Feb
24
Well, The Haiku Buckaroo Contest (Second Edition) is almost over. It’s okay to cry. Ah, Haiku Buckaroo. Good times, folks. Good times. But let us not close the book on this poetic chapter in blogdom without paying tribute to the benevolent forces that made it all possible: The Haiku Buckaroo Contest Sponsors.
Here’s how this post is gonna go: I’ll link you up to our sponsors. I’ll write up a little something about them, but I’ll try to keep it brief, because the whole point is for you to go and visit them. That’s right, peeps. I’m sending you away from my blog, because these people deserve your attention more than me today. (But, I do hope you’ll come back tomorrow. I’m guessing you will to see who wins the contest. But then, I hope you come back the day after that. And then again and again. Because I really like you.)
So, let’s get to the linky love.
- Twenty Five Days To Make A Difference. Wanna be inspired? Just clink that link. This blogger has dedicated a year of service to a variety of different charities. She encourages others to support those causes by running monthly contests her readers may take part in on her blog. AND SHE’S TEN! I’d recommend starting with her About page. Click. Read. Participate!
- Bananas and Toddlers. Mother of three adorable children. Etsy Goddess. This blogger is one creative woman; she can make anything! After cruising her archives, I have to tell you, I’m in awe. I just kept thinking, “How does she do it all!?!?” and “Why didn’t I start reading her sooner?” She’s simply amazing. Check her out!
- This Simple Life. Toni’s place is the Zen Garden of my daily blog walk. This devoted wife and unschooling mom of two offers a gentle reminder of what is important in life. And she does it with the kind of grace I only wish I had. She shares her life through her blog in a way that make me say, “What does she know that I don’t?” It keeps me coming back for more. And any mother-to-be should check out her About Birth series – it’s a priceless resource.
- Dirty Little Secret. I’ll never forget the first time I bought a Cosmopolitan Magazine. I was a pre-teen and had saved my allowance to procure it, then ran home, sprawled out on my bed and dove in, sucking up every juicy nugget of information, from the practical to the racy. It was awesome – like chocolate for my brain. This blog makes me feel the exact same way. Don’t miss this click. Can you really resist brain chocolate, anyway?
- Soccer Mom in Denial. She says of her blog, “While really wanting to call it Fag Hag Hiding in the Suburbs, these are just the musings of a working mom.” I think it’s more than that. If we were playing a word association game and you shouted, “Soccer Mom in Denial,” I’d reply with “Activist.” She’s a woman with a desire to create meaningful change in the world. Whether she’s doing it through her parenting, her work or things like her Day To Read initiative, she writes with a perspective of the world that I admire; she sees beyond the walls of her home and workplace. She also sponsors Music Monday – a brilliant idea I only wish I’d had – and has mad photography skills you can witness at the photoblog she and Jenn in Holland share: Looking Into.
- Jenn in Holland. She’s an American wife and mother of three living and working in The Netherlands. She knows lots of words, some even in Dutch, but the one I’d bet she is not familiar with would be ‘enemy.’ You don’t know warmth until you know Jenn. Go ahead and click over there; you’ll feel it burst out of your computer like a ray of sunshine. Be sure to leave a comment. Think about taking part in her Singular Saturday event. And don’t miss her amazing photo contributions at Looking Into.
- Jen at A2EATWRITE. She’s a wife, mother and guinea pig enthusiast with a heart for teaching, a talent for writing and a flair for cooking. She’s also a discerning reader, which makes me feel like a million bucks every time she visits my blog. Recently, two of her greatest passions – teaching and writing – came together and had a love child she named The Writing Game. It’s brilliant, just like she is. You won’t want to skip a visit to either of them.
- Finally, I’d like to point you in the direction of The Original Haiku Buckaroo Jami from not THAT different. She was generous enough to lend a great deal of her time and talent to select the next Haiku Buckaroo. In addition to being a Haiku Master, she’s the kind of person you want to invite to your dinner party (or add to your feed reader) because she always has something interesting to say. Click on over and say hello.
Thanks everyone for making The Haiku Buckaroo Contest so much fun!
Feb
3
My bloggy pals Pam at Bubbles Writes and Kristian at Lessons In Motherhood have been dying to know “six non-important things/habits/quirks” about me. And since writing about me is something I quite enjoy, you’re going to get six things, for each of them.
There were some rules that are supposed to go along with this, but rules schmules. I’m a rebel, ’cause I never ever do what I should. And just because I don’t do what everybody else does, that’s no reason why you can’t give me all your love, so saith The Crystals.
Alright, let’s rock this.
1. Julia picked a booger and wiped it in my hair today. She had seen someone do it on America’s Funniest Home Videos. I did not think it was funny. I’d like to know if you’d be laughing with boogers in your hair, Tom Bergeron! I owe you a wet willy, Sir.
2. I lost a Bloglines subscriber this week which led to a solid afternoon of moping around and singing Air Supply’s “All Out Of Love.” Adieu, fair subscriber. I shall miss you.
3. I’ve never been able to get Feedburner to work for me, so I have no clue how many total subscribers I actually have. It is probably best that I don’t know. I’d become as obsessed with that number as I am with my site statistics. Or my comments.
4. Speaking of site statistics, mine are telling me that many of you are clicking to read the incredible This Is Motherhood column. You know, the one where each month a different mother opens up and lets you crawl inside and see life through her eyes for less than 1,000 words? Yeah, you know.
Well, I just have to pass this Shameless Lions Writing Circle Award that I received from JerseyGirl89 at Dirty Little Secret and Jen at A2EatWrite on to the first two guest columnists – Kerith Collins and Karly. The two of them have lived up to every expectation I had for that column.
And now I’m supposed to list three writing tips, which I will give to the future This Is Motherhood columnists:
- Write what you know.
- Write from your heart.
- Write with the belief that you have something unique and powerful to say that someone out there is aching to hear.
5. It is my firm belief that the best thing you can give a pregnant woman is a pedicure. Husbands, take note.
6. I love Cadbury Creme Eggs.
7. Dave just asked me, “So honey, have you been keeping up with the political debates?” I replied, “No.” Then he asked, “Why not?” And I said, “I’ve had my head up my blog for three days.” And he laughed a lot for a long time. I’m not sure if it’s because it was funny or because he’s only spent 8 of the past 72 hours sleeping.
8. My friend SusieJ gave me the Excellent Blog Award, which I’d like to pass along to my fellow pregnant bloggers, Sam at Temporarily Me and Mommy the Maid at Ramblings from the Not So Typical Stay At Home Mom.
9. I often have dreams that I host a big blogging event at my house during which The Polyphoic Spree performs an outdoor concert in our field next to the barn and we all jump and twirl around to Light And Day. It’s like Woodstock. Or Blogstock. Or like this. If it ever goes down, I promise to invite you.
10. Light And Day is the most-played song in my iPod. The second most-played song is an edited version of Light And Day.
11. My psychic abilities are telling me that you really want a link to The Bananas Splits Theme Song. Alright. Here it is.
12. I received a big smackaroo from Jen at A2EatWrite, Jenn in Holland and Michelle at Scribbit.
I’d like to pass it along to each and every one of you…that made it to the end of this post. You deserve it!
Dec
24
In Math, Random Is A Pattern
by Leslie
My bloggy pals Suz and Jan each tagged me for a Random Things About Me Meme; Suz asked for 7 and Jan asked for 8. Since I’m a full-service blogger, I’ll fulfill both requests. That means, I’ll share 15 things. You may feel free to debate their randomness in the comments.
Here we go.
- I am left-handed.
- When I was in fifth grade, I had a jean jacket covered in pins. You see, I collected the pins. One of them said, “Left-handed people are in their right minds!”
- I also had one that said, “I’m not fat, I’m just fluffy.”
- And another that said, “When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping” – words that still speak to me today. If I had to choose a motto for my life, that just might be it.
- Or maybe “Everybody have fun tonight! Everybody Wang Chung tonight!”
- Dave and I could Wang Chung every night, all night.
- I can’t think of anything that’s as fun as Wanging Chung.
- I had a dream last night that I swallowed my iPod. Then, I felt like I might puke, but I didn’t want to lose my iPod, so I fought the urge.
- I fell asleep listening to my iPod last night, which may explain the dream. At least the iPod part. I still have no idea why I swallowed it.
- Maybe I drifted off during “I Got The Music In Me.”
- I just started to Twitter. You should follow me.
- My reward to myself for completing this meme: playing Space Invaders.
- I think Space Invaders is the coolest video game, ever.
- Although PacMan is perfectly delightful.
- I know that you’re wondering how I could possibly rank Space Invaders higher than Guitar Hero on my video game list. My response: Guitar Hero isn’t a game. It’s a way of life.
That is all.
Dec
23
I Ain’t That Average Groupie
by Leslie
About a month ago, Sam over at Temporarily Me handed out The Nap Warden award to some “great blogs” she’d been reading. And, guess what?
I was on the list!
When it happened, I was all, “Holy Frick! Sam is like a real blogger. Like, a good one. And she’s been reading my little blog? I had no idea!” I did a happy dance, then left a comment about how she made me feel all gushy and twirly. Then, I let her request for a list of my favorite blogs sit on my to-do list until now.
So, here I give you a list of the blogs I just have to read the moment they pop up in my feed reader. I guess you could call them my favorites.
1. Dooce. A mommy blogger without a subscription to Dooce is like a stock broker without a Wall Street Journal.
2. Finslippy. The most entertaining blog. Period.
3. Fluid Pudding. Angela gives me that 2:30-in-the-morning-conversation-and-we’re-getting-really-giddy kind of feeling. I love that.
4. Wiping Up Snot. I know, I know. Karly is on every list I ever make and you’re all like, “Enough with the PDA!” because I am totally blowing in her blog’s ear right now. But Karly is my favorite. I love Karly. I’m 100% positive that she’s my soul mate. And she just moved over to her own domain. If you consider that, this is like the first time I’ve ever linked to her. Plus, if you go to her new blog address right now, you will see that I am her TOP COMMENTER. Funk dat!
5. Dirty Little Secret. I’m not sure if I’m just falling in love or if I am witnessing greatness in the making, but this blog gets better and better with every entry.
6. Bubbles Writes. I’m lovin’ this girl. She’s real and she can write!
7. The World According To Suz. If I had met Suz in high school, I would have made it my mission to become her BFF. I would copy everything she did and have a secret crush on her. Kind of like the crush I have on her now, except it would be secret.
8. SusieJ. Think Goddess of Motherhood and you’ve got SusieJ. She’s exquisite. She has the kind of blog I wish I wrote.
Okay, I gotta stop somewhere and this is it. It’s hard to make lists like this! Someone awesome is always left out. (If you believe you are the awesome one that has been left out, feel free to submit a complaint in the form of a Baby Got Back song parody. It can be a video or just lyrics. Whatever.)
Nov
20
Here! Hop In My Time Machine. Let’s Go!
by Leslie
Veronica, one of my newest blogging pals, has tagged me for a meme. The Crazy 8 Meme! Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did it before. But this time, I’m doing it with a twist! It’s the The Crazy 8 Meme – High School Version. Specifically, my senior year of high school.
Awesome idea, isn’t it? I know! It wasn’t mine. Michelle at Scribbit did it first after being tagged for the same Random Things meme a few times. She did a high school or teenage version, which was just brilliant. So, I copied stole was inspired by her idea and decided to apply it here.
Now, here we go! Back to 1994.
Things I’m Passionate About:
1. My boyfriend
2. My hair
3. Becoming a neurologist
4. Beverly Hills 90210
5. Well-defined calf muscles & a bikini-worthy tummy
6. Pepsi
7. My clothes
8. My hair (I know I said it once, but really, it was very important to me.)
Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
I consulted my Senior Book for accuracy on this one. Here’s what I found listed as my “Dreams and Goals.”
1. Get married
2. Have children (Specifically a boy and a girl, in that order. Yeah, I actually wrote that down.)
3. Visit Ilka in Germany
4. Visit Australia
5. See The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
6. Own a BMW
7. Design & build my own home
8. Stay married to the same person my whole life. (I went on, at length, about how I never, never, never wanted to be divorced. Oh, how disappointed 17-year old Leslie would be in me. But it’s okay. She doesn’t know what I know.)
Things That I Say Often:
1. I’m sorry. (My nickname could have been ‘Door mat.’ I apologized for everything. I don’t do that anymore.)
2. You go girl!
3. Schwing!!!
4. Does burping count? I did that a lot. I could burp words…so, yeah. I just decided. It counts.
5. Excuse me. (Okay, I burped a lot, but I had manners.)
6. Later. (This was how I said good-bye. I know. I oozed cool. In college it grew into “Check ya later.”)
7. Chica. (I called all my girls Chica. Because I’m hip with a Spanish flair. Or something.)
8. The double pistol finger raspberry (Okay, technically this isn’t something I said, but it was a gesture that included sound from my mouth. And it communicated a specific message. I’m including it.)
Books I’ve Read Recently (Or Am Reading):
1. Pet Sematary
2. The Bible
3. The Exorcist
4. The Entity
5. Christy
6. The Age of Innocence
7. The Tiger Lily
8. Story of O
Songs I Can Listen To Over And Over :
(And I’ve linked ‘em up to YouTube so you can listen to them over and over, too!)
1. The Sign by Ace of Base
2. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers
3. Can’t Help Falling In Love by UB40
4. Mr. Jones by Counting Crows
5. I’d Do Anything For Love by Meatloaf
6. No Rain by Blind Melon
7. Two Princes by The Spin Doctors
8. What’s Up by Four Non Blondes
What Attracts Me To My Friends:
1. Sense of humor
2. Fun-loving spirit
3. Shared experiences
4. Openmindedness
5. Fashion sense
6. Good hair
7. Loyalty
8. Trust
Things That I Learned That Year:
1. A great tan can make you look thinner. And hotter. I mean, freakin’ hot.
2. A girl can only live so long on a diet of plain baked potatoes and Diet Pepsi.
3. A true friend will let you puke in the back of her car and never say a word.
4. You’re never too old for a slumber party.
5. Being kind is always worth it.
6. Gullibility can be a real character flaw.
7. The church can often have very little to do with God or righteousness.
8. Never assume you’ll have time to fix something later. You never know when you’ll say good-bye to someone for the last time.
This time, I’m tagging my husband, so he can quit whining that I never tag him. Or link to him. And he can see how challenging this meme really is.
Have fun, Grimm. *insert maniacal laughter here*
Stuff I Do
-
Stuff You Should Do
You know, Stuff.
