What is Blog Day you ask? Taken directly from the Blog Day website:
BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors.
With the goal in mind, on this day every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. This way, all blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs.
Add the Blog Day tag using this link and add your link here.
In celebration of Blog Day, I share with you five blogs I really like.
Craving Silence- Shania is a genuine, honest and open person. She is also incredibly powerful and strong. She owns her own excavation company and plays with the really big trucks! Give her a read, you'll love her strength and style.
Widget- I met Widget through the interview exchange hosted by Neil at Citizen of the Month. Widget lives in Australia (I love hearing about the difference between US and AU) and is a Junior and Senior High Teacher of Music. In her words "I love my job as kids always amaze me with their brilliance, audacity or stupidity - depending on their mood." So true!
Sizzle Says- How could you not love Sizzle? She is smart, sincere and funny. I had the extreme pleasure of meeting her at BlogHer and we've been playing WordScraper ever since. Go check her out, you won't be disappointed.
Lampshades Make Great Friends- Ok, so I admit I am slightly biased by Amanda being my cousin, but seriously, she is laugh out loud funny. She has small kids, a husband, dog, cats, full time job, freelance job and yet, she still finds time to blog. She has an amazing way with words and paints such a picture you can just see the events unfolding in your head. Read her, you won't be sorry.
Free and Flawed- Jenn is one of my favorite Chicago bloggers. She is sassy, spunky and into all things geek. She even has a separate blog for it, Must Love Geek.
Because I have never been very good at following the rules,
Oh! How Lovely!- Jamie is another favorite Chicago blogger. I met Jamie at BlogHer and we had a fantastic time. We share a love of dogs, both have families that are a little over the top and are MacBook girls. Check her out with her adorable puppy Edie.
On Common Ground- The Missus is a fantastic writer who also loves yoga, Starbucks and fashion. Give her a read as she chronicles life in Boston.
There were so many blogs I wanted to pick for this post, it really was a hard decision. Give them a read and do a post of your own telling the Blogosphere what blogs do you recommend?
Happy Blog Day!
Sometimes the Haters Win
Like most people, I do not like to admit defeat. That is exactly how I feel though, defeated. You see, I just did something I never thought I would. I deleted a blog post. This past week I have been getting many hate comments, each several paragraphs in length, on my blog, sent to my email and shorter ones direct messaged to my Twitter account. It finally got to be too much.
At first I thought it would die out quickly especially with important events in the media like the DNC and the amazing speeches that were delivered on national television. I thought the haters would get tired of hating me and move on to spew their hatred somewhere else or even better, talk about something of greater importance. Not wanting to add fuel to the fire, I didn't respond to any of the comments, emails or tweets and wasn't going to create a post dedicated to this. Obviously I've changed my mind about the post, but nothing else.
I also wanted to stand on principle. I don't say anything on the internet that I wouldn't say in the real world, out loud, face to face. Knowing how the internet works, I assume anything I put out there is up for judgment by anyone who comes across it. I welcome a respectful difference of opinion and even a spirited debate between two people because more often than not, I learn something. I LOVE learning and looking at things from an alternate point of view. I often don't change my opinion, but I keep an open mind and respect that everyone has a right to their opinion.
This particular instance this past week was anything but respectful. It was hateful, mean and degrading. I was told that my blog was "a worthless piece of crap" based on the one post they read and that I "don't even deserve to think". Most of these were from anonymous commenters with whom a conversation cannot take place.
I have held my head high and repeatedly told myself, the haters are the one with the problem not me. People who leave hateful comments from the veil of anonymity are really cowards. They are akin to those who drink to find their courage except these people get behind a computer screen. Internet courage.
This past week I have also had three people violate my Twitter account and browse in my direct messages file. How do I know this? They were stupid enough to click a link in that file that lead back to my blog which has traffic counters that capture their information. While I have the IP addresses, I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with this information. I have changed all passwords and deleted anything in my direct messages folder that identifies anyone around me.
Ultimately I decided to be the one to put a stop to the hate by removing the post. It was obvious the comments were not going to stop even after disallowing anonymous comments. Blogging is supposed to be fun. I treasure the friends I have made through blogging. I'm thrilled with the new friends I made by attending BlogHer. While sending hate email and hacking into someone's Twitter account may be the vibration others choose to resonate with, I choose to ring to a much higher vibration. I demand better for myself and for those who read my blog. I want this to be a safe space for myself as well as my readers.
You know, maybe the haters didn't win, maybe I just took control of creating the outcome I desire. Perhaps I should substitute the word empowered for defeated. Your thoughts on the situation?
Today I Played in Traffic
In memory of 100 Things To Do Before You Die author Dave Freeman, I did something memorable today. I have always wanted to do this and Smalltownmom has been twice, increasing my anticipation about said event. Are you curious yet?
I rode a Segway! While I can't exactly say I took to it like a duck to water, after some time I relaxed and it was tremendous fun. We rented Segways from Dallas Segway Tours and had the ever knowledgeable Cindy as our tour guide and Jason as our safety spotter. The tour of the West End in Downtown Dallas took about two and half hours and included Dealey Plaza, Belo Broadcasting Tower, the Old Red Courthouse, Bank of America (aka, the "green" building), JFK Memorial, Pioneer Square and Dallas City Hall where I got this shot.
Even though it was 101 today, the heat wasn't too bad since most of the tour was shady and as you get going the breeze is really nice. Top speed on our Segways was 12.5 miles per hour. Cindy expertly tossed out facts as we breezed by each attraction and when we asked her she admitted it takes about 3 months to develop a new tour which not only includes fact gathering but road testing. Her efforts were obvious as we sailed down wide sidewalks, smooth curb cuts and enjoyed plenty of photo opportunities.
Speaking of photos, behold my geekyness:
So what have you done memorable lately?
SO thinks he may have found a new market
I come into the kitchen after putting out the trash and recycles for trash day and as I'm washing my hands, I look over to observe something interesting. The SO is pushing back his cuticles.
Observe:
Me: What are you doing?
SO: I'm pushing back my cuticles.
Me (noticing the shiny metal object): With a paper clip?
SO: No, with the ring from a key chain.
Me: Oh?
SO: Yeah, everyone knows you can't use paper clips. They're too sharp. Duh! Besides, I think I'm going to patent this.
Me: Keychains? Seriously?
SO: Yeah, but I'm going to call it a cuticle ring!
I also pondered how he cleans his ears, but decided I'd rather not know.
Butternut Squash Risotto
I loved this and it was super easy to make. Grab a pen (or print this out) and you'll have dinner in no time!
Ingredients
1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion cut into thin wedges
4 medium orange sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (I swear this is what the recipe says despite it being for butternut squash risotto!)
2 cups risotto or arborio rice
5 cups vegetable stock
3/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
3 tbsp shredded sage
Heat oil and cook onion 2-3 minutes until soft. Add sweet potato and rice and stir until coated in the oil. Add the vegetable stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until absorbed. This should take about 25 minutes to stir in all vegetable stock. Once absorbed and rice is tender,add parmesan and sage. Stir and serve, garnishing with parmesan cheese.
This was so tasty. I loved the dish and it's too easy not to make again. Question, does anyone know why they call it butternut squash but the recipe calls for sweet potatoes? Are they somehow interchangeable or did I just find a strange recipe?
For more great recipes, check with Nic and RA, the lovely ladies hosting the Whip It Up Recipe Challenge.
Hey, let's make brownies!
You know how there are random things in the pantry and you can't even remember how they got there sometimes?
Hey, how long has this peanut butter been in here? We don't even have kids, what are we doing with peanut butter? Look at all this soup; we don't even eat soup. Twenty four boxes of cereal, who needs twenty four boxes of cereal???
Ahem. That would be me.
Moving on, I found this box of Baker's Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Squares and stared at it thinking "what would I ever use this for?" Let me tell you, you can make brownies with it... it says so right on the box. Did you know that? Just me? Ok. Well, since I had everything it said I would need and I needed to make a dessert for my half assed participation in Whip It Up Recipe Challenge hosted by Nic and RA, I decided to try it out. So far it's really easy and the brownies are in the oven now.
Ingredients:
Bakers Unsweetened Baking Chocolate, 4 squares
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
It calls for nuts but I don't like them so I pretended not to see that part.
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 13x19 inch pan with greased foil. (Trust me, use baking spray, greased foil is difficult to work with.)
Microwave chocolate and butter until melted. Stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add flour (and nuts, if you must). Spread into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Sounds easy, right? We'll find out how they taste in 20 minutes.
***Updated to add, the brownies tasted incredible! It was a rich, chewy goodness like no other brownie I have ever made. I will definitely make these again and soon since more than half the pan was gone a mere 5 hours later. So easy too!
First Day Jitters
I find myself sitting in a room so filled with promise and hope. Everyone is so fresh, some with new clothes, others the new trendy backpack. Young and old alike are represented.
So many seem nervous like myself. Do I have the right book? Hopefully my pen doesn't run out of ink; I knew I should have brought another. What if we have an assignment already? Oh look, we do have an assignment already.
The general ice-breaker exercise begins. Some are stammering to say their name. "Tell us something interesting about yourself" we are encouraged. More nervousness. What do I say? How am I interesting? We share these musings as we pick our brains for a fact that reveals enough of who we are to be known, yet not too much to a room full of strangers.
Eventually we get our syllabus, move through a bit of material and everyone breathes a sigh of relief as class ends. The reality of the first day of school hits me once again.
Gotta Get Groceries!
I was at the grocery store recently and overheard a mother talking to her son.
"Son, go get me another cart. These first two filled up so fast and we still need paper towels."
I looked over my shoulder and true to her word, both carts were overflowing. I'm thinking she needs to go shopping more often. Then I ponder that maybe she is the type to only go once a month and stock up on everything. Personally, I like to stock up on things like toilet paper and paper towels once a month (longer if I can get by with it) but go to the grocery store several times a week for fresh produce or other small meal planning items.
Which do you prefer, one big trip less often or several small trips?
Do you find that you save money by using one method over the other?
Celestial Park
I think creative types need a change of scenery can open the channels and let the creativity flow. I wanted to share a space with you, a place I go to think, to create, to let ideas incubate, to ponder my very existence.
I love walking around Celestial Park, reading the profound words of others who came into greatness long before my time and letting them inspire me.
(read from the bottom up, as you would if you were climbing stairs)
I do not value any view of the universe into which man and the institutions of man enter very largely and absorb much of the attention. Man is but the place where I stand, and the prospect hence is infinite. Thoreau, Journal April 2, 1852
The heavens call to you and circle around you, displaying to you their eternal splendours and your eye gazes only to earth. Dante "Purgatorio" 14 The Divine Comedy (c 1300-1321)
Earth being so good, would Heaven seem best? Robert Browning "The Last Ride Together" (1855)
That the sky is brighter than the earth means little unless the earth itself is appreciated and enjoyed. Its beauty loved gives the right to aspire to the radiance of the sunrise and the stars. Helen Keller, My Religion (1927)
Trees are the earth's endless effort to speak to the listening heaven. Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies (1928)
They cannot scare me with their empty spaces. Between stars- on stars where no human race is, I have it in me so much nearer home to scare myself with my own desert places. Robert Frost "Desert Places" A Further Range (1936)
The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me. Pascal, Pensees (1670)
Time flies over us but leaves its shadow behind. Nathaniel Hawthorn The Marble Faun (1860)
Where is your sacred space, your place to be inspired?
Onion Movie Winners
We have a winner... three winners actually. According to Random.org the lucky winning numbers are 24, 8 and 17 translating to Dodi (24) Hairline Fracture (8) and Karla (17). Please contact me with your address and I'll get your copy of The Onion Movie in the mail.
***I'm not linking Karla because she doesn't have a blog. I know, I can hardly believe it either and her life is much more interesting than mine!
London Cab
After living in New York, I feel comfortable in calling myself a seasoned cab passenger, however I never had a cab experience like this one. This past weekend I got to ride in the cab of all cabs, the London Cab!
I have seen one other cab in this style (in New York) and as it turns out, this is the only one in Dallas. Our driver, Will, delighted in giving us the low down on London cabs. There are sixteen total in the US with Chicago having the greatest number at five. This one seemed brand new but had over 70K miles on it. Each cab has a manufacturer warranty of 500,000 miles. The interior is water-proof and anytime someone spills or spews in the cab, he just hoses it out at the car wash. It was roomy, had a built-in baby seat that neatly tucked away when not in use. There were two jump seats for extra passengers. We took a few laps around the block and marveled "why can't all cabs be like this?"
Happy Birthday Cousin!
We didn't start out close in life. In fact we had only met each other once, a Thanksgiving weekend when I was ten. I remember thinking for those few days, "this is what it must be like to have sister" and wished you would never leave. It makes me sad that we didn't grow up closer together, sharing things like "what should I wear for my date", first time driving "on our own" or prom.
I am so grateful you are here now. I am thrilled to share life with you even from a distance that the many miles brings. You are so much to me, a grounding force, the voice of reason, the one who reassures me, the one who is strong and yet so tender hearted to understand anything I tell you. We share laughs, loves and hilarious stories. You are my cousin, my friend, my family. While I could not be there for your birthday (don't worry, I won't reveal your age) I am there in spirit, cheering you on, hoping for a fantastic day of celebration.
Happy Birthday Amanda, I love you very, very much.
The Great Yogurt Debate
Know what I hate? I hate when you find a great product and the manufacturer feels the need to come out with a "new and improved" version that is similar enough to the original to share the same name, but really not like the one you love. Most recently this has happened with my yogurt. I am very picky about my yogurt and, in all foods I eat, try to avoid high fructose corn syrup (sweetener of the devil) which can alter the signals our brains send to let us know we've had enough to eat. The yogurt I love is Dannon Lite and Fit vanilla flavor. It was Jessica of Everyday Adventures of Me in the City who kicked off the debate when she Twittered the fact that Dannon was changing the formula and adding 20 calories per serving. I promptly bought out the grocery store's stock of Dannon and we decided to do a taste test comparing old and new Dannon. The results of my testing below:
Dannon Light and Fit O%Plus Vanilla:
This was my least favorite. Even though it has added vitamins, it has a sharp saccharine aftertaste and instead of being creamy was thin and watery. FAIL. I will be donating the remaining supply of this version.
4 ounces
50 calories
0 fat
sweetener: aspartame and sucralose
Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla (old):
This was good, certainly better than the one reviewed above. There was no aftertaste, it was thicker than above with good texture. I would definitely eat this if it weren't being discontinued.
6 ounces
60 calories
0 fat
sweetener sucralose
Dannon Light and Fit Vanilla carb and sugar control, Vanilla:
This was awesome! I loved this one and hope this is not in danger of being discontinued. It was the perfect blend of thick and creamy with a true vanilla flavor. I loved this and it will now be my new substitute yogurt for the discontinued version.
4 ounces
60 calories
3 grams fat
sweetener: sucralose
Another taste test by Jessica, so you get two opinions of the yogurt world.
Jessica’s disclaimer: Dannon is one of my company’s clients but I do not work on that team.
“Old Dannon” Light & Fit – Cherry Vanilla
Nutritionals:
Portion size: 6 oz.
60 Calories
0g Total Fat
5g Protein
85mg Sodium
Likes:
Chunks of fruit in the yogurt
Very smooth
Dislikes:
Flavor – I’m not a Cherry Vanilla fan, but it was the only “old Dannon” left at the store
Aftertaste – I’ve noticed a lot of the Light & Fit’s have this weird cardboard-like aftertaste, but I love the Blueberry flavor, where I don’t notice it at all
“New Dannon” Light & Fit – Blueberry
Nutritionals:
Portion size: 6 oz.
80 calories
0g Total Fat
5g Protein
75mg Sodium
Likes:
Big chunks of blueberries in the yogurt
Very smooth
No cardboard-like after taste
Fuller fruit flavor
No Splenda (just noticed that in comparison to the “old Dannon”) which might explain the disappearance of the aftertaste
Dislikes:
The 20 extra calories, hidden under the term, “great new taste.” It is a great new taste but loyal Light & Fit consumers will notice that change
Weight Watchers – Raspberry
Nutritionals:
Portion size: 6 oz.
100 Calories
0.5g Total Fat
6g Protein
110mg Sodium
1 WW point
Likes:
Taste! Of all three yogurts, this had the fullest fruit flavor. Seriously it was num-my!
Dislikes:
Sodium amount seems a little high but now that Dannon has added calories to its new Light & Fit, another 20 calories for this taste doesn’t sound too bad
So tell us, what do you think of this change? What's your favorite yogurt and why?
Victory is Mine!
In what turns out to be a heroic adventure during a storm, my good friend Noodle found a Wii for me. We exchanged messages over Twitter as she pushed forward, tracking down my precious Wii to be. I have watched in envy this summer as others find the Wii, (some even winning a Wii, Jamie I'm looking at you). Some have battled it out for the Wii Fit and have been victorious. I have searched all summer for a Wii and have been just a tad too late as in "we just sold the last one" or a tad too early "the truck comes in five hours and we are supposed to get 10 of them" only to return later and find the truck came early and they have already sold out. I have gone to 12 stores in one day and returned empty-handed. Finally, my very own Wii! Noodle, I can't thank you enough!
The Onion Movie (revisited)
Remember when I posted about the Onion movie a few months back? I was recently contacted by M80, a social media company in Los Angeles, and asked if I would like to host a giveaway of The Onion movie on my blog. Of course I said yes. In case you are not familiar with the Onion (do you live under a rock?) here is a quick synopsis:
Based on the wildly popular satirical newspaper hailed by The New Yorker as “the funniest publication in the United States,” The Onion Movie brings you uncensored, uninhibited, UNRATED news and views from around the world. And in a stunning development, when Onion News anchorman Norm Archer (Len Cariou) is asked to compromise his journalistic integrity to please a new corporate sponsor, he doesn’t just get mad, he gets...angry. Taking aim at pop stars, party games, prisoners and peace talks, The Onion Movie delivers hard-hitting headlines—and side-splitting laughs!
There were several who commented on the original post indicating they would like to see the movie. Now is your chance, I have three copies to give away courtesy of M80. Just leave a comment saying you'd like to be entered, winners will be chosen by Random.org on Monday August 18.
Rise and Fall of Twitter
This hilarious tidbit was passed along by WriterJax. I haven't laughed this hard all week. For those with the love/hate relationship with Twitter...go, look, laugh. You can leave the volume down and it's work safe.
Twitter is down??? But I have things to say!
It's like a carnival in here!
The contest has ended for the three QuirkyAlone books. There were some great entries and now it's time for all of us to follow our dreams. Some of us are already doing what we want, for the rest of us I have one thing to say...life's too short! Even if in a small way, let's follow our dreams and make our hearts sing with joy.
The winners, as chosen by random.org, are:
Send me your address and I'll get the books shipped to you via Amazon.
In other exciting news, I am a winner too! Yesterday Kate of The Grammar Vandal bestowed an award along with a generous write-up of kind words. I am so honored!
Vanessa’s blog, to me, is the perfect representation of what the modern American woman’s blog is today. From contests to BlogHer to recipes to wonderings, her audience always comes first. Her entries are always written with her readers in mind.
Thank you Kate!
I'm going to take a day to think about the seven bloggers to whom I will pass this along. Look for more contests and more winners. The next contest will be a "caption this photo" contest.
Great Harvest Bread Co.
In my pining for Seattle, I remembered the Great Harvest Bread Company. They have the most wonderful, nutritious bread. It's made from whole grain that is "milled" in the store as they bake each loaf of bread from scratch. And the cinnamon rolls, as big as a plate and the sticky goodness! Oh but wait, I checked with my old buddy Google who directed me to their website which told me there was a single location here in Dallas! WHOOO! According to the schedule of breads, I missed pumpkin and cinnamon raisin for they are only made one day of the week. But still, oh how I missed this place! Today I experienced the wholesome goodness I have missed so much by indulging in the whole wheat bread. I am going back on Friday for the asiago pesto bread. I can hardly wait! Anyone want to go in together and open a franchise?
Empowerment
Empowerment can be difficult to define; yet easy to recognize when it’s at work in our lives. I think of it as the life force that allows me to steer my ship in the direction of my choosing or the ability to accomplish whatever goals or dreams enter into my thought process. Empowerment is vibrating at such a level that there is no doubt in my mind, or anyone else’s, that I am alive with energy, enthusiasm and reveling at my place in the flow of life.
Perhaps another way of looking at empowerment is a belief in yourself so deep that when you have a great idea, a vision if you will, and adversity meets you face to face, you laugh in that face confident you will prevail. It’s asking questions like “why not?” or “what stops me?” in response to the doubters. It’s knowing you can overcome any obstacle even if the world has yet to recognize that in you.
There have been many influences in my life regarding my sense of empowerment. One of the best books I’ve ever read for inspiring a sense of empowerment is QuirkyAlone by Sasha Cagen. I’ve spoken of QuirkyAlone before and it’s moved from being a book to a worldwide movement. It gives us permission to just be ourselves and applauds those who don’t cave to societal pressure regarding relationships, getting married, buying houses or having kids. It trumpets the idea that staying authentic to yourself is really the best way to be and encourages outward expressions of this such as Singelringen the ring for proud singles. Empowerment reminds us that when someone says “Think outside of the box” the response is an enthusiastic “What box?”
Because I love the QuirkyAlone book so much and want to share that with you, I am giving away three copies of the book. To enter just leave a comment answering one or both of these questions:
What does empowerment mean to you?
What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
For extra entries, pimp this contest on your blog and I’ll give you 3 entries. Winners will be chosen by random.org on Wednesday August 6.
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