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Friday, December 14, 2012

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...

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

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


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

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!