Monday's Music Moves Me: October 24, 2011 - I'm Thinking About All My Friends

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Welcome to a Monday's Music Moves Me, the fantabulistic music meme hosted by me, my dearest of friends Dolly from XmasDolly, Callie from Jamerican Spice and the wonderful Stacy from Stacy Uncorked. This week's theme is FREEBIE! So, what's moving you today???

I've been thinking about all my friends this week. Some have been having some difficulties, others have been really supportive of me, and I even got to see one of my good bloggy friends that I haven't seen in a year and a half. So today I'm posting songs about FRIENDSHIP.....

You've Got a Friend in Me ~ Randy Newman




You're My Best Friend ~ Queen



With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beetles



And one fun one to close it out......

Thank You For Being a Friend ~ The Golden Girls Theme





So for all of my great friends - and you know who you are - those are for you!  Now, what's moving you today? Write up a post and let us know... Here is all you need to do to play along:

First step: Head on over to You Tube, or anywhere you get your music videos and post them on your blog! Upcoming themes are to you LOWER RIGHT of XmasDolly's blog.

Second Step: Grab our "Monday's Music Moves Me" Button, mine is on my right sidebar, or off of any of the hosts' sites.

Third step: SIGN THE LINKY - Follow your hosts, grab their buttons too when you visit them and show them some love by leaving a comment.. (mine is on my right sidebar above the 4M button)

Final step: Go visit the other Rockers on our Linky and PLEASE show them some love by leaving them a comment, you know you like comments, they do too!



Once you write up your post, link up with us (on any of the host's blog - they are all connected) and you may be chosen as our SPOTLIGHT DANCERS like this week's lucky couple in our #1 and #2 linky spots.....

Cathy of Cathy Kennedy's Blog ~~ and ~~ Stacey of Artsnark's Artifacts

CONGRATULATIONS!!

If you are one of the lucky ones who is chosen for our spotlight dance, don't forget to grab the Spotlight Dancer Button from Dolly's right sidebar and proudly display it on your blog... WooHoo!

Now, don't forget to sign the linky, visit the participants, and leave a comment - you know you like them, so does everyone else. For more Monday music fun, visit Lady Estrogen and my friend Denise at Run DMT.

ROCK ON MY FRIENDS!!!

We're very sorry to say there are some people not playing along just using our linky to get traffic for their blogs! Unfortunately, these bloggers will be marked and ignored, you will not get any benefit from our linky, so don't bother. All we ask is that you leave a comment, grab our button, ad/or follow us. If you don't want to post a video, you can post a link to a video, or post some lyrics, but please - at least attempt to make it music related.

*** Just one more thing...

PLEASE, we are family friendly blogs and while we really don't want to censor anyone,

but we do ask that you keep your songs rated PG13 or less.

If you find that you need to post songs of an explicit sexual nature or language,

please find a different venue. If your song does contain a small amount of questionable language, please put a disclaimer BEFORE the video.

Thank you very much!***




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I LOVE Getting Together with Blogger Friends

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I was so thrilled when Crystal of Simply Being Mommy contacted me via Twitter and told me that she was in Orlando at a conference for Ford - make sure subscribe to her blog so you can see WHY she was there, you will be AMAZED!!  She and her family weren't going to be there for too long, but we were able to get together this morning for brunch at the Hilton Bonnet Creek where she was staying. We had such a great time and it wasn't even like we had just been together, not like it had been a year and a half since we'd seen each other. Except for how big her kids had gotten - WOW.

Here are some photos from our all to short get together......




Peyton



Rylan and Peyton





Taylor



Sleepy Peyton, Ryan (Daddy Digest), Taylor and Rylan 



Peyton, Crystal and Me



Crystal and Peyton



I SO can't wait for Crystal, Ryan and the kids to come visit again... for much longer. They are all so sweet and, I know Crystal will disagree with me, but her kids are really just the BEST.

Becoming "real life" friends with your "bloggy" friends is such a magnificent thing that if you EVER have the opportunity to meet some of the people you have gotten to know while blogging, I definitely suggest you take advantage of it... you will NOT regret it.

HUGGLES to you all Crystal, Ryan, Taylor, Peyton and especially to my little buddy Rylan!! =)

{Disclaimer: Text links are provided for my readers because I lubs you guys, I was not paid by any of the companies represented here. However IF any of these companies would like to work with me, I would love to represent you.}

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Happy 10/10/10

{Image Credit}

I realized yesterday that today's date would be 10/10/10 and at 10:00 this morning it would be 10/10/10 10:00... pretty cool, huh?  I'm sure there are lots of people out there that figured that out LONG ago, but I'm a little slow on the uptake (blame it on my pain meds).

So, in honor of today, I thought I'd list 10 of my favorite things and ask you my dear friends to list them in your comments or even write a post of your own and put the link in your comment and I promise I'll come over and leave a comment for you. You all know how I love to visit you... even if it takes me a couple of days.  So here goes:

1. The MOST wonderful man in the entire world, who is my life and heart, Bill.

2. The best children I have ever known... my two sons, Alexander and Nikolaus.

3. My adorable puppies (from L to R) Nano, Mia, Mandie; along with the 3 I am still dog-sitting {really LONG story} Mai-Li, Maila, and Mumbo

4. Chocolate... need I say more????? 

5. My bloggy friends that have gotten me through some really difficult times and have kept me upbeat and supported through my son's deployment. (Only 6 more weeks until he comes home - WooHoo!)  I was lucky enough to meet a few of these darling people during the Disney Social Media Moms Conference.

Me, Felicia and Crystal

   6. The terrific ladies in my book club, with special mention of Beth and Patti, who have been there with me since its formation. They too, have been such fabulous friends and always there to encourage me and lend a hand when I need it or just say the right thing or give a hug when no word will do.

7. The sunshine... it can always make any day better. 

8. A good book, it can take you to places you never knew existed or places to warm your heart.

  9. A peaceful nap in the afternoon (of course with my puppies by my side).

10. Music... it can sooth, excite, or bring you back to a memory long forgotten.    

Thanks for the indulgence... now please let me know what your favorite things are and have a wonderful 10/10/10. Hugs and friendship to you all....

Happy First Blogiversary to Me

 

   

I couldn't believe it when I looked back on my blog and saw that this week marked the one year anniversary of my regularly blogging.  I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by and how much has changed - for the good! 

I first started blogging quite sporadically in 2005 and really just let it fall by the wayside.  Then in 2009 after my spinal surgery while I was recuperating on the couch and couldn't do much of anything but watch TV, my darling husband {who is the most wonderful man in the world, by the way} suggested I try entering some giveaways on blogs that he saw on a sweepstakes site that he was entering other giveaways.  He told me I had a "flare for that kind of thing," and it might keep me from being bored for the next 3 months.  So, I started to enter the giveaways and then I won a few... but more than that, I started to read other posts on the blogs.  I started to learn about the incredible women (and a few men), some who where a lot like me, some who where nothing like me, but had these interesting lives and these great families with whom I started to become friends.

Then I thought, maybe, I could start to write about what we were doing and start posting photos of us and even post things that others might find interesting.  So, I started posting, first about my doggie, Nano - my little baby and love of my life, and then some info about nutritional supplements I learned from other sites and then a Father's Day post.  Interspersed with posts about other people's giveaways, I did my posts about what we were doing and uploading photos of our daily life here in beautiful central Florida.

I remember how excited I was to get my very first follower and my very first commenter - they were both the same person ~~ Crystal from Simply Being Mommy.  Crystal has been there for me since then as a follower, commenter and most especially as my friend.  I was so lucky to meet her at the Disney Social Media Moms Conference this past February.

I continued to make new friends and read other people's blogs with their wonderful reviews and enter their giveaways... then I was offered MY very first review.  I was so excited and I gave it my all, as I continue to do with each and every review I do to this date.  Then came my first giveaway and I felt like a giddy school girl with my first crush... I still get this way each time I'm fortunate to represent a company and giveaway one of their products.

Now as I continue to write and upload my photographs, which have gotten better thanks to the most wonderful man in the world for getting me a MUCH better camera, I want to thank all of you for your support and for continuing to visit my blog and reading what I write - for reasons I still don't understand!!  I am so lucky to have you all as my friends and look forward to continuing this relationship and growing it for a very long time into the future.  Hugs to you all!!

Until next time..... Lorie

I Signed Up for SocialSpark!

Most of you who read my blog know that I am disabled and that I use my blog as my social outlet for friendship and information on current events. I have also been trying to use it to earn a little money since times are tough and both my husband and I are on Social Security. ('Nuff said.....).

I recently learned about different ways to monetize my blog through my friend Crystal's blog Simply Being Mommy and one of the ways she mentioned was SocialSpark (I just found up my good friend Maria of Maria's Space has also signed up for Social Spark). This is a site where you can..... are you ready..... get paid to write on your blog about things you love!!! Can you imagine that? It is something I already do, and now I may be able to get paid for it. I was so excited that I couldn't believe it, so I went over to the site to see how to sign up and read it over again. It's true - you can get paid to write on your blog - some posts pay as little at $5 and some pay up to $100. It really depends on the advertiser and their budget, as well as your page rank and writing skills. You get paid via your PayPal account and you can even donate some of your payments to charity. There is of course a code of ethics* to follow, but I wouldn't want to be part of any social organization that wasn't ethical!

If you are interested in making some money by doing what you already love to do on your blog, head on over to SocialSpark to see what it is all about like I did, you may be pleasantly surprised, I know I was and I cannot wait to get started trying to help out my family's financial situation.

Until next time..... Lorie


SocialSpark




*Code of Ethics

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thousand Word Thursday: A Father's Love

Welcome to Thousand Word Thursday..... Go on over and grab the button before you post your photo.



These are my friends Peyton and Ryan at the Disney Social Media Moms Conference. They are Crystal's son and husband. We had such a great time together! Peyton is not feeling too well, so please keep him in your prayers. Thanks, they are a wonderful family and are great friends of mine.



Until next time..... Lorie

WooHoo - I Now Have 100 Google Friends

I'm just so excited - because thanks to Bridgette Groschen (along with the other 99) - I now have 100 followers on Google Friend Connect! I remember when I got my very first follower - Crystal from Simply Being Mommy - and I felt the same way as I do right now... I want to thank each and every one of you, because each time I get a new follower, I get the same giddy feeling. It's like Sally Field at the Oscars, "They like me, they really like me!"

I hope that I can continue to provide content that appeals to you all and makes you want to come back and visit often. I appreciate your comments and your continued encouragement. I love each and every one of you. Thank you so much!!

Until next time..... Lorie