A Note From Me

Hey Readers!  First off, I want to thank you for reading my blog.  It's almost been two years since I started this little ol' blog and it has made a bunch of changes on the way.  What started as a simple blog to share stories and pictures of my kids and share a few coupons, deals, reviews, and giveaways, has turned into something much bigger than I had intended.  That is perfectly fine, but I feel I need to take a time out to write a little note to explain a few things, especially if you're a regular reader.  (Hi, Mom!)  🙂

1.  I don't ever say I like something when I don't.  There have been a handful of products that I have been asked to review and I just couldn't do it.  So, I emailed the company.  A few times they said just not to blog about the product.  A few other times, they asked for just a mention, even if it wasn't positive.  I leave that up to the companies to decide.  But I don't tell you, my readers, that I like something when I don't.  And I urge my fellow bloggers to follow the same principle.  Nobody wants a false positive.  (pregnancy test OR review.  🙂

2. Nothing is free.  I'm finding that out as I prepare my taxes for 2012.  Did you know that bloggers are required to pay taxes on everything we have reviewed?  I read somewhere that it is like getting 70% off of everything, which may be true and even good, but we still have to pay 30%.  And we also "pay" with our time.  Which is why you may have noticed that I've scaled the reviews down considerably than in the past.  I have two little boys demanding my attention and that's far more important than anything the blog could offer me.  

3.  Our ways have changed.  This time last year, we were eating, drinking, and using unhealthy products, and we are slowly trudging out of that way of thinking and trying to be healthier.  But I still need some accountability, so if you read me blogging about something that doesn't seem to fit, call me out on it (nicely) and tell me you disagree and why.  I don't mind and I've learned it's better to gently tell someone about something not-so-healthy that they're using, even if it might be offensive.  I love feedback in any form, so go ahead and give it to me!

4.  I strive to be authentic.  I am going back and editing some of the old formats on posts and notice some things look spammy and cheesy.  I'm genuinely trying to get back to the "good ol' days" when I didn't care what people thought, just as long as it was real.  I hope that makes sense.  I am a blog reader myself and I just want to puke at the fakeness of some things.  I follow quite a few other blogs, and I just hate it when I get the sense of "fakeness" and you can just tell that the blogger did something for money.  Which, it is perfectly acceptable and expected for bloggers to make money with their blogs.  After all, if you could only see how much time, effort, and even personal money we bloggers spend on our blog, you'll soon see that it really IS a job and there should be some sort of compensation.  Without babbling more, I've started to turn down some reviews and offers for sponsored posts that just aren't me.  I've done it in the past and I really am moving away from that, so bear with me.  Hopefully everyone will stick around.

Alright, thanks again for reading and thanks for being so awesome.  I completely, totally, 100% realize that your time is very valuable, too, and you just gave me five minutes that you'll never get back again so THANK YOU!!  You rock!