With trying to get this blog back on track, I'm working really hard to try to bring back all the little pieces that brought this place to life. With that, I would like to bring back the:
MONTHLY FEATURED BLOGGER
Here in the blogging world, our community is very intertwined. We all have our own group of blogs that we (slightly) favor above others to read daily. Some we found through friends, & others we stumbled across on our own. Because I like to broaden my horizons, and others as well...
I started MFB!
Each month I feature a new blogger chosen by the MFB from the month before. This way, we get to know our fellow bloggers a little more personally, and get to meet new bloggers as well!
I would like to start this back up next month.. and would love to feature any one of you!! If you are interested in being a MFB here in the pocket, or have any questions let me know
Feel free to click HERE to read any of the past MFB features.
I would like to get the newest post for the MFB up by March 1st!
1. Tell us a little about yourself. I am a high strung, laid back, Type A, fly by the seat of my meticulously planned pants stay at home mom.
I am a walking contradiction and I'm a lil bit crazy.
I married my kindergarten sweetheart almost 6 years ago (on our 5th
anniversary) and together we made the 2 most amazing little men on the
planet.
2. What is your favorite Lazy Day routine? Quiet. That's it. Just quiet. With 2 boys, there is never a lazy day. Or any quiet. I love them to bits but I would love a quiet day full of sunshine and quiet, a good book and a stiff drink. 3. Why/how did you get started blogging? It just kind of happened. A friend of mine started a blog and suggested I think about starting a blog, too. So I did. 4.What is your favorite "Lose Yourself" book of the moment?
I'm very short on reading time these days.
I'm lucky to sneak in a few moments before bed each night.
I
recently finished the Dragon Tattoo series.
It was a tough start but
after the first 100 pages or so, I was sucked in for good.
I also
really loved Tucker Max's books. His stories are freaking hilarious!
But don't read them in public.
You will literally laugh out loud and
people will look at you funny.
Currently I'm reading The Hunger Games and diggin' it so far!
5. How did you come up with the name of your blog? I was lying in bed trying to come up with a name. Musings of a Manic Mama was the best I came up with. I don't love it but I'm scared to change it. And it's not like I can think of anything better. 6. What is you favorite movie of the moment?
Good question.
I don't watch a lot of movies.
And not in the regular 'I don't watch a lot of movies' kind of way.
I've
never seen Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter or the prequel-shmequel Star
Wars flicks.
And I JUST saw The Notebook for the first time this year.
I know!
7. What is your favorite thing to blog? The hilarious things Kadyn says. That kid is a verbal gem. 8. What is your top "sing&dance your heart out" song of the moment? I'm in a very weird place right now, musically. I love me some old
school KOL. I'm really into strong female singers lately - Tegan &
Sara, Adele, Florence & the Machine, Metric…. I'm also looking
for some new music. I recently bought the new Royal Wood album after
seeing them on the CBC Kids Morning Show - what a place to find new
music! Ha! 9. Link the top 3 favorite blogs you wrote, & tell us what was behind your writing them.
I
don't want to sound pompous but if you read them (and I hope you will
because all 3 are very dear to my heart) the meaning behind them is
pretty obvious.
10. Who/what do you want to be when you "Grow up"? So many things. I'd love to be a photographer.
Or a
professional writer or an interior designer or an event planner.
Or a
crafter. Or an artist.
I've been trying to figure out how to combine all of them into
one giant superhuman super job. So far? No luck.
11. Link the top 3 blogs you read. Your "Daily Must Checks" Honestly there isn't anything that I MUST CHECK EVERY DAY. I read what I can, when I can. And I'm somewhat of a fickle reader sometimes. :( A few of my favs:
12. Describe/show your top "Can't live without" Item My family. Admittedly I am pretty attached to my 'stuff.' I'm not
materialistic but it is very important that I have my space in the world
with my things - things that make me feel comfortable or remind me of
people, places or things. I am extremely sentimental and I'm the queen
of attaching emotions and memories to inanimate objects. That being said the only thing that I truly could not live without is my family. I know. Super cheese. But it's true. 13. Whats your favorite time of the year? Summer. Without question. BRING ON THE HEAT!! 14. What is something you would like to try in the future of your blog?
Renaming, redesigning, moving the heck OFF Blogger, monetizing...
There
are actually quite a few things I want to try but I don't have the
time,
the patience, the skill, the hardcore desire, etc….
I'd love to
be one of those uber successful bloggers who can support her family
with the money she makes blogging but the honest to goodness truth is
that I am happy to do nothing more than record our daily family life.
I'm trying to not take the whole thing too seriously
and just do what I love and what feels right for me.
15. If you could have any superpower, What would it be & why? I would have the superpower that could morph into whatever superpower I wanted, whenever I wanted. 16. If you could re-live any moment in your life, when & why? I would re-live 3 moments in my life:
1. My wedding - I would
scrap everything except my dress and Ryan's suit and we would run off
somewhere hot and tropical and get hitched ALONE.
2 & 3. The
first few months of my boys' lives. I adore my boys each and every day
but those first few months? Heaven on earth.
I KNOW RIGHT?!
Isn't she awesome??? I swear, I just LOVE this girl!!
Make sure you head on over to her page & get to know her even better...
I've loved this monthly feature since I started it & have gotten to know alot of gals alot better because of it. Also it's a great way to find new awesome reads each month!!
This month, the feature is someone who I appreciate immensely! She was actually the 2nd blog I ever read, & the 1st blogger-buddie I ever starting talking to in this lovely internet world. I've grown to love tuning in to her little corner of the universe and consider her a very great friend! Plus her little ones, wardrobe, & witty charm can be quite addicting.
I'm happy to get to share her with all of you!
Now, allow me to introduce
Lindsey @
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
First
off I just want to say "thank you!!!!!" to Jaimie for thinking of me.
I
love love LOVE Jaimie and got to know her through Twitter and
her blog
and am just so happy that I did because she is just. plain. awesome.
Hopefully I can live up to being featured this month. If I come across
lame or boring please know that I am a firecracker of excitement usually
and please place any blame on my freakishly cute yet oh so demanding
2
week old and 3 year old
and general lack of showers or sleep (yep,
blaming the babies).
So anyways, my name is Lindsey and I blog over at Ot and Et
about my life and times as a working mom of Otto (the Ot) and baby
Loretta (the Et). I'm a pretty easy going mom and blogger, just kind of
trying to highlight the best stuff that happens in our house each week.
My kids are really stupidly good looking by the way.
2. What is your favorite "Lazy Day" routine?
Error. Error. Does not compute. ::brain explodes::
But if I had one it would be the kiddos being babysat by a loving
Nana, myself somewhere by a pool with a trashy gossip magazine in one
hand and a boozey drink in the other relaxing after a nice 2 hour
massage.
3. Why/how did you get started blogging?
Almost
two years ago I started my blog with a couple of mommy friends to
compile things like craft projects, recipes, and things-to-do-in-Tucson
for parents of little kids. Pretty quickly my mommy friends lost
interest and I started just blogging about my own life rather than
helpful hints or whatever. So it evolved into its current state
(whatever that is) pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I'm too lazy/scared to
change the web address from its original incantation so that's why it's
still tidbitsparenting. Womp womp. Oh well!
Super
excited to read Hunger Games! I know nothing about it but my best
friend and I are going to read it together like a book club. I just
bought it at CostCo this morning (see: my firecracker life of
excitement) anyways soooo excited! I totally missed out on the Twilight
book thing, I will not let Hunger Games pass me by!
5. How did you come up with the name of your blog?
See #3 above. One thousand tears of regret.
6. What is you favorite movie of the moment?
Midnight in Paris was freaking awesome. I adored everything about it!
7. What is your favorite thing to blog?
Who
knows... It changes all the time but revolves mostly around my little
munchkins because they are way cooler, fun, funnier, and wayyyy better
looking than me. They make for better blog material than the crazy
worrying worry-wart weirdness that is usually going on inside my head.
So I try to focus the blog on capturing our happy moments, more than
anything else.
8. What is your top
"sing&dance your heart out" song of the moment?
My
husband is our deejay so half the time I don't even know what I'm
listening to. But lately I have been jamming out with Otto to Bad Kids
by the Black Lips.
That's a fun one and he's still too little to get the
lyrics :)
Oh
boy. Well, honestly, I would love to be a writer. I really really hope
this happens some day. Maybe a children's book writer or some other type
of author.
11. Link the top 3 blogs you read.
Your "Daily Must Checks"
More
like once a week if I have time! I would love to be able to read blogs
daily though. I have about ten that I check that friends write and you
can find their links in the sidebar of my blog. And then I try to keep
up with
at least once a week
because those moms seriously make me smile and inspire me.
12. Describe/show your top "Can't live without" Item
Right now it's nursing camis and boob pads (rock and roll!)
13. Whats your favorite time of the year?
When
we lived in Arizona it was Spring, like right now. But now that we're
up here in Oregon I have to say the dead of Summer since that seems to
be the only time it's sunny here. Bring it, summer! I'm ready!
14. What is something you would
like to try in the future of your blog?
I'd
love to move it from blogger to wordpress or typepad but I'm soooooo
chicken to take the leap. Also, would love to become a better
photographer, take my camera off automatic, and really have a more
consistent and prettier "look" to the whole thing. But neither of those
things may ever happen. They probably won't. 15. If you could have ANY superpower,
what would it be & why? Is the ability to generate money out of thin air a superpower? Cuz I'd pick that one :)
Mama wants a new pair of shoes! 16. If you could re-live any moment
in your life, when & why? There
are so many. The moments/days right after each of my children were born
would top the list. The days Rob and I spent in Paris were pretty
amazing too. Time as a child with my grandma. Any of those.
So There you have it! She's a spunky lil mama who has the most adorable little ones I've ever seen! I love chatting with Lindsey, & look forward to many many more
fun funny chats in days to come!
Make sure you head on over & Check her blog out:
& don't forget to check back each week for the MFB Question of the week where Lindsey will have a random creative question for all of YOU!!
I
could totally use my standard line about how I’m a just a girl who
started a blog and happen to like bagels, but how I also like things
that are not bagels. But that’s probably lame and also my about me
section on my blog, so really it’s nothing new and you people are
looking for new. Right? So, about me? I’m in my mid-twenties, live in a super-secret location I call Far North, which is neither clever nor is it very secretive, and I write far too many words to get my point across (fair warning).
I live near most of my family, with whom I have a wonderful
relationship and who have all read my blog at one time or another. Which
is kind of daunting, but is also why I don’t swear as much as I want to
and that’s probably good for me. Umm… I’m not answering this question very well. This is like a job interview. And I’ve been doing a lot of those lately. Because I’m unemployed. Because I quit my terrible job.
That is also top secret. So basically, my “About Me” should just say:
My boring life is top secret, but I would make a terrible spy.
2. What is your favorite lazy day routine?
As I said above, I’m unemployed. Which means that EVERY DAY is Lazy Day.
I’ve been waking up between 10:00 am and noon (which is really bad, I
know, but I’m staying up until 3:00 am, so it’s a normal amount of
sleep… kind of…). Sister and I (oh, heads up: I live with my sister and
she’s also unemployed) usually laze on the couch watching DVDs of
television episodes. When I quit my job, we started with The Office,
moved on to Castle, then the 5th season of Psych. Now I’m introducing her to LOST. She’s a bit of a fraidy
cat, so we’re taking it kind of slow. Somewhere around normal people’s
dinner time, we decide it’s time to shower and get out of our yoga pants
and do something with ourselves. This usually results in us sitting on
the couch in clean(-ish)
yoga pants and wet hair watching more TV and eating ridiculous
concoctions of food, since we can’t be bothered to grocery shop or cook.
Sometimes, we leave the house to wander around Target or go watch TV at
Mom’s house while we eat her food, since she both grocery shops and
cooks. We end up staying up till about 1:30 am, then I read in bed
until way later than I mean to and finally crash. And as much as I love
it, I think I’ll be relieved to get back to work soon.
3. Why/how did you get started blogging?
I’ve
been reading blogs for years. I started by reading a blog by one of my
favorite YA authors, Ally Carter, and then added others over time.
One
day while trolling the archives of Temerity Jane
I
just decided it was time. She was encouraging her readers to become
People Who Comment and then went a step further and encouraged them to
be People Who Blogged. Or something like
that. All I know is, I’ve always been a writer but I didn’t have a good
outlet, I was bored at work, and TJ made me believe I could do it. So
here we are.
4.What is your favorite "Lose Yourself" book of the moment?
I
just finished a book called “A Hopeless Romantic” by Harriet Evans. I
found it at a thrift store the other day and pretty much just bought it
because the cover was pretty and the back blurb wasn’t heavy on the
dramatic vague foreshadowing that some books are prone to. It was
actually pretty good (it probably didn’t need to be a lengthy as it was,
but it was never boring, so I guess it doesn’t matter) and I was
excited to pick it up every time, so
there’s that.I’m also working my
way back through The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, because she just published
a new book that follows the girls into their adult lives and Sister
said it was really good, but I don’t really remember most of the series.
5. How did you come up with the name of your blog?
Roommate,
my best friend and college Roommate, was visiting shortly after I
started the blog and she was complaining about how she didn’t like cream
cheese. Except she likes it on bagels.“Just not on things that are not bagels.”
We laughed pretty hard at that phrasing and continued to use it the
rest of the trip. Since my blog name was just my penname (which I
thought sounded kind of pretentious) and I had no readers yet, it was
the perfect time to change it. The rest is bagely history.
6. What is you favorite movie of the moment?
Oh,
geez! This is a ridiculously difficult question, to pick only one. I
guess one of the go-to favorites in our house, if there is nothing new
to watch, is The Holiday.
I
love when I’ve just experienced something out of the ordinary and
ridiculous—like a rude person at the store or the antics my former boss
used to get up to—that I can flip on its head and tell with humor. Because those things rarely feel good when they’re happening.
But if I can make someone else (and myself) laugh about it, it’s a
great way to get perspective. Plus, I love making people laugh.
8. What is your top "sing&dance your heart out" song of the moment?
Well, Sister and I have been yell-singing Hotel California
by the Eagles for the past several days because we heard it on the
radio twice in 24 hours and thought that was weird. But that’s more of a
ridiculous thing that a heart-felt thing. One of the ones I love right
now is
ChristinaPerri’sJar of Hearts or Taylor Swift’s Mean. Because that’s kind of where my life is at right now, what with a conniving ladder-snatcher of a coworker and a jerk of a boss.
And now that I’m out of that place, all I can think is, “Who the HELL
do you think you are that you would treat me this way?” So those songs
strike a chord…
9. Link the top 3 favorite blogs you wrote, & tell us what was behind your writing them.
My
post about Satan’s Cat (Sister’s mischievous and possibly evil feline
who likes to wreak havoc on our house and then snuggle as if nothing
happened) entitled
“If You Play Her Meows Backward, There Are Hidden Messages”
was one of my favorites to write. I actually laughed out loud while
typing it (from the bathtub, no less). Plus, it got a ton of traffic thanks to a comment I left on The Bloggess’sBeyonce post I’m also pretty proud of A Letter to My Future Husband Who Is Late, partly because of the response it got and partly because the hopeless romantic side of me hopes
that my future husband will actually read it and find me through it.
Which is ridiculous, especially considering my secret identity, but a
girl can dream! My
third favorite was the hardest to choose, but this one is definitely up
there in the favorites and I’m tired of looking for a better one:
I
told Mom and Sister the other day that I want to look like Kate from
LOST when I grow up. I don’t necessarily want to BE her, due to the
whole law-breaking thing.
But I’d love to look like her. But who do I
want to be? I don’t have a specific person. But I want to be a great mom
and wife who is
able to organize and balance everything and still have time for a
little fun while also writing viafiction on the side…
because she says the things I’m always too polite to say and she says
them better than I would anyway and also HAVE YOU SEEN HER BABY? Amalah
is also all kinds of wonderful and hilarious and, at the same time, is
not afraid to talk about the real stuff either and can make you cry
using just her words.
But these are only three of the amazing bloggers I
read and interact with on a daily basis (okay, so TJ and Amalah
are way cooler than me and I would be misrepresenting myself and their
coolness if I said that we interacted every day, but they are nice enough to reply to my tweets whenever I get up the courage to talk to them, so this sentence is really about how uncool
and awkward I am, not about how they’re above it all because they
totally aren’t and I should just stop typing now…) so you should totally
check out my blogroll and go read all those guys, too.
12. Describe/show your top "Can't live without" Item
Yoga
pants. Just. Yoga pants. They are the life blood of my laziness and
prevent me from being naked and can you really ask for more than that?
They bring me joy and comfort and do not pinch my ever increasing
waistline, nor do they judge me when I eat an extra scoop of ice cream,
even though I wish my waistline were ever DECREASING. They also
continually remind me that they are not pajama pants (so that I don’t feel guilty about lounging around in them all day), but never
remind me that they are exercise pants (because they know I don’t want
to feel badly about NOT exercising). Yoga pants. Just. Yoga pants.
13. Whats your favorite time of the year?
I
love early summer. Here in the far North, late-May through most of June
is warm and sunny and beautiful and green and fresh and… Just full of hope and promise. They make you forget that July and August will be rainy, that the leaves will be off the trees by the end of September,
and that the snow will last from mid-October until the end of April or
even into May. Those glory days are only about 6 weeks long, but they
are the best time of the year.
Or
maybe Christmas, when I haven’t gotten sick of the snow yet and there’s
food and family and decorations and sweetness. But probably summer.
14. What is something you would like to try in the future of your blog?
I’d love to add more photos. But my point-and-shoot is pretty inadequate and my photography skills are even worse. So that’s probably not going to happen soon. Maybe just posting more regularly? I do well and then I just fall off the Internet for a while. Yes. That. Definitely that.
15. If you could re-live any moment in your life,
when & why?
Oh dear. If we’re talking about re-living just for the sake of re-experiencing, then I’d probably go back to my senior
year of college, when Roommate and I lived in our tiny apartment and
basically had a slumber party every night and I was skinny for the first
time in my life.
But if we’re talking about re-living for the purposes of changing things?
I would probably go back to Junior High and join a sport and care less
about all the drama and the crap and just be me and have fun and choose better friends. But that would still be a pretty terrible time to go back to and I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t been through that, I guess. So let’s just say that I’m content with the here and now.
