three day blog

interrogation

2008-07-22T22:42:00.001-07:00

So I have a question, or two, for all of you. It concerns bloggers and non-bloggers alike.

What attracts you to the blogs that you like?

What keeps you coming back?

What detracts from one?

What makes you decide you don't like a particular blog?

Each question that I am asking pertains to content, appearance and any other aspects of blogs.
So speak up, comment...be heard.
I am very interested to know.
If you have been reading and you have never commented...then consider this your big chance.
I would love to hear from you.

hot diggity blog

2008-07-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Update Below

The whole blogging phenomenon is quite fascinating and the reasons for having one is varied. I have met so many people and been invited into so many lives and in turn invited others in. I have learned much in the past year and still have immeasurably more to learn.

On a side note, I did design the blog header and footer for a friend/blogger so by all means check it out Link update: http://browneyedgirl30.blogspot.com and be sure and leave her a comment telling her how lucky she is to have a friend like me....hee hee...oh man, I crack me up.

When I asked why you all blogged---I got the answers that I think are pretty typical reasons for everyone yet each and every blog is as unique as a

fingerprint.

And by the way.... about my mom reading my blog. She only reads it when I ask "mom, did you read my blog?" Then she scrambles to get caught up.

Even worse is my husband...he only reads because he fears retribution.

My best friend reads it for entertainment...not the entertainment I am striving for here at three day blog...

...more the, my best friend Rachel is a complete nerd, type of entertainment.

If you missed it---here are the comments from my last blog post--your own personal reasons:

tenpounds said...: That's a good question. It will be interesting to read what others have to say. I blog to have a place to put my thoughts--and to have the good fortune of meeting you!

Shane Vander Hart said...: I blog to share my thoughts on life, culture, news, politics, and theology. I think everybody is entitled to my opinion! I also enjoy the interaction when people comment. It helps me to be better read as well.
Mamacita Chilena said...: hmm, I used to blog to get things off my chest. Then when I realized other people were actually reading, sometimes I would blog to start interesting discussions or to try and see if other people were going through similar experiences. I guess my main motivations vary, depending on the day.
LikeAstaR said...: wait... your mom reads your blog? Wish mine did. Just kidding, she occasionally drops by. I started to blog to maintain relationships with family that lives far away, it has morphed into a more social network.. like you said.. no matter how "nerdy!"

Gustogirl said...: Pretty much the same reason you do, except I wish my mom would read my blog. If she does, she is a silent reader because she never comments.
Felicia said...: Yep, all that stuff you said is true. I like to keep a record of good things that happen so that the bad stuff fades away :)

what is the point?

2008-07-12T04:37:00.001-07:00

...so then I asked myself..."what is the point of blogging?"
"Nothing."
I answer myself, you see.
Just like a real honest to goodness crazy person.

Nope...no point to blogging, except for the creative outlet, coupled with the satisfaction of seeing some proof that our nerdly existence is accepted...even if it's only by other nerdly bloggers like ourselves.
...you know...that reach out and touch someone, happy feeling that all of us social networkers get when someone "gets" us.
We haven't had that kind of acceptance since---well...since mom started reading our blogs on day one.
And that feeling, my friends, is what keeps us going.

Leave me a comment and tell me what is your main motivation?

Why do you blog...?

blog designing fool

2008-07-12T03:11:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: (I need to do a huge shout out to Amanda Fazani at Blogger Buster---because without her tutorials I would not have been able to do this. You can definitely find template tutorials on the web but they are not always clear or updated. With Blogger Buster, everything you need is in one spot and very easy to understand. However, if you are more interested in the social side of blogging rather than the technical---then I think playgroupsarenoplaceforchildren is a great place to start. Jennifer has some great ideas, backed by experience, along with useful links, all in a neat concise little series)
End of update.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
So I have finally unveiled my new blog (re)design.
What do you think?
If you are having trouble remembering exactly what it looked like before... here is a screenshot, taken shortly before I started fiddling with it.

You may have to click on it to get a better look.

go ahead
click...
...you know you have to

cure
ee
os
it
tee

hee hee hee

Some of the new features are--
a custom header, as well as, less ~~useless garbage~~ information in the sidebar plus I now have tabs that you can click on to navigate---which is what helped me declutter my sidebar. Less noticeable, but no less important, I have widened the post section, sidebar section, and wrapper to fit a standard computer screen. Classic blogger templates tended to be a little on the narrow side so that people with most size monitors would have no trouble seeing all of our precious, bloggy goodness. But now that we are all getting on board with the no computers manufactured before 1996, bandwagon, we can all afford to loosen up the belt buckle and let it all hang out---
so to speak...
---not literally...please.

Just a note: I use Firefox as my browser (I highly recommend it) and everything seems to be fine. After checking internet explorer (I highly recommend running, not walking, away from IE) everything seems to be visible there, as well. If you use another browser or system and find that you are not seeing three day blog in all of it's glory...please let me know what you use, along with the problem you are having, and I will try to fix it. I want my frighteningly pointless blog to be accessible to everyone---regardless of race, creed, or computer preference.

So now it is up to you to tell me, good or bad, what you think of the redesign. I am open to all comments, opinions, suggestions, and especially compliments. I don't even require them to be sincere...I take what I can get and I like it!
But honestly folks...I really am open to the opinions and suggestions...I am very interested in what visually appeals to the typical blog reader. What am I doing wrong...or right...or could do a bit better. If you don't speak up now then you will be stuck looking at this blog design for at least a year---or five minutes...

however long it takes to change my mind...

can you say procrastination?

2008-06-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

So you in case you are wondering where I am and why the heck I am not here working on and contributing to my blog. I am very busy doing important things like taking this quiz:

Created by OnePlusYou

april fools??!?

2008-06-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

After going through major blog withdrawal, I have decided that the comeback from my "bloggatical from sogging," as shauna calls it, will be sooner rather than later. Just as soon as I wrap my mind around some of these HTML codes and redesign the blog, I will be back to annoy you all further ....

~thanks to all the comments of support...and keep them coming...it gives me something to read while I muddle the design of my blog~

signing off....for now

2008-05-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

It has been wonderful and fun, but for the time being, and with a heavy heart, I am taking a blog sabbatical.
Would that be a bloggatical?
Or a sablogital?
Whatever it is, I will miss you and I hope you will miss me and welcome me back with open arms if and when I return.

everyday is mother's day here at three day blog

2008-05-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

Since I missed a good opportunity to post on Mother's day....I will inflict a post on you now. This didn't happen on Mother's day but it is about my mother.
I know...
I don't even make sense to myself.

The other day my mother and I were having a deep, earth changing conversation when it suddenly turned to poetry.
I won't say that my mom changed the subject to poetry so that she could share her own poems but when she said "hey, let's talk about poetry...want to hear mine?"
...the conversation naturally drifted there.
I was a bit hesitant to listen, so I tried to hint as gently as I could with: "mom please don't read me any of your poetry...you know I hate that crap."
My mom, who always tried to teach me perseverance, replied "you are my daughter so you have to listen to it...in fact if you don't, I may just read you some of my short stories as well."
So as she started in on the first poem I tried to be a gracious listener.
I really and truly tried.
I am just a terrible person though.
The more emotionally distraught the poems were, the more they made me laugh. These were written in complete desolation of mind and spirit...they were hilarious.
I still say she asked for it, though.
I warned her.
I noticed there where some recurrent themes that showed up many times in her work such as: emptiness, heartbreak, vacant souls, mirrors---both unbroken and shattered, lost sanity. Oh the heartbreak of a soul shattering loss of sanity.
Well... you get the idea. But just in case you don't, I would like to give you a sample.

I would die for you.
Perhaps I already have.
Slowly selling parts of my soul,
the pain is unbearable.
I am in ecstasy.
I am in hell.

It goes on from there but I was laughing so hard at the first two lines that I couldn't breathe.
Let this be a warning to anyone who may want to share their poetry with me. Unless you are Edgar Allen Poe, I kindly say to you: shove it.
I tell you, my poor mom...she has to put up with a lot (with me being normal and all...hee hee...just kidding mom.) I ended up embellishing the poem a bit for her and even had her chuckling to herself about it.
Here is the first part of the poem once again but with my additions.
I personally think it lends something to it.

I would die for you.
Perhaps I already have.
wait....
let me check...
nope...
still here.

Anyway to make a short story long she doesn't really share her poetry with me anymore.
Sometimes Mom's can be weird that way.

gemelos

2008-05-19T13:41:00.001-07:00

Is it just me, or does my son resemble
Gilbert Gottfried?

Siqueiros, Orozco, Tamayo and Anthony

2008-05-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

My son Anthony, it turns out, is a genius. It is always comfortable to have at least one of these in the family.
And since it very apparently wasn't going to be me---I am glad that one of my children is.
I have for you exhibit A:

At first glance it appears to be the typical scrawl of an average 6 year old.

Not so, though. Take a second look and the genius of it gradually comes into focus.
First you have the main part of the picture which shows a painter--as evidenced by the objects I have pointed out.

Here I have circled the easel as to draw your attention to the fact the painter is at work on a self portrait.

In this other circle, which is rather difficult to see, there is a second painter painting his own self portrait. Now he is dealing with the subject of infinity... I know, right?

And if you notice on this last circle...all this genius can be had for a mere one dollar!

I bet you were thinking he wouldn't charge me, his own mother. But if you know Anthony then you already know he made me pay.
I think it might be because he loves sumbuty els.

go away

2008-05-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I had an open house. It was wildly successful. Well... it was successful if you expect no one to actually buy your home... We did get quite a few people, though....and I am not even counting the neighbors or previous owners. We had a Realtor tell us that ours was the best home he had been in all day. My thought at that moment was "good thing he doesn't know that on any given day this house is typically held together by spilled cheerios and dirty laundry." I also would bet good money that it was the smallest house that he had been in all day, as well.

I thought it would be a swell idea to ~~make my mom~~ bake some cookies and brownies and offer coffee to lure in the suck---er I mean possible buyers. It worked like a charm. By the time that my mom and I had finished the last of the goodies--we were both committed to buying the house.

So since it was such a blast I am doing it again...this Saturday.

Anyone want any cookies?

They are free...

...with every house purchase.

The house of "Threedayblog" fame~

Nerds at work

Yes Susie...I know my basooms are having themselves a little peepshow...

--that's special, just for you.

oh...so that's what you needed them for.

2008-04-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here is why I required corn torntillas.......

I don't know which was better...the tacos or the sweet taste of success, cooking an authentic Mexican meal....it was delicious... One out of 300 ain't bad, right?

say what?!?

2008-04-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

Edgard: Hi...so I am getting out of here. I'm on my way home.

Me: okay...hey can you stop by the store and get tortillas? I would have picked them up but I thought we had some in the freezer....they must not have made it through the great freezer debacle of '07.*

Edgard: Sure, I can get some corn torntillas.

Me: What did you say?

Edgard: Torntillas.

Me: I thought so.

Edgard: hee hee hee

*The great Freezer Debacle of '07: in which Edgard, in a fit of organization, threw out everything that was good in the freezer and left all the bad stuff.

double header

2008-04-16T23:59:00.000-07:00

So I have been playing around with the header on my blog since , as everyone knows, there isn't much to do when you are selling your house. I would love some input on my new design. For those of you first timers to three day bloglandia, or the chronically unobservant---like me---here is a picture of the old header:

And for those of you who are serially unobservant or the people who are just too lazy to scroll up---like me---here is the new header:

So leave me a comment if you like it....or a comment if you don't. If you have any ideas I will take those too. Heck, if you want to talk about great aunt Marge's gout, I am up for that, as well. We take comments of all shapes and sizes...just not the prejudiced ones. We're kind of boring that way.

irene longstocking

2008-04-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

I tried braids in Irene's hair and found that I don't need the wire for the Pippi Longstocking look.

...mugging for the camera...

quotage

2008-04-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them.

~Phyllis Diller~

you know you missed it

2008-04-12T21:18:00.000-07:00

Because I know how much you all must be lamenting the loss of book love weekend, I have decided to bring it back. Please, please...no tears. No amount of begging will talk me out of it...and you will just end up embarrassing us both. You will simply have to put up with it. So without further ado:

This is my bedside table. This is where I do the bulk of my reading...well...not on my bedside table. I usually do my reading in bed right next to the table. It's a bit more comfortable that way. If you are a reader, then you know why every time I see a pile of books like this, I grin to myself like an insane bag lady.

I wanted to address a request that I had in my comments from Rachel (who is heading up her own book club) over at Like a Star, as well as Ritamae at Ritaville Perspectives. They were wanting me to post a list of recommended books. I will defintely do that... as long as everyone understands that I am the oddest person alive in what I like to read. That being said...I will make one soon. I also had some nosy güey ask me what particular book I was talking about when I wrote that post.
Honestly, it was just a disconnected thought I had at that moment. It just really struck me how much you can become involved in a good book. I have had many that made me feel that way. If I happen to be reading one that I can't, or don't want to, put down I will lug it everywhere. Even if I know that I won't have time to read it. It is comforting just to know that it is there. See? I am an oddity.

now what?

2008-04-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to do with myself now that all the hoopla from my birthday has died down. Life seems so flat and meaningless.

my turn

2008-04-10T00:35:00.000-07:00

I am now aged and decrepit.
Today I turn 30.
I remember after my dad turned thirty, my mom would say that it was harder for him to get drumming jobs because he was too old. I am...now...too old to get drumming jobs. I don't play, but still...there is something that sucks about knowing you are too old to do something.

In actuality I do know how young thirty is. It just will take some getting used to...this knowledge that I sound old to anyone still in their 20's.

Young punks!

My mom got me one of those booklets that showed me what was going on the year I was born. I don't know about you, but my birth year (1978) was a bit hazy to me. She all but ripped the booklet out of my hands and kept saying "oh yeah, do you remember that?" ...no mom, actually I don't remember that...I was to busy processing milk that year. What they really need for those booklets is to go by decades. I needed a do you remember the 80's... That I remember all too plainly. And if I didn't remember them, my mom captured it all on camera for ~~blackmail~~ memories sake.

My dad got me several things...two of which are silent movies. (Broken Blossoms and City Lights) Do you think he is trying to tell me something? To be fair I had them on my amazon wishlist so no hidden meanings there. I don't know, yet, what Edgard got me but I know that he is taking me to dinner tonight. And my best friend, Susie, decided to shut my incessant, blatantly obvious, hinting up by taking me out to lunch today. I don't know how she happened to think of such a wonderful idea!

So you may have noticed that the last time that I posted was Edgard's birthday. Yes, it is true, our birthdays are exactly one week apart. It is like one long fiesta over here for birthday week.

...some obligatory birthday girl pictures...

My mother's description of me as a newborn was "a chimpanzee with a hangover"...I don't know what she was talking about...I look like an angel....

The first time that Edgard saw this picture when we were dating he started laughing uncontrollably. When he finally caught his breath, he told me he was laughing because I looked just like the character in that old Cher movie...Mask....

...while he was laughing, I was thinking: "yuck it up jackass, our kids are gonna look just like me."

Mask part deux

zapo verde eres tu

2008-04-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

So it is the husband's birthday today. I mean my husband, of course. He will be the ripe old age of 33. He acts a lot younger though...like at least 31. I have tried all my feminine wiles on him to try to get him to stay home from work on his birthday. He really wants to, but he has a really good work ethic. It must be his advanced age that makes him this mature. I have a bad work ethic. But I am very good at procrastination. For example, the fact that I don't have a gift for my husband yet. Maybe I can make him a homemade card. He always seems really excited when the kids make those for him. I should be able to get away with that too, right?
Well whatever happens for his birthday I just want to say:
Feliz Cumpleaños y gracias por compartir un año mas conmigo.
¡Te amo!

rachel on reading

2008-03-31T14:09:00.000-07:00

Every time I finish a book, especially a good one, I have a sense of loss. As if I just realized I am homeless and I look around in a daze, saying to myself "now what?"

Just thought I would share that.

Yeah...I don't know why, either.

how's that again?

2008-03-27T20:42:00.000-07:00

I don't think there is ever a good time to hear your 6 year old son, piping up from the backseat of the car:

"I'm going to be a father soon."

still a -sellin the homestead

2008-03-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

We have gotten some major things done on our list. For one thing, Edgard is nearly done with the fence. I am definitely a firm believer in the good fences make good neighbors. Especially when your neighbor has decided to completely redo his yard the year before but only got as far as cutting the sod off. The weeds, I kid you not, are as tall as my son. Not the nicest thing to look at. And then, when you add in that we have let our backyard go while concentrating on the front yard and the inside of the house...well it wasn't pretty to look at. So now putting a fence up, we will only see half a horrible yard...ours. Even that is starting to shape up. We bought 3 mature trees to plant in front of the fence so that when the leaves come out we cannot even see over. Are you starting to guess I am a hermit?
I am.
I like my privacy.
The other big development is the muscles in my arms. I have personally rototilled a section of our yard where I plan to plant some mock oranges and something else that I forgot the name of. The thing is, though, we don't actually own a rototiller. I have been doing it manually with a pickaxe. You know those things that you see the guys on the chain gang using. This has definitely put any dreams I had of a life of crime permanently to rest. I don't have the arms for it. If I get caught, that is. And I will get caught...that is an assured fact. How many successful stay at home mom/criminals have you met? And my chances shrink drastically when you figure in that I am also a hermit/bookworm. So back to the rototilling. I literally had to cut and remove the sod about half a foot down. My 5 bags of soil are starting to look a little measly. All in all, though, things are really starting to shape up.

The other thing that I wanted to address are the commentators who were kind enough to give advice or ask questions. I really appreciate the time that you took in doing so.

Literary girl's advice was to hire a Realtor. There is nothing more I would like to do but the way our finances are, the only way we can make this a lateral move, is to squeeze every available penny out of this place. That being said, I did have a wonderful Realtor on hand. She charges a flat fee of $2500 for a non-mls listing and after using her for our last house, we can verify that she goes the distance and a bit beyond. And she is now in Wisconsin. This is the first time I have ever been jealous of Wisconsin apart from their cheese. Although Racine will always hold a special place in my heart.
So while we will try to sell it ourselves, in the future we may take that advice and find another Realtor with a flat fee. I will keep you posted.

Mamacita Chilena asked why we were selling. We are selling because we have a chance to rent a nice size house in the country. The rent is very low and we would literally cut our housing costs in half. That way we could pay off our debt in one year instead of who knows how long. We then could start saving for our dream home which would be located in a small city on the outskirts of the city we live in now. That is where my husband's company is located now. There would be no commute time fro him, saving on gas, and I love that the antique store to walmart ratio is very low in this cute little place, yet everything is still very close. The other bonus is that the house I would be renting is located next to my best friend, Susie. That will come in very handy for dumping my kids on her at all hours and dropping by, uninvited, for dinner. I am sure she will be very glad she came up with this idea.

Beeker advised me to do thorough research on the neighborhood for setting the selling price. As well as make the house neutral, declutter and so on. I felt good that what I had done has coincided nicely with what Beeker suggested. So I seem to be on the right track. Although I didn't take down personal pictures. I only have a few on the wall of my bedroom and I have nothing to replace it so I feel that would make the wall seem very bare. But other than that, all systems go!

Tenpounds asked if once we get all ready to sell might we decide to stay. This one is funny because, honestly, I have been thinking the same exact thing myself. We will still try to sell so we would never decide to stay but...let's just say...I would not be too depressed if it didn't sell. Now we have a nice new fence and I am getting the garden the way I want it and there have been some great improvements inside. Plus the uncluttering that beeker mentioned above has made things seem much more open and easy to clean. But bottom line, if we sell, we get rid of debt and get closer to our goals of having our home where we want to live and the possibility of Edgard retiring earlier. His job is a very physical one and I would be very happy if he wasn't still doing that at an age where he will feel every ache and pain. So, as nice as we may get this place, it will be better in the long run to move.

In closing I will leave you with some pictures.

Here is a picture of those weeds in the neighbors yard that I mentioned.

And this is a picture that I took right before I yelled
"Anthony, untie your sister from that tree!"

And this is the picture that is proof that I am only being tolerated.

...more tolerance.

it turns out that this isn't fun

2008-03-21T23:40:00.000-07:00

Selling your house sucks. I realize that this is all too obvious and that I am saying this before I have even put the signs up, but I am literally in the middle of a long to-do list of things I need to fix before we put it on the market and am feeling the strain. It is sad really. I won't even fix these things for myself. We will finally have the house just the way we want it---in time to sell it to somebody else. We did that with our last house. We'll probably do that next time, too.

Sad. Pathetic.

The good thing is that if we don't sell it, then at least we get to enjoy our labor. The other feeling of dread is showing it to people. We are selling it ourselves---no Realtor---translation: no buffer. Last time that we showed our previous house, some jackass, who didn't, of course, didn't end up buying it, had the gall to tell us that our paint scheme was "odd." He also asked if we would repaint it. We told him to go suck eggs. Well not really...but we wanted to.

This time around we will also be facing a bad economy and a hellish sellers market. But, seriously...as a person who has looked at more than a cabillion homes for sale, I know that ours should show pretty well. It is amazing how many people not only neglect to fix anything on their homes before listing them, many don't even clean them. I am a messy person by nature, though, so to maintain some semblance of cleanliness and order will be wearing to me.

Does anyone have any sage, home selling, advice?

Will somebody please wake me when this is all over?

reel a state....

2008-03-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready to sell our home.

Stress abounds.