One and Done

At the beginning of our vacation, a post I wrote (over the course of almost 2 weeks and with about 6 rounds of revisions) posted on the Austin Moms Blog. In short summary...

The real reason, the bottom line for why we’re strongly leaning toward one-and-done is actually pretty simple and I would guess it applies to many other one-and-done couples. Our life with one child feels complete, happy, satisfied and balanced.

I was a little nervous about writing it. It is after all, a fairly personal topic, as family planning should be. But also I've heard several opinions that make it sound "wrong" to have an only child. Personally I think to call any conscious family planning decision "wrong" is just crazy. If anything conscious and purposeful family planning is responsible.

But I digress.

So anyways I wrote it, revised it (and revised it 5 more times) and then it published. And to date, it has 1484 Facebook likes! That, ladies and gentlemen, is a personal all time high.

If you would like to read One and Done, you can find it here.

I wanna be

I wanna be half as funny as Amanda when I grow up. OMG go read her Christmas blog post. Right now. Go read it: http://www.thislemonyogurt.com/

#TransformationTuesday

Today my online mommy group decided it was #TransformationTuesday. The baby evolution is fun I'm sharing here.

Here's Cade on the day he was born and then again this evening.

PS In 5 years will we see this and so many other hashtags and think "that was a really dumb trend"?

Flickr, My Flickr

I'm on Flickr nearly every single day. When that's your personal photosharing site and you have the cutest baby in Texas, it's pretty much a given. Well apparently I recently went 48 hours without being on the site because yesterday someone mentioned it had been redesigned and that was the first I heard about it. AND I DO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOR A LIVING. Talk about embarrassing.

Well the smarty-pants I was chatting with was right. The site has been re-done. It's more collage-like now. Almost has a Pinterest feel. But whatever the site looks like, the important thing to me is it houses all my adorable Cade pictures. Like this one from bath time last night.

Also yesterday I caught the hubs reading my blog. I forgot that he reads it and he reminded me duh, yes, he reads it all the time. So...hi honey! (He's gonna hate that I said hi to him on here. That's probably almost as bad as your mom walking into your junior high school classroom with you.)

Modern Mommy Must-Haves

Taken on my iPhone of course

How did the moms of yesteryear do it? "Yesteryear" being anything pre...2005. I don't think I would be as happy or good of a mommy without

• My iPhone. I think my iPhone and I have become even more attached (didn't know it was possible but yes). I use that sucker to track Cade's eating, sleeping, etc; share pics with grandparents, text other mommy friends when I need to be talked off the ledge and to FaceTime video chat with the hubs. I think I would rather live without my left hand than without my iPhone (I'd like to keep my right hand as it is more text savvy).
• My Kindle. Rocking and feeding Cade are good bonding experiences. But I do both 6-8 times per day. I don't have enough hands to read a magazine or book the old fashioned page turning way but I can usually free up a leg to balance a Kindle on and a single finger to swipe to the next page. I'm a well-read mommy as a result.
• Facebook. I know I know. Sounds absurd. What in God's name am I doing on Facebook when I have a baby to care for? I'll tell you: I'm polling parent friends on sleep techniques, comparing meltdowns with kindred new mommy spirits and sharing pics with far-flung friends. Using one of the two devices mentioned above of course.

PS Not kidding. I finished this post, grabbed my phone to upload a Cade pic to Flickr to include here and the thing did nothing. NOTHING. Damn near had a panic attack. After 5 minutes of pressing the power and home button in every way imaginable, I seem to have revived it. God bless America (and Apple).

8

Can you believe this is the 8th calendar year for this here blog? Wowzas.

California is where stars are born

The other day I was quite pleased to discover that my video editing software includes making slideshow style videos with photos. I guess this is a somewhat basic function for video software but I just hadn't played with it very much and didn't know the capabilities.

Anyways, I was excited and made this little 1 minute video on my trip to California as an excuse to experiment with the feature. Here ya go!



PS After basically hearing this song on repeat for 30 minutes while I sorted out the timing, Ross has requested a vote in the music selection for my Europe video. I didn't know I would be making a Europe video but apparently I will be. Song suggestions can be directed to my hubby.

Go home

As today is a work early dismissal day, I'm taking Pam's advice. I worked at work (well home office today) and now, it's after work and instead of working, I am sharing this AWESOME Ignite video with you.



And then I'm taking Lexi on a jog, gardening, getting a pedicure and finally, a massage. And tomorrow Ross and I are taking Lexi to the dog park and bar hopping with friends. And Sunday we're having Easter dinner with our family. All that I think Pam would agree fall into the "have a life" category.

Enjoy!

(Unless the F bomb really offends you and then here's your warning: it's central to her theme.)

Pinterest House

I tried out Pinterest a couple months ago because as you probably know, its all the social media rage. And part of my job is literally being knowledgeable about the social media rage.

Anyways, I can't say I'm a huge fan. I guess I'm more of a text person when it comes to online research for just about anything. (Contrast: when hubby researches something he always starts with YouTube...which never even crosses my mind.) However, I have found I like Pinterest as I think about the new house we want to build this year. I like it so much in fact I have no less 9 boards relating to it.

And because I'm so excited about some of them, I wanna share my fav pinned pics with you. Here we go

Yard: I've long since come to terms with the fact that cactus and rocks are the only things I don't kill. So I'm running with it.

Source: google.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

Living Room: A slightly warmer, brighter version of what we currently have (except I don't need a tea pot on my coffee table. That's strange right?)

Source: google.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

Kitchen: Once you go red, you can never go back. I thought I wanted dark cabinets but having seen some pics of that have realized it's much too dark. Light cabinets with dark countertops, here I come.

Source: google.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

Guest Bathroom: Yes, I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to our guest bathroom. Again, along the same lines of what we currently have (though way more swank). I especially love the blue walls.

Source: google.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

The Social Network

Tonight I finally watched The Social Network. I had some interest when it first came out but as I'm not much of a movie person, just simply never got around to it. But given my job and all, I thought I should watch it at some point.

It was a weird movie to watch. It starts in Boston, my freshman year of college at Harvard which given my romantic situation at the time was where I spent many a day. So there was a lot of deja vu in terms of scenes and some of the stuff talked about (ie Final Clubs). Of course it also starts with Mark Zuckerberg and his BU girlfriend breaking up and many not so nice comments about my alma mater.

Then there's the fact that a large percentage of my current employment is based on the existence of this site. So I supposed I'm a bit biased toward it and honestly want Zuckerberg to be a bit of a hero, king of the nerds if you will. But he doesn't come up smelling like roses. Really none of them do which is a shame if you ask me. Oh and ironically, as I sat there thinking "He's kinda a jerk" my first instinct was to post that where else but Facebook.

However I do really like the actor, Jesse Eisenberg, who played Zuckerberg. And Justin Timberlake is always good eye candy, even when he's a bit paranoid. So there's that.

Not my favorite movie by any stretch (though I wouldn't say I actively disliked it), but given that being in the right place at the right time probably is no small coincidence to my current gig, it was interesting.

Oh and what am I going to do tomorrow at work? I'm going to frequently tune in to to a live stream of a Facebook conference to learn about the latest development. The small worldness never ends.

I was blogged about!

Usually I'm the one doing the blogging but I'm very excited to share with you the flip side of the coin, someone blogging about me.

http://www.nonprofithub.org/featured/4-ways-nonprofits-can-be-more-proactive-with-social-media/

I am very flattered that someone would blog about me. Also as a result of this, I feel quite fancy.

Welcome to 2012

Dear Cheryl, welcome to 2012.

When I was asked for approximately the 400th time about calling someone via Skype this week, I decided maybe it was time to get with the program. Tonight my friends, I downloaded Skype.

New headshot

Then I got crazy and decided I should have a mildly recent headshot to fill the avatar screen so that required some photo selecting and editing. (And now I'm wondering, should I maybe update LinkedIn, Blogger, etc for improved consistency and recency? Oh the really tough and important questions in life.)

Then - ooh! I can add contacts! Yes let's do that. Let's search my Facebook. I bet I find a dozen or so...or like 500 people I know who are on Skype. Apparently I really was last.

I didn't have the patience to sit down and add all of you. I apologize. I added Anna, AJ and my cousin Anthony because as A's I got to all of them before I was bored. The real purpose was to be able to call Kevin so I added him and on my way to K I saw Joe's pic and figured I might as well round out the Renaud family listing. So I have those five people. One day I'll get crazy and add the other 495 of you. Or you can find me. I'm CLBlack425...just like my username for nearly everything is. Creative right?

Watch out! Now that I've joined 2012, I'm gonna Skype you!

(That sounds somewhat violent doesn't it?)

23 Hours in Phoenix

It's a Friday night and Lexi and I are curled up for an episode (or two) of Friday Night Lights. That's because after 23 hours in Phoenix, I'm a sleepy lady.

Instagram pic from front of AZ hotel

Since I'm sleepy, I'll give you the very brief version. Yesterday afternoon I flew to Phoenix to join up with the McPherson Co-op, a group of fundraisers and marketers for PBS stations across the country. I enjoyed dinner with the group, where I ate delicious chicken and learned TONS about the world of public media. As the intersection of charitable work and broadcast journalism, I found it to be super interesting.

Then this morning I spoke to the group about social media and shared a few ideas for how they could use it back at their stations. Shane, from KLRU (Austin's PBS station) spoke with me on the topic and is definitely leading the charge in terms of social PBS stations.

And after speaking but before reaching the 24 hour mark in the wild wild west, I was back on a plane and headed to Austin.

Let's honor Shane and his team here with a teaser video for a show on our local PBS station that I do believe I will have to start watching.

I was spammed. I think.

At work I deal with a lot of blog spam, especially when I first started and our filter system was pretty primitive. But that's just one of the casualties of having a popular blog, with SEO around terms that other people want to advertise to and being open to commentary. (Tangent: we changed to the Disqus commenting system that requires log-in and I would say our spam was reduced by about 80% plus our commenting system is now more interactive. But alas, I digress.)

Today though I got my first spam comment on here! Well, at least I think I did. Disqus email alerts me to comments and I woke up to this email.

Looks like spam to me. But get this - I can't find the comment anywhere but in my email. It's not showing on the post nor is it showing in the admin settings in Disqus. Strange right? Donde esta my spam?

Assuming though that I was spammed, I'm not sure if I should be irritated or pleased. On the one hand, nobody likes spam. On the other hand, does it mean this little blog is kinda a big deal now?

While I'm not totally convinced that this little blog is a big deal, I'm choosing to be pleased with my spam. I'm considering it a blogger milestone.

Best of

At work this month we ran a 4 part series on the best of blog posts, culminating with today's best all-around post. It was very objective in nature - we just reported back on what Google Analytics told us.

So because I love Google Analytics and am a little bit of a nerd, here are the most popular posts from this blog, as objectively reported by Google Analytics.

1. And party we did
2. You can't have half
3. Ross wants to share
4. Who did what?
5. New truck!

PS Blogger has some crazy analytics thing now too. I'm not sure how or why it differs from Google Analytics (they are all Google products after all) but it says that this post on cheap wine was the most popular. Since everyone loves cheap wine, I can certainly see how that'd be true.

Nerd Alert: Laughing at Twitter

I realize only four of you who read this also tweet (you know who you are my lovely nerd friends) but OMG this is hilarious. So hilarious I am taking a moment out of my late lunch to share it with you.

Summary: Twitter launched a new interface that includes "brand pages" that someone like me managing a company's social media should hypothetically be really excited about. Except I'm not and this blogger does a bang up job of explaining why.

Via Why Twitter Brand Pages Are Pointless

Twitter introduced brand pages.

Some people say it will be a game changer. Those people are idiots. It won't be a game changer, because nobody uses Twitter.com for tweeting, or at least they shouldn't be.

...

A tweet scrolls across my "All Friends Column:"

"My lap is full of napping cat. I'm hungry, but if I disturb Mr. Fluffy Pants, he won't forget the transgression."

I am powerless against only two things: tweets with bacon in them and kitty cuteness. Naturally, I'd want to reply with something along the lines of:

Order pizza for delivery, explain your dire situation, and have them bring it to your chair. #catnapfever


But then I look at the bottom of their tweet and my enthusiasm for replying plummets. I see the date, time, and then "via Web," which is code for, "The bleeding idiot is STILL using Twitter on a browser, probably the horrific IE 9, and will be oblivious to your reply. Don't even bother. They obviously have no self-respect, probably have criminal records, and think the "Oxford comma" is a pretentious bit of punctuation. In short, they are heathens. I blame their parents."

So I move on.

...

There are only three reasons to ever open a browser and use Twitter:

1. You are on some strange computer in a library, computer cafe, or at your friend's house. (The one who mocks your use of social media and prefers to do things "outdoors" with people.)
2. You are popping in to see what changes it's made and you have no intent of staying more than 37 seconds.
3. You've recently suffered a massive head wound and don't know any better.

I'm not a religious person, but I believe Leviticus 5:9 says, "Thou shalt not use Twitter to tweet, lest they spend all of eternity in hell, listening to Justin Bieber tracks, with a gaggle of pre-teen girls." I think it comes right after the passage about, "Thou shall pick one avatar and stick to it, or your followers won't know who you are and will think you've died in a horrible llama herding accident."

Things That Grow

Ross introduced me to the Family Feud iPad app today. (Fun and addicting.)

We did a round that was "things that grow on a pregnant woman."

We got belly, breasts and butt. We missed the fourth one: hair. Gross. I guess I knew that one but I didn't really need to know it. Thanks Family Feud for that less than attractive reminder. I'm now hoping my kids can legitimately be delivered by a stork.

PS Really weird Family Feud category right?

Thankful XXVIII

I'm thankful for video plus Internet magic.

Specifically video calling via the Internet (ie FaceTime) and posting web videos (ie YouTube).

Being able to call Ross via FaceTime when he's at the station makes his crazy schedule a hundred times more bearable. And when I'm on business trips, it's even better. I'm thankful for it now and I know when we have kiddos I'll be even more thankful. I mean just think about it, when one of us is gone we'll be able to call in for bedtime stories! That's awesome!

And then there's YouTube. Perfect for sharing cat videos and walking babies...like this one!


I'm so glad that even when my friends and their adorable babies are far away, I can still witness the milestones and fun little moments in their lives.

God, technology is great.

Thankful III

Last note post-posting I was reading my Google Reader and stumbled upon Jane's blog where she wrote about the #BeThankfulChallenge...which is apparently what I have started participating in without even knowing it.

In honor of the challenge, today I am thankful for blogs. They keep me up-to-date on Delta happenings worldwide, are a big part of me staying employed and per an earlier post, are a great way to chronicle memories. Deltas, paychecks and memories, all three are very good things.

PS As I sip my hot chocolate and get ready to book a hotel in Italy I am thankful for so many things. But I'm trying to keep them on deck instead of sharing them all with you now. I mean - whats if I have a bad day this month? I may need one of these evergreen awesome items to fill my thankful day.

Video Blitz

I'm not a big YouTube person but every once in a while I see a video that just knocks my socks off. And today, I'm gonna share some with you.

First, Girl Inc's Dear World. This has been my fav girl power video for several years now. Seriously, watch the video. It's phenomenal. (Although I am a little disappointed that they've disabled embedding. I think that's silly.)

Next The Girl Effect which I just discovered this week and I think is now tied as my fav girl power video. It's different than Girl Inc, dealing with girls in more extreme circumstances. It gives me chills.



Right before heading off to Canada I went to the Lights Camera Help Nonprofit Film Fest here in Austin. I was only able to attend one day but I saw this great little PSA from the Austin Ronald McDonald House Charities. I'm continually impressed with this organization's use of technology and new media.



I can't forget the Breast Cancer Resource Centers and their great "How We Serve" video that was shown at the Graphic V fundraiser back in April. It's a beauty!



And finally, because you know I have to include an ABCNews video (duh), this one on The Hunger at Home. Can you believe how many hungry kids we have in this country full of abundance? I've been excited about Junior League because I love all chick orgs and because I dig community service. But having been reminded how much hunger is a problem, even here in the US, I'm even more excited about my placement with the FIT (Food In Tummies) program.



Ah yes, and all those videos are why I love my job. Feel inspired yet? I sure do.