Back to Blogging Basics

Oh, how I miss blogging.  I miss reading the blogs of friends who have quit blogging, and I miss daily reading the blogs of those who still do , and I miss posting more than once a month.  It's like a whole social network that seems to have fizzled out for me (and a lot of others).

There seems to be less to say.  I have fewer things that I feel like documenting.  I have the same, old feeling that nobody wants to read it, and if I don't really want to write it all that much, it's doubly pointless.  And, usually, I don't really want to write it all that much.  But I miss posting.  There was something therapeutic about typing out words that came from my brain.  But that all just seemed to fizzle out, somehow.

Remember the days of memes?  Everybody did them, one or two at least, until some people got bored of reading them (not me!) and other people got bored of writing them and they just sort of fizzled out?

And what about blog awards?  Not the real, many-people-have-to-vote-for-you awards that are still around,  but the ones that didn't actually mean anything very BIG?  Except they felt like something BIG because they meant someone read your blog and cared, and they made you love blogging and your fellow bloggers?  And even though, like the memes, they were a little childish, you still quite loved them?  And then they just sort of fizzled out?

Well, for a long time I have wanted to really sort of get back into a blogging mode (yes, really, sort of) and then, providentially, I received a blog award.  Did you read that!?!  A blog award!!!  It has been years!  But last week, Amy at How to be Superwoman awarded me the Liebster award!  And, even though it's a many-people-did-NOT-have-to-vote-for-me award, it still feels BIG.  And it brought back some of my old blogging feelings.  Thank you, Amy!

So with that introduction, I am going to pass along this award.  It's meant to go to blogs with under 200 followers.  I quite love that many of the blogs that I have read almost from their beginngings have grown to the point that they don't qualify for the award, based on this one criteria.  You guys are awesome!  And you're not getting this award!  :)  But here are the blogs that do!



The Craig Report  Funniest male blogger.  Father of seven, bishop, weirdo.
What do Worms Smell Like  Great photography and lovely thoughts to go with it.  Laura served her mission in Poland and then went home and married a friend of my family!  :)
Dreams of Quill and Ink  L.t. creates things using nothing but ordinary words.  Very, very beautiful things.  (plus she's about the nicest person ever).
The Days and Nights of Robierto  For the life of me I can't remember how I found his blog, but he's hilarious.  Case in point: go read his Blind Dates post.  Go!
because I really can't get enough of myself  Melissa is one of those very funny people with millions of challenges in life and the ability to make us laugh about them while also being a stay at home mother with a hundred creative online projects going.  I quite adore her.  And her blog.

This was just the motivation I needed.  I think.  To get me back to blogging, I mean.  Hope to see you all around more often!

Rocking

Not like rocking a-bye baby or rocking out.  This is the other kind of rocking.  The kind you do. (well, you probably do those other kinds, too, but whatever).

I already know you guys rock, but when I write a post I have this thing called "I never think about what you might think about what I've written or about what kind of comments you might leave."  I think it's a rare illness, but I have it.  One great thing about it, though is that it means I am often pleasantly surprised by how much you guys rock.

Also, it sometimes means that I'm a little embarrassed about what I've written.  On my last post I was just going to write the first part, but the second part came to me while I wrote and I didn't think about it at all, except that the second proposition was as silly as the first.  But is that what you guys got out of it?  No!  At least some of you (a lot of you) thought either, "That Lisa sounds pretty desperate.  I'd better offer to send her a package." or "Oh!  Hey!  I could totally send her some of that candy!" 

So I wanted to say "thank you and you rock".  And I really didn't mean to ask for packages.  

And speaking of rocking, Heather (who rocks extraordinarily)  made a button which is meant to be given to moms.  I'd like to take this opportunity to give it to a mom I know, Charrette.  She is very wise and extremely warm and generous.  She is also a very talented writer and artist.  You can tell that she is very genuine and I know that she is influential to everyone who reads her blog.  

You can tell she loves her kids as most every time she mentions them she is talking about something fun or crazy.  

I think moms really do rock.  I also think it's sometimes hard to remember that.  Motherhood is just hard.  From the sleep deprivation that sucks nearly every last bit of patience from you (me), to managing tantrums, to dealing with the incessant bickering of middle aged children (well, not middle aged, I mean like 6- 12 year-olds) , being a mom is just HARD.  

Right now Charrette is on the next level:  dealing with a teenager.  From what I understand it's not easy being the parent of a teenager, and some cases are harder than others.  I think because the child really isn't a child anymore, and you love them so much, the choices they make can have a huge affect on us.  At this stage the tables are turned.  We don't have such a huge affect on the choices they make, but their choices can affect us greatly.  We watch the decisions they make, knowing that these very choices are the ones that make them who they are, and contribute to who they will become.  Watching this process must be very difficult and I'm sure it can bring with it some of the most heart-rending times of a person's life.

So I just want to give this: 

to Charrette and remind her that she will be blessed for her love, patience and endurance.   And that I really think she rocks.

And if you don't already read her, you should go over there and read her recent post "A Mother's Reach".  And everything else she's ever written.

And Also

I received two new blog awards lately! The first came from Erin at If You Give a Mom a Moment (and I must insert the rest of it as seen on her header). . . she will probably sit down and blog. How true is that? Thank you so much Erin!



I'm awarding this one to Melancholy Smile. Partly because the graphic automatically reminds me of her (with the slimness and the yellow(ish) and black and the fashionability* of her) and also because I really do think her blog is fabulous, with a mix of her thoughts and reflections, some about her family, her hobbies and passions (including art and fashion--which really is an *ability with her). It is quite a charming blog. She's a good writer, too. I think that her little blurb on her profile is a great description "Artist, wife and mother, I'm finding joy in life despite a gloomy disposition." And she shares the joy.

The next award came from Barbaloot at Barbaloot Suit, and she's really quite a hoot (sorry, I couldn't resist).

I'm passing this one along to Jen of Jen's Jingle. Jen is a super smart mom and a great writer. I think I feel like we have a lot in common. Ha ha ha! Do you get it? I just said that she's smart and a good writer right before I said that we have a lot in common, implying that those are the things that we have in common. Really, I think we're more similar in our eating habits (skipping dinner in favor of dessert in order to keep the calorie count about normal, since we'll eat enough calories at dessert for a huge meal whether we eat the meal first or not. She explains this a whole lot better on her own funny blog). So there, Jen. I really am lovin' your blog (even more than McDonalds)!

What Kind of Question Is That?

Heather of The Extraordinary Ordinary asked:
I want to know what ONE blog you would read if you could only read ONE for the rest of your life forever and ever only ONE. (Please don't think I'm looking for you to say MINE, I'm really honestly not) I love to know what blogs are people's absolute favorites because it tells me something about them and gives me a possible lead on a new blog to love.

Um, why didn't you just ask which of my three children I like best? I would be equally willing and able to answer. As in not at all. (Sorry! And plus, on the post where I asked for questions, I was going to use as an example of a controversial question that I wouldn't answer, "What's your favorite blog" but then changed it to the carpal tunnel thing. For reals!)

But I will pass along the award you gave me, Heather. But first I'll thank you for it, very kindly!

So I have my own new rule you may remember of only passing awards on to one person. Heather did this, too, and I like it so I'm going to pass this award, which is in recognition of a blogger who something about is your friend and blogging makes you closer or makes the world shrink or something and to show the marvels and to do friendship. That's my version, anyway, which I typed up for you all so it would be perfectly clear and understandable in case you have a hard time figuring out the translation into "English" that it came with:

"This blog invests and believes, the proximity. They all are charmed with the blogs, wherein the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate? Then let's try to give more attention to them!"

So the person I'm passing it on to is sort of a lot of things I'd like to be, or at least she surely seems like it based on her blog and comments on this and other blogs:

She is sophisticated.
She thinks about important things, and then blogs about them.
She is lovely. She looks almost like a model in most of her pictures. Even the ones where she's crossing her eyes.
She is very uplifting and encouraging.
She is a good example.
She is a good writer.
She has FOUR BOYS* plus a husband under her watch and care and seems to be not only surviving but thriving.
She is going to agree to meet me some day when I'm in Utah visiting my mother.

And her name is Kazzy and her blog is called Kazzy's Ponderings and I really like them both.
Okay, one of the boys is not exactly under her watch and care, as he's out of the country(missionary), but still.

What Brings You To These Parts?

I love when people share some of the search words that brought people to their blog. I especially love when Alison Wonderland does it. That link will take you to my favorite "Whatcha Lookin' For Wednesday" of hers so far.

The only problem is that Alison comes up with the best responses ever, and I can't do that, so I'll just share the key words and what I think about them (this is probably what she was doing, too, but she's just naturally SO funny.)

teenager shaky stomach pain cough - Not funny really at all. I feel so bad to have wasted this poor person's time (probably a mother), since I'm pretty sure it took her to my post about breaking into my house when my arms were shaky and my stomach was a flutter. I doubt this teenager experienced these symptoms as a result of having tried to climb up and over a balcony.

lessons learned in "candy freak" This one was a lot more hilarious to me before I realized that Erin had actually left a comment recommending the book Candy Freak. It was mostly linking to that. I really do need to get my hands on that book. . .

thick rectangular glasses super dork of the universe I'm sure most people have thought all these words together, but me and the searcher were the only two that typed them up. I feel quite a bond with this person. Too bad it doesn't give email address when it tells you what the person was searching for.

"cared for still" What was this person hoping to find? Probably not a post about the spiders in our garage. . .

is it bad manners not to say goodbye to polish family visitors I'm not sure their being Polish comes into play here. Maybe this person was hoping that it was good Polish etiquette to ignore departing relatives.

Brownies or dried fruit and nuts + which is more healthy If you honestly think that fruit and nuts might be less healthy why would you even ask? EAT THE BROWNIES!!!

And speaking of eating brownies, on Sunday I made my favorite brownies which I love love love. I was short an egg which somehow made them extra fudgey and I was out of milk chocolate and used white instead. These brownies were so good I could NOT stop eating them. Not like I just kept wanting to eat them because they were so delicious, but like I COULD NOT STOP EATING THEM.

And accidentally it was during the day (yesterday). I was eating brownies during the day. I forgot the rule about never leaving the spatula or knife or whatever you use to "accidentally" make a crooked edge that has to be corrected crookedly in the opposite direction etc. etc. etc. in the pan! I know that rule. I just forgot it Sunday night before bed and in the morning I started correcting. Then I told myself that I was very, very bad and I wasn't getting any brownies for dessert as punishment. Then Greg didn't eat his after dinner (he recently saw those pictures he's supposed to scan for me of us when we were dating where I'm fatter than I am now and he's thinner than he is now. . .) for dessert so I ate it for him. I'm going to try to not make ANY dessert tonight to compensate.

So I'm feeling slightly low about pigging out on the brownies (or mostly that I don't get dessert tonight) and also about not being hilarious like Alison (not really, I'm okay about that), but then I remembered about THIS:



Pam at McEwens gave it to me!! Thanks so much, Pam!! I don't feel terribly creative in general, so this was a nice surprise.

I'm going to break the trend and pass this on to only one person. I think awards would be much more awesome if you only chose ONE person to give it to who you think really meets the requirements. Of course we want to give awards to everyone we read because we read them because we love them (I hope!), but I want to choose one truly creative blogger here.

Nance at Wash Your Hands Afterwards writes about everything. Seriously everything. I think that means she's truly a creative blogger. As in her blogging is creative, and not necessarily just the things she says shows that she's creative (so many of you guys are creative in different ways).

So she gets it!

I'm off to NOT eat any brownies or anything else until tomorrow evening. *sigh* Maybe I'll settle for some dried fruit and nuts since it'll probably be less healthy than brownies anyway! ;)

If You Chance to Meet a Frown.

It's a smile award!! Heather of The Extraordinary Ordinary has given it to me! Thanks so much, Heather! A word about this lady. She recently commented on Evie's blog, and in response to Ev's request for ideas for a new blog name she said that she had nothing to offer because her own was a little "cheesy and boring" or something. Well. I believe the title came from when she and a friend (or maybe it was two people in a movie?) saw all the SAHMs outside their houses with their kids, looking slightly frazzled. They thought what a little tragedy that all these women are the same, living the same kind of sorry life. Now she is a SAHM and can see that the life of a SAHM is much as she could see back then, but at the same time so very very different. Each of those mothers had a story, a life that kept them busy, brought them enormous amounts of joy and caused them to stretch and grow and learn to empathise with the world. I am SO putting words in her mouth. But basically, I think The Extraordinary Ordinary refers to her "ordinary" life as a SAHM and how very extraordinary it is! I think it's spectacular! Heather is one of a very small number of bloggers at MMB who are not LDS. I'm so glad she joined. She is such an important part of that community and I can't imagine it without her! (And if you're reading this, Heather, please correct all the misinformation in this paragraph in the comments! Sorry!)

This is how the award looks:













I was going to be all indignant and make a post mocking the long list of rules and criteria for receiving/giving this award and talk about how the creator of this award obviously doesn't want people who receive it to be smiling. Then I went on her blog (she's a junior in HS) and saw that she seems really sweet and all my resolve kind of went out the window. But I DO think it's pretty terrible, still. In case you wonder what I mean, check it all out under this list of those I'm awarding:

Pam at McEwens whose blog I stumbled across once I finally broke out of only looking at blogs in my same genre (The Lighter Side) at MMB. She's really funny in a naturally funny sort of way, without seeming to try to be. I don't know how to describe it. She's just funny and wise (sounds dumb to use the word wise, but I think she is).

Kimberly from Temporary? Insanity always has me smiling, either because she's being funny or because I just totally get where she's coming from and she expresses herself so well.

Melissa from The Howell Harold Because she has the funniest/cutest little baby girl (look at her pictures and try not to smile!) and she explained how to prepare, cook, and eat an artichoke on her blog, and she said that she thinks we are twins who were separated in the pre-existence. How do you not smile about someone you admire calling you her twin?

Andrea from Me + 3 (who probably made me laugh more than any other roommate I ever had [besides Greg, but that's different]), because her HYPER-precocious super-hero son is a RIOT to read about and she describes it so well. Plus she has a darling little boy just Aaron's age. (And I meant HYPER as in super, not that he IS hyper. That was a little confusing).

Heidi at Hadleyesque who I just think is hilarious, and even though I don't laugh out loud a lot while reading funny stuff I do with hers, and if I'm not laughing I'm at least smiling.

So sorry, guys; here are the rules/commandments: I like how Heather dealt with it. A little civil disobedience. You know what? I'm going to copy her. I hope that's okay. Of COURSE that's okay!! So find the rules here. And thanks guys, for making me smile!!

What Goes Around

Comes around, right? I've always believed this saying, but I didn't realize that it worked so quickly! Around the entire Earth and back to me in under a week?! Does this look familiar?

This time Nance from Wash Your Hands Afterwards has awarded me with it! How nice is she? She also happens to have a terrific blog in which she writes about everything under the sun. Lots of recipes, book/product reviews, website recommendations, anecdotes about the fam, craft projects and everything before, after and in between. It is so diversified. She posts at least one post a day and they're short (something you won't find on this blog, unfortunately) fun and interesting posts every time. So thanks, Nance!

This time around I'd like to pass this award along to some others, while feeling guilty that I can't give it to everyone:

daily RACE - This is the blog of Elder Elder and Sister Germany who served their missions in Poland and hooked up back at home where they decided to do the whole "eternity" thing together. Their blog is full of funny insights into their cute family and a little bit of back and forth teasing of him and her. Love it.

i, wright - a blog I recently discovered (through MMB). Nicki is funny and clever and you can just tell she's a great person. You can read a short post of hers that was one of my favorites here.

(Insert Title Here) - is the blog of Olivia, one of the 4 girls in the family I was a mother's helper for just after I got married. She was two when I started and had the hugest light blue eyes with black lashes, and was a super happy, intelligent little girl. She's grown into a pretty, happy, intelligent and funny young woman (she's 12- right Liv?) She's also the first person who admitted how boring my long posts are! Leave it to a teenager. :) If I am a decent mother to my children when they become teenagers, I will give at least partial credit to Olivia for what I've learned (or been reminded of) about teenagerhood by reading her blog. Thanks Livvy! (Do people still call you that?)

Now you guys can pass this along to some of your favorite blogs and display the award on your own, if you so desire (it's such an official award, you just cut and paste it from here onto your own blog)!

An Award! or I Can't Believe I Just Spent 19 Hours Making Links for This Post. I Hate Making Links.

I've been given an award!! A blog award! Becky from On top of the world (or at least really far north) has awarded me THIS:



The first time I ever heard of a blog award was when I read this post by Sue at navel gazing at it's finest. I'm not sure if it was a result of the influence of that post on my infant blogger mind, but I feel almost exactly the same way as she does about them. She also happens to be the one that introduced me and Becky to each other. Well, sort of anyway. She's the one who started up Mormon Mommy Blogs , which is how we found each other. And she's super funny. You should read the "this post" link about the blog awards, and then possibly find yourself reading through a bunch of her other stuff.

Ooops, I keep going on about Sue. What I meant to say is that it's an honor to receive this award, mostly because it was given to me by someone I didn't even know a month ago. And not so much because each person who receives it gives it to as many people as they want. I've decided to share the love with a few blogs I love. I actually love LOADS of blogs, but I'm going to choose some of the first that come to mind as blogs that I'm always excited when they come up on my Google Reader:

H.I.P. (hope is power)- Sarah is one of the people that I became harder and faster friends with than anyone ever. That's 'cause she's awesome. You can see it in her writing. And that she's super intelligent and funny.

Into the Woods- I'm not linkin' because it's a private blog, which is a shame because it's SO awesome. The Woods are just some of my favorite people ever. They're kind, funny, beautiful/handsome (kids too) and just the kind of people you want to have as friends. And their blog is a great reflection of them.

Keepin' Up with the Joneses and Draper Kids - My sisters Anne and Su, and their great blogs about their wonderful families/amazing, smart SUPER cute kids. (And they're the ones who got me into blogging.)

And we'll throw in a couple of people I only just met:

Alison Wonderland -Who is an aspiring writer with real talent (I think). And she seems nice, too. And I really love her blog layout. Sorry if that last one's a shallow reason to give an award, but there it is.

none of your beezwax - Who is just hilarious, and is capable of writing posts even longer than mine that are actually funny all the way through.

Let's leave it at that. Thanks again, Becky! And for those of you whom I've awarded, I promise you will not have bad luck or anything if you don't pass the award on or display the picture prominently on your blog, but you can. Just so you know. (I'm going to put mine at the very bottom of my blog, just so people won't think I'm bragging or anything).

Awarded!!

From Becky

From Barbaloot

From Erin



From Heather of the EO






From Pam at McEwens:




From Heather at The Extraordinary Ordinary:




From Becky at On top of the world (or at least really far north) and Nancy at Wash Your Hands Afterwards:



From Amy at How to Be Superwoman: