Holy 500

500 posts.

I'm in awe of myself. I've never stuck to any "hobby" this long. I guess always being considered "talkative" isn't so bad after all...unless you're the person who has to listen. What do you write to celebrate 500 posts? I thought I would write about all the reasons I kept going. Why I love it, stuff like that. Here goes.

I started a blog as something to do. I found myself (by choice) as a SAHM with some extra time that I didn't want to use up on things like cleaning and laundry. I started writing. When I realized I could make a little money by doing sponsored posts I was ecstatic. I thought "this will get me out of going back to work when PP goes to school." It probably won't. I soaked up all the sponsored posts I could get my hands on and found myself with an extra $200-$300 in my pocket each month. I even hit $500 one December which was great for extra Christmas presents. I got bored writing about stuff that didn't even really interest me. No one was paying attention anyway. I was using EC to boost my rankings but everyone was just dropping and running. I stopped taking every post I could get and found things that interested me to write about. I also started focusing on other writers to try and decide what I wanted my blog(s) to be. I'm still working on that. I think we always are. As we grow as people and writers our focus changes, that's part of the fun. As I started meeting people and getting to "know" them through their blogs I found more people who thought what I had to say was interesting or at least worth commenting on. That got me even more hooked. My stats are way down from a year ago but my comments are up. I've joined great groups like Tribal Blogs, Mom Central and Twitter Moms, that allow me to meet even more like minded people. I now review stuff I'm actually interested in (wine, video games, food products, and online services) I mostly get the products and get paid for my time. It's not as much as it use to be, but I'm truer to myself and so I enjoy the posting rather than dread the thought of "coming up with something". It's a learning process.

The people that have inspired me, befriended me, and think just like me are another reason I've kept going. They must be recognized.

Jen @ Redhead Ranting and Tribal Blogs. She says what most of us are thinking and does it with no shame. She is funny and has courage. Never a dull moment on her blog. She is also relentless in making friends and helping new bloggers find their way (Tribal Blogs proves this).

Sandy @ Traveling Suitcase. She has a way of making history interesting. She takes us all along on her vacations and has tips and ideas on how to do it right whether traveling with kids or other adults.

Randy @ Winewhoreblog. Randy approached me on doing a duo wine review when he first started and it was a ton of fun. His blog took off and he found instant stardom leaving me in the dust, lol. It was incredible and exciting to watch. He's slowed down. (I think his wife is pregnant but he's not talking.) I wish him continued success with whatever direction he decides to go. I also credit him for allowing me into his world and getting lots of free wine sent my way.

Joe @ Whywineblog. Another fantastic person I met through Randy. A wine enthusiast who I was fortunate to have lunch with while he was in town for a vacation. Meeting new people and putting real faces to online contacts ROCKS!

Julie @ Momspective and Wii Mommies. Julie's story of losing 60 (now 100) pounds through Wii Fit and EA Active inspired me to keep an eye on her. She is one funny Momma and is another who isn't afraid to discuss ANYTHING. Who else could do a douche review? And pull it off fabulously.

Re @ Bad Gal Says. She not only post thought provoking topics but reached out and offered to do a post for me when I was in a slump. Probably the best post on this site. How can I not be grateful to such wonderful people.

There are so many more but these are my crushes at the moment. The people I always stop by to visit when I'm not looking for new people to stalk.

Blogging is a great way to get things off your chest. We all (mostly) put restrictions on what we will and will not post about. Those that are willing to put it all out there are the most compelling to me if they know how much to tell.

I am excited about my future in this online world and can't wait to meet more great people and look forward to a day I can meet some of these great writers face-to-face. Maybe before my 1000th post?

Happy 500!

Twitter Hop ~ Super Simple, Super Fun

I've had a ton of fun meeting new people with this Twitter Hop the last few weeks. If you are interested in gaining more followers, simply follow the directions below and get out there and meet some people.



Welcome to Twitter Hop Thursday, hosted by Simply Stacie, The King’s Court IV, Little Yaya’s, Review Retreat, and Moms Wear Your Tees!

Would you like more Twitter followers and be introduced to more neat blogs and businesses out there? Come and join us!!

1. Add your Twitter to the MckLinky (you only have to add it to one and it will appear on all).

2. Click on the Twitter for the six hostesses and follow each of them on Twitter. We will follow you back.

3. Follow as many people on Twitter as you like, but make sure to leave comments with links so they’ll know where to follow you!

Spread the word and add this MckLinky to your blog! Write your own post or copy and paste this one. Below the MckLinky box, you’ll see “Want to be a part of this Blog Hop? Click here for instructions and code….” Have fun Twitter-Hopping along!

***New this Week*** We have selected a Twitterer of the Week from last week’s entries and the lucky winner is Frugalapolis!!! They will be in the #6 spot! We will choose next week’s winner from everyone who participated today.

Please only add your Twitter url. All other entries will be deleted. Thank you!!!
This is a Blog Hop! 74 entries so far... you're next!

Random Tuesday ~MEcation, New Job and a Ring

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday. It must be time for some random, some blog hopping, and finding new Twitter and Facebook Friends. Yep. It's a busy busy day. No one does Random like The Un Mom and her followers. Join us all and get those tidbits of knowledge out of your head. Nothing is too silly for ...



If we're friends on Facebook you already know that I'm out of town. Taking a little MEcation to get rejuvenated before Hubster goes back to work. I actually planned it before the new job came through but then it did so that's what I'm telling people. I just needed a few minutes (days) of quiet to collect my thought and get back into the swing of things. I need to re-appreciate my family and hope they will do the same for me.

So, yep. Hubster got the job he's been waiting forever for. He'll start next week and is very excited. I'm excited to have him out of the house so I can get reacquainted with Mike (my Wii Fit trainer). I'll bet he's missed me.

American Idol Finale tomorrow!!! I predicted Crystal would win from the top 24 and she still may...but I REALLY want Lee to win. I will so buy whatever either of the records.

Speaking of music. I made the 3+ hour drive to Raleigh yesterday and listened to music very loudly the whole way. No one complained it was too loud or music they didn't like. It was heaven.

Lots of follow back blog hops going on. I got a bunch of new twitter followers last week and have been making a ton of new friends on Facebook. I'm too lazy to do a fan page for my blogs and already have them all linking into my personal page. I sometimes wonder if this is such a good idea. It probably isn't. If I create a fan page wouldn't it be super rude to "unfriend"people I don't know and send them to my blog pages? I think it would be. What to do, what to do.

I have Relay for Life next weekend and have only raised $45 of my $200 goal. I'm not a good fundraiser.

A friend just sent me a picture of a ring on her finger (text) and it's a band. Since she's became officially divorced like two weeks ago, what should I assume this is? I texted back "You better call me TODAY!" I guess I could have congratulated her, but since I'm not sure what to congratulate her for...You see my problem.

I'm randomed out. Don't forget to kit up Keely and the others for more fun tidbit brain dumping.

Thursday Thunks ~ My Life in ABC's

Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!
Please only leave a link if you have written a Thursday Thunks post. Please mention us in your post, and link back to the blog here.
Don't forget to go visit the other participants' blogs. Read and comment about all their Thursday Thunks! Thats what all this is about afterall, isn't it? We'll have so much fun and become lifelong friends....
The TT questions are brought to you by Berleen, the color of black coffee, which I need more of and the number 8,299,598,330.



This week is going to be easy... just one question. Ok, well maybe not so easy. Take each letter of the alphabet and describe something in your life... don't skip any!

A Always ON TIME. I hate being late.
B Before kids I was a little wild and crazy. Okay. That hasn't changed
C credit reports . Anyone else tired of getting and seeing offers for them?
D Doing laundry isn't that bad. Putting it all away Sucks!
E Easy Going...most of the time.
F Friendly.
G Giving
H Healthy. (as in not skinny)
I Intelligent.
J Jam Maker (as of last week).
K Kinky (TMI?)
L Love to read.
M Mindful of others.
N Never met a wine I didn't like. (ok. maybe just one or two)
O Open as in wide. Not a whole lot off limits.
P Playful
Q Questioner. I need answers people.
R Restless.
S Sister
T Talkative
U Understated
V Very interested in reading others ABC's
W Wine Lover
X X-sister-in-law (4 times)
Y Yell too much.
Z Zoo Member

What the Hell Entrecard?

I can't help it. I did my Wordless Wednesday post here and a What the Hell Wednesday post here and then went in to Entrecard to look for something and saw something that qualified for both. So I'll be double participating this week. It's cool, right?

Could someone please explain how EntreCard has let this shit happen? I've been reading about a lot of people leaving and had come to the conclusion that I would continue to "use" them for my benefit and not let them rule me by excessive dropping. After seeing this, and knowing I would never get a response from them, I think it just may be time for me to jump ship as well. It's like walking into a billboard advertising natural testosterone. Has anyone else been bombarded like this?



What the Hell???

Strawberry Picking, Killer Otters and a New Hobby

Gotta love Tuesdays. It's an opportunity to take all the fragments in you mind and put them together in completely random order to create a post. All the cool kids do it. Give it a try. Then go over to The Un Mom to link up and read more random from the other cool kids.




Why when I go shopping somewhere like Target I see a barcode scanner everywhere I look until I have a product that I want to check the price on and then they all seem to have disappeared? Is it just me? Why can't they just put a price on everything?

I want to go strawberry picking and make my own preserves this year. Anyone got a recipe? Puddin Pop also thinks we should make some Strawberry wine. She remembers how fun it was to stomp the grapes last year and would like to do it again "with her feet." I think we'll wait for the grapes.

American Idol is getting to the end. I really (now) want Lee to win. Love the sound of his voice and I could look at him all day.

Puddin Pop was having nightmares about killer-out-of-water otters attacking her in her room. I couldn't figure out where the otters were coming from. She said "from Barbie Rapunzel." Gothel has an animal around her neck named Otto and PP figured it was an otter. I'll admit I had to google "Barbie Rapunzel" to find out what it was. It's a ferret. We took her to the pet store to see and pet a ferret. She also isn't watching the movie right now. The nightmares have stopped.

I think I may have found a new hobby. This is pretty cool. I stole it from here.

I'm pretty sure it would take me a lot longer to get it to something I was happy with but it would be really neat as part of a Holiday table setting. I'll shoot for Thanksgiving. That should give me enough time.

I'm out of random. What do you have?

Great Mother's Day Weekend

What a great weekend. Friday we took the kids to Busch Gardens and rode some rides and had dinner. Saturday we hung around the house and Hubster took the kids out for a while and then they had a water gun battle in the yard. They brought me home a faux wine barrel with some fresh basil and cilantro to plant with my chives. Hubster thought about getting different flowers for the yard but the whole gardening thing just isn't for me and a good friend pointed out how resentful I would feel each season trying to keep these up. I did get a hanging basket of flowers for the porch and my In-Laws gave me another basket full of a variety of different flowers that I will split up and also hang. I'm pretty excited about that. The kids surprised me yesterday with a beautiful heart and key necklace with both their birthstones (diamonds and rubies) and told me it's because "they hold the key to my heart". We had a fabulous seafood lunch and then spent a couple hours enjoying the weather and hanging out with the neighbors chatting.

Now it's Monday. Back to business. Puddin Pop and I are talking about going strawberry picking and Hubster is going to amp up the job search. I'm not getting any workouts in while he's home. I need him to go to work. He has several possibilities but it seems as though these companies have slowed down their hiring process. He really thought he would have been working 6 weeks ago. I suggested he stop wasting his time "waiting". He agrees.



Okay. I'm out. Have a great Monday.

Sebeka Takes Home Double Gold

Tasters Guild recently held their 23rd Annual International Wine Judging in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was immediately contacted by one of the judges about a specific wine. Knowing I am always on the hunt for inexpensive (under $10) bottles of wine, this judge had a wine for me to try. Turns out I had tried this particular wine from previous years but hearing that the 2009 varietal had received double gold from the judges sent me on a hunt to find it. I did, yesterday, at Trader Joes.

(picture courtesy of Sebekawines.com)

2009 Sebeka Cabernet Pinotage ($5.99-$8.49)

This varietal is so rich in color I couldn't get sunlight to penetrate it. It started off as grape juice to the nose and then opened up to an aroma of blackberry and earth scents. On the palate it was a variety of black and red berries, dark cocoa and oak. It is very smooth and has a nice finish. This is a perfect blend... and it's under $10.

I could not be more pleased with this wine. I enjoyed it with the appetizers listed in the post below, chicken Alfredo and salad for dinner. and dark chocolate covered cranberries after the kids went to bed. It went well with all of them.

My "judge" friend just ordered 6 cases. Another friend of mine is thinking about using this bottle as her bridesmaid gifts along with an etched glass celebrating the occassion. I like that idea.

It's Not a Party without the Melba Snacks

Embarrassingly (that's a word, right?) I spaced on the date yesterday and totally missed Cinco De Mayo. I didn't actually miss it. I was around and thinking about it all day. I was just without a Margarita and my munchies that I normally enjoy with neighbors and friends on our annual Cinco Happy Hour. I had to work. I totally forgot to request it off. Since Puddin Pop has Strep and was still in the contagious stage it's probably just as well. Who says you can't celebrate it late? We do it with Birthday's all the time.

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining and I'm ready to have my Cinco party. Don't even care if anyone comes. My neighbor picked up my slack and had Margs ready yesterday. Not sure who's going to be ready for round 2. I also found a wine (Yes. You can drink wine for a Cinco celebration) that an inside source has revealed won Double Gold at a recent Wine Tasting. You'll have to wait for more information on that.

I have prepared a spicy black bean layer dip (with cream cheese, black olives and red onion) and found guacamole hummus at Trader Joe's that I knew would go wonderfully with Old London's Melba snacks. Especially the Spicy 3 Pepper ones. I love Melba Snacks for their flavor and stability. Nothing's worse than dipping a chip or cracker and having it break in the dip. I knew the Melba snacks would be perfect with the layer dip and no one will have to worry about digging for their lost piece.

Old London's site A Toast for Everyday Health, offers some very tasty recipes to make with Melba Snacks. I'm going to try the Atlantic Salmon Bites for our next Girl's Night In. They are also offering one Lucky Individual (and guest) a Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience in their Dance Your Way To Hollywood Contest.

Win a Vacation to Hollywood!
“Dance Your Way to Hollywood” will send one lucky winner and a guest to Tinseltown for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, including private dance lessons and tickets to watch the taping of a highly popular television show. The four-day, three-night, all-expenses-paid experience includes air travel and accommodations at a popular Hollywood hotel. Sweepstakes entries accepted March 17 through June 30, 2010.

You better believe I entered. Now, I'm not a huge fan of watching others dance, but I secretly (*whispered*) wish I could dance. Maybe this is my chance.

So. (For those of you too far away to attend in person) Grab yourself some Melba Snacks. Make or purchase your favorite dip(s). Grab a Margarita or any other beverage (I'm trying to make this as user friendly as possible) and join me at 5pm (Eastern Time) for a belated Cinco De Mayo Celebration. We'll call it Thursday De Mayo.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Old London Melba Toast and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Sleeping, Name Changing and Tragedy ~ What the Hell

Wednesdays can be fun. Especially if playing the What the Hell game with the Blue Monkey Butt sisters Elle and Stacy. They are funny and delightful and you should really head over and visit them before they get so popular that there's a line at the door. Just saying.



My husband was only awake for 6 hours yesterday. What the Hell is that? That man needs a job. I totally made him get up at 6:15 with Handsome. What was he going to say? Neither of them was happy about that. I slept 'til 8.

So now that I'm becoming friends with people through blogging, FB, Twitter and other social sites, and all those lines are getting crossed, I've decided I need to use a few less names. I will now only use "Rachele" (my real name) and "More Fun Mom" (from one of my blogs and my Twitter ID) because I'm too lazy to change that again.)) That should make it a little less confusing (for me too). I've also decided that Boog is getting a little old for his baby name so, what the hell, he will now be referred to as Handsome, 'cuz that's how I greet him each morning when he comes downstairs, and because Handsome doesn't get highlighted when I spellcheck.

I'm really tired of getting junk email about "the best diet pill " or "other pills" that aren't even really for me. What the Hell? Figure out your target audience people. It's not me.

I read this story on Monday and then follow up details became available on Tuesday. The story made me think, "What the Hell" and "Why the Hell". These kids seem to have been brought up right. They are (were) both athletes and appear to be good students. What went wrong? As a parent I need more answers. Shit like this scares the hell out of me. I'm am sorry that both sets of parents have to go through this. It's just tragic.

It's Cinco De Mayo and I have to work. We usually have a porch party for the nieghbors. What the Hell? Anyone want Margs on the 6th?

What the Hell is bothering YOU? Post about it and then link up....NOW!