As you probably are already aware, I an well renowned for giving life changing advice.  Readers all over the world flock to my blog seeking my wisdom.  Well, here I am again to tell you my top 6 reasons not to clean your kitchen.  You're welcome!

6. You just don't want to.  It's your kitchen after all and you should be able to decide where and how things are kept.  If you want to store a basketball hoop in the middle of the kitchen floor you should be able to do just that!  If you don't want to do dishes you shouldn't have to.


5.   You may make some rather disturbing discoveries.  Remember that box of food you packed when you moved from your apartment to your house?  It's still there in the corner of your kitchen.  Hiding behind other boxes disguising itself as extra dishes or appliances or something.  Recall the fact that you have been living in this house for over three years now.  You were just better off not knowing.


4.   You will start to experience delusions of grandeur regarding all the ways you can redo and reorganize your kitchen.  You will then start googling kitchen updates.  After several hours pinning your discoveries to your Pinterest boards, you will discover the necessity of creating a new Kitchen Board on Pinterest, to accommodate all your new pins.


3.   Someone may start to get ideas regarding your cleaning capabilities.  You wouldn't want anyone to start thinking that you might, in fact, be perfectly capable of doing the dishes on a regular basis, now would you?

2.  You might have to start cooking.  If the kitchen is clean, you will have one less excuse to avoid cooking.  Again, it could be assumed that, if you are capable of cleaning, you can certainly learn to cook. This assumption is quite mistaken.

Well folks, it's been 31 days.  Today is the last day of the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.  This challenge has been amazing and I have learned so much.  I hate to see it end!


When the idea of starting a blog first popped into my head it had one drawback.  Someone might read it.  I had to really push past my comfort zone in order to put myself out there.  I knew I needed an outlet but fear held me back.  The only thing that finally allowed me to convince myself to take the risk was knowing that it would be unlikely for anyone to ever read my blog anyway.  I certainly wasn't going to tell anyone about it.

Previously I mentioned that I enjoy a little activity I like to call Online Window Shopping.  In the spirit of wanting stuff I don't have, I thought I would start a little series entitled Stuff I Want.  This is where I get to tell you about all the stuff I wish I had. :)

Today I am taking The Mom Pledge.  For me it's just an obvious decision.  I want to always be respectful not just of other moms but of everyone.  I enjoy hearing differing points of view.  I want to know why someone who has a different opinion thinks the way they do.  I think it's possible to have debates and discussions without being hateful.

Now I am human too.  There are times I say something without thinking.  I try really really hard not to but sometimes it happens.  I get angry.  The important thing for me is to take a step back and put myself in the shoes of the other person.  It is very rare that I can not at least imagine myself in their situation.  Would I really do things differently?  How can I know that for sure unless I have experienced that?

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post "giving advice" to single mothers.  One of the comments on my post came from Kimberly of Mama's Monologues.

This was her comment:

Love this! I myself was a single mom for almost 6 years before I met my husband & it was by far the HARDEST thing I've ever done. You don't have the other person to fall back on when you need relief. People constantly judge you. There's been a lot of polls and article floating around lately about how single moms are negatively impacting society and it makes me so angry!!! I love your humor in this post...it's been some of the same exact thoughts I've been having myself! :)

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a single mom.  I honestly can't tell you what it really feels like.  Kimberly can.  She has written a couple of touching posts documenting her experience of being a single mom.  I encourage you to read them.  They will give you the chance to see through the eyes of someone who has been there.  While you are there make sure to subscribe because she will be continuing her story and you wouldn't want to miss it.

Seriously do yourself a favor and read her posts: My Biggest Struggles & Part 2

Thank you Kimberly for sharing this beautiful glimpse into the struggles you faced.

On Monday my husband and I packed our two kids (Peanut 4 and Princess 2) into our car and spent 5 hours driving to my parents house for a visit.  Then on Thursday we packed them back up for the trip home.

Back when my husband commuted 5 days a week for work we usually made the same trip with him once a month.  During that time we discovered several tricks to make the trip go more smoothly with no or at least limited meltdowns.  Here are a few things that have worked for us.

It was with great enthusiasm and anticipation that I started the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
After completing the first 10 days I am filled with even more excitement.  21 days still left to go and look how far I have come!

A couple of days ago I read a post that really got me thinking.  Fenny over at The Crazy Rambler wrote a post entitled Are you 'normal'?  I highly recommend taking the time to read it.  She made some great points.  Who wants to be normal anyway?  How boring!  Now I would like to expand on that a little and ask.  Who actually is normal?


This is actually a topic I have given quite a bit of thought to throughout my life.

Just to make things clear.  In case there is any doubt in your mind.  I am NOT normal.  Ok, now that we have that cleared up we can continue.

Today is day 4 of the SITS 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
I didn't want to leave out day 3 & 4 even though the tasks are not post topics.  I thought I would include a summary of my progress by posting the questions and answers from my SITS 31DBBB forum post and then elaborate a little here.

Today is day two of the SITS 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.

This month I am participating in the SITS 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.
Day #1: Write an Elevator Pitch for Your Blog
" An elevator pitch is a short summary used to quickly and simply define a product, service, or organization and its value proposition. The name 'elevator pitch' reflects the idea that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately thirty seconds to two minutes." - Wikipedia