Why I Need My Own Personal Bouncer

Hi. I'm Franticmommy. I'm a Serial "Yes Girl" and a Recovering People-Pleaser...."



I don't think you need to be a parent to feel the crunch of lack-o-time these days. Normal every day life paired with the constant requests from outside sources equal not enough hours in the day.


The problem is...I'm a Puss.


Pushover. Softy. Wimp.


I like people. I like helping people. I help people because it's the right thing to do.


However, there comes a time when it becomes too much and my "helper-self" starts having mental smack-downs with my common-sense-self.  It's like in the cartoons when there's devil on one shoulder and an angel on another. 

When faced with yet another request for commitment, the angel smiles sweetly and reminds me that if I want to continue to be fabulous, I need to say "yes."


The devil however looks more like Dr. Phil and shakes his head sternly and points to my already packed calendar.


What I truly need is for the Angel and Dr Phil to take a hike. And I really need to replace them with something..or someone.. who heads these conundrums off at the pass.


That's why. I need a Bouncer.


A dude named Al who looks like this:

Or maybe a more Yumolicious version like this:

My Al would step in and be tough when I start waffling and wavering and saying "well, maybe I could..." 

That could be his cue to fold his beefy arms, glare, and say "NO!!!" when I find myself too weak and chicken-crap to do so myself.


Needy Person:  Would you volunteer on my committee?
ME: Sure.
AL: NO! She's busy, Move along now.


Needy Person: I need to go to The Gap and then get a new tattoo. Would you watch my kid Saturday afternoon? You know, the same only who wrote on your walls and gave your kids cooties?
ME: Um..er...sure. Lice shampoos do great things these days..
AL: NO! Cooties BAD. Move along now.



My Al will keep me in line and never allow me to double-book, over-book, or work on weekends.



And then my Al would rub my feet and fetch me a Latte....

Hey, a mama can dream.

Great Back-Up Tool For Spazy Bloggers Like Me

I am always on the hunt for things, apps, programs, live-in help helper tools to make my over-extended busy life med-free easier. 

Backing up my blog was always one of those nagging-in-the-back-of-my-mind tasks. I always lived in fear my blog would be the victim of the Urban Legend Of The Disappearing Blog. Yes, yes, I know I need to migrate to Wordpress, but I can't help it. I like Blogger.

THEN, I found Carbonite.com

We’ve seen a whole lot of research that suggests people know they should be backing up their computers, but for whatever reason, most don’t get around to it. Guilty as charged :0

I suspect part of the problem is that backing up all of the important files on a computer can be a kinda intimidating and moderately confusing. I really liked that Carbonite takes the complexity out of backup by making it easy for less tech-savvy folks (like me) to back up all of their commonly used folders with the click of a button. 

Carbonite has a regular personal remote backup service and is now launching a “Pro” version for small businesses. Carbonite Pro automatically backs up all of your PCs and laptops, and pricing is based on total volume, such as up to 20GB, 20GB – 49GB, etc.

The best thing I like about Carbonite Pro is it is really “set it and forget it” software. After installation, it automatically starts backing up all your files to a server somewhere in a secure cloud. It takes quite a long time the first time, because it is using only a portion of your available bandwidth, and it is a low priority process on your computer so that it doesn’t interfere with other programs. But after the initial back-up all your changes and additions are backed up automatically and its fast. It puts a little green dot on your file icon for files that have been backed up. Files that are waiting to be backed up have a yellow dot. Pretty cool.


**Franticmommy was not compensated in any way for this review

Make Gift Giving Memorable With A Little Storytelling

“Blessed is the listener who inherits the story.”-unknown

I remember my 10th birthday when my Aunt Val gave me a stuffed cat. I remember looking at the cat and silently thinking, “this is the fugliest feline I have ever seen.” Then my Aunt Val starts telling me a story. She tells me the reason she bought this stuffed critter was because it looked just like a similar stuffed cat that she had possessed as a child. She ended her story by saying that she hoped my new kitty gift would bring her as much comfort as her old cat did when she was my age.


Awww...shucks.


Maybe that's why I still have that goofy cat.

Gifts take on a whole new meaning, a whole new importance, when paired with a story. You don't need to weave an inter-twangled-darn-near-Best-Seller story. It can be as simple as a thought that was evoked when you saw the gift, or a memory that was “re-remembered” when you laid eyes on the gift for the first time. 

The idea is to create an attachment. An baseline. An a little “back story” that sweetens the whole gift giving process.


Now, I'm not saying giving someone 6 Christmas fruitcakes and pair it with a story of how you used for weight in your vehicle in the winter. A crappy gift is still a crappy gift even if it does have an entertaining story to go with it. Gift-giving with a story simply takes it to the next level and makes the gift go from ordinary, to extraordinary.


The hoodie becomes more memorable when paired with the story of the funky little pub it came from. The baby onesie becomes precious when paired with a story about the funny slogan on the front reminded the giver of when they were a munchkin. 

 Blessed is the listener who inherits the story...?


Blessed is the gift receiver who inherits the story.

Ten Tips For Awesome Blog Post Writing

Ten Tips For Awesome Blog Post Writing!

1. Watch your spelling! Grammar is a little more forgivable when blogging, but nothing screams “novice!” louder than misspells. Make Spellcheck your BFF.

2. People are more likely to read shorter posts. Buy shorter I mean 200-300 words. Readers are pressed for time and have a multitude to blogs to read so get to the point and keep it to 2-3 paragraphs. Why? Let's face, people have goldfish attention spans these day. Short, sweet, and simple.

3. Break it up! If I visit a blog and see an endless SLAB of words, I probably won't stay. Life is short and the dog is probably shredding something as I type. Make it easy for people to read, digest, and move to the next paragraph.

4. Blog the way you'd talk to your best friend. One of the many advantages of blogging it is a more conversational way to engage with people.

5. Be real. Be authentic. Be you. If you want to swear like a sailor, go for it. It's your real estate. Just be mindful not all your readers will appreciate that level of raw. Jill from Scary Mommy and Naomi from Itty Biz can get away with it because it works for them and, well..they are just freakin awesome.
 
6. Use pictures and clip-art whenever you can, but don't weigh down your blog post with 10 pictures. 2-3 is a nice balance.

7. Be nice. Be nice some more. Then with a side order of Be Nice. Don't use your blog to rant and rave, talk smack about someone, or get revenge. Don't be a Blogger Behaving Badly.

8. Think Keywords! You may be just writing for fun or enjoyment, but you still want people to find you. Make your titles keyword rich. Instead of “Our trip to the beach” try Family Travel To Lagoon Beach. Or instead of just “Kayden's Story” make it “Kayden's Story: Our Journey with Trisomy 18”

9. Explore the world of inspiration! Having a writers block moment? Read other bloggers. I get tremendous inspiration from reading other bloggers and noting what they are talking about.

10. Drive traffic using Social Media, Blog Communities (Blog Frog, SITS or Mom Bloggers Club) and especially guest posting on other blogs. Think outside the box too. Add your blog link to your email signature and even have business cards made up with your blog name and addy.


**Final Note: Make it easier for your readers to “share” you. Add the app http://www.addthis.com/ to add social media icons to your blog posts.

Crayola Inspire

Disclosure:I received the information about “Inside the Crayon Box” live event and videos from Crayola through MyBlogSpark.