Dates are funny things, aren't they? Stick an arbitrary label on a day, and something happens - you'll remember that thing on the same day every year going forward. There are birthdays, anniversaries, dates when someone died, dates when we went somewhere special. April 6 is the day my house should have been repossessed. I wish I didn't remember that quite so vividly, but there you go. On this date, not so very many years ago, I was due in court to explain to a magistrate why they … [Read more...]

"A long time ago, we used to be friends..."  If you're of a certain age (ie ancient) and a fan of US TV teen drama, you'll be familiar with Veronica Mars. Teenage girl in high school (played by Kristen Bell) moonlights as a private investigator solving the murder of her best friend in a wealthy California community. It was snarky, smart, and quickly gathered a reputation for having a central character who was strong, independent, funny - and female. Hurrah. The show ran from 2004 to … [Read more...]

So, this week I was invited down to London to present for Microsoft on the topic of "being a Mum and running a business". They asked me to share my top tips for juggling home and business. Specifically, how can a working parent fit it all in to one day? I'm not sure I'm an expert on the topic by any means but Microsoft had hired a specially decorated Routemaster bus for the occasion, decked out to celebrate the launch of a new cloud-based version of Office for home users. And they'd … [Read more...]

So, about a year ago, I wrote this blog post about my five-year-plan, which I made in January 2006. Back then, I was a wreck. I had a new baby, no home, no friends, and a five figure bank balance - the only teeny problem was it had a minus in front of it. Being a fan of plans and targets, I gave myself five years to turn things around. The ultimate goal was to create a secure, happy home for my daughter. In practice, that meant finding a way to earn a decent living (journalism being … [Read more...]

I've said it before, but divorced parenting is hard. There's no getting round the fact that when a relationship ends as badly as ours did, one of the few perks should be getting to NEVER see that person again as long as you live. But we're parents, which means we're stuck with each other. Fortunately, we do both agree that Flea has a right to a close relationship with us both, so we make a concerted effort to get along, and be friendly, and sometimes both spend time with Flea together - … [Read more...]

I was chatting with a fellow blogger this week when she happened to comment that I have never been known to blog about personal relationships. I thought about this for a little while and realised she might have a point. And also that you, my lovely readers, are missing out BIG time because I am an awesome source of wisdom when it comes to relationships. It's hardly surprising because I am a truly terrible awesome girlfriend. Ask anyone. Not anyone I've dated, obviously. But anyone … [Read more...]

  I've been tagged by my friend Becky over at Baby Budgeting, who asks, "What does Christmas mean to you?" Hmm. The idea is to sum up what Christmas is all about, in your family. But only in one paragraph, which is a challenge. I'm naturally chatty, let's face it. But here's what I came up with: The Christmas I see in books and on TV always seems to involve noisy extended family, boozy aunts and dotty grandparents sitting down to a family meal for 25. Our family is small. My … [Read more...]