The 50 day Facebook challenge on my blog… maybe.

I need some motivation to get back into blogging.  I get on my computer and I get so distracted by other things, Facebook, Pinterest, email, Photoshop… I just don’t seem to find time to get around to blogging.  I want to blog, but obviously, I don’t want it bad enough to make it happen.

Have you seen anyone doing a 50 day challenge on Facebook?  I checked it out it looks like just the thing I could use to resurrect my blog and my enthusiasm for blogging.  So, for the next 50 posts or so, I’ll be using the writing prompts from this challenge.  Or maybe I’ll just use a few.  Not sure yet, but I need something to motivate me!

So here is me doing Day 1 of the Challenge:  A picture of yourself with 10 facts about you.

1.  It’s hard to find pictures of myself.  I take a lot of pictures.  I’m not in a lot of pictures.  (I took this picture of myself the day I picked up my glasses in August.  I’m still getting used to be a glasses wearer.)

2.  I like to sleep.  Maybe that’s another reason why I don’t get on my blog as much as I should.  I’d rather be sleeping than blogging.  I don’t get nearly enough sleep, hence the reason for #3….

3.  I love Diet Coke.  I also love Dr. Pepper Ten.  I love Diet Coke with vanilla added, and I love Dr. Pepper with Cherry added.

4.  I could eat a cheeseburger, fries and a diet coke every day.  If I ever got tired of that, I would eat cheese enchiladas with diet coke every day.  Notice the pattern… always including diet coke!

5.  I just committed to do Ragnar in February with some of the most amazing women I know.  I’m super excited about the running and girl time… I’m kinda freaked out about running through the desert in the pitch black in the middle of the night.  Did I mention I like to sleep?  Good thing I also like Diet Coke.

6.  I LOVE christmas movies.  Currently, Elf is my favorite.  Why can’t Will Ferrell be that cute and clean all the time?  Only 4 more days until I can watch Christmas movies 24/7 guilt free.

7.  I write out all my words in text messages.  I hate it when kids abbreviate their words, or use acronyms like idk (I don’t know).  I hate it even more when adults do it.  It’s a weird pet peeve I have.

8.  I hate cleaning my house.  I have 3800 square feet.  I don’t have a cleaning service.  I used to fantasize about getting a cleaning service until I read The Help.  Now, I don’t think I could ever hire someone to clean up my messes.  As a result of all these factors, my house is never clean.  And never all at the same time.

9.  I hate yard work.  If I didn’t have 3 boys, I probably would have hired a lawn service by now.  I still wish I could do it, but if I pay someone else to mow the lawn and pull weeds, what chores will be left for the kids?  I also want them to learn how to work, and how better to teach that lesson than pulling weeds in triple digit weather?

10.  I don’t watch the news.  I stopped watching the news the day after Obama got elected.  At the time it was an aversion to the sappy Obama love that I just couldn’t bear at the time, but after a couple months, I realized how much negativity there is on the news.  When I do catch an occasional news cast, it reminds me just how much I hate watching the news and how much happier I am without it.  Besides, you find out all the important stuff on facebook, anyway, right?

For the Die Hards

I started blogging in the fall of 2007.  Back then it was all the rage and Facebook was still only available to the students of Harvard.  I’m proud to say I still blog.  I don’t blog as frequently as I used to, but I’m still plugging away.  In honor of blogging, I wanted to share my top 5 favorite blogs.  When these blogs show up in my reader, I can’t rest until I’ve read them.  Some of these are people I know in real life, some of them are people I wish I could meet.   And these are in no particular order:

The Clan  www.ourinbetweendays.blogspot.com 

Sheri’s blog is probably the first blog I ever read.  Her blog inspired me to start blogging.  She hasn’t let 4 kids, a demanding calling or going back to work get in the way of her blogging.  And she is one of the few blogs I read that is still written like a journal (not a brag-a-thon).  I’m not going to name names, but some bloggers let a little bit of online recognition go to their heads.  And to keep herself grounded, she’s turned off her comments.  When I get frustrated about that, I just go to her facebook page and comment there.  Which is totally okay, because when she explained to me why she turned her comments off, it made me like her even more than I already did.  :)

Rabbit in the Headlights  www.rabbitintheheadlights.blogspot.com

I don’t know this blogger personally, but I wish we were next door neighbors.  We both have the same first name, both been recently been released as RS presidents, and both love Reese’s.  Her blog never fails to make me laugh, even when she’s trying to be serious.  If I could have her sense of humor, I would die a happy woman!

Fred and Chana  www.chanaandfred.blogspot.com

I knew I liked this girl the minute she got up in Sacrament meeting and said she was a blogger in her talk.  Then I got to be her visiting teacher, and also found out when we became facebook friends that we have the same great-great-great-grandfather (who was the 3rd president of the church.)  So we are second cousins 3 times removed or something cool like that.  I thought my weird sense of humor came from the Rossiter’s, but now I know it came through the Taylor’s because we have the same sense of humor.   A recent tragedy has not altered her ability to express herself beautifully through blogging.    Just make sure you grab a box of Kleenex before visiting her blog.  You will be amazed and inspired by her strength of character and her testimony.  She is one phenomenal girl!

Bloggin’ Bout Books  www.blogginboutbooks.com

When you have teenagers, it’s a constant struggle to find books for them to read for school assignments.  This blog has been wonderful for giving me info on books since she probably devotes 50% of her reviews to YA fiction.  Other bonuses?  She gives grades to the books based on how well she liked it, she lists read-a-like books (if she can think of any similar stories) and she gives a movie rating (with info on language, sex and violent content.)   I find plenty of recommendations for myself on this blog too. 

MCP Actions www.mcpactions.com/blog  (and other photography websites/blogs)

This website has been instrumental in helping me improve my photography and photoshop skills.   I’ve learned a lot about photoshop and good picture taking techniques.  I still have loads to learn, but slow progress is being made!  Yay!  I can’t promote this blog alone though for photography, so I have to give credit to a couple others:  Pioneer Woman  www.pioneerwoman.com/photography was instrumental in helping me discover “actions”… my favorite photoshop cheat tool.  Amanda from www.kevinandamanda.com also has helped me figure out some easy ways to master shooting in manual.  I haven’t mastered manual yet, but progress is being made there as well!   One last photography mention would have to be Clickin’ Moms www.clickinmoms.com/blog.  The blog is free and gives you just a taste of what awaits you in this forum if you pay to subscribe.  I’m planning on doing a 3 month trial subscription to see if it’s worth the money and I’ll definitely report back and let you know!

I’m always looking for good blogs, so if you have a favorite, leave a comment and let me know!

My Top Ten List

I’ve been a bad blogger lately.  There really is no excuse, except that I’ve been distracted with other things.  I’m trying to cram too many projects into my time and blogging was the thing that fell by the wayside.

Here are my top ten reasons why I haven’t blogged much the last couple months:

10.  Facebook.

9.   I’ve gone out of town twice, just in the last 3 weeks… first to science camp, then to Southern California.

8.  Two words:  SINUS INFECTION.

7.  My callings.  I am now an Activity Days leader, a Sunbeam teacher, and a Visiting Teacher.  In addition to those, I have a special Visiting Teaching mentoring assignment and I’m the leader for the 4th year hike at Girls Camp.  Even with all those together, it’s still better than being Relief Society President. 

6.  These is my words by Nancy Turner and Matched by Allie Condie.   I’ve blogged many times about the virtue of audio books, but every once in a while, I read a real paper book.  And when I do, nothing gets done for a week.  That’s why audio books are good for me and my household… I can still do housework while listening to a book.

5.  Exercise.  Up until I got sick two weeks ago, I’d actually gotten back into a regular workout routine.  I love exercising, but I wish I didn’t eat up so much of my time.  Since I can’t work out before the kids go to school, I don’t start until 8 a.m. and often don’t get showered and breakfast until 10 or 10:30 in the morning. 

4.  Deep cleaning and decluttering.  Some areas of my house haven’t seen a purge in about 2 years. 

3.  My camera.  I’ve been working really hard to expand my horizons and take more pictures.  I’m also trying to learn how to take photographs in other settings besides auto.  Sometimes it goes well, other times, not so well.  It’s defiantly an exercise in trial and error.

2.  Photoshop.  This can be even more frustrating than my camera, but when you figure out how to do something, it’s 10x’s more rewarding.  Again, lots of time, lots of trial and error.

1.  Digital Scrapbooking.  I know I said I would never convert.  But I love that I can do my scrapbooking in my photoshop program.  I’m still learning… and my pages are very basic, but I don’t care.  It’s getting done.  Finally… scrapbooking is getting done.  And I am having a good time while I’m at it!

So there you go…. 10 reasons I’ve been a bad blogger.  I hereby vow to renew my efforts in April.  I’m always thinking about things I want to blog about.  I just need to find time to sit down and do it!

Extension

Yesterday, my mom and I were having a texting convo and I asked her why she hadn't commented on my previous post.  She's been in Lake Tahoe for the last several days, but my parents both have iphones, so they are never far from their technology.  She mentioned that the word verification didn't let her post a comment from her phone, so I've decided to remove the word verification and extend the cookie giveaway for two more days.  The deadline will now be Wednesday night at midnight. 

Click Here for the original post to leave a comment.  Good luck!

The Big 500

Today is the day I'm blogging my 500th post.  On September 30, 2007, I became a blogger.  I really didn't understand what that meant at the time.  For me it was a free way to post pictures and stories about our family since we live in a different state from all of the grandparents and the rest of the family.  I didn't have any idea what it would snowball into.  I didn't understand the widespread blogging community in cyberspace, but I LOVE it.  It's been a great experience for me so far... so here's to another 500 posts!

Today I'm stepping out of my comfort zone by putting nothing but a picture of me on this post.  A picture of me that I took myself last week with my tripod and timer, in an effort to take a good picture for my facebook profile.  I played around with it a bit in PSE, but I can still see every flaw... which I think is normal for people like me who prefer to be behind the camera and not in front of it.

To celebrate my 500th post I'm going to give away a batch of my Snickerdoodle cookies.  I'm not much of a baker, mostly because I HATE the clean-up that is involved afterwards, but I make a pretty awesome snickerdoodle, if I do say so myself.  And, they are easy to ship.  I thought about making something else, but mailing most baked goods could be disastrous. 

So what do you have to do to win a batch of these amazing cookies?  Just leave a comment!  That's it.  Totally simple, yet so hard for most people to do.  (I know, I'm one of them.)  I have 80 blogs in my google reader and I rarely ever make a comment.  Not that I don't want to, I just feel awkward if it's someone I don't know in person, or I'm lazy because it requires me to click through a few screens to do it.  I know all the excuses for not commenting...  but I know you will go the extra mile to get a chance at a batch of snickerdoodles.  I just know you will! 

Fine print:  the deadline for the giveaway will be Sunday at midnight.  I will pick a winner on random.org on Monday morning.  I am willing to deliver the cookies in person if you live (or happen to be visiting)  in the Phoenix metro area, or WILL ship to the 50 states, if you don't.  If you are unsure if I have your email address, please include it in your comment so I can contact you when you win. 

GOOD LUCK!

I'm Back...

...in blogland... I hope! I really have missed my "bloggy" friends... especially those who I've never met in real life... or those who are faraway family... or those who are long lost friends from high school or past places we've lived..... or my friends who live in the next neighborhood over and I get more juice about their lives online than I do at church each Sunday....

I really have been having blog withdrawls... I miss reading your blogs and I miss spewing out all my weird antics, activities and opinions online. I hope to be back in blogland more often now.

I'm excited to get down all my Christmas decorations and torture my husband with my "outdoor light demands". I'll never get exactly what I want in the outdoor light department, but I think Eric has finally realized the more effort he puts out, the happier I am about it. The first year we lived here, Eric didn't have time to put up lights... he was taking double credits for his MBA courses and so I had to settle for lights in the windows, which just wasn't the same. There is something about christmas lights that just makes me feel happy. I'll blame that on my maternal grandma... I think it's probably her fault I have a Christmas light addiction. If all goes well in the decorating department, I'll post pictures tomorrow....