7 Things You'll Thank Me For Later

Today is Day 7 of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge. Yeah, remember I mentioned that like a week ago? I haven't really been slacking, I just didn't think that every task required a post.

One of our first task was to make a list post. Obviously, I haven't done this yet, and today's post is to write a link post, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and make a list of 7 bloggers (7 for day 7 of the challenge!) who are also doing the challenge that you should definitely check out... and that you will want to thank me later for introducing you to! So, without further ado, meet my new blog friends! (Well, I hope they'll be my friends ;) )

1. Cate at Real Life With Kids- Last week when I tweeted that I couldn't complete that days task to promote yourself because I didn't feel any of my posts were worthy, she came over to my blog and found one she liked and linked up to me in her post that day! It really made me feel good! Not only is she so sweet to do that, but she is hilarious and awesome. She wrote a very informative post for the list day about why Cheeto's are awesome. The Cheeto's people should take note and get this girl on board to be their very own Cheeto blogger or something cool like that. Seriously, check her out and thank me later!
2. Kathryn at The Coastal Chick- This girl is not only sweet but she is funny! Her elevator pitch on Day 1 of the challenge not only made me feel like I'd known her forever, but it made me literally laugh out loud!
3. Designer Wife at The Glamorous Life of A Designer Wife- I was first impressed by her beautiful blog, but the content is even better than the design. She wrote a list about the 16 things she wished someone had told her before becoming a housewife, and it was hysterical! Also, she watches the Real Housewives on Bravo, which wins cool points in my book!
4. Multiple Mama- I clicked over to her site yesterday and instantly fell in love! Her blog is so well written! She's sarcastic, funny, and witty and you can't stop reading her blog. She summed up the first week of The ProBlogger challenge so well in her post Cool Girls Blog School (Part One) yesterday.
5. Cameron at Ingenue Mom- I found her blog last week, and ever since have not stopped reading! She is funny and very knowledgeable and has an all around fun blog to read! When we had to stalk observe another blogger in our niche, she wrote about Dear Baby, and got featured on SITS! Yesterday, she summed up the million articles we had to read by pointing out the best ones and talking about what she was going to do to improve her blog, which included a lot of GREAT ideas!
6. Melissa at The Pink Crab- I love her blog because she is super informative. Yesterday, she compiled a great list of the pros and cons of wordpress vs blogger, and it really helped me understand the differences! Also, last week, she listed free things you could get on the internet, and who doesn't link free things?!
7. Amy at Somebody's Parents- The first time I clicked over to Amy's blog, I knew I loved it. Not only is it really pretty, but it also had great content. Amy is expecting her first baby in less than 99 days, and she blogs about her journey of becoming someones parent & what goes along with it.

So, there you have it! I hope you will stop by and give these fabulous bloggers some love! I am so thankful I have found so many great blogs to read through this challenge! 

(By the way, my fan page is 2 away from having 100 fans, so if you would please "like" it & help me get to 100!!)

Blogiversary Take 2

Welcome back to my blogiversary party!

 (Image found via Google Images, made by Jen Gets Fancy).
I couldn't cram everything from the last two years into two posts so I made into two- one for each year my blog has existed! I got a little more sappy in the last post, so I'm trying to make this one a little lighter. I thought I would play a little numbers game with some fun facts about my blog over the last couple years:

• 181: Posts I have published in the last two years. 
• 38: Posts that were published since my 1st blogiversary last year (side note, I know this number is really low. After my sister was diagnosed, it took me awhile to come to terms with the fact that it was okay to go on with my life as normal, and that meant blogging about stuff non-cancer related. That is why that number is so low).
• 1646: Comments I have received (thank you to my blog friends and loyal commenters! I love hearing hearing from you, it very often makes my day!)
• 244: The most visitors I have ever had in one day. It was Thanksgiving Day 2008. Like I said last year, I have no idea why people were reading my blog on Thanksgiving, but I'll take it! 
• 201: The second most visitors in one day. It was December 26 of this year.
• 23,043: Total visitors that have stopped by this blog since the beginning!
• 2,790: Visitors that have came to my blog directly (according to Google Analytics). 
• 127: Google Followers my blog has! That is amazing! Thank you all!! 
• 78: Facebook fans! Thank you! :)

Some other non-number fun facts:

• The number one term people search to get to my blog is "dangers of beer pong" (same as last year). One of my favorite posts, a humorous outlook on injuring yourself during a game of beer pong!
• The weirdest thing people have searched to get to my blog? "Women flashing on roller coasters" I have no idea what this has to with my blog... I swear I've never done that! Other weird ones include "fat girl kissing skinny girl", "mckmama moocher" "but you don't understand, osgood. uh, i'm a man. well, nobody's perfect!"
• My most viewed post ever is this Top 5 Tuesday post about shopping. It has 764 views... crazy!
• My top viewed post in the past year since my 1st blogiversary is Dangers of Beer Pong of course! Even though that post was up before my blogiversary last year, it was still the most popular since then!
• This was a year of firsts, as well: I participated in 1st blog swap with the fabulous Caroline! And I wrote my 1st guest post at Winey Mommy's blog! 

Well, that about it wraps it up! This year my blog has changed a lot and it will continue to change (hopefully for the better) as the years go on. Thank you to everyone who has seen me through this journey!

My one request (I know, I'm always demanding things)- I have so many followers I don't know, but I really want to "meet"! Please introduce yourself! That is all... I hope you all have enjoyed my blogiversary party!

A Bloggy Makeover!

I love a good makeover! Sometimes it just imperative, you know it adds a little pep in your step (I can't believe I just said that! My references are so out of date!), makes you feel a little more confident! Well same goes for blogs! They need & deserve makeovers, too! And mine got one, thanks to Krystyn! I decided it was time for a new look & Krystyn did such a great job with my last blog design, I wouldn't have gone anywhere else! I had no clue what I wanted so I told her just do her thing & I don't think I could be happier! I love it!! So, let me know what you think! And now that my blog is so pretty I'm just gonna be blogging up a storm! And if you're in the market for a new blog design go see Krystyn & she'll take great care of you! Thanks, Krystyn! :)

My Heart is Heavy...

It is hard to put into words the relationships we have with one another as bloggers because it is truly unique. The fact is, most of us don't know each other in person. Most of us have never met. But all of that is irrelevant because day in and day out, we read each others inner thoughts & feelings. We are there for the funny stories & the pictures of kids & families. We connect to each other in a way that is really special. That is why when one of us is hurting, we are all hurting. We feel as though we know these families, as if they are our IRL friends. This is why blogging is so special; we as bloggers can get the word out there that someone is hurting, that someone needs our thoughts, our prayers, and our words. Today, more than ever, this bond we share is needed. There are people out there who need us more than ever. And because we aren't there to hold their hands, give them a shoulder to cry on or just talk, all we can do is send thoughts & prayers, and encourage others to do the same. So today, I am asking you, my bloggy friends who are so special to me, to please keep the following families in your thoughts & prayers today. The first family that needs us today is one many of you are probably familiar with. You may recognize this button:

People all over the world were praying for Stellan, this very sick little boy, before he was even born. He was not supposed to survive the pregnancy; he has a heart defect that causes him to be in SVT, which means his little heart beats way faster than it should, which could lead to heart failure. Today, Stellan is hospitalized & is quickly deteorating. Things are not looking good for him, which is why he needs our thoughts & prayers more than ever. Mckmama, Stellan's mom, is updating via her Twitter page, so check there for updates. The next family is the Riggs family.

This adorable little girl, Abby, has leukemia, so sadly she is used to being hospitalized. This time is different, though. Abby is in the hospital with a serious infection which could lead to serious organ failure or may already have. And finally: Phillip is Amy's son with a brain mass. He's had 19 brain operations, and even more orthopedic operations. He has been suffering through countless seizures and has even had at least one stroke. Currently, his meds to keep his pain under control and to prevent seizures are not helping, and it looks like he is going to need another brain operation. For updates, see his Caring Bridge Site or Amy's blog. I could go on and on about how much these families need, but I know you know. I wish there was something more I could do for them, but instead I am passing this information on to you all, hoping that you will think of them during these difficult times. It's times like these when so many people are hurting and dealing with life or death situations, that all else seems insignificant. I simply could not post about my vacation I'm returning from tonight or the fun times I've been having with these people who are struggling in the back of my mind. So today, I offer my blog post to these people and families with a heavy heart while I continue to hope & pray for better things to come for them.

Help Me Help You!

Or something like that lol really I just need your help, but I'll help you if you need my help for some reason! haha I'm gonna make this short and sweet so we can get right to the point! So, my friend Alyssa requested that I wrote a post about sorority life, what it's like and if it's really like Legally Blonde! Well, this got me thinking... 1st of all I was excited to share my sorority knowledge, and 2nd of all I wondered if there were any others of you out there who might have questions about something?! So, hypothetically, would anyone have questions that they would want answered here on my blog? Or would you rather me just post about sorority life and move on!? Let me know! :)

Happy Blogviersary to Me!!!

It's my Blogiversary! My 1st ever blogiversary!! It is official... as of today, I have been blogging for exactly one year! I thought long and hard about how to celebrate this event. I know some people do giveaways for their blogiversary, or re-cap your favorite posts from the year. However, when I think about when and why I started blogging, and the fact that it's been a whole year, there are a lot of things to reflect on! I have definitely come a long way from my first post! In some ways, everything has changed, but in some ways nothing has changed at all. It really has been one of the most life changing years so far, I think, which is why it was the perfect time to start my blog a year ago! I started this blog in hopes of journaling the transition from high school to college, and all the changes that come with that. While I have been able to do that, it quickly became so much more than that. This is not only my journal, but my creative outlet, a place to just be completely honest, a place where I'm funny (well, at least I am sometimes & I have said it before, but I really don't think I'm funny IRL), and best of all, this is a community of friends! A year ago today, did I ever think I would utter the words "my blog friends" or "my twitter friends" (which in some cases are the same people, but you get the point!)? Never! But I have, and I do! I find myself thinking about all of you, my blog friends, all the time & wondering how you're doing & looking forward to reading what you're up to! So, thank you, thank you, thank you, to those of you that come here & read my ramblings & leave comments & support me! It has been a crazy year... a year ago today, I had no idea what the future held for me, and a year later, while a lot of what was unknown then is known now, there is still so much unknown! But no matter what happens, I will be here, chronicling it! Just for fun... here are some random facts about my blog over the past year: (Via Google Analytics)

• I have posted 149 posts (not including this one) with a total of 1,249 comments and 13,409 visits.
• My first post was (obviously) a year ago today, and Jen E was my very 1st commenter!
• My biggest traffic day was November 25 (which I find very odd because why were people reading my blog on Thanksgiving and not with their families? I didn't even post that day!)
• My "most viewed" post is this Top 5 Tuesday post (again, weird, but ok!)
• 76% of my traffic comes from referring sites, so thank you to my blog friends who link up to me! :)
• The number one keyword people google and get to my blog? Beer pong dangers! One of my favorite posts!
• The majority of people that come to my blog are from the U.S., the second most people are from Canada!

So, for my blogiversary present (What?! I can't get presents for my blogiversary!? Well, let's pretend!), all I ask is this if you read my blog... I want to know why, and I know there are some of you out there that I don't know... I try to keep up with my "followers" but I haven't been doing a great job lately, so if you follow me or are just a lurker & haven't said hello, for my blogiversary will you say hi!? I want to be friends! :) So here's to a year of big changes, most of which are chronicled here, and to at least another year of friend making, blogging & more changes!

Introducing... me!

So Mrs. Staff Sergeant over at Married to the Military is daring us bloggers who don't normally post pictures of ourselves (or even if we do we can still play) to post pictures of ourselves on our blog, and go link up with her! I think this is a great idea! I don't normally post pictures on my blog just because I blog about random things, there aren't really pictures to go with them. Anyway, I update my little profile picture on the side occasionally, and my avatar on twitter, but that's about it! Anyway, I was gonna cheat and just pick my favorite pictures of me off Facebook, but I just got my haircut so it really wouldn't be an accurate portrayal of me! So I was looking particularly cute today, so I decided to have some fun and take some pictures for this! Good deal, huh?! This was me Monday night before going out and partying! lol This was me today! Since It was the 1st day of classes I decided to actually put make up on and stuff! I decided to have some fun with my pictures too, so these are my silly pictures! hehe So that's me in all my glory.. err not so much but you know what I mean! Now its your turn! I see pictures of your cute kiddo's all the time, or other random things, but I want to know what you look like, too! So post some pictures of yourself on a day you actually look cute, like me! haha Then go link up with Mrs. Staff Sergeant!

My 100th post Bloggaversary!

It's HERE! It's my 100th post or as I like to call it my blogiversary (you know like blogging anniversary)! So I thought long and hard about what to do for this... do I give something away? Well that would require me to buy something & I'm broke! Should I do that 100 things about me thing that so many people do? Well, that could get real boring real fast and the last thing I want to do is bore you guys! So what did I decide you ask? Well I came up with a 2 part 100 post! So for part 1 I wish I could take credit for this brilliant idea, but Rebecca Kelsey at Miss Random Bliss suggested this and it was love at first sight read! She said "maybe you should post a list of your favorite top 10 entries, then top 10 readers, top 10 commenters, etc etc until you reach 100. Because one big 100 list could get boring. Split it up into 10 lists of 10 favorites!" What a great idea! Thanks, Rebecca! So let's start with my top 10 favorite posts:

1. Fake Conversation With a Real Person
2. WWWAT- Beginnings & Endings
3. Words of Wisdom
4. I Have Officially Crossed Over
5. Happy Endings or Not So Much?
6. Shopping Experiences
7. Moral Window
8. How Do You Really Feel?
9. Extreme Makeover: Sorority House Edition
10. New Plan (My Scholarship Essay)

Now for my Top 10 Commenters: (there's a thingy on the sidebar that tells you this but I wanted to give them a special shout out anyway) These are some of my best bloggy friends & I so appreciate their comments :) *Edit: I don't know what I was smoking thinking when I wrote these, but if you look at the sidebar they are completely different! The numbers are messed up, and there a couple new people added! So ignore the order & the number of comments... and shout out to Cammie and Heidi who have made the list since then!*

1. Krystyn (31 Comments!)
2. Jen E (27 comments)
3. Megan (21 comments)
4. The Broken Man (19 comments)
5. Chelle (19 comments)
6. Dawn (19 comments)
7. Tasha Via (16 comments)
8. Dee (14 comments)
9. The Nice One (10 comments)
10. Tenakim (10 comments)

Top 10 things I love about blogging:

1. I have a lot of feelings, and this is a way to express those feelings, and put them into words. It's very therapeutic.
2. I love "meeting" new people. That's one of the best parts about this bloggy world- you meet new people, and you bond over your likes, dislikes, etc!
3. Comments, duh! Comments are so fun, and people can be so nice. I love love it when new people come over, and leave comments like "I love your blog" or "You're so funny" <--- I never hear that in real life!
4. The community aspect of it! I love that we are like our own bloggy community! We can rally when someone needs our support, like Heather, or Amy and we have our own bloggy parties, like Aud's Dinner parties, and the amazing SITS community! It's like being in an exclusive club!
5. It's the easiest way to keep my family updated about school and stuff so I don't have to send out like 100 e-mails a day being like "this is what happened today... blah blah blah" lol
6. I love to write! I hate writing papers ironically because I hate when people tell me to write something specific... here I can just write whatever I feel like & whenever I want!
7. It's a total ego booster... like I said on #3, people say some of the nicest things! It makes me feel so good even when one new person comes to my blog and says they enjoy it!
8. Awards! I love getting awards! It makes my day, seriously! And I love being able to give them out and making someone else's day :)
9. It's like free entertainment! You guys are hilarious and it makes it so much fun to read your blogs! It's all free, and I can do it anywhere, anytime!
10. All of the above :) ok, so I cheated get over it !

Top 10 blogs I want to give a shout-out to (ok I wish I could shout out to all of you, but that would be way too hard, so forgive me if I don't mention you!)

1. Cammie- Even though we keep finding reasons to "break up" you're awesome & I'm glad you haven't given up on us yet! hehe
2. Susan- Not only is she my twitter buddy, but her blog is freaking funny!
3. Elaine A.- Because again she is another awesome twitter buddy, and she is hosting the food swap which is totally cool!
4. Laural a.k.a. Mamasphere- She is too funny & too sweet & her blog is awesome!
5. Melanie- My food swap partner has a really great blog & I'm so excited to swap food with her :)
6. Mandy- she is a new bloggy friend, but her blog is really funny & she's awesome!
7. Beth- Another new bloggy friend I found thru SITS. She is so funny & totally cool!
8. Rachel- She wants to live vicariously through me which makes me feel like I have such a cool life! lol Plus her blog totally cracks me up!
9. Janah- She has an awesome blog & she has the funniest story of how she got her blog name!
10. Heidi- She's just awesome I feel like I'm saying the same things about everyone but really she's super cool & super funny!!

Moving on... Hope you're not bored yet! 10 Random Facts About Me:

1. I am extremely sensitive to smell- I hate the smell of bubble gum, I don't like the smell of cleaning products, I am just super sensitive to all smells & it drives me crazy sometimes!
2. I am a facebook addict. I am on like seriously all the time. It is sad. I wouldn't be so addicted if it weren't for facebook chat, but I have a constant need to know who is online & if I'm missing out on some potentially amazing conversation.
3. I watch way too much TV. I could probably name like 50 shows I watch religiously. Ok maybe not that many but you know what I mean!
4. I'm not a morning person at all. I hate mornings, but I am such a "night owl" (I hate that term). I am usually up 'till at least 1 AM most nights, and usually much later. Even if I'm not doing anything, it's just a habit to stay up late.
5. I say "lol" way too much! Especially if I don't know what to say I just say lol & I usually say it before every sentence even if nothing is funny! Sometimes I substitute lol for haha
6. I use exclamation points way too much too. Especially in comments I always feel like I put way too many exclamation points. I just don't know how else to show my enthusiasm when typing!
7. I hate when you're having a conversation with someone texting or IM or something, and you say something & they respond with only "lol" or "ok". Ugh it is such a pet peeve! How are you supposed to carry on a conversation after that!?
8. You know how guys say they often find girls more attractive in sweats & a t-shirt? Well I think the same is true for guys, I am really attracted to guys when they are just wearing athletic sweats or something. Then again, it is really hot when they get all spiffed up in suits & a tie & everything! So I guess its a toss up!
9. I have the worst sweet tooth... I love sweets! Anything sweet... you name, and I'm sure I love it!
10. Joining my sorority is the greatest decision I ever made! My college experience would never be the same without it. I am so thankful for it.

10 blog stories that touched me: (There are so many amazing stories out there, I just wanted to take the time to point them out. They really put things in perspective.)

1. MckMama & Stellan's Miracle
2. Amy & Phillip
3. Matt, Liz & Madeline
4. Heather
5. Bring the Rain
6. Carolee's story
7. 4 Little Men & Twins
8. Hannah Garman
9. String of Pearls
10. Briggshill

Top 10 Funniest Keywords That Lead to my Blog: (I can't figure out why this looks weird.. sorry!)

1. "(but you don't understand, osgood. uh, i'm a man.) well, nobody's perfect!"- yeah I have no idea what they were searching for!

2. "take a breather, lebron"- lol! I love this quote it's from my HSM3 Review!'

3. "bigoldie women.com"- This seems to be a reoccurring theme, people looking for old women & getting to my blog... I'm not sure what to think of that... I'm also not sure I want to know what this website would look like if it existed!

4. "girl not texting back"- sounds like a personal problem, maybe she doesn't want to talk to you! My blog has nothing to do with this though... unless you count the fact that this girl won't text me back anymore!

5. "i had a party last night sorry you couldn't come your boyfriend did twice icon"- LOL!!! I know this is bad... but it cracks me up!

6. "i`a not a girl wets a woman"- wow talk about a typo...

7. "lil wayne running for 2012 election"- lol this is coming from my election facebook status' post I'm sure, but I love that people think Lil' Wayne should run for president! He does have lyrics "Fuck em, fuck em, fuck em Lil Wayne for President!"- maybe that's his intent to run announcement? lol

8. "pretty girl blog?"- Thank you, google for sending them to my site! I am flattered :)

9. "usc dental fraternity halloween party 2008 photos"- Well, I don't go to USC, so I was definitely not at that party... so I am not sure my blog was much help.

10. "worlds record for bestess singing"- hmm I can't say that I know that... also I think you should work on your grammar because "bestess" is not a word!

10 of my Favorite TV Shows: (in no particular order)

1. Private Practice
2. One Tree Hill
3. Gossip Girl
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Lipstick Jungle
6. Desperate Housewives
7. Brothers & Sisters
8. Privileged
9. Starter Wife
10. Friends (I love the re-runs!)

10 of my Favorite Quotes:

1. "No boy is worth crying over. And the one who is, won't make you cry."
2. "Love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it'd be worth it."
3. "People can take everything away from you... but they can never take your truth. The question is: can you handle mine?"- Britney Spears, My Prerogative
4. "true friends & true hearts that's all that counts in life" -uptown girls
5. "all girls really want is someone to want them back"- one tree hill
6. "The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them," Paris Hilton about Indian elephants.
7. "Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed" - Legally Blonde<33
8. You have three choices in life - give up, give in, or give it your all.
9. "Life isn't the number of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away."
10. "Some of the best things in life are unseen. That's why we close our eyes when we kiss, cry, pray, and dream."

And finally for my last list, I'm giving those of you who tweet! So I have compiled the (in my opinion) funniest tweets from the past week maybe a little less! Top 10 funniest recent tweets:

1. @HappyHourSue Borders dude said they were out of the free Twilight posters. So I threw my shoes at him
2. @ShredderFeeder My wife said she was ordering an etiquette book for my eldest... I told her to make sure it was big enough to hit him with or it won't work.
3. @TheDailyBlonde Hiding from the kids. They r dancing to the Jonas Bros. Oh NO! :)
4. @themomjen According to my 7 year old....being Clausterphobic is being afraid of Santa!
5. @TheBookMamma I'm braving the unholy holiday hell that is Bridgestreet today. I've officially smoked way too much crack. Wish me luck
6. @SteveOuch The malls are empty in Portland today, guess I get Santa all to myself. Find out what other operations he has going on in the "North Pole"
7. @TheDailyBlonde Scored a great parking spot. Think I will try to sell it.
8. @Ruensontherun Lots of people coming to my blog and not leaving comments...maybe they are looking for crack...guess it's disappointing
9. @McMommyblog Someone helllllllllp meeeeeeee! My techy hubs decided to "re-do" our server yesterday. I have had no internet or email since then!!!!!
10. @ElaineA It's not even 10 a.m. yet and the kids are driving me up the wall! Margarita anyone?? {just kidding...sorta...}

Well that concludes my series of top 10 lists... but I mentioned there would be 2 parts right? Here's where you come in! For my 100th post, my goal is to get 100 comments! That would be a record, and I need your help breaking it, bloggy friends! And while I appreciate Broken Man's efforts on my birthday post, 1 comment per person please! I want to get 100 separate comments :) I realize it's a big goal, but with your help we'll see if we can make it happen! I would love you forever :)

And the Oscar Goes to.... (part 1)

I love getting awards, who doesn't?! It really brightens my day to know that people not only read my blog, but like it. That's crazy to me! I mean I think I'm a decent writer, and some of the stuff I have to say is interesting, but still, maybe it's not so interesting to everyone else. Anyway, thank you to Dee, Laural Out Loud, Island Girl. They have each awarded me with a shiny (sometimes even sparkly!) new award! I'm so excited! Anyway, as much as I love awards, I am a very bad award receiver! It always takes me forever to re-award them! So, I'm sorry for being a bad award receiver, but thank you for my awards, I love them! Ok so, 1st off Laural Out Loud gave me this award: That is so sweet, isn't it cute??! Thank you, again! The rules for this award is to give it to 10 blogs I love!! That should be easy! I'm going to try and give this to people who don't have this award, but no promises! These are the people who have and will type paragraphs of advice when I most need it, just because they care! Who else would be more deserving of such an award!?!

• Mrs. Newlywed @ Misadventures of A Newlywed
• Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious
• Jen E @ Mommablogsalot
• Chelle @ Creative Momma
• Leslie @ Got Kids, Need Valium
• Tyne @ The White House
• Dana @ Supernanny Where Are You
• Megan @ Wandering DC
• Joy @ When Does Daddy Come Home
• Dawn @ Dawn's Daily Life

Next, I have this lovely award from Dee! Isn't it pretty?!?The rules to this award are Post the badge on your site and link back to Maternal Spark. Tag 5 of your bloggy friends who have sparked creativity, conversation, controversy and friendships! That's it, it's easy to spread the sparky love so go on...do it! These 5 blog friends are amazing and deserve some bloggy love so go check them out!

• Heidi @ Mommy Doesn't Live Here Anymore
• The Mom @ Cheaper Than Therapy
• Mojito Maven @ Make Mine a Mojito
• Cheryl @ The Daily Blonde
• McMommy @ The McMommy Chronicles

So, that's that now go check them out and tell them I sent you! lol Moving on... Island Girl @ Not Perfect But Worth It passed on this lovely book award to me!Here are the rules: Pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences...The CLOSEST BOOK, NOT YOUR FAVORITE, OR MOST INTELLECTUAL! Ok, I'm warning you this is gonna be boring.. the only books I have near me are Text books so here is a short excerpt from my Mass Communications text book. "In three months, Common Sense sold 125,000 copies- some historians say it was closer to 250,000- 1 for every 10 colonists. Paine was no mere armchair commentator. In 1776 he joined George Washington's army." I'm gonna spare you from boredom and stop there.. for the record they were talking about Thomas Paine and the subject was Books in National Development. Yeah... bored yet? So, hopefully these people will have something more interesting to say, sorry for boring you!

• Jen @ Daily Mish Mash
• Danielle @ Life With the Hewitt Family
• Jen E @ Momma Blogs A lot (I know 2 awards in 1 post, but I know how you are about books!)
• Tabbie @ Love's Story

I know that's only 4 but I give up! Ok... so are you sick of all these award posts, yet? Well because I'm a procrastinator so popular, I still have 3 more to give out!! I'm so humbled by all this love, when I started this blog I never imagined that anyone would actually read it, much less send me awards telling me they love my blog!! Thank you everyone! Because I love you all so much.. I'm going to spare you! I'm going to do the 2nd half of these awards later in the week, so this doesn't turn into a novel or anything! Please go check out the award recipients, if you haven't already! They all have amazing blogs, and we all know how much we love bloggy love, so show them some please :) Part 2 coming soon...

Yay for Birthday's!!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! :) I'm so excited!! It's my 1st birthday away from home, so its bittersweet... but mostly sweet! I'm 19 today! And you know I'm gonna celebrate all weekend (starting tonight!) So, for my birthday, feel free to send me packages! I love mail! But I love the virtual kind of mail, too! So I'm stealing borrowing an idea from Sam, who for her birthday asked for enough comments to break her record, which was 35. When I finally clicked over to her, I believe she was at 65! Way to go Sam! So my comment record is only 20 comments on this post, which is awesome! But that shouldn't be too hard to break, right?! So if you could give me a shout out for my birthday, I would love to break my record, and set a new one! That's all I ask of you for my birthday :) Thank you in advance, and in return, I promise to return with reports of all the fun I'll be having this weekend!

I'd like to thank The Academy...

I have recieved my 3rd Oscar Bloggy Award! I'm so excited! Thank you to Susan @ Life in the Psych Ward! She's an amazing, hilarious blogger, if you haven't checked her out, go do it now!! Anyway, check out my beautiful award: Thanks again Susan, I'm honored!! So the rules are I have to name 6 things that make me happy:

1. MY NEW BOYFRIEND :) (More on this later I promise!)
2. Spending time with friends
3. Getting presents!! I love new things
4. Compliments- who doesn't love getting compliments? They make you feel so good!
5. The Internet- lol I couldn't live without it, therefore it makes me happy! :)
6. Making new friends

Now, for the fun part, I get to pass this onto 6 of you!

1. Mrs. Newlywed @ Misadventures of a Newlywed- I can't say enough about this girl! She has the funniest stories, gives the best advice, and is a really hard worker as well as an awesome blogger!
2. Tyne @ The White House- another funny blogger! Her guest post for me when I first got to school was funny, and it's a great representation of her blog!
3. Janah who is So Not Mamalicious- She's new to blogging, but she's awesome! You must go check her out!
4. Leslie @ Got Kids, Need Valium- She's too funny! You can just tell by her blog title she has great stories to tell!
5. Dee @ Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House- This girl is one of my newest blog friends, and she's awesome! Her blog is too cute and I promise you will love it :)
6. Alexis @ A Housewife's Journey to Forever- Her blog is so honest and so cute! I love reading what she's up to in my hometown- Dallas, baby!

So, there you have it! Thanks again, Susan! I promise more on the new boyfriend coming up :) **p.s. sorry if this showed up twice in your readers... I forgot I started this like a week ago, and never finished, and I hit publish before I meant to!**

Disappointing Performance

So lately everyone has been posting these hilarious keyword posts, like the funniest keywords, according to Google Analytics that people Google to get their blogs. So, the first time I read one of these posts I immediately signed up for GA of course, because if you can't jump on blog bandwagons then what's the point right?! haha So, I occasionally check it to see how my site is doing, you know if I can be all like Sally Field and say "They like me, they really like me!" or just bust out in song like "Celebrate good times, come on!". [Why do I feel like all these references are before my time...?"] Anyway, sadly, I can't bust open the champagne sparkling cider just yet, because I have come to the conclusion that if someone were grading my blog, I would get a big fat "F" for a very disappointing performance.

Here are some facts about how popular my blog is:

• So there's that whole graph thing that tells you how many hits you get a day... and there was 1 day that was really high, so I was all excited like "Wow, I must have written something really good that day" yeah... not so much. It was August 22, and I was all "August 22? Wait.. that's when I got to school... did I post that day?" Turns out that's the day Rachel guest posted for me. 129 visits! I wish I was making that up, but I'm really not! I don't have a single post that got even half that! I should give you some kind of award for that, Rachel!
• The only keywords that lead to my site are pretty much a variation of my blog title- Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman. I mean throw in Britney spears before that, or background music, or even notes or spell it wrong like Ia'm not a girl...
• Ok. I lied I do have other keywords, I just didn't know where to find them.. but the disappointing performance still exists... because all but 1 keyword (which happens to be Alpha Chi Omega (my sorority) Fulton MO- very specific and I got a whole 4 visits from it!) have a 100% bounce rate... and their average time spent on my site?? 0:00 Nice.
• Also, not a single one of those keywords is funny in any way! Definitely not porn, or giant purple genitals, or "the thing"anything to do with boobs!
• My second highest day of most visits?? August 25... I didn't even post that day! So, more people come when I don't post than when I do? Hmm
• The award for second best guest post goes to MommaBlogsAlot for the most time spent on one page... the average time was 11 minutes reading your post! Wow!
• I hate complaining on here, because I don't want it to be like a pity party blog, but apparently people like it because my post from the other day when I was feeling down was the most popular so far! Woo hoo! I'll try to be in a bad mood more often... just kidding!
• 85.97% of my traffic... comes from referring sites. So, thank you to those of you who put me on your blog roll or linked to me in some way! At least you guys like me...

So, overall I would say the lesson of the day is get people who write kick ass blog posts to do it for you. Beg people to put you on their blogroll, since that's apparently the only way people come to your site. It's okay to have a pity party, people like pitying you!

And finally... write about crazy things like giant purple genitals (that one has stayed in my head forever) or boobs, and people will come.. maybe crazy people, but people!

**Disclaimer... this post is intended to be humorous, as in I'm poking fun at myself. It is not, I repeat NOT, a pity party. I love to blog & if people like me, great, if not that's ok too!

Letter to Blogger

This seems to be the cool thing to do in bloggy world lately, when you have something to say, put it in an open letter on your blog! Dear Blogger, You and I have had a really great relationship these past few months. And before you get all upset, no I am not breaking up with you! I realize I haven't been around as much lately, but I'm in college, now, you see, and there just isn't time! Plus, when I do have time I'm usually focusing on everyone else's blogs, not my own! Speaking of which, I found out today that you added a new feature. It seems now I have to "follow" the blogs I read. While I think this feature is great, really, I do, I have already given my heart to someone else. I said I wasn't breaking up with you, chill out! I was previously addicted to your blog roll feature, and was using that as a way to keep up with my blogs. But I had to keep refreshing my page, and it was screwing up my stats very time consuming. So, I moved on. I discovered my new love, Google Reader. Yes, I know your new feature works with Google Reader, like a partnership, but it's just not accpetable. I'm not good with change, ok? Plus, I never even go to my dashboard, except to press the edit button. And honestly, I can barely find time to blog these days. When I do go to people's blogs, it's to comment and that's all! And yes, I realize if I am already on their page it's not really out of the way to click on the link to follow them. But what I don't like is that the one's I "follow" on blogger go to a seperate folder, and then I don't know where to find them! So, I will compromise with you, Blogger, because you and I have had a great relationship so far. I will give it a try. I like to make people feel good about themselves, and I want them to know I like their blog and I "follow" them or whatever! So I'll give it a try, but I'm not impressed, or convinced. Just telling you, don't expect anything.

I Need Your Creativity!

I need you, bloggy friends! So, our sorority is hosting a new members party, the first party of the year! And basically we, the new members, get to plan the theme and keep it a secret from the old members until a couple days before, so they have to scatter to get ready!! So we're trying to come up with a theme, and I want to know what ideas you have ?!?! Some things they've done in the past is like dancing through the decades (dress up like a different decade) or cowboy/cowgirl theme! We want something really fun, but not necessarily costume-y, you know ?!?! I'm open to any suggestions! I know you guys are creative, so let me know what you got!

I'm cheating

So I know I'm supposed to be on bloggy vacation and all.. but I'm still here! I'm just not posting... but I'm cheating! Big thanks to Jen & Tyne for filling in for me the last couple days! Also, stay tuned because Dana's up next!! I'm so excited, and I'm loving this whole guest posting thing! I might have to go on "bloggy vacation" more often just so you guys can write greatness for me! lol Anyway, today was my 1st official day at college, so I couldn't resist filing you guys in because I know you're dieing to know! So, yesterday I left and that was really hard. I managed to hold it together until the last minute... when I said good-bye to my sister. Seriously? Hardest thing ever! It breaks my heart that we are so far apart and honestly when I think about it it still makes me sad, but I know we will always be close. So, definitely some tears shed after saying good bye to her. Then when I was finally composed, I got a text from her saying "We better still be friends even though you're gone... I don't want one of your roommates replacing me!" OMG. I seriously started crying again! Anna... I love you & no one will ever take your place! I swear. So blah blah skip the part about dinner and my parents getting drunk sentimental... wait what? So today I arrive on campus... I was super nervous. I honestly asked my mom if we could go home now! I'm not kidding! But, I changed my mind when some very cute FRAT BOYS came to carry my stuff to my room. After that, I was sold. No joke! That's all it took. Later, I met my roommate for the 1st time, and she is awesome. It was great having someone to roam around campus with and just talk about everything! Then there were events to go to all day! Greek life meetings, Ivy Ceremony, House Hop, BBQ dinner, Ice Cream Social, just a ton of stuff to go to all day! (See, I sware I was too busy to blog!) After the BBQ dinner my parents left... it was really hard on my mom. And I was sad to see them go... but honestly I just really click here & I'm happy & excited to start this new chapter of my life & for the 1st time since I've been preparing for this, I can honestly say I'm not scared anymore! Oh, and the best part... I met a cute guy!!! He talked to me after we had a meeting about our dorms... and he was from Plano (a suburb right outside Dallas where I live!). How cool!! So, yeah. That was the best part, well except for maybe the frat boys! lol Well, I probably won't be back.. because, well I want to let the guest posters do their thing. And honestly, in my spare time I'm too busy reading your blogs to worry about my own! lol Well, its 1:00 AM now, and I have a 10 AM meeting to go to... so I guess I should get some sleep!! Don't forget to come check out what Dana has to say, she'll be sure not to disappoint! And, if you are loving these guest posts, and wondering why you didn't get in on the action, IT'S NOT TOO LATE! Rachel is going to post for me later this week I believe, but you too, my friends, can join in! You know you want to...

Top 5 Tuesday

So once again I failed Dana at coming up with a topic! So hopefully next week I will be settled in and not so busy and I'll be able to come up with something in reasonable time! Anyway, she did a great job coming up with a topic, so I don't know why she even needs my help! 

This weeks topic is Top 5 Movie Soundtracks. Love it! 

1. High School Musical/ HSM 2. Yes, I know. Way meant for people younger than me, but 1st of all Zac Efron is so hot, and the songs are just so catchy! I can't help it, I'm obsessed with this soundtrack! "soaring.. flying!" Oh... how I want to be Vanessa Hudgens! 
2. 27 Dresses- so really I'm just obsessed with the one part where they sing Benny & the Jetts, so I don't know if that really counts as liking the whole soundtrack but I love that part and it's music... so soundtrack, work with me! 
3. Freaky Friday- lol again more of a younger movie, but it definitely has a great soundtrack! Lindsay Lohan rocked it in that movie! Those were the days when she was normal... Anyway back to the point. It has a great soundtrack and it's one that my parents and I actually agree on! ha 
4. My Best Friend's Wedding- Again, I love the part where they burst into song (See here), but seriously I find myself singing along to every song in this movie! I love the song at the beginning (Wishing and Hopin.. and thinkin' and prayin'....). Even the part when Julia Roberts steals the bread truck and it's a really random song, I'm singing along! And the karaoke scene! Love it! 
5. Breakfast at Tiffany's- Moon River! Classic! Love it! So maybe it's not the whole soundtrack, but come on, I like the other songs too... are there other songs?! haha 

Well... I hope you enjoyed! Now make your list and head over to Dana's place @ Supernanny Where Are You and link up! I'll come up with something good next week, Dana! 

Words of Wisdom

So being really close to my exit entrance into college, I've gotten a lot of advice, and just a lot of really great comments, so I thought I should put together a bit of a montage!

1. My dad- "Does your backpack have a laptop pocket in it?" Me: "umm... the backpack I used last year?" Dad: "Yeah..." My 15 yr old sister: "Eww no who carries a backpack at college? My dad: "uh... I did." My sister: "That's so dorky! You need a Vera Bradley tote!"
2. "You know you're friends with me on Facebook, so if when you put up pictures of you kissing boys and stuff, I'll see them..." A guy that works with my dad.
3. Party as much as you study... actually study twice as much as you party.
4. Watch out for video's. The next time we see you we don't want it to be on YouTube. 
5. "Don't Die." Wow... gee, thanks. I'll try... 
6. "Hug Abby (our dog)... you're never going to see her again!"- My sister Me: I'm coming back!"
7. "Rush the best...."- My friends at work, trying to convince me their sorority is the best. 
8. Me: "It's going to rain this week during rush? How am I supposed to look good if it's raining?" My dad: "All you need is to be yourself, and you'll look great." Me: Yeah... if only it were that simple. 
9. "Don't drink...ever" 
10. "If you get in trouble, remember I can get you a plane ticket out of there..."- My Uncle who works for Southwest Airlines. 

So, clearly.. people are just full of advice these days! Hope you enjoyed my attempt at comedy thanks to the various people in my life! 

Anyway, I leave bright and early in the morning.. I still have so much to do! I still can't believe it's hear. It just isn't sinking in.. I told my mom the other day I feel like I'm going on vacation. Even as I'm saying good-byes, it hasn't hit me. I get it, but I think once my parents drop me off it will really hit me. Honestly, when I actually let myself think about the fact that this is real, I kind of freak out a little! It's just so surreal, and so scary, but exciting at the same time! 

This week is going to be crazy (it already has been), so I've invited a few of my bloggy friends to entertain you guys while I'm away.. so stay tuned for that! Thank you all for your encouraging words and everything, I love the support!! I will definitely keep everyone updated as much as possible! 

Until next time....

I need you....

In case you haven't heard, next week marks the beginning of my college career! I have a lot of mixed feelings about this, which is a whole other post in itself, but it's coming up really fast. Anyway, I leave on Tuesday! Can you believe it? Me either! So, I need a favor from all of you bloggy friends. I'm going to be really busy next week. I'm going to be going through rush, so there's going to be events every night, etc. Bascially, I really don't think I'm gonna have time to blog. I will definitely be twittering (tweeting? Twitting?) my every move, so you can keep up with me that way, and once it settles down I will definitely right a huge post about everything once I get the chance (hopefully next weekend) but in the mean time, I am wondering if anyone wants to guest post for me. This seems to be the new trend around here in bloggy land, and I want to jump on the bandwagon! So I need like 4 or 5 of you to help me out ?! Starting next Wednesday. I would really appreciate it! If you're interested, let me know! I would love to have you! Also, I apologize for the lack of posts the last few days... the words just aren't coming to me! I'm trying to get something together, but I can't find the words!

I'm Having a [Barking Mad] Dinner Party!!

In case you haven't heard Auds at Barking Mad is hosting a dinner party for all of us bloggers in an attempt to bring the community together! Brilliant, right? Yes, indeed. So I am officially announcing I, Patrice, am hosting my very own 1st dinner party! Now, you'll have to come back and check in because the location is T.B.A. seeing as, well, I'm moving out of my parents home in about a week, and a college dorm is just not a suitable place for a dinner party. So once I get settled in and get to know my new home a little better, I will find the perfect location for the dinner party which will be nothing short of fabulous, because I do not take this responsibility of planning a dinner party lightly! Now as for the guest list... I am fairly new to the bloggy community, and while I have managed to make a few bloggy friends here and there, I'm no Madonna of the blogging community, if you will. So, sit back and listen (read, whatever), because the following people are cordially invited to my 1st ever dinner party: Jen E @ Momma Blogs a lot (and she does!)- my 1st bloggy friend! I could never leave her out. She's my top commenter, and almost always the 1st to comment and offer up advice! She's full of wisdom and pretty darn funny, too! She's currently seeking a new design, so WP gods, help a girl out! She will come to the dinner party with stories of her "MM" (her son) and "SB" (her son's besty!) and she will probably come with stories from the latest books she's read. She may even assign us books we must read before her own dinner party, because this girl loves books. This girl loves a good meme, too, so if you've got one, send it her way! Plus, she's got this blogging thing down- she has like 5 posts a day! How does she do it?!? She'll be sure to contribute greatly to the party! Chelle @ Creative Momma- my amazing bloggy friend who I've only known a short time, but don't know what I would do without! She's a bookworm, too, and she will probably tell us about her awesome book swap. Plus, she'll have great stories to tell about her adorable daughter Bella! I may have to make her help me cook for the party because she's full of great recipes! She's from Missouri, which is so cool, so she may even be able to help us out with the location! If you need anything, or you just need to talk, Chelle is a great person to go to. She will always have something nice and uplifting to say, and can make you smile even when you don't feel like it! Sue @ Happy Meals & Happy Hour- Sue is a blogger who I barely know, but she will undoubtedly be the comedy of the night. Even her comments are funny- she donned me her "youngest commenter ever" (which I consider an honor!) and she even offered me her words of wisdom, so she may have some wisdom for all of us! We can bond over her love for the Jonas Brothers (which is seriously one of the funniest posts I've ever read! So funny I quote it in daily life- not kidding!) She will probably bring drinks, too (even though I'm underage- we don't have to tell anyone! shh!) because she knows how to have a good party! If I have any dead critters to be removed before the party, Sue will be the one to call! She will hopefully bring BG, who also knows how to have a good time. I really hope she accepts this invitation because I would love to get to know her better and I'm sure she will show us a good time! Dana @ Supernanny, Where Are You?- Dana's hosting her own dinner party, but I'm sure we can arrange to schedule our events on different days so she can attend mine! She always has great stories to tell, about her adventures as a mail-carrier, or about her 2 kids being mischievous! She also brings our attention to very important causes such as adding your e-mail address to your blogger account, and my favorite, drunk dialing. Yes, Dana is funny, creative, and she's a great advice-giver as well! She hosts Top 5 Tuesday, which she let me be the 1st ever person (other than her) to pick the theme this week! Thanks, Dana!! She could also help us all out with some new make up since she showcases Mary Kay products. I would be honored to have her as my guest! McMommy @ The McMommy Chronicles- McMommy is what I refer to as a blogging goddess! She amazes me. Her ability to turn something like shaving cream or gum into something hilarious! She claims she isn't funny in real life, which is why I'm inviting her to the dinner party. So we can all see for ourselves how "unfunny" she really is... I'm willing to bet she's a lot funnier than she gives herself credit for! She makes us all feel special with POW, we get to show off our "best" work! She's very popular, she has quite a few fans, so she doesn't always have time for little fish in the blogger- sea like me, but hopefully she can spare a little bit of time to attend the dinner party and entertain us all with her presence! Carol @ Siswick Construction Zone- Carol is quite popular, as well, as she's already attending at least a couple dinner parties, but I think we can all schedule our parties so they don't interfere with one anothers! Carol's one of my newer bloggy friends, but we quickly bonded (at least I think so!). We've bonded over our love of Jodi Picoult books, and she gives great advice like the other bloggy mommy's! She's really funny, too! Hopefully she will leave the stories about poop & poop art out at least until after dinner, but surely she'll have some good stories of her bad parenting! If you click over to her site, be prepared to laugh a lot! Rachel @ Adventures of an American Mum Alien- Rachel is a great photographer, so I would done her the unofficial picture-taker of the dinner party! She was an American Mum, living in England with her 2 cute kiddo's & her hubby. However, aforementioned Hubby is away from them for awhile learning to Scuba, so they are currently back in the U.S. (thus the alien part of her title). I know Rachel's having a hard time with the separation, and who can blame her! So, I'm guessing a night out may be just what she needs to get her mind of it! Rachel is so smart- she designs blogs, she is (like I said) an amazing photographer. She's super-active in the bloggy world- hosting WWWAT & Photography lessons- Get Your Click on! I'm sure Rachel will have great stories to tell, too about being an ex-American Mum! Amanda @ Lifelong Playdate- Amanda gives really good advice as well. Also, her daughter, Beans, is so cute! Amanda will come to the dinner party with stories of all the adventures her and Beans went on that day, and maybe even tell us more about her super-fun bloggy playdate with Heather and Ella! She's so funny & smart, too. She even came up with a bloggy code in case we run into another blogger in real life! I wonder if the bloggy code applies to the dinner party... Jenny @ Happening's of a Little Bubba- Jenny is someone who I've only exchanged comments with once or twice, and we don't know each other all that well. However, I love her blog. Her son is too cute, and she is too funny! I feel from reading her blog that she will contribute greatly to our dinner party. She will warn us of dangerous shower products (her and McMommy will have that in common!) and tell us about the terrible drivers in her neck of the woods. I would love to get to know her better, so I would be thrilled if she would attend! And of course Auds @ Barking Mad- She's hosting this wonderful event so we couldn't dream of leaving her out! I'm sure she will be very busy since she is the guest of honor at so many dinner parties, but hopefully she can make the rounds and make an appearance at all of them! I've only started reading her blog recently, but I love it. It's so honest and very funny!!! She has a daughter my age which is amazing, I would've never guessed she was old enough! She also has a very cute 2 yr. old who is apparently a very good singer. Anyway, so far just within the week that I have been reading Aud's blog, she has been able to make me laugh and make me cry. She's also extremely kind judging by the great advice and encouragement she gave me when I was feeling down. I would be honored to have her attend my party, since after all it was her inspiration that led me to have this party! I love cute little kiddo's, so feel free to bring them! I won't charge for my baby-sitting duties, I swear! RSVP by leaving a comment on this post! Now, like Jen pointed out, it's not a party without crasher's, and there were several more of you I would've loved to invite. It was very hard to choose. I hope that you all will attend, even you crashers! Now head over to your blog and create your own dinner party, then link up at Aud's place.

Top 5 Tuesday

It's that time again, everyone! It's time for Top 5 Tuesday with Dana @ Supernanny, Where Are You! This week Dana so generously allowed me to come up with the topic! I was so honored, and after a lot of thought... I decided we should make it Top 5 Reasons Why You (We) Love to Blog! So I hope you enjoy my topic, and thanks again to Dana for giving me the honor of choosing the topic! So here goes:

1. I have a lot of feelings, and this is a way to express those feelings, and put them into words. It's very therapeutic.
2. I love "meeting" new people. That's one of the best parts about this bloggy world- you meet new poeple, and you bond over your likes, dislikes, etc!
3. Comments, duh! Comments are so fun, and people can be so nice. I love love it when new people come over, and leave comments like "I love your blog" or "You're so funny" <--- I never hear that in real life!
4. The community aspect of it! I love that we are like our own bloggy community! We can rally when someone needs our support, like Heather, and we have our own bloggy parties, like Aud's Dinner parties! It's like being in an exclusive club!
5. It's the easiest way to keep my family updated once I go to school, so I don't have to send out like 100 e-mails a day being like "this is what happened today... blah blah blah" lol

So, thats why I love blogging... why do you love it? Head over to Supernanny Where Are You? and tell us!