I hope everyone is having fun partying it up at all the Non-BlogHer parties. Today’s an extra special Non-Blogher Party day in these neck of the blogs, because IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!

If you haven’t yet, please head over to {THIS POST} to introduce yourself and comment & link up for that prize IT’S A GOOD ONE!!!! And if you haven’t hit up the {BlogHop party} ~ you definitely should be checking it out.

There is one thing that each and every single one of us has in common. We are BLOGGERS! I know that at BlogHer they are getting a ton of great information that we’re missing out on. Bloggers are uniting to share their ideas, listen to great speakers and so much more that I have no idea about.

I figured we could all act as guest speakers today and give each other the best blogging advice that we have to give. Maybe throw in advice on blog topics to write when you’re having bloggity block. After you give your advice you can switch it up and ask the bloggity world advise you need on blogging.

My advice for bloggers is simple. It’s what I’ve done from the beginning is to speak from your heart. The blogs are supposed to reflect us, for who we are, so it’s okay to let it all out. It’s okay to blog about the things in life that aren’t always happy, because sometimes that’s what people need to read about. When we read about all of the rainbows in people’s world it’s almost upsetting to think about the world you’re in with the money struggles, the strain on your marriage, the imperfect things you do, the times that your kids are acting a fool and you are ready to FREAK OUT… does that make much sense?

Comment! We all love love from others out there. I try to comment to ALL of my readers, and I know that might be a lot when you have hundreds of readers, but touching base with them and letting them know that you appreciate them coming to support you means a lot. When I first started out and had virtually no readers the first comments from somebody knew gave me so much excitement. We all are here for somebody to listen and knowing that somebody is there makes it worth it. So no matter how small or big your blog is spread the comment love.

Now for my question ~

I am starting to get to the point where I want to review products. How do I get started in this?

Also~ I have been having a totally difficult time getting another sidebar on this blog. I figured it out, but for some reason the sidebar will linger on the bottom instead of the top. I found one thing that told me what to change to fix it, but when I did what I said it wouldn’t work… UGH! I am so frustrated, because I have ideas for this sidebar ~ and it will make me feel so much better to have it accomplished.

And Now for Today’s Giveaway!!!! All you have to do is leave a comment for an entry

If you link up w/a post giving your blog advise (and you can even ask a ? like me!) 3 more entries ~ but make sure that you leave 3 more comments for 3 more entries.

Tweet about this and you get another entry ~ just make sure that you leave an extra comment

Rachel at {Spangler Fam} sells {SCENTSY}!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Scentsy. I love walking into my home to most delicious aromas. The best part about it to me is that it’s a flameless candle, so I don’t have to worry about my toddler knocking it over and burning my house down.

She is offering one of my readers a burner that she has and you will get to choose 3 bars of whatever fragrance your pitter patter heart desires ~ let me just say that French Kiss is my FAV!
I can’t wait to go through and read everyone’s blogging advise ~ and I hope someone can answer my ?’s 🙂

THIS LINKUP IS NOT FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION POST ~ FOR YOUR BLOGHOP INTRODUCTION POST GO {HERE} THIS LINKUP IS FOR THE BLOG ADVISE ~ THANK YOU!!

Welcome to Garibay Soup!! I LOVE blog parties and LOVE getting to know other bloggers. I can’t wait to go through all of the many blogs that are associated with Pity Party, Bloghop & of course, my very own Happy BlogNerd Bash!!! Grab yourself your favorite beverage… whatever it is that you enjoy while mingling with your girl friends, and get cozy… If you’re visiting me from either the Pity Party or Bloghop I hope you join in with my very own party going on here. See, Friday is my birthday and I am not at BlogHer. It’s a sore subject. But I’m having a giveaway for every day, and great subjects where we are ALL guest speakers, cuz you know all of us bloggers & tweeters always have so much to say!… so I hope to have you join in. Don’t forget to follow me on {Twitter} and to subscibe to my {RSS Feed}. That way you don’t lose your way back here for all the fun. Since today is the first day of BlogNerd it’s the introduction day!! To participate in this Bash for today you just write an introduction post, tell lots about yourself, link to your favorite posts you’ve written and you should definitely share your favorite recipe, because I will! You can snag my button on the side bar for you post ~ sharing the word that there’s a great party going on here. Don’t forget to come back every single day through 7/25/09, because there will be more stuff going on… and more giveaways!!

My name is Amanda. I have 2 beautiful children, Ella & Jayden. Ella is my cardiac baby and has given us many scares, but we’re so lucky that she’s a strong fighter. She’s turning 2 in August and it seems like she’s already going on 16…. it’s scary. My Jayden is going to be 8 this year ~ he’s going into the 2nd grade and that all in itself is mind blowing for this mom!

I’ve been married for 5 years. It hasn’t always been happy, because we’ve definitely experienced our share of troubles, but we’ve made it through so much, and I don’t think there’s anything else that we could never get through. We’re in it for the long haul ~ he’s my best friend, and I’m excited to grow old with him.

With blogging I lay it ALL OUT on the line. I don’t hold back, it’s my place for my thoughts and hopefully I don’t rub people the wrong way, but I tell it like it is. That’s what makes me ME. I blog about my personal life, the things I think up in my crazy mind, and things that probably will embarrass my kids someday. But that’s why I started this blog. I started this blog to have a record of my life, of me ~ for my kids, and their kids to know who their mom and grandma was. And see our life for what it really was. Life isn’t perfect…. and neither is this blog.

I’m an inspiration junkie. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to read anything inspiring. Inspiring quotes can definitely turn a frown upside down, and get you motivated to have a better outlook on things, heck on life! So I started a new carnival called Just to Motivate Your Monday. Every Monday I post an inspirational post and McKlinky is set up for others to write something inspirational to share with others. Or you can always just share you favorite quote. It’s a very new carnival… there’s only been 2 so far, but I hope to see it grow and flourish, because we all need inspiration ~ it can paint our worlds. So make sure you check in every Monday and link up!! Let’s all help each other through inspiration. I hope to see each and every single one of you back here on Monday to give me the inspiration I thrive for…. and I hope that with this carnival I can help you get more followers, because we ALL love to have our feathers ruffled every now and then… right?

If you really want to know random things about me there’s always {THIS LIST},

If you’re interested in reading about my daughter’s heart condition, including the scary accident she just had with her medicine you can read about that {HERE}

If you want to read about my baby that never said hello, and I never got to say good bye to you can read about her {HERE}

If you want to read about how scattered my thoughts can be {READ THIS}! They may be scattered at times, but I do feel strongly about what I wrote!

If you want to see what makes me smile, laugh & cry every day of my life {CLICK HERE} oh yeah and {HERE} as well.

Of course my FAVORITE recipe in the entire world is {ENCHILADA PIE}

Well, I hope I gave you a good glimpse into my very soul, because that’s what I try to do here at Garibay Soup…. I didn’t link you to the true dysfunction of my family, because I kinda want ya to come back! We’ll just save all of that for after you’re hooked!

Now for the giveaway!!! I know, I gabbed for too long didn’t I? The lady who owns this shop is a great friend of mine. Her son also has the same heart condition that Ella has. So, we’ve bonded ~ her website is {www.rylidesigns.com} ~ click on gift ideas to see some ideas, but she does custom work. So custom, that I had her embroider Gino’s Wifey on underwear for my 5 year anniversary ~ and on the back they said 5 Years Strong… they were ADORABLE If you leave a comment you will be entered to win a $30.00 gift certificate to spend on whatever your heart desires from her.

If you link up on this post with an introduction post linking back to the Happy BlogNerd Bash you may leave 3 more comments for 3 more entries 🙂 Make sure you leave the extra comments if you link up.

If you tweet about the party linking to this post you can leave 1 more comment for an extra entry as well.

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG & ANNOUNCED ON 7/26/09 ~ LINKS WILL CLOSE ON 7/26/09 @ MIDNIGHT ~ YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS AND ALL OTHER FUTURE PARTY POSTS UNTIL 7/26/09 @ MIDNIGHT.

If you haven’t already head over to {BlogHop09} for more party fun!!!! And on Twitter there’s the #pityparty by @stop4chocolate and @waymorehomemade

Thank you so much for stopping and by and Don’t forget to come back every single day through 7/25/09, because there will be more stuff going on… and more giveaways!! AND MY BIRTHDAY IS FRIDAY, 7/24/09 ~ SO YOU HAVE TO COME PARTY WITH ME!!!

THE PARTY DOESN’T STOP HERE, AFTER YOU COMMENT, LINK UP & COMMENT SOME MORE 🙂 HEAD OVER {HERE} FOR THE NEXT PART OF THIS PARTY… AND IT’S MY BIRTHDAY PARTY!!! WE’RE GIVING AWAY SOMETHING I TOTALLY LOVE…. AND I KNOW YOU WILL TOO!

This year I’m missing out on 2 things. The first is my Wildtree convention in Florida and the other is the Blogher convention in Chicago. Oh how I would LOVE to attend both, but they are both on the same days and I had other arrangements that prevented me from attending either.

BlogHer seems like such an amazing thing to be able to attend. I could only imagine the inspiration that people will leave with. The joy they’ll feel finally being able to put a voice & name w/a blog. I know I’m not alone, so I decided in honor of my birthday and Blogher I’m having a BASH!

My birthday is on Friday 7/24 and it’s a day most bloggers will be attending the Blogher conference. So, I hope you’ll join Garibay Soup from 7/23/09-7/25/09 for the Happy BlogNerd Bash! It’s for us nerds that aren’t able to make it to BlogHer ~ yes, we’re nerds for not putting more of an effort to make it!

There will be a giveaway each day, link ups and topics that we’ll be discussing (we will all be guest speakers!). The first day 7/23/09 will be a day where we introduce ourselves, get to know one another & get ready for the party! The other days are SURPRISES!!

If you don’t yet, follow me on {Twitter} or subscribe to my {RSS Feed} so you don’t miss out on the prizes or the fun, and snag the party’s Button off of my sidebar to display on your blog.

Hope to see you here!