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!

Ode to the Period

I used to take you for granted;
You were just sort of there.
I used you countless times a day,
No gratitude did I bear.

But now I see your value.
I understand your worth.
While many consider you optional
I'm mourning because of your dearth.

And maybe I've made a mistake
by trying to write this in rhyme.
Because in this type of writing
I use you improperly half of the time.

But in other types of writing
You are the only one
Of punctuations marks, common and lesser used,
that keep sentences from over-run. (ning each other)

It's really very simple:
A tiny little dot
To separate my sentences
And make reading less headache-fraught.

Maybe it's about the order,
Organization and proper pace,
But judging by how my house looks
Those values don't hold a high place...

So I guess it's more about talking;
I'm pretty good at that.
I want to be read just the way that I sound
Not a jumble of words to fall flat.

I wish more people could understand
The service that you provide.
You're free, and you want to be used and loved
Statements happily you will divide.

But I must admit, you're a character.
I think that's your biggest flaw.
With limits on numbers of symbols we use
Your end of the deal is raw.

But still, I will never abandon you!
You mean too much to me.
You're worth every space that you take on the page,
As important as A, B or C.

note: this "poem" is the perfect example of exactly how poor my understanding of the usage of punctuation is, but the period? I'm pretty confident in my usage of that one. Dear, dear period.

The Biology of Motherhood and a Question of Opinion

The girls in one of my English discussion classes (two 16 year olds) are pretty much everything I hope my Evie will be. They're responsible, thoughtful, hard-working and fun. But they hate biology. I tell them that this is a tragedy. Biology is awesome and interesting, I tell them. I also tell them a lot of other things. Anything I want. This week I will tell them about EFY in Germany and that they're totally invited.

But biology really is awesome. Although I know where my students are coming from. In 10th grade I hated it, too. My teacher sat at the overhead projector and wrote notes for us to copy all class period, every class period. Extremely boring. But then I moved on to AP Bio. With Mr. Margve. Oh, Mr. Margve was the best. He looked like he was wearing one of those fake nose and mustache thingies, only without the glasses. (as a matter of fact, my AP US History teacher was his good friend/rival, and they always played jokes on each other like Mr. M would send a dissected rat as a gift to Mr. T in the middle of class and Mr. T dressed for Halloween with a nose and mustache--glasses removed--and wearing a nametag that said "Mr. Margve".)

He had a passion for biology. He drew pictures on the board and used jokes and grand arm gestures. He made the floor of the lab into gigantic cells with paper parts so we could learn about transcription and other cellular functions by physically making it happen ourselves. I loved it all and remember much of it. I don't believe I have ever used terms like knee cap, shoulder blade, collar bone, or thigh bone, thanks to Mr. Margve. (patella, scapula, clavicle and femur for me, thanks!)

I think that is why I am so deeply in love with this song. I have an affection for biology anyway (up to the most basic college level. :) and it's a true geek song, sung by a true geek. I don't claim to be a geek AT ALL, but one who can appreciate geekiness, when properly expressed.

(as a side note, I think of the term "geek" and in smaller measure "nerd" to mean one who is overly excited about and interested in science or technology or other brainy things (with or without the social ineptness. For this reason I have never quite gotten it when people call themselves Harry Potter geeks, or worse, Twilight geeks. I am still trying to convince myself that the term can also apply to anyone who is knowledgeable about or interested in most anything, and that it doesn't necessarily have to be intellectual. (I always remind myself of how Annette tells us that language evolves and sometimes people use a term improperly enough that it becomes an actual definition, and that maybe that's the case here.)

This song is delightful (to me), the perfect balance of tackiness, catchiness, humor and just all around geekiness. I have it running through my head pretty constantly since Melancholy Smile linked to it the other day. You should really watch it, just in case it brings you as much joy as it brings me. You will learn exactly why slightly more than half of everything your children are is thanks to you. A Biologist's Mother's Day Song:



And now, a question of opinion.

I have never wanted to advertise on my blog. I have only ever wanted my blog to contain things that I personally want and choose to have on it. But now I have a dilemma.

A friend of mine (or two) has written regular, Melissa-esque blog posts that sounds exactly like her and are things that I know she would write about. They're just normal blog posts. Then at the end you read that the post was sponsored. And you think, what? Wasn't that Melissa? Yes. That was definitely Melissa. I enjoyed the post exactly as I would have without the sponsorship note at the end.

So this is a new and awesome way to monetize your blog and I'm thinking that I might want to try it. But I don't want it to feel like I'm not being real or something. But I figure, if a song about biology can inspire a post (however lame) about my AP Bio teacher, why not just let an advertisement inspire a post? For example, Melissa had one sponsored by a clothing company and she wrote about how terrible her own wardrobe is. I could write a post about my wardrobe (couldn't any woman?) and it would be just as real and natural as writing any other post that was triggered by something I saw or heard.

At least I think. But I'm just wondering, not to ask your permission, but I'm just curious as to how you feel about that? Have you read posts sponsored by Broadcast Bloggers ads? Does it feel weird to you? Wrong? Do you care?

Because I've never cared if people I like have their sidebars plastered with ads (I've seen some people complain that they don't like it), but this new way to monetize, while being slightly more in your face, is also a good way to get ideas for blog posts (I think, I still don't know exactly how it works) and still write from your own brain and heart, but also make some money (which some people are rather in need of, from what I understand...)

Anway, do you have thoughts? I mean, on the subject of this type of monetizing?

Sincerely, Lisa

:)

You Think You Know Me?

Well, you don't.

But don't worry, I'm not sure I did either until I answered Stephanie's questions for her Find-A-Friend Friday today on her blog, Diapers and Divinity.

Now I know what I hate about motherhood (#2). I know that I can claim to be a homebody (#10) and then say that I love traveling (#4), all in the same interview. And I know that I can tell a whopping big lie*. (# 11). Oh, and also comment on my extreme honesty (intro).

No, I am not a "complicated" (read: confusing) or ironic person. Not me. And I don't much care for parenthesis, either (almost never use them).

To read her questions and my answers GO HERE. (and check out how awesome Stephanie is
while you're over there!!) You'll know you're in the right place if you see her cute button that looks like this:

*Someone once told me that when you are sarcastic/ironic you are lying. Fortunately for me she was wrong.

Add This to Your List

I can tell you right now that if I had made a list fifteen years ago of the things I wanted to do before I got married -- I mean, if I had sat down and really thought it through -- it would have looked like this:

1. Make sure he's the right one.

Possibly with another short list of qualities that "the right one" might have.

But I never made that list. Because I was pretty sure I'd know him when I found him. And I did.

But not everyone's list would be as boring as mine. Not that mine would have been bad, just lacking in... adventure. Ambition. Interest. (and actual, un-obvious things to do before getting married)

A friend of mine, Ashley Barrett, had a list of her own. A paper on which she wrote 25 things that she absolutely had to do before she settled down to get married. And how much overlap do you think there was between her list and mine? Exactly none.

No, Ashley spent every day after she made her list (at age 18) specifically trying to not complete the task on my (past tense hypothetical) list. And besides, she had her own 25 things to work on. And though some of them were relatively simple things like "read a Russian classic" and "sing karaoke", there were others like, "get a sports car", "learn a language" and ""get a master's degree". And there's also the fact that for Ashley, "sing karaoke" was a harder one to complete than another one, to "climb a mountain".

Watching Ashley climb mountain after figurative mountain as she worked her way through her list was a joy. Besides that she's just a funny, confident and beautiful person, she also happens to be a smarty and a tiny bit of a spaz. Yes, she's fun to keep tabs on.

But I'm pretty sure she never could have guessed how it would all turn out with that list of hers. After 6 good years of slowly but resolutely chipping away at it, she came to the Summer From Hell.

Her hellish summer included months by the beach, an extremely hot surf coach-turned-love interest, plenty of activities, hanging out and Jamba Juice, a fun waitressing job, and an excellent new online friend.

Now how could that be hell, you might ask? That was the summer that her list started to get a little wrinkled. A bit scruffy around the edges. Not just from overuse (though it was certainly being used), but in a figurative sense, too.

Although she was completing more things from her list in those short months than in many years combined before that summer, the list was still in jeopardy. She lost her original, handwritten copy but typed it up again from memory. Still, she struggled not to lose sight of the goal of the list: to have no regrets when she got married. Nothing to look back on with resentment because she didn't do it when she had the chance.

Life seemed to be getting better and better as hanging onto those last few items on her list became harder and harder. Still, this is Ashley. She has a very strong grip.

Very strong.

I really wish you could all meet Ashley!! She is seriously awesome. Of course I've never met her either, but I still consider her a friend.

I know! Why don't you go get your to-do list and add one more item. I promise this one will be far less painful than "cut the kids' hair" or "scrub the grout in the shower". As a matter of fact, it might even be more fun than "go out on an awesome date with husband*" (don't tell him I said that) or "Eat a piece of Adam's peanut butter cup fudge ripple cheesecake". Write in "get this book:

"

Because it is FUN. Fun, fun, fun. Funny, sunny, with one Hot Honey. Oh my gosh, I just wrote that. And I'm leaving it. The book is clever, charming, and seriously delightful (unlike my rhyme above). And don't you want to know what happens with Ashley? It didn't all play out exactly how I expected (a good thing!) but/and it is a completely satisfying read. I love. I recommend. As strongly as Ashley holds onto 6-year-old resolutions. Or possibly stronger (see how I don't give anything away? I said possibly).

I've already told you what I think of Melanie J the blogger (hmmm, we could use the same adjectives that I used up there for the book! No, not the bad rhyme again, the clevercharmingdelighful thing), but you really need to get a feel for how stuffy and hoity-toity Melanie Jacobson the author is. Check out her author website. Seriously. Stu-ffy. And then click on the book to buy! If you're like me (and you know you are) you will be reading this one over and over to recapture the humor and FUN of it. (I'm sorry to keep going on about the fun, but the book is seriously ef-yoo-en.)

* I had a hard time wanting to sit down to a movie with Greg on Valentine's Day because I was in the middle of The List and really just wanted to read! Or better yet watch it on a screen with my honey. Maybe some day...

Miss Delacourt FINALLY Has Her Day (on my blog)

Last summer, no wait, summer before last (!!) I was in the most difficult part of my pregnancy. I wanted only to lay in bed and read book after book, and that is just what I did. I escaped from the pregnancy induced depression that was threatening to smash my heart, if not my entire self, by stepping into other people's stories. And it helped.

One of the books I escaped into I had been waiting almost a year to get my hands on. My opinion of the author I will state after I tell a little about the book.

It looks like this (the book, not the author, though she's lovely, too):

The large print version happens to look a lot like my current background (put up just for this post in honor of Heidi, lover and grower of the most beautiful roses and also because the book has a rose growing/thieving element!):

See?

This was the first modern regency period romance novel I have read (I may possibly have bungled the genre a little). I saw one review that said in effect, "This book will mostly appeal to those who like other classic or period novels." I have to say, my personal reflections are that this book can appeal to people who prefer books outside the genre. Yes, it is full of phrases in both dialogue and narrative, that harken back to a time when English was more lovely to the ears, but I think there is much about this book that will appeal to readers of modern chick lit as well.

Every character in Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind has a distinct personality with their own quirks that contribute to the fun of this comedy. Just like comedies that take place in more modern settings, you have the person you want to smack, the one you roll your eyes at, the one you want to high five, and the ones you are hoping will finally fall in love with each other etc. The colorful cast of characters goes from misadventure to misadventure, much like more modern heroes/heroines, but rather than scoffing at someone's terrible DVD selection they are gagging over a poor recitation of an even poorer poem. Rather than cruising down the freeway, these ones are driving carriages through the countryside and so on and so forth.

If I was better at weaving words together this is the order in which I would put them to describe this book (L.T. Elliot is a master word crafter so I begged to borrow hers. She also happens to be one of the most sympathetic bloggers and future authors I know.):

"Miss Delacourt does speak her mind--which is exactly why she doesn't fit in typical London society. The well-speaking masks and feigned affections are just the sort of thing Ginny would rather do without. So when her great-aunt traps her with Sir Anthony, the very picture of everything abhorrent to her, Ginny is determined to discover whether the mask he wears can be removed of if he's worn it too long to be anything other than a pompous fake.

With broken carriages, quarantines, and poets catching fire, Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mindentertains up to the very last page. Jovial and light hearted...the characters and side stories will have you guessing who comes out on top while you chuckle over their unbelievable antics. You'll find yourself wishing the Hero will abandon his stoic ways while hoping the heroine can be tamed. Can a happy medium be found? Who will give in? Read it and find out!"

And now the sequel to the story is out!! My copy is on it's way to my sister's house, from whence it will come to ME! It's called Miss Delacourt Has Her Day and looks like this:

Doesn't that cover almost make you wish you lived in a day when your lady's maid spent a half an hour buttoning your dress to get you ready for the day, or more likely, the evening?

You can purchase either (or both!!) of these books by following the links on their titles, or you can request that your library carry them. As a matter of fact, why don't you do that anyway? Don't you think the people in your city need to read these books? Super easy to ask that the library order them next time you're there!

Now, about the author. Heidi Ashworth happens to be one of my favorite blogging friends. Again, our differences (like with Melanie) are the things I love most about her.

• She is sensitive and considerate
• She has a well developed sense of style and an awesomely decorated home, which looks exactly like you're walking into one of her books.
• She is wise. She is slightly older than me, but probably has 20 times more life experience than I have
• She has about a billion BIG things that she could complain about but rarely does (I have a few small things that I always DO complain about.)

I have had a number of good discussions with Heidi. These are sometimes centered on things we disagree on slightly. I don't know why, but I love that. I really, really want to sit on a couch with her and just chat. About anything! I've invited her over but she still has never come. I'll bake something gluten free!! Come on, what's a few thousand miles between friends!?! :) I guess we'll just continue to converse through email. Love you, Heidi!

Recommendations, Please!

If you're not interested in my blah, blah, blogging journey skip to below the stars if you want to know how you can help me out.

There was a time, years ago, when I was obsessed with blogging. Nothing terrible, just the way most of us felt early on when we were making lots of new friends and really coming to love this community and the ability to toss out things we are thinking about, however important, trivial, silly or serious, and the surprise of realizing that we aren't the only one, or at least if we are, people like us anyway.

It was pretty early on that I realized that it was getting to be too much. I was on the computer too long. The little follower widget was a source of happiness but I realized that I kept looking at everyone's number. I hated that. "Oh! She's got a lot of new followers since I last checked!!" and "What is the deal!?! Why isn't she getting more followers!?!" I felt it was against my own philosophy (blog for fun and don't worry about number of comments or followers). So, to keep from feeling like it was a competition, I removed the widget.

Soon after that I realized that I could not keep up with everyone who visited or followed my blog. I seriously hated knowing that I was missing out on potentially awesome friendships but I hated even more knowing that I was missing out on my children's potentially awesome childhoods.

Awhile later I had the pregnancy from Hades and had no desire to communicate with anyone, though I did try to peek in on others now and again. The baby came and suddenly family was all I ever thought (and sometimes blogged) about.

As things normalized I started getting back into reading blogs and posting occasionally. I realized that many of my friends had also stopped posting regularly (or at all!) while I'd been pre(self)occupied. Sad! But then I definitely understand.

******

Here we are today. I feel fairly disciplined in my blogging habits since getting back into it and I am realizing that with the changes in my friends' blogging frequency I can definitely afford to add a few more blogs to my reader. Now my problem is that I don't know which ones to add. I definitely don't want to spend hours blog-hopping to find people that "fit" me, so I thought I might ask YOU.

I really value having blogging friends that I feel are either like me, or like the person I'd like to be in some way or another. I guess that is sort of the definition of "friend". Duh.

Anyway, so who do you think I might like (or love) to read? I don't read any of the hugely popular blogs but I would if you told me I had to, but mostly I'm wondering about the people in your comment trails that I have seen around all this time but never got around to checking out their blogs.

Could you let me know (by either comment or email) who are maybe a few of your favorite bloggers? I would really appreciate it! It will narrow down the time I spend searching out new people and give me more time to make my children's childhoods awesome. Ha!

(I am looking forward to Stephanie's Find-a-friend Fridays! I'm already emailing the first one from friday, Jocelyn, about some family history info she needs from Poland! Hooray for new friends!)

In which I Gush

(Consider yourself duly warned, although the title may sound more gruesome than this post is meant to be. Some titles write themselves and will not be changed.)

I have this blogging friend. I love reading her blog. 2 1/2 years ago hers was one of the first I chose off of the MMB website because the first post I read was like something straight out of a Sophie Kinsella book.

Since then I have gotten to know her through her blog. I have read about her awesome life in the OC and her previous life in Louisiana with her deaf parents and a fine-cooking Pawpaw. She has a colorful existence that she writes about with humor and straightforwardness (two things I love).

In 2009 I had the chance to break bread with her (well, split a dulce de leche crepe -- still, division of a starchy food) . I have eaten her delicious mint fudge and have a recipe recommended by her on my regular rotation (corn chowder).

Things we have in common:

• love of food
• height (just under 5'6")
• amazing husbands (plural! Not a common husband. Separate husbands. Both awesome, in different ways.)

Ways we differ:

• she has fashion sense (mine went missing after college and has not been seen since)
• her baby's a girl (mine's a boy)
• her second-to-last child throws up sometimes (mine doesn't, really)
• she writes books and they get published (I don't write any and they never get published)

On her blog, Write Stuff, she was once Melanie J but then she became Melanie Jacobson, because she is now a (soon to be) published author and authors have complete last names that they don't mind people knowing about.

Her first book comes out in March and I'm so excited. I've been excited about it since I mentioned it on my blog back when she was still writing it. That was exactly two years before it will be published (!!! Check out this post wherein I mention it at the beginning and end). And I can't wait to get my hands on it. In March. I mean, just look at this:

Until her book graces us we will get by on a few posts of hers that I LOVE.

First: A funny one. Very funny. Melanie is pretty secure in her awesomeness (and well she should be!) and describes a time when it backfired.

Second: A moral one. A story of an exasperated mother at her snapping point and a stranger who rescued her. One that makes you want to be a better and more understanding person.

Third: A moving one. This is one of my new all-time favorite posts. The sad story of true love and dying from the daughter of the lovers. I bawled. (I love every post about her parents).

She is a seriously great writer and awesome person and I'm so glad to call her a friend. If you haven't already, please read those posts!! And then pick up her book in March!

False Advertising

So people keep stopping by my blog from the Mormon Mommy Blogs website. Well, I'll tell you a story.

A long, long time ago I used to be one of the first to read TheOneTrueSue's blog posts, as she posted at unearthly hours which were only unearthly if you were on a certain side of the earth, which I wasn't.

One day she posted about a new thing she was trying. I clicked over and suddenly found myself the first to comment and request to be added to the - then very short - list of Mormon Mommy Bloggers. I was added in the humor category.

I had no idea what exactly this site was or what it would become. I was shocked the first time a perfect stranger, who had found me on MMB, commented on my blog.

Since that time I have met a lot of great people that way. Still, I have had repeated pangs of guilt about the category I'm placed under. I figured that, yeah, sometimes I write about something funny or what I write ends up coming out kinda funny. But I continue to feel a little bad.

I feel bad because, let's face it, everything I write isn't funny. Let's also face it, most of what I write isn't funny. This isn't exactly a "humor blog". It's just my blog, you know?

So anyway, I'm gonna move over to the International blogs because if there is one thing that can be said about my blog it's that it is international. And don't try to tell me it's not!
(just got my first two comments and forgot that of course you nice people will tell me I'm funny after this post! I really did not mean to ask for that.)

Enough About You

I wish I had anything to say. I'd like to blog more regularly, but I just don't have anything floating around in my head wanting to come out on my blog. There's no room in there for floating. It's a high traffic area.

But then Heidi left a comment in my last post that reminded me of something. Her comment is a few lines long about reflections she has had similar to those I posted about. Reading her comment I was very interested in her thoughts and then she suddenly said, " Um, anyway, I'm talking an awful lot about me." and I thought, Oh! But please go ahead! Keep "talking"! (she didn't, maybe because she couldn't read my thoughts, partly because she'd already written the comment by the time I had them)

So I was a little surprised about that and then I remembered something. I feel like that regularly! I read someones blog post with interest and by the time I get to the comment form all I say about the post is, "that's so neat!" or "I love it when that happens!" or something before I start in on a 3-12 paragraph comment about me and my experiences. Then I sometimes feel dumb and either edit it or delete it and go back and respond more to the post.

This urge to edit is unusual for me because usually I really do just say what I want. I don't try to come up with something to say in the comments, so sometimes I just don't respond. I enjoyed the post, but am taking it with me without leaving anything behind (sorry to those who think that's rude. Putting the way I just did sort of makes it sound like stealing. Hmmm.). I don't worry about coming up with something clever or thoughtful. I just say what I want. And sometimes it's a lot. About me. Then I feel bad.

I think what I learned from Heidi's comment is that a) maybe I'm not the only one who feels like that sometimes, and b) maybe other people don't mind long comments about the person commenting.

After all, people blog because they want to share their thoughts. People read blogs because they want to read those thoughts. Comments are an extension of that, so really it's best to say what you want (within reason) in a comment. And at least for me, I love reading anything someone has to say. Even (especially) if it's a long story or string of thoughts. It helps me feel the blogging connection. Whatever I said made you think of that, and whatever you said made me remember that 12 paragraph long story (for which I still apologize). It should mostly be okay to just type it out and hit "comment". (or whatever the button says. Weird that I comment several times every day and I don't remember what the button says. The human mind is so weird*.)

*note to self: there are other words that mean the same thing as "weird". Using the same such word twice in as many sentences is wrong. Strange, odd, bizarre, unusual, uncanny. . .
Weird is my favorite.

Made Over

I've been thinking a lot lately about making myself over. I want to lose another ten pounds (or fifteen. Twenty would be okay, too) I desperately need a haircut (see previous post). I haven't bought clothes in a thousand years and never feel well dressed etc.

The last time I made myself over I got a haircut and new glasses on the same day (this was two years ago). I was quite excited. Until I came home looking like this.

Now, I'm not saying it's the worst look in the history of all looks, I'm just saying that I absolutely hated the haircut and felt like a total dork in the glasses. I would give that makeover an F.

I won't be buying new clothes until I lose the weight (and we strike it rich. Both things will likely happen around the same time) and a haircut can only do so much for you, so that makeover will have to wait.

~~*****~~

Listening to General Conference made me feel like it was time for a different kind of makeover. I got a huge amount of inspiration and am excitedly making changes that will likely soon have me translated (maybe I won't have to worry about the new wardrobe after all, since I think they give you your white robes in Heaven gratis)

~~*****~~

Now, the other part of me, my blog, has been in need of a makeover for ages upon ages, ever since all the graphics and borders mysteriously stopped appearing about a year ago. This has been The Year In Which Lisa Didn't Care, but now I'm starting to care again.

I had just been scouring the Internet for a new template when a friend of mine made an offer that was positively providential (are you hearing Mrs. Spencer's voice? I am.)

There are a number of reasons I am grateful I read Melissa Bastow's blog. First of all, she is Fu-nny. Silly and funny and fun to read. She has excellent phobias and four very small and sweet-cheeked kids as well as a fabulous imagination (hence the phobias, I believe).

The imagination also contributes to her artisticness. She draws, and has a website, Green Jello with Carrots, that offers some awesome clipart and games, and handouts and posters and other paraphernalia for use at church (primary, RS, YW etc.) or home (FHE, Conference, etc.)

She's also branching out into photography, but even more applicable to you all, she makes buttons. Not the kind that keep your pants up or your shirt on, the kind you stick in your sidebar. You know, for advertisement and also to look cute. If you want a button, Melissa is the girl for you.

BUT the real reason I'm glad I read Melissa is because she offered to make my blog over. How happy was I!?! Very. Until it came time to tell her what I wanted. Hmmmm. I gave her an extremely vague idea, and LOOK WHAT SHE DID TO MY BLOG!!!

I really love this new look. It's perfect for spring. It's awesome, and I'm SO thankful to her. She can really do anything. She made her own blog and I'm pretty sure she put together the other sites, too.

Now this makeover I would give an A.

Check her out if you want a button, or a makeover!! (or clipart or a photoshoot)

*Please love my punctuation and capitalization in this post

Congratulations And About A Hike

The winner of the giveaway, randomly chosen by Ewelina is the 21st commenter, which is Charrette!!  I'm even going to really send her a package in June, despite the fact that she lied in the comments here.  Or maybe she was just making a joke.  Yes, that must be it. (She said "Congrats!  You started just before I did!  But you are way better at it than I am. . . ."  As a matter of fact, this is sort of funny because I've been contemplating adopting a more Charrette-style blogging schedule.  This means that I would blog whenever I felt like it, and more likely when I actually had something to say (although what I'll say will never be as thought provoking or well written as what she writes!).

So congratulations, Charrette!  Email me your mailing address!  

And I'll end with a couple of pictures from our trip up the Holy Cross Mountain to visit a monastery.  Greg had taken a group of missionaries there a few weeks before and had made friends with a monk-in-training and talked to him about the Book of Mormon.  He was interested in reading it, but neither Greg nor the missionaries had one on them at the time (oh, for shame!  Who doesn't take one along when they're hiking?), so we all went up there to deliver it.  

Well, that was the main reason we were going, but for David, the main attraction was to be seeing the petrified cadaver of the Polish-Lithuanian aristocrat  Jeremi Wiśniowiecki who died in 1651 and whose son became king.  Unfortunately the sanctuary was closed when we got there so we missed out on that (I was heartbroken, let me tell you.)  But David actually cried.  He is a serious lover of all things ancient Egyptian, and especially mummies.  This was his first chance to see one (sort of) in real life.  

The hike up the mountain was gorgeous.  It's surrounded by a completely preserved forest which was ringing with birdsong and smelled moist and earthy.  The leaves were just starting to appear on the trees and there were fallen trees in various degrees of decomposition everywhere and they just made the whole forest floor look like out of a fantasy novel.  I totally expected some mythological creature to peek its head around one of the trees at any minute (it never did, though.  I guess they're shy).  

This was also great exercise for all of us.  We were actually on our way home from Greg's parent's house after Easter, where we had spent a few days in the forest on long walks.  We are just getting interested in Nordic walking, and on the way up the mountain I used the sticks the whole time.  Now there's a good workout!  And Aaron LOVES walking  uphill, (bonus!).  I felt so good after this that I've been walking every day since (although not Nordically, as I do it in our neighborhood).  

So, yeah.  The pictures.  Here they are.  You can't see the kids faces in either of them, but that's not very important to me (even if it drives my mom crazy) and they were taken on his cell phone so, you know.  And I realized belatedly that I should post some pictures of the monastery itself.  Maybe later. . .

One Yearish Mark GiveAway

I'm pretty bad with celebrations.  I can do them, and I enjoy them, but I don't do things big very often.  So in keeping with that bad personality trait, I proclaim:

It's been about a year since I started blogging!!  

How official and celebratory is that?  I started posting on my regular schedule April 16th.  I was going to celebrate on the day a stranger first commented on my blog (that's you, Becky!) which would be in July, but that is too late for me to mail something to someone, since I plan to do it in June when I'm in Hamerica (that's what Greg calls it, so I do sometimes, too.  I doesn't mean anything besides America). 

So there you have it.  I love blogging.  I love keeping up with family and friends and I really love the new friends I've made.  I love that I can write whatever I want, even though I sometimes feel bad because it's not worth reading for others, but I want to write it anyway.  So I do.  I have stayed true to myself in this blogging world, though, and that's what counts (to me).  That and the friendships I've made and getting really amazing insights, information, stories and laughs from you all.

I really appreciate you guys a lot.  I would like to be rich and just send a package to everyone I'm friends with through blogging.  Maybe next year. . .

So what am I giving Away? you might ask.  I'm not really sure!  Now race to enter the giveAway, everyone!!  :)

I'm giving Away Polish stuff.  I have a suspision that it will be mostly food but I'll be sure to include some other Polish stuff, such as things that they have in Poland that aren't food.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post.  I'll choose a winner on Saturday (and mail the stuff, as I said, in June, sorry!).  And I hope it's YOU!  (meaning, no need to spread the word.  Let's keep this in the family (plus people who chance upon it, you're invited too, of course!), unless you know someone who's crazy about Polish stuff or something, then you can share.)

*********

Now to COMPLETELY change the subject for a minute.  I need to vent a little.  About Breaking Dawn.  I know I'm extremely late to that party, but here I am.  **might be spoilers ahead**

I'm not the type to get worked up over a story or to be too critical, or generally to get all involved, so that's not what this is about.  I just really need an answer to a question I keep having.  I am about 3/4 of the way through the book.  The vampires are gathering.  So they can "witness" to the Volturi.  Because hopefully seeing all the vampires there will make them stop for just long enough to listen.  It's not very likely, though.  Everyone will surely die.  

WHY ON EARTH DOESN'T SOMEONE, LIKE, SAY, BELLA, WHO IS IMMUNE TO ALL THEIR TRICKS, GO TO ITALY AND TALK TO THEM?  She was planning on going, anyway.  They aren't coming to Forks for A FREAKIN' MONTH.  If all that is needed is to explain what Renesmee is, why are we waiting for them to get in battle formation FOR A MONTH (and why on earth do they keep talking about a month as if it's SUCH  a short time?  Do the Volturi really have that much to pack? Maybe it is a short amount of time if it's all you've got left to live, but it's also PLENTY of time for 85 smart vampires to go on the offense.  Be serious.)  

I have read a little bit further and I know that they're suspecting that it's not about Renesmee but any excuse to carry out their evil plot, but still.  Why this gaping hole?  Or is it not gaping.  Or not even a hole?  Please SOMEONE ENLIGHTEN ME.

Despite this and a number of other smacking my hand to my forehead moments, I'm actually enjoying this book some.  (thanks for sending it, Su!)

********

Choices

My poor old laptop is really and truly dying.  I hope we can get through this difficult time in our lives.  I know we at least have a few more days together, so I'm trying to make the most of them, and won't actually start my dance of joy until the death is complete (because how rude would that be).  Some reasons I will rejoice when I inherit Greg's laptop are:

I will be able to open up ANY BLOG I want to

I will be able to comment on people's blogs

I will be able to watch people's videos

I will be able to listen to people's music

I will be able to see people's slideshows

I will not wait 48 hours for the computer to complete every command I give

All of the above will be accomplished without the computer shutting down on me.  That will be great.

This weekend while we were traveling we stopped in a mall and took a peek at new laptops for Greg (haven't found one yet. . .).  I made an observation though, that I wanted to share:  

Killzone 2 for Playstation 3! Really?  Because the first Killzone wasn't gory or graphic enough?  It's probably not as bad as it sounds, but I just don't have a husband or kids that play computer games (at all) and I can't imagine how we came to a point where people are rushing to the store to buy a heavily advertised and likely long awaited game called Killzone.  Wow.  

And now. . . how to transition. . . Oh!  I know:

Fortunately we get to choose what games we play (I know we can't choose for our spouses, sorry girls!)  and what other forms of entertainment we want to take part in.  And guess what?  I choose the good stuff!  Like Annette Lyon's latest book in her temple series, Tower of Strength.

It's just come out and it's good in all senses of the word.  But I'll be telling you more about the book another day (it requires its own post) but for now I'll just tell you that Annette's doing lots of celebrating and she's having a huge givaway bonanza (first time I've ever used that word.  Hopefully the last, too, although it is a great descriptor for this super awesome giveaway week)  Click those links to enter the giveaway!  But first check out this trailer for her book (I'd never heard of book trailers before this.  Cool!)

Husbands

Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.  

Just kidding.  Sort of.  I mean, that's not what I really was going to blog about, but it is true, in many ways.

In the last few days a couple of you have mentioned something about your husbands that implied that they know who I am (my blogging self I mean, of course).  Is that a little crazy?  I think it's a little crazy.  But I also think it's a lot awesome.  Not that they know me, exactly (although, hello!  Awesome!) but that our husbands, many of them at least, know us!  Oh shoot, that's not what I mean either.  Of course our husband's know us!  Mine knows me, yours knows you, but I think you understand what I'm getting at here.

I love telling Greg about posts that I have enjoyed or updating him about something he already knows about someone, or telling him about comment threads or showing him funny or neat pictures or  reading him posts, that are very meaningful to me.  I used to get flustered when I started in on one of these things, "So she's the one who's aunt showed up and was a real jerk but they ended up forgiving and having a bonding moment.  Remember?  With the little baby who fell down and had to get stitches on his eyebrow?"  And he would always remember (okay, not always; sometimes he says "No, but continue." so I do.) but I got a little sick of always giving a few reminders like that.  One night I was talking about one of you (okay, fine, it was Heather of the EO because I'd been talking lots about her and Asher's issues around that time) and finally I just said, "How should I help you know who I'm talking about?"  and my dear, wise husband said, "Why don't you just call her by name!"  

Genius!  So I did.  And now I always do.  And I do with many of you.  Of course I still give little prompts since he's not the best with names, even when they come with faces, and so without faces?  You can imagine.  

So my point was that I love that our husbands are aware of who our blogging friends are.  And one other reason is because it makes you all seem so much less imaginary when I'm not the only one I know who "knows" you and accepts you as real entities.  Living breathing humans, and not just words and pictures on a screen.  And that's such a relief because you guys have always seemed so real to me, and keep seeming more and more real all the time.

Some Background

I was going to tell a story from my childhood, but decided to talk about a different kind of background instead.

I love seeing what blog layouts people choose.  I think it tells something about you, just like the clothes you wear or the movies you watch or the way you hang your toilet paper (I'm an "over" kind of girl, and what that says about me is that I have common sense.  J/K, unless you hang yours over too, in which case: high fives for your common sense!).  They (blog layouts, remember?) can be conservative, crazy, cutsie, crafty, classy or any of a variety of other adjectives beginning with c. 

I know many people swear by The Cutest Blog on the Block, as it is super fast and easy to change layouts and you don't have to redo anything in your sidebar.  Also there is quite a fair selection, and new ones available all the time.  And it's free.  But I will never use them, although I love guessing at people's personalities, based on the backgrounds they choose. 

Why will I never use them, you may ask.  Aren't they cute?  Yes, they're cute.  Many of them.  But they almost all are very scrapbooky/crafty looking.  I am neither scrapbooky nor crafty and it makes it impossible for me to identify with any of those layouts.

Before I move on to my own layout, I'll mention, or remind you all, that my favorite layout ever is Alison Wonderland's.  I like all of my friend's layouts, and really like many of them, but I loved hers at first sight, and it's one of the main reasons I visit her blog.  JUST KIDDING!!!  Of course. 

Well, I really like my own layout (I'm not one of those people who chose a layout that they can't stand), but it came with large (huge) Italian words at the heading of the sidebar and the other middle text part (I've got my blog terminology down pretty well, here, no?  At least I know "sidebar").  Greg had to perform all sorts of tricks to get rid of them and to make it so that I could change the color of my background at will (but it was too crazy hard to make it so I could change the lines on the borders).  He spent an entire afternoon in the summer doing it all for me (and added in the kids' names on the swirls as a surprise). 

That was so very, very good of him, because he hates this background.  But he hated my previous one (which I loved dearly) even more, so he was willing to do almost anything to get rid of it.  Even give up a lovely summer's afternoon staring at something he didn't like (this layout in its original sage green--pretty!).

Why does he dislike it so strongly, you may ask.  He thinks it looks like a tattoo.  The kind girls get on their lower back.  Actually, he swears that that is what it is meant to look like.  I tried to explain to him that those tattoos are created to look like a classical swirly-type pattern (see, there goes my overactive vocabulary again.  I hope you understood that sophisticated description) that you might see on curtains or a bedspread or something.  I don't know.  But he just KNOWS it's a tattoo.  And wonders why I chose a tattoo pattern for my blog, since I'm not the biggest fan of tattoos.

So I told him I would ask you all if you have ever thought the word, "tattoo" while looking at my layout, or more specifically at the pattern at the top of it.  I'm very interested to know. 

The other day I went with him to Alison's blog to watch her favorite commercial (which has since become our favorite commercial) and the first thing he said was, "Oh!  Now that is a nice background!"  So at least we agree on something.

*If you want to you can answer the poll in my sidebar about your layout.

A Blog Friend Visits!

This weekend is the first time one of my blog friends is visiting. How exciting! He brought me malt powder and chili powder and mint extract. He brought books and DVD's for all of us and a t-shirt for Greg.

When he saw our "library" and my desk and laptop he asked, "Is that were it happens?" More than once in conversation he mentioned something I'd written about in a post. He even confessed that ever since he read about our most excellent washing machine he's been searching for any means to get to Poland so he could try it out!

Well, really he just says those things because he's funny and nice. I loved when he first got here last night and he said something about seeing a blog friend in real life. The truth is, he knew Greg (briefly) before I had ever met him (Greg). He was a missionary in Poland when Greg was a new member. Then, he and his lovely wife and their first little newborn moved to Poland for a year soon after we moved here. We stayed in their home sometimes on weekends because they lived in Krakow where we went to church. His wife helped me through my pregnancy and taught Ewelina in nursery.

So we did actually know each other before. And the food was actually from his wife (who will hopefully be able to come with him on one of his trips soon!). Still, last year when he came for a visit we were trying to catch up on each other for much of the time we spent together. Then, later on, we both started blogging and now I feel completely caught up on his family and it's wonderful to meet when we know just what's going on in each other's lives.

And one other thing I might want to mention, briefly. He was invited to give a talk at a university in Budapest on Thanksgiving day. Then he gave one at a university in Vienna; and finally he has come to Poland and given one at the Jagiellonian university in Krakow, all while he gets in as much research as he can. So I suppose there may have been a tiny bit of motivation besides our washing machine, but I think it really was a, "Oh! While I'm in Europe to see The Washing Machine, maybe I can get some scholarly stuff done, too." kind of thing. Smart people do that, the whole roasting-two-hot-dogs-on-one-stick thing. And he's smart.

Books I'll Buy: (And I'm Famous by Association, Right?)

I've been saying that I want to have a special book shelf to fill with books written by bloggers I know. This, of course, will happen one day in the future when our "library" is more than a room full of stacks of papers and books (on the floor) and we actually have shelves. Here are some of the books that will be on that shelf:

Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind (available for pre-order) by the authoress Heidi Ashworth, who also happens to be my friend the blogger Heidi Ashworth.



As Yet Untitled Book of Funny Blog Posts being compiled by Sue (also see below), all the proceeds of which will go to the NieNie Fund. I'm confident that some of your posts will be in this book! You'll be famous!!

Is it Arrogant to Quote Yourself? by my friend Kimberly VanderHorst who blogs at Temporary? Insanity.







All, if I can collect them, of the books by best-selling/award winning Annette Lyon including her latest, Spires of Stone. Her sixth book comes out spring 2009. And she blogs at The Lyon's Tale.

I'll be mad at myself if I've missed someone. Now here's a list of people whose books I'll one day be buying. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

My friend Melanie J of Write Stuff
My friend Alison Wonderland of -- well, that's both her name and her blog title
My follower Sue of navel gazing at its finest (just kidding--not about wanting to buy her book, though)

And now my throat hurts from all the yelling. (Please tell me who I've missed. Like do people who are doing the November writing thing plan to publish? Because then I will definitely be buying Kazzy and Brillig's books.)
**images pilfered off of these ladies blogs. I hope I'm not breaking some important law or can ate least be forgiven if I am.

Hypocrisy

I spend a good deal of my time telling my children not to do it, and yet here I am, devoting an entire post to it. Shouting. Or more specifically shouting out. Or giving shout outs. However you put it in the plural.

My sister, the mother of the famous little singer, recently told me (again) about what wonderful readers I have. She's wondered in the past how people (I) can read blogs of people they don't know. Like what could possibly be the draw. When she reads the comments you guys leave on here, I think she gets an inkling. And also she starts looking in on some of your blogs sometimes too! You're converting her!

I recently saw some pictures that made me smile hugely in wonder and amazement. Pictures of a little girl I have no connection with. Then I clicked over to see some more. Oh my GOSH. That is one darling girl. And those are some terrific pictures. If I lived near her mom, Melissa of The Howell Harold, we'd be best friends and she would be my photographer for my kids pictures because that's what she does, and she's amazing. So if you live in or near Denver you should totally hook up with her and have your kids shot!!

Now I want to tell a story about a girl who had a little lamb. Just kidding, but I want to wonder soMething out loud. How Are some people able to be everywheRe at once? How do some people follow so many manY blogs? I mean, and actually read and comment on them? I'm kind of thinking of one person in particular (in case you couldn't tell), and I'm also wondering how she manages to leave the cleverest comments on every blog nearly every time. Not like it's a competition, and not like I think comments need to be clever, but I'm just thinking, if I was keeping up with so many blogs, I and leaving such funny comments every time, it would take me all day every day. I would spend 5 minutes coming up with something hilarious to say after reading each post. But somehow she manages it and also has her own hilarious, and I mean hilarious, blog plus a clean house and two little kids. HOW DO YOU DO IT? Sheesh.*

I'm having difficulty adding new blogs, even though I keep coming across awesome ones. I start reading and think, should I just pop in for a visit once in a while? I'm getting nervous about following too many blogs since I like to read every word of every post, and I already feel like I'm spending too much time on the computer. How is one to do it?

Soon I'll scream at some of the people whose books I want to buy and read and keep on a special shelf for books written by my talented fellow bloggers. Or maybe I'll yell at them. Or give them a shout out, or whatever.

Two little footnotes: My dad was a professional photographer and when we were little we had a bumper sticker on our huge green station wagon that said, "Have your family shot today." with the name of the photography place in fine print underneath.
Also, I was planning on putting in that part about Mary BEFORE she started following my blog. It's not like we made some sort of deal or anything.

Appreciation

I just deleted a medium length post because I decided that less is more on this subject. (I was getting into issues of faith and how I've learned how different we all are in that area. Gone.)

I love blogging. I love that when I come across a blog that I feel uncomfortable reading, either because of the subject matter or the way subjects are addressed, I can just not read them. Even if they're hilarious or clever or well written or intelligent, and "everyone is reading them." I don't have to go back there and I don't have to worry that they might think I'm judging them, which would surely happen if we were in the same Relief Society and I chose not to spend too much time with someone. I love that they can be them, and I can be me without us getting in each other's way.

I just want to tell you guys that I think you are awesome. I should probably be emailing you individually or something, but I am really grateful that the blogs I have chosen to read consistently do not contain things that I feel uncomfortable with. No obnoxious political posts (political post are fine, just leave out the obnoxious), no gossiping, no questioning their faith in an irreverent way or mocking people they disagree with.

I wasn't ever going to include anything political on this blog, and I actually don't think the Prop 8 thing is a political issue, so I just wanted to tell you all that I love that there have been some good positive yes on 8 posts, and none of you have felt the need to vent your feelings on your blogs against the church for it's stance, or against the "evil" people who are against the proposition. I kind of think (hope) it's because you don't struggle with those feelings, but if you do, I recommend this post written by a woman who has tried to reconcile her personal feelings with the church's stance. Half of that post I can't relate to, as I've never struggled with an opinion that went against doctrine, but it's definitely worth a read for those who have.

So sorry to be all serious and whatnot, but I had to thank you guys. And now to lighten the mood, I'll share something else I appreciate. It was going to be part of my birthday post. Yes, that post was originally 72 pages long.

Things Greg's done that I think are amazing:
Greg's mother is something of an artist (but she never paints anymore). His sister is a good artist, too. Out of the blue, a couple of years ago, Greg decided to see if he could draw. He spent all his free time sketching for about 2 months, and hasn't picked up a pencil since (strange guy). As it turned out he can draw. He sketched this while the kids were playing with "goo" (cornstarch and water, no color or anything, that's how lazy I am) on Halloween two years ago. Evie was a fairy and David was Batman, I think.



And I like this, as well:


Quite a lot, actually.