“Deep Songwriting Week” Bonanza — Plan B!!

Yay! My brain finally caught up with my heart on these give-aways, so I’m changing things up a bit today!!

(Drum-roll please!)

Firstly, I am lumping ALL remaining gifts into this ONE post, and will announce the winners in a new post Saturday. (Maybe Sunday, if I start jumping off the roof into the azaelas again.)

Secondly, it feels weird making you come back to re-comment for my cds and Billy Collins poetry, when you have already left such touching words. So… Lovely Peeps, for my 5 remaining cds on offer and for the 4 remaining Billy Collins… I will be considering all new comments that come in on those, plus all the wonderful comments you already left that have not yet “won.”  Even comments on the Donut Hole Post that launched this whole escapade! Such sweet words!

I’m going to showcase today’s final 12 prizes in a minute, but first let me recap all the give-away winners so far…

Monday’s winners, based on their wonderful comments were…
SuZen — my cd.
Fireblossom — Billy Collins’ “The Apple That Astonished Paris.”
Gina — “Blogging For Dummies.”
Toni Cross — the Marilyn Monroe notecards.

And (another drumroll please) I will now reveal yesterday’s winners, based on their persuasive comments…
Snaggletooth — “Inner Productivity”
SuZen — “Twitter For Dummies”
Glenn —  Billy Collins’ “Questions About Angels”
Daisy —  my cd (that one was hard to call.)

Congrats to all so far.  Now, on with more give-aways!! 12 things to gift commenters with in this post.  Specifically….

1. one of my “I Need A Man” cds!
2. another of my “I Need A Man” cds!!
3. another of my “I Need A Man” cds!!!
4. another of my “I Need A Man” cds!!!!
5. another of my “I Need A Man” cds!!!!!

6.  Billy Collins’ “Nine Horses.” Who wants it? And why?

7.  Or maybe Billy Collins’ “The Art Of Drowning?”

8.  How about Billy Collins “Ballistics?”  You want this one, right??  Sure you do!! Just tell me why.

(“Ballistics” is a hard-cover.)

9.  How about “Singing For Dummies?” Come on — you know you want it!!  Why should I send it to YOU??

(whoops, there seems to be a little rip in one corner of the back cover.  sorry ’bout that, mates)

10.  Or maybe “The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Singing” is more your style??  Who wants it??

11.  Oh, wait!  I see another Billy Collins here… Who wants “Sailing Alone Around The Room?”

(Shoot, I do have another Billy Collins book, which I cannot find.  That’ll have to wait for a future give-away.)

12.  Oh, the very first picture in this post — me in my lucky blue hat in my bathroom mirror, holding up a Tori Amos book to photograph with my iPhone? That book is on offer here today too.

Here’s the front of it…

But folks, I gotta tell ya… Jeanne may already have won the Tori Amos for her amazing comment on my Monday post — unless someone comes along and tops her!? Is any of you more of a Tori fan than Jeanne??  And if so, can you convince me enough to win the book?

Ahhhh, this is great!! So much fun.

And my Deep Songwriting Week is going so awesomely!!!

I miss all your blogs, of course.  Like crazy!  It’s been 3 whole days since I’ve allowed myself to read any.  I’m so jonesing to read and comment — but I must soldier on with my song-focus plan.

I bet you’ll see me out and about in the blogosphere this weekend!    🙂

Happy St. Pat’s

xoxoxo

Gratitude

Kelly & Alyssa — Chester, Nova Scotia, 2008

Gratitude —  this month’s R.A.O.K.A. theme.  Where do I even begin?!?!  I have nothing but GREAT things in my life.

I am so grateful for my Awesome WordPress Consultant friend, Kim Woodbridge, who made my blog vision of Big Photos come to life, yay!! Thank you so so much, Kim!  People — if you want someone you can absolutely trust 100% to help develop your WordPress blog, Kim is it!! She’s been tweaking my blog for over a year now. And it’s no wonder she’s now got close to 5000 Twitter followers — she adds value to lives!!

Summer Cousins On A Beach At Sunset,2008

Speaking of photos, I am grateful that when my laptop’s power recently died, I didn’t lose any files on my hard drive!! Whoo-super-hoo!! I have experienced the heart-break of lost digital photos before, but not this time.

So so grateful, People.

(All pictures in this post are ones I thought were gone forever.)

Austin & Alyssa, (niece and nephew)2008

Yes, I know in the grand scheme, losing one’s digital photos is pretty far down on the list, but still — I’m so happily grateful I recovered them.  And all the new songs I’ve been writing!!

First Time Roller Skating — age 5

And lastly but very very far from leastly, I am grateful for bloggers like Happy Lotus Nadia, whose following comment to someone recently helped cement my decision to stop blogging on a set schedule.

“So often people fence themselves in by rules that they created and then forget that the boundaries can be broken at any time.”  Nadia — Happy Lotus

It’s only been 3 weeks, but I already feel so stifled by my self-imposed MWF blogging schedule, an experiment to see how it might affect my Google Analytics stats. But what do I care about stats if I feel hemmed-in while blogging?!  Where’s the spontaneity, joy and fun in that?!??  Duh, Jannie.  As of today I’m back to posting when I’m ready to, (whoo-hoo) and stats will take care of themselves.

And if I ever get to the point where I occasionally close comments because I’ve got a lot going on in life, I guess I’ll just have to take my blogging lumps.  🙂

ALRIGHT!!!

Oh, wait — another wonderful Gratitude Thing today!!  Jeanne’s in town!!!  Jeanne, who’s been rambling this great country in a 30′ motor home for the last 4 months — is finally swinging our way. I’ll be meeting her in a few hours and we’ll hang out hopefully a lot until she has to leave Monday.  How great is that!?!  I’m even going to wash my hair after I post this and don a pair of matched socks in Jeanne’s honor!!

As to R.O.A.K.A, I am not quite sure who is still in, but check here with Sami for the gratitude posts.

And of course, I am wondering, what are you grateful for today?

xoxoxoxoxoxxoxo

I AM, Said I

Last night I admitted the following on an inspiring blogger’s post…

I AM going to spend 30 minutes a day maximizing my Twitter sphere.
I AM going to learn another 7 great songs on guitar.
I AM going to up my blog posting to 3x weekly.

And shortly after posting that comment on Keith’s Awesome Post, a few more I AMs hit me for my 2010 goal list…

I AM going to increase the amount of sites that link to mine from the current 276 to at least 500.

I AM going to completely organize all our closets and keep them that way.

I AM going to learn to poach eggs without breaking the yolks.

I AM going to do 222 buttock lifts daily — yes 111 on each side.

I AM going to add the Charleston to my soup aisle dance repertoire.

I AM going to expand my kelp knitting business to include maple syrup collage and spaghettini cowboy sculptures.

I AM!   I AM!!   I AM!!!

AND… I AM super-recommending Keith’s awesome “It’s Time To Get Real” post. He’s got some really excellent stuff in there.

So, my Friendly Reading Peep, what I AMs are on YOUR “anti-resolution” goal list?

Jannie Funster Blog Hits The Big Oh-1!

image: Celebrate Express

Yes, this blog is ONE YEAR OLD today!!

Whoo-hoo!  Party-party!

Yesterday Blue Bunny blurted out at our Funster Inc. monthly Blog Strategy board meeting, “my jannie, you blogg is growed.  i clikked you Alexxa weedgit todae and you is so bucktotts kikking!”

And he’s (she’s?) right!

In the stunning chart revelation above you will note my bumpy, yet overall somewhat steady lurch towards expanded web presence.  (That tallest spike was for this post that got thousands of Stumbles.)

Whoo-hoo!

(Yes, Alexa shows this site existing prior to Sept 22nd 2008, reflecting my old comment-less blog, but that saga era is so water under the pre-Wordpress bridge for me.)

Birthday-Birthday!  It’s my special day!!

And holey kadiddlehopper,  my Alexa stats show that these past 3 months I’ve lured an average of 0.0004% daily internet users here.  I know, I know — a real mind-bender of my sheer global reach.   🙂

And did you know I’m really getting popular in Romania among the beer and donut set, especially the bra flinging beer and donut set?  Yep!  I’m totally, like — the 69,417th most popular site over there!  And Bulgaria  – don’t EVEN get me started on Bulgaria, I’m trying to remain just a tad humble here.

But, seriously…

It’s been one AWESOME year.  THANK YOU ALL SOOOO MUCH!!!!!

If I were to single out every one of you for kudos on the ways you’ve inspired, bolstered and generally buffeted buffered me against the storms of life in just one year, this post might never end.  Suffice it to say, YOU are the reason for my blogging season.  In fact, there is so much joy in my heart for all of you, I might just spontaneously explode into a combustion of glazed donuts all over this genuine refurbished Dell 8200.

And the best blogging is yet to come, of course.

Always the best of everything yet to come in life!

Anyhoo…

As I enter my second year of blogging (whoo-hoo!) I ask you three burning questions…

Any blogging advice for me?

Anything you’d like to see more (or less) of at Funstertown?

Any rhubarb recipes or rhubarb life-experiences to share?

Yep, Problogger Darren Rowse And Me – We’re Like This. Like This, I Tell Ya.

It was this past Wednesday, about 1:30 p.m.  Central Standard Time.

I had just finished yoga and a bean taco.  Kelly had played and sang “Ain’t She Sweet” on piano 39 times and was settling into Spongebob as l was logging onto Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger.

Knowing full well that Melbourne 12:07 a.m. was hours ago and I’d have zero chance at being even remotely close to Darren’s first commenter, I was still looking forward to gleaning something great on blogging… when what to my wondering big eye did appear at the top of THE super-super blogging A-lister’s post – but MY NAME linked in flashing lights.  I’m serious!  (Well, maybe not about the flashing lights, but it sure felt like it.)  Little Jannie Funster featured and linked on ProBlogger in a post called How To Improve your Blog – Learn How To Take Criticism Well.

Holy freaking cow.  And calf.  And a 3-legged goat or two.

It felt nice to be shouted out by ProBlogger for something I’d said in a comment the day before and probably always.  Yes, upon my deathbed I shall still be basking in the glow of my ProBlogger link.  “Hey Dearie, pass the prune juice and step up my morphine, will ya?  And did I ever mention the Summer of ’09 when ProBlogger linked me up, when my traffic zoomed from 300 daily uniques to over 1000 for two days in a row?  Oh, I did?  Sorry.”

Hey, maybe it’s just the first of more links to come if I submit something cool as a guest post to ProBlogger.  Or to other bloggers.  Hey, why not?!  The mind’s the limit.  And if I can do it, so can YOU. 

Anonymous, I wish I hadn’t spammed your comment on my Blogging Addiction Survey post, else I’d email to get your physical address so I could drive or fly over Right Now to give you a big ol’ bear-hug, yep squeeze the stuffing right out of you.  Sounds like you could use some hugs.

And Anonymous, you might just have jump-started my Twitter recalcitrance too.  I bought “Twitter For Dummies” yesterday.  Thanks!  I now owe you two.  Or three.