sure that divorced mother of three can really be considered "Lifestyle" can it? Take for example today. I have been at work all day and then on the way home I did a Pilates class (so far so good). Then, on the bus home I ate a Toffee Crisp because I was about to pass out from lack of insulin or sugar or something and now I am drinking wine. I don't even know where my children are. Hopefully in bed, but they could be out clubbing - I haven't checked. So. This isn't really right is it. How can I work out a way to suddenly shine in the lifestyle category? Should I quickly get married so that I fit in to the mould (or is it mold? Ha ha, loving that spelling option) a little more easily? Or write about brazilians maybe and this strange growth hormone serum stuff I've heard of recently that you put on your eyelids and it makes your eyelashes grow. I kid you not - I even commented on how long a friend's eyelashes were recently and she told me all about it and even said that her friend's eyelashes grew so much she had to actually cut them! Or maybe I should relax and accept that I'm in this category for a reason, because these days, perhaps it's only David Cameron and a handful of other politicians that still want to encourage marriage through tax breaks even though society is changing before their very eyes. As Spencer Thompson of IPPR, a think tank puts it "The two parent, male breadwinner family is basically extinct". The Economist quotes that what may be happening is that "a little like home ownership, marriage is turning into a luxury good - an ideal to which most aspire, rather than a default option. Inevitably, this means that children are often born and raised in all manner of circumstances and they are not necessarily worse off for it. Crime continues to decline, so perhaps it is time for politicians to adapt to the modern world instead of trying to change it back". WOOHOO. So. Based on that argument I might in fact be perfectly entitled to remain in the above mentioned category. It's just that I'm really not sure what it means to be a lifestyle blogger. Should I talk about fashion? Beauty? Travel? Food? Sex? All of the above? The Wikipedia definition of "Lifestyle" includes a number of definitions:- Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives to one's own ability Lifestyle (TV channel), a defunct British television station Lifestyle (Silkworm album), a 2000 album by the band Silkworm Lifestyle (GR series), a weekly entertainment news show that is broadcast on Alter ChannelA Otium, ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle So, I think rather than go for a defunct TV station or a band called Silkworm I will write as usual for the next month whilst voting is taking place all about "the way a person lives to one's own ability". You can't ask for more than that. In the meantime......and I know it's not going to be easy, could you please vote for me even though there are many more splendid blogs in my category? All you have to do is click on the following link and scroll down to where it says "Vote for the 2013 BiBs now", click on that and then add your name and email (if you don't mind and then go to category 15, voting for others in different categories along the way of course.... http://www.britmums.com/2013/04/bibs-shortlists-are-here/ THANKS!! HOWEVER, if you have a little more time you should check out all the others in the category and probably vote for them instead because all of them are WAY more deserving than me (although don't think I'm going to make it easy by adding the links - I'm not that magnanimous! - do long words count for anything in lifestyle blogs or will I keep having to post photos of white sand?):- Lifestyle Babes About Town Coombe Mill Crafts on Sea Family Affairs and Other Matters Margot Tries The Good Life More Than Toast Mother Wife Me Mother’s Always Right Mum in The South Mummy Daddy Me Older Mum in a Muddle Tired Mummy of Two The Purple Pumpkin Blog The Secret Life of an Unknown Housewife The Syders What Sam Saw Today