Owner: Velveteen Mind URL:http://www.velveteenmind.com Join Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:26:35 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Relish the Velveteen. Revel in the Threadbare. Life of a mom articulate... Mom of two toddler boys on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, writing about rebuilding a life with perspective and serious doses of humor. Revel with me! Site statistics:Click here
Blame Chuck E. Cheese 2007-11-21 22:02:20 Go. Blo. Me. Mo. Fo.
I know I promised I'd write about New York today, but we just got back from more than two hours at Chuck
E. Cheese
with two very enthusiastic toddlers and I can barely see straight.
GoBloMeMoFo guest blogger post coming right up.
New York stories are on the way, really.
Oh yeah, and pictures of me and Matt Lauer.
Exciting, right?
... I'm such a tease.
Read more:Blame
Buried Treasure Courtesy of NaBloPoMo 2007-11-20 22:03:26 Possibly the worst aspect of NaBloPoMo is that so many solid posts get buried.
I much prefer giving my blog some room to breathe. I particularly prefer to give my guest bloggers more time in the spotlight.
If you haven't already, scroll down and read what you may have missed the last couple of weeks. And hey, I wrote a couple of good posts myself.
New York stories and photos tomorrow. Promise.
Read more:Buried
, Treasure
, Courtesy
Hello. My name is Karla, and I am a procrastinator. 2007-11-30 20:29:52
Guest Post by Karla
from Looking Towards Heaven
That title has nothing to do with my post topic. But here I am at the last minute racing to Megan's to get a post up for her. She may just wish that I had procrastinated a little longer.
Just like a few others who have come before me, I find myself perplexed by the fact that I am writing on Megan's blog… What was I thinking when I volunteered for this! I am hardly qualified. Writing has never been my strong point. I have a hard enough time talking in a cohesive manner, let alone writing it out in a way that won‘t make the reader‘s head want to explode.
I have an almost obsessive overuse of the ellipse. I do find it appropriate; my mind tends to trail off like that anyway. Really, it is the perfect punctuation for me. I also have a tendency to put commas in all of the wrong places or forget them all together. (and if TypePad were my blog host I'd be wearin' that "strikethrough" button out!)
My Read more:Hello
A bunny story 2007-11-30 20:26:55
GoBloMeMoFo... such a funny title (for a funny lady!). For some reason it always makes me think of a
swear word. Not sure why.
Hi, this is Krista from Welcome to Married Life! Let’s see what randomness I can come up with
tonight to help save the bunny.
I had a bunny. Actually I had two. I was in 4-H
(oh yeah!) when I was in grade school. One
of my bunnies was a tortoise colored Dutch named Daisy May. And how sad is this? For some reason I kept remembering that she
was a Netherland Dwarf..., but that didn’t seem right. So I had to go to the American Rabbit Breeder’s
Association
home page and look at the pictures to find the right name!
Anyways.
She was small and cute and I liked her a lot, but she wasn’t
very friendly.
The other rabbit I had was a Himalayan. Think Siamese cat, but looking like a rabbit.
And she was fat. And I can’t even remember what her name was! She wasn’t friendly at all.
So I had the Read more:story
GoBloMeMoFo was a Bad Ass Success 2007-11-30 20:15:41
NaBloPoMo: Dismal failure over here.
GoBloMeMoFo: Stellar success!
If you haven't been keeping up, NaBloPoMo is short for National Blog Posting Month, during which the goal is to post every day for 30 days. Period.
Simple. Just simple enough that I knew there was no way in hell I could do it. I generally post 3-4 times a week, rarely on weekends, and sometimes not even that often. I've been known to disappear into real life for days on end, my blog left to wither and flail about on its own. I knew that NaBloPoMo was beyond my ambitions.
However, I love buttons, I love social networking (sort of, well, eh), and I love challenges. I also love to cheat because seriously, I'll follow their rules when the blog police show up on my virtual doorstep to enforce them. Hence, GoBloMeMoFo was born.
Jennifer at Playgroups Are No Place For Children coined the term. Fussypants designed the wicked buttons and dreamed up Read more:Success
The Thong Song 2007-11-29 21:24:27
Guest post from Janet at From the Planet of Janet:
Yo, bunny lovers everywhere.
I am your hostess for the day. Let me just say up front that I'm a guest posting whore. I'll guest post anywhere, any time, for anyone. Given the opportunity to write ANYWHERE but my own blog ... I'm there!
So today ... I am here to save the bunny from NaBloPoMoFo-dee-oh-doh anihalation anhialation anialation a fate worse than death.
Yeah, so now that I have your attention, let's talk, yeah?
I want to talk about thongs.
No, silly people, not those things that my 13-year-old daughter, the Roo-girl, wants to wear under her way-too-tight skinny jeans to avoid panty lines.
What we called thongs back in my day (when dinosaurs roamed the earth) are these:
Yes, I know. We now call them flip flops. And they are, of course, everywhere.
I remember some of my friends called them zorries "back in the day," but in my house, they were thongs. Just thongs.
So in addition
What's Wrong With Me? 2007-11-28 20:06:59 Guest Post by PunditMom
I have grand plans. I have plenty of ideas. I make lists. I get myself geared up.
And then I can't get started.
I have book ideas dancing like visions of sugarplums in my head.
I have a vision of a house that's neat and tidy. I fantasize about finding a way to get the family to the dinner table together with something a tad more nutritious than pasta with sauce from a jar.
Then after I do morning school drop-off, and maybe run an errand or two, I get home and immerse myself in my office and get stuck.
Sure, I can crank out the blog posts. And there's satisfaction in that. I'm a writer, after all, and there is the immediate gratification of seeing my words out there in the bloggy-sphere. I'm even getting noticed a little bit for it, so that satisfies my ego.
But I've got to find a way to snap out of my funk and find another path.
I don't want to stop this, but my life needs to Read more:Wrong
My Imaginary Friends 2007-11-27 20:37:13
Guest Post by Megan from Sorta Crunchy
One might think that a little girl who is the oldest of four would have no need for imaginary friends.
But oh, gentle Velveteen readers, one would be wrong.
I didn’t have just one imaginary friend, I had many. And actually, they weren’t so much imaginary friends as they were an imaginary audience. They like to sit and listen while I narrated my day to them. As I got older, they would follow me around while I went on walks or rode my bike or did household chores. I would explain to them, step-by-step, exactly how to get the mirror in the bathroom sparkling clean. They hung on my every word because that is a very fascinating subject, and I have a very fascinating way of explaining things.
And now I am going to tell you something that I feel terribly embarrassed and awkward and clunky talking to my friends and family about, and yet somehow feel completely comfortable revealing now to a roomful of strangers . . . I still ha Read more:Imaginary
, Friends
In Sicily, Women Are More Dangerous Than Shotguns 2007-11-26 22:09:10
Guest Post by Deb from Missives from Suburbia
I possess just enough vanity to beg Megan for a guest slot here. However, I'm not so vain that for one moment I would think Velveteen Mind and Missives From Suburbia share any crossover traffic, because she is a high-priestess of blogging, and I... well, I could only hope to be one of her minion as I cut my teeth on this mighty medium. Suffice to say, even though GoBloMeMoFo is kicking my patooty on my own blog, I couldn't resist the opportunity to hog a little of Megan's spotlight. (I'm about as subtle as a ham and cheese sandwich in real life, too.) So thanks for putting up with me today. I promise she'll find someone more talented tomorrow to fill in for her.
Until then, you're stuck with me, and the most fascinating thing happening in my life right now is a move. Yep, we're moving from St. Paul to Minneapolis. Exciting, no? Kind of makes you want to run right over to my blog at Read more:Women
Show Me the Money! 2007-11-26 22:00:14 Holy crap.
Two counter offers later and they accepted our offer.
Now we just have to get a mortgage.
Holy hell.
Read more:Money
A Charmed Life 2007-12-02 22:19:42 For the last two years or so, I have allowed myself to openly want very few things. I haven't dared hope for much more than what is vital.
I hoped for Goose to be a healthy birth.
I wanted Maguire to pass the BAR.
That, my friends, is pretty much it.
More than two years of devastating disappointments made me create a fairly thick skin, warted with skepticism and cautiousness.
Tonight I have a red, raw spot on my calloused hide: I want us to get this house. I am hoping that we will get this mortgage.
I am praying for this home.
It's time.
As I sit here tonight, I have dotted all of my i's and crossed all of my t's. There is nothing left to do but wait. It is officially out of my hands. And it is killing me.
So... I have been shopping.
All of this stress is making it difficult for me to concentrate on anything. At all. I can't seem to focus on the present, let alone even a day or two in our future, so my mind has been w Read more:Charmed
BOSSY is the New Napoleon. 2008-03-11 10:23:06 New house. New phone line. Same old computer but newly working again! I was about to write a post to let you know where I have been when I decided to check out what my favorite bloggers have been up to since, oh, say, December. How did I miss the fact that BOSSY is having a road trip and how is it that I am not one of the stops?!!! What the hell does a... Read more:Napoleon
Who the? What the? Huh? 2008-03-07 16:51:13 Still alive ya'll. And no, I haven't sold my blog to some random guy-- TypePad had a feed reader issue today and some blogs' feeds were mixed up. I thought I was hijacked there for a second... but never would have known it if it weren't for Queen Heather over at the Shake Shake. She went old school and called me on the phone because she knows I'm still living a pre-industrial revolution life over...
Death Defying Acts 2008-03-17 10:48:27 Three months of silence. More like four. No explanations. Just *poof* and this site went silent. Breaking the cardinal rule of blogging: Thou shalt not cease to blog less your hands fall off and your toes lose their dexterity. Tempt the gods and thou shalt lose all subscribers and BlogHer Ads will begin to ask, "Why do we advertise on a stale site that is getting less than 100 hits a day, again?" Yet, I... Read more:Defying
Stop your Jedi Mind Tricks, Angelina Jolie! 2008-03-20 12:19:19 Waves of nausea crashing over me for no apparent reason does not lend itself to a peaceful night's sleep. Those same waves reappearing the next day and knocking me on my butt, again, for no apparent reason, have solidified one resolve in my mind: I would be crazy to have any more babies. Babies on the brain lately. Time to issue an eviction notice. It seems like everyone is pregnant right now. I don't want... Read more:Angelina
, Jolie
, Angelina Jolie
Good Friday. Pure. Home. 2008-03-21 09:39:13 You know how we didn't have a computer for four months, more or less? That also meant no internet and no television. We were in a self-imposed technological dark age. That's how I missed this: I don't care how hard-hearted you are, that is a beautiful thing. And I don't care how many times you've seen it, watch it again. For me. Because it's a Good Friday
. ~~~ I'm not a YouTube kind of girl,...
Let Me Back Into The Matrix 2008-03-25 12:46:50 A little over a year ago, I took the blue pill. The one that places you inside the Matrix
. The Matrix that is the blogosphere, that is. A little over four months ago, I took the red pill. The one that removes you, albeit painfully, from the Matrix. The one that plants you in the real world. Now I'm ready to take the blue pill again. But will you let me back into the Matrix?...
Who Dat? 2008-03-31 21:17:36 More to come tomorrow. Exhausted tonight. I promise I'm not dragging this out, but if I try to post everything right now, you'll fall asleep, too, only from the dullards. Tomorrow. Seriously. New Here? Subscribe to Velveteen Mind or have it delivered via email.
Don't BOSS Me 2008-03-31 16:37:58 Hey, all you BOSSY readers! I see you wondering who BOSSY's stalker is. That would be me. Come back later tonight for lots of photos of the back of BOSSY'S neck. A lot like this one that I would insert here if Typepad would get back online and let me insert any photos. Like the one of BOSSY's shoulder that I would insert right here. And, oh yeah, the one of BOSSY looking gorgeous in...
Blooming Marvelous Easter 2008 2008-03-29 15:03:19 Ooh, where ever did you come up with such a cute idea for Easter
cupcakes, Megan? *** Why, from my Blooming
Marvelous ditto sister, Annie! I have a feeling they don't look anything like what Annie had described, but my family utterly adored them. A new Easter staple, I am quite confident. Thank you to everyone who sent in Easter cupcake recipes, however, I probably should have mentioned that anything requiring more than, say, three...
And then BOSSY yelled "Stella!" 2008-04-02 22:46:45 1:30 in New Orleans on a breezy Sunday afternoon in the South. Time to meet BOSSY. One of my favorite things about the teen book series Sweet Valley High was that the first chapter or so was basically a recap of anything significant about the series that had happened so far. A reintroduction to the characters and their lives for anyone that might be picking up the series at, say, book 97 rather than book... Read more:Stella
Glenn Beck's Responsibility Beat-Down. I'm in. 2008-04-08 10:49:28 I have a secret. I am a huge fan of Glenn
Beck. I don't care if you are a conservative or a liberal, his talk radio show is one of the most common sense programs on the air. Good, old-fashioned, small town common sense. I listen to him on the way to Pants's school and often find myself just driving around while Goose naps in the backseat and I finish listening to the show in... Read more:Responsibility
Less Than Zero 2008-04-12 12:16:13 We ran out of money yesterday. Just plumb ran out. I know my husband won't like me writing about this, but I also know how much comfort I find in reading about the non-June Cleaver-esque lives of so many other moms online. I know that shining light on the reality of today's family is a healthy thing, albeit painful. So, yeah, we ran out of money. Ever happen to you? We usually keep enough cash...
Sparkplugging Launches from eMoms at Home Roots 2008-04-15 09:39:08 Congratulations to Wendy Piersall, known by many followers as eMom, for the relaunch and rebranding of eMoms at Home as... Once again, I am proud to be a part of this dynamic network, as I will be continuing my eBay channel at Sparkplugging. Just as soon as I reopen my eBay store. Ahem. Hello, family budget restructuring. This time around, however, I will be co-authoring the channel with the owner of Nitro Toys, Kristie McDonald....
Mommybloggers, Business, and why Parents Magazine hasn't hired me. Yet. 2008-04-16 12:23:33 I had a dream the other night that I've been meaning to tell you about. I was in college and Matt Lauer was my biology teacher, but he was not-so-secretly in love with me. Wait. Crap. That wasn't the dream I wanted to tell you about. Le sigh. Okay, so the dream was one of those from which all I remembered when I woke up was one detail and the feeling with which it left... Read more:Business
, Parents
, Magazine
Who's Afraid of the Queen of Spain? 2008-04-21 09:19:01 I am afraid of the Queen
of Spain
. I read her blog. I follow her on Twitter. I hunt her down as Erin Kotecki Vest on Huffington Post. I watch her many video blogging experiments. Hell, I even guest blogged at her place. I am down with the Queen of Spain. And yet she makes me a little nervous. She has a bit of a bold streak. And by bold, I mean she has a...
What do you have on *your* plate? 2008-04-24 20:50:59 I received no less than three emails today from unrelated people saying more or less the same thing: "You know the [fill in the name of project here] we discussed? We need to move forward on that soon. Hello?" Look people, in case you haven't caught on, yet, I will say "yes" to anything. Want me to write for your site? Sure, send me the access code! Want me to help you redesign your blog...
I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. 2008-04-27 09:14:09 Rain is tapping at my window on this lovely Sunday morning. The air smells clean. My mind is clear. And I am thinking of you. Our day has yet to begin, so I enjoy this luxury. More specifically, I am thinking of the subject of accessibility. Most specifically, I am pondering my email inbox and this lovely blog's comments sections (tongue firmly planted in cheek, thank you) and I would like to ask you a... Read more:together
The Big Tease #1 2008-04-28 10:00:00 You knew there had to be something going on, right? All of my tiredness and distraction. You should have known. Want to know how I let this happen? I mean, yes, it is a blessing, but wow-- I must be crazy. I blame it mostly on her. You should go there next, since you are already here, at the beginning. If you still can't wrap your head around it, go here. She can enlighten you.... Read more:Tease
The People's Party! And you are invited! 2008-04-29 08:28:16 Everyone loves a party. Everyone loves to be invited to a party. So... We are having a party! And you are absolutely invited! Yeah, even you. And you. And your friend. And your friend's neighbor. And your mother's uncle, though what he'd be doing at BlogHer, I don't want to know. That's what all of our teasing was about. And it was so worth it because... Along with a little help from our friends from... Read more:Party
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