I'm moving.

Just in time for the Type-A Mom Conference I'm moving my blog over to WordPress. And getting a super cool redesign!

So, check back Wednesday for the details. I'll be unveiling the new look & domain name.

Same content. Same blog. But, with much cooler digs.

Friends.

This weekend was one of those rare perfect weekends where time with friends and family have a way of reminding you just how blessed you are to have so many incredible people in your life.

I could write a whole post about how much we love our friends and how blessed we have been to be a part of many wonderful small group Bible studies. But, I won't because my friend, dewde, already said it better than I could.

Plus, he has an awesome video from this weekend to prove it.

Check out his post here. It makes me teary eyed every time...

Picnic with a Purpose

Saturday we had the chance to hang out at Picnic with a Purpose thanks to Dawn from My Home Sweet Home, Cooper Munroe from The Motherhood, and (of course!) the great folks at Hebrew National.

It was a great day to hang out and mix with other bloggers and their families while enjoying some delicious hot dogs and benefiting the Abba House for women in crisis.

And thanks to Secret Agent Mama for capturing these great pics of our little family at the picnic!

Catch you on the flip side...

Good news for the Loving family. We're actually sneaking off for a few days on a spur of the moment beach mini-vacation. I can't remember the last time we had a break like this.

And though I could sneak away to the free coffee shop wi-fi on this break to blog a couple posts and maintain some continuity here in the Land of Lovings I've decided to really take off these few days and have nothing more pressing than cuddling my babies.

So, I'll catch you guys next week. I promise to be back on Tuesday rested, relaxed, sunburned and full of great new content.

See you soon!

Why I broke up with BlogHer.

A few months ago I got an email saying a spot had opened up in the BlogHer ad network and since I was on the waiting list I got a chance to be a part of it.

I was pretty darn excited. See, when I started blogging it was to keep family that was far away in the loop on what was going on in our lives. Then a funny thing happened. It saved my sanity. I started to feel less like a prisoner of my children and more like the aspiring writer I promised myself I'd become when I graduated college.

And then I found out the most amazing thing. People actually make money blogging! **gasp**

So, I was pretty excited about signing up with BlogHer.

As with any partnership there are rules and guidelines. I gladly accepted them. After all, I was getting paid to blog! Hurray!

Then I got my first ad revenue check. And my second. I was getting $60-$70 a month in ad revenue. I was pretty darn happy considering before this I had been blogging about my public humiliation for free.

But, one day I got an email from BlogHer. They had, apparently, been overpaying me. By a lot. And, my actual monthly revenue? It was more like $6-$7 dollars a month.

And since numbers can't be typed in all caps, let me phrase my reaction like this:

SIX OR SEVEN DOLLARS A MONTH?!?!?!?!

It occurred to me that in order to adhere to their rules I had to turn down giveaways worth more than I'd made in the last 4 months with them. And it also occurred to me that I had given up some control of my blog (albeit only a small amount) for 6-freaking-dollars a month.

And, so we broke up. Which is why there aren't any ads on the side anymore. And I can blog as often or as little as I like now. And I can giveaway anything I want. Or not.

Now if only I can avoid drunk dialing this ex in the middle of the night...

Today is THE Day!

Check out the First Ever Carnival of Modern Home Dwelling over at Today's Homemaker. It is going to have some amazing tips/tricks/projects from some totally great bloggers (and a few from me, too!).

This isn't your grandma's homemaking carnival. Did you grandma even have a homemaking carnival?

Nope. And if she did it could never have been this cool. (No offense Grandma!)

This is a totally modern, totally amazing homemaking carnival. Great for moms with kids, women without kids, women who work outside the home, and women who work within their home, people with houses, apartments, condos, and townhomes. Basically, it's for everyone! Whether you be a novice homemaker or a pro, this carnival is sure to have something cool for you to take away.

So, why are you still here? Go there and check it out!

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Winners!

You know you're all winners to me, but sadly only two of you could win the Bloggy Giveaways here at Land of Lovings.

Congratulations to Chelsea on winning the Matt Maher CD and to Paula who won the Creative Home Magazine subscription!

Thanks to all who checked out my blog and left comments! I enjoyed meeting you all and surfing your blogs.

Be sure and come back May 12th-16th for the Mommyfest Blog Party when I'll have a couple more cool giveaways!

Wanna go to a carnival?

I LOVE blog carnivals! I just happened to be blog hopping from Don't Try This at Home and found this cool site with what looks like an awesome blog carnival coming up! It has to be an great carnival with such a cool banner, right? I am so loving the peacock!

I submitted a couple blog posts and you should too. Yes, you. The one in the back who doesn't think they have anything cool to submit. You should totally do it!

Visit Today's Homemaker and submit a post to one of the categories. Then check back during the carnival to see the best of the entries. I can't wait to check out everyone's submissions.

While you're at it, explore her site. I'm always looking for cool new sites to surf and this one promises to keep me busy wasting time online while I should be cleaning my house!