An Opinionated Post: Enter at Your Own Risk

On July 19th I joined up with the SITSgirls and Problogger for the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog Challenge.

It's hard to believe that the challenge is already 25 days in!!! Especially since I'm still stuck on Day 19. Actually, I've been a slacker on a couple other days too but Day 17 is the post on which I'm stuck.

See, for Day 19 we are supposed to have written an opinion post. Sounds easy right?? Well, it hasn't bee for me.

I've been having trouble figuring out what opinion I have that is worthy of an entire post.

Darren provides a few ideas for opinion posts such as an opinion on a book or something easy. Well, I've already done that.

I happen to be one of those people who believe that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and as long as it doesn't hurt me or mine then I'm good with that. I honestly believe everyone should have opinions. However, I've always been the type of person who refuses to share my opinions because I don't want to argue my thoughts with someone else. My opinions are mine and I don't need to be challenged on them.

Also, some people become irate and just plain out mean when he or she does not agree with another persons opinion. So why should I open myself up to that? My friends and family know where I stand on certain things and they respect me for or in spite of them.

Another reason this has been so difficult for me is that I don't want to be known as that girl who believes that one thing you know??

So I think I'm going to do things a bit differently. I'm going to tell you some of the things I believe in. That way, if you choose to disagree with them and stop reading my blog because of them, at least it will be because of many of my opinions as opposed to just one. Because let's face it, I am not one thing. I am many. There are so many things that make up who I am and what I believe.

So here are a few of my beliefs and opinions:

• I'm thrilled prop 8 was overturned. 
• I believe love chooses you, not that you choose love.
• I believe too many people give up on relationships too easily.
• I believe sometimes you have to choose to love the person you are with to make it through bad times.
• I believe it is more important to be spiritual than religious.
• I believe people have the right to choose what is best for their bodies.
• I believe the entire human race needs to learn to be more accepting and loving of differences.
• I believe it takes a village to raise a child.
• I believe too many parents are neglectful of their children.
• I believe technology will be the death of individuality.
• I believe the movie Wall-e becomes more and more real every day.
• I would choose a good book over a movie or a television show any day.
• I believe that hard work and perseverance are being drown out by laziness and taking the easy way out.
• I believe politics turn good people into bad people.
• I believe that we all do the best job we can.
• I believe that we often hurt each other instead of help.
• I believe in your right to disagree with any of these opinions that are mine and mine alone.
• I also believe in being respectful of your right to disagree with me as I believe you should be of mine. 
• I believe that differing opinions, thoughts and beliefs are what make the human race as magnificent as it is.

And that's it for now. I happen to really like people. I like knowing that not everyone agrees with me and that's okay.

So there you have it. Those are some of the things that make me tick. I'm actually pretty scared to push the publish button for this post. However, I think you have a right to know who I am. If I'm going to put myself out there, I do it fully. This is me, take me or leave me.

For Additional Reading Check Out:

• Introduction and My Not Quite Elevator Pitch
• Where Do I Fit In?
• Defying Definition One Niche at a Time

Fun Blog Hops in Bloggy Land

Photo by orangeacid

Are you looking for new ways to get involved in the bloggyverse?

If you are like me, you probably enjoy bloghops and carnivals. I'm constantly on the lookout for something fun to do and different memes to get involved in.

There are some that seem to be everywhere. Like the question memes. The ones I've seen (and a couple I've participated in) are:

Mil-Spouse Friday Fill-In with Wife of a Sailor

This is a fun meme for military spouses. Each week five questions are posted on Wife of a Sailor's blog and military spouses can fill out the questions on their own blog and link up that Friday.

Five Question Friday with Mama M. at My Little Life 

This is another fun question meme. Mama M. posts five questions (sometimes thought up by people in her blogfrog community) and the participants answer the questions on their own blog and link to hers on Friday.

Getting to Know You with MannLand5

This one is a question meme where the questions are posted and the participant answers them on their own blog and links up to MannLand5's blog on Sunday.

Are you sensing a theme here? I'm all for question memes. I think they are a great way to get to know one another and have a great time doing it. However, sometimes I'm looking for a bit more than just answering questions. 

So I want to let you know about some other fun bloghops I've found around the blogging world lately.

Not me Monday by MckMama

This is a fun one where the participant writes a blog post about what they didn't do. It's a great way to get things off your chest while not really taking the blame! Link up your blog posts on Mondays.

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop with Mama Kat

Mama Kat posts a number of different writing prompts. A participant can write on as many or as few of the prompts as he or she chooses then links the posts up to Mama Kat's blog on Thursdays.

Flashback Friday with Penny at I Could Be Fake

Remember that time when that thing happened? Yeah. Penny does. Each Friday a participant can link up any type of Flashback post from their blog.

I'm Lovin' It Fridays with Tidy Mom

This is one where just about anything goes. Did you create or cook something you loved this week? Did you discover something you want to share? Whatever you are lovin' this week, link up on Fridays.

Friday Flip-Offs with Kludgy Mom

Do you want to go into the weekend without the bad vibes of the week weighing you down? Write your own Friday Flip-off post and link up on Fridays.

Sunday Stories with The Annoyed Army Wife

This one is just starting up this Sunday (today actually). For a number of weeks now The Annoyed Army wife has been sharing her and her husband's love story in short stories. Do you have a story you want to share? Link up your post on her blog on Sundays.

I'm sure there are so many more great links and bloghops out there that I don't know about! Do you host one? Do you know about one? This is an opportunity to share! Link up (or let us know in the comments) what bloghop you are having fun with lately!

Defying Definition One Niche at a Time

[source]

Over the last couple of days I've been thinking about my previous post. About being niche-less.

I've received several comments from fellow milspouses and women bloggers about being niche-less and loving it. 

Why is it that the human brain needs to put things, including people, into definable categories?

The brain is a type of filing system. As new events are experienced, the brain attempts to retrieve previous, yet similar, information so as to classify this most recent data. 

We classify new information so we will know what to do with it. 

This also works in reverse order. When we are faced with certain experiences we retrieve the particular "file" within our brain that houses the appropriate response to this situation.

So what happens when you run across something you have never experienced before? What happens when you just can't classify something?

A new file is created.

Military spouses don't fit in a "normal" category. And let's face it; the majority of the population has nothing to do with the military. So naturally, the wouldn't know how to classify and categorize us outside of military spouse. 

And let's not even talk about the women bloggers who fall through the cracks of the "classification system" as well. There are too many to count!

I've been trying to place myself into a preexisting niche or category and it just won't work. I don't fit there.

In some aspects I do. I can relate to other mommy blogger's stories. I can relate to a shared passion for literature amongst book bloggers. And who isn't able to relate to food? LOL!

But my stories of motherhood are sometimes tainted with the loneliness and heartache of a missing spouse.

The literature I read is sometimes my only companion when facing a long, dark night on my own.

The food I make and share is sometimes in an attempt to create a "home" out of yet another new house.

So yeah. I don't fit. There's no special "milspouse" niche. But that's okay. I transcend niches. I move in and out of niches as I do cities, countries, home.

If you think about it...in a way...I encompass them all. No one niche can contain me because I always have to be flexible, adaptable, and able to take on any new experiences with gusto. 

Mine is a life that is not easily classified.

But what of the other women bloggers? The academics, the artists, the rebels. These women who are also mothers, wives, fiances, students and all around badass chicks?? They may not directly feel the effects of a deployment but they are not easily defined either.

And on top of this...what about the men? The daddy blogger? The male milspouse? Where do these guys go?

So yeah. I say we stay out of the box. If we allow anyone to place us in the box we will not be able to grow and evolve. And I don't know about you...but I like that whole improvement and development thing. I like to expand my knowledge and make myself...more. 

If we "niche" ourselves...where's the chance for progression??

I'm incredibly interested in you. Why do you love being niche-less? What makes you undefinable? 

You can either link up and meet other niche-less ladies or tell me in the comments. I can't wait to hear why you love being niche-less!

For additional reading check out:

• Where Do I Fit In?

Where Do I Fit In??

As I mentioned before I'm doing the 31 Days to Building a Better Blog challenge with the SITS girls and BlogFrog.

We are now on day 4 and so far I've learned a lot and been blown away by the support I've received from these amazing women (and I think a few men).

Over 500 bloggers have signed up for this challenge and more continue to dive in every day. If you are interested you can click that button up there and jump in as well.

So today's task is to analyze top blogs within your "niche." Okay cool. I can do that. Darren (aka Problogger) suggests looking at a site called Technorati. Check! This site has a Top 100 list and you can browse through top blogs by categories. I found myself lost within the hundreds of book blogs and the thousands (yes thousands!) of food blogs. Wow! These blogs are amazing.

But where do I fit in?? What's my niche?

So I look in the "home" blogs. These blogs have tons of crafts and homemade things. Awesome. Beautiful. But not me.

Then I took to the "family" blogs. Interesting. Informational. But I'm not exactly a "mommy blogger." So...not yet finding my niche.

So what is a girl to do? Should I make 5,000 different blogs because I have a lot of interests? Or should I remain niche-less??

Or! I can keep recruiting other milspouses to create blogs and find a niche withing that category. Why is it that military blogs aren't a "niche?" I know they are out there.

The problem is that we "milspouses" are people outside of the military lifestyle. I am a woman. I am a mother. I am a homemaker. I am a book lover. I am a cook, a baker, a friend, a sister, a daughter. I am so many things that just don't fit into a niche.

I have a drive to be the best "me" I can be!

Yes, my life is colored by camouflage. Yes, the military is the mistress between The Hubble and I. But that does not fully encompass the essence that is me.

So what if I don't fit into a niche. So what if I am not easily defined.

I don't have to be. I make the rules in my life. (Well, as many as the military allows me to make).

I am eclectic. I love sci/fi and history. I love eating and exercising. I love crafts and technology. I love parties and quiet time.

I am a contradiction of myself and I'm okay with that.

I am...

Niche-less.

Hear me roar!

[source]

So where do you fit in?

Are you roaring with me or have you found your niche??


For additional reading check out:

• Defying Definition One Niche at a Time

My Top 10 TV Show DVDs

Recently I wrote a post about all the trouble I've been having with our middle of nowhere, podunk cable company. If you haven't read it, you can find it here.

In this post I mentioned that The Hubble and I don't really care for TV. That we didn't have TV for about 6 years.

I would like to take a moment to clarify this. We didn't NEVER watch anything on our television. Actually we have a fairly extensive movie and TV show DVD collection. And that's how we would spend our TV time. Watching movies and shows on DVD.

Even now, I don't watch TV when a show is on. I use my DVR more than anything and watch shows at my convenience.

So I decided that today I would share 10 of my favorite TV shows on DVD. So here goes!

10. Roswell ~ This show is about three alien teenagers who are fighting to hide their identity from family and friends while in the most alien conscious town in the U.S. I love this show because it's the cheesy science fiction/fantasy stuff that I like and it's some of Katherine Heigel's earliest work.

9. Dawson's Creek ~ I know, I know. How many lame teeny bopper shows can I possibly be in love with?? You will see that they are a lot. There's something innocent and nostalgic about these types of shows. Who doesn't know about Dawson's Creek?? When I was living in NY I had a friend send me the entire collection from Washington State so I could borrow them. The show is surprisingly well done and I found myself completely drawn in by the love...square of the four main teens in the show. I fell in love with Katie Holmes during this show...then she ran off and married Creepy Cruise.

8. CSI: NY ~ Hello Gary Sinise! Okay seriously. The man is freaking hot in this show!! I like this one over all the other CSI's because it's set in NYC! I love that town! And...hello Gary Sinise!!! I love the New York attitude that the CSI workers have. I love the darkness of the show. I was pretty obsessed with this one for a while.

7. Sex and the City ~ Yes I am a fan. I hated this show when I first started watching it. But I started it from the middle and this is definitely one of those shows that you have to watch from the beginning to understand. When The Hubble went away to school during our first 6 months of marriage I moved in with a friend and we used to have Sex and the City nights together. I will always remember that show fondly because that was when my friend and I bonded.

6. Dexter ~ What can be said about a serial killer that you can't help but love??? I wasn't sure about this show at first. A show about a serial killer? No thanks. Until I found out more about it. Dexter was raised by a cop who saw the tendency in him to become a serial killer. So his cop father taught him how to not get caught and how to select his "prey" by making sure they were bad people. In a way, Dexter is doing the world a favor by taking out the bad guys, right??

5. True Blood ~ I've actually only seen the first season of this show. I got it for my birthday last year. But I love it! I read the first few books before seeing the first season and it doesn't really keep with the book exactly but it's good. It is full of that cheesy, corny stuff that I love!

4. Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations ~ This man is H-O-T, HOT! I love him! I love his sarcastic, arrogant, asshole nature. I love how he has no fear. I love learning about different cultures and the types of foods they eat. I discovered this show through another friend and I've never gone back! I have even read several of Anthony Bourdain's books and got The Hubble hooked on him as well. Love him and love this show!

3. Alias ~ I fell head over heels in love with Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper because of this show. It's full of suspense, intrigue and action with some love story thrown in. I own the entire series on DVD and have watched it several times. When I need to get motivated to get moving, kick some serious butt, and be filled with girl power I watch this show.

2. Buffy: The Vampire Slayer ~ I remember watching the movie with this same title back in the day. I will admit that I actually love the movie as well! But I think we've already established the fact that I love me some cheese and corn! And if I can get it together in the same show or movie, the better! This show is not as corny though. The first season when they are all little and new is kind of corny. But the show grew and matured through the years and became one of my ultimate favorite shows. I own all of these seasons on DVD as well. Sometimes I wish it didn't have to end but I always have the DVDs whenever I need some Buffy time.

1. Gilmore Girls ~ I. Love. This. Show. A friend of mine in NY lent me the DVDs and got me HOOKED! Lauren Graham is the hotness! I dream about having the type of relationship with my daughter that this mom and daughter duo had. I think this is definitely my ultimate favorite show. I would recommend anyone to watch it and have gotten many people as obsessed with it as I am. I'm not sure how many houses at this point my DVDs have been to. I love the Gilmore Girls! Just talking about them makes me want to watch them again!


So there you have it. Those are my Top 10 TV Shows on DVD. But I'm interested in yours.

Have you watched any of these shows? What did you think?

What are your Top 10 TV Shows on DVD??

Introduction and My Not Quite Elevator Pitch

Last week some time I was playing around on the internet as I often do, and I jumped onto BlogFrog to check on some communities. While I was playing around there, I found a link by Nirvana Mamma about this thing called 31 Days to a Better Blog Challenge. She was calling all mommy bloggers at the time. However, the feedback and excitement she received from all manner of women bloggers was incredible. Partnering with the SITS girls and Darren, aka Problogger (author of 31 Days to Building a Better Blog) they were able to induce a fervor and bring at least 400 women bloggers together in a common cause: supporting one another in their journeys to create better blogs.

Me being the joiner that I am, I decided to sign up. I don't need to be famous or have the best blog ever. However, I do want to have the best blog I can. It is important to me when I undertake new endeavors to succeed as best I can. Therefore I am on board!

Our first task in this challenge is to write an elevator pitch. Yeah, I pretty much had that "say wha...???" kind of response to that too so don't feel bad. Apparently, an elevator pitch is a pitch of your product (blog) that you can give in about 30-45 seconds or the span of an elevator ride. That means, I should be able to figure out what it is me and my blog are all about so I can pitch it in the span of an elevator ride.

Here's the problem I see with this. I don't like elevators. Whenever I can, I opt to take the stairs. So that paired with the fact that I'm a bit of a rebel means that we are taking...

That's right...we're taking the stairs baby. Now I have the time it takes us to walk up this set of stairs to let you know who I am and what I'm all about. I have to say, I'm hoping you are slightly out of shape, I'm going to need a bit of time.

I'm Maranda. I'm an Army Brat, unintentional Army Wife and unplanned stay at home mommy. I move. A lot. Sometimes I struggle with being a military wife and am often conflicted within my role as a mom. But I would never change my life, I'm lucky to have had these experiences. I love to read and write reviews on the books that I love, as well as some that I don't love. I'm addicted to coffee. I'm obsessed with fitness. I love to cook and bake. I love crafty type things. I draw, I knit, I cross stitch. I'm quickly becoming enamored with photography. I'm fun, cooky, a bit zany, and I tend to talk a lot. I have a tendency to stick my foot in my mouth and make a complete fool of myself. I'm honest to a fault and loyal beyond reasoning. I love with my soul and cry with my heart. But don't cross me; I'm a force to be reckoned with when I'm angry. I am me, and this is life as I know it.

I hope you have enjoyed this walk up the stairs. If you did, I hope you stay a while. But if you didn't, well...we can try again...