Archive | November, 2008

Goodbye NaBloPoMo

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Goodbye NaBloPoMo

Posted on 30 November 2008 by MommyKnows

NaBloPoMo it’s been one hell of a month. I started the MS drugs. I traveled by car across a continent (2 countries, 1 province, 6 states) with 3 kids, survived 3 theme parks, 2 national parks and 2 flat tires. Fell way behind on the laundry. Held my head up high during Georgia’s fashion crisis. I am pretty sure the laundry and fashion crisis aren’t connected. Suffered a relapse (a very minor one) of my MS and still I didn’t forget about you.

It has to be said though, you’ve worn out your welcome. Your nagging presence is no longer wanted. Goodbye NaBloPoMo. Good riddance, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out, or do, I don’t care.

Don’t call me, I’ll call you.

georgia at the window
You keep watch Georgia, and make sure he actually leaves.

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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Great Content and No Readers

Posted on 29 November 2008 by MommyKnows

If this sounds like you, Chuck Westbrook has a plan.

How Can You Help End the Problem of Blogs With Great Content and No Readers? Click on the link above.

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Lizzy loves Chocolate …

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Lizzy loves Chocolate …

Posted on 29 November 2008 by MommyKnows

Lizzy loves chocolate, well any sweets really. She also likes crafts.

This morning we made some chocolate lollipops from a Wilton kit.

My creation
Lizzy loved it — Can’t you tell.

Thanks for all your kind comments and emails. I am actually feeling much better. The doctor actually made me go into the hospital to see him. I have to report ALL symptoms to a study nurse as part of my drug trial. However, by the time the doctor got back to me, I was feeling nearly 100%, I felt like I was wasting his time and mine. Oh well. All’s well that ends well.

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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My Very Own …

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My Very Own …

Posted on 28 November 2008 by MommyKnows

I have my very own fashion VICTIM!

Fashion Victim
Yikes!

Me: Georgia, why don’t you wear your pink boots? They’ll match.

Georgia: These match.

Me: No, they don’t.

Georgia: Yes, they do, they both have flowers!

Who can argue with logic like that? Not me –> Go for it kid!

Also take note, the boots are on the wrong feet. She is perfectly aware of this, apparently she likes them like that.

Mmmmm ...
I just added this picture, because I love her blond curls.

The crappy photos were taken on my iPhone. Georgia and I spent the a.m. at the hospital (those crappy toys aren’t ours). I’ve been off balance and staggering around like a drunk. It’s like reliving my 20′s, without any of the fun. MS sucks!

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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Buried, Boring … that’s Me!

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Buried, Boring … that’s Me!

Posted on 27 November 2008 by MommyKnows

You’re going to wish you’d hadn’t bothered coming round here tonight. Then again, this just may be the perfect bedtime read. It’ll put you straight to sleep, if the turkey already hasn’t.

What’s that stuff in turkey that puts you to sleep? Tryptophan … yes, that’s it. Darn tryptophan, it’s fine for the men who generally move from the table to the sofa, but if you are of the female persuasion then you’re more than likely headed to the kitchen … all sleepy and too full and wishing you’d used paper plates.

Tonight, and tonight only … I am the tryptophan of the blogging world. Not the turkey … the tryptophan!

Like always, I’m behind on the laundry and since our Canadian Thanksgiving was several weeks ago, no turkey day here. Just a regular ‘ole Thursday (with unusually bad TV).

Buried
This was my kitchen table after supper tonight. This is the clean, just folded laundry. The mountain of dirty laundry is about the same size. I need to stop doing this. I need main floor laundry.

I know, I know … you’re getting sleepy. It’s OK, I’ll cut it short. It’s one thing to bore someone to sleep and quite another to bore them to death.

To all my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving!

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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The Miracle of Photoshop (& Lightroom)

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The Miracle of Photoshop (& Lightroom)

Posted on 26 November 2008 by MommyKnows

Remember a few days ago, I told you about my camera settings being messed up and me being too lazy to notice until we got home?

Oh, you don’t? Well read this! http://mommyknows.com/damncameradamnkid/ – The bottom bit is even kinda funny.

If you went back and read that, you are now aware that I had to cancel the ‘Guess that Canyon’ contest due to the worlds crappiest holiday photos.

In an effort to salvage a few I spent sometime this evening with Photoshop (& Lightroom) editing photos. Not so I can hold the contest (which I might), but because I want some holiday photos dagnabbit. The chances of me driving through ‘Where in the hell are we?, USA’, (honest, I think that it what it was called) again soon are slim.

I call this one ‘Road to Nowhere’ – Before Photoshop (& Lightroom)

Road to Nowhere, USA
This is such a dismal place Mr. MK, why would you drive me way out into the middle of ‘Where in the hell are we? … why?

I call this one ‘Road to Somewhere’ – After Photoshop (& Lightroom)

Road to Somewhere, USA
‘Where in the hell are we? is kind of a pretty spot, eh? Just where I wanted to be thank you honey!

Psst … it really was orange and gorgeous like this … even the road.

Tonight, I am thankful for Photoshop. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? (Say me … go on say it).

To all my American readers, Happy Thanksgiving!

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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Cruella, Cruella … De Vil

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Cruella, Cruella … De Vil

Posted on 25 November 2008 by MommyKnows

I’ve been tagged — AGAIN. Well not really, I am lying, I wasn’t tagged I am just OUT, OUT, OUT of ideas to blog about. I did what any sorry-assed NaBloPoMo blogger does on the 25th day of her self-induced torture and I tagged myself (courtesy of Safire).

Psst …
Go and see Safire’s twin baby boys and leave her some blog love comments. She too, is doing NaBloPoMo and the babies aren’t sleeping.

Here are the rules:
Go to your photos and open the 4th folder.
Post the 4th picture in your folder.
Tag 4 more people. Seeing as I am tagging myself, I am also making up my own rules. I am canceling the tag rule and adding a New rule: Answer the question below.

Me and Lizzy in Disney
Ah, surprisingly (today stinks), this just happens to be the perfect photo. Who would have thunk it, eh? Perfect because I feel MEAN today, which is exactly what Georgia said to Cruella our first five minutes in Disneyland.

I. DON’T. LIKE. YOU. –> YOU. ARE. MEAN.

Which is quite understandable, considering she is the lover of small dogs (not rabbits).

If she were home, and not on a short vacation to Grandma’s, she’d be telling me the same thing today. She’d be right, I am down right dissatisfied and I want to make a coat out of dalmatian pups. Fine, the part about the dalmatian pups is a lie too. You got me.

Here’s the last part of the Meme/Tag –> Answer this question: Which Disney Character are you today?

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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$100 TShirtMonster.ca Giveaway

Posted on 24 November 2008 by MommyKnows

Check out feistyfrugalfabulous and enter the $100 T-Shirt Monster.ca Giveaway.

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Quote Chain (book giveaway too)

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Quote Chain (book giveaway too)

Posted on 24 November 2008 by MommyKnows

Winner is: (Random Integer Generator — Here are your random numbers: 14) – Organic Baby Clothes – Email me to claim your prize @ kim (@) mommyknows (dot) com

I’m borrowing this from an Outside Voice and copying the next sentence and 4 points below word for word. It’s not really a game…but the results can be interesting!
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 11.
* Find the eleventh sentence.
* Post that sentence in a comment here; include the title of book and author.

Here is the quote, title and author that I used over at the Outside Voice.

Another mounted the steps, put his thumbs to his throat and slumped, twisting his face into a grisly parody of strangulation: the others whooped in admiration, and two dogs came running into the marketplace, barking.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Book giveway

I LOVE this book a lot. I also love my readers a lot, therefore, I am going to give one of you my used copy (read by me only, includes shipping). I will randomly choose one of the ‘quote comments’ tomorrow night (25 Nov’ 08 @ 9 pm PT). Promise you’ll pass if forward? Books are so much better if you share them with friends.

Good luck!

AND …

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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Damn Camera Settings … Damn Kid …

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Damn Camera Settings … Damn Kid …

Posted on 23 November 2008 by MommyKnows

You probably think that I like taking photos, right? If you said right, you’d be wrong. I quite dislike it. I hate getting out the camera, adjusting the settings, trying to figure out the best angle, where the light is. Are there shadows? The more I learn, the more critical I become, the more mistakes I see, the worse the photos get.

Mr. MK is a really swell kind of guy. If there is anyone reading this, that knows Mr. MK, this is when you’d comment and agree with me. Because he is so darn swell, he carried the heavy camera for me pretty much the entire holiday. Being lazy, I set the camera on the ‘P’ setting (about as Auto as my camera gets) and just snapped pictures. They all looked really dark on the camera’s display, but the display is hard to see in the bright sun, so I just let it be. I did comment a few times that, “my pictures SUCK”, and then forget about them. Whenever, I said that Mr. MK had to look and fiddle, which bugs me because he has no clue how my camera works!

It was one of those holidays where you drag your ass back to your hotel room about 10 pm with 3 tired kids, legs worked to death thanks to your new MBT shoes and then you thank God you snapped a couple of photos on your iPhone, so you don’t have to download/upload/edit your camera photos for that days blog post. In short, I didn’t bother looking at the photos on my computer until I got home.

BIG freakin’ mistake … they’re all DARK, under-exposed, upon further inspection of my camera, a setting had been adjusted (about 2 days into the vacation) to making all my photo’s 6 stops darker than ‘auto’ and they so, so, so suck. Hmmm … could some swell guy be responsible for this? Hmmm? Could he?

I have managed to salvage a few, however, the beautiful landscapes of Utah aren’t in the salvaged few. I think I may have to scrap the “Guess that Canyon” contest. *SIGH* Don’t cry, really, it will be OK. It was just a contest and the prize probably would have sucked. REALLY! Who wants a trip to the Grand Canyon anyway. NOT ME. HA.

Even worse than the camera settings, were the subjects! The holiday was filled with, “OH Moooooms!” and “the suns in my eeeeyeees!” and “I feel stupid”. Good grief! They better not dare complain when they’re older and there’s not a single great picture of this trip.

Here we are in the wilds of Utah …

Me: Georgia, smile at mommy
No Smiling in Utah

I should have quit, while I was ahead.

Me: NO, look at me and smile.
No Smiling in Utah

Me: That’s not looking at me. GEORGIA. SMILE. LOOK. AT. ME. AND. SMILE. Be a good girl and I’ll Give you a gumball.
No Smiling in Utah

Me: A gumball … a yummy pink gumball.
No Smiling in Utah

Me: Georgia … do you want Mummy to eat your gumball? Do YA? HUH? ‘Cause I will you little shi …
No Smiling in Utah

That’s when I noticed the elderly couple watching us! They were lovely (from St. Paul, MN … loved her blonde hair, just like their 5 year old granddaughters), they wondered if she were 5. Nope just three …. AHHH … they said all knowing. Just about then, Georgia escaped.

Three really does explain so much, maybe even my camera settings, right Mr. MK?

All comments and back-links for this post will be entered to win one of two Power Ranger action figures (includes shipping and handling) in my ‘Power Ranger Giveaway’. If you comment and blog about the Giveaway you’ll receive two entries (too easy). I’ll randomly choose two winners on December 1st, 2008 @ 9 p.m. –> make sure to come by and enter often.

MK xo
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