A final farewell from the 2012 Blogger Idol - Martinis and Minivans

I think back to three months ago when I found out I was in the Top 13 of Blogger Idol.  If someone would have told me then that I would write about euthanasia, zombies, superhero families, the “n” word, embarrassing childhood memories and letters to my younger self, I would have run away and hid. 

That’s the beauty of Blogger Idol – you never knew what was coming next.  You never knew if the topic was one that would feel natural to you, or push you out of your comfort zone.  You never knew what sick and twisted mind games Heather Reese had in store for you each week, and you definitely never knew if the judges would love you or hate you.  And it tortures you.  You stay up late on Tuesday nights to read the judges’ comments, and you start begging every family, friend and ex-boyfriend you have to vote for you for two painfully long days, and then on Friday, you try not to drink cocktails at 9 am because you are so nervous for the results being shown on a video with a theme song that makes you want to punch someone.     

And you know what?  I loved every second of it.  I loved being challenged to write better and create new stories and ideas that I hadn’t ever thought of before.  I loved the friendships that I formed with the other contestants and how we supported and trash talked each other at the same time.  And I love that when my children hit an obstacle in their life, I can tell them about a time when I persevered and had to believe in myself.  I’ll tell them about how I stayed up late at night just to proofread my posts an additional 100 times and how I fought tooth and nail to get every human being I have ever met to vote for me.  And I’ll tell them how it would have been ok if I lost because I tried my hardest and my fellow contestants were just as worthy of the title. 

So now it is all over.  I have such mixed emotions about it all – absolute joy with winning, but sadness to see it all end.  I will miss all the folks behind the inner makings of Blogger Idol – Heather Reese, Justin Mannato, and Lisa.  Thank you for all your hard work, support and constant mind games that you received such joy from inflicting.  Thank you to my fellow contestants – I loved laughing, crying and loving all of your posts.  You all have a new fan in me.  And lastly, thank you to the readers and voters – if I could buy you all a round of martinis, I would.  You saved me over and over again and are the true winners of this competition.  Without you all, I wouldn’t be here.

I hope you read this and feel inspired to try out next year.  It is an adventure you don’t want to miss. But before that can happen, I get one year to make my husband constantly refer to me as The Blogger Idol….I’m hoping he gets me a crown and sash soon that I can wear to preschool pick up…

I hope you stay in touch and read about my post Blogger Idol escapades at www.martinisandminivans.com

Danielle Herzog, Martinis and Minivans

Farewell from Pile of Babies

Oh my god, I am totally not going to proof-read this shit. No more agonizing over hyphens for me!!

So, Blogger Idol is over. I finished second out of a lot of AMAZING writers. I get a box of chocolates, a bunch of stuff from Newman Organics, and software that lets me talk to my computer. And I lost to a wonderful, beautiful writer.

All in all, not too shabby!

I loved being a part of this competition. I learned SO MUCH about how to be a better writer, and how to take more chances with my words. And I made some awesome friends.

Thanks to Heather Reese for putting all of this together and staying up till the crack of dawn making sure everything got done (I swear, the woman is a vampire.) Thanks to Justin Mannato for answering questions and founding the Second Place Club. Thanks to Lisa, who also put in a ton of work and made those phenomenal hats for the finale video (A FASCINATOR CROWN, PEOPLE!!!!) Thanks to all of the judges for their time, their critiques, and their support. And thanks to my fellow contestants – what an awesome group of weirdos to be grouped up with.

Thanks folks. This was a blast.

Meredith - Pile of Babies

The Finale: Who will be 2012's Blogger Idol?

This is it! The last post of Blogger Idol, Season 2.  You will find out in just a matter of minutes who will take home the title: Pile of Babies or Martinis and Minivans.

That person will also take home a Samsung Galaxy tablet and a $150 voucher for Blog2Print to turn her blog into a book.  Don't feel too bad for the runner up, though.  She will be receiving a whole bunch of Ghirardelli chocolate, her choice of four Newman's Own® Organics products, and some awesome software (Dragon) that listens to what you say and types it on your computer for you.  I wish I had that.

To check out all of this year's prizes (and maybe get some last-minute holiday gift ideas), click here.

And, finally, can we ask one last little favor from you before you watch the video to find out this year's winner?  Check out our sponsors, Izea (follow them on facebook or twitter) and Duck Brand (yes, as in Duck tape.  They're also on facebook and twitter).  The more love we can give our sponsors, the more likely it is we'll be able to keep up Blogger Idol in the future. Besides, it's the season for giving, right?

That's all from me, The Spaghetti Westerner.  Can't wait to see you all again next year.  Watch for auditions.  Who knows, maybe YOU will be Blogger Idol 2013!

Alright...go find out who wins...

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Who's going to be the 2012 Blogger Idol? Vote now!

We've reached the end of the road. We're down to the last two, and in just a few days, we'll know who takes the crown. Each of the two contestants had two assignments this week. The first one was a humor piece, about something they've done that they wouldn't want their kid(s) to know about. The second one was a reflective piece, in which the wrote a letter to their younger selves. Make sure you read and vote for your favorite on BOTH of the assignments!

Assignment #1:

Martinis & Minivans: Things I can't Tell My Daughter
Pile of Babies: A Poop In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush


Assignment #2:

Pile of Babies: Life Gets Bigger: A Letter To My Younger Self
Martinis & Minivans: Someday You'll Ride A Bull

Farewell from Crazed in the Kitchen

Parting is such sweet sorrow…

No it’s not. There’s nothing sweet about it. In fact, sometimes saying goodbye flat-out sucks. What I’m trying to say is this: I WAS MEANT TO BE THE 2012 BLOGGER IDOL AND I WILL NOT LEAVE QUIETLY!

*ahem*

Actually, I’m very proud of my third place finish in this contest. I competed with some top-notch writers, and I learned a bit about myself as a writer in the process. I’ve connected with some great blogs and made some real friends. I’ve…I’ve…

Well, I’ve stressed out quite a bit and ignored my family just a little. And now that Blogger Idol is over for me (sniff), I’m really not sure what to do with myself. I am finding myself with quite a bit more free time on my hands. So, I’ve compiled this list of things I’m going to do now that I don’t have to worry about Blogger Idol:

TOP 5 THINGS I’M GOING TO DO NOW THAT I DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BLOGGER IDOL:

1. Play more with my kids. Just not Chutes and Ladders. Please, God, anything but Chutes and Ladders.

2. Read a book. ANY book. I’ve been afraid to commit to a whole book because of my Blogger Idol duties—I hate having to stop reading for a few days when something else comes up. So give me some ideas in the comments—what should I read next?

3. Call my great-aunt Ruthie. It’s been far too long and I really need to check in and say hello. Plus also my grandma. But we’ll keep them together as one phone-call list item.

4. Ugh. Clean my house. I don’t want to. I really don’t. But I guess I don’t have an excuse anymore.

5. WAIT! YES I DO HAVE AN EXCUSE! I’M PREGNANT! So Number 5 on the list is call a cleaning service to come clean my house before our family arrives for Christmas!!

(See how I cheated a bit there? Not exactly 5 whole items, is it? Number 4 kind of gets negated by Number 5, doesn’t it? Oh no, the judges might lower my score because of that! HAHAHAHA no they won’t because I got eliminated. The judges can suck it.)

OK. So, I also came up with a list of things I’m NOT going to do any more because I don’t have to because I’m not in Blogger Idol any more.

TOP 5 THINGS I’M NOT GOING TO DO ANY MORE BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE TO BECAUSE I’M NOT IN BLOGGER IDOL ANY MORE:

1. Think about unicorn sex ever again.

2. Photobomb my friends and family on facebook with pictures of my kids in a cheap effort to get them to vote for me. You’re welcome.

3. Math. I actually pulled out a calculator and tried to figure out where I needed to come in with votes if I had been ranked 1st, 2nd, or 3rd with the judges last week. It ended poorly for me, the calculator, and my poor math-major husband who tried to help me figure it all out.

4. Write a brand spankin’ new blog post every single week. It’s just not my thing. My brain is tired and I think I broke my funny bone at some point during Blogger Idol (the proof is in that lame joke right there). I need a little break from blogging.

5. Have a cheapo-looking blog. Thanks to Blogger Idol, I won a blog redesign from A. Kay Blog Design and we have a date to phone-chat tonight about it. Say goodbye to the free template I downloaded and sort-of installed myself, people! We are (going to be) a quality operation over here!

So, that’s what I’ll be up to now that I’m out. Of course, I was truly honored to even be a part of this competition and coming in third place feels like a dream come true. (Um, if by “a dream come true” you mean “a dream that doesn’t involve winning copious amounts of chocolate, a new tablet, or crushing my competition into the dust.”)

*ahem*

Thank you for the opportunity, Blogger Idol, and thanks, everyone, for your votes and kind words! It’s been a wild ride!

-Crazed in the Kitchen

Week 10 Elimination: And then there were two...

In just moments, we will find out who will make it to the Blogger Idol 2012 Top 2.  Can you believe it?  We'll be crowning a winner in just one week.

This season has been full of challenging topics, unexpected twists and shocking eliminations.  The contestants have bonded in their stress and anxiety, spawning bloggy bff relationships that will - hopefully - stand the test of time.  That's just what our Top 3 were writing about this week: How blogging and Blogger Idol have changed their lives.

While we're sad to be losing another contestant, we're happy to be sending them home with some awesome prizes from A. Kay Blog Design, DaVinci Gourmet®, and Freetail Therapy.

But now the showdown's about to begin: a battle for the Samsung Galaxy tablet (or maybe for the chocolate...)  Either way, don't miss it.  YOU will help decide who is crowned as this year's Blogger Idol!

Until next week, it's your elimination post host, The Spaghetti Westerner, signing off!

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Week 10 Voting... Who's moving on to the finale?

I can't believe we're already here. There's only three contestants left, out of over 160 auditions. And after reading this week's assignments, I heard the same thing from each of this week's judges: 'Wow... those were hard to score."

The person being eliminated this week is taking home a Deluxe Blog Design from A Kay Web Designs, a prize pack from DaVinci Gourmet, and a $50 Amazon Gift Card from Freetail Therapy!

Here are the three assignments from this week, where the contestants talk about how Blogger Idol has changed them, as bloggers:

Crazed in the Kitchen: Reflections On My "Baby's" First Year
Martinis and Minivans: Putting It All Out There
Pile of Babies: This One Trick Pony Learns A Few More Tricks

Farewell from Ice Scream Mama

Later, Tater

Ice Scream Mama Moves On – You Can Too, In 4 easy steps

So you’ve just gotten the boot from Blogger Idol? You’re not alone. It has happened to many talented, creative bloggers. The steps below will help hasten your emotional recovery.

Step 1 – Drink. 

Heavily. Grab a bottle from the cabinet and just start swigging. You might find it necessary to camouflage your habit. Empty a soda bottle and replace with your alcoholic beverage of choice. If vodka is your poison, you can use an empty water bottle. Do not, I repeat, do not use your kid’s sippy cups or bottles. This can lead to serious consequences, such as a visit from social services and really mean stare downs from your neighbors.

Step 2 – Curse. 

Shit. Ass! Damn! Whatever comes out, go with it. Compound cursing will make you feel even better. Make up modifications like, Shitfudge! Crapass! Or Big Suckaroonis! Don’t worry about lame curses, it’s all about getting out those emotions.

For those under the care of a professional healer, aka, a therapist, you can possibly increase the speed of your recovery by combining cursing with a ‘dramatic gesture.’ For example, try shaking fists in air and spatting defensively, “I didn’t want to be an Idol anyway! Feh!” Feel free to scream it loud or just mutter like some crazy person under your breath. It’s a style thing. You’ll know what feels right

Step 3 – Hug. 

When the anger and disappointment exhaust you, you will feel an overwhelming gratitude. It will lead to hugging. Lots of hugging. You will hug your family, who put up with your psychotic stress over completing an assignment. You will hug friends who you badgered and threatened for votes. There is some danger of inappropriate hugging. Make sure not to hug the neighbor’s spouse too tightly, or any person operating a mechanical device or holding sharp objects. This can lead to a hospital visit.

During this phase, it is possible to experience abrupt crying outbursts. At any time you might find yourself blubbering, “It was just so much fun!” Or, “Why didn’t the judges ever really like me?” If you are a “snotter” be prepared and carry tissues. This will ensure against unfortunate mucus leakage, or worse, transfer to another party if episode occurs while actively engaged in hug.

Step 4 – Move on

It won’t be easy not to stalk the ‘exclusive’ FB page, so try checking in casually once a day with something banal and positive, like “Hey guys. Doing great!”  Do not comment, “Ice Scream Mama can write a tutorial!” every time someone posts something. No one will appreciate that. Not even if you add a smiley face emoticon.

And that’s it. Simple. Worked for me. At 1:01pm, I was drunker than an urban cowboy, fartknuckling (Yo! Meredith!) and shitassing all over myself. At 1:03pm, I was crying into my ice cream bowl, and screaming to my cat, “If Heather Reese’s husband wouldn’t have eaten all of her ice cream, this never would have happened!” But luckily at 1:05pm, my mailman came. I hugged him tight, because really, he just does the BEST job ever. I mean, who else brings me stuff every day?!!! Rain or shine??! After he ran away, I stood there, snot and tears running down my face, spoon in hand, and thought, “I had a damn good time.” And there it was at 1:07pm. Peace. Out.

Love you guys! You’re the sweetest. Wait, no, that’s me. But you guys really, really rock.  Thank you all.

-Ice Scream Mama

Week 9: We're cutting it down to 3...

Here were are. Another elimination. The good news is that after today, there's only one more before the finale. The bad news is that someone isn't even going to make it to next week.

In honor of tutorial week, I'm going to give you a tutorial that is FAR less interesting than the ones that the contestants wrote this week.

First, if you haven't, do your own tutorial and link it up in our play at home post for this week.

Then, when you're done with that, check out the sponsors that are providing the prize for the person being eliminated this week: Healthy To Go and snackTAXI.

Finally, put your hand over your eyes. Spread your fingers so you are peaking out between them, and watch the elimination video.

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Week 9: Will you vote for unicorns, zombies, buffalo wings, or the chupacabra?

This week, the four remaining contestants had to write a tutorial. But there were a few catches. First, we preselected the tutorials for them. Second, they got to choose from the selected tutorials based on their scores from Week 8. The person with the highest score had the first choice.

Here are the posts:

Ice Scream Mama: Buffalo Wings & Chicken Fingers: From Plains to Plate
Martinis and Minivans: Getting Your Zombie To Commit
Pile of Babies: So You Want To Groom A Chupacabra
Crazed in the Kitchen: How To Breed Unicorns

With only four contestants left, it's more important to place your vote for who you want to win, and rally up all the support for them that you can. Share their post, and ask people to vote for them.

Somebody is going to win this!

One of our awesome prize sponsors is Newman's Own Organics. This year, the first runner up will get to choose four items from the Newman's Own Organics line, listed below. And you know, in order to make sure it was going to be a good prize, I had to check it out for myself. They sent me:

Tristan may have been a little excited.

• Salted Pretzel Sticks
• Spelt Pretzels
• Caramel Cups
• Peanut Butter Cups
• Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
• Dark Chocolate Caramel Cups
• Dehydrated Prunes
• Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Vanilla Alphabet Cookies
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Bar
• Super Dark Chocolate Bar
• Mocha Milk Chocolate Bar
• Milk Chocolate Bar
• Espresso Dark Chocolate Bar
• Orange Dark Chocolate Bar
• Pomegranate Licorice
• Sour Apple Licorice
• Black Licorice
• Strawberry Licorice
• Ginger Hermits
• Fig Newmans
• Chocolate Creme Newman-O's
• Original Newman-O's
• Ginger 'N Creme Ginger O's
• Peppermints
• Wintergreen Mints
• Cinnamon Mints
• Ginger Mints

My first thought was that most of it was probably going to taste gross, because it's 'healthy'. So, I went for the chocolate first. My sister was over, and I broke chunks off of each of the chocolate bars and we tasted them all. I'm a HUGE dark chocolate fan, and both the Dark Chocolate Bar and Super Dark Chocolate Bar were my favs. My sister liked the Milk Chocolate. I discreetly hid the Peanut Butter and Caramel Cups until she was gone... I wasn't about to share those... lol. 

After dinner, we let the kids do a little sampling. They mostly went for the licorice. The Pomegranate Licorice was an awesome twist on something that's usually pretty ordinary. The Sour Apple ones had that sugar-coating all over them, and made their cheeks pucker.

My favorite thing was the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. I' m not usually a fan of oatmeal cookies, but these were delish! I was really surprised that the pretzels, especially the spelt pretzels, tasted so... normal. I was also highly amazed when the kids sat and ripped through the bag of prunes... yes, prunes... in one sitting. They ate them like they were fruit snacks or something.

I heard rave reviews about the Hermits from lots of people, but ginger really isn't my thing so I wasn't a fan. The kids liked them though. And the mints... the cinnamon and ginger ones are SPICY!

If I was the Idol hopeful that was winning the prize pack from Newman's Own Organics, and I had to choose my four items from above, it would be: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pomegranate Licorice, Chocolate Creme Newman-O's, and one of the chocolate bars.

Play-at-Home Link Up: Week 9

This week is tutorial week. We decided that in order to give the contestants equal ground, that we would come up with the tutorials for them, you know, in case someone was lacking creative ability. So we decided that we would give them all tutorials that are completely fake. For example:

1. How to harvest buffalo wings and chicken fingers (to be taken literally as wings from buffalos and fingers from chickens)
2. How to domesticate a zombie
3. How to groom a chupacabra
4. How to breed unicorns.

You are welcome to use one of those, or choose one of your own, fictitious or not. When you are done, link up here, and go comment on two other posts that have been linked up! You might just learn something new!

Farewell from Manderstanding

Cinko’s Farewell Address by Cinko

Well, my fellow brothers and sisters of awesomeness, Cinko’s run in Blogger Idol has ended. Cinko fought the good fight. Cinko was literally the last man standing, facing down the tsunami of estrogen alone, but with the fighting spirit that only a true, bacon loving American man could muster. We should revel in his greatness for his kisses taste like steak and whiskey and his blood smells like cologne.

Cinko would like send out a heaping helping of thanks to everyone involved in Blogger Idol, right down to every last judge. Without this competition, Cinko would have not had to push himself to write out of his comfort zone. Cinko always thought that the American Idol contestants getting along with each other was fake until now. Going through this experience has made Cinko truly appreciate the bonds and friendships he has made with everyone associated with Blogger Idol. Last, but certainly not least, Cinko would like to thank all of the people that voted for Manderstanding each week and had to endure the relentless bombardment of posts and texts to “vote early and vote awesome.” Cinko says to each and every single one of you; you’ll be in Cinko’s heart, yes, you’ll be in Cinko’s heart. From this day on, now and forever more. You’ll be in Cinko’s heart, no matter what they say. You’ll be in Cinko’s heart, always.

Looking into the future, Cinko sees beautiful things: bacon wrapped unicorns, zombie ducks, a manifesto of awesomeness and bigger and better things coming from Manderstanding. He knows that in his heart, his manly, bearded heart, that despite being the fourth loser, he will rise from the ashes of defeat like the mighty platypus and spread his greatness all over the world. Cinko will endure. Cinko will move forward. Cinko will survive. Cinko shall go on to the end. Cinko shall fight in France, Cinko shall fight on the seas and oceans, Cinko shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, Cinko shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. Cinko shall fight on the beaches, Cinko shall fight on the landing grounds, Cinko shall fight in the fields and in the streets, Cinko shall fight in the hills; Cinko shall never surrender.

Remember Cinko fondly. Remember him whilst you are shopping on Black Friday. Remember him when you are smoking legalized marijuana. Remember him for his fondness for seagulls, zombie chickens, and awesomesexual dinosaurs. Remember Cinko for he is breathtaking, tremendous and remarkable. Let Cinko’s light shine upon the world in all its glory and with all his modesty, yea verily. Amen.

In finale, don’t cry for Cinko, Blogger Idol, for Cinko’s ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. From this day to the ending of the world (31 days), but we in it shall be remembered, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he (or she) who sheds his (or her) blood with Cinko, shall be Cinko’s brother (or sister). Wherever there is justice, you will find him. Wherever there is suffering, he will be there. Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find … CINKO!!!

Hugs and Kisses,
The Magnanimous, Cinko IV of Concord

-Manderstanding

Week 8 Elimination: From Five to Four

Well, friends, this is it: We're about to find out who makes the Blogger Idol 2012 Top 4!  That's almost as special as the top three.  Which you won't find out about until TWO WEEKS from now.  Did you get that?  Yeah, here at Blogger Idol, we respect family time and all that Thanksgiving jazz, so we'll be taking next week off and giving our contestants a much needed break.  But we hope to see our faithful audience back here when Week 9 voting starts on November 27th.

So, this week our Fab Five ranted and raved.  And they did a darn good job.  Breastfeeding, Black Friday, online exploitation - they pulled all the stops!  But, alas, we've got to say goodbye to one more. 

This week's winner will receive:

Small Concept

Small Concept was born of a love for children and an obsession for tiny tot style. Modern fashion. Cool Styles. Hip Graphics. Great quality – in everything for your little ones – kid’s apparel, nursery furniture, toys, maternity and more. Winner will receive a gift code.

Sogno Coffee Company

Is it your dream to find that perfect cup of coffee? But among the thousands of chain coffeehouses and the dizzying array of trendy brands, where do you start? Actually, it's simple. At Sogno Coffeehouse, they know it all starts with the beans. Truth is, many people have not had the pleasure of enjoying a real quality coffee. No matter the price, brand, or packaging, it all comes down to the beans. Sogno roasts only the finest Arabica beans in their one of a kind, custom-built roaster. The product is unrivaled: the aroma, the body, and that very first sip... it's like un sogno, a dream. Prize package includes two 8oz bags of your choice.

Thanks to all who played along this week.  Who knew ranting could be so fun, right?  Don't forget to join us next time for the play-at-home fun.

Before I go, I must give a shout out to our guest judge, Conversate is not a word and other abuses of the English language.  When I was typing that just now, I was tempted to shorten it to "Conversate," but  then I decided calling this phenomenal judge and English language defender by a non-word was just too ironic.  And not in a good way. 

Enjoy the elimination video and a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Love, The Spaghetti Westerner.

P.S. Does anyone actually ever "enjoy" elimination videos? 

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