Have you checked in?

Places.  As of a few days ago, it has a new meaning for a lot of people.  If you have a smart phone and are accessing Facebook then you've probably already figured out that they launched a new feature called "Places".  It just rolled out and is wrought with controversy.  

If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, let me briefly fill you in.  Places allows people to announce via Facebook exactly where they are.  "Checking-in" and announcing where you are isn't a new idea. Companies like Foursquare, Gowalla and Whrrl have set the groundwork for this and users have been posting their check-ins on Facebook.  Seems only natural that Facebook would try to cash in on the craze.

Some people love this idea but I'm just not sold on it.  I know a ton of people using Foursquare and Gowalla and I often joke that it's like an announcement that people can go rob your house.  You're obviously not there.

Although Places isn't available here in the Quad Cities yet, it will be soon.  When it is, I'm curious how many people will flock to using it.  Me?  Not a chance.   At least not until they work out some things.  While other location-based social networking programs allow you to personally check-in and work to achieve various titles, Places allows other people to check you in also.  That kind of freaks me out.  Friend or not, I'm not wild about the idea of someone else having control of announcing to their friends where I'm at.

But as much as I hate the idea of location-based social networking, I find myself drawn to Whrrl.  At Whrrl, it isn't just about the check-in features; that's only one small part of a larger picture.  On Whrrl, you're able to upload pictures and create stories related to your check-in.  It's a very cool feature that I've used for both marketing campaigns as well as personal digital scrapbooking.

So how is it that I swear I won't use location-based apps yet I throw praise at Whrrl?  You see, I can check-in, take advantage of specials and promotions, participate in recommendations people make, make recommendations of my own, join societies, create societies, post pictures and create slide shows yet not lose all my anonymity.  Whrrl's "Just Me" option is what makes all the difference.  No matter what I do, I'm able to choose the level that I want to share with Whrrl members, as well as whether I want to share on Twitter or Facebook. I'm also able to go back later and amend the privacy settings of a check-in to make it more (or less) public.

Over the course of the past month, I've found myself more and more interested in it.  A Whrrl contest even prompted me to create a society of my own.  After participating in various car-related activities, I decided to create a society called "Under the Hood".  I couldn't find any society that involved automobile maintenance so I created Under the Hood and added the following description to it: "When you neglect your automobile, it will begin to neglect you! Don't forget about general service, oil changes, tires, car washes, window repairs, paint... It's all about taking care of our vehicles."  Automobiles... That's what the Under the Hood Society is all about.  If your business offers car-related services or sells car-related products, check out the merchant program to see if Whrrl can help drive customers through your door.

As a social media participant, you may decide that location-based services are a waste of time.  You may find that Foursquare, Gowalla or one of the other services is best for you.  You may decide to go with Facebook's Places feature. For me, I'll stick with Whrrl.  It's well rounded, thought out and offers a lot of cool features.

...Now I'm waiting for all my favorite merchants to discover the benefits of it, too.

A New Slant on Technology

We know we're turning our kids into techno-geeks when we go to a fast food restaurant, get them a drink to share and hear this:

Let's do two-player!

But it gets even better...

Last week, I was playing with Miss K when she said pointed to the area she had designated as the play area and told me "Don't go off the screen."

The following day, while playing Littlest Pet Shop dolls with the girls, Miss M needed to run upstairs for something. She waived her hand over the play area and, without missing a beat, requested that we "Pause the game" until she got back.

Can't wait to hear what they come up with next.

My First Award - Woohoo

I'm totally doing the happy dance because the other day I was considered an Excellent Blog by Another Piece of the Puzzle. I swore to myself that I didn't care about any of those awards floating around the blogosphere, but I guess that's because I hadn't received one. Duh.

Considering that I only post on a quality vs quantity motto, I'm always delighted when I see new subscribers or when someone says "Good job." Everyone needs a pat on the back at some point, right? The Excellent Award originated over at The Mommy Project to spread those kudos around.

I'm supposed to award it to 10 other blogs that I consider worthy. That just seems so hard to do because I read several blogs and find many to be worth reading. I am more a fan of acknowledging excellent posts because everyone has good blogging days and bad ones. Although I'm currently behind on my reading, I typically add my favorite posts to "My Overflowing Google Reader" widget in the next column over.

But since we're supposed to pay it forward, I will award this to a few of the blogs that I subscribe to. The following are in a variety of categories so hopefully everyone will find something to their liking!
Bent Objects - Quirky, artsy and hilarious. Terry brings inanimate objects (like circus peanuts) to life. You have to see it to understand. Wait! Go AFTER you read my other award recipients.
PB&J in a Bowl - Always good for a mom-blog laugh.
Bakerella - Her creativity is unbelievable. The Cupcake Pops that she created were so awesome that they landed her on the Martha Stewart show. I was reading her blog when she originally posted those pops - I feel so privileged to be able to say "I knew her before she was famous!"
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Tips - If you're into photos, want to learn how to better your digital album or just want to clean up your photos before printing them, be sure to check this out. He has a few blogs (for a few different applications) so you should be able to find one that meets your niche.
Blogger Buster - Helpful hints for all levels of blogger. Tips on how to improve your blog from the inside out.

Once again, these are excellent blogs but be sure to check out my Google Reader for many others that I think are worthy! If I listed them all, this post would go on and on and on....

Like My Butt Isn't Big Enough...

Yeah, I'm invited to a party and what do I do? Sit on my backside for the entire event. In my own defense, that's what EVERYONE at this party will be doing. I'm referring to the MommyFest Blog Party. It's an opportunity for a Mom Blogger (that's me) to talk about herself (like I need a reason to talk about myself) and meet other Mom Bloggers. So here goes...

Who Am I?
I could just recite my profile, but that would be ridiculous now, wouldn't it? So I'll give you a fast-forward version starting from when I met DH. My husband and I met while we were in college. We were at a Cubs/Cardinals baseball game in St. Louis during a joint event with our fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. We belonged to separate chapters at our respective universities. A few years after we got married, we moved to Los Angeles - where we worked hard and took advantage of activities and travel whenever possible. After several years of trying for a baby, we finally successfully completed fertility treatments and were blessed with Miss M. We found out we were pregnant with Miss K a year later. After realizing that Los Angeles isn't where we wanted to raise our kids, we moved back to Iowa where I grew up.

About my Blog:
I only post casually when I have something I really want to share. More often than not, that means a few times a week. The posts on my blog usually revolve around my girls but sometimes touch on a variety of other topics. Check the archives for a better overview. Daily, however, I surf other blogs and keep up-to-date via my Google Reader.

What I do:
Well, I'm a stay-at-home-mom (hence the blog title SAHM) which is my first job but I consider the gym to be a second job. I want to get back into shape after years of not so I hit the gym regularly. In my free time, I participate in product testing, surveys and word-of-mouth marketing. I'm constantly getting cool stuff in the mail for free!

The Giveaway:
During Mommyfest, I'll be giving away a full-sized sample of Aveeno Positively Ageless Firming Night Cream (a $20 value). I'll create a separate post just for the contest so be sure to comment on the giveaway post for a chance to win! Just so you know, the Aveeno Night Cream was a full-sized sample I received from BzzAgent. BzzAgent allows us to give away our products and since I already have a full size sample that I'm using (and loving, btw) I figured I might share this one during MommyFest!

Talking about myself is a little drier reading than all the stuff I usually blog about! I hope you'll subscribe and read some of my other posts. Thanks for visiting.

You Can Add Links to Your Comments

I learned a neat trick recently and I've found it quite handy... entering a link inside a comment. Don't think that it's just self promotion because I'm usually linking to useful information on other blogs or sites. Typically things that support the comment I am making.

Okay, sometimes I do use it to link back to my site but that's usually just when someone new finds my blog (and leaves a comment). If they took the time to leave me a comment then we must have something in common. So I check out their blog and say something to the effect of "Thanks for stopping by my blog. Hope to see you again!"

Alyssa at Keeping the Kingdom First asked "How on earth did you leave a link in your comment on my blog? Do tell!!"

Because you asked, Alyssa, here you go! Figured I might as well post it in case anyone else was curious.

<a href="http://sahmtoo.blogspot.com">SAHM Ramblings</a>

For other great blog tips, go to the same places I do. I usually get my best advice from Amy at Split Decisionz or from Blogger Buster.

Comment Crack, Blog Bling...Whatever

If you do anything 100 times, you're bound to get better at it, get faster at it or at least learn from it. Or at a minimum, you sure better be figuring out shortcuts, cheats or ways to cut corners.

No, I'm not talking about WoW or any other video game. This is about blogging. This post is my 100th and I can't believe how much I've learned along the way. I thought I would take a little time to highlight some features and upgrades I have made to my blog as well as point out a few ways that you can and should take advantage of it! But if you already know all of it, skip to the bottom where I'm looking for some advice.

First, my blog is now DoFollow friendly. Using the tutorial at Tips 4 Blogspot, I took out the nofollow limits. So when you comment on my blog or post a link in the comments, it should help your search engine ratings. With that being said, if you decide to comment, consider using the "Name/URL" option instead of the blogger login. You won't get the pretty avatar picture next to your comment, but you'll get link love coming back your way. Along that same line, if you use Feedjit, then it will accurately show where the traffic came from instead of being routed through the Blogger profile screen. It should also reflect correctly in your statistical details.

So that leads me to the next thing - Comment crack. Every blogger knows exactly what I'm referring to. That insatiable desire to have comments about their posts. I never thought I would get that way, but I sure have. I'm excited any time more than just a few people comment! I also have a similar problem - Stat crack. I check my stats all. the. time. It's ridiculous and I know it. Checking my stats doesn't get people to my blog, commenting does. Yet I like to go and see who, where, and what keywords or referrals are showing up.

If I spent more time writing posts and less time playing with the template, I would probably have more readers! Honestly though, I'm having fun learning about it all.

In case you hadn't noticed, I added a Blogrush widget... that pretty pink one that says "From the Blogosphere" that has random feeds from other Blogrush users. If anyone is interested in getting their own, please click through mine so I can get the referral. Pretty please.

Now here's the part where I need some input. I'm always looking for more blog widgets, bling, swag or whatever you call it. I like finding new sites like the MomBlog Network. Since so many offer referral credit, I'm holding off on signing up until someone can benefit from it. Just leave a comment and an opinion for anything like MomBlog Network, Blogarama, Cre8Buzz, Mr. Linky, Twitter, Bloglisting or any others that you may be part of. I'm not familiar with any of them, I just see them on several blogs and am looking for more information and/or a referral to them. If I get more than one referral to the same network, I'll use a randomizer to spread the wealth.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the last 100 posts and look forward to the next 100! Thanks for coming along on my journey!

I'm Raising a Gamer

Well, it's official… Miss M is a future gamer or at a minimum, a future geek. I'm using the word "future" very loosely, mind you. Not that there's anything wrong with being a gamer, DH and I both have the bug and we're pretty normal.

Maybe if we hop in the wayback machine, we can put it all into perspective.

When Miss M was only two, we found my old laptop. For any normal computer user, it was completely useless and beyond upgradable. So DH loaded Reader Rabbit on it, hooked up a trackball and sat down with her to play. She loved it and couldn't get enough of it so we added a few more educational games to the mix. It didn't take any time at all and she was able to turn it on herself, load her game of choice and even shut it down properly. Yes, she used the mouse to do the whole windows/shutdown process all by herself and not just push the power button. I never kept it plugged in, so she was at our mercy whenever she wanted to play it. Oh, how I long for those days of being in control.

Then we moved back to Iowa where all traveling is done via minivan. With two long trips last year, one to Alabama and one to Detroit, we decided to invest in a few of those hand-held joystick games to help pass the drive time. I'm not sure what compelled me to hook them up to the kids' TV, but I did. She would gladly sit in front of it playing those games all day long if we let her. At least I'm able to take it away and it makes an awesome toy time-out when she's not being good.

She always enjoyed cheering Daddy (or yours truly) on when he (we) used to play World of Warcraft. On the few occasions when he is playing a game on the Xbox, she's right there too. Oh, and she never passes up a chance to help me with my online puzzle du jour. She gets the concept of different games and is always happy to give them a shot. While she may not win, she's happy that she gets to try. A few weeks ago, DH was playing Fusion Frenzy with Miss M and Miss K and they all had a ball. So one day when DH knew he would be gone for the day, he promised the girls I would play Fusion Frenzy with them. You have no idea how stupid I felt being told by a 4 year old and a 3 year old which button made you jump or go faster. You know how moms somehow manage to not win all the time when they're playing games with the kids? That wasn't a problem here. I'm embarrassed to say that I sucked at the game and well, they didn't.

At Christmas, they received a Littlest Pet Shop game for their TV and Miss M does great at it once she's shown how to do a particular puzzle. The cousins have a Wii so she's been able to play bowling and boxing with them and it's really adorable.

Last night, Daddy helped the girls start their Viva Piñata garden. This morning, Miss M proclaimed "I want to work on my garden again." (Too bad all the games are on time out.)

I'm happy to see that she's learning something, but we're going to have to start putting a timer on her gaming play. Thank goodness for the mini kitchenette and the littlest pet shop army – at least she's getting some normal playtime. We also play card and board games together. They're involved in dance, swimming and soccer, in addition to preschool, so it isn't like this is all they do.

But if I hear her yell "Leroy Jenkins!" when she's working on her Viva Piñata garden, I'm going to cry.