FeeFiFoto Blog

Wordless Halloween Wednesday -- When MY Computer Died I Just Trashed It

Take a closer look.  From Frostfire Zoo

Remember to leave a comment on Friday's post for my giveaway; the drawing is tomorrow.

Customer Service Frustration: Is There Anything Else I Can Help You With?

Busy Mom writes of being abruptly abandoned into the ozone by her internet connection and her frustration with the customer service person who, although robotic, is certainly not bionic.  You can relive the entire delightful conversation here, but one point especially catches my eye.  After an extended satisfaction-free and resolution-free Catch-22ish conversation with Unhelpful Customer Service Lady, comes this:

"Me: "So, you're telling me that in order for you to do anything at all for me I have to not only pay you to come install my wireless network, I must also rent a router from you at an additional monthly charge?"

Comcastic employee: "Yes."

Me: "You're serious, aren't you?"

Comcastic employee: "Yes."

Me: "I'm flabbergasted."

Comcastic employee: "What?'

Me: "Nevermind."

Comcastic employee:"Is there anything else I can help you with today?""

Did everyone catch that last sentence?  Go back and read it if you need to.  I'll wait.

:: brief musical interlude ::

Everyone back?  Good.

Tackle It Tuesday: The Yard

If you saw my earlier post on sweeping leaves you'll remember that the 200+ trees in our yard produce, well, somewhere between a million and a billion leaves, give or take a few hundred thousand, every spring, and they all loudly crash to earth every October.  The leaves, not the trees.  (Although we do occasionally have trees fall into the driveway or the street, so I pull out my trusty hand saw and get to work.)  Now, most of these leaves we leave to their own devices, but the ones that clog the driveway and sidewalk need to be contained and removed before we're wading through waist-deep piles (no exaggeration) and we tend to lose the dog, along with a couple Girls Scouts and an encyclopedia salesman or two.

You Mean All I Have To Do Is Write A Post?

Blog About Your Blog is running a contest (Thanks, Working At Home Mom!)  I just entered.  You can too.  Good Luck!

Blog About Your Blog is a central gathering place for bloggers to meet and trade ideas:

"Blog about your Blog (BAYB) is a place for good quality bloggers to come together and collaborate on one big project. We have bloggers from all over the world, blogging about a variety of topics."

It's like gaining access to all the information from all the articles in every newspaper worldwide, without having to obsess about recycling.  In addition to researching and trading ideas, you can promote your own blog, generate traffic and help other bloggers promote their work.  I need this.

This contest is being run in conjunction with Bidvertiser (love that name!), which helps place your advertising on relevant web pages:

"In 2003, Bpath spotted the need of website owners to sell their ad space directly to advertisers, overcoming the disadvantages of automated systems, like Google's AdSense and Overture' Content Match, where neither the advertiser nor the publisher has any control of the advertisements' quality, pricing and timing. Bidvertiser On-Site Bid Per Click offers website owners with the ability to sell their ad space, automatically, to the highest bidder, on a price-per-click basis, where the price is mostly effected by the quality and popularity of their website."

Having engaged in a wrestling match all last Christmas season with Google AdWords, I find quite appealing the idea of  choosing where my ads run.

Miley To Go Before I Sleep

Back to the discussion of marketing and Miley Cyrus at Working At Home Mom:

"Miley Cyrus is really nice. If you have a home based business you have got to learn to be nice. Your customers are not going to come back to you if you always have an attitude. Smile and go with it. Your customers are like Miley Cyrus fans, you have to put them first and they will keep wanting more. Your customers will be wanting to pay whatever it takes to get a piece of you."

This is a critical point.  As a web-based business, FeeFiFoto can attract eyeballs as well as Snapfish or Shutterfly or Kodak Gallery, but we'll keep customers based on more than the initial appeal of a Google search.  We're selling similar products at similar prices, so what distinguishes FeeFiFoto from The Fly or The Fish?  It's partly the sense that real people are reading emails and answering phones.

I'm Participating In Another Giveaway

Cruise on over to Pajama Mommy and enter to win an Everyday Bag from FeeFiFoto, worth $120.  This is a sturdy microfiber handbag with your favorite photo printed on the front and back, or you can upload a piece of your child's artwork.  I carry one with a photo of our dog and you would not believe how much admiration it generates, especially if I have Miss Puppy with me while I'm carrying the purse.

What A Weird Number: Why Are There 26 Letters In The English Alphabet?

In honor of my daughter, Cleopatra-Queen-of-the-Nile, who recently taught herself to recite the alphabet backwards, here is a  reverse alphabet about me:

Z -- I lovez my zzzs, and I never zeem to get enough of zem.

Y -- My name ys spelled with a "y" ynstead of an "o" and nobody ever gets yt ryte.

X -- Stands for kisses from my kids, which I also can't get enough of.

W -- Whether the weather be mild or whether the weather be not / Whether the weather be cold or whether the weather be hot / We'll weather the weather whatever the weather / Whether we like it or not. (No, I did not write this.  Wish I had.)

V -- The key that's ery very loose on my laptop, so I hae have to go back and press it oer and oer over and over eery every time I use it.

U -- In California, U-turns are much more common than where I live.

T -- I love tea, but it has to be decaffeinated.

S -- I went to the Super Bowl twice while I was in college but it was nowhere near as big a deal as it is now.  There were no performances by Prince or U2 or Paul McCartney.  One year the halftime show was the finals of the Punt, Pass & Kick championships, (do they even have that any more?) and the other was the finals of the Canine Frisbee Throwing competition.

R -- Robespierre is my son's blog name.  The real Robespierre was a renowned French Revolutionary.

Q -- I had quilts made out of my kids' baby clothes because I couldn't stand to give them away (the clothes, not the kids.  There are many times when I'd happily give my kids away.  And by the way, before anyone panics and sics the authorities on me, I'm KIDDING.)

P -- My web site, FeeFiFoto.com, produces calendars, purses, mouse pads, mugs and many other kinds of gifts personalized with your photos.

O -- "Off with her head!" is one of my favorite lines from Alice in Wonderland.

N -- Nothing.  Nada.  Nope.  No way no how.  Not gonna happen.  No can do.  Nuh uh.  Noooooooo.

M -- I have a marvelous mug with a picture of a rhino.  It's kind of ugly but it's been mine for many years and I'm kind of attached to it.  Soon I'm going to design and buy a personalized photo mug from my web site with a picture of my kids.  Because, don't you know, my kids are cuter than any rhino.  Although they're not endangered.  My kids I mean.  Unless they don't throw their dirty clothes and towels in the laundry.  Then we'll see who's endangered.

L -- I was a lawyer in a previous life.  I like this life much better.  I felt like a loser as a lawyer.

K -- I love kittens.  I eat two for lunch every day.  KIDDING.

J -- I'm Jewish.  I like many kinds of juice.  I don't wear a lot of jewelry.

I -- I love ice cream.  Sometimes I even scream for it.

H -- I have a handbag from my web site personalized with a photo of my dog.  It's one of the few things she hasn't managed to grab and mangle.

G -- Before having kids I never sent greeting cards for the holidays, but now I want everyone we know to see how cute they are, so I send more and more cards every year.

F -- FeeFiFoto is the name of my web site.  When I bought it the name was PhotoGiftPlace but I feel FeeFiFoto is far more fun.  We put photos on all kinds of gift items.

E -- I was once bitten by an elephant at the zoo.  Okay, not really -- it was a chimp, but it really did nip me.  Ask my mom.

D -- I have a deep dimple in my right cheek but none on the left.  Nobody believes it, but the dimple is actually a scar from when I fell out of bed once when I was two.  My face hit the nightstand on the way down and when the swelling subsided, there was the dimple.

C -- Cleopatra-Queen-of-the-Nile is my daughter's nickname.  We are both chocoholics. She's cute and cuddly.  I have curly hair.  I spend way too much time in my car.

B --  I'm knitting a tallit as a Bar Mitzvah gift for my nephew.

A -- Autodidact is one who is self taught, as in a seven-year-old who teaches herself to recite the alphabet backwards.

Oops.  Mustn't forget to tag someone.  Therefore I tag:

Chewy the awesome photographer

Mary at NoPolarCoordinates.  By the way, those pancakes look yummy.  Can you email me some?

My cold weather friend at OurSevenQtpies

Danielle at OneMoreWord

And Jack, whose blog I really like

Effective Advertising (Giveaway)

Last week I posted a photo of this house; it appears that the only way in and out of the property would be either by helicopter or rappelling /grappling hook.  Today I received this comment from Danielle at OneMoreWord:

"Maybe they're like the couple on that car commercial...I can't remember the car, but the guy parachuted down to his car when he left the house LOL

I just hope there's no rock slide...at least for their sake  ;-)"

I know that commercial, but for the life of me, I can't recall the car being advertised either.  Which makes me wonder: is advertising effective if the audience remembers the advertisement but not the product?  I once saw a billboard that has stayed rooted in my memory for more than twenty years; it showed a Perrier bottle and the simple caption "Eauasis" (in case you don't know, "eau", pronounced "oh", is French for "water".)  This remarkably simple tidbit of marketing achieved the perfect balance, at least for me, of memorable quirkiness and solid connection to the product.

 

Introducing: Robespierre, On "Stuff"

Hi. Robespierre here. I'm the big brother. Today I will talk to you about stuff. Here is some stuff about me. I am ten. I am going to test for my Black Belt in Tae Kwon Doe in three weeks. The test takes six hours. I'm not kidding -- Six. Hours. My  favorite sports are  baseball, kickball, and soccer. In the World Series, I am rooting for the Boston Red Sox because I like David Ortiz. The picture of the person in the Puffy Chicken Costume, well, that's me. For Halloween this year, I am going to be a Puffy Sumo Wrestler. And that is some STUFF about me. STUFFFF!

By the way -- I took the picture at the top of this post.  What is it?  Stuff, of course.

Thursday Thirteen: Things In And Around The Kitchen

Thirteen Kitchen Objects That Make My Life Worth Living

Blender -- We use our blender almost every day to make yogurt smoothies.  We have a Braun, which is pretty good at standing up to frozen berries and ice cubes, but the next time I need a new one I want one of these.

Big Black Plastic Farberware Spoon -- I have tons of spoons but this is the one I reach for 90% of the time.

Multicolored Fiesta Dishes -- I had windows put in the cabinet doors so I could admire my mixed-up dishes all day.  We also have a bunch of colorful polycarbonate drinking cups, which are unbelievably sturdy; and a drawer full of terry cloth fingertip towels in various colors to use as napkins.  Cleo and Robey like mixing different combinations of plates, bowls, cups and napkins.

SSshhh -- Not A Word; It's Wordless Wednesday*

*We interrupt this Wordless Wednesday post for a special bulletin:

Yes, they are wearing swimming suits.

This concludes our special bulletin.  We now return you to your regularly scheduled wordlessness, already in progress.

Bet These People Have To Buy Girl Scout Cookies On The Internet

Holy Mackerel!  How do you suppose they get up their driveway in the winter?

Miley Cyrus Is A Role Model

Fell through the rabbit hole into Working At Home Mom, and since Miley Cyrus is embedded in my brain, this post caught my eye:

“What can we learn from Miley Cyrus? She really does know how to market herself.  How is she doing it and how can we do it to get our name out there and get as huge results as she is??

Well, for one thing, she is every where! We can take that and run with it. We have got to get our names and businesses out there so that they are everywhere, too."

Excellent point.  Miley Cyrus is ubiquitous; she’s on billboards, TV, tee shirts, nightgowns, backpacks, paper plates, and about everything else besides beer cans.  She’s a product of saturation marketing courtesy of Disney Studios.  Market yourself like Miley (well, actually like Disney markets Miley), and make a long-reaching permanent mark on customers' brains.

Shlepping Kids

Jane at BabySquared writes about intentionally dehydrating herself before a long drive with her twin pre-toddlers so she wouldn't have to stop for a bathroom break on the way:

"This was the first time I've attempted a road trip of any length alone with the girls... I was careful not to drink too much water before I left, and though I would have liked a cup of coffee for the road, it was just too risky. I didn't bring a stroller, which meant that there was pretty much no way I could have stopped to go to the bathroom... I tried to imagine what I would do if things got really, really desperate. I decided that I could:

1.) Pull up close to a gas station with a convenience store, look inside to see if there was a sane-looking woman working there and, if there was, run in and beg her to go out and keep an eye on the girls while I peed. (No offense, guys, but it just wouldn't be cool to ask some random man to watch my children. Probably not so cool to ask a random woman either, but if I had no other choice....)

There's Always The Inflatable Puffy Chicken

Amanda, today's pinch hitter at 5MinutesForMom, writes about unusual and amusing Halloween costumes:

"Get a bunch of friends together and go as a group costume: The Flintstones, the characters from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, The President and the Secret Service, The American Idol Judges or Michael Jackson through the Years. (OK, maybe you should think of something a little more kid friendly than that last one…)"

She's right.  The most memorable costumes always seem to involve satire or punning.  No matter how groan-inducing puns may be, you have to be smart enough to understand them.  Look at this one:

What is it?  Come on now, think: lady in a dress ... enormous ape's hand around her waist.  Give up?

It's King Kong and Ann Darrow.  Get it?  (Thanks to Christina at Kaboodle Blog.)

Here are simple formulas for some edgy, punny costumes:

• A group + green surgical scrubs = Gang Green
• My sister and brother-in-law + army fatigues (pants on her, jacket on him) = an Upper and Lower GI
• Two people + as much corduroy and argyle as you can muster = the Brooks Brothers
• Girl + bridal gown + cell phone + day planner = Bridezilla

Of course, if all else fails there's always the Puffy Chicken costume.

Doesn't This Count As Exercising The Dog?

Setting:

Scene 1:
Autumn, one acre property entered via steep, 180 foot driveway

Scene 2:
Autumn, interior

Set Decoration:
Well over two hundred (200) trees

Cast of Characters:
One (1) Mom (hereinafter referred to as "Mom"), one (1) medium sized puppy (hereinafter referred to as "Pup")

Props: One (1) push broom

Costumes: One (1) belt, one (1) six foot (6') leash

SCENE 1: Leaves fall from trees, forming a creeping glacier of leafage all the way down the driveway.

Mom: "Hey Pup!  Let's go clear the driveway."

Pup: "Arf!"  

 

I Won! I Won! Now Let's See... Where Did I Put My Speech?

I won something! At Blogtoberfest!  And I didn't have buy any tickets or run really fast or bench press 200 pounds or bake the best brownies, or anything -- heck I didn't even have to get dressed.  Here's the important part of the email notification from Gayla at blogfabulous.com:

 

You've been selected as a prize winner on www.blogfabulous.com - The formal announcement has been made.

What you've won is an HP Photo Book.

*sniff*  I'm so proud.

PS: I didn't win the Stanley Cup.  I just like the way it looks.

Hand Over The Money

Laura over at Mum's The Wurd writes about cotton pajamas for all ages from Hatley Nature.  Besides offering wonderfully comfy-looking jammies and other casual stuff, Hatley is also giving 20% of their online sales profit to Breast Cancer Research throughout the month of October.  This reminds me of something I've forgotten to write about until I read Laura's post.

I've been teaching my kids about charitable giving since they were old enough to drop a quarter in the Salvation Army box.  It recently occurred to me that I could increase our family's philanthropy while generating more income from which to give.

I offered our school ten percent of any purchases made through a link to FeeFiFoto.

Thursday Thirteen

Queenie listed thirteen things and VoteForBecki listed thirteen things, and I'm such a copycat that I'm going to take their idea and list thirteen things too.

Thirteen Things I Wish I Had:

1. A tomato red Porsche and the courage to drive it
2. An on-call massage therapist
3. 20/20 vision
4. A painless tummy tuck
5. A guarantee that my loved ones will always be safe and healthy
6. A squirrel-proof vegetable garden
7. A house closer to my kids' school so we could walk there
8. Spectacular talent as a violinist
9. A home pottery studio and the time to throw
10. An expeditious and effective remedy for global warming
11. A horse
12. My grandparents, so they could meet and enjoy my children
13. A genie in a bottle

Disaster Averted

Can you keep a secret?  No, seriously -- I can't divulge this story unless I know it's just between you and me.  Promise?  Okay.

I threw away the Hannah Montana tickets.

Stop screaming.

It was an accident, I swear.  We'd gotten two of the hottest tickets of the season from a friend at our bank and I couldn't seem to find a time when Cleopatra and I could drop by to pick them up and express our extreme gratitude, so last week I asked the bank to mail the tickets and resolved that Cleo and I would send a really gushy thank you note.