So, I’ve been struggling with leaving the house.

The day after I wrote that, I shipped Carter off to daycare, got showered and dressed, then went out for a couple hours to shop for gifts for Carter’s birthday (Friday. OMG. He’s THREE on FRIDAY!).

I wore whatever decent clothes I could cramp my still-over-weight postpartum body into and I even put on make up!

It truly felt great. Normal.

Back to myself.

To keep the depression at bay, I have to get myself out of the house; I’m realizing that. I now need to tackle getting both my boys out of the house and doing something fun! together. Since I’ve wasted so much of the summer, the guilt is racking up.

I need to vanquish the guilt.

That’s why I am making a weekly challenge of it.

For us.

And for US! (That’s YOU!)

I’ve been racking my brain for ideas to use as a weekly feature I could host here. My ’situation’ gave way to a brilliant idea, a weekly feature encouraging me (and us) to step outside of my (our) comfort zone (or stay within it) and do different activities with our children.

** Backtrack 2 months **

I entered and won a marketing giveaway at Parent Bloggers Network which was sponsored by Rookie Moms. Included in my wonderful package was a copy of Whitney and Heather’s book, The Rookie Mom’s Handbook.

See where I’m going with this?

Okay. So I thought about their book and how it would be great to use their activities as a guide; I contacted them for permission and they one upped me by sponsoring my feature and providing WEEKLY giveaway prizes!

For Serious?

SERIOUS!!

So next Monday (August 25) will be our inaugural challenge! More details to come as they’re still being ironed out and I’m making more buttons too!!

(Here’s a sample!)

So start spreading the news!

(Wow, I all of a sudden felt like singing Frank Sinatra!)

Spread! Share! Enlighten!

WEEKLY GIVEAWAYS!

Um. WOW!

***UPDATE!****

Oh, and this just in….

I get to partake in a conference call / interview with Michael Phelps’ mom today!!

Let hope I don’t slip up and start blabbering about how HOT her son’s body is talented her son is.

Mmmmm…

I read an article from Kelby Carr the other day about ‘Blog Kharma‘ and it really got me thinking about how protective we are about who we share links with, what stats we’re willing to divulge and where we’re willing to send our traffic.

I’m guilty as well.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking:

There’s no point in linking to them because they have more traffic then I do.

They don’t even read my blog so they won’t care.

It’s not intentionally being a bad blogger, but ya - bad blogging Karma, maybe.

I think it’s just human nature to protect something we’ve worked so hard to build and create. As many bloggers treat it as a busy it’s become more about protecting brands, readership and even so much as their livelihood.

But one part that really stuck out was:

Blog kharma is doing the right thing just because you are part of a community, and you want to help others. Be a generous blogger.

And typeamom is right. For what purpose are we so guarded? How do we really benefit from hiding within the walls of our little cliques?

There’s no harm in posting links to a post that was really enjoyed. Readers are not going to jump ship if they really enjoy your site, you may even be able to attract more readers through generous linking.

[Note to Self: Practice what you preach.]

I want to.

I plan to be a better blog friend.

I want to share more.

I want to link to those I enjoy and I want to be a community member, not just there.

I want to Stumble, Kirtsy and even Digg you because there’s no reason NOT to!

Yeah, yeah, yeah mushy blog fluff. Swaying together singing coom-by-ya. Right?

I’m shootin’ rainbows up your ass as I type this. So what?

For some blogging’s not about holding each other up and celebrating how wonderful we can be; I agree that it doesn’t have to be and I’m not saying that it should be rainbows and itty bitty bunny rabbits everyday all day.

But! It would be wonderful for us to make an effort once and a while to make someone’s day with a link or a stumble. Because I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been saddened to see that someone’s linked to me too much.

(Well, except for porn sites or junk sites - at least they send a trackback.)

And for that reason, I’ve decided to revive The Blogroll (link is in the top navigational menu).

Though it’s viewed by some as a list of exclusions rather then a list celebrating our peers I really disagree. To me, it’s a list of those that I enjoy reading and want to share them with readers. If someone thinks I should add another blog to the list, then by all means, share it with me!

With that, I encourage you to take some time today and share five links - be it on your blog, Stumbled, Kirtsy, whatever! Just share the linky love.

That sounds so hippish.

*breaking into song*

C’mon people now,
Smile on your brother
Ev’rybody get together
Try and love one another right now…

My five links are blogs that I’ve just found over the past couple months and have really begun to enjoy - so much so they’ve managed to quickly move up the rank into my daily reads!

• The Spohrs Are Multiplying ~ I actually found Heather through her husband Mike after I completed a design for one of his blogs. These two are amazingly funny and have a GOREGOUS little girl Maddie who has completely won my heart.
• Whiskey in My Sippy Cup - I know, right? I have been living under a rock because Mr. Lady is the shit. I love her like a fat kid loves cake.
• SLynnRo ~ Random Rantings ~ this is a girl after my own heart. She is wicked funny and has some GREAT stories to tell.
• Gwen Bell ~ Even before The Great Experiment I found Gwen to be wickedly smart and oh so cute! Her articles always get me thinking and even learning!
• Okay, Fine, Dammit ~ Oh Maggie. I found this lady through a beautiful post that was shared by Amanda, who I’ve been reading for quite a while. She convinced Maggie to share a post on BlogNosh and it’s been love ever since.

Okay, so I snuck a couple extra in there.

Now get to it, share some links!

There’s a bit of a lull for the time being and I’m trying to catch my breath: internet-work-wise, no lull on the home front that’s for sure!

I’ve been a busy bee behind the scenes as of late with new projects starting (Look for a weekly feature  with Rookie Moms to be starting up here soon - with GIVEAWAYS! *squeeee!*), designing and potential conferences in the works but everything seems to be at a standstill at the moment and I’m just waiting for it all to come crashing down around me.

I am very poorly organized. I’ve noticed the demise of my organizational skills over the years. It’s not been pretty. Along side my undying ability to procrastinate to the very last second, I have managed to work myself into a many unnecessary frenzies because I’ve waited to the very last second and OMG, where the hell did I put it!?

But don’t you worry, design clients and collaborators, I always come through!

[Seriously? Could I be anymore of an idiot? Want work, not scare it away. Fuck.]

I’ve tried calendars, time management courses with management booklet/calendar, google alerting me, notebooks, sticky notes - you name it: yes, even tried the Smart Phone (the Palm version of an iPhone) and it was probably the most effective tool… but expensive and I had to return it to work when I left.

I just don’t know how or where to combine all the stuff I need to manage even just my ONLINE life, nevermind the children, doctors appointments, grocery lists, car servicing, on and on and on. There’s so much information, important! information! that needs to be kept track of and accessible at the blink of an eye.

Scheduling has never been my forte and I would so love it to be. I so admire those ladies that pull out their ‘little black (or pink or sequined) book’ and know everything and anything that has to be done, when and where.

OMG what am I going to do when there’s afterschool activites and sports!? So. Much. MORE! Stuff!

Since I’ve committed to a few online gigs (like Binky, designing and at least two others to be revealed at a later date) I want to better schedule my time online so that I am effective when I have the chance to sit down and get work done.

Tell me, oh wise Internetz, what do you do? White board, iPhone, Palm, pad and pen??

Share your infinite wisdom.

Organize me!

Schedule me!

Because otherwise I will remain a bumbling moron and I will forget that there are giveaways! and wonderful! gossip! and designs! and I will break down in tears. You don’t wanna make me cry Internetz, do you?

*  i should never come up with a title before the post because now it’s turned into something totally different then it was intended to be and I can’t think of anything catchy to call this bumbling piece of shit post. So it stays. Now hold hands; we can all be confused together.

:::

Oh hai! Did you see that I’m giving away an HP photo printer? Want it? Find out how to get it here!

Final family outings are being planned as the summer draws to a close. As the days get shorter, the children are getting bored, parents nerves are frayed and the back-to-school items are stocking the shelves. The days filled with swimming, running and playing are slowly being replaced with indoor activities and homework.

But! Don’t get sad yet! Though summer may be wrapping up for 2008, we’re having a giveaway here at temporarily me!

A giveaway you say?

Oh yes. A giveaway!

What’s up for grabs you wonder?

Well, I’ll tell you!

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