Community and a Contest

When I started blogging almost two years ago, I had no clear direction. I just knew I had some things to say and having a place to say it (and perhaps even have a few people listen) seemed like a pretty cool thing. Seems like a self-absorbed endeavor if you stop and think about it.

But I didn't.

Think about it, that is.

For months I was sort of winging it. If you go back and read some of my earliest writing, that's evident. It was all about me and what I thought. But that gets boring. Seriously -- who cares? I didn't even care all that much.

But then a wonderful thing happened. This blog became less about me and more about the relationships that were beginning to take form here and on other blogs I frequented. As the popularity of this blog grew, so did my sense of responsibility to help others when and where I could. I'm still not that big a deal, not even so much a medium sized deal, but I do what I can.

Last month I wrote a post about my friend Sarah Salter. Sarah will be going to the Sudan on a mission trip this summer, and my friend Wendy at Weight What is helping raise money for her expenses by donating a portion of the proceeds of sales from her Etsy shop to Sarah's mission fund. You will find a link to Wendy's shop on the right hand side bar of this blog.

To kick things off, Wendy suggested a giveaway. Because who doesn't like some free stuff? The first prize winner will receive one of her $28 shirts, which are a available in a variety of sizes.



Second prize winner will receive a set of button wraps.


To enter, simply tell me in the comments section why you think you deserve to win. Be creative -- a poem, haiku, short story - whatever. If you're on the twitter (and if you're not, then why not?), tweet your three favorite items from the shop, then come back here and let me know you did.

As in previous contests here, I will not be judging the entries. I will once again call upon my friends Jeff and Tamara Hogan - two of my non-virtual friends. (Jeff and Tam, if you're reading this, thank you in advance for agreeing to judge the contest - Snort!) You have until Thursday, February 18, midnight CST to enter. Enter early. Early often. And please, no wagering.

If you find something there that you simply can't live without, be sure to put "Sarah" in the comments section of your order so that a portion of the proceeds will go towards her mission trip.

Ready?

Set?

GO!

***

Editor's Note: I realize this has been a pretty serious week here at Hey Look a Chicken, so tomorrow I promise to post something incredibly stupid and ridiculous. Sorry/you're welcome.

Now Go...

The Results are In

The Winners are Helen and Wendy. (Please email me your 411 - okay, that was kind of lame.) I should send Candy some yard art just for spite, but I'm praying for her ungrateful heart. Also, I think Helen knows me better than some family members.

And now lemme break it down for you people:

8 Things I MAY OR MAY NOT have done Yesterday:

1. Made red beans and rice for lunch.
True - It was from a box, but it was sprinkled with love.

2. Shot a man just to watch him die.
False - I did not shoot a man to watch him die. On Wednesday.

3. Sent Donald Miller* a tweet with the word frigintastic and got a response to said tweet.
True - He posted a twitpic of a bar that I may or may not have patronized in downtown Austin. I asked if the pic was from downtown Austin, frigintastic! His response: "Absolutely. An Awesome Town." Not so wordy in the non-book setting.

4. Threatened to kick my kids out in the rain if they messed up my clean house.
True - That's a no brainer.

5. Got rave reviews from Simon Cowell after singing "Jenny" on American Idol for Wii.
False - I did not play the Wii on Wednesday. But I totally rock that song.

6. Alphabetized my spice rack.
False - I do not own a spice rack. We buy our spices in big redneck vats.

7. Took an extra dose of Ginkgo Biloba for good measure.
True - Having kids home from school unexpectedly requires contingency plans.

8. Booked 2 appointments with potential new clients for next week.
True - I'm fixin' to get really busy.

8 Shows I MAY OR MAY NOT Watch

1. Best Show in the History of Television (also known as The Deadliest Catch)
True - nuff said.

2. Dancing with the Stars
False - That show is for girly girls. I'm not exactly rocking a mullet and birkenstock sandals, but I have a bit more testosterone than your average female. And say what you will about the athletic prowess of Emmitt Smith, as far as I'm concerned, he surrendered his man card when he agreed to be on that show.

3. CSI Miami
False - Sorry - David Caruso as Grown-up Angry Opie from The Andy Griffin Show doesn't do it for me.

4. CSI NY
True - That show rocks.

5. CSI Las Vegas
True - That show also rocks. Even though I really miss Grissom and Warrick Brown. I loved me some Grissom and Warrick Brown!

6. Dirtiest Jobs
True - Mike Rowe is the second sexiest man alive, my dh being the numero uno.

7. Myth Busters
True - Blowing stuff up is awesome. Plus, if I were a tv star, I would want to be Kari Byron. She's an artist and a knife thrower. How cool is that? She also referred to someone as a hippy, crystal gripping tree hugger on the show.

8. The Office
True That's what she said.

8 Things I Wish I Could Do (or might actually be able to do):

1. Paint with either hand.
True - I am right/left brain confused, but sometimes it comes in handy.

2. Juggle.
False - I am a klutz of epic proportions. Juggling requires eye hand coordination.

3. Write song parodies a-la Weird Al Yankovitz.
True - I once wrote Christian lyrics to "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith. It's not something I'm proud of, but it was my friend J.D.'s going away gift. I also wrote a parody of the song "Church on Fire" for a departing pastor who was fond of the tacky Hawaiin shirt entitled "Shirt on Fire". I do not heart that song.

4. Recite the preamble to the Constitution.
True - I grew up on Schoolhouse Rock.

5. Play the harmonica.
False - Although I play slightly better than Alanis Morrisette.

6. Roller Skate backwards.
True - I am ALL up in that! I can skate better backward than forwards.

7. Make awesome chicken enchiladas.
True - They are awesomatastic!

8. Sing "American Pie" in its entirety (the long version) by memory.
False - Sad, but true. Dig that song, though.

8 Things I MAY OR MAY NOT be Looking Forward To:

1. Meeting some of my bloggity gal pals this summer.
True - Heck yeah!

2. Tomorrow.
True - New day. Fresh start.

3. Redoing my guest bathroom.
True - I'm planning on making a mancave for my dh.

4. Old age.
True - Even though I wish I had more nieces and nephews. Crazy Aunt Kathy has a nicer ring to it than my Crazy Mother.

5. Catching up on a season's worth of American Idol on Tivo.
False - That show made me mad when they voted off Dirty Rocker Chris Daughtry. I watch from time to time, but I think this year's talent is rather sucktacular.

6. Going to my husband's high school reunion.
True - Like I'm gonna say False. He reads my blog, you know. Not every day, mind you. But it's sort of like random drug testing. You just never know. Besides, what's not to like about being around a bunch of people telling you stuff about your spouse that you might not know?

7. Going to Japan with my mom someday soon.
True - Although I'll probably have to sell a kidney to be able to afford it.

8. The premiere of the movie "New Moon".
True - Also, did you know that there's a 5th book? Twilight from Edward Cullen's perspective. Oh, heck yeah!

There you have it. Thirty-two things you never wanted to know about katdish. I will now open up the comments section to completely random and totally unrelated comments...

Eight is Enough

So...I pretty much got nothing. Plus, I'm still reeling from the fact that my first guest blogger is more popular than me ON MY OWN BLOG. How suck is that? (Just kidding - that's awesome.) Maybe I should spend more time carefully weaving a story that is humorous, engaging and thought provoking...Oooo! Shiny vampire!

I suppose I could write about the weather: It rained. A bunch. Rednecks swam in flood waters. For fun. There was no school. There better be school today. The end.

And now...I'm going to punt. A few members of the Magnificent Infinity posted "8 Things" posts, so I'm going with that. We used to be the Magnificent 7, but we're a friendly bunch, and people dig us (especially Annie K). I'm changing mine up a bit because I like to be different, and they're not the boss of me. Here ya go:

8 Things I MAY OR MAY NOT have done Yesterday:
1. Made red beans and rice for lunch.
2. Shot a man just to watch him die.
3. Sent Donald Miller* a tweet with the word frigintastic and got a response to said tweet.
4. Threatened to kick my kids out in the rain if they messed up my clean house.
5. Got rave reviews from Simon Cowell after singing "Jenny" on American Idol for Wii.
6. Alphabetized my spice rack.
7. Took an extra dose of Ginkgo Biloba for good measure.
8. Booked 2 appointments with potential new clients for next week.

*yeah, "Blue Like Jazz" Donald Miller.

8 Shows I MAY OR MAY NOT Watch
1. Best Show in the History of Television (also known as The Deadliest Catch)
2. Dancing with the Stars
3. CSI Miami
4. CSI NY
5. CSI Las Vegas
6. Dirtiest Jobs
7. Myth Busters
8. The Office

8 Things I Wish I Could Do (or might actually be able to do):
1. Paint with either hand.
2. Juggle.
3. Write song parodies a-la Weird Al Yankovitz.
4. Recite the preamble to the Constitution.
5. Play the harmonica.
6. Roller Skate backwards.
7. Make awesome chicken enchiladas.
8. Sing "American Pie" in its entirety (the long version)by memory.

8 Things I MAY OR MAY NOT be Looking Forward To:
1. Meeting some of my bloggity gal pals this summer.
2. Tomorrow.
3. Redoing my guest bathroom.
4. Old age.
5. Catching up on a season's worth of American Idol on Tivo.
6. Going to my husband's high school reunion.
7. Going to Japan with my mom someday soon.
8. The premiere of the movie "New Moon".

Just to make this interesting and to lure you lurker types out of shadows, I am offering a frigintastic prize to the person who can come up with the most correct true or false answers to the aforementioned statements. In the event of a tie, I have more than one of these quality pieces of yard art:


These are not the actual birds in my possession, but seriously - close enough! I didn't feel like taking a picture, downloading it to my computer, etc. Besides, mine are hermetically sealed in the original packaging. Sa-weet! This is a friendly competition and all results are final. Please - no wagering.

The winner will be announced on tomorrow's post.

Bonus Question: I MAY OR MAY NOT have given out the following phone number on one or 30 occasions "back in the day":

First Time Ever! A Contest on HLAC!

While surfing the blogosphere, I have been impressed with how "fancy" some blogs are out there. My friend Pam's blog is uber fancy! She's even got a jukebox playing when you click over to her site. The music is great, it just scares my dog. (He is usually sitting on my lap when I'm on the computer.) I am fairly computer illiterate. I've been trying for weeks to expand my margins to no avail. (Hucklebuck, if you're reading this, I could use some advice!) Another interesting phenomenon on many blogs (especially blogs written by women), is "The Contest". I guess everyone loves a contest! Me, not so much. I'm just not very competitive. I know, I know...incredibly un-American, but what can I say, that's how I roll...



But for my loyal readers, I thought I would make this one exception. Especially since for some weird reason (aka - an SCL shout out), my site counter has been hitting some pretty impressive numbers. I also think people just like reading the comments. Although, I gotta tell you, unless you read all the blogs in my sidebar, you're likely to miss large segments of the conversation.


Back to the contest. Here's what I'm looking for. Find blogs in the following categories:


-funniest (don't say this one. Nobody likes a suck-up.)

-most thought provoking or challenging

-weirdest content (G or PG rated please)

-blog with the nicest layout

I'm sure you're all wondering what wonderful prizes await the winners in each category! Perhaps your own personalized slanket? A box of Hot Pockets! autographed by Jim Gaffigan? A sarcasm thesaurus? For those of you expecting a wonderful reward for HLAC's first contest, let me just say:





"I don't think so. Homey don't play that!"

It's not that I don't want to give out prizes. It's just that I can't deal with the pressure of having to actually mail anything out. I still have every one's CDs by the way. I also have 3 books for Mare sitting on my nightstand. I am a horrible procrastinator. I'll attempt to get the CDs and the books in the mail before Christmas, but I'm not making any promises!

But seriously, I'm interested in what ya'll come up with. I'll start:


Pigs and Pigs is, as the name would imply, a blog completely dedicated to pigs. Not even real pigs -- stuffed pigs, piggy banks, pig signs. If you have a freakish attraction to this kind of thing, this blog is Pigtastic!

Okay? You get it? GO!




P. S. - You're not allowed to use your own blog. (I don't think I need to mention any names here.)