Disney and Disqus - B2SB2B Assignment

Dear Professor Kludgy Mom,

My assignment for week one of the Back to School, Back to Blogging event is late. Remember, I tweeted you and told you that I spent a very long day at Disneyland on Wednesday with a two-year-old who was on a sugar high from eating cotton candy and chocolate covered cookies with sprinkles and that we stayed from opening to closing time?

Well, maybe I didn't give you that much detail. Twitter does only allow 140 characters.

Anyway. I finished it and here it is. I'm also attaching photo proof of our chocolate-filled-fest day at Disney.

If you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, it's this:

Our assignment for week one was to complete an 11-point inspection of our blog. I'm still working on that as it seems there are several areas of improvement. I did, however, freshen up my "about" page with new photos and updated information. I'm still working on adding a blog roll page and social media buttons.
The next part of the assignment was to "find a COOL, little-known plugin or widget" and write about it. My reaction: a what? Kidding. Of course I know what a widget is. Sally Field played her, right? Ahem.
But how do I find a cool, new one that no one has ever heard of? I Googled "new widgets" because none of the other students would think of that, right? That turned up a lot of stuff that I don't think my blog needs, like a Skype button (I don't even have a Twitter button yet, so why would I add Skype?) and something called MixMap where you can see where your visitor are from. Ho-hum.
So, I thought I'd take a break and check out the comments left on my blog and realized that *THAT* was an area I needed to focus on. I hardly respond to comments. And when I do, I feel bad that I can't respond to each individual comment. So, I Googled some more and found Disqus!
Disqus allows me to reply to a specific comment creating a conversation of sorts. I'm loving it so far! Totally easy to install on Blogger. Plus, I get notified by email of a new comment and I can reply straight from my iPhone (because that's how I read and answer most of my email anyway).
I can't wait to see what the other #B2SB2B students come up with and I'm already looking forward to week two!

Good/Bad/Fab

The wonderful Erica at Mommy's Still Fabulous is hosting her first link up for Good/Bad/Fab and I thought I'd join in because I have no other ideas about what to write about I love a good meme.

Anyway, it's my job to blog about the Good/Bad/Fab of the week. Here it is:

The Good

Our Disneyland annual passes are finally free from blackout dates and we celebrated with new friends on Monday. I went with an old friend I know from high school and her two adorable little girls. They are huge Disney fans and really know the ends and outs of the park. Her suggestion was to hit Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel first for breakfast and then head over to the park. Jackpot! My kid was in heaven because she got an up close and personal meet-and-greet with Snow White, Jasmine, Baloo from The Jungle Book, and did the twist with Goofy! It was the best $40 spent the whole day!

The Bad

My 80 year old Grandma had a stroke early in the week. Her and I don't have much of a relationship these days and haven't spoken to each other in nearly ten years. It's a complicated. I do wish her a speedy recovery so she can celebrate her 81st birthday next month.

The Fab

Team McLovin reached our fundraising goal this morning with a $3,882.00 donation from Marina Auto Body! What a windfall too! This generous donation has previously been given to another team who participates in the Komen Race for the Cure . Fortunately, for my team, that other team isn't walking this year. So, Team McLovin is the happy recipient!