Vlogs

And so it seems that the latest trend is circling around "vlogs" or "video blogs" if you don't speak twitter lingo (twitter lingo: a lingo in which you regularly mix two words together to form one. ie blate -blog date; blove -blog love; tweind -twitter friend; twend -twitter trend; twashtagger -twitter hash tagger)

I don't how I feel about the whole vlogging, putting my face and my voice out there for the whole world to see thing. And if I vlogged I'd have to put on make up and take off my "Team Edward" shirt and put on something appropriate. See I'm not so sure that works for me.

What are your thoughts on vlogging? Would you even want to see me vlog?

Alright time to get my "Personal Family Day" started! Time to de-stress :)

If you see me on a Milk Carton...

You may have noticed on your blogs lately that I have been a little MIA. With everything going on in my life lately I have barely had the time, or the concentration, to write a blog. So reading and commenting have been even more difficult!

I'm almost done with my WIP and plan to start querying next week. So this week I am doing the final run through of my MS, write my query (which is coming along WAY better than I anticipated) and writing a synopsis. All that in between real life, which on it's own has been super hectic and drama filled.

My priorities look something like this...

Family (Which is demanding A LOT of my attention these days)

My MS

Blogs

Twitter (Which may weazle it's way in between my MS and Blogs...but come on...it's Twitter!)

So if you see my face on the back of the Milk Carton, know I am still here. I still love you all. And I am perusing your blogs at every chance I get.



Do you ever feel too overwhelmed to get everything done? How do you order your priorities? Have you had to push any to the side lately to get things done?

A little less Cheese ... and pickles and bald monkeys ...

OMG don't run away! I know cheese is great...I swear! I'm just talking about my blog. I promise when it comes to the edible kind, there will always be plenty of cheese when I am near. (Not in my toes though, I promise!)

Still, I think the last two days have been a little bit on they cheesy side. So today I decided you deserved some Random Poppins Moments, in which I talk about Pickles and Bald Monkeys.

I don't know why it is, but whenever I feel obligated to talk about random things, I always end up mentioning Pickles and Bald Monkeys. Like the time I asked a friend what he would do if the Pickle Thieves kidnapped me ... Thankfully he felt obligated to bring down the nasty kidnapping Pickle Thieves and come to my rescue. I have some totally awesome friends.

Look! They are scared! They know the Pickle Thieves are coming after them!!!

And Bald Monkeys are just awesome. I mean come on ... They are monkeys ... And they are bald! What's not to love?!?!

Ok, so this bald monkey is kinda creepy....

Oh and don't even get me started with talking in old southern dialect! (Yes, I am completely allowed to add in a totally random comment in my totally random post!)

If you were asked to post about something completely random, what would you choose?

Blogging for Sanity

After yesterday's post, I was more than relieved to discover I am not the only one with all these anxieties. I suppose in the back of my head I already knew I wasn't alone, but sometimes hearing it (or in this case, reading it) helps verify my submissions and set my mind at ease.

A few people have done posts lately about WHY they blog. After yesterday I had no doubt in my mind what that reason is for me.

I blog for my sanity!

Because if my anxieties are high, I can voice them and my readers will set my mind at ease. When I've had a rough day, I can spin it in an entertaining tale for everyone, and by the end of the post, it doesn't seem like such a bad day any more. And because through blogging I have met so many INCREDIBLE people that I cannot begin to describe how different my life would be without them.

You guys are my sanity! I blog for you. Not to be confused with blogging for your ratings or gaining followers, but because I genuinely enjoy your company and comments! You keep me sane.

So a big fat thank you to you guys. Thank you for all your support and thank you for not being scared off by my insanity!

Performance Anxiety

Everyone gets it in some way, shape or form. Getting up on stage to sing, reading aloud, giving a speech, I (close your eyes Scott) even get it in public restrooms. Some one comes in, and suddenly I can't pee! (Ok you can open them now...it's all over)

Right now there are a few areas where I am experiencing large bouts of performance anxiety.

1. Writing my query letter ... I know the words are there. I know the story is great. But every time I put my fingers on the keys my mind goes blank and the words disappear. I am pretty sure this has to do with my second issue.

2. Getting ready to query ... My book is almost complete and pretty and perfect. All I need to do is polish up some things and write that query letter. BUT once that query letter is written there is nothing stopping me from sending it out. I am terrified to send it out. What if it's not perfect? What if my story doesn't catch anyone's eyes? What if I get rejected.

Thus...procrastination. I'm getting really good at it too!!!

And alas, my final issue.

3. Blogging ... For some reason lately my blogging goes like this. I get all excited to blog. I do the happy dance. I sing a song. (This is a dramatization...Poppins does not actually do a happy dance or sing.) Then I sit down and open up my blog ready for my bout of awesomesauce to spill across the page. But it doesn't. I worry my post isn't going to be funny or it's going to be boring. And all those fun little things. Then I sit and I stare at the computer screen for large amounts of time. This is kinda getting in the way of productivity.

Performance Anxiety kinda sucks. (Especially when you REALLY have to pee! Sorry Scott, I couldn't help myself there.) But I am determined to get over it and forge ahead. Look I've already started. I'm blogging as we speak! (Ok so as you read this I will have already blogged so that's not entirely true, but you get the point!)

What gives YOU performance anxiety???

And so my Prize Becomes an Adventure!

This is the best gnome post ever! (I know right, even better than mine. that's saying something)

So here ya go kids ... head right on over to Southern Princess' Adventures of Gnick the Gnome to see how my contest prize was brought to life!

(I am so swooning over here!)

Where I admit my true feelings about Mary Poppins...

Alas, the last day of Questions and Answers. Today is a hard one for me ... I will now commence some embarrassing Mary Poppins facts. *clenching my schwetty fists*

Southern Princess said...

questions...hmmmm...Simon covered the #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr sooo....

Okay -

1. Do you actually like the movie Mary Poppins?

This is the worst question of them all! I now have to make an embarrassing and horrible confession!!!

I have not seen this movie since I was a kid! (GASP!! Oh the horror!)

HOWEVER ... I did enjoy it and I was very impressed by the magic carpet bag. I will not stop searching till I have one of my own!

2. if so, what is your favorite moment in the movie?

The part where they are walking on the ceiling.

3. Have you yet found your Inner Mary Poppins or at least some portion of her?

Sadly the elusive Inner Mary Poppins remains elusive. I'm a creature of imperfection. I have a feeling I will never be "Practically Perfect In Every Way!" but I can't help but keep trying. I'm masochistic like that!

4. If so, how did you discover it & what portion is it?

Well I DID realize I am perfect at loving gnomes. Does that count?

5. Does your significant other call you Mary Poppins?

Nope, he just calls me Marybeth. He's boring!

6. How do your children get along with all the gnomes?

We are one big happy family. They even draw me pictures of the gnomes.

7. Do the gnomes play nice with your kids?

92% of the time. The other 8% they spend trying to bite them. What's up with that!?!

8. Do the gnomes know how to share well with others?

I can't believe you didn't know that gnomes do NOT share. That's why my gardens always die. The gnomes get all upset that I have invaded their territory and they magically make all these weeds. And at the very same time the magically compel me to be too lazy to go remove the weeds. Those gnomes can be pretty evil!

9. If you were a gnome what would you do everyday?

Lie in a hammock!

10. Are your gnomes jealous of the Travelocity Roaming Gnome?

Oh no. They are all friends. The Travelocity Roaming Gnome started my love, so they know if it weren't for him I wouldn't keep them around. If there is animosity they hide it well!

These are the weirdest questions that I have ever asked anyone. ;o)

Oh Southern Princess...I loved your weird questions! They even got a post of their own! I'm pretty nervous about coming out of the Mary Poppins closet though. I hope I don't lose any followers over it! *bites finger nails* I promise I'll go rent it and/or buy it soon!!!

And one embarrassing day leads to two...

Well the embarrassment has started, no reason to stop now!

So....

Simon C. Larter said...

Ask you questions? About yourself? Well I guess those people know who they are that would take advantage of that. Some folk! Sheesh! *rolls eyes*

How about:
Where's your favorite place to have #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr? At the Beach
What's your favorite time of day to have #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr? In the evening
What do you do when you have too much #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr? Throw it in a Pony Tail (Duh!)
Do you own a convertible? That would totally put the #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr. No convertible, but I dated a guy once who owned one and there were definitely some #windinmyhhhaaaiiirrr issues!
Do you have a fan sitting next to your computer so you can have the #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr while you write? No but I have one in my room and sometimes if I'm writing in there I turn it on (more for the white noise, but a little for the #windinmyhhhaaaiiirrr)
How much longer do you think we can milk this whole #windinyourhaaaiiirrrr thing? It will NEVER die!!! There will always be enough #windinmyhhhaaaiiirrr to keep it going!

Janna Qualman said...

If, for two days straight, you could only have one snack and one beverage, what would they be?

Water (Seriously... it is my favorite beverage) and Cheese Fries...ooh or Pizza...could I have pizza from different places for each meal? No? Ok well then Cheese Fries!

CMOM Productions said...

What is your least favorite (aka most annoying) kids' show that your children watch? What show do you actually not mind watching with them?

Most annoying - Hands Down Yo Gabba Gabba. "There's a yummy in my tummy party party YEAAAHHHH!" (Though it IS super fun to go through McDonald's and order a "Cheese burger and fries for they yummy in my tummy party party YEAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Not that I would know or anything...) Most tolerable - Toss up between Fairly Odd Parents and The Penguins of Madagascar. Both very educational shows of course!

Mindy said...

0kay lets say you were stranded on an island named....uh.... Island of the Literate..... for the rest of your life. What ONE writing related thing would you have with you?

Okay lets say you were magically transported to another island called The Island of the Nutty Authors. If you could spend the rest of your life on the island with one author who would it be and why?

Oh and you know in that movie that I cannot think of the name for...with Tom Hanks and the volley ball named Winston..... who would your imaginary creepy friend be on your island?

(can't you tell I want a warm island?? Winters up here in Canada suck)

Stranded on the Island of the Literate I would have to a Library. (What?!?! That's ONE thing!) I considered a pen and paper, but that is clearly two things. And then I thought maybe just a pen, but it would eventually run out. So I'm totally all about the Library!

If I could spend the rest of my life with one author on The Island of Nutty the Authors I would be lame and choose J.K. Rowling. Imagine picking her brain! And hearing about all her original ideas about Harry Potter. And her REAL story behind the book and writing and OMG I could go on for days just picking that woman's brain and listening to her stories.

Just like on the movie (Cast Away) I would have a creepy friend who is a stick figure that I created on my own with a melon for a head. That way I could make it big and we could dance together when I get lonely. It would be way more realistic than a volley ball. And I would name him George.

Krista Phillips said...

This is HARD!

How about...

What is the weirdest piece of trivia you know that NO ONE ELSE reading your blog would be able to answer?

I USED to know the names of all Five of Michael W. Smith's children. I think I can only name three now. But still...how many people can even do THAT! (Is that strange enough?)

ali said...

Oh man, I really should pay you back for your monkey-in-wellies-and-a-pink-floral-hat question. But ... I can't think of anything!

So, I guess I'll ask:

If you woke up with blue hair, would it be a source of embarrassment, or joy to you?

Now this would depend, was this the doing of Papa Smurf? Or was it something magical that comes with magical powers? I like magic powers, whereas I'm not so big on Papa Smurf. I still feel skeptical about one female smurf in a village of all men. I mean really, what kind of "Papa" was Papa Smurf? ... Personally I'm not sure if blue would be my color, though it might bring out the color of my eyes. And it definitely would look better than green, regardless of how much I love green! But IDK...what do you think? (Not what do you think of my poor photo shopping skills...of the blue hair!)


Jessica said...

Don't you have four kids? How did that happen? LOL (not the technicalities, you know what I mean, heeheee)

And...why did you decide to write a book?

Oh dear...four kids. Nope, I only have three. And wow that's a long story. But after the first one we knew we wanted one more so we pretty much got prego right away. Then after they started to get a little older I got baby fever something nasty and begged for one more baby. And thus my youngest. But we both decided no more after three. Three is a handful! I love them all, but some days I'm ready to pull my hair out!

(Did that answer the question?)

As for the book, this sounds really dumb but here I go. I've always been a writer. For as long as I can remember. But after having babies I kinda pushed it to the side. Then I got back into reading again after I learned of Harry Potter and read them each like 4 times. Then a friend introduced my to Twilight, so I read that series about three times. Then I got bored. I have no idea why, but I didn't want to read any other books. So one day I decided, "Hey, I can do this. I can write a good book." And I picked up a notebook and haven't stopped writing since. As much as I'm pretty much past the whole "Twilight Obsession", (cuz dude I'll never get past Harry Potter!) I'm glad I read those books and felt compelled to make a writer out of me! I absolutely adore being a writer!!!

And my last set of questions remain for tomorrow...in which I make some really sad Mary Poppins confessions...

In which I begin to embarrass myself...

I have decided to split my answers up into three portions. Half today, half tomorrow, and one lucky questioneer (Yes, questionEER...questioner is kinda boring) will dominate Friday!

Okay, here I go.
BugginWord said... What is the evolutionary basis for toe nails? Why do we still have them? Also do you have a favorite flavor of gatorade?

I think they were used originally made for scratching one's feet. Which is good that they are still around because my feet itch all the time! And luckily now we have cool things like pedicures so they can look pretty and be functional all at the same time! My favorite Gatorade flavor is strawberry/lime. Though it was pretty hard to decide between that one and the Lime Rain flavor. That one is super yummy too!

Jody Hedlund said... Oh, Marybeth, let's see! I do feel like I've gotten to know you over the past year of blogging and now through Twitter. So YOU tell me something you think I don't know!!
Jody, Jody, Jody...this wasn't very nice! Now I have to sit and think ............ Okay I got it. The first book I ever read (on my own) was Hop on Pop! BUT my favorite Dr. Seuss book is There's a Wocket in my Pocket.
T. Anne said... What exactly happened to your files and pictures?

Well we were able to recover most of our pictures. At least everything more than a year old. So I lost a TON from this past year :( Luckily I had uploaded most of them to Picassa and Facebook. *wipes brow* As for our files, we lost all our music files, recovered all our movies, lost all my MS word docs (INCLUDING all my Manuscripts) and recovered some of our older Excel files. I was never so grateful that I have forced many people to read my MS as I have progressed because I was able to find most of my emails and replace a good deal of my progression. However I lost half of one MS and a short story (that was very dear to me) and I think three new MS ideas. Needless to say, it was a bad weekend. But I'm thankful I recovered what I did!

Jonathon Arntson said... Maybe a bit too personal, but how do you manage to be super cool and get away with using the word bum, but live in Lansing, Michigan. Now, Lansing is way cooler than the part of MI I live in, but it's still MI, right? So tell me your secret!

Well Jonathan, until now I didn't realize I was super cool! Now I'm all blushing... As for the word bum, I love it. Especially when paired with the word monkey. Bum Monkey is a fairly epic pair of words and should be used in a sentence at least two times a day. And what can I say about MI...yeah pretty much nothing. EXCEPT that we have lots of water! WHOO HOO!
ajm said... I agree with Jonathon above. As a fellow Michigander, I wonder the same. So my question is, if you could reside anywhere in the world, where would it be? My second question though is much more important. Do you know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?
If I could live elsewhere it would be a toss up between Seattle, WA and Raleigh, NC ... Both are beautiful cities! As for the Tootsie Pop ... my guestimate is 1,211,454 licks. But I wouldn't know really cuz I don't really eat that kind of candy. I prefer the sour stuff!
Frankie Diane Mallis said... What sorts of things put the #windinyourhaaaaaaaiiiiiiiir?
Standing by the ocean (though I've never actually done that!), swinging, running, playing tennis, frolicking in a meadow (never done that one either...) and thunderstorms!

Foursons said... Besides me of course- who is your favorite blogger? What is your guilty pleasure? What is the one thing you don't have but really wish you did...material possession and nonmaterial possession?
I can't say that I actually have a 'favorite blogger'. (I know, I'm lame) But I do have some favorite blogs that make me laugh like Cake Wrecks and Passive Aggressive Notes. As for out of my blogging friends I visit so many blogs when I get a chance to read them I couldn't choose between them if I tried! I love everyone!!! Guilty pleasure...hmmmm..... This is a 3 part question really! (Or at least it has three answers) 1. Food!!! Seriously, just ask my husband. If I'm hungry I can think of nothing else than what I am going to eat. My one track mind revolves around food when my belly is empty! 2. Margaritas - Specifically the Applebee's Perfect Margarita. It's heaven in my mouth! I don't drink often, but when this little puppy is in front of me I am incapable of saying no! 3. Karaoke ... and no, I do not feel the need to explain myself!

As for things I REALLY want...

Material Possession - (This one is hard now that I have my Genevieve tiny laptop) I would LOVE to have a new house. A really pretty one. And when I say new I mean built new in a Victorian style. I'm tired of old houses and apartments.

Non-Material Possession - Okay, well as embarrassing as this is, I wish I had good credit. My husband lost his job a couple years ago, thus we lost our house. And I MISS having decent credit to be able to get a new house or a new car.

Well now that I have embarrassed myself and answered some of life's most challenging questions - such as how many licks does it take to get to the middle of a Tootsie Roll Pop and how do I remain so cool - I will leave you waiting for the rest of my answers till tomorrow!

Now you tell ME ... what don't I know about you???

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Ahhh good ol Ren and Stimpy....

I know you were hoping for answers today, BUT I was going to give everyone one more day to load up on questions. SO if you haven't had a chance to ask me any embarrassing and/or deep questions yet, go here! The answers portion of this game shall be interesting to say the least AND might take up the rest of my week!

But first ...

So apparently people kinda like me. (I know right? What's up with THAT!) And two of my favorite followers, Frankie and Southern Princess, happened to give me not one, but TWO awards (each) last week! And we all know you can't receive an award without passing it on and following the rules.

The first award they gave me was the Happy Award.


The rules being, I have to tell you 10 things that make me happy and list 10 blogs that make me happy. And sorry, but I'm not as cool as Frankie so I refuse to vlog. (Plus I haven't taken a shower so you don't even want to know what I look like)

So here it is... (In no particular order)

10 Things that Make ME Happy!

1. Showers (I just don't get to them as often as I'd like)

2. The smell of Fresh Cut Grass (Yum!)

3. Cheese!!!

4. My kids, husband, family, friends, etc.

5. A really good book (Reading OR Writing one)

6. Going to the Movies! (Percy Jackson is in less than a month! Oh and Avatar was AWESOME!)

7. Going out to Eat

8. MUSIC! (I love to sing...I'm just not very good at it anymore)

9. Presents (I like green! and Sparkly things!))

10. Fun emails from friends.

10 Blog Friends that make me Happy!

1. Frankie

2. Southern Princess

3. Shannon Messenger

4. Mindy!

5. Karen (She blogs about Dr. Quinn...we are in blove!)

6. Natalie

7. John Green (What? His vlogs super make me happy!) (Well I can pretend we are friends...can't I?)

8. Dawn

9. Scott

10. Hilary

I suppose there are no rules to this one, but they have been passing it on to their good blog friends...so I shall do the same!

1. Mindy

2. Frankie

3. Shannon

5. Courtney


You guys put #windinmyhhhaaaiiirrr!!!!

Monday Mayhem

Why Mayhem you ask? Well because I have made a bold decision to let YOU, my loyal and loving readers, ask ME anything you want to. (This is going to bite me in the bum...I already know it.)

Since I've gained quite a new bunch of followers I wanted to make sure everyone knows me properly. And where, yes, you could read back through all my old posts to figure that out, let's be honest ... who has the time for that? I can barely keep my hair washed these days I'm so busy!

SOOOO I am going to swallow my pride (more like a gulp when it comes to some of you out there...no need to name names, you know who you are!) and give you permission to ask whatever you want ..... as long as .....

It's PG rated

I like the question

The answer does not include a vlog

and

I have an answer!

So go for it kids. Get wild. BRING IT ON!!!

Put a little #windinmyhaaaiiiirrrrr!

The Return of Phantastic Phriday

Phantastic Phriday was a little thing I started last year. Each post gets the phollowing heading and we go phrom there! (My phavorite post being this one.)

***In honor oph it being Phriday, and in rephusal to submit to boredom, I have decided that the Letter F shall phrom here on out be replaced with a PH (except phor in pictures which I have no control over)***

Ok so I got so into thinking about my love phor Phantastic Phriday's that I totally phorgot what I was actually going to write about! How dare me! And here I thought my mine was working at least phiphty percent better than yesterday.

Well whatever the idea, it is gone. So there is no other choice than to go with a new idea. I'm a writer, I've got plenty oph ideas. This should be easy...right? OPH COURSE!

So Irons. (What?! I looked around my room an it was the phirst things I saw!)

My husband is phanatical about ironing his clothing. And well at one point the iron that we owned was less than mediocre. It was all rusted out and it had a tendency to burn a shirt here and there out oph sheer dephiance. That's right! We had a dephiant Iron!

That Christmas we were short on phunds (oh wait...that's Every Christmas! LOL) and I thought I would get my husband something practical that he could use, but something he liked ... and I made the mistake oph buying him an iron!

Ok wait wait wait. I didn't pick out just any old iron. I picked out THE iron. It had a digital display (phor the digital computer genius) it was green and it was lovely. I was SO proud oph this gipht. And I'm talking SUPER proud, can't believe I thought oph such a great gipht proud!

I mean look at this little guy! Isn't he hot!!!

So I opened up my giphts, I think he got me an MP3 player or something, and then I hand him his. I'm bouncing up and down in my seat so super excited and he opens it .... and and

He laughed! (I think that should totally be spelled lauphed today though...what do you think?)

Yes he laughed. Because I bought him an iron.... To him it was suggesting he should probably do a bit more ironing. And phor the rest oph the day I was the running joke...wait not that would be phor the last three years(ish) I have been the running joke. Sigh... He even had me lauphing by the end oph the day.

Christmas Gipht PHAIL!

BUT he loves his iron! So THERE!!!

Have you ever given a gipht that you were SO proud oph and you thought the person was going to ADORE it only to have it totally bomb?

Meet my New Friend Genevieve!

Most of my followers know that there is an item (or 10 ... ish) I have been coveting for at least the last year. I bought one for a moment about a year ago, but it was too small and I decided pink just really wasn't the right color for me. I mean pink is pretty and all, but have you seen Green!!!

Everything looks better in green! (minus my hair...my hair would not look very pretty green. I know this because there was one summer where I did a LOT of swimming and well chlorine and yeah...you get the idea. But pink highlights...totally cool!)

Getting back on track...

So on New Years Eve I finally caved in and bough myself a long awaited present. She'll help me with my writing and my blogging and make me ten times more awesome than I already am. (Wait? Can the world even handle that much awesomeness?)

No need to make you wait any longer. I know you are all on the edge of your seats. So dear blogger friends, I'd like you to meet my new BFF.

Say hello to Genevieve!!!


Isn't she the prettiest thing you've ever seen? And the best part is ... she is TINY (just like me!) She clocks in at 10.1 inches wide and she works like a dream! She even fits in the new purse that I want. I'm not quite sure what that purse looks like yet, but I KNOW Genevieve will fit in it!

So what do you think? Feel free to tell her how cute she is. She loves flattery!

Is there something you've wanted for months on end? Even if its not big or totally unaffordable, it's just something you haven't been able to get your hands on yet? What is it? Is it as awesome as Genevieve?

The One Who Eats the Onion Deserves a Prize!

(I can't help but say that in the voice of Buffalo Bill..."She puts the lotion in the basket or she gets the hose." ... don't ask!)

I've made a ton of concessions and compromises in my marriage, but none as big as my decision to force a liking for onions. Yes you would think that stopping after three kids, (which turned out to be a good compromise in the end...) handing over the super fluffy feather pillow, (this is a close second) or moving to an entirely new city to accommodate a job change would be bigger sacrifices, BUT no...

Learning to like the onion is by far the largest change I have made for my husband.




Before I met the love of my life I could barely walk into a room that smelled of rotten onion juiciness. I could not fathom eating an ounce of food the awful root had plagued with it's juices. And if you ate anything onion related you might as well stay over there....in the next room...at LEAST 20ft away from me.

So it is with great pride that I announce today, that last night I ate cooked onion...PLAIN cooked onion, well ok, sauteed onion, with my dinner!

AND

I liked it!

Now where is my prize?

What is the largest change/compromise you have made for your significant other that might appear to others as something tiny?

Share your Magical Secrets with Me!

Ok I'll admit it. I totally have not caught up on all my blog reading as of late. (GASP!!) There are just so many to read and so little time and yesterday I had the lovely privilege of getting my Second Filling in the last week. So half the day I couldn't even feel my face!

(I really kinda enjoy imagining all the mental pictures you are all getting right now!)

So it is now that I will admit, I have been defeated! I have tried and tried and I feel like I will never catch up! BUT I still love you all. And I'm still going to continue trying through out the day.

How do YOU do it? How do you keep up with all your followed blogs? Is there a magic secret I need to learn to make the day at least an hour longer in order to sneak in a few extra comments on each one? TELL ME YOUR SECRETS!!!

That being said. I shall stop writing right now and spend my blogging time reading instead. And tomorrow hopefully I'll have come up with something witty and exciting to right about!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Ok well not really a chicken dinner. More like a gnome and a book. But that is WAY better than a chicken dinner!

After careful calculation (You know...when you put down the little line marks to count points...super official!) I have determined the two winners! First place was a shoe in, but second place was close!

Drum Roll Please!!!

(Where's my drum roll? Hold on, grabbing the four year old and a pot and a spoon)

(Ahhhh there is my drum roll. You can hear it right? RIGHT!?! I thought so!)

Second Prize runner up goes to none other than Shannon O'Donnell who will be receiving the original version of Mary Poppins!!! (The crowd goes wild!)

Ok ok...hold your applause...

Let's get that Drum Roll again!

dumdumdumdudmdumdumdumdum

And the grand prize winner of the COOLEST prize I have ever given away is...

wait for it....

wait for it....

Oh yeah ... this is the prize again for anyone who forgot ...
OK and the winner is ...


SOUTHERN PRINCESS!!! (Can you hear the screams?!?!)

If you girls could email me (mb(at)marybethsmith(dot)com) with your addresses that would be awesome!

And so this concludes the Poppins Blog Party! Hope you enjoyed Chateau Poppins, but now it's time to go. My self cleaning bathrooms are having a hay day and the kitchen staff needs a nap.

Feel free to leave your favorite part of the party and/or Chateau Poppins in the comments section!

For Fun...

So apparently this is a contest. But I'm just doing it for fun :) So enjoy!!!

1) Dave (The contest holder's husband) and I have a long-standing feud over cheese in a can. He thinks it’s food of The Gods while I think it’s probably Of The Devil. Your take?

I am a firm believer that easy cheese is The Devil. Just the thought grosses me out. HOWEVER I will scarf over a tub of Schuelers Bar Cheese. Not to discount real cheese cuz me and some colby have quite the love affair going on...despite what my stomach does to fight it.


2) Is there any way you can think of to make the elder Gosselins go away? I AM ALL EARS.

I personally ignore them and if I DO happen to come across their trash, I just roll my eyes and move onto the next thing. I am WAY more interested in reading about twilight crap!

3) Who is your ridiculous “I can’t admit this to anyone in polite company lest I be banned from life” crush?

I'd like to think I've always had pretty good taste. Ok so there was the one time I had a huge crush on Macguyver, but come on, Richard Dean Anderson could totally pull off a yummy mullet! Other than that I'm not really sure. I suppose my crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas was a bit over the top. But Teen Beat had the best posters and they just begged to hang on my wall, as well as the magazine cut outs. Still I am not so sure these are 'embarrassing' really. Hmmmm...I'm thinking....hold on....Oh does anyone remember Joe Lando? He was Sully in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. I totally wished I could fall off a bridge so he could come rescue me in JUST the nick of time!


4) If you could forget it all and pursue your dream (assuming, of course, you were going to be GOOD at it), what would that dream be?

Well since the obvious answer is Writing, I will go with one a tiny bit less obvious and say singing. I've gotten much worse now that I'm older. But I would LOVE to get paid to sing. Sigh....


5) They say “living well is the best revenge.” I think they are wrong. Do you?

Never thought of it that way. I'm REALLY not one for revenge. They will get theirs in the end. But I suppose showing them that what they've done hasn't affected you at all would work. I'm always one for 'killing them with kindness', but not so much for revenge. More because I am determined that I can be nice to anyone. It's just my nature.

6) What is the most humiliation you’ve experienced in public that you’d be willing to admit to The Internet?

Hmmmmm....(Even though I FEAR this will bite me in the arse) I was in the fourth grade and a girl in my class was having a party at the roller skating rink right after church that I hadn't been planning to attend. So I wore a skirt to church. Well I begged my parents and they let me go, but I had to wear a pair of pants from their house. Which were these AWFUL bright turquoise blue pants of her little brothers since I am so small. I looked ridiculous. And then the girls convinced me to ask a boy I liked to skate to one of the slow songs with me. For some absurd reason I went up to him and said, "Will you dance with me?" and he laughed me off in my super 80's polyester pants and they laughed about me asking him to "dance" in the "skating" rink the rest of the afternoon. To this day that is STILL one of my most embarrassing moments.

7) Are you honest with The Internet? Like, if I came over to your house tonight (heh)(I’m coming over, yo)(heh) would I be surprised at who I found?

I like to think so. I am as honest on the internet as I am in real life. There really isn't much to hide. My house is usually clean depending on my mood and I'm usually on the computer while my family entertains themselves. There is a cross on my wall and horrible video games of my husbands in my entertainment stand. My bookshelves have whole shelves dedicated to Twilight and Harry Potter and one that is mostly all Percy Jackson. I'm sure that wouldn't surprise anyone and in pretty much every room there is a large storage of fluffy blankets. Am I missing anything?


8 ) If you could have one talent that you don’t currently possess, what would it be?

Any talent. I would love to have ANY talent that i was SUPER good at and could feel undeniably wonderful at it. I'm not picky!


9) There’s not always room for Jello. Is there?

Well there used to be. Until I me Frankie. Now I can't stand the thought of it and feel absolutely NO #windinmyhaaaiiiirrrr when I see it. Please don't tell me what's in any other foods Frankie! Thanks :)


10) What’s your guiltiest of the guilty pleasures?

Video games. I can spend an entire day playing one of the old Zelda's or Mario's. I'm a big fan of the "Classic" Nintendo games (as my kids call them....way to make me feel old!)

That and twitter...sigh...twitter is more the Devil than easy cheese I tell ya!

Champagne is falling from the heavens!

Why? Well because it is our very first snow day for this school year of course.

No mom taxi!

No making lunches!

No making tired kids get dressed!

YAY!!!!

It's been a rough week for all of us and we've barely made it out the door each morning. Somehow its been impossible to wake up and super slow going every morning.

But today there is NO SCHOOL!!!

And guess what!?!?!

Everyone is awake....

Sigh.... Doesn't that just figure!

So it is the last day of my (Yay 200 Followers Party)contest. My prizes are getting antsy. They want owners!

If you haven't had a chance to rack up the points, go...

Answer Questions...
Tell me your favorite "Almost Kiss Scene"
Enter as many comments as you can with one of your favorite Carbolicious Foods
Share your worst Dental Experience

Then come back here and answer two more questions...

How many snow days have you had this year?
What is your favorite snow day memory?

And for 5 Extra Bonus Points head over to If You Give a Girl a Pen and comment on my post "The Pre Query Jitters"!!!

THEN come back Monday to find out who the winners are!!! YAY

I'll have a side of Nitrous Oxide with that Filling Please!

I'm still hungry after reading about all that food. Someone pass me some french fries! (Without chocolate or honey please!)

My lovely husband took the day off to go get some awesome dental work done. And tomorrow I head off to get a couple tiny fillings taken care of. Seriously, I don't know about you, but I'm not a big fan of the dentist!

But because his dental work will be painful we were talking about whether or not he should get some laughing gas (nitrous oxide) and it brought me back to the days where I had me a little of the good stuff.

I thought I would share with you my most memorable laughing gas moment. I wasn't very old. Somewhere between 8 and 10... I sat in the dentist chair waiting for my first tiny cavities to be filled. (Seriously it's been like 20 years since I've had a cavity, what's up with that!) So they put the little mask on my face and I start to feel all fluffy and happy.

They start their procedure and I kid you not, I thought they were playing music in my mouth. The dentist talked in one of those reaaaaaalllly LOW voices, like the ones you hear when they slow down a record. The instruments were singing away and I looked down at my feet and saw them up on my knees. I could not fathom how they had gotten there.

Now I know this sounds fun, but when you are 8 this is like a nightmare. I was petrified. (I'd totally be entertained today, but not so much then.) Tears were more than likely streaming from my eyes by this point.

So they finished up the procedure and I sat up after as the gas wore off. I could no longer feel my face or smile. And the freaking guy decides it would be good for me to take a drink of water. Um I Could. Not. Feel. My. Face! So now I have water all over me on top of numb cheeks and lips. I bawled my eyes out!

I go home and my mom does the same thing.

"Take a sip of this honey."

Once again with the water down my face and shirt and once again with the crying.

So this is my advice moms and dads. WARN your children about getting high before you put that mask on their face!

Anyways...to continue my contest (only two more days! AHHHH) I want to hear YOUR most memorable dental story. The top two get points. (Oh yeah, I am THAT mean!) So start spilling... (and by spilling I do not mean water down your chin and shirt...)

Have you missed the rest of the contest? Well go get some points already. Answer some questions ... Tell me about your favorite "Almost Kiss" ... and name a few of your mouth watering favorite carbolicious meals!

Carbolicious!

My husband and I are dieting. (I'm mostly dieting to support him and keep him motivated...I'm a good wife!) We decided to do the low carb method.

Can I just say this ... Diets suck and I'm hungry!

So ... to continue on with my contest, and because I'm already dreaming about cheese fries and mac and cheese, I want you to tell me in the comments section what YOUR favorite carbolicious foods are.

With each food enter a separate comment. Each comment earns you one point (If you enter all your favorites into one comment you only get ONE point!). There are some definitely leaders in this race. Better watch out for them. Here is your chance to put them to shame!!!




Ready...

Set.....

Go!!!!!!!

And if you haven't already started accumulating points for my awesome contest march your butt over to my last two contest posts and put in your answers! (Head over to the Poppins Blog Party and answer a few questions THEN Leave your favorite 'Almost Kiss' in the comments section of the No Kiss Blog Fest Post!) Every point counts so don't miss your chance!!! And you don't want to miss out on these awesometastic prizes!

Prize Patrol (Oooh I'm kinda like Ed McMann!)

So here it is kids. The exciting day where I announce WHAT you will win from my Poppins (YAY 200 Followers) Party! I've found the perfect little prizes. I couldn't decide on just one, so BONUS!!! There will now be TWO winners!

(Ok ok...calm down...it's not like I said I'm giving out a million dollars or something!)

The GRAND PRIZE winner (winner with the most points by the end of Friday) will receive this super cool craft! (OMG I am so jealous. I want to win my own prize!!!)

Pay no attention to the "For Kids" Label....this is totally an adult craft too!!!

Any the runner up of my awesome contest will win this super awesome copy of Mary Poppins the book! I'm way in love with this cover!

So if you haven't already started accumulating points for my awesome contest march your butt over to my last two posts and put in your answers! (Head over to the Poppins Blog Party and answer a few questions THEN Leave your favorite 'Almost Kiss' in the comments section of the No Kiss Blog Fest Post!) Every point counts so don't miss your chance!!!

YAY!!! I love parties!!!

No Kiss Blog Fest - The "Almost Kiss"

I totally forgot today was the No Kiss Blog Fest! I can't believe I could commit such a sin!!! (Please forgive me Frankie!!!) Ok so I didn't really have any "Almost Kisses" in my MS's so I stole Frankie's idea and altered a scene to make one up. And in doing so, I grew attached to this altered scene and it is NOW a permanent part of my manuscript! Yay for No Kiss Blog Fest!!

So in my scene my 13 yr old MC Alexis Foster has just learned that her entire life is one big lie. I can't go into the details, but she runs away and is chased down by Jeremy, her 'kinda' foster brother for the moment. (I hope that doesn't seem weird. It makes sense when you read the book! I swear!)

*****

Alexis fell to the ground and began to sob. The events from the moments before swirled in her head until she became dizzy. The dizziness paired with the pain was too much to handle. Alexis got to her knees and vomited all over a pair of shoes standing in front of her.

“Thanks,” said Jeremy. He tossed off his shoes and crouched down next to Alexis.

Now not only did she feel tired, frustrated and betrayed, she also felt humiliated. It was all too much. She collapsed into Jeremy’s arms and continued to sob.

“It’s going to be okay,” he whispered while stroking her hair. “Nothing is okay. Nothing has ever been okay. I don’t even know what okay feels like.”

Jeremy chuckled a bit. “I used to think I knew, now I feel like I really don’t know much of anything,” he confessed.

“Did Jeremy Walker just admit he was an idiot?” Alexis laughed through her tears.

“Now let’s not go that far.” He continued to hold Alexis for a few more minutes before Alexis realized they were alone.

“Where is Olivia?” Alexis released herself from his grasps.

“She couldn’t keep up.” Jeremy ran his hands through his messy hair. “You run pretty fast. Olivia stopped quite a ways back and Harris stayed with her to make sure she was okay.”

“Harris shouldn’t be following us.”

“It’s better him than anyone else.” Jeremy sighed. “I don’t know if I can trust him, but for some reason I trust him more than I do my own parents right now.”

“That was some pretty crazy stuff,” Alexis said. “You’re Mom and Dad weren’t there to help me at all. They had their own agenda’s and didn’t care about me one bit. How typical is that.”

“Who cares what they think,” Jeremy said angry. “They betrayed us, their own children. They are not worth our time.”

“I really thought they cared about me,” Alexis sobbed. “Now I’m back to nobody caring.”

“Am I nobody?” Jeremy asked quietly. Alexis tilted her head and stared at him. He was chewing on his cheek which was slightly pink.

“What is that suppose to mean?” she asked.

“Oh will you just shut up and accept the compliment,” Jeremy said irritated.

“I didn’t hear a compliment,” Alexis said in a smug voice.

“I said I care about you.” Jeremy's cheeks turned a bright red. “Now just shut up.”

Alexis looked at him for a few moments and he stared at her right back. It was all very awkward. Then Jeremy leaned over a bit, his face drawing closer to hers. Her breathing became heavy as her body tightened. She'd never felt this way about a boy before and she wasn't sure how to handle it. Normally she cringed at the thought of affection, especially when it involved physical contact, but when Jeremy was involved it was like her anxieties disappeared and she wanted nothing more than to be hugged and comforted by his hand.

As his face drew nearer her lips tightened. He was looking directly into her eyes, but she was looking directly at his lips. She wondered what it would feel like to kiss those lips. His head tilted and for a moment she could not breath. She licked her tightened lips and instinctively tilted her head in the opposite direction. He leaned just a bit closer and before she could even make sense of what was happening he kissed her on the cheek. It was over before it began and the two got up and stepped away from each other as they stared at the ground.

*****

And as it is still Poppins Blog Party time and the contest is still going on I am going to give you a super easy bonus points challenge to put towards the contest.

In the comments section below tell me YOUR favorite "Almost Kiss" scene from a book or movie! The more scenes you add the more points you get! Can't wait to hear from you.

And if you haven't had a chance to answer yesterdays questions for more points head on over and get your points in!!!

Let's Get This Party Started!!!

Holy Crap! The first day of the new year is almost over! I'm not quite sure where the rest of the day wandered off to, but I'm pretty sure it's long gone. So considering that it is almost 10pm I have decided to make our Blog Party a Pajama Party!!! (Partially cuz I'm not in the mood to actually get up and get dressed and all that other good stuff you are supposed to do when you go to party's What?!?! I don't actually have to get up and get dressed to go to my Blog Party? I can stay in bed the entire time? EVEN BETTER! But I still expect everyone else to attend in their PJ's)

So here at my "Yay I Hit 200 Followers Blog Party" we are going to have a great time. I've got Rock Band going over there in my living room. Watch out though...that mic is totally mine! Ok fine, you can play for a little while, but you better not sing any of my favorite songs! (What? It's my party, I totally get to make the rules.)

Now back in the kitchen there is a full buffet style snack station. I guarantee you that if you want it, it's there! Seriously, go look!

And as promised my party comes with contests and prizes. YAY. The prize will not be announced until Monday, but the contest will go for a week, so if you NEED to know what you are competing before you start playing for I suppose you can wait, but c'mon...that would just be lame!

My contest is going to go on a points system. The follower with the most points at the end of next Friday will be my winner and we will have a celebration for them!!!

So here is your first task ... "I'll take gnomes for 500 Alex!" ...

I will give you a series of 3 questions that you will need to answer in the comment section. Each correctly answered question is worth 1 point. And the answers will not be revealed until next Friday. (So you can copy every one else's answers, but there is no guarantee they are correct!)

Question Number One
Why did I buy my first pair of gnomes?


Question Number Two
What is the gnome in the right hand corner of my blog's name?


Question Number Three
How many gnomes do I wish I owned?



****The answers to all of these questions may or may not have appeared in previous blog posts****