In the first episode of the 1352 Report podcast (a fun commentary/discussion about various Lotus issues with Bruce, Sean, Carl and myself), I introduced myself and explained how I volunteer about 20 hours a month for a local community non-profit called SHO. This used to stand for Seniors Helping Others, as the organization runs the local meals on wheels and elderly visit services. The name was recently changed to stand for Serving Communities, Helping Others, and Opportunities for All as we are now the single largest volunteer placement service in RI. Think of a temp agency, except we match volunteers to organizations that rely on volunteers. I keep their small five-computer, one-server network running, as well as assist in planning their yearly fund-raiser events.

This has been a disasterous year to be a non-profit, as the weakening economy has cancelled most grants that were once readily available for them, and more than once SHO has appealed to the community for help so their doors can stay open.

This year, we decided that SHO needed some new, fresh events and thought a fall road rally would be a great one. So for all my RI/CT/MA readers, I’m proud to announce SHO’s Autumn Fun Road Run 2008!

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Starting gate: 11am-12 Noon at Narragansett pier ? north lot

Final Destination:
The Farmer’s Daughter for Prizes and fun! Raffles will be drawn at 2 pm.

Registration: $25 per car/driver
This is a fully tax deductible event!
Receipt for taxes for gas provided.

Pre-Register at SHO by calling 789-2362 through October 3, 2008 or at the event.

Enjoy a one-hour leisurely Sunday autumn drive along a planned scenic route, making five pit stops to receive goodies, a raffle ticket, and community happenings information. Your map and instructions will be waiting for you at the starting gate. At our last stop, the Farmer’s Daughter on Rt. 138, Mooresfield Road, South Kingstown, we will draw the winning raffle tickets for some great prizes including the much sought after GAS CARDS!

You will be helping to make a difference in the lives of elders living independently with transportation assistance, meals on wheels delivery, and companionship/respite support from SHO (Seniors Helping Others).

Visit the website www.southernrivol.org for more information.

I hope to see you there! I will be at the starting gate the day of the event handing out route maps (though I’m sure I’ll sneak off to go do the drive!)

Today was Zo?’s first birthday. I can’t believe my little girl has turned one!

The day couldn’t have been more magical. The weather was fantastic, the food was great, the company was excellent, and the birthday girl was a trooper all day long (even we were surprised at that!)

Matt’s father was smart enough to set up the back yard for us, and it turned out great. I never would have thought to put the backyard furniture where he put it, and it ended up being a great flow to the yard. Sometimes you just have to have someone else organize things for you to see them in a new way!

Here’s some pics, I’ll have more on Flickr soon!

A birthday breakfast:

With Grandma Spinosa, Grandma Stratton, and Uncle Jay:

With neighbors Brogan (thick as thieves, those two!) and neighbor Jack:

Mommy and daddy:

Finally all changed to open prezzies with Daddy:

This past year has been very interesting for me, to say the least. Lots of change, both good and bad.

The quick and dirty is that Solace is closing. Life is certainly different with an infant, and while I hope to open it again someday, right now being there for Zo? is my first priority. But I’m sure I’ll be telling you more on that later.

I’ve always found a way to have my cake and eat it, too. It may take some incovenience on my part, but if it’s what I truly want, then it’s perfectly acceptable to me.

Knowing that, now what I CAN do while being at home with an infant is trying my hand at professional blogging. After all, I’m currently between a rock and a hard place. I need income, this is a fact. Therefore, this is a blog I am creating with the sole intent to create a livable income for me. I am excited at the challenge, and it’s been a long time since I was excited about a project. I SO needed this.

I had always wanted to do a tech-tips sort of blog, I have so much I can share on so many levels of expertise - ranging from total beginner all the way to experienced technophile. Over the year, I have also tried hard to get my life in order and organize, so I have plenty of lifehacks also.

I am pleased to announce Momelettes.com - Moms are beated and fried. These tech tips will help.

Momelettes.com will contain tips for moms, ranging from lifehacks to cool websites, to useful tech tips and gadgets that will help them out.

From the home page:

These pages are for MOMS, not babies or kids. They contains ways that the lives of busy moms can be made easier by technology, gadgets, websites and lifehacks. Tips are called ‘momelettes’, and are designed like recipes, containing ingredients and steps to make them easy to follow. These recipes are for smart, savvy, resourceful moms who understand that in order to be better moms, it’s imperative to take time for themselves too. This site, run by a mom, does the legwork so they get that time.

The site currently makes use of Google Adsense. Hopefully the plan is to drive enough traffic to the site to gain some sponsors. Only time will tell. Well, time and quality content, of course! I’m sure the vibe of the blog will change over time as I start to figure it out, and it can grow and mature.

I have also set up an Amazon Affiliates store on the site itself. When I recommend a book or gadget, you won’t have to hunt it down, you can get it right from my site.

And for those who have no doubt noticed, the blog is a Wordpress blog. Why not Domino? It was simply a matter of the right tool for the job - This is a problog, and it has very, VERY specific design, monitoring and other such needs. As most of you know, I am a Notes client junkie - I did not have the luxury of time to make this a web learning experience. I need a lift right now, not a reason to continue my slump by reminding myself how little I know about Domino web development. Don’t worry though - I gave you all “Mad Pr0pz Yo” on the About page.
On a good note, I have learned more about blog design and techniques than I could possibly imagine, and I look forward to sharing that with you here and on the LotusUserGroup.org blog. It’s already proving to give me some success in these early days, so the current top Probloggers seem to know what they’re doing.

So please, tell all the moms you know (although the tips are for everyone, really). Add Momelettes to your feedreaders at http://feeds.feedburner.com/momelettes. If you see an article you like, please Stumble It or Digg it. The links are at the bottom of every article.

Though I’m sure I’ll bring it up again, you can find out more about the reason Solace is closing at the About page of Momelettes, and more about what I hope to accomplish with the new site.

Wish me luck, and let’s get the word out about Momelettes.com! Oh, and for all the Twitter users out there, thanks for the name help. That was a fun week.

(from 9 months down to 6 months…)

View the entire 6-9 month Flickr album….

Ever since I moved out of my bassinette and into my crib, a bunny has been keeping a watchful eye over me. He used to sit at the far end of my crib but as of late, he snuggles with me at nap time, keeps me company when I am sitting in the living room and has even been so ambitious as to go on car rides with me.

Recently, Mr. Floppy Ears let me in on a ?little secret?. His real name is Theodore Evan Bear or Ted E. Bear for short. I told him that it was a silly name for a bunny rabbit. Then he did the most amazing thing! He took off his hood to reveal that he was a bear disguised as a rabbit. I was flabbergasted!

At first, I wanted to know why he felt he needed to disguise himself. He began by telling me that recent studies showed that bunnies were 75% more likely to be adopted as stuffed animal friends over bears. It seems that children who have teddy bears for friends get mauled by bears 30% more then those who do not while children who have bunnies as friends have a 0.4% chance of getting mauled by a bunny. The most recent case of a bunny attack was not really that recent at all but recorded in 1974 by a Mr. Monty Python.

He went on to tell me that his cousin, Smokey T. was recently fined $5000 when a 4 year old ran to a grizzly bear in Vermont to ask for assistance in putting out a camp fire.

I couldn?t believe what I was hearing!

As Ted went on, I was all ears. He told me he is a member of a private organization funded by a certain bear building workshop that shall remain nameless. This workshop has been striving to renew children?s trust in teddy bears by allowing them to make their own bears. Thanks to their contributions and radical approach to this crisis, teddy bears are once again beating the stuffing out of the competition.

On hearing this, I gave him the biggest smile, grabbed him, stuck out my tongue and drooled on him. He is my best friend and also very absorbent. Without him, I don?t know what I would do. Thank you Mr. Floppy Ears for infiltrating the stuffed bunny uprising and informing the world of the atrocities ?recent studies? can cause.