Monday, April 30, 2012

No Time For Mom's Health? There is Hope

Please note: When I merged the blogs, this post went a bit bonkers. So I have to repost it as a new post. I apologize if you read this post on the other blog. If you haven't, you should. I want you to know, THERE IS HOPE.

If today were three months ago, I would have said "I'm so happy to find so many moms just like me."

Today...today I can't say that, because it saddens me. A week ago I wrote a post about the big blogger butt blues.

I won't lie, I'm happy that so many entered, but I've got to tell you, at the same time, reading through the comments, breaks my heart.

So many women, dwelling in the land I lived for 4 years. A land that where everyone but me came first.

Is this

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Say it with me now...This Weekend Sucked

Seriously. Starting since Thursday. THIS weekend sucked.

I will save you the personal drama from having my mother live with me - the only hing I'll say on the topic is, that indian tradition of taking care of your elders, can kiss my ass. I doubt the ones who came up with it, had a mother like mine. Also? I agree with the psycho babble that it begins with your mother. This is why I try my damnedest to be the person I am, to be a strong woman, an ambitious woman, a caring, human-loving-screw-discrimination and honest woman. I believe these will influence my children. What scares me about this line of thought though...some of us grow up to be just like our parents and some of us grow up to

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Got the Big Blogger Butt Blues?

Is Your Butt Getting Bigger From Blogging?
Mine sure as hell has.

Bloody occupational hazard I tell you.

If you're like me and have kids to care for while working from home, you may be sitting on your butt a lot with the kids or at your desk.

Even before blogging, when I worked in the city, most of my day was spent sitting behind a desk.

I've got a pair of size 11 jeans that haven't fit in 4 years.

I couldn't even get them up my thighs because my legs had gained so much.

 
Do you keep old clothes in hopes that you'll lose weight and they will fit again one day? My mom does that. I guess that's why I do.
 

Two weeks ago, (before the flu, the relapse of the

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Things This Mom Doesn't Find Time For

Do you ever feel like there's not enough time in the day?
Twenty-four hours. Most days I'm awake for 20 hours a day. That's right. Four hours of sleep! And still, still there's shit I don't get done.
Here's my list of things I don't find time for.
1. I'm so pissed, I haven't seen Vampire Diaries and Supernaturals since last season.

2. I've been trying to re-read a book since April 2nd and just can't get to chapter 3.

3. I have no time for water. Around here, I have to hide and drink water. Otherwise I end up with a teeny tiny tot hand in my glass or a tantrum from a tot that wants my bottle. Or I put my bottle down for a minute and Sabrina disappears with it cause it's easier to

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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Would you date a man who lived with his Mama?

When I came across this question on Skinny Scoop I couldn't help but laugh. Not once, but twice I married men who lived with their mama.

Both times it's been a completely different experience.

My Ex, oh what can I say about that man . . . He was a selfish, lazy party animal who never grew up and to this day does not understand the concept of responsibility. As a matter of fact, he's gone back to living with his mama. But I've got to thank him for two things.

#1 Our daughters, who made every day of my life worth living and gave me a reason to set goals and surpass them.

#2 I became such a pro at masturbation, I can do it hands free. Came in handy when I wanted to put on a show

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Winds of Change

I feel that when I came to these realizations, it brought me mental wellness, it made me see life, my life, in a whole new light.
Recent interactions that lead me to writing this post
My girlfriend Wendy recently said to me, "V, I've got to wonder, how much more does God expect you to take? Is God waiting to see how much it will take to break you or trying to make you stronger?"

A post by my friend Christal: Meaningless! Meaningless!

The below tweet by Tara of Tara Sophia Mohr | Wise Living, Retweeted by Big Girl Branding
@BigGirlBranding

RT @tarasophia It's true: when one door closes, another opens. But sometimes you've got to close the door so that life can open a new

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Friday, April 27, 2012

Coach me, Track me, Get on my ass...I need it

The Accountability Begins
I'm kinda freaked.

My RetroFitMe package arrived.

It means I need to start. I need to get my butt in gear.

It means, I'm going to have help.

True, hubby has tried his damnedest. But the accountability part he'd fail at. Not because he wouldn't get in my face...I had issues whenever he did.

My husband has a no-bullshit policy and sometimes it makes his tone of voice really piss me off.

So I find I'm grateful for the support and reminders, but it's not good for us to have him on my ass.

So many jokes, so little time...

So later this morning is setup time. I'm thinking I'll take screenshots of the process and share.

See the wicked looking devices? The little

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New Purpose

Yeah I know, it's looking kinda plain around here.

There's a reason for that.

I needed to get this post out now.

I need to share it with my blogging crew.

I need to get it out there and let you all know...

I'm from Mars.

Kidding.

I'm a failure.

Yep, that's it.
Evaluation of Life
For the past year, while I've been designing blogs, creating affiliate sites, planning and building the women only blogzine, tweeting, liking, 1+ing and writing posts to help my fellow blogging peeps, I've been neglecting something very important, myself.

And by extension, my family.

My health has gone to shit and i'm pretty sure I'm dragging my family with me.

Summer and Spring passed while we did

Read more ...

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Why I Will Not Comment On "Big Blogs" Anymore

I read a really awesome post this morning over at Mama Wants This where Alison talks about the lack of commenting. Now I've got to tell you, I love Alison's writing voice and I've been reading her blog on and off for a bit, but I never would comment because she does have a good volume of comments on her posts. Seeing the number count deterred me in the past from commenting. I'll be truthful here, I never commented before because I didn't expect her to respond.

Yes, I know, when you assume shit you make an ass out of blah blah blah.

But recently I read a post that I had to comment on and when I looked at the comments section, I realized Alison does respond to comments. I know it sounds

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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

How I learned my workout sucks

What this mama doesn't have is time to waste. Seriously. I also don't have money to burn but I'm working on that. ;). My point is I'm one wicked busy mom and though making the nutrition change is going pretty good and fairly easy, finding time for fitness is pretty damn hard.

 

Truth is, finding time for fitness has been hard for the past two years since my little girl was born. With two toddlers on my hands and a crazy need to work my butt off now so I can be a laptop mom later,

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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Why Darren's Blogging Method Doesn't Work For Me

Lessons Learned From THE ProBlogger
Almost 2 years ago when I joined the SITS Girls 31 days to a better blog challenge, I learned amazing strategies from Darren's book. Some of them I implemented, some of them I didn't. But that's how it is when you learn from others. You pick and choose what methods works for you. You take their guidance and build your foundation and then continue building as you develop your own methods.

They say a good way to be as successful as the guy with the 6 figure income is to copy exactly what he did. But I can't go that route. Not that I wouldn't like a 6 figure income cause I'd be a bloody fool to not, but because I, like many, have the need to do our own

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Saturday, April 21, 2012

Secret Mommy-hood Confession Saturday

I miss sharing me here so I figured I join in on the fun:
Kim asks:

*What sacrifices have you made since becoming a parent?

Ha! That list is so bloody long...

And it's not even since becoming a parent, it's since becoming a parent of toddlers AGAIN.

When the teens were toddlers, I was in my early 20s and really had no life outside of them and work. Probably cause I had no money. ha!

As the girls got older and I became the smancy fancy color guru, things changed.

I had a wicked salary.

I had GNOs.

Hubby and I would head out to Josie's Pub on Waverly place to shoot pool and drink.

I got my nails done.

I got my eyebrows done.

I got my hair done twice a

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Friday, April 20, 2012

Friday Blogger Follow: Moms Who Flash

As my tweeps know, on #FollowFriday I like recommending bloggers. Those bloggers who I find are just awesome. But 140 characters is not enough to sing the praise those bloggers deserve. So I grabbed a meme from John Paul Aquiar, who happens to be my favorite twitter go-to guy, and I’ve twisted it to fit my own weird needs.

So, of course us bloggers, especially the ones I read, have blogging skills. But some of them, ok many of them, not only express themselves through words, but through

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Basic Blog Post SEO Tips

Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips For Your Blog Posts
SEO, SEO, SEO.
Once you become a blogger, you see this bloody acronym every where.

What's so important about it? Does it matter to me?

That depends. How important is website traffic to you? If you're looking to gain exposure for your blog posts, having your blog found in search engines is a big plus. People searching for specific terms that relate to your posts will be able to find you.

Blog posts are naturally search

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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Tuesday's Tear Sheet: Use Your Blogger Voice To Be Inspiring

For those who aren’t familiar with Tear Sheets, in the photographic imaging industry, a tear sheet is a promotion piece used by creatives to prove to clients that they’ve been published. For photographers and other creatives, it’s a printed piece, usually a reproduction of the magazine ad that their work was published for.

It's my second Tuesday Tear Sheet and though I do have new work I wanted to share with you, I won't. I spent today being inspired by the words and voices and videos

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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Going from Blog to Biz and Giving Out Freebies

Giving it Away, an Investment in Your Business
Believe it or not, the first thing you do when you launch a new service or product is, you give it away. For free. Yep.

Promotional giveaways are nothing new in business. Or in blogging.

In business you'll find software + apps that allow you to try their services for free for 30 days, supermarkets giving away samples of a new product, hair salons offering free eye brow waxing with your next purchase.

In blogging you'll find giveaways of

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Friday Blogger Follow: Rockin' Writers

Friday Blogger Follow is Back!
As my tweeps know, on #FollowFriday I like recommending bloggers. Those bloggers who I find are just awesome. But 140 characters is not enough to sing the praise those bloggers deserve. So I grabbed a meme from John Paul Aquiar, who happens to be my favorite twitter go-to guy, and I'm twisted it to fit my own weird needs.

SideNote: John hosts a Follow Friday Top 10 List where he lists twitter using who he finds to use twitter the right way. There's always a

Friday Blogger Follow: Rockin' Writers

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Mompreneur Growing Pains

Growing A Home Business Requires...
Dedication

Skills

Focus

Bloody Focus.

Something I preach to clients about a lot.

Do I practice what I preach?

Did my lying, cheating 1st, now ex husband, lose his johnson?

I've got too many ideas in the noggin and enough skills to kick ass, so I have trouble focusing on ONE thing to build my business.

See, I can focus on YOUR business because there's no emotional attachment. I know what you need and I know how to get it done.

Yeah,

Mompreneur Growing Pains

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

7 Easy Ways To Screw Yourself Out Of Google Traffic

Happy Wednesday People!

If you're a new visitor, then you may not know this, but I've got some kick ass seo skills.

Yes, yes I do.

Today, I'm going to share with you common mistakes each and every blogger has made at some point with their blog. If you don't care about getting visits from search engines, then you can sit this one out.

Ninety Nine percent of the income from this blog comes from visitors showing up via search engine.

Interested in similar results? Wondering if

7 Ways To Screw Yourself Out Of Search Engine Traffic

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Tuesday's Tear Sheet

It is Tuesday, right?

Well since it's Tuesday and I wanted to start a new series of posts, I figured a spin on tear sheets would be a great way to share what I've been working on design-wise and introduce y'all to new bloggers I've come across. I'd like to really keep up this new series and when I don't have anything of my own to share, I hope to share the work of others. Speaking of series, Friday Blogger Follow is returning, so please drop by this Friday to learn of some of the new

New WordPress Design

Monday, April 09, 2012

No Time For Mom's Health? There is Hope

If today were three months ago, I would have said "I'm so happy to find so many moms just like me."

Today...today I can't say that, because it saddens me. A week ago I wrote a post about the big blogger butt blues.

I won't lie, I'm happy that so many entered, but I've got to tell you, at the same time, reading through the comments, breaks my heart.

So many women, dwelling in the land I lived for 4 years. A land that where everyone but me came first.

Is this the life you're

No Time For Mom's Health? There is Hope

Saturday, April 07, 2012

Why These People Are Not My Bloggy Friends

For most of my life I lived in Brooklyn. More specifically on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, in a neighborhood named Ridgewood. Five years ago, I left Brooklyn to live in the Bronx. Present hubby lived and worked here since he moved to NYC. I was working in Manhattan. I could commute from anywhere. His commute from Brooklyn to the Bronx was almost 2 hours per trip and so he stayed at his old place while I procrastinated about moving. The Bronx actually has some pretty good schools, the

Why These People Are Not My Bloggy Friends

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Husbands just make me crazy

Ok, not all husbands, just my husband. I love the man, but God, he is stubborn.

Will he leave the room when I request it?

First he'll say why and then he'll say I'm crazy and THEN he will sit his butt right there and not move.

And yes I know I tend to be a bit irrational about my requests, I mean we are married, why the heck should I ask him to leave the room when I change? I had no problem being naked and showing off my wares before. Hello, we have two kids.

And yes I know he

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Is there a Fashion Expert on Plus Sizes in the House? (Featured Members Post on Mom Bloggers Club)

This is a post I originally wrote on my other Blog during May 2011. I wanted to share it here since I want you to know how I was feeling almost one year ago. Because I know at least one of you can relate. I tried doing it on my own and it didn't work at all. Here's where I was last year. Here is where my mind was last year. Tell me, have you ever been in this place?
Fashionable Plus Sizes
Conversation with hubby.

"That's cute" he says while pointing in the window of New York & Company.

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Monday, April 02, 2012

I don't wanna get on the damn scale

Pardon me while I whine. It's really truly the fear talking.

Two days ago, I stepped on the wifi scale and found that in the 6 weeks I've been on the Retrofit program, I've lost 9 lbs.

I've never lost that much without starving myself or having to battle not to eat certain foods.

I'm freakin amazed I tell 'ya.

Huh, I remember when I was on atkins and the 2lbs was a huge victory. Nine? I'm still stunned.

And now I'm scared. I'm scared to get back on the damn scale and learn it was

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Ever screwed up your diet?

You can't make me work out today!
Try as hard as you can.


[caption id="" align="alignright" width="240" caption="Photo Credit: Steve-h via Compfight"][/caption]

Remind me of

How I've lost 14 pounds in 8 weeks.
How I've been feeling energized.
How I kicked ass yesterday and ran up and down stairs to catch trains without losing my breath.(According to my trusty Fitbit I climbed 13 staircases by 9am)
How proud my Retrofit exercise coach will be when she checks my Retrofit

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7 Reasons Why A Brand Logo Kicks Blog Header Butt

Yes, I know. Mom bloggers have beautifully designed, detailed headers.

Huge masterpieces that say "this is me".

Anything wrong with that?

No.

Unless, you know, you're going pro with your blog.

I'm not saying you can't keep your header. I'm saying you need a logo too and if it's a choice between one or the other, and you're running your blog as a business, you better get you a damn logo.

And by the way, don't get your blasted panties in a bunch if you're writing to "just

Branding your blog

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Got the Big Blogger Butt Blues?

Is Your Butt Getting Bigger From Blogging?
Mine sure as hell has.

Bloody occupational hazard I tell you.

If you're like me and have kids to care for while working from home, you may be sitting on your butt a lot with the kids or at your desk.

Even before blogging, when I worked in the city, most of my day was spent sitting behind a desk.

I've got a pair of size 11 jeans that haven't fit in 4 years.

I couldn't even get them up my thighs because my legs had gained so

Read more about my weight-loss journey ...

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