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5 Things I learned at Bloggy Boot Camp Boston

2011
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This weekend, I went to Bloggy Boot Camp in Boston. It was so much better than I even thought it would be.  I drove up with my friends  Holly, aka The Culture Mom, and Varda, aka Squashed Mom. We had so much fun chatting along the way despite the long and strenuous drive. It was the first time Holly had driven so far and I, for the first time in dozens of years, actually drove on the highway for the last 40 minutes or so!  So proud of both of us!  We made it unscathed! Exhausted, but unscathed!

Upon arrival, we were starved, so we met up with some other wonderful ladies and headed to dinner near the hotel. It was really nice to be out with so many great ladies- without the kids- and learning about all the wonderful blogs and lives everyone had.  Afterwords, we headed back to the hotel for an evening of wine tasting sponsored by Mirassou Winery. I tried two different varieties but really enjoyed their Pinot Noir and will have to keep it in mind next time I am at the wine shop.  We had had a rather long day and were exhausted so we headed up to bed early. I think I fell asleep by 11pm. That was a really rare treat!

Invisalign recently launched their Teen product line and sponsored a fabulous breakfast Saturday morning at 8. For some reason, we thought the breakfast started at 7:30 so we were fashionably early! But it was to our benefit. We had coffee and a one on one conversation with one of their representatives. We pretty much interrogated him about the product and I am happy to say that now I know quite a lot about their brand and will definitely be looking into it for the girls, who both need braces. (I’ll tell you all about them on Sensible Cents.)

We also had the privilege to meet with several other brands, including Arm & Hammer and Sony. But I also loved meeting other women. It’s always so inspiring to me to meet and connect with really amazing women who are willing to share so much of themselves, their backgrounds and their knowledge. There really is a wonderful sense of community and support in the blogging world.

The sessions themselves of course were incredibly informative.  Each speaker divulged such valuable information and I am so excited to put everything I learned to use.  It really reinvigorated and gave me new purpose and inspiration for both Kitchen Conundrum and Sensible Cents, as well as what I want to do going forward. Needless to say, I have a lot of work ahead of me!

We learned from amazing women; Carol Schiller, Amy Bradley Hole, Lindsey Garrett, Katja Presnal,  Erica Voll, Charlene Deloach Oliver, Amanda (Dumb Mom), Mommy Niri and of course Francesca Banducci and Tiffany Romero.

And while I learned way more than five things, here are my top 5 that I think would benefit every blogger.

5 Things I learned at Bloggy Boot Camp:

1. Be a solution. When you write a pitch to a brand, either to ask for them to sponsor your blog or you, you have to be a solution to their problem.  And you have to be able to show them what value you or your blog will be able to provide to their brand and their bottom line.

2. Use Google Ad Words and Google Trends. Content is King. It’s true. But what good is content if you aren’t reaching anyone.  Just by using these free tools, you can look up keywords that are searched most often and pepper them through your post and in your title.  And if you are stuck in a rut about something to write about, check out Google Trends and pick a topic that is trending. You may just increase your readership with just a few searches. But, by all means, don’t compromise your writing just to get searches. You still must be authentic.

3. Build your brand. Find your niche. This can be anything from your personal brand to your blog’s brand. Take the steps needed to really differentiate yourself from the pack.

4. You are more than just your page views. You have an engaged life- your real life, your community, your friends. You also have a Facebook and Twitter following. When talking about your brand and blog to a prospective client, don’t forget about these.

5. The Internet is forever! Remember whatever you write will be in cyberspace forever and can be looked at by your family, your friends, potential clients, employers and your mom. So before rattling off an angry tweet, post or status comment, take a breath and ask yourself if it is worth any fallout that may occur because of it.

It was a jammed packed day of learning. I would highly suggest Bloggy Boot Camp to any blogger who has an interest in building their blog and taking it to the next level. I am so glad I attended and look forward to attending the conference again next year. And I might even drive on the highway again!

P.S. I am going to add a #6. Because this learning point is also important. While you may not think about it, or maybe you do, you can-Use your influence for good. We have an incredible opportunity now to “use social media for social good”. With everything going on in the world, it’s important to remember that there are those less fortunate than ourselves and we really should try to make the world we live in a better place for all, and for future generations to come. I want to point you to an amazing blogger, MommyNiriCares, to learn how to get started.

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I’m Blogging Over At Sears Today

2010
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I’m talking about my most important appliance over at Sears today! Please visit me here and say hello!

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A Day Out- The South Street Seaport With Kids

2010
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Thursday, me and two of my littlest people spent the day downtown in the South Street Seaport. We were invited to explore a brand new playground, Imagination Playground, located at Burling Slip just across the street from Pier 17 by the awesome Role Mommy and the fantastic Mom in the City.  Designed by architect, David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group, to encourage child-directed, unstructured free play, which is critical to all aspects of child development, this play area allows Imagination Playground kids to constantly reconfigure their environment  and create their own course of play. From using giant foam blocks, mats, wagons, fabric, crates and more, it allows kids to play, dream, build and explore.

The park has many different play areas within its gates. Throughout, you can see the distinctive blocks,  large vibrant blue foam block shapes that encouraged open ended free play.  Several kids used these blocks in the fountain/splash pad as a personal rafts, or they could be seen building a slide for the many balls around the sand pit.

Speaking of sand, there was plenty of sand and water to go around on the hot day and there were many Imagination Playground “Loose Parts” that the kids could use to build and dig. There were shovels and sand rakes, pvc elbows and even wooden wagons to fill and haul sand and supplies. There were endless, exciting items they could use.

I know my own children were having a great time and it was very hard to get them to leave when it was time to go. I think we will most certainly have to go back there again. But I recommend water shoes and a change of clothes! The splash pad was a huge hit and we came home full of sand in our shoes.

Imagination Playground’s  location at the South Street Seaport helped shape the playground’s design.  The historic shipping industry that took took place at Burling Slip is reflected in the parks shape, it’s mock masts, the ropes and pulleys, the sand and water features, and it’s just out the back door of another hidden NYC gem, The South Street Seaport Museum.

The South Street Seaport Museum lies beyond a quiet, unassuming storefront at 12 Fulton Street. We must have walked past hundreds of times over the years but have never ventured inside. I am so glad we did!

The South Street Seaport Museumtells the story of the Seaport, Lower Manhattan, and the piers and harbor. The museum’s focus begins in the 16th century, the time of the first European interactions with the Native Americans to the first Dutch settlement and through the present time.  It utilizes the area’s historic restored Schermerhorn Row, the tall ship Wavertree and other vessels, it’s collection of art and artifacts to capture and tell the story of the port’s role in the development of the City, the State and the Nation as an economic, cultural and political power. 

The museum has many family activities, including Free Fridays, miniMates, a toddler playgroup, and several walking tours. You can even enjoy sailing on the Schooner Pioneer or aboard the Tugboat, W.O. Decker.  They also have many school programs available. (You can call for more information, 212-748-8753 or email  familyprograms@seany.org)

During our visit, we really enjoyed looking at the beautiful furniture and artifacts from the exhibit, DecoDence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the SS Normandie.  This may not be of great interest to small children, but my 7 year old thought the dining table and children’s menu and toys were “cool”.

I, personally, enjoyed seeing several items depicting the Andrea Doria and other ocean liners in the lobby of the museum. Having known several people who scuba dove on some of the shipwrecks, it was exciting to see up close, without ever leaving land.

To finish the day, we boarded the tall ship Peking. We discovered what it was like to walk in the footsteps of the sailors, hauling the lines and raising a sail. The older kids hoisted the sail and the smaller kids were treated to holding the line while the sail came down. They then got a look into the ship’s “wet lab” and viewed several small sea creatures including a horseshoe crab and a starfish. It was the highlight of the ship’s tour.

During the day we also enjoyed lunch catered by Tom Colicchio’s  ‘wichcraft and Stew Leonard’s, which served very yummy ice cream sandwiches for dessert!  The kids were very excited to each receive a gift bag full of loot from the museum, including a cardboard telescope, crayons, a small boat foam project, a ball and a garden spade, perfect for digging in the sand.

We really had a great day downtown!

Filed Under: Family, Les Enfants, Memes and Bloggy Things Tagged With: , , , , ,

My BlogHer Recap- The Short Version

2010
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What an exhausting, overwhelming, intimidating day Thursday was. Just standing in line at the Registration area was crazy. I felt oddly out of place, and not that that doesn’t happen often, it just seemed even more pronounced with all of these women from out of town who all seemed to know each other.  They were all shrieking and hugging and giving air kisses. I am not in NYC anymore. It was more like Kansas. I sheepishly picked up my badge and headed to dinner with my family. We checked out the swag in the bag and noshed on our Cosi sandwiches and said goodbye. I was off to my first event. #MarthaBlogger. The Martha Stewart party. As you know, I love Martha Stewart products. Even though I don’t think she is all that warm and fuzzy in person, I do have a lot of respect for all that she has accomplished and created (prison time aside).  The set up at the party was supposed to be on their rooftop deck, but because it was nearly 100 degrees they had it indoors in their offices. There were long tables set up in a fairly narrow hallway with displays from all of the different projects-party favors, wedding dresses, stationary, cake decorating and others. Everything was in perfect “Martha Stunning” order.  The hallway led to a larger room with more tables around the perimeter manned by the OmniMedia staff.  There, featured Martha products from the cleansers to the pet food to even her crafting projects were highlighted. You received a “passport” to be stamped at each table that told you about the top 10 places in NYC to find their “Best of” recommendations.  There was champagne and exotic basil drinks to be tasted. The highlight of this party came from the Paul Labrecque Salon. They gave me amazing fake eyelashes! I will definitely try that again. They were very cool but fell off the next day in the shower despite my best efforts to save them.

Thankfully I met up with my dear friend Holly of The Culture Mom Blog at this party and we not only hung out for the rest of the night, but we palled around all weekend. It was great!  She also introduced me to the amazing Rebecca of Beccarama and darling Monica from Macaroni Kid NYC who we spent some time with as well over the weekend!

I absolutely loved the swag bag from Martha with her Punch Around The Page, the stationary samples and every magazine she publishes. It was beyond heavy though! Yet I was determined to carry it and not lose anything! We also received a bag from Kraft foods with bottles of Mayo, their new Mac & Cheese Homestyle and other assorted treats.

After Martha, we headed uptown to attend  NYCityMama’s party at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. This is one place that most NYers never get to because it’s so touristy. And true NYers avoid tourists at all costs! I was grateful to be invited since I know I never would have had this experience otherwise. There were some really fun sculptures.  We bumped into the sweet Maria from New York Mom  but quickly lost her at the Scream movie exhibit which we thought was going to be super scary but it wasn’t at all. The girl manning the entrance stayed in character the entire time even when we were asking her a ton of questions.  I would have to say that it was more fun than I expected but was highly disappointed that the museum chose to have a sculpture of Yassar Arafat, a known terrorist among it’s repertoire. I just didn’t think that depiction, especially of someone that supports terror activities, was appropriate for a “fun” NYC museum.  It was a bit upsetting.  But I do thank NYCityMama for the invitation and the awesome Bratz doll. My daughter loves it!

We left the museum and headed uptown to the Hilton for the final party of the night.  By the time we got there, we were spent. Both Holly and I just hung out at a table and chatted. We were exhausted and overwhelmed!  I took a train home from Penn Station wishing I had stayed in the city that night. I was slated to go to a breakfast Friday morning at 8a but knew I wouldn’t make it since I still had to pack. I fell into bed at 2am and slept fitfully in anticipation of what was to come…

 I arrived at the hotel by 9:00am with my suitcase packed to the gills hoping my room would be ready.  It wasn’t , so I left it in the luggage check. I somehow still had time to grab a little breakfast at the buffet and headed off to my first event, “Getting Gorgeous” at the Warwick Hotel hosted by the already gorgeous Audrey McClelland and Vera Sweeney .

What an AMAZING event!  Not only did we learn about some awesome products, we actually took home a lot of them!  I can’t even say which was the best because they were all so incredible! The MiracleBody jeans really do perform miracles. They are stretchy and very comfortable and they do seem to take 10lbs off your figure. They look so good on!  I am so happy to own a pair now! The Remington Pearl curling and flat irons, the Hanes ultra comfy socks (which my daughter absconded with) and bras, the very stylish Kmart Design and Land’s End scarves and the Tide Swash were all great items!  The ELF cosmetics and AgeLoc  were really cool and the Lia Sophia jewelry was beautiful! I met Liz Lange (Yes, the same Liz Lange who makes maternity clothes for Target. She’s like a rock star!) and Jane Wagman. They were there talking about their amazing website, Shopafrolic.com. I tried on Sketcher’s new Shape Ups and entered into several contests. Another one of the best things I took home from this event (and there are many!!!) was the Powermat. I am forever misplacing my chargers and this mat takes any device and charges it just by placing it on the mat!!!  There was not one thing I brought home that I wouldn’t use. 

Right across the hall there was another event that we stopped into and I met with many manufacturers and brought home lots of items that will soon be going as give aways here on Ma Vie et Ma Joie! Stay tuned!

Holly and I ate some lunch back at the Hilton and we dropped everything in my room so we could continue on unhindered by weighty bags of swag. My room became the “home base” for the weekend. We kept doing swag drops and freshings up there.   I waited until my luggage arrived to pull out my flat sandals because I while I loved the platforms I had on, they became extremely painful by 1pm and I could no longer walk.

I had made an appointment for the early afternoon to meet with Cynthia Sass, the nutritional director at Prevention Magazine and coauthor of The Flat Belly Diet at the Soy Joy booth in the Expo hall. She gave me a :15 minute consultation to help me tweak my diet. I hope her suggestions work because I really want a flat belly!

One of the highlights of the event for me was winning a pre-event contest on Blogher.com from P&G’s Home Away From Home campaign. I won a $500 grant for my children’s art department from Bounty!  So I went to the booth to accept my “big” check and have my picture and a little video taken. I hope I can find where it’s posted!

I spent some time wandering the Expo hall and made it back to hear my first session of the day, which turned out to be the last session of the day. Family Foodies: Creating a New Generation of Gourmands.  It was moderated by Stefania Pomponi Butler from CityMama, Sarah Caron from Sarah’s Cucina Bella and Danielle Wiley from Foodmomiac. While there was some useful information, the bulk focused on getting kids to eat healthy and what to do for picky eaters. I was hoping it would have been more food blog related, but it more kid related which was completely fine just not exactly what I was interested in. I wanted to go to the How to Take Great Pictures lecture and probably should have.

I really enjoyed the Community Keynote:BlogHer Voices of the Year. So many amazing women spoke, sang and shared their stories. They were all extremely moving and informative but some of my  personal favorites were Amy Windsor from The Bitchin’ Wives Club  as she sang The Popular Blogger, Marinka from Motherhood in NYC read ing Fantastic News, Lissa Rankin from Owning Pink reading  What? We Can’t Say Vagina?, Liz Rizzo from Everyday Goddess reading Phone Karma, Karen Green from The Kids Are Alright reading Miami, and last, Stephanie Roberts from Picture of Hope showed and read about the Pictures of Hope project.

After these incredible speeches, we were treated to an art exhibition with pieces created based on the speeches of these women (and one man) we had just heard.  They were amazing and beautiful and I wish I had enough money to buy some of this art. There were some stunning pieces and some very emotional pieces. I left feeling exhilarated to have witnessed some of their greatness.

Holly and I left the Hilton to attend another event called “Sweets in the City” being held at the Sheraton Hotel just up the block. We met an incredible and inspiring woman there named Reyne who was a Toy Trends Specialist for the Toy Industry Association. She was really terrific and we were so happy to have met her. It was nearing 9pm and we made one more stop to an event in a lounge where we met up with Maria again from New York Mom and Karen from A Child Grows In Brooklyn.  While quite fun, it was very, very loud and neither Holly nor myself had eaten solid food  since lunch and we were famished and rather tipsy from all the cockails!  Fading fast, we left to grab some sushi at Blue Fin. My eyes were much bigger than my stomach and I ordered way too much but it was so delicious.

I managed to get back to my hotel room after I had gorged myself full of spicy tuna rolls and warm goat cheese and beet salad.

And that was only DAY ONE! Are you as tired reading this as I was in person living this?

The next morning I awoke with a dreadful headache. No it was not a hangover. I think I was just exhausted and hormonal (I get monthly migraines). And maybe a little hung over. I popped several Excedrin and Holly met me back in my room. She invited me to come along with her to a Scholastic brunch. We rode an actual school bus down to their SoHo office space to dine in their corporate dining room with outdoor terrace. We had the pleasure of sitting with Monica from Macaroni Kid NYC, Heidi at Coast2CoastMom, Suzanne from Momconfessionals, and Nikki at MommyFactor.

Scholastic  had three wonderful speakers, Tracy can Straaten, the VP of Trade Publicity who clued us into new releases coming out  by age and genre, Carol Marchesano, VP of Book Clubs Online who talked about all the wonderful Scholastic Book Club activities and Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer who spoke about the Top Trends in Education. They had an excellent moderator, Billy DiMichele, the VP of Corporate Productions & Creative Services. It was really an informative and very interesting brunch. I was very interested in learning about the new books coming out and learning about what is going to happen with standardized testing over the next few years. As a takeaway, they gave several books and other items as well as a gift certificate to use in their store. I cannot be trusted in book stores because I just love books. Just after I had finished paying for my 50lb bag of books, a lovely, nameless lady, accidently dropped a book right on the one toe that happens to have a broken nail about ¾ the way down and refuses to fall off. I nearly fainted from the pain, but after a few minutes it was fine, but it became a running joke the rest of the weekend. (I did call the Podiatrist and he said since there was no nail under it yet, they couldn’t take it off due to possible infection etc. The whole toe business is gross. I just keep getting pedicures with dark colors!)

We made it back to the hotel just in time for lunch, but being stuffed still from breakfast we just grabbed beverages. We met up with the incredibly witty and smart Shari from DustyEarthMother who also stored her swag in my room for the day. It was kind of a party in my room!

We split up for the afternoon.  I wandered the Expo hall on my own and got caught up in a taping for the Rachel Ray Show at the Jimmy Dean booth with Chef Wes (Stump the Twitter Chef) and Chef Cat. Since I also have a food blog, this was so much fun for me. I was actually interviewed and I got to be one of the bloggers that tasted what he made with his tweeted ingredients and his turkey crumbles. It tasted surprisingly good. I hope it doesn’t make the cutting room floor and we actually see me on TV in the new season! Fingers crossed!

I made a Milk Mustache picture and had a Hallmark picture and a Chicken of the Sea picture. I made a J&J Video that you can see on YouTube here. My :43seconds of fame!  All of these things are completely out of character for me. The wall flower that I am.  I let go and opened up and had a really great day. Despite, or in spite of, the headache!

But because of this fame gluttony , I missed the next session that I wanted to go to but I don’t feel so terribly bad because I had such a great time! And I was carrying a lot of swag! (When did I become such a swag hag???)

Holly and I met back up in the third breakout session of the day, ROYO-Little Fish in a Big Pond: Understanding, Accepting and Loving Your Small Blog.   It was nice to hear other small bloggers and either their acceptance of their small blogs or their aspirations and goals to make their blogs bigger.  We met the sweet Erin from Mommy On The Spot during this session and unfortunately did not get to spend very much time with her as she was leaving to head home.

We sat in the Closing Keynote:How to Use Your Voice, Your Platform and Your Power featuring Alison Stewart, Marie Wilson, Gloria Feldt and P. Simran Sethi. I would have to say that while each woman was intelligent and inspiring, I was completely blown away by P.Simran Sethi. She was incredible! She left me feeling very empowered and I had visions of Norma Rae in my head. You should look her up if you haven’t heard of her already. A remarkable woman. I wish I had her strength and voice.

I was sad to say goodbye to Holly as she left to head home after the Closing Keynote. She is a real life friend and I am so grateful for her letting me tag along with her this weekend. She introduced me to so many amazing women.

Shari and I enjoyed a light supper in the Executive Lounge and  I was sad that she headed home as well.

Even though I my first instinct was to crawl into bed, I ended up going to the Sparklecorn party at the Hilton hoping to see Ri from Music Savvy Mom  and AmethystMoon from Life Music Laughter. But my dreams of meeting them in person were shattered. Neither one ever found me. Next time for sure!

I did, however, sit next to two really interesting and super nice ladies, one of which I ended up chatting with all night , Sandra from Albany Kid. She was really sweet and we shared the love of the music playing, and even though we were dancing in our heads, neither of us actually got up and danced.  I lived vicariously through my Twitter friend @thenextmartha as she danced the night away.

I lasted as long as I could but left the parties and headed up to my room to take the hottest shower ever. There was so much steam in my room, it was actually raining when I was done. I hit the hay and in the morning, my headache had not subsided at all so I called my dear husband to come and rescue me and bring me home. I reluctantly skipped the “Taste of Lowes” brunch and the “Soy Joy Healthy Eating” brunch in favor of some Imitrex and my own bed.

We each took a half dozen bags of swag and dragged my suitcase to the car, departing the hotel.  And that is how I rolled  this BlogHer’10.

Looking back, there are so many people I met that I would love to see and talk to again. There are so many people who inspire and use their voices for good and are so much more eloquent than myself. But I am inspired to try and emulate them. I wish the sessions were more informative in terms of making my blog better and I wish there were dedicated days just for sessions and just for the Expo hall, the suites (which I totally missed!) and the extra, outside events. I hated missing most of the conference itself, but I really enjoyed the other events too and I learned about a lot of new and exciting opportunities and very important causes.  

I cannot wait until next year!

Filed Under: Memes and Bloggy Things Tagged With: , , , ,

A Sara Rubendall Design Sale

2010
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I love her designs. They are so cute!  Whimsical and such fun! She is the designer to use for your banners, avatars and business cards.  The set above? On sale for $9! A steal if you ask me!  She also makes invitations and baby announcements.

Sara’s having a give-away this weekend, Saturday, May 22- Sunday, May 23. You can  receive  a free business card designs with every purchase of a $25.00 pre-made shop set. (a $15.00 value) And that’s a great bargain!

Please go check her out!

Her Blog- www.srdesignstudio.blogspot.com

Her Esty Shop- www.sararubendall.etsy.com

Her Design Studio- www.srdesignstudio.weebly.com

She is just getting started and needs some love and support!

Thanks all!

This review was made possible by MomMadeThat.com.

Filed Under: Memes and Bloggy Things

A Bloggy Award!

2010
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I am so thrilled! I was awarded the Versatile Blogger Award by the lovely and gracious Mommy on the Spot. She’s has two amazing little people and I love that she’s honest about the ups and the downs of being a SAHM. She’s also just a really nice person. You really so go read and follow her.

So here are the rules of acceptance: 1)Say thank you to the person who gave you the award, 2) List seven things about yourself, and 3) Pass it on to some bloggers that you really think are awesome.

So a very hearty thank you, thank you to Mommy on the Spot!  You can also find her on Twitter @mommyonthespot which is where we first met.

Which brings me to Seven Things About Me.

1. I am addicted to Twitter. Addicted. I tweet all the time. Unless I am really, really busy but even then I still do sometimes. I have 3 Twitter accounts. My main one is @LaMereJoie. I also have @kitchconundrum to go with my food blog. And then there is @pariyorker which I use for the Sponsored Tweets. CRAZY! I know! The @pariyorker account I want to close once I have $50 in the Sponsored Tweets account.  You have to have that much before you can withdraw and I have $2 and change now!  Hate to lose that so I haven’t closed it yet. (Hey! I’m unemployed! LOL)

2. I take way too many pictures. Thousands, literally. You don’t get to see very many on my blog here, but in my house, on my walls, in my computer, on my camera, hundreds and hundreds of pictures. I think I like to have pictures around to remind me of good times and happy feelings. Even if we were screaming at each other or something unpleasant right before the shutter clicked, there are always smiles in the photos.  And that’s what I see now.

3. I love to go to the movies. In the old days, my friend and I would make a day of it and see films back to back, sometimes three or four in a day! Since I don’t get to go to the movies that much anymore (holy cow they are expensive!) I thrive on Netflix. But I have a problem with actually watching them (not much time,  unless it’s from 11p-2a) and returning them!  I once had them for over six months.

4. I have a cleaning OCD. But my family, my kids and my dh, are slobs! Well, not really (no, maybe they are.), but they never can keep it up to my standards. IT MAKES ME CRAZY and a ranting, screaming and crying lunatic at times. It’s true. Have you seen that show about the hoarders? The buried alive thing? Well, I am the complete opposite. I am a purger. If it’s in my way and I have to look at it for too long, I just throw it away. Makes no difference what it is. Because clearly if it’s not put away and not being properly taken care of, then it’s not important to the person it belongs to and out it goes. I have let go somewhat and I’ve given up on the whole “living in a museum” thing because I just can’t be on top of it all, all the time. But at least once a month (hmmmm!) I turn into a wild beast (once a month? you say) and go on a purging frenzy.

5. I don’t drive on the highway. It’s too fast and people drive all crazy here. I used to drive on the highway. I grew up driving on the highway and I’ve had my license since I was 15!  (Yes, some states think that’s a good age to give out a license!) But I haven’t driven for years and years so I now I just don’t go on the highway. I take the local streets to get where I am going.  I drive the local speed limit too, which makes people behind me angry a lot, because they honk and flash their lights and fly around to pass me across the double yellow line with on coming traffic. Stupid people! No need to get yourself killed just getting to the red light before me.  And if you do that, I may just take a picture of your license plate and tweet about what an idiot you are. (Who me? Never did that before!)  And the second the light changes- I am gonna beep you!

6. I love to cook. I love baking. I just love food and wine. Every happy memory has food involved. A picnic in Central Park, a birthday dinner at a 2 Michelin Star restaurant, parties with family and friends. It’s always food that brings everyone together. I grew up surrounded by the food business and I guess it’s only fitting that I now return to what I know and love.  It brings me comfort and happiness. So I started a food blog. It’s called Kitchen Conundrum. I really want to make it user friendly and user content generated. I want to have a recipe swap, an ask the chef (my dh) section, and provide useful tips and information that helps anyone learn to love cooking.  I also want to teach people a little bit about wine.   And I just became a FOODBUZZ featured publisher. So you will see some Foodbuzz ads on my sidebar. Click away please!!!

7. This one is a given. I love being at home with my kids. (Even if I do spend a lot of time begging them to clean!) I am having so much fun with them. I am getting to know them again. And they are really great little people. They keep me on my toes (especially that little one) , but it’s all good!

So now, I get to pass this award on to some  other bloggers. I have well over 50 (I stopped counting at 50) blogs on my blogroll. There are so many fabulous ones out there with so many amazing people! (Yes, I read them all in Google Reader. Into the wee hours. No wonder I am so tired)

First up is Ri, The Music Savvy Mom. She’s my pal. She’s amazing! Really! Kind, supportive and generous. She’s also super funny. She cracks me up all the time. Plus she has really great taste in music. She’s also  mom to an adorable little guy. Go read her blogs. You’ll see for your self. You won’t be sorry.

Next up is The Empress over at Good Day, Regular People. She writes with eloquence befitting an Empress. Seriously! I love her writing style and the posts are always touching and thought provoking. She has a son, Baby E, who is quite a dapper young man. He’s even been given the honor of his own posts on Mondays. It’s great that you get to see the week from his perspective.

I also adore Jenners over at Life with a Little One and More and Find Your Next Book Here.  She is absolutely hilarious, witty and super smart!  I just giggle when I read her posts. And because being at home with a toddler, coloring and watching Sprout all day melts your brain, I often reread her posts, hoping that some of the smart stuff rubs off on  me. So far no luck.  I also have no idea when she able to read all the books that she does, let alone write thoughtful and honest reviews for blog. She does a lot of book giveaways too, so you should check out her book blog if you like to read.

I wish I could write a little blurb about all the blogs I read, because they really are all great and worthy of awards and accolades. But I just don’t have that kind of time. I can barely find time to shower and shave my legs on any given day.

I started writing this post at 1am last night so please read with a forgiving eye of all the typos. I am just too tired this morning to proof. I fell into bed at 2:15 and lay awake thinking (about Edward Scissorhands no less) until nearly 3am.

I am going to go drink some Diet Coke and find some chocolate now and hope I make it through the day on a sugar and caffeine high.

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Greetings from the Inner Workings

2010
3 Comments

Hello from inside the blog.

Well for the past two days or so I have been consumed ignoring everything, just reading the CSS (style sheet) for this blog. I’ve been finding out what the main color numbers are so I could make all the widget thingys the same color. Just a bit OCD on my part.  I have also been trying to see if I can just get the widgets to be inside the box borders. Something about padding? No easy task and it’s still not done yet because I can’t figure it out.  I am sure I am driving the admin’s crazy with all my posts to the support forums for help.

The real problem, is that this theme, and I guess this company’s themes, are not like others that I have used that you just insert and go. There are a lot of things that can be customized and this needs to be done to get all the pieces where you want them and usable.  The home page,for instance,  is not like most home pages that displays your most recent blog posts. This one was created for pictures and a slide show that’s linked to posts on another page.  The home page also has no side bars on it at all and apparently can’t have them.  Which I guess is fine,  but all of your great blog badges and all of my links are now located on another page titled Mes  Amis.

It’s great if you are code savvy and know what the heck you are doing. But alas, I don’t and it doesn’t look promising. But I am learning a little.  I can change some of the colors and a few of the font sizes and that’s about it. (I think I have changed some that I don’t even know where they are) I have no idea how to make the font sizes larger here on the home page in those three pink boxes at the bottom. Also, that pink needs to match the main color but it doesn’t.  I would love for each page be a different color theme. And I would love to change the font to another font. But again, I have no clue.

I spent the better part of today creating a cute blog title image- but don’t know how to get it up there  either. It’s kind of cute, no?

But I have it and looka, looka, I got my signature back! And it’s the same color too! Small things make me happy.

It’s coming along though don’t you think?

Hopefully it will be done with my next post- about how I am going to kill get rid of the squirrels that ate my strawberries and yellow squash in my garden.

P.S. Do you part of my signature up there above the post? WTH? Why?????? Seriously. Another conundrum. Speaking of which- head over to my other blog (with it’s insert and go template!) http://kitchenconundrum.com. Another fine recipe will be posted tomorrow!

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MAY DAY, MAY DAY (This is only a test)

2010
1 Comment

Bienvenue! This is the first post I am doing over here at WP with my new awesome theme. I am still working out a lot of kinks. Like why my sidebars are on pages rather than here on the front page where I want them. Minor things that are taking me forever to figure out how to do.

I have been spending way too much time working on the look and feel here, rather than doing what I like to do, which is write. And visit everyone else’s blogs and comment and feel community. I was up until 2am last night trying to work something out and ended up having an argument via email with some support guy over a stupid free widget. Not cool. Regardless, I ended up making my own and I like it better. And I didnt have to fill out a million forms with all my information to get it. URGGGG.

So I think I am really nearly done with what I am doing and should be back into the groove by the end of this week for sure. No matter what happens. I may just have to give up on all the design stuff and focus on the content. Which is why you are here, right?

Anyway, your patience is greatly appreciated and I think this absolutely cured my Blog Design ADD. This is it. The last theme. My theme- finally!

I will be adding your blogs soon to my links page- I just havent gotten there fully yet- so don’t think I left you off. Because I havent. You are all still in my google reader with my old blogspot blog. Which is another thing I have to do manually… fun fun.

And with that, I will say, “Have a great week!” See you this weekend. Right back here and writing.

XO

La Mere Joie (maybe I can get that signature back?)

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“The new phone books are here, the new phone books are here!”

2010
1 Comment

Steve Martin has supplied a lot of good title quotes for me lately!

I have been working really hard for the past day or so to get a new blog up and going. It’s pretty cool and I hope you love it as much as I do and visit it often. Also, it is my hope that you will submit content and we can make it like a real community.

Go have a look see and let me know what you think. And while you are there- become a fan on Facebook and please follow the blog on Twitter.

http://kitchenconundrum.com

There are only two posts right now- but I have a zillion more to come.

Fear not, I am still going to blog about my misadventures of life in suburbia and all that goes on in my life over here at Ma Vie et Ma Joie, and hopefully that will be the domain name once I buy it back. But in case it’s not, I have the English version in my pocket.

La Mere Joie

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Wow, I am just not so savvy!

2010
2 Comments

 So, as you know, I am in the process of creating a WordPress blog and moving this one over as well as creating another cool blog which I really hope you all visit and contribute to. It’s been quite a process and I still am not 100% comfortable with all that I am doing over there-yet. It’s got a few quirks and it’s incredibly advanced compared to Blogger. Blogger is easy. It’s very user friendly. WordPress is not easy or very user friendly. At least not to those who aren’t very tech savvy or know all the lingo. Google has been my friend. And so have many amazing bloggers who have listened to my Twitter cries for help.  (MusicSavvyMom for one- go follow her. She’s amazing! And there is also  DadaRocks and Smonkyou, they are super uber cool dads and way more tech savvy than me.)

Anyway I found out that there are quite a few differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. With WordPress.com, it offers a free blog but only 87 templates to choose from. You can not have any other advertising than what they set up and as we all know, only 87 templates to choose from is for me next to impossible. Plus, they really aren’t that pretty. For a mere $15 you can have WordPress.com register your Domain name and host it for you. But for that, you still can’t upload cool templates or have the advertising you might want. But of course I did not know that until I bought my domain name and had to return it. Which, while you get the $15 back right away, your domain name takes at least, AT LEAST, 5 DAYS!  So, I wait. Until I can buy it back. And hope it’s still out there. (I bought another one just in case its gone forever! But I am waiting to see.)

Which leads me to WordPress.org. Here’s where it gets good, but tricky. You buy your domain name and have it hosted from an outside host- say onestarmediahosting.com or GoDaddy.com or BlueHost.com or someone else (there are lots of them). Then you can buy the WP hosting there too or download the WordPress.org program to your computer. It’s easier to just buy the WP hosting. I can’t make it any more complicated.

And then you can upload any of the gazillions of amazing templates you want and install it right away. You can also get a cool email address that you can make all your own like lamerejoie@coolwebsite.com. It’s great. (Although I still have to figure out how to check it but that’s a minor problem)

Posting is easy.

Adding widgets and stuff is a bit tricky. Some templates have widgets already and some don’t. Plus you may want to add the follow me on Twitter stuff and your FB fan page, which may or may not come with your template. All of these have to be located on the web and then uploaded to your “folder”. Still not sure how that works yet.

But, now I have at least 3 more days to figure it all out before I make my new personal blog over there. In the meantime, I am busy, busy creating the other cool blog. I will let you know once it’s up and going and looking all pretty.

LaMereJoie (the live signature died. May it R.I.P.)

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