Archive for November, 2009
Nov 25, 2009 General
I do not dress up for Halloween and I don’t believe in the Easter bunny. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love it because the day is all about food, relaxing and spending time with family. We honor a tradition from my husband’s side of the family. I’ve come to love spending Thanksgiving morning and afternoon with the gang. We stuff our faces and always end up talking about poop and/or everyone’s medical conditions. There is always laughter and lots of turkey.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I had to share a list of what I am most thankful for;
My loving and supportive husband, whose love inspires me to achieve great things. Thank you for helping me follow my dream. I promise I’ll make you proud.
Our brilliant and adorable son, who is turning into quite a comedian. I’m thankful that he’s healthy, happy and surrounded by people who love him more than anything in this world.
Our families and relatives, who are always loving and supportive. They have stood by us through thick and thin, we really feel blessed to have them.
Our friends, even if we do not get to see them often. When we do, it’s always a good time and a lot of laughter.
My grandfather. I have to single him out even though I’ve mentioned our families already. My life would not be the same without him and I’m so thankful that I’m his granddaughter. Thankful and proud.
My colleagues. A few I know offline and many that I talk to online on a daily basis. We support each other, give out advice and are always trying to make someone’s day a little better. I’m thankful to be a part of the freelancing industry, even if some of my colleagues are as crazy as they come….
I’m thankful for all the online publishing companies and advertisers that choose to work with me. You give me freedom, a way to help provide for my family and a career that I am proud of. I’ll always work hard for you and do my best. Thank you for so many wonderful opportunities.
Last but not least, all the amazing people who take a minute of their day to read my work. I don’t know if you found me on Google, Twitter, Facebook or any other amazing interweb way, but thank you for clicking and stopping by.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Let’s eat!
Nov 24, 2009 Writing Nook
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dr. Oetker. All opinions are 100% mine.
My Canadian readers, here is a chance for you to win a $20,000 Kitchen Makeover. Act quick as the contest ends January 4, 2010. I’ll provide you with as much information as possible, but be sure to visit Dr. Oetker Kitchen Makeover Contest for official rules and contest details. While you are at the website, sign up for Savoury Moments Member. You’ll get access to coupons, specials, recipes and news on future contests.
To enter the kitchen makeover contest, go to the website and get a PIN or pick-up a PIN from specially marked packages of Casa di Mama Pizza. There are several prizes, but the grand prize is a kitchen makeover with Dr. Oetker Casa di Mama. You will have $20,000 to renovate your kitchen and turn it into a dream space fit for a gourmet chef. The gourmet chef is not included, so you better learn to cook. Other prize winners will have a chance to win one of the following Whirpool appliances: a fridge/freezer, freestanding electric range, dishwasher or microwave. An additional 2,000 people will instantly win a Casa di Mama Pizza or a pizza cutter. Dr. Oetker Casa di Mama is giving participants so many chances to win so don’t hesitate and get yourself a PIN right away.
As I mentioned, the contest if for Canadians only. I would love to win a kitchen makeover. We have new kitchen cabinets and our appliances are fairly new but white. I despise white appliances as they are impossible to keep clean, plus I prefer stainless steel. Our kitchen floor was supposed to be already replaced but we ran into a few issues with that project. I would love to see tile in my dream kitchen. Good luck to those who enter and don’t forget to sign up to be a Savoury Moments Member.
Nov 24, 2009 General
I found these gems on my mother-in-law’s camera. The Black Lab is Lukey, or Lukey was we all call him. I love my two psychotic dogs dearly, but Luke is absolutely the best dog that ever existed. He was my husband’s dog but we couldn’t take him along to our new place. He now lives at grandma’s, and judging by his weight gain it’s a good life. Kody absolutely adores Lukey. In fact, Kody started taking his first steps by grabbing onto Luke’s side. He started walking because Luke would take off and Kody would flop down on the floor. So he decided to do something about it and chase the doggy. He hasn’t stopped chasing him since.
I don’t need Thanksgiving to remind me of so many things I’m thankful for. Certainly number one on my list is my brilliant, adorable and healthy son. He’s growing into quite a clown and has a charming personality. I hear that he already has two girlfriends in daycare.
Nov 24, 2009 Writing Nook
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Jones Soda. All opinions are 100% mine.
I was excited to open up my Thanksgiving Postie Pack from Izea. In it was a turkey hat (which my son has been enjoying for days) and a bottle of Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda . I hesitated a bit and my excitement started to dwindle. Why? Because I’ve tried tofurky before. Tofurky is one of the reasons why my attempt at being a vegetarian failed.
It took me several days to gather up enough courage to drink this interesting concoction. I even went as far as to try and bribe my husband to drink it. Then I tried tricking him and that didn’t work either. I read the bottle label and it said one of its ingredients was “caramel”. At that point I was slightly excited and hopeful that the name was just a joke. Or perhaps it was a brilliant marketing idea and Tofurky soda would just be a delicious caramel infused soda. Okay, I was very wrong…
My first impression was that Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda smelled like wheat. It didn’t smell like gravy or tofurky at first, but tofu smells like whatever you flavor it with anyway. At first sip, Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda did not taste like gravy but the after taste was more of mashed potatoes and turkey gravy. With bubbles! I can’t say that I cared of Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda, and I’m glad Izea did not ship me an entire case of it. As for my husband, as you can see in the picture, I saved him a little bit of soda. Now all I have to do is plot a good way into tricking him to drink it.
Nov 24, 2009 General
Technically, I did have several days off but Kody was sick. Every parent knows that taking care of a sick child 24/7 is worse than any manual labor. This week though, for Thanksgiving, I’ve finally earned a day off. I’m so close to my goal and cleaning up all my assignments. I have 3-4 blog posts to go through, several e-mail replies and 10 articles to finish for Demand Studios. I plan to write my articles for Demand Studios tomorrow, after Kody is in daycare. Unless an unexpected project comes along, I should be free from 5PM on Wednesday night and hopefully all day on Thanksgiving. Just like a normal person!
My husband and I were discussion my work from home vs work for an employer. Years ago, it was so difficult for him to understand my line of work and why I had to work around the clock. I used to have a lot on my plate and thousands of customers that needed care 24/7. In so many ways, I’m glad that I walked away from that. I don’t think my husband wants me to work outside of the house. We both enjoy my freedom and the ability to handle Kody’s needs whenever necessary. The inconsistency though can be difficult. I’ve talked about it so many times, but self-employment is not for the birds. I sometimes can’t go to bed at the same time as my husband or go out with friends for a drink. My work has to be done. No one sends me paychecks in the mail or gives me sick days.
A day off for a freelancer is a major accomplishment. The house won’t burn down while I’m away from my laptop and bills will still be paid. It’s a good day, even if it doesn’t come that often.
Nov 24, 2009 Writing Nook
The remote is a precious item in our household. Whoever has control of the remote rules the roost, at least until they walk away from it. We seem to fight over the TV a lot, partly because we only have one in the entire house. We plan to buy Kody a little TV set for Christmas, so that he can watch his DVDs and stop hijacking our TV with Sesame Street. As far as my husband and I go, he would love a TV in the bedroom but I’m not so sure about it. I can fall asleep to the sound of a TV but I hate to sleep all night with it on.
I’m alone during the day, whenever Kody is in daycare, but I don’t have time to watch TV. I watch the news, the Real Housewives franchise and a couple of cooking shows. I’ll catch daytime talk shows every now and then, or if they have a guest I’m interested in. For me, it would be nice to have DirectTV’s DVR so that I can record more shows that might be appealing to watch. I’m usually too busy with work to make time for a show, but having a chance to record and play it at my convenience would get me interested in watching other TV shows. Direct TV Satellite DVR is also a lot cheaper than cable’s. I’m not interested in having DVR with our current service because it would cost four times as much after monthly, service and tax fees. The cost alone makes me not want to watch TV.
I’m actually excited that our current contract is running out soon. We’ll finally be able to look into Direct Satellite TV. I’ll be able to record, pause and stop live TV – at a much cheaper price.
Nov 23, 2009 Writing Nook
Back in the day I made a great living in the web hosting industry. I may not be active in selling hosting now, but I still help friends out to find a home for their website. I don’t endorse any company because I believe that everyone has different needs when it comes to web hosting services. Some are set on a price and some look for specific features that their site will require. I look for their reputation, age and general business practices.
I can tell you from my experience that web hosting reviews matter. Companies work hard to keep customers happy and to achieve a certain quality of their services. Reputation is everything in hosting, as there is plenty of competition out there that will happily take their place. But not every company is reputable, fair or even reliable. I have seen plenty of web hosting services open up on a random Saturday evening and close in less than 3 months. It’s a tough industry but customers should be number one, regardless if they are paying $100 or $10 a month.
A free
web hosting guide is always helpful to read, as it can tell you what to look for in a company. You can have an extremely popular website with thousands of hits a month or a personal page with a few clicks a day. What matters is that your website is always accessible and functioning. With website ownership you also have to be familiar with services such as FTP (for file uploading) and HTML Editors (for building/maintenance and design changes).
It is a really fun experience to own your own domain name and have a website. I always recommend buying a web hosting plan over having a free host. It is more professional to have your own .com, .net or any other url extension over a long, free url that just isn’t as appealing. Take my advice though and read reviews before giving your hard earned money away.
Nov 23, 2009 General
Kody has been wearing this turkey hat for days… It came in a Thanksgiving Care package from IZEA. The colorful box contained the adorable gobbler wear and a sample of Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda. I have an entire review written for Tofurky and Gravy Jones Soda, which should be available soon. It was an adventure trying a new drink which sounds weird but tastes okay.
As far as the hat goes… Kody won’t take it off. I received the box shortly after we came home from Kody’s surgery. Let me tell you, nothing cheers a fresh-out-of-surgery kid up like a turkey hat. Although he has been calling it a “chicken hat”.
I wish I could have gotten more pictures of Kody and his hat, but I can’t get him to sit still. Notice that I had to put him in the highchair and he still managed to wiggle around. I even bribed him with a candy cane.
Nov 23, 2009 Writing Nook
Today was a big and exciting day in my kitchen. I shamefully admit that I baked muffins for the first time in my life. I made banana nut muffins, semi-homemade and surprisingly they turned out to be edible. Kody ate six muffins and kept calling them “cake”. Every time I’d open the oven up though, Kody would yell “FIRE!” and run away. The kid is seriously aware that his mother has no baking skills, but to go as far as accuse me of setting a house fire is just crazy.
I had a pot roast in the crockpot and homemade au jus sauce on the stove. I can cook a good meal any day of the week but please do not ask me to bake you anything. I’ll go as far as opening up a plastic wrapper and setting cookies on a cookie sheet. Even that adventure may be filled with hazards and fire, so don’t count on eating any cookies made in my oven.
Speaking of food, I feel like I have become so bored with restaurants and eating out. Everything in this little town is the same. A pizza place won “Best Italian Food” award in the local paper. An award winning Italian restaurant in La Jolla sounds like good Italian food and they are certainly not a pizza shop. In this town there is no competition, therefore a slice of pizza is always a winner!
Nov 23, 2009 Writing Nook
I love that fresh, clean feeling after a visit to the dentist. Nothing makes me happier than having plaque scraped off. I’m not a big fan of the dentist, although I always feel bad for them. How do you work in a profession where people need you but dislike you? I’m going to a new dentist tomorrow, it should be interesting. My husband is a patient there and absolutely loves the guy. He’s also a big chicken who whines for an entire week before his dentist appointment. Therefore his seal of approval and saying he “likes” a dentist is a big deal.
I’m taking Kody along which should be very interesting. The dentist said we should bring him to our appointments so he gets used to the office, staff and everything that goes on. With my luck, he will freak out, scream his head off and wreck the entire building before my teeth cleaning is completed. We already brush Kody’s teeth daily and teach him what he’s supposed to do with a toothbrush. His brushing skills need some improvement but he likes the process and seems to enjoy it.
My husband gets his wisdom teeth out in December. I’m happy because it needs to be done but he will oh so whine for weeks. I bet he whines and complains two weeks before and an entire month after the procedure. What is it with men and health professionals? My wisdom teeth hopefully do not need to be out anytime soon. At least I get to write about San Diego orthodontist and read up more about their surgical procedures. It scares me less knowing what they do and their professionalism. My husband on the other hand will just have to man up and quit his complaining.
