I did not mistype. You can now listen to 1stopmom through BlogRadio for free!! You know how much I love free!!! When I heard about this from ModernMami, i just had to check it out. It is a great idea. I am able to listen to what my favorite bloggers have to say while getting some work done myself. Another thing I love is that it can work on your mobile device. Listening on the go? I like that.  I am getting so caught up. It can be overwhelming to try to stay up to date on all the posts from your favorite blogs. Listening is a option I never thought of.

Ok, I got another one of these comments. I think this one is so much better than the comment for my post on slipcovers.

I was studying something else about this on another blog. Interesting. Your position on it is diametrically opposed to what I read earlier. I am still mulling over the diverse points of view, but I’m leaning to a great extent toward yours. And regardless, that’s what is so great about advanced democracy and the marketplace of thoughts on-line.

Now this comment was for my post on the birth of my nephew which was in December. There were nothing but pictures!! I wonder is there a program that spammers use that just randomly pick sites to leave comments on?

My Precious Pennies recently tagged me. I have to list 7 random/wierd things about me.

1. I love video games. I mean really, really love them. I have even got my family hooked. As a result we have Xbox, gamecube, nintendo ds, psp, wii, gameboy mirco, gameboy advance, playstation and the original nintendo. Since I love The Sims, we have it for all systems including the pc versions. I also have hundreds of pc games too.
2. I can not just leave my curtains open. For some reason I think a thief will look through our windows and case the joint. I think I watch too much CSI and Law and Order, lol
3. I can not use public restrooms. The idea of using them just grosses me out. The movie Rest Stop did not help the situation.
4. I love watching scary movies but they give me nightmares. For some reason I still watch them and the house has to be dark.
5. I can not eat or drink anything that has a sell by date that has expired. This drives my hubby crazy!! What is worse is my daughter does the same thing.
6. I want to buy an RV. I think they are just the coolest thing. I would love to travel the country with my hubby in one. All I need is my laptop and all he needs is his fishing pool.
7. I love to watch strange shows. I watch competitions. Especially Strongman, eating, bartending and cheerleading.

I am going to tag:

Shake the Salt
Nessa’s Place
Aria’z Ink
3 kids and us
Your Fun Family
Funky Finds
The Mom with brownies

TAG, You’re it!!!
The rules are simple. Link back to the person who tagged you. List 7 random things about yourself. Tag 7 other blogs and link to their sites. Make sure to comment on their sites to let them know they have been tagged. Have fun.

I am always thinking about giving linky love. I try to give it a number of ways. Sometimes I write a post about a really good site or product that I have recently discovered. I try to stumble posts but sometimes I do forget. I like it on twitter when someone I am following says they need a few stumbles because then I can do it that instant. If I am following that person I like their site so I see no problem in helping them out. I have a link love page as well as a blog roll on my site. Another way I give love is writing a recommendation on Entrecard but once again sometimes I forget. I like giving love because a lot of the blogs I visit every day are a part of my life. I love to leave comments about how great their posts because in my eyes they really are. If a blog has some google ads I try to click them if they interest me. When I have to shop online I try to shop through blogs so the bloggers will benefit a little. I am a big believer in every little bit counts so I don’t mind a few extra clicks here and there.
How do you show linky love?

This site is so cool. I went over to Funky Finds to enter the big August giveaway and stayed over an hour just looking through the site. I love finding things that are unique but that is not always easy. The motto at Funky Finds is “They once were funky found and now they are funky found!” That statement is so true. Looking through the Funky Finds I found all sorts of cool stuff that is perfect for me. I am looking for Christmas gifts but I found more things I like(hint, hint dear hubby since my birthday is next month). This site is so worth the visit. But make sure you have some time because you may be there a while.

P.S. While you are there, enter the August Giveaways!

This is my main blog but I have a few more. I have tons of ideas so of course I needed blogs for all those ideas, lol. Through blogger I have 15 to be exact. My first blog was called i can’t think. At the time I had lots to say and literally could not think. Then there is MommyGamer, Milwaukee 1stopmom, Menu Eats (quick and easy recipes), Frugal Kid, 1stopmom reviews, and my husband’s car blog (he is rebuilding a Camero)and a 1stopmom one(I am not sure what to do with this one just yet) just to name a few. I have a couple of wordpress blogs too. Let’s see there is Frugal1stopmom and some others from my phase when I was trying to figure out if I liked blogger or wordpress blogs better. This was before I got my own domain name and everything. When I would get a great idea for a blog I would hurry to get the name because we all know nothing is worse than having the perfect name for your blog and it is not available. Now I know I can not be the only person who does this so if you counted, how many blogs do you have?

If you have a blog you need to promote it. That is just common sense. You can not just expect people to just know you have a blog and visit it. Almost everyone has heard of Entrecard or BlogUpp as a way of getting more traffic and exposure. But those can not be the only two sites you use. You will get some traffic but not a lot. These are a few that seemed to catch my eye.

Blog Engage : A great site to submit your own blog posts. Readers get to vote on your blog and with enough “engages” your post moves to the front page.
Conduit: You are able to make your own toolbar for readers to download. There is also an opportunity to earn a little money.
Zimbo: A user driven site that will help not only help you get more inbound links but you will be able to reach more people who may enjoy reading your blog.

I am still learning so I am pretty sure there are tons of other sites that can be used to promote your blog. What are your recommendations?

Recently I was visiting one of my favorite sites, MommyDaddyBlog, who just got a new makeover by the way and it is so cute. I was looking at their blogroll and visited a new blog. It is called Cutie Booty Cakes, isn’t that a cute name? The owner of Cutie Booty Cakes is Renee, first time mom to Mekhi. Cutie Booty Cakes are these adorable cakes made out of diapers so they are not edible, lol. Renee makes these cakes by hand using Pampers Swaddlers and silk flowers. They are very pretty and I love her motto “Choose Cutie Booty for the cutie in your life”

One of my favorite sites for information about great freebies has not been updated in a while. I have been searching for a new place to go and have found myself a new home. It is over at Mommies With Cents. This site has great information about freebies and giveaways. Mommies With Cents has become on of my daily stops and you should pay them a visit.

Shelby tagged me!

I have selected 5 other bloggers to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding!)

It’s really easy way to build your community and make new friends!

The Strategist Notebook ~ Link Addiction ~ Ardour of the Heart ~ When Life Becomes a Book ~ The Malaysian Life ~ Yogatta.com ~ What goes under the sun ~ Roshidan’s Cyber Station ~ Sasha says ~ Arts of Physics ~ And the legend lives ~ My View, My Life ~ A Simple Life ~ Juliana RW ~ Mom Knows Everything ~ Beth & Cory’s Mom ~ A Mind Forever Voyaging~ enjoying the ride ~ Jennifer’s thoughts ~ Mom of 3 Girls ~ Amanda ~ Don’t Make Me Get The Flying Monkeys ~ ExPat Mom ~ Just Jessie ~ Wilson Six ~Krisitn ~ Nuttier Than You ~ Shonnte ~ Summer’s Nook ~ Laura Williams Musings ~ Melissa’s Idea Garden ~ Confessions of an Everyday Housewife ~ Blah Blah Blog ~ Stop the Ride! ~Soap, Blings & Girly Things ~ It’s All for the Best ~ Keeping Feet ~ Junky Love in Freehand ~ Getting Out of Debt ~ Free From Broke ~ Money Matters ~ Arohan’s Investing Life ~ My Investing Blog ~ Finance and Fat ~ Iowahippiechick ~ MakingMoneyJournal ~ Cathlawson.com ~ Life Liberty & The Pursuit Of Money ~ Making Cents Of Debt ~ DebtDiet Fiscal Musings Paid it Down and Moving Forward Phoenix from the Ashes Canadian Saver The Good Life on a Budget Last One In Line Finding Financial Peace CT Mom Beachgirl’s Budget Blog~Saving For a Home of My OwnMrs Micah Brightside of Debt Bouncing Back From Bankruptcy Give Me Back My Fibe BucksLife and Debt in ChicagoMy Journey to Eliminate Debt My Money and Politics 

Frugal Dad

Family, Finance and other things

On Joy, Happiness, and Sam

Busy dad blog

Sense to save

I’m going to add:

Frugal Dad

Family, Finance and other things

On Joy, Happiness, and Sam

Busy dad blog

Sense to save

One of my new debt blog finds is debtconsolidationcare.com . This site is definitely interesting. It is a getting out of debt community. There a lot of useful tools at this site. There are some finance calculators including a debt to credit ratio one. (don’t ask about my obsession with calculators, i am a little quirky). Debtconsolidationcare.com even has a nice chat room. I think that could be handy if you have a quick question or thought and need some immediate feedback. I like the way it is set up because even if no one else is on, you can run it in the background and get a nice little ding when someone enters the room. You can even do a little private chat.  I am glad I came across it. There are some really good tips on there.