Hmmm...that pic of me is pretty honkin' big. Before dropshots "improved" itself, the photos sized themselves to the right height and width. pffft. You know I don't want to get technical. Especially right now, when I have 13 minutes to eat breakfast, make a salad, and head out the door. So, I guess we'll all just have to deal with my big honkin' head. Pfft, I say. Pfft.
~t
I haven't been blogging for a while because I'm in denial. My other blog has been on the fritz. It's bumming me out. I have to talk to the googlebots or something, and quite frankly, talking to googlebots is not something I'm particularly good at. I need to call in my geeky friends, but even the thought of talking to my friends about talking to googlebots bums me out. Why would the bots be out to get me. So, in the meantime, here's my new haircut. Because that's what really matters. (Or perhaps that I should be getting ready for work?)
You know how kids like cameras? Well, who doesn't? But you know how you don't want your kid to use your camera because it is expensive and he/she is likely to break it? Check this out--Fisher Price has a fully functional digital camera for kids.
We have been all about the curb appeal since we bought our house last year. Well, even before then, when we were getting ready to buy it. We watched a lot of HGTV. One detail that is sometimes overlooked by homeowners is the look of the mailbox. Of course, details make all the difference, so if you're looking to have some nice curb appeal, it's worth considering the state of your mailbox.
Mailboxixchange.com is a great place to shop for just the right box for your home or business. They have high quality products and a good variety of styles from which to choose. In addition to many different kinds of single and multiple mailboxes, they also carry mailbox components, curbside decor, and address numbers and plaques.
With multiple manufacturers and testimonials from customers, Mailboxixchange, is worth checking out.
~t
We went to the zoo last week. It was pretty fun. It certainly was a gorgeous place, nestled right above the Puget Sound. We always have mixed emotions about the zoo. Because we love animals. Are zoos good or bad for animals? Mmmmm. Mixed emotions. I'm sure zoos do a lot of good and mostly animal lovers work or volunteer there. (Right? You'd have to be, right?) It was fun taking Zane. It was his first time. Lemme see if I can find our favorite picture
I love to shop online, but sometimes it's hard to know what you might be getting. Therefore, before purchasing any item online, I enjoy reading reviews from actual people who have used the product or service. When you're traveling, it's also hard to know the best places to eat, stay, etc. You can buy a book, but that's just one person's opinion. I like getting multiple viewpoints, and knowing the words are coming from real people.
Real Travel is a website dedicated to bringing travel lovers great information from fellow travelers. I like their slogan: "Real people. Real Advice. Real Experiences." The site brings together information in a variety of ways: featured bloggers, travel plans, destinations, and things to do. There's also a forum and a section with useful deals. The site has great pictures and content from numerous travelers about countless different destinations. Real Travel is attractive and easy to navigate
Both Forbes and Newsweek have touted the virtues of Real Travel. So, if you're looking to get outta Dodge, go check it out. You're certain to get some fabulous ideas and tips.
~t
I seem to know lots of folks who are having babies. A lot of the folks having babies are people who had babies when I had my baby. It seems too soon to me to have another baby. The one I have is just learning new ways to drive me crazy. Don't get me wrong, I love him to pieces. He is definitely one of the best things to have happened to me, but sheesh, are those babies a lot of work. We are ready to be done. So, it floors me when I hear of my contemporaries with kids who are 2 or younger going on one or even TWO new kids since then. I guess I was built differently. I thought about just popping two out, wam bam. And then we decided: naaaaaah. We could just not take it. Maybe we are too old. Or too selfish. Self? What is that? Anyway, kudos to those of you who can take care of a bunch of kids. And congrats to all the new moms and moms-to-be out there. (and dads, too!)
~t
Well, we've had the idyllic porch for a year and I FINALLY got some hanging flower baskets for it. Ahhhhh. It's very nice. Check out my fuschia:
Allright. I've talked about Mercury Retrograde here before. It's going on now. I've decided to share my Mercury Rx stories as I feel like it and make a WHOLE FREAKIN' category for them, in honor of Astrological knowledge. I am calling it DYM! DYM is a little acronym that my friend Heather and I use. It stems from her son learning about Mercury Retrograde, having some experiences, and then shouting, fists towards the Heavens, "Damn you, Mercury!"
So, here is my first (official) DYM story:
I am up before everyone in my house today. All is well. I'm getting quiet time as I get ready. I decide to have my new favorite breakfast, silver dollar pancakes. I decide to take it out of the microwave tin and put it on a lovely little blue plate with some sliced up bananas. Also on my plate is a veggie sausage patty. Everything is round. Everything is beautiful. Coffee is brewing. There are not even any 2-year olds awake who want to snatch my limited portions of food. Life is good.
How could it be better? Well, I don't like syrup, so I decide to use some cinnamon on my lovely concoction. We have cinnamon sugar handy on our table, but I decide to be oh-so-good (weight loss) and get the straight cinnamon from the cabinet. I feel fairly certain I know what I'm doing as I grab it and delicately sprinkle it on my lovely little plate of round items.
And then I smell it. An odd sort of scent for the morning. Where is THAT coming from? Oh NO! I look down at the spice in my hand: CUMIN!
DYM!
Here's the thing about DYMs, though. They are usually not the most terrible thing that can happen. It usually turns out allright in the end. Of course, I didn't have any more silver dollar pancakes in the house, but they weren't that bad. Yep. I ate 'em. I can sorta still taste the cumin, though. I figure the must do something like this somewhere in the world. Mexico, maybe?
~t
As he does every morning, Zane asked for a "snack and a drink". So, I got him a sensible snack of milk and a breakfast bar. He asked me for goldfish and cheezits. He always asks for that. Or bar-ga-cue chips. I try to avoid those snacks in the morning. I told him he needed to eat his breakfast bar and then maybe later. He didn't like that answer. Here is Mommy's snack for Zane:
We got our fence put up in the front yard! It's so exciting. It's the first perimeter to be secured. We can now let Zane and Lukie run wild, and is it fun ever. There are also little piles of dirt that Zane likes to play scoop. Check out these pics...
We got our fence put up in the front yard! It's so exciting. It's the first perimeter to be secured. We can now let Zane and Lukie run wild, and is it fun ever. There are also little piles of dirt that Zane likes to play scoop. Check out these pics...
Zane knows his colors now. HOW did it happen? For so long, he just didn't get it. Of course, he watched oodles of TV. And I worked on it with him a little. Maybe it happened while I was at work. And then, one day, he just knows them. Whew. He is so smart, but he just wasn't getting it. And now he does. I often wonder, "HOW will I teach him (fill in the blank)" only to find out later that it somehow just happens. They just learn it. Kids aren't that much work in that way, it seems. They are plenty of work in other ways, but it seems, thankfully, some things just happen. Whew, I say. Whew.
~t
We are not sure if Luke will be an actual stud or not. We have not gotten him fixed yet, so there is a chance. However, he is our little stud now that we got his hair cut. It was so overdue. Just check out this "before" pic:
The good folks at PayPerPost have come up with yet another way for bloggers and advertisers to make the most of the blog marketplace. If you like to use your blog to make money, PPP Direct could be for you.
Basically, PayPerPost is taking the middleman (THEM!) out of the equation. This is an opportunity for advertisers to request specific bloggers and bloggers to request specific fees for their services.
Pretty cool. How does it work?
Basically, you pick your price and install a badge on your site stating it. When potential advertisers click it, they are taken to PayPerPost to work out the deal.
What's in it for the blogger?
Yes, you could hammer out some of these deals yourself, but you gain some valuable perks by going through PayPerPost. Mostly, it's easy to use, you gain marketing through the PPP directory, you automatically have tax reporting done, and there is more security than hashing out deals completely on your own.
This has been done before, you say? Why choose PPP?
The main reason here is simple. Cold, hard cash. While competitors charge 50-100% markup and keep money that could be yours, PayPerPost charges only 35% for their self-service model. This passes the money on to the blogger and allows the advertiser to get more for their money. Everybody wins.
~t
I'm not really into politics. You might even say I'm decidedly NOT into politics. But I am into my friends. You may remember back a few months ago when this blog was so boring and looked like many other blogs out there. Now it does not. And that is thanks to my buddy Retta. Now, I'm campaigning for her to win a free soda machine. She so deserves it. She's very generous with her time and talents even though she has four, count them FOUR sons. Yes, four. They need less sugar. Go vote for her: VOTE.
~t
So, we got Zane this super cool new type of bike. I hear it's European. There are no training wheels. It is not a tryke. And there are no pedals! It's supposed to help him find and keep his balance. He's pretty good at balancing when he's climbing and jumping and dancing, so we'll see how he does with this. Here are some pics...
So, I'm in the process of watching The Queen. I like it a lot. It's very interesting from many perspectives. Then Zane woke up and I had to go get him. When we came back downstairs, this is what greeted us:
