Everybody needs a hero. Someone they can look up to. Someone to admire. Someone that when you look at them Chigaco starts playing You’re the inspiration while you drool in their awesomeness.
That’s how it works people.
When it comes to Blogging, I have my very own personal Blogger Heroes that pretty much do it for me. These are the people that awe, inspire and usually make me laugh out loud while Maurice stares at me like I’m some sort of psycho chick on way too much coffee. Which I’m not denying, but he doesn’t need to point it out all the time. Jeezus.
The Blogger Hero who is closest to my heart…….is Mary McCarthy of Pajamas and Coffee.
QUE CHICAGO!
This lady has it goin’ on. When Artistically Nuts was just a wee little baby blog, Mary reached out and virtually hugged my butt showing some kick ass support in what I was doing. Although I knew from the beginning she was way more awesome than me, she’s always taken the time out in her day to say hey how ya doin’? even to a wee little blogger like me. So many times just reading her blog was enough to keep me focused on what I wanted to accomplish as a Blogger and a writer. She’s warm, kind, honest, someone most of us chicks can totally relate to (she’s real yo), a fabulous writer and hella funny. There are about a million reasons to love her blog, but honestly you’d be better off going over to read her to see them for yourself.
This is where I lose half my subscribers. JUST REMEMBERI LOVE YOU GUYS!
Not long ago, I emailed Mary telling her that I wanted to do a giveaway in her honor, since she’s been such a fantastic support to me. I saw her BlogHer ’10 swag and I asked if I could snag one of her coffee mugs to giveaway on the blog. She said no. She wouldn’t send me one. She would ship me two, so I could keep one for myself. Does that not show you how freaking amazing this woman is?! FYI she totally ignored my attempts to bribe her with money.
Then they arrived.
Me and my mug. Goin' places. Seein' stuff. Gettin' caffinated. For reals.
And inside my mug MaryMac left me a secret note.
M. That's ME! Yes it is you guys, I wouldn't lie. I mean it's not my dress size we're talkin' about.
I’m pretty sure that’s code for ”I think you are totally hot. Call me.” I mean it was on the back of her business card, with her phone number. So obvious. Um, Mary…
Ditto Babes. *smoochy face*
So since Mary sent me two, and it would be completely selfish to keep them both for myself (Um, I’m thinking of the T-total coffee OVERLOAD here. I’m already hyper enough thanks) I’m giving away one of these super cute Pajamas and Coffee mugs to one lucky reader! So if you want to get your hands on
Mug Shot
Which has a pack of these inside
It's Sillybandz you guys. Get with the program.
Then all you need to do, is leave a comment telling me who YOUR Blogger Hero is. Do this by Sunday the 12th of September, and I’ll announce the winner the following Monday!
So Mary, I hope you know just how amazing you are and thanks for being such a fab inspiration to little ol’ Me.
Also, I’d like to say for the record, those rumors about me taking my coffee mug to bed are so not true. And those pervy photos flying around of me smooching my mug are so fake….
You didn't see anything.
P.S. – Bonus entries to anyone who follows me and MaryMac on Twitter and retweets ”@marymac I saw @MissMesina smooching her mug! Look! http://tiny.cc/rdqwk ”
I’ve always been a Rock ‘n Roll chick at heart. When I say always, I mean I pretty much arrived into the world playing air guitar. Even now, you’ll catch the likes of Disturbed and Rammstein blaring on my stereo (Yes I still say stereo, it’s so 1980′s right?!) So lately, for reasons only known to God and Poseidon, I’ve been revisiting a trip down memory lane in some strange attempt to get inspiration about my own self image.
I know right?
Now living in a country who seems to worship Pop music (barf) I’m missing those radio stations that blare nothing but guitars all day. I miss the leather, the jeans, the boots and all that freaking makeup and hairspray. Where is it?! Where did it go?! WHY DID IT DIE?! I know it exists somewhere, in small select cults of leather worshiping biker bars, but I miss it all being the mainstream. Or at least popular enough that it was the rebellion.
Back then, chicks weren’t perfectly photoshopped. Flaws and all, they adored heavy eye make up and lipstick and strutted more attitude than they knew what do to with. Guys loved it, chicks owned it. Sure a few girls got it wrong and started behaving more like men, but hell even they still got dates and looks from guys.
Then everyone had to go and screw it up with fake tans.
So today, I am dedicating this post to the original Rock Chick – at least MY original Rock Chick. The woman that put the strut in leather and inspired me all those years ago when I was just a little rock girl myself. Years later I would rediscover her and love her all over again.
Joan Jett - the original bad ass, guitar playing Mama
I think Joan was a little ahead of her time. She set some trends and pretty much owned the stage with that guitar. So many girls were out getting the Joan Jett hair cut and rocking out in their black eyeliner. Now don’t get me wrong Joan had her day by the time I was in my teens. I was a wee four years old when her hit song ”I love Rock and Roll” became popular (which was a remake by the way). Yet still even by the time I was head banging to Guns n Roses, Def Leppard, and Ozzy this girl hadn’t lost her style in my eyes. I missed the chance to go see her in Gettysburg back in 1999 when she was playing a local bar there. I still regret not being able to get in!
So if like me, you’re missing all those guitars on the radio, here’s one for you to flash back to. Dig out your leathers, smack on that eyeliner and dust off that attitude problem, it’s all been in the closet way too long.
Oh and Brittney, pay attention, cos this is how this song is supposed to be sung. Stick to Oops I did it again and leave Rock n Roll to the chicks who own it.
It’s that day again. That day when I get to be the know it all I always dreamed of. Thankfully we are all getting back into the usual routines again, with the summer drifting behind us and the kids back to school soon. I don’t know what it is about Autumn that makes me so inspired, but I truly come alive from this point of the year onwards.
So much so in fact, that inspiration was my idea for the giveaway this month. I figured since many of us will be back to writing more heavily, with the sunny days turning to cold rainy ones, something to help those creative juices would be in order. So this month’s Ask Me prize is a beautiful hardbacked journal, which is an exact copy of my own personal journal here at home. (psst….click on the thumbnails to see completely)
Back
Front
If this journal doesn’t wanna make you get down to some writing, then I dunno what to say. These were the best pics I could find that did it some sort of justice. The front is magnetic, with metallic type colors embossed on it. It’s 160 lined pages for you to fill, with a red ribbon marker and a little pouch in the back for all your inspirational ”stuff”. I love the size, not too big, not too small, measuring at 130mm x 180mm.
So here is today’s question from one of my oldest bloggin’ buddies Eva.
Eva from Wrestling with Retirement asked: I would like to use skype on my computer, but when I sign on to skype, this guy I went to high school with calls me. Like all the time. It’s not a romantic thing, believe me. I think he’s just bored. But he is boring. I don’t mind chatting on skype with him once or twice a year, but not every freakin’ day. We don’t have that much to talk about! How can I use skype but avoid him? You know what’s great about networking programs like Skype and Windows Live? That you get to keep in touch with everyone. You know what sucks about them? That you get to keep in touch with everyone. I mean, you’re not even safe to use your pc anymore sitting in your hair curlers and bathrobe over your morning coffee in case some weirdo might video call you on Skype cos he’s bored.
Thankfully, the inventors of these programs also got their boring schoolmates, psycho ex’s and Mother in Law’s attempting to contact them and collaborated to stop such madness. So here’s how you block the buggers…..
Get your contacts list up and right click on the person’s name you want to block. You should get a menu that looks like this:
Is there a Bomb button?
Then scroll down to Bomb…I mean Block this Person…and click.
MAFIA HIT OPTION: You’ll have the option to get Vinny to whack em, totally removing them from your contacts list forever, blocking them from ever seeing you again if you want them taken out permanently. To do this, just tick the box that says Remove from your Contact List which Skype will ask after you block them. They’ll be sleepin’ wit the fishes.
OR
SUPERHERO INVISIBLE MODE: Just leave the Remove from your Contact List box unticked and you’ll simply block that person from seeing you’re online until you wish to speak to them later. You’ll know you’ve done it as they will have a red circle with a line through it next to their name in your list. To let them see your awesomeness again, just right click their name in the contacts list and simply scroll down to unblock this person. I give you 5 minutes after unblocking before you regret doing it. Heh.
That’s it. That’s how you can use Skype but not have those weirdo Skype stalkers on there ruining all your fun and games by attempting to catch you out in your sexy green face mask and nuthin but your bra and undies. I hate Skype stalkers!
I had a weekend fueled entirely by hormones. I mean there were tears, shouting, frustrations, drill sergant orders being barked and hell knows what else flying around here.
You would have thought I was pregnant all over again.
Except, that I wasn’t ordering donuts to cure my hormonal rage. So based on that I’m pretty sure I’m not expecting. I’m willing to completely ignore the fact that’s not a very scientific conclusion.
Now I’m wondering what it must be like to be a guy. Like here I am looking like a psychotic mass murderer freaking out asking myself how it is that Maurice is always so calm and collected about stuff that upsets him. How does he do it? How does he take the hormones out and actually make sense of stuff?! Why was I not born a dude you guys?! WHY?! If I didn’t love being a woman so much, I’d feel totally robbed right about now.
It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries I guess. Mother nature decided that if all hell is going to break loose, it’s the chicks that are going to run around screaming, crying and pointing fingers and the guys are going to decide that someone actually has to start making sense and go all G.I. Joe on it’s ass. It must be really simple being a guy. Guy’s get to say stuff like Well just fix it then. - It’s really not that complicated. – Why are you taking this so personally? – Put down the cake. And my personal favorite Use duck tape.
So that’s it. The next time something upsets me, I’m going to use duck tape. I’ll just break in, tape them to a chair and feel totally better about the problem being fixed. Wait….this is getting all hormonal again isn’t it? See?! I can’t even use duck tape without it getting all dramatic. I’m pretty sure this is why I was put in charge of birthing the babies, the hormones make me more than qualified.
So now that this weekend has allowed me to deal with everything from today to 6 years back, I feel a lot better. Who knew that stuff was still bugging me anyway? What a revelation. I’m just sort of hoping that Maurice doesn’t foot me a bill for our little therapy sessions. I have a feeling he charges at least £100 pound an hour.
Crap.
Have I told you how much I love you lately Maurice?! Ah hem…*bats eyes*
When you step into the world of blogging, you embark into a writer’s world. Whether you see your blogging as just a hobby, place to vent or a serious venture, at one point or another you will find yourself struggling with a writer’s block. All writer’s find this at some point and let’s be honest, it never feels good to sit and stare at a blank screen or empty paper.
So what do you do about it? Here’s a few suggestions that might help you out of the block and back on the blogging.
Keep journals handy. One of the best ways to combat a potential writers block, is by keeping journals handy to note down moments of inspiration. They don’t have to be expensive, just a notebook or two could make the difference between a great idea and a lost one. Keeping the notebooks are also great on those days you don’t feel those sparks flying and can trigger the idea right back into your head. You can keep one near your PC, at your desk at work, perhaps in the kitchen while you’re cooking and even a small one in your purse if you find yourself hit with a moment on the run. Pick one or two key places you’d like to keep a journal handy and do so. Write it down, don’t lose it.
Read, read, read. Just when you thought writing was it, now you have to read too! Reading other blogs, the newspaper, books, are all ways of encouraging a broader mind and broader subjects. Sometimes the way right out of the middle of a writers block is by reading something, just the inspiration you need to get the creative juices flowing!
If the mood strikes you, write now! If it’s possible to leave those dishes for half an hour, or wait just a few more seconds before putting the laundry on, then do so. I’m not suggesting total neglect on your daily life just to blog, but if you’ve been really stuck and suddenly get inspired in the middle of something that can wait, then let it wait. On the other hand, sometimes it’s just worth sitting down for 10 minutes and starting the post you were inspired to write and then coming back to finish it later when the timing is better. The beauty of blogging, is the draft feature.
Share your knowledge. Everyone knows how do to something, whether it’s writing, crafts, fashion, parenting, being a great partner, the list is endless! Share your knowledge with your readers and write about something you know how to do well. ”How to” guides are not only great ways to unblock the brain (since you know all about the subject at hand!) but can also turn into fun projects for your blog. Getting busy with photos or just expanding on possibilities can boost your self esteem and get you writing again.
Don’t be afraid to expand on other Bloggers topics. I suppose there could be a fear here that you are stealing others ideas. The fact is, many bloggers are all blogging about things they’ve read about and simply put their own twist or flair on an idea. Expanding on bloggers ideas that you admire can not only keep you writing, but can also be pretty flattering to the blogger you were inspired by! So long as you give credit where it’s due, there is nothing wrong with writing on the same subject as one you just read. Let that blogger know they inspired you and mention it in your post. You never know, they might be willing to link back to you in theirs, a win-win for both of you.
When there’s far too much going on in your head….. write it all out! Sometimes we get blocked since we have a million other worries and simply can’t focus. Sit down somewhere comfortable, get out a pen and paper, and write everything down that’s swimming in your head. It doesn’t have to make sense, but it’s quite good therapy to rid of it. Of course those worries won’t simply go away, but you are still writing and that’s what’s important. These aren’t for posting on your blog, but you may find that one of those worries inspires you to write a post about it.
When it just won’t happen, take a break. No one is putting pressure on you to write, unless you’re writing for someone else. Writing sometimes just won’t flow if you’re struggling to get in the zone. When all else fails, just take a break. Find a hot drink, or go for a nice walk and just be. Perhaps that frustration is better spent doing something else too, like an odd job that you’ve been putting off or simply calling a friend for a chat. Getting your mind elsewhere might just be what you need to give your brain a much needed rest. By the time you’re ready to come back to writing, you’ll be refreshed and more ready to write.
It’s supposed to be fun. So don’t get lost in a sea of chores about blogging. If it becomes a chore, it’s more likely you’ll stumble into a writers block. Even if you plan to make money with your blog, do what you can to keep it fun and exciting. The beauty about blogging is that the world is your oyster, making sure it stays that way is what allows it to flow.
Just remember, even the best writers get stuck sometimes, you certainly are not alone. Don’t let it hurt your self esteem or let yourself believe you haven’t got what it takes to blog. The best way to write well is to keep writing, whatever it is, even if you never publish it.
Heck, if you really get stuck, you can always blog about Bloggers Block… just an idea!
P.S. I figured after some time away from the blog, this post would be appropriate. Since many of us will be getting back to the grind come September and out of the vacation spirit. xx
