The New Blog address

Bumps in the Road has now become Confessions of a Country Girl and can be found at http://confessionsofacountrygirl.wordpress.com for now. I haven't made it completely self-hosted yet due to budget constrants so for now I am at the mercy of wordpress. I've got my domain name purchased now all I have to do is find myself affordable web hosting. Hope to see you there!

P.S. You can still follow me in your blogger account you just need to change the url for my blog.

Jamie

Self Hosted Blogging

The other day I mentioned in a post that I was considering moving my blog to a self hosted site. Which I have decided that I will for sure be doing...Complete with name change too. A self-hosted blog is a webpage in which I will have complete control over in pretty much every aspect (right now I'm just borrowing space on blogger's server...When I move I won't have to worry about that anymore)....I won't be at the mercy of Wordpress.com or Blogger anymore. I won't have to worry about blogger deleting my blog for grins and giggle's again...I won't be at the mercy of anyone really design wise anymore. I will have my own little space of the internet to do my thing on. To be honest, I can hardly wait to get started. I've already decided what my new name is going to be and I'm in the process of trying to find a web designer and get the process rolling. I hope my little explanation was helpful.

I've been thinking about making this change for months now. I've been weighing the pro's and con's to making this big of a move and I think that it's time for me to take a leap of faith. As much as I've enjoyed everyone here that I've met on blogger I realize that when I make my big move that not everyone will make the move with me. For those who don't....It's been a pleasure. I hope to see you around the bloggy world.

Jamie



Here is an example of a self-hosted blog - The Pioneer Woman

A very interesting Tasty Tuesday post coming soon

You don't want to miss it that's for sure....Plus I'll also go into self hosted blogs also.

Somethings I've been thinking about doing....

For a little while now I've been thinking about doing my own swap. I'm going to do a little more studying on the subject and see what I can come up with. I'll keep everyone posted as to when/if the swap will be happening.

Another thing that I've been thinking about doing is maybe making my blog a self hosted blog. I've done a little bit of studying on the subject and some of the other self hosted blogs that I've visited are great. The only thing that really worries me is not having really anything to say on some days.

Tomorrow Tasty Tuesday will probably be a little bit late being posted....Getting my crown put on and determining if I'll actually need a root canal or not. I'm hoping not but right now I'll be honest....It's not looking good.

Jamie

True to Life

Right now I'm taking some advice that I gave another blogger who is also dealing with some work related issues and journaling about it. I'm currently working on a post that I will be sharing with you all. I hope it isn't too scatterbrained for ya'll....My little ADD brain works like that A LOT. Not sure when it will be up but just wanted to put out a heads up.

Looking for Guest Bloggers

I found and participated in this idea over at Juls blog. I am looking for guest bloggers for Saturdays and possibly Sundays here on my blog. We're going into one of our busiest "seasons" at work besides Christmas and all the sleep I can get is a good thing. Topic is up to you just as long as it's appropriate. If you would like to be a guest blogger either leave me a comment here or email me (I would just like to add, that if I can't respond directly to your comment I would totally love it if you would e-mail me or leave an e-mail address in your comment please...Makes setting up day soooo much easier.) at jamiehanna84@gmail.com and I'll add you to my schedule.

Thanks!

Jamie

Coming Soon and Too funny not to share

Coming soon....Follower Exclusive giveaways. I've seen this done on several of the blogs that I visit on a regular basis and some that I just happened to stumble upon and I thought I'd give it a try myself. I haven't quite decided yet what I'm going to be giving away or the interval in which they will happen but I'm really excited to give this a try.

Now check out this video:

I love good mail.....

NOTE: To go to my review of the movie Australia click here.



I received my swap box from Mamarazzi's Favorite Things swap today! I can hardly wait to share the contents of my box! So lets get started shall we?! Oh when your done reading this post go visit Mamarazzi and see who else participated in the swap.

My swap partner was MaryRC. Mary is a professional makeup artist! How cool is that?! Here is what I found in my box of goodies from Mary:

How cool is that wrapping paper?! This was soo much fun, being my first swap and all .

Oh, here's the box....Time for the big reveal!

Look at all those fun things! Let's take a closer look at them shall we?!

How cute is that little frame!? Now I'm on a mission to find a picture to put in it!

Isn't this scarf sooooo pretty! Has my favorite color (blue) in it!

I've never seen Pretty in Pink, so I can hardly wait to watch it!

My candy is rebeling....I couldn't get my photos to turn the way I wanted them too.

I LOVE earrings! My policy is you can never have toooooo many pairs! LOVE these!

How cool is that candle holder!? Can hardly wait to light the candle inside!

I have a confession to make....I'm new to the makeup scene. I'm one of only 3 girls on both sides of my family and I had graduated High School before I really decided to release my inner "girly" girl.

Can NEVER have too much Edward and Bella!

I see a new hobby in my future.....

I want thank Mamarazzi and MaryRC for making my first swap experience a great one! I can hardly wait to do another one!

New Blog!

My mom and I have started a new blog for our business venture. I hope that you will check it out and leave us some feedback. The address is: http://cloudberrycreations.blogspot.com . Hope to see you there!

It's my Birthday so I'll bitch if I want too.

NOTE: This has been an ongoing struggle for me and I'm not out to upset anyone, just getting some "stuff" off my chest.

I have this little thing about blogging that irks me big time. When I go to someone's blog and leave a nice comment on a post or multiple posts and I don't even hear a "hey thanks for dropping by." from them. I visited a whole bunch of new blogs yesterday and of the one's that I visited only 1 person commented back, who has been added to my blogroll and I hope they come back to visit. I'm hoping that I do hear something back from the others also because I realize that people are busy, etc. but it's just a little bit disheartening to go and leave comments on blogs and not hear anything back. It almost feels like I've been blown off in a way. Does this bother anyone else or is it just me? I'm done bitching for now.

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Later tonight....Bathing Ms. Laci....Complete with pictures.

What would you do?

If you haven't looked at my blogroll recently you should.....Because it's gotten a crap ton bigger. I've gotten pretty bad at visiting the blogs that I follow so I added them to my blog roll so that I will actually go and comment on them. You should check them out...You never know you might meet some new bloggy friends.

What would you do if you were me? In the last two weeks my brother's fiancee' has tried to kill me twice while driving her car and then last Saturday night she tailgated a car the last few miles on our way to work (we ride together because we work at the same place and basically have the same schedule). With my tax return I was just going to get new struts put in and still go on my girl vacation to Idaho but in light of all that's happened recently I'm wondering if I should get the brakes and rotors done too and start driving myself and put my girl vacation on hold until we go to the Minneapolis PBR event in September?

BITRCountryGirl

I got this little blirb off of Blogging Matilda this morning:

Hi there internet! As most of you know, I am collecting donations to help out an old friend. See previous post for more details. At first I thought connecting with people through Facebook and my blog would be amazing sources of support, and now, I can honestly say that I shocked, and not really in a good way.

Random strangers, people who have never met this amazing girl, have far exceeded the people who should feel some connection to her. Toni is such an amazing girl who has defied so many odds in life. She has been through hell and back. To protect her privacy, and not over share, this recent event is not the only tragedy that she has braved with complete dignity in her life. She is a great mother to two amazing children, and a loving wife to a totally kick ass husband.
She has been dealt a shitty deck of cards, and has always fought to come out on top. By collecting money for this benefit, I really hoped to redeem her faith in others and in humanity in general.

Please don't misconstrue this as unappreciation for what has been done thus far, because the generosity of strangers has been amazing, but more can be done. Times are tight, the economy is suffering, tons of us are unemployed, including me. But each and every one of us could make a small sacrifice. A dollar, anything. There is power in numbers, and I can't think of a better time to unite.

This is the story of a girl

This is the story of a girl and a nickname. When I started out blogging I was "just" Jamie. I was totally content with being "just" Jamie too, but then I found my blogging pal Trainwreck (TW to her blogging peeps) over at Cowboys, Kids and Sunsets. Y'all should seriously check out her blog by the way....she's got a wicked sense of humor and on top of that she's a phenominal artist/photographer! Well getting back to my story....My pal TW gave me a nickname....BITRCountryGirl because my first blog name (before the name change and then all the other troubles I was having) was Bumps In The Road: A Country Girl Trapped In Yuppie "Hell". TW took the first letters of Bumps in the Road and got the BITR and then added the CountryGirl to the end of it and now I'm BITRCountryGirl. But then there was a bit of confusion pertaining to my nickname....people actually thought that I was bitter and I'm really not. So I temporarily dropped my nickname after I moved back here to Blogger but now she's back and ready to take on the blogging world! And in the words of Paul Harvey "now you know....the rest of the story."

BITRCountryGirl

NAME CHANGE!

You'll notice that the name of this blog has changed. The original name of my blog was Bumps In The Road: A Country Girl Trapped In Yuppie "Hell" when I started blogging....way back when and I've decided that I'm going to "rock it Old School" in bloggy land from now on. Tomorrow I have a post scheduled that explains my nickname and why I temporarily stopped using it but now I'm back and ready to take on the blogging world.

BITRCountryGirl

Please Help

I was reading through my google reader (which I'm super behind on by the way) and I found another post from my good bloggy pal Jeannie that I thought that I would pass along on my blog. Courtney from Blogging Matilda wrote this (which I borrowed from Jeannie's blog):

Blogging is a wonderful thing. It creates a space that we can all share our lives, trials and tribulations. It connects random strangers with the best of intentions. Every time we need to share, find consolation, or laugh we turn to each other. The greatest thing is the fact that among us all we have the ability to reach out to thousands, even millions of people (if you’re Dooce). But now, I am turning to you for a little help.One of my oldest girlfriends, Toni, needs help.

Her husband and two children were in a car accident with a tractor trailer truck. Her husband took the brunt of the injuries while trying to maneuver the car to protect his children. The kids are ok, and are only suffering from broken bones. Jamie, her husband, was not as lucky, and is on a long road to recovery. This weekend there is a benefit being held in my hometown to raise money for the family, and the medical expenses that they are facing. Times are tight for everybody. We are all feeling the pinch, however, I am trying to raise as much money as possible to present to them this weekend at the spaghetti dinner fundraiser.

I have posted a widget on my blog to accept donations for the family. I am reaching out to my fellow bloggers in hopes that you might take a moment of your time to repost this information and ask your loyal readers to help out this young, struggling family in their time of need.

Thanks for your time,
Courtney at Blogging Matilda

It's snowing AGAIN!

It's snowing again here in the great state of Wisconsin. I wish it would stop. I'm ready for it to be spring again....Does anyone second that? I'm ready for sunscreen and 60-70 degree weather, but I'll settle for no more snow for a few days at least.

I just wanted to let you all know that I did put comment moderation on any post older than 7 days....That way I know who's commenting on my older stuff. If you would like to check out some of my favorite posts, click here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do, especially ones like Breakfast in Bed and Santa's Younger Brother.....Yup defiantly enjoyable is what they are.

Some of my Favorite Posts

This post is designated for all of my favorite posts. There will be a link in my sidebar back to this post, so keep checking it out to see what's been added.

Window Shopping/Shopping Posts
Window Shopping ~ Bath and Body Style
Window Shopping ~ Cowgirl Style
Window Shopping ~ Western Style
The Original Window Shopping Post
Window Shopping ~ Twilight Style

Vacation/Trip Posts
My "Girl" Vacation
Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy
Columbus Ohio, Dear Diary
Minneapolis, Minnesota Dear Diary
Chicago, IL Dear Diary
Grand Rapids, MI Dear Diary

Movie/Book/Product Reviews, etc.
Australia Review
Twilight
The X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer
Hello My Name Is Ingo Montoya. You Killed My Father. Prepare to Die.
Happy Trails Hans
The Searchers

Funnies
For The Pet Owners
Rubber Gloves
Important Stimulus Information
Husband for Adoption
Dear Beef Council
An Oldie But A Goodie
And then there was a candy dish
I'll be knitting
Santa's Younger Brother
Merry SITSmas
Why Men Should Not Have Action Figures
A Legal Question
Breakfast In Bed

Randomness
Wordless Wednesday
Bathing Ms. Laci
How PBR Bucking Bull Chicken On A Chain got his Name
Shutting Detroit Down
We Are Trashy
To Moderate or Not To Moderate that is the question
A borrowed blogging tip and a question
Some Yumminess
State of Mind
Monday Morning Church
Little Black Tufts of Dog Hair
Vietnam Veteran

Recipes
Snickerdoodle Recipe
Warm and Comfy Chicken Pot Pie
Fabulous 4 Bean Hot Dish
Impossibly Easy Cheesburger Pie

To Moderate or Not that is the question?

For a little while now I've been moderating my comments just to test the waters a little bit and I've noticed that recently the comments have dropped off drastically. I've found that I had better success with commenting when I was not moderating my comments. So my questions to you are: What are your feelings on moderating comments? Do you moderate your comments or would you ever consider moderating your comments? Do you tend to not comment on blogs that have comment moderation enabled and why?

The "Great Blog Makeover" commenses after my nap....I hope you all like it!

I'm Twittering!

I'm Twittering now and if you would like to follow me on there here is the info you need:

Send "Follow Jamers841" to 40404

P.S. I'll be doing a blog makeover again shortly...Ought to be interesting when I get through with it that's for sure.

Jamie

Is it wrong....

That I'm jealous of Ree over at The Pioneer Woman? I LOVE her webpage and wish I had one like it too. I know there's a whole lot of marketing stuff that went into making her webpage the way it is today but I'm still jealous. Is it sad that I've considered e-mailing her and asking the secret to her success? Now that I've put that out there lets move on....

I went out and purchased a crap ton (in layman's terms, LOTS) of yarn to start working on knitting gifts for next Christmas already. I can hardly wait to start on my next project! But first I have to finish my scarf and get pictures of it posted so you all can see it. I SO have to get better about finishing one project before I start another.....I am SO bad at that right now.

I find this pretty unusual....Usually I watch A LOT of TV/Movies but in the last week I've watched MAYBE 2 or 3 hours TOTAL. I've been doing A LOT of knitting and blogging in that time. Since I'm not really going anywhere for a while with the current state that my vehicle is in I guess it only makes sense...But I still find it odd.

Can anyone tell me why Blogger felt the need to "eat" both of my blog lists? That does NOT make me happy! I've got a couple added back in but I MUST get something other than blogging done today, so I'll probably be working on it over the next couple of days, so please bear with me.

Well I think that's pretty much it for now at least.

Jamie