This Contest is a No-Brainer!

My friend Connie @ Brain Foggles is holding a contest from now through May 30th with the chance to win yourself a really nice prize - an SEO optimized Wordpress blog valued at $125. This great prize comes with the following:

1. Hosting for one year
2. Keyword research
3. Advice on picking a profitable niche for the blog
4. Complete set up of Wordpress and associated plugins
5. Your choice of SEO Theme
6. Technical support and continued advice through the Advisory Panel
7. A custom header made by Lori of A Cowboy’s Wife who does some awesome work.

This is Connie's very first ever contest and she's pretty excited about it - as she should be! The contest is open to everyone regardless of where you live but you do have to be able to write in English if you want to take advantage of the advice and support. Of course, if you're here reading my blog then you probably have a pretty good grasp of the English language already or else you'd be reading nothing but a lot of gobblity-gok so I'm quite sure you've got that requirement under control! The other rules are simply as follows:

1. Leave a comment on Connie's post announcing the contest HERE. Only one comment per person please. Please leave one comment including all that you’ve done as this will make it easier for Connie - who likes easy! (This is worth 1 entry)
   
2. Fave Connie's Blog on Technorati by either looking for the green link on her sidebar or just going HERE. (This is worth 1 entry)
3. Blog about this contest or about Connie's blog on your blog and include a link back to Brain Foggles. (This is worth 5 entries).
4. If you include a banner in your post that’s another 1 entry. Connie has three banners for you to choose from which you can get HERE.
5. Put up a banner for the contest on your sidebar. Choose a banner HERE. (This is worth 3 entries).

The contest will be open until Friday, May 30th, and close around 10 p.m. that night with a winner announced the following morning. If you're the winner you could have a brand new blog up and running within a day or two of winning this great prize which is perfect for anyone looking to either start a new blog or make the jump to Wordpress. The best thing is, you wouldn't be wandering around lost in the land of Wordpress on your own as this prize comes with that great technical help and support mentioned above. And who amongst us, by a show of hands please, could not use a little help and technical support from time to time? Uh-huh, that's what I thought!

Go check it out and enter Connie's first contest and tell her I sent you. You've got nothing to lose but a lot to win!

Awards Times Two

One of my transplanted British buddies Maddy, who hails from across the pond but now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area and writes two (yes, two!) fantastic blogs, recently awarded me with two (yes, two!) lovely little awards on her blog Whitterer on Autism. The first is this adorable little "You Make My Day" Award that she herself received from Tara over at tlcillustration. According to Maddy, "Linda is a real gem. How she manages to juggle career, family, blogging and the pressures of work I can hardly imagine." Well, thank you, ma'am - I wonder how on earth you juggle your homelife with two rambunctious boys and two blogs and all that you do, too. Perhaps we've all just become mistresses of talented multitaskings?

Speaking of talents, I'm going to pass this award on to Connie at BrainFoggles who amazes me with her ability to blog every day while battling a laundry list of ailments that would put anyone else down for the count never to blog again; Pinky at Cheese in My Shoe because she always says the nicest things both in her posts and in her comments as well as posting about foods that make my mouth water; and Mighty Mom at My Wonderful Life because there's another talented woman who juggles home, work, and her blog with a sense of humor and adventure. All of these ladies truly do make my day!

The second award that Maddy was more than kind enough to pass along to me is "The Royal Banana For Blog Yumminess" Award which she in turn received from Slouching Mom. I can't say that I've ever been awarded a banana before but in her presentation of this cute little award Maddy said about me, "Now there's a woman who is a real trooper [now that I think I understand what a trooper is supposed to be - it always sounded like an insult!] There are so many different aspects to Linda's blog but if you've not visited before then her posting here called "Count five things" is a great introduction. [and I'm sorry I called you a sausage, I know that should have been 'hot dog'!]

... Uh, I'm not so sure I'd want to be called either a sausage or a hot dog but I think I get what Maddy was trying to say in that transplanted vernacular of hers! Thanks bunches (pun intended, bananas - bunches, get it??) Maddy for this cute little award and I shall pass it along to a couple of other bloggers that I find particularly yummy - Morgen of It's a Blog Eat Blog World and Captain Jean-Luc of Captain Picard's Journal. Not only do these two fine gentlemen have outstanding blogs but they both play damned fine Scrabulous games, too!

Do you know anyone who makes your day or exhibits blog yumminess? If so, then snag these awards and pass them along!

The Modification of a Meme (or Two!)

Quite some time back ("quite some time back" meaning November 12th!) I was tagged by Connie of Brain Foggles for the "Eight Things About Me" meme and more recently (November 25th) I was tagged by Jamie of Duward Discussion for the "Seven Things About Me" meme. Somehow I doubt that there are fifteen things about me that any of you are truly interested in learning or that I haven't already posted before so I thought I'd do a slight twist on the memes and post my fifteen favorite Christmas songs.

To make this more interesting, I'm going to post a video of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas Eve in Sarajevo" so that you have something to listen to while you read. This piece of music takes "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Carol of the Bells" and combines them with traditional classic music and a heavy metal rock style. I think you'll like it - I know I do!


Got the music playing? Okay, good! On with the combined meme then!

My Fifteen Favorite Songs of the Christmas Season
(not necessarily in order!)

1. "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" - written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist Church, in 1739. Originally sung to a different tune completely, it was changed over 100 years later by English musician William H. Cummings who adapted music from a Cantata written by Felix Mendelssohn to fit the lyrics.
2. "We Three Kings of Orient Are" - an American Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins in 1857 for a Christmas pageant at the General Theological Seminary in New York City.
   
3. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - it is believed that this particular carol was sung to the gentry by town watchmen who earned additional money during the Christmas season and is reputed to be one of the oldest English carols dating back to the 15th century by an unknown author.
   
4. "Ave Maria" - composed in about 1825 by Franz Schubert (1797-1828) when he was twenty-eight years old and filled with devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. First published in 1826 as Op 52 No 6 it was written for voice and piano.
5. "O Come O Come Emmanuel" - originally written in Latin text in the 12th century, the author of the words and composer of the music are unknown but the melody is believed to be French in origin.
   
6. "Carol of the Bells" - original folk music from the Ukraine, the lyrics and words were added by Peter Wilhousky to celebrate the festive season and its traditions such as the pealing of church bells at Christmas and the singing of carols.
7. "Good King Wenceslas" - the words were written by John Mason Neale and published in 1853 while the music originates in Finland 300 years earlier. Good King Wenceslas, the king of Bohemia in the 10th century, was a Catholic who was martyred following his assassination by his brother Boleslaw and his supporters, He became known as St. Stephen, the Patron Saint of the Czech Republic, and his feast day was celebrated on the 26th of December which is why this song is sung as a Christmas carol.
8. "White Christmas" - written by Irving Berlin in 1942 and originally featured in the movie Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby, this song struck a very poignant chord with those fighting in World War II and their family members waiting back home for them.
   
9. "O Holy Night" - the words and lyrics were written by Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure, a humble wine seller, in 1847 while the music was composed by his friend and brilliant composer Adolphe Charles Adams. Best sung by Josh Groban or Celine Dion!
   
10. "Angels From the Realms of Glory" - written by James Montgomery in 1816 as a celebration of the good news the angels brought to the shepherds of Christ's birth.
    
11. "The Hallelujah Chorus" - written in 1741 as part of George Frederic Handel's "Messiah", it was first performed in Dublin in 1742 and was given the city's greatest ovation ever. When it was performed in London several weeks later, the King was so moved by "The Hallelujah Chorus" that he rose to his feet - a custom that has prevailed ever since.
12. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" - originally recorded by Bing Crosby in October of 1943, this song touched a tender place in the hearts of both American soldiers and civilians who were then in the depths of World War II. The song earned Crosby his fifth gold record while it became the most requested song at Christmas U.S.O. shows in both Europe and the Pacific.
13. "Do You Hear What I Hear?" - words and music written by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne in 1962 became another big hit for Bing Crosby in November of 1963.
14. "Christmas Wrapping" - sung by The Waitresses, a post-punk new-wave band that existed during the early to mid 1980s when I was a lot younger! Not your traditional Christmas song but kind of fun with a slightly sarcastic sense of humor! Never heard it? Check it out here!
    
15. "This Gift" - okay, I saved the sappiest for last and you may all mock me unmercifully but this song by 98 Degrees has been one of my very favorites from the first time I heard it. I'm an incurable romantic in spite of all and what can I say? I'd like nothing more than to share Christmas with someone special. Boy-band or not, these guys could harmonize and this song just brings out every last bit of mush the Christmas season can wring out of me.
    

Whew! Hopefully Queen Mimi will allow me a special dispensation for having done a combined meme and not throw me in the dungeon for violating the original rules of a meme. If not, I may be testing out the acoustics of the dungeon with some of my favorite holiday tunes while the Queen wonders what all that caterwauling is!

How about you, gentle readers, any favorite songs of the season? I'm not going to tag anyone with this modified meme but about you leave a comment? Pretty please?

The Five Things Meme

*********************

Miss Patti of Late Bloomer Boomer fame recently tagged me with the Five Things Meme and being that I haven't done a meme in quite some time, and don't want to risk the Dungeon at Bloggingham Palace for such a simple meme, I figured I had best do it post-haste and pronto. After all, I understand Queen Mimi is not feeding the prisoners a traditional roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings for Thanksgiving (and if she did, you might be better off not eating it if what I hear about her cooking is true!) so I really don't want to spend my holiday there! Bad enough I have to spend it at work answering 911!

Oh, and just to give credit where credit is due, Patti got the meme originally from Joan who got it from I-don't-know-where and I will pass it on with a tag to Misty Dawn and Connie! Consider it a Thanksgiving gift from me to you, ladies!

The Five Things Meme

Found in My Room (the one I'm sitting in now is the living room so we'll use that!) ...

1. At least three plushie dolls (LynZ, Steve - with pants!, and a half-finished still-naked Jimmy)
2. A wedding picture of myself with my father walking me down the aisle
3. My collection of elephants
4. My infrequently-used Gazelle exercise glider
5. My grandmother's old sewing machine

I've Always Wanted to Do ...

1. Go to England
2. Win the lottery!
3. Find true love
4. Play a musical instrument
5. Go on a cruise

Found in My Bag (I don't carry a purse so I will have to use the lunchbag I use for work) ...

1. Dental floss
2. Allergy medication
3. A packet of cinnamon & apple instant oatmeal
4. A potholder (I have no idea why!)
5. Spare change

Found in My Wallet ...

1. Driver's License
2. Health Insurance Card
3. Hot Topic Frequent Shopper Card
4. Time Badge for Work
5. Two Dollars

I'm Currently Into ...

1. Apple Crisp (it's that time of year!)
2. The music of Trans-Siberian Orchestra
3. Blogging (aren't we all?)
4. Sleeping in on my days off
5. Finishing this meme!