7 Tin Box Traveller facts #OneLovelyBlog

So, down to the business of #OneLovelyBlog. Here are seven facts about me followed by 10 #OneLovelyBlog nominations:

1. I spent two years in Hong Kong as a child – my dad was posted out there with the Royal Navy in the early 80s and the whole family went with him. 
2. My first real job was as a journalist on a local newspaper – I used to write about everything from obese cats to murder trials. It was an amazing experience and really set me up for my current career in PR. 
3. I met Mr Tin Box while we were both working in a pub – this was when we were still in education and topping up our various student loans with a bit of part-time work. Our first date was to the cinema at Ocean World in Southampton where we saw American Beauty. 
4. I once had to be rescued from a flooded seafront by firemen – this happened in the first year or so that Mr TB and I were dating. The route that he drove me home was along a coastal road with a sea wall on one side and a nature reserve on the other. One night there was a particularly high spring tide combined with a storm and the road was flooded. Despite this, Mr TB decided to try to drive his beaten up Vauxhall Astra through the water and the inevitable happened – the engine conked out. To make matters worse huge waves started to crash over the car and push us towards the waterlogged nature reserve. We managed to get out of the car, but not before calling 999. The whole sorry tale made page 3 of the local paper the next day. Yes, the paper that I got a job with a few years later!
5. I am the Marketing Rep for the Forces Families Club – this is a sports and social club for families linked to the armed forces living in the Fareham and Gosport areas of Hampshire. It was a lifeline for me just after I had had Tin Box Tot, allowing me to get back to the gym and meet other local Royal Navy mums. I now volunteer on the Club’s committee.
6. I like to think of myself as being a bit of a social media pro, but I only joined Instagram this month – oh the shame! After a bit of bullying from my work colleagues I finally got with the times and signed myself to Instagram.
7. The first ‘place’ that Mr Tin Box and I owned together was a Vango four-man tent – in fact we owned a few tents and then our caravan before we finally bought our own house in 2014. It only took 14 years!

Now to share some blog love! I’ve discovered many fabulous bloggers in the past year, so regardless of whether they have already taken part in #OneLovelyBlog I wanted to give some of them a mention. 

Ladies and gent, thank you for some fun and informative reads. Feel free to take part or crack on with some other nuggets of blogging goodness:

My Travel Monkey – another travel-happy mummy whose adventures I love to follow. She’s also just given her blog a fab makeover. I’m a little jealous!

Camping with Style – think camping is all about karki waterproofs and green welly boots? Think again! This blog gives camping stereotypes a serious makeover.

The Bump Knott and Us – a fellow military wife who is a dab hand at vlogging and a bit of a baby style fashionista. I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting Sarah in the real world recently.

Write Like No One’s Watching – this blog is so beautifully written by Charlotte and she is an amazing photographer. I love the variety in her posts and that she’s fearless in sharing an opinion.

The DADventurer – Dave is hilarious. I’ve been forced to snort in an un-ladylike manner while reading many of his posts.

Mummytravels – Cathy sits on top of a mountain of travel advice. A recommended read for anyone planning a family getaway.

brummy mummy of 2 – this is another blogger that makes me giggle – there’s just something about the way Em writes. And I love her amazing linky #WickedWednesdays. It is super addictive.

Mamamim – I came across Mim through the Pregnancy and Pregnant Bloggers network on Facebook. We are due with our second babies just a few days a part and I’m loving reading her bump updates. But who will pop first?!

You Baby Me Mummy – Aby is a blogging machine and has loads of great advice to share about getting organised and improving your blog. Her Blog Club is well worth following whether you’ve been at it for a while or are new to the blogosphere.

Mummascribbles – I’m not quite sure how Lisa juggles everything – she works full-time and still manages to write a lovely blog about her adventures in parenthood. I loved her recent post about the day her life changed.

Phew! Mentioning just 10 was tough!

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