BlogHer & my hasty decision.

I'm tired as all get out tonight but for some odd reason, this has been on my mind.

Some of you know I used to partner with BlogHer. BlogHer, at the time, also partnered with MckMama (I will not link to her blog - google if necessary). For strictly ethical reasons, I decided to abruptly end my relationship with BlogHer solely because they continued to partner with her. I just didn't want to be associated with a company that supported her (or any other blogger, for that matter, that blogged in the same unethical manner as MckMama) & her lack of morals. That's just me - I always attempt to take a stand for what is right. You can read about my decision here.

If you've known me long & many of you have, you know what an honest person I am. I sincerely hope you know what an honest person I am & I sincerely hope I portray that quality. I am proud to advertise my honesty. I may not always do it the proper way, but I do it. And I don't have to try & I don't have to remember, because I always tell the truth. Many don't agree with me & that's ok - I will never apologize for being honest.

My thoughts are this. While I had the partnership with BlogHer, why didn't I just honestly and/or boldly blog about my disappointment & frustration? Was it that I was concerned BlogHer might get angry with me, if I did? Why did I take the easy way out & sever the relationship? This is where I sometimes get irritated with myself. I am quick to act, versus possibly taking ample time & thinking things through. Thoroughly. I really need to work on that. Anyway, it's not that I regret my decision because ethics are extremely important to me, but maybe now, over a year later, I actually do regret my decision.

The bottom & most important line is: BlogHer ultimately did end their partnership with MckMama. MckMama was guilty of plagiarism & from what I can tell, that was the final straw for them. BlogHer took the high road & that is very important. And, admirable & impressive. If I had only waited, if I had blogged & voiced my concerns/dislikes/frustration & waited for this to pan out, I'd still be a partner with BlogHer today. (I am not typing this in hopes of BlogHer contacting me - I have contacted them way prior to this. I'm simply expressing some thoughts.)

I don't know why this is eating at me - I suppose it stems from myself not allowing a great company to prove their true colors. That's my fault. My hasty decision to do the right thing jeopardized a great opportunity for me to work with a great company. And that part just sucks.

Live & learn, which I do daily. And for that, I am grateful.

Hubby returns tomorrow evening (earlier than expected - he had the wrong flight information - yay!) so as soon as I find my black felt & get caught up on some much needed sleep (I sleep very poorly when he is away), I'll be posting my reversible, gold earrings.

Happy hump! Ü

Girl got her some new shoes.

My wee ones have had some remaining birthday/Christmas money hanging around, so on spring break I took them to Walmart & let them purchase whatever their little hearts desired. The littlest one chose a Play-Doh set & shoes. :)

The color is a delish, shimmery, watermelon, the heel is just the right height, the design is nice & airy, the bling is the most perfect pink cupcake surrounded by diamonds & the quality is...plastic. ;o) She done good! Ü

Saturday she wanted to put on some of her sister's makeup. So she did. ♥

I noticed a few days ago that she had some unpleasant allergy symptoms brewing. The coughing began @ 3:00 a.m. this morning & coughing resulted in vomiting. Which resulted in me changing all bedding in early hours & making a Kroger run for Robitussin. Which helped. In case you're wondering, it's kind of spooky out @ 3:00 a.m.

Today I'm tired. Dragging, actually. I assumed (silly me) we'd have a nice, long, early nap today. Together. Didn't happen. I'm still up & she's still up. I am not a cappy hamper today & I've used some naughty words. And for some odd reason, sometimes, using naughty words just makes me feel better. Bad thing is little girl heard naughty words. Will be interesting when she repeats them in front of her daddy. I'll once again be prepared to raise my hand when she's asked where she heard naughty words. I raise my hand a lot, a lot. What can I say. I'm honest. Thank goodness I'm too old to be punished. Ü

My disobedient tiny tyke said earlier: "Look mommy! Selena Gomez!" To which I growled: Oh, I see her! I bet Selena Gomez takes naps!" Heehee.

Girl may have some new shoes & look beautimous with makeup, but girl ain't cute today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today. Pfft.

Randomness.

Hi there! I haven't blogged in 2 weeks? Wow. Time is really getting away from me.

Some beautiful girl lost her first tooth on 2.2.11. She is still just as gorgeous as ever. :)

(I had my focal point on the wrong setting so her photos are a tad blurry.)





Week before last stunk with dr. appointments for me. Mammogram yet again came back questionable/abnormal, so that Thursday I had a completely unexpected needle biopsy. Right then & there (at my request). That was fun. The good news is there is no cancer. I finally have an official diagnosis, & this is probably the beginning of a long journey for me (I've been battling this since Dec. '08 - it's been long enough, thank you ;o), but I won't lose focus on the wonderful results. What a blessing. We had Open House that same evening, Jaguar had 2 soccer practices during the week & I had another dr. appt. the morning following my biopsy. I'm telling you, it took me the entire last week to decompress. Now I get to look forward to having my blood sugar level checked (I'm so going to be in trouble with that one!), the eye dr. & the dentist. Yippee. Ü

In my spare time, I have spent too much time on, & contributed to, an 'accountability' website. I am trying to break free, but most days, it's better than a good book. My goal is to better utilize my free time. Heehee. One can hope. ;o)

I have finally listed my dining room table that I love so much (sniff, sniff) because it's time to turn the formal dining into a usable room. Not that it's not usable now, it's just that we don't use it. LOL Oh good glory, I can tell I haven't blogged in a while. (*Update - I have decided I love my table too much to sell. So, it's time to get creative, envision & rearrange some other rooms to accommodate my computer desk. Shall be interesting...) Ü

Moving right along.

It's time for me to do something (I know I've said this before). Meaning, it's time for me to get to work (part time only). I am a worker by nature & it's in my blood. I miss it. I love taking care of my family & that will always remain my #1 priority, but it's time for me to get busy. I hope to accomplish this via the internet but in the meantime, my mind is so busy. What will I do? How will I do it? Should I try to accomplish this goal via my blog? Or another direction? Etc. I'm not sure. But hopefully I'll figure it out.

Today I made homemade granola bars. I don't think it's necessary to cut them into bars - so I'm calling them 'homemade granolas'. :) Today my add-ins were: craisins, milk chocolate chips & peanut butter chips. I wanted to add marshmallows, but some cute little Mercedes ate them all. Next time I'll add them. This time, I had the grand idea to use parchment paper, having no idea if it would work or not. Last time I made these I know I didn't let them cool long enough & it seems like there was somewhat of a sticky mess left in my Pyrex dish. Check this out:


Tada! I took the 'granolas' out of the oven & let them sit on the counter. For probably about...2 hours or so. I then grabbed the parchment paper, turned it upside down & the granolas just slid right off, back into my dish. Clean, neat & messless. You are looking at the bottom of the granolas, with the one piece at the top turned rightside up.

Everyone in my family loves these. But me. Heehee. They aren't bad, I just don't care for them. Remember though, I'm the (very!!) finicky eater. The entire dish of granolas would be gone tonight if I'd let everyone gorge. Ü I don't necessarily like that this recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter, so I'm going to try using some peanut butter next time (I forgot to do that this time). I still am totally into cooking from scratch (although it's so disappointing to me, because so much of what I'm trying I don't like & neither do my littles. Hubby eats anything.), searching for easy/healthy recipes & cutting out high fructose corn syrup (& the like). Can't even tell ya the last time I bought a cleaning product, other than detergent, Shout & Borax. With prices increasing, food prices are increasing & I'm trying to be ever so frugal. Love it! It's just a good feeling saving money wherever I can & I love a good challenge. Ü

This coming week entails: Tomorrow I will take Mercedes to get her lab work completed (two weeks before it's actually due again), because I am confident I am seeing symptoms/signs that her body is no longer tolerating the absense of her medication. I will not screw around with this - so I'm taking the initiative & getting this looked at. I'll phone the Endocrinologist after I have the lab work completed. After that, I'll be searching for frugal ideas for spring break (already have an idea in mind :) because next week - is Spring Break! I'm excited.

And with that I'll say...I should have titled this: Stream of Consciousness. Or as I like to call it: Crap On The brain. (*And I did. I reinstated my 'Crap On The Brain' label. Contain your excitement. ;o)

Happy week! Ü