The One Where I Sing On YouTube (again) & Linking Up With Mama Kat

I really haven't done any Christmas shopping yet.  I am the worst.  Crafting and baking and Fa-la-la-ing? I'm all over that.  Christmas traditions? Yup, got that too. But alas, my aversion to shopping and budgeting gets me every Christmas.  

Source: Click here for some last minute gift ideas too (found this on Pinterest).

Speaking of Fa-la-la-ing, I linked up with MamaKat's Vlogging Prompts this week to sing a favorite Christmas song.  And I wasn't even drunk when I made this video.  Yup.  Check it out.



(If you are an email subscriber, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7jaIZpH7cE&feature=share&list=UUohqceY-_fkMZ_POAVYBZ0g to watch.)

And check out the hilarious Mama Kat.


Speaking of Mariah Carey, here's my favorite holiday song from the Christmas Diva:




Speaking of divas, I can't not put a song up from the beloved Whitney Houston:



And since I referenced the Mandrell sisters in my video, this post wouldn't be complete without a video highlighting their amazing-ness.  

Video Proof & Linking Up With Mama Kat

I've mentioned before how much I like road trips.  As much as I like being on the open road, this year was a little much.  This year was a little far even for me (have I mentioned I spent 46 hours in the minivan last week?) and a lot of time alone with my kids.

One of the vlogging prompts from Mama Kat this week is "Family time. Show us something you did together." So here it is, video proof of my family time, my road trip:

(If you are an email subscriber, click here http://youtu.be/Kij7h9qxU3E to watch.)

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel, 
click here!

In case you missed it, here were some of my concerns going into the trip:

(If you are an email subscriber, click here http://youtu.be/5YNi7giwHds to watch.)

Check out Mama Kat and the other funny vloggers over on Mama Kat's Losing It.  Click here.

Come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

Come follow me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood.

It's Going To Be Alright And Pet Peeves (& Mama Kat)

Well, it's time.  I'm outta here.  I've already left in fact.  
My weekend away has officially begun.  BlissDom is happening whether I'm ready or not.

And really I'm not all that ready.  But it will be alright.

While readying myself for this blogging conference adventure, I ordered business cards.  Cards that will be ready and arrive in Michigan today, after I arrive in Texas today.  Whomp. Whomp.  But it will be alright.

That's my go-to phrase for, well, everything.
It's the phrase that I always want Tim to say whenever life gets chaotic or stressful.  It's my mantra really--It will be alright.  And besides, if it's not alright, it usually makes a funny story eventually.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook for all my updates from BlissDom.


This week while I was failing at readying, I missed my Wednesday vlog link up with Mama Kat.  

So here's my day late link up about Pet Peeves.  It involves Mickey Mouse, car loops and grumpy people at a grocery store.  Check it out:

If you get the blog via email subscription, here's the link for the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ynbCdRi53I Check it out!)

To subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel, click here.

Vlog Vows, My Purse & A Puppy (And Mama Kat)

When I started blogging, I vowed to keep it real.  Now that I'm vlogging, I also vow to keep it real.  I vow to always tell the truth no matter how embarrassing.  I vow to help those that feel alone in their unorganized, oversensitive corner of the world, by showing that I too am a complete, utter mess.  I vow to attempt to make people laugh with my honesty and candor. I vow to never make a video longer than 3:30 seconds. I vow to never tell a lie.  I vow to never sing, oops I already messed that vow up. But I vow to keep all the other vows. 

I take these vows seriously.  I will not dissappoint you by ever getting my act together.  To prove it, I got a puppy to add to the insanity that are my four children.  Yup, that's right.  Also, just to make you feel better, I'm emptying out my purse on my vlog this week.

Wednesdays are awesome because that's the day I link up with Mama Kat's vlogging prompts. The amazing Mama Kat is my vlogging idol (check her out, she is FUNNY).  Each week she has a list of vlog prompts and we all get to play along.

What's in my purse:

(If you get the blog via email subscription, here's the link for the video: http://youtu.be/Uxr0VUs-oGI Check it out!)

My puppy's first vlog:

(If you get the blog via email subscription, here's the link for the video: http://youtu.be/2NaRk99ZSns Check it out!)

My viral video, okay I mean my wannabe viral video (check it out and share if you like):
(If you get the blog via email subscription, here's the link for the video: http://youtu.be/Jk9ff3w_0Xc Check it out!)

To subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel, click here.

Confliction (& a vlog)

I am a feminist.  I've said it before.  I've also previously mentioned that I am a liberal, a mother, a Methodist, a sister, a terrible housekeeper, a wife, a writer, a red wine lover and a Sunday school teacher among other things.

Nothing says "feminist" more than this picture. 

Sometimes I am full of conviction and know exactly how I feel about a certain issue.  Other times I am full of confliction.  

"I can't wait to get my ears pierced this weekend," Lucy announced at dinner the other night.  She is turning 9 at the end of the week and getting her ears pierced is high on her wish list.  

"When can I get my ears pierced," JT, my 6-year-old son asked.

Hmmmm.  Confliction.  I don't know how to explain why he can't.  Why can't he?  

My husband told him that boys can't, they just can't.

"I'm not sure why in our society it seems more okay for little girls to have earrings and not for little boys, but if you feel really strongly about getting your ears pierced when you are a teenager we can revisit that," I said.

My husband shot me a look that said "oh great, I knew that hippy side of you that I thought was sooo cool when we dated would come back to haunt me."

Then the dinner conversation led to tattoos and more talk of how "I don't regret getting mine and if you want to express yourselves through body art when you are adults and can pay for it, we'll love you no matter what."  I thought my husband was going to choke on his dinner.

But really!  As a parent, I feel confliction.  Aside from all the societal oddities of what is accepted and what's not, I feel like a hypocrite. One because I have a tattoo and I have my ears pierced so how can I talk about not getting them when they are older? And deep down I don't want Lucy to get her ears pierced or JT to get tattoos.  Either I've been married too long to a conservative husband or I indeed have my own inner old, conservative lady showing herself.

I feel the same way about music.  I love pop music.  I love swearing.  I love swearing in pop music.  But I don't love my kids hearing it.  And why is it okay to say "bitch" on the radio but not "ass."  And what about movies? And television? all things that fall under the technology category? advertising? Oh Jesus, my confliction knows no end.

Maybe the world is getting scarier and my convictions are becoming conflictions because my kids are getting older. They are paying attention more, asking more questions and it freaks me the f@*& out.

I'm still all those things that I mentioned previously, but just add slightly conservative and anxious tween parent to the list.

I linked up with MamaKat's Vlogging prompts again to discuss some hot topics.  My hot topics involve my feminist confliction/reaction about Seth MacFarlane's boob song at the Oscars and the hideous new Skecher's shoes for girls and teens called "Daddy's Money."  Yeah, here's my confliction about that.

(If you get the blog via email subscription, here's the link for the video:  http://youtu.be/YHuJLIy1Iu0 )

To subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel, click here.

The amazing MamaKat (check her out, she is FUNNY).  Each week she has a list of vlog prompts and we all get to play along.

Let Me Count The Ways (A Vlog)

Tis the season for love and romance and another vlog. 

This week I'm talking about the six things I love about my Valentine.  Awww.  I get all sweet and mushy.  I also keep it real with some literal bathroom humor.   And I compare Tim and myself to Brad and Angelina, but of course.

Check it out.

(If you get the blog via email subscription, here's the link for the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMTtrxC-I20 Check it out!)

I'm linking up again the amazing MamaKat (check her out, she is FUNNY).  Each week she has a list of vlog prompts and we all get to play along.

Check out the other video I made in honor of Valentine's Day.  I joined the One Billion Rising movement and decided to start a new tradition with my family. 

It's a tradition that helps start a conversation about compassion, service and ending violence against girls and women around the world.  And it involves dancing! Click here to read about it too.

(If you get the blog via email subscription, here's the link for the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE1Ieub-q64 Check it out!)

To subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel, click here.

Me Time (& A Vlog Link Up)

I have been a mother for over 11 years now.  That means that I know....nothing. Except that alone time, me time, quiet time, whatever you want to call it is extremely rare.  And usually, I'm pretty cool with that.  I'm a chaos kind of chic.  

But lately, I've been digging quiet a little more.  Maybe it's because I'm getting older and all my kids are getting louder and wearing me down and out. Maybe it's because they usually all talk at the same time.  

My new found old lady love of quietness is a perfect fit with my new found alone time.  Wade started preschool a couple weeks ago and it's been pretty damn great.  So great that I'm sharing all the details in my latest MomPulse vlog. 

I linked up with the amazing MamaKat (check her out, she is FUNNY).  Each week she has a list of vlog prompts and this week one of them was to talk about "Me Time."


Here's what I know: 

(If you get the blog via email subscription here's the link for the video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-9UsG6cCIM- check it out.)

To subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel, click here.

My Dallas Obsession (& A Vlog Link Up)

I love television.  I think I might have mentioned that fact here on this blog, um, maybe 25,000 other times.

(With posts like The Housewife Effect, The Value of TV? and We Are So Not Boring (and other lessons from old TV shows) and more.)

But you may or may not know that I might be just a little obsessed with the television show Dallas.  I grew up watching the show.  I played Dallas as a kid--I named my pretend department store Clayton's after Miss Ellie's second husband.  I own a couple seasons on DVD.  I hummed the theme song as a lullaby to a couple of my kids when they were babies.

Yeah, it's all true.  I may have even entered a contest to win my very own Ewing barbecue on Southfork Ranch once (which I may have not won).

To say I was skeptical about the new version of Dallas on TNT would be putting it mildly.  Much to my surprise, and delight, I ended up loving it last year.  The new season kicked off this past Monday night and I thought it would be the perfect thing to talk about in my latest MomPulse Vlog.

I linked up with the amazing MamaKat (check her out, she is FUNNY).  

MamaKat is a little like my vlogging Miss Ellie--a comic YouTube mentor who has all the answers.  And she has weekly vlog prompts and link ups.  This week one of the prompts was "what are your top five TV shows."  Well, my one top TV show took up my whole 3 minutes of vlog time, so here it goes...my ode/review to/of Dallas.

To subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel, click here.

And just because I love it so much, here's the Dallas Remix video.

The Script and What I Know For Sure (this week)

The kids had this past Monday off for MLK day (which feels like a million years ago).  I look forward to this day all year long.  It may seem silly or overdone to some, but MLK has become one of my favorite holidays.  A few years ago, we started honoring the holiday with artwork, a special reading and a skit.  Because nothing says holiday like a skit.

Our MLK Day wall of words--the kids' interpretation of Dr. King's message.

Maybe I love this holiday because I can totally wrap my head around it.  There's no guilt about lying about Santa to the kids or questioning if my faith is strong enough; there's no candy hangover or shopping overindulgence;  Hallmark hasn't cornered the market in MLK cards.  Nope, it's still pretty pure.  It's about service, peace, non-violence, the power of words, moral courage, integrity....and there's no pressure to dress up and make a passing dish.  Yeah, I f*#&ing love this holiday.

But don't worry, by making it such a big deal in my house I've managed to make it all holiday-ish.  You know all too much expectations and pressure.  When I sat down to write the script with my kids, they didn't want me around.  

At first my feelings were hurt and I was all like, um, hello, the show can't go on without me.  But then I saw them working together and putting together the cutest damn MLK-inspired puppet show there ever was.  

I sat in the audience and then went to the snack bar they set up during the intermission.

Sure I wish I could have been in more control, just like I wish Beyonce would've sung live at the inauguration.  But that's what parenting is all about right? Giving them the tools for a good script and then letting them write their own?  

It's a tough lesson, but learning and growing and the getting through the tough stuff is what parenting and holidays are all about, I know that for sure.  And also that my kids are pretty amazing.


Here's what else I know for sure (this week):

• I can't wait for the Dallas 2-hour premiere on Monday.  I am pretty much a lifelong fan of the show---dude, I used to play Dallas when I was a kid.  While other kids were talking about play dates in 1981, I was talking about who shot JR.  So, yeah, I was skeptical when this new version of the old show came out last year.  But I was beyond happy with it.  This new version is pure soapy good fun.  I'll be watching this Monday and you should too.

• Anne Lamott is awesomely wonderful and messes are all good.  I was reminded of this quote from the must read Lamott treasure Bird by Bird and it will be hanging on my wall of words very soon.  I. Love. This.

• Boxed water is retro and modern all at the same time. 

• This is the best thing that happened as a result of the Lance Armstrong hysteria. Jimmy Fallon singing "You're A Crazy Bitch (But You Ain't Fat)"

• It's been one week since I saw Les Miserables and I am still singing a lot.  Like a lot a lot.  Like I wish life were a musical a lot.

• Catching moments when my kids are loving each other is priceless.  And makes me so grateful for my iPhone which is always at the ready to capture the moment.

They are watching video of JT's basketball game.
So cute. #unposed

• I can't help it, I can't stop dancing to Scream & Shout.  I know everyone's all about Justin Timberlake this week and that's cool.  I know Britney is so medicated and using her weird British accent and I worry about her, but I can't help it.  I can't help it and I can't stop dancing to this song. 

• Vlogging is the new blogging.  No, I'm kidding.  But I am having a blast over on my YouTube channel  and being a part of MomPulse.  Check out my review of snow hats, yes snow hats.  And hey, click here to subscribe if you want!

What do you know for sure (this week)? C'mon, we're friends, share what you know.  Leave a comment here or on the Facebook page.

  Come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

Oh yeah, and come follow me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood and subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel here.

I'm linking up today with my friend Greta from  Gfunkified.com and her pal Mamamash.com for the #iPPP link up.  They host a link up where they encourage people to share "your funny, your yummy, your heartfelt, your favorite photos of the week" from our phones. 

If you'd like to subscribe to my blog and get each post emailed to you, 

click here.

Bad Week/Good Dancing

It hasn't been the greatest week.  And yeah, it's only Wednesday.  Yesterday, my bad luck prompted this Facebook status update:

My husband, Tim, pointed out that I sounded like that guy from Airplane.  Remember? "I picked a bad week to give up drinking...I picked a bad week to give up amphetamines...I picked a bad week to stop sniffing glue..."

Yeah, just like that guy from Airplane, here's the clip:

Well, that made me laugh.  The comments from friends on Facebook made me laugh too.  And all the laughing made me forget how cold I was (well sort of).

I wore this cozy hat all day, but lost the dopey grin right after this weird picture was taken.

And then, instead of sulking and feeling all mad at the world at the unfairness of it all, we danced.  We danced to stay warm.  We danced to have fun.  We danced to say screw you to the world and the unfairness of it all (okay maybe that was just me).

Here it is, our Kitchen Dance #547- The Broken Furnace Edition.

Furnace update: It has been fixed (we hope) and we are all safe, warm and happy.  

A Real Winner

I recently won something.  I never win anything.  Okay, wait, once I won a free Tai Chi class.  It was a random drawing and I thought it was a sign that my life was going to change, that big things were going to happen. It turned out to only be one very short Tai Chi class at a gym that was trying a new marketing strategy, little did they know that I was 22 and broke and wouldn't be signing up for any more classes.

So, no, my life didn't change that much after 20 minutes of free Tai Chi and nothing has been won by me since then.  (Okay, yeah, I get it, I won the lottery of life because I have a great husband, four beautiful kids and I'm healthy, but you know what I mean.)

That all changed last week when I found out I was nominated for MomPulse Mom of the Year in the Funniest Mom Vlog category.  They gave me 24 hours to campaign and I knocked on every door, set up informal phone banks and sent out spammy emails and text messages.  I went a little f-ing crazy.  I thought if I win it was a sign that big things were going to happen.

And just like a lackluster season of Dancing With The Stars, I was the D Actor that pulled out the upset win.  All my campaigning paid off big time.  I got an award for being Mom of the Year--not for being a crafty mom, not for being the best overall most caring, compassionate mom, not for being the most well-behaved mom at the car loop (even though if that was a category I think I really might win that too, people suck at the car loop!), nope, I got it for being funny.  I can live with that.

Has my life changed in the last week? Not so much.  But it does feel awesome to win something.

Check out my acceptance/thank you speech where I reveal what Sandra Bullock and I have in common.  

Check out a few other videos from my MomPulse Channel...

Real Housewives Intro:



My top tips on romance (this one's a little PG, mostly because I mention porn):



My MomPulse Intro Video (how it all began)



Click here to head over to my MomPulse YouTube Channel and subscribe if you like to laugh.

Jingle Bells & All That Jazz and What I Know For Sure (this week)

Some strange things are happening.  There I was making beds, cleaning the house and I was humming like I was god damn Cinderella.  Except it was worse than just an over-the-top cheerful, house-cleaning, happy, under-appreciated sad sap Disney character....I was humming Christmas music.  

In fact, all this week I've been going around humming Winter Wonderland, singing Jingle Bells and acting sort of jolly.

I'm singing and decorating.  Check out my latest MomPulse video about our far from perfect, but still wonderful Christmas tree.

I've made it pretty clear that I'm not a huge fan of the holidays so the only way to explain all of this joy is, well, um, a Christmas miracle.  Maybe all that jazz about there being magic in the season is true.  If getting in the holiday spirit can happen to me, it can happen to anyone, that I know for sure.

Here are some other things I know for sure (this week):

• I love it when my kids get along.  It's just such a good thing.

JT and Wade sharing a laugh at breakfast. 

• DMX is feeling the holidays and I happen to love his version of Rudolph the Reindeer.  He's like a rap version of Harvey Fierstein.

• Fevers suck.  Especially when it's your kid's fever and you take that kid to the doctor and they say "it's a virus." And then you say, "Oh hell, I was hoping it was Strep."  I know you know what I mean.  Even the doctor agreed.  We all know.  Strep=meds=kid gets better in 24-48 hours.  Virus=scary fevers and unknown length of recovery time.

Baby Wade is the second kid to come down with the weird fever virus this past week.

• Getting away would be a great thing.  If you weren't too devastated that Justin Bieber didn't get nominated and still want to win a trip to the Grammy Awards, there's still time to enter this rad contest.  Click here to find out how easy it is to enter, seriously it only takes two minutes.  Two minutes and you might win a trip to L.A. and a car.  I for sure know that's awesome (any week).

• One-on-one time is tough in a large family, but so important.  I had what I like to call small group time with Lucy and Wade this week and it was so fun.  We went to our favorite hot dog joint--we walked and sang Christmas carols on the way to keep warm.  No, I am not making that up.  We did and it was fun.

Lulu is posing under an autographed picture of Martha Stewart which I find appropriate because I think Lulu will run her own empire someday (hopefully minus the jail time).

• Winning a Wii U would quite possibly make you a very popular mom/dad/grandma/aunt/uncle/girlfriend---oh hell person, you'd be a popular person.  Click here to find out how to enter yet another amazingly rad giveaway.

What do you know for sure (this week)? C'mon, we're friends, share what you know.  Leave a comment here or on the Facebook page.

If you'd like to subscribe to my blog and get each post emailed to you,click here.

All the pictures in this post were taken on Instagram.  Come play with me @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

Oh yeah, and come follow me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood and check out my YouTube channel here.

I'm linking up today with my friend Greta from  Gfunkified.com and her pal Mamamash.com for the #iPPP link up.