I'm pretty bored the look of my blog so I'm thinking about doing some renovations. Of course there's not a whole heck of a lot you can customize with these templates like you can with some other hosting sites, but just the same I'm going to give it a shot.
So, if I disappear, you'll know what happened.
I hope I'm not opening a can of worms with this one.
**Update: Well, that's it for now. I'm just glad I didn't lose the whole thing in cyberspace.**
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Sunday, October 28
Saturday, June 30
what was it I was just saying?
What was that I was saying the other day? Something about not having anything to write about? Uh... yeah. You'd think I'd learn my lesson about posting stuff like that. But noooo! I had to go and open that can of worms. Didn't I?
First, thanks to all of you who not only read my whining but actually left me comments and suggestions. You gave me the warm fuzzies because frankly I figured ya'll probaby gave up on me and got tired of coming over here to see nothing new. You like me! You really like me!!
Anyway, as my life goes, whenever I lay things out on the line, like saying there was nothing worth writing about, all sorts of things just start gelling. Take yesterday for example. During my lunch break not one but two blog worthy stories came up during conversations with co-workers. I was really excited to come home, get the normal shit of the day done, and plunk myself down in front of the computer to write. Except life had other plans for me. So these two stories and using some of the suggestions from my adoring fans will have to wait for another day. Today I tell you about my Friday night adventure at home.
It started off as a typical Friday evening - leave work, drive home through the massive downpour that decided to come down right in the middle of rush hour causing traffic to back up for miles in both directions of the Interstate, pick up the kiddo, hang with him for awhile, then yak on the phone with my girl Stace. Sounds boring enough, eh? Well don't run off yet. This is where it gets good. Or bad. It all depends on how you look at it.
If I'm not roaming around the house doing laundry or cleaning up the kitchen I'm usually pacing between the garage and the living room when I'm talking on the phone. I hang outside smoking then retreat to the quiet of the living room for awhile so I don't have to listen to the teevee and play noises. Anyway, last night I was sitting on the sofa in the living room. It runs the length of the long wall and faces the wall of the front door entry with the actual front door to the left. As we're yakking about whatever something caught my eye - the trim around the front door. From my position on the sofa something looked amiss. Like the trim, or the door, was warped or something. And no I wasn't drunk. I was only on my first beer.
I stood up and walked to the door for closer inspection and as I approached I realized that the entire door frame where the chain lock is attached and draped over to the front door was pulled out from the wall. WTF? Completely off the wall. So far off the wall that the tiny little nails used to hold it up had about a quarter inch between the ends of them and the backside of the trim. At this point I interrupt whatever Stace is saying and tell her what I'm looking at. It completely baffled me because 1) my parents were just here for a week so there was always someone around the house during the entire day and night and if they'd had any mishaps with the front door they not only would have told me, but would have made sure it was fixed better than it'd been before they left to go back home, 2) we rarely ever use the front door since I park the car in the garage and we just come in through the laundry room, and 3) with a dog like my Jake, someone would have to really want in bad to go through the trouble of trying to get past him.
With no damage to the door, inside or out, and the door being double locked (deadbolt and all), and the chain still attached to both the trim and the door, it was baffling. Besides me, there are only three others who have a key to the house - my parents (previously exhonerated), my neighbor who was watching my kiddo all week before and after summer camp, and my ex (long story why, and not something I'll discuss here). So I asked WJ if they (him, the neighbor, the neighbor's kids, or any or all of the above) had tried to get into the house at all during the day while I was at work. Nope. Wasn't them. So that left only two other options. The ex, or someone who somehow got a key to my house or knows how to pick a lock AND relock the door when they're done.
At this point Stace suggests that I call the police. I debated on this one for two reasons. First, I hate calling the police because you always have to call the 911 number and then explain that's it's not "really" an emergency as emergencies are classified but that you really do need to talk to someone or you wouldn't have called them in the first place. I wish they had a non-emergency number for situations like this. And second, I'd already been home for like 2 hours when I'd discovered this and being that I was fine, WJ was fine, and nothing seemed to be missing from the house it seemed a little strange to get the police involved. Despite my reservations I called them. And you know what? They showed up maybe 5 minutes later. Impressive.
So now that this post has gotten way longer than I ever intended it to be, here's how the rest of it played out. The officer listened to my story, took pics, and said he was going to call my ex to see if he'd tried to get into the house for some reason. If he had, I was told I should explain the "rules" to him about entering the house univited, and if that didn't work, I should file a restraining order. Uh, yeah! If he says he didn't, it was suggested I have the locks changed and I would be assigned a case number as a victim of potential break-in.
Can you guess what happened? Here, let me give you a hint. Sometime between the two birthday parties we have to go to this weekend and all the usual laundry, house cleaning, etc. that is always on the schedule, I now have to either go to one of the big box home improvement stores to buy new locks and try to figure out how in the hell to install them, or I'll be calling a locksmith.
This really wasn't the sort of interesting blog worthy writing I was looking for, but hey. Whatever works, eh?
First, thanks to all of you who not only read my whining but actually left me comments and suggestions. You gave me the warm fuzzies because frankly I figured ya'll probaby gave up on me and got tired of coming over here to see nothing new. You like me! You really like me!!
Anyway, as my life goes, whenever I lay things out on the line, like saying there was nothing worth writing about, all sorts of things just start gelling. Take yesterday for example. During my lunch break not one but two blog worthy stories came up during conversations with co-workers. I was really excited to come home, get the normal shit of the day done, and plunk myself down in front of the computer to write. Except life had other plans for me. So these two stories and using some of the suggestions from my adoring fans will have to wait for another day. Today I tell you about my Friday night adventure at home.
It started off as a typical Friday evening - leave work, drive home through the massive downpour that decided to come down right in the middle of rush hour causing traffic to back up for miles in both directions of the Interstate, pick up the kiddo, hang with him for awhile, then yak on the phone with my girl Stace. Sounds boring enough, eh? Well don't run off yet. This is where it gets good. Or bad. It all depends on how you look at it.
If I'm not roaming around the house doing laundry or cleaning up the kitchen I'm usually pacing between the garage and the living room when I'm talking on the phone. I hang outside smoking then retreat to the quiet of the living room for awhile so I don't have to listen to the teevee and play noises. Anyway, last night I was sitting on the sofa in the living room. It runs the length of the long wall and faces the wall of the front door entry with the actual front door to the left. As we're yakking about whatever something caught my eye - the trim around the front door. From my position on the sofa something looked amiss. Like the trim, or the door, was warped or something. And no I wasn't drunk. I was only on my first beer.
I stood up and walked to the door for closer inspection and as I approached I realized that the entire door frame where the chain lock is attached and draped over to the front door was pulled out from the wall. WTF? Completely off the wall. So far off the wall that the tiny little nails used to hold it up had about a quarter inch between the ends of them and the backside of the trim. At this point I interrupt whatever Stace is saying and tell her what I'm looking at. It completely baffled me because 1) my parents were just here for a week so there was always someone around the house during the entire day and night and if they'd had any mishaps with the front door they not only would have told me, but would have made sure it was fixed better than it'd been before they left to go back home, 2) we rarely ever use the front door since I park the car in the garage and we just come in through the laundry room, and 3) with a dog like my Jake, someone would have to really want in bad to go through the trouble of trying to get past him.
With no damage to the door, inside or out, and the door being double locked (deadbolt and all), and the chain still attached to both the trim and the door, it was baffling. Besides me, there are only three others who have a key to the house - my parents (previously exhonerated), my neighbor who was watching my kiddo all week before and after summer camp, and my ex (long story why, and not something I'll discuss here). So I asked WJ if they (him, the neighbor, the neighbor's kids, or any or all of the above) had tried to get into the house at all during the day while I was at work. Nope. Wasn't them. So that left only two other options. The ex, or someone who somehow got a key to my house or knows how to pick a lock AND relock the door when they're done.
At this point Stace suggests that I call the police. I debated on this one for two reasons. First, I hate calling the police because you always have to call the 911 number and then explain that's it's not "really" an emergency as emergencies are classified but that you really do need to talk to someone or you wouldn't have called them in the first place. I wish they had a non-emergency number for situations like this. And second, I'd already been home for like 2 hours when I'd discovered this and being that I was fine, WJ was fine, and nothing seemed to be missing from the house it seemed a little strange to get the police involved. Despite my reservations I called them. And you know what? They showed up maybe 5 minutes later. Impressive.
So now that this post has gotten way longer than I ever intended it to be, here's how the rest of it played out. The officer listened to my story, took pics, and said he was going to call my ex to see if he'd tried to get into the house for some reason. If he had, I was told I should explain the "rules" to him about entering the house univited, and if that didn't work, I should file a restraining order. Uh, yeah! If he says he didn't, it was suggested I have the locks changed and I would be assigned a case number as a victim of potential break-in.
Can you guess what happened? Here, let me give you a hint. Sometime between the two birthday parties we have to go to this weekend and all the usual laundry, house cleaning, etc. that is always on the schedule, I now have to either go to one of the big box home improvement stores to buy new locks and try to figure out how in the hell to install them, or I'll be calling a locksmith.
This really wasn't the sort of interesting blog worthy writing I was looking for, but hey. Whatever works, eh?
Monday, May 28
a mish mash of streaming thoughts
I've done a lot of blog reading over the past few days, and as you can see, haven't done a lick of writing. I get caught up in the circle of thinking about all the stuff I could write about - a flu epidemic closing the school, the yearly visit from my longest childhood friend, updates on the neighborhood drama with the evil spawn child - but it all seems so "ho hum" and "zzzzzzz" compared to the writings of my personal blogging favorites. So, I sit here feeling guilty that I haven't written anything in almost a week.
Just look at some of the stuff people are writing about this week.
Sizzle and Stacie and Karl spent some time in the land of the blues this week. It kills me when I see such awesome people struggling and there's nothing I can do to help. We all have our own demons to fight, and sometimes it seems they're winning the game. I know because I fight with mine on a daily basis. Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel, let them all win. Then I get pissed and say "Eff you!! This is MY life and I'm not gonna let you get in the way!" But I never write about it. Even during times of struggle these people write. They write about what they're going through. What they'd like to change. What they're doing (or not doing) about moving forward. Why is that so difficult for me?
Then there's Tim and Kyra writing about parenting - what it means to be a parent, and how some parents seem to just not give a damn. I could write volumes on these subjects, talking about my own messed up experiences of being a single parent and trying to do everything right. I could go on and on about kids in the neighborhood, kids we encounter at stores and restaurants, and kids at school who's parents have seemingly taken a hiatus from parenting, allowing these kids to rule the roost. And sometimes I do write about these things, but they always seem to be rants and raves and bitches and whines rather than anything meaningful.
And Hilly is always diving deep into her psyche in one way or other, sometimes hitting issues head on, other times circling the wagons of generalities. Either way she writes what she wants, how she wants, and says what's on her mind in a deep, yet entertaining way. My psyche is in constant need of a deep cleaning (much like my house), but I don't go there.
Sometimes I think I have something to say, something beyond the mish mash of streaming thoughts that lead nowhere. So I write. Then I delete. And on rare occassions I consider pulling the plug, so to speak. But today I leave my whirling thoughts and appreciation for my fellow bloggers. Writers really.
Just look at some of the stuff people are writing about this week.
Sizzle and Stacie and Karl spent some time in the land of the blues this week. It kills me when I see such awesome people struggling and there's nothing I can do to help. We all have our own demons to fight, and sometimes it seems they're winning the game. I know because I fight with mine on a daily basis. Sometimes I just want to throw in the towel, let them all win. Then I get pissed and say "Eff you!! This is MY life and I'm not gonna let you get in the way!" But I never write about it. Even during times of struggle these people write. They write about what they're going through. What they'd like to change. What they're doing (or not doing) about moving forward. Why is that so difficult for me?
Then there's Tim and Kyra writing about parenting - what it means to be a parent, and how some parents seem to just not give a damn. I could write volumes on these subjects, talking about my own messed up experiences of being a single parent and trying to do everything right. I could go on and on about kids in the neighborhood, kids we encounter at stores and restaurants, and kids at school who's parents have seemingly taken a hiatus from parenting, allowing these kids to rule the roost. And sometimes I do write about these things, but they always seem to be rants and raves and bitches and whines rather than anything meaningful.
And Hilly is always diving deep into her psyche in one way or other, sometimes hitting issues head on, other times circling the wagons of generalities. Either way she writes what she wants, how she wants, and says what's on her mind in a deep, yet entertaining way. My psyche is in constant need of a deep cleaning (much like my house), but I don't go there.
Sometimes I think I have something to say, something beyond the mish mash of streaming thoughts that lead nowhere. So I write. Then I delete. And on rare occassions I consider pulling the plug, so to speak. But today I leave my whirling thoughts and appreciation for my fellow bloggers. Writers really.
Sunday, May 6
movies, teevee, and the start of another new me
This is the end. No. Not of refusing to blog -- though things might slow down over here a little bit in the days to come. Here, have a kleenex. I know you were getting all watery eyed there cuz you love me so much. It's the last day of the last weekend of the last 10 months of going from employed to unemployed to just plain jobless after draining my unemployment account thus falling off the headcount entirely to heading back to the ratrace of the employed world. I can't wait!
Tuesday is my first day back to work after my excrutiatingly long hiatus and I'm returning to none other than the same corporate computer giant (which will from this day forward be referred to as "The Winnebago") I left 10 months ago. I'm sure there will be assorted pleas for my sanity, bitching about stoopidity, and maybe a few sighs of relief to keep you entertained during round two.
Last week was insane with trying to get a ton of shit done before the big day. How is it that I could be not working for 10 months and still not be caught up with everything around here? But this weekend's been about just hanging out, enjoying the simple things in life, and relishing in the fact that I'll now be able to pay my bills without looking over my shoulder to see if someone's coming after me.
And because I'm crazy and like to pack my schedule fuller than it should be, I've taken on another new venture and joined the gang at Snackie Teevee. I figure since I'm already watching enough teevee to choke a goat (but I have a coopin for the goat!) I'd might as well dish about what I'm watching. The fun part is I'm in the company of some other great blog writers and don't feel the pressure of holding down the fort all by my little self. Not that I consider myself a great blog writer or anything. Especially when comparing myself to them. Anyway, go check it out.
We're also gearing up for pirates around here! In case you don't already know, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens on Friday, May 25th. So last night we watched The Curse of the Black Pearl, and next weekend will be Dead Man's Chest. Both rewatches for me, but first watches for the kiddo. Enjoy the trailer, but keep your drool to a minimum as I can't afford to be replacing keyboards or anything.
Tuesday is my first day back to work after my excrutiatingly long hiatus and I'm returning to none other than the same corporate computer giant (which will from this day forward be referred to as "The Winnebago") I left 10 months ago. I'm sure there will be assorted pleas for my sanity, bitching about stoopidity, and maybe a few sighs of relief to keep you entertained during round two.
Last week was insane with trying to get a ton of shit done before the big day. How is it that I could be not working for 10 months and still not be caught up with everything around here? But this weekend's been about just hanging out, enjoying the simple things in life, and relishing in the fact that I'll now be able to pay my bills without looking over my shoulder to see if someone's coming after me.
And because I'm crazy and like to pack my schedule fuller than it should be, I've taken on another new venture and joined the gang at Snackie Teevee. I figure since I'm already watching enough teevee to choke a goat (but I have a coopin for the goat!) I'd might as well dish about what I'm watching. The fun part is I'm in the company of some other great blog writers and don't feel the pressure of holding down the fort all by my little self. Not that I consider myself a great blog writer or anything. Especially when comparing myself to them. Anyway, go check it out.
We're also gearing up for pirates around here! In case you don't already know, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens on Friday, May 25th. So last night we watched The Curse of the Black Pearl, and next weekend will be Dead Man's Chest. Both rewatches for me, but first watches for the kiddo. Enjoy the trailer, but keep your drool to a minimum as I can't afford to be replacing keyboards or anything.
Saturday, April 28
think think think... ouch!
For some odd reason my L'il Sis Jessica has bestowed the "Thinking Blogger Award" on me. She says, "I love Lisa’s blog for many reasons, but mostly because she’s smart, witty, honest, and not afraid to cuss like a sailor in public." Aw, thanks Sis! Really, I think she just wants to make my head hurt while I try to actually think of something to say instead of just opening my head and letting my brain spill out all over the place.
So, now it's time for me to pass the award on. This is the thinking part, so consider yourselves warned - this will hurt. But what's a little fun without a little pain, right? Okay. Without further ado, and in no particular order, I am happy to pass the "Thinking Blogger Award" on to:
{forking madness over here}: Okay. You all knew this one was coming. No. I'm not giving Stacie this award because she's "my girl" (even though that'd be as good a reason as any). I'm giving her this award because she truly makes me think, each and every day. Sometimes her life gets a bit hectic, and her blog doesn't always reflect her deepest thinking self. But that's the way life goes. I know she's always thinking even if she doesn't show it.
Sizzle Says: One of my new friends, Sizzle, tells it like it is. Whether it's spilling her guts about self awareness or laughing at her klutzy self, every day is a good read and enlightening for me. Besides, we practically share a birthday, so I had to pick her!
Home on the Fringe: I started reading this blog back during the NaBloPoMo craze. Kristin and John are the tag team writers for this blog -- Kristin does more of the writing and John speaks volumes through his photography. It's deep. It's funny. A definite must read.
patron saint of smartmouths: Another NaBloPoMo find, Lesley Girl runs the gammut on her blog. An avid knitter and former clergy student, she spreads happiness, opinions, and foolishness across the blogoverse. I know how much she hates ads on peoples blogs, so let's see what she thinks of awards!
evil, silly n stoopid: Yeah, I know. Another big surprise. Really, even though it's like pulling teeth to get him to blog once in a blue moon, Groove's another deep thinker. So much in fact it keeps him awake at night. Maybe if he blogged more frequently he'd get more sleep!
There are tons of other bloggers I'd give this award to, many who've already received it. But since I had to narrow it down to 5, there ya have it. Now I need to go take something for my throbbing head. Thanks a bunch, L'il Sis!
The rules behind this Thinking Blogger Thing are as follows:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).
So, now it's time for me to pass the award on. This is the thinking part, so consider yourselves warned - this will hurt. But what's a little fun without a little pain, right? Okay. Without further ado, and in no particular order, I am happy to pass the "Thinking Blogger Award" on to:
{forking madness over here}: Okay. You all knew this one was coming. No. I'm not giving Stacie this award because she's "my girl" (even though that'd be as good a reason as any). I'm giving her this award because she truly makes me think, each and every day. Sometimes her life gets a bit hectic, and her blog doesn't always reflect her deepest thinking self. But that's the way life goes. I know she's always thinking even if she doesn't show it.
Sizzle Says: One of my new friends, Sizzle, tells it like it is. Whether it's spilling her guts about self awareness or laughing at her klutzy self, every day is a good read and enlightening for me. Besides, we practically share a birthday, so I had to pick her!
Home on the Fringe: I started reading this blog back during the NaBloPoMo craze. Kristin and John are the tag team writers for this blog -- Kristin does more of the writing and John speaks volumes through his photography. It's deep. It's funny. A definite must read.
patron saint of smartmouths: Another NaBloPoMo find, Lesley Girl runs the gammut on her blog. An avid knitter and former clergy student, she spreads happiness, opinions, and foolishness across the blogoverse. I know how much she hates ads on peoples blogs, so let's see what she thinks of awards!
evil, silly n stoopid: Yeah, I know. Another big surprise. Really, even though it's like pulling teeth to get him to blog once in a blue moon, Groove's another deep thinker. So much in fact it keeps him awake at night. Maybe if he blogged more frequently he'd get more sleep!
There are tons of other bloggers I'd give this award to, many who've already received it. But since I had to narrow it down to 5, there ya have it. Now I need to go take something for my throbbing head. Thanks a bunch, L'il Sis!
The rules behind this Thinking Blogger Thing are as follows:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).
Friday, March 9
just in case you're wondering
You might have asked yourself "What's up?" when reading a couple of new posts here in the past couple of days. Or maybe you just think I've gone off the deep end and am posting disclaimers for kicks. Whatever the case, here's the deal.
Last week Elizabeth over at Table for Five posted about how she found this site where she could make a few bucks just for blogging about stuff she might normally post about anyway. Since making money is on the top of my list of "must dos" I had to check it out.
PayPerPost works with bloggers (like me) by letting affiliates post "opportunities" to talk about their sites. There's so many opps out there, and the more I write and attract attention for the affiliates, the more opps I'll have to choose from. Some day (if I get enough traffic) I could even make $1,000 for a single sponsor post. Now wouldn't that be something? For now, every little bit counts.
Anyway, since Blogspot doesn't have tabs, I've added my disclaimer on my sidebar. As it states, this isn't going to influence my posts. I'll still be giving you my witty, sassy, and sometimes bitchy spin on things, but some of them I might actually get paid for. If this idea repulses you, I'm sorry. Feel free to skip over those posts. But I hope you don't. I hope you keep coming back, and tell your friends to come on by too. Cuz there's truly nothing better than getting paid for what you love to do - in this case ranting, raving and shouting out!
Last week Elizabeth over at Table for Five posted about how she found this site where she could make a few bucks just for blogging about stuff she might normally post about anyway. Since making money is on the top of my list of "must dos" I had to check it out.
PayPerPost works with bloggers (like me) by letting affiliates post "opportunities" to talk about their sites. There's so many opps out there, and the more I write and attract attention for the affiliates, the more opps I'll have to choose from. Some day (if I get enough traffic) I could even make $1,000 for a single sponsor post. Now wouldn't that be something? For now, every little bit counts.
Anyway, since Blogspot doesn't have tabs, I've added my disclaimer on my sidebar. As it states, this isn't going to influence my posts. I'll still be giving you my witty, sassy, and sometimes bitchy spin on things, but some of them I might actually get paid for. If this idea repulses you, I'm sorry. Feel free to skip over those posts. But I hope you don't. I hope you keep coming back, and tell your friends to come on by too. Cuz there's truly nothing better than getting paid for what you love to do - in this case ranting, raving and shouting out!
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