Well, the new blog is only a few weeks old and it’s already broken. I’ve been trying to post a blog with an embedded video and it doesn’t work. As my mother used to say (sighing dramatically) whenever we kids broke something new, “Well, we just can’t have nice things!”
The new blog was nice, but now it’s broken and I can only type text, but no more embedded videos.
Sigh.
I guess we just can’t have nice things!
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Ann and Tracy I understand your shock about this site being blocked from my workplace. I GUESS I JUST CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS AT WORK ANYMORE!!!!
(Next thing you know they’ll ask me to remove my husband’s picture from my desk.)
Gloria – how to write – go to blogger.com and start a blog. Pretend you are writing a book that people (you) will pick up and buy in airport bookstores to read on their flight. “He’s Just Not That Into You” is a PERFECT example.
Here is an example I chose for myself “0 to O – the Modern Woman’s Guide to Self Satisfaction.” Now granted I never really started this blog or book (except going this instant to blogger to grab the title), but it is a good idea – so, um nobody steal it, okay?
Diet books are good . . . books about pets . . . anything about weight, relationships, finances, surviving dead end jobs, age, struggling through adversity, basically the stuff of life.
Don’t get hung up on what other people might want to read and buy (as you are basically writing for yourself), but dont’ ignore it either . . . ultimately, writers do want to share their writing with other people.
Once you have your blog (no matter how silly it may be), try to write a post every day. Somedays (weeks, months — I even have a blog called “Abandoned Blogs” which I have abandoned) I don’t post at all. Other days I will post multiple entries. It doesn’t matter. You are writing. No one needs to know. It is your e-diary.
The thing is — I do sometimes, really amuse myself. Yes, I even LOL!
Okay, maybe “Redneckonomics” will never see print, and maybe it is self-indulgent and stupid, but I got a few laughs along the way, and I wrote.
I think the hurdle you are trying to overcome is fear of failure — but guess what? I am the poster child for failure. Blogger is a lot more forgiving than you think. Of all my blogs (probably about ten) only two people have ever chosen to follow (obviously) my most popular one! I think I can handle the judgment of two random strangers who stumbled across my posts online.
Just remember one thing — Writers write (I’d snag that blog but it is already taken). That is it. That is the secret.
One day you might find yourself at the Texas Book Festival with an “author” name tag on and a sharpie in hand to autograph your book with (the structure of that sentence proves that it can happen to anyone). It happened to me, really, and I never, ever thought of myself as a writer, much less an author.
Just a couple of blogging tips — use youtube, current events, and images from the internet liberally, to spice up your posts. Yeah, I know Perez Hilton is not a “writer” per se, but he doesn’t have to punch a clock either.
I’ll miss you so much Cath! Have a blast! Enjoy it all my sister from another mother! xoxoxoxo
People, if I end up French kissing Rick Springfield on stage, trust me you’ll hear about it
I’m heading to the airport in 30 minutes! I’m gonna miss you guys! I’ll report back my cruise antics (thongs, chicken legs, drumsticks) – whatever they may be – in a week.
Cath
Left a message for Maureen, will let you know when I hear anything.
Thanks Aislinn, I don’t think I knew that. I just remember thinking how cute it was to call someone a little cabbage and mean it lovingly. hehehe I did learn a swear word in french from the month I stayed there when I was 14 or 15. Merde means shit everyone. lololol
Loved your Ernie story too. They have a way of finding us when we need them.
Thanks for the rest of a great story KC. But now I’m dying to know what band! You can’t do that to us. And gang, watch out, yet another Leo! No wonder KC fits in so perfectly here. KC, I’m a Leo, as are I think 8-10 of us, including our lovely host, Ann.
And Alan pops in with a zinger, right in time. lololol Curmudgeon? I find that hard to believe.
All this talk about hair is making me nostaglic…for when I still had some.
Catherine, have yourself a FUN time on that cruise!
OMG! A chicken leg!!!! Well, considering the beers we were downing that night we probably would have been ecstatic over a chicken leg! I used the stick to keep my window up on my studio apt in the East Village…
I remember the drummer had blue hair and was in a major rock band (name will be preserved to protect the stupidity). So then I got pulled onstage to have the stick signed, the marker didn’t work, he tried to sign it on ME, didn’t work, so he settled for a makeout session. In front of 10,000 people. Hey, I was 21. Although my brother gave me a noogie (remember those?) when I got off stage.
So Catherine, perhaps a drumstick (food or otherwise?) will come your way! Rick Springfield! I only know Jesse’s Girl but I’m sure he’s worth an underwear toss.
Tracy, yep, hair control when I was 10….then I got a perm at 11 and decided not to brush it so it DID have to get lopped off again due to the rat’s nest forming in back of my head that I gleefully just ignored. My mom should have held me back until 13…
I am the youngest of 2, AND a Leo….double whammy. And all my in-law siblings are older than me. I love every second of it!
OMG, thank you all for such hard, loud, and so very much needed laughter!!!!!! You should here me over here. Oh wait, maybe you can, I get quite loud when I laugh hard.
Cath, I too thought KC meant a chicken leg!!!!!!!!!!!! ok, I just actually snorted from laughing.
Also Cath, I think you should go with a thong. lolol
Your brother calling you Spock is awful. Kids are so mean, aren’t they?
KC, you started me off just by saying you didn’t know who she was throwing underwear at. hehehe Since you came in late, I guess that did seem really odd. Not really, Cath does that all the time.
Just kidding
And you were able to take control of your own hair at 10? My mom was really strict. I think I wasn’t allowed till I was 13 or 14.
No, nothing from Maureen. I’ve been so busy getting things ready for the surgery, I kept meaning to call her. Will try her right now and report back.
And Ann, I think you need to contact Christine’s employer and complain about your site being blocked. It makes it sound like your site is some kind of a porn site or something! Christine, get Ann your boss’s number to Ann ASAP!
Tracy, chou-fleur means cauliflower, so you weren’t too far off.
Hi everyone. I usually jump on the blog after a long day at the office. I love reading everyone’s stories and hearing about your lives. My cat, Ernie (Hemmingway), came to me the same way Bailey came to Catherine. At the time, I was scouring the shelters for a dog, and had no interest in cats. Well, along came this little six-toed ginger cat who appeared at my door every morning – 6 a.m. sharp – rain or shine. I’d let him in while I got ready for work, and give him some “people food.” After about a few weeks of this, I started worrying that he might be outside at night with the coyotes, so I’d wander around with a flashlight until I found him. That was six years ago, and I could not imagine my life without him. So, again, Catherine, I understand your loss. I hope Rick dedicates “Jessie’s Girl” to you.
It just dawned on me that chou means cabbage not cauliflower! (I can’t get “Mon petite chou” in a silly little voice out of my head) Sorry for the confusion! lolol
No word from Maureen yet. Tracy, have you talked to her today?
wow, I’ve been away from my computer all day, so nice to see all the comments. No word from Maureen yet, huh? Love the Bailey story.
Christine I’m OUTRAGED that my site has been banned from your workplace!
More about childhood haircuts: Like some of you, I was so traumatized by Mom’s haircuts that I also grew my hair out long as an adult just to kinda say, “So there, Mom! Take that!”. But after a while it started getting in the way. I’d shut it in car doors, get it caught on stuff, and my grandbabies got hands would up in it and pulled out big chunks. I finally had enough a couple of years ago and had 17 inches of long, blonde locks cut off and the rest dyed dark brown. Does that mean Mom and I are even now?
Lisa, OMG you’re right – ha. Ever since I started Weight Watchers EVERYTHING is food to me! Drumstick? Gotta be chicken – ha!
Ann:
I think to be the middle child is a good thing!. You see, the oldest gets ‘practiced on’ as children do not come with instructions. Just remembered I was 23 and my groom was 28 when we tied the knot. Now, that is ‘infancy’.
Back to my theme, the youngest child gets pampered a lot, it is all cute and stuff.
The middle child, gets left ALONE because the parents are way busy with the oldest and the youngest. And that IS okay with me!. I did not get the discipline of my oldest sister, nor the cuddling of my youngest; rather, whatever I decided to do, was accepted. Then again, I was not disruptive NOR did I feel jealousy for either sister.
Great exoression on that photo of Ann’s earlier years. Says a lot and it is funny, both.
Catherine, now I’m laughing out loud… I think KC meant a drumstick, as in from a drummer, vs. poultry!
Hi KC, the underwear recipient would be Rick Springfield
(LOL, about the chicken leg!)
Once, I got gum stuck in my hair and my mom had to cut it out. I too have long hair now from the early trauma of numerous boy cuts.
Catherine, enjoy your vacation! I have no idea who you’re throwing underwear at (???) but I hope they catch it! I had someone throw a drumstick to me once, and instead my brother got clunked in the face with it. Underwear is a much softer-landing item!
I love the Bailey story, thanks for sharing it. When we move the horses to our new place, our 17 year old barn cat will also have to come with us. So that means FOUR cats. And I’m a dog person. ?? But I can’t just leave her in a cold barn with no horses heating it up in winter.
I had short hair (aka, a boy hair cut) when I was little because my mom thought long hair was too much of a hassle. Since I took control of my own hair (around 10?), it’s been long. Yes, I was that traumatized.
Gloria, about the writing thing. I have found that taking a creative writing class at the local community college works really well. It forces you to sit down and do it. And there’s no pressure to get an “A”, it’s just for fun. Also, check your local bookstores. Sometimes they post notices about folks who gather there to form writing clubs. And there are on-line writing classes/clubs too. It’s all just a way of getting that pen to paper. I read a quote just yesterday that said, “The easiest thing in the world not to do is write.” Push on through and don’t judge what comes from your pen. Just write.
Gloria, hang in there. It’s so hard watching that gradual decline. I feel for you.
As far as the panties on stage thing, I’ve decided it would be most practical to throw a brand new, packaged, French-cut or hipster panty up there. Maybe his wife might want it. (Can you tell I’m semi-obsessive compulsive and I hate waste – ha.)
Tracy, your “monkey girl” story breaks my heart. I have a funky right ear and my brother used to call me “Spock.” It was awful!
Catherine, that’s beautiful. I told you that she found you for a reason, and that story just confirms it. It made me cry. You saved each other.
Your bangs story reminded me of a haircut I had for a long time, short, boyish, and very short bangs. What was my Mom thinking???? We went to visit cousins, and they said I looked like a monkey, and kept calling me monkey girl! How awful for an extremely shy scared 7-8 year old girl. ugh. I am over it now, didn’t mean to make it sound like I wasn’t. lolol
I have always wanted to write. However I have found it a daunting task and have never really started. How does one get over this hurdle. I have no interest in being a bestselling author, just to write for my own amusement and satisfaction. Perhaps even for family and friends. Anyone have any suggestions to get me going>
Gloria
Hi Catherine,
I appreciated the story of Bailey and how he came into your life during a tempest. I am so sorry about my dog gradual decline that I want a puppy to fill in the void. There is unconditional acceptance that animals can provide for us, a gift that is rarely found in life. Have a wonderful vacation and toss a sexy underwear onstage for me.
Gloria
Tracy, I’m thinking of you. I’ll hop over to Facebook to ramble to you…
You all have been so sweet about Bailey. I really appreciate it. I was trying to sort of compartmentalize my grief until after my trip, but reading all of your comments has really helped me with it. I hope you don’t mind if I share just a couple things about Bailey. In 1994 I went through a terrible break up with a very bad boyfriend. I was bereft and a shell of my former self. One day as I was leaving my apartment for work, I saw this tiny black kitten on my front stoop. I picked her up to pet her, but had to get to work. So I set her down and left. All day I kept kicking myself that I should have left water out for her. On my way home from work I stopped at the store to get some tuna (the only thing I knew about cats was that they liked tuna) just in case I saw her again. I pulled up to my apartment that night at around 6:00pm…and there she was…still there…she hadn’t moved a single inch from where I set her down that morning. I called my mom and she said, “Well, quick go buy a litter box!” I posted signs to makes sure she wasn’t someone’s missing cat. And that was it. She helped begin to fill that gaping hole I had.
Thanks for indulging me. I just felt like I needed to memorialize Bailey in writing and I couldn’t think of a better place to do it than here on Ann’s blog, where you all love animals so much.
Now, on a separate note. Maureen, I’m thinking of you and keeping positive thoughts. Tracy, good luck with your surgery.
Lynn, my mom used to cut my bangs and then keep cutting until she thought they were “even”…by then, they were about 3/4 of an inch long too and I looked like a boy.
My Dad’s classic line when I was growing up was, “Eat your dinner. There are starving children in Bangladesh.”
Holla, to all middle children out there!
Ann, such a wise move not to create a middle child out of Devin. That’s love, baby!
Okay, I’m done rambling and am counting the hours down till I leave for vacation tonight!
Catherine
Thank goodness! I can finally load this post! I was feeling so left out. I got the video ok, and posted about it.
I love the sayings everyone has posted. I don’t remember any, but then I’ve blocked a lot of my childhood out because it wasn’t pleasant.
Get this, I was older, but felt inferior to my younger sister!
Julie, will have to check out your post. I have been really down the last 2 weeks, and can’t come up with any explanation. Usually I can figure it out, but I’m drawing a blank. I even had fun things going on, but then I slipped right back into the blues. I wish I could shake it.
Kimberly, I remember Mon petite chou! I think it was from French class, and it’s my little cauliflower. It really is a term of endearment. I always thought it was so cute.
I’ve been so busy with work, I’ve missed your blog!!! Now it’s catch up time. Never seen the movie, will check it out sometime soon. Going to check out Alan’s friends’ book too! Okay, must get to work…..
I like your new haunted blog…;)
Ok, it took me all morning to get into this post! I kept getting denied. Ann, your blog IS haunted.
I could get into the French movie post, but I can only count to 10 and say “Mon petit chou fleur” which my 4th grade teacher used to say. “My little cabbage head” or “my little cauliflower” or something. So I just saw lots of old cars and making out. It reminded me of my best friend’s first trip to Cuba last year (she married a Cuban).
It also reminds me how many good movies I’ve missed out on because…well, I wasn’t alive yet. I really have to get more old movies on our Netflix. Any suggestions?
Catherine, I am so sorry about Bailey. She sounds like she was wonderful and good for your soul. And you, good for hers. I second Tracy – she’s at the Rainbow Bridge.
I always recall my Nana yelling “For cryin’ in the sink!” That one is still a puzzler.
Heh. Sorry for the repetitive use of “excellent” there. But that’s how good the videos are.
Ann, I don’t see any problems with your embedded video or the order of your posts. If you ever have problems/questions with Wordpress, please feel free to shoot me an email and I’d be happy to help. I work extensively with it, both front and backend and am using it now as a CMS for about half of my clients base. It truly is the best blogging platform available today, with power and extensibility beyond what you may be aware of. Because I have so many clients using it now, I searched for and found an excellent set of excellent tutorials for training purposes. In fact, I’m using them to train a client today. Cost for an unlimited subscription is $39 and worth every penny. Shawn Hesketh, the guy who created them, is uniquely gifted at explaining things, and just an awesome person to know.
http://www.wpoverview.com/
I’m a middle child, BTW. Sometimes it sucked.
Love your childhood pic! At least you had bangs. Mom used to cut our bangs about 3/4 of an inch long. I’m still trying to forgive her.
Ann, I absolutely adore that childhood pic of you, makes me smile every time I see it. I’ll look at any and all pics of you, they are each different with a beautiful quality.
All is working fine on the blog for me, guess you can have nice things after all!
Ann I did see the post below about the movie and it played without a hitch. I never saw the film….it looks pretty sexy though.
Linda I use to be able to read Ann’s blog at work….BUT THEY HAVE NOW DENIED US ACCESS TO CERTAIN SITES AND ANN’S IS ONE OF THEM AND GOOGLE TOO!! Every once in a while it was nice to read the blog at lunch or late at night just to get a smile and a laugh when the day was not going well.
Rose the line in our home was, “Are you happy now?!” The first time I heard it I started to clap. I was in kindergarten and thought my mother was going to start singing the song I learned in school..If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands…”
Middle child here too. Denis too. We stopped after our daughter because she was so great we couldn’t bear to turn her into middle child.
Ann, Tracy answered for me (three posts back), yes that was the pic I meant. I have been on this year-long mission to lose weight, and keep saying I will make sure we have better photos of us all, and then THAT is the one that won’t go away.
Sorry your blog is broken. We got the same line growing up, but with the addition of “you won’t get another one!”
Alan said it best (doesn’t he always), my heart is with all of those Ann Fans in pain or need right now. There truly is something in the air (or in the planets, I am still looking in to that one, found some info, posted a link at my place). The past week or so have been just horrid around here, so very up and down, and sideways, and chaotic. And Candy is right, we don’t need no videos, as long as we have you, and your words, we’re good.
Oh, and yes, I can see this one and one below. (You do know that ghosts are drawn in with electricity right? So your Toast Ghost could be back.)
The famous last words at my happy little home was “Are you satisfied now? It’s broken”. And I was the oldest and a pain in the A**, so I blamed my sister (middle child),NOW I am going to bed. didn’t notice there were 2 posts….
That line went around our house, too. I bet your mother “worked her fingers to the bone for you” too, so she could try to have those nice things. Mine sure did. Ah-h gotta love the parenting by guilt technique that was so prevalent in the 50’s and 60’s. Good memories!
Hi Ann – I’m playing catch-up here because I usually access the blog from my office from Mon-Fri. because my home computer is a dinasaur. I couldn’t access the blog today from my office, so am now accessing (slowly) from home. Not being able to access today made me realize how much I look forward to the blog each day. I log on as soon as I arrive at the office, and it puts me in a good mood for the day. I need to find out why I couldn’t get through today. Is it possible that there was a problem on your end?
Anyway, as far as catching up: Loved the description of the hike w/ the dogs and the photos, esp. of the elf. You look great in the no-makeup photos, but having said that, all of us “girls” look better with make-up. What about those photos they show periodically in The Enquirer of major celeb women without makeup. Yikes! (I only read The Enquirer to pass the time while waiting in line at the gro cery store. I love “A Man and a Woman” – can’t see it too many times. How nice that you and DL watched it together.
What’s going on with the Peanut and the puppies?
Linda
Sandy O, I’m a middle child too! Doesn’t it suck!
Yep, it’s broken (for me anyway, but I’m not good with technical things).
Can I ask the big, dumb question? What was the reason for the blog change?
As long as your writing comes through, I’m happy.
That is such a cute pic of you! So serious!
I saw the video clip – 2 lovers, car races and war???
No sub titles…..:)
I was the middle child – only girl between 2 perfect brothers – every disaster was my fault! At least that is what was played out! I survived and am a better person for it!
My older brother and I remain family!
I can see this one and the movie post….and in seeing this one I had myself a good laugh. I grew up the oldest of 5 children and my mother used to say the same thing…with 3 brothers, who loved to play ball in the house and had birthday parties with a house full of other boys…..we didn’t always have nice things either, but we did have lots of love and fun. Thanks for the great memories.
Ann, the blog is a very nice thing, you did good, even if there are no embedded videos. (videos, we don’t need no stinkin’ videos), Good night. xoxxo
p.s. never saw the movie, that is on the list now.
Okay, this is weird. Sometimes I can see this post, and then it suddenly reverts back to the hag post. This house is haunted, I’m telling you. Can you all see this and the post below about the movie?