2014 A Look Ahead

Happy New Year, you party animals!

I hope you all had a great night out in your high heels and party dresses.  I had a great night in my new "Homeless Chic" outfit.  What is homeless chic?  Well you see it is wearing a men's flannel shirt over your outfit.  The goal is to look cute without actually caring about what you look like! It was a delight to look at all the girls in their NYE outfits and while I wore my flannel and watched the Ducks game at the Yard House.  I am telling you it was comfy, warm and amazing.

As I sit here thinking about 2014 I am so happy with the possibilities this year presents me with.  At the beginning of each year I like to sit down and write down goals that I have for the year.  I do not like New Years Resolutions because they re cheesy and broken so easily.  I am such an achiever by nature that I function so much better making goals.  I also try to set up rewards along the way so I keep on trying.  Today I will share some of my goals with you.  If you ever think of it ask me how they are going.  It is aways helpful to have a friend remind you of what you set out to do.



1. Make my house more of a home.

Sometimes I do not like my house.  There are things that need repair and I have to figure it out on my own.  I want to spend more time (and money I reckon) into making my house a place of refuge where I want to go.  I want to take time to make my house pretty and homey.  I started to do this during December and it has already made a huge difference in my mood and appreciation for what I have.

2. Watch less TV.

I have a lot of TV shows that I enjoy watching.  I have never watched so many shows as I do now.  In 2014 I want to spend weeknight reading or taking classes or doing anything social.  My goal is to leave the TV off as much as possible.  I will still watch the new Sherlock when it comes out this month and probably How I Meet Your Mother and Ducks games, but the rest can wait for a rainy day.

3. Take Penny on at least a 2 mile walk everyday.

Really this one is for Penny and me.  When I get off my lazy bum and take this little girl for a walk she is happy and calm and I am happy and more fit.  It is a win win win.

[caption id="attachment_373" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Penny posing for Christmas. We just got home from a walk.[/caption]

4. Take at least 2 classes at my gym each week.

I work out at home at least 3 times a week and walk my dog. I also have a gym membership that I need to use more often.  I have just recently gotten over my intimidation of gym classes and I love them.  Honestly, I was terrified to go take a class at the gym because I assumed everyone was super crazy awesome at it, they aren't.  It is so much more fun to workout with other people and I want to make more of a habit out of it.

5. Take bigger risks.

Yes this could fall into a lot of categories.  I want to keep growing and challenging myself to be a better person each day.  I am looking at grad schools out of state and the thought of moving always scares me.  I also want to look more into stand up or improve.  These are things that scare me a lot.  When I think about the things I have enjoyed the most they are the things that scared me the most before I did them.

6. Go on more dates.

I am well aware that this one is silly, but really I need to man.  I love being single and I have a ton of fun with my life.  I just got really sick of dating the last year.  I would love it if someone could go on dates for me and get a good guy and then after a month I would pick up the relationship.  I have a date tonight, so I guess I am already doing pretty good on this front!

7. Keep growing So Much Sunshine.

I have loved writing this year and I want to keep it up in 2014 and take it further.  I will be honest and say that I would like it to generate a little bit of cash-flow for me at some point in the year as I plan to be a student again and some extra cash would be great.  I just opened up sponsorships for the year and already have my first month booked!  I am still offering free ads for February if you are interested.  Check out my sponsorship page and enter code SUNSHINE to get your free ad spot in February 2014!  I also want to get to know more bloggers and become a more active presence in this community.

8. Take Photography Classes.

I got me a fancy camera for Christmas and I love it.  It already takes way better photos than any other camera I have used.  I just want to keep getting better and better.  There is a photography school near my house that is great for beginners and professionals too, I have signed up for classes and am so excited to learn a new skill.



9. Read more books.

I love reading and I have been lazy about reading this year.  Part of my laziness was due to being an English teacher and I had to read essays day in and day out the other part was TV was pretty fun.  I miss reading and will be reading more this year, send me your book recommendations!

10. Relax.

There are plenty of things that bother me and distract me from what I think is important.  Too often I let those things in and I can become negative.  I have been reminding myself more and more that simple annoyances do not matter and I will survive.  I have been asking myself in the grand scheme of life will this thing really be that important?  The answer is usually no and I then move on.  I want to relax about my future, about my past, and about the things that drive me crazy today.  I want more and more to live in the now and be happier each day.

11. Continue to let Jesus lead me.

I live my life for Jesus and I need to constantly be turning things over to him.  When I try and be Lord of my life I am super miserable.  When I step out of the way and let Jesus do it I am usually a little scared, but always blown away by what he can do.  I want this more and more in my life.

12. Love myself more and love others more.

This year I have really liked who I am.  I have quit caring what people think of me more and I have found things that make me happy and I cherish those things.  I want to keep this up in the new year and continue to be happy with myself and appreciate those around me for who they are.

Well that seems like a good place to stop.  I have loved 2013 and I am excited to see what 2014 has in store for me.

If you are up to it share one or some of your goals for the new year!  Let's make it a great one!

2013 A Look Back

I have really enjoyed reading many of the year in review posts many bloggers posted the last few days.  I enjoyed the so much I thought I should do my own.

January 2013

I started blogging again after a year and a half away. I just wrote about why I like my job and why I like country music.  It was a small start, but it was a start.



February 2013

In February I picked up some steam on the blog cycle and wrote about why The Bachelor caused me to lose some friends and dug down deep when I wrote about all the things that make me cry.



March 2013

In March I realized how important it was to add photos to your posts.  I wrote about having a teenager live in my house and my total shock that I was able to keep Glen Coco alive since September.



April 2013

I shared some of the Lies I Tell On Facebook and wrote about people's cell phone use and the way it was killing my soul.



May 2013

In May I wrote about the Lies I Tell My Students and about how excited I was for my new job opportunity, if only I could go back to those days.



June 2013

In June I took a lovely two week vacation to Hawaii and I discovered the secret to the Bachelorette and her powers over men and their style.



July 2013

In July I went back to work and pretty much became a celebrity in China and I pretty much became a middle age man and took up golf.



August 2013

During the summer I became a grown up and bought a house and was an extra in a Lifetime movie.  I actually saw myself!  The movie is called A Country Christmas, check it out.

[caption id="attachment_332" align="aligncenter" width="480"] At the shoot being awesome![/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_371" align="aligncenter" width="640"] There I am! Well at least the side of my head! I was on TV for a full three seconds![/caption]

September 2013

In September I ran into a guy I really liked on a mission trip, I looked hot he did not. I also realized that my baking skills are too good and drive the men away.



October 2013

The month of Penny, I helped my friend get engaged, and I decide that when a guy stops calling you it is because he died.



November 2013

The month of my birth!  I met Lee Brice for my birthday and Miley tried to ruin my life.



December 2013

I really got into the blogging spirit and wrote about things this blogger has yet to say and what I love about blogging. I also wrote about the perils of being a dog mom and the need for a support group.



Happy New Year to you all!  Here's to 2014 being the best yet!

2013 - Favorite Blogs To Sponsor

Today I am sharing some tips I learned this year from sponsoring some blogs.  I have sponsored about 10 blogs this year and I will share my best experiences, what made sponsoring that blog successful, and what to look for in a blog to sponsor.  I have sponsored some blogs and had some very negative experiences which I will not be sharing here.  I try to keep things positive and I really want this post to be about the good things bloggers are doing.  I am more than happy to share my whole sponsoring experience with you through email if you want to know about a particular blog I did not list here. Things I looked for when I was looking for blogs to sponsor:1. Do I like the blog?  What is the point in giving this blogger your money if you do not like their content?  I know you can gain some readers but they probably will not readers that are engaged in your writing.  Like likes like (that was a lot of like).  If a reader likes a blog you like the chances of them liking your blog are greatly increased. 2. Do they post on a regular basis?No it is not necessary to post every single day of the week.  However, if they post on a regular basis that is only good for you.  For example if a blogger writes fresh, original content five days a week that is five time a regular reader will read the blog.  If a blogger only posts 2 or 3 times a week…. you can figure out the rest. 3. How do they promote themselves?This may seem weird because you want them to promote you, but really you want to know if they are good at promotion.  Do they use twitter to post their links and engage with other blogger?  Are they super into Pinterest?  Is Facebook their jam Are they off the grid and cool like that.  Pay attention to their social media behavior.  If a blogger uses Pinterest exclusively and you do not even have an account, your partnership would not be as dynamic as if you had the same social media savvy. 4. Can I afford it?Really though sponsoring and trying to grow your blog is expensive.  I set a limit for myself of $20 a month when I first started to sponsor blogs. This meant about one blog a month.  I am slowly making a little money now through blogging and might make more one day.  If that comes I can invest more into advertising myself.  Until then about $25 a month is my limit.  Until your blog becomes a real source of income I think it is important to budget, focus on writing quality posts, and trying to make new blog friends. 5. Is there a special on ad space?Half of the blogs I sponsored I used a promo code that they offered in a post or on twitter.  I am sure that if you looked at my list and know how much each ad costs you will know that I could have spent way more than $25 a month.  NOPE!  I am all about bargain shopping. 6. Do I trust them?Really though this is huge.  You are giving over your money and trusting them to promote your blog, give your money to another person if they win a giveaway you sponsored, and their name will be attached to your name (for a week or so).  If you do not get the sense that they are someone you would give a $20 bill to in real life for the love of Dumbeldore, keep your money! 7. Do I get more than a sidebar ad?I am just going to say what everyone says to themselves, sidebar ads don't work!  As I look through my stats, it is a rare day that traffic comes just from a sidebar ad.  Maybe my buttons are ugly, or they have cooties, but whatever the reason they are not working for me.  If you can write something, have someone write for you, give you some space on a post it is a trillion times more effective than a sidebar button. (That is an official stat from the census bureau).Life of BonLove the way she does her sponsor post.  She write about you and your blog and what she likes about it (at least she did when I was on the blog).  I felt like this was extra helpful because her readers trust her and are likely to read something she believes in.   This is the post she wrote the month I sponsored her.  I from her blog I gained as many followers from this intro as I did on the giveaway day.  Bonnie has a great reputation and her readers are loyal to her.  Life of Bon is a great one to sponsor. The Daily TayTaylor's was the first blog I sponsored. I just started small and got myself a sidebar ad.  Later in the year I did her Saturday Takeover. It gave me some great traffic and readers.  It also is the second thing that comes up when you google search my blog, after my actual blog of course.  Clearly, Taylor has a great following and even a Saturday post will get you traffic. Helene In BetweenOK so my favorite blog I sponsored was Helene in Between.  My sidebar ad on her blog actually was clicked many times a day.  I gained so many followers because of my post on her blog and the giveaway she hosted.  Even more than that though I believe Helene is a good person, she has got this blog thing down to an art.  She comments on every post you write while you are sponsoring her blog.  She emails you to let you know how to make your blog better.  It seems like she really cares about you and the success of your blog and her blog.  I can not say enough nice things about her. Really go sponsor her already! Kym at Travel BabblesWho doesn't love Kym!  She is so real and honest in her posts and she hockey is a huge part of her life, which I love.  She is so sweet to her sponsors.  She encourages interaction amongst them on Facebook and will tweet links of posts she likes.  I totally missed the email she sent asking for information on the giveaway last month. I emailed her about it and she was willing to add me to this month's giveaway.  She is kind and understanding and will help you. Nadine at Back East BlondeI like the way Nadie adds your spotlight at the end of her post, it looks nice and clean.  Here was my spotlight on here blog. I appreciated that she emailed  me in advance to tell me when she would post my spotlight.  She also wrote to see if it was OK to move the post date because she did not feel like what she was going to write was dynamic enough. I appreciated that she wanted to write a good post on a day that she would have a sponsor.Postcards from RachelRachel, actually will promote your posts on Twitter.  She makes her sponsor spotlights look very pretty and nice.  You can tell she is invested in the look of her blog and wants her sponsors to be highlighted in the best possible way.  Check out my post on her blog, I really love that it is on a gift guide for guys.  She is quick to reply to emails and a delight to work with. Life According to Kenz and Whispering Sweet NothingsThese ladies are both extremely sweet and professional.  The best thing they offered for me was their group giveaways.  I gained a lot of new followers and they were quality readers because they followed these two blogs. Button Swap MustsYes, above I said that buttons don't work anymore, and I stand by that.  I will say though that it has been good for me to network more and make some new blog friends.  The ladies below are engaged in their blog and will read your blog too.  They all have great content and are genuinely wonderful ladies. Pretty In PinkThe Grand Adventure of MeMer in America Livin It Up As Hey UPThat is all I have for you today, which was actually a lot more than I anticipated.  Do you have a blog that you loved sponsoring?  Share you experiences below I am looking for some good ones for 2014!  I should also say that if you want to sponsor So Much Sunshine you should go to my new sponsor page. Sponsor spotlights are free to the first two months of 2014.  Be sure to enter promocode: SUNSHINE.  Thanks for reading and for those of you who have already sponsored So Much Sunshine! 

Sunday Funday

So my little Penny has been needing a little trim of her fur for quite a while now.  She is always cute, but I was starting to forget what her eyes looked like.

I took her in today to get a trim and it took two hours.  Not because Penny was especially hairy, but because the groomers is "always late."  To that I said I will "always go to a new groomer."

Penny left the groomers with eyes and some big ol' Texas hair.  I am nut sure why but I always feel like hair stylists, and apparently dog hairstylists want you to leave with some huge rodeo queen hair.  Maybe their mantra is:



For today's Sunday Funday I am just sharing photos of Penny's Texas style hair.  My sister told me that she looked like she had an audition for Real Housewives of New Jersey.



Penny also met her little brothers and sisters that are now for sale at the pet store.  I had to walk away because I really wanted to bring this little cutie home with me!



Happy Sunday friends!  I hope you are having a lovely day and find some fun!

Top Ten Concert Encounters

Yesterday I wrote about all the concerts I went to in 2013, which you can read here if you missed it.  It really did not seem like that many concerts, but when I looked at my post it was a lot.

I am not sure if you are the concert going type, is there a concert going type?  Probably not.  But I have encountered some of the most interesting people at concerts this year.  I am not sure if it is like this at every concert, or if it is just country music, or southern California.  Whatever the case, I have some stories to tell you!  So lets just dive in.  I present to you the top ten concert goer encounters of 2013.

10. The homophobic 50-year-old man standing next to me at Billy Currington at Angel Stadium.  There was a precious young man on the other side of me that was line dancing like a fool during the whole concert.  He was adorable and I wanted to be his friend.  The man next to me however, kept yelling terrible things to him and calling him names.  It was sad and horrible.  You sir are a jerk and no one likes you.

9.  The boy who was line dancing like a dancing fool at Billy Currington.  Even when jerks were yelling mean things at you. you kept dancing and shaking your hips like a Shakira song.  I commend you for being joyful no matter the circumstance.

8. The lady at Kip Moore that was "engaged" to his lead guitar player.  There were so many holes in her story it was like swiss cheese.  She claimed "Hey Pretty Girl" was inspired by her love for her man.  She also showed us photos of her with all the stars in Vegas for some award show.  The photos were just blurred images of the bands walking by here.  "Here I am with The Band Perry." then we saw a blurry photo of a girl with crazy curly hair running away.

7. Everyone at Stagecoach.  OK but really, Stagecoach is crazy. Men running around in speedos and cowboy hats with bud light labels pasted on them.  Girls wearing a bikini top of the American flag and bikini bottoms of the Confederate flag.  I am not sure it was the extreme desert heat or the copious amounts of beer that people consume at this concert, but y;all need to get your act together!

6. Hobbit at Chase Rice.  Although, almost every girl would totally go for a guy who poured half his bud light all over her and then announced loud enough for her to hear that he really just, "wants to get laid tonight," this girl has standards.  I know that you were 6 feet tall but this girl is 5'10 and you were a good 5 inches shorter. Too bad you were gross!

5. Our new friends from Fresno California.  Before Luke Bryan this summer we found  table and sat down and made some new friends.  They were actually nice ladies from a farm in Fresno.  They taught us the ways of the farm and FFA (Future Farmers of America).  I loved them because they were so different from us.  Apparently the hottest men ever played football in high school and were in FFA. That is all you need to be hot there.

4. The couples.  Oh my the couples at concerts are a mess.  Making out, fighting, leaving for an hour and returning after doing who knows what, taking 123129423798476238964 selflies in front of me while I am trying to look at Lee Brice.

3. Smoky Joe.  So while I was at Zac Brown Band this year in Hollywood there was a little man in a sweater vest who was sitting next to me.  He would leave for like 20 minutes, come back, call a friend and hold up his phone so his friend could hear the band and just hang up without saying anything, and smoke a ton of pot.  I am not kidding this guy was nuts about pot.  I know because he kept holding his arm up next to my face to call all his friends.  Smoky Joe, please take a shower and leave the drugs at home.

2. Girl who was mad that we wouldn't flirt with her boyfriend.  Again at Zac Brown Band, but with the people on the other side of us.  This guy ran over when the band started to play his favorite song and wanted to high-five us.  It was awkward because his girlfriend just gave us the stink eye. We didn't high-five him because she looked crazy.  Then she was mad at us for not high giving her boyfriend.  She kept yelling at us and almost tried to fight us.  It was weird and she was drunk.  We were sober and just watched the couple of the year leave.  They are a prime example of the #4 we encountered.

1. Michigan Hat Guy.  Really this list should have been called Michigan hat guy because he totally inspired me to write this post.  While at Kenny Chesney and Eric Church this summer there was a young man wearing a Michigan hat and drinking Bud-light with Lime.  He was on the prowl for a lady and tried to go home with anyone who looked like a lady.  He talked to us for a few minutes then moved on to the girls right next to him.  Every time we looked over he was making a new friend.  I am not sure he realized there was any music happening or that in order to procure a girlfriend you can't keep taking to other girls.  Whatever his story was he was a legend.  I tip my hat to you Michigan hat man.  You keep doing you and looking for your lady.  I have a feeling you will be much more successful at a Michigan game, but what do I know?



 

Honorable mention goes to the drunk man at Kip Moore.  Not only did you spill your beer on my head, gross, you also elbowed me in the head and then tried to "get with that."  Sorry my head is very important to me and you tried to damage it.  Also, you kept asking Kip Moore to kiss you so I am not sure you even like girls.

Let's raise  our huge Bud LIght with Lime and toast to 2013 and the amazing people I met at concerts.  Here's hoping 2014 provides even more entertainment, but from a greater distance.

Top Concerts 2013

I just love this time of year! Yes Christmas is great I love the week between Christmas and New Years. I love to look back on my year and reflect on where I have come from and where I would like to go in the new year. In fact my personal journals are full of entries from December 26-January 3 or so.

This week I am looking back at app things music relates. 2013 was the year of music for me and I wouldn't have it any other way. Below are links and photos from each of the concerts I went to this year. Enjoy and click the links for something to so in all your leisure time.

StagecoachKip MooreTim Mc GrawKenny Chesney and Eric Church Luke Bryan Zac Brown Band  Lee Brice Chase Rice 

Merry Christmas From The Kids Table

So I am currently at my mom's house watching the Hobbit and trying to teach Penny to be a lady of decorum.  So far she isn't taking to my instruction, but she is cute.  She looks like a little doll today and I love it.



We were at my aunt and uncle's house tonight for Christmas Eve.  My family is quite small, but on my aunt's side there re a lot of people.  I do not quite fit into to any of the age/life stages that are represented at this family gathering.  My favorite people to talk to are my uncle, my mom, my aunt's sister and her daughter.  Really it is fun to talk to my mom and dousing, they are both counselor and make the holiday conversation so light.  Tonight's topic, sex offenders.

After we have exhausted the counselor talk I usually end up with the dogs or the children.  They are just way more fun than everyone else.  They do not get drunk, or care about a football score,or have life issues.  They are just so happy it is Christmas and want to share that joy.

Tonight I played with two sweet little kids and it was wonderful.  Scout, my cousin's dog even joined the fun and it was perfect.  I then drove home to get Penny to go to my mom's house.  I cranked up the radio and sang Christmas songs all the way home.  Think Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle, "horses, horses, horses!"

I love that there are ways to find joy in each day.  I hope you can find a way to be happy and enjoy the wonder of Christmas. Sit at the Kids Table if you need a little refresher on how love Christmas!

So Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart!  I hope you are all singing Feliz Navidad now!

Wait! It's Christmas Eve?!

One more sleep till Christmas!

I do not know about you, but it has been a little hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit.  I mean honestly, I have watched one Christmas movie, The Family Stone, probably the most depressing Christmas movie ever.  I haven't looked at the lovely lights in the rich people neighborhoods. I am pretty sure I forgot to buy my sister and brother their Christmas gifts.

I am not even a grump when it comes to Christmas, this one just got away from me.

I know that I will be watching all my go to Christmas movies soon.  I mean there is Elf!  I haven't even watched Elf yet!

That is pretty much how I feel right now.

I also know I will watch A Christmas Story all day on Christmas.  Thanks TBS!

I have however, watch enough Channing Tatum movies and Harry Potter moves to have them totally work their way into my subconscious.  In fact just last night I had a dream that my boyfriend Channing Tatum was trying to protect me from Voldemort, who was trying to kill me because I was the "chosen one."

Merry Christmas to me!

A New Look

Well Hello there!  Can you believe it is only two more sleeps till Christmas?  That is wild.  I am never really ready for Christmas anymore.  I usually put off shopping and stuff until I am done with teaching and then I never want to do anything!  Amazon for the win!

If you have been around my blog in the last few days you will notice that there have been some great changes, or now you are noticing that there are some changes.  Yes folks, I made the switch from blogger to WordPress.  I had a few reasons for the switch and I am going to share them with you and some of the challenges I faced while switching.



 

I want to start by saying that I am not delusional to believe that I have a huge blog and that is why I switched.  Actually it was somewhat the opposite.  I knew my blog was small enough that if I switched it wouldn't be terribly detrimental if I lost a few readers from GFC.  The more people I had reading in Google the harder it would have been for me to switch.

But that does not answer the real question of why I switched so let me break it down for ya.

I like the way WordPress looks

I think it looks cleaner than Blogger.  I know that you can get some bomb designers in Blogger, but I have been waiting for a whole semester for my new design. In WordPress I can choose my own templates and design for myself, for the most part.  I actually still want someone to make a new header that is sparkly.

I own my own content

I am not sure if it is the future published author in me or the only child in me but it was super important that I owned my own content.  In case you did not know if you have a Blogger blog Google owns the content you post.  In WordPress everything is self hosted and you own your content.  I am also getting a nice camera for Christmas and I want my photos to be my own. I am really happy about this.

If I do not like something I can change it with a new plugin

I wanted to add icons so you can follow my twitter and instagram pages.  I played around with some plugins and found one I like for now.  I am sure I will find another one I like more.

Anything you are having trouble with someone else had trouble with

WordPress actually does not have employees to provide support if you need help.  Instead there are forums that you can read on every single topic to help you out.  It is a little time-consuming to find what you need, but so is contacting customer service for any website. The best part is you learn how to fix it yourself and get even better at computers.

For example, I wanted the comments to appear at the bottom of a post instead of at the top.  The template I am using has them at the top.  I googled how to move the comments for my theme to the bottom and found the forum on the same topic.  I got the html code, slapped it in and bam problem solved.

Even though it is great to learn more about your website this leads me to the few drawbacks I have encountered.

[caption id="attachment_260" align="aligncenter" width="576"] A photo of Penny and I from my new phone. Something to make you happy before I get into the negatives.[/caption]

You have to know what you are doing

Really though, I have spent a ton of time just trying to figure out what the heck I am doing.  I went to bed last night with a huge headache from looking at my screen and figuring things out for so long.  Penny has been such a bad girl too because I have been on the computer way longer than she thinks appropriate.  She will usually give me an hour to do my work and then it is play time.

Your Bloglovin feed gets messed up

This is an easy fix.  You email the customer support and they fix it in a day or so.  Make sure you get a new button just in case your website changed, you want to make sure your readers get to the right spot.

Comments.  

One of the things I liked most about blogger was the comment system.  If someone graced my blog with a comment I was notified in my Gmail inbox and I could respond by composing an email back.  It was simple, easy, and effective.  WordPress is not this way.  If you leave a comment on a WP site you only know if someone wrote you back if you subscribe to their comment feed.  This means you get all the comments that people leave on the post, not just the author's reply.  ANNOYING!

My solution was to add Disqus to my site. I choose this because I know a lot of bloggers use it already and it is pretty easy to use.  I mostly just wanted a way to write people back so they knew I valued them and the time they spent to write me a comment.

Redirecting your links

This one is huge.  Yes it is easy to import your Blogger blog to WP.  If you want to know how I will help you.  The part that is hard is adding the redirect html to your Blogger and WP accounts.  You want to make sure to do this so if there are any links out there that have a url to your Blogger blog they will come to WordPress no problem.

I found the following article and video to be the most helpful in this process.

If you ever are thinking about making the switch I am more than happy to try to share what I have learned with you.  I am in no way an expert and I have just done the minimum to make sure my blog looks nice and is functional.  I know I have a ton to learn, but I am looking forward to the challenge.  I am pretty sure if there was a job of being a professional student I would do that in a heart beat!

In other news it was decided yesterday that I am hosting Christmas dinner for my family this year.  They are all over it and no one wanted to.  I offered with the condition that there will be a lot of love and joy and mediocre food.

I am in luck because my grandma orders food on QVC for Christmas.  Yes, you can order food on QVC, my grandma doesn't like to leave the house.  I just need a main course.  I do not want to make a turkey, but want something with turnkey in it.  All you awesome people out there should leave a link for a great recipe that I can make!

I hope you have a great day and get your errands done early so as to avoid all the crazies!

Sunday Funday

Welcome to today's Christmas edition of Sunday Funday.

I think a lot of you have seen this video coating around Facebook this week.  It is of a family that made a video instead of a Christmas card for their friends, family, and nation.  All I want to know is where can I sign up to marry one of the parent's brothers so we can be family best friends?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kjoUjOHjPI

If you are looking for a little light reading you can read my post on Things This Blogger Has Yet To Say.

Happy Sunday! And Pajama family please adopt me.

The Last 24 Hours

Before I begin today's post I have to say thank you to everyone who read yesterday's post:  Things This Blogger Has Yet To Say, and left a comment.  I loved hearing from you and the 11 genuine comments were the highlight of my day.  Thanka you!Right now it is 11:15 in the morning Pacific Standard Time and I am just getting my act together for the day. This post will be short and sassy and void of photos.  I actually had some great photos to share with you but you can find out about that soon.  The last 24 hours have been eventful.  Not eventual in the way that I meet Thor at the grocery story yesterday afternoon and we feel madly in love.  But, eventful in the way where you go, "what just happened?" Nothing traumatic, just weird. Yesterday was my last day of work before Christmas break. I had to give my final, grade it, finalize my grades, make new schedules, receive gifts from students, avoid all the cookies in the office, and other things too.  I finished my job and the job of three other people by noon, but I was not allowed to leave. My work has a rule that everyone has to get their work done before anyone can leave. I love that rule.  Not! I then started my own witch hunt and found all my friends who had not done their job.  We found it mostly it was Internet issues and no one could post their final grades online.  Even though a few people were not done we got to leave at 2.  Then I went home and took a nap for an hour and then got ready for my work Christmas party.  It was fun, and a little awkward.  I sat at a table with my friends and their spouses and a guy I work with and his college friend that he brought.  The college friend is a male nursing student.  Because of the seating arrangement people kept asking if he was my date.  I tried to control my "yeah right!" face as I told them who he was.  I think my friends just want me to be happy with a boyfriend, but that was silly. At the work party I decided we were at the bad kids table. I mean we were loud and unruly, and it was fun.  I blame the fact that I was seated directly in front of the only massive pillar in the room.  I couldn't see anything, bust disembodied voices. I had to entertain myself somehow. We had a raffle at work for a lot of random things and then cool beach cruisers.  I do not know how to ride a bike, but I wanted to win the beach cruiser, I want to learn to ride a bike.  I was getting very excited and then the MC says, "This gift is for couples only.  If you are single sorry.  We are praying for you."  That felt good. I left the party a little early because I had to take May to LAX to fly home to China for the break. We left home with four hours cushion.  She made it to the airport with 45 minutes before her flight.  We sat on the freeway for three hours.  I hate LA sometimes.  I moved 2 miles in 2 hours at 10 at night.  Why does life need to be this way? I told May to tell everyone that her flight was leaving in 30 minutes and ask if she could move to the front of the line.  It worked.  She made it to her gate in under 15 minutes.  My new travel strategy. I made it home after 1 am and Penny and I slept until 8:30.  I let her out to potty and ran in the house.  It was raining all day yesterday and she is such a priss she will not pee outside in the rain.  Mind you the rain stopped yesterday afternoon.  She thought we were playing and I decided I was going to use the restroom so she could calm down.  She then ran into the bathroom and peed on the bathmat.  I tried to stop her, but it was awkward.  Somehow my phone fell out of my pocket and into the toilet.  Currently my phone is taking a rice bath.  I would show you photos of all of my adventures, but my phone is taking a rice bath.  Nothing really terrible happened, just a little tragic.  I am heading out to see Anchorman 2 and workout at the gym.  I have decided with the help of a friend that this break is going to be getting back to health. I am sure I will share my plan with you here.I am off to the movies, so really life is not bad at all!  Oh and I just looked over and Penny pooped in the living room.  Thanks, kid. 

If you want to see any photos from the last day or so be sure to check out my instagram @ericajt

Things This Blogger Has Yet To Say

So I read the blogs… all of the blogs. OK maybe not all the blogs but I do read a lot of blogs on the reg.  I have come to realize there are some things that the most successful bloggers say.  One day I will have the opportunity to use many of these phrases that have not left my lips and I will try not to say. 

My inbox is so full of emails from comments my readers made.

Honesty time, I love it when I check my blog email and I have two new comments.  I love it when my post gets more than five comments a day.  It is just so hard to keep up with all these adoring fans!  Just kidding.  I hope that if I am fortunate enough to get more readers and more people commenting.  I also hope that if that happens I remember how much I value them and I spend a lot of time communicating with them.  If you have not read Erin's post about Helene and her ability to do this exact thing, go over and read it on Living In Yellow. 

My boyfriend, husband, life partner, takes all my photos

Believe it or not but all my stunning photos come to you because I am an awkward human being who asks everyone around if they will take a picture of me.  I act all confident and proud.  When people ask me why they are taking my photo I tell them the truth.  I am an Internet model.  Which makes blogging sound a lot fancier.  I actually tell them it is for my blog.  I am pretty sure they either think I am a big deal or that I have an inflated sense of self.  Either way it is great. 

This was a really awkward photo a student took for me.  I am pretty sure you can see the fear in my eyes.

I get so much free stuff from small business and corporate America 

I mean how cool is it when one of the ladies here is sporting a new necklace or cute dress that they got for free because they are promoting that business.  I am not going to lie, I would totally be down of this.  I would even get a boyfriend to take photos of me in the stuff for my blog and go back on my number one saying. 

Blogging has lost it's meaning 

On Monday I wrote about why I love blogging.  If I get too caught up in my boyfriend taking photos of me for sponsored posts I hope he will tell me that I have lost my focus. 

Blogland 

This phrase makes my skin crawl.  It bothers me and I am not sure why. 

There is so much negative things written about me and/ or my blog 

I know that there rare a lot of negative things in the world.  I know that there are people who would rather spend their time tearing apart a post and being mean.  I do not invest my time in looking for those websites or those people. I am not trying to say that I actually think my blog is big enough to have negative things written.  I am just trying to say I have no idea about any of it.  Also I am very sorry if people have said mean things to you or about your blog.   And please remember hurting people hurt people, for real. 

All this sponsorship stuff is overwhelming

I actually can see how sponsorships can be overwhelming and if a blog takes on too much I can see how things can fall through the cracks.  I hope if I grow this blog a little more and have paying sponsors I can find what is right for my blog and my time.  I also hope that I can value those who would choose to invest in my blog and me.  If you want to sponsor So Much Sunshine you can click here.  

No one in my real life knows about my blog 

First, I have to know how you pulled this one off.  I am such a blabber mouth that I tell anyone about my blog if we have known each other for at least a few days.  It just comes up.  If I learned something from a blog I will say, "Hey I read this cool blog and this girl from ______________ wrote about ___________________.  You should totally try it."

Second, I like to have my life be on the same page no matter what setting I am in.  I am such a bad liar, sometimes, that I would be on constant paranoia if I had a secret blog.  

Third, I somewhat commend those secret bloggers because they can really let a lot out.  I am glad that my friends and family know about So Much Sunshine.  It helps keeps me aware of my writing and helps me do a better job of expressing myself in a clear and agreeable way. 

That is all I got today.  Thank you to anyone out there who reads this little blog and thank you for your kind words and support!  I really am so appreciative of you.  

Best Movies 2013

Best Songs of 2013

Well folks she did it again.  Who is she?  Well that would be the lovely Helene over at Helene in Between of course.  What did she do?  Well she had a great idea for a link up;... again!  I was already working on this post for myself so when Helene announced it as a link up on her blog I was thrilled.  We both are totally in love with music, even if our tastes are different.  Really though, music in almost any form is amazing, unless it is on my worst of 2013 list below.

When I was making my playlist for top songs of 2013 I really had one main criteria: Did I sing like a crazy person every time this song came on the radio.  If the answer was no I did not include it on my list.  There are plenty of good songs that came out this year, but these are just the top ones that I liked.

Roar by Katy Perry

this is my go to pick me up song.  I do not care that it is full of Rocky flashbacks.  All I know is I have to dance around like a fool when it comes on. 

That's My Kind of Night by Luke Bryan

One of my favorite memories from this year was going to see Luke.  When he sang this song my friend and I were some of the only people who knew it and we sang so loud that everyone around us looked at us.  It was beautiful. 

Little Bit of Everything by Keith Urban

This song came out right before I went to Hawaii.  I went for a little drive around Maui and this song came on.  I sang it loud with the windows down and the ocean to my left.  

Hey Pretty Girl By Kip Moore

All you really need to know about this song is that he wrote it for me. 

Best Day of My Life by American Authors

This is a recent obsession.  I really feel like am having a the best day of my life when I hear it. 

When I See This Bar by Kenny Chesney

The lyrics of this could make you nostalgic for almost anything in your life that involved your friends.  Well done Kenny. 

Goodbye in Her Eyes by Zac Brown Band

I like a good, honest break up song.  One that tells it like it is and is not too melodramatic.  I get it Zac Brown. I get it. 

Cruise by Florida Georgia Line

So this song took over the radio.  I still like it. 

Mirrors by Justin Timberlake

I know Suit and Tie got all the fanfare this year, but Mirrors was better, trust me.

Treasure by Bruno Mars

This song rooted itself deep in my brain this summer and has yet to leave. TREASURE! That. is. what. you. are. 

I Knew You Were Trouble by Taylor Swift 

For reals I almost but We Are Never Getting Back Together, but I was afraid I would lose most of you.  So I stuck with this more socially acceptable Taylor Swift Song. 

When She Says Baby by Jason Aldean

So J. Aldean has kind of lost me with all his hick-hop.  But I am totally in love with this song.  Night train is actually a great CD.  Way to be homie! 

best of 2013 by Erica Thompson on Grooveshark

Worst songs of 2013

A best list is not complete without a worst list.  Here are the songs I despised this year.

Aw Nah by Chris Young 

Gross Chris Young.  People are never going to take country music seriously with you putting out songs like this!

Redneck Crazy by Tyler Farr

Just the title of this song makes me cringe.  Since when is it OK to turn into a complete jackal and terrorize your ex?  Get a life Tyler. 

 

We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus

I already wrote about Miley's attempt to ruin my life.  Apparently this is her anthem for her life ruining ways.  She Can't Stop.

The Outsiders by Eric Church

I have no idea what to say about this.  It reminds me of kids in high school who started a band and lost focus.  Let's add a talking section!  Let's add a gospel choir! Let's add a crazy metal section!

Gentleman by PSY

Other than the fact that it sounds like he is cussing all the time I am just over PSY and all his antics.

Cups that stupid song from Pitch Perfect 

I totally did not mind this song when it was in the movie.  It just started to bug when it was on the radio and then when they made a music video.  It is OK to leave some things alone Hollywood. 

Alright that is all the sass I have for you today.  What are some of your favorite songs from 2013 or what are some songs you totally hope you never hear again?

Oh The Places You'll Go

So I am pretty sure I have mentioned this before, but I teach a lot of wonderful international Asian students.  You should probably read about the amazing and weird.

This is the girl's basketball team at my school.  They won their first game last week.  They are so short and cute! .

One of the things I love most about teaching an international crowd is that I get to learn a lot about another culture.  In my English classes and now in my counseling office some of my best times come from language breakdowns and attempts to translate phrase directly from Chinese into English, and the hilarity that ensues!
 
Today I am going to share with you some of my favorite Chinese idioms translated into English.  These sayings are extremely useful in breaking down national borders and making friends.  If you find yourself in a situation and need to make a new Chinese friend try one of these. 


Little Three 
This is how you communicate the idea of a mistress.  This was my first saying I learned while at my job, which is odd.  Actually it happened because there are a lot of Little Threes in the books we read first semester, The Crucible and The Great Gatsby in particular. 

You Are A Light bulb
While might seem nice, it is not.  My students asked me what I was doing one night and I told them I was spending time with my friend and her boyfriend.  They all freaked out and called me a light bulb.  I asked them what it meant and essentially it means you are the third wheel, but meaner.  As if it isn't awkward enough they think that you not being with someone you love makes you shine bright for the world to see and make fun of you.  Thanks guys!

People Mountain, People Sea
this one means you are in a large crowd of people, say in Beijing.  Really it means there are so many people it is like a mountain or sea.  


I Will Give You Some Color! See, See?
The equivalent of "you want to take this outside?"  The meaning of this one is I am going to make you bleed and give you bruises.  It is a happy saying. 


Horse Horse Tiger Tiger
This has nothing at all to do with a zoo!  It just means "so-so" or "whatever."  If some one asks you how you are and you are OK you can reply "horse horse, tiger tiger."  Actually I do not recommend you do this, I have tried it in my classes and they just look at me like I grew an extra arm right before their faces. 


Not Three, Not Four
From what I understand this one means you are weird.  You do not fit into any grouping, you are not a three and not a four.  Maybe you are a five but the translation breaks down. 

My Head Is Heavier Than My Foot
May told me this one day on the way to school.  She was trying to tell me she had a head cold or that she was congested that morning.  It took many people to decipher this one.  It is now my favorite way to tell people I am a little under the weather. 

I feel like I am forgetting one, but I guess there will have to be a part two. Actually, I already know there will be.  Check back next week when I teach you all my favorite Chinese sayings you should use when you travel abroad.  Now go out and make some new friends!