NaBloPoMo Challenge

Never one to shirk away from a challenge, I am now signed up to NaBloPoMo!  I know it sounds like an infectious tropical disease, but NaBloPoMo is actually a natty little contraction of "National Blog Posting Month" where bloggers are being challenged to publish a blog post every day for the whole of November.  It is organised by the folks at Blogher in the USA, but this year we are joining in thanks to nlpmum.com.

I am quite a prolific blogger anyway.  But I'm using this challenge to reconnect with the reason I started blogging.  That is to write about me, my life, my family, our adventures.  I am going to try to write a daily post that is not review based, a competition post or sponsored.  I do love reviewing and truly believe it is a completely valid  part of the blogging world.  However, I have become a bit lazy and not really stretched myself or my imagination to the extent that I should.  So I am going to delve a little deeper and give a little more of myself this month. I'll still be keeping up with my review commitments

In the past I have found it very therapeutic to write about times in my life that I had previously kept buried.  I have written about my depression, my weight and eating issues, battling my demons and my teenage years.  I also love to talk about my five children and my parenting ideas; my husband who has been my rock through thick and thin and my extended family.  I love a good debate and usually have an opinion on everything!  So there is lots of material for a month of posts!

Why don't you join in?  The Facebook page has prompts and motivational ideas in case you get writer's block and you will find great support from other bloggers.  It is also a chance to discover some new blogs  for yourself as other bloggers will be posting links to their NaBloPoMo posts!

So with this challenge set...I will power through November one blog post at a time!

Paper Jamz Pro Microphone

My daughters love their music and you can usually hear guitar playing and singing somewhere in our house at any time!  Toys R Us sent us a Paper Jamz Pro Microphone by WowWee which seemed like something my girls would absolutely love to test out.  It allows you to sing like a pop star using a series of special vocal effects.  You can download music to sing along to and the set contains a USB cable to connect the amp to your PC.  The box contains a full size mic along with a mini voice amp which clips on your belt for portable vocals.  The pink design was really funky, I love Paper Jamz branding.  This microphone joins the other products from Paper Jamz including guitars, drums and amps...become an instant rockstar!

The effects that this gadget can give your voice are quite amazing! The Pro Mic gives Perfect Pitch to your voice, automatically correcting it to keep you in tune.  The Chorus function multiplies your voice to give depth.  Auto Harmony allows for awesome harmonizing as you sing. You can do a one man duet!   Auto Vibrato gives you a warble that would give Leona Lewis a run for her money.  Melody Match tunes your voice for a perfect melody.  You can sing like a diva using this nifty toy, perfect for taking centre stage and impressing the family!

It comes with two pre-loaded songs to sing along to, I'd never heard of them but they come with lyrics enclosed to sing along to them!  Shame it doesn't also include a backing track that the kids could make up their own words to, that would have been a good addition to encourage some vocal freestyling!  The amp will hold up to three MP3's of your own choosing so you can belt out your favourite tracks along with your favourite artists.  The software is easily accessed at paperjamz.com.  The amp takes 4 x AA batteries.

The microphone created a synthesised version of your own voice, a little bit like a melodic robot with the Chipmunks singing backing vocals!  The effects can be switched on individually or all together giving lots of options.  The effect was pretty impressive and we all enjoyed singing into the Pro Mic.   Freddy was surprisingly taken with singing into the mic and made up his own song...a version of Postman Pat with a long note to finish!  It is the long notes that sound the best through the amp. I think he may become a future rock god/prima donna!  Kizzy used the mic to accompany her sister on her guitar which gave her confidence.  Ella had a go at a bit of electro-pop!  We also sang along with the two pre-loaded tracks. (Ella tried to Google them but they do not exist on the internet! Where did they get them from??  "Love Karaoke" is our particular favourite...it's a bit Lady Gaga-esque!!!)

The PaperJamz Pro Microphone costs £34.99.  It is a really fun product with huge novelty value as well as being a lovely way for kids to enjoy singing.  Anything that encourages music gets a thumbs up from me.  We are having a real blast with the Pro Mic...it's a very cool gadget for all ages!

30 Day Song Challenge...Day 9

A Song That You Can Dance To.


There is one song that just possesses me when it comes on.  I can't resist busting out my signature move.  It was at my son's 21st birthday party that I first mastered the move....aided by my lovely nieces who had to help.  You see, the song in question is "Low".  As I lowered my ungainly carcass floorwards, I needed my two helpers on hand to pull me back up again.  My old knees just aren't what they used to be. But we got it down!  My dance has gone down in family folklore!

A Song That Reminds Me of an Event...Day 7

July 9th 2009, in the delivery suite of the Maternity Unit waiting patiently to give birth to my son Freddy.  It was played so many times in the early hours of the morning.  It always reminds me of my baby boy's birth. x

The 30 Day Music Challenge

There is a 30 day music challenge going down on Facebook at the moment.  Everyday there is a theme and you post a YouTube video of the song that fits it.  I'm copying Not Met Megan and condensing the 30 days into a more do-able version and catching up with everyone else by posting the first five in one bitesize chunk!

Day One:  Your Favourite Song

Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven is the one song that I keep coming back to when I try to pinpoint my favourite song.  It's a classic with Messrs Page and Plant doing what they do best.  It was also instrumental in me falling in love with my husband :)

Day Two: Your Least Favourite Song

The Climb by Joe McElderry stands for everything I hate.  A two bit wannabe being skyrocketed to overnight success by the voting public in a TV talent show (which pedestrianises any sign of genuine talent).  It's just yuck!  Rage Against the Machine beat this to the Christmas No.1.  It was the first download I ever bought...I helped defeat the Cowell empire and its assumption that it owned the charts.

Day Three: A Song That Makes You Happy

The Ugly Bug Ball is a wonderful, life affirming Disney song.  I made up a literal interpretive dance to it as a small child.  It makes me smile :)

Day Four:  A Song That Makes You Sad

I cry like a baby at this tragic Bobby Goldsboro song Honey.  The lyrics are like the script of a weepy.  It gets me everytime :(

Day Five:  A Song That Reminds You of Someone

My lovely 98 year old Nan who died in 2008, loved this song so much.  It was played at her funeral and we just know that she is up in heaven dancing to it with her husband Bill. xxx


The Rules:
day 01 - your favorite song
day 02 - your least favorite song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy 
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event 
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep 
day 11 - a song from your favorite band 
day 12 - a song from a band you hate 
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure 
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love 
day 15 - a song that describes you 
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate 
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry 
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood 
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year