What can you spot in this picture besides a pile of leaves?

This weekend we had to take on the task of raking a ton of leaves in the backyard. Our yard is about medium size, but we had enough leaves on the ground to fill a football field. It.was.insane. We have been putting it off and I guess it was time to get it done. I suggested just waiting for the snow to cover it up. Why not?

Anyway, if you are going to spend an hour or so raking leaves, why not make it fun. We told the kids that after they raked them up, they could play in them. We let the kids jump in the leaves, hide in the leaves and basically get covered from head to toe with leaves. They had fun and the job got done.

My oldest son hid in the leaves and when a neighbor girl came over to join in the fun, she didn’t know he was in there and he jumped out at her. Yes, he scared the crap out of her. Good times, good times.

I’ve been working from home for several years now. I love it. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but having my own office has always been an issue. I have had to get creative over the years and have spent many a nights on the bed in my bedroom getting some work done. It was the only quiet place in the house.

We just recently moved to Denver, CO. We live in a great house that has a lot of rooms, including a basement. We let the kids have the run of the basement. They love it down there. My daughter has her little wing of the house in the basement and my son’s have their playroom, oh wait…I’m not supposed to call it that, their game room in the basement too.

When we first moved into this house, I decided to use the second living room as my office. Not sure what I was thinking. It doesn’t have a door, is connected to the kitchen and is right in the middle of all the action. I guess I figured I would work there only during the day when no kids weren’t home. I didn’t take into account evening, weekends and when the kids are out of school. Needless to say, my little office set up was not working.

So, this weekend I decided to do something about it. My husband and I both work from home. We desperately needed an office space - a space with a door. We ended up making the decision to put our boys in a room together. The older one was a little opposed to it, but when I explained to him that all he does is sleep in there anyway and he has an entire basement to play in, he reluctantly agreed. My four year old was so excited because he loves sharing a room. Ahhh, the difference 5 years in age can make.

We moved the boys in together and their room actually looks awesome. They both love it. I am all moved into the office and I love it. I feel so….professional, lol. Now all it needs is some decoration, besides the wall paper cut outs of footballs, basketballs, soccer balls and baseballs. Those are going to have to be taken down.

The picture above is my desk in my new office space. That is where the magic happens. hahaha.

Do you have your own office space? If not, what set up do you have and is it working for you?

The National Posting Month won’t be that hard because I pretty much post every day on quite a few of my blogs…except for this one - Julie Anne Bonner. This is going to be the hard one. The reason I signed this blog up is to just make myself post something. I have struggled with what to write about on here and this will give me the chance and the shove to just write about whatever comes to my mind for the day. I am hoping by November 30th, I will have a better idea of where I see this blog going.

Now as far as National Novel Writing Month, this is where I am a wee bit scared the most. I have thought about doing it on several occasions and have never bitten the bullet and just gone for it. Well, now I have. I have had a novel in my head for awhile and now I am ready to just throw up on the page and get it started. The people over at NaNoWriMo said that I will write a lot of crap and that is good. So, I have given myself the blessing to write crap and be okay with it. The point is to just start writing.

I will post about my successes and failures here with both of these little projects. Maybe I should take a before and after picture of myself. lol

Any one else joining either of these? If so, good luck and be sure and stop by to let me know how it’s going. Now, off to write….

I go in spurts when it comes to exercising. I do really, really good and then something comes up and the next thing I know…it’s been days since I’ve done anything. I can’t decide if I do better at a gym or in my own home. It’s hard to find time to go to the gym. By the time I get there, do my work out, get home, shower and get ready, it feels like half the day is gone.  But, if I try to just do it at home, it’s so easy for something to come up and the exercising gets pushed aside.

So what I need is accountability and a little bit of a challenge. Lara Kulpa, who is one of the most gorgeous girls I have ever met, is having an October challenge and it’s all about exercising. It’s called the October Challenge 1000 and she is challenging us to do 1000 minutes of exercise. I am all for that!

Be sure and head on over to her post and read up on the rules (pssssstttt…there are PRIZES!!).

I am plan on looking goooood for November. Watch out world, lol!

Since arriving back from BWE08, I’ve been emailing back and forth with several of you about where I am going next. You see, that’s what happens when you go to conferences and meet really cool people, you can’t wait to meet up again!

Just today, I registered for the Thin Air Summit that’s being held in Denver, CO November 7th-9th. It’s a short trek for me, just 20 minutes down the road. They are limiting attendance to 100 people, so you better think and act fast on this one. They have some great speakers lined up and the thing I am excited about, is that it’s going to be a more intimate setting. But enough about it from me. Head on over to their site and check it out for yourself.

I am also going to SXSW in Austin, Texas in March. Austin is my home town and I love it every time I get to visit. In between these two I am planning a trip to Canada to see the b5media offices and get to meet some of the team that wasn’t at BWE08.

So, those are the plans for now. Shoot me an email if you will be at any of these so we can plan to meet up.

(This is me and Darcie Vany at Diego’s in the MGM. She’s one of my favorite people in the world now. )

I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to giving you some highlights from Blog World Expo 2008. I knew that I would have a good time, meet some great people who I’ve known online for so long and also be exposed to some new thinking when it came to my blogging. But, I wasn’t prepared even remotely for the GREAT time I had, the AMAZING people I came to know and the connections in the industry that I would make. Needless to say, when I came home, I was overwhelmed by it all.

If any of you are serious about your business, you have to go to BWE09. Do whatever it takes. Sell your car, walking is healthier anyway. Stop going out to eat so much, it’s bad for you anyway. Seriously though, if you have to do something extreme to scrape that money together…DO IT.

Who exactly did I get to meet? A lot of b5media folk (aka b5ers) who are some of the coolest people on the planet. I also made some great connections with people in the Denver, CO area where I live. I’ve only been here since May, so it was super sweet to meet some people to hang out with who share some common interests. I also met a whole heck of a lot of fellow bloggers from all over the globe. I am definitely looking forward to keeping in touch with you all and we will have to meet up again at BWE09 for some drinks! But no slushie drinks. Don’t ask, just trust me on this one.

One word of advice/warning: there is NO sleeping at BWE, so rest up plenty before you go and possibly plan on some recuperating time when you get back.

Cheers to all of my new friends! It was a blast.

You can see a few more pictures from BWE08 below. I only used my camera the first day I was there. Dumb move on my part.

My daughter who is 10, almost 11, got her first cell phone the other day. This is a subject that has been brought up over and over again in our household. She wanted one, we thought she was too young and didn’t need one. “All of my friends have one”, she would exclaim over and over. Which, she was right, most of them do have one.

We finally broke down and got her one because you see, we don’t have a land line. My husband and both have cell phones and we always put mine down as the “main phone”. Well, that started getting irritating real fast.

My daughter’s friends would call my phone all the time. Sometimes I would be at the store, or out some where and I would have to give them my husband’s number. We have also started to leave her at home by herself and I would be panicked because she didn’t have a phone. She also often rides her bike to a friends house and she walks to and from school by herself. It just became clear that the girl needed a phone.

She has been on cloud nine since she received it and even told me that her life feels complete now, lol. That’s my girl.

Her phone has already been a nice convenience. We have a finished basement in our house and our daughter has her on little wing down there. She has her bedroom, a “hang out room” (don’t call it a play room) and her own bathroom. Yeah, the girl’s got it made. When I need her though it can be so annoying to run down the stairs while I have something on the stove or am just being plain lazy. I kept telling my husband we needed to put in an intercom system. Now we have one! I was screaming down the stairs yesterday and she couldn’t hear me. Then I remembered she had a cell phone. Nice.

I know a lot of people may think that she is too young for a phone, but I truly believe age doesn’t necessarily matter. Am I going to get my 4 year old a phone? Well, no and my 9 year old doesn’t need one either because he’s never home alone and the kid lives at the gym. (He’s a competitive gymnast and loves it.)

I do believe it depends on the child and the circumstances. Sure, someone will comment how she’s too young and we are spoiling her. Oh well. Let them comment. I really could care less. I swear I got “the look” from a mom at the mom tonight as my daughter pulled her beautiful purple cell phone out. I just smiled because I know we’ve made a great decision for our child and our family. End of discussion.

I am extremely excited to be heading to Las Vegas on Thursday, September 18th for Blog World Expo 2008! This will be my first time attending any major event about blogging and I will be soaking up everything like a sponge.

I will be there to learn, but also to represent b5media, the blog network who I blog for. I get to meet the team and fellow bloggers for the first time. (Well, I have already had the opportunity to meet the fabulous Christina Jones and gab over a delicious hamburger. )

6 more sleeps for me before I leave! Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait. See you there!

Having a place to write about work and life, whether it be to vent or brag on the kids/hubby, is important. I honestly have no idea what direction this blog will take. It’s nice to have something that has no plan and no boundaries. It’s just me and my keyboard flying by the seat of our pants.

Thanks for stopping by! Drop me a line and say hi, introduce yourself and let me know a little about you.