Where do I go from here?
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Turn and face the strange cha cha changes.
Times they are a changing!
Lots of changes, minuscule, monumental and everything in between going on in my world and I wouldn't have it any other way.
We're making lots of changes around here. New phone number. New social media outlets. New pets. New career for the husband. And, as early as August, a new address for all of us. Wahhoo. Yippeee! Hallelujah! And other such exclamations of happiness.
Then, just today, a great new volunteer opportunity was presented to me. It's birth-related and you all know that's something that's near and dear to my heart.
Something that hasn't changed is my family. I'm still happily married (for over a decade) to my husband who rocks. Our kids are great. Girl2 finished the entire Harry Potter series in 7 weeks. She has since moved on to the Septimus Heap series. We have to take two of the books at a time out from the library because she finishes them so quickly. Girl1 prefers the Graphic Classics. Thus far, H.P. Lovecraft is her favorite. They both taught themselves to ride without training wheels this year. TheBoy loves math, Ponyo, BabyMouse, Franklin, the Hulk kids' comics and any sort of attention. This kid has a future in sales because oh boy is he a charmer! TheBaby celebrated her first birthday, but before that, she took off running and climbing. She can make it to the top bunk on her own (much to my dismay). This kid doesn't sit still. She now has a head full of blonde curls. Her smile is absolutely adorable. And what a lover! She runs over to us just to give lots of kisses. That sweet face of hers does sometimes remind me of what we're missing, but that smile and those hugs and kisses help me heal.
Now, for some less-than-thrilling news; I've been re-evaluating blogging. Obviously, this joint isn't as jumping as it once was. I tried NaBloPoMo in hopes of once again lighting my blogging fire, but it just didn't happen. While it did inspire me to do some writing of which I'm proud, it just didn't lure me back to the blog side. So I've decided to leave this place and ride off into the bloggy sunset (blogset?).
I won't be going anywhere just yet, but I'm going to wrap this blog up in the not-too-distant future. This place will remain, but I'll be movin' on. I've written quite a bit here about military life, veterans' issues, homebirth, midwifery, c-sections, breastfeeding, babies, Judaism, children, twins, and just life in general that I'd like to keep available in the blogosphere. I'll leave comments opened as well, but I'll leave the current settings--older posts have moderation enabled to thwart the spammers.
Monday, November 23, 2009
The bloggers were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of blog posts danced in their heads.
And then they woke up and EVERY BRILLIANT IDEA WAS GONE.
Why oh why does this happen? Lately, when I can't fall asleep, I have visions of future post ideas dancing in my head. I've had 3 or 4 that I thought were great and wanted to file away to work on this month. Yet, every single time, when I wake up, they're gone. I remember the gist of some of them, but not the specific ideas about which I had planned to write.
Why oh why does my brain do this to me? I needed those ideas, damn it! Give them back!
Friday, November 20, 2009
FAIL Blog
I guess I failed at this blog every day thing. I've gone a few days without blogging, without publishing at least. I actually did start entries, but didn't finish them and didn't publish them.
Now what? Do I write extra posts to make up for the missed days? Do I just give up and go back to only blogging once in a blue moon? I have no idea where to go from here.
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Anonymity of Fame
Every once in a while, I start wondering if I could be a little less anonymous. I try hard to keep much of my identifying information to myself. Shhhh, it's a secret from the Blogosphere. I don't post pictures of my kids. I don't reveal names. You won't find our home state anywhere on this blog. I've never mentioned my husband's career or what branch of the military in which he served.
This, however, means that I must go to great lengths to keep my private life and my my little lovenest here in the blogosphere separate. Some days, I just want to tear those walls down and share with folks on both sides.
I think my kids are cute and I'd love to show you some of the adorable pictures I've taken of them over the years. I have video footage of my husband's homecoming that I wish I could post. I'd love to be able to make some videos for vlog posts. Heck, I'd like to be able to come out and say, "Yeah, that's me." I've skipped events for bloggers and twitter meetups because I'm fairly anonymous. I need to be careful so that the twitterverse and my personal life don't mix and that's very difficult to do.
Every once in a while, I go through a phase where I come *this* close to outing myself. Although, usually, when that happens, something smacks me in the face and reminds me exactly why I like my anonymity. My last outing phase came crashing down in flames when Gina at The Feminist Breeder had incidents with a stalker. That creep knew WAY too much about Gina and was harassing her. Well, that stomped all over my desire to let myself be known. Situations like that remind me exactly why I try so hard to keep my information private. On the internets, you just never know. This blog has gotten hits from all over the world. I find that both fascinating and frightening.
I can sense my inner pendulum swinging back the other way, though. I'm, once again, beginning to wonder about sharing more information.
What about you? How much information do you share? Have you ever regretted it? Has being known in the blogosphere ever helped you? Has it created problems?
This, however, means that I must go to great lengths to keep my private life and my my little lovenest here in the blogosphere separate. Some days, I just want to tear those walls down and share with folks on both sides.
I think my kids are cute and I'd love to show you some of the adorable pictures I've taken of them over the years. I have video footage of my husband's homecoming that I wish I could post. I'd love to be able to make some videos for vlog posts. Heck, I'd like to be able to come out and say, "Yeah, that's me." I've skipped events for bloggers and twitter meetups because I'm fairly anonymous. I need to be careful so that the twitterverse and my personal life don't mix and that's very difficult to do.
Every once in a while, I go through a phase where I come *this* close to outing myself. Although, usually, when that happens, something smacks me in the face and reminds me exactly why I like my anonymity. My last outing phase came crashing down in flames when Gina at The Feminist Breeder had incidents with a stalker. That creep knew WAY too much about Gina and was harassing her. Well, that stomped all over my desire to let myself be known. Situations like that remind me exactly why I try so hard to keep my information private. On the internets, you just never know. This blog has gotten hits from all over the world. I find that both fascinating and frightening.
I can sense my inner pendulum swinging back the other way, though. I'm, once again, beginning to wonder about sharing more information.
What about you? How much information do you share? Have you ever regretted it? Has being known in the blogosphere ever helped you? Has it created problems?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Useful Insomnia, Just Add NaBloPoMo.
I've found a previously unidentified use for this NaBloPoMo challenge. When one drinks far too much coffee in the evening and then tosses and turns in bed in a state that in no way resembles sleep, one can use that time to wrack one's brain for blog topics.
Through my mind last night raced various ideas--some I've been planning to blog about for months and some that just came to me in that moment where all I wanted was TO GET SOME FREAKING SLEEP.
Let's see if I have enough coffee left in the house so that I can counter-act that lack of sleep with enough energy to actually write those posts.
Through my mind last night raced various ideas--some I've been planning to blog about for months and some that just came to me in that moment where all I wanted was TO GET SOME FREAKING SLEEP.
Let's see if I have enough coffee left in the house so that I can counter-act that lack of sleep with enough energy to actually write those posts.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Food, Glorious Food
Twitter Moms, along with Horizon Little Blends have asked how we parents sneak fruits and veggies into their kids' diets.
I don't.
I was raised hating fruits and veggies. If it was healthy, I wanted to run far and fast. The closest my snacks came to healthy was the name "Fruit" followed by "Roll-ups." In my adulthood, I realized I actually like a wide variety of fruits and veggies that were either never offered, or never cooked in a way I liked (i.e. broccoli was always cooked until it was mush and slathered in butter).
So with our kids, we have always made a point of offering a wide variety of fruits and veggies prepared in a number of different ways. We keep apples, bananas, nuts (plain or lightly salted), whole grain cereal, sliced peppers, carrots, raisins, plums, peaches and grapes in the kids' reach. And you know what? They actually eat them--happily. We never started them on the sweet sugary snack thing, so they don't miss them. We don't have to argue with them.
After a brief interview, here are my kids' favorite foods:
Girl1: Sushi
Girl2: Apples
TheBoy: Bananas
My biggest tip on food is simply--don't start down the slippery slope of mount sugar. You never have to break the habit if you never start it.
Through the Twitter Mom contest, I found another great link on Getting Kids to Eat Healthy & I must share. She has some fantastic points. Have I mentioned that my children (particularly Girl1) like jalapenos? Hey, you never know unless you try.
I don't.
I was raised hating fruits and veggies. If it was healthy, I wanted to run far and fast. The closest my snacks came to healthy was the name "Fruit" followed by "Roll-ups." In my adulthood, I realized I actually like a wide variety of fruits and veggies that were either never offered, or never cooked in a way I liked (i.e. broccoli was always cooked until it was mush and slathered in butter).
So with our kids, we have always made a point of offering a wide variety of fruits and veggies prepared in a number of different ways. We keep apples, bananas, nuts (plain or lightly salted), whole grain cereal, sliced peppers, carrots, raisins, plums, peaches and grapes in the kids' reach. And you know what? They actually eat them--happily. We never started them on the sweet sugary snack thing, so they don't miss them. We don't have to argue with them.
After a brief interview, here are my kids' favorite foods:
Girl1: Sushi
Girl2: Apples
TheBoy: Bananas
My biggest tip on food is simply--don't start down the slippery slope of mount sugar. You never have to break the habit if you never start it.
Through the Twitter Mom contest, I found another great link on Getting Kids to Eat Healthy & I must share. She has some fantastic points. Have I mentioned that my children (particularly Girl1) like jalapenos? Hey, you never know unless you try.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Forget April showers.
April fans are more fun.
I just read about this and I think it's so neat. April is tell 'em you're a fan month.
I realize I'm very very late to this party, but I want to do a round-up of my favorite blog links. Unfortunately, the kids aren't going to let me do that right now. So I will leave you with the neat idea and the promise that I will be back before the end of the month (which gives me a whopping 3 days).
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Where oh where has my sidebar gone?
I have no idea what happened to all the info on my side bar. I just now noticed that it's not showing up. All the info is there when I edit and I've tried playing around with it. I have no clue what's going on. I'll try to get it fixed, though.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Maybe you should have thought twice about this.
There are those who say Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy should not be fodder for the blogs. I agree in the respect that I don't think we should be wagging fingers at her, but I disagree because this IS related to the discussion.
In her wonderful piece that I have posted previously, Jane Smiley asks,
"If she's into "family values," I want to know what they are, and how the nanny views Palin's "family values." If she produced a child at 44, I want to know if she believes in birth control, because birth control is a political issue. I also want to know her views on the government's obligations to the disabled. Do the disabled children of rich people get special treatments that their parents can afford, while the disabled children of poor people get nothing?"
What ARE her family values? What is her stance on birth control? The final questions about children with disabilities can also be extended to include pregnancy. Since she doesn't believe in abortion, does she believe in providing care for disadvantaged teens who become pregnant or are only wealthy teens afforded prenatal care? Does she advocate cutting medicaid so that when these poor teens (who are far more likely to have premies) go into labor pre-term, they cannot afford the insane bills associated with a sickly baby?
Not only does this answer and then raise new questions about Sarah Palin, but it also puts a spotlight on some things Sen. McCain has done and how very out of touch he is.
McCain fought money on teen pregnancy programs
That doesn't even take into account the Republicans' newest push to define contraception as abortion.
What in the world were they thinking picking her? I've heard some argue that just seeing Palin and McCain standing together highlights the riskiness of this ticket. When you see the younger woman standing beside him, McCain's age is painfully obvious. When you see the elderly man standing alongside Palin, her youth and inexperience are impossible to ignore. Now too, when you see this family, you can't stop but be reminded of the failings of the Republican party and specifically the policies McCain supported and voted down.
In her wonderful piece that I have posted previously, Jane Smiley asks,
"If she's into "family values," I want to know what they are, and how the nanny views Palin's "family values." If she produced a child at 44, I want to know if she believes in birth control, because birth control is a political issue. I also want to know her views on the government's obligations to the disabled. Do the disabled children of rich people get special treatments that their parents can afford, while the disabled children of poor people get nothing?"
What ARE her family values? What is her stance on birth control? The final questions about children with disabilities can also be extended to include pregnancy. Since she doesn't believe in abortion, does she believe in providing care for disadvantaged teens who become pregnant or are only wealthy teens afforded prenatal care? Does she advocate cutting medicaid so that when these poor teens (who are far more likely to have premies) go into labor pre-term, they cannot afford the insane bills associated with a sickly baby?
Not only does this answer and then raise new questions about Sarah Palin, but it also puts a spotlight on some things Sen. McCain has done and how very out of touch he is.
McCain fought money on teen pregnancy programs
That doesn't even take into account the Republicans' newest push to define contraception as abortion.
What in the world were they thinking picking her? I've heard some argue that just seeing Palin and McCain standing together highlights the riskiness of this ticket. When you see the younger woman standing beside him, McCain's age is painfully obvious. When you see the elderly man standing alongside Palin, her youth and inexperience are impossible to ignore. Now too, when you see this family, you can't stop but be reminded of the failings of the Republican party and specifically the policies McCain supported and voted down.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
These are the people in your neighborhood.
The whole blogging thing is insane. I often find myself thinking about or praying for people I know only through the world of blogs. I have never met these people. I will probably never meet these people, yet I'm interested in their lives.
I don't have a huge circle of bloggity friends like some other bloggers I know, but there are people out there that have struck a chord with me for one reason or another.
So when I made an attempt to get caught up with the gaggle of blogs contained in my Google Reader and I found this post at the Feminist Breeder, I felt absolutely giddy. I've never met her. I don't even know that much about her. I can't even remember how I came across her blog initially.
Yet, whenever she updated, I checked her pregnancy ticker to get an idea of how much longer she had. When I saw she updated and that she had a successful VBAC, I was absolutely thrilled. When I read she had to go into mama mode to fight the staff to do it, I felt both awful for the treatment and proud that she didn't let herself get taken advantage of.
It's a very odd thing. I don't really know this woman. I've never met her. I don't know that I ever will. Yet I hoped and prayed for a good experience for her and now that I know she had one, I'm absolutely ecstatic for her.
She's not the only one. There are other bloggers out there that I often wonder about. Sometimes, something in my day will remind me of them--remind me of people I've never met. In some cases, these are people who grew up in my old stomping ground. Some actually live near me. I may have passed them on the highway, yet I know them only through the updates they post on their blog. Some live far far away from my little corner of the world, yet I feel connected to them. That connection was initiated by a series of words let loose on the internet.
How odd that something seemingly so simple can have that effect! How wonderful and heartbreaking that we as humans are wired to work in such a fabulous fashion!
During high holidays once, our former rabbi pointed out how technology can isolate people. He used the examples of those who become so tangled in their video games or e-mail that they forget a real world exists. He also pointed out how technology can bring people together. He used a specific example of members of a message board banding together to donate money to help a fellow member whose son became suddenly ill.
I'm often aghast at how vicious people can be online. What in the world makes people think they can say the things they do? Why would people post some of the horrible insults they throw at others online?
How we use technology is up to us. It can help us repair the vessel, or it can be the hammer we use to destroy it.
The tool it becomes is completely up to us.
For me, it's super glue and I find the phenomenon bizarrely amazing.
I don't have a huge circle of bloggity friends like some other bloggers I know, but there are people out there that have struck a chord with me for one reason or another.
So when I made an attempt to get caught up with the gaggle of blogs contained in my Google Reader and I found this post at the Feminist Breeder, I felt absolutely giddy. I've never met her. I don't even know that much about her. I can't even remember how I came across her blog initially.
Yet, whenever she updated, I checked her pregnancy ticker to get an idea of how much longer she had. When I saw she updated and that she had a successful VBAC, I was absolutely thrilled. When I read she had to go into mama mode to fight the staff to do it, I felt both awful for the treatment and proud that she didn't let herself get taken advantage of.
It's a very odd thing. I don't really know this woman. I've never met her. I don't know that I ever will. Yet I hoped and prayed for a good experience for her and now that I know she had one, I'm absolutely ecstatic for her.
She's not the only one. There are other bloggers out there that I often wonder about. Sometimes, something in my day will remind me of them--remind me of people I've never met. In some cases, these are people who grew up in my old stomping ground. Some actually live near me. I may have passed them on the highway, yet I know them only through the updates they post on their blog. Some live far far away from my little corner of the world, yet I feel connected to them. That connection was initiated by a series of words let loose on the internet.
How odd that something seemingly so simple can have that effect! How wonderful and heartbreaking that we as humans are wired to work in such a fabulous fashion!
During high holidays once, our former rabbi pointed out how technology can isolate people. He used the examples of those who become so tangled in their video games or e-mail that they forget a real world exists. He also pointed out how technology can bring people together. He used a specific example of members of a message board banding together to donate money to help a fellow member whose son became suddenly ill.
I'm often aghast at how vicious people can be online. What in the world makes people think they can say the things they do? Why would people post some of the horrible insults they throw at others online?
How we use technology is up to us. It can help us repair the vessel, or it can be the hammer we use to destroy it.
The tool it becomes is completely up to us.
For me, it's super glue and I find the phenomenon bizarrely amazing.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Just when you think it's safe to leave the computer...
Seriously, people, I was away from the computer for one day--ONE FREAKING DAY. I promise it was nothing personal. I was just busy today. When I opened my Google Reader, it laughed at me. I swear it cackled at me. Between guffaws, it hissed, "Bet you won't leave me alone like that again, huh? That'll teach ya."
Damn it, people. WTF happened today? Blogs on my list that rarely have entries or that only have one entry a day are overflowing. WTF? Did someone pour verbosity over their cornflakes this morning? CUT IT OUT!
GAH! I'm too tired and it's too close to bed time to catch up with you all (and find out what in the hell you all have to say that had to be said RIGHT NOW), so you'll all just have to wait for tomorrow for any witty comments on your posts from me.
Once again, I repeat: GAH!
Damn it, people. WTF happened today? Blogs on my list that rarely have entries or that only have one entry a day are overflowing. WTF? Did someone pour verbosity over their cornflakes this morning? CUT IT OUT!
GAH! I'm too tired and it's too close to bed time to catch up with you all (and find out what in the hell you all have to say that had to be said RIGHT NOW), so you'll all just have to wait for tomorrow for any witty comments on your posts from me.
Once again, I repeat: GAH!
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