RedWrites. So you don't have to.

What does your social media profile say about you?

2009-07-14T10:27:00.006-04:00

At the end of her article on mixing business with pleasure in Social Media, author Jennifer Laycock suggests that there is no right way to build a Social Media profile. As I ponder that thought in relation to the growing popularity of social networking sites, I respectfully disagree with her idea. There is a right way to balance your personal life with your business life in your social media profile, and it is dependent upon what is comfortable to you.

To maintain your professional integrity and personal reputation online, share only the personal information that you would be comfortable sharing with your mother at the dinner table.

Of the myriad social networking websites, few are as popular right now as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The exciting part about each site is the appeal to a variety of demographics, interests and intentions. But each one requires the user to monitor information shared.

LinkedIn is the big professional social network. It’s where you share the highlights of your professional life with others. It’s where you look, either actively or passively, for employment opportunities. It’s where you keep in touch with former co-workers and potential partners. It's where you really don't want those photos of you finishing off a six-pack at the tail-gate last weekend that you posted on another site to accidentally show-up.

Facebook is more commonly knows as a place to connect with family and friends and people with whom you’d like to get a little bit more personal with. Users often consider it more appropriate for sharing off-the-mark comments with people they know on a more familiar level.

But Facebook is also a must-use business tool. Through a Facebook Fan Page, businesses can attract and reach out to a very targeted audience.

And Twitter is like an on-line billboard where you can broadcast your thoughts to the people who chose to listen to them.

Regardless of the social networking site you frequent, follow this rule of thumb to maintain keep your online reputation clean and powerful:

If what you want to say, do, or post isn’t something you would announce to a large crowd of strangers or display on a billboard, than keep it to yourself.
Use privacy settings to distinguish between the people you want to be more intimate with from the ones you’d like to keep more informal.

RedWrites: so you don’t have to.

2009-07-10T21:07:00.005-04:00

I am a professional blogger and creative wordsmith who effectively massages text to clearly and concisely express others’ thoughts and ideas. I am committed to helping small businesses and busy professionals develop, enhance, and maintain an online presence using appropriate social media platforms.

My passion is helping people effectively communicate and confidently represent themselves online. I have a special interest and strength in business copy writing, with emphasis on SEO. Identifying effective keywords and phrases that are unique to your product or service, and using them in your online activities (blog posts, profiles, website copy) greatly enhances the likelihood that potential customers, partners, and employers can find you.

Did you know that recruiters want to know what your online profiles say about you?

Potential employers are just as interested in your online reputation as you are in making online connections with coworkers, friends, and family. Whether you are actively seeking employment or a recruiter stumbles upon your LinkedIn profile, it is crucial that the information you share enhances the reasons you could be a valuable asset to the team.

My services include:

blog creation and maintenance
business copywriting, including blog posts, press releases, white papers,
Profile creation for online social networking sites, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (Think Power-Branded Profile)
Virtual Social Media Assistance

When I’m not writing, editing, and enhancing online identities for small businesses and busy professionals, I enjoy connecting with my own online network of friends, family, business associates, and fans. I also find great pleasure in hearing my 6-year-old daughter read aloud and watching my 4-year-old son ride his two-wheeler without training wheels. And at the end of the day, when the kids are in bed, I love to sit with my husband and watch Two and a Half Men while enjoying a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream: the green kind. It just tastes better to me.

My reasons, seasons, and lifetimes

2009-06-04T13:51:00.004-04:00

I read a great poem once that forever holds a special place in my heart. Today, as I chatted with a friend via Facebook, I knew the person on the other side of the chat window was one of my lifetime friends. No matter how much time passes between phone calls, IMs, or actual face-to-face visits, we act as though we saw each other yesterday. I honestly can't remember the last time I gave him a hug. He lives on the other side of the country, and his visits to the east coast are usually spent with his family. I'm not even sure if he's ever seen my 4.5 year-old son except through pictures.

But none of that truly matters at the very core of our relationship. Because at the end of the day, I know that when we're 75 years old, teasing each other at our 55th high school reunion, that our bind will be as strong then as it was when we were 12. And that either one of us get the other to laugh so hard we might pee just by saying "Boarding school?" in just the right tone of voice.

And I can't forget my dear friend, Virtual Linda. We were college roommates, and if you told me then that we would be the friends we are today, I might have laughed in denial. But the universe has a way of bringing people into my life exactly when I need them. And VirtualLinda has never missed a curtain call. And i am eternally grateful for the role she gets to play in life.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the reason, season, and lifetime souls that cross my path. I may wish a reason would serve for a season. But when I step back and examine the whole picture, I know that we all play the part that's been designed perfectly for us.

Paint your roof white

2009-05-27T07:43:00.004-04:00

I'm all for changing habits and behaviors in the interest of protecting Mother Earth. I teach my kids to reduce, reuse, and recycle regularly. In fact, most days when we walk to and from school, we collect trash and recyclables along the way to properly dispose of them when we get home.

Now, according to this article the US is recommending we paint flat roofs white, or another non-heat absorbing color.

It could work.

But I wonder if the practicality of actually implementing will ultimately be harder and more costly than not making a change.

I mean, really, growing corn to use ethanol as a substitute for petroleum for fuel has not saved the planet anything, but has caused much more damage to the earth in the long run.

Let's really think through these ideas before we make global changes. We don't need another "this will save the planet" idea to end up harder on our Mother Earth.

Irony in the Baltimore Sun

2009-05-13T09:10:00.003-04:00

Is it just me, or is it a little ironic that on the same page the Baltimore Sun features an article about author Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto which lists several rules for eating healthy, is an article about and a huge picture of and article about a deep-fried sandwich that has been deemed MD's ultimate burger?

Shop, save, share, earn: all at one website

2009-05-06T20:39:00.002-04:00

The internet is filled with oodles of sites listing online coupon codes and "deals of the day" announcements. But few combine all of that with a focus on building a community of web-savvy shoppers willing to share the best deals around.

Enter Buxr.com: a site that not only provides the coupon codes for thousands of on-line merchants, but allows its free-to-join community of members to provide details of other sales not provided by Buxr.com. Sales could be on-line or in-store, and once details of the sale are provided on the site, you are entered to win one of five cash prizes in the daily deal contest. To win your share of the cash in the daily contest, you have to collect the most votes from your fellow deal finders. Winners in the daily deal contests are awarded points that get tallied monthly to determine monthly winners, who split a $700 kitty.

It's an intriguing idea: provide as many coupon codes as you can, but encourage others to share what they know by motivating them with money.

Who isn't motivated by money?

I like the discussion board feature where you can ask fellow Buxr-ites to get feedback or suggestions on various products. As far as I know, the best reason to buy or avoid a certain product is the feedback of customers who've used it before me.

Through Buxr.com, you really can save while you shop and earn while you share.

Life is a Roller Coaster Ride...

2009-04-15T08:37:00.003-04:00

I heard this song the other day on my drive home from... somewhere. It's been a while since I could call a song my life theme. And this one is perfect. Here's the link to the video.

And here are the lyrics. They speak volumes to me.

Ride lyrics
Songwriters: Davey, Michael; Dorff, Andrew; Robbins, Chris;

Yeah

You wake up from your dreamin' and you don't want to face the day
You can't find a reason to think your world will ever change
You can hide beneath the covers
Or you can run outside, head up high and carry on

Life is a roller coaster ride
Time turns the wheel and love collides
Faith is believing you can close your eyes and touch the sky
To shine while you have the chance to shine
Laugh even when you want to cry
Hold on tight to what you feel inside and ride

It brings you up slowly then shoots you like a rocket towards the ground
It twists you and it shakes you before it turns you upside down
You can't see what's around the corner
And you can't look back, so just live it up and feel the rush

Life is a roller coaster ride
Time turns the wheel and love collides
Faith is believing you can close your eyes and touch the sky
So shine while you have the chance to shine
Laugh even when you want to cry
Hold on tight to what you feel inside and ride

Ride, ride, yeah

Oh yeah, shine while you have the chance to shine
Laugh even when you want to cry
Hold on tight to what you feel inside and ride

Ride, ride, yeah, yeah

Surprising the kids with a trip to the circus

2009-03-16T18:42:00.003-04:00

I'm so jazzed that my husband and I scored tickets to this year's Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus. We hadn't originally planned to go, since this year has already taken us to Disney World and on two ski trips.

But then this deal landed in our laps, and we're going.

The kids don't know yet. Since we love to surprise our little ones (and because the "how much longer" game is really un-fun for us) we probably won't tell them until we park at 1st Mariner Arena next week for the big event.

Want details on how you can score a great deal on tickets yourself? Check out this post over on Minivan Monologue.

Words from my brother of another mother

2009-03-01T17:19:00.007-05:00

Let me tell you about my friend Bwana. We went to high school together and good ol' Laurel High. We were there when busing kids from one part of the PG County to another in achieve racial balance was all the rage. We were in what was called the "University High School" program (UHS). Supposedly, UHS was supposed to better prepare us all for college. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. What I do know, is that because of UHS I got to meet lots of really cool kids that I wouldn't have otherwise had exposure to, and for that, I'm grateful.

I'm not sure if Bwana and I were in much of the same classes. I want to say we had 10th grade English with Mrs. Lietch, but I'm just not sure. And I think he played football... for some reason I can picture him in a Spartan football uniform running out to the field. I was a cheerleader for a couple of years, so you'd think I'd remember the guys on the team. Can I just blame my lack of certainty on my ADD brain that even then had a hard time paying attention to all sorts of things?

What I do remember of him is that he was tall and mysterious. He was one of the cool boys who would make eye contact and nod his head in acknowledgment of the people he knew as he walked down the hall. He was quiet most of the time, probably because he was always thinking about something, processing whatever was going on around him. He stuck with his crowd and I stuck with mine (although, I don't think I actually had a crowd, but that's a completely different subject for another post).

Through the power of Facebook, I've come across many of the people who shared my years at Laurel. Some are now my friends. Bwana is one of the people via FB's People You May Know tool. My motivation for friending him stems from my reunion planning involvement. The easier it is to contact classmates, the easier it is to plan a reunion. But curiosity got the better of me one day and I started checking out his profile. Turns out he's a fantastic photographer. I started IMing him about his business, and we've had some fun conversations since.

Last week, he wrote a note to some of his lady friends. I loved what he had to say, and wanted to share it with the masses. He's a neat person. I didn't really know him in high school. But, I'm glad I get another chance to know him now. Here is what he had to say, and something I think is worth sharing to a larger audience.

There are very few women who understand the minds of men. I purposely say men and not a man because even fewer of you have ever met a MAN but that's another topic. When you have never experienced the real thing, it is almost impossible to detect a fake. Having never owned a real coach bag, is it wise to purchase one solely based on a claim from the seller guaranteeing its authenticity? If I faced that situation, I imagine that I would seek the wisdom of someone who had knowledge of what an authentic Coach bag looked like.

One of my sisters purchased a coach bag unsure of its authenticity and was then disappointed when its lack of quality construction and materials led to a short life span and subsequent embarrassment. Are you lost? I am merely using the impostor handbag as a substitute for the boys among us that are preying on woman desperately seeking MEN to LOVE but really have no idea what either word truly looks or feels like.

Ladies, you do have resources. Please use them. I have been a big and little brother to many of you and nothing saddens me more than seeing you hurt and mislead when it could have been avoided.

Specific Clarification:
Your virtue has value!
it is irreplaceable for the mentally, physically, spiritually and socially healthy women.

It is coveted by men and boys.

It is priceless to your husband.

The word booty has been used throughout history to describe treasure!!
Think about it.....

I love you all!

Your Brother,
Bwana

I'm siding with the Roses

2009-02-26T21:50:00.003-05:00

Please tell me that the article in this week's Columbia Flyer about a local couple, living in Columbia for 30 years, is fighting to keep the vinyl siding they installed 16 years ago because someone just now decided to report the violation isn't true.

Really?

Is this what our community has come to?

Isn't there some kind of statute of limitations that could apply here? According to the article:

(Susan Rose)said she and her husband just wanted to install a higher-quality, lower-maintenance siding. They found the original vertical siding made of “pressed cardboard” to be problematic, because the vertical design, paired with the lack of an overhanging roof, meant that rain water would pool along the baseboard, rotting the siding and fostering the growth of unsightly green fungus.

Weary of the amount of time and money it took to clean the siding and have it repainted every few years, the Roses decided to switch to horizontal wood-textured vinyl siding.

Seems to me, the covenants need to be updated if they require residents to maintain a flawed design in the first place.

Form should follow function. Siding should protect our homes, not provide a breeding ground for mold, mildew, and rot.

It may be true that the Roses didn't follow the procedure. But is a 16 year gap in the process worthy of all this energy? Are we really going to ask these people to spend $10K+ to fix a problem that shouldn't even be a problem?

I hope not.

Our residents will be better served if the bad rules are changed.

Just my opinion.

She Got Inked

2009-02-25T18:32:00.002-05:00

"Not I," said the little brown fox. My big sis. On Saturday morning I had a picture of a tattoo waiting for me in my cell phone's inbox. Wow! My sister got a tattoo.

Now, I must preface this post with the following disclaimer: my sister is, and has always been, one of the coolest people I know. So my opinion of her addition may be a little biased.

For years growing up, I wanted to be her. through my five-years-younger-than-she-is eyes, she's always had this sense of style, humor, and approach to life. Not to say her life has ever been or is now perfect; trust me, she's had her fair share of struggles and challenges to overcome. Still does. That's part of being human.

But still, she's my big sis. And as cool as she is, I never imagined she'd get a tattoo. I'm the one who married the inked, motorcycle riding sailor. If either of us was going to get one, I for sure figured it would have been me. I'm still in the wanna-get-inked-someday club. Aside from the cost, pain, and permanence of said body art, the practical part of me has taken over every time the opportunity has presented itself. Not to mention I'm too indecisive of which symbol(s) to have etched into my body. I'm not the type to go into the studio and pick a design off the wall. Nope, mine has to be original, and must encompass all that I believe and love. The problem is, somewhere inside I'm not sure if what I believe now is what I will believe in another 20 years and then what?

That's code language for "what do I actually believe?"

But then my sister gets a tattoo. My sister, who has traveled on more airplanes in the last 6 months to L.A. to visit her one-day-world-famous-son than I think she has in her entire life. My sister, who beautifully (although painfully) let said son go across the country by himself in the first place (how brave is THAT?). My sister who faces whatever challenges life (or idiots) throw in front of her with grace and dignity.

Yep, I still wanna be just like my big sister. I'm going to follow her lead and ask my Auntie N to design something for me too. Let's make it a family affair, shall we?

And I'm going to get my tattoo for as a Mother's Day gift to myself.

Because I want to be just like my big sister... who stands proudly and embraces who she is, inside and out.

Proud to be a trash lady

2009-02-20T11:45:00.001-05:00

I'm often amazed at the amount of trash blowing down the street and stuck in bush branches on a public field. Or fences. Or any of the paths in Columbia. When I worked at Hersheypark all those summers ago, one of the tasks we supervisor-types got really good at was locating and disposing of trash.

I guess the habit really stuck, because rarely can I go anywhere without finding trash on the ground. And most of the time, I pick it up and, more often than not, either bring it home to recycle or toss in the can.

It's become such a habit that even my six-year-old daughter points it out to me:

"Uh, mom? Look! Here's trash!"

My reply is typically, "Very good! Let's take it home and take care of it." And sometimes, she even picks it up. I draw the line at allowing my children to handle anything that looks like it might draw blood or even remotely resembles anything that might have someone else's body fluid. Luckily, those items are the rare exception to what we find. Usually, it's plastic bottles, food wrappers, and misplaced schoolwork.

It's become such a ritual that I'm contemplating carrying plastic grocery bags around so that I have some place to keep the trash until I get home. One day, on the walk home from school, I found so much trash on the path that I simply couldn't hold any more. I was sad that I needed to leave some behind, but pleased I took the time to clean up the neighborhood at least a little.

You see, I don't care if my neighbors care whether or not they have trash blowing by their homes, down the street, or collecting at the school yard or playgrounds.

I care. It matters to me. And it matters that I teach my children that we must care for the world we live in: one piece of trash at a time.

2.5 Years - exercise + lots of food = 20 pounds of goo

2009-02-17T08:10:00.002-05:00

2.5 years ago I stopped doing the Columbia Association's Boot Camp class at the Athletic Club. I stopped because I got tired of having my time wasted: to be on time, I had to leave 30 minutes before the class start time so I could get the kids all settled in Kid Space. They were 2 & 4. I would be there on time, but the instructor would arrive late, which drove me nuts.

So I made that a reason to stop going to the class I loved: I was 2 pounds away from pre-Princess weight and 12 pounds away from the goal weight a doctor asked me to shoot for seve4ral years before.

I felt good. I looked good... yet I still felt fat and unattractive. Now I look at pictures of me from back then and wonder what on earth I was so worried about. Because that body looked great!

Since stopping Boot Camp - I pretty much stopped running altogether. Which is dumb - because running is the only exercise I've been able to do that doesn't feel like a boring chore. When I run, I'm free; my mind goes blank and the sounds and smells of nature surround me in a soothing embrace.

Yesterday I had to stand on a scale. Blech! I'd avoided that for as long as I could as my way of denying my expanded midsection and backside. But there it was, loud and clear: the result of my 2.5 years of slovenly living.

Boot Camp starts another 8 week cycle on Feb 23. I'm going. And I'm going to melt the goo one class at a time. The class start time is 15 minutes later than it was before, so I won't have the excuse of wasted time. Plus, I only have one 4-year-old child to get to Kid Space.

I'm certain it will take less than 2.5 years to drop the 20 pounds I've collected since quitting Boot Camp. But, it's not a race for that. The important thing is, I'll have a healthier routine again in no time.

Who doesn't love Free Shipping?

2009-02-15T17:31:00.004-05:00

Never in my wildest imagination did I ever dream that I would shop on-line as often as I do today. I remember vividly conversations with a former co-worker centered around how people would spend less time going to malls and specialty stores and more time shopping from home through the computer. I remember telling him shopping on-line would never replace my need to touch, feel, and see something before I bought it.

8 years and 2 kids later and I LOVE to shop on-line. The amount of time and energy I save because I can just pick out what I want with the click of a button bar far outweighs touching and feeling a product. Not having to spend an hour saying, "No, we're not getting that today," or "Please, put that down," or "Yes, it's very sute, the answer is no" to my 6 and 4 year old children is unbelievably refreshing. Since I'm always looking for a good deal on something I can't tell you how cool it is to come across sites like FreeShipping.org.

Check this out: I opened an account and found all of my favorite stores (like Kohls, Target, Gap, and American Eagle). And about once a week I go in and check to see what the hot new deal is of the week. It's so awesome to have once place to go that lists all the deals. FreeShipping.org allows me to spend less time Googling for deals and more time on what matters most: taking care of my family.

Yes, I'm still alive

2008-12-11T08:49:00.003-05:00

Today in my gmail inbox, I had 3 messages related to blogging. So, I'm taking it as a sign that the universe is telling me it's time to get off my backside and start paying attention to my blogs.

Since my last post (dated July 1... wow!) my daughter has started kindergarten and my son has successfully made the transition out of diapers. And I've learned that proper medication to control one's mental issues is key to a harmonious life.

If it's true that there is a season for everything, I think it's safe to say I'm again in the season for tending to my blogs.

Fingers crossed - I'm back!

This will totally make you laugh

2008-07-01T12:55:00.002-04:00

I've never really been a big fan of shows like America's Funniest Videos that broadcasts people getting caught doing silly things. I don't enjoy laughing at other people's misfortunes.

But, then I saw ABC's Wipeout... and I'm hooked. This is hysterical... and I feel comfortable watching it because these people SIGNED UP FOR IT!

I'm not sure if it's the commentary, or the people getting wet and dirty that is so funny. Watch, laugh, and enjoy!

Say thank you, anytime, anywhere

2008-06-06T15:49:00.001-04:00

The Gratitude Campaign

Another new blog

2008-05-28T09:28:00.003-04:00

One of the things that makes a blog successful is it's uniqueness of topic and target search word. Based on a recent conversation with one of my favorite people (which may come as a shock to him :D ), I've created a new word - and hope it will become a rather entertaining blog. It's very micro-niche... and you can find it here: Neighb-Orbs

PS: I'm looking for people willing to use their yards as subjects for future posts!

Introducing Minivan Monologue

2008-05-23T09:51:00.002-04:00

I started a new blog called Minivan Monologue. My inaugural post includes the video I made for the teachers at my daughter's pre-school. Red Writes will be full of my random thoughts (when I jot them down for the world to view). Minivan Monologue will be full of posts about the life and times of my mommy journey.

There is a season for everything - and a place to share it all too.

Enjoy the video :)

Thanks to Anonymous, I have a blog post today

2008-05-13T03:36:00.002-04:00

Yesterday in my email inbox, I received a fabulous comment from Anonymous regarding my post here about the Democratic nominee race.

Blog comments are great - I love when people take time out of their days to share a thought that either agrees with or disagrees with mine. I love it even more when a shared thought prompts a blog post. So, thank you, Anonymous, for responding and inspiring me.

Here is the comment:

It is still a MAN's world and we may never see a woman in the White House. What amazes me however is the amount of women who will not vote for a competent person as Hillary. Shame on them and I hope I never hear another woman complaining about the glass ceiling. It is their fault that it will remain. Men haven't been able to get the job done for over two hundred years and I am sure HILLARY would have made a great president. It is not meant to be, even though there are more women in this world, but they are too stupid, and too jealous, and too intimidated by a strong,intelligent, working mother like Hillary Clinton. Hillary,you will always have my vote!!

This person is clearly a passionate Hillary Clinton fan. Great! Get behind your candidate of choice 100%. I'm a little sad that this person has given up, when Mrs. Clinton hasn't yet. She still believes that she can win the nomination. Too bad some of her supporters are giving up. That's the unfortunate power of a biased media more than anything else. At least in my opinion.

Electing a person should be about the facts: what a person has done/not done in their life and how their record matches up with prior commitments. But, perhaps due to an insane number of years spending more time building publicly educated children's characters and less about the political process (and other subjects for that matter), voters are not taking the time to look at factual information as closely as they need to before casting a vote. Media taps into emotions, and whomever develops,designs and creates the candidate messages that make people feel the most good will win. Our country has raised a couple of generations of people who must feel good even when they're wrong: No, Bobbi, 2+2 does not = 5. But look at how boldly you gave your answer to the class. I like how you believed in yourself enough to try.

Really, the better response would be "No, Bobbi, 2+2 does not = 5. Does anyone else want to try?

But I digress.

I think it's sad that I should be expected to support Hillary Clinton simply because I am a woman and so is she. I agree with the author over here who says that is sexism. I'm sad that voters are using gender or race as a primary focus on their decision. I'm sure it's happening. It's also sad to assume that members of a specific gender or race choose not to vote for a particular candidate are doing that group disservice.

Check out this blogger's comments on the issue. I'm particularly fond of her changes to a quote made by Gloria Steinem found at the bottom of the post.

Speaking of Ms. Steinem, I found both of the above linked-to articles searching fro a quote I remember reading in the Washington Post or the Examiner a few weeks back. Ir said something along the lines of women not needing to support Hillary Clinton simply because she's a woman.

Anonymous says:

What amazes me however is the amount of women who will not vote for a competent person as Hillary. Shame on them and I hope I never hear another woman complaining about the glass ceiling. It is their fault that it will remain.

To that I reply:

A) I'm too old to believe that I must take the fall for someone else's view of the state of the world

B) I was raised to stand behind what I feel is right based on educated research and non-biased data (which is tough to find these days)

C) I was also raised to believe it is my civic duty to vote, and tend only to get into political conversations with people who actually vote. I believe non-voters are the people who do not have a right to complain about their world - not the ones who vote for the candidate that ultimately loses.

D) I've written enough for this morning and now it's time to go back to bed (at 5AM when I've been awake since 3:30)

Play games, and give water to those who need it

2008-05-02T07:49:00.002-04:00

One of the causes I belong to on my Facebook account is PlayPumps International. I learned about them last month when the youth in our church gave a presentation on them. As a group, they're trying to raise awareness, and money, so they can get a pump installe. Today, I received the following message from PlayPumps International. It's a way to donate money without actually digging into your pocket. You just have to visit this site and play an online game.

Happy Friday - and in the name of charity, go play this game :) And now, the message from PayPumps International:

Want to flex your music trivia muscles and support a great cause? Now, you can play online and help support PlayPumps International.

Visit www.savetheworldwithmusic.com to play this fun, free online music trivia game. Every music trivia question you answer correctly will provide clean water for one person for a day. The more you answer correctly, the more water you give. Keep answering questions for as long as you like - the quiz is never-ending and every right answer supports our efforts!

So go on, test your music trivia knowledge and help support clean water for Africa. Visit savetheworldwithmusic.com and be sure to tell your Facebook friends and colleagues about this great game.

So many orbs!

2008-04-27T12:33:00.012-04:00

Many who know me are aware that I believe in an after-life. What many do not know is how much I dig ghost tours and walks through grave yards... especially on a ghost tour.

I've never had my camera on a ghost tour. Not until Friday night when my One-and-Only (OAO) and I were in Strasburg, PA and decided to take their tour.

One of the last stops was at the cemetery. Our guide suggested that if we had digital cameras, we should snap pictures to see what appears. Never having experimented with graveyard photography, I seriously thought she was kidding. Like I was gonna snap a picture and get and orb. The first picture, we thought the orbs were street lights - until further examination showed they were too high in the sky for that.

Then, I got all jazzed and started taking pictures. Surely, there was something on my camera lens or something... or not?

So then I'm just snapping pictures. I got this great one before I knew that it was the head stone for a woman named Annie - who haunts the most haunted house in Strasburg.

And it seems the spirit in that first picture is hanging around in the second one (when I knew it was Annie's grave).

When we left the graveyard, I just snapped a picture to see what would appear:

Before we got to the grave yard, we heard about Annie and her hauntings at this GORGEOUS house on Main Street. I was just snapping pictures of a pretty house. Wasn't even hoping for an orb... can you see it by the chair on the porch? FYI, that big circle at the top is the porch light. Duh.

After the graveyard, we went back to the haunted house... and snapped this.

I've decided when I go into old towns with lots of history, I'm gonna have to take my camera and just start snapping :) It just confirms my belief that spirits are always around us!

Thnks fr th Mmrs

2008-04-22T05:49:00.003-04:00

One of the perks to my One and Only having an alarm that goes off at o'dark-thirty (about 5 AM) during the work week is that we either get to listen to some funny stuff from the previous day's morning show or, if we're really lucky, we get to hear a great song for the first time. When I was among the professional population and could listen to music on the commute to the office or all day at my desk, I knew a whole lot more current music from various genres and artists. These days, the bulk of my music knowledge consists of young pop stars family-friendly enough to be seen all over the Disney Channel (think Hannah Montana and High School Music soundtracks).

But this morning, OAO and I heard a song we liked so much that neither of us insisted on hitting the snooze button even once. And within about 2 minutes of OAO rising, he called the station to see who it was and what it was called. All we remembered was a great beat and the words "Thanks for the Memories." I could just close my eyes and dance to this song all day.

Turns out it's Fall Out Boy, and after a lengthy search on iTunes at about 5:20AM this morning, the actual title of the song is Thnks fr th Mmrs. It's from the CD Infinity on High (what a great title!) BTW, if you check out their website, you can listen to all of their music before you buy it. Sweet!

Here's the video on YouTube:

And for those of you who enjoy lyrics - here you go!

I'm gonna make you bend and break
(it sent you to me without wings)
Say a prayer, but let the good times roll
In case God doesn't show
(let the good times roll, let the good times roll)
And I want these words to make things right
But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life
Who does he think he is?
If that's the worst you've got, better put your fingers back to the keys

One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter

One night yeah and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
See he tastes like you only sweeter
Ohhhhhh

Been looking forward to the future
But my eyesight is going bad
In this crystal ball
It's always cloudy except for (except for)
When you look into the past (look into the past)
One night stand. (One night stand, off!)

One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter

One night yeah one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
See, he tastes like you only sweeter
Ohhhh

(They say) I only think in the form of crunching numbers
In hotel rooms, collecting page-six lovers
Get me out of my mind
Get you out of those clothes
I'm a line away
From getting you into the mood (wa-ooooohhh)

One night and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great
He tastes like you only sweeter

One night yeah one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories
See, he tastes like you only sweeter

One night and one more time (one more night, one more time)
Thanks for the memories
Even though they weren't so great (even though they weren't so great)
He tastes like you only sweeter

One night yeah one more time (one more night, one more time)
Thanks for the memories (for the memories)
Thanks for the memories (for the memories)
See, he tastes like you only sweeter

I better get moving. The kiddles will be up soon, and we have much to do on the day before their big trip to meet the most famous mouse in the world!

Countdown to a new release from the Weepies

2008-04-18T08:25:00.003-04:00

I first wrote of the Weepies back in January when I shared my thoughts on the movie Because I Said So. Click here for a refresher and to hear the song that made me fall in love with music by the Weepies.

The way I see it, you know your music is good when it's picked for TV commercials and movie sound tracks, not to mention hundreds of thousands of itunes downloads. I got to hear a sneak peak of the first song to be released from their new CD and it's awesome. It's called Hideaway. Give it a try. You're gonna love it too, especially if you're someone who, like me, goes in to hiding now and again in an effort to discover a new layer, meaning, and purpose.

The iTunes button below will take you straight to a page where you can pre-order the new CD (set for an April 22 release) and as a special treat, you'll get Hideaway immediately!

I hope you like the new song as much as I do. Music from the Hideaway CD is already set to be featured in Sex & the City: The Movie (in theaters May 30, for all those anxiously awaiting opening day!), not to mention various magazines and music websites (Billboard.com, for example).

Music that speaks to the soul - that's what the Weepies produce. And that's why I like them so much.

I am this song

2008-03-31T07:29:00.003-04:00

According to the "What song are you" quiz on Facebook, I am "Yellow" by Coldplay.

I'll have to listen to it and read the lyrics a few times before I understand that one :)

Yellow

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.
I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called "Yellow".
So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all "Yellow."

Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.
I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.
Cos you were all "Yellow",

I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all "Yellow."

Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
And you know,
For you I'd bleed myself dry,
For you I'd bleed myself dry.

It's true,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine.

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.