Blogging » Hip to be Mom

So word on the street is that Google will be pulling the plug on Google Friend Connect. There goes my 900 odd GFC followers and their blogs that I’d sure hate to lose. I’m sure a lot of us worked very hard at those numbers and this is such a shame. So what do you say we do this? Add me on Google+ (and I really hope you do) and I’ll add you back .

If you aren’t already on Google+, it’s a great way to while away entire afternoons collecting friends and getting all social-like. Just don’t forget to pick up the kids from school (though that’s never happened to me ).

If� you’ve already got a Gmail account, all you’ve got to do is log in, click on your email address on the top right corner to “Join Google+” and it takes you directly to the signup page. If you don’t have a Gmail account, you can still create a Google+ account on its own.

I find Google+ is much easier to navigate than the deep, dark dungeons of Facebook. I like the clean-cut interface that makes it a cinch to drag/drop people into circles (or groups) and even some of other stuff is a lot more intuitive. And if you have a minute, please consider following me on RSS, Twitter or Facebook as well.

Notice anything different about this blog? Yup, I had made a new header. The result of an idle mind. I was rummaging through some photos from my 2 trips to Cali last year and found a photo that Skye took. As you can see, each tile is different. Some are drawings, some are text and some have objects stuck on. Too cute.

Does anyone recognize where this picture was taken?

Let’s have a bit of fun here to brighten up another manic Monday. Leave your answer/guess in the comment box and let’s see who gets it right . The correct answer will be posted later.

Edited to add – Hint, picture is part of a wall in a public place with high foot and air traffic.

The saying goes, you learn something new every day and I guess Tuesday’s as good a day as any. LSNT is co-hosted by my bloggy friend, Jen of What Would Jen Do and I haven’t done one in a while, so here goes:

1. What is your favorite breakfast food?

The kind I don’t have to cook myself. Serve me bacon and eggs, dimsum (Chinese dumplings) or banana leaf breakfast and I promise to love you, muacks.

2. Do you do any fun crafts?

Love painting T-shirts and making jewelry. Wish I had the time for more.

3. Do you care if the toilet paper goes over or under?

Very much so. I must have it going over and goodness help whoever puts it the wrong way.

4. If you have to name your daughter after a state, which one would it be?

Cali, that’s how much I love thee.

5. Do you have a touch, full out keyboard, or flip phone?

Mine is a pocket PC – touch screen with full keyboard.� I’ve already reserved a spot for it at the museum. I’m kinda waiting for the iPhone 5 which I may or may not buy. Well, it depends? I’m not entirely sold on Apple products but if you can give me 3 good reasons why I need an iPhone, I’m all ears .

6. If you were someone else, would you be friends with yourself?

It takes a while to get to know me but once I get past the initial awkwardness, I think yeah, I could be friends with myself .

Happy Tuesday!

With Monday crazy as it was, I almost forgot to mention the good news…

I woke up Saturday morning to find Hip2bMom.com listed on Top 75 blogs that parents of teens should read at

How cool is that!

The article says, “Bold Earth Teen Adventures, a leader in teen adventure trips around the world, today (August 8, 2011) announced their first official list of the �Top 75 Bloggers Parents of Teens Should Read.�� The list honors deserving bloggers and provides a unique resource for people searching for relatable, fresh content and inspiring, fun lifestyle reads from one parent to another.

Team members at the student travel company searched the web to find bloggers from all types of genres with a distinct point of view as a parent of teenagers or pre-teens. They used specific criteria to award the top 75 blogs, such as interesting content, openness and honesty, posting frequency, comments, tips, look and feel and much more…”

Go read the rest of the article here and check out the complete list of top parenting teen bloggers. What made this surprise even sweeter is the fact that they found me from out of all those blogs out there. I had no idea I was even listed .

And if you believe in coincidences, this also happens to be Hip2bMom.com’s 4th blogiversary this past August 3. Although I’ve been blogging for well over 6 years, this blog is, by far, my favorite blog. And I have all my readers and commenters (and loyal lurkers, I see you!) to thank for both of these successes.

By the way, I’m testing out a new theme and I hope it’s working as I would like it to. Would love to hear how it’s working out for you – love it, hate it, snags, snitches, whatever. Edited to add: Just realized some of you may be having problems loading this theme? So I’m kinda changing it back and forth. Still very much a work in progress theme at this stage. Thanks for your patience .

I was walking innocently past the Sephora counter at JC Penney’s one day clutching my wallet close to me.

I stopped. For just a minute. To browse. I wasn’t going to buy anything. I swear.

But all my good intentions went out the window when I happened upon this eyeliner in gray. My first and only purchase from Sephora – so far.

Have you ever shopped at Sephora and what did you buy?

I was going to post a Wordless Wednesday today but seeing as I’m not much good with keeping ~~my mouth shut~~ my talkative fingers from walking all over my keyboard, I decided to pick the happy medium.

So Whatever Wednesday it is – a picture, a few words (’nuff said!) and a guessing game, just for the heck of it. Here goes: