Bloglovin

Every week there's a new curious tool to use on the internet.  Pinterest, Klout, and Bloglovin.  I would love to meet the genius people who create these wondrous and necessary tools on the internet.  Remember the days where the internet bored you to death and you felt as though you'd seen it all?  Yeah!  Those days are over.  Now we need ways to navigate our ways through the piles of bookmarks and links we've collected.  A tool to refine the blogs.  A tool to tell us what's new and what we've already read (even though we've probably already forgot).

Here's how pretty Bloglovin looks:

Here's how pretty, I don't look:

signed, the willow

On occasion

On occasion we meet someone who cares enough to listen and pay attention.

*L* is one of these people that I was fortunate enough to meet.  An old soul and she's been chosen by my cousin to join him in life.  I've respected my little cousin (they're all littler than me in age) and looked forward to the moment that he'd marry and bring a wife into our nutso family. He didn't disappoint.  Funny thing is, because of geography and circumstance, I'm here in this obscure suburban city at the same point in life as they are.

It's rare, isn't it?  To spark a friendship so instantly? We've sparked a friendship and influenced each other more than we know.  Not in that silly old school girl way.  In a mature, eye-opening way.  I've just finished a portion of my life that I'd like to sweep under a carpet in some ways.  I made mistakes.  Big ones.  Mistakes I regret making.  Mistakes I am also thankful to have experienced.  I grew.  Grew in so many large leaps.  I gained some really great friends on that journey. Friends I long for and miss. Friendships have always presented themselves to me, but I refused to let myself get attached in the event that I would get attached and I'd get hurt.  Human nature goes here.  The unique friendships I gained in Muskoka were brief, but deep.

They affected me in a way that I had never expected.  There were women and some men that genuinely wanted to see my life's purpose work out.  What I didn't know then was, that was not my life's purpose.  It was the adversity I needed to face in order to pick myself up and dust myself off to discover my life's purpose.  Do I know what my purpose is?  Hmmm.  Maybe not perfectly clear on that yet.  I do now know that I feel better about myself.  

So, where is this all leading and where does it tie in back to *L*?  Well, what happened to me when I left that portion of  life behind and my friends situated on the map 3 hours north was I found a new friend.  Immediately. The first day we arrived back into our southern nest, she was an immediate and natural relief.  Opened her arms and hugged us.  She must have followed us from Muskoka where I had tearfully left so many great huggers behind.  She allowed me to be myself.  She's my instant friend and we've discovered so many great similarities and lessons to learn from each other.  We've learned to drag ourselves out to meet up with other new friends too.  And that's the best part.  We can teach each other how to be a friend.

Most importantly, I learned the other day that *L* clearly paid attention and cared.  She recognized that I'm celebrating a birthday this month and while it's not until later this month, her thoughtfulness reigned over the day and she brought me a special surprise.  One I did not expect.  One I certainly shall express my gratefulness here.  Grateful for listening and being a true friend.


A "K" mug.  So stylish and reminds me of 'Steven and Chris' but with edge and way more class.

A bag of coffee I've always wanted to try.  Named for a famous Canadian author (Guess who?) and also the name of my grandmother.  So very special.

A bag to hold it all with a motto that I live by.

And then there's this book.  One that I've been eyeballing online and dreaming that I'd go buy it when I was willing to part with my ...*ahem*... money.  Okay, okay:  my husband's money.  I dove right into that book and had trouble putting it down.  *L* really gets me.


I'm sure you feel the same about someone you've met.  Share.  And if you can't share it with me, share your story about a great friend with someone.  Shout it from the mountaintops.  Just don't hold it in like I did for so many years with so many really true friends, who still stand by my side.  You know who you are.

signed, the willow

My Attention Span is Waning

When this blog began, I wrote.  The odd photo appeared as a novelty:  from my own collection, my family, my own imagination.  Then, something changed.  (My lifestyle, most likely.)  I began to morph into so many other blogs out there.  Post a picture and write a caption. Copy. Paste.  Repeat.

Then *Steve* came home this week with a printed copy of my blog.  It was contained in a very large 3-ring binder and *Mila* and I began to pour through.  Some memories ruffled my feathers.  How could I be so silly to worry about all the menial things I worried about.  No excuse.  Somewhere in my journey of copy and paste (and that crazy life), I became grateful.  Time was again on my side.  I met some wonderful people that were very supportive and recognized many others who had been for quite some time, and yet I had not realized this.  

So, back to the big book of blog.  Like Elaine's big salad.  (right here I was suctioned into the world of Seinfeld only to re-emerge 20 minutes later), I realized how much substance I was adding.  An expression of myself, as pathetic as that may seem to some.  It was my outlet when I wanted to scream.  It went away when I channeled my energy onto a window display, a 6 mile run, P90X, or raising my child.  Then *Steve* put it to me quite bluntly, "You used to write.  You don't do that anymore."  Why?  My attention span was waning as was the rest of the world's.  I found that one paragraph was enough to read.  So, why would someone want to read more than one paragraph?  I'm taking the time again.  For me. Maybe I can paint, or document to some degree, write a tad, photo-journalize my life, blog it, print it, and take time to read it and ENJOY IT.

And now for something completely different.

Little Red SumaDog. 

Twinkie sitting there waiting for some love or bunny crack, which would be this stuff.

You can be sure that this story doesn't have an end.  Only had a brief rest period from the prose and written jargon.  As The Terminator once said "I'll be back".  And, he did come back for Terminator 2  and Terminator 3.  That's for you *Steve* ;)

signed, the willow

Nia Bo-Bia, Shanana-Bana-Po-Pia, Nia!

The past two weeks, I have been sneaking off to a Nia class in Hamilton.



click {here} to read who & where



Laura, a friend from *Mila's* old school, is the instructor.  She's got a natural knack for this relatively new way of moving one's body.  It's described as Nia (neuromuscular integrated action):

Nia is a sensory-based movement practice that leads to health, wellness and fitness. It empowers people of all shapes and sizes by connecting the body, mind, emotions and spirit. Classes are taken barefoot to soul-stirring music in more than 45 countries. Trainings are designed for those seeking personal enrichment and professional development. Every experience can be adapted to individual needs and abilities. Step into your own joyful journey with Nia, and positively shape the way you feel, look, think and live.  (source:  Nia Now)

source:  niawellness

You can read all you want at Laura's site or the Nia Now site.  The expected response is going to be "Oh, it's like yoga!"  Sure, logical.  I brought my yoga mat.  Don't fret.  But I got so much more.  Dance steps.  Stretches.  Kenpo punches. (insert my Viking heart here)  Booty shaking.  Spirituality.  Enlightenment.  Insightfulness.  Introspective.  Aha, see where I'm going?  No, not to Yoga!  I love yoga, don't get me wrong.  But, Nia offered me so much more.  A chance to pop out a "no" while I punched the air. (insert more Viking heart here)  An opportunity to throw out the trash of my daily life.  A practice for me.  A giggle.  An expression of me.   

Oh, hello there "Me".  How have you been?  

I felt alive, a sweat had broken, with no pain.  A relaxed rejuvenation.  I was genuinely rejuvenated.  Enough to come home and suffer the pain of wall squats with Tony Horton's P90X after.  Nia offered me no pain.  Nia offered me satisfaction.  And so, I'll continue with Nia.  She's a good friend.

It was nice to get out and try something new.  Will you join us?  

signed, the willow

What's your Klout?

So, I see on Twitter one night that someone was tweeting about their Klout score. Thinking to myself....a what?

A Klout score.  It looks like this:


source:  Ask Aaron Lee

I signed up.  All the while I am telling myself, "you'll be damn lucky if you get a positive number".  So, I signed up and within a day I had a score of 47, which apparently isn't too bad.  But, what does it mean?  Well, there is this grid you can place yourself on.  I love these matrix-like wonderments.  It makes me all geeky, I begin to drool when I see a pretty chart to interpret.

There I am right beside IKEA (Hey, imagine that!).  I'm a Specialist.

What does this all mean?

Well my KLOUT score of 47 means my influence measure is 47/100.  So, every time I tweet, update my status or flush the toilet I get a point (or a decimal point).  It's my ability to influence others.  Will they retweet my tweets?  Will they click on my links?  Do they like me?  Because right now I feel a big popularity contest coming on.  In fact, I'm in a cold sweat.  The kind you get into before a high school dance and the cute guy comes in without that girlfriend of the week.



Next is TRUE REACH and this is the number of people you influence.  Mine said:

True Reach

Your True Reach:

124

source:  Klout
Wonder what I did on this timeline to make the jump from 48 to 124?




What about AMPLIFICATION?  What exactly does my score of 21 mean?  Well, I am 21 times more likely to have my message amplified than an "average person".  This would mean who?  I thought I was average.  Apparently, I am 21 times better than an average schmo.

Amplification

Your Amplification:

21

Lastly, we have NETWORK IMPACT.  Mine looks like a hormone swing.  Hmm?  This is how often my top influencers respond to my content.  If you go back up and look at the nice grid with the twitter photos, you'll see that these are my influencers.  If they respond to me, this score will go up.  I don't see Steven & Chris here.  They really should be on there influencing my network impact score!

Network Impact

Your Network:

43

This is what made me really giggle:

Influential about Dentistry?  When have I ever blogged, tweeted or had a status update about my lost passion for dentistry?  Um, maybe once?  Bizarre.  Glad I am so influential with the subject of Dentistry.  Maybe I'll start my own social media for Dentists consulting business?

Now, I want to know...do you have Klout?


signed, the willow

The Poppytalk on the street is...

Since I owe an apology to Poppytalk on Twitter for my most confusing tweet that caused her to think Poppytalk Handmade was mentioned on the Steven and Chris show.  I'm sorry for the confusion Poppytalk on Twitter!  I hope that all 3 of my readers will now go to your site and I hope they spread the word.  signed, the willow


Here is some of the best from Poppytalk Handmade.  But you have to check back often.  They are constantly updating and introducing us to bits and pieces of the best artists out there.  Cleverly priced.  Everything is unique, stands out from the rest and these international emerging artists.  One day, I will make enough of something to actually sell on Poppytalk Handmade.  Rah!  Rah! Sis-boom-bah.

Please visit their Poppytalk blog and Poppytalk on Twitter!

Now, on to some of my favourites from Poppytalk Handmade.


(all photos credited to source:  Poppytalk Handmade)

the take along by betsy wynn  (source:  Poppytalk Handmade)





bird's nest ring by bstudio 





murky water gang by double parlour





shadowbox by la boom






art print by leah giberson (I'm such a huge fan of her's)







art print by matte stephens






apple cozy by roxypop






antique linen round tote bag by stitch and tickle







sewn art print by tastes orangey









air plants by to hold







art by vivienne strauss







art print by wolfie and the sneak







original painting by you sentimental idiot (good god, I love this artist)





it could go on all day.  but I need to run through the sprinkler!


signed, the willow

The Tentacled

Lately, its all about the Kracken  (click on the link, you won't regret!), the 8 legged sea creature.  She's Ursula.  She's the blessed octopus and she calls me to her lair. (??Does she have a lair?)


squishy octopi  (source:  Coastal Living)



I wish I could spend some time in this space  (source:  Green Crafts)




THE KRACKEN  (source:  design muse)




Wall Art Extraordinaire  (source:  House Design)




some handmade love from RococcoCo on Etsy





lighting with tentacles.  (source:  dreaming decor)




signed, the willow

Sites & Blogs to Love

Not Just a Housewife  - that's for sure, dude!

source:  not just a housewife

The Inspired Room - Completely Inspired!

source:  the inspired room

decor8 - clever and stylish!

source:  decor8

daisy pink cupcake - deliciously pinktastic!

source:  daisy pink cupcake

onesydneyroad - I could marry this website

source: one sydney road

signed, the willow