Let your Freak Flag fly

Every family has one. You know, the “crazy” relative. The one who is just a little offbeat. Maybe she has an alter ego. Maybe she uses her hand as a wind-up toy. Or perhaps she’s the president of a group who refer to themselves as “The Blockheads” for one reason or another. Sometimes this relative will give preferential treatment to cats. They march to a different drum and they’re often unpredictable.

Thanksgiving and Christmas bring a season when crazy relatives come out of hibernation and you can see them in their natural state. Some of you out there dread this time of year. Not only do I welcome it, I thoroughly enjoy it.

Yes. I, too, have a “crazy” relative. She’s creative and fun. Quirky and energized. She’s my Aunt Arlene. If I kept documentation of all the things I learned from this woman throughout my life, I’d need a file cabinet the size of Texas.

There are certain people in the family parents hope to God their kids don’t learn from, but I’m pretty sure I was mimicking my Aunt Arlene as soon as I met her. At an early age, my parents knew there was no avoiding it. I might as well have been a SPONGE absorbing her every move, thought and word.

To this day, Aunt Arlene is always teaching me something new: a money saving trick here, a recipe there. I never thought a woman twice my age would be giving me exercise advice, but sure enough, there was my Aunt Arlene on Thanksgiving day sprawled on the carpet teaching me how to do an abdominal crunch…the right way. Right along side her was my grandmother teaching me how to get a better butt…I won’t go into detail what those exercises entail. Let's just say it will be a good story to tell my future children.

This holiday season, many a crazy relative will surface. Try to embrace it and learn from the unique individuals who came by this honored title. You think it’s easy getting to be known as the “crazy” one. No. That takes hours of hard work: numerous peculiar facial expressions, several occurrences of spontaneous behavior and a lot of showing off your unusual every-day habits.

Every family has a nut case, and if you don’t think yours does, then it’s probably you! If you’re like me and aspire to be the “crazy” relative some day, here are a few tips I came up with to help you get there.

Pick your favorite color. And really stick with it. Dress monochromatically, if your wardrobe allows. This is a sure-fire way to stand out at family gatherings. This way, none of your crazy habits or behavior will go unnoticed. If you saw a woman dressed head to toe in violet purple doing the jitterbug, wouldn’t you look?

Start a collection. There’s really nothing like having a fanatical collection of inanimate objects to make your family think you’ve gone ape-shit. If done properly, family members will know right away from stepping into your home whatever it is you collect. Your collections should be displayed like trophies from floor to ceiling. You might already have a nice collection of coins, but to take that extra step towards “unique and slightly deranged” you’ll need to collect something a little more surprising. My mother is well on her way with ceramic roosters and chickens, for example.

Find your obscure talent. On your path to becoming “crazy”, you’ll need to be able to SHOCK AND AWE anyone you come into contact with at the drop of a hat. This could also be a great thing to use as a party trick, especially at family reunions and family gatherings around the holidays.

Adopt a nickname. And own it. Your family will always wonder where it came from. Maybe you call yourself…Shamrock. Let them ponder that over Christmas.

Very important. Be sure to sprinkle in a wild love affair every now and then………you know, for story telling purposes.

Let your Freak Flag fly,

Bridget Marie

10 Gifts from YOU to ME (Under $50.00)

1. Blistex ($.99): Because my lips are chapped and it is winter time. This is a great stocking stuffer. No need to say more.

2. Anne Taintor Note Mousepad ($9.99): It's a mousepad! It's a notepad! This multipurpose 50-page pad would bring a little comic relief to my desk at work. Ah, a combination of my two favorite things: vintage and sarcasm.

3. El Paso Quesadilla Maker ($19.29): Who doesn’t love a quesadilla? Perfect for those on-the-go dinners. The El Paso Quesadilla Maker lets you make your favorite quesadillas at home. Nonstick plates and a built-in drip reservoir makes cooking and cleaning easier. I’ll take mine with chicken and cheese, thanks. Guacamole and sour cream on the side, if you please.

4. Black Leather Lambskin Journal ($25.00): This journal has 160 blank heavy weight ivory pages and was made with black lambskin leather and marbled fabric on the inside cover. If you know me, you know I love to write. My blog takes care of scratching a lot of that itch, but there are some things you just can’t put on your blog for everyone to see. In times such as those, one needs a journal. Enter exhibit A: the black leather lambskin journal.

5. The Recycled Broken Plate Blue Bird Ring ($30.00): This ring is made from an actual recycled broken plate. Due to my love of birds and newfound obsession with Etsy.com, this made the list at only $30.00.

6. The Guest Room Shabby Chic Home Décor Sign ($39.95): From The Back Porch Shop on Etsy, this shabby chic sign has beautiful script lettering in aged black ink on a chipped ivory background. A perfect addition to our guest bedroom at home, another Etsy home-made creation made the list at just under $40.00. I always enjoy a sentimental gift that I can use to decorate my home with…any decorative item will do!

7. Super Mario Brothers for Wii ($45.00): We all remember Super Mario Bros. on the ancient Nintendo. Now, they’ve made this beautiful game for Wii!!

8. The Mustard Seed Bedside Shelf ($49.00): Another Etsy creation, this hand-made shelf will hold favorite books, keys, purse and wallet. At just under $50.00, the roof ridge will also keep my current book on the correct page!
   

9. Mario Kart for Wii with Wii Wheel ($49.99): Just imagine this: I’m sitting on the couch with a wheel in my hands driving through a Wii Race Course (I’m the Princess of course). I look to my left. There’s Becky with a wheel in her hands (She’s Mario). And Jay with a wheel in his hands (Luigi). And mom (Yoshi). And dad (Toad). We’re ALL playing Mario Kart on the Wii at the SAME TIME. Okay, back to reality. With a few more wheels and this game CD, that dream could be possible. I’ll let you sleep on that one.

10. SHARK Super Garment Steamer ($49.99): Excuse me, but who doesn’t need a garment steamer? Anyone? Yes, that’s what I thought. This would be particularly nice in my home due to the fact that I don’t own an iron.

I know that with only two and a half days before Christmas, this list might be a little overdue, but I know there are still many out there still shopping for their loved ones…like *cough*my fiancé*cough*.

At any rate, maybe this list will open your eyes to some new ideas for someone you’re still buying for. For example, shop in untraditional places, like Etsy or an antique shop…I guarantee you, they’ll be a lot less crowded than Target or Wal-Mart. Or maybe go for a traditional gift, like a journal or picture frame. Then again, there are always the wacky fun gifts, like the quesadilla maker. Or maybe give a sentimental gift: a sign for a house or homemade mailbox numbers.

Happy shopping!

Bridget Marie

www.NumbersNotInvited.com

To snow day, or not to snow day? That is the question.

If you’re an East-coaster, you’re probably bracing yourself for the massive dumping of snow that has already sent Baltimore City spiraling into a panicked frozen existence. The Baltimore Sun published its first article covering the storm early on Friday morning about nervous citizens scrounging for supplies in the calm before the storm. It wasn’t long after that a co-worker of mine planted a rumor in the office that supposedly grocers in the Annapolis area had run out of milk.

Sadly, even this unlikely-to-be-true rumor sent a chill down my spine. What? No milk? I channeled my inner Aunt Voula from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, “Whatchyou mean NO MEELK!?” I cannot live without my milk. Truly. Without milk, I’m like a motionless, dying Sim with depleted needs bars.

Milk…or no milk…the snow is coming. The Baltimore Ravens even decided to push back their 1:00 p.m. Sunday football game to a late 4:15. Why? It was rumored that over 700 staff, vendors, players and coaches were spending the night in the club level of M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday night to brave the snow and ensure their attendance for the Sunday game.

To sweeten the story, the National Weather Service issued a county-wide Blizzard Warning effective until Sunday morning. According to the Baltimore Weather Examiner, a Blizzard Warning is posted when conditions will be snowfall of 1 inch per hour or greater, along with 35 mph winds for at least 3 straight hours. With the city in a nervous bind, the Ravens game up in the air, county-wide milk shortages and a bonafide Blizzard on our hands, one has to wonder: how long will it be this way?

Fortunately for the modern-day technology of weather doppler radar, the City's four major television stations have already reported the end is in sight. With an expected stop time of 6:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, Baltimore will wait quietly for the season’s first winter storm to fizzle out and for life as we know it to return to normal. Realistically though, when is that going to be? Does it really only take 24 hours for a city to recover from 25 inches of snowfall? Will everything be back to normal on Monday morning?

My prediction: unlikely. According to local meteorologists, the cold weather is expected to persist well into next week with temperatures staying around 32 degrees, about 10 degrees below average for this time of year, and the winds will make it feel even chillier. Furthermore, weather.com has predicted a day full of rain showers on Christmas. Add that to the already cold weather and snow-covered streets, and we might have an ice issue on our hands.

With or without the rain, many Baltimoreans are wondering if they’ll have a snow day on Monday before Christmas. While it would be smart for businesses to surrender to a snow day, it might also be in everyone’s best interest in terms of safety. By encouraging employees to brave the dangerous highways, sloppy back roads and slippery sidewalks in order to make it to work, a business increases its liability beyond the snow day in question. If an employee or employer were to slip and fall, incurring an injury, or get in a car accident on the way to the office, the business is open to sustaining a loss of that employee for possibly a number of days, if not weeks for recovery. While they could have avoided such a loss by absorbing the physical and literal costs of a snow day, now they and their clients are at the whim of an injured employee’s recovery period.

While public schools routinely close on sloppy winter days (and dub the time "snow day"), absent a declaration of a state of emergency, private employers are free to determine their own policies for handling snow storms (and other hazardous weather conditions). A hazardous weather policy is an obvious smart business practice that should be considered by both public and private employers.

Some employers who need to maintain operations 24/7 (a hospital, hotel, etc) have the option to designate certain employees as "essential” meaning they must work no matter the conditions. Other employers might offer a telecommute half-day option. Ultimately, setting reasonable expectations, for example asking employees to call in if late, could be all that is necessary.

According to the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, Daniel Schwartz suggests considering some of the following questions when drafting a snow day policy:
What are the situations when an office will close?
How will employee receive notice that an office is closed? Is there a central number that they can call for information? Will an e-mail be sent out to home or blackberry e-mails?

If you are with a company who already has a snow day policy, don’t take advantage of your employer when a snow day is decided. You’re not twelve years old anymore and wasting the day building the perfect snow man isn’t going to cut it. Implement the same work ethic you use on a daily basis while at work, at home. Get done what work you can with the limited resources available to you. Check your email regularly and check in with your coworkers to combine efforts when possible.

It’s always nice to sit back, relax with a cup of hot chocolate and not have to commute, but remember that a snow day is not the same as a vacation day.

Enjoy the blizzard and have a productive Monday, in or out of the office!

Bridget Marie

For your information: (The last recorded blizzard in the Baltimore-Washington area was the President’s Day blizzard of 2003, and before that, a blizzard in 1996 that brought over 30 inches of snow.).

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Profiles, Inc.

Wedding Invitations

Blood, sweat and tears goes into making your own wedding invitations...

Paper for wedding invitations: $80.00
Printing cartridge for ink: $50.00
Clear labels for addresses: $15.00
Navy ribbon to wrap around paper: $5.00
Burning wax and Metal seal: $11.00
Fiancé getting a third degree burn from trying to do a hot wax seal on an envelope: PRICELESS

Expanding through horizons

The title makes me sound so ambitious.

Today, The Enterprise published a "Where are they now?" article featuring yours truly. The feature is meant to track down former local high school athletes and update readers on what they're doing and where they're working now.

I have my dad to thank for this flattering 500+ word article, as he recommended me to the journalist as a subject for the feature. We did the interview through email, per my request, so you'll see many of my quotes in the article.

My dad, who reads this publication early and often, says this feature is not normally this extensive - usually with just a small blurb about an alum along with their picture. Little did I know the reporter would include a good 50 inches of print space on me.


All in all, I'm proud of the article and thankful to the reporter, and of course - my dad! I'm not the volleyball player I used to be, but I think I gave present athletes some valuable advice.

In print,
Bridget Marie

Blog comments: the good, the bad, and the ugly

The good: promoting conversation

Leaving comments on blogs you read is a great way to engage in a discussion and promote conversation about a post or post topic. Before leaving comments on your own blog, however, a comment response policy should be established and adhered to. Your policy, or lack thereof can change and define the dynamics of your community. If you are not aware of your comment response habits, then you are not in control of the community you are creating and encouraging.

In the beginning of building any blog, the settings require the author to choose who is allowed to comment and how the comments will be moderated. There is either a public commentary, public commentary with author's approval before publishing, or no public commentary prohibited whatsoever. Generally, blogs in which public commentary is prohibited, are lecture-style blogs and are highly scrutinized and ridiculed. Some believe that a blog without comments is not really a blog, due to the fact that disabling comments disables the exchanging of ideas, therefore defeating the purpose of a blog to begin with.

Still, disabling public commentary is a good way to keep the wolves at bay. Sometimes, the public can be a little harsh. Which brings me to...

The bad: defending yourself, defending your writing

Bloggers are writers who are sometimes very public with their personal lives and opinions. With one question comes five responders, and it is not always positive feedback. As in real life, people defend their opinions and speak their minds, sometimes in a graphic and unwarranted nature, simply because a blog post provoked them. By commenting on your own blog in response to unruly or provocative public commentary, you might find yourself on the defense, defending yourself and defending your writing.

With the good comments that promote conversation and support your messages, comes the bad comments that criticize your work and question your authority or motivation. Defensiveness is anger's ugly cousin, and other commenters and readers will see right through your comment to your impetuosity.

Reverting back to an established comment response policy will help navigate these choppy waters and get you safely to land without compromising your beliefs, looking like a defensive fool and sacrificing readership.

The ugly: fueling the fire

There is nothing wrong with responding to provocative commentary on your blog, as long as it is done with calmness and collectivity. Responses built on initial emotion or defensiveness, will serve as transparent red flags of desperation to your blog visitors, commenters and readers.

When encountering an inflammatory or rebellious comment on your blog, often the initial reaction is to comment back. Explain why you wrote what you wrote. Unfortunately, appealing to an unmanageable commenter's need for reason is not always successful and can just add fuel to the fire – encouraging a simultaneous outburst of commentary discussion you may or may not have wanted or planned for.

You've just gone from a three-log campfire to raging forest inferno in a matter of comments.

Beyond the ugly: everyone is a critic

There is a difference between irreverent commentary and respectfully brazen contributions. Just because a commenter disagrees with what you wrote or the message you delivered, does not warrant a Medieval animal hunt or public harassment. As a blogger, encountering different opinions and exchanging different ideas is part of the package deal. Being prepared to receive constructive criticism is what separates real communicators from the wannabes. Choose how you want to handle all your comments before they happen:

Option one: ignore them. This works great for the bad and the ugly, anytime you're dealing with commenters who are not offering constructive criticism.

Option two: apologize. Sometimes without intention, your thoughts and words can just offend someone. If you're sorry, apologize.

Option three: respond. See the below options for creating engaging, respectful responses.

Option four: don't take it personally. You have a blog, your life is public. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but don't take the criticism personally.

Building your comment response policy: many choices

Selected response: when you respond to some comments and not others. Sometimes a popularity game, when you choose to respond to select comments, you encourage exclusivity among readers, and some might feel left out. Even a random selection of comments can be destructive to the community's environment.

No response: when you do not comment on your own blog at all. Not responding to comments can send a message to your readers that you don't really care what they think and you're not interested in their thoughts. Lack of an author response will equal fewer commenters in the long run.

Ongoing response: when a blogger comments on every single individual comment as it is published. This tactic often results in off-topic conversation, which may take away from your original message, but you're also simultaneously keeping your commenters engaged and entertained. This way, no one is left out.

Personal response: when a blogger responds to select commentary using each commenter's username to indicate who the response is for or directed to. This is likely the most popular tactic to engage visitors to continue commenting because you’re starting many conversations at once.

Individual response: when a blogger responds to a comment via-personal email. This is a great way to keep the off-topic conversation off your blog comment area and not neglect your commenters at the same time.

Variety: when a blogger uses a combination of the aforementioned tactics. Monitor the feedback you get from each and customize your strategy to suit the needs of your blog and the needs of your readers. Try not to confuse people by adopting too many alternate tactics, but test drive a few and record your successes.

For more information: Subscribe to Baltimore Social Media Examiner for automated email updates, visit www.NumbersNotInvited.com or follow me on Twitter @bridgetforney. Email me at bridget.forney@gmail.com.

To my readers: I do not normally double post articles on my blogs, publishing the same information twice, however I thought that this particular article was relevant to each of my blog's demographics. You can see the original article posting here!

Are you going through a Quarter Life Crisis?

Quarter Life Crisis (KWOR•tur•lyf KRY•sus) noun. Feelings of confusion, anxiety, and self-doubt experienced by some people in their twenties, especially after completing their education. (as taken from WordSpy)

We’ve all heard of the mid-life crisis, but who knew we’d be going through one at quarter-life in addition!? That’s a lot of time spent in crisis mode. If you’re a twenty-something or were one, you know these years are scary, confusing, inspiring, wearisome, exciting and transformational times, to say the very least.

We feel pressured to know where exactly our lives are headed when half the time, we don’t even know what path we’re on. When I don’t know the answer to the question, “Where do you see yourself in ten years?” people look at me like I just shot my neighbor. My answer to that question in middle school in no way matches up to what really happened, so why waste the time fabricating a lie to work toward for the next ten years?

Thankfully, life coach Christine Hassler developed a list of questions to help quarter lifers know if they are, in fact, experiencing a crisis. If you answer, “yes” to 12 or more of these 25 questions, then you’re likely experiencing a quarter life crisis.

1. Are you in a "funk" where you feel like nothing is terribly wrong, but nothing seems right either?
2. Do you feel older for the first time in your life?
3. Are you unmotivated, directionless or passionless?
4. Are you concerned that you don't know what you want to do with your life?
5. Do you feel pressure to grow up and get your adult life in order?
6. Do you feel entitled to a life much grander than the one you are living?
7. Do you often feel depressed, anxious, overwhelmed, lost, and maybe even a little hopeless?
8. Do you feel a lot of pressure and expectations to do, have or be something?
9. Do you ever feel that time is running out in regards to figuring out your career and deciding whether you want to get married and/or have children?
10. Are you stressed out by choices that seemingly will affect the rest of your life?
11. Are you experiencing confusion or disappointment in your career?
12. Do you feel that you have failed because you don't know what you want to do with your life?
13. Do you know what you want to do, but can't seem to make it work?
14. Is it difficult for you to make decisions and when you do, you question them?
15. Do you overanalyze yourself?
16. Do you ever feel guilty for complaining about your life or feel like you are disappointing people (especially your parents)?
17. Are you embarrassed that you have not figured out more?
18. Is a breakup, romantic relationship, or lack of one causing you stress and/or sadness?
19. Are you still living at home with mom and dad?
20. Do you frequently compare yourself to other people your age and feel like you don't measure up?
21. Do you feel financially unstable?
22. Could your self-esteem use an upgrade?
23. Are you thinking about going back to grad school because you don't know what else to do with your life?
24. Are you constantly thinking about the future resulting in anxiety and possibly panic?
25. Is your life just not at all turning out like you planned?

Hassler says if you’re one of thousands having a tough time in your twenties, not to panic. Apparently, it’s a normal reaction to the changing atmosphere that is twenties life. Ugh. So this “quarter life crisis” is basically puberty for 20-somethings. Well, there’s something for our young successors to look forward to!

It could be the last milestone for us for a while. Shall we check the chart?

Just kidding! Life doesn't really go that way, but when you're smack center in the middle of a quarter-life crisis, you might think it does.

Even though I’m not really to the quarter life yet, I answered yes to some of these questions. You think if you’re going to bed at 9:30 p.m. on your 25th birthday, you’ve suddenly aged twenty years and become your parents. I’m 23 now and already have noticed a decrease in my nightlife activities. But I’ve also seen a huge increase in other things I find monumentally more important. People grow up and priorities change, if you are going through a mid life crisis, embrace it; you’re about to see the brighter side of life.

Old age is EARNED.

I just hope to maintain this positive mentality well into my forties.
Bridget Marie