new blogging adventures

Photo shoot - Riverside, Mo.

Last night I got to meet the ladies of the Kansas City Mom's Blog, where I will be a regular contributor starting July 29.

The blog is a part of a national network of moms blogging about the cities where they are raising kids and helping to connect moms both online and offline. For a great example of what we'll be doing, visit the flagship - Scottsdale Moms Blog.

If you are in Kansas City and want to offer a giveaway, become a sponsor or have a mom review your product, let me know!

I'm excited about this new adventure - getting to know other moms, keeping up on my writing and exploring even more about KC.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to check out the blog after July 29!

so long, google reader

 
In case you haven't heard, Google Reader is no more. Mass hysteria!

I have switched all my blog accounts to Feedly, which allows you to easily bring in your Google Reader subscriptions. But you only have today to do it.

This switch, however, is really encouraging me to thin out my reading list. Gone are the quarter life crisis blogs (past that), the chic nursery blogs (the first thing you're going to see is trains and cars anyway), and anyone that just is giving away more free junk that I will have to haul to Goodwill next year.

But really, if you want to keep finding your favorite blogs (like this one) and haven't memorized the URLs, make your move today!

Here's some tips for Lifehacker on how to survive the shutdown.

search words

Search words used to find my blog in the last week:

1. Five people are googling lightning in pregnancy? And finding me? It's this post.


2. KU peeing on K-State? I don't really care for KU in that sports kind of way but I'm pretty sure I've never peed on them or written about such a thing.


3. I have four plants, two being on their deathbed. 

I've been meaning to..

- Tell you how we got up at 3:30 a.m. to drive to Minnesota in order to avoid snowy highways.

- Explain my hatred of cookies.

- Talk about how Shea's hair is really, really long because we're too busy to do basic things like haircuts. Though we did seem to find time to watch "Easy A." So maybe we're just bad at doing the boring things.

- Exclaim about how much I love my bed and every time I sleep somewhere else, I love my bed even more.

But instead I am...
-  Working on a big huge project at work involving a brand new website. It's going to be cool. But it's a lot of frustrating, detailed work right now.

- Preparing for Christmas No. 2 in Kansas this weekend. We hate New Years Eve anyway so what better way to ring in 2011 than with another Christmas?

- Figuring out when I can trek back to Minnesota to clean and paint our condo because our renters love cigarette smoke.

So I will see you soon. Be patient with me. I promise some super amazing stories and photos are on their way!

the in betweens

I write a lot of blog posts you never read. 

Sometimes I send them to Shea or a few close girlfriends who faithfully pretend they think I'm hilarious. Sometimes I just write them, read and delete. Sometimes I just compose them in my head while running.

Blogs about what I wish I could say to our renters. The crazy people I encounter. The times when I'm crazy in a less than adorable way. The real plans for our life. Our real financial situation. Anything involving my work or Shea's work. What Shea's sneezes smell like. When we're going to have a baby. When we're testing a Haitian child for cholera so we can adopt him/her.

I love telling our stories. I also love having stories nobody knows except Shea and I.

Plus there are consequences for telling everything. But I just want you to know that if I could write about everything, this blog would be AWESOME.

versatile or entirely random?

Yay, blog award time!

There are some rules to this award:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. Share seven things about you
3. Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs
4. Let your nominees know about the award!

So a big thank you to Naomi at Naomi Chronicles who writes about the changes in her life, her adorable son and her running journey. Check her out!

Seven things about me:
1. I have watched two seasons of Dexter in about two weeks. I enjoy it but still develop the need to "go brush my teeth" in the other room each time the chopping begins. I also have crime-solving dreams with completely different story lines than the episode we just watched. I think this is disturbing.

2. I love socks. My collection of socks includes cupcakes, ducks, stripes, polka dots, cats, raining cats and dogs, mice, ghosts, witches, turkeys, etc. Despite my very large collection, I can never find running socks when I need them.

3. My most hated chores are unloading the dishwasher (mostly because our kitchen is way overcrowded), matching socks (futile job) and the worst, putting new sheets on the bed. I HATE it. The sheets never fit correctly and it's a constant back-and-forth battle of "how long is it on your side?" When I have to help, my heart starts racing and I am pretty sure tears will burst from my ducts.

4. The three cars I have owned are: 1980-something Chrysler LeBaron: Hatchback. 2001 Ford Mustang: Red, manual and rear-wheel drive - the characteristic that ultimately led to it being disowned. 2005 Mazda6: Actually can drive in snow plus cute.

5. I hate being cold. My ideal temperature is 85 degrees and sunny. At work, I have a space heater six inches from my body at all times.

6. Sometimes I want to move to Brazil and eat cassava and fruit all day. That sounds like an ideal world.

7. I love running outside. It clears my mind and starts off my day more centered. Unless it's humid. Then it starts my day off with exhaustion and heaving.

I'm nominating the following ladies. You should check out their fantastic blogs!

Millards in the Mountains

Sullivan Seussville

Adventures in Italia

Conkling Clips

See Jo Knit

A Journey to a New Me

I could keep posting links but I actually want you to visit these.

smarter than a plant

One time someone called into our college newspaper forum and claimed I had the IQ of a houseplant. Most likely in response to me writing something about being against war or guns.

Luckily for my self-esteem, I know my exact IQ, thanks to the gifted education system, and it is in fact much higher than my potted plants. Even the bamboo one.

Writing in a public space takes courage and a general disregard for judgment from strangers, or even friends. I share much less of my life and heart than many bloggers I read and admire. But I still let you see a lot. My fears, my happiness, my sadness. Writing that is muted or censored is just way less fun.

Then I let you comment on it because a public forum and sharing each other's lives is part of the fun of blogging. But there are some who take things literally instead of sarcastically, take offense easily, or lack understanding of the blogging world. And then they get mean.

Fortunately for me, I know who reads this. Who comments. Where they came from.

So to the person who thinks I lead a "sterile and uneventful" life and would be hurting the world by having children: I have no idea why you spend so much time daily reading about my world. By all means, please get back to living your exhilarating one and move along. I can't wait to instill my children with the values of open-mindedness, kindness and discretion. Clearly the world needs more people like this.

I will not apologize for being honest about my fears of the future. My fears are no commentary on other people's choices, but a genuine expression of my heart. I'm not sorry for frequently writing about myself on my own blog. I use this space to record the events of my life. Express my emotion. Praise people I love. Share my faith. Tell the funny moments of my routinely awkward life.

But I write this blog for me first. If you don't want to read about it, I respect that. Take the first exit and be gone. For those of you that take the time to share your life and read about mine, thank you. It would be a lonely place if we lived this life without others to share in our journey.

random thoughts friday

Hello there, Friday. I've been waiting for you and  your sunshine all week.

life updates
We're still running. My goal for Sunday is seven miles, which is probably stupid to post here because I am against public failure. Regardless, if I make it, that's 20 miles this week.

I've made a vow to use my crockpot every Monday. We have a small group we go to and knowing dinner is ready when I get home and I don't have to hurry is super fabulous. Our favorite recipe so far is barbecued pulled chicken. We ate it for five meals with sandwich thins (also a new favorite).

My goals this weekend are to eat as much barbecue as possible, go to church to hear about women of the Bible which is appropriate considering immediately following our church service I am vowing to be genuinely excited for the LOST finale watch party. Shea and I are excited for the finale for different reasons, but look at me being all supportive!

deals
Old Navy is having a $1 flip-flop sale. You should go tomorrow. Luckily my feet are oddly small so I do not have to go at 7 a.m. After getting cheap shoes, go by Wal-Mart for free ice cream.  I'm not going, because even I have limits.

Chick-Fil-A might clog my arteries but I do not turn down free food (except at Wal-Mart). Go here and reserve your free sandwich.

need travel advice

We're thinking of going on a cruise as our second honeymoon - which really is just an excuse but in all fairness Disneyworld is not the most relaxing and delicious honeymoon destination. Especially when the groom gets sick and the bride wants to eat nothing but ice cream and popcorn. But fun if your week goal is to fill two autograph books with character pictures and signatures (mission accomplished). Anyway, we can't decide between Norwegian or Carnival. Both would be Western Caribbean departing from either Miami, Fort Lauderdale or New Orleans. Any opinions out there?

boost my self-esteem and follow me!

If you read my blog regularly, you should actually become a follower - check out the box on the right. Why? Because it makes me feel popular and loved. And there are days when I need that.

Happy weekend!