Utah Bloganthropy Brunch Bunch

Been trying to get to this post for over a week now. Last Saturday I met with the Utah Bloganthropy Bunch—over 40 Utah bloggers starting up a local service group. Here we all are (along with proof that I was cool enough to be there):

(Image successfully stolen from Sue @ Navel Gazing at It's Finest, our indomitable founder.)

We met at the Blue Lemon in Highland. My photo of the building was all blurry, so here's a picture of their FOOD. (Doesn't that look yummy???)

(Stolen from Vanilla Joy.)

The Blue Lemon generously volunteered at the last minute to let us use their big room upstairs. I'd never been there (even though my soon-to-be son-in-law works there). (Shame on me.)

It was awesome. Just look at this welcome:

(Image not stolen. Taken with my very own cell phone.)

The room we used was huge—great for all sorts of events, from wedding receptions to corporate meetings. This is just a partial shot of some of us milling around.

Okay, so we're not exactly milling around. We're stampeding to the treat table. (Whatever.)

To get us all in the service mood, we brought canned goods for the Utah Food Bank. We collected a table full.


On my way out, I noticed this:

A pile of donated foods that didn't make it to the table top. Awesome!


At the brunch, we did some networking, speed-dating style. That was lots of fun—I met some great women. The only downside to this was there were so many women attending we didn't get to meet everyone this way.

Then we talked about service projects. We had some great proposals. Our first project is a Baby Shower this spring for mothers in need. I'll be posting more details later with info on how you can participate (if you want).

I'm excited about all the ideas that were mentioned last Saturday and I'm working on a proposal myself involving. . .

(Image stolen from MVLS.)

. . .BOOKS! And literacy.

(You saw that one coming, didn't you?)

More info on this group and its projects as they develop.

What a week!

I did two Grandma days last week, and will do double-duty again this week and next. In my spare time, I polished up a story for the Book of Mormon Short Story Contest over on LDS Publisher. My story is posted over there now and you can go vote for your favorites!

All the stories are posted anonymously and I can't tell you which one is mine. But I'd love it if you'd go take a peek and vote for the ones you liked best. Voting instructions are HERE. The stories are long and there are quite a few of them, but you can usually tell within the first few paragraphs if you like it enough to keep reading.

Winners are announced next Monday. Each winner's story will be published in a short story collection. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Also last week, I went to a meeting with some other wonderful bloggers. It was fun to meet them. We're going to do some service projects. I'll be letting you know about those too.

AND, I made a tad more progress on my new business idea.

Oops! One of the boys needs a diaper change. More later. :)

P.S. Still doing my Followers Contest. Follow me for a chance to win!

Follow Me for a Chance to Win a WAY COOL PRIZE!

I need more Followers.

Not on Twitter (although I'd love to have you follow me there, as well).

And not on Facebook (I have 248 bffs there, but I can always use more. I mean really, can you ever have too many friends?)

But where I really need Followers is HERE on my blog. (Link is for facebook friends who read this post there.)

And I'm not above groveling and/or bribery to get Followers.

Explanation for those who are new to blog followers:
Followers= people who like my blog enough to admit to it in public or who know how to play the linky game to boost visits to their sites. Either way, if you have a Google ID, you can be a Follower of my blog.

It is fun to see who is following me. I put the Followers widget on my sidebar as a thank you to my followers, to get them a little bit of face-time here on the blog, but I'm not such an ego maniac as to beg for Followers.

(Okay, maybe I am, but honestly, I've just never taken the time to figure it all out and make it work for me.)

But things have changed.

Here's the deal: A publishing company that I've done book reviews for in the past has changed their requirements for book reviewers who wish to receive comp review copies. They don't send review copies to any blogger/book reviewers who has fewer than 100 Followers.

I don't blame them one bit. When I'm setting up a contest or blog tour, I request proof that the blog has at least 100 dedicated readers, too.


Groveling:
So, please, please, please--if you read my blog, uncloak for a minute and follow me. I've made it easy. (Notice all the links scattered throughout this post that go straight to where you can sign up to follow me?) I've moved my Followers widget up to the top of the inside sidebar. You can just click there and follow my blog.

So please. Please. PLEASE. Follow me and be my VBFF. I will love you forever and I'll also come follow your blog too.


Bribery:
What? The groveling wasn't good enough to make you act?

Okay, then. A Follow Me Giveaway with a way cool prize.

As a way to say thank you for becoming a Follower and one of my very unique and precious and cherished VBFFs. . .



My first 100 Followers* will be entered into a drawing to win a fragrance warmer and three oils of your choice from my Urban Botanic website. (Valued at over $50 retail.)**

I will hold a random drawing as soon as I hit 100 followers. If you want an extra chance to win: Tweet, Facebook or blog about this giveaway (an extra entry per avenue)--then come back here and tell me what you did. Leave a link so I can go see.

*Already a follower? Already entered. But I would love to have you help spread the word.

**We no longer have sage and denim as pictured here. They've been replaced with Sea Foam and Pine.

My daughter is famous!

My daughter McKenna has a design site, kennalyn.com, where she sells the cutest items—just download and print.

She has a meal planner that I use all the time and a darling birthday calendar.

Her site has been talked about on several popular design blogs and now, here's a link to an exclusive interview at Associated Content.

Definitely a proud mama moment. Go check it out.

Shut My Mouth! (MeMe)

Cindy tagged me with this meme where I can only give one word answers.

That's like putting duct tape over my mouth!

Or maybe taping my typing fingers together.

One word answers are harder than you'd think. Especially when you're trying to be funny and clever and unique.

Which I am not tonight because I'm tired. But whatever. I'll give it a try.

Here are the rules:

Answer the following questions with single word answers then pass this along to 5 other bloggers.

Make sure to link back to the person who tagged you (like I did above, on Cindy's name), and be sure you let those you tagged know about it.


Your Cell Phone? Red.

Your Hair? Red.

Your Mother? Angel

Your Father? Genius.

Your Favorite Food? Ziti

Your Dream Last Night? Technicolor

Your Favorite Drink? SobeLeanCranberryGrapefruit

Your Dream/Goal? Publisher/Author

What Room Are You In? Family

Your Hobby? Entrepreneurship

Your Fear? Monsters

Where Do You See Yourself In Six Years? Healthier

Where Were You Last Night? Asleep

Something That You Aren't? Tan

Muffins? Cookies.

Wish List Item? iPhone

Where Did You Grow Up? Kentucky

Last Thing You Did? Nap

What Are You Wearing? Zebra-print

Your TV? On

Your Pets? Menagerie

Friends? 247

Your Life? Bubbly

Your Mood? Tired

Missing Someone? Family

Vehicle? Cordelia

Something You Aren't Wearing? Shoes

Your Favorite Store? Barnes&Noble

Your Favorite Color? Red

When Was The Last Time You Laughed? 47minutes

Last Time You Cried? Sunday

Your Best Friend? Jim

One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? HappyPlace

Facebook? Sometimes

Twitter? Sometimes

Favorite Place To Eat? FYJ

I tag Sandra, Suan, McKenna, Melanie, Megan.

Amazing things!

Yesterday, I discovered this most amazing thing!

There's this building downtown. And it's filled with BOOKS!

And I can go in there any time I want and borrow any book I want and read it!

FOR FREE!!

And then there's another one, just a few miles away. And I can borrow books from there for free too!

I know! Isn't this country just amazing!!!

Mormom Mishaps & Mischief by DN Giles & CL Beck

I've been meaning to post about Mormon Mishaps & Mischief since before Christmas. (Sorry, Cindy & Nichole.)

Here's a little blurb about the book:

This collection of humorous anecdotes from celebrated LDS authors shows off Church members at their finest. From primary pranks to cheeky comments made by Zion’s youth to high priests hi-jinx, no age group is immune to the potential for humor.

Though it may not be in the official Word of Wisdom, laughter really is the best medicine. Whether you’re a senior missionary, or an eight-year-old graduating to senior primary, you’re bound to get a kick out of these silly stories.

Read about:

*The preschooler who was afraid of being eaten by ‘Sunbeans’

* Establishing Zion in Cougar Stadium

*The ‘oddmonition’ of Paul

*The 14^th article of faith

*Doing battle with the “Laman Knights”

*A young women outing that almost landed the class behind bars…and lots more!

Perfect for those long Sunday afternoons, Mormon Mishaps and Mischief will keep your family laughing all week long!

If you need a good chuckle, this is the book for you. I read the whole thing in just a few hours on a Sunday afternoon when I was too sick to go to church. I discovered it was true--laughter is the best medicine!

Cindy and Nichole (along with 30 other authors) will be signing Mormon Mishaps & Mischief this Saturday, February 6th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the Barnes & Noble AuthorPalooza, 10180 S. State Street, Sandy, UT. I'm going to be there doing the rabid fan thing. I hope you'll come too.
And if you have some funny stories of your own, they're taking submissions for book #2.