Tag: Blog

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5 new faves

For the past couple weeks I’ve been doing a 31-day blog-improvement challenge hosted by the SITS Girls. It’s proven to be a lot to take in and I haven’t been the best at keeping up with all of the tasks on the days they are assigned, but I have found some most excellent bloggers in the process.

And why keep their magic all to myself? I’m no blog hoarder, despite what that list that grows daily in my Google reader may say.

So today I want to share the love with youse guys. (don’t start sending hate mail – NO, i don’t really talk like that. just thought i’d throw in a little Sconnie-accent humor)

Here, in no particular order, are 5 wonderful blogs that you should totally go check out. And don’t forget to tell them I sent you. ‘Cause I’m cool like that.

*****

Blairadise – Blair is a girl from the good ‘ol U. S. of A. now living in South Africa with her most beautiful family. I’m not even kidding. Her darling daughter just turned 1, so I love following her stories with a little girl pretty close to D’s age.

 
 

The Kids Are Alright – Seriously, this girl has it goin’ on. Angie lives in Madison (gold star right there!) and writes about it all – toddlers, fashion, balance, and blogging. She is full of the awesome, like this post of tips for new bloggers. And yes, I etched them all in my memory.

Angie also writes for Mama’s Gone Madison, a fantastic group of Madison mamas sharing resources for families in that Badger-loving area (which will always hold a special piece of my heart!).

 

Ramble Ramble – Ginger is simply wonderful, and I adore her blog. I mean just look at her header – it’s a box of candy! What’s not to love? This marketing mama is driven to have her own little creative space on these crazy interwebs, and she does an awesome job sharing tips and stories she’s found along the way. What first drew me to her blog was this tale, wherein I discovered that they, too, lived in Jersey City and loved losing themselves in the streets of Manhattan and the surrounding area. Small world!

 

The Wine{a}be – Suzanne has been a great help during this bloggy challenge we’re both undertaking, and her blog is beautiful. She’s all about the ins and outs of life in SoCal Wine Country (lucky girl!), and I hope that someday I, too, can explore all the magnificent places out there that she gets to experience daily. Oh, and I like wine too! Duh.

 
 
 
 

Little Green Bow – Deanna is one super cute girl with one super cute blog. She’s a DIY maven who loves a good challenge and even started her own software company! She also lives near my sisters, so I just automatically kinda feel like she’s part of the family. Except she doesn’t know me or my sisters, but that’s not creepy at all. Ahem. She also has a fantastic Etsy shop!

 
These beautiful ladies are all on Twitter and some are on Facebook too, if you’d like to follow them, so go have a few good new reads. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
 
 

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(Semi-)Blacked out to stand against SOPA/PIPA

Why the black bars up in the corners today? you may be wondering. A day of mourning? Not exactly.

Without completely blacking out my site (i wanted you to still be able to see me! well, and to give a little explanation of what’s going on, too), I’m joining thousands of others to put the Internet on strike for a day in an act of protest against the proposed Internet censorship bills SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act in the House) and PIPA (Protect IP Act in the Senate). SO-what?

Essentially these 2 controversial pieces of legislation aim to put control of the Internet in the hands of the government and corporations, namely the entertainment industry. They claim it’s to try to crack down on rogue foreign websites and Internet theft, but a core goal of these bills is really to get people to maybe buy more Hollywood movies. What the what? Yeah, I know, that’s what I thought too.

There are, of course, many more intricacies to and repercussions of these bills, and my synopsis above barely scratches the surface. Please watch this video for an excellent recap of what may happen if this legislation does pass.

If you’d like to join me in the protest, head on over here and here for details and to email Congress to stop the bills. For the sake of retaining my freedom to keep my blog as I know it, thank you!

 

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“Like” away…

**Warning: This post contains nothing but blatant self-promotion…**

I created a Facebook fan page for ScooterMarie a few weeks ago, but have really had no idea how to promote it or even make people aware that it’s there. I did send a recommendation for it out to friends on Facebook from my personal profile, but unfortunately a lot of you I don’t have in my friends list.

So I’m asking for a favor. Those of you who haven’t yet visited my page, or even known about it until just now, could you please jump over there when you have a quick second and give me a like? I know, I know – totally hawking my blog here, but I did warn you. Obnoxious self-promotion abounds.

You can link to my page through the Facebook button up there in the header, or else click right here:

Facebook
 

And to those of you who “liked” me from the start, I truly appreciate it! Thank you!

 

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Resolutions? What resolutions?

So in all the catch-up blog reading I’ve been doing since getting back from Hawaii, I’ve noticed a resounding theme from this past week. What? No, I didn’t read any blogs while I was on vacation. Why would I do that? There were way too many hours to be spent lounging by the pool and sun rays to be caught. Duh.

But as I was saying… It seems the thing to do this time of year is post either a year-in-review recap or a list of resolutions for the year ahead. Or both. For the overachievers out there.

As I read more and more of these posts, I keep thinking maybe I should do the same. But the more I think about it, the more it just doesn’t sound right for me. I mean, I just started this blog last spring, so I don’t have much of anything to recap there. Just a bunch of my random thoughts spilling onto this screen with a few site redesigns thrown in to keep you guessing.

In my non-blogging life nothing too exciting or noteworthy happened either. You’ve heard about most of my days here, and to be perfectly honest, I really can’t thing of anything magnificent that stands out to relive. 2011 was a decent year – some good trips, one of my sisters got married (which was awesome), and we are all healthy, so I’m thankful for that. But other than that – eh, not a whole lot to report. Just another year in the time books.

And as for resolutions, I’ve never been one to make them. I don’t really see the point of resolving to do something for the entire year on the very first day of it, when you really have absolutely no idea what’s going to come your way during said year. I mean maybe it’s kind of nice to have a general guideline in mind for yourself if you have certain areas of your life you really want to work on, but I kind of like myself as I am. I’m happy with most things in my life right now and don’t really feel the need to change much.

So call me a party pooper, but New Year’s resolutions aren’t my bag. And maybe it’s my over-inflated ego talking when I say I don’t have much I want to change, but it’s the truth. Sure some things could be tweaked a little to really make me ecstatically happy, but I’m not crying and whining without them.

I will say, however, that I think 2012 has a much nicer ring to it than 2011, so maybe that’s a sign of good things to come. Either way, a belated Happy New Year to you all!

The last sunset of 2011 that we saw (pardon the iPhone blur)

 

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I’m a Blogmas winner!

You guys, I am beyond flattered and excited to announce that I was a winner in Fadra’s (from all.things.fadra, duh) Blogmas Awards this year!!

No idea what Blogmas is? Well you can check it all out right here. Fadra is amazing, and I’m still blown away by the fact that I was one of her chosen ones this year for the inaugural Blogmas Awards.

And for what did I win, you’re surely wondering? My A mama in the darkness post. Please check it out and see if you agree with Fadra’s assessment.

Thank you, Fadra! And Merry Blogmas, everyone!!

Blogmas Worthy
 

 

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Hang on tight!

I’ll be going through some tweaking and redesign here on the ol’ blog for a minute, so please just sit tight if things look screwy or don’t work quite right or are just generally off.

I hope to get you back to our regularly scheduled programming soon…

Source

 

 

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How to have the *Best Blog on the Block* – DIY style

Because that’s what all of us here in the blogoshpere really want, isn’t it? I know when I first started blogging, I just wanted to carve out my own little space to set up a site, personalize it with a few pictures, and empty out my head through the keyboard. But as time has gone on and my eyes have been opened to the countless amazing blogs out there and the bloggers who created them, I’ve been spurred to try to make my blog a little better every day.

Now I don’t mean to say we’re all out here strictly trying to outdo each other and top everyone in stats or followers or have the biggest community or whatever, but I think each and every one of us enjoys the satisfaction that comes with adding a really great picture or finally getting that plugin to work or formatting our layout just so where it makes us happy each time we look at our pages.

I can’t tell you how great a sense of accomplishment I’ve felt along the way when I dug into the CSS code, tweaked something I’d never seen before (let alone actually tried to manipulate. have you seen how many random letters and symbols are in this stuff?), and when I reloaded my home page the change I made had worked and looked great! It’s the little things here people…

And if there was 1 source of inspiration and guidance that has helped me more than anything along the way, it was a virtual workbook I discovered recently. Do you remember my Week in My Life series of posts last month? Well Mel, the amazing ringleader of that endeavor, is seriously a blogging guru. She is the mastermind behind Momcomm, and there is where I found what could easily be coined the New Blogger’s Bible, her DIY Blog Critique Workbook. Ahhhh…! (picture that being sung by a chorus of cherubs)

If you are a blogger just starting out and want some insanely good advice, or a pro blogger maybe looking to do a little site tweaking or freshening up, or even a non-blogger debating making your own splash into this blogging pool, READ IT!! I really can’t stress enough how helpful that workbook is.

In working through it, I found the motivation I needed to finally do some housecleaning and try to step things up around here. My blog has gone through a couple iterations now, and I’m finally at a point where I look at my content, click through the pages, tool around on the sidebar, and think wow, I actually created all of this, and I really like it! All of that is, in no small part, attributable to Mel’s workbook.

The step-by-step lessons she imparts are invaluable to discovering so many wonderful tools in this wide world of blogging. The workbook is billed as “43 Ways to Get Your Blog in Shape!” and that is no joke. It literally comes with a checklist so you can track your progress as you make your way through the sections, if you are so inclined.

And you don’t have to do it all in one fell swoop, or even in order, either. I did a ton of jumping around when I read it, sometimes because I had either already addressed the steps she suggested, they were a little too scary for me to try to tackle right then, or I just didn’t have the time to implement everything I wanted to all at once.

And what better time than NOW to check it out? We’re quickly closing in on a new year, and who doesn’t want to start 2012 with a bloggy bang? Maybe it’s just what that blogging friend needs to kick off the best blog ever. Or maybe you need an awesome idea for a gift exchange. Why not scoop one up for yourself and one for her (or him! or them!) at the same time? You know, a little pay it forward to get in the giving holiday spirit.

You can discover all of the magnificent details for yourself right here:

 

The links herein to the DIY Blog Critique Workbook are affiliate links, but it should be pretty obvious that I purchased it for my own use and would recommend it to every blogger and her cousin. Now go get your own!