{Ashlee} gave me this fabulous Blog award… and it’s my first ever! Ashlee is such an amazing girl and I am so happy that Twitter brought us together… in all actuality I think Ella’s overdose is to blame, but we’ll just say Twitter 😉

The rules are to list 5 obsessions…. oh boy – are you sure you all want to know me like that?

Blackberry Storm! I can’t believe I ever just had a regular phone! Someone once told me not to get a blackberry, and I actually listened! I’m glad I finally succumbed to what I really wanted, because I LOOOOOVE IT! I feel like everything is right at my fingertips and why I think it’s better than the IPhone… because our themes rock! (Verizon doesn’t have the IPhone so I convince myself daily that the Blackberry Storm is better… and I’m starting to realize it just might be! I mean, come on I get MMS messages!)

Photo Editing! Oh I just absolutely love to take a picture and transform it into something so magical. Photography in general is an obsession of mine so I guess I can combine the two. I’m just a newbie photographer, and watching my own work get better and better with every photo shoot puts a thrill inside of me. I’m so happy that I invested in my DSLR, because I found a new passion in something that my family and other families will be able to treasure for years to come.

My Computer! My friends live inside of it. Okay… ME <------LOSER! Just kidding... not all of my friends, but I have found a lot of amazing friends on this thing. This is what I use to edit my pictures, to connect with friends and family who are far away, to write on my blog {that is in the end for my family} and to learn on. I learn new things every day online... and if I didn't have this computer that probably wouldn't be happening.

My family! I’m obsessed with them! They are so deliciously adorable I just want to eat them up! Okay, so they might all get on my nerves and drive this mama over the edge, but I love them so much and they are my #1 obsession… the reason why I do the things I do. Without them I am nothing.

Blogging! I guess this kinda goes in the computer category but I have more to add on the obsession of mine. I originally started this blog for family and friends to be in the “know” of the Garibay family… and it turned into something I never expected. I found blogs of other moms and discovered different ways to try things. I found this world of amazingness that I just HAD to be a part of. I really enjoy updating my blog with the things I feel others might gain something from, things that I feel, and things my family will want to {or not} remember about when they’re older. I love when people come to leave me comment and let me know that what I contributed to the blog world touch them in some way, and if you’re a lurker on my blog I’d love for you to feel comfy and leave a comment ~ let me know that I touch your world like I hope I do. In the end however, it doesn’t matter how many readers I have, no matter if I have hundreds or 1 I’m still going to continue with what I have to share and continue on with my inspirational carnival…. it’s my obsession and I love it and will always do it.

Now to tag 5 people with this award!!!

{Rachel @ Spangler Family} ~ Rachel, you are such an awesome person to me. I hope one day we actually get to meet IRL. You’re blog is fabulous, you inspire me quite often and you definitely deserve this award. Display it on your blog proudly, because you’re blog is FABULOUS!

{Momzoo} ~ You make being a mom of 5 and housewife so enjoyable and simple. You inspire me quite often to do things more simply. To enjoy the little things in life and to someday have a garden! You’re blog is FABULOUS and I hope you display this award proudly on your blog.

{Dena @ Sugar Shop} ~ I just absolutely LOVE the content on your blog. I found your blog when I was brand spankin new to sewing and photography and felt like I found the gold mine to inspiration with the 2. You rock at what you do and I just want you to know that to me your blog is FABULOUS!!

{Bake @ 350} ~ you knew I had to throw some food up in the mix…. OH BOY your blog makes my mouth WATER. It’s beyond water…I have dreams about the the things you put on there. Girl, you’re blog is FABULOUS! Thank you so much for posting all these delicious things… you inspire me to bake and I used to not go there.

{Mrs Cropper} ~ Anne, I LOVE reading your blog. Knowing you in real life and then going to read the things going on in your mind puts a different spin on things. You are an awesome, amazing person and you inspire me in many, many ways! Your blog is FABULOUS! Display it proudly!! I still hold that rain check and intend to use it 🙂

I talked about Tweetdeck…might as well talk Twitter

I talked all about Tweetdeck yesterday, and I figured I might as well share my thoughts on why I love Twitter for {Things I Love Thursday} I have some tweeps that like the idea of twitter, but just aren’t really sure where to really start. So, I thought I’d share a little about me and and twitter, how I use it, and a share a cool tutorial I found.

I am starting to look at Twitter as my own personal huge forum. I have found that most forums unfortunately come with their fair share of CATTY DRAMA. Don’t get me wrong, there are many, many benefits to wonderful support of the forum communities! In fact, I have met some of my very close friends from forums, but the cattiness was too much for me. I chose to leave behind the drama, the “my way is better than your way” attitudes and venture off on my own in my little bloggity world. Visiting others’ blogs and peeking into the hearts of other women that are in your shoes helps you in ways that competing women cannot. The odds of you coming to my blog, reading something that comes from my heart and arguing with that is pretty slim. Of course it happens, but NOTHING like mommy forums.

I didn’t step into my full potential in this blog world until I succumbed to the over growing world of Twitter. I never fully “got it” until I saw on someone’s blog Follow Me on Twitter. I clicked, I read, a light went off, and I’ve been Tweet-a-leeting ever since.

Here is how Twitter is my own personal forum… a forum that can’t compete with any other forum, because it is every forum in 1….. You create your own universe, or should I say twitterverse on there. You get to choose your friends, you get to choose which conversations to jump into, and you get a full range of different people. It’s not just moms, it’s not just dads, it’s not just parents. There’s old, famous, single, taken, happy, depressed, crafty, analytical. You think it, there is it. And that is what I enjoy. I follow an awesome tweep that posts sewing patterns, a tweep that posts awesome photography tutorials, tweeps that post giveaways for things you can win for free. I can post something that I need and a random stranger can come and help you out, or say a prayer for you, and you may just find your new best friend there. It is an extremely supportive community, and I have made it into what I love.

You don’t feel obligated to ever have to post so much, reply to everything, because it’s a constant chat room where you come and go as you please. You can make it how you want it, and that’s exactly what I need in my life, a place that I can come and go as I please, without guilt, without obligation. But knowing… it’s always there. I’ve found at first that I didn’t want to follow too many people, because I didn’t want to get overwhelmed, but I’m now coming to the realization that the more people that you find that you have something in common with, all the better to follow them. You don’t (and most definitely shouldn’t) catch up on everything that you miss on twitter. When I log on to my Ubertwitter (on my blackberry) or get on my trusty {tweetdeck} I only go back 25 or so tweets to see the current happenings and of course check my mentions (anyone mentioning my username). If any of my people are talking something interesting or something I’d like to chime in on I will…. if not, I won’t. The more people you follow, the more conversations you have an option of joining. I’m random. I tweet all kinds of stuff about my day, my frustrations, my kids, my marriage, my friends, my family, literally… everything. Do I expect people to respond to everything I say? No, but I feel like there’s always someone listening, and that in itself feels pretty darn snazzy. I do try to reply to people often, comment on their happenings. Twitter is pretty dang awesome. It’s something that I will always be a part of, and am happy to have it in my life.

If you are into blogging, if you are into sales, or need to promote something what better way to get the word out there about what it is you want the world to know than to tweet it? I have an RSS feeder, but to be honest, I check the blog posts of those who tweet them first. It’s easy for me. I have found many new friends and new readers of my blog just by tweeting my link and what it is that I wrote about.

It’s fun to go and create your own twitterverse and make it what you want it to be. It’s fun to go and find your tweeps, and spend your days with them, because believe it or not that’s strangely what you do. If you’re not with Twitter ~ you should be. I’m just writing this post mainly to explain how and why I am a part of Twitter. You can use it to your advantage… you can make it your social network for you business, for your sanity, for your whatever… the thing is it’s your’s, make it what you would want to make of it. And nothing is my universe without my husband, so I made him become a part of my twitterverse… @Eazymoney25 is my TWEETHEART!

And for the record:
Tweeple = People on twitter

Tweeps = Peeps
Twitterverse = Twitter is like a cyber universe where almost every1 is a part of
Tweetheart = Sweetheart heard this 1 today…I think it might be my favorite twitter language

And that’s my thoughts on Twitter today. You make it into what you want it for. Please enjoy this tutorial I found, I think it’s THE BEST I’ve seen yet.

AND DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER BY CLICKING ON THE FOLLOW ME BUTTON ON MY HEADER!!

Tweetdeck…I love it!

Twitter is hot. I can’t believe it took me so long to jump on! I’m working on a twitter post that’s in the works. It’s nothing huge and special, but it’s how I use Twitter, why I use Twitter and all that stuff!

What I want to share with you today for Works for Me Wednesday is how Tweetdeck for Twitter works for me. How you can use it for so much more than just keeping in contact with your tweeps.

{Tweetdeck} is a program that you download onto your computer. I keep it minimized when I’m on my computer and can hear the ding when I new tweet comes through and a pop up comes up telling me which column was updated…. ah, columns… my FAVORITE part of Tweetdeck!

I always have the following columns up and active:

  • All Friends
  • Mentions
  • Direct Messages
  • “Friends” a group I created and added the tweeps I don’t want to miss anything on
  • Facebook Status

Let’s say you’re in the middle of a Twitter Party (which is much fun if you haven’t been a part of one yet) Tweetdeck allows you to add columns with a search word. Therefore if the party is using a hashtag of #twitterpartyfood you can add a column and any posts at all with that hash tag come up. Therefore you’re almost using it like a chat room.

Let’s say you specialize in something and want to be able to be in contact with people who mention your specialty… well, make a search column with that key word (or words) and watch in real time as it updates whenever it’s mentioned. Definitely a good thing for trying to promote things!

If you have other ways that Tweetdeck is awesome please, please, please share with me by leaving a comment and letting me and my readers know!!

Tweetdeck has made Twitter definitely enjoyable and easy for me while on my computer. I hope this helps you out in a way, if not… thanks for stopping by Garibay Soup anyways ~ feel free to have a look around and leave some comment love… because I love it! And I hope to see you back for Just a Motivating Monday ~ Garibay Soup’s Inspirational Carnival… because we all need inspiration in our lives!!!

Over at {We are THAT Family} there are many other things being linked up that work for others… head over with a nice drink of whatever does it for you and brace yourself for some knowledge you’ll want to use in your life.

And don’t forget to click on my Twitter Link in my header to follow me!

Jayden needs a lawyer… haha

He’s turning 8 next month. Boy, oh boy… when they say time flies you don’t realize how true that phrase is. I like to always share the funny things that come out of Jayden’s mouth, because woawee he cracks me up sometimes.

The night that Sophie did her {naughty thing} of trying to eat my wall, I eventually had Jayden go to bed. The whole situation was stressful, I was in the middle of an organizing office kick and I WAS DONE WITH KIDS AND DOGS!

The funny Jayden says….

As climbing in his bed he looks at me and says, “I need a lawyer for this!”

Yes, he believed that getting a lawyer might help him in not having to go to bed…. how does he even know what a lawyer is?!?!?!

*sigh* he’s growing people, he’s growing up.

Just a Motivating Monday – Our Children

If you’re just joining in:

-Write a blog post about ANYTHING at all that inspires you, or something you feel will inspire others.

-Please link back to Garibay Soup

-Please snag my Just a Motivating button on your post.

-I hope that we can all go and visit each other’s blogs and read what everyone has linked up ~ I hope that this carnival can bring more traffic for you 🙂 So, spread the comment love!

Today has been everything but motivating for me, so I am back tracking and bringing up a wonderful quote (already once posted here at Garibay Soup) that EVERY MOTHER should read. It’s short, simple, but is definitely inspiring to me and hopefully to you as well. I hope to see people link up and help to motivate this Monday for me!!

Something that we all should remember. Here’s a quote from Gordon B. Hinckley..

“Do the best you can. And remember that the greatest asset you have in this world is those children who you’ve brought into the world, and for whose nurture and care you’re responsible.”

Our homes don’t have to be perfect. The main thing that matters is that our children are getting the love, care and attention that they so deserve. They are the reason we exist.

He’s Making the Band

Just had to pardon the interruption of my blog remodel for a little entertainment. These boys were downtown Ashland today performing and they ROCKED! I loved them…. so much I bought one of their CD’s. But what made me love them even more is they allowed Jayden to rock out with them with his accordion.

I only got video of the end and the lighting was sucky, but at least I got some…. it was so cute and there was a HUGE crowd there watching and oooooing and awwwing over Jayden…. my future rock star. He is already trying to now make his own band with his little friends.


He’s Making the Band

Just had to pardon the interruption of my blog remodel for a little entertainment. These boys were downtown Ashland today performing and they ROCKED! I loved them…. so much I bought one of their CD’s. But what made me love them even more is they allowed Jayden to rock out with them with his accordion.

I only got video of the end and the lighting was sucky, but at least I got some…. it was so cute and there was a HUGE crowd there watching and oooooing and awwwing over Jayden…. my future rock star. He is already trying to now make his own band with his little friends.