I wish I could tell you...

I am doing my best not to blurt out some fan-stinking-tastic news.

No, I am *not* pregnant!

The news is amazing... for me... and for other moms who could use a little help to keep things going without going crazy. You don't have to be a mom that's going crazy to get in on all the fun. But chances are, you likely know one. Maybe even two... cuz you could help two... and yourself...

Damn those rules! Must. Stop. Typing. NOW!

Check back in tomorrow... it's going to be magical!

...

What do you mean they can't read that?

Banning Books from Sugar Jones on Vimeo.

Lost in Translation

I hope I haven’t kept you in the dark about my family issues. If so, let me sum up…

My husband and I currently live separately but are dating.

One of my kids doesn’t talk to me.

My mom and I are like oil and water.

Okay… so now you know that behind this perky exterior, there’s a bit of a wounded soul. Don’t worry. I’m learning. One of the main things that I’m realizing is not only do I get misunderstood, sometimes I do the misunderstanding.

~gasp!~

Yes, it’s true. Apparently, I am human. {sigh} I hear what I want to hear and say things in a way not taking into consideration the wounds of others. I’m not a callous bitch. I’m just guilty of being too raw for the people that are closest to me. My honesty, it seems, is not always welcome. But not wanting to live a life of make believe with those I love, I’ve been trying to come to terms with how my mom or husband or daughter hears the words I am saying just as I am trying to let them all know what it is that I heard.

It’s all very Dr. Phil without the annoying moustache.

I think it’s always that I am being understood. It’s also really good to avoid inadvertently offending others when I mean to come across as helpful or compassionate. You know, like when you mean to feel someone’s pain but because of your snarky tone, you just come off as patronizing and disrespectful. You know…

Like Motrin.

Oh boy… I walk away from Twitter for like half a day and POOF! There’s a new topic trending called #motrinmoms. If you are unfamiliar with Twitter, you clearly don’t visit here often enough, but let’s move past that and catch you up real quick. Twitter is like an instant message, worldwide chat room, friending type place that is similar to the office water cooler. You can follow my “tweets” to find out what I and others are reading, doing, watching, blah blah… You can also use Twitter as a way to syndicate your on-line business or blog. But the best thing about Twitter? It’s THE place to get the latest info on just about anything. The efficiency and speed with which information is passed on in this medium is like a shiny penny to a kid. Heads up is good luck. Tails up… well… let’s just call it “unfortunate.” Motrin learned that very important lesson the hard way. Apparently, they forgot to ask their target market what they thought about this:

Rule #1. Never piss off the Mommy Bloggers. NEVER!

Within hours, the patronizing tone of this ad became the downfall of a household name. If Advil or Tylenol know ANYTHING about marketing, they will be all over this debacle. Remember this incident. It will be taught to your kids in business and marketing classes for generations to come under the chapter of what NOT to do.

Knowing what to say and how to say it are truly an art. Unfortunately, sometimes, saying sorry just isn’t enough. Thank God, family is a lot more forgiving than the market.

…

Just for fun, check out the Motrin Moms Twitter Stream.

 

Technorati Tags: Twitter,Motrin,#motrinmoms,moms,mommy bloggers,family,communication,marketing

Wanna Play?

***In honor of one of my favorite hobbies (procrastination), I have extended my little contest until midnight this Wednesday, November 19th.***

Let's have us a little fun...

As some of my friends know, I love a good scavenger hunt. City Girl had a great one for her 10th birthday. The Bug had a crazy one on her 13th. But my favorite was the time I was sent off alone to find more booze and food and a parrot at the Jimmy Buffet concert in Irvine.

Yes, I did bring back a parrot.

So, I have a little game for you all to play. The reward? Oh just Seal’s latest CD, Soul…

and the cutest iPod speaker!

While the Lego-like iPod speaker is absolutely adorable, the lucky lucky reader is in for some smooth and sexy rhythm and blues from the ever so dashing Seal. If you loved being Kissed By A Rose back in the 90s, you will absolutely love what he's done to the R&B classics in his current album, Soul. I've been swaying to these stylings for the last few nights. It's all I can do to not put on a little something special and go for a spin on the dance floor with a handsome man. Well, until I look around and realize I have a family to feed and laundry to do... but you get what I'm saying, don't you? Seal just puts me in the mood.

Okay, so here's how we'll play this game. I'm going to give you a few tasks and questions to be answered. You will answer and display in the comments section. Easy enough, right? These are your scavenger hunt items:

1) A picture of you in the 90s when we were all first making out to singing Kissed By a Rose.

2) A Lego creation. It can be your own, one that your kid made, or one that you find on line. My engineer-in-training four year old will be much obliged if you can include directions and moving parts.

3) Your favorite song from the new Soul album. You can find the videos down there... down at the bottom of the blog... we're scrolling, we're scrolling, we're THERE! There it is! Which one do you just want to hear over and over?

That's it. Just those little items. You have until Sunday, November 16th to get those in. Not too long, so don't pull a Sugar and go procrastinating and not get your chance to win.

Shoot, I almost forgot! An extra entry will be given for any referred readers. Tell your friends to come play along and you will get an automatic second chance. Make sure they give you credit in the comments, or to make it super easy by grabbing my WidgetBox thingy near the bottom of the left hand column. (just click and follow directions) Sitemeter will let me know how they came to visit LIT and you will get that second entry.

Alrighty then… let the games begin!

…

For those that don't know how to post a pic, just load your pictures on Picasa or Flickr or any other photo site. Copy the link for that picture and paste it in the comments. The URL will be linkable, so we can all have fun checking out your awesome 90s hair!

Technorati Tags: Seal,Lego,Soul,CD,Kissed by a Rose,Rhythm and Blues,R & B,scavenger hunt,games,Jimmy Buffet

Minor Details, Major Regrets

There's a story I've been wanting to tell. It's inspired by the women of my family. It goes back to a wildly beautiful woman who has a baby out of wedlock at the turn of the century in a desert land that was full of buried riches. It follows through to a young lady enslaved by life and rescued by fire. Just one thing...

I'm a big chicken.

I kept coming up with a million different details that were holding me up. They were just excuses. I kept hearing that bitch, Nagging Doubt chatting in my ear. But louder than that was a siren... a glorious woman yelling at me to get off my doubting butt and frickin' write! Screw grammar and missing dates. That's what research and rewrites and editors are for right? Editors. Like real people... to read my crap... and laugh... {{sweating}} In creeps the horrible, awful doubt.

I hate that!

Recently, I've been surrounded... accosted practically... by amazing writers... beautiful women. They have encouraged me to just slice through the fears. Who cares what the eventual outcome is? This is a gift from me to me... and to my children. A story doesn't need to be published. It just needs to be told.

And then, one of the final details... the last real excuse hurdle I had to leap over was dessimated with one random tweet about an old ghost town and the right date of a particular event. Wow. I just sat there and tried not to cry. I wasn't looking very hard for this little piece of information, but there it was... on my screen. I could have just glazed over it and kept on my road of pretending I didn't see it. But that would be a regret I would have to deal with on my death bed. I am NOT going to do that to that poor little old lady that will one day be "Mizz Shoog" to all the other residents of my old folks home.

What the hell. Here goes...


Much thanks to these beautiful women. Please go visit them and be inspired:
Thanks Gayle - www.inspiremetoday.com
Thanks Claudia - www.claudiajean.com
Thanks Loretta - www.ExperienceEmpowerment.com
Thanks Trisha - www.trishagoyer.com
Thanks Trish - www.trishberg.com