It's Moving Day!!!

Go to The Big Bloggy Move!

I am now at my new blog at http://afteracupofcoffee.net. If you have a minute, please update your feeds and blogrolls :)

No more full feeds...

I apologize to those of you who subscribe in a feeder and and no longer are able to view full posts! I hope you'll decide to click through and keep on reading. But I am getting linked to way too many spam blogs lately.

Is it called splogging when they do that? I'm not sure.

I don't know if it's because I have been posting often or what, but I know I appreciate it when I can read the full feed, and I hate to change that, but if the spammers are going to use my posts, at least I can make them work for it!

Pray for strength

My sister is in town for the long weekend, so I'm going to take a few days away from the blog.

When you read this, you can pray for me, though.

She brought a 70-piece box of Godiva with her.

If you don't hear from me by early next week, you'll know that my strength failed me and I'm in a sugar coma.

Some bloggity business

I'm changing some categories and titles around to make reading easier, so I apologize if you subscribe in a feedreader and you get a bunch of new posts!

Thank you to everyone who has commented or emailed to say that you are enjoying my series on how I became a Christian. I never intended to stretch it out this long, but I am enjoying looking back at how God worked.

For those of you who miss the lighthearted public humiliation that I usually write about, here is a repost that came before a lot of you started reading.

2am Wake-Up Calls

I'm not a big fan of 2am wake up calls. I really like my sleep.

So I was a bit put out when I woke up at 2:15 hearing Luke calling me.

And I wasn't feeling the love when I stubbed my toe on the laundry basket on my way to his room.

If it hadn't been past 2am, it would have been cute when he said, "My sock fell down!" and held up his sock for me to put back on.

So I sat down in the chair to put his sock back on, because me and balance at 2am? Not friends.

(See the aforementioned stubbed toe)

And then Luke gently stroked my hair and said, "Nice hair, Mommy." And even at 2am that melted my heart.

And then I went back to my room and walked face-first into my bedroom door.

I'm feeling it in my very bones

I was all set to start a series from some of the questions ya'll asked for my bloggy Q&A. I've been pondering it, and had a vision for what I wanted to say.

And then I received a letter from that satellite company that is league with the devil.

And then I spent hours on the phone with them, and am waiting for a call back to spend some more hours on the phone with them.

And I have reached the point with them of threatening to go to the FCC and media outlets.

Not that I want to go to the media, and probably won't truth be told, because it's just too much work.

But I could.

And I think they would listen.

And now the only thing I am pondering is my deep and abiding bitterness towards this company.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll start answering questions, so if you have any more, email or post them!

And so I turn to you

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting much lately.

It's not writer's block exactly.

More like mind-numbing exhaustion.

It's hard to compose a blog post in your head while you're doing dishes if you're so tired that you're falling asleep standing up.

And so I turn to that last refuge of blocked bloggers in search of bloggy fodder.

The bloggy Q&A.

Ask me a question.

Any question, about homeschooling, Navy life, life in Japan, mild or bold coffee...anything!

And I will try to get a little more sleep so that when I look back on the day's events, I can think of more than, "Well, I obviously got dressed at some point, but I'm not sure what I did besides that."

Post it in the comments or email it to me at afteracupofcoffee(at)gmail(dot)com.

Maybe next week I'll be able to post more than, "Me tired. Need coffee."

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

If you look at my time stamp and wonder why I am awake at roughly O'dark thirty, I will tell you.

Involuntarily.

I went o bed hours and hours ago. For the first time in weeks-possibly months-the kids actually fell asleep at a decent hour and I got in bed early.

And then I started coughing.

And then I tried to forcefully expel a lung from my body.

I've had a cold for about 2 weeks now, and apparently my body has decided that it would rather function with only one lung than continue to exist in this phlegmy state.

And so here I am am, awake. So why not blog? My coughing won't bother you.

In the last several weeks, a few of you have been kind enough to pass some bloggy awards my way! I'm still catching up reading posts from my break, but I wanted to say thank you to:

First, Megan at SortaCrunchy bestowed upon me the "Bloggin' Princess" award. Head on over and tell her congratulations, because she also recently had a sweet baby girl!

Next, Dana at Principled Discovery has passed to me the the "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award.

Finally, both Val at Purple Valley and Michelle at Raising Little Women have gifted me with the "Nice Matters" award.

So I haven't coughed up a lung. Three or four pounds of phlegm and the lining of my throat are gone, though.

Hope you weren't eating or enjoying your morning coffee or anything.

'Night all.

Ya'll ROCK!!!

I can't even begin to tell you all how much you have encouraged me over the past weeks as my husband has been deployed. I so appreciate your prayers as well as your comforting and uplifting and funny comments and emails.

Now I have been nominated for two bloggy awards in one week! You guys know exactly how to make a girl feel loved.

First, Kate at Small Scribbles nominated me for a Blogger Reflection Award! Her posts are always so thought-provoking and inspiring, that it was an honor to be nominated by her!

Then, Missy at The Three Olivos nominated me for a Rockin' Girl Blogger Award! I've only read Missy's blog a few times (and she is new to mine, too!) so it was so sweet of her to think of me!

Now I am supposed to nominate other bloggers...however, 10 is a bit much! Five for each award. So if you can forgive me, I think I'll do two for each award.

Here are the rules for the Blogger Reflection Award:

"Give to those who have who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy… of knowing them and being blessed by them.”“This award is for the best-of-the-best so consider who you pick, carefully. This award should not be given to just anyone. If you’re going to do the award don’t just write a few words and slap it on your Blog. Write real thoughts about these Bloggers and what they’ve meant to you. If the Bloggers you pick have already been given the award, don’t be afraid to give it to them again. They deserve it as many times as it’s given.”

First...Bethany at A Picturesqe Life and Joy at Living Joyously. I am blessed to know both these bloggers in real life. They both challenge me to be a better mom, are dedicated to God and their families, and include tons of pictures of their gorgeous children!

Next, the Rockin Girl Blogger Award...This goes to Megan at SortaCrunchy and Mikki at My Bible and a Cup of Coffee Works For Me. They are so sweet to read my blog and comment and are constantly encouraging me and praying for me, and I so look forward to hearing from them. Yet I am such a bad commenter on their blogs! I totally lurk. They are definitely some rockin' mamas!

Thank you all again!

So the thing is...

I love my blog design and header.

I really do.

But I'm getting bored.

I'm ready for some change.

We don't have the money for a whole redesign. I got lucky with this one. It was discounted because it was a premade header. Swank Web Style just customized it for me.

Plus, I am afraid to pay for something new and then not like it as much as this one, because that would be, well, bad.

But I want to change something. I really, really want to change something.

Any suggestions?

My Blogging Story

Chilihead is hosting a carnival today about our blogging stories. It's realy interesting seeing how some people got into blogging!



How did you start blogging?

My friend Joy has a blog that she uses to keep family and friends informed. I thought it was a good idea, and signed up for a blogger account. And then didn't do anything with it. I was completely uninspired. So then I signed up for Yahoo360. Same thing. Then I signed up for a HomeschoolBlogger account and was inspired with the "After a cup of coffee" idea. I figured it would be just homeschool stuff, but it quickly became an outlet for me, and I saw all of the friendships to be made. Then I got tired of thier limitations and entertained the idea of trying to sell scrapbook items, and moved to blogger.



Did you intend to be a blog w/a big following? If so, how did you go about it?

Nope. I thought I'd use it to keep in touch with friends and family. But then I started thinking that maybe I wanted it for me, to be an outlet and to develop new relationships- always a plus when you're a military family and move a lot, so while it's not a secret, I also haven't told a lot of people about it. Then I added a little map statcounter to my site and LOVED seeing how people were reading my blog from all over the world. I got hooked on comments and reading other blogs, and started thinking maybe I wanted to try and make some money off it, and I ended up joining several blog rings and participating in the 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party. I definitely don't have a large following, but I really love getting comments from people, especially new readers!



What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

My main intent is for it to be an outlet for me, and also to build some new relationships. Both have been accomplished! I even had a friend from blogdom, Bethany, in my city when I moved. I am so thankful for her! I might use ads at some point, but I don't know yet.



Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?

It's changed a couple times! I originally thought it would be for family and friends specifically, then about homeschool specifically.



What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?

I thought I was protecting my privacy, but at some point I relaized that it would be pretty easy for someone to figure out where we live if they read closely enough. I would have been even more careful than I was.



Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?

My husband knows and supports me, but rarely reads unless I happen to leave the browser open to my blog. The rest of my family doesn't know about this one, yet, but it's not a secret. I send them the posts that I think would interet them, mostly about the kids.



What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?

Don't use your full name or last name on your site, or even in the email address that you use on your blog.


Also, don't be afraid to leave comments, even if you don't know the blogger at all. I think we all love them!



So that's it! That's my blogging story. Head on over to Chilihead's to read more or leave a link to your own!

A thinking blogger

I got an award!

Chrissy at Singalullaby has given me a Thinking Blogger Award.

I'm not sure I deserve it, since most of my posts lately have revolved around snot and fiber supplements, but it's just so much fun!

However, I'll have to get back to you on the five people that I'm going to pass it on to.

We found out today that our "Floating Lock" interest rate on our mortgage that I was supposed to lock some time between applying for the loan and closing, was inadvertently locked the day I applied.

This is good because rates have gone up since we applied.

However, it also means that they want to close escrow 15 DAYS EARLIER THAN PLANNED.

And that might have added a wee bit o stress to what I was already feeling.

And multiplied my craving for chocolate cake by about a kajillion times.

Anyhoo, here are the rules for the Thinking Blogger Award (note that I am breaking part of #1, but I will get it done!)

Ok, ladies #1-5, if you choose to accept this mission--- The rules are:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

The times, they are a-changing

So Isaac's job has changed again!

I tell ya, Navy life is a veritable rollercoaster o' fun!

He is still going to the same battalion, they haven't changed that. But his job in the battalion has changed.

He is now in charge of a detachment of guys in Japan. The good thing is that it's great for Isaac's career. God had to line up a lot of stuff to make this happen.

The bad thing is that they want him to be part of an advance party, which means they want us to move May 1, instead of May 18.

And that's just two weeks after we go househunting.

I've never bought a house before, but I'm thinking that's not quite enough time for things to close and whatnot.

So we're not exactly sure what God has in store for us, house-wise, but it will be interesting to find out!

Just a reminder, we leave Monday, and Isaac's surgery is on Tuesday. The Navy does something that is not LASIK, and starts with a P. I forget the name, but what I do remember is that it is extremely painful for about three days.

And all five of us will be staying in one hotel room while he recovers.

So, if you get a chance, please pray for us next week!

I'll let you know how things go when we have internet access, possibly from the hotel, but maybe not until we get back.

What do you think of blogs with ads?

Do you notice them?
Do you hate them?
Do you use them on your blog?

I know there are a lot of people who make money through their blogs, and I've been giving the idea some thought (but not enough to invest time in actually researching it!)

Plus I'm not sure that I actually have enough readers to make any money :)

I mean, I didn't start this blog to make money, it was just an outlet for me, and a way to make some friends since we move so often being a military family.

But now I wonder...

What's your opinion?