From Mission Amy KR

A video.  Say Something Nice.



From WBEZ Chicago this is "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" 

No, that's not right, but for some reason I couldn't stop myself!  I'll try that again...

From WBEZ Chicago, it's a great video originally posted on Amy Krouse Rosenthal's Mission Amy KR blog.

Didn't understand the "Wait, Wait" reference?  Allow me to introduce you to my friend, Peter Sagal.

Facebook guilt

I suffer from the all-pervasive Facebook envy.  You know, where everybody's life looks perfect and it feels like yours is falling apart and you scream "WHY GOD?  WHY!?" and then go take a nap.

But I also have Facebook guilt.  My brother writes "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" on the walls of all his "friends" on their birthdays.  Everyday.  Or he used to, I cannot say with certainty that he still does.  I do not do this.  Part of it is my woefully lacking self-esteem that has emerged over the past few months and making me more like Eeyore than I care to admit, as in "they probably don't care if I wish them happy birthday anyway."  (I'm working on this, really.)  I also do not comment on every birth, every engagement, every marriage, every job promotion, every new house, or every vaguely sad post.  I see people who do and I think, you don't know that person any more than I do and yet you feel compelled to comment?  And then I feel guilty.

Should I comment?  Should I "like"?  Am I compelled to be emotionally invested in the goings-on of your daily life simply because I once knew you 10 years ago?  I don't have the energy!  And if it weren't for the internet, I probably wouldn't even be thinking about you!  But still, the Facebook guilt, it lingers.

So I've taken to "hiding" the people about whom I do not really care.  I mean, I care in the general way that I care about humanity, but I'm not going to get in a tizzy over your every move.  I like to think that I'm looking out for my emotional resources and creating healthy barriers in my interactions with my social network but, really, I'm just avoiding the guilt.  Potayto, potahto.

Grand Opening: Boonaroo's!

It's a slow start, but it's a start...Boonaroo's is now open on Etsy!  With three whole listings!

To maximize the profits for Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, each item only has one listing for now but all are available for custom orders. 

So, there you go.  I finally did it.

Giveaway winners!

Thank you so much for entering our giveaway!  We raised about $300 from you all, bringing us to a grand total of $850 for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  It's still a long way to $2300 but we're on our way!

Now on to the good stuff, the winners!  The online Random Number Generator selected three numbers between 1 and 68 (our total numer of entries) and the winners were selected based on the order they entered.  All entries were listed in an spreadsheet to create a numbered list. 

AND OUR WINNERS ARE....

Custom-made goodie prize #1 - Kristen Hanna (19)

Custom-made goodies prize #2 - Judy Dornak (55)

Photohoot or fine art prints from Richardson Fry Photography - Chelsea Stern (16)

Congratulations to our winners!  You'll receive an email soon regarding your prize.  If you didn't win, never fear!  Look for the grand opening of our Etsy shop soon, featuring many of the wonderful products you saw advertised here! :-)

Your lucky day...giveaway extended!

Our giveaway has been extended until midnight on Friday, September 9th.  That gives you a full extra week to win!  Click here to enter.

Response to our raffle to support breast cancer research was okay, but we think we can get a lot more support for this important cause.  We need to raise a minimum of $2000 for Susan G. Komen.  Every penny we raise over $2000 will go to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance in memory of my childhood friend Megan.  But we have to get to $2000 first!

Plus, this is an awesome giveaway!  A photoshoot, fine art prints, custom-made goodies...you don't want to miss it!  Yesterday I made this hat, I am sure you know someone who needs it for fall.

Giveaway for a cause!

Or giveaway for the cure!  Actually, a raffle for the cure, but giveaway got your attention more quickly, right? :-)

For the next week you have a chance to contribute to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure and maybe get a little something back!

What will you get?  Well, I'm glad you asked!  There three exciting giveaways.

Opportunity #1- A custom-made item made by me!  This could be a crocheted scarf, hat, baby set, pillow, or dishcloth set or a custom-designed wreath or that Pinterest idea that you just haven't quite gotten around to making yet.  We'll work together to come up with the perfect project!

Opportunity #2 - Another custom-made item made by me!  Maybe the opportunity to request that perfect Christmas gift...for yourself?

Opportunity #3 - This is the big one!  A photo session with the fabulous Carrie of Richardson Fry Photography!  The photo session is valued at $175 and includes 40 minute shoot with 20-25 high resolution digital images.  Carrie took the picture to the right over there, the one where we are jumping for joy, as well as the ones below (and all the amazing photos on her website, of course).  Carrie will schedule photo sessions in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina or in Tulsa, Oklahoma later this fall.  What if you don't live in these areas?  You can exchange your photo session for $175 worth of fine art prints!

How to enter
First, donate at least $5 to Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure by clicking on the link or the widget to the right on this blog page.  How does that get me an entry?

$5 - 1 entry
$10 - 2 entries
$15 - 3 entries...are you starting to get the idea?  Until...
$50 -  12 entries (2 bonus entries for every $50!)

Bonus entries!  After donating at least $5, you can get extra entries four different ways!

• Donate* and tweet about the raffle (1 entry)
• Donate and like Richardson Fry Photography on Facebook (1 entry)
• Donate and blog about this raffle (1 entry)
• Donate and post about the raffle on Facebook (1 entry)

Leave a comment for each "extra" telling me "Donated and (tweeted, Facebooked, blogged, liked)!

*Only one donation is necessary, you can use that one donation to piggyback all four extra entries!  But feel free to be generous...it's for a good cause. :-) See sample tweet and Facebook status at the end of this post! 

Raffle closes at midnight on Friday, September 2nd!

Thank you for supporting breast cancer research and my 3-day for the Cure journey!

Each entry will be listed in the order it comes in via the email sent directly from the 3-Day site for each donation and your comments.   Winners will be selected via Random Number Generator.

Sample Tweet
Giveaway to benefit Komen Foundation at thisistotalbs.blogspot.com -awesome goodies and a photoshoot from richardsonfry.com #the3day @care42

Sample Facebook Status
Check out this great giveaway to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation at http://thisistotalbs.blogspot.com/ - awesome goodies and a photoshoot from @Richardson Fry Photography!

Under Construction

If you really squint, back there, behind that barrier, you can see my life.  It's tiny, but it's there.  It's undergoing some major renovations.

A year ago I was busy applying to PhD programs at three schools.  Busy, busy, busy.  Making my dream come true!  Fast forward several months and I was licking my wounds after being rejected by all three schools.  Ouch!

I fully intended to apply to schools again for next fall.  I have an spreadsheet all laid out with schools all over the world to compare and contrast.  A few weeks ago I took the brand spankin' new GRE - just four days after it was released!  What?  That doesn't sound exciting?  Like going to the opening weekend of Harry Potter all decked out in your wizard gear?

But then I started thinking about my life and what I want it to look like with lots of specifics.  I want a lot of freedom.  I want to be surrounded by creativity.  I want to see my yet-to-be-born kids and S everyday but I also want projects that help bring people together.  I want to use my skills.  I want to LOVE where I live.  I want to get up every morning excited to meet the day.  And cue the music...and the idealism...

Okay, that's a lot to ask.  And I thought be a professor would get me as close as I was going to get to my dream.  But then I had visions, like Miss Cleo type visions.  I saw myself in school, working my rear off, while also trying to start a family, and staying up all night trying to finish papers and a dissertation and regretting that I couldn't give enough attention to my work or my family.  Then seven years down the line, I have a completed book, a degree in hand, and I am Dr. B!  And I still can't find a job because you have to fight tooth and nail for a tenure-track position and then, even if I find a position, it might be somewhere we hate and never wanted to live in the first place.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!  That sounds horrible!  And it might not end up that way at all, but you know what?  I am not willing to risk it.  And then I had a revelation.  In the shower, of course.

To get the life I want, I have to CREATE the life I want.

Duh.  But seriously, I'm not going to find my dream job because my dream job is just that, something I dreamed up, and if I am waiting for someone else to give me that job then I have a whole lotta waiting ahead of me.  During the next few days, in quick succession, I was inspired.

I was inspired by this

Camp Wandawega as featured on The Lettered Cottage

 

and this

 

Kinfolk 

and this 

 

John C. Campbell Folk School

 After another shower, I opened a new document on our desktop title "THE DREAM -a working document to chart a joyful life" and started putting to paper what I imagined for our life.  When S got home that night I said, "uh, I have something to show you, let me know what you think."  Luckily, he thought it was great and then his Libra mind started planning out a step by step process to make THE DREAM happen while my little Pisces heart was still carrying the idea around to see how it "feels."

It's in the early stages so I'm not read to make any announcements or anything.  We've given ourselves a five year plan to get things started and I've decided to not apply to PhD programs right now.  Instead I'm looking at great schools that have Master of Arts Administration (or Management) degrees 100% online (there are exactly three).

Whenever it does all come together, we'll let you know and hopefully in a few years you'll be able to join us!  We should have plenty of room.