I’ve Gone Blog Wild!

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What’s not to love right?  You get to babble on about whatever topic happens to be on your mind, or you get to profess to being an expert at something, anything and people read it.  On a good day, people even comment on what you’ve written.  Sadly, those days seem to be too far and few for my tastes, but hopefully moving to this new URL will help give me a jump.  I promise, I don’t bite and I won’t invalidate your thoughts – I’m good like that.  Honest.

Thanks to Andy Wibbles and his book, Blog Wild, I’m learning so much more about the blogosphere.  More importantly, I’m learning how to use a blog to enhance your business (more on that another day).  But better still, I’m learning that you can use a blog as your business site instead of designing a full on website.  This has me very intrigued, let me tell you.  This is definitely something I’ll be exploring in more detail over the next couple of weeks.

Not only do I enjoy writing blogs, but I also enjoy reading blogs.  I love poking around from blog to blog and having that voyeuristic peek into someone else’s life.  I haven’t gotten around to updating my blog links yet (though it’s on my list of things to do and will hopefully be done before this goes live), so until then, I thought you might like to check out a couple of my favorite blogs to frequent.

CityView – a friend of mine writes this blog.  She’s super busy starting up her own photography business and might not update as much as some folks prefer, but who cares.  She’s a talented photographer and she has a lot of whimsy in her photos.  She also shares some fun sites from around the web.

How About Orange – speaking of sites that CityView likes to share…she led me to this crafty gal.  Check out the post around her condo, she’s got some style.  She tends to kill her plants, but that doesn’t stop her from trying again with a new batch.  For that inner CraftyGrrl you’re hoping to embrace, she’s got quite a few fun tutorials on her site as well (just in time for the holiday season *hinthint*)

Mighty Gal –  I’ve been a fan of her Mighty Goods site with all the fun gadgets and what not.  But I have to say, I like reading about the day to day stuff.  And for those of you that seem to hit the occasional brain-fart when trying to come up with a blog topic or something fun to write about, check out her No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for your Blog.  It’s just got enough to spark those writing cells up again.

ljcblog –  yet another crafty gal.  Though this one loves food – especially fun foods – and travels a lot.  She’s always got a fun story, a new product or some great photos to share.

Mom-101 – I found this blog just a month or so ago when researching the recent Blogher conference.  While mommy blogs typical aren’t my thing (child-free here), she’s got a wealth of knowledge on a variety of topics.  She’s really knows a lot about the blogging world.  And you know what?  She makes being a mom sound fun (sometimes exhausting, but rewarding and fun).

Snarkspot – What’s not to love, it’s Jennifer Weiner?!?  She sounds like everyone’s best friend and her day to day stories just crack me up.  Even if I didn’t love her books, I’d have to love her blog.

Crazy Aunt Purl – I’ve been linking my site’s blog to her for quite some time now, but only recently have I started to read it myself.  I don’t know what I like more, that she can make sitting in traffic on the 101 funny or that she’s crafty?  I’m bound and determined to learn how to knit, so you never know, I just might see her at the next Stitch & Bitch (she’s a local, Valley girl).  Speaking of being local, she’s got a new book out and will be at the Grove Thursday, Oct 11th.  I’m hoping to stop buy and get a couple books signed (hoping to do a giveaway on our site).

This is by no means my definitive list – I keep changing things up – but it’s a good list to get you started.  Hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do.

I’m a Market Researchers Dream…

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How could I have spent the past twenty minutes on two separate studies not to have qualified for either one of them?!? Hello, I’m a 30-something year-old woman, of COURSE I use anti-aging products. Can I help it if I sometimes forget a day or two because I’m so busy slathering on anti-acne products. Is it my fault that you don’t consider sun screen as an anti-aging treatment?

Man, with all the money I’ve spent lately you’d think they’d be dying to have me on their panel. They also have a bit of a issue with a woman that works from home. Um…like we never leave the home office?!?! Like we don’t rant or rave about products to our family and friends?!?! Have they not heard of blogging?!?!

Oh well, maybe next time.

Edited to Add:  I’m such a dork.  I didn’t even realize it until I was getting ready for tonight’s Silversun Pickups show that my daily, daytime moisturizer is an anti-aging product.  I just bought it because I liked it when I was at Bliss.  Wonder if they’ll let me in on the research thingie still. 

Let’s Start Cooking…

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I was poking around the ‘net (go figure) and stumbled on this awesome site called Startcooking.com. It’s part blog and part cooking video how-to’s. Her inspiration? Watching her husband make some videos for his website, she thought, “about all the people who are really smart, well educated and clueless about how to cook. I kept thinking “cooking” – “iPod” – “cooking” – “iPod.””

Now I’m not a bad cook. In fact, sometimes I really enjoy cooking and some times I cook well – other times, well, that’s a story for another day. But I’m also someone that seems to have trouble cooking some of the more basic things – rice and eggs come to mind.

I’ll admit it, I suck at anything egg related. I have no clue how to make a perfectly hard-boiled egg; I’m either too hard or too soft. I can’t seem to scramble eggs without them being runny and don’t even get me started on omelets. Needless to say, I don’t even bother with quiche or frittatas. But I don’t know, Kathy just makes it all seem so easy.

Kathy also has her how-to videos available on iTunes. They’re quick, simple and easy to follow along. Some, like boiling eggs are super quick, less than a minute, while others, like roasting a chicken or frying chicken cutlets can last as long as 3 minutes. Check it out, you might just learn something. I know I did!

Bruuuuuce!

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My hubby is a die hard Bruce fan.  I mean the kind that will travel (within reason) to see more than one show on a tour.  In fact, we’ve got tix for both LA and San Francisco this tour already.  While I may be a Jersey Girl born and bred, I was unfortunately born a couple of years too late to worship at the pulpit of Brother Bruce.

In my defense, I was a freshman in high school during the Born in the USA heyday.  And well, let’s face it, that was such a commercial pop album that it’s not like it did much to turn me into a fan, especially considering I was already experimenting with Brit pop and the new wave scene (like any good, big-haired girl from Jersey in the 80’s!).  From there we had Nebraska and Atlantic City and all those depressing albums.  Me, I’m more of a River fan.  If you want me to enjoy Bruce, then give me the classic Bruce.

I’ve seen him three times since hooking up with the hubby and let me tell ya,  he puts on one helluva show.  I’m just not a die hard fan – much to the dismay of his online Bruce Fan friends.  No really, when the “Bruce folks” (as they’re referred to) talk about the hubby’s wife (being me) the first question asked is if I’m a fan.  Then comes the let down that I’m not only not a fan, but I’m a Jersey Girl.  Yeah, I’m a total disappointment to that group.  Luckily, they still love me, hubby included.  Of course, I’m sure he’d much rather I didn’t sing along to Brother Bruce at a full out scream, but hey, that’s half the fun for me (don’t ask).

So my point to this Bruuuuce post…why is it that my hubby, the guy that’s actually in the music industry and gets 2-25 CDs delivered a day (yes, a day!), had to have me run out to Best Buy to pick up the latest Bruce album today – the actual day of release?  Should I even mention the fact that he’s had a bootleg pre-release for a couple of weeks already? Eh well, it’s not like I had something better to do between loads hanging out at the laundromat today.

Things I’m Loving Right Now

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Aside from the obvious – my hubby, my boys, my friends – I thought I’d share a few of my favorite things (in no particular order)…

* Coke Zero & Cherry Coke Zero – my friend, a diehard Coke fan tried a sip of mine this past week and even she was impressed how good it taste.  It’s that good.  So if you normally don’t like diet sodas, try Coke Zero.

*  Fiber One bars – I’m not a big breakfast person so these work out great for a quick meal.  I love to take these with me when I travel for those times when we’re not quite ready for a big meal, but still need something (and have slept through the free breakfast).  I prefer the chocolate over the peanut butter, but trust me, both are good.

* Mac – We recently became a Mac-only household and I’m totally loving both my G5 and my super portable iBook.  For those considering making the switch, have no fear, it’s super easy.  And my system crashes so much less (if at all) since we switched.

* OPI polish – They not only have the greatest colors and the coolest names, but it lasts much longer than the cheaper crap out there.  Totally worth the extra couple of bucks.

* Public Library – I read a lot of books (well, I read a lot of books in spurts at least), so I’ve recently started getting my books through the library.  I love that I can request books online and they’ll shoot me an email when my book has arrived.  This has saved me tons of money recently.

* Vichy Intensive Care for Dried Out Lips – I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to lip products.  I am constantly purchasing new lipsticks, glosses and lip balms.  This baby (from CVS)  is awesome for that pre-bed slather of lip balm.

That’s enough for now.  I could keep going on and on, but I’d rather hold off and rave again another time.

Today is National Coffee Day!

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Who knew? I mean, I’m not totally and completely surprised since there seems to be a “national day” for damn near everything imaginable lately. Interestingly, a couple other countries celebrate a version of National Coffee Day, just on different days – in Ireland it’s September 19th, in Costa Rica it’s September 12th and in Japan it’s October 1st.

Well, being aware and able to catch 2 out of 4 coffee celebrations are good enough for me. Like I need a reason to head on over to ‘Bucky’s for a pumpkin spice latte or to CBTL for a pecan praline blended. Mmm…I do love fall and flavored coffees!

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Thanks to Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea for the additional dates.

While Packing My Clothes…

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I remembered seeing a Japanese video on a funky way to fold shirts. It was perfect every time. Thing is, they went so fast I couldn’t quite figure it out. So here is a nice slow, English version of this technique. Hope it helps you as much as it helps me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN6uLeEgLLk]

A Few Days Away

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My best friend is coming to visit this week and to celebrate her 40th to it’s fullest extent. We’ll be off in Vegas relaxing and having fun in classic Vegas style. I won’t be around for most of the week, so I’m doing what I can to pre-publish some stuff now.

So while you wait for my return, why not take a moment and drop me a brief howdy-do? I’ll even help you out and ask a question inviting you to answer back…how many states (or countries) have you lived in and which is your favorite and why?

Have a great week!