Some upcoming changes and news over at the Lunatic's

Hi folks. Just a quick post while things are fresh in my mind. I'm getting old, freshness fades. It's replaced by saying "what was I saying" quite often. I have some tidbits for you, some little gems, nuggets of information. So much to tell you, so little time. Wait, what was I saying?

Oh right, information regarding some changes and things happening here at the Lunatics. Let me break it down for ya. *is it weird I have an overwhelming desire to start rapping right now, I won't.....but I could*

First off ICE CREAM SUNDAY will be posted late. Forgive me but I've been crazed this week. Trying to do too much, burning the candle at both ends. I am behind, a slacker, a total rookie. I should have this ready days in advance. But that did not happen so be patient with your loon. It is coming, just a bit late. I don't want to rush it though and add bad photos or leave any links to you lovely folks out. So I'd rather take my time and do it right than disappoint.

Secondly I should be up and running on FB within a day or so. I installed it then deleted it. I had a panic attack as I did not want it attached to my private personal page. I think I have it all figured out now. So should be good to go soon. Will let you guys know when that happens. Then I can add you and you can add me and so on and so on and so on. *is anyone else thinking of that shampoo commercial that did that right now*

Thirdly I am on stumble upon. Although I have no idea how to install the button on my blog so if you know how please save me from my geekiness. Fill me in , let the cat outta the bag, spill the beans. I must know, I need to know, I gotta know. Okay, okay so I'm being dramatic. But did you feel the urgency, did I win the Oscar? So this is my link if I am doing this right http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/CravingsLunatic/, if I am not doing it right well as previously mentioned I am a giant geek. Okay so not a giant geek. A normal sized geek. All of a sudden I am picturing myself as the giant on green giant veggies...HO HO HO! Seriously who was the lazy ad dude who copied Santa for that, I really want to know. So wrong. The elves should arrest the guy and throw the book at him. Not Santa's book. Although I would love to take a gander at Santa's naughty and nice book. Okay so holy snikeys I am way off topic here. Stumble upon, got it, find me, stumble me, forget I ever brought up the jolly green giant and the jolly fat dude. My bad. Er, does that mean I am on the naughty list? Dang, not again....

I have joined pinterest and am now an addict. I need help. I have a pinning problem. I should get help. Does anyone know how to install the button on your blog? Er, oh ya, you're right NOT that kind of help. More like a ten step program. Do you think you can pin your amends? Okay so go find me, I have yet to post my recipes but I will. If I could just figure out how to install the the button. I will be much more active, in general, not on pinterest, once the kids go back to school. Which I believe is in 2 or 3 weeks. I am so behind on some things. Not pinning though, there's always time for pinning. So rush out, find me, pin something I pinned, stick a pin in me, I'm done. Oh wait, no I'm not. Forgot this, here ya go- http://pinterest.com/thelunatic/! Go...NOW...add me immediately.

I am on blogfrog but have yet to start my own community. Again, summer, kids, fun, priorities, finish, sentences. Alright so add me as a friend if you're there.I will try and set up a community this week if I can fit it into my busy summer schedule. Maybe squeak it in between my nap and my...other nap. Okay so I don't nap, I just sleep in. It's summer, I am allowed. I've been getting up at 6 am for 23 years for crying out loud. Time off is so fun. I am enjoying every second of it, every lovely sleepy second of it. We've been pretty lazy this summer so we now need to pick up the pace. So behind on everything. Mini-me said today (in front of our dear friends who think I am a perfect mom and housewife, okay so that's stretching it, they think I am the perfect human being, there much better now that I corrected myself. Felt bad misleading you there!) that she has never seen me so lazy as this summer. I have laundry piled to the rafters, it's done but not folded. *like that makes it better?* I have been not cooking enough according to mini-me as well. Apparently I bake too much but don't actually cook REAL food. Seriously? Mini-me? That hurts? Brownies and bark are real food, how could you say that. Hurt me but not the desserts. My yard has weeds, my floors need scrubbing and I spend too much time in my p.j.'s taking pictures and moving furniture to take said pictures. Seriously, she said all this. The kid who never talks busted my a** is front of our friends. Where's the loyalty mini-me, seriously? Okay what on earth was I actually talking about here??? Ah, yes blogfrog

So it's been a wild week with lots going on. In the midst of it I somehow by the grace of the foodbuzz gods got on the top 9, twice. I never thought I'd get on it so doing it once had me in tears. Twice just stunned me. So to you my lovely and loyal readers and fans (did I just use the word fan? It sounds so weird, I cannot get over that. So bizarre!) I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so grateful and blessed to be part of such a kind supportive community. Oh and I got a pic on tastespotting. I could cry, so cool. Foodgawker still hates me but that's okay. It's not like it keeps me up at night or anything. Not like I spend hours thinking about it. Not like I am devising plans to steal my brother's camera again and take a million pictures or anything. I mean they would surely accept one in a million wouldn't they???

Also this week I got mentioned on The Shiksa in the Kitchen's blog. She picked my bark for her weekly picks. I cannot tell you how shocked and speechless I was. I adore her and never thought in a million years I would be part of her picks. She is one of my idols so it meant  more to me than even she knew. I am humbled and reflecting this weekend on how my life has been touched by Tori and all of you. I am blessed indeed.

I started this blog in March on a whim. I had lots of friends and family who were asking for recipes. So I was trying to think of an easy way to send them out. So my lovely friend Amy Valentino encouraged me to start a blog. I came into this having read one blog, one time. I had no idea what blogs were or how they worked. For the first three months or so I just kept myself hidden, had maybe 20 or so followers. Some time in June I met Dee from Deelicious Sweets. She is the first one to reach out to me and embrace me warts and all. I still had no clue what I was doing. But Dee encouraged me. I was considering throwing in the towel to be honest. I did not think anyone was reading or that I was worth reading. Dee gave me some sound advice that changed everything for me. She told me to write like no one was listening. Like you write when you first start and no one is. I took Dee's advice and it turned everything around for me. She gave me the courage to write like myself, to find my own voice and she also gave me the courage to get involved and put myself out there. I was terrified to do that, not sure why. Maybe fear of rejection, maybe feelings of not being good enough. I cannot thank her enough for giving me the courage to face my fears and go for it. So just wanted to share that with you guys. And to thank Dee publicly for keeping me going and giving me the chance to find my passion and embrace it fully without guilt. I love to cook, I love to write so the ability to do both is amazing.

I should tell those of you who don't know me well that I have been a stay at home mom for a staggering 23 years. I swore I would stay home with my kids until they were done high school. I knew from losing my Mom when I was a teenager how important that time was. So through a lot of ups and downs I stuck it out. Through money troubles, mini-me's 13 year illness, mini-me's 2 year leg injury and recovery, through Bray's staggering amount of social activities, through some family members who did not support my desire to be home, through people demeaning what I do, through it all I stayed true to what I wanted to do. It was not easy money wise, nor emotionally but I had a dream and I was determined to realize it. I have reached that goal as mini-me graduated high school last month. So now I get to sit back and try to figure out what I want next. I always thought  once I was done raising the kids that I would work with food in some way. Yet there is part of me that due to taking care of my dad wants to work with palliative patients. I am considering going back to school for psychology. But for now I am just pondering the possibilities. I am not sure where I am going with the blog. I know I love it. For now it's a hobby. One I enjoy immensely. But now that the kids are grown I need to take stock of things and figure out what I want. I have been on the back burner for so long I am just relishing the unlimited possibilities. I think it might be time to get a *gasps in horror* job.

Okay so this was suppose to be short wasn't it? A quick post. Well that went to hell in a hand basket. But seriously, didn't you see it coming? Do I ever do a quick post? Have you learned nothing?

I am tweaking a couple of weekly series. So there will be a more streamlined version of my weekly lunatic loves these links. Also going to tweak farm fresh fridays a bit, as well as ice cream sundays. I need to make it easier for myself to post them so I don't spend endless hours preparing them. Most posts are quick to do but once you include links it takes a bit more time. So just working on a few ideas to make it more fun to read and easier for me to post. I will continue to pick faves and post links though. I love the idea of supporting each other and driving traffic to each other's sites. So that will not change. I will always do that.

Still there? Did you fall asleep? Just checking.

Okay, okay, I will wrap this up. For those of you who stuck it out until the end thank you!

Toodles and smoochies. xx


p.s. I am behind on adding some people and commenting. I will return to my usual ocd self soon. I have about 2 weeks left with the kids before school and I know this is the last summer we'll all be living under one roof as a family so I am trying to make the most of it. So I may be sporadic until September. But trust that I will catch up quick once they are back in school. I adore you, there's just only so many hours in each day. xx