Best Of 2011 | GoodNCrazy Here And There

A little Year end wrap up…

Where have I been, what have I been doing?

You know those Christmas Card letters? A little bit like that—with more snark.

Sometimes this year I have literally forgotten my blog’s password. I shock myself. But I’ve been having sooo much fun landing content in too many other places.

Working backwards:

• Figuring out the Wonderful World of Freelance Writing with SchoolFamily.com

I am writing a weekly column for SchoolFamily.com titled ‘GoodNCrazy Mom’. I get to write about all things related to my life as a mother of 3 school age kids. From weight loss goals with all kids in school, to whirlwind trips to Spain (what do you do with the kids when you leave?!) and pondering a little less holiday hustle and bustle… not everyone agreed with me on that one! And one of the posts was picked up by my School district’s Superintendent… he forwarded it to every teacher in the district! They had no idea what hit them.

Possibly my favorite School Family post so far… My Un-Resolutions for 2012, what are you NOT resolving to do this year?

• Getting my GalTime On (and then taking it back off again)

I have been the GalTime Local Ambassador Liaison for the past 6 months, I love the website and I have a passion for helping new online writers and mentoring and brainstorming, but in 2012 I will be stepping down from this gig, focusing more on my own writing (and getting more dishes done).

• I was asked to Join the Parent Advisory Board for Famigo.com

What a completely fun little company. They created an amazing cell phone app—check out their Android App, you’ll thank me when your kids stop destroying your phone settings! I get to flash my techy mom skills and I write a ‘mom-techy’ post twice a month over there!

• Project Manage Sponsored #TMOM Twitter Parties

Travelingmom.com is a niche travel info website and the community there is truly a blast to work with. If you haven’t joined in the #TMOM Mondays (9PM Eastern on Twitter) then you SHOULD!

• I’m coming up on 18 Months working with VolunteerSpot

VolunteerSpot.com is a free online sign up sheet service. It helps you organize your volunteers, plain and simple. And I jump in and play social media expert/consultant  and chief brainstormer on a regular basis. Plus, I personally love the service, I recently organized a Chili potluck dinner for my Cub Scout troop and it was oh so easy (and tasty!) with VolunteerSpot. (They just hit the 1 million volunteer mark! Yay VSpot!)

Fave articles I’ve written in 2011
(…I kind of think they rock):

Top Ten What I Wish I’d Known Then About Blogging — For TaraDara

Stop Annoying Your Teacher– for VolunteerSpot.com

Holiday Hustle and Bustle — for SchoolFamily.com

Un-Resolutions — for SchoolFamily.com

Seattle Streaker in Safeco Field — for GalTime

Getting Creative with Cub Scout Activities, turn them into service projects! — for VolunteerSpot.com

Recycled and Toilet Paper should NOT be in the same sentence! And Mom TP Types, Which Type are You? — for ToiletPaperWorld.com

And in my mom-life, what have I been doing in 2011?

• Foster Care, we have a 5 year old little boy living with us right now, making us a family of 6.
• My parent’s 50th Anniversary this summer in Southern Idaho, Way to Go Frank & Virginia!
• A family Trip to Lake Tahoe (never been, IT was amazing!)
• A Trip to Madrid with my husband while he was on a work trip! (Huge thanks to my mother for taking care of the kids!)
• Old La dy Basketball, every Tuesday night, whether we like it or not.
• Cooking a lot of Stove Top Stuffing Meat Loaf, I swear it’s my new favorite meal.
• Sooo much less reading. Who has time? But I did manage to read a few books this year: The Help, Gladwell’s Outliers, One Day, Tina Fey’s Book… I saw a lot of movies though.. does that count??
• Still haven’t taken a photography class, but I’m dying to begin using Adobe Lightroom. (Hello, 700 photos from the family reunion this summer!)
• Cub Scouts. I’m the new Den Leader, I have no clue what I’m doing most of the time… shhh, the boys don’t know the difference!
• Parenting a High Schooler, who has early morning seminary, and never-ending Play Practices (A Thespian!) We’re blaming her dad.
• Back to the Gym with a vengeance. I’ve lost ten pounds (when the scale is working right).. and I can’t believe it. I’ve never been able to lose any weight since my youngest was born (7 years ago). YAY ME!
• Blogging conferences: BlogHer11 August (Oh the fun drive to San Diego with @MaryHeston), Mom2.0 April (New Orleans! WOW.), BlissDom11 January (Travel in January is no fun, ended up staying the night with @Chaotic_Barb in Denver and how fun was THAT!?)

from → Blogger Tips, book review, Guest Post, Mom Life, Photography, Social Media & Writing

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