Have you been to Pinterest? I find myself visiting often. It’s a great place to procrastinate find and keep track of ideas for holidays, parties, gifts, gadgets and just about anything else you can think of. You can create “pin” boards and share your favorite things with others too.
I enjoy quotes. Pinterest has some good ones. Here are a few of my favorites:
If you are already on Pinterest, make sure you follow me so I can follow you back!
Gosh. For someone who blogs for a living, I sure don’t blog much…. at least not on my OWN blog! I think it’s time to play a little bit ‘o catch up.
Since last we spoke I’ve been doing a little of this:
Ok fine. We do a LOT of that around here. But seriously, this past football season was SO much fun! Both S & A play for the highschool and the Soph and JV teams each went undefeated. S also plays Varsity and we made it to the Semi-finals so they got to play at Rice-Eccles Stadium. M plays Jr Midget on a rec team and they were undefeated in the regular season as well.
Halloween is a favorite holiday of mine. We have a great neighborhood. This year on our street in addition to the regular candy and decor’ trick-or-treaters were treated to hot chocolate, home made donuts, a haunted house, a crazy guy with a chainsaw, crazy guy’s brother with an axe and a psycho butcher. {see photo above} Good times!
As of August, I’ve been doing my fair share of homework. I’ve decided to go back to school and study graphic design. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed and something I use everyday in my work as a virtual assistant. There is SO much information out there and I can’t stand not knowing everything about everything. So there you go.
I have this goal that I set several years ago. I tend to get into my comfort zone and hibernate there where it’s all familiar and comfy. So to keep myself from becoming a hermit I have to consciously make an effort to stretch a little further than the safe little bubble that I live in. Each year I MUST do ONE THING that scares me. In the past I’ve done things like singing the national anthem at a college basketball game, starting my own business or volunteering as a model for a segment on a local lifestyle show.
So this year……..
I’ll tell you all about this year’s “thing that scares me” in an upcoming post. Just know this. It.Was.Scary. And…. It was SO much fun!
It really is the most wonderful time of the year.
Sing it with me: (you know the Christmas song…)
“It’s the most wonderful tiiiiiiiime of the year.
Math, science and spelling,
Then recess for yelling. I don’t shed a tear!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
Don’t we all rejoice a little when the kids go back to school? I know I do. I love getting everyone back on a schedule and having a reason to send them to bed at 9pm.
This year I didn’t just send the kids back to school, I went back to school. You see, I started college when I was in high school. I continued after graduation but when I got married, I quickly realized that my husband was much closer to finishing his degree than I was and someone needed to bring home the bacon so he could go to school full time. Long story short, my husband finished his bachelors degree and a few years after that went back for his Masters Degree. Now 18 years and five kids later, here I am. I enrolled in a program to finish my degree. I was nervous about being the “old lady” in the class, but determined to reach my goal. So what if I’m old enough to be their mother?
Don’t know if I’ve told you this before, but I have a motto. It’s something I live by and it’s gotten me through many a tough situation.
Are you ready?
You’ll want to remember this.
For reals.
Here it is….
“Dumber people than me have done this!”
That’s my motto. Seriously. Next time you find yourself faced with a seemingly insurmountable task just repeat those words in your mind. You KNOW they’re true!
I love school. I love to learn. I even love to (shhhhhhh….don’t tell my kids) do homework! I really do. I’m learning something I love (Graphic Design) and it’s fun.
Do you have a yearnin’ for learnin’? Are you ready to head back into the classroom? I say, Go For It! Remember my motto? You can do it. You really can. There are lots of traditional and non-traditional ways to continue your schooling. So many schools even cater to those who work full time day jobs by offering classes at night or online. You can finish your undergrad studies or go for a full time MBA. Your education is important. When the time is right, make it a priority.
{I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated for this post. All opinions, photos of cute kids and corny song lyrics are my own.}
Have you ever wondered if it’s really possible to make money from your blog?
I’ve been blogging for a while now. At first I would just read other blogs. It’s like I had discovered all these new, interesting, creative people who lived in my computer. I read their words, heard their stories and found myself being inspired, uplifted and motivated. Soon I had a long list of favorite blogs that I would check each day or so. I remember well the day I finally got brave and left my first comment. I felt like an outsider. Like I was jumping in on someone else’s conversation. But jump I did. And there was no turning back. After a few months of reading and commenting I decided the next logical step was to put myself out there and start my own blog. I felt inadequate, unsure and flat out scared. Would people read what I had to say? Would they like my posts? Would they like me?
Nearly four years later, I have thousands of friends who live in my computer. Hundreds of those “imaginary” friends” have become real life friends. And that blogging thing? It turned into a career.
A career? You say. Yes, a career. I work as a Virtual Assistant and a big chunk of what I do involves blogging.
There are many ways to make money blogging. Some bloggers choose to place ads on their blog. Some bloggers write sponsored posts. Some bloggers review products and receive payment in kind (goods and/or services) in place of or in addition to monetary compensation. If you love to write, you can even make money blogging for other sites. The important thing to remember is to stay true to yourself and true to your readers. A reader appreciates it when you share with them a product that you really love…as long as you don’t try to shove it down their throat.
One last thing to remember is that you must always disclose that you have received a free product or service, or that you are being paid to write about something. It’s about being open, honest and straightforward. And also about not going to prison. 
Have you chosen to “monetize” your blog? If so, how did YOU go about it?
BYUTV has a fun new lineup of shows this season. One of my favorites is Fresh Take. I was invited to participate in the filming of an episode called “Movie Night”. It was such a fun experience! I love the opportunities that blogging brings into my life. Elisa and I had a great time getting to know the hosts of the show AND getting our hair and make-up done by their stylists. They asked us to bring a couple outfits with us so they could choose what would work best on set. I brought 2, but didn’t quite have the perfect jewelry for the final outfit. Lucky for me, the amazingly talented Lara from Less Cake, More Frosting was on set as well. She always has a perfect accessories. I mean it. Lara loaned me the perfect necklace for the shoot. It totally completes my outfit. Dontcha think?
Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.
We have two dogs. Maggie and Knox. I never really thought of myself as a dog person. We had cats growing up. Lots of them. The most we counted at once was 17. Sounds a little reminiscent of “Hoarders”, no? It’s not really. They all lived outside except for Katie-Cat. So all we were guilty of was irresponsible pet ownership. But hey, we lived by a field and they took care of the mice. Wait, how’d we get talking about cats? We’re supposed to focus on dogs. But not just any dog, a Cube Dog.
I downloaded cube dog to my phone thinking I would spend a little time getting to know how it worked a playing around a bit. I ended up wasting an hour that first day. I built my Cube Dog and customized nearly every last inch of him. The app is free and comes with lots of options. If you want to really trick out your Cube Dog you can purchase additional options in the iTunes store. One of my favorite features is the ability to place Cube Dog in a real life photo. Yes, this is where I wasted the better part of an hour.
It wasn’t until several days later that I actually let my kids play with the app. They loved it! It kept them busy for quite a while. I was amazed at how fast they figured out the customization options and had a gallery of pictures all their own. I was really tempted to buy the extras, especially when the kids were having so much fun. I held strong though, and they still had a great time. In the future I may cave and purchase the additional items but for now I really like the app and the capabilities. The best part about all this entertainment? It’s free! Who doesn’t love free?
Go check out Cube Dog on Facebook, then download the app from iTunes. Once you make your own puppy, I’d love for you to email me a photo. Our Cube Dogs could be friends. Ooooh and maybe fall in love. We could have a Cube Dog wedding! Oh, the possibilities!
P.S. Here’s a secret…..there’s a fun contest happening on the Cube Dog Facebook page June 13-17. Make sure you like the page now, so you won’t miss a minute of it!
While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.
The Casual Blogger Community is a great place to find new blog favorites as they introduce you to three new blogs per week. They also share blogging tips and general hilariousness. I recommend you visit them. Often.
When I saw this post in my reader, I knew I had to share it. Some of you are seasoned bloggers and some are just now dipping their toe into the waters of blogging. This post on Blogging Tips for Beginners is a must read for anyone who reads or writes a blog.
If you want to be featured on The Casual Blogger Community, click here.
Have you tried Zumba® yet? It’s my latest obsession! I’ve been looking for a way to work out that didn’t feel like “work” and I’ve found it! Their website calls it a “calorie-burning dance fitness-party™”. They aren’t kidding. It’s totally kicking my butt! My sisters have tried for over a year to get me to go with them, but I never went. Then, two friends from my neighborhood invited me to go with them. They even picked me up and drove me there. That’s all it took. I’m hooked!
I haven’t danced in years. I took dance lessons when I was a little girl. I liked to dance, but my teacher once described my dance ability like this: You dance like a librarian. Get the picture?
The thing is, I don’t feel like I have a to be good at it, I just have fun. There are ladies and girls of all ages (I go to a ladies only gym) and all abilities. Sometimes there are as many as 60 people in the class, so I’m pretty sure no one is worried about watching Veronica the Librarian do the Samba. If they are, more power to them. I’m having a blast and gettin’ my girlish figure back in the process! The music is loud, and most of it’s in Spanish. I don’t understand a word of it, but that doesn’t matter. The time flies by and I’m drop dead tired by the end. It feels goooooood!
Now, if I could just figure out how to shake my hips like the instructor….
Anybody want to see real librarians dance? Here you go:
No, they don’t do the Thriller Dance at Zumba®. We shake it to all kinds of fun Latin and American pop music.
I want to know if you’ve tried Zumba®. Leave me a comment people!
The Zumba® people don’t have a clue who I am and did not sponsor or suggest this post. I just really like Zumba®. Try it, you will too!
