My first #1 Google Spot!

Let me just start by saying, when you are starting out, the little things are very exciting.

Getting hits in the double digits in one day on my blog- very exciting!  For someone with an established blog or lots of experience, my hit counter probably looks dismal.  But for me, right now, it's huge.

Or how about my earnings from Google Adsense on my Hubpages account?  In about 3 weeks, I've made just over a dollar.  Not even a third world laborer would get excited about that return.  But when I see that dollar, it stands for all the future dollars that I could potentially make, if I keep working hard at posting hubs and driving traffic to them.  That is an EXCITING dollar for me.

Today, I hit a really big landmark- one that might be considered big even if you aren't an overly excited newbie!

Go open up Google and type in "military pumpkins."  Go on, open it in another tab and try it.  What page comes up first?  Unless I've been usurped since my writing this, the answer should be MY BLOG!  Yup, my most recent post on my today.com blog is, apparently, the number one choice for anyone searching for military pumpkins.  This is the coolest thing to happen to me since, I don't know . . . the last cool thing that happened to me.  (Oh, and while you're on that other tab, go ahead and click on the link for my blog . . . with your help maybe one of these days I could even get triple digit hits, and then I'll probably just pass out from delirious happiness).

Granted, if you pull back from all the excitement I'm currently feeling and really think about it, it's not quite so huge.  How many people out there are doing Google searches for "military pumpkins?"  I can't imagine there are many.  Still, at least one internet user out there was jonesing for an armed forces-themed gourd today, and I'm proud to have been the first suggestion Google made to them.

{Originally published on October 27th, 2008 at my Wordpress blog}

A "Married Day" and Bi-Partisan Pumpkin Carving

You know that scene in "Old School," where Frank the Tank can't says he can't drink because he has a big day planned with the wife the next day, and when questioned about his plans, responds,
"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time."
Justin and I like to quote that line.  The underlying joke behind that scene is how pedestrian and, well, boring everyday married life can sometimes be.  Like any good joke, there's truth behind it.  It's certainly a big lifestyle change from being single, and seriously, Home Depot is prime couple time when you're married!  Though we do like to joke, it's actually pretty fulfilling to do stereotypical, middle-class married folk stuff on occasion.
I had a very married day today.  Justin and I spent a lot of time together, but it mostly involves watching TV or being in the same room, working on separate projects (usually I'm writing, Justin's playing video games or reading news on the internet).  So it was a nice treat to get out and do, "you know, a little Home Depot- maybe some Bed Bath and Beyond."
Actually, we visited a pumpkin patch, drove around San Antonio a bit, checked to see if Linens'n'Things has slashed their prices any more (I know the liquidation sale prices are going to get better- I'm holding out), and had a delicious Panda Express dinner.  Afterwards, we came home and carved pumpkins.
The pumpkins were actually Justin's idea.  He found some templates online to carve the presidential candidates' faces onto pumpkins and he wanted to give them a try.  Knowing our lack of pumpkin carving experience or fine motor skills, I was afraid we were going to have $14 worth of wasted pumpkin.  But they actually turned out pretty great!

Yup, we did these ourselves!  Can you guess which one is Justin's?

It was really nice to take a few hours and just spend time with my husband.  I feel like the past few weeks, I have been so eager to get on with the freelancing that all my spare time outside of work was devoted to writing work.  I'm excited for all the things I'll be able to do around the house and with Justin now that I'll be working from home.  Even if I work a solid nine hours straight every day, I'll still have almost 2 extra hours that I used to spend in my commute every work day!

{Originally published on October 26th, 2008 on my Wordpress Blog}