If You Want to Be a Social Media Rockstar, You Have to Read this New Book

*I was given a free copy of this book to review, but all opinions are my own; I would never recommend a book to you that I didn't love!* 

This week marks the launch of Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick's new book, The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users. I can't wait to gush to you about how much I love it! 

In a world where your business can't succeed without a good online presence, I was afraid I was entering the game a bit late. 

I knew that my photography and my writing business possibilities would benefit from the amazing networking possibilities of this social-media world. Problem was, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. (You're talking to the girl who seriously resisted a personal facebook page just got a twitter account like 2 months ago!)

If you're anything like me, then you are too busy (or intimidated or confused) to sift through the Internet on all the do's and dont's of social media. But if you own a business, you NEED to understand how to use this (mostly) free form of marketing!

That's where The Art of Social Media sweeps in to save the day.

Guy and Peg have helped demystify Twitter for me, and they've given me practical tips to make me feel more confident as I balance the spinning plates of Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram to help grow my site traffic and get my voice heard.

I understand better the power of effective hashtags.

I have a list of lame rookie mistakes to avoid.

I know the most effective times to post.

I feel empowered and organized when I approach my social media platforms.

I am "meeting" new people and making important social media connections that have already benefited my business.

All these things are because of this book, and I just know that they will snowball into huge results for my business ventures.

I haven't quite taken the jump, yet, but I have been challenged to be bold and fearlessly active on social media thanks to Guy and Peg's stats on visibility. So if you follow me on Twitter, you might get annoyed by the frequency of repeated posting, but hey chill, I'm trying to reach the world here! 

(Seriously though, I have regular readers in 5 different time zones!)

I love the edgy no-nonsense way that Guy talks to his audience. For example, when discussing the huge body of "research" on SEO (search engine optimization) he says, "There are three thousand computer science PhDs at Google trying to make each search relevant, and then there's you trying to fool them. Who's going to win?" Fair point, Guy, fair point.

This book is also funny! There were times I was laughing so hard I'm like "this is awesome - a book for 'work' that's also relieving stress by being an enjoyable read!"

So besides the goldmine of invaluable information, it's pee-your-pants hilarious at times. I call that a win!

Guy and Peg have given me the tools I need to make social media work for me, rather than me feeling like I'm drowning in tweets and hashtags and pins and getting nowhere. I am confident that their book will continue to be a helpful reference as I work to master the ways I can make Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest help me grow my business. I've got my eye on Flickr next, but I'm trying not to be too greedy ;-)

If you use social media to promote your business, service, product, or events, then this book is for you. Buy it today!

It was just released on Amazon {my affiliate link here} so at least make sure Santa slips it under your tree this year!

I Made It! A Successful 30 Days of Blogging!

Today's the day!

I have successfully completed 30 consecutive days of blogging. 

It's not something I ever would have set out to do on my own. I probably never would have even thought it was an important exercise to try!

But Sarah Arrow makes it impossible to resist. She says, "There is risk and reward associated with everything you do, and blogging is no different."

I honestly don't even know how I stumbled across Sarah's challenge, but I'm so glad I did. The wealth of information she sent my way each day almost turned my brain to scrambled eggs... but I'm pretty confident after I let it marinate that I will emerge a stronger writer and a more creative and organized blogger!

It was only a few months ago that I had a serious conversation with J about my goals to grow this blog into a business. 

It just made sense to join a challenge that (as Sarah says) would "exercise my blog muscle" and teach me more about taking my blogging to the next level.

So what have I learned? That I love this blog. That I love to write. That I love to inspire and encourage people, especially fellow moms and military spouses. That I want to write a book someday. That I like to write in large chunks. That I don't do as well when I haven't prepped for a post before 8pm. That I am hungry to understand more about how to market myself in a social media-focused world. That it's not too far fetched to think that I could make money blogging, or that I could morph my writing and photography businesses pretty easily. That this could be my job.

Don't they say that if you do what you love it doesn't feel like work?

That's my goal. To "work" doing what I love. 

Huge thanks to Jesse for putting up with me these 30 days. To my children who may or may not have periodically been watching more tv than is good for their brains so I could write. To Kirsten for high-fiving and gold-starring me to death this month. To my mother-in-law, who commented on pretty much every single post. To all the friends who spread the word about this blog, and to all the new members of the TABA family on facebook and twitter. To the new friends I made from the blog challenge facebook group, who supported, commented, and critiqued to make me better.

And to Sarah Arrow. Who wasn't just coaching from the sidelines. She was active on the facebook page every day... ready with live support, commenting on my posts, and walking through it with me the whole way.

This challenge has changed my blogging for the better! 

If you'd like to channel some of my excitement and take the challenge, too, just sign up here. It's free and it's awesome!

7 Mompreneurs Well Worth Supporting this Holiday Season

Alright Santas... time to start making those lists, and checking them twice, right?

I have a great list of ideas to get your list started!

Who doesn't love to make an awesome purchase while knowing it benefits someone you believe in? Someone who's working hard.

Someone who lights up their little corner of the world with creativity.

We all know many someones out there who are striving to work from home or running small businesses. 

I would like to highlight seven hard working Moms this Christmas season. Consider starting your holiday gift shopping right here with this list of great products, services, and ebooks! 

You can check some gifts off your list while knowing you're giving a financial high five to these amazing ladies. 

1. The first thing you need to buy is for yourself actually - the Keeping Christmas Cozy ebook from Alissa over at her Creative with Kids blog. Because the first thing we usually do at the mention of Christmas is go off the deep end with to-do lists and stress. Alissa's simple (short!) ebook was a delight to read. I got some great ideas from her (and printables so I have even less to do!) and was feeling super zen after reading it. Her main message is that we want to strive for "connection, not perfection" as we plan out our family's holiday memories. 

2. You know how much I love Raisin' Acres Farm. They are my go-to for all things skin care related. And the hand-crafted bar soaps are so delightful to smell and feel so great on the hands! They would make perfect stocking stuffers! The 1 oz jars of hand creme would also be perfect for the stockings on your lists... I really like that they are the perfect size to toss in my purse to have on hand (ha.ha.pun) whenever dry, itchy skin strikes. I recently tried her herbal bath tea and oh heavens was it relaxing. Who doesn't want THAT for Christmas?

3. If you love to shop in style and are obsessed with fun hair accessories... then Sarah at Jules & Belle Go to Market has what you need. Everyone needs a beautiful market tote. Or two or three. You could even use them to wrap gifts for people! I'm thinking of getting Lily and Sam some more hair bows and headbands from her, as well as a "tiny tote" for each of them. We love our headbands - adorable AND comfortable! 

4. Three great ebooks (and one for free!) from Trina Holden! Tips and tricks on eating healthier but being able to cook faster. How to plan and be efficient in the kitchen. How to dress your changing mom-bod so you can hold your head high no matter how much baby weight you still "need" to lose. And of course, the newest cookbook that I reviewed about real food as a stress-free journey. Her books would be great for any new mom or anyone starting out in the real food journey.

5. For the local shoppers you should consider gift certificates from Grace Studio. You can find something for everyone at Grace. You can purchase gift certificates for dance classes (starting at 125 euro for the semester) and for fitness/yoga classes or German language classes you can get a 10 class punch card for only 65 euros! If I had more time in the week, I would probably be at Grace Studio every day... fantastic German lessons, invigorating yoga classes, FemFusion, and of course, chuckling as my kids pitter about during pre-ballet ;o) 

6. Here's a website I'm really excited to introduce you to: FemFusion. What is FemFusion, you ask? I'll let the founder, Bri, answer in her own words... "Your go-to resource for women's health and fitness information. Doctor-designed videos, live group fitness classes, and an online community. Look good, feel great, and shine brighter!" Here's the shop. The information is spot on and the encouragement from knowing and learning from Bri has been so great! It might seem weird to get someone fitness-related videos for Christmas, but I know I always feel the need for a fitness re-boot after a delightful December of Christmas cookies and egg nog! There are three different locations for FemFusion in the KMC. Also, I haven't finished reading it myself yet, but she has this really great ebook available as well and so far it's been an eye opening lesson on the neglected female issue of poor inner core health. Bri's all about educating while encouraging. Win win!

7. Now it's my turn! Time to toot my own horn and recommend fine art prints from Jesse's Girl Photography! One thing that's really cool to do with them is order a set of 5-10 photos that would look nice in a collage or grouped together in a specific room. I've had clients order sets of food photography to make collages in their kitchens or produce shots for a gardening shed! I know sunflowers are really popular, so you can get a bunch together for the sunflower-lover in your life! There's something for everyone because everyone likes to decorate their walls with something beautiful to look at. And here is my easy tutorial on hanging a great photo collage. You'll never have to guess again!

And then of course, there's my amazon affiliate link. Which is for those of you who want none of the above but would still like to support my blog.

If you're anything like me, you shop amazon like CRAZY during the holidays. Since you're going there anyways, please consider heading there by way of any of my affiliate links. You can click that big box right there, or you can use the smaller link at the top right of my sidebar.

What happens (it couldn't be easier for you!) is you click "through me" to get into amazon. Then you shop. For whatever you want. (You don't have to shop for something that I have linked to. I can link to a 10 gallon tub of coconut oil and you can buy your husband new headphones.)

The amazon robots watch you and then when you purchase something, they toss a few coins in my bank account as a thank you for advertising for them! You don't even have to do anything! (The same is true for my Mountain Rose Herbs box in the sidebar, which you could use to get the hippie in your life some essential oils!)

So those are my suggestions for supporting some awesome small businesses this Christmas! 

Happy shopping!

If any of these products or services excite you, please pin it for later to your "gift idea" board!

Twenty Days of Blogging, Ten More to Go: You've GOT to Check Out This Challenge

You may or may not have noticed that I'm on a bit of a blogging binge lately.

Today marks day 20 of the FREE 30 Day Blogging Challenge that I've joined!  

Sarah Arrow of Sark e-Media is an amazing UK blogger who loves blogging enough to have a passion to share her wealth of knowledge with others... for free! 

All you do is sign up here, and you will get 30 daily emails from Sarah about blogging. Sometimes the emails have post links with even more info. And you can either take her thoughts to launch your own post for the day, or you can post about whatever you want and file her ideas for later (I have a blogging Pinterest board that's exploded in the past 20 days!) 

Then you throw your post up in the group on facebook to get credit and feedback. 

It's been really cool to find new bloggers whose work I really love. And to hear their kind words about my own posts has been so great!

And Sarah is like the blogging "mother hen" who's always at the ready to answer any and every question.

I'll admit, there were a few down days where I didn't want to blog or didn't know what to blog about or didn't have time... you get the point. Lily and I have been sick this past week and even so, I've pushed through. Not every post has been a gem, but I'm still proud that I haven't missed a day!

The challenge has broken me out of my comfort zone about blogging regularly... it's actually not as difficult as I thought to blog daily. And although I don't plan to keep up the daily word-vomit, I have learned a ton just by having that pressure to blog every day!

So if you have a blog or even the slightest inkling that you want to blog, I can't recommend this challenge enough! 

It's been a fabulous tool to get me jump-starting a more serious plan to provide YOU, my dear sweet readers, with great content.  

I realize the importance of a great content-plan and I have started a "diary" of posts so that I can map my content out weeks in advance. I understand better how to network with social media, provide better calls to action, promote my blog post over the course of the day, and utilize time-blocking to be more effective when I work on the computer. 

All this thinking about blogging has got me coming up with more and more and MORE blog ideas! 

Sarah's emails, posts, prompts, and the Facebook group have been a huge inspiration! I'm totally on a roll and I can't wait to see how these many lessons and ideas will help me grow my blog even more!

I'm literally exploding with ideas, here! 

So fellow bloggers, I challenge you to Sarah's challenge!!! 

Especially if you use your blogging (or want to use it) to grow your business presence in an online world, you’ve got to check it out! 

And are you on the fence about blogging? 

Have a blog that you've neglected as of late? Then consider this: the world can benefit from hearing your unique voice! 

In the book Blogging for Creatives, Robin quotes the CEO of BlogHer, Inc... when asked if there are just too many blogs? Lisa Stone replied, 

"It's a bit like asking are there too many movies. No, I don't think there are too many blogs - I'm not sure there are enough good ones!"

So that's my gushing review of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge. Make sure to check it out! It's definitely a challenge, but one well worth the effort!

Sign up today! Or share with a budding blogger you love! 


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Here are the links to Blogging for Creatives, Crush It, and Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook These are books I've read recently about blogging and social media which I highly recommend. If you follow these affiliate links, I will be compensated for your purchase at to cost to you. Thanks!