I haven't been so good lately...

I made a goal about a year ago to blog every weekday.  At first, I was mostly interested in attracting readers and becoming a "real" blogger and a better writer.  But recently, I realized that my blog was more for me.  And I like that!  I've found my motivation for posting has been for my own record keeping and eventually to make a great big, giant blog book/scrapbook rather than to attract new readers. 

Another realization I came to was that I enjoy hanging my laundry (not the dirty stuff, that's secret!!) out to dry on my blog.  I've got nothing to hide.  I like entertaining people and making them laugh at my series of unfortunate--and fortunate--events.  Weird, huh?

This week, I've been feeling guilty because I haven't been blogging regularly and I don't have a good excuse for it.  I've just been feeling bleh about actually using my brainpower for writing, and I felt bad that I wasn't writing for my readers. Then I remembered that first and foremost, this blog is for me.  As lame as it sounds, I really like to go back and read my own blog; it makes me laugh. 

So I decided if it doesn't bother me that I haven't been writing, then I shouldn't feel guilty at all!  And now I don't.  This week has been a nice break for the blehs, but there's been lots of things happening that I need to record.  I'm promising myself that next week, I'll get back into it again!  And I've got great stuff to write about with pictures too!

Thankful Thursday - Blogging Buddies

I am so thankful for blogging buddies!  It's so great to be able to connect with other women and share life's experiences.

Also, I've learned quite a few new things through my blogging buddies.  Like today, I found a cool scrap booking site called, Scrapblog.  I would have never found it, and it's great! Look what I made!

I Am Resolved!

It's taken me a while, but I think I'm finally ready to finalize what my goals for the year 2009 will be.  Making New Year's resolutions doesn't really work for me.  I'm all about starting new for a new year, but I feel like making resolutions just sets me up for failure.  I've tried in the past, and I didn't do half bad, but it felt a little forced because I felt like I had to make the resolution on January 1st and that I had to keep it, or I'd be a loser! ;)

So this year, I'm doing it a little different.  Who says you have to start at the very beginning anyways?  Finalizing my plans at the end of the January has given me time to really think about stuff.  I don't really have time to think about anything from approximately December 24th-January 11th because of Christmas, three birthdays and a wedding (this year)!  And I'm not making any specific promises to myself that I have to keep the entire year.  Most of my goals are very general, but will inspire me to make good choices to better myself.

And here they are (not in any particular order)...

1. Become a photographer:  This doesn't mean that I have to get a job taking photos, or that I have to spend money to take a class.  All it means is that I'm going to make it a priority in my life to spend some time getting to know my camera and learn to take better pictures.  And I'm going to be my only judge.  Well, I'll let my husband have a say... but ultimately, if I'm happy with it then it's good!  I'm excited to take my new camera on it's first scenic road trip to some national parks soon!

2. Take better care of my body:  Now I'm not saying that I abuse my body in any way.  I'm pretty careful about most of the Word of Wisdom stuff.  I've never smoked, drank (coffee, tea or alcohol), or done drugs.  But I don't exercise all that much.  Actually I exercise none.  And I don't always eat very well.  Not too long ago, I heard someone say that we would all be held accountable for how we took care of our bodies.  And that worried me.  The scriptures teach us that our bodies are a temple and that they are a gift from God.  I'm not abusing mine, but I could definitely show more appreciation for the amazing gift I received from my Heavenly Father.  I'm going to make it a priority to show appreciation in any of the following ways, getting more exercise--getting off my lazy butt and walking to my parents' house, stretching in the mornings, doing aerobics while watching tv (well... maybe not the last one. It sounds too dorky)--choosing fewer and healthier snacks, and going to bed earlier!

3.  Increase my gospel knowledge:  I've always had a hard time with scripture study.  For some reason it's been laborious and painful, and I never got much out of it.  And these feelings transferred to any other religious book.  But then I actually began to read a religious book.  You know, the kind where the author quotes a scripture selection every other paragraph, and I realized that that was the kind of scripture study that I could get into!  I like to go and look up the quoted scriptures and read around the verses included in the book.  It's a lot more fun for me, and I get a lot more out of it.  Right now I'm reading The Infinite Atonement.  It's slow going because there's lots to digest, but I'm really loving it!

Another thing that I already started doing that I think will benefit me is my "Book of Mormon Mondays."  This forces--or rather, inspires--me to read out of the Book of Mormon more often (lately it's been daily with my husband) so that I can have something prepared to blog about each week.  Sort of a lame reason to read, but hey, whatever works, right?  And it's fun!  I really enjoy it!  So I'm going to make it a priority in my life to find more of these enjoyable ways for me to learn more about the amazing gospel of Jesus Christ!

4.  Improve my relationship with my husband:  Now again, I'm not saying that I have a bad relationship with Derek.  It's actually really good, and has improved drastically!  But, as my dad always says, there's always room for improvement!  Most of my troubles come from control issues.  I'm a bit of a control freak and a worrier, and that's a toxic combination.  Lately, I've been trying harder to really think about whether I'm "nagging" him about something rather than "discussing" it with him.  And if what I think is important to talk about really is all that important to talk about.  I think it's been working better because both he and I seem happier.  I'm also trying to speak his love language more fluently and not be so bossy!

5.  Become a historian:  I'm a geographer, and a big part of geography is history!  For this one, I'm going to try to make a specific goal.  Each month, I want to become a (well rounded) historian by reading one historical book each month.  It could be a biography, memoir, a novel based on an actual event, a textbook type of book--believe it or not, I actually enjoy reading history textbooks--or even a book written by someone during that time period (think Chaucer or Uncle Tom's Cabin).  I'm not that particular on the where the history took place.  I love it all!  And I guess if I run short on time, I could watch a good, historical movie about a real event in history.  But that's risky.  I'll have to be picky with that because some could call the movie Titanic historical.  Barf.

Here's my "syllabus."  And I'm not planning on sticking to it religiously.  It's just a possible outline for my course of study.

• January - Africa
• February - The Middle East (not including Israel and Palestine)
  
• March - Russia
  
• April - China
  
• May - Japan
  
• June - Korea
  
• July - South East Asia
  
• August - Polynesia
  
• September - North or South Pole
  
• October - Israel and Palestine
  
• November - Central/South America
  
• December - Europe
  

I won an award!

Hooray!  Rachel over at Green-Eyed Girl awarded this fabulous award (Sorry, Rachel the wrestler woman grossed me out, so I found the original award)!

So the rules for this award are to list my 5 fabulous addictions,

1. Blogging
2. Photoshop/Photography/Digital Scrapbooking
3. Alias (For right now, before it was X-Files. Next who knows what it will be!)
4. Learning new things (last year it was becoming a better writer, this year a better photographer)
5. Piano

award the prize to 5 of my favorite bloggers,

1. Hannah, at The Hamilton Family
2. Caroline, at Our Ridiculously Interesting Lives...No, Seriously!
3. Jodi, at Reeve Chronicles
4. Lara, at Overstuffed
5. Kristi, at Jeff Kristi & Gunnar

and include the rules and regulations!

1. Pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. List 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. Copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Rules and Instructions:

Upon receipt of this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget. Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog. So there you go!

 

There are so many great bloggers that I read!  It was so hard to choose just five!  Sorry to anyone else who feels slighted.

Trying Something New

So what do you think?  I was getting a little tired of the jeans look even though I couldn't find anything I liked better!  I really do like it, but I'm ready for a darker text on a light background rather than vice-versa.  This one's called "Notepad Chaos Blog."

What do you think of this layout?  I'm a fan, but there are a few little weird things.  Like the tabs at the top.  They don't do anything, and I can't figure out how to alter them.  Anyone know?  I'd be really happy if you could help me out!!!

I jumped on the bandwagon

Here's another post to enter my give-away with!

I saw this on a yet another friend's blog and decided to do it too!.

To participate, just copy and paste the list in your own blog, and color all of the things YOU have done - use any color you want. Things you haven't done will be in black. Have fun and if you have your own blog you might want to post your results there for the rest of us to see.

I HAVE...
1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain(shower)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (sort of, it wasn't my fault)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

It's Now Official!

I'm a Modern Molly Mormon!  Have you read the blog?  If not you should, especially now that I'm posting there as well! :)  There are quite a few talented "Mollys" posting there with all kinds of stuff for LDS women. 

Come check us out!  I'm Multi-task Molly.

Modern Molly Mormon Giveaway!

Modern Molly Mormon is giving away a Christmas blog layout from Leelou!  Check them out!

Thanks for the Comments!

Have I said thank you for the comments you guys leave?  Probably not enough.  They really do mean a lot to me!  Especially from regular commentors like Hannah, Heather, and Kristi.  And my new blogging friends Lara and Teresa!  And all the rest of you guys who have commented even just once.  It means you're really out there and you're really reading!

Simple Snow Effect

Blogger Buster has a link to a great snow effect for blogs!  And it's so easy to add.  Just click on the link, then click on "add to blog," and you're done!!!

Buttons, buttons, who's got a button?

Thanks to Lara from Overstuffed for gifting the great blogging buttons to EVERYONE!!! I've always wanted a blog button!!

Friday Finds - A Link Round-up

Book Report, Rocks in my Dryer.  I love finding new books.  The only thing I love more than finding new books is someone finding them for me!!!

Royal Icing, Joy of Baking.com.  Ok, so this isn't a blog, but it is pretty interesting... if you're into icing.  I remember my Mom using royal icing to decorate cakes.  She always told me not to eat it because "it would give me the poops!" :)

Emergency Plans and Disaster Kits, Food Storage Made Easy. Emergeny plans and disaster kits have always been too freaky for me to even try to figure out.  Plus, they seemed so vague.  People always tell us to have a plan, but then don't help us figure out a basic outline for what we need to have and do.  This post lays it out very simply!  Yay!


How to Define Acronyms Within Your Content, Performancing. This has to be the coolest thing ever!  I had no idea that I could make those cool tool tips on my very own blog!!! Let's test it! LDS, MSG, TNT, MFEO.  Yay!  I can do it!


Woman in jail after killing her online husband, Japan Probe.  Ok, so she's not really in jail for the murder.  It's more for the computer hacking she had to do on her "husband's" account.  You can read more about her murder on Yahoo News. Oh, and not that this matters to most of you readers, we heard about this game all the time in Korea.  From elementary aged students.  Older students thought this game was to "baby" for them!

I have a follower!

Hey guys!  Look to the right!  I have a follower!  Hooray!

Thanks Devri!

If anyone else wants to be my follower, don't hesitate to click on "follow this blog!" :)

Blog Train

One of my blog friends has started a blog train! It's pretty cool. You post your name and blog site on the "train" and then leave a comment on the person's blog above you. The next person who posts on the train will go to your site and leave a comment. It's a great way to get new readers!

Have no fear!

No need to worry any more!  It just took my Google Reader a minute or two for the NEW and IMPROVED "Idaho Cheneys" to load.  I'm relieved.  I wasn't relishing having to fix that bug.

Hmm...

I'm not sure if my new blog is working with google reader quite how I want it to.  I guess this is a test post to see if it is actually working.

A New Look for Idaho Cheneys!

We've got a new look here!  I'm so excited!  I've been waiting for just the right template for my blog, and here it is.  There are still a few kinks to be worked out.  I'm hoping that anyone who has me on their Google Reader or another RSS feed still gets me.  I had to do some fancy footwork with the site address, actually it was more complicated than any dance move I've ever seen done.  I had to create an entire new blog, import the original Idaho Cheneys posts, change URLs, and then cross my fingers that it would all work.  I'm sure there was an easier way to do it, but after a while all that HTML code looks the same!

So, there are still a few kinks, but oh, how in LOVE am I with this new template!  The most obvious kink is the "undefined undefined undefined" to the right of the post title.  I guess if I consider myself "undefined undefined undefined," it's not that bad... but it still looks a little strange.  The other kink that has me completely stumped is that the date for the "date posted" thing doesn't show up.  It's supposed to; I've got it included in the edits, but for some reason, it's not showing itself.  As a band-aid, I've set Idaho Cheneys to archive daily.  Not the best fix, but it's a quick one.

So if any of you savvy bloggers out there know how to fix my two kinks, please please let me know! 

Linkage

I just have to say, blogging is WONDEFUL!  It's amazing how much great stuff you can learn from other people.  In the past, I had heard that you could get a lot of info from blogs, but I didn't really understand how.  But now I do.  It's all in the linkage.  Yes, I know that's probably not a real word, but it works for me. 



Since I've started blogging more "seriously," (I write seriously with quotation marks, because come on, you've read my posts, they aren't THAT great!) I've realized the value of linking to others' blogs, especially professional bloggers', and then checking out the links on those blogs.  That is linkage.  And, oh the good stuff I have found.  Just today, I found a whole series of blogs that are so interesting.  They all start with "5 Minutes for _______."  I particularly enjoy the one about reading, and being green.  Check them out!













They also have "5 Minutes for Mom.com," "5 Minutes for Parenting," and a couple others. You can find links to those on the left hand side of any "5 Minutes for..." site.



I guess it's sort of like a blog version of Chicken Soup for the soul, short easy reads with great info!

About.com

I found a great resource for any kind of blogger! About.com has a whole slew of useful articles and tips on blogging. My favorite so far was the one for "blogger's block". Bloggers block, as they call it, I think has held me back from really blogging well. When I was in Korea, there was always something to write about. But now, life is back to normal and I'm running out of things to say. Although, I guess everybody's life is different, so there's no normal...

I also liked their "15 Tips to Increase Blog Traffic." Not that I'm trying to become a world famous blogger or anything, but they had some great ideas for anyone who wants to show up on search engines.

So now to implement the new knowledge I've learned from about.com's blogging section. Let's see if you all can figure out which new tools I'm using. Leave a comment if you think you know, or leave a comment just because!

5 NEW THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN

1. A foreign language -- probably Japanese, Korean (I know, I know, I lived there I should know it, but guess what, I don't) or maybe even Spanish. After being exposed to non indo-european languages, languages like Spanish, German, or French seem so tame!

2. Some sort of great physical feat -- something like a martial art. My husband did Tae-kwon-do back in the day. He was (and probaby still is, but won't show anybody including me) pretty amazing at it and enjoyed it. It seems like an enjoyable form of exercise; although I tend to loathe most forms of exercise.

3. Political Science -- of the whole world. I hate watching or reading the news and not knowing if I really agree or disagree with the coverage. I know enough about the foreign world to know that US media coverage is BIASED, big time. It's not always completely wrong, but it never tells the whole story, and the effects of that just leads to more dislike of America on the world scene. So I want to know more about International Political Science so I can be confident in my opinions.

4. Auto repair -- so I can fix my own car. I'm sick of feeling like I've been over charged for something, or that the mechanic has told me a load of bunk about what needs to be fixed. I don't know enough about cars to be able to argue with the guy if it's really necessary or not.

5. How to teach piano lessons -- I've posted about this before. I know how to play. I play pretty well, but I'm paralyzed at the idea of teaching someone else. It could be a great work from home opportunity for me; something I don't want to miss out on. Right at the moment we don't really have enough space in our house to house a piano. My parents are graciously letting my piano live at their house until we do, so teaching lessons is not in my very near future. But hopefully it will be, eventually. I guess that means that I definitely have time to learn this skill!

Alright, I'd like to hear your top 5 I-wanna-know lists. I tag Derek, Wendy, Rachel, Kim, Tanya, Jodi, and Heather. I also tag my mom, my aunt Sherri, and my Gma and Gpa McGrath. I know you guys don't have blogs, but leave your lists in a comment please! :)

Widgetbox

If you've noticed, I've got a couple of new widgets on the side of my blog! I'm so proud of myself! I used html and java! I found the Jesus Christ widget on this great website called widgetbox.com. Most of the widgets that I found on that site were space wasters, but I really liked this one on Christ. It links directly to the site the church made about Christ. It even pops up in a new window! The best part about it is that if you want to add it to your blog, all you have to do is click on the "add widget" button at the bottom of the menu, copy the code and paste it into a HTML/JavaScript page element thing. Yay for easy blog stuff!