Sunday Confessions Link Up

Happy Sunday!!! 

You all know how it goes - think up something juicy and share it with the world (the blogging world, that is). Link up and find some other awesome bloggers while you're at it!
  <center> <a href="http://itsalyx.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6701442513_4c7153a301.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a></center> 1-5. I'm over it, and have been for a while (blogging, that is). This constant posting of staged outfit photos to make it look like you're always perfectly put together, these mushy love posts, the pictures of your "oh so exciting life" - I'm sick of it all. I'm sick of the giveaways, the fight for followers, the popularity contest... It is ridiculous.

I started my blog when we moved to Europe as a way to update my family and friends on my life. When did it turn into *actually* considering giving someone $150 of my hard-earned money just to get more people to like my blog? When did it turn into me wishing that I had hundreds of dollars of extra money just laying around to do giveaways to stores that I would never dream of stepping into? Why did I suddenly start to care how many followers I had?

Here's the deal, folks. Starting in January, I'm getting rid of it (sponsorship, not the blog... HA!). There is no reason for me to have sponsorship on this blog (at least not until I'm done working outside of the home full-time). Right now I don't have the time or energy (or desire) to make blogging my "job." I don't want to feel bad if I blog once a week instead of five times. I don't want to charge people money to put their pretty faces on my sidebar if I can't promise them my dedication to getting their blog noticed. I don't want to be part of this popularity contest.

My blog is mine. And right now, that's what I want. I don't want to feel obligated to share my space. I don't want to spend lots of money to get people to like me. I don't think that's a wise investment for me right now. I am working my butt off to save money for this baby, and when I come home, sometimes the last thing I want to do is try to think of a way to make my life seem interesting.

FACT: My life is boring. I work 40+ hours a week. I sleep about 60 hours a week (what, baby is tired!). I eat food. I drink milk, water, and Coke 0. I work out sometimes. I shower 5-6 times a week. I wash my hair 2-3 times a week. I pay my bills, student loans, and mortgage. I try to find the time to spend quality time with my husband. After all of that, I blog. Maybe when I have more time I will be a better, more exciting blogger, but right now, I am me, and I have other commitments.

I'm not going anywhere, believe me - I just won't be tied down to the blog or feel obligated to post something every day. I may still have giveaways, I may still feature bloggers. It's just that I refuse to punish myself for living my life instead of trying to make myself seem totally awesome, hip, and perfect in an online world.

Whew. Sorry for that novel - now it's your turn - what do you have to confess? 

Sunday Confessions Link Up

Happy Sunday!!! 

First things first - I'm giving away a feature ad for the month of January here. I don't ever really give away ad space, so this is pretty sweet. If you're interested, go enter! 

Now to the confessions - please link up to a specific confessions post, not just to your blog. Also... if you have the time, visit some of the other links and introduce yourselves - part of a link up is making friends, right? 

  <center> <a href="http://itsalyx.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6701442513_4c7153a301.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a></center> 1. I HATE it when blogger's names in comments are linked to their google profile instead of their blogger profile. It drives me nuts. Half the time I can't visit your blog because you "haven't shared anything with" me. And if you have, I have to dig to find your blog. Just link it to your blogger profile, please!

2. I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. It's kind of a problem - yesterday I ate a whole bag of skittles (not the fun size, but smaller than the full-size), some airheads, a lindt truffle, and some chewy sweet tarts. Please don't tell baby that I didn't get my veggies. At least I took my prenatals? 

3. I'm going as a thug for Halloween just so that I can wear sweats. We get to wear costumes to work on Wednesday, and I want to be comfy, so I'm going as a thug and wearing sweats. Yeah, I know I'm a genius. 

3. I kind of want to redesign my blog. I know, I know, I barely have enough time to do anything, let alone a redesign, but I'm just not feelin' it.

5. I'm proud of our win last night, but I'm sad that we didn't win by beating their first-string quarterback. I mean, Rex Burkhead is out and he's one of our star players, so that makes it a little better. Either way... GO BIG RED!!! 

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Link up your confessions below!! 

But first... November's genre for book club is crime/mystery. If you have any suggestions, please put them in the form below! 

Sunday Confessions Link Up

Happy Sunday, people! 


Did anyone else feel like the weekend went way too fast? Well, it's Sunday, and as usual, time for confessions! Grab a button and link on up!! 

<center><a href="http://itsalyx.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7148/6701442513_4c7153a301.jpg" width="200" height="200" /></a></center>

1. The schticky infomercial totally creeps me out. Look at that guy. Yeah, he's in my freakin' nightmares.


2. I can't stand it when other bloggers act like highschoolers. People. WE. ARE. ADULTS. Most of us, anyway. If you have a problem with another blogger, quit airing it all over social media and act like a freakin' adult. Fix your problems in private, quit trying to get other people involved, and act your age.

3. I watched Taken and am now terrified to go anywhere on my own. Thanks a lot, husband. Although if my dad was as hardcore as Liam Neeson, I think I'd be okay.

4. My in-laws' barn kitten had babies and now I'm obsessed with them. Like, I feel the need to check on them constantly, and it's pathetic. Their mom takes good enough care of them, I just love to go make sure they aren't crying.

5. I was Helen from Eat. Enjoy. Live.'s blog angel. That is a confession because I had to keep it secret for a whole month. What did I do? Tried to comment on her posts regularly, tweeted a couple of her posts, and did a couple of shout outs! Overall, I think the blog angel experience was a good one. Thanks again to Rosie for putting it all together!!

So what do you have to confess? Link up!! 

Blogging Pet Peeves.

Hi. I like eggs. <-- [If you know what that is from... leave your answer in the comments and we can be friends.] 
Anyway. I'm not doing WIWW today because I didn't have to go to work today and after looking in my closet, I decided I didn't feel like trying to get creative. I mean, I pretty much do the 30x30 thing every day of my life because I'm living out of two suitcases. Yeah, TWO. For a YEAR. Now let's all quit complaining that we don't have anything to wear, because I guess that to some people, two suitcases of clothing would be quite a bit. 
So. Moving on... I've decided that I'm going to tell you all a few of my pet peeves when it comes to blogging. I figure that as someone else who probably writes a blog, you might like to know what other blog readers find really annoying. You're welcome in advance. Ha. 
1. Word Validation on Comments. You know what, people? I'm not a robot, and when you make your page refresh and have me type a word, chances are very high that I didn't realize I'd have to type a word, and I've already left your page. This is highly unnecessary. I've had that thing turned off since Day 1, and have only had maybe 1 spam comment? Google's spam detection is pretty dang good. Use it. If you don't know how to turn it off, email me. I'll help you. 

2. Tiny pictures. Pictures are great - I love pictures. But you know what I don't love? Straining my eyes for ten minutes because I can't tell if your tiny picture has a dog or a horse. 

3. Run on paragraphs. People, line breaks in text are not only nice, they are almost necessary. My eyes will hurt, I'll lose my place, I'll get pissed and leave your page within 30 seconds of being there. Do yourself a favor and learn to use the enter button. It is a wonderful thing. 
4. Girly text for the body of your posts. Having fun text for post titles is great, I even encourage and welcome it. BUT. When I get to your page and it is any text other than times new roman, arial, trebuchet, verdana, courier, helvetica, or georgia (the default blogger fonts), I will probably leave. Unless I like you. Then I'll read until my eyes get tired (which will take about 30 seconds) and leave a comment about what I read. Do yourself (and the rest of the world a favor) and change your font!! 

5. Generic comments with three words and a link. This does not bother everyone, but it makes me so annoyed. As a general rule, I almost never visit people who do this. The standard offense looks a little something like this. 

BONUS Pet Peeve: No-Reply Bloggers. We've gone over this already. If you have the new blogger dashboard, email me if you can't figure it out. I'll help you, because I want to reply to your comments that badly!