The Best Parts Of Life Are Free

We spent Sunday afternoon at Lumbee State Park, and it was absolutely beautiful with all the fall foliage. Our little one loves to go to the park and throw rocks in the river after we have a picnic lunch, and we usually take a long hike as well. The trails are nice and serene. I think it is important to get in touch with nature at times, and it offers a great experience for our five year old who constantly interrupts the peace and quiet with one question after another. Once you get a good distance into a trail, you hear only the sounds of nature. A fish flipping out of the water, a squirrel scurrying up a tree, various birds, and the light breeze rustling through the fall leaves seems to bring a sense of welcomed peace and distances the stress of everyday life. The best part, this adventure only cost us the price of our picnic lunch, which consisted of tuna salad sandwiches. The best parts of life are still free.

Brooklynn Explains Childbirth

Brooklynn caught me way off guard tonight when she began to explain the birth process. She is so awesome and cute. Afterwards, she decided she did not want to have any kids!

Remember The Mums

Fall is my favorite time of the year, and the season would not be the same without mums. My little one loves flowers of all kinds, but mums seem to be a favorite for both of us. I, at one time, attempted to plant a bed of this popular fall foliage, but I really never had much luck. They did well the year I planted them and the following year, but then most did not come back. Some of the most simplistic items on earth can bring such joy to our lives, which makes me feel pity for those driven by greed for monetary items. We like to be comfortable, but the extreme extravagance that some in this country feel is necessity truly sickens me. Greed seems to be the root of all evil. It can be frightening to see the events centered on Wall Street, our government, and world events today.

One cannot help but to feel powerless and venerable amid on the ongoing turmoil. Where will it end and how? I fear for my family and the future of my daughter with these thoughts in mind. When I find my mind spiraling in the fear of what could happen by the crazy events spilled upon us daily through news channels that seem to be the carriers of doom and gloom, I take a deep breath and remember the mums. In a country that often appears to be out of control, they remind me of how life should be

Doing The Right Thing

Brooklynn’s last soccer game was last weekend, and all the players were awarded medals for their participation. The soccer league she played in is sponsored by our town, and I have to admit at being very impressed by this program. For fifteen dollars, parents were able to enroll their children into the league, which provided uniforms, socks, and medals. That is a deal! Practice was once a week with a game on Saturday. I enrolled my daughter because I noticed she was getting a lot less physical exercise since beginning kindergarten. After all, I found watching a bunch of five and six year olds running around after a ball can be quiet entertaining. As the kids fell over each other during this last game, the parents stood around the field cheering them on. We discussed how glad we were this was the last game until spring and how it will feel nice to actually be able to sleep in on future Saturdays, at least until the games resume in the spring. We chastised ourselves for grumbling about this inconvenience, but I quickly pointed out that at least we were here. I often go out of my way so that my daughter can do such things, and I cannot stand to see parents who never make an effort to do anything just for their child. I have met many! So even though we may grumble and dread doing so at times, at least we are making an effort to do the right thing as a parent. Many do not. However, I will really enjoy my free Saturdays!

Sincere Thanks

I have decided to post The Brooklynn Factors on a separate page, which can now be located by a tab at the top of the blog. She seems to be really into her little shows, and I do not want them to be crammed into the “Home” page. I am not actually sure how many videos the page will hold, but I will try to keep a good variety of them posted as she produces more shows. I want to thank any and all viewers who have taken their time to comment and send her messages. She is very excited when I read them to her or point out how many people have “watched her show”.

Adsense Insanity

When I first began this blog, I was very new to everything and ignorant of many of the aspects concerning blogs. In fact, I still am. After my first couple posts, I was nosing around in the back-office of my blog and noticed a monetize tab. I hit the tab and read how Google suggested submitting my blog for adsense and maybe I could actually earn a little money. So I did; after all, I was writing the blog anyway and figured it could not hurt. Of course, my blog was disapproved due to not enough content and that was that. I figured one day, or year, I would submit it again-no biggie! Then we began the Brooklynn Factor, which has gained a good many followers and has an ever rising amount of views. You Tube sends me an email informing me that Brooklynn’s videos are approved for revenue sharing along with a link to apply. I was shocked and figured this could trickle into an amount which could be used for her college in the future. So I applied through their link and was denied because of the disapproved blog I had submitted earlier. I tinkered for hours trying to fix this problem, but could not get past this block. Since adsense does not have phone or email support, you are forced to go to a help forum. This is insane! I spent most of my day going back and forth with a “top contributor”, who acted like she had not even read the prior posts! What is a “top contributor” anyway, how about speaking with someone from adsense! Today, I am no closer to resolving this issue and had to yet again state exactly what is going on. I use to hate calling a company and being forced to talk to an electronic operator to resolve a problem, but at least I did get to speak with someone! It is scary to think we have evolved to having no contact whatsoever. I think any company should have some form of contact available for consumers even if it is in the form of email! After all, we are humans! I think these companies seem to forget that “we” are the reason “they” are there. I have finally concluded that I will most likely never get this issue resolved. I will be stuck in this virtual limbo forever concerning this matter. Furthermore, I now realize that it is all one big conspiracy to drive normal people nuts! The sole responsibility of “top contributor”, who comes in the guise of help, is simply to ensure we get pushed over the edge.

Brooklynn Factor - Halloween Special