Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Ultimate Blog Party 2014!!!



It's time again for the Ultimate Blog Party! The Ultimate Blog Party is hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom. I admit I am a little late this year. There has been a lot of craziness this month because the Random family is moving (more about that later)! So I forgot to get this post up on time, but better late than never, right?

And to all the visitors from the Ultimate Blog Party, welcome, feel free to look around!

Ultimate Blog Party 2014
About Me

I am Randomly Fascinated. I chose that name because when thinking about a possible blog I knew that I would  never be able to choose just one topic to talk about. I am fascinated wide variety of subjects and I tend to randomly jump from one to another. I think that I originally started this blog as an outlet to get some adult interaction while staying home with my Little Man.

I am married to the most wonderful man ever (if you don't believe me read about how he browns meat for me)! I have two Little Men one who is 2 1/4 and one who is 7 1/2 months old.

I get fascinated by random things like which diaper brand is best. I love to cook. I love to try new recipes and I am totally comfortable adapting recipes to my taste (Mr. Random is not a picky eater so I am allowed to adapt to my tastes, which are significantly pickier). I also love to find new ways to save/make money. I love to make crafts and art. I enjoy being creative and making things with my hands. My favorite artistic medium is ceramics and my dream is to one day own a kiln so I can make ceramics again. I love pinterest. I tend to spend more time pinning than repinning because I also love combing blogs. I also have a lot of other random thoughts that I post about.


I am not hosting a giveaway on here this year because I am sponsoring a prize on the Ultimate Blog Party.

$35 gift card to Domestic Randomness Etsy Shop
(1 winner – US Only – Lower 48 States)
Provided by: Domestic Randomness
Twitter: @RandomFascinate
Facebook: DomesticRandomness
Prize Value: 
$35.00

You can find it on the prize page (You have to enter through their entry form). There are lots of other prizes and socializing opportunities available!


Tuesday, February 18, 2014

The 10 Most Viewed Posts in 2013

Hi all!

I like to do roundup posts this time of year highlighting some of the best posts of the previous year so that any new readers I have can find the most awesome posts from my site easily. I will be doing 3 roundups from 2013:

The 9 Most Popular Posts From 2013 (written in 2013)
The 10 Most Viewed in 2013 (written anytime, viewed in 2013)
The 14 Most Underviewed Posts of 2013 (my favorite posts from 2013 that I didn't think got enough attention)

If you want to see last year's roundups you can find them here:
Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2012
Top 15 Most Underviewed Posts of 2012


So Without Further Ado The 10 Most Viewed Posts From 2013:



1. Bridal Shower Games (& free printables) 4. Ultimate Blog Party!! And my very first giveaway! 7. Lap Chalkboard - DIY Chalkboard out of a Cookie Sheet

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The 14 Most Underviewed Posts from 2013

Hi all!

I like to do roundup posts this time of year highlighting some of the best posts of the previous year so that any new readers I have can find the most awesome posts from my site easily. I will be doing 3 roundups from 2013:

The 9 Most Popular Posts From 2013 (written in 2013)
The 10 Most Viewed in 2013 (written anytime, viewed in 2013)
The 14 Most Underviewed Posts of 2013 (my favorite posts from 2013 that I didn't think got enough attention)

If you want to see last year's roundups you can find them here:
Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2012
Top 15 Most Underviewed Posts of 2012


So Without Further Ado The 14 Most Underviewed Posts From 2013:



1. Thank You God
4. The $1 Date
5. Little Man 1 Birth Story
6. How to get Feedburner to send emails again
7. Computer Tips from Mr. Random: Tab Your Way to More Time
8. Let's Talk: What does it feel like when the baby hiccups?
9. Let's Talk - A fun little Mommy Quiz
10. How to Earn Swagbucks for Free post 2
14. How I Planted My First Vegetable Garden Sponsored Post #MiracleGroProject

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Monday, July 29, 2013

How to get Feedburner to send emails again

First of all, sorry about the huge inundation of posts on your feed and email this morning. And I'm also sorry that you haven't had any updates in your feed or email for a couple months. As you read below you will see why and how it happened.

I noticed a couple days ago that I hadn't been receiving emails from feedburner with my new blog posts for a couple months. So yesterday I decided to see what the problem was and if I could do anything about it.

First I checked with Mr. Random and he said he hadn't been recieving them either, so I knew it wasn't a glitch with my email, but I checked in the junk folder anyways, just to make sure they weren't accidentally seen as junk. I also checked on feedburner in my email subscribers to make sure that we hadn't accidentally been deleted or deactivated there.

When both of those checked out I went into Feedburner's troubleshooting page to see if they had any advice. It wasn't listed as a known problem, so it was probably something wrong with my account. I pinged them as it said and that didn't do anything, for some reason the last post on my feed was from May. I looked through several group posting on their site (none of which were helpful, it was just a bunch of people saying that they had the same problem, but few had an answer, and most of those answers were long, complicated and difficult to fix, they really should have feedburner employees monitoring those groups to give answers). I also checked my feedmedic and it said my blog was doing fine. Well I knew it wasn't fine, the feed hadn't updated in 2 months.

So I decided to try resynching my blog, even though the page said it should be a last resort option. When I clicked the resynch now button it popped up with a couple of alerts at the top that said that I couldn't resynch. One of them I diddn't understand, and don't remember. The other said that my feed was too big and I needed to get it below 512K. Well that was finally helpful because the last trouble mentioned in the common trouble list was a too big feed with a link to this help page with very clear easy directions to fix the problem. I simply went to the page, followed the directions exactly step by step and set the max results to 15.

And it worked! I checked my feed last night and it had updated to the 15 most recent posts. And I got the email this morning which sent out the 15 most recent posts. I didn't intend for it to completely flood people's feeds and emails (thankfully they came all in one email, not 15 separate ones) so I am sorry for that, but I am glad that it is fixed. It should be back on track and my posts should come to your feed or email after they are posted now, which is generally 1-3 times a week. Please don't drop me because of one crazy glitch :) Sorry for the inconvenience and let me know if you have any issues with it. Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy time!

Hopefully this also helps someone who is having this issue on their blog :)

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

100 goals update

Last December I posted my 100th post. To celebrate I posted 100 goals for 2013. Yes, I knew that it was completely impossible to think I would get anywhere near accomplishing all of them, I just thought it would be good for me to know what directions I wanted to head. Anyways, I think it would be interesting (and fun :)) to see how I am doing on my goals.


Long Term
1.      Pay Off House (working on it, and doing well)
2.      Save up and either add on to current house or buy a new house with cash (this will have to wait until we get the house paid off I think)
3.      Have good relationships (this is doing pretty good for the most part)
4.      Have more children (working on #2 now so going well :))
5.      Serve the community and world (I don't feel like I am doing enough, but I do a little)
6.      Continue as a Stay at Home Mom (check, so far)
7.      Home school our children (still planning to)
8.      Be Organized (I am trying to get together a household binder, but this one is slow going, organization is hard for me)
9.      Have book(s) published (not yet, maybe one day)
10.  Express myself through Art (not as much as I'd like, but I did get my craft area organized, that's the first step, the second step is wait until it is done being a construction zone)
11.  Travel (we went on 1 vacation so far this year)
12.  Be more positive (I think I am doing better)
13.  Have better posture (not doing great, but occasionally remember)
14.  Be healthy (working on it)

Personal
15.  Go to bed by 11 pm (not doing well on this one. I have a hard time because frequently if I go to bed at 11 I wont fall asleep for an hour or two, so I feel like I might as well be up working)
16.  Get up by 9 am (this one flew out the window when I got pregnant, I need to sleep when I can actually sleep)
17.  Only check email during email time (I haven't yet established an email time, so not happening so far, but in the spirit of the goal, I am doing better at not wasting as much time on email, it helps that I started unsubscribing from emails I don't really need to be getting)
18.  Think about (and adjust) my posture twice a day (not doing great on this one)
19.  Write down one good thing someone else did every day (oh, I totally forgot about this goal, I need to work on it)
20.  Listen to WBCL's midmorning program one day a week (I don't always do one day every week, but I try to listen if I am working in the kitchen or around the house, and then I listen to several that day)
21.  Enter at least 20 sweepstakes per week (I stopped doing this because I don't have time now, maybe I will start again later if I get organized)
22.  Make a To Do List (I do sometimes when I remember, it always helps me stay focused)
23.  Make my own laundry detergent (still hasn't happened yet, but I have all the ingredients)
24.  Try at least 1 pin per month (I haven't kept track of this, but I do try new recipes fairly regularly)
25.  Make schedule cards or personal binder (working on it, slow going)
26.  Find out how to publish a children's book (haven't had time to work on this yet)
27.  Attempt to get the Children's books I have written published (same)
28.  Write 1 more Children's book (not yet)
29.  Learn how to publish ebook (I have read a little, but not enough)
30.  Write 1 ebook (thought of ideas, but nothing written yet)
31.  Read 2 books on parenting toddlers (umm, I don't remember if I have read toddler books, I have read several on random child/teen issues/ parenting)
32.  Read at least 1 relationship book (I am pretty sure that I have done this)
33.  Read at least 1 spiritual book (Also pretty sure I have done this, I don't keep track of everything I read because I read tons of books)
34.  Clean up email so I don't spend so much time in it (have been working on this, seems like no matter how many I unsubscribe from there is always more, but it is way better)

Family
35.  Do devotions as a family after supper every day (we kinda fell away from this, we need to get started again)
36.  Go to at least 1 Moms and Munchkins event every month (unfortunately Mom and Munchkins is no longer happening :( )
37.  Go on at least 1 family vacation (we took a weekend away :))
38.  Go away for the weekend at least 4 times (1 down, unlikely to get in all of the others because of trying to stay nearby in case I go into labor :))
39.  Paint the back room in the basement (Mr. Random is working on this now!)

Marriage
40.  Have 2 date nights per month (we haven't had one for a while, time to get back on the horse)
41.  Go on at least one vacation without Little Man (Not sure if this will happen because of the pregnancy/ waiting for delivery/ will be dealing with a newborn, but we'll see)
42.  Go on a marriage retreat (unfortunately not going to happen unless we can find one for free that is close)
43.  Read one book together with Mr. Random (does the bible count? oh wait, we haven't finished that either, well he did show interest in America's Cheapest Family, maybe we can read that)
44.  Do The Husband Project (I keep meaning to do this)
45.  Go to at least 3 ballroom dances (We did a dance at our church talent show, but other than that, no)

Children
46.  Spend 15 minutes a day just playing with Little Man (I do play with him probably more than 15 min a day, but not in one chunk of time like I was wanting to yet)
47.  Read at least 1 book to Little Man every day (many days I read him Hello Baby, his current favorite book)
48.  Have Little Man try 1 new food every week (having him try it, most of the time he doesn't eat it, but I am doing my part)
49.  Have at least one photo day per month (I do not even remember what I meant by this, but I do take pics and videos of him regularly)
50.  Have one Mother/Son date night every other month with Little Man (haven't started this yet because we spend so much time together, I am thinking that it will prolly be more important once Little Man 2 is here)
51.  Let Mr. Random go on one Father/Son date night every other month with Little Man (same)
52.  Write down Little Man’s new schedule (check)
53.  Begin preschool with Little Man (nothing official after I posted this I realized there is not much official that you do with a 1.5 year old)
54.  Find information on home school groups for preschoolers (not yet, but I should)

Extended Family/Friends
55.  Get together with each side of the family at least once a month (most months we do, some months we haven't because of different people being out of town, but do as much as we can)
56.  Get together with aunts to scrapbook once a month (that fell apart because of busy schedules, maybe we can start again soon?)
57.  Have people over 1-2 times a month (umm, we need to do better on this)
58.  Visit my Sister at least twice (not yet, she lives a couple hours away, so we'll see if it happens after the baby is born)

Spiritual
59.  Do my devotions 4 days a week (I did pretty good while in BSF, not doing well this summer)
60.  Go on time to BSF (what is on time, really?, obviously didn't do well on this)
61.  Finish this year's BSF lessons (I got many of them done)
62.  Sign up for BSF for next year (check!)
63.  Continue being involved in family group (check!)

Serving
64.  Write at least 1 note of encouragement every month (I forgot this one, so I haven't done it yet, I will try to remember this month)
65.  Take in a Foster Child (this one stopped being a possibility when we found out we were expecting again. With the first pregnancy I was put on couch rest at the end, and this time I was on semi-couch rest at the beginning. We knew that if I couldn't take care of myself and our child we shouldn't take on someone else's child, we will see if God leads that way again after we get settled with Little Man 2)
66.  Volunteer outside of the home at least once (I haven't had the opportunity to do this yet. I have volunteered for our church community several times, but I was hoping to do something more)

Health
67.  Maintain my weight through the holidays (I don't remember for sure, but I think I did pretty well on this even though I was pregnant :)
68.  Exercise at least 3 times a week (I am really bad at this)
69.  Fill out the Calorie Counter every day (I stopped doing this when I found out how many calories I am supposed to be eating when pregnant. It is depressing to see that many calories when I got used to far less)
70.  Lose 10 pounds in 2 months (umm, this and the next one obviously went the opposite direction since I got pregnant)
71.  Lose 50 pounds in 1 year

Financial
72.  Work on budget 2 days every month (check!)
73.  Calculate how much extra we need to pay on the house to have it paid off in 3 years (I am not sure if three years will happen because the new tax codes hit us hard, but we are on a good track to get it paid off in 6 years or less)
74.  Go through the Dave Ramsey course again (Mr. Random doesn't think we need to this year so we'll prolly wait)
75.  Pray and talk to other leaders about teaching a Dave Ramsey course (haven't started this process yet)
76.  Get the house on a mortgage from the bank (check!)
77.  Give generously as God prompts
78.  Continue to tithe 10% of gross income
79.  Continue to put at least 5% of income in God only knows fund
80.  Build up to 15% of our income going into our retirement funds (we are holding steady at this point)
81.  Continue to pay extra on the house
82.  Save up and pay cash for a new air conditioner when it goes out (working on saving up)
83.  Save up and go on a big vacation next year or the year after (not happening this year, we'll see about next year)

Blogging
84.  Write 2-3 posts per week (I think I am averaging 1-2)
85.  Apply at least 1 of the Six Sister’s ways to grow my blog every week (haven't started this)
86.  Write posts at least 1 week in advance (every once in a while)
87.  Plan out posts at least 1 weeks in advance (not happening yet)
88.  Host a biweekly linky party (I decided to cancel it because it was not getting enough trafic to be worth my time)
89.  Contact 1 company a month about sponsoring my blog (hasn't happened yet, but I have had a couple sponsor s and sponsored posts come in, yay!)
90.  Post 1 Let's Talk post a month (I have posted a few)
91.  Post at least 1 recipe per month (haven't done well on this)
92.  Post 1 Swagbucks post a month (haven't done well on this either)
93.  Post at least 1 product review per month (I have posted one)
94.  Write 1 guest post every other month (this is not happening right now)
95.  Post a giveaway at least every other month (I have had a couple :))
96.  Host a big linky/giveaway party for my 1 year blogiversary (I did, and it was great! although a lot of work :))
97.  Make a Blog Binder (still working on it)
98.  Read the Six Sister's 10 ways to grow your blog book (not finished)
99.  Find some sponsors for/Save up and go to a blog conference this year or next (Not going to be going this year, maybe next)
100.                      Grow my blog to at least 200 pageviews per day (way over, yay!)


Well there you have it, obviously I got nowhere near doing them all, but it was good to review. And exciting to see the things that I could check off :)

Have you made any goals this year? How are you doing with them?

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Computer Tips from Mr. Random: Tab Your Way to More TIme

We have a wonderful new guest blogger on Domestic Randomness. Say hello to Mr. Random! And because he is so wonderful (if you don't believe me that he is wonderful you can read about his wonderfulness in many of my posts including this and this), anyways, because he is so wonderful he has agreed to become a regular guest blogger on Domestic Randomness! Mr. Random works with computers regularly so he has a lot of knowledge and expertise to share with us. He knows a lot of shortcuts and even some fun practical jokes you can do with computers. His first tip for us is about using the tab key to save yourself some time.

So, take it away Mr. Random!







When you are filling out a form that has multiple spaces in which you need to input information - instead of navigating and clicking the mouse in each space all you have to do is press the “TAB” key to move the cursor to the next text entry field. 

What if you accidently skip a field that you need to enter information into? Never fear, in that case press the “CTRL” key + the “TAB” key and the cursor will move back up to the skipped space.


That is it for this week’s Computer Tip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isn't that interesting? I knew that you could tab through different fields but I didn't know that you could go back using keys. I always just use the mouse to click back. That would save a decent amount of time. Also as I was asking Mr. Random about how this works he showed me how it works in Microsoft Word. I didn't know that you could tab your way through the menus on Word (and other Microsoft Programs), did you know that?

If you have any questions about how this works feel free to leave them below and we will answer them. 

Thanks for reading and please comment below to leave Mr. Random some new blogger love!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

RoadTrip 2013 Conferece and promo code ($400 off!)


RoadTrip 2013

I have seen other bloggers talking about various conferences that they have gone to and I have to admit that I have been a little jealous. Those conferences look like so much fun and have such great information, I am sure that I could benefit from them. But so far they have not worked out for me.

Then I found out about RoadTrip 2013. It is not just a blogging conference, it covers everything from leadership to social media to photography to technology and much more. And one of the speakers is one of my all time favorite bloggers Money Saving Mom.

For me the location is also a big plus. It is being held in Cincinnati, OH which is only a couple hours away from me. If it is further for you all of the tickets include transportation to and from the airport. Most of the ticket options include hotel accommodations as well. You can see the different types of tickets available here. There are different levels and all of them include awesome benefits!

Oh and the conference is October 10-12.

And the best thing for you is that I have a promo code for you! If you use the promo code Random53 you will get $400 off of any ticket purchase. The promo code is good through July 15, 2013. They are expecting to sell out by July 15 so make sure you get your tickets purchased early! Here is the link to purchase your tickets.



Disclosure: I am not getting paid for this post, but if a certain number of tickets are bought using my promo code I can earn a free ticket to the conference! I would love it if you would support me by purchasing your ticket using my promo code. What could be better than getting $400 off and helping out someone else?

Friday, May 31, 2013

May Sponsor Spotlight

Super Spot Sponsor

Wedding Speeches Solutions has the answer to your wedding speech dilemma. Inside you will learn that there has to be a balance between being funny, serious and including memories in your speech.



Super Sponsor Sponsorship

From Paula:
Paula and her husband have been married for 4 years. They have 2 lively and rambunctious kiddos and all live together in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment. Paula's passions include writing, the hot Houston weather, watching her kids giggle, budgeting and encouraging people. You can find more of Paula's writing on her blog www.BeautyThroughImperfection.com where she writes candidly about her life as a young wife and mom.

You can also connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

From Me:
Beauty Through Imperfection is one of my new favorite blogs! I am so glad that Paula won the giveaway and got this ad spot so that I could get to know her blog. She is so sweet and encouraging and I have loved almost every post of hers that I have read. She is also in the same stage of life as I am and her kids are close in age to mine so her posts are very relevant to me right now :)

Here are some of my favorite recent posts:



5 Ways to Prepare Your Toddler to be an Older Sibling  and 8 Ways to Help a Toddler Adjust to the New Baby - These two posts are absolutely great for me right now. It sounds like her two kids were the same number of months apart that mine will be and these two posts are a minefield of useful tips that I plan to utilize in the next several months. The first one is tips that you can do before the baby comes, the next is tips for after the baby comes. Super great info!
 Top 10 Blogging Tips - Some great tips for bloggers who are looking for some advice!
Top 10 Ideas for Family Time with Toddlers - I don't know about you , but I sometimes have trouble thinking of ideas for family time with toddlers. Toddlers have short attention spans and don't always seem to understand what we are doing. So this list is great to jump start my ideas!
Beyond Movie Night - 10 at Home Date Night Ideas - Sometimes it is hard to get out on a date. And when we are at home we generally just put on a movie and work on our separate projects. I am just starting to realize how important at home dating is and this list is a great resource that I plan on using!
Supporting Unwed Moms - I have not been an unwed mom, and neither has Paula, but this post is a great one! I have never been the type to look judgementally at, or make rude comments to unwed moms, but I have silently judged them. This post confronts my sin of judgement and helped me to realize that the fact that I am very pro-life means that I must be pro-unwed mother (not pro-premarital sex, just pro-mom). If I want ladies who find themselves pregnant to give the child life then I must support them when they do. Thank you Paula for helping me realize this!
DIY Free Personalized Coloring Sheets - This is such a great idea! Make personalized coloring sheets for your children using your own pictures. So cute, and so much fun! And Free!


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Summer Skin Care by Tree Hut - Sponsored Post #NaturalBeauty

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tree Hut for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you struggle with dry skin? I do, it seems to be getting worse as I get older (yes, I know 25 is not old but it is older than I was a few years ago, and apparently my skin knows it). Because of this I am somewhat reliant on skin care products like lotion. Another thing that is great especially in the summer (I don't know about you but I spend a decent amount of time running around barefoot in the summer) is foot scrub.

 photo treehutfoot-GoogleSearch_zpsdd84afd4.jpg

Tree Hut hand and foot care products are available to help you with your summertime skin care needs. Tree Hut foot cream, Tree Hut hand cream, and Tree Hut foot scrub are here to help you! All of those products include certified organic Shea butter and natural oils and extracts. They look like great products! I think I am most interested in trying the foot scrub. I love using any type of scrub. My skin is so itchy all the time, I love using scrub because it is like getting a back scratch (or foot scratch in this case :)) and it leaves my skin feeling soft and new.

Tree Hut asked me to create a polyvore style board that shows my summer style. My summer style shows of the #Natural Beauty of my skin, which can be enhanced by Tree Hut skin care products. As you know I am pregnant and due at the end of August so most of the summer I will be huge and want something comfortable to wear. So here is my comfortable, maternity, summer fun, Natural Beauty showing board.

 

Here is some information on the hand and foot cream, and foot scrub.

Tree Hut foot cream:
• Certified Organic Shea Butter: skin repairing & moisturizing, anti-aging, promotes elasticity
• Argan Oil: natural anti-aging properties
• Rose Hip Oil: natural anti-aging properties
• Non-greasy formula
• Paraben Free and No DMDM
• Made in the USA
• Do not test on animals

Tree Hut hand cream:
• Certified Organic Shea Butter: skin repairing & moisturizing, anti-aging, promotes elasticity
• Aloe Vera: Nature’s soothing moisturizer
• Peppermint Oil: Moisturizes skin
• Paraben Free and No DMDM
• Made in the USA
• Do not test on animals

Tree Hut foot scrub:
• Certified Organic Shea Butter: skin repairing & moisturizing, anti-aging, promotes elasticity
• Real Sugar: Natural sugar exfoliates skin smooth
• Peppermint Oil: Moisturizes skin
• Paraben Free and No DMDM
• Made in the USA
• Do not test on animals

You can like and  follow Tree Hut online on Facebook (like Tree Hut on Facebook) and Twitter (Tree Hut on Twitter). You can find Tree Hut products at Walmart, so they are super easy to buy!

Visit Sponsor's Site

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