Entries Tagged 'Karma' ↓

Last night curled under a blanket, my husband and I sat and watched the stunning footage of flight 1549 bob in the Hudson. While watching smiling passengers step off the ferries that rescued each and every one of them, my husband said something to me.

“Its a strange karma, symbolic thing, don’t you think?”

“How do you mean?”

“In Bush’s first year as President, we witnessed the worst plane catastrophe in history. And now… we are witnessing the most miraculous plane catastrophe in history, happening only hours before Bush says his final farewells to the public.”

I looked at him. “Wow. You’re right.” He absolutely had a point.

I don’t cry at the drop of a hat usually but everytime I see yesterday’s plane footage, I feel tears threaten. And I know that this entire country has been awed by this miracle, we are all equally emotional. But it seems to represent some level of hope for me also. It seems as if a message is being sent. It seems the impossible can happen. We can survive this mess.

And as for Bush’s farewell, seeing him go is simply anti-climactic. I thought I would cheer the day. I thought I would be over the moon. But I’m not. I am left puzzeled by his rationalizing, heroic “I made the tough choices, even if they weren’t the popular choices” sense of self. Honestly, he seems sadly delusional. If he really believes he did right by us, well, there is nothing left to say. Except, “Goodbye”.

Tuesday will represent the beginning of a new era for this country. But do I expect Obama to stand in front of the nation, tap his magic wand on day one and make everything all better? Hell no. I am worried for him. Really worried. And I am concerned about all the hope we have inside us. I know that he is an amazing leader, but this situation our country finds itself in could be an impossibility for any leader.

And yet, yesterday, everyone got out of that plane. Everyone, including one infant, is alive today. The impossible happened.

So this morning, I am taking a deep breath, I am watching out the window of my television as our nation dips and bobs over its troubles. I am holding my family close. And I will brace myself. But flight 1549 has inspired me. Just as our President elect has. It seems the impossible can happen and perhaps there will be a way out. So here I sit, clinging desperately onto a concept which has kept this country afloat before. That perplexing and amazing concept called: hope.

This weekend I had the opporitunity to try out a very fun new kind of movie making software called Muvee Reveal. Lucky me, I was approached last week and asked if I would like to do a review of the product. Considering I have a lovely new Canon HD video camera and the overwhelming project to create a “Best of my kids’ Christmases” DVD as a gift for my family… well, this review could not have come at a better time.

A newly updated version from the muvee autoproducer family, Muvee Reveal was explained to me as a very easy to use software that will create professional movies in a matter of four simple steps. I could not wait to try it out.

Sure enough. As soon as I downloaded the software, I added one hour of film I happened to have on my computer already. Then, clicked the transition I wanted, added a couple songs and pressed play. VOILA. Muvee Reveal took my film and transitioned through different scenes to the length of the songs I chose. While it did pull scenes randomly and flipped thorugh them fairly quickly, if I added more songs, it would lengthen the “show” and it really did a great job of picking nice scenes. I’m not sure how it does that. However, after doing some reading, apparently this software has a mind of its own and has been designed to focus on faces and sync them to the beat of the music. Um, how cool is that?

Now, if you want more control over the scenes, the transitions, the music, etc. – you can have that too. You can label scenes, do voice overs, add titles and credits and control which scenes you want in there. And then the software will help you share your movie just about anywhere such as the web, HD TV, a DVD or even your PSP.

So, do you want to play around with this software too? Well, guess what? The folks at Muvee were kind enough to offer TWO sets of software – valued at $79.95 – for a giveaway here on Morningside Mom. What a fun gift for someone (maybe even yourself) this holiday season, right? Read on for more details…

Muvee Reveal Blogger Cheer Giveaway

Well, if you know me, I like to do as much paying it forward as possible around these parts. And with this giveaway, I’d like to pay it forward to other bloggers. You see, I haven’t been reading in my google reader enough. I haven’t been spreading Blogger Karma NEARLY as much as I like to. So, maybe this contest can help with that. Especially with it being the holidays - lots of bloggers have ads on their sites and more hits could bring them a few more pennies from heaven. Lets help up some of their traffic!

Giveaway Rules

1) Go find your favorite blog, read one of their posts.

2) Comment. Tell them they wrote a great post and tell them you are going to post it here for this blogger cheer contest.

3) Come back here and paste their post link here.

4) You can enter as many blog sites as you would like. Each will count as an entry. I would encourage you to read some of the links others have posted too and comment on those!

5) I will pick two winners at random on Friday, December 19th.

That’s it! Now go love your fellow blogger and come back and tell me about it. I can’t wait to read some good posts and do some more giving this month. Good luck!

The best way to spread holiday cheer,

is reading blogs far and near!

And you thought I was just a quiet little mommy blogger, going about my boring mommying business, turning over my laundry basket now and again to jump up and go off about politics when the mood strikes. Yeah, just little ol’ me and this quiet blog, fighting off the boars in my backyard, navigating the perils of potty training and fretting over my kindergartner’s report card. Yawn.

Well. In fact. Something BIG is on the way to the Morningside Mom blog. In fact, I got all the confirmation numbers this weekend. Seven of them.

And now you ask: what the hell is going on here?

Thanks to my wonderful friends at Buzz Corp, I have once again been brought into the fold with HP and Microsoft. But instead of silly little me being the lucky recipient of their products… YOU ARE. Well, to be more specific, the lucky recipient will be someone who enters and wins my upcoming give-away contest.

Thats right. Did you pick up the key words here?

HP. Microsoft. Contest. Give-away. BIG.

But not just anyone can win this, you know. You better get your thinking hats on folks. This give-away will, in fact, be about GIVING. Times are hard right now and you know I believe in earning karma, paying it forward and taking care of one another. So for my give-away? Its about giving, on your part and mine.

You’re dying now aren’t you? What IS it? What is the prize? Well, I guess it’s time to direct you to My HP Giveaway page. Go on over and check it out. And then just try to tell me your eyes didn’t bug out at the list of amazing hardware and software being delivered to my doorstep any day now.

How much is the entire package worth? $6,000.

(Cue Christmas carol from trumpeting angels above: “Joy to the world!”)

Then make sure you jump over to the HP Giveaway site to learn even more. Because I am one of 50 bloggers who is doing a give-away like this. I have listed them on my page. 50 of us - worldwide - are offering this give away JUST in time for the holidays.

Seriously, I am just giddy. For real, if you could see me now: giggling and clapping my hands with glee.

So. You better get used to checking back here to find out when the contest starts. Because I can’t say. Soon though. Like I said, just in time for the holidays. And for someone, it will be a magical holiday time indeed.

Until then, my friends. I bid you an anticipatory adieu.

(‘Course… I’ll be kicking around yapping about my regular topics. But nothing more about this whole HP giveaway phenomenon… until later.)

Before this blogger voted, she was simply a sad head case. Bad outgrown hair with pathetic remnants from last spring’s highlights. Lost in frenzied election news coverage, holiday preparations and various deadlines. Blogging here and there – just to cope. Wringing her hands and ever stressed, would she make it to the polls? Would she ever have the chance to brave the lines without her two year old in tow? Would she ever finally have her say in this utterly insane national event we call the Presidential election?

And now look at her! She voted and – VOILA! – she is a new woman! With decently presentable hair too! Even after her backyard was demolished by a pack of hogs (see left of picture below), she is positive, she is hopeful, she believes her vote made a difference.

And you know what else this blogger got with her voter makeover? A new gig. This voting mama is writing over at Being Savvy Tampa now. Come check me out whenever you’d like. I am over there everyday.

So my point is – go vote. You never know how casting your ballot might change your life! I know the haircut and new blogging gig were a happy coincendence (…Or were they? Perhaps I have earned good voters karma?) but here’s hoping you get the same positive outlook afterwards… but without the pack of hogs.

As you all know, my friend’s story of charity was very inspiring for me. I was truly moved. And then, after reading my post, my blogger friend Mary from Everyday Baby Steps shared the link for the 29 Day Giving Challenge in her comment. I took a look. Wow. If I was ever inspired to get on board with a cause such as this one, it would be now.

Here’s the deal. For 29 days, I need to give something to someone every day. It does not need to be something of great value. It can be support, a hug, a favor, moving someones garbage cans off the road, spending more time with your children than you normally would, and on it goes. What is important here is the spirit of the gift and how it changes your own outlook on life.

Is this challenge starting to peak your interest? Then, go to the website, watch the video and really absorb what this is all about.

And I have to be honest, I was a little intimidated by this challenge. First of all, we aren’t exactly rolling in it these days. I am holding on to every tiny bit I have to get by. So what do I have to give? What could little ol’ me possibly give? Money is easy, but I don’t really have money to give. So I need to be creative. I need to *think* about what I can do to bring a little positivity into someones life – every day. FOR 29 DAYS. Egad.

All day yesterday, I hemmed and hawed about whether I could really do this. Am I selfless enough to be that thoughtful? Everyday? Am I even that nice?

Aw, c’mon Caroline. Buck up, you can do a little something more everyday for someone.

And you know what else I really like about this whole challenge? Its all about fostering good karma. Yeah, bring on good karma, I love that stuff. 

So, ok then. I’m in.

Now first of all, I want to be sure I do something I wasn’t planning on doing anyway. For instance, I can’t say giving my children dinner would count. As awesome as I think I am for toiling over that stove (er, microwave) - for me, that act of “charity” doesn’t really count (not that my kids would agree carrot sticks are exactly charity anyway).

Hmmm. So what am I going to give today? Yikes, I don’t know. We’ll see how the day unfolds. But you can be sure I will let you know. I am going to keep track of what I do everyday and then check in here once a week and give you a quick summary of how I am doing.

So. How about it? Yup, now I am looking at you. Are you in? Are you up for the 29 day challenge? If you are in, let me know! I need a “Giving Posse” of sorts. So come along for the ride and join the cause. And be sure to share your ideas! I still need to come up with something for today, for cripes sakes…

Happy Giving!

I have this thing about karma. Or at least I have a thing about my own pseudo-semi-spiritual notion of what it means. My kind of karma, the “Caroline” definition of Karma (and forgive me real karma people for butchering it’s true meaning) is to give and give and give. And when you give, you will get back what you deserve. I also know karma is about balance and for every good there is a bad. Yin, yang, good, bad, bladdy bladdy blah. But I am completely down with my little karma concept in that we just have to take care of one another and the universe will be sure you get yours in the long run.

So, then I went to BlogHer. (I know I know, I am talking about it again. But one post this conference does not suffice. I think this might be the last one though, ok?) And, while I sat in sessions and kept a fairly low profile, the gears in my brain were working overtime to absorb and learn as much as I possibly could. I think the session that Kacey summarizes nicely might be my greatest inspiration, but I seemed to pick this concept up more and more throughout all of the sessions I attended and after the many conversations I had.

And now, a few weeks have passed, and I want to share the big lesson, the big “ah-ha”, light bulb going over my head, bit of knowledge that has bubbled up to the surface of my brain and truly enlightened me. That lesson is:

A good blogger practices good blogger karma.

(Cue bright beam of light on my blog, angels singing from above.)

And what do I mean by that? Well, you may have heard what I am talking about in slightly more down to earth terms but I am going to put a spiritual spin on it here. So, after all that listening and stewing, this is how I think one practices good blogger karma.

A good blogger should reach out, make time for and respect the community of bloggers you are writing amongst. As anti-social as writing by yourself at your computer may seem, let’s face it, blogging is a community oriented mode of expression. And for your blog to succeed, you need to care about the bloggers around you. Because they are there, reading you, watching you, and considering what you have to say. So for as much time as you might spend on your own blog (writing, tinkering, stat watching, widgeting or what have you), you should spend an equal amount of time reading and reaching out to other bloggers. To achieve true blogger karma, you might want to consider the following:

• Comments: Visit blogs, read them well, and make a smart comment. Care about the blogs you read.
• Link: If you really were inspired by another blog, be sure to link to it in yours. Give it the public props it deserves
• If you are on twitter, and you enjoyed someone else’s post, link your followers to it on Twitter. Don’t get too caught up on linking to your posts all the time on twitter either
• Join and load up Stumble It. And then click on “I like it” for any posts you read that you like. Take the time to add the categories and tags approprite to that post
• Add your favorite blogs to your blogroll
• Be nice and reach out to other bloggers by email, twitter, comments or through any of the various community networks

Again, I know most of you have probably heard this all before. But do we all really take just as much time to reach out to other bloggers as we do to our own blog? That’s hard to do, right? But you really need to care about those other bloggers. A lot. You need to give them credit and pay their posts forward. Perform random acts of blogging kindness. Comment. Twitter, Stumble It. Kirtsy it. Email. Post it on Facebook. Just give your energy, your time and your heart, dammit. You have nothing to lose and so much blogging karma to gain.

I remember when I first started blogging, and I thought it seemed extremely self-involved. I mean, c’mon. Writing endless paragraphs about stuff I am thinking about, and then pushing a button to put it out there for the web-savvy masses to read? Did I REALLY think I had anything THAT important to say? I felt like it was a tad self-indulgant and felt a little embarressed I would assume my writing would and should be read.

But now, this new concept of blogging karma has been a wonderful bit of enlightenment. It helps me feel more justified to ramble on about my own semi-brilliant thoughts in a blog post when I know I will do my bit to support other blogs once I’m done. What a relief that is to me.

And sure, you don’t HAVE to practice blogging karma. You can write your stuff and do your thing and twitter about yourself all day (like I have today… Did you hear? C. pooped in the potty!) and maybe occasionally check out some post here and there that got your attention… but then what are you learning, really? And, will your blog grow at all? And, lets not forget – what I know you probably care about most - WILL people really come check your blog out if you don’t bother to check out theirs? Just consider it, ok?

Now that being said, ENOUGH ABOUT ME. (ha… I crack myself up.) I am off to peruse the wonderful world of smart bloggers everywhere. I will wave my Stumble It wand and sprinkle well thought out comments everywhere….

Ugh, ok. All this positive “be good to your fellow blogger” crap might have just reached it saturation point and is getting to be a touch much. Even for me. (gag.)

But you know what I mean.

Just get out there and go be nice.