Happy Valentine's Day!

My collection of velvet hearts from Godiva

Luck Be A Lady Tonight

I'm buying a lottery ticket tonight. I've had such good luck recently I'd be a fool not to.

A few weeks ago I won this leather case for my iPod Touch from Live SpeakR (video review coming soon).



I won a box of Little Debbie 100 calorie snacks from Melanie at Don't Try This at Home (can't wait for it to get here!).

I won this box of Lake Champlain chocolates from Spatulas, Corkscrews and Suitcases. (Today's recipe is for mini Red Velvet cakes, so cute!)

I got this all in one at the Kodak event I went to earlier this week.


Drama Dad and I are being interviewed by a national magazine and might be featured in the May issue! I don't know if I'm allowed to say yet but it's a magazine I read and I'm so stoked about the opportunity!

And on Wednesday I found out I'm one of 10 finalists in the Mabel's Labels BlogHer 2009 sponsorship! I'm overwhelmed and so happy Mabel's feels I'm worthy of the chance to go to BlogHer on their behalf. Read my submission here.

The winner of the Mabel's Labels contest is determined by votes. I'm having a contest to say thank you to everyone who votes for me. I have gift cards from the holidays that I've been hanging on to and I'm glad I did because now I can pay it forward.

None of this would have happened if it weren't for this blog. I'm so blessed and thankful. Having you all here makes me want this space to be the best it can. For that, I want to pass a little of my luck on to you.

I have for one winner a $75 prize package:
(2) $25 gift cards to Restaurant.com (they're in my email)
(1) $5 Starbucks card
(1) $10 Target card
(1) $10 Barnes and Noble card

There will be three opportunities to win*:
1. Vote for me and leave a comment here that you've done so.
2. Send out a Tweet and leave the URL here. (optional, you need a Twitter account)
URL for this post: http://tiny.cc/T1WAE
URL to Mabel's Label's voting page: http://tiny.cc/b4HNU
3. Post the button below on your site (optional, voting ends 2/23 so it won't need to be up very long)

*ETA 2/22: This contest and the voting are closed. I'll be choosing the winner after verifying the entries. Thank you!

That's it! Thanks so much for coming to this blog and being so supportive. It means the world to me to have made so many friends. There are literally thousands (if not millions!) of places you can spend your time online and the fact that you choose to come here is flattering and humbling. Thank you!

Congratulations to all the finalists. I'm honored to be in your company!

Darcie from Such the Spot
Kim at Prairie Mama
Robin at Who's the Boss
Deb at Mom of 3 Girls
Katrina at Fickle Feline 2.0
Dani at Postcards from the Mothership
Kim at What's That Smell
Piera at Jolly Mom
Tanya at Mommy Goggles

*The rules: Leave a comment for each of the items you decide to do. I'll draw a winner at random after the voting ends on 2/23. The winner will be notified here and via email and will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Likewise if the chosen winner is verified to have not fulfilled the requirements (not posting the button or Tweeting as stated) they will be disqualified and new winner chosen. You do not have to follow my blog to enter. PLEASE make sure there is a way to contact you in your entry! If I can't, find you I will have to pull a new winner. Please follow the Mabel's Labels voting rules! This is a pretty big prize (IMHO) and I want to be fair to everyone. I owe a huge thank you to Melanie for helping me with the button code! FYI- None of these people asked me to link to them. Good luck everyone!

Kodak Kiosk Expo Mom Blogger Event

I had such a nice time at this event! I got to see Tanyetta again, meet new people and print lots of photos. I made a quick video about the event. You'll see some of the things I made.




I'm still drooling over Marcy's photo book! Read other event recaps here:
Marcy from The Glamorous Life Association
Tanyetta from Days Like These
Stephanie from Bizzie Mommy
Heather from The Sphors Are Multiplying (she's giving away the Kodak printer and camera she won at the event, just donate to March of Dimes to enter!)

If you'd like to try the photo scanning service, I got a Tweet earlier that Mitch will scan 1,000 photos for just the cost of shipping!

Thank you again to Kodak for the invitation. I can't wait to hang and frame my posters!

Why I Need to be Freed From Housecleaning, by Mel

A whole year of housecleaning would be great for my mental health and my marriage. I might even go so far as to say it would be life changing. For the past several days I’ve been cleaning and straightening, cleaning and straightening. And I’m over it.

Cleaning is a catch-22 for me because I’m anal and I LOVE a nice clean house, but I don’t like to clean. When the house is clean I can relax. Clutter makes me jittery, anxious and distracted. Even if I’m reading or watching TV, if the house isn’t clean I’m not completely relaxed because my sitting down is time I’m not spending cleaning. And then I feel guilty so I straighten. Then I get angry because cleaning is kind of a time waster.

When I think of all the hours I’ve spent scrubbing, dusting, wiping, sweeping and vacuuming I get sad for the time I’ve lost. Those are hours I’ll never get back and I could have enjoyed them so much more! I could have relaxed with my family. I could have read all the books in my ‘to be read’ pile (which, at last count, has ??? titles). I could have watched more academy award nominees. I could have started my scrapbook (well, maybe not that). Point being I’ve spent hours maybe even days or weeks! doing something that makes me feel anxious, jittery, distracted, guilty, sad and angry.

Tonight I asked my husband if he would make a video explaining why he thought I deserved to win a year of housekeeping services from BidMyCleaning.com. I thought it would be nice to turn the blog over to him for a change.

His response? “Sure, just tell me what to say.”

I tried again. “Just talk about what you think winning would mean to me.”

“My brain doesn’t work that way. I need a script. Have Drama Kid do it.”

Oh, hell, forget it. I’ll do it myself.

That anecdote perfectly sums up why I need this. Because it seems that most days, if something needs cleaning I do it myself. That’s not to say my two boys aren’t helpful. They are. But if someone were to ask all the members of my household “who here has ever scrubbed the toilets?” I feel confident I’d be the only one raising my hand. Cleaning just isn’t that important to them. But it is to me so I take on the bulk of it. And back comes the anger and sadness but this time there’s a little bitterness and bitchy mixed in.

So let’s recap: angry, sad, jittery, anxious, distracted, guilty, bitchy and bitter. That’s one hell of an emotional roller coaster. I love roller coasters but this one has me tired and I’m ready to get off. I’ll still clean because hi, nice to meet you, I’m anal. But knowing that once a month someone will be coming to help me would take such a weight off. I could legitimately relax. And a relaxed mommy is a happy mommy. A relaxed wife is more likely to put out (Shut up. You know it’s true).

I need this. My family needs this. Free me from housecleaning. Please.

You can enter too. Rules and info here. (photo from here)

Random Thought (Warning, A Little Gross)

When you squeeze a pimple and it explodes, have you ever wondered how fast the white stuff is traveling when it hits the mirror or is it just me?

Mabel's Labels BlogHer 2009 Contest

I've made some really good friends through blogging, both online and live and in color. Saturday night I went out for dinner and coffee with Deb from SanDiegoMomma. It was a lovely evening. We talked for hours about almost everything. We're alot alike. And apparently so are our husbands. It's almost eerie. Deb is my bloggy twin. She's my sister from another Mister.

And I may never have met her if I hadn't started blogging. The same goes for my other blog friends. If I hadn't decided to give blogging a try I would never have saved Jamie's son from a bee. I wouldn't have commiserated with Jenn about our lack of angst, watched my son be fearless in Cheri's pool, defended Kate from a nasty commenter or developed a bit of a crush on Aaryn.

I also wouldn't have met the wonderful ladies I refer to as the Disney Crew, or Maria Bailey who I look up to and respect. These relationships are so important to me. With my friends, I'm not just Drama Kid's mom, Or Drama Dad's wife. I'm Mel. And I can let my hair or my guard down depending on the situation. With them I can be myself. And that is the sign of a true friend.


Blogging has given me more than just great friends. I've also regained my sense of self. I think our society places a huge emphasis on jobs and career. When introduced to someone, I'll bet that "so, what do you do?" is one of the first questions asked in conversation. Back when I was a "working" mom, I could answer that I was in marketing. Before that I was in radio admin, before that it was retail management and before that I was a student. In between some of these stages I also added wife and mother to my titles.

But then I lost my job and I was at a loss as to how to answer that question. I could be honest and say I "do" laundry, grocery shopping, wiping pee off the floors, scooping cat poop and any of the other things on my To Do list that had started to define me. But, I decided to apply the KISS method and reply that I was a stay at home mom.

I can't speak for other moms but for me, "what do you do?" started to feel like a really loaded question. Depending on who was doing the asking, once I answered that I was an at home mom, I started to notice that some people would check out of the conversation right then and there. I could see that moment where suddenly I didn't matter quite as much as I did in the few seconds before I gave my answer when there was still hope that I'd have a conversation worthy career.

And it got worse when the other person asked if you "used to" work and if you went to college. It's as though I've thrown away all my potential just so I can take my kid to practice.There is nothing more humiliating, degrading and demoralizing than to have another person write you off because you stay home with your family.

This blog changed all that. Since I started adding Mom Blogger to my title, people don't disconnect as much anymore. People want to know what I write about and how I like it. They're interested in me. I know I shouldn't need the external validation. It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. But I do and it does. I'm more than "just" a mom and this blog has been a way for me to show it. I started this blog as a way to connect with other people, get my thoughts out and use the creative side of my brain that was bored to tears by the endless lists and tasks that the other half was always making. But it has morphed into something much bigger.

It feels strange to say that I’m grateful I lost my job but I am. I really feel that this was the path I was meant to take when I walked out of the office for the last time. Who knows what else is in store for me or what other roles this blog will play. I know it will keep getting better and better and I’m so excited for the journey ahead.

This is my submission to the Mabel's Labels BlogHer 2009 sponsorship. Thank you for your generosity! Good luck to all the participants.

Rules, sponsorship details and how to enter found here.

**ETA: I'm a finalist! I'm having a contest to say thank you for supporting me and my blog. Read the details here.