Facebook Could Be The End Of Blogging As We Know It!

I am addicted. And it has killed my blogging!

So much has happened over the last few weeks - I hit my friend's van in my driveway and caused $700 in damage - Caeden was "misplaced" by a substitute bus driver (who subsequently lost his job) only to be found AN HOUR later by yours truly at a house along his bus route - Cameron has had two weeks of baseball tryouts AND was invited to attend the 2009 Youngstown State University Summer Honors Institute for Gifted Students - and the World Baseball Classic has begun and Jackson is in heaven!

Hey wait...I was able to tell you everything in one simple paragraph, just like Facebook! And you are my friends too! Anonymous but friends just the same...:)

Changing Seasons

A friend of mine pointed out that my blog picture looked very summery (summery - it sounds right when you say it but not when you spell it...)

Anyway - change of seasons...change of photo...the autumn version of Sportsmum...

Gotcha!

I took my camera to the Team Kid program at our church last night. Ironically, the message to the kids was God is everywhere. Last week we spoke about how God sees all.
Do you think Kyle is trying to catch a peak of the big guy?


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I couldn't resist - I had to comment on John McCain suggesting that Sarah Palin works on behalf of those with children with autism. You can check it out over at my new blog Political Mum.

Political Mum Has Begun!

I couldn't help myself - I had to start a political blog.

The good news is that I will spare my loyal SportsMum readers from having to endure my myriad of opinions! Now you will simply get the scoop on whether Cameron won his football game, if Jackson makes it into the Spelling Bee or whether Caeden gets a new pet (he did - a guinea pig).

But if you want to see what I'm thinking today - you can find Political Mum at www.haveopinionwillblog.blogspot.com

Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio?

I took another break from blogging.

I had full intentions of going on and on about the Californians and their world-wind visit (it was SOOO great to see friends from home!)

I had full intentions of telling the tear-filled tale of buying my oldest son his first suit (I'll tell the tear-filled tale of the actual date this weekend)

I had full intentions of telling of the Saturday sports (two losses and a big win - Go Freshman - 25-24)

I had full intentions of telling about my eldest son shaving his legs - but that one is just too weird.

I had full intentions about sharing the Boardman Rotary Oktoberfest highlights (rain and all)

And finally, I had full intentions of telling everyone I TOLD YOU SO about Sarah Palin.

But - I'm really PMS right now so I have absolutely no intentions at all!

I'm Joking People!!!

I live in a very challenging town.

I think I've spoken of it before...it's an old steel mill town that never really let go of the mill mentality and embraced a spirit of progress.

This town is a shell of what it once was and for the people who stayed, it must be hard to see what it's become.

But for God's sake people - just because you have had to live here your whole life, choosing not to embrace progress or anyone from the outside - doesn't mean you can't have a sense of humor about things!

So for my "Anonymous" poster who keeps criticizing my oh-so-tongue-in-cheek posts. Just stop reading...you're never going to get me anyway.

Blogging Life...The Good, Bad and Confusing!

I've had time lately to browse around and see what other people are doing with their blogs. What I see frustrates the you-know-what out of me.

While I completely enjoy writing and sharing pictures of my boys - and in essence, documenting their lives with my blog - I wish I could generate readers the way other blogs do.

Occasionally, I am actually able to share insights that could be of value to others - especially the anecdotes about Jackson and his challenges with Aspergers. If nothing else but to give others hope in living with an ASD child!

I've looked at so many SAHM blogs that have nothing more to say than - "I stayed home and baked cookies with my kids" - and they have thousands of views a day!

It's the technical side that boggles my mind - track-backs and links; Wordless Wednesday's, Tackle It Tuesday's; join a group...enter a contest...take our survey -- frankly - I can't even find a way to get my Google Ads to appear! How does one figure it all out?!

Someone could make a lot of money by offering a hands-on blog tutorial. And I mean, hands-on -- here in my office -- walking me through the maze.

Any takers?!

The Power of Blogging

We had friends over for dinner last night. During the conversation Vickie asked, "have you updated that blog yet?!" I didn't even know she had been reading it!

While in Canada, my mother, John's brother, and several friends asked me the same thing, "When are you going to post again"? My mother was particularly vocal, "I've told all my friends to read it and now you stopped posting!"

Frankly, my initial reason for starting this blog was to make money. I had been working with a friend on his charity website, www.puzzleofhope.org; and we had been discussing ways we could generate hits to his site. We started researching blogging and I saw how people were making hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars a month by simply writing about their lives!

Why couldn't I do the same thing? I had the subject matter...kids and sports...who wouldn't want to read about that? Seemed simple.

And it was simple...I set up the blog on my own and started writing. After a few posts, I was able to sign up for Google AdSense -- this was the money side. There were various ways I could generate income, the easiest was allowing Google Ads to be placed in my site. Again, simple.

What I didn't realize is that you need THOUSANDS of hits PER DAY to actually make money, unless someone clicks on the ads; then I could earn a couple of dollars here and there. There are millions of blogs, and unless you work the web everyday, it's really hard to get readers to find you!

After three months I have had a total of 2,688 hits and earned $57.13. So much for hundreds and/or thousands of dollars per month!

But I discovered something along the way...I really didn't care about making money. I was really enjoying the opportunity to write and even more, I enjoyed writing about my family. It became my journal, with the added bonus of having others share in our experiences.

So for all those who have become loyal readers; I thank you. Now, if you just take a look at the ads across the top...:)