Sunday In My City #16 - Los Angeles

We had a big, cold, rain storm at the beginning of this week, then a day of clearing and then more rain again-- buckets of it! Yes I know, it's not the massive amounts of snow parts of American got slammed with, and I shouldn't be complaining-- But rain in Southern California is a very big deal, especially if the temps drop below 50 degrees, which they did. It was freezing and I didn't like it one bit.

When storm cleared and the sun came out on Wednesday, this is what I saw from my back yard!

We only see the snow covered mountains about ten days a year. The snow is there for a lot longer, but after it rains the smog moves back in and the mountains vanish from sight. If we ever decide to sell our home, the realtor's open house will be on a day like this!

Do you know Unknown Mami? She's awesome and she created a fun Sunday theme inviting you to get out and take pictures of your city to share with the rest of us. Click here for details and her logo and click here to see Unknown Mami's City today.

~~~~~

Here's a $300 giveaway that's easy to participate in-- Audrey at Barking Mad is asking-- "What brings you joy in your life?

I found this giveaway via If Only I Had Superpowers and it gave me pause-- I thought about the many joyous things I have to be thankful for, not the least of which are-- My beloved husband who has made me laugh every single day for the past 22 years-- my loving family, one and all-- my sweet Godson and his awesome mom-- some really wonderful friends-- my new found holiday spirit-- an upcoming trip to see loved ones this week-- and of course, all my blog friends that I've met this past year! Despite life's ups and down, I'm blessed and joyful on so many levels. Thanks for asking Audrey. It was nice to sit and reflect the joys of life for a moment or two.

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

Photo Credit Joanna Jenkins

Holiday Spirit: Yeah Or Neigh?

After circling the mall parking lot-- on a week day afternoon, for a miserable 45 minutes, then finally making my way out of the underground garage and back home without ever leaving the car, I wasn't feeling the holiday spirit. Not one bit!

The mall, and it's massive underground parking lot, was bumper-to-bumper and a total zoo leaving me to wonder "what economic crisis?". As for the crazy people fighting over the lone available parking space-- driving backwards, the wrong way, in the garage-- Well, they deserve a great, big lump of coal in my book.

Bah humbug was on my mind the entire drive home, empty handed, with nothing crossed off my shopping list. So I did what any addicted blogger would do, I parked myself at my computer-- where parking was easy-- and read blogs for the rest of the afternoon.

And what to my wondering eyes did appear?

Bountiful blogs full of holiday cheer! They immediately put

me in the spirit feeling energized and hopeful for the season again!

The first blog I read was by a newer blogger, Jane at Living In The Land of Nod, who shared her Christmas tree shopping experience that was so funny and so heartwarming that I've changed my mind and will decorate the house for the holidays. It's a great post and I hope you will CLICK HERE to stop by and show her some new blogger love.

Then I read Cindy LaFerle's blog who was apologizing for her "shameless plug" of her book Writing Home. But Cindy's plug is for a VERY good cause! Every year since 2005, Cindy has donated the profits from her book sales to a homeless shelter in metro Detroit where she lives. How awesome is that! Click HERE for details on Cindy's fabulous book-- which I've read and absolutely loved-- And help spread a little holiday cheer to the very hard hit Detroit area.

I've talked about Attila The Mom at Cheaper Than Therapy, and her son, Big Kid, in this space before. You might recall Big Kid's life-threatening bout with The Swine Flu. Well, prior to that, Attila, who has a heart of gold, organized and funded a collaborative craft studio to help market the creativity of adults who have disabilities and their family caregivers in an effort to help them become more financially independent. And what are they marketing??? Some AWE-SOME handmade Christmas decorations that's what! Seeing is believing so please CLICK HERE to check them out. (A little tease is shown here.) I hope you will keep these creative folks in mind when Christmas shopping this season.

So like I said, I'm finally in the holiday spirit and it feels gooooood. I think if you check out these three blogs you will be too. Jane, Cindy and Attila the Mom.

And for all our Hanukkah celebrators out there, here's a little Adam Sandler tune to hum as you light your menorah starting on the 11th.

What puts you in the holiday spirit?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

Photo credit Christmas Tree: Fotolia

Photo credit: Writing Home - Cindy LaFerle

Photo credit: Quilted Ornament - Attila The Mom

To Be 16 Again...

Dear Younger Self,

The good news is that it's the summer before your senior year of high school and you've finally reached that magical age-- 16! The bad news is you have to spend six weeks in Summer School taking Driver's Education classes which starts at 7:30am. Early mornings are not, nor will they ever be, your favorite time of day, especially during summer vacation.

But it's not the early morning memories that will linger with you for the next twenty years, it's the Driver's Ed class itself-- The class you were so excited to take but in the end gave you nightmares-- The class that scared you too much to drive until you were nearly 20 years old-- The class that caused you to miss so many incredible adventures.

Driver's Education, in 1975, consisted of a manual with the driving laws for the State of Ohio that you will study on your own in preparation for the written State exam. Time actually driving in a car will be very limited and scheduled a few afternoons per week. The four hours of daily classroom time for six weeks will not be spent reviewing the manual, rather it will be spent in the dark-- watching movies of horrific car crashes-- involving teenager drivers. And it will scar the daylights out of you!

You name it, you'll see it. All real accidents, all with teenagers, and many did not live to tell the story. Most of your classmates will simply nap through the filmed tragedies, but not you. You will sat straight up at your desk and, practically without blinking, watch every second in stunned silence. Sometimes tears will run down your face, other times your friends will pass you tissues. Never once will your teacher notice who's watching and who's sobbing silently.

As a very impressionable teenager, know the class and these movies are meant to scare you into being a better, more cautious driver. And they are meant to scare you into never drinking and driving. All are important lessons to learn, but not meant to scare you out of your curiosity and sense of adventure. Don't take these movies so literally that you spend years not venturing beyond your own backyard.

Not getting a driver's license until you were nearly 20 will be a real crimp in your social life and your maturity. Life experiences usually happen well beyond your safe home environment and you need to be prepared, otherwise when you are brave enough to step into the business world and start traveling in your early 20s, you will be pretty lost and seriously lacking "streets smarts".

Your fear of the unknown will cause you to miss out on so many marvelous opportunities to see other parts of the world. You'll actually pass on a trip to Hong Kong. You'll work in New York City but never see Harlem, Greenwich Village or the excitement of Time Square on New Year's Eve. You'll travel to Cannes, France many times but never take the train to Monte Carlo for the weekend. And you will definitely miss out on seeing Paris! You'll attended annual film festivals in Milan, Italy but never journey more than 2 miles from your hotel. In London-- Except for a few day tours in the city, you will completely miss seeing the glorious countryside. Why? Because you are too afraid of what "might happen" thanks to those Driver's Ed movies.

Life happens one day at a time. Be mindful and aware and do the best you can to be safe but stop being afraid of the "unknown". Don't let scary movies viewed as a teen keep you away from your adventurous streak. Don't wait until you are in your mid-30s before we wake up and start really living, and doing, and seeing life and all it has to offer. Far too many opportunities will be missed that you can never get back again.

So during the summer of your 16th year, study hard and learn much. Then, take a step off the high dive, hop onto a train, and leap into life with your eyes wide open. You know you want to and you know you will be smart about it. Get your Driver's License and point the car towards your dreams. Don't wait or life will pass you by.

~~~~~~~

Do you know Chocolate Covered Daydreams? She's a terrific blog friend with an interesting and fun blog about life that's easy to relate to and often leaves me laughing out loud. Right now, until December 14th, CCD is offering a fantastic giveaway for a Wii Fit Plus. The rules are simple and involve answering the question-- If you could write a letter to your younger self, giving advice for the future, what would you say?

I answered the question and entered the giveaway with the above post. You can too! Click HERE for the giveaway rules and start writing!

Are you adventurous?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

Photo Credit:

Miss America

That's what we've called her since she was a baby-- Miss America.

My Middle Sister, aka Miss America, is celebrating her fiftieth birthday December 7th, and for the life of me, I simply cannot figure out how that happened! Well, of course I can, but it's hard for me to imagine 50 years has passed since Miss America arrived in our family-- Especially since I don't generally admit to being over 47 years old myself. Which, considering I'm 20 months older is, well, nothing short of "new math". Ha!

A family friend dubbed her Miss America the moment he saw her as a baby and sings the song every time he sees her even to this day. She was a stunningly beautiful child-- Beautiful blond hair with curls down her back. And today, fifty years later, she's still stunning on the outside AND the inside as well.

Middle Sister is the Mom to this guy who's nearly 21 years old now. He came home from hospital after he was born wrapped in this stocking a few days before Christmas. He's a sweetheart of a kid. Hard to imagine she has a son who's nearly "legal" now. Sheesh.

More kids than her son have been touched by her beauty and kindness. Middle Sis is an special education teacher with the patience of a saint. She's the teacher all the moms want their kids to have in school.

Middle Sis volunteers a tremendous amount in her community including training Service/Therapy Dogs at her home. This year, she made arrangements with the school to bring her current dog to work with her one week per month. The dog, named Vinny, is a labrador-poodle mix that has a huge, positive effect on the kids and makes classroom time far more productive and enjoyable for them. Middle Sister knew it would and went out of her way to make it happen. It's been life changing for some of the students.

Middle Sis also taught Vinny how to remove clothes from the dryer one piece at a time-- a little volunteer perk that will help his eventual owner enormously. If she can teach a dog how to fold and put the clothes away, her title will go from Miss America to Miss Universe in my book!

In the past fifty years, Middle Sister has been the very generous "go-to" person in our family for countless favors ranging from school car pooling to helping pack and move houses and apartments more times than any of us can remember. She's also the Auntie at ALL the after school concerts and activities driving near and far to attend.

And make no mistake, Middle Sister the Queen of Concert-going--

Especially if this guy is playing. It's country singer Keith Urban and she's totally crushing on him. I made this picture especially large as a little 50th birthday present for her.

Middle Sis is the voice of sibling reason who always offers a shoulder to cry on or a sympathetic ear to vent to. But the things I love most about her are, her smile and grace that light up a room, her sense of humor that will have you falling on the floor with a perfectly timed roll of the eyes, and her heart-- It's bigger than you could ever imagine.

Yep, she's our family's very own Miss America and today she's fifty. But, she's not thrilled about turning fifty anymore than I was so I'm trying to ease her into it.

Hey Sis, repeat after me-- 50, 50, 50, 50, 50 and FABULOUS!

Happy Fifth Birthday Middle Sister. I love you!

Do you have nicknames for your siblings?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

Sundays In My City #15 - Tucson, Arizona

Do you know Unknown Mami? She's awesome and she created a fun Sunday theme inviting you to get out and take pictures of your city to share with the rest of us. Click here for details and her logo and click here to see Unknown Mami's City today.

Last year Beloved and I had the chance to spend a long weekend in Tucson, Arizona. It's about a 6-7 hour drive from our home in Los Angeles and so we ventured out and discovered a gorgeous city. The dessert was in full bloom.

All of these photos were taken on the grounds of our hotel.

It took me a while to get my nerve up to take a hike up the path near our hotel because there were signs that said "Watch Out For Rattle Snakes". Yikes!

But Beloved took the hike first and told me it was worth the effort and no snakes were in sight. Phew. I'm glad I did because at the end of the path was this gorgeous waterfall!

How's your Sunday?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna

628 Followers!

Check out Eddie Bluelight's terrific feature The Sunday Roast and hear the thoughtful advice on blogging from Grumpy Old Ken. He's not at all grumpy and his advice is terrific.

And don't forget to read Debbie of Suburb Sanity's interview with me below. It includes a GIVEAWAY-- Just in time for the holidays! xo Joanna

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED - Congratulations of CC of If Only I Had Super Powers for winning the $25 Visa Gift Card. Thanks to all who entered!

Meet Debbie at Suburb Sanity. She's graciously agreed to answer a few questions for our A Crazy Little Thing Called Blog "how to" series.

Debbie started posting on Suburb Sanity in August, 2008. Her very first post received eight (8) comments! By October, 2008 Debbie's comments were in the 30s. In November, 2008 she hit 71 comments with a hysterical post about Jim Carrey.

Then in January, 2009 Debbie hit the jackpot with a post about her Internet provider’s customer service with 170 comments! From then on Suburb Sanity pretty much averaged upwards of 100+ comments per post! In September, Debbie had a whopping 241 comments with a SITS recognition.

Oh yeah, and at the time of this interview, Debbie had 628 Followers! (She has

even more now!) One look at her blog and you'll understand why. Suburb Sanity is fabulous!

Q. How did you grow your blog to upwards of 100 (and often more) comments per post?

A. I was reading and commenting on a few blogs for several months before I started my own. I had read the "big" names, tried commenting there, but gave that up. I loved commenting on the smaller blogs because the authors would respond to me. They encouraged me to start my own. And they took the time to answer all of my questions when I was confused, which was all the time. They were my first readers and commenters and they are still around today! I'm very proud of that. It is easy when you only have 20 or so comments on a post to go to your commenters blogs and comment back to them. That is the secret to starting, I think. We all love that personal connection.

Q. Did you read and comment a lot to introduce yourself around Blogland in the beginning?

A. Absolutely. I still do. I love meeting new people and checking out new blogs. You never know who you'll find out there and what information you'll turn up. From recipes to decorating to parenting to humor - I get it all from the blogs I read.

Q. Did you Google Keyword topics to attract readers?

A. I wouldn't even know how to do that now! I write about what I find interesting. I like to keep it light, most days! I like sarcasm and humor. I love observing people and life. And interestingly, some posts I've written that I thought would be big hits have fallen flat while others I was afraid I had just "phoned in" have been huge. You never know what will connect with people but if you're being yourself, you can't go wrong.

Q. You have 628 Followers! How many blogs do you follow and regularly comment on?

A. I appreciate each person that has clicked that "follow" button on my blog. There are so many gazillion blogs out there. It is amazing to me that anyone would chose mine! As of today, I have 884 blogs in my reader. Not posts. Blogs. You don't even want to know how many posts are in there! I'm feeling overwhelmed just looking at that number!

Q. Did you “get a big break” somewhere that boosted your exposure-- Like maybe a mention on Oprah? – kidding, sort of.

A. I wish! No big break - just a lot of clicking away. Now, if anyone wants to introduce me to Oprah, we are from the same state so there is a kindred spirit there I'm sure.

Q. How much time do you spend a week writing blog posts versus reading and commenting on other blogs?

A. Most posts take me from 45 minutes to an hour to polish. I spend waaaay more time than that reading and commenting. I could use an extra 24 hours to read and comment each and every day. As my readership has grown, I can no longer get around to everyone as often as I'd like. I have a bizarre and OCD system set up to get to everyone in their turn! Sooner or later, if you've been by my blog, I'll get to yours, I promise. And, if you are a regular commenter, I'll get around to you on a regular basis. Again, it isn't as frequent as I'd like but it's the best I can do right now.

Q. What would you estimate is the ratio of “commenters” vs “lurkers” on your blog posts?

A. Well, if I have around 630 followers and get 80 to 100 comments a post, I would think a small percentage actually comment. And yes, it is mostly the "old faithful" that comment regularly. But that's OK. I know it is hard to think of a comment sometimes.

Q. Any other advice you would like to offer new bloggers?

A. Be the kind of blogger you want others to be. If you want comments, then comment. If you want followers, then follow. Start by going to blogs similar to yours. But don't be afraid to branch out. I have met the most amazing people on here that are nothing like me at all (goes without saying since they are amazing!). Have fun. And don't expect to make money. I sure can't offer any advice on making money. But, if anyone has advice, I'll take it!

~~~~~~

There you have it folks! A million thanks to Debbie for her insight into blogging. She's one of the good guys out there-- A terrific blogger who appreciates her readers and Followers and makes a point to visit, read and comment on A LOT of blogs!

As a thanks for reading Debbie's interview and to encourage you to VISIT DEBBIE HERE AT SUBURB SANITY AND LEAVE A COMMENT YOU can enter to WIN a $25 Visa Gift Card.

All you have to do is leave TWO comments-- Leave one comment BELOW on my blog, AND one comment HERE Debbie's Blog-- THANKING HER FOR THIS INTERVIEW.

All entries must be received by midnight, Saturday, December 5, 2009 to be eligible. Comments must be made on both blogs at the above specified links/posts. One entry per person. $25 US dollars. Drawing will be random. All results are final.

How do you "Follow" blogs? (Example: Do you thank each new Follower, have an ongoing system to check in with each Follower, etc.??? When someone Follows you do you automatically Follow them? When you are required to Follow a blog for a Giveaway Entry how do you handle future visits to that blog? Any input on "Following" would be helpful to all of us. Thanks!

Welcome to The fifty Factor - Joanna

Photo Credit: © alma_sacra - Fotolia.com