Hello, Yes, It's Been Awhile

Oh my poor neglected blog~LOL! Ladies....well, those of you who are still with me....I have been busy putting my dreams into action. My dream of owning my own boutique is still on hold, but I've taken a step towards it and in the right direction. I officially launched my business locally and have a spot at our Market on Saturday. I've taken the plunge and opened Celebrate Motherhood, we carry unique gifts and custom tees created by moms. Our products are either mom made or invented, and our mission is to support mom owned businesses. I am also working on creating an online store, so apart from being gone on Saturdays I can for the most part remain a stay at home mom to my four awesome kiddos. :)

I've only been at this for 5 weeks now, and business has been very slow, but I'm totally optimistic and encouraged that big things are in my future. I will accept the success that comes my way, however it may be. I'm not looking to make a million dollars, (although I wouldn't turn it down if offered it,) but just earn enough to keep my business afloat without affecting my family.

So to my loyal followers, I'm doing it.....I'm pursuing my dream! And I remind myself every day that success lies in the journey, not in the destination. I encourage you all to either start or continue to pursue your dreams as well. After all, we cannot succeed if we first fail to try. Happiness is yours, just reach out and take it....and enjoy the process! Blessings to all my blogging friends!

No More Excuses

Okay my loyal followers (who are by now bored with me), it's time to lay it all out on the table. I am not the best blogger in the world, infact, some of you may think I'm not much good at all. I read all these wonderful blogs written by mommies who post daily, (sometimes twice... what are you, skipping your shower or what)? and I think I need to be doing that too. Then there are the reviews, and the giveaways, and the hops....come visit me and I'll visit you....which is great, if you have that kind of time. As much as I would love to, sorry, can't visit everyone on the list of 260.....not even half of that.

But this post is about me, coming clean, and being me. No more excuses. I do not need to post as often as everyone else, because I'm not everyone else, I'm me. I have my own life and schedule, and I will do what works for me. If I don't gain many followers, so be it. I'm obviously not in the running for being the next Heather Armstrong (WAY too fat anyway), I'm using this blog as an outlet to vent and talk about anything that I feel like talking about. Whether or not anyone wants to read it is optional, I'm doing this for me, not to 'keep up with the Jones's'. (or Jones', you know what I mean).

Yes, I had hoped to meet some great women along the way. I have, and I hope to continue to. But I have so many other things going on in my life right now, I'm finding it hard to devote very much time to this blog.

So to those of you who don't mind only reading a new post every couple of weeks, I'm your gal! I'm not abandoning this blog by any means, just trying to prioritize my life a bit. And I think it's okay for me to do that. No more excuses!

Okay, I'm Hopping Now!

I did promise to do better, so here it goes....

Welcome to the "Welcome Wednesday" blog hop, hosted by Take It From Me! Welcome Wednesday is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! So let's have some fun!!

If you want to be a part of Welcome Wednesday, just follow these 5 simple steps:

1. Follow the Welcome Wednesday Host (Take It From Me) as well as the 2 Spotlighted Blogs of the Week. (These will make up the top three slots on the Linky)

2. Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky. (You only need to add your info once for it to be seen on all the blog hops)

3. Grab our Welcome Wednesday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog.

4. Go to as many blogs on the MckLinky as you want and Follow them. Be sure to tell them you are from Welcome Wednesday!

5. Be sure to Follow back any followers you have gained from our Welcome Wednesday event!


                                            ------Blog Spotlights of The Week-----

1.) Xenia from Thanks, Mail Carrier writes: "Who doesn't love getting the mail? Thanks, Mail Carrier celebrates the joy that my daughters and I receive when we hear the vroooom of the mail truck as it comes down our block. Focusing on reviews, giveaways and fun information about the best of the best products that can be delivered right to your front door, there's always something new for us to test out and for you to win. Currently celebrating our 1-year blogiversary, the girls and I are running two great weeks (plus a little more!) of amazing giveaways for adults, kids and the whole family. Come on by and say hello... and enter to take home something fun while you're here!"

                                                                          &

2.) Niky at Design It Chic writes: "Some would call me Alice in Wonderland.. i just say I'm Niky @ Design It Chic.. totally the same(minus the fat crazy rabbit:) But i do have a potion that makes you bigger or smaller if you will(it's called SEO tips.. psssssssst.. don't tell). Also if you dive with me in the world of craziness, i can teach you tons of blog tweaking tricks, easy HTML tips and I'll even put up a great show for you plus a glass of iced tea, if you're really nice:) So.. what are you still waiting for?? Come on, you know you already love me, I'm just a click away:)"



What's neat about our Blog Hop:

-Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!

- Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on Everyones lists!

- By adding your blog YOU MAY BE RANDOMLY CHOSEN FOR OUR BLOG SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK!!!




 

Blogging = Time

Well to start off I have to say I never realized how much TIME blogging was going to take. As you can see, I often don't have that kind of time. I give props to all you bloggin mommas who can post every day, or even every other......I'm doing good to post once a week.

And the blog hops....yes, I do love them, but they suck you in and before you know it, WA-LA, half the day is gone. I know it's what you have to do to get followers, I guess I just never realized how time consuming it would be. (Come on people, I have to have time to feed the kids...... and lounge in the pool). I guess I thought that people would just follow me, you know, because I'm awesome and all.

Hey, maybe I could start my own blog hop, one where it's all about me. I'm going to call it "Follow Me Or Else My Italian Uncle Frankie Will Follow You And Beat Your Ass".

Okay, okay.....I'll try and get better at hopping, and posting, and  following, I promise.  (Fingers crossed behind my back......"Hello...Uncle Frankie, Can you do me a favor")?

Welcome and Wordless Wednesday

Another attempt by me at a blog hop. I'm still waiting for someone to tell me I'm screwing this thing up and doing it all wrong. Oh well, here goes nothing.....

Welcome to the "Welcome Wednesday" blog hop, hosted by Take It From Me! Welcome Wednesday is a great way to meet new people and learn new things as well as increase your blog followers! So let's have some fun!!

If you want to be a part of Welcome Wednesday, just follow these 5 simple steps:


1. Follow the Welcome Wednesday Host (Take It From Me) as well as the 2 Spotlighted Blogs of the Week. (These will make up the top three slots on the Linky)

2. Link up your blog name and URL with our Linky. (You only need to add your info once for it to be seen on all the blog hops)

3. Grab our Welcome Wednesday button and include it in a post about the event on your blog.

4. Go to as many blogs on the MckLinky as you want and Follow them. Be sure to tell them you are from Welcome Wednesday!

5. Be sure to Follow back any followers you have gained from our Welcome Wednesday event!




Okay, so here's my first attempt at Wordless Wednesday, although being Italian I'm not sure if I can keep my big mouth shut so I may have to post a caption or two.

Can you say Kung Fu fighting? (See, I knew I wouldn't be able to shut up).

More bars, in more places.

Oh crap, how'd one of me get in here?

Have you ever just felt stuck?

Like, REALLY stuck?

Sorry I couldn't zip my pie hole, hope you enjoyed Wordless Wednesday anyhow.

Another Award, Yeah!

                                                              



Thank you so much to the awesome Coffee Slut who bestowed upon me yet another award.

The rules for accepting this award:



1. Thank the blogger who gave it to you.

2. List 7 things that people may not know about you.

3. Pass the love to deserving bloggers (They say 15)

4. And let them know that you have presented them the award.


So here's the fun (and kinda scary) part: seven things people may not know about me.

1. I married my husband after only knowing him for three months. Does that make me crazy or a good judge of character? We've been married 18 years, you be the judge.

2. I dropped out of high school. Ouch, that one really hurt to say. Was having way too many family problems, I just couldn't cope. (Good news, I did get my GED a few months later then went on to attend the University of Life)!

3. I've always hated my teeth. They are crooked, and my two incisors are pointed and never grew in all the way. I make a great Dracula at Halloween.

4. I am deathly afraid of heights. Like, won't even climb a step stool kind of afraid. You should see me get in our pool, I think I'm climbing to my death every time.

5. I used to secretly wish I was anorexic. I just wanted so badly to be thin, but couldn't manage to gain control of my Ho Ho addiction.

6. I have a son with Autism. He's 17, loves trains, and just might live with me forever. And that's fine by me.

7. I used to think I was going to be a rock star when I grew up. Boy, was I WAY off!

So here are some of you uber talented deserving bloggers that I will now bestow this award upon:

Coffee Slut  Yeah, I know you gave it to me, I'm givin it back.....so what!

adailyscoopofchaos

Belly Charms

Boobies, Babies, & A Blog

Confabulicious

Living My MoMent

Mommy To Two Boys

Organic Enchilada

Take It From Me

Mrs. Wright, Gone Wrong

Things I Can't Say

Confessions of a Dr. Mom

The Truth About Motherhood

The Stinker Pinkers

wendiwinn.she likes stuff.

Now go forth and enjoy your awesomeness!

What Are Your Dreams?

Okay ladies, I've spent the last few days pondering the meaning of life (in between the cooking, massive housecleaning/organizing projects, and watching my skin turn into my grandmothers from too much time in the pool), and this is what I've come up with: I HAVE A DREAM.

Now before you think I'm going to go all Martin Luther King on you, this is not a speech but rather a statement, followed by a question.

My dream involves associating with adults, selling products, and helping other moms.

Can you guess what it is? Anyone, anyone?

I'm here to confess that I dream of owning my own boutique. (I just LOVE that word, boutique....it sounds so much prettier than store).

Ever since I was young, (you know, a million years ago), I have loved the feeling of going into small, beautifully put together stores. I love the displays, the clothes neatly on the racks, the feeling of pride the shop owner has. (Okay, so I just love to shop too, but you get the picture).

All these self help business books that I read (although I must admit, sometimes I'm reading with only one eye open) tell me that I need to confess my dreams, say them out loud to others so that I can be accountable. I guess they think if you say them out loud it's a step towards pursuing them.

But since I'm too chicken to tell the people around me (I'm SO far away from ever possibly doing this they'll surely think I'm crazy), I've decided to tell you, my loyal followers and BFF's.

So there, I said it. I have a dream. And it may not be something that's in the cards for me at this point in my life, but who's to say that it never will be.

So come on new BFF's, it's sharing time. What are your dreams? Any unfulfilled ambitions that you've stuffed so far inside that you're not sure if they still exist? If you could step out and do one thing other than what you're currently doing, what would it be?

Come on, I spilled my guts, it's your turn. I promise not to laugh no matter what (unless of course your dream is to be the president or something. Actually at this point though I'd say go for it, I think you may actually have a real shot).

My Very First Award

Can you believe it? I won an award! I'd like to thank Brandie over at Peace Love Lipgloss for taking pity on me and presenting me with this honor.

The rules for acceptance of this award are really simple:



*Thank the blogger who bestowed the Award on you.

*Sum up your blogging experience, philosophy and motivation in 5 words.

*Pass the award on to 10 deserving bloggers.


So my five words, other than GET ME OUT OF HERE are:

venting, sharing, friendship, support, laughter. (Also would work: NEED TO MAKE SOME MONEY).

Seriously though, (get ready, cuz this won't happen too often ladies), blogging for me is about sharing life experiences and finding friendship and support from other women. Yes, we all love our families dearly, but it's ok to need to vent and express ourselves too. I've always done it by being funny, (although some of you might disagree, gimmee a break- not like I'm trying out for last comic standing or anything- it's just a dream). It's how I cope and stay sane. Well, it's how I cope anyway.

So the following are ladies who I think deserve this award, in no particular order.

wendiwinn. she likes stuff.  (Okay, so I lied, she's my favorite. But the rest of you rock as well)!

Motherhood Unscripted

Mrs. Wright, Gone Wrong

Coffee Slut

A Daily Scoop of Chaos

The Truth About Motherhood

Boobies, Babies, & a Blog

Our Happy Home

The Stinker Pinkers

Never Growing Old

So there you have it ladies, now go and revel in your blogging awesomeness.

Follow Me Back Tuesday

Okay, so I'm trying like heck to get some new followers. To those of you who are already following me, don't be sad- I do love you, honestly. But I'm like a girl in a handbag store, I want more. Just one more, please? Oh who am I kidding, LOTS more!

So the following is brought to you by a bunch of other blogs that I  have to go and visit now, all before the kiddos wake up and want to go in the pool- AGAIN.  I have work to do people, see me later........


It's Follow Me Back Tuesday .


Hosted by Survey Junkie, Little Yaya's,

Review Retreat , Boobies,BabiesAndABlog

& Guest Host Jenn from adailyscoopofchaos.com

It's a great way to start off your week and get more BF's !!



Each week we will choose a random number every week from the blogs linked and add the random blog to the #5 spot to link to the following week ...



Next Tuesday (7/13), our Guest Spot will be the Mission Monkey raffle Winner but we will go back to a random weekly 5 Spot after that :)






                                                         



How it Works


•Follow all 5 Hosts 1 - 5 ( leave us a comment & we will follow u back- only leave a comment if you follow please )

•Make a post about FMBT and add that link

• Follow as many blogs as you would like ( Leave a comment so they can follow you back )

•When you receive a comment from a new follower return the favor & follow them back



( Check back every Tuesday at 12:00 am est to link up at any of the 4 host blogs )

Meet Me On Monday

Okay, so here goes nothing.....My first "Meet Me On Monday". Thought I'd give it a shot. If I screw something up, so sorry. But hey, you're not perfect either.

This one is hosted by Never Growing Old

Questions:




1. What is your favorite Fast Food Restaurant?
HELLO? I guess you haven't read my profile yet. Taco Bell, hands down.



2. If given a complete freedom to start afresh, what profession would you choose and why?
A rock star, cuz I wanna be rich and famous. Oh wait, I'd have to be able to sing. Okay, how about something that I can get dressed up every day and not have to wipe butts and clean toilets.



3. Do you prefer your toilet paper to come over the roll or under the roll?
I don't care, just so there's lots of it.



4. What was your favorite tv show as a child?
"You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life, The Facts of Life". Or Laverne and Shirley. My sister and I used to act out episodes, I was of course always Laverne with the big mouth (which now that I'm thinking about it, makes no sense cuz my sisters mouth was way bigger than mine).




5. What is your favorite Summer drink?
ALWAYS coffee in the morning, lemonade when it's hot, and on occasion a glass of wine in the evening.

Okay ladies, enough about me. Now it's your turn to link up and start talking.

Get the code at the bottom and link to your 'Meet Me On Monday' post, and let's all get to know each other. I really don't think I could've made it another day without knowing how you all hang your toilet paper. Now were peeps.

My New BFF's

Okay, I have to say that I am totally speechless. I have thirteen followers, and I feel special. Really special. Like I haven't felt this special since.....last night. Oh, but my hubby said I couldn't share any of that just yet. After all ladies, were all still getting to know each other. We need to be friends for awhile before we start talking about the juicy stuff. I figure two weeks oughta bout do it.

So there's my public thank you to all of you fabulous women who recently started stalking me, all my new BFF's.

Anyway, today we bought a pool. Like, a ginourmous one. Don't know if that's even a word, but I like the way it sounds. So hubbs had the whole family working outside today trying to get the overgrown weed infested yard ready for a pool. I thought my son was going to die, he had to touch dirt. (Dirt is just not his thing. Come to think of it, neither is grass. Or pretty much anything that's outside).

My girls came in and got their bathing suits on and flew outside to get wet. After what seemed like, well, five minutes I went out bringing towels so they could dry off before coming in the house, (me no likey the wet carpet). Wouldn't you know, the pool wasn't even up yet but the girls didn't seem to mind- they were too busy taking a dirt bath. So long story short, I could've saved myself $499.00 and just thrown them outside in the dirt.

Oh well, at least they got a bath tonight. It does count you know. Really.

Blog Wasteland

So I'm trying to learn my way around this whole blogging thing.... the memes, hops, links, etc. I feel like an idiot who is learning to speak a foreign language. The purpose of having a blog, for me, is for people to read it. I know there are bloggers out there who just do it for themselves, they say they don't care if anyone is reading along or not. Liars! They're all liars. If it were only for themselves then they should just think about stuff in their heads. It takes less time and is cheaper, you don't need a computer and internet service.

My goal is to be heard, er, I mean seen. If I'm the only one reading, then what's the point? I already know what I think. (Except for when the voices in my head disagree with me, then I get kinda confused and I'm not so sure).

I'm tired of being in a blog wasteland, I'm starting to get lonely people! I guess maybe if I start writing some interesting content instead of all this bitching and whining it might help. Hey, I know! I'll write about my favorite recipe for homemade organic sunflower soup that my great grandmother used to make when she was still in the old country.....

Um, no. Maybe I can write about that awesome deal that I got on a name brand pair of designer jeans, and how I just happened to get the last one in my size, a perfect size 0.....

Okay, now I'm dreaming.....or hallucinating, I'm not sure which. But it's got to be more interesting than how many times my four year old wet her pants today. Well, looks like we're back to the bitching and whining again........

A day in the life

Just another day in the life of a (wanna be) blogging mama. Up since three a.m., couldn't sleep so I decided to take my writing in a different direction, and this blog is the result. Been trying to network my ass off, (which if you could see the size of it you'd know that's ALOT of networking), but it's slow going. Feeling like I have so much to learn but all I really want is to wake up one day and be famous, I mean rich, I mean happy. I just want to have a follower besides myself, its creepy.

Most of my posting will most likely be done at night, late at night, when I finally have peace and quiet and time to myself. If I tend to ramble on a bit or even seem confused, no, I'm not drunk, just tired. Bear with me and I promise to one day have something so extremely important and interesting to write about that it will blow your socks off! Oh, who am I kidding..........

Welcome to Motherhood Unsettled

Okay, so why the title Motherhood Unsettled? The dictionary defines unsettled as this:

1. Marked by disorder and unrest. This definitely describes my life.

2. Not decided: unresolved. I don't know about the rest of you moms, but sometimes I have to ask myself, "is this really what I chose, I decided to do this?" And I am often left thinking of unresolved issues about my decision, feelings of wanting to do more and be more than just mom.
And my most favorite:

3. Not paid as an account. See, the way I figure it, my husband, society, the universe, SOMEBODY owes me for the last 18 years of unpaid service, and I'm starting to feel like I'm ready to collect on that debt.

Now before all you perfectly awesome mothers get all 'high and mighty' on me, let me tell you this: I love my kids dearly, and I wouldn't trade being a mom for the world. Motherhood is just much different from what I had envisioned it. I always wanted to be a mother, but the no sleep, being barfed on, pooped on, never ending laundry and constant messes, well, that's not exactly part of the dream, know what I mean?

I'm just at a point in my life where I want to be able to be real and talk about how my day to day life is, as boring and uninteresting as it may be. I plan on talking about lots of different subjects, from kids, to husbands, to fashion and everything in between. (Although you will not find me sharing craft projects or cooking tips, I'm more of a buy it already made and order a pizza kind of mom). I have hopes, dreams, and desires that I'd like to be able to share with others, and let other moms know that it's okay to be a mom and still want something more, it's okay to be unsettled. Welcome to my little piece of the net. (Hear that? Something that's MINE)!