jamie ann

The other day I received an email from BlogHer letting me know about this campaign that Tide has going on right now. I’m under no obligation to post about this but I just think it’s a great cause so I wanted to share.

Tide Loads of Hope helps in the aftermath of a natural disaster by providing clean clothes and a sense of comfort to families in need. Partnering with Feeding America, they travel to disaster affected neighborhoods with the Tide Loads of Hope trucks or vans, their free mobile laundry service.

The Tide Loads of Hope truck:

• 32 high-efficiency washers and dryers stationed on the truck
• Can do 300 wash and dry cycles a day – equal to one year’s worth of laundry for a single family
• Will wash about 9,000 loads of laundry over a four-week period
• Leveraged during massive disasters where electricity is unavailable in the region

The Tide Loads of Hope vans:

• In partnership with a local laundromat, the Tide Loads of Hope vans provide free laundry service at the same load rate as the trucks
• Leveraged during disasters where neighboring communities still have a source of electricity

To date, Tide Loads of Hope has washed more than 35,000 loads of laundry for over 20,000 families. Most importantly, the Tide Loads of Hope program means we’re equipped to take action whenever and wherever there is a need in our country.

As you can see, this is a pretty great thing. If you want to help out and show your support, you can do so by purchasing one of these neat Tide vintage tees. I’m eying the red or blue one myself!

You can purchase your own here for only $20.

Think of the good it will do!

Have a great weekend and check back Monday to hear all about my Nintendo party I’m hosting on Saturday!

Word on the streets is there is less than 200 tickets available for this year’s BlogHer Conference. Hearing made me shell out a bunch of money I don’t really have for this because I was hoping to get sponsored this year.

But you do what you have to do because I sure as hell wouldn’t miss this. Last year was amazing (check out my posts about it from last year here) and I’m expecting this year to be as well. Plus, it’s in my city, bitches! You better believe we are going to have a great time.

If you’re planning on attending, I suggest acting fast before tickets are gone. They are selling out much sooner than last year.

Get on it and come hang with me!

It’s hard when you feel like your whole world is falling apart. Your family, your friendships, your relationship, the job you worked so hard on. Everything went spiraling out of control leaving me grasping at the air trying to hold on to some semblance of a life.

It’s not a good feeling. Trust me.

I’m trying though. Every day it’s a little bit better. It still hurts like hell but I’m trying.

I don’t like crying myself to sleep every night. I don’t like over analyzing everything. I don’t like feeling unappreciated. I don’t like how watching Juno makes me tear up then turns me into a sobbing mess because I just want to know it’s possible for two people to stay happy together forever too. I don’t like feeling jealous or resentful. I don’t like feeling left out. I don’t like losing control.

I want to be excited about something again. I want to proud of what I’m doing. I want to make a difference. I want to have my own thing. I want to be confident and feel sexy. I want feel loved and wanted. I want to go out and enjoy myself. I want to be happy again.

This weekend was a bit of a turning point for me, I think. I know it’s still going to be hard and yes, I’ll cry but I need to get proactive.

I’ve decided: I’m going to get to the gym more. I’m going to talk to friends more because hey, they may have been there too, may just have great advice or may just talk Edward with me. I’m going to go out with friends more. I’m going to send out resumes because I know I’m good at what I do and I would be a great asset to any team out there. I’m going to work more on my sites. I’m going to soak up as much information as I can and learn. I’m going to be okay.

It might not happen right away.

But I am going to be okay.

Part two of answering your questions for me. You can find part one here.

Mermanda asks: How do you keep all kids’ underwear straight? Oops… that’s my question for Kate on Jon and Kate Plus Eight!

Let’s see… Do you see yourself living on your own in the near future?
Labels, lots and lots of lables.

I mean… yes, definitely. I really want to move out, I just need the financial stability first. Working as a part time nanny off the books doesn’t say much for job security. I hoping some new opportunities arise soon and me and the pup will be back up and moving on out!

Marie asks: What’s your dream job?
Basically, I would like to be Gwen Bell. I admire her so much and I think she is just an amazing person and really look up to her. I’d love to do the kind of things she does: social media rock star, partner at the awesome site Kirtsy, speaks at and creates her own conferences. Plus when I met her at BlogHer, she was one of the nicest people ever! I hope one day to be as half as cool as she is.

Jenn asks: You’re currently balancing a lot on your plate: starting an offline blog paper, working, doing so much for the 20sb community, and running your own blogs. You’ve quickly become an established blogger with a lot of pull and influence. How do you manage all of this without letting it get to your head? Is this something you wanted or expected to happen? Where do you want to go from here? And just how much has or do you want your online success to affect your offline life?

First of all, thanks! It’s kind of weird (but incredibly flattering) to me that people think I’m an “established blogger” because I feel like I am so far from that. When I think of established bloggers, I definitely don’t think of myself. Yes, I’ve created a nice little community around my blogs but feel like I have a long way to go!

As far as not letting it get to my head, I always try to remember why I started blogging and writing here – for fun. It wasn’t to become “internet famous” or making insane amounts of money from blogging, it was just my little corner of the internet. I stumbled upon 20SB and just dived in. I found so many amazing people and if it weren’t for them and their blogs, no one would probably read my blog. (I doubt that no readers would stop me from rambling on about puppies, Twilight and posting Tyra gifs though!)

Where I would like to go from here? Definitely see the above question. I’d like to make a career out of social media. It’s fun and exciting to me. Branding, building relationships and community, teaching and learning – there is so much you can do with it!

My online life has definitely affected my offline life. I’ve made some of my best friends through this blog and hopefully, eventually even carve a career from it. Who would have thought a year and a half ago when I started this blog, I would be saying those things? Definitely not me!

Mindy asks: How tall are you? (Lame, I know, but I’m thinking you’re a shorty like me…)

For the longest time I thought I was 5’7. I went to the doctor twice last year and was told I was 5’5 one time and 5’6 another time. Either I’ve shrunk or I was lied to for a very long time! I wish I was like 5’9 though. That’s a nice height.

Jessica asks: When did you graduate from college? I know you do The Printed Blog stuff (this is your internship, right?) and also Nanny’ing…was your major in journalism?

I still haven’t graduated. I’ve been in and out of college since I graduated high school. I never knew what I was doing and took time off every now and then because I didn’t want to waste money. Right now, I am taking time off. I do plan on returning though. I’ll probably major in Communications when I go back.

Get here soon, please?

I need some change.

A couple weeks ago, I opened up myself to your questions. I figured it’s about time to get started on those answers. If you missed out the first time or thought of another in the mean time, feel free to leave a comment with it!

Amanda asks: When you started your blog, did you ever think it would become such a big part of your life, even becoming a part of your professional life? Where do you see your blog life going in the future?
Honestly? Absolutely not. I started this blog a year and a half-ish ago just as a place to vent and write. I never dreamed that I would be meeting my best friends, getting a job and finding a passion. I really do think if I hadn’t taken time off school and started this blog, I never would have found my “place”. I’m no expert but I think I’m pretty good at this blogging and social media thing and it’s something I would definitely like to persue as a career.

Matt asks: If you saw someone on the street kick a puppy, what would you do?
I would probably flip out and start screaming at them or maybe show them what if feels like to be hit haha. I’m such a dog lover. I cry at those Sarah McLaughlin infomercials and the Dogs Rule puppy food ads with the puppies in the shelter. I can’t handle creulty to animals at all.

thatShortChick asks: What is your favorite etsy shop? If you can’t pick just one, then what are your top 5?
Oh god, I have so many (like you couldn’t tell!)! Okay, let’s do top 5: Softspoken, Made by Hank, Oh, Hello Friend, Rewined Recycled Glassware and  The Fetching Hound

M. Edward asks: How did you decide on the blog name “Oh…How Lovely!” ?
When I first started this blog, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I just like the word “lovely” and so I ran with it. I’m contemplating changing the name of this blog to my name since I bought a bought a domain. Would you all hate me if I dropped Oh! How Lovely?

Thursday’s Child asks: When are you going to force the boy to start blogging? Or does he already? If so, what’s his URL?
I believe William started a blog. He wanted my help setting up and all that good stuff but we haven’t really talked about it since. I’m not sure, I’ll ask. I’m sure you all could use some more guys in the old blogosphere.

Hillary asks: What’s your favorite cheese?
Any that involves mac. I want mac and cheese so bad!
I’ll leave it at this for now. Another post with more answers will be up tomorrow or the following day!