And in other news
Jul 29, 2008 Blogging, Parenting
- Madison has a loose tooth. I know! She’s only four! Not even four and a half! But she has a loose tooth any old way because apparently she missed that chapter in her training manual. (I have a text in to Pennie to see if she lost her teeth early, too.)
- Speaking of Pennie, she and her fabulous boyfriend broke up. I haven’t wanted to write it here because I had this Parent Trap fantasy of it all being a bad dream. But it’s a good break up because they still spend time together and support each other. We went and saw Pennie’s new apartment last night and she’s a good decorator.
- And while we were there Pennie was going to show us an empty apartment next door so she opened the door and scared the bejesus out of a guy who had just moved in. He in turn scared the bejesus out of us by yelling when we opened the door. When we were back in her apartment she and I started going, “That’s YOUR fault because…” “No it was YOUR fault because…” And Madison said, “I know it’s not MY fault!” She was disgusted with us both.
- Madison’s name is Tess Tyler today. Last week it was Sarah. For awhile before that it was Clonda and Laura but of course it was Wanda that started it all. She gets pretty mad when we forget but she changes it so often that we forget an awful lot.
- Noah got a haircut! And he is darling! Not that he wasn’t before but it’s nice to see those big blue eyes again!
- And I fixed my archives — thanks Rebekah! (A sharp-eyed reader who wandered over from Cecily’s!)
- Speaking of Cecily, she likes me! She really really likes me!
Possibly related posts
New blog theme
Jul 27, 2008 Blogging
I got this theme because I like the tabs in my sister’s new theme up at the top in the sidebar. Problem is, if you have blogher ads, they want their ads above the fold at the top of the menu, which means that I had to put the tabs down at the bottom of the sidebar and the theme didn’t like that. I couldn’t get the tabs to play nice. So here I changed out my theme to get the tabs and then had to scrap it because of the tabs. Such is the blogging life.
But the sidebars are so much cleaner than my last theme that I’m going to leave them. And I like the social bookmarking bar at the bottom.
My archives seem to have gone missing and two different plugins haven’t fixed it so I put a drop-down menu (both categories and dated archives) over in the sidebar. And I put my About Me page back up (with a pic of the kids and Brett from a few years ago). I’d like to have a more recent one but my “no faces” criteria is making it tricky. And my camera won’t upload or something so I can’t get a new one at the moment. Eventually. Meanwhile looking at the Destin shores is not a bad thing.
I love wordpress themes. I wish I could play with them all the dang time.
Possibly related posts
Tags: blog oh blog, dailypress, themes, wordpress 2.6, wordpress themes
Swiped from Miz Abby
Jul 22, 2008 Blogging
Abby did it and I want to do it, too. I’m a sheep. This first question is one I’ve written about before and it’s going to be in that Mothering and Blogging: Practice and Theory book coming out through Demeter Press. But what the hell.
1. Why did you start a blog?
Because I wanted to see what a blog would become. I was interested in it as writing practice and as a kind of living thing that I knew would change by virtue of writing for an audience in real time. Once I added comments, I really embraced the idea of writing my story with my readers.
2. Why do you continue to blog?
Eh. I’m addicted. I think therefore I blog. The writing practice of it isn’t as potent for me anymore because I don’t have the same time to put into it but it’s still valuable and the relationships I’ve made on-blog are hugely important to me.
3. Do you have a blogmother/blogfather?
Phoenix Amon (blog now gone) inspired my blogging. Of course I read What’s in Rebecca’s Pocket, too.
4. Any downside to blogging?
The timesuck of it. And those relationships I value so much? I’m really bothered by how little time I’m able to spend really nurturing those relationships — commenting on blogs and participating in discussions. I miss being able to do more of that. Just because I ain’t talking so much doesn’t mean I’m not reading.
5. Do your ‘real world’ friends know that you blog?
Oh yeah and back in the day they thought it was weird. Now a bunch of them have blogs so I guess I proved the coolness of it, eh? Or something.
Possibly related posts
New wordpress seems pretty stable
Jul 15, 2008 Blogging, The Story of My Life
I updated this site to 2.6 along with the Open Book Strategies site (and blog) and then three more blogs. All looks pretty darn good! But it didn’t fix this problem where I have to save a post before I can click “allow comments” and only THEN can I hit publish. Frustrating.
In other family tech news: Cable is officially gone and I’m mourning the loss of Mad Men. It’s really the only show I’ll miss. And I now have a cell phone, which I’m afraid of using. I did spend way too much time creating my own ringtone (because I didn’t like the ones it came with and I sure wasn’t paying for a new one) because even if I’m afraid of technology, I’m all about customizing it.
In other family non-tech news: The neighbors across the way were tossing a perfectly fine and super-comfortable couch so it’s now in our basement. We need to get tested for radon so that we can move the television down here. (I’m already working here — sure hope that radon test turns out ok. Our last house had no radon issues so there’s hope.) I hate having a television in the main living area and I think getting it out of the family room would go a long, long way to making me feel like this house is home. I’ve lived here for going on three years and still feel like we’re waiting to move someplace else.
In other family not-to-share news: We’re looking at some big structural changes around here in our continued effort to become if not independently wealthy at least independently solvent. I’m trying to wrap my head around them but am having trouble doing so ‘cuz I’m operating with a sleep deficit brought on by worrying insomnia.
Possibly related posts
Tags: cable, cell phones, mad men, Open Book Strategies, wordpress, wordpress 2.6, working
Launching a new business
Jul 14, 2008 Blogging, work work work
This is what I’ve been working on for the past couple of weeks: Open Book Strategies
You can see I’m changing out my links to Smart Cookie Communications because we’re really going to focus on marketing this other business instead. Here’s how it came about:
- There are a lot of marketing communication professionals here in Central Ohio and I’ve been having a hard time figuring out how to market myself so I’d stand out.
- Even though I was reluctant to see this, what differentiates me from my marketing communications competition is my web 2.0 experience: I’ve managed email lists, enormous forums, and of course all the blogging I do. I understand virtual relationships and I know that web 2.0 content isn’t just regular old content with hyperlinks thrown in; I know it’s about relationships. So that’s what I ended up talking about with folks.
- Every time I said the word “blog” ears pricked up and that’s where people had questions. I did a lot of consulting on the side but kept brushing off requests to do more of it thinking I needed to focus on the writing.
- And yet the blog jobs kept coming.
- Finally one of my mentors said, “Take the leap!” She advised me to come up with blog service packages to make it easier for people to understand my services.
- So here we are.
My ideal client is a small to medium local business owner who’s a little nervous about web 2.0 and blogs. I like to work closely with people and I don’t mind doing a lot of hand holding. I’m pretty darn patient with people who have a lot of questions. (Ask Kristen!) And I understand narrative so I can help people find their most compelling bloggable stories. (This was my favorite part about this project — listening to them talk, asking lots of questions, and identifying blog entries in what they shared.)
Anyway! That’s what we’re doing and now the writing is on the side instead of the blog consulting.
Possibly related posts
Tags: blog, Central Ohio, consulting, Kristen, marketing, narrative, Open Book Strategies
