In my opinion, blogs are meant for sharing-unless it's my blog, and and I'm supposed to be sharing with my family...when it comes to them my policy is "Blog? What blog? I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about." Even my mother in law who knows for certain that I have a blog (thanks to Hubby's big mouth) doesn't know where it is and when she asks me I just get all avoid-y or pretend I didn't hear her. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can say that if she did find my blog and confronted me about it I would flat out deny ownership. So if you're reading this dear relatives (including but not limited to my MIL) don't bother pointing out my picture on the bio page or the similarities to my life because I'll just pretend like you're crazy...trust me, that would not be difficult.
In reality, it's not just relatives who are blacklisted on my blog-the only people I know in real life that know about my blog are my husband and my best friend who I have known for more than ten years. Why don't I tell all the other people?
Because I wanna write what I wanna write and I don't need anybody to tell me any different.
If I want to complain about my dad or snipe about my in laws or roll my eyes at my siblings, I don't want to have to worry that it's going to bite me in the butt at Thanksgiving. I don't want my classmates involved in my private life, or my family involved in my inner thoughts so it just works better to not tell them.
Also, to be perfectly honest, it's just one more thing that my family wouldn't get. I don't think my parents even know what a blog is, my siblings don't care, and my in laws think they are a joke so you know...why bother? Let's just keep this the secret tree house.
The fortress of (extremely public) solitude that I share with only my awesome bloggy friends, my best friend, and my husband. You know-the cool kids.
Just don't tell my parents.
[This post was inspired by Writer's Workshop. Go visit Mama Kat for more!]
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blogging. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Wherefore Doest Thou Blog?
Today I was talking to my sister about how technology proof she is. Seriously-the woman has an iPhone and uses it for only making calls and checking her work email...she doesn't even use iTunes! I call her grandma for a reason. Anyway, we were talking about all the things that she could (but doesn't) do with her iPhone and I said that she should use it to get online and check out some blogs. Her response?
I just don't get blogs-why would people write stuff about their lives if they're not famous? I guess if they want to they can, but why should I read it?
Uh....because it's awesome? To be fair I my sister doesn't know that I'm a blogger, and I am probably biased, but still-I think the appeal of blogs is universal to anyone who would actually read one. Blogs provide an amazing support network-I mean, it's people from around the world connecting with each other. You can find people who are interested in the same things you are, people who have new ideas about things you love and old information you might not be able to find on your own. You can get advice and support from people who have been where you are and even find people who will occasionally laugh at your jokes (even if they are really, really terrible like mine). The world is such a huge place that there are bound to be people who have things in common with you-but nothing builds a strong community across the miles the same way blogging does. Communities of moms. Communities of skateboarders. Communities of hipsters. Communities of people who collect garden gnomes. Communities of people who chew ice habitually. There is no where that blogs don't go! No one that cannot find a single blog they enjoy.
No one that cannot reach out and connect with people.
Since blogging I have found friends like Kirsty, who despite living over 1000 miles away and never actually meeting me, was willing to give me pregnancy advice based on her experience as a doula and mother of 4 (with one on the way now, congrats!!)...and Kirsty is just one of 210 people who currently care enough to read about MY life, to cheer me on and commiserate with me, to laugh at my jokes and share recipes, even though I am basically nobody. Even though I (sometimes) abandon my blog for several months at a time because I'm busy at school-I will still get emails asking how school is going or how things are with Hubby's work after he was wrongfully terminated.
Why would anyone blog? Why should people read about each other's boring, non-famous lives? I guess there is only one real answer for that.....
Because there is nothing more important than people...their stories, their experiences, their message-connecting with other people, learning about them, and exchanging knowledge and information is what makes the world go 'round.
Plus it's pretty fun to meet cool people without ever having to leave the house.
I just don't get blogs-why would people write stuff about their lives if they're not famous? I guess if they want to they can, but why should I read it?
Uh....because it's awesome? To be fair I my sister doesn't know that I'm a blogger, and I am probably biased, but still-I think the appeal of blogs is universal to anyone who would actually read one. Blogs provide an amazing support network-I mean, it's people from around the world connecting with each other. You can find people who are interested in the same things you are, people who have new ideas about things you love and old information you might not be able to find on your own. You can get advice and support from people who have been where you are and even find people who will occasionally laugh at your jokes (even if they are really, really terrible like mine). The world is such a huge place that there are bound to be people who have things in common with you-but nothing builds a strong community across the miles the same way blogging does. Communities of moms. Communities of skateboarders. Communities of hipsters. Communities of people who collect garden gnomes. Communities of people who chew ice habitually. There is no where that blogs don't go! No one that cannot find a single blog they enjoy.
No one that cannot reach out and connect with people.
Since blogging I have found friends like Kirsty, who despite living over 1000 miles away and never actually meeting me, was willing to give me pregnancy advice based on her experience as a doula and mother of 4 (with one on the way now, congrats!!)...and Kirsty is just one of 210 people who currently care enough to read about MY life, to cheer me on and commiserate with me, to laugh at my jokes and share recipes, even though I am basically nobody. Even though I (sometimes) abandon my blog for several months at a time because I'm busy at school-I will still get emails asking how school is going or how things are with Hubby's work after he was wrongfully terminated.
Why would anyone blog? Why should people read about each other's boring, non-famous lives? I guess there is only one real answer for that.....
Because there is nothing more important than people...their stories, their experiences, their message-connecting with other people, learning about them, and exchanging knowledge and information is what makes the world go 'round.
Plus it's pretty fun to meet cool people without ever having to leave the house.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Red Alert : Caffeine Supplies Depleted, Internet Slow
Let's take stock here....
Diet Pepsi?
Outage. I accidentally fell asleep instead of going to the store, so the apocalypse supply of Diet Pepsi is completely depleted until Hubby returns from work in the AM.
Reaction?
Brain...........oooooooweeeee.
Internet?
S-l-0-w-e-r than the proverbial tortoise for no apparent reason.
Reaction?
No Caffeine and Crappy Internet?! MrsM Mad. MrsM SMASH!
Plan of Action?
Post? Yeahnotsomuch.
I hide under the covers and wait until morning while you enjoy (or hate on) these LoLCats.
[NerdCat]
Monday, March 15, 2010
"Mom Blogger"
I'm a mommy blogger. I write about my kids-and occasionally that means the writing will mean taking a break from my crazy spawnlings precious little gooey angels of love. I'm also not opposed to making money at anything I spend my time on and that includes blogging. If that makes me a navel gazing money grubbing absentee parent in someone else's eyes, so be it. The words of other people don't define me and I have no guilt over anything I'm doing so why should I care if someone sees what I'm doing in a different light?
Why should anyone care?
Apparently a lot of people do. I was surprised this morning to see a large portion of the SITS crowd going all torch-wielding mob over a New York Times article on mommy bloggers. Like being labeled a mommy blogger is demeaning, or saying that blogs take time away from your kids is unfair, or saying that moms are trying to feel more relevant and an wage earner by making money is inaccurate...but here's the thing....the article is honest.
If you are a mom who blogs about her life with her children, you're a mommy blogger. There's nothing wrong with that-it only has negative connotations if you allow it to. I like to think I say a lot of interesting non-mom related stuff but even if I don't, so what? Does that make my material any less interesting? Does that make it poorly written? No. So I just take it for what it is-a description. It has no more power than I give it.
Also-blogging does take time away from kids. In my experience, even the people who say they "only do it when their kids are napping or asleep" spend time checking their emails and doing other blog-related activity (Facebooking, Tweeting) during the day and you know what-that's fine. Who said that our job as stay at home moms is to be doing for our kids 24/7? Everybody needs a break sometimes-kids need time for independent play, and moms need time for independent thought. It's a great match...and if you don't feel it's a great match, to the point that you are offended when people point out the obvious, then maybe you should reevaluate if blogging is truly what you should be doing. If you never do anything that you're ashamed of or feel guilty for then you won't have a problem.
Lastly it is absolutely reasonable to note the extensive branding process that some mom blogs go through and how that relates to the mom's need to feel relevant and her desire to be a wage earner. It's a fact that many women convert their blogs into empires for precisely those reasons-and if you did, you should be able to admit it and not be insulted when people point that out. Be proud of what you did-or don't do it.
I do think that the NYT should have talked about how different the media involvement is from blog to blog. PR in the mommy blog world has a lot of different faces and not all of them are that of the high powered, driven CEO mom looking to turn her blog into a career. This article overlooked that a lot of moms don't do PR at all, and aren't interested. Many moms do some PR work, but only in so much as they feel is good for their blogs-for example, some participate in community stuff like BlogFrog or Networked Blogs (on Facebook), but don't do ads or reviews. Some are like me-I do reviews and giveaways for things that I love and that I think you all would enjoy, but I have turned down many reviews and giveaways and even a few sponsorships because I believe my blog is worth a lot more than money.
The bottom line is really simple...not everyone is going to like what you do, and that applies to everything in life including but not limited to blogging. Still, if you like what you're doing and feel that you're doing the right thing then you should be secure enough in your lifestyle choices to agree to disagree without drama. There's no reason to go at people who have other views all angry-mob-style because you'll only wind up skewering your reputation with your own pitch fork.
Why should anyone care?
Apparently a lot of people do. I was surprised this morning to see a large portion of the SITS crowd going all torch-wielding mob over a New York Times article on mommy bloggers. Like being labeled a mommy blogger is demeaning, or saying that blogs take time away from your kids is unfair, or saying that moms are trying to feel more relevant and an wage earner by making money is inaccurate...but here's the thing....the article is honest.
If you are a mom who blogs about her life with her children, you're a mommy blogger. There's nothing wrong with that-it only has negative connotations if you allow it to. I like to think I say a lot of interesting non-mom related stuff but even if I don't, so what? Does that make my material any less interesting? Does that make it poorly written? No. So I just take it for what it is-a description. It has no more power than I give it.
Also-blogging does take time away from kids. In my experience, even the people who say they "only do it when their kids are napping or asleep" spend time checking their emails and doing other blog-related activity (Facebooking, Tweeting) during the day and you know what-that's fine. Who said that our job as stay at home moms is to be doing for our kids 24/7? Everybody needs a break sometimes-kids need time for independent play, and moms need time for independent thought. It's a great match...and if you don't feel it's a great match, to the point that you are offended when people point out the obvious, then maybe you should reevaluate if blogging is truly what you should be doing. If you never do anything that you're ashamed of or feel guilty for then you won't have a problem.
Lastly it is absolutely reasonable to note the extensive branding process that some mom blogs go through and how that relates to the mom's need to feel relevant and her desire to be a wage earner. It's a fact that many women convert their blogs into empires for precisely those reasons-and if you did, you should be able to admit it and not be insulted when people point that out. Be proud of what you did-or don't do it.
I do think that the NYT should have talked about how different the media involvement is from blog to blog. PR in the mommy blog world has a lot of different faces and not all of them are that of the high powered, driven CEO mom looking to turn her blog into a career. This article overlooked that a lot of moms don't do PR at all, and aren't interested. Many moms do some PR work, but only in so much as they feel is good for their blogs-for example, some participate in community stuff like BlogFrog or Networked Blogs (on Facebook), but don't do ads or reviews. Some are like me-I do reviews and giveaways for things that I love and that I think you all would enjoy, but I have turned down many reviews and giveaways and even a few sponsorships because I believe my blog is worth a lot more than money.
The bottom line is really simple...not everyone is going to like what you do, and that applies to everything in life including but not limited to blogging. Still, if you like what you're doing and feel that you're doing the right thing then you should be secure enough in your lifestyle choices to agree to disagree without drama. There's no reason to go at people who have other views all angry-mob-style because you'll only wind up skewering your reputation with your own pitch fork.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Look at Me! And Other Blog News
*Sorry this didn't make it up last time I posted it....I'm still working out the kinks in this FABULOUS NEW LAYOUT.
I'll admit it-I'm totally getting my blog design prepped and ready for the Ultimate Blog Party 2010 (the date of which has yet to be announced-unless you know something I don't!). I want it to look awesome by the time my new bloggy friends get here. I'm pretty much loving this design-I think it's both cute and super functional....what do you guys think? All of you lovely regulars will have to give me some feedback so that I can look pretty for the newcomers-I don't want to scare them away too soon!
The basic idea for this layout is simple-my four most recent posts are at the top of the page in a slider with a brief description and a picture. If you want to get onto one of those four posts, just click on the picture when the slide comes (or push on the tab on the right hand side, then press on the picture). If you want to see the dusty archives or get info about me or the blog you can go to all of the boxes with the green headers. The boxes with the red headers will have posts in them soon-the two on the top will each have links to posts about specific topics which I'll change around regularly. The larger box on the bottom will have a list of my all time favorite posts.
Sorry the links aren't up yet. Blogger was fighting me THE. WHOLE. WAY. trying to install this layout so I barely got it the way it is by 9pm...links (to the red box posts and navigation links) will come in the next day or so. Soooooo, without deducting points for non-working links, what do you rate it? 4.6? 9.1? Judges? Any special topic or post you'd like to see up on the red boxes?
Mooving on, another little note of bloggy business-I am super pleased to announce that I am going strong on my New Years Resolution to post something every day. (You guys don't mind all of the LoL Cat posts....right?) This is my 68th post in a row, and I am trying to think up something neat for my 100th post in a row....I'll keep you posted. [Get it? Posted? Would you stop reading if I said PUN TOTALLY INTENDED?]
The last bit of blog business is about my blog roll. I accidentally erased it, so I'm going to be doing it by memory. PLEASE don't be offended if I don't remember you. It doesn't mean I don't love you, it just means that I don't remember my blogroll (which I don't) because now I just use the Google thing instead. If you see yourself missing, or would like to be on it for the first time, just drop me an email at contact.mrsm@gmail.com!
Alright-real posting commences after sleep...but for now, I'm just glad to get the business taken care of and show off my (mostly done) new layout.
See you all tomorrow!
I'll admit it-I'm totally getting my blog design prepped and ready for the Ultimate Blog Party 2010 (the date of which has yet to be announced-unless you know something I don't!). I want it to look awesome by the time my new bloggy friends get here. I'm pretty much loving this design-I think it's both cute and super functional....what do you guys think? All of you lovely regulars will have to give me some feedback so that I can look pretty for the newcomers-I don't want to scare them away too soon!
The basic idea for this layout is simple-my four most recent posts are at the top of the page in a slider with a brief description and a picture. If you want to get onto one of those four posts, just click on the picture when the slide comes (or push on the tab on the right hand side, then press on the picture). If you want to see the dusty archives or get info about me or the blog you can go to all of the boxes with the green headers. The boxes with the red headers will have posts in them soon-the two on the top will each have links to posts about specific topics which I'll change around regularly. The larger box on the bottom will have a list of my all time favorite posts.
Sorry the links aren't up yet. Blogger was fighting me THE. WHOLE. WAY. trying to install this layout so I barely got it the way it is by 9pm...links (to the red box posts and navigation links) will come in the next day or so. Soooooo, without deducting points for non-working links, what do you rate it? 4.6? 9.1? Judges? Any special topic or post you'd like to see up on the red boxes?
Mooving on, another little note of bloggy business-I am super pleased to announce that I am going strong on my New Years Resolution to post something every day. (You guys don't mind all of the LoL Cat posts....right?) This is my 68th post in a row, and I am trying to think up something neat for my 100th post in a row....I'll keep you posted. [Get it? Posted? Would you stop reading if I said PUN TOTALLY INTENDED?]
The last bit of blog business is about my blog roll. I accidentally erased it, so I'm going to be doing it by memory. PLEASE don't be offended if I don't remember you. It doesn't mean I don't love you, it just means that I don't remember my blogroll (which I don't) because now I just use the Google thing instead. If you see yourself missing, or would like to be on it for the first time, just drop me an email at contact.mrsm@gmail.com!
Alright-real posting commences after sleep...but for now, I'm just glad to get the business taken care of and show off my (mostly done) new layout.
See you all tomorrow!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
You Get What You Pay For
Good news: We found cheaper internet. Bad news: It runs like cheap internet. I just tested my download speed-my DOWNLOAD speed mind you-and it's .22 Mb/M. To put that into translation it would take approximately 3 WHOLE MINUTES to download a 5Mb song (which is, like nothing). Or, from another perspective, like a FULL FREAKIN' HOUR to get onto Blogger. My internet connection is compromised.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Do not panic.
I'm kinda panicking.
Grrrrrr stupid bank. I hope that your internet connection goes down to my new level.
Oh PS, for those of you that have asked the bank that royally...well, you know...was Bank of America. I don't recommend putting your money there. I wasn't going to tell you that, but now that they've affected my beloved internet they deserve it.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Do not panic.
I'm kinda panicking.
Grrrrrr stupid bank. I hope that your internet connection goes down to my new level.
Oh PS, for those of you that have asked the bank that royally...well, you know...was Bank of America. I don't recommend putting your money there. I wasn't going to tell you that, but now that they've affected my beloved internet they deserve it.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Happy Happy Joy Joy
I received a little note yesterday from singedwingangel saying that she had given me two awards. Well, gee. That's so sweet...and after I've been such a slouch with my blog lately. I have lost four followers-justly so after my neglectful blog habits in November and December-sorry guys! I have resolved to do better this year I promise! But first things first-being thankful for my lovely awards!
The first award she gave me was the Lemonade Stand Award. Isn't this little button adorable?
The second award was the Happy 101 award. I love this button too.
The rules of this award are "List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day and link to the person who gave you the award".
This award is fun and easy-I have lots of things that make me happy (in no particular order):
Let's see...who to tag. These bloggers always make me smile....
P.S. Look at that-resolution NOT broken with 2 hours to spare. LOL.
The first award she gave me was the Lemonade Stand Award. Isn't this little button adorable?
The second award was the Happy 101 award. I love this button too.
The rules of this award are "List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day and link to the person who gave you the award".
This award is fun and easy-I have lots of things that make me happy (in no particular order):
My family
Books
Bubble baths
Cheesecake
Sunshowers
Snuggling
Blogging
Guitar Hero
Sleep...mmmmm...sleep
Baking
Books
Bubble baths
Cheesecake
Sunshowers
Snuggling
Blogging
Guitar Hero
Sleep...mmmmm...sleep
Baking
Let's see...who to tag. These bloggers always make me smile....
-Angela at Becoming Me
-Samantha at Apple Juice and Milk
-Kirsty at Momedy
-Lorraine at Ask Wifey
-The Crazy Baby Mama
-K at Interstitial Life
-Lesley at Project Mommyhood
-Elizabeth at Type A Mommy
-Jen at Buried with Children
and let's let random.org pick a friend to award.....
-Sherri at Luv a Bargain
Thanks for making me smile ladies!
-Samantha at Apple Juice and Milk
-Kirsty at Momedy
-Lorraine at Ask Wifey
-The Crazy Baby Mama
-K at Interstitial Life
-Lesley at Project Mommyhood
-Elizabeth at Type A Mommy
-Jen at Buried with Children
and let's let random.org pick a friend to award.....
-Sherri at Luv a Bargain
Thanks for making me smile ladies!
P.S. Look at that-resolution NOT broken with 2 hours to spare. LOL.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Resolved
There are a lot of resolutions for me to pick from this year. I'd like to eat at least one meal a day at the temperature it was meant to be consumed at rather than putting off my meals until they are a blur of room temperature mediocrity. I'd like to exercise every other day, I want to log at least six hours a day in for work, and I'm going to do everything in my power to AVOID giving birth the third year in a row...but let's face it-stuff happens. Some days the kids go nuts and I'm lucky to shove a bagel in my mouth-forget eating an actual meal of any kind. I'm bound to get sick or have a super long exhausting night with the kidlets that interrupts my new exercise routine and work schedule. As far as pregnancy goes, let's get real-we've already welcomed two beautiful little surprises into our hearts...we're just going to have to do our best on that one and pray hard.
I do however have one resolution that I think might actually be attainable. I want to make at least one blog post per day this year. I'm not promising they'll all be top shelf quality, but I want to make it a point to at least take a moment each day to jot something down. Let's call it an experiment-365 days of blogging.
So far so good-I'm two days down, only 363 days to go LOL Easy-peasy, right? I have a feeling it's going to be a fascinating journey, even if my posts aren't terribly interesting. What can one person say in a so
lid year of blogging?
Today it happens that I do I have some exciting news-Monkey read his very first book today! Okay so I helped him sound out some words, but it was a brand new book that he got for Christmas so he wasn't reciting it from memory...he was reading! His first book ever? An adorable little book called Adventures of Biscuit. I am so proud I could burst!!
Don't expect news like that every day-some days I'm awful boring, but I hope you'll join me anyway. With nearly four hundred posts this year there is bound to be a few good things mixed in!
I do however have one resolution that I think might actually be attainable. I want to make at least one blog post per day this year. I'm not promising they'll all be top shelf quality, but I want to make it a point to at least take a moment each day to jot something down. Let's call it an experiment-365 days of blogging.
So far so good-I'm two days down, only 363 days to go LOL Easy-peasy, right? I have a feeling it's going to be a fascinating journey, even if my posts aren't terribly interesting. What can one person say in a so
lid year of blogging?Today it happens that I do I have some exciting news-Monkey read his very first book today! Okay so I helped him sound out some words, but it was a brand new book that he got for Christmas so he wasn't reciting it from memory...he was reading! His first book ever? An adorable little book called Adventures of Biscuit. I am so proud I could burst!!
Don't expect news like that every day-some days I'm awful boring, but I hope you'll join me anyway. With nearly four hundred posts this year there is bound to be a few good things mixed in!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Blogging & Business
I hate that I haven't been blogging much lately, but seriously ya'll-I've been swamped. We had Thanksgiving, then we were all sick for almost two weeks. Add that to the fact that I've been working to start my own business and I'm lucky I have time to pee, let alone blog. I miss it a lot. I miss you guys! Hopefully things will settle down soon and I'll be able to get back here as often as I once did.
Speaking of my business, let me pick your brains a little before I rush off to get some work done-how many of you would be interested in working from home? If all goes as planned I may be in the market to hire people to work from home. I can't go into too many specifics right now, but it wouldn't involve selling anything or phone work at all-it's just computer work. You'd be an independent contractor which means that you wouldn't get any benefits and you'd have to pay your own taxes...and it is very detail oriented, and requires a broad internet knowledge and great analytical skills...but you'd get to work from home at your own pace on your own schedule within the hour requirements. My plan is to offer full time and part time-so either 80 or 160 hours a month-at $9/hr and pay once monthly. Is that something that anyone would be interested in? What are your thoughts/suggestions? Remember, nothing is concrete right now, just a direction I might go if everything pans out.
I'll be posting as much as I can and, hopefully, I'll get back to doing more blogging (and more blog reading!) very soon.
Speaking of my business, let me pick your brains a little before I rush off to get some work done-how many of you would be interested in working from home? If all goes as planned I may be in the market to hire people to work from home. I can't go into too many specifics right now, but it wouldn't involve selling anything or phone work at all-it's just computer work. You'd be an independent contractor which means that you wouldn't get any benefits and you'd have to pay your own taxes...and it is very detail oriented, and requires a broad internet knowledge and great analytical skills...but you'd get to work from home at your own pace on your own schedule within the hour requirements. My plan is to offer full time and part time-so either 80 or 160 hours a month-at $9/hr and pay once monthly. Is that something that anyone would be interested in? What are your thoughts/suggestions? Remember, nothing is concrete right now, just a direction I might go if everything pans out.
I'll be posting as much as I can and, hopefully, I'll get back to doing more blogging (and more blog reading!) very soon.
Friday, December 4, 2009
300 Here I Come!
Apparently I am very wordy-it seems like just yesterday I was making my 100th post, and here I am staring at nearly 300. I've had such a great time with my blog in the last year(ish). I've written some of my favorite posts ever, and of course I've met all of you!I want to do something special for the big 3-0-0....really special...so I've decided that in order to celebrate right I'm going to use my 300th post to put up my very first Vlog. That's right...me, on video.
You're thrilled I can tell.
I have no problem with doing a Vlog, I've just never really known what to say on camera. I mean, I can write down whatever I have to say pretty well but I was always afraid that I'd be boring when I tried to do a blog post on camera. What would I say?
Thankfully I've thought of a solution-I'm not going to decide what I'm going to say. I'm going to leave it up to you. Do you have a question about me or my blog? Want my opinion on something? Just want to hear your name (or pseudonym) on camera? Send me a question and I'll answer it on camera to celebrate my 300th post!
I'm at 264 right now, so you'll have somewhere between a month and two months to get your question in...all you have to do is send it own down!
Email me at:
contact.mrsm@gmail.com
Tweet me at:
_MrsM_
contact.mrsm@gmail.com
Tweet me at:
_MrsM_
or leave a comment on this post. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Hey FTC-Endorse THIS
As you may have noticed, I regularly do reviews and giveaways. I like trying new products and telling you guys about my experience, then giving you an opportunity to win the product itself-it's fun and come on-who doesn't like to win something cool? Unfortunately the FTC just made it harder for bloggers to have access to review and giveaway opportunities.
At the beginning of October the FTC announced they had approved the final revisions to it’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Shortly thereafter, they released the full text of this new law and the problems were immediately apparent.
In brief, this law requires all bloggers to disclose any material relationships behind reviews and giveaways-which is in itself a good policy that most review and giveaway bloggers already do on their own. [You can see my disclosure directly under my header.] This law also requires bloggers to apply to 'truth in advertising' standards, which again is a good policy and again is already practiced by most bloggers.
Here's the real problem-if a blogger makes a claim about a product that is considered "unsubstantiated" the advertiser is liable. This is an example, directly from the FTC guidelines:
Example 5: A skin care products advertiser participates in a blog advertising service. The
service matches up advertisers with bloggers who will promote the advertiser’s products on
their personal blogs. The advertiser requests that a blogger try a new body lotion and write
a review of the product on her blog. Although the advertiser does not make any specific
claims about the lotion’s ability to cure skin conditions and the blogger does not ask the
advertiser whether there is substantiation for the claim, in her review the blogger writes
that the lotion cures eczema and recommends the product to her blog readers who suffer
from this condition. The advertiser is subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made through the blogger’s endorsement. The blogger also is subject to
liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made in the course of her
endorsement. The blogger is also liable if she fails to disclose clearly and conspicuously
that she is being paid for her services.
So the question becomes, what constitutes unsubstantiated claims? If I review a candle and I said I find the smell "relaxing" is that unsubstantiated, since that is not scientifically documented? The new rules say it could be-and if it were determined in a court of law that it was not only would I personally be subject to an $11,000 fine but the advertiser would have to pay out as well.
This effects bloggers tremendously-if a company sends it's product for review or giveaway to another company the advertiser is NOT liable for any unsubstantiated or misleading claims, but if they send their product to a blogger they could have to pay, big time. For the record, this law also includes all "endorsements" posted on Twitter, Amazon, Facebook, or any other online venue.
This new law discourages companies from seeking to advertise online directly through consumers and, let's be honest, severely hampers bloggers attempting to make some money via their sites. It takes even more power away from the consumer, who is now liable for their own personal opinions, and makes endorsements a business-to-business transaction.
Still, even after reading this law, I will continue to do giveaways...provided that companies and advertisers are still willing to work with me (or any other blogger for that matter)...because I still feel that the best, most powerful form of advertising should be the friend to friend, word of mouth, consumer powered kind and that you, my readers, should still win free stuff for being so fabulous.
Free stuff like the Personalized Tote from Noah Baby Boutique that I am giving away through 10/24. It's fabulous and I endorse it. Come and get me FTC.
At the beginning of October the FTC announced they had approved the final revisions to it’s Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Shortly thereafter, they released the full text of this new law and the problems were immediately apparent.
In brief, this law requires all bloggers to disclose any material relationships behind reviews and giveaways-which is in itself a good policy that most review and giveaway bloggers already do on their own. [You can see my disclosure directly under my header.] This law also requires bloggers to apply to 'truth in advertising' standards, which again is a good policy and again is already practiced by most bloggers.
Here's the real problem-if a blogger makes a claim about a product that is considered "unsubstantiated" the advertiser is liable. This is an example, directly from the FTC guidelines:
Example 5: A skin care products advertiser participates in a blog advertising service. The
service matches up advertisers with bloggers who will promote the advertiser’s products on
their personal blogs. The advertiser requests that a blogger try a new body lotion and write
a review of the product on her blog. Although the advertiser does not make any specific
claims about the lotion’s ability to cure skin conditions and the blogger does not ask the
advertiser whether there is substantiation for the claim, in her review the blogger writes
that the lotion cures eczema and recommends the product to her blog readers who suffer
from this condition. The advertiser is subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made through the blogger’s endorsement. The blogger also is subject to
liability for misleading or unsubstantiated representations made in the course of her
endorsement. The blogger is also liable if she fails to disclose clearly and conspicuously
that she is being paid for her services.
So the question becomes, what constitutes unsubstantiated claims? If I review a candle and I said I find the smell "relaxing" is that unsubstantiated, since that is not scientifically documented? The new rules say it could be-and if it were determined in a court of law that it was not only would I personally be subject to an $11,000 fine but the advertiser would have to pay out as well.
This effects bloggers tremendously-if a company sends it's product for review or giveaway to another company the advertiser is NOT liable for any unsubstantiated or misleading claims, but if they send their product to a blogger they could have to pay, big time. For the record, this law also includes all "endorsements" posted on Twitter, Amazon, Facebook, or any other online venue.
This new law discourages companies from seeking to advertise online directly through consumers and, let's be honest, severely hampers bloggers attempting to make some money via their sites. It takes even more power away from the consumer, who is now liable for their own personal opinions, and makes endorsements a business-to-business transaction.
This is bad news.
Still, even after reading this law, I will continue to do giveaways...provided that companies and advertisers are still willing to work with me (or any other blogger for that matter)...because I still feel that the best, most powerful form of advertising should be the friend to friend, word of mouth, consumer powered kind and that you, my readers, should still win free stuff for being so fabulous.
Free stuff like the Personalized Tote from Noah Baby Boutique that I am giving away through 10/24. It's fabulous and I endorse it. Come and get me FTC.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
News Baubles
Do I realize this would have been better titled "News Nuggets"? Yes. However, I have a big problem with the word nugget. It's right up there with "moist" and "eschew" in my list of the top 10 random words that I think sound gross for no particular reason.
So-baubles it is.
And my do I have some shiny gems for you. First, as you may have noticed, my blog look has been updated. All of that white was getting a little clinical for me-I'm not ready to go into the padded room yet. I also got rid of my little cartoon avatar lady. She had her moment in the sun, but it was time to move on and I think I'm rocking the vintage-meets-patchwork quilt look. What do you think?
The look is not the only thing I've updated-I've also changed contact emails. I've been getting a ton of email from you guys lately and I LOVE IT (don't stop!) but it was flooding my personal email box. Things were getting lost. Put in wrong folders. Never sent. Worse-never read! So rather than sit around and feel like a poo puddle I have created you guys your very own email account. Well, it's for me-but it's for you...to write to me. The contact form on my "Contact Me" page (linked at the top) has been updated and will now be sent to your very own special mailbox. Or you can email me direct from your inbox at contact.mrsm@gmail.com.
I've also added a few other ways that we can get and keep in touch! New shiny bauble number three is my new facebook page! It's pretty and shiny. Okay not pretty and shiny, so much as super convenient-now you can get my posts while you sit down with your facebook and your morning coffee (or diet soda, if you're like me)!
Another fun new feature? My Bloggy Friends Community over at BlogFrog. After trying to go it alone in the forum category I decided to see what's hopping with BlogFrog (oh yes, I did just say that). Verdict? I love it. I get to join other people's communities and chat them up, and host my own community....I have spent a shameful amount of time (4+ hours) there during the last two days just hopping around. I highly recommend you sign up with them. And then join my community of course. Right now I want to know your favorite summer recipe, and your thoughts on controversial blog posts....
There's another added bonus to joining me on Facebook/BlogFrog (and Twitter!)-by doing that you get all of my news tidbits about upcoming giveaways and reviews EARLY. That's right-I'm going to announce all my big stuff on my social network sites first. Bribery? Probably. But I'm lonely over there on my big old Facebook/BlogFrog/Twitter pages all by myself party of one style. Consider these update announcements the plate of cookies that entices you to my party.
Another fun news bauble-I have received two awards this week! I am still amazed, and s
o grateful, that anyone would think of me for these sort of things. I feel like having a Sally Fields moment every time-really you guys are too sweet. Today my grateful misty eyed appreciation goes to Jenny from Our Nifty Notebook who awarded me with the Honest Scrap Award. I have received this award before, but it is so sweet of her to think of me and I am actually glad that I have gotten it twice. The first time I wrote ten honest things about myself I did a fun and silly post. Which was both fun and silly and honest...but I've been thinking lately that I wish I had used that opportunity to do a more serious post. So I'm going to this time....stay tuned for that!
I have also received the One Lovely Blog Award from Michele from The Professional Family Manager . I am so excited to think of my writing and my blog as sweet! The only rules of the One Lovely Blog Award are to pass it on to other lovely blogs! I would like to award this to my friends
I'm sure one or more of these ladies has already gotten this award, but I wouldn't regret that at all-they're all so fabulous they'd even deserve two!
Another awesome lady I'd like to mention this week is my gal pal Robynn of Robynn's Ravings. She is having an absolutely fantastic throw down/giveaway encouraging people to eat right and be healthy! I know we in the House of M could certainly benefit from that advice and we will be participating right along with her...and it doesn't hurt that the winner will be interviewed on her blog AND receive a $100 gift card to Amazon! Go check it out-the throw down starts in September.
One last quick thing before I wrap up this, the longest post of all time. (Have I mentioned how so very ecstatic I am to be back to writing!!) A reminder that I am going to be doing a fabulous review and giveaway before the end of the month. Keep your eyes (and browsers) peeled for my fun-and-educational giveaway just in time for back to school!
Alright, I'm cutting myself off now.
No really.
I'm stepping away from the blog post.
It's happening.
I really will...
stop....
typing...
Bye!
[I'll be back tomorrow!]
So-baubles it is.
And my do I have some shiny gems for you. First, as you may have noticed, my blog look has been updated. All of that white was getting a little clinical for me-I'm not ready to go into the padded room yet. I also got rid of my little cartoon avatar lady. She had her moment in the sun, but it was time to move on and I think I'm rocking the vintage-meets-patchwork quilt look. What do you think?
The look is not the only thing I've updated-I've also changed contact emails. I've been getting a ton of email from you guys lately and I LOVE IT (don't stop!) but it was flooding my personal email box. Things were getting lost. Put in wrong folders. Never sent. Worse-never read! So rather than sit around and feel like a poo puddle I have created you guys your very own email account. Well, it's for me-but it's for you...to write to me. The contact form on my "Contact Me" page (linked at the top) has been updated and will now be sent to your very own special mailbox. Or you can email me direct from your inbox at contact.mrsm@gmail.com.
I've also added a few other ways that we can get and keep in touch! New shiny bauble number three is my new facebook page! It's pretty and shiny. Okay not pretty and shiny, so much as super convenient-now you can get my posts while you sit down with your facebook and your morning coffee (or diet soda, if you're like me)!
Another fun new feature? My Bloggy Friends Community over at BlogFrog. After trying to go it alone in the forum category I decided to see what's hopping with BlogFrog (oh yes, I did just say that). Verdict? I love it. I get to join other people's communities and chat them up, and host my own community....I have spent a shameful amount of time (4+ hours) there during the last two days just hopping around. I highly recommend you sign up with them. And then join my community of course. Right now I want to know your favorite summer recipe, and your thoughts on controversial blog posts....
There's another added bonus to joining me on Facebook/BlogFrog (and Twitter!)-by doing that you get all of my news tidbits about upcoming giveaways and reviews EARLY. That's right-I'm going to announce all my big stuff on my social network sites first. Bribery? Probably. But I'm lonely over there on my big old Facebook/BlogFrog/Twitter pages all by myself party of one style. Consider these update announcements the plate of cookies that entices you to my party.
Another fun news bauble-I have received two awards this week! I am still amazed, and s
o grateful, that anyone would think of me for these sort of things. I feel like having a Sally Fields moment every time-really you guys are too sweet. Today my grateful misty eyed appreciation goes to Jenny from Our Nifty Notebook who awarded me with the Honest Scrap Award. I have received this award before, but it is so sweet of her to think of me and I am actually glad that I have gotten it twice. The first time I wrote ten honest things about myself I did a fun and silly post. Which was both fun and silly and honest...but I've been thinking lately that I wish I had used that opportunity to do a more serious post. So I'm going to this time....stay tuned for that!I have also received the One Lovely Blog Award from Michele from The Professional Family Manager . I am so excited to think of my writing and my blog as sweet! The only rules of the One Lovely Blog Award are to pass it on to other lovely blogs! I would like to award this to my friends
Samantha of Apple Juice and Milk
Lucy and Ethel of The Suite Life of Lucy and Ethel
Helene of I'm Living Proof That God Has a Sense of Humor
Lucy and Ethel of The Suite Life of Lucy and Ethel
Helene of I'm Living Proof That God Has a Sense of Humor
I'm sure one or more of these ladies has already gotten this award, but I wouldn't regret that at all-they're all so fabulous they'd even deserve two!
Another awesome lady I'd like to mention this week is my gal pal Robynn of Robynn's Ravings. She is having an absolutely fantastic throw down/giveaway encouraging people to eat right and be healthy! I know we in the House of M could certainly benefit from that advice and we will be participating right along with her...and it doesn't hurt that the winner will be interviewed on her blog AND receive a $100 gift card to Amazon! Go check it out-the throw down starts in September.
One last quick thing before I wrap up this, the longest post of all time. (Have I mentioned how so very ecstatic I am to be back to writing!!) A reminder that I am going to be doing a fabulous review and giveaway before the end of the month. Keep your eyes (and browsers) peeled for my fun-and-educational giveaway just in time for back to school!
Alright, I'm cutting myself off now.
No really.
I'm stepping away from the blog post.
It's happening.
I really will...
stop....
typing...
Bye!
[I'll be back tomorrow!]
Friday, August 14, 2009
Reviewing Laptops (In Search of a Fab Find Friday)
As you may recall, Frankenputer is on his last legs. He is in limbo, lingering one click away from "going to live on a farm" where he can "run and play with the other computers". I live in anxiety, dreading that moment when he will Google his last.
Well, technically I'll keep breathing but my mental state will be far from healthy. I have to find a new computer! Hence the search for the Fabulous Find.
If I am going to get a new computer (which, eventually, I will) I am going to get a laptop. Lord knows I need it. Right now Frankenputer sits in our bedroom, about as mobile as Mt. Rushmore....which means I can only use the computer after the kids go to bed....which makes for some VERY late nights. That situation would be easily remedied by a nice little laptop that I could take downstairs with me. Hubby would also have great appreciation for it, since that would mean that I could hang out with him while he plays XBox before wor
k rather than being in my little computer area upstairs.
I like hanging out with my husband.
I need a laptop.
I want a 15 inch or larger screen, something with a lot of memory, something that is durable, and-God willing-something that won't bankrupt us. So what's on the market? That's what I wanted to find out.
The three laptops I found that I am most interested in are the Apple MacBook Pro, the Dell Studio 15, and the Toshiba Satellite A500. They all have impressive stats. According to their websites:
Like I said-impressive, right? But, practically speaking, it's not the techie stuff that calls to me. There are personal pros and cons to each laptop.
MacBook Pro
Pros: Fantastically light, 7 hours of battery life, backlit keys, EXTREMELY environmentally friendly.
Cons: Bloody expensive (the cheapest I could find was on Craigslist for $800), it's Mac-which I have never used-rather than Windows based programs.
Dell Studio 15
Pros: Very reasonably priced (the cheapest I could find was under $500 on Craigslist) can be upgraded to fabulous specs, and can have PERSONALIZED ART on the outside. Sweeet.
Cons: Weighs more, significantly shorter battery life.
Toshiba Satellite A500
Pros: Sleek design, upgraded technology, easy to use, very reasonably priced (found on Craiglist for $350!)
Cons: Very low battery life (2.15 hours)
There are so many great things about each different kind of laptop, I can't just choose by looking at the stats! Luckily for me (and you!) I'm going to make a test trip to Best Buy to gain some hands on experience with these awesome computers and see what I can come up with.
I. Must. Find. THE MOST FABULOUS FIND!
Wish me luck =)
I. Cannot. Live. Without. Internet. Access.
Well, technically I'll keep breathing but my mental state will be far from healthy. I have to find a new computer! Hence the search for the Fabulous Find.
If I am going to get a new computer (which, eventually, I will) I am going to get a laptop. Lord knows I need it. Right now Frankenputer sits in our bedroom, about as mobile as Mt. Rushmore....which means I can only use the computer after the kids go to bed....which makes for some VERY late nights. That situation would be easily remedied by a nice little laptop that I could take downstairs with me. Hubby would also have great appreciation for it, since that would mean that I could hang out with him while he plays XBox before wor
k rather than being in my little computer area upstairs.I like hanging out with my husband.
I need a laptop.
I want a 15 inch or larger screen, something with a lot of memory, something that is durable, and-God willing-something that won't bankrupt us. So what's on the market? That's what I wanted to find out.
The three laptops I found that I am most interested in are the Apple MacBook Pro, the Dell Studio 15, and the Toshiba Satellite A500. They all have impressive stats. According to their websites:
MacBook Pro 15inchDell Studio 15
- 2.53GHz or 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed; or 2.8GHz or 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache
- 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 8GB
- 250GB, 320GB, or 500GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive; optional 320GB or 500GB 7200-rpm hard drive, or 128GB or 256GB solid-state drive4
- 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
- Built-in 73-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
Toshiba Satellite A500
- Up to 8GB Dual Channel 800MHz DDR2 memory support
- AMD Turion™ X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor RM-72
- 4GB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz SDRAM
- 500GB HDD (5400rpm)
- Li-Ion (4000mAh) Battery
- Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
MacBook Pro
Pros: Fantastically light, 7 hours of battery life, backlit keys, EXTREMELY environmentally friendly.
Cons: Bloody expensive (the cheapest I could find was on Craigslist for $800), it's Mac-which I have never used-rather than Windows based programs.
Dell Studio 15
Pros: Very reasonably priced (the cheapest I could find was under $500 on Craigslist) can be upgraded to fabulous specs, and can have PERSONALIZED ART on the outside. Sweeet.
Cons: Weighs more, significantly shorter battery life.
Toshiba Satellite A500
Pros: Sleek design, upgraded technology, easy to use, very reasonably priced (found on Craiglist for $350!)
Cons: Very low battery life (2.15 hours)
There are so many great things about each different kind of laptop, I can't just choose by looking at the stats! Luckily for me (and you!) I'm going to make a test trip to Best Buy to gain some hands on experience with these awesome computers and see what I can come up with.
I. Must. Find. THE MOST FABULOUS FIND!
Wish me luck =)
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Luck of Job
It is such a fantastic compliment when people say "she has the patience of Job"....I however, do not have Job's patience. I have his luck.
I am not a lucky person. I don't win contests, I don't find pennies, I don't happen upon great deals or opportunities. I am the 33rd person in line for 32 free tickets. I am the runner up after the last person to get a ribbon. When it comes to luck I am always a near-miss....unless it's bad luck-in that case the target sometimes locks it seems.
Late last night my glasses broke-literally snapped in half at the nose-for no apparent reason. I just went to take them off my face and rather than come all the way off one side got tangled in my hair and they just cracked. I didn't even see it coming. And my back up pair? GONE. Vanished into thin air. So I had to wrap red duct tape (yes RED the only color we had) right in the middle across the nose section to just barely keep them together enough so that I can barely see. I say just barely because they are basically continually falling apart while on my face. They bend so completely they even look like a frowney face:
This was very upsetting. We don't have vision insurance until December and there is no way I'm walking around with duct tape on my face for 4 months (no matter what Hubby says!). So this afternoon I called around and made an appointment with the cheapest optical center in town.
First thing they did was make me take the glaucoma test. I have been wearing glasses for 18 years, but I have never been successful at taking one of those tests-I have a weird phobia about things touching my eyeball-and yes, "things" includes air. All of the doctors I've ever seen just have me sign a waiver and then continue on with the eye exam, but not these doctors. They absolutely refused to perform an exam without first giving me the glaucoma test. Even though I don't have diabetes. And I'm only 23. Oh well, the joke is on them-it took nearly a half hour and in the end the actual optometrist himself had to come in and HOLD MY EYELIDS OPEN in order to complete the test.
Torture? Yes. Worth it? Sure-this is the cheapest place in town. They said they could get me two complete pair of glasses with a free eye exam for a total of $69.95!
Yeah, that's not happening either. You saw that coming didn't you? I should have, but I didn't. Turns out my perception has gone from "bad" to "might need a dog for occupational purposes" and my lenses are now so thick that they will not appropriately fit into regular sized frames unless they are compressed into spiffy high tech (read:TOTALLY EXPENSIVE) lenses. The price went up from 69.95 to $230! GRRRR! Still, the frames I picked were cute and I chose my second pair to be a pair of prescription sunglasses which is exciting because I've never had sunglasses before!
Then I left the doctor's. That was my next mistake. There I was minding my own business, driving along, wallet $230 lighter and stomach feeling a little queasy about it, when KABLOW-my front right tire blows out. I nearly have an accident and I pull over to look at it. It's not shredded but it is totally flat. I cried right there. I couldn't call anyone to come and get me because, as you may remember, Hubby and I are the last two living adults with no cell phones, so I limped my poor broken car to the nearest gas station with minimal help from my pathetically broken glasses. Then came problem number two:
I don't know a single thing about cars or flat tires. I don't know how to inflate a tire, let alone change one. So I cried at the gas station too. I tried to call Hubby so that he could explain how to do it over the phone, but he wasn't answering. So I cried some more. (That's my go-to solution now. Total lack of sleep+Stress=Tears.) Thankfully, some very nice gas attendants saw how hysterical I was and offered to help me. They got everything out of my trunk and did all of the work. I bought them 1L bottles of water and a pack of smokes. They didn't speak English very well, but they were super nice to me and eventually I was off-driving home on my little donut tire.
I'm kind of waiting for lightening to strike at this point. In less than 24 hours we have had emergencies that have/will cost us nearly $600. Have I mentioned that our rent is due on Friday? Yeah, add another $50 onto all that new debt for a late rent fee.
I know I should look on the bright side. I AM getting new glasses sometime this week (whenever they come in). I didn't' get into an accident, even though I very well could have, and I am safe and healthy. No one is sick at home. We do make enough money that we can pay rent late and bounce back from that....eventually. I should be looking up!
Instead I'm pouting.
So I'm going to do something to make myself feel better. I wasn't going to officially open it until later when it's all the way done (it's been put on hold so that I can focus on the blog makeover winners) but I want something to cheer me up so I'm going to go ahead announce the
I am not a lucky person. I don't win contests, I don't find pennies, I don't happen upon great deals or opportunities. I am the 33rd person in line for 32 free tickets. I am the runner up after the last person to get a ribbon. When it comes to luck I am always a near-miss....unless it's bad luck-in that case the target sometimes locks it seems.
Late last night my glasses broke-literally snapped in half at the nose-for no apparent reason. I just went to take them off my face and rather than come all the way off one side got tangled in my hair and they just cracked. I didn't even see it coming. And my back up pair? GONE. Vanished into thin air. So I had to wrap red duct tape (yes RED the only color we had) right in the middle across the nose section to just barely keep them together enough so that I can barely see. I say just barely because they are basically continually falling apart while on my face. They bend so completely they even look like a frowney face:
This was very upsetting. We don't have vision insurance until December and there is no way I'm walking around with duct tape on my face for 4 months (no matter what Hubby says!). So this afternoon I called around and made an appointment with the cheapest optical center in town.First thing they did was make me take the glaucoma test. I have been wearing glasses for 18 years, but I have never been successful at taking one of those tests-I have a weird phobia about things touching my eyeball-and yes, "things" includes air. All of the doctors I've ever seen just have me sign a waiver and then continue on with the eye exam, but not these doctors. They absolutely refused to perform an exam without first giving me the glaucoma test. Even though I don't have diabetes. And I'm only 23. Oh well, the joke is on them-it took nearly a half hour and in the end the actual optometrist himself had to come in and HOLD MY EYELIDS OPEN in order to complete the test.
Torture? Yes. Worth it? Sure-this is the cheapest place in town. They said they could get me two complete pair of glasses with a free eye exam for a total of $69.95!
Yeah, that's not happening either. You saw that coming didn't you? I should have, but I didn't. Turns out my perception has gone from "bad" to "might need a dog for occupational purposes" and my lenses are now so thick that they will not appropriately fit into regular sized frames unless they are compressed into spiffy high tech (read:TOTALLY EXPENSIVE) lenses. The price went up from 69.95 to $230! GRRRR! Still, the frames I picked were cute and I chose my second pair to be a pair of prescription sunglasses which is exciting because I've never had sunglasses before!
Then I left the doctor's. That was my next mistake. There I was minding my own business, driving along, wallet $230 lighter and stomach feeling a little queasy about it, when KABLOW-my front right tire blows out. I nearly have an accident and I pull over to look at it. It's not shredded but it is totally flat. I cried right there. I couldn't call anyone to come and get me because, as you may remember, Hubby and I are the last two living adults with no cell phones, so I limped my poor broken car to the nearest gas station with minimal help from my pathetically broken glasses. Then came problem number two:
I don't know a single thing about cars or flat tires. I don't know how to inflate a tire, let alone change one. So I cried at the gas station too. I tried to call Hubby so that he could explain how to do it over the phone, but he wasn't answering. So I cried some more. (That's my go-to solution now. Total lack of sleep+Stress=Tears.) Thankfully, some very nice gas attendants saw how hysterical I was and offered to help me. They got everything out of my trunk and did all of the work. I bought them 1L bottles of water and a pack of smokes. They didn't speak English very well, but they were super nice to me and eventually I was off-driving home on my little donut tire.
I'm kind of waiting for lightening to strike at this point. In less than 24 hours we have had emergencies that have/will cost us nearly $600. Have I mentioned that our rent is due on Friday? Yeah, add another $50 onto all that new debt for a late rent fee.
I know I should look on the bright side. I AM getting new glasses sometime this week (whenever they come in). I didn't' get into an accident, even though I very well could have, and I am safe and healthy. No one is sick at home. We do make enough money that we can pay rent late and bounce back from that....eventually. I should be looking up!
Instead I'm pouting.
So I'm going to do something to make myself feel better. I wasn't going to officially open it until later when it's all the way done (it's been put on hold so that I can focus on the blog makeover winners) but I want something to cheer me up so I'm going to go ahead announce the
Bloggy Friends Community Pages!
Basically, it's going to be a place where we can chat, share ideas, and get to know each other better. I have some stuff up already-including a chat module, a 'getting to know you' area, a section about parenting broken down into forums by age group, a 'house and home' section for recipe swaps, craft ideas, homeschooling/unschooling talk, and household tips and more. It's still not as pretty as I'd like it to be and not all of the categories are up yet, but dang it I want to do something fun!
So everybody~please go over and visit. Sign up, start posting around, and have fun! I will be on there often tooling around and when I am I will always be logged into the chat system....so if we're ever in the neighborhood at the same time we should have a nice chat~maybe we'll even have to schedule one sometime for us all to sit down and visit!
Just thinking about that is making me feel better already. Thanks guys!
So everybody~please go over and visit. Sign up, start posting around, and have fun! I will be on there often tooling around and when I am I will always be logged into the chat system....so if we're ever in the neighborhood at the same time we should have a nice chat~maybe we'll even have to schedule one sometime for us all to sit down and visit!
Just thinking about that is making me feel better already. Thanks guys!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Winners, News, and Thank Yous
As you may have noticed, I haven't posted since Wednesday. I know-crazy, right? I am so behind on everything blog related! The truth is I've been suffering from exhaustion...and no that's not starlet code for 'drug overdose' (at least not in my case)-it's just the natural state of a mom of three kids 5 and under who uses her 3 hours of allotted sleep time to blog. Unfortunately this last week it got really bad. So bad that I literally couldn't tell the difference between nursing The Bean and dreaming I nursed The Bean. So Hubby commanded encouraged me to step away from the blog for a little bit in the name of self preservation.
In the last few days I have been luxuriating in my 3 hours of sleep and I even got in a two hour nap (that's practically an extra night!), and now I'm rested (read:up to my eyeballs in Diet Pepsi) and ready to go go go!
First order of business....announcing the Scentsy Warmer winner of course! Random.org has spoken, and the very lucky winner is......
CONGRATS! Shel, you are now the proud soon-to-be-owner of your very own Scentsy wickless candle warmer and three Scentsy bars of your choice!
And, of course, a warm thank you to our lovely and generous friend Angela! If you didn't win, don't worry-you can still get a Scentsy System with three Scentsy Bars for a very reasonable (and totally worth it) $45 directly from her!
In other fabulous news...can I just say how proud and grateful I am right now? Last month was the very biggest month I've ever had here on my blog! In July I smashed through the 1,000 visit barrier and had 1,373 blog hits-I know it may not seem like much, but it's more than I've ever had and it means a lot to me. Especially knowing that every day I posted I had a number of page views that almost exactly matched the number of followers I had at the time. When I had 50 followers, I would get on average 48 hits on every day I posted, and the trend only continues-even now, when I have 91 followers. (91!)
It means so much to me that you guys keep coming back and reading what I write. When I started this blog I didn't really have any big plans for it, I just liked writing. When I came back from my blog vacation after having Baby Bug I knew that I wanted to build a community of bloggers to share and laugh with, but I didn't know if it would happen. I'm so happy to say that I really think we're on our way.
The real credit, of course, goes to YOU! I could write until I was blue in the face (or fingers) but it wouldn't mean anything if I didn't have great friends like you guys to visit and share with me. Thank you so much!
As asmall economically proportioned token of my gratitude I would like to give away a $15 Target gift card. Well honestly, I would like to give you a $1,373 Target gift card or to give $15 gift card to every one of you, but the small amount I can give comes from my heart with a big giant hug! If you follow me and you want a $15 Target gift card, just leave a comment! You deserve it! I'll draw for the winner on August 15th.
Thank you for a wonderful month~and don't worry, I do have great giveaways coming up for you this month as well!
xoxoxo
In the last few days I have been luxuriating in my 3 hours of sleep and I even got in a two hour nap (that's practically an extra night!), and now I'm rested (read:up to my eyeballs in Diet Pepsi) and ready to go go go!
First order of business....announcing the Scentsy Warmer winner of course! Random.org has spoken, and the very lucky winner is......
CONGRATS! Shel, you are now the proud soon-to-be-owner of your very own Scentsy wickless candle warmer and three Scentsy bars of your choice!
And, of course, a warm thank you to our lovely and generous friend Angela! If you didn't win, don't worry-you can still get a Scentsy System with three Scentsy Bars for a very reasonable (and totally worth it) $45 directly from her!
In other fabulous news...can I just say how proud and grateful I am right now? Last month was the very biggest month I've ever had here on my blog! In July I smashed through the 1,000 visit barrier and had 1,373 blog hits-I know it may not seem like much, but it's more than I've ever had and it means a lot to me. Especially knowing that every day I posted I had a number of page views that almost exactly matched the number of followers I had at the time. When I had 50 followers, I would get on average 48 hits on every day I posted, and the trend only continues-even now, when I have 91 followers. (91!)
It means so much to me that you guys keep coming back and reading what I write. When I started this blog I didn't really have any big plans for it, I just liked writing. When I came back from my blog vacation after having Baby Bug I knew that I wanted to build a community of bloggers to share and laugh with, but I didn't know if it would happen. I'm so happy to say that I really think we're on our way.
The real credit, of course, goes to YOU! I could write until I was blue in the face (or fingers) but it wouldn't mean anything if I didn't have great friends like you guys to visit and share with me. Thank you so much!
As a
Thank you for a wonderful month~and don't worry, I do have great giveaways coming up for you this month as well!
xoxoxo
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Ain't Too Proud To Beg
Alright, it's time for me to own up to it-I have been stalking lately. It's okay it's just a contest, and it's just a little stalking, but it's a BIG HUGE contest-and I want to win!
BAD.
Not bad enough, however, to nominate myself because I actually do take this contest seriously and I only want to win it if I deserve it. I just reallreallyreally hope I deserve it!
Noah's Mommy from Project Mommyhood marks her one year blogoversary in September of this year (YAY!) and as a super generous move has decided to create The Project Mommyhood Mommy Blog of the Year award. This contest was created to "honor 1 VERY amazing woman...who has inspired others through her writing". First there are open nominations, then Noah's Mommy and her panel will pick 10 finalists so all of the readers can decide who is the most amazing, inspirational lady of the year.
I don't know about "amazing", but I hope I'm inspirational. It would be an honor to take home The Title. It would also be a delight to delve into that magical swag bag the winner will receive! Gifts for mom, gifts for babies...there are over 21 companies participating, and all of the items look FABULOUS!
As always, it would be an honor just to be nominated...if you'd like to nominate me, of course. See, I might be too reserved to nominate myself but I am NOT too reserved to beg that any follower that might harbor secret (but honest) feelings that I am amazing and/or inspirational take a moment of their time to nominate me HERE at Project Mommyhood.
I will send you air kisses. Or stop sending you air kisses, if you prefer.
In all seriousness though, the nomination portion will be closing July 31st so jump on over and nominate your favorite Mommy Blogger-whoever you feel really deserves it. Even if it's not me (really, that's okay)-this award has the power to really encourage the awesome Mommy that inspires you!
One more time, a big thanks to Noah's Mommy for creating such a great award/giveaway!
BAD.
Not bad enough, however, to nominate myself because I actually do take this contest seriously and I only want to win it if I deserve it. I just reallreallyreally hope I deserve it!
Noah's Mommy from Project Mommyhood marks her one year blogoversary in September of this year (YAY!) and as a super generous move has decided to create The Project Mommyhood Mommy Blog of the Year award. This contest was created to "honor 1 VERY amazing woman...who has inspired others through her writing". First there are open nominations, then Noah's Mommy and her panel will pick 10 finalists so all of the readers can decide who is the most amazing, inspirational lady of the year.
I don't know about "amazing", but I hope I'm inspirational. It would be an honor to take home The Title. It would also be a delight to delve into that magical swag bag the winner will receive! Gifts for mom, gifts for babies...there are over 21 companies participating, and all of the items look FABULOUS!
As always, it would be an honor just to be nominated...if you'd like to nominate me, of course. See, I might be too reserved to nominate myself but I am NOT too reserved to beg that any follower that might harbor secret (but honest) feelings that I am amazing and/or inspirational take a moment of their time to nominate me HERE at Project Mommyhood.
I will send you air kisses. Or stop sending you air kisses, if you prefer.
In all seriousness though, the nomination portion will be closing July 31st so jump on over and nominate your favorite Mommy Blogger-whoever you feel really deserves it. Even if it's not me (really, that's okay)-this award has the power to really encourage the awesome Mommy that inspires you!
One more time, a big thanks to Noah's Mommy for creating such a great award/giveaway!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
'Twas A Good Life, Frankenputer
That's right, Frankenputer is dying. It is a slow, painful death...at first it was barely noticeable, but when I look back the signs were all there. Internet browsers closing for no reason. Two minute load times to pull up the control panel. Pictures that would inexplicably reorder themselves. It was only a matter of time.
Now my internet browser cannot pull up more than one tab at a time-a devastating blow to my blogging habits-it takes 5 whole minutes to load two pictures onto the computer....and good luck uploading them to an actual website....
At first I thought this might be a virus, but alas-the clean scan tells me it is simply old age. Frank is a 1999 refurbished desktop, which is approximately 300 in computer years. I love him so, but he is a geezer.
Which is why I am frantically searching for a hot young replacement. Sorry, Frankie, but a girl's gotta blog-and now it's just a race against the clock. Will I find a laptop within our price range (free to dirt cheap) before Frankie gives up the ghost and goes to that great Intel in the sky?
I'm prepared to pull out the paddles if necessary. Stay with me Frankie!
At least until something better comes along...
Now my internet browser cannot pull up more than one tab at a time-a devastating blow to my blogging habits-it takes 5 whole minutes to load two pictures onto the computer....and good luck uploading them to an actual website....
At first I thought this might be a virus, but alas-the clean scan tells me it is simply old age. Frank is a 1999 refurbished desktop, which is approximately 300 in computer years. I love him so, but he is a geezer.
Which is why I am frantically searching for a hot young replacement. Sorry, Frankie, but a girl's gotta blog-and now it's just a race against the clock. Will I find a laptop within our price range (free to dirt cheap) before Frankie gives up the ghost and goes to that great Intel in the sky?
I'm prepared to pull out the paddles if necessary. Stay with me Frankie!
At least until something better comes along...
Thursday, July 9, 2009
A Time (and Place) For Every Post
I have been holding onto a post for a while now. It's about one of my personal pet peeves-people who butcher the English language online. I don't mean typos, I don't mean misspellings or little mix ups, I mean BUTCHER. On purpose. Because they think it's cool and they don't know any better.
I have had this post written and I've been sitting on it for a while now waffling on whether or not to put it up. I really liked it, but I was a little worried that I would offend someone. It is a pet peeve of mine so I was ranting a little, but in the end it was all in good fun....I just kept going back and forth.
Then, just a few weeks ago, Toni (of A Daily Dose of Toni) announced that she was looking for guest posters to help out while on vacation...and she picked me (among many far more talented others)! I thought and thought about what to write, but I just kept coming back to my little secret rant post. I think it's because of Toni's own post about anonymous commenters that made me think her blog would be the perfect place to debut it.
To post or not to post? I guess the solution is post...somewhere else! Ha ha ha.
I'm really excited for my very first guest post, so be sure to head over to Toni's on Friday to read "Dear Language Assassins" (yes, that's the real title)! Oh and please don't forget that I'll also be having Fabulous Find Friday over here.....this week I'm featuring
I have had this post written and I've been sitting on it for a while now waffling on whether or not to put it up. I really liked it, but I was a little worried that I would offend someone. It is a pet peeve of mine so I was ranting a little, but in the end it was all in good fun....I just kept going back and forth.
Then, just a few weeks ago, Toni (of A Daily Dose of Toni) announced that she was looking for guest posters to help out while on vacation...and she picked me (among many far more talented others)! I thought and thought about what to write, but I just kept coming back to my little secret rant post. I think it's because of Toni's own post about anonymous commenters that made me think her blog would be the perfect place to debut it.
To post or not to post? I guess the solution is post...somewhere else! Ha ha ha.
I'm really excited for my very first guest post, so be sure to head over to Toni's on Friday to read "Dear Language Assassins" (yes, that's the real title)! Oh and please don't forget that I'll also be having Fabulous Find Friday over here.....this week I'm featuring
Samantha from Apple Juice and Milk!
She's a neat lady~you'll like her a lot!
Now I'm off to bed before I face plant on my keyboard.
Now I'm off to bed before I face plant on my keyboard.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
8 Days A Week
The job of Mommy never ends, and with three kids 5 and under the process of keeping them all alive, (relatively) clean, and (moderately) happy can be a Herculean task. In the last two weeks I have added even more to my plate and have consequently become a headless chicken.
My major project has been designing a professional business site for a local salon. In payment I get to go and have my hair permed and colored later today. This is definitely a good trade, because I have hair down to my butt and the retail cost of a perm alone for hair as long as mine is nearly $300! On top of that, they are considering me (based on my design) for their web master position. This would be an amazing opportunity to make a very decent salary from home doing something I love to do, so I'm giving it my very best shot and praying really hard that it works out.
I have also been a busy little bee with behind-the-scenes blog work........unfortunately I'm not quite ready to announce anything, but I promise you will be excited when you hear about it! I'm totally excited just thinking about it!
Speaking of blog work, I have fallen a little behind because of everything I've been doing lately....so let's catch up!
I already drew for this week's Mommy's Fabulous Find Friday's featured follower and the winner is.......
Melissa from The Jensen's Crazee Life
She is a small town girl and has three kids (one boy and two girls just like I do!). This week I'm going to be trying out a different interview format---I'm going to sit down and chat live with Melissa Yahoo! style, and then share it all with you. I can't wait to get to know more about her-you all stop back in on Friday to check out her interview!! (And don't forget, if you want a chance to do an interview and be featured on my blog, just follow my page and you're automatically entered! [If you follow via email be sure to leave a comment to let me know.])
Also in blog news, I have received an award! Which I have been horribly horribly neglecting since it was awarded to me on June 11th. My sincere thanks (and apologies for my tardiness) to Kris from Hands, House, and Heart Full for the Honest Scrap Award!
The rules are:
* Tell everyone 10 things about you they may not know, but are true
*Tag 5 bloggers with the award
My major project has been designing a professional business site for a local salon. In payment I get to go and have my hair permed and colored later today. This is definitely a good trade, because I have hair down to my butt and the retail cost of a perm alone for hair as long as mine is nearly $300! On top of that, they are considering me (based on my design) for their web master position. This would be an amazing opportunity to make a very decent salary from home doing something I love to do, so I'm giving it my very best shot and praying really hard that it works out.
I have also been a busy little bee with behind-the-scenes blog work........unfortunately I'm not quite ready to announce anything, but I promise you will be excited when you hear about it! I'm totally excited just thinking about it!
Speaking of blog work, I have fallen a little behind because of everything I've been doing lately....so let's catch up!
I already drew for this week's Mommy's Fabulous Find Friday's featured follower and the winner is.......
Melissa from The Jensen's Crazee Life
She is a small town girl and has three kids (one boy and two girls just like I do!). This week I'm going to be trying out a different interview format---I'm going to sit down and chat live with Melissa Yahoo! style, and then share it all with you. I can't wait to get to know more about her-you all stop back in on Friday to check out her interview!! (And don't forget, if you want a chance to do an interview and be featured on my blog, just follow my page and you're automatically entered! [If you follow via email be sure to leave a comment to let me know.])
Also in blog news, I have received an award! Which I have been horribly horribly neglecting since it was awarded to me on June 11th. My sincere thanks (and apologies for my tardiness) to Kris from Hands, House, and Heart Full for the Honest Scrap Award!
The rules are:* Tell everyone 10 things about you they may not know, but are true
*Tag 5 bloggers with the award
Hmmmmm...10 things....This is kind of hard. I think I've just discovered how boring I actually am! Oh well, I guess it didn't say they had to be 10 interesting things.
1. I haven't slept more than 5 hours in a row in over two years. (On average I sleep 3 1/2 hours a night.) True story! I had morning sickness during the first half of my pregnancy with Baby Bug, then gallstones for the last half of my pregnancy, then she was born and didn't sleep through the night until she was 14 months old...at which point I was already 9 months pregnant with The Bean and couldn't sleep because, well, I was 9 months pregnant. Now I am up at night with The Bean. So yeah-it's been literally more than two years since I slept a full night's sleep.
2. I miss sleep so much that I have actually dreamed about sleeping.
3. I had reoccurring nightmares as a kid about the Wicked Witch of the West (from Wizard of Oz). I had them every so often starting when I was about 4 all the way up until I was 15.
4. I have a social network account which I use pretty much for the sole purpose of being in heated political debate groups. I'm not rude or anything, I just love to debate things and other people in real life usually get tired of it before I do....so I go online and debate with 300 people at a time. For fun.
5. I have a very strange sense of fun. Besides debating minutia of law and government with hundreds of people at a time I also enjoy watching CSPAN, reading out of print non fiction (my currently reigning favorite is Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville), and writing new HTML/CSS code to try and create new functionalities for my blog widgets. In short, I am a giant Geek.
6. I was almost born at a gas station because my parents didn't have enough gas to get to the hospital but the gas station on the way didn't take cheques...but when the attendant figured out my mother was in labor, suddenly the gas was on him!
7. I love old fashioned names. All of our children have old fashioned names (though one of them came into extreme popularity shortly after our baby was born) and if I had gotten to pick The Bean's first name I would have picked Temperance.
8. Hubby and I have so many children that we actually have a child naming system. Not that three is that many, but it's enough to make a system out of it. We switch off picking the first name for each gender, and whoever doesn't pick the first picks the middle. For example, with our son I had first name boy and Hubby had first name girl and I had middle name girl and he had middle name boy. Then we switched with our second-I had first name girl and Hubby had first name boy and vice versa for middle names. Needless to say this means I ended up picking both Monkey and Baby Bug's first names. However, with The Bean it was Hubby's turn for first name girl...it was so adorable how excited he was that he would finally get to decide our new baby's first name!
9. I do not like tomato sauce on anything-only "white" sauce like Alfredo or garlic sauce. My perfect pizza is spinach, artichoke, feta cheese, mozzarella, and tomato with a white garlic sauce base. Yummmmmmmmmmm. However, despite not liking tomato sauce, I actually love fresh tomatoes-especially on gyros or BLTs!
10. Speaking of random things I love.....I LOVE the show How I Met Your Mother. It is only the coolest show.....wait for it.....EVER. Who doesn't love seeing Neil Patrick Harris and Alison Hannigan in the same place? Willow meets Doogie? With voiceover from Bob Saget? Seriously-if you have not seen this show you need to rectify that situation immediately.
So there you have it, 10 things about me. Boring? Yeah. But honestly boring. That's why I got this so very generous award. I would like to know about all of you, so please anyone who'd like it just take this award with my blessing. Say it was from me (and let me know so I can read what you write)!
And, with that, The Bean has officially fallen asleep on my shoulder so I'm off to sneak in an hour or two of sleep. Have a great day everyone!
1. I haven't slept more than 5 hours in a row in over two years. (On average I sleep 3 1/2 hours a night.) True story! I had morning sickness during the first half of my pregnancy with Baby Bug, then gallstones for the last half of my pregnancy, then she was born and didn't sleep through the night until she was 14 months old...at which point I was already 9 months pregnant with The Bean and couldn't sleep because, well, I was 9 months pregnant. Now I am up at night with The Bean. So yeah-it's been literally more than two years since I slept a full night's sleep.
2. I miss sleep so much that I have actually dreamed about sleeping.
3. I had reoccurring nightmares as a kid about the Wicked Witch of the West (from Wizard of Oz). I had them every so often starting when I was about 4 all the way up until I was 15.
4. I have a social network account which I use pretty much for the sole purpose of being in heated political debate groups. I'm not rude or anything, I just love to debate things and other people in real life usually get tired of it before I do....so I go online and debate with 300 people at a time. For fun.
5. I have a very strange sense of fun. Besides debating minutia of law and government with hundreds of people at a time I also enjoy watching CSPAN, reading out of print non fiction (my currently reigning favorite is Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville), and writing new HTML/CSS code to try and create new functionalities for my blog widgets. In short, I am a giant Geek.
6. I was almost born at a gas station because my parents didn't have enough gas to get to the hospital but the gas station on the way didn't take cheques...but when the attendant figured out my mother was in labor, suddenly the gas was on him!
7. I love old fashioned names. All of our children have old fashioned names (though one of them came into extreme popularity shortly after our baby was born) and if I had gotten to pick The Bean's first name I would have picked Temperance.
8. Hubby and I have so many children that we actually have a child naming system. Not that three is that many, but it's enough to make a system out of it. We switch off picking the first name for each gender, and whoever doesn't pick the first picks the middle. For example, with our son I had first name boy and Hubby had first name girl and I had middle name girl and he had middle name boy. Then we switched with our second-I had first name girl and Hubby had first name boy and vice versa for middle names. Needless to say this means I ended up picking both Monkey and Baby Bug's first names. However, with The Bean it was Hubby's turn for first name girl...it was so adorable how excited he was that he would finally get to decide our new baby's first name!
9. I do not like tomato sauce on anything-only "white" sauce like Alfredo or garlic sauce. My perfect pizza is spinach, artichoke, feta cheese, mozzarella, and tomato with a white garlic sauce base. Yummmmmmmmmmm. However, despite not liking tomato sauce, I actually love fresh tomatoes-especially on gyros or BLTs!
10. Speaking of random things I love.....I LOVE the show How I Met Your Mother. It is only the coolest show.....wait for it.....EVER. Who doesn't love seeing Neil Patrick Harris and Alison Hannigan in the same place? Willow meets Doogie? With voiceover from Bob Saget? Seriously-if you have not seen this show you need to rectify that situation immediately.
So there you have it, 10 things about me. Boring? Yeah. But honestly boring. That's why I got this so very generous award. I would like to know about all of you, so please anyone who'd like it just take this award with my blessing. Say it was from me (and let me know so I can read what you write)!
And, with that, The Bean has officially fallen asleep on my shoulder so I'm off to sneak in an hour or two of sleep. Have a great day everyone!
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