I received some amazing news today -- I have the opportunity to attend the Type-A Mom Conference this fall! But I still need some help to make it all happen...
Type-A Mom is a c [...]
It's no secret: my youngest child is my challenge! And when it comes to food, oh boy does she like to make that challenge unbearable! I'm not sure if it's her age (2 years ol [...]
This was originally going to be a video post but it's 86 degrees in my house (no air conditioning) and the sweat dripping off my face is less than flattering! So, I'll do my best [...]
I know that Father's Day was jut this past weekend but some times I need to brag about my husband on a plain ol' Tuesday. So, get ready for a little mushy husband bragging!
It's [...]
A few months ago my sister asked me why my husband was always telling people where he was. Isn’t he worried about people stalking him? She was talking about his status updates on his Facebook account that were coming his Twitter account that were coming from his FourSquare account. Did you follow that?
First off, no, he’s not worried about stalkers. But we’ll discuss that topic in another post. Right now I want to introduce you to these new Location-Based Social Media apps and talk about why they are becoming so popular.
Location-Based Social Media is simply another way for people to connect with others. The difference is that, instead of just telling people what it is that you are doing, you are telling people where you are doing it. The simplest breakdown is that you go to a place (restaurant, store, park, etc.), open the app (via your mobile phone or computer), and check-in (tell people you are there). The two most popular of these Location-Based Social Media apps are FourSquare and Gowalla.
FourSquare is the pioneer of sorts of Location-Based Social Media. At least it’s the one that I first heard about and tried. FourSquare has a pretty simple and classic user interface, which I really like. You can add places if no one has been there, see if anyone has made a suggestion for the place you are at (or you can make a suggestion), and see where your friends have recently been. You earn points for your different check-ins that you can then compare where you rank with your friends and earn “badges”. And you can even become Mayor of these different locations!
Gowalla has a user interface that is a little more jazzed up. The premise is basically the same — go somewhere, check in, add it if it’s not in the data base — but the images and icons are a little more fun. Instead of earning points for your check-ins, on Gowalla you earn “stamps”, “pins”, and “items”. You can also create and participate in “trips” which are basically a set of check-ins that you group together and share with your friends. And, by checking in on Gowalla, you can see who else has checked-in at that location.
Both apps allow you to share your locations and check-ins with your friends either through the push notifications by that app or through Twitter.
So, why use Location-Based Social Media? Well, a few reasons…
You’re connecting with others. Isn’t that why we are using social media to begin with? FourSquare and Gowalla just take your social media experience another step further.
You’re competitive. Not so much with Gowalla (I still haven’t figured out the purpose of the “stamps”, “pins”, and “items you’re carrying”), but the point system on FourSquare creates a little bit of competition between you and your friends. I love pointing out to my husband when I’m ahead of him on the Leaderboard and get a little excited when I see “Congratulations, You’ve become the Mayor of…” come up on my phone! (And I get pretty irritated when someone takes that mayorship away from me. Yes, you can lose your mayorship just as easily as you can get it!) I believe it is this competitive feeling that keeps me checking-in at each place I go to during the day.
It’s your own personal travel guide! If reasons 1 & 2 don’t really jive with you, then maybe this one might. While you may not use FourSquare or Gowalla on a daily basis, these are great tools to use when in a new city. Just by opening the app you can see the different stores, restaurants, coffee shops, museums around you and even get suggestions as to what you might enjoy eating, drinking, or doing in that area.
I’ve been using both FourSquare and Gowalla for about a month (actually, I’ve been using FourSquare longer than that) and I personally like FourSquare better. Call it egotistical or chalk it up to my competitive nature, but I like being the Mayor of IHOP and Jet’s Pizza and it bothers me that I was ousted as the Mayor of Meijer! I guess you could say that FourSquare and Gowalla are a little like the Farmville of Facebook. You start out just checking it out and then you get sucked in!
If you want to know more about FourSquare and Gowalla you can check them both out online. But the best way to really experience them is to download them and try them out! Both apps work with iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm software. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
In the mean time, in the upcoming weeks, I’m going to be doing posts about the relevance of Location-Based Social Media for businesses and the safety of putting your personal information out into the internet with apps like FourSquare, Gowalla, and Twitter.
Two years ago today I was embarking on the adventure of having two kids at home…a toddler and a newborn. Now I am surrounded by the craziness of a preschooler, toddler, and a puppy. And oh, do I mean CRAZINESS!
We celebrated Zoe’s second birthday over at my parents’ house since Abbi was on Spring Break this week. It was a quick trip but it’s always good to see them and spend time with them. The girls adore them and have asked me every day since if we can go back over to Grammy & Papa’s house!
The birthday itself was pretty low key. We did our traditional measurement and Zoe is measuring a half inch taller than Abbi was at this age. Totally doesn’t surprise me! I’m betting it won’t be long and they will be about the same size. Which should be interesting if they are anything like my sister and I! Oh the stories I could tell…
At my parents’ house we just went out to dinner at the girls’ new favorite restaurant (they had baskets of popcorn on the table). This year we skipped the birthday cake and opted for bowls of ice cream. No complaints from either of the girls!
All in all, I think she had a good birthday (not that she has many to compare it to). Happy Birthday Zoe Grace! We love you! Now, let’s talk about those two-year-old tantrums you oh-so like to have….
It’s that time of year again…time for the Ultimate Blog Party over at 5 Minutes for Mom! If you have never been a part of the Ultimate Blog Party (UBP10), it is a great way to meet other bloggers and get some new people to notice your blog. There are also some fabulous prizes to be won! And I mean FABULOUS!!! (Check out prize #65…that one is from me!)
That’s me! Needless to say, I am so not comfortable in front of the camera. And the funny thing is that it took so much longer to make that short video than to just write up a post with that info. Oh well!
I would love to get to know you, so please leave a comment so I can find your blog. Also, I hope you bookmark my site or add me to your RSS Reader so you can enter some of my upcoming giveaways!!! Also, don’t forget to check me out on Twitter (@Stacey_Says) and check out Gleek Retreat.
Ok, now, if you haven’t already, write your own blog post introducing yourself and leave a link over at 5 Minutes for Mom (and leave me a link here in my comments so I can visit you, too)! And, again, check out some of the fabulous prizes like these:
Your Shape for Nintendo Wii A fitness video game featuring Jenny McCarthy Comes with a motion tracking camera! (Provided by: Kristie’s List) US72
Easter is only a few days away…are you still scrambling for ideas of what to stuff those baskets with? If you’re looking for something to pack in there, in between the fake grass and candy, might I suggest movies!
DVDs are a great solution for what to get the older kids (or husband) and, since Spring Break is just starting around here, they will help keep those kiddos entertained while they are home for a week. And, since your Easter shopping days are quickly passing you by, 20th Century Fox and MGM Home Entertainment have done the work for you and put together a great list of fantastic family films available on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. Each dvd even comes adorned with colorful “Easter Basket Approved!” Easter egg stickers. Here are some of those great titles:
Horton Hears A Who (my daughters’ favorite!)
Ice Age
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Night at the Museum
The Pink Panther 2
The Black Stallion
The Secret of Nimh
Alvin and the Chipmunks
You can purchase these titles and more at Amazon where, for a limited time, you can save up to 60% on those Easter Basket favorites!
A really fun option would be to buy them Alvin and the Chipmunks AND Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (releasing to Blu-ray and DVD today)!!! Movie Marathon! Forget the bunnies this year and go straight for the Chipmunks!
Also, visit www.MoreEasterFun.com for some fun downloadable coloring pages, games, coupons with savings on your favorite films, and a chance to win a $50,000 Nest Egg! Yes, a $50,000 Nest Egg!!! You have until April 16 to enter so head on over there right now! And, if you do with that $50,000, don’t forget who sent you over there {wink, wink}!
*This post is written in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and, no, I’m not getting paid to tell you about this!
This month, in the Happiness Challenge, is focused on work. Oh, there could not be a more fitting focus for me this month. It seems that this month, without anything to do with the Happiness Challenge, has been centered around work. My freelance work. Blogging as work vs. a hobby. Working on planning a retreat. My husband’s work. The work my husband would like to be doing. Work. Work. Work. Work.
So, here were the resolutions for this month and how I did or what I did or am doing with them…
Week 9: Aim Higher — Umm, check. Definitely aiming higher lately. Planning a conference for bloggers? I would consider that aiming higher and, without a doubt, pushing me out of my comfort zone. And it’s true, I’m finding happiness in it. I really like working on this conference and am so excited to see the results in a few months. And after that, after the conference is over? Well, I’m already setting my sites on what could be next, where I’ll be aiming.
Week 10: Enjoy the failure — What? Failure? As in, when I fail? How can I possibly enjoy that? It goes without saying, I’m a bit of a perfectionist. If my name is on it, then I want it to be the best. However, it’s been said that you can’t succeed until you fail. (I have no idea who said that but I’m guessing they failed a lot.) I’ve had the taste of failure a few times this particular month as I’ve been asking companies to partner with me in advertising on this blog and to be a sponsor at Gleek Retreat. I’ve received a lot more “no”s than I have “yes”s. And those “no”s I have taken as failures. Did I say something wrong or just not say something that they needed to hear? It sucks being told “no”. It sucks when people don’t see the same vision as you do. But, it’s a part of the process. I guess if every single person said yes to a proposal I sent out, I would be overwhelmed in work. And those “no”s are actually helping me to fine tune the way I approach people and companies.
Week 11: Ask for help — Well, as much as I am a perfectionist and as hard as it is for me to fail, it is just as hard for me to ask for help. Oh, how true that it is for every aspect of my life. But work is especially hard. I like things done a certain way and I feel that often times it is just easier for me to do things myself. Despite the fact that it really isn’t. This month I have spent the better part of my work time collaborating with my friend Jodi as we partner together and plan this blogging conference. And it has been so rewarding. We are working with each other’s strengths and even asking for help from others when we come to a bump in the road. Those others (including our husbands) have been huge assets. And I’m totally seeing the benefit of asking for help. Now, if I could only carry that over into other parts of my life…
Week 12: Beware the drift — Drift is the decision you make by not making a decision. Make sense? It’s basically deciding to do something because, well, it seems like the natural thing to do, maybe the easy thing to do, or the only thing to do. This is often how some people end up in college, the military, married, or having kids. It’s the next step in life. Gretchen Rubin has a great post about drift and the warning signs of drift. Now, am I drifting? Yes, in some areas of my life. But I’m also being very careful right now not to drift my way into the next step of my work life. We’ll see how it goes.
Are you doing the Happiness Project? In what ways are you finding happiness in your work?
Note: I cannot take credit for this wonderful idea, as it was something I saw on another blog. If this was your idea, please let me know so I can give you proper credit. However, I am going to tell you how I personally did it.
If you’ve ever been to a blogging conference or a blogger meet-up (or probably any conference) you’ll quickly realize that people like to hand out their business cards! A lot of us actually spent time creating those cards and are proud of them, so we hand them out willingly and happily! I remember being at Blogher last year and accepting business cards from anybody and everybody. I left that weekend with an entire stack of people’s business cards but, when I got home, I had no idea what to do with them all. Sadly some got tossed and others got filed away for me to reference or contact later. But, now as I attend more conferences, events, meet more bloggers and work with more companies, my stacks of business cards are beginning to clutter up my home office.
Honestly, I really hate tossing business cards because (1) people took the time and money to get those cards made or printed and (2) what if I wanted to or needed to contact that person 3 years from now? Since I can’t handle clutter around my house, my only other option was to wallpaper my home office with those lovely little cards. However, since my home office is my entire house, I think my husband might have an objection or two to that.
So here is a quick, easy, cheap and practical way for me to now store those business cards!
The how of this is so simple! First you’ll need a loose-leaf book ring. You can pick these up at any office supply store or check the office supplies section at your grocery store. They come in 1″ or 2″ (I’m using the 2″ ring). You can get a box of the 2″ rings for $4 (quantity 12), so you can always keep them around for other projects or share them with friends. Second, you’ll need a hole punch. I used the 1/8″ punch that I had lying around for crafts. I think any size hole punch will do but the 1/8″ punch makes a perfect size hole to fit around the book rings.
Next, simply punch a hole in the top corner of the business cards and thread them on to the book ring. Done. Now, wasn’t that easy? You’re welcome!
On an organizational note, I threaded mine onto the ring alphabetically (based on blog or business name) because I’m an organized freak. Eventually I’ll separate them out and have one ring for bloggers and another for companies. Again, organizational freak!
There you have it! Now if we meet at a conference, event, or on the street, you can confidently hand me your business card and know that it won’t just end up in the trash!
That’s what I tackled this week! What about you? Any organizational tips you’d like to share as you do your spring cleaning? You can share them here and link up at 5 Minutes For Mom’s Tackle It Tuesday!
If you’re immersed in the blogging world, at all, you often hear the word “niche” come up. What’s your niche. Niche-blogging. Developing your niche. It’s basically “the focus of your blogging”. I have to laugh at that because, well, I think I blog because I lack focus. In a way.
This blog has always been a big melting pot of my life. A little of this. A little of that. But always me. A part of me is tech and gadgets. Oh, wait, I have a niche…but that doesn’t really fit here since this is where I write about potty training and the crazy dogs and jumping out of planes….I should put the tech stuff in a different blog, for a different community. That was my thought pattern this fall when I decided to create my other blog, Girls Gone Gadget. That is where I would my techy/gadgety posts and that is what I did. Until now.
The problem with niche blogging or at least with the tech/gadget niche is that each post takes so long to write. Typically I can ramble off a post in an hour or two. Tech posts take me days. Unless I’m just writing about a program or gadget that I’m already using, there is research that must be done. I don’t want to post about something that I don’t know anything about so I first need to learn about it and then write about it a unique way. It takes a lot of time!
Too much time. More time than I have. Between writing here, writing for 5 Minutes for Mom, planning the Gleek Retreat, and, oh yeah, taking care of the house and kids, I just don’t have the time to dedicate to another site. Posting once every two weeks isn’t going to keep my readers coming back for more. So, I’m hitting the pause button on Girls Gone Gadget. But, I’m not hitting the pause button on writing about tech and gadgets.
I’ve decided that, since this blog is an extension of me, then writing about gadgets and tech here isn’t completely out of place. So, from now on, I will be writing those posts here. If you’re not into tech or gadgets then I trust that you’ll just skip over them and wait for another thrilling tale of potty training. But, maybe you’ll find them interesting! This isn’t to say that I’m completely tossing Girls Gone Gadget away. I just might resurrect it when I get a little better handle on my time!
I’d love your feed back! What kind of tech/gadget information would you like me to cover? Any particular products you’d like to know more about?
This is me continuing to find that illusive balance of blogging!
In October of last year I received news that an old college friend and sorority sister had given birth to her first child. A son. Olin. Three months early.
I’ve spent the past 5 months following along on their journey through their blog, Facebook updates, and pictures. Often heartbreaking, but always inspiring. tubes. doctors. first bottles. more tubes. surgeries. hospital rooms. more doctors. going home! Every update, every blog entry made me so thankful that Olin has a fighting spirit and so very thankful that both my girls were born healthy!
After 16 weeks of being in the Children’s Hospital, Brad, Christine, and Olin are adjusting to life at home and loving it!
This Spring many cities across the country will be participating in The March of Dimes’ March for Babies! I am so excited to say that I will be walking…er, marching? Either way, I am joining the efforts to raise money for this amazing organization in the name of Olin.
The March of Dimes raises money and awareness to help prevent prematurity, birth defects, low birthweight, and infant mortality. By walking in the March for Babies, you give hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year! You can learn more about the March for Babies by visiting them online!
I will be walking on April 17 and have committed to raising $250. Will you help me? I think $250 is a modest amount and I believe that we can blow that number out of the waters! Will you help me?
You can help in two different ways:
1. Walk with me! Join me in Holland on April 17 and walk. Go here and click on the button that says “Walk With Me”. It will be fun, I promise! You can all laugh as I trip over my own feet (I tend to be a bit clumsy) and maybe we can all grab breakfast afterwards!
2. Donate! Just because you can’t walk with me on April 17 doesn’t mean you can support me! Give me your money! Ok, not me, but March of Dimes! To donate, just click go here and click on “Donate Now!” You can always click on the badge on the right, too! Spread the word to your friends. Again, I’d love to blow my $250 goal out of the water!!!
Now, I should go dust off my running shoes or locate my running shoes or something! Because I’m WALKING FOR OLIN!!!
This past weekend we had the opportunity to see another live Disney performance in Grand Rapids. Thanks to Feld Entertainment we got to see Disney On Ice: Finding Nemo! And it was fabulous!
As I mentioned before, I have great memories of seeing Disney On Ice when I was young and was so excited to take my girls. Everything about the show was amazing. Minutes before the show they announced that the show would be starting soon with a little audio comedy bit from Marlin and Dory. It was a great way to get read for the show!
The show itself starts off with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy “gracing” the ice and prepping us for the underwater adventure that was to come. My girls were so excited to see their Mickey friends on the ice! And, apparently, Zoe has become a little fond of Goofy!
The show did a great job of interpreting the movie and hit all the major points of the film: Nemo getting captured, sharks, jellyfish, sea turtles, whales, the escape, and the reunion (sorry for the spoilers if you’ve never seen the movie). I was surprised at how much they could fit in and the ways they could make each scene come to life on the ice. The props, the costumes, the lighting, the music — all awesome! But I was most impressed with the skaters themselves! It’s one thing to ice skate and dance and twirl on skates…it’s quite another to do that while dressed like a starfish, a sea turtle, or an entire school of fish!
The show captivated my girls and loved every minute! I cannot wait to take them to another show!!! You can see if a Disney On Ice show is coming to your area by visiting Disney.com/DisneyOnIce. And, if you’re in the West Michigan area, you can check out other great live events coming our way by visiting Feld Entertainment!
Ah, the first day of Spring! Birds chirping…sun shining…flowers breaking their way through their winter slumber…and snow. SNOW? Yes, snow! It’s Michigan and that’s how we roll in Michigan. Just trying to keep everyone on their toes! But, since it’s not snowing everywhere and it is the first day of Spring, let’s make the day of one lucky little girl!
Fairy Gram Winner: Kirsten T.
Congratulations Kirsten! I hope your daughter enjoys her Fairy-Gram. You should be receiving an email from me shortly about claiming your prize!
Thanks to everyone for entering. Please don’t forget to check-out Fairy-Gram.com as you are thinking of gifts to fill those Easter baskets!
Also, thanks to Fairy-Gram for hosting this giveaway!
Where to begin? I'm a wife, a mom to two little girls, and the slave to a lovable Boxer. In college I majored in Biology and Psychology, I've always been a bit of a science geek.