Dear Facebook Friends

Dear Facebook Friends,

I love you – I really do. I would not have accepted your friend request if we did not know one another in some capacity. I genuinely enjoy reading about your day, seeing your pictures, and watching you all try to one up each other to be the funniest facebooker.

Now here are some things that I would like to let you know about your status updates before you begin:

Yes – I know you are tired – really we are all tired – ’nuff said.

I think it is cute that you think that I am going to read your status update and suddenly say – “hey that was an amazing status update and I am going to go ahead and change political parties”. Guess what folks – not going to happen.

The whole reason that I like to check Facebook is because I like to know what is going on in your life – keep me informed – love that. I don’t even mind the mundane, “Bob is going to the store” status updates. I do, however, mind blasting your spouse for all of your 237 Facebook Friends to read. Please don’t do that – it makes me uncomfortable.

Facebook drama – I actually check Facebook hoping for drama – love it – HIGHLY entertaining. I do not however want to participate in anyway in any kind of drama. Find someone else to traumatize.

Tagging – really? Why you gotta be mean? Yes – the cream cheese stuffed blintz that I was eating was AWESOME – did I want a picture of me eating it on the internet for my entire past, present and future to see? Not so much.

Here is a little Facebook hint for you: Guess what? They changed the way that you update your status now so you can type in your entire story. There is no more need for this series of updates…….

Sally is sad…..

Sally’s friend – ??????
Another of Sally’s friends – What’s wrong honey?
Another of Sally’s friends – Hope you are having a great day. I love you!!!!!
Finally Sally – oh it is nothing guys – just some personal stuff going on

Sigh – news flash – don’t put it on Facebook!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much my sweet Facebook friends,

Now I gotta go update my status!

Holly

Holly blogs about her families daily adventures at http://iheartbowheads.blogspot.com

Awesome – right?????

Let’s Throw a Party with Corner Bakery

I didn’t even hesitate to say yes when Corner Bakery asked me to be a part of their Holiday Corner Catering Challenge.

I HEART Corner Bakery.  I often dream about the Pesto Chicken Panini.  Really, it is just making me hungry just thinking about it. And then there are all those muffins and cookies and brownies and cupcake-y things and cake…I really like cake….

*FOCUS*

Anyway!  Here is the deal.  They sent me and 11 other bloggers a catering package to use for a holiday party.  We were to decorate the table using the Corner Bakery food and send them a picture.

They are posting the 12 photos TODAY on the HOLIDAY tab of the Corner Bakery Facebook and asking people to vote for their favorite.  The winner gets a giveaway for their website/blog.

*please vote for me*

I used the Corner Bakery Catering for my neighborhood Women’s Club Meeting in November.  The catering package that I was sent was to feed 8 people.  This was an evening event so I figured I could stretch it a bit.  About 20 people attended the meeting and I had PLENTY of food…and yummy left-overs.

I started at Hobby Lobby for inspiration.  I wanted something bright and cheerful but not overtly Christmas-y since it was still November.  I found these beautiful, tall, bright glass vases and paired them with some silver Christmas ornament sprigs:

I liked the height and decided to let the vases be the only other COLOR I use on the table (beside the Corner Bakery food).  I wanted to keep everything else I used in the metalic tones.  Because most my serving dishes are either brightly colored or very traditional, I wanted to try to find a way to make them a little more contemporary.

When I came across these mirrors on a 1/2 price sale I snatched them.  These are the mirrors that they sell for candle platters and I think I paid about $3 a piece.  I bought a bunch figuring that I could use them both on and off my platter stands.

I really liked the way the platter stands looked with the mirrors in place of the traditional ceramic plates.

It was the modern, clean-lined look I wanted to go with the bright vases and silver balls.  I also really liked how neutral this made everything and can imagine using these in the future for other decorations.

So….I am ALL READY for the food.

My house is even clean.  Well, thankfully I took a look at the guest bath a few moments before the guest arrived only to find that three little boys had “washed up” from their mud-making outside leaving the restroom covered in dirt from the light switch to the wadded hand towel on the floor.

Bring on the food!

The catering was delivered from my local Highland Village Corner Bakery on time about 45 minutes before the party.  I took one look at the super cute boxes in which the food arrived…

…and changed my idea.

There was really no reason to take the food OUT.  The way the food came was SUPER CUTE.  Even the pasta salad was in a nice bowl.

So, I just placed the boxes on my elevated platter stands.

Placed the vases in the background and sat to wait for my party guests.

Easy!

PLEASE vote for my entry into the Holiday Corner Challenge on the Corner Bakery Facebook page by clicking on their HOLIDAY tab and locating my party photo as seen above.

Thanks!

You can also find out more about Corner Bakery catering by visiting their new catering ordering page.

*vote for me, please!*

Thanks Corner Bakery for letting me be a part of all the fun.

The Perfect Gift For A 13 Year Old… A Facebook Profile

How would you like to give your 13 year old the perfect gift?

Well, I have found it… a Facebook Profile!

If you think I am crazy, then keep reading and let me explain.

Ask any 13 year old if they are on any social network sights and the answer will most likely be yes. I have heard many kids state that as soon as they are 13, they are getting on Facebook. Of course, I have heard that many kids are getting on Facebook younger than 13. Unfortunately for them, Facebook has a policy that states: You will not use Facebook if you are under 13. If they are caught, their profile will be taken down.  In addition, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) states that any website collecting personal information from anyone under 13 must have parental permission.

I believe as parents we need to enforce these policies. One reason they have this age requirement is that most kids under 13 are not responsible enough with posting personal information.  And this brings me back to why I think you should give your child a Facebook Profile when they turn 13.  If you handle it the right way, it can become a fun teachable moment.

When my daughter turns 13 in a few years, I will say, “Finally 13! I bet you’re ready to set up your Facebook Profile (or whatever the latest social network craze is). One of my gifts is to help you set it up, so let’s get on the computer!” Then I will teach her about privacy controls, her profile picture, posting personal information, adding pictures, videos and links.  I will talk to her about what to do when someone she doesn’t know wants to “friend” her. I can show her the IM feature and teach her how to use it.

After we set it up, we can “google” her name and I can show her that her Facebook Profile picture is actually public and anyone will be able to see it. That means mom, dad, relatives, teachers, fiends parents, grandparents, etc. I will let her know her profile picture is important and it should be something you would show your best friend and your grandmother. I can show her the difference in what information is revealed by the different privacy settings. I will talk to her about the Facebook applications and I will tell her some of these contain viruses and malware. Then we have the Facebook fan pages and groups.  I can show her using my Facebook profile the information that is available to others when you join a group or become a fan.  These activities expose your picture and name to the other members that you don’t know.  Some of the people in the same groups will see your picture and may try to “friend” you. I will ask her how she will handle that.

In addition, I will talk to her about private information. I will let her know she needs to be careful about what she posts.  Even typical teenage posts can have consequences. I will remind her of the story about the girl that was upset her father couldn’t go to her school musical.  She shared on her MySpace page that she didn’t want to work for someone like her dad’s boss, who yells all the time and treats her dad like dirt.  After she posted it she realized her bosses son was one of her “friends”. A few weeks later, her father was fired.  You can read about this story by clicking here in the Family Circle, Share Tactics article.

She will have to be careful about what her friends are posting too.  I will talk to her about helping her friends stay safe online.  Are her friends accepting friend requests from people they don’t know? If so, her posts may be seen by her “friend”. Are her friends posting pictures that may reveal too much? Locations, addresses, vacation plans, etc. all these innocent posts can have consequences.

As you can see, by giving your 13 year old a Facebook Profile for their birthday, it opens up the communication to online safety.

And that is why I am giving my daughter a Facebook Profile on her 13th birthday!

If you found this article informative, don’t forget to pass it on to others!  All parents need reminders about online safety.

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Mommy Perils of Facebook

I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon almost a year ago and it’s one of the most exciting things to have happened to me in years, right after the birth of my two children.

But this new-found time sucker is not without its hazards.

For example, Facebook either keeps you honest, or calls you out on your excuses and lies.

You cancel on your friend for this morning’s playdate, saying that little Jake has a bad cold. Later you post in your status update that your family had a great day at the zoo. Your friend, like almost everyone else you know, is on your facebook and reads this.

Busted.

Disclaimer: Just to be clear, that is not something I personally have done. But I know some moms that have. I’ve never, ever used my kids as an excuse to get out of an activity. Whoa, was that lightning that just struck?

A few months ago a friend of mine backed out of a casual afternoon coffee date, lamenting how she had way too much on her plate that day. But a couple of hours later, around the time that I would have been sipping a latte with my gal pal, she posted a mobile upload of her freshly painted tootsies from the nail salon where she was at getting a pedi with her mom and sister.

Being the smart alec that I am, I made a comment on her photo and called her out in a joking way and, of course, she had a perfectly good explanation. No hard feelings. But I learned from that experience that you have to be very, very careful with this little addiction called facebook.

Just this week I faced a new dilemma. My son had his birthday party and I wondered if I should post the pictures from our little shindig. Would I hurt anyone’s feelings who wasn’t invited? Obviously not a child’s feelings, but we all know how personal we moms can take rejection on behalf of our brood.

And probably the worst thing yet, I was looking at an old college friend’s page and as I scrolled down her Wall, I saw that one of her friends posted a comment referring to hearing that she was having marital issues and hoped that they worked it all out soon. The way it was worded you could tell that the friend probably really didn’t realize this was being posted for all to see (she was probably a fb newbie). Hello, now it’s public knowledge! And even your old college friend whom you haven’t seen in 12 years knows about your marital woes!

So I am just wondering, what Facebook stories do you all have? Whether they happened to you or someone you know, I’d love to hear them!

When Stephanie isn’t busy stalking old boyfriends on Facebook, you can find her at www.mommish.com.

When You Think Your Son Is At College Working Hard…

Luckily you friended him on Facebook…

And can see what he’s really been up to!!!

Hope his grades are good….

Heather shares her stories about loving life at The Adventures of the Williams Family.