Archive for the 'Blog Business' Category

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Playing with my imaginary friends in real life

Published on Thursday, August 5, 2010 in Blog Business, Featured Elsewhere and Mile High Mamas. 0 Comments Tags: .

I’m off to NYC for BlogHer ’10!

I wrote about it over at Mile High Mamas, and I can’t believe the time has come!

My flight leaves after noon on the 5th, jetting off into the future.  East Coasters live in the future…didn’t you know that?  On Sunday, I’ll fly the friendly skies back into the Mountain Time Zone, wondering where all the time went and how it got there so quickly.

I can’t wait to experience BlogHer for the first time!
I can’t wait to meet my imaginary friends in person.
I can’t wait to see some locals halfway across the country.
I can’t wait to relax in a room all by myself. (No offense to my wonderful husband and awesome daughter, of course.  Do you think they’ll even notice that I’m gone?)
I can’t wait to get up close and personal with Lady Liberty.
I can’t wait to learn new things about writing, blogging, and social media.

Bottom line?  I just can’t wait.

If you’re interested in taking a peek at what I’m doing, look to the left side of the blog and scroll down to the Twitter application, or check out my twitter page directly.  I won’t be updating the blog or Facebook until my return, but I do hope to use twitter to capture and share my adventures.

…and I’ll be sure to tell you all about it when I return!

Writers write.

Published on Friday, July 23, 2010 in Blog Business and Milestones. 6 Comments Tags: .

A long time ago, I wrote myself a note. It says, quite simply, “Writers write.” Part of me thought it was silly to state the obvious. The other part of me was shocked at how powerful it was in its simplicity.

Writers write.
I write.
I’m a writer.

I’ve always written, but I haven’t always considered myself a writer.

Slowly, as I started to focus more on my writing, I began to grow into the title. It became comfortable. It made sense. What I did started to become who I was…who I am.

I’m a writer.

Today marks a big day for me. A month ago, I gave my notice to my editor at Mile High Mamas, the Denver Post‘s parenting blog. Today is my last day as assistant editor.

I’ve loved my time at Mile High Mamas, and I’ll contribute writing pieces every now and then, but it’s time to shift gears. It’s time to follow my passion; harness this energy and see where it takes me.

It’s time to start the next chapter.

Literally!

Yes, I’m writing a book! It’s a nonfiction piece, so I’ll be polishing my book proposal. I’ve been working on this for a while, but without the time to give it my full attention, it’s been left to simmer on the back burner for longer than I’d like. Rather than wanting to stir it all the time but only having time to stir it now and then, I’ll be able to focus.

I’ll still be writing here at The Casual Perfectionist, because this site is intertwined with my grand plan. This writing will feed that writing, and vice versa.

My husband is so supportive of me and my goals, that sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize that my dreams are coming true. Claire has always been my full-time job, and I am so thankful to be in a position where I can focus on my daughter and my writing. I am so excited to see where this leads.

I’m a writer.
Writers write.
It’s what I do.
It’s who I am…

…so it’s time to do just that.

casualperfect

Published on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 in Blog Business. 6 Comments Tags: .

As you know, when I was forced to join Twitter, I found a moniker that encompassed The Casual Perfectionist, all the while keeping the character usage to a minimum.

Yes, I even had a t-shirt made for the upcoming BlogHer10 in NYC. This is the front. It looks green, but it's really white with hot-pink writing.

Thus, casualperfect was born.

It stuck.  I loved it.  I even grew to love Twitter.

My husband got the bright idea to get casualperfect.com online. (It just redirects here, to the main blog, but it is easier to type.)

Well, I’ve been bugging him for a “real” email address for, oh, almost 3 years now. (Yes! My blog’s birthday is coming up! Can you believe it’s been almost 3 years!? I started writing content for the blog in May of 2007 and we got everything up and running officially on July 22, 2007.)

And this is the back of the t-shirt. Are you following me? Get it? Ha! I couldn't resist.

He agreed with me that I needed one. He has his reasons for not wanting personal things going to Google via Gmail (and I agree with him), but that was the easiest way to get started…so I did. I created a new email address on Gmail, and that’s the one I’ve used for this blog and all things blog-and-internet-related.

Still, I’ve dreamt of having a real email address associated with my blog.

At first, I was irked by the fact that this service ticket was left open for so long! “I want a real email address!” I’d scream every now and then, but he’s busy, and I didn’t want to pester him too much.

Eventually, I knew that I wouldn’t be blogging anonymously anymore, so I agreed that it would be best to wait until my name was out there to do a real email address. Then, this and that and that other thing happened, and another year or so went by. Still, I was left with my Gmail address…

Until now.

Yes, the Gmail account will work. I’m not closing it.

But, he set up a new email address for me: joann at  casualperfect dot com

How cool is that?

It’s short. It’s sweet. I love it.

…and he has one less ticket open in his queue. ;)

Tuesdays & Fridays

Published on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 in Blog Business. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Remember when I wrote on the blog every day for a whole year?
Remember when I couldn’t not participate in NaBloPoMo 2007, 2008, and 2009?

I love writing. I love posting here. I also tend to be a tad OCD and want to post and write all the time, but that’s just not going to work well for my sanity this summer. (Yes, I twitch when I don’t see every little day on the calendar lit up…but I’m getting over that. Honest. Kinda.)

I have some big plans in the works, and our New Summer Routine is getting into full swing.  …all of which is exciting and exhausting and draining and energizing.  Who knew it was possible to remain somewhat sane and upright in the middle of this seemingly contradictory vortex?

It is, and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

Still, because of all this, you’ll notice that I’m changing up the posting schedule here at The Casual Perfectionist.  I’m forcing us all to relax, enjoy our travels, and visitors and find time to just be.  So for this month, I’ll be posting on Tuesdays and Fridays.

If you’ve popped in to see what we’re up to, and you don’t see a new post, never fear! Check back on a Tuesday or Friday, and you’ll find us.  If you really want something to read, check back through the archives.  Can you believe that this post marks 1,176 posts!?

I’m nothing if not wordy.  ;)

When you’ve read your fill, go outside and play.
You can bet we will be…

:)

536 miles is a long enough ride for one day.

Published on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 in Blog Business. 0 Comments Tags: .

In totally related news:

WE’RE HOME!

Be it ever so humble, there really is no place like it.

We had a fabulous time, but it’s so good to be home.

More on our adventures, later!
:)

The Last Day of School!

Published on Tuesday, June 1, 2010 in Blog Business. 1 Comment Tags: .

It’s the last day of school!

In true Dramatic Diva Princess form, Claire is “devastated and wants to go forever.” [quote - end quote]

At least we’ll be seeing the grandparents soon; her art classes start shortly after that AND there is a drama portion to these, so her skillz will not be wasted. ;)

Not to mention Ballet!  She begged to do the Summer Ballet Classes, so we’ll be doing those, too.

But, not until we take some time to play.

And, with that, we wish you a great rest of the week! Posting really will be light for the next week or so. We’ll catch ya on the flip-side!

As we jump into June

Published on Monday, May 31, 2010 in Blog Business, Photos and Random Thoughts. 1 Comment

We hope you had a fabulous holiday weekend!

Posting will be relatively light as we wrap up May
and jump into June!

I’m going to BlogHer ’10 in NYC!

Published on Thursday, May 20, 2010 in Blog Business. 5 Comments

I'm going

Are you?

Could I have a claim ticket for the other things I’ve lost?

Published on Monday, April 26, 2010 in Blog Business and Random Thoughts. 3 Comments

I had an adventure today in Downtown Denver.

I love Denver. The traffic makes me twitch, and even after living here for 11+ years, I still don’t know exactly where I’m going down there, but I love an adventure.

I was asked to be part of a blogger panel, and it was so much fun! They told us where to park, treated us to lunch, gave us a little something for our time, and I got to spend the afternoon having an intelligent conversation with other bloggers and marketers.

It was great!

Afterward, I got my parking validation receipt and headed to the bathroom before hitting the road. As I’m walking down the hallway, I’m trying to find my keys. They aren’t anywhere! I am not the kind of person who loses her keys. They’re always in my pocket or my purse or around my wrist: those three places, and nowhere else. I’m such a creature of habit, and it actually helps me stay organized.

I’m trying to remain calm, cool and collected while my inner voice is screaming. How could I lose my keys!?

I tell myself not to panic. I’ll find them.

I get in the elevator when it dawns on me.

The valet has them. Ha! Now, if only I could find the claim ticket for the other things I’ve lost.

Kids half my age can vote, but they can’t buy booze, so I’m not THAT old yet.

Published on Thursday, March 4, 2010 in Birthdays and Blog Business. 2 Comments Tags: .

Happy Birthday to me!

I was born on the only command of the year: March Forth!

Fourth.
Forth.

Get it?

No, I haven’t taken things to Literally on my birthday…it’s nowhere near Crested Butte!  ;)

I hope you have a fabulous day. I know I will!