Laurin and Kelly Talk

I Have a Good Reason, Friends. CHECK IT OUT!

This is one of those why I haven't been posting explanations, but hear me out. I've been working on 2 amazing new projects which I am finally able to share with you.

First, my new fashion blog Basic Closet. You may have noticed that I have a thing for white shirts. Well, I really have a thing for all fashion, but I'm a buyer of basics. There are those key pieces that just work for my lifestyle and I buy them over and over again. I look at all the pretty fashion eye candy on the blogs and sites and then I buy white tees, dark jeans, black pants, repeat.

Basic Closet is where to go to find the latest and greatest pieces that form the backbone of a great wardrobe, all neatly separated for you in categories like Suits, Sweater, Day Dress, Black Pants. I scour the store sites and blogs for the things you actually need to buy, so you don't have to spend your valuable time hunting them down. There's even a Beyond Basic category for those pretty, pretty things that may not be basic, but are definitely a must-have in my closet, if there's any money left.

Today is the soft launch, which means I can't wait another second to show it to you, but there are some things that aren't quite completed. I'm working on it. Sorry, I'm a blogger, not a freaking web designer! I had some amazing help from my friend Maria of MommyMelee and Jamie at Shatterboxx, but there's only so much they can do on a tiny budget. I blew my web design money on white t-shirts. Priorities.

Second HUGE announcement: If you know me in real life or have come to know me here or on Twitter, you know that I try very hard to get it all done and be a good wife, mother and friend. You also know that I'm one fry short of a happy meal at all times and finally, the mother ship is calling me home!

A truly amazing group of women and writers are letting me be a part of Aiming Low, a blog where the "women/moms/bloggers/friends/writers that believe that there’s no shame in serving mac and cheese for dinner three nights in a row, Febreeze was created to make a questionably clean shirt smell ready-to-walk-out-the-door-fresh and that slack isn’t a way of life…it’s an art."

Yeah, what Anissa said! Please come by and check out the writing by these unbelievable women I can't believe I get to hang with. And me. I'm so proud, y'all.

Head Whip-Cracker
Anissa from #FreeAnissa

Editorial Staff
Janet from IzzyMom
Brittany from Barefoot Foodie

Writers
Meghan from A Mom Two Boys
Allison from Tales From LaLa Land
Maria from Mommy Melee
Tena from My Therapy
Amy from Assertagirl
Katie from Motherbumper
Laurin from LaurinandKellyTalk
Angie from A Whole Lot of Nothing
Heather from The Spohrs Are Multiplying
Hilly from Snackiepoo
Rachel from A Southern Fairytale

I AM Busy, and Thank You Mashable

A post from Mashable alerted me to this nifty Twitter tool, Twitter for Busy People. Personally, the only thing I dislike about Twitter is the feeling I've missed something, or someone, when I've been off Twitter for a while and their tweets are pushed off the page.

Twitter For Busy People is an application that shows the faces of your friends on Twitter who have tweeted in the last hour, day or longer. Just mouse over and you get a popup of their last few tweets. I love it! Best Twitter application EVER!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all the mothers out there have a great day tomorrow. I never expected to win Mother of the Year, but I did. This is so unexpected. I didn't even prepare anything to say!

Kelly totally made my day by sending me this personalized news video about me winning Mother of the Year by MomsRising.org. It's a bit of a sensation. You've got to see it. It's hilarious. It's simple to send one to all the moms you know. I did. Thanks, Kel!

So I Got That Goin' For Me, Which is Nice

List of Movie Lines I Feel Compelled to Say Constantly

Most days I can't remember why I walk into a room, but I can remember movie lines from 30 years ago and I blurt them out constantly. For instance, I have an inability to tell anyone they need to turn right without saying, "Right turn, Clyde." You know, Clint Eastwood to the orangutan in Every Which Way But Loose, 1978. It's a sickness.

So, I thought I would share with you my favorite movie lines. My husband does this, too. His favorite? "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." There is never a good time to say this, but he does it anyway.

1.  "Don't call me Shirley."  Airplane 1980

2.  "Lighten up, Francis."  Stripes 1981

3.  "Hey, man, there's a beverage here!"  The Big Lebowski 1998

4.  "That rug really tied the room together."  The Big Lebowski 1998

5.  "So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."  Caddyshack 1980

6.  "Whoa, did somebody step on a duck?"  Caddyshack 1980

And, the rest are from the movie we quote more than any other around here: Tommy Boy 1995.  It is the funniest movie ever made, and I still miss Chris Farley.

6.  "That's gonna leave a mark!" 

7.  "That... was... AWESOME."

8.  "I can hear you getting fatter."

9.  "I wanna jerk the wheel into a Goddamn bridge abutment!"

10. "I've got... a... plan."

11. "I'd better not. I have what doctors call a little bit of a weight problem."

What are your favorite movie lines? I need some new ones!

I'm participating in Anna's Listless Mondays at abdpbt. Click on over to read some more lists.

"Digital Moms" on The Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

 

The Today Show has launched a new series "Today's Digital Mom". The segment this morning focused on women who blog, twitter and participate in online communities. A lot of my real life friends watch The Today Show and now I can say, "See, this is what I've been doing." Well, kinda.

I was disappointed that it was pretty basic information we have all heard before and didn't get to the meat of what moms are achieving through digital media. Then again, "we" are the ones who are in it everyday and what is new information to us is vastly different than what is new to those who are just dipping a toe into the vast support system and creative playground that is the Internet.

Today Laura Fortner from CafeMom.com and Heather B. Armstrong of Dooce.com were interviewed, and they also featured @mrscrumley who twittered during her recent labor. I'm looking forward to watching the series and perhaps they will give us a bit more to sink our teeth into.

I guarantee you right now there are moms everywhere signing up for Twitter, registering for online forums, and thinking maybe they should start a blog. After all, they know "that mom" who does it, but think she's a little out there and don't really get it. To all my real life friends who are reading, see, I'm not weird! Much.

Update: Click here for Day 2 of Today's Digital Mom

I've Got Missedblissdomitis. Bad.

I'm having a wee bit of writer's block combined with the "I've got family in town" excuse and a whiff of general malaise. That's a bona fide syndrome, right? I've even got a thousand yard stare like Stains the Cupcake Dog from The Soup.

My daily blog reads always inspire me, but didn't help me at all with my condition today because I read Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and started playing the United States map game. Geography was always a weak subject for me in school and my aptitude apparently hasn't improved one bit. Give it a try. The kids will love it, but I won't be showing it to them until I burn myself out playing it.

If you aren't already reading Shannon's blog, go visit. She needs the traffic, poor thing! I was so looking forward to meeting Shannon and many other incredible writers at Blissdom this past weekend, but on Thursday night Jake had an allergic reaction to something and high fever and I just couldn't bring myself to leave him to fly to Nashville for the weekend.

Between following the real-time festivities on Twitter and reading everyone's blog posts about how amazing the weekend was, I've been in quite a funk. I wonder how long Missedblissdomitis lasts?

Photo Credit: Theramina

Weblog World: Worthington Wire

Kelly, leave it to my boss, Alli Worthington of Blissfully Domestic, to roll out yet another incredible blog in addition to everything else she does, including raising 5 boys. I think her youngest is around one. Just thinking about it makes me tired.

Worthington Wire links to everything interesting Alli stumbles upon around the Internet. That's a lot of surfing. It's "Digg for Chicks" y'all!

My Tweeps!

Kelly, you know I am a Twitter fanatic. I found this cool tool on Janet Fouts' blog today. It creates a mosaic of your Twitter followers.

 

I love seeing all the profile pics like this. If someone looks interesting to you, you can click to follow them. This is all part of my evil plan to get everyone on Twitter.

 

Not on Twitter? Squawk! Get thee to Twitter.com right now and follow me at @LaurinandKelly and Kelly at @LaurinandKelly2. If you are on Twitter and I am not yet following you, leave your username in the comments and I'll get right on that.

 

On a related note, is it time to retire the owl and do something new?

 

 

Breaking News: Domino Magazine to Fold

It's official. Domino Magazine will fold. I read about it on shelterrific, which linked a Huffington Post article. No more Domino day. More people out of work. This is fresh hell for me. I really loved Domino.

In Which I Steal Content For a Good Reason

No, Kelly, my kids didn't do this. If my kids drew a "be like mommy" picture I would be in front of my computer with Jack standing behind me with that look on his face saying, "What's a blog again?"

I blatantly stole this from Elle of Blue Monkey Butt this morning (she knows). No one better tell me this was done by an adult as a joke and that Snopes has already disproved it, because it's freakin' hysterical and I want to believe!

Here's what the mom wrote to the teacher the next day:

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. 
I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit.  I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it.  Her picture doesn’t show me dancing around a pole. It’s supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.

From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,

Mrs.  Smith

I'm glad my kids go to a school where a parent signature is required on every homework page. Don't let this happen to you!

Update: I linked up to Navel Gazing at its Finest. This is the first day of Sue's carnival, Very Funny Friday. I cheated like a couple of others because this is Thursday's post. I'm a cheater pants AND a content stealer. Click over and get some funny!