she who blogs

Member We Heart & A Book Giveaway

Today, we put the spotlight on Michelle Fabio

Michelle is an American freelance writer and attorney who left the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania for her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy (the toe of the boot) in 2003. She shares an amazingly rewarding life with husband Paolo, dogs Luna and Stella, a small herd of goats, and various other two- and four-legged creatures like hens, roosters, rabbits, and ducks.

Michelle is currently the Guide to Law School at About.com (a New York Times company), official blogger for LegalZoom.com, and does a weekly podcast with fellow bloggers Sara Rosso and Jessica Spiegel at Eye on Italy.

A Short Q & A with Michelle

01. What is the best thing about being an American in Italy?
I love the simple life I've created in rural southern Italy; the most pressing daily concern is usually what's for lunch and dinner...but the answers are never too far away :)
 
02. Do you have a favorite Italian or American phrase that you use often?
Italian: "Boh." A very general term for "I have no idea."
 
03. Did you already know how to speak Italian or did you have to learn?
I only knew very basic Italian when I arrived; I learned by listening and repeating -- and doing lots of reading.

04. What is your favorite dish/food that you used to love before you moved to Italy and still do as of now?
Pizza, but in a whole new way! Now I love it with tuna and red onions.

05. Is any advice you would give to anyone who want to be a freelance writer?
Write about things that interest you, otherwise it'll seem too much like work ;)

06. Does being a freelance writer gives you more or less options in terms of clients?
You have as many options as you want with freelancing; if you want to work primarily for one client you can, or if you want to spread the love, you can look around. There's great freedom -- but that also requires great discipline.

07. How long have you been blogging & what is your favorite thing about blogging?
I started Bleeding Espresso in December of 2006; I love the conversations that go on in the comments section. I do my best to respond to every comment on all my blogs as I really do appreciate when people take the time to share their reactions to what I've written.
 
08. How many cups of coffee do you consume on a typical day?
Usually just one in the morning -- a cappuccino. If I need a pick-me-up in the afternoon, I may have another around 3 or 4 p.m., which is a huge no-no in Italy; they don't think you should drink milk after 10 or 11 a.m. I tell them I have an American stomach, so I'm good.

09. If you have one wish in the world, what would it be?
On a grand level, to end all suffering. On a personal level, to have southern Italy and central Pennsylvania (where most of my family is) be just around the corner from each other. Michelle shares her adventures in the Bel Paese at Bleeding Espresso, tales about raising kids at Goat Berries, and keeps a professional site at MichelleFabio.com. You can find Michelle on Twitter @michellefabio and on Facebook at the Bleeding Espresso page.

Michelle is also running another cookbook contest at her blog, Bleeding Espresso - go over here to enter.

Now for the Book Giveaway

Update: Contest Closed. Winner will be announce here.

Michelle is giving one lucky reader an autographed copy of Cucina Di Calabria: Treasured Recipes and Family Traditions from Southern Italy by Mary Amabile Palmer.  More information about the book is at Amazon.com.

Here are the rules to enter:

01. Simply tell us your favorite Italian dish in comments.
02. You must have a blog and an email.
03. Contest is international.
04. Last day to enter is May 29, 2010.  Winners will be selected randomly.

Writing My Life: Getting Into Trouble

t’s the first day of the New Year! Some kids or young adults might find themselves in a bit of “hot water” with their parents today, depending on how they celebrated New Year’s Eve. So, for the first prompt, what better topic to invite you to write about than your own history of mischief?

 

Recall an occasion when you got into trouble with your parents? Why did you get into trouble and how did your parents handle the situation? Looking back, do you agree with their approach? How would you handle the same situation differently with your own child(ren)?

 

Answer in a comment or on your own site, providing the permalink to your post in a comment, by next Friday, January 8, 2010!

Visit Writing My Life

50 Years Ago...

 

.....here I was....in all my glory. Fat, happy, naked and wet.
Hmmmmmm.....most of that remains the same except I can no longer fit in the sink for a bath and I think the hair is a little different color-wise!
A half a century and the best I can produce in words are comments on a baby picture.... sigh

Fact: I was born in Vicenza Italy but this was taken at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky--our second station.
Fact: I was born with beautiful black hair that was curly and then something went awry. Waaaaaay wrong.
Fact: Dad thought mother's contractions were *a stomach ache from eating pork chops for dinner*......he didn't want to get up! LOL!! That was Dad!
Fact: I was born at some ungodly hour of the morning and that is perhaps why I have an aversion to early hours, even now.
Fact: 9 lb. 12 oz.  Told you I was fat!
Fact: 50 years later....it doesn't seem that all that time has flown by. Gone. Can't be recaptured.

Life is short, to be savored and used well. Don't put off things you can do and enjoy; make the most of it.
It's all Geritol and Depends from here!!!! (well actually, it was a similar version, vitamin fortified formula and diapers, when the photo was taken, come to think of it! LOL!)

Have a good one Kiddies! Hopefully I'll be back with something artsy tomorrow......but I couldn't resist this! ;-) Fifty only comes once and I just love to find some humor in my milestones!!!

 

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An Exercise for Writers: The Meme About Blogging

 

Judd Corizan, from whom I acquired The Rising Blogger, recently launched Sunday Stealing. Each Sunday, they rip off a meme from another blogger — giving full credit and a link back to that author’s site, of course — and invite everyone to play along.

This week, Judd, et al. ripped off The Meme About Blogging from Momma at Momma Blogs A Lot.  Actually, this particular meme bears some similarity to the What’s Your Story? exercise that was popular in 2007.

Participating in this writing exercise presents an opportunity to pause, reflect, and enunciate your perspectives on blogging.  If you do not have a blog, you can adapt the questions to focus on why you write.  I hope that many of you will take a few minutes to contemplate and respond to the questions.  Feel free to provide your answers in the form of a comment or post a link to your own post!

1. How long have you been blogging?

I founded Colloquium in March 2005.

2. Any advice to beginners?

It it best to establish your own domain from the outset, but if you are undecided about the name or overall concept, you might wish to begin by using a free software platform like Blogger or WordPress.  You can transition to your own domain later, although there are associated drawbacks.

 

Bloggers should acquaint themselves with prudent, conservative blogging practices and judiciously abide by those guidelines.  For instance, you must pick the topics you blog about carefully,never revealing information about your employer, fellow employees, and professional pursuits.  The most important things to keep in mind are: 1) You are never truly anonymous online, even if you select and utilize a pseudonym; and 2) everything you write and publish online will remain there indefinitely, even if you delete your entire blog.  Caches are forever!

For more information, refer to my six-part series: Your Online Writing Life:  Protect Your Reputation — and Future.

3. What are the good things blogging has brought to your life?

I have “met” some wonderful blogging friends and associates, most particularly my colleagues at Write Anything.  I have improved my writing and bolstered my confidence in my abilities.  I learn something new each and every day!

4. What would you consider the pitfalls?

Blogging can be time-consuming. I wish that I had more time to devote to reading and commenting on other folks’ blogs because I always enjoy and learn from what my fellow bloggers write.

5. Tell us about your blog name. Ever think of changing it? If so, to what? Why?

I founded my site on Blogger with the title “Robert’s Legacy,” because I initially wrote about my experiences litigating Conservatorship of Wendland, and the Terri Schiavo case in Florida.  However, I changed the name when I began exploring other topics and eventually transferred my early, initial posts on those topics to a new site with the same title:  Robert’s Legacy.

Sometimes I consider abandoning Colloquium in favor of a more descriptive title related to writing and blogging.  But so far, I haven’t thought a creative title or concept.  I also think it was a mistake to establish a domain based upon my real name — largely because people misspell it nearly as often as they spell it correctly.

6. Knowing what you know now, was starting a blog a good thing for you? Why or why not?

Yes!  I need the creative outlet!  I have an extremely stressful, demanding career and I look forward to sitting down in front of my computer after a long day, completely switching gears, and unwinding by reading and writing about anything and everything other than the topics I focus upon when working.  In fact, within the next couple of days, my new personal laptop will be arriving, enabling me to read others’ work and draft posts when I have a spare moment while traveling on business.

7. How do you think blogging, bloggers, or the blogosphere has changed since you started?

When I started blogging, “Web 2.0″ and “social marketing” were not yet a way of life.  I recall when it was a big deal to be using the “new” Blogger and remember being very excited when my site was selected as one of the first transitioned to Blogger Beta!  I shudder when I think about all the hours I spent modifying my template, implementing hacks to achieve features that we all take for granted now.  The advances in blogging software that have been made in the less than four years I have been blogging are mind-boggling, and WordPress upgrades seem to be issued in increasingly-rapid succession. I can’t even imagine what it will be like in another three to four years.

8. Ultimately, what would you like your blog to accomplish for you or others?

I’m only in it for enjoyment and stress reduction.  When it ceases to be fun, I will disappear from the blogosphere.  But if, while I’m here, I can impart some useful information or encourage a fellow writer to keep working to improve his/her technique, I will consider my time to have been well spent.

Visit Colloquium

Site of the Week June 15th 2008

The Blog

The Blogger

When did you begin blogging? 
I started blogging in early 2006 and officially moved over to Blogger in October 2006.  I started with a MSN Space because I had a Hotmail account.  But I didn’t really get in to blogging until I went to Blogger and started discovering all of the other wonderful blogs out there.

Have you always been an artsy craftsy kind of girl? 
I think so.  Growing up we didn’t get to watch a lot of TV – only Mr. Rogers & Sesame Street, we were a PBS family.  My Mom taught me how to sew & crochet.  I love trying new things like making jewelry, I actually got my Mom hooked on that and she is very talented.

Tell us about Etsy.  How you found out about it.  What you enjoy most.  Suggest three people on there we should check out.
Oh, Etsy, how I love thee.  I found out about Etsy while browsing other blogs.  I had sold “garage sale treasures” and used books on eBay before, but Etsy was a whole new world.  Filled with handmade treasures from all over the world, it was and is like a little slice of heaven on Earth.  I especially love the Pounce feature… this is literally hours of fun!  I have two accounts on Etsy, one I use for buying stuff and one for selling.  I can be found at www.sweetfaeriedesigns.etsy.com.  I have a lot of favorite sellers but 3 you should check out are www.oktak.etsy.com {my next purchase}, www.pikapeeks.etsy.com {I have a lovely makeup bag & she has the best service – all the way from France }, and www.annieandolive.etsy.com {great customer service and her products are adorable, I have my eye on the new fabric bracelets she has.}

You use Blogger - tell us what you like best about it.
 Free!

Is your talent as a designer/crafts person inherited?  Who inspired you? 
The need to be artistic is definitely inherited.  Both of my parents are hobby painters, my Aunt is a professional tole painter, and my Mom taught me almost everything I know – well, all of the basics.

Are there any crafts out there that you haven't tried but would like to tackle? 
I would love to learn how to knit.

Is your first blog post ever still available somewhere? 
My first posts were very random and didn’t really speak about anything in particular.  I started a blog just to keep in touch with family, which all live on the west coast.  Being on the east coast I wanted a place to post pictures and give updates about my family.  My first post, after my post announcing I was moving to Blogger, is here.

Have you met any of your blog buddies?  If you did - how did it go? 
Sadly, no.  I was on Bossy’s roadtrip, but her stop was too far away (in another state), and in the middle of the week for me to travel to. 

One look at your blog tells us you're a working mom and designer who’s very involved in her children's lives.  Any time management tips or tricks for the rest of us? 
Well, I do work from home so that helps a lot!  I try to stay as organized as possible by using a weekly planner.  It sits right next to my keyboard and I note everything that’s coming up.  The kids always stop by to see what’s going on, it works for us very well.

Do you think that there are certain subjects that shouldn't be blogged about? 
No, not really.  To each there own is my motto.  If I don’t like something I just close the browser and don’t go back.  I started blogging for personal reasons like keeping in touch with family and friends, this is why my name is in the title of the blog.  But my blogging has changed since I started.  I participate in contests, memes, swaps, etc.  But even though I get a lot of visitors I still don’t feel I need to change the name, though I am sure other bloggers might feel differently.  I don’t think my blogging or blogging habits attract the crazies (knock on wood.)

You're asked to teach artsy craftsy women such as yourself how to set up blogs.  Tell us the subjects you would cover.
 Oh, great question!  I would probably go over what HTML I know & understand and also equip them with the websites I use to get my answers for.  How to change a 2 column layout to 3 columns; How to create a banner and install it without the borders sticking out (I see that a lot); How to create a favicon, the little picture next to the URL in the address bar; And, to be sure to check both IE and FireFox to see how your blog looks in both browsers!  You’d be surprised at how differently they can appear.

a few of her lovely designs

Visit Carrie

From JHS (Colloquium)

A Thirteen Question History Quiz for Baby Boomers

This is a history exam for Baby Boomers. Everyone over the age of 40 should find it pretty easy.

1. When you were growing up, where were automobile headlight dimmer switches located?
a. On the floor shift knob
b. On the floor board, to the left of the clutch
c. Next to the horn

2. The bottle top of a Royal Crown Cola bottle had holes in it. For what was it used?
a. To capture lightning bugs
b. To sprinkle clothes before ironing
c. As a large salt shaker

 

3. Why was having milk delivered a problem in northern winters?
a. Cows got cold and wouldn’t produce milk
b. Ice on highways forced delivery by dog sled
c. Milkmen left deliveries outside of front doors and milk would freeze, expanding and pushing up the cardboard bottle top.

4. What post-World War II car turned automotive design on its ear when you couldn’t tell whether it was coming or going?
a. Studebaker
b. Nash Metro
c. Tucker

5. Which of the following was a popular candy when you were a kid?
a. Strips of dried peanut butter
b. Chocolate licorice bars
c. Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside

6. How was Butch wax used?
a. To stiffen a flat-top haircut so it stood up
b. To make floors shiny and prevent scuffing
c. On the wheels of roller skates t! o prevent rust

7. Before inline skates, how did you keep your roller skates attached to your shoes?
a. With clamps, tightened by a skate key
b. Woven straps that crossed the foot
c. Long pieces of twine

8. As a kid, what was considered the best way to reach a decision?
a. Consider all the facts
b. Ask Mom
c. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo

9. What was the most dreaded disease in the 1940’s through early 60’s?
a. Smallpox
b. AIDS
c. Polio

10. What was the name of Caroline Kennedy’s pet pony?
a. Old Blue
b. Paint
c. Macaroni

11. What did all the really savvy students do when mimeographed tests were handed out in school?
a. Immediately sniffed the purple ink, as this was believed to get you high
b. Made paper airplanes to see who could sail theirs out the window
c. Wrote another pupil’ s name on the top, to avoid their failure

12. Why did your Mom shop in stores that gave Green Stamps with purchases?
a. To keep you out of mischief by licking the backs, which tasted like bubble gum
b. They could be put in special books and redeemed for various household items
c. They were given to the kids to be used as stick-on tattoos

13. Who left his heart in San Francisco ?
a. Tony Bennett
b. Xavier Cugat
c. George Gershwin

1. b. On the floor, to the left of the clutch. Hand controls, popular in Europe , took until the late 1960’s to catch on.

2. b. To sprinkle clothes before ironing. Who had a steam iron?

3. c.Cold weather caused the milk to freeze and expand, popping the bottle top.

4. a. 1946 Studebaker.

5. c. Wax coke bottles containing super sweet colored water.

6. a. Wax for your flat top (Butch) haircut.

7. a. With clamps, tightened by a skate key, which you wore on a shoestring around your neck.

8. c. Eeny-meeny-miney-mo.

9. c. Polio. At the beginning of August, swimming pools, movie theatres and other public gathering places were closed to try to prevent spread of the disease.

10. c. Macaroni.

11. a. Immediately sniffed the purple ink to get a high.

12. b. Put in a special stamp book, they could be traded for household items at the Green Stamp store.

13. a. Tony Bennett, and he sounds just as good today.

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From Joy T. (A Spot of T)

Six Non-Important Things/Habits/Quirks

She from The Screaming Pages tagged me for this Meme: Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.

Now again, I was going to stop doing meme's but decided instead to only do them once in a blue moon.  It hasn't been a blue moon since I was tagged for the last meme I did, but since I like She more then I like Blowpop suckers, I'm going to do this fairly painless meme......

1. I have to have something on my feet at all times.  NO bare feet for me.  And when I see other people in bare feet?  I get the ibby jibbies.  I'm a real riot at a swimming pool.
2. I have one tattoo.....a bee.  I'll be getting another tattoo....a bee....very soon.
3. I start out looking people in the eye when I'm talking to them, but find I tend to look away after awhile.  I'll catch people turning their head to see what I'm looking at but I'm not looking at anything, I'm just looking away while I'm talking.  I know this probably looks rude, and is, but it's a horrible habit I've gotten into.
4. I pay cash for just about everything.  But I'm finding it harder and harder to pay cash for things.  Retailers seem to want debit cards or credit cards any more.  And "I" like to pay with cash.  I have left a lot of items in stores because of this.  You don't want my paper money?  Then you can stick it in your ear.
5. I give myself facials weekly.  I never ever go to bed with make-up on.  I brush my hair for a good five minutes before I go to bed.  I moisturize moisturize moisturize.....and moisturize.  I shave my legs and hairy armpits not only in the summer, but also throughout the winter.  The first time I heard some women don't bother shaving in the winter, I sat there with my mouth open.  I'm not saying it's good or bad.  I could care less what anyone else does.  But it's funny how we just assume our 'regime' is the same for everyone.  Never assume.
6. A really unimportant thing is....I have an unusual fetish with men's hands.  Not office hands.  Not that there's anything wrong with you office boys now.  We love all men here at A Spot of T.  But hard working not scared to get dirty slightly rough hands?  Love it.  When people ask me what's the first thing I noticed about my husband.  I say his hands.  He's got huge hands.  The biggest strongest working man hands I've ever seen and I just love them.  And it's the first thing I notice on men.  Their hands.  I know.  Freakazoid.

Well that wasn't to painful.  For me.  You I must apologize to.

Visit Joy

From Sognatrice (Bleeding Espresso)

things left unsaid

I’m a fan of being honest.

And I do try to tell my loved ones how important they are to me as much as possible.

Sometimes, though, there are things you’d really like to say to someone but don’t, or can’t, for various reasons–avoidance, tact, shame, embarrassment, shyness, whatever.

I got this idea from -R- at And You Know What Else (who got it from Abbersnail who got it from NPW), and here are 15 things I haven’t said (not all to the same person of course):

1. As much as I don’t want your opinion to matter to me, it does, and it hurts.

2. I’m still sad that our friendship changed so much; I miss you terribly.

3. You don’t know how much seeing your name in my inbox makes me happy.

4. I’m sorry for what is going on with you and your family, but you created the situation.

5. I miss laughing with you *so* much.

6. I am so happy we didn’t work out. So. Very. Happy.

7. I can’t believe you’ve procreated.

8. I’ll never understand your outlook on the world, and that’s a good thing; I’d hate to see the world as you do.

9. You’re becoming your mother. Stop it.

10. I really, truly hope you are happy even though I’ll probably never speak to you again.

11. I’ll never forget the night I met you, and I will always treasure it.

12. Just thinking of you makes me smile. Always.

13. I forgive you, and you don’t even know for what. I forgive you for that too.

14. I think about you every single day at least once, usually more.

15. I’m so very sorry I’m not there watching you learn new things every day.

What haven’t you said?

Buon weekend!

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From Susan (A Slice of Life)

Were you going to finish that? ~ Fun Monday

Life in the Fishbowl want to see pictures of our unfinished projects.  As I recently posted that my baby camera was all better, I guess I can’t just make a long list of everything. (If I had known what I was signing up for ahead of time, I may not have done so!)

Of course I have those artsy/crafty/sewing projects that I started and lost interest in long before they were finished.  There is a beautiful quilt of KT’s that I started with a friend who was teaching me how to quilt.  I was quickly lost and kinda sorta stopped making it.  (Who the heck knew there was so much math and details in quilting???) I told my friend she could just have all the fabric and such.  By the time KT’s birthday rolled along that year, my friend’s daughter gave the completed quilt to her as a gift.  Hmmmm, maybe I should just start leaving projects over there…

My latest unfinished project is this pillowcase. 

I started it with the intention of working on it in those moments of waiting.  Like when riding in the car and at soccer games.  These didn’t work out so well for me.  I get car sick when I focus on something to much and the transfer runs if it gets a little raindrop or two on it. (Very common in Seattle area soccer fields!) Still, I carry it around with me and pretend that I’m working on it.  It could happen…

Another area that I’m not so great on finishing things up in, is home improvement.  Most of my problem is indecision.  For example:

This is the wall that I look at from my favorite chair.  That glob of blueish-purple came from a gallon of paint that I decided I didn’t really like after all.  I look at that several times a day and wonder to myself what color really needs to be there.  (I have to be careful with all the colors I have have going on as well as the constant gray skies.)

I know that my glob drives Shaun nuts.  I’m pretty sure that he thinks that I don’t even see the glob anymore.  (I can often have tunnel vision when it comes to things like this)

Then again…

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From Mushu c/o Joy's A Spot of T

Mushu Does a Trick for J

I received my first email last week from a little human named 'J'.  J is almost 3 years old and asked if I did any tricks.  He also asked if I was getting my own blog.  Ok his mom asked, J doesn't care where I am as long as he can look at me.  Thanks for reading J.  Mom says I have to clean up my act now that she knows little ones may come across my Mushu posts.

I do know tricks J.  Ok I only know one trick, but mom always says if she wanted to she could teach me more tricks.  Because I'm smart as a whip.  That means really really....really smart J.

The trick in the picture above I learned when I was just itty bitty.  Mom was asking if I wanted a treat one day and I got so excited I put my paw up.  Just like that.  No one taught me, I just did it.  Mom squealed with delight and told me what a good pup I was and I liked her cuddles and squealing so much I've done it ever since.  I did my trick for you this morning J so mom could take my picture.  And I got a treat so I am giving you puppy kisses for helping me get a treat.

Sometimes.  When I think I'm starving.  Starving means really really....really hungry.  I will follow mom around the house and everytime she stops and looks down, I will sit down and do my trick.  She used to give me treats each and every time I did this trick and life was really good there for awhile.  Until my doctor told me I had to lose weight because I was eating too many treats.  Puppies shouldn't get overweight because it isn't good for them.  Being overweight isn't good for anyone so make sure and eat all the good things your mom gives you J.

Life is still really good and my mom feeds me a lot of good things now and I get lots of exercise and I am not overweight anymore.  I still do my trick though.  Because it still makes mom go "Awww pup you are so precious." then she leans down and kisses me on the forehead and scratches my left ear.  And every once in awhile I still get a treat for doing my trick.

Your mom's Mushu blog question?  Mom says to tell you to tell your mom that it is in the works but might take a few months to get from paper to blog.  Mom is particular with what she wants for me and my blog so she isn't in any hurry to get just any old blog up.  She's like that.  She also has another project on the back burner which she is researching to death and says there is only so many hours in a day.  I know she's right about that because when I nap all day?  It just doesn't seem like enough.  So she is very busy but it will happen.  Which is what I love about my mom.  Nothing is ever done half way with her and when she says it will happen it will definitely happen.

Thank you again for visiting and writing J.  I like little humans and give them big slurpy kisses when I see them.  I love giving kisses and I love you J.

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