I'm not a fashion blogger. I don't talk about what I wear and what I love, but... I do love clothes. And shoes. And accessories. And call me silly, but I love listening to and reading "normal" people and what and how they put their wardrobes together more than I do fashion bloggers because I feel like the fashion bloggers are a little too out there, and I'd rather find items that I'd wear and that fit me.
So this week, Jessica McFadden of A Parent in America asks the #VlogMom question:
What are your favorite fall/winter fashion items, either already in your closet or on your shopping wish list?
And my heretofore unknown boot obsession comes to light.... But I need your help, too!
People talk about bucket lists all the time. In fact, I'll frequently see a page on blogs that has that person's bucket list with the accomplished items crossed out. I admire that. I used to have a spreadsheet with... well, watch the video and see.
This week's #VlogMom prompt comes from Jessica at Look Who Found the Marbles. She asks about our bucket lists, or as she calls them, our life lists.
Do you have a life list? What are the three items you most want to cross off your list, and why?
So how about you? What are the items on your bucket list? Inspire me! And then go see what the other Vlog Moms have to say.
So apparently it's Halloween week on my blog. Go figure. With all the counting down the number of days before it gets here by the wee ones, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. They've long outgrown the stage where I can choose their costumes for them, so no more being a lion for two years then passing it to the next child to reuse the costume again.
The wee ones at least haven't changed their mind 18 kajillion times before Halloween itself, so I suppose I should be grateful for that. This year, we had a ninja and Spiderman.
Spiderman is strong, right?
Yes, Spiderman has a strong personality....
So how long can she dress in a costume of her choice? And more importantly, what did you (and your kids) dress up as for Halloween?
I love the #VlogMom prompts because they make me think. And this was a much longer vlog than I thought it would be (ok, just over 3 minutes, but still...), and after I was done, I still had more to say that I left unsaid. For now.
This week, Julie Meyers Pron from Julieverse asks:
What do you think of this year's political season? Not what do you think of politics and your beliefs, but the season and how it's gone. Have things gotten out of hand? Has the media been fair and even? Are you exhaused? Too many phone calls, doorbell rings, etc? What do you REALLY think?
I feel like a bad citizen. I really do. But tired is definitely the word that sums it all up for me right now. How about you? Are you dressing your kids in racially charged political t-shirts like I've seen on some of my friends' children? Are you out canvassing or sharing your every political thought on Facebook? Or are you done with it all for one reason or another?
This week's #VlogMom prompt is being answered a little late, but when it comes to yummy alcoholic drinks, better late than never, right? I didn't mix up any for myself in this video, but I'm tempted to do so now. I just have this thing about drinking when I'm home. Alone. With wee ones around.
The wee ones don't play sports with the usual competitions with parents on the sidelines cheering them on. Gymnastics and tae kwon do don't exactly lend themselves to that. But I cheer them on in my own way, both in sports and in life in general. That doesn't mean I don't have opinions about sports parents!
This week, Tina Kelley of Mad Hatter Mom asks the #VlogMom prompt:
Do your kids play sports? Are you a quiet spectator, or do the people in the next county hear you screaming for your kid?
So what are you? Let me know your opinions, and go visit the other #VlogMom members, too.
So this week is a little different. Instead of providing you with a recipe, I'm sharing a tip I use all the time with the wee ones when I'm making snack for school. They adore pineapple, as do I. We have it all the time, by itself, in a smoothie, chopped and over ice cream, and more.
But do you know how to cut up a pineapple? You see them for sale all the time in the store (I got this one for $1.98 the other day), but what do you do once you buy it? Cutting and serving it is simple, and today you get my demonstration, along with a few other tips.
A couple things to note.
First, when I am cutting, I always move the material I'm cutting so that the flattest surface is against the cutting board. The last thing I want to have happen is for something to roll and me to cut myself - badly. I do this for anything I'm cutting, whether it be a carrot or a potato or an onion. Always create a flat surface, then cut with the against your cutting board.
Second, always use a sharp knife that is the right size for your job. A dull knife won't cut cleanly through what you're trying to cut. You will have to use more force, and it's likelier that something will slip or that you will cut yourself. Find a professional knife sharpener near you, and sharpen regularly. And use the right size knife. My husband has a penchant for using a paring knife to cut vegetables. Just like when a knife is too big, a knife that is too small is also dangerous.
I love this week's #VlogMom question. It comes from Grace Duffy of Formerly Gracie, and she wants to know:
If you could only watch three movies for the rest of your life, what would they be, and why?
I figured that if they are the only movies I'd ever watch for the rest of my life, the first criteria had to be that they were movies in my collection. So you'll see that I cheat a little bit. Do you have any of the same movies on your life that I do?
What are the movies on your list? I need some recommendations on what to watch. And... can you guess what the three scenes are that make me cry each. and. every. time?
Ok, so I'm not really going to stop showering. But I'm thinking about it? Why? Well, because as I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world, my perception of myself doesn't seem to match that of the rest of the world.
On days where I'm feeling sloppy and icky and everything else, that's when someone will say to me, "Wow! You look great. Have you lost weight?"
The day I spent open to close volunteering at the carnival at the wee ones' school? When I was spending hours at the customer service desk answering questions and running credit cards and whatever else came up, that's when a friend's husband comes up and tells me that he's impressed. I look really "elegant" that day. Go figure.
Or maybe I'm having a really bad hair day. That's when someone will say that my hair looks amazing.
This is what my hair looks like on what I consider to be a good day. It's not a "pretty" day all around, but my hair is behaving. Nothing is sticking out in weird places. There are no parts that are half curly and half not. I don't have any wings around my head. It isn't super poofy. It's behaving.
This is not the day I get the compliments. I get compliments on the day when I vlog quickly before I go walking with my friends. What do I not do before I go walking? Those are the mornings where I didn't shower and panic trying to fluff my hair into some semblance of normalcy before turning on the camera. And I get the compliments then. And when I go to meet my friends? I get compliments from them on how awesome my hair looks.
So apparently my solution is to just stop showering, right? I wonder if it would help if I stopped brushing my teeth, too....
Oh I love stories of true love and how people met the loves of their lives. And ok, who doesn't love a bad date story, too? This week's #VlogMom prompt comes from Alissa Enders of Clever Compass. She's a romantic.
She wants to know: How did you meet your spouse/partner?
It's a good question, no? I know you have to have some great stories. So... learn how I met my husband, and then tell me how you met yours!
This week's #VlogMom prompt comes from Rajean Blomquist at B Cause I Said So. She has her 30th high school reunion next week, so she wants to know about ours. She wants to know if we have gone to any and why or why not. And then... there are the reunion stories. That's the best part, right?
So I have my 15th college reunion next month. I still haven't decided if I'm going to more than the football game (which I would do anyway, since I already have season tickets). But really... I just want your best reunion stories. I know they're out there!
I love blogging, partly because writing and posting - and vlogging - makes me think. It makes me reflect on things that I might otherwise blithly smile and nod at before moving on. This week, Lee Reyes-Fournier from Couple Dumb has a great question for our #VlogMom prompt.
Name your three fears...
And so I did. It took a lot of reflection, because I'm generally not a fearful person - the creaking noises I head downstairs as I was changing for bed last Friday when my husband wasn't home at 11:30pm the exception that proves the rule, of course.
My fears? They're pretty irrational. But thinking more about it, isn't that what fears are? So take a look, and then tell me what you're afraid of!
Oh, and excuse the way I look this time? I haven't slept well all week (yay headaches that won't go away).
With back to school upon us, it seems like September is the "new January" when it comes to reflection and making life changes. I was listening to the radio today where the djs were talking about how September is update your resume month and college savings month (eep!) and self improvement month and more.
So it's really appropriate that the #VlogMom prompt this week from Jessica McFadden of A Parent in America is:
What are you doing differently this school year to improve your family's quality of life?
So tell me... what are you doing? I obviously need some tips!
It's Thursday, so it's time for another #VlogMom prompt, right? This week, we're sort of sticking with the back to school theme. I've written already about how I'm thrilled with the teachers that Mister Man has this year. And I had some pretty special teachers myself.
Who was your favorite teacher growing up, and why?
I'd love to hear about your favorite teacher, so tell me below!
Oh, and bonus points if you can find where my cat starts meowing in the video. They won't leave me alone today, so I finally gave up. He's sitting on my lap as I type and during the video was crouched next to me, demanding that I pet him. Or else.
The wee ones are back in school. I don't have a migraine. Do you know what this combination means on a Thursday? It means I'm finally putting up another #VlogMom post. Appropriately, the topic this week is about back to school.
Jo-Lynne Shane from Musings of a Housewife asks: Are your kids ready to head back to school? What does your Back To School routine look like? What is your biggest challenge? (Ha! I talked about my biggest challenge already yesterday!) What are you most looking forward to?
So how about you? Tell me about your back to school, and then go visit the other VlogMoms!
I think I must be a philosopher at heart. I love answering these types of questions. This week Brandi Jeter from Mama Knows It All asks:
Besides being a mother, what are you really, really good at?
I thought it was going to be an easy question to answer. I mean, c'mon, I'm a pretty accomplished person, right? Apparently not so much since the first fifteen things I thought of all had to do with being a mother. I finally came up with a good one. And I think it's something you didn't know about me. I even admit to being a dork and proud of it.
I actually enjoy vlogging. You wouldn't know it by how infrequently I vlog, but trust me, I do. I'm part of a group of women now who vlog weekly on prompts suggested by the members. This week the topic was suggested by Jessica from Found The Marbles. She asks:
If you had $2,000 to spend on YOURSELF, where would you go and what would you buy?
This was far tougher for me to answer than I thought it would be. Would you believe that I spent four days thinking about my answer, not because I had so many ideas but because I couldn't decide upon one. So how would you spend $2,000? Tell me below!
