Month: April 2011

Categories
Fulfillment

F is for Feeling Fulfilled Fridays

I like to be busy. Not stressed-to-the-max, burning-the-candle-at-both-ends-constantly, chicken-with-its-head-cut-off busy, but full-days, people-can-depend-on-me-and-consider-me-capable-and-maybe-a-little-amazing busy. Sometimes, the really important stuff—my children—can get shuffled aside for the things I’ve volunteered to do, the self-imposed deadlines, the ME ME ME ness of it all.

However, the literal self-centeredness of focusing my life around what I want to accomplish and how I feel isn’t truly compatible with motherhood. I signed up for this (and re-enlisted!), and I do owe my children something: love, which is often best expressed not with gourmet dinners or immaculate houses (or awesome manuscripts!), but with my time.

I think Feeling fulfilled Fridays comes from a desire to do both. With FFF, my goal was to focus on the things that help me to feel like I’m doing a good job as a mom—which are almost always things that I think show my children how much I love them.

FFF should be simple, really: just talking about the things you did this week that made you feel like a good mother, or moments when you knew you were doing just the right thing. If you can plan for those and set them up in advance, great. If they just happen, great.

What do you think? What blog feature might help you focus on the good, the joy of the here-and-now?

Categories
MetaBlogging

D is for Draft

All blogging platforms allow you to start working on a blog post and save it for later as a “draft.” However, not all blog platforms are created equal. If you’re using Blogger, your drafts might be messing up your readers’ experience.

If you are saving draft versions of posts in Blogger, Blogger may be publishing those posts to your RSS feed. I have seen this on a number of blogs for probably over a year. The problem appears to be intermittent, so it might not have affected you yet.

Why is this a problem? Well, for one, if your post isn’t finished (and that’s clue #1 for me when I see this in my feed reader), your readers are going to be a little confused. It’s less than impressive, you know?

Secondly, regardless of whether the post is finished and polished, your readers might want to click through to comment—but when they do, they’re taken to a page that says the page doesn’t exist. Can’t tell you how many times that’s happened to me :-\ .

Finally, when you publish the post later, it may not show up in feed readers again.

There’s a possibility that this has something to do with another factor, such as scheduling posts to appear in the future.

I can’t find any documentation on this issue from Blogger, but I’ve seen this happen with half a dozen different Blogger blogs. However, if you’ve had this problem on your blog (off the top of my head, affected blogs I’ve seen include edittorrent, The Blood-Red Pencil and ali cross), I recommend pointing this out to Blogger Help.

Bottom line: if you have a time-sensitive post (or just want be absolutely sure your readers see your post when it’s ready, and only then), try using a test blog to draft, then cut and paste to your main blog.

What do you think? Have you ever seen this problem?

Categories
Work Contests

Contests & Crafts!

All right, let’s start this C-themed post off right: the winner of the Aquaphor is:

Shannon!

Congratulations!

The second part of our C-themed post is also about a contest: the first three chapters + synopsis of Façade, my current fiction manuscript, were named as a finalist in the Crested Butte Writers’ Sandy Contest, Thriller/Suspense category! Woot!

Even better, I get a chance to revise my entry with the judges’ feedback this week. Then, along with the other four finalists’, my entry will be winging its way to the final judge: Sarah Knight, senior editor at Simon & Schuster.

It’s weird just typing that.

So, I’m off to re-polish my entry!

One more big announcement: along with my mother and three sisters, I’ve started a craft blog! So, if you’re into knitting, quilting, scrapbooking, sewing, baking, home decorating or otherwise creating, please check out Wayward Girls’ Crafts! Check out our giveaways all this week!

And, to wrap up: C is for Cookie. That’s good enough for me.

Do you have any good news to share?

Photo by Jason Meredith

Categories
Contests

B is for . . .

Birthday!

Because today is mine!

(And to be honest, this is why I wanted to do the A to Z challenge. It’s just too perfect.)

I haven’t opened my birthday presents yet, but I have a couple for you: yesterday’s Aquaphor giveaway (entry form fixed now!) and the beginning of my latest fiction WIP, Façade!

Photo by Chris in Plymouth

Categories
Fulfillment Contests

Acknowledgment — and a giveaway

At the last minute, I’ve decided to join the A to Z April Blogging challenge. And since it’s the first, it seems appropriate to start with A.

So today, I’m blogging about acknowledgment.

It’s one of those truths universally acknowledged that mothers work put in long, thankless years of selfless service. Realistically, I think all mothers realize we’re not getting thank you notes for every diaper we change. We’re not going to get a lot of notice for every sandwich we make, every nose or bottom we wipe, or every hour of sleep we sacrifice. We don’t get into motherhood for career advancement or acknowledgment.

But we still need it. And sometimes only other mothers can give that recognition and validation. But we all need something a little different. So, what do you want acknowledged? Let’s talk in the comments!

Completely unrelated, but also beginning with A—our giveaway! Living in a dry environment, we use a prodigious amount of quality lotions, especially for our kids. Our doctor recommends Aquaphor pretty much every time we go in for one skin problem or another. (Last time it was Rachel’s rough, dry knees. What can I say? She’s a crawler!)

And today, I have a tube of Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment for one lucky reader! Use this entry form (UPDATE: link fixed!) by midnight, Saturday, 2 April 2011, and I’ll choose one entry at random to win (as long as it’s still Saturday somewhere in the world, you’re in! One entry per person, please). Winners announced Monday. (Probably.)

Aquaphor describes it like this:

MAGIC LOTION

A favorite of both celebrity moms like Kimora Lee Simmons and the mom next door, Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment is the one-stop product for all of babies’ skincare needs. From cradle cap to eczema, diaper rash to minor cuts and scrapes, its dermatologist- and pediatrician-recommended formula restores your little one’s smooth, healthy skin.

Aquaphor® Baby Healing Ointment with SPF 15 carries a suggested retail price for $7.99 for a 3oz tube or $16.99 for a 4oz jar. Unless, of course, you win it here.

Consider it an early birthday present from me to you.

Photos by Christine & David Schmitt and Aquaphor