Poll: Ads on Blogs

Let me start out by saying that as a WordPress.com blogger, I am not allowed to place ads on my blog. I love the WordPress blog features and my blog is free for me, so I am OK with this rule.  On the other hand, WordPress may sometimes place ads on my blog without my knowledge or consent. Here’s what they have to say about it:

At WordPress.com, we sometimes display discreet AdSense advertisements on your blog to help pay the bills. This keeps free features free!

The ad code tries very hard to not intrude or show ads to logged-in readers, which means only a very small percentage of your page views will actually contain ads.

I have used WordPress for a few years now, and I have never seen an ad on any of my blogs until this morning, when I saw an ad at the end of my most recent post (while I was not logged in). It seems to be gone now.  Anyway, I don’t know if this was a one time thing, or if it happens all the time but I don’t realize it because I am usually logged in. So, it made me start thinking about ads and blogs and I was hoping you’d share your opinion in the little poll below! Also – any other thoughts you have on the topic are welcome in the comments section too :).

THANKS! I will get back to sharing photos of the trip once my schedule calms down a bit (tomorrow is the last day of VBS)!

Daydreams of the Beach

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.
Psalm 24:1-2

Since today I’m daydreaming of being by the sea, let’s take a look back at some beach photos of Chris and me from years past…

When we were in high school (Martha’s Vineyard 1994):

Still teens, but college students now (Rocky Neck State Park 1998):

Here we are officially a couple again after a 6 1/2 year break (long story). FYI: that’s not really the hairstyle Chris had back then, he let me “play” with his hair that day – luckily that was the last time hehe (Rocky Neck State Park 2001):

Jump ahead to our honeymoon a few years later. Interesting fact, that natural bridge has since collapsed into the sea (Aruba 2003):

Our little Cape Cod getaway a couple of summers ago (Dennis Beach 2008):

I’m so thankful for these lovely memories of the beach with my best friend!

Rewards (AKA Jelly Belly Jelly Beans)

We have been trying a new reward system with Gabe: the “Manners Jar”. Gabe earns one jelly bean for every time he answers (without being prompted) “yes Ma’am” or “yes Sir” and quickly obeys what we ask him to do. So far, it’s working GREAT! He’s so motivated by rewards :). It even helps with his bedtime routine and naps, because if he earns one right before bed he knows he will get it when he wakes up only if he’s good. So he goes right to bed and stays there! Life with a sometimes “strong-willed” three-year-old was getting tiring and I was sick of time-outs and counting to 3, so I borrowed ideas from Michelle Duggar and Lisa Whelchel about speaking softly and rewarding good behavior instead of just using punishments all the time. We haven’t done away with punishments all together, but they are few and far between – which is wonderful! I hope Gabe is building lasting habits which won’t disappear once the rewards are phased out. We shall see. For now, we will just enjoy the sweet rewards of implementing this fun new system :). Fun fact: Gabe likes the brown and pink jelly beans the best (brown is still his favorite color, but he has added pink as a favorite so he can be like Mommy and Julia). My favorite Jelly Belly Jelly Bean flavors are “Juicy Pear”, “Buttered Popcorn”, “Top Banana” and “Toasted Marshmallow”. Julia doesn’t eat them, Chris likes them all :).

“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:2-3

~8 Things About Me~

I’ve been tagged by Carolyn Garland. She wants me to share 8 random facts/habits about myself! OK, let’s see if I can think of 8 things…

1. I eat chocolate every single day (my favorite is dark chocolate), and I have Oreos and milk every night with Chris before bed (we keep the Oreos in a round tin on top of the fridge just like Mom has always done).
2. Chris and I are always reading a book together(right now it’s the Chronological Bible). When we are on long drives I read out loud to him.
3. I have some sort of learning problem (undiagnosed) that makes me mix up my letters, so I’m very bad at spelling.
4. When I was a little girl I stopped growing for a few years, so I had to go through some testing because my doctor was worried I might be a “little person”. I wasn’t. I’m pretty average height now, but I’m much shorter than all my siblings.
5. I’ve always loved creating things and making art, I was even an art major in college before I switched to psychology.
6. Chris took me sky diving as a surprise birthday present in 2000.
7. I have had many, many different jobs ranging from janitor to researcher at Yale.
8. I like to watch America’s Funniest Home Videos while I eat dinner :).

I know a lot of my blog friends (you know who you are) have already done this one, but if you haven’t, consider yourself tagged!!
Here are the rules…

1. When you are tagged you must write a blog post sharing 8 random facts/habits about yourself.
2. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and post their names with links.
3. Don’t forget to leave them a comment to tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for instructions.