Day: November 21, 2008

Giveaway/Contests

2009 Baby Blues Calendar Giveaway

Karen

Baby Blues Calendar Giveaway

WINNER!

Baby Blues Calendar Winner

CONGRATULATIONS MARIANNE FROM READING, WRITING & STUFF THAT MAKES ME CRAZY!

Need a new calendar for your desk? Want a calendar that will bring a smile to your face?

Of course you do. 🙂

All you have to do to win this 365 day desk calendar is leave a comment (one per day, please), and I’ll randomly pick a winner November 21st at 5:00 p.m. CST. (U.S. addresses only, please).

Not familiar with Baby Blue? Check out some of their comic strips.

(Added: By the by, a huge THANK YOU to Michelle at Scribbit for compiling current giveaways and listing them on her blog. So if you’re in the mood for free stuff, stop by her place and check out the other bloggers who are currently hosting giveaways!)

NaNoWriMo, Writing Stuff

Hard at Work, or Hardly Working?

Karen

You decide.

Working

This is me, working on this …

Working 2

OOPS! My bad. I meant to post this picture…

Working 3

Silly me.

Seriously though, I’m behind in my NaNoWriMo project and there are only nine days left in the challenge – I’m not panicking! (I will post a potato head graphic later with my current word count). So I will be spending most of the day playing catch up so try not to miss me too much.

😀

Better yet, click over to Write Anything and read the first chapter of our Chapter Seven project. It’s a science fiction story called, “Lost on Earth” and it’s pretty good, if I say so myself.

(Incidentally, if you would like to get involved in the winter 2009 Chapter Seven edition, just contact me and I’ll set you up. Don’t be shy! I don’t bite!! I still need three more writers. All you have to do is write a chapter when it’s your turn and you have like a week to write it. It’s REALLY fun taking part in a collaborative project so holler if you want in!)

________________________

Added: NaNoWriMo Progress

Wow, day 21. It doesn’t seem like it should be day 21 already.

I’m pleased to report that I wrote 3,200 words today. Woot! You know what’s weird? I seem to write better when I’ve taken a few days off. Even though I’m not consciously thinking about my story, I must be subconsciously thinking about it because today, I holed up at the university library (BLESSEDLY quiet) and churned out 3,200 words in three hours.

I’m pretty damn proud of myself.

My story? Feels like a dog chasing it’s tail. I don’t feel like there’s enough action and it feels boring, but that’s okay, because when I go back and revise it (because hello! I’m taking advantage of the free paper book offer through Amazon.com), I can write in some exciting scenes – I think.

I plan on holing up at the library again tomorrow (it’s a cemetery on Saturdays) while my youngest son practices with his honors band and then I’ll quit when it’s time to watch his performance. That’s several hours so hopefully, I’ll really crank out the wordage.

Life

The Motrin … Issue?

Karen

I have another question for ya’ll … why is everyone upset about the Motrin commercial?

This looks like making mountains out of molehills to me. True, the commercial wasn’t cute/flip/hip even though it tried to be. True, it wasn’t very tasteful and a bit annoying with all of those flying words, but why the outrage? To me, this commercial is all about sympathizing with the moms who HAVE aches and pains from carrying their babies – you’d have to be made of steel not to feel some discomfort. And the official mom thing? Yeah, nothing says “mom” than a baby in a sling/on the hip. So what? We proudly wear that badge.

And the YouTube videos I saw in response to the Motrin ad? Didn’t say much. How is the ad disrespectful? How is the ad patronizing? Be specific because generalizations spell irrational emotion and if this is an issue that needs to truly be addressed, I would think specifics would be more helpful than making a blanket statement about how the commercial made you feel personally.

I think the commercial was saying that moms are human too and that it’s okay to admit we have physical pains caused by our children. That if you make the choice of wearing your baby and it causes you discomfort, then hey! They are suggesting you try their product. That’s how advertising works. We’re moms, not robots. At least, that was my take on it. And that’s all I took away from the commercial.

I can’t help but wonder if complaining about mom-related issues, however remotely they are referred to in any venue, is not some sort of trend? Is getting upset over something this trivial really worth the time and energy it takes to respond to it?

Can someone explain it to me? Because apparently I’m clueless.