It can be hard not to feel guilt as a mum, but I’m learning that it is ok to do something for myself once in a while. I’m going with the mantra that a happy parent is a better parent!

Pursuing an interest

In my recent post 2023: Direction, hobbies and fun, I mentioned my passion for wine. I love drinking it but I also have an interest in its production and want to increase my knowledge. After much deliberating, I did a WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) course last year. It was a complete beginner’s course and only took seven hours. However, as someone who works from home, it was great to get out, meet new people and do an activity unrelated to family and work. I have massive imposter syndrome in my day job so this was a great chance to have a clean slate and chat with people that also enjoyed and had an appreciation for wine.

Having passed the first level, I had toyed with doing the second but time and cost constraints pushed it to the back of my mind. Then I was very generously gifted WSET vouchers for my birthday. This meant there were no excuses!

I’m really nervous about doing it as I know it’ll require more work and time. I’m also a little worried about my ability to retain information (I swear my memory hasn’t been the same since COVID), but I need to get over all of that and just enjoy!

Going forward

I would love to turn my interest into something more. For now, I have an Instagram account dedicated to the food and drink I try and enjoy. At 435 Followers I’m no influencer, but I enjoy posting and learning from and engaging with other enthusiasts.

Update 2024

Check out my new website Vino Cibo. Don’t forget to hit me up for any of your food and drink PR needs!

The post Personal growth and pursuing an interest appeared first on The Parent Social.

It got my attention as someone asked the journalist who’d trialled it, if they’d really made £700 in five months. I put stuff on Preloved, do Mum2Mum markets and NCT sales, and write the occasional guest blog post for a fee. I’m always interested in ways I can supplement my regular income. I had to find out more…

I read up and liked what I saw. Job Spotter was created by recruiter Indeed and launched in the UK in February 2017. The premise is very simple: you help businesses get the word out that they’re recruiting; you get paid via an Amazon voucher for your efforts.

How does Job Spotter work?

You download the free app (Google PlayStore or App Store on Apple), which takes a few moments, and it’s really easy from there.

1. Fire up the app (you’ll immediately be presented with the screen for taking ‘Photo 1’ – the hiring sign)
2. Press the camera icon to take a photo of any ‘help wanted’ or ‘hiring’ signs you see in the windows of shops, cafes, offices etc
3. If you’re happy with it click ‘use’ or else click ‘cancel’ and retake

Photo 2 screen

4. Take ‘Photo 2’ – a pic of the shop/business front the hiring sign was found in (click ‘use’ or else click ‘cancel’ and retake)

5. Click submit

That’s it.

What happens next?

You have to wait for your submission to be approved. The exact location of the sign/business hiring has to be verified and the submission has to be checked for clarity. Approved ‘spots’ can be awarded between 5 and 150 points depending on certain factors. The approval process has taken from a few minutes to a couple of hours for me.

Some submissions

Independent and niche businesses with homemade signs get more points. Generic hiring signs for big chains score low. One of my biggest scorers was JT Snuggs, a family owned jewellers on my local high street (205 points) and my lowest was for Pret a Manger, which got me a measly 5 points. I’ve even got points for charity shops looking for volunteers and for a paper boy/girl. I’ve been amazed at just how many local businesses are recruiting.

I’ve only had one submission rejected and that was because the pub that was hiring didn’t have any signage at the time.

Every approved submission adds to your Wallet’s balance with each point worth a cent (converted to Sterling automatically). You can also get points for verifying other peoples’ submissions. I’ve just done it in my local area or where I’ve happened to be visiting and have amassed points and money quickly. However, I can easily see how you’d rack up a considerable sum if you put in some miles.

I even managed to spot some jobs on holiday

You can ‘cash out’ at any time and redeem your balance for an Amazon gift card.

I’m officially hooked!

• You might also like to read: Making Money from Home (and de-cluttering)

* This isn’t a sponsored post

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The plot:

Emmet, a generic, instruction-following Lego figure, is mistakenly identified as the extraordinary ‘special’ one of a prophecy, who can save the world from the evil Lord Business. Lord Business is infiltrating every part of the Lego people’s lives from making the Lego instructions they follow, to selling the coffee they drink and making the TV programmes they watch. His ultimate plan is to glue every piece of Lego where he wants it so no one can ever move out of place again.

Will Emmet – with the help of his comrades – prove to be the unlikely hero?

What we thought:

A classic tale of good fighting evil and finding your inner ‘special’ qualities (even if they are well hidden), this Universal film is visually brilliant. My five-year-old and twins (who are nearly three) immediately got excited about the sight of all the Lego and found it funny from the start despite a lot of the humour being targeted at adults. It’s a great nostalgia trip for the older audience, but also relevant and instantly recognisable to a young audience.

There’s plenty of action and different Lego realms to entertain as well as a romantic sub-plot and plenty of laughs. Lego cameos from a host of well-known characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Superman, which are coupled with wonderfully-casted voice overs from the likes of Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill add to the movie’s charms.

My husband particularly liked the ‘Face Off’ scene with Good Cop/Bad Cop (you’ll have to watch it to understand) and got all misty-eyed over a spaceship the characters built: it was just the same as the ones he used to build.

I thought it was a bit slow to get started and about 10-15 minutes too long, but it made for very enjoyable viewing, had a happy ending and was well-received by my five-year-old who was entertained throughout. The twins were probably a little young for it, so did get a bit restless towards the end, but I would have expected that with any film. Be warned… “Everything is Awesome” will be your new ear worm.

Good, clean, family fun.

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Penis Beaker (maybe)

I have to say, I feel sorry for Sara Crewe aka ‘penis beaker lady’ to an extent. People take to sites such as Mumsnet to discuss many different personal topics and overwhelmingly to seek reassurance. The poor woman and – let’s not forget – her poor husband are now being judged for having slightly unusual post-coital behaviour and are being completely ridiculed. Sara posted about their dedicated post-sex cleanup area on their bedside table. This included: a box of tissues, a small bin and a beaker of clean water for temporary cleaning/dunking while she’s in the bathroom.

I personally think people (myself included) now share too much with too many.  Mumsnet is a forum perfect for asking questions about your child’s sleeping, eating, behaviour etc and to gather others’ opinions about the best way to deal with a particular issue being experienced. Such sites are also great for having a bit of a chat: that’s the point of them. However, to get the general consensus on whether something constitutes ‘normal’ bedroom behaviour is taking it too far in my opinion. Isn’t that what best friends are for? Perhaps not…

In my mind Sara did share too much – the thread itself was titled: Do you dunk your penis? However, in her defence, never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that the thread would go viral and that national newspapers would be running stories on it. 

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