Tag: group-writing-project

Categories
Contests

January Group Writing Project Finale

Happy Super Tuesday. I presume (though this may not be a sure thing) that we in the US will find out some important winners today, so I figured I’d give another winner a reason to celebrate. But first, we all get a reason to celebrate (or at least commiserate). The January Group Writing Project was all about “Me Time.” With 21 great entries, we have a wonderful array of solutions, discussions and pleas for help waiting for your eyes and your comments.

Now, feel free to spread the link love by copying the above list (instructions) and posting it to your own blog. Believe me—they all deserve it (and some serious “me time”).

The Winna!
Chosen at random the winner of our prize, a $30 Amazon.com gift certificate, is <drum roll>…

Me Time! by Joleene Libby

Congratulations, Joleene, on not only winning the gift certificate (again, she was chosen at random!) but also on participating in a GWP for the first time! The gift certificate will be winging its way to you soon!

Still working on your entry? Even though we’ve awarded our prize, we’ll continue to accept, read, link to and comment on submissions through next week.

Categories
Fulfillment Contests

Me time for moms

I think that “me time” is really important for mothers. I think most mothers would readily agree—in fact, I think that most mothers have so little downtime that we’re desperate for that one little minute we can claim as our own. And we’ll take it wherever we can get it.

Though it’s easy to look back and think that I haven’t really had any “me time” since my son was born, I know that isn’t the case. There was a while there where I got in the habit of getting up at 7, while Hayden suddenly began sleeping in until 8 or 9. I could get a jump start on work, I could write something great on MamaBlogga (well, as great as I get), I could read my favorite blogs, and not have to worry about my personal projects until Hayden went down for a nap.

And then he started waking up at 6:45.

When Hayden still took three naps, I had up to 5.5 hours to myself during the day—plenty of time to get lots of work done and spend time straightening up the house and doing things I wanted to do. Of course, as soon as I came to rely on this, Hayden stopped taking his third nap. After a while, two naps came to be more than adequate.

And then, of course, he was down to one, which has been whittled away until some days it’s not even enough to get all my work done. (Let’s not even discuss the normal state of disarray the house is in!)

But then there’s the other side of the coin—the special occasions where I get to go out (or stay home) without my family. And feel guilty or simply miss my family.

While I spend much of my time wishing for regular “me time,” I don’t know what I’d do if I took it!

Edited to add: as I read through your wonderful entries, I realized that “In my opinion, anything that helps you to feel recharged, happy and more or less ready to take the next onslaught of life’s challenges counts as ‘me time.'” This definition is much broader than what many of us think of—pampering, relaxation, etc. But this is what I’m looking for in “me time.”

Categories
Contests

January Group Writing Project

This writing project has ended. Please view the full list of wonderful entries at the January GWP Finale, and subscribe to MamaBlogga to find out about the next group writing project!

After eight excellent Group Writing Projects, we’re gonna do it again. It’s time for the January MamaBlogga Group Writing Project!

In honor of this time of year, the theme for the January Group Writing Project is “Me time.” Feel free to write about how you take time for yourself, how you need time for yourself, what you do with time for yourself, and/or anything else that comes to mind.

Feel free to go in any direction that appeals to you. Even if you don’t choose to participate, you can encourage others to participate!

  • Your post can take any form as long as it reflects this theme—this includes anything from serious to sarcastic, about your children, your future children, your pet, etc.
  • You can participate with a blog post, a podcast, a video, a page on your website, etc., etc. If you don’t have a website, contact me and I’ll be happy to publish your entry here on MamaBlogga.
  • Only NEW posts (i.e., posts have not been published prior to 28 January 2008) are eligible. Posts must be submitted through the submission form before Sunday, 3 February 2008.

Why participate?
There are lots of reasons to participate! All entries that meet the guidelines will be listed and linked to here on MamaBlogga. This an opportunity for you to discover new blogs (and for others to discover yours!). In July, I came up with five ways to get the most out of the GWP.

And, of course, there is one more incentive: one lucky post author, drawn at random, will receive a $30 gift certificate to Amazon.com (to be announced Tuesday, 5 February 2008).

Finally, we’d appreciate it if you linked to this post or to the guidelines/submission form on your entry post so that others can learn about the project and participate.

Now get writing!

Categories
Contests

December Group Writing Project Finale

Whoa, where did I go? Oh yeah, I spoke at a conference last week, and I’ve just been too immobilized by stress to tackle the projects that are stressing me out. And I have a toddler. He takes up a lot of time.

But I didn’t forget you! Here are our 15 17 great entries for the December Group Writing Project. The best time of year ranged from the holidays to spring to back to school. Read through and pick your favorite time of year!

Now, feel free to spread the link love by copying the above list (instructions) and posting it to your own blog. Believe me—they all deserve it.

And the winner, chosen at random, is . . .

The best time of the year… by Deb – Mom of 3 Girls


Deb has long participated in the GWP, so I’m especially happy to reward her continued diligence and creativity with a $30 Amazon gift card, which should be winging its way to you soon, Deb. Congratulations!!

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Still working on your entry? Even though we’ve awarded our prize, we’ll continue to accept, read, link to and comment on submissions through the end of this week.

Categories
Contests

December Group Writing Project

This writing project has ended. Please view the full list of wonderful entries at the December GWP Finale, and subscribe to MamaBlogga to find out about the next group writing project!

After the six previous very successful and fun Group Writing Projects, we’re gonna do it again. It’s time for the December MamaBlogga Group Writing Project!

In honor of this time of year, the theme for the December Group Writing Project is “The best time of the year.” You can finish that thought with whatever reflections you’d like: on this holiday season, on the best time you’ve had all year, etc.

Feel free to go in any direction that appeals to you. Even if you don’t choose to participate, you can encourage others to participate!

  • Your post can take any form as long as it reflects this theme—this includes anything from serious to sarcastic, about your children, your future children, your pet, etc.
  • You can participate with a blog post, a podcast, a video, a page on your website, etc., etc. If you don’t have a website, contact me and I’ll be happy to publish your entry here on MamaBlogga.
  • Only NEW posts (i.e., posts have not been published prior to 10 December 2007) are eligible. Posts must be submitted through the submission form before Sunday, 16 December 2007.

Why participate?
There are lots of reasons to participate! All entries that meet the guidelines will be listed and linked to here on MamaBlogga. This an opportunity for you to discover new blogs (and for others to discover yours!). In July, I came up with five ways to get the most out of the GWP.

And, of course, there is one more incentive: one lucky post author, drawn at random, will receive a $30 gift certificate to Amazon.com (to be announced Monday, 17 December 2007).

Finally, we’d appreciate it if you linked to this post or to the guidelines/submission form on your entry post so that others can learn about the project and participate.

Now get writing!

Categories
Kids/Parenting Random Ryan/Married Life

Ten Rules to Live By

The prompt for the second Letters to my Daughters Group Writing Project is “ten rules to live by.”

Now, obviously, there are already ten rules to live by (you might recall the ‘thou shalt not’ language, yes?). But here are a few things that I’ve picked up in my rather short life. Following them, like following the commandments, has definitely made my life easier!

1. Believe. Believe something. Believe in God. Believe in yourself.

2. Be honest. Be honest with yourself. Be honest with your spouse. Be honest in your dealings with your fellow man. At the very least, it’s a lot easier to keep your story straight. Plus, when your kids lie to you, you can point to your honest example to show them that it’s wrong.

3. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I’m terrible at this. But when I remember this rule, I don’t yell at Hayden for throwing bubbles on the floor. It’s really not that important.

4. Love. Love everything and everybody in the whole world, only he never let on so . . . oh, sorry, that’s Oklahoma. Love is really a key to happiness. Love God, love your family and love what you do for a living. What else could it take to make someone happy?

5. Let go. This is hard, but it’s definitely the most healthy.

6. Talk things out/Fight fair. The best way to do this is not to get upset and yell, but even if you can’t do that (I often can’t keep myself from at least getting upset), don’t bring up settled (or unsettled) issues from the past in an argument. If something is bothering you, gently and in a non-accusatory way, bring it up with the person who upset you.

7. Think ahead. The time to tell your children the rules (and impose their consequences) is not after they break them. Decide with your spouse what the rules are, tell them to your children. (In the rule of law, this is called publicity—telling people about the laws. It also has to do with prospectivity—you can’t punish people for actions they made before a law was passed.)

8. Make your expectations reasonable and clear. Not just for your children, either. This was the first piece of advice I gave one of my college roommates when she got married. Tell your husband what you expect of him and odds are a lot lower that he’ll disappoint you.

9. Impose (and accept) consequences. Be consistent in discipline, whatever style of discipline you use. And when you get a speeding ticket, accept the consequences. Call speeding civil disobedience if you want, but an important part of that is willingly accepting the consequences.

10. Spend time together. Spend time with your family and your friends. Eat dinner together as a family as often as you can.

What rules do you live by? (And hurry if you want to participate in the GWP; the deadline is tomorrow!)