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This is a sticky post. Please scroll down for new posts, after reading and commenting on this one. Kthx.
Remember, the Fame Giveaway ends on February 14th. Just visit FeeFiFoto, cruise around as long as you like, then come back here and leave me a comment about which item you'd like to display your photo. Blog about the contest and you'll get a second entry (please send me a link to your post). The winner will have a favorite photo featured on FeeFiFoto's home page.
Outstanding posts by outstanding posters.
What?
Turn me on to some of your favorite recent posts.
Visit FeeFiFoto and make a personalized clip board with your own photo, to hold all your Thursday Thirteen lists.
**Don't give yourself a headache trying to parse the significance of the photo; I just thought it was hilarious. Look here for more.
Meet My South Park Avatar, which I designed courtesy of sp-studio. I saved it as a jpeg and cropped out all the extraneous stuff with help from a certain ten-year-old all by myself. Kind of looks like me, except for the turban -- that would give me a headache.
What does your South Park avatar look like?
Visit FeeFiFoto and put your favorite avatar on a personalized photo handbag.
Valentine cards for fifth and second graders
Cleo's Valentines arrived in the mail very quickly and she's excited, although she's beginning to inquire about the possibility of attaching candy even though the whole idea behind creating personalized photo cards was to avoid having to dress them up with confections.
Typical.
Now I have to wonder how Robey's going to handle Valentine's Day in the fifth grade. He swears he'd rather stand on his head in the corner in water up to his neck stacking greasy BBs on his nose with boxing gloves on than give out Valentines; last year he refused to dress up in a costume for Halloween, although at the last minute he changed his mind and borrowed the puffy sumo wrestler costume from Sweet Talker. Should I stockpile some generic Valentines in case he changes his mind at the last minute because some of the other kids decide to give out Valentines, and at least that's better than jumping off the bridge because they did it first?
Why is raising kids so hard? Discuss.
Teaching our kids about electoral politics
We may think they never listen, but they do; it becomes glaringly obvious when we they begin cussing at us. Robespierre, as
one might expect considering his heritage, showed up at the dinner table the
other night primed and ready to discuss the election horse race and the
procedures for choosing our next president. Cleo, though attentive, was relatively
passive, but cousin Sweet Talker was prominent in the discussion. Dinner conversation consisted of a primer on the primaries, caucuses and the run up to the general
election.
Eyes began glazing over until we described the primary and caucus season in terms of
a basketball tournament. They could identify with the elimination philosophy—and the
records of wins and losses.
The adults at the table were taken aback by the depth of knowledge and interest of the peanut gallery. They not only absorb, but they digest political diatribes in ways that we don’t even imagine. What if we could turn the political contest into a video game? They could probably do a better job of choosing the next president than we do.
What do your kids think of this presidential race? Do you take their opinions into account when you assess the candidates?
Visit FeeFifoto to create personalized note cubes. Keep track of election results in style on note cubes decorated with your favorite photos.
Using Twitter and other social media to drive traffic to your blog
Julie Pippert uses her words entertainingly to lament the fact that she has very little idea how to use social media and why she should try it anyway:
"I went to the Got Social Media? conference yesterday. Some of the best and brightest were there, and some of the even better and brighter presented. It was an interesting conference, full of good-to-know information, new concepts, attention-capturing speakers, and excellent networking.
So why, after it is over, do I still say I haven't Got Social Media? ...
Each earnest and dedicated social media person tried to explain to me---in the two minutes or less that you can get one-on-one in a crowded room of very social people---how they used social media. The problem is that their explanations were all predicated on the assumption that I knew what social media was. I have a vague idea...
However, beyond, say, Twitter, I'm unaware of the tools, how they work, how to use them, and most importantly, why to use them. I have ethical questions and fear factors, and am obstinate against too much technology that gets in the way of human to human direct interaction...
Building a social media network sounds suspiciously extremely time-consuming, as does maintaining it. It sounds great, but I still don't get it or how I will be able to incorporate it into my business."
Updating site graphics in time for Valentine's Day
I get a kick out of updating FeeFiFoto. When I first began using the site I was terrified of accidentally erasing some four years' worth of work that Tony the Engineering Tyrant Angel had labored over, rendering everything in black and white, or in Chinese, or upside down. After more than a year of tentative fiddling, I've gotten it down to a science. Working with Cindy The Magical Design Fairy, I'm building a library of images for product landing pages, as well as a selection of seasonal collages to promote FeeFiFoto's personalized products for various holidays. I don't need to write new text for every site update as long as I use clean, self-explanatory graphics and make sure that an image of a heart-shaped charm doesn't accidentally link to a baseball cap, because really, it would be a bit difficult to wear a baseball cap hanging from a chain around one's neck, wouldn't it?
Today I updated the landing graphic on the home page to show suggested Valentine's Day gifts. The entire process took about ten minutes, and the phone calls begging for technical guidance totaled a big, fat ZERO.
Yay me.
Don't tell Tony, but I'm also learning a teeny-tiny bit of HTML.
On a scale of one to ten, how do you feel about HTML?
Visit FeeFiFoto for personalized photo gifts for Valentine's Day.
Fame Giveaway
You've entered contests to win kitchen appliances. You've entered contests to win baby clothes. You've signed up for contests to win electronic equipment.
Now for something radically different:
Enter this contest to win lasting FAME.
The winner of this contest will have one favorite photograph incorporated into a landing page on FeeFiFoto. Just visit FeeFiFoto, cruise around as long as you like, then come back here and leave me a comment about which item you'd like to display your photo.
UPDATE:
Write a post about this contest on your blog in addition to leaving a comment here, and I'll provide an extra entry. Just be sure to send me a link to your post so I can keep track.
I'll draw one name at random on February 14th. Once the winner has emailed the photo to me, I'll put it on a graphic on FeeFiFoto. You can feature family, pets, kids' artwork or artistic shots -- your choice. A colorful photo of flowers would be gorgeous on a spring handbag with pink or orange trim.
Once your photo is up on the site, far-flung friends and family can tune in and shout to each other: "Honey! Come here and look! Little Clifford / Dora / Toto / Pizza Face is on a web site! Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!"
Just ask Kailani at An Island Life. She won our first Fame Giveaway in November and an adorable picture of her daughters has been displayed on FeeFiFoto's home page since December. As I understand it, movie and modeling offers have been rolling in.
Valentine's Day gift suggestions
Personalize a cookie tin or candy tin at FeeFiFoto with a favorite picture, and then fill it with Godiva truffles for your Valentine. You can't lose.
Hat tip to Cliff Pickover for this photo. I don't know who you are, but you hit the nail on the head.
Make your own Valentines
We've already begun to contemplate Cleopatra's 2008 Valentines; Robespierre is way too cool to give it any thought. When I was a kid you dressed up a milk carton to look like a mail box, and your friends everyone in class dropped in a small, cheap card in a plain white envelope with some treacly message like "Hey Valentine! Be Mine!" Then the class indulged in pink frosted cupcakes and called it a day.
Write what your audience wants to read
Deborah Ng from Blogging Tips provides some concise tips on blogging to gain eyeballs:
"Anything worth doing is worth doing well. People who read blogs are a fickle bunch. If your blog sucks they won’t stick around. If you put forth the effort to provide a quality resource, they’ll respond..."
As bloggers we cut out the brick wall middleman publisher:
Continue reading "Being Your Own Publisher Even Though You're "Only" A Mom" »
Can you sing the blues?
I wish I knew who wrote this, but all I know is that I found it here:
Music Humor -- Rules of the Blues
"1. Most Blues begin, "Woke up this morning..."
2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."
3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes... sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and she weigh 500 pound."
Home repairs are never cheap.
New vinyl siding covering every square inch of home's exterior:
Twelve Bazillion Dollars
New downspouts and gutters with Gutter Guards:
Eleventy Million Dollars
New steel garage doors:
You spent what?!
Never having to deal with any of these again:
Carpenter Bee: harmless, unless you're a house.
Carpenter Ant: way more reliable than the carpenter you hired to renovate the kitchen.
Termites: Ever had a swarm of these in your kitchen? Straight out of Hitchcock, I tell you.
Woody: He's cute. Crazy, but cute.
Losing battle: we live in the woods.
All we have to do is power wash, baby! Once we buy a power washer.
Preposterously ridiculously colossally exorbitantly prohibitively expensive
Priceless
What's your latest home improvement project?
Visit FeeFiFoto for beautiful personalized home decor items. Put your photos on clocks, porcelain plates, or ceramic tiles.
Ways to make online shopping less stressful
In case you've blocked it from your memory, we just emerged from a heavy shopping season (Christmas, remember?) and as a relatively new retailer I noticed patterns in some of the ways customers get themselves into trouble. Here is a list of things to remember to make your online shopping experience more satisfying.
1. Consider shipping parameters. This is a big one, especially when you get close to your deadline. If you absolutely positively must have it before Christmas, or Valentine's Day, or Mother's Day, or a birthday, don't put blind faith in any LMNOP shipper because even though they won't admit it, they're all at the mercy of weather, traffic and any number of other possible interferences. If there's any question in your mind about whether your package will show up on time, opt for expedited shipping.
2. Check rules for returns. Internet shopping is incredibly convenient, but there's not always as much leeway as you might think. If you're buying from a small seller or on eBay, chances are your ability to return your purchase will be limited. If you're buying something pseudo-perishable like electronics or seasonal items, you may be subject to restocking fees or strict time limitations. I bought my brother-in-law a camera from 42nd Street Photo, a huge company, and ended up unable to exchange it because their time limit had passed by the time I'd given it to him.
Continue reading "Thursday Thirteen: Things To Remember When Shopping Online" »
The "Green" movement: does it have staying power?
Amy, at Mums The Wurd, showcases the "Dream Green" collection of children's and toddler tees from a boutique in Nashville called Peas on Earth (cute name -- you know how I love puns). These simple cotton tees have cute graphics and captions like "Aspiring Environmentalist" and "Aspiring Humanitarian":
"I'm thrilled that there are boutiques like Peas on Earth out there. I believe they will play a part in making a difference in our children's future. It's all about raising awareness and they're on the right track."
I worry about movements like this one. I worry that protecting and restoring our environment may turn out to be the flavor of the month (or decade), and that we'll move on once we tire of environmentalism. I hope I'm wrong. I hope that by teaching our children habits of sensible conservation we'll foster and perpetuate in them an attitude of respectful and thoughtful use of resources.
What do you think?
The work of Chu Enoki
Or here:
Hat tip to Dan Winckler
Would you rather live in a sleek metal city, or a funky, colorful plastic one?
Visit FeeFiFoto to put you own personal stamp on gifts. Personalize cookie tins and candy tins with your favorite photos.
Book review: Mommy Has To Stay In Bed
Thanks to everyone who participated in my giveaway of Annette Rivlin-Gutman's book Mommy Has To Stay In Bed. Robespierre has randomly chosen Lesha at Fashion Fling and Christi at Blah Blah Blog (thanks Robey).
Ladies, please email me your address and I'll send your books posthaste.
From Jammin' Johns (tagline: "You May Need To Sit Down When You See This!")
Prince Charles collects toilet seats.
Visit FeeFiFoto for funky personalized photo gifts -- no toilet seats (yet), but you can put your favorite photo on a puzzle or deck of playing cards.
How hard could it be to get tickets for opening night of the Hannah Montana 3D movie?
My faithful reader(s) may recall my near-miss in October when I accidentally threw away our tickets to the Hannah Montana concert, after having had to sell myself into slavery to get them in the first place.
Now comes the premiere of the Hannah Montana 3D Movie on February 1st, and I've promised Cleopatra that we'll take all the girls in her grade (even the ones she doesn't like) to see it, and surprise surprise! It's sold out at almost every theater in our metropolitan area.
Not to worry: I've spent the morning on the phone ferreting out the REAL phone numbers of movie theaters, since the numbers printed in the newspaper and on the net take you to Fandango or Movietix or the Feng Shui Diner, where they speak English almost as well as the people who answer the phones at Fandango. I've spoken to movie theater guys who are clearly astonished that a real person could manage to find their phone numbers and then let the phone ring approximately 43 times (I think I caught one of them in the shower), without giving up because after all this is HANNAH MONTANA TEEN POP SENSATION we're talking about here.
And, I now have 28 tickets, and plans to arrive at the theater two hours early with police tape and a stun gun because man! some of those moms can be downright mean when they want to take away the seats you're saving for your entourage.
What mountains would you move for your kids?
Visit FeeFifoto to put a photo of your daughter (or Hannah Montana) on a tee shirt or sweat shirt.
