Blogelina Blog Class and more!

I was not approached to do this in anyway and I wasn't at all obligated to do so, instead i wanted to pass along a great experience with you all; something like this can benefit anyone in our blogging spectrum.  

If you haven't heard about Blogelina I really suggest to take the time to give her a look.  She is FILLED with great information and was even the reason how i met some of you thru her great blog clan idea!  She is really someone you can count on for some solid blogging advice AND she even has a few really amazing and helpful e-books that have really helped me make my steps towards making this blogging thing, that I love and adore, something I can eventually make an income with.  Something that i not only work hard at every day but provides for me, because of that hard work.  Now I am love finding lovely people who can help me out with tips etc and she is one of my good contacts.

 
Recently she started an online class accompanied by great work book containing some amazing information.  I decided to be only of the lucky ones to get into the class she was holding.  Four classes over a period of a month, that were highly worth my time and genuinely taught me a ton!  Not only did she manage to teach me a ton and answer all my questions about blogging effectively, how to start a professional stance in the blogging world in order to get the attention of advertisers etc... but she managed to take the time to help ALL of us on ALL different levels obtain something from the class.  She took care of each of our individual needs and really encouraged all of us feeding information to one another, expressing our thoughts, opinions and personal experiences.
 

During these last four weeks I have learnt a lot and met whole new spectrum of bloggers, which i always encourage for anyone looking to widen their horizons.  But i have even more!  She even offers FREE web hosting for anyone who takes the class.  Yes that is right out of nowhere she surprised us all and told us we ALL are receiving one year free web hosting from GoDaddy.com!  That means I have a whole year to save up another $84.00; but with all her great e-books and classes i should hopefully be able to apply what i have learned and do that in no time :D!  I highly recommend this class it is REALLY worth the time!

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note tomorrow is the official opening of Erin and I's new blog!! So please follow along our first blog will be posted tomorrow at 10:00 AM!!! 

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Today is the Day!

Today we are off to go and feed the needy!!  I have made a TON of sandwiches, not as many as I had hoped but as many as i could!  Luckily I have have managed to come up with cookies as well and in case i run out of sandwiches mainly; plus i can only hope that the few i give a meal to and a jacket to will be happy and warm.  That is all i can hope for and that is all that i can manage to do.  These are my pictures of making the sandwiches.  I took as many as i could without snapping as it was slowing me down hardcore.

some of our ingredients.

my assembly line.

cutting up some more!

snuggie in their containers. alas no room for all....

I haven't completely counted how many sandwiches I have but i am more than sure it will be plenty good enough.  I want to thank all of you again for helping me make this whole thing come to be and for supporting me.  I can only hope that this will bring a little warmth on our cold -5 nights we're having.  The snow is slowly approaching once again and the wind is horrible.  I hope this helps even if its only a small gesture.

UPDATE

 
I have just finished dinner here and I really wanted to take the time to tell you how it went today.  It was great!  Everyone was really thankful for their sandwiches.  Some just returned me a Happy New Year; one man sang me a song which was sweet even though everyone was staring at me... one woman stopped to tell me what I did was really lovely.  We talked a bit and I told her what I was doing and why etc, she thought it all very sweet and for some reason thanked me.  It was all really humbling and I really liked it.  I haven't seen someone appreciate something i have given them like that in a long time and that's nice!  So again THANK YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!! XOXOXOXOXOX

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Some Ham and a gift before bed...

Since we are fed the needy this year I wanted to make sure we got a big ham so with the help from the donations that i received from a couple of you plus donations from others i know i managed to get a really big ham!  It was epic and amazingly good so you know those guys ate well!! YES I will be posting a blog on that as well separately but i wanted to do a mini tribute to our Christmas Eve!

the last half hour point! I know fat person idea for the bacon but DAMN it was amazing!

DROOL!!

I know amazing right!?!? AND we had a lot of leftovers so we made ALOT of sandwiches!  After we stuffed our tummies we got the kids ready for a night time Christmas light walk in the neighbourhood in the rain.  To give eldest some time to run off some energy and jump around in some puddles which he loved doing!!  Doing this was supposed to in turn help induce sugar plum dreams and to ensure Santa wasn't going to miss our house!

ready to go!!

eldest with an adult umbrella.. having some issues holding it up but he insisted on helping daddy lol!

Then of course we came home and daddy insisted on letting him open ONE present so... FINE you win daddy!

WOODEN BLOCKS!! "OOOOH build castle!"

This, might I add, did not help with bedtime... THEN cause we gave santa a cookie he assumed he would get one as well... of course he did, its Christmas let it slide people.  Remember when your mom told you "pick your battles" i chose to not bother.  Luckily he was exhausted from our walk and went to sleep a little more easily than usual.  Last month hes been getting out of bed, turning on the light etc.. driving us NUTS! 

THAT was our Christmas Eve!

Don't forget to enter my contest before the draw midnight on new years eve!! LOW ENTRIES!!! Snag your chance to win a $35.00 gift certificate from CSN stores!!

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My Very Merry Christmas

our sweet little Christmas tree and our lovely presents.  Thank you to everyone who came by and gave presents to the kids.

I am finally "officially" back from my "blog-cation" and I have to say that karma really pays off.  Thanks to all my readers for their gifts that i wrapped up all gorgeous for the kiddies, and thank you to my in laws for helping us out with stockings this year!  I hope you were all blessed!

My boys loved their Christmas it was just lovely even though eldest was being a no-sharing-magee.  Nonetheless he loved his gifts and he got a lovely outfit Grandma and Grandpa wanted him to wear to dinner over there on Christmas-day-eve; as did youngest!

youngest looking like a little elf!

non to pleased but i don't care!! lol! 

still not pleased... still don't care ROFL (new runners in the background!)

kinda decent but all pics are cute! Might I add he paired this with his new sneakers i keep forgetting to take a picture of him in :S sorry :(

We had a lovely dinner after our surprisingly; and overwhelmingly blessed Christmas!  THEN.... after dinner eldest's auntie drove us home and on the way there we stopped at a local Christmas marvel.  It is set up by a family who raises money for their passed son's charity that they founded in his name.  So i wanted to show you photos of this amazing house and while eldest and I walked threw it auntie took pics for me!  Shes a great little picture taker i would have to admit; plus she's cute cause shes only 17 lol :).  Must be fun being an aunt at 17.  Anyways here is the gorgeous house!!

 

Just another little preview of our holidays!!  I really am amazed at how great our families little Christmas turned out to be.  All the love our boys have around them and how much love we have to have so many people that bound together and helped us out this year.  It means the world to me, you all know who you are.


On a less gushy note don't forget to enter my contest before the draw midnight on new years eve!! LOW ENTRIES!!! Snag your chance to win a $35.00 gift certificate from CSN stores!!


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A Letter From "Santa"

On a lighter note... the originally scheduled post...

Now firstly I wrote this BEFORE Christmas but i thought it would be rude to bump all my guest posters down to share this before hand.  So i'm scheduling it after my "mini-blog-cation."  Mainly cause i just can't not write about this IMMEDIATELY! 

most of you know one of my good bloggy buddies over at Write Now, Write Later and Refusing to Age Gracefully; but not many of you know what she offered to do for my boys this year for Christmas.  She offered to create a personalized letter from Santa!  Cute idea write?!  I was itching with excitement to see how it would look and how my boys would react to it!  And when it finally came it was just as great as I thought it would be!

Gorgeous correct?!?! So send her some love cause she REALLY REALLY deserves it just like many of you other amazing readers I dearly love for all your kind words and gestures! xoxoxoxo again to you all my kindred spirit friends!

How did my kids react you ask??  WELL eldest wouldn't let me keep it once he had touched it.  He ran around with it screaming... eventually i did snag it and take these photos, youngest clapped a lot probably due to eldest flipping a lid about it!  It was super cute. 



refer to my last post about content stealing... not cool women.. not cool..
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STEALING CONTENT!!

so my bestie bloggie buddy sent me an e-mail containing these two links from her blog to another blogger...

Anyway, I wrote the top 10 things about being Nadine's mom.   

A post I published in my blog almost 4 months ago.   

Here's the link: http://www.mumsyhood.com/2010/09/top-10-best-things-about-being-nadines.html
 
Somebody named Leanne commented on my blog this evening, so I  

checked her link to check out her blog and saw that she wrote this:  

http://thekenzieadventures.blogspot.com/2010/12/looking-back.html

Of course I responded in outrage... then to recieve this:

Btw, check out her blog's main page.  I think she also got Christmas around the world from your blog!  Isn't  that YOUR content!?!??

And guess what folks not only is she stealing HER content but MINE as well.  Something that took me about a three day process between the series!!

you are all familiar with this blog http://eschelle-mumfection.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-around-world-part-one.html

well she posted this the sniveling content stealing cow, yes that mean but i don't care! http://thekenzieadventures.blogspot.com/2010/12/on-eleventh-day-of-christmas.html 
Since she changed it to private.. Mumsyhood sent me this, thank you!! If you want the real file send me and e-mail eschelle_w@hotmail.com and i will pass it along to you to read for yourself.

We were not asked or informed our content would be used and guess what I'M FUCKING PISSED RIGHT THE FUDGE OFF WOMAN!

So i suggest looking into it yourselves, clearly it isn't an isolated event what so ever... so sad... so upset... 1:15am and desperately furious for us both, and our hard work.... especially being so half ass'd like that, honestly could you copy paste the photos???!! so lazy you can't write but you also can't copy paste the content properly, you're pathetic.


http://thekenzieadventures.blogspot.com/

people that NEED to read this for sure: (shes put up our buttons as well)

http://thekenzieadventures.blogspot.com/p/other-blogging-mommas.html

I have her profile http://www.blogger.com/profile/15776068652035822823 and her other blog http://tales-from-the-er.blogspot.com/ Since i can't confirm that she has actually bothered to take her stuff down i am relying on blogger to take her down.  I have reported her and attached my copywrite info.  Please get to her and find a way to get her e-mail i would love a moment with her.  I am making it my mission to find her info as she creates a bad name for BC bloggers.  Not to mention shes clearly talentless.  If only you asked my permission i wouldn't have created a personal vindetta with you.... too bad soo sad shoulda, coulda, woulda right cow??!  If you get a way into her site pass it along!!!

oh yes her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=620995062 

She sent me this on facebook:

Leanne Long 27 December at 10:54 Report

I put it on private to work everything out without having a million comments everywhere. I will put it out to the public for the next few days, please let me know if there's anything else you're concerned about. After that, I'm returning it to private so it can go back to being what it was originally intended for: family. Again, I apologize for not asking your permission, I honestly didn't mean to cause such a ruckus.

I have removed the 2 Christmas posts (6th day and 11th day) as well as the Looking Back post. I also deleted the buttons linking to other blogs.

While I understand why you're upset and trying to make a point, if you had just sent a message asking me to remove the content, I gladly would have. 

She could have contact ANY of us BEFORE taking our content... sorry not really good enough.

Leanne Long 27 December at 11:08 Report

You're right, I have no idea why I didn't ask. In doing my own research for the Christmas stuff, I guess I figured the information was so widely available, it didn't cross my mind - though clearly it should have, rule #1 in school, right? I also didn't know you had a copyright on your blog, I didn't even know you could do that! And for Mumsy's post, I did give her credit...though I didn't do a read-through before posting to make sure everything was still there.

sorry Mumsyhood showed this too me and NO you didn't give her credit or ask as far as i know...

An apology!

oh yeah and by the way happy 100th post to me!!!
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Guest Post ~Just Hide the Dishes in the Dryer~ [again] :)

I want to again feature another lovely giving related post by this wonderful woman.  Seems she is always trying to find new ways to give and to inspire others to do so aswell!

If you have been a follower for long, you probably come here for a daily dose of funny but every once in a while I gotta throw out some real talk.  I'll start off by introducing you to a book that I read last year which has impacted my life, in a good way. 

This is a short book that you could read in a couple of lunch hours, the principals are simple but meaningful:

• God Owns Everything, I Simply Manage His Money
• My Heart Goes Where My Money Goes
• Heaven Not Earth, Is My Home
• Giving is the Only Antidote to Materialism
• Raise Not Your Standard of Living, But Your Standard of Giving

I'll give an example of "My Heart Goes Where my Money Goes".  If you spend your life savings on a vacation home, you put your all into that house.  You'll manicure the lawn, decorate the walls, spend all your free time there...you will LOVE that house. If you put that money into something bigger (ex. feeding the hungry) your heart will follow.

You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.

My good friend Katie at Sluiter Nation, well...I call her my good friend but I have never actually met her, posted last week about a bad day she was having.  A day that mirrored many days that I have had myself.

I knew that Katie was a teacher and I knew that she lived "somewhere" within an hour of me so I looked online for the teacher's wish list website (they have been promoting it all over the television) and low and behold I found her name and her school.

I knew that I had to get her a pick-me-up that day, the day she was sad.  I ran to Meijer on my lunch hour and bought all that I financially could, packed it into a bag and met Jon so he could drop it off at her school (coincidentally he works right down the road from there).

Turns out school had been canceled due to a power outage so there was no delivery made that afternoon.

The next morning Jon went back to the school and dropped off Katie's package...he said that when the principal called her classroom he could hear her excited voice on the other end of the phone.

The best part about giving is how it makes you feel once you've done it, it's more of a gift for me.  An added bonus was getting the chance to sit and smile while I read the ninety-two thank you cards that I got in the mail yesterday.  Kids who have never experienced a random act of kindness before.
And then this kid...

You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.

Please show her some love!!

don't forget to check out our other great guest posters!

Don't forget to Enter my first giveaway; for your chance to win a $35.oo gift certificate from CSN!! Draw will be Midnight on New Years Eve

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Guest Post ~Mumsyhood~

A few months ago, I made a LIST of the best things about being a mom and GIVING is definitely on it:

#5 Giving - I am sure you have all heard of the saying It is better to give than to receive. When I was younger, I always thought otherwise... Now, I think and am most certain that a mother actually wrote that saying! The past few months, I have learned to give myself... completely. And I have learned that it is only when you give yourself COMPLETELY, that true love can take its course and permanently reside within. I learned that I have the super-human power of loving someone soooo much. I didn't think such love was possible... I didn't think such love existed... and I most certainly didn't think I was capable... boy was I wrong! And for once, I LOVED being wrong!

What is it about being a mom that makes everyday seem like Christmas?  Since having my daughter, Nadine, I found myself wanting to give her the whole world and this love I have for her radiated to every person I know.  All of a sudden, I started seeing people in a different light, especially fellow mothers, I finally understood what being a parent means.  I look at my friends and I see the same joy in their eyes when they look at their children, something I never noticed before.  

When I look back at the days before having my daughter, I remember so clearly that joy was finding the perfect outfit or purse, looking at the price tag to find out it's on sale.  Back then, everything was about me.  My world revolved around climbing the corporate ladder, going on a shopping spree, and having nice cars.

When I compare my life now to my life back then, I can't believe how much things changed.  I am now unemployed, I haven't shopped for myself, and on top of this, my family found ourselves in a very tight financial situation nowadays.  If I told my pre-baby self about this, my old self would be devastated and have a panic attack but the ME right now actually finds joy in simplifying life.

My husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year and for the first time, I didn't have an answer.  Realizing that I have everything I want, and everyone I love around me makes my heart explode into a million pieces and share the love!  

Christmas is right around the corner and this for us is the Holiday of Giving.  Times are tough nowadays but we made sure that we get our loved ones, family, friends and all the children we know a little something to open on Christmas morning while the rest was donated to church for families who could use money this season.

It will be my daughter's first Christmas and having her is the best present any parent could ask for. This season, I am thankful for so many things and with tough times ahead, I constantly remind myself to count my blessings:  That my family including my parents and siblings are always here for each other through thick or thin, That we have so many people around us who shower us with love and prayers, That my husband and I have our daughter in our lives who teaches us to be better individuals each day, That we are all in good health, and most especially: That even if we are having the toughest financial crisis we still have enough to give and share to our friends, family, and to those who are in need.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and I encourage you to start counting your blessings as well, instead of the presents around your tree!

Cheers!

 Please go and check her out shes is AWESOME!!! She is one of my bestie bloggie buddies!

Don't forget to Enter my first giveaway; for your chance to win a $35.oo gift certificate from CSN!! Draw will be Midnight on New Years Eve

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Guest Post ~Just Hide the Dishes in the Dryer~

I would like to introduce to you one of my first guest posts.  I would also like to thank her for helping me get a little break this Christmas and offering to be apart of my guest posting.  THANK YOU LOVE!! So i would love to show you one of her amazing posts within my theme of "Giving"

So many mommy blogs do weekly giveaways and I recently entered my first (for a free wedding ring as my husband desperately needs one).  Of course I enjoy the occasional giveaway, but it just sucks when that takes over and the blog loses all of the "family" content, which is why I started following them in the first place.

The other day I was stalking one of my usual blogs, a mother named Katie with a three year old boy like mine and this post  really made me sit back and put my own life into perspective.  I was so impacted by the post that I used the six minutes that I saw Jon before school to tell him about it.

In her short twenty two years of life she has dealt with cancer and the deaths of her mother, mother's boyfriend, father and grandfather.  She has been homeless and she has a three year old son...I am thirty three years old and I am barely equipped to deal with all that a three year old throws my way!

I don't understand how some families are riddled with heartache and some go through life with very little.  Sure I have had to deal with some hard things in my life, but it's been a walk in the park compared to some. Hell, I had all of my grandparents and even a great-grandparent up until 2005!  Some of my friends have already lost their parents.  How does the man upstairs decide what hand we are dealt?

Another website that I follow closely is that of a family friend's grandson.  His grandpa and I worked together for quite a few years and I had Ryan the same time his daughter delivered Eli.  We visited their house a few times with Ryan while Eli was over and we'd compare the two and talk about the milestones they were hitting; these two boys even look alike! 

Last year on July 28th, Eli was diagnosed with leukemia.

I read the updates on his mother Ann's website and I think to myself...that could have been Ryan.  She has basically lived in the hospital with Eli for the past year while he undergoes chemotherapy and surgery and needles.  Eli is forced sometimes to lay in a bed for days, I can't get Ryan to sit in a chair for a three minute time out.

One of her posts this week talked about all the medicines she has to get into him and he was crying "no more medicine mommy".  Ryan says the same thing when I try to give him Tylenol when he gets an occasional fever and we talk about how hard it is.

Eli loves baseball and was graced by a visit from their local team recently.  Ryan loves baseball but he was able to run the bases at the stadium last week.

Ann and Philip are religious people just like Jon and I are.  So why them and not us? 
I am not complaining about having so few hardships, but I just feel so strongly for those that do.  I do my best to support those who are going through rough times but all the while feeling guilty. When my best friends dad died the week before her wedding, I cried in her driveway and said that I was sorry that it was her and not me.  Not that I wanted my dad to die, but I just have such a big heart for everyone else who is hurting...I want to take it away from them.

On the flip side, I wonder sometimes if I have something big coming around the corner.  A secret anxiety that my pain of equal value is coming... I know, I know, I need therapy but right now my blog is it.

If anyone is interested in visiting Eli's web page at www.caringbridge.org/visit/eliroe and leaving his mother some words of encouragement, I'm sure she would appreciate them.

So thank you very much and make sure you get a chance to take a look at her blog and send her some love! 

Don't forget to Enter my first giveaway; for your chance to win a $35.oo gift certificate from CSN!! Draw will be Midnight on New Years Eve

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Guest Post ~1ne proud mama~

Mom Bloggers: An amazing community of women!

By: 1ne Proud Mama

From High Heels to Sneakers

I am fairly new to the blogging community. I have attempted on a few occasions to start a blog of my own, but never really knew what to do with it. Who would follow me? Half the people I knew barely used a computer. I started a recipe blog once for my mommy group. It wasn't that great. I was clueless.

In July, I decided to start another blog again. I think, mainly, because I was bored. I am a stay at home mom of two boys under two, two cats, and now a dog! How could I possibly be bored you ask? Maybe, I just needed something else. A way to interact with adults, to document my life, to harness my creativity, to be in charge of something other than changing diapers and washing bottles! I love being with my kids, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just need to do something that reminds you are an adult. Something that reminds you of...well...you!

I wasn't really sure if I would keep it long or what I was even doing, but at least it would give me a way to vent. To talk about all of my challenges and joys as a mother and maybe one day my kids would be able to read it and really get to know me as their mom. It took me a few months to start to get the hang of things and really explore the, so called, "blogosphere". I found amazing resources and networking sites that gave me insight on how to manage my blog, what to write about, how to make it interesting.

However, what I didn't know... what has surprised me the most...is the amazing amount of love and support that I found in the mom blogger community. Women offering support to one another from across the globe. Acts of kindness from families helping families without ever having met. A community of givers!

It doesn't take a holiday to inspire such generosity. A mother's love is endless. It knows no boundaries. It extends beyond our children to those around us. I am amazed, daily, by the stories I read and families I meet. The love is contagious. It spreads like a wildfire. We give back in so many ways from leaving a simple comment to donating money and gifts. We support each other through our chaos and triumphs! Every act needed and appreciated.

Now, here I sit and reflect on where this blogging adventure has taken me in such a short amount of time. I think about the friends I have made, the families I have met, and the women, I too, have helped. I look forward to reading all the comments left for me each day and it brings me joy to pay it forward. How happy I am to be a part of this journey and write my own story. To share the love that I have received, not only through the this holiday season, but all year long.

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Don't forget to Enter my first giveaway; for your chance to win a $35.oo gift certificate from CSN!! Draw will be Midnight on New Years Eve

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Guest Post ~Redefyning~

I had to share this as I am using all these tags on EVERY and ALL mom, mommie in-law gifts this year cause they are GREAT.  So Enjoy our lovely guest poster from her blog Redefyning!! So show her some love!!

Now I've never been a mom, let alone a new one, but as more and more friends mark that milestone, I'm picking up a bit on what can help in those new and uncharted waters. AND for anyone else who has more time than money to give, here's a great gift idea to benefit you both: New Mom Gift Certificates.

I designed these to work with the Creative Memories Tag Maker (this links to my consultant's web site. If you want to buy check for your local consultant!) and I use this template to help me design pages that it will cut nicely from (it's a rough guide with the shapes, not a live template. Feel free to right-click, save-as and import as a photo - then overlay, make it opaque, and there you go!)

These ones read "Good for one..."
~diaper change anytime, anywhere
~home cooked meal prepared for you at home
~pan of brownies delivered to your house
~15 minute foot massage

~set of thank-you notes
~washload of clothes done
~grocery run, just give me your list
~night out with as many calls as you need

Cute, hey? Any suggestions from the mom's of more things that you need when first starting out?
I made them with the free 'Friday Night Cocktail' kit from Computer Scrapbook

Two very amazing women I'm proud to know had baby showers last weekend and received sets for their gifts!

Don't forget to Enter my first giveaway; for your chance to win a $35.oo gift certificate from CSN!! Draw will be Midnight on New Years Eve

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