Hello!

Today starts the Ultimate Blog Party at 5 Minutes For Mom! I am always on the look out for a good blog to toss into the ol’ reader. Plus the giveaways are fantastic! If you are a regular, you may remember that I won a prize just before Christmas from them for the Cuddler, which was nice. He got quite the haul.

If you’ve just found us, Welcome! I’m Jana. I’m a single mom to two adorable little ones (no bias, they’re way cute!). In November 2010, we became official! You can read our adoption story below, if you’re the curious type.

My daughter Lala is “almost four” (she bypassed three) and is in love with gymnastics. The Cuddler is nearly three and is a firecracker! We love to go for walks, hang out with cousins and generally cause mayhem. They both have a fondness for ink pens… but only when they can draw on furniture. I now have an arsenal of tips to get various inks out of a variety of upholstery. Just ask!

I would love to be a stay at home mom if it weren’t for the whole needing money thing. Instead I spend my days with teenagers, teaching English at a high school. When I’m not working, I’m desperately trying to teach my kids how to play games (with rules!), cooking and figuring out yet another remodeling project. This summer I may drag out my sewing machine, but I make no promises on that one…

Let me know if you stopped by and I’ll return the favor. (:

blogging with children

 

Last night, I though to myself that I should join one of those ‘blog hops’. You know… see who turns up and who I ‘meet’. I’m a sociable person.  Unfortunately, between dinner, introducing a new babysitter and chaperoning a high school dance I ran out of time. I try not to publish anything after 1 am; nothing good is published after 1 am.

This morning, after making breakfast, I decided to try again.

While trying to keep two toddlers entertained, but unhurt. Also with out loosing any furniture. So far, no one has been seriously injured.

But I typed in the wrong blog address in the Mr. Linky thingy. Yes, I did.

I know there is no such thing as ‘multi-tasking’. Why do I keep trying to do it?

Free Books and Writing

Since discovering the Kindle app for my phone, I’ve been a bit addicted to it. I am, however, a consummate miser. Which means I stalk the free downloadable books like, well, like me stalking down the last cookie in the house.

There are tons of free/cheap stuff blogs that all seem to have some way discover free books that are actually good. I also check the top 100 free books list on amazon. Last night I downloaded Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford. (which is no longer free, sadly) The protagonist is a blogger, who believes she is a “food blogger” (similar the Julie of The Julie/Julia Project), and the wins a big blogger award because all the readers like reading about her life… along with the cooking. I haven’t finished yet, so I don’t have to worry about giving away the ending to you.

This book inspires me to write more and write better. Not just the part where the blog idea becomes a book idea, and the author sells a book, seemingly by magic, but also the part where what the author publishes really connects with other people. I’ve been keeping diaries for nearly 40 years now. I’ve been writing some form of a blog/online journal since 1998. And while, journals and diaries are good writing exercises, they’re just too narcissistic – or at least, in my case they are. Really, the teacher in me should cringe at the typos, bad grammar and entire paragraphs that don’t make sense. It’s easy to loose that need to write something really good when you’re real name isn’t attached to it. Heck, a lot of my friends don’t even know I publish a blog. (I do wish to point out that most of those friends feel that blogging is weird and creepy, so why bother talking about it, right? I have told them… they just don’t remember or care.) Some days it’s just too much to write and really think about, but is that my best excuse? Crap, why bother to write at all?

I know I’m always on some sort of self-improvement kick, but improving my writing can co-exist with everything else. After all, I am writing about eating healthier, raising wonderful kids, keeping a clean house, exercising more and all that jazz. I might as well attempt to write about in an effective and entertaining manner.

What inspires you? Why do you blog? Are you still blogging for the reasons you started?

Reading your answers and thinking about mine is better than sitting around wondering what happened to all the play-do.

Bookmarked!

If you saw my Google Reader, you would probably be stunned by the number of blogs saved there. 258. One I added today. Every once in a while I’ll see another blogger refer to their reader and how they have nearly 100 posts awaiting to be read there… I usually have around 1000. In my defense, some of those bloggers post ten to twenty posts per day. But the bargains I find on the days when I do have time to skim through make it worth it to keep them in the reader.

There are, however, some specific blog posts I’ve bookmarked because I keep going back to them. Recipes mostly, but some design ideas.

• The Best French Toast Ever – Kimba has a pretty nice blog, writes very well and probably publishes with a typo. This is the French toast we had on Christmas Day and it was pretty good.
• Shipwreck Casserole - $5 Dinners is great for quick dinner ideas. This casserole is kinda like a upside down Sheppard's pie, but with sliced potatoes instead of mashed.
• Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Muffins – Angie is full of recipes and great tips! I made these muffins for our dessert auction just before Thanksgiving and they were fabulous! And if you make without the chocolate, they’re low-fat, low-calorie treats! Perfect for those new year’s resolutions.
• $150 Greenhouse – it will probably be a couple of years before I build this, but for now it’s nice to know that I have the directions.
• You have the Power! – Contains instructions on how to ship a box of… something to an orphanage in Siberia. These kids have little and even less of a chance of being adopted. For $13, you can let some children know that someone actually cares.
• Free Embroidery Patterns – should I ever get a few minutes to embellish something
• Hand-made Barrettes Tutorial – see above
• Foil-Baked Tilapia – all I can say is yum! Even the kids will eat it on their current “I hate everything” kick.
• Identifying Load Bearing Walls – if you are into remodeling or think you might, this is a good one to have on file.

What blog posts do you have bookmarked?

Christmas Giveaways

You may have noticed the new button on the right side of the page – Christmas Giveway from 5 Minutes for Mom. Ordinarily I’m really not so much for blogger giveaways. First of all, I’ve only every won once, and I’m pretty sure I was the only to enter. Otherwise it’s just not worth my time. Plus, most of the stuff I’m just not that into… again, not worth my time.

 

This giveaway is a little different. The giveaway page has an ever growing list of giveaways for the holidays. Some are toys, some are for “mom” and some are for “dad” – you can pick and choose which ones are worth the time to comment and ignore those that aren’t that a fit for you. And since there are so many listed, you can maximize your limited time.

Really, only enter the ones you like a lot… because I’d like to win a little something for the kids.

Blogging

You may have noticed a lot of color changes around here… I’ve been trying to find the right one for a few days. As you can tell, it’s been a bit a hard decision to make. I used to be able to a bit of coding myself, but these days I just don’t have time to keep up with all the new crap. (and yes, I’m a bit disappointed in myself).

It’s possible that in the future I might actually have a template made for me, but I guess for now I’m going with plain white. Or was the maroon better?

Fail

I completely forgot to blog this whole weekend! Four days worth of posting gone up in smoke. (for some reason, the one I had scheduled for the fourth did not upload... stupid blogger).

This weekend was a busy one, but satisfying. I completed the program to update my teaching certificate! Just have to mail in one form and I am done for another five years. Sadly, Saturday was the nicest day this year and had to spend most of it indoors doing that.. my back lawn has become a jungle because I just cannot get time when it's nice out to actually mow. The sun is out right now and if it holds for another 3 hours, I might rush how to get it done. With my luck it'll probably start raining in two hours.

Sunday we went to church and I finally got called to do something (we have no paid people to do anything, it's all volunteer... ). Not surprisingly I was asked to help teach the nursery class. Since I've been hanging out there for nearly a year as it is, I guess now it's official. The nursery leader will be happy; she's always scambling for people to help out.

And my mother was here all weekend. And I had a huge mountain of laundry to get done. And re-organized, changed up, etc. my desk area. Photos to come later.

15 Days until spring break. I haven't decided what we're doing yet. It's possible that we may have guests, but if no one comes, I might use the time to do some painting. Or go to Ikea. Or garden... just get stuff around the house done and play with the kids.

Year In Review

Contests

Have you entered one those blog give aways? Have you ever won?

I, seriously, almost never win any raffles. In fact, my luck is so bad that I taint those around me. I did have someone tell me a trick to winning ticket raffles, but it only ever worked the days she told me… so perhaps her luck countermanded mine.

I do enter them. All the time. I’m usually commenter number 8,976 by the time I can get around to it, but I still do. It’s supposed to random right?

Today, I entered a contest win a Dyson D25. To enter, you comment why you would need this super expensive piece of household equipment. I wrote, “have two babies and a dog.” I think that pretty much explains how often I vacuum, sweep, mop and swiffer. Oh, yeah. That dog hair is insidious. I honestly believe my dog sheds an entire dog a day. I need super sucking vacuum!

The Re-Open Window

Maggie is back! Well, for one post anyways... if you haven't visited The Open Window
to read about her journey in adoption, then you need to, especially if you are in the
midst of a long wait. It is inspiring, touching and funny.

In the meantime, please vote for her in the Good Mood Gig contest to get a job!
In this economy any job is worth it - and honestly it's a good way to find a good
blogger with a following. She got into the contest a little late, so she needs to
catch up! Please go vote and urge all your friend too!




Good Mood Gig from SAM-e