Black Belt Living

Evolution

Neglect, that's certainly what this blog has been suffering from, that's for sure. I don't really know why I stopped updating it.  Well, yes I do and that's the good part.  

I stopped because I've thought for a long time that I need to change my focus and morph this forum into a better blog that's more photography oriented and better suited to what I'm doing right now. My photography business has really picked up, and thanks to the encouragement of a bunch of friends and some talented creative professionals, I'm ready to make that leap. 

So it's my pleasure to announce that in early June, I will be leaving this blog behind and moving to a new site that will serve as both my photography blog and online portfolio. I've been working on it behind the scenes for a few weeks now and I'm really liking how it's looking so far.  

In other big news, I started a new job at AI Software in March, as their project manager and social media specialist. We build websites for other businesses and provide social media management. I train clients on how to maintain their websites, do site changes and population, and do all the social media campaigns. It's such a fun job. I tell people that I get paid to play on Facebook all day. That's not entirely true, but it kind of is to a degree.

So since I'm now an official Social Media Maven, I figure that I should get my own act together in that respect and starting this week, I'm doing that. If you're not already following me on Twitter (and why would you since I rarely update it!), you can find me here and I promise to keep it updated and hopefully fun.  

Lots has been going on around these parts since I quit posting and when I roll out my new blog, I hope you'll follow me there and catch up on all the latest and greatest!

Finally, since no blog entry is complete without a photo, I think I'll post this one. I recently got an iPhone and have been trying to learn how to take creative pics with it using Instagram.  Here is one from Mirror Lake at Eden Park. 

Speaking of Instagram, if you'd like to follow my fumbling efforts and failures over there regarding my iPhone camera, you can find me on Instagram at bahogan.  

See you soon with exciting new updates! 

 

Black and Blueberry Cobbler

Just a quickie weekend post....

We had guests for dinner last night and while I'm not into making desserts, I thought it would be nice to take advantage of the yummy berries that are out there right now. I ended up making The Pioneer Woman's Blackberry Cobbler, but I used both blackberries AND blueberries.

It was so simple to make and so DEElicious that even my berry-hatin'' kid loved it. I highly recommend it!

Here's Ree's recipe: Blackberry Cobbler by The Pioneer Woman

Does Ree make or do anything that isn't fabulous? Yeah, I'm a huge fan.

Guest Blogging Michael Buble'

I know, I know...three posts about the Michael Buble' concert. But this time is a bit different, in that I'm guest blogging today on a MB tour blog and reviewing the Cincinnati show.  It was so cool to be picked!

It's kind of surreal that I'm doing this. The thought that MB himself could actually read this makes my palms sweat a bit. Here we go....

_______________________________________________

My first clue that last week’s Michael Bublé concert (in Cincinnati) was not going to be your average concert should have hit me at dinner.

I met my friend Christine and four of her friends (all Bublé concert veterans), at dinner in a local brew pub before the show. Was it some strange coincidence that our waiter was a spot-on Michael Bublé look-alike? Who knows? We never even got his real name. We just called him Michael all evening, teased him about getting chicks based on his famous look-alike, and joked that that since he had sold out 12,000 tickets for that night we wouldn’t need to tip him and that the martinis should be on him. 

The people watching was interesting. You had your grandmas and grandkids. You had women dressed up in the most ridiculous “FMPs” who were ridiculously obvious about wanting to be noticed. You had screaming teenage girls, horny cougars, flaming gay men, and guys who bought their wives tickets for their birthdays (and no doubt hoping to get lucky later in the evening).  Which group was I?  Well, I’m not a flaming gay man (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) and I'm not a grandma.  It was a real mix of people from all over the Tri-State. Christine and I took our seats on the floor, right near the aisle.  The others from our group were sitting in twosomes also on the floor.  Honestly, I really had no idea what to expect.

I knew the vocals would be good, after all, I’ve been a fan for a long time and I sing a bit myself. I had heard that he put on a good show. But seriously, I was NOT prepared for what I saw and heard.

Want more?  Read the rest on the Crazy Love Tour Blog.  Pleeeease?  Stay with Me? Sway with Me?

My Publicist Confirms...The Rumors are All True

As the cold, dark winter days turn to warmer, sunnier ones, there have been rumors circulating that I am making my return.  I'd like to make it official that the rumors are ALL true and I am indeed coming back.

I'm coming back to blogging after being lame and sporatic for the last nine months or so.  Do me a favor. Remind me to not take blog breaks anymore, because inaction breeds inaction, and the less I write, the less I want to write. Somebody told me this week that they miss reading what I dump from my brain, and I realized that I kind of miss doing it.  So I'm back, including posting my recipes on Tuesday. Get ready, I've got some ideas and as always, as you knoe, I have some opinions.  

 

Also, as April begins, that means that the hockey playoffs are getting ready to roll, both in the NHL and in the ECHL.  As Cincinnati Cyclones season ticket holders this year, we're pretty stoked that the Clones are gearing up to bring another Kelly Cup back to Cincinnati. My Detroit Red Wings have also been on fire lately and are looking at facing the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the NHL playoffs.  Wish those Canucks didn't have that damn Olympic gold medal winning goalie in their net.  

Regardless, last year I made some friends on Twitter that also share my passion for hockey and they made watching the playoffs extra fun.  I had pretty much "dropped off of the face of Twitter" for the last several months as well, but I'm also happy to report that again...I'm back, and I'm having fun with it too. I miss my hockey Tweeps! 

 

And probably the biggest news of them all is that like Tiger Woods, I will also be returning to the golf world this spring! Now granted, my exit from golf was not nearly as dramatic or naughty, nor will be my return.  I've also been gone a hell of a lot longer than he has, given that I haven't played in about ten years.  I quit golf years ago because after a life of being a pretty competitive athlete with a moderate level of success, I found golf incredibly frustrating and annoying. My head and my temperament just couldn't take it. My husband Andy LOVES golf. He's been trying to get me to come back and give it another try for years, but I wasn't willing to do so. No way, no sir, no how. 

Until this season.  We joined a new club, close to home and very friendly, and I've changed my attitude a bit.  I've decided that if I suck, I am not going to care, and if anybody else cares that I suck, well, then they suck too. I just want to enjoy being out there having fun.  I'm convinced that a new attitude is going to help me.  We'll see how it goes.  I played last weekend and I have to admit, had a great time, even if my hair was dripping from playing in the rain. I was even hitting the ball better than I'd ever done before.  If only putting wasn't such a pain in the ass.  If I didn't have to putt, I'd be golden, because I like to smack the ball.  Sadly, that isn't a good approach from the green.  I need to work on finding some finesse.  

Golf isn't my only sporty return, but I will also be making an appearance back on the tennis courts again in the very near future.  If you know me, you know how tennis was a huge part of my life for so many years. 

So there you have it.  The rumors are true.  I'm back on so many levels.  I hope you'll come along with me as I document my adventures back into the world of blogging, Tweeting, and sports that have messed with my head.  I'm sure that it'll be a bumpy ride with lots to talk about.  

Oh yeah....I will be guest blogging at someplace really really cool in the very near future. I'm kind of excited about it.  Okay, I'm REALLY excited about it.  When it goes live, you'll be the first to know, so keep checking back!  

I have the day off work today, it's 75 degrees and sunny, and I'm off to the driving range. It's a perfect day! Happy Easter and have a lovely weekend! 

When Life Gives you Lemons, Use Lightroom!

There's a new post of mine up on Andie Smith's blog today. She's got some smokin' hot new Lightroom presets and I get to play with them!  Pop on over to see some cool African animals as well, like this guy:

 Stop on by and see Mr. Lemur and other cool animals from Johannesburg, South Africa!

Digi Dares are Back!

Hello, hello.....is anybody out there?  Probably not, which means that I'm now talking to myself, but that's okay. I'll post about that later. Right now I'm struggling with whether to come back from my hiatus. I really have mixed feelings about it, but my advertisers are giving me the big poke to get rolling, so I know I have to make a decision. I'll do that soon...probably this weekend, I promise (and I will keep you posted either way!).

And speaking of coming back from hiatus, The Digi Dares team has been on holiday for about a month, but we're back again starting today. Come check out our new look, our new sponsors, and our new dares, of course.  Here's the link:  The Digi Dares  This week's dare has a multi photo theme, and here's my layout:

Isn't that group shot just a hoot?  I'm glad I wasn't the photographer trying to position over 130 people at one time!

Spinning Plates

Well this weekend was a first. Shannon and I entered the Newtown 5K race. We just walked it, but tried to keep a challenging pace. We wanted to run part of it, but they made it clear that if we were signed up as walkers, we were not allowed to run.  

Originally Andy was going to run it and we were going to volunteer to work it (our church was providing the volunteers), but he had a conflicting golf tournament. At CCD camp, students were encouraged to participate, so Shannon asked if we could enter, so we did!

It was so much fun, and so competitive! I was so impressed by the number and quality of the runners. There were over 600 people who participated and the winning times were smokin' fast! The man who came in first out of all the walkers was 70 years old and had a time of around 29 minutes.  That's for three and a tenth miles. That's a blistering walking pace! 

I have pics, but after getting a new computer, I'm having a bit of trouble with exporting and plug-ins and all sorts of technical difficulties, so I'll post the pics later today. 

We saw a bunch of old friends, made a bunch of new friends, got a bunch of exercise, and had a wonderful time.  Next year the whole family is going to do it, and we're all going to run it instead of walk it. 

In other news.....

Things are kind of nuts around here. Well, it feels that way to me. School starts in a little over a week and in the meantime, I feel like I'm juggling plates, I've got so much to keep track of - doctor, ortho, dentist, orientations, parent nights, sports practices, etc. The big dog houseguest is taking a bit more work than I had planned, I'm back to working out nearly every day, and I'm putting together a family slideshow from our trip to the Outer Banks where I'm trying to sort through the vacation pics of a huge number of people.  I've got photo shoots coming up and assorted other things....

Anyhow, I feel like the plates are spinning and dropping on me. Something has got to give, so I've decided to take a blog vacation starting this Wednesday, until the Tuesday after Labor Day. That's September 8th. In the meantime, I'll still be posting recipes on Tuesday, and I may be putting up pics now and then, but I'm not sure.  

So it's a leap of faith to take a big break like this, but right now I need to trim some things down in addition to my expanding waistline. I hope you'll all come back when I come back, but keep checking in on Tuesdays so that you have something to cook for your family on Wednesday.  Tomorrow I'm posting a delish recipe that I created via a happy accident.  

I hope you'll miss me!  

Nojo Mojo

I want to welcome friends from Stan and Jenn's great site today, Scrapper's Workshop. If you are into digital scrapbooking, photo editing using photoshop,or you're just interested in photos and making them better, they have great tips and advice. I always learn something from them every time I pop over!

I have noticed that I've lost quite a few readers lately. I'd like to think that it's because of summer vacation and such ~ people spending more time outside and doing things like going to the poor or watching little league games, but hey, it could be that I've just gotten boring! I don't want to be boring, I really don't!

I admit that my blog creativity has been wavering lately. Maybe it's because I'm in the middle of a very mind-blowing and challenging creative marketing/writing effort at ACME. It's one of those things where I should be sleeping with a note pad next to my bed, and keeping one in the car, because I seem to get these flashes of inspiration when I least expect them. Of course, given that I can remember the telephone number of the dude that I had an unrequited crush on in the seventh grade, but I can't remember what anybody told me five minutes ago, these moments of brilliance are fleeting. They're here and then they're gone. Dang it! I should be writing them all down the moment that they roll in and out of my aging consciousness. 

I looked up images about creativity today and this came up, and it made me laugh. I'm SO fortunate that ACME isn't like this at all, and for me, at least at the moment, the ideas are flowing pretty well.  I recently had the great opportunity to attend a creativity/innovation workshop at  Eureka Ranch, which is one of the leaders in business innovation training and inspiration. I think their purpose in life is to fight attitudes like this:

Maybe my lack of mojo is my exposure to chatter both at home and at work from things like television, radio, internet, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. Do people talking at you all the time keep your brain cells from going "Oh Snap!" I'm sure it doesn't help. 

Maybe I'm having an identity crisis. The title of my blog is Black Belt Scrapping. I'm still a black belt, but I retired from taekwondo training this spring, and let's face it, I haven't scrapped a layout in most of 2009. So I'm not yapping about things that I yapped about when I started this adventure four years ago. I started writing this blog as a way to share layouts and scrapbooking goodness with fellow scrapbooking friends around the country. Back then.....and four years is a long time in these days of high technology....there wasn't any Facebook. Website message boards were the way to communicate with internet pals and blogs were just becoming popular. Now everybody's on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter. But I'm still here because I enjoy it and hopefully because other people do too, no matter what I'm yapping about on any particular day. I'm not changing my name, because my name is my brand and I'm sticking to it. Down deep, it still represents who I am. 

So if you're new here and just popping in, I hope you'll come back! If you've been here before and you're thinking of permanently popping out, please don't!  If you feel like popping some popcorn, I'll be happy to share!  And speaking of sharing, since I'm managed to write about seven paragraphs about how I have nothing to say, I will share with you some of my favorite blog entries of all time. I hope you'll pop over there and check them out. 

Herbert - the loveliest man at the WalMart

90 Minutes in Prison

Now the Green Blade Rises

Darwin in the Garden

Regardless of how or what you're popping, however, I'm glad you're here and I hope you'll come back. I hope my mojo comes back too (I know it will!).

So, Where Are You?

Today I'm throwing my blog over to my readers. I challenge everybody to take a second or two to leave me a comment and let me know where you're from and what brought you here. Just for today, please don't go away without saying hello! If you have your own blog or website, please add a link and I'll come and visit you this weekend. Hopefully some other people will too.

You get to hear a lot about me, so just for today I'd like to hear more about you. 

And for my regular commenters, you're not excused.  

Have a great weekend!  In fact, you can tell me about your weekend plans as well. Now click on that link right below here.  Thanks!

A Mosaic of Different Things

A friend sent me this the other day and I thought it was hilarious!  Make sure to check out the names of his "friends" and read the comments.  Clever!  I challenge you to not laugh!

If Bill Gates had a Facebook Page

Speaking of Facebook, a friend tagged me to do this fun photo mosaic yesterday and it was pretty fun. Fun with Flickr photos, that is.  You can try it too. If you're  a scrapbooker, this could be a good start for a fun and easy layout.  Feel free to add more questions for a larger mosaic.

Rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (http://www.flickr.com/).
b. Using ONLY the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Mosaic Maker. Change rows to 3 and columns to 3 (http://bighugelabs.com/fli
ckr/mosaic.php).
d. Save the image and post it on this note!

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Barb
2. What is your favorite food? Alaskan King Crab
3. What is your favorite color? Purple
4. Favorite drink? Wine
5. Dream vacation? Tuscany
6. Favorite hobby? Photography
7. What you want to be when you grow up? Retired
8. What do you love the most in life? Loved Ones
9. One word to describe you? Creative

Here's how mine turned out!

Have a good Friday. Do you have a busy weekend coming up? 

We'll be hosting a garage sale in two weeks, so I really need to spend a few hours starting to get organized for that.  If you're in the Cincinnati area, it's a neighborhood, multi family sale and it's an awesome event!  Saturday, 4/25/09 from 9am until noon (or later).  If you would like more information, email me!