iPad testing review scam!

I'm still catching up on the blogs of my 200+ visitors a week ago, but I had to let you know about this scam.

I just got an email from a company letting me know about an opportunity to review and keep an iPad. They were "apparently" referred by a fellow blogger.

Be on your guard folks, this is definitely a scam.

The problem is that it looks so realistic, and the personal "recommendation" makes it so believable (especially in these circles) that you may let your guard down a little and not spot the inconsistencies until it's too late.

Check this out here for a copy of what the email may look like (it is EXACTLY what mine looked like). 

If you've gotten this email and signed up, immediately change your password. For good measure, scan your machine with your anti-virus program, or with MalwareBytes AntiMalware. 

If for some reason you're using Windows and don't have up-to-date antivirus software installed, you have two free options available to you that I'd recommend - Avira or Avast.

Always make sure your anti-virus is kept up-to-date and set to scan your computer regularly.

Be safe out there folks....

Thank you SITS girls!

I had a fantastic time being the Featured Blogger on SITS yesterday!

I've been lurking around some of your blogs and I'm going to be touching base with everyone who stopped by, but it's going to take me a little while... So many of you stopped by and left me such great comments!

Some of you literally made me laugh out loud!

Yes, T&T can be a great place for Spring Break. And yes, a season of MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge was filmed on location here. And yes Trini girls are some of the most beautiful I've seen (it's the mix of cultures and races!) and some have gone on to win Miss Universe (I remember Wendy in her school uniform - we went to the same school!)

To all of you who stopped by - moms, not yet moms, don't wanna be moms, etc - thanks for making it a special day!

Nicole

It's MY Day!

I've been singing it loud for the entire family to hear whether they care or not - It's MY day today!

Today, I am the Featured Blogger over at SITS.*

Which means that for a lot of you visiting today, it's your first time here! To you I send a

"Warm Welcome from Trinidad!"

 I know that while you may be new to Trinidad and new to my blog, many of you are all too familiar with the inspiration for my blog's name...

You know it... You wake up one day and you start hearing phrases coming out of your mouth that you swore you'd never let pass your lips when you had your own kids... And you gain a sudden new appreciation for your Mother's perspective on life and raising children... And you ask yourself...

"When did I become my Mom?"

It happens to the best of us... You find one day that you're juggling the life you had, and the life your family now asks of you. Sometimes we're faced with tough challenges and unreasonable demands, and sometimes it seems life throws you some really tough curve balls by taking on your little ones.

But for me, if I had to choose, I wouldn't want it any other way. I heard it once said that "deciding to be a mother is deciding to let ur heart live outside of u for the rest of your life" and I think that captures exactly how I feel about this thing called Motherhood.

For those of you stopping by for the first time, I hope you'll stay a while and I hope you'll come back to visit. :-)

And for those of you who already stop by to visit me - thanks for sharing this ride with me and welcoming me into such an awesome community of women.

* I love those SITS girls - they've introduced me to so many great bloggers and taught me so much about blogging and optimizing my blog. Love 'em! If you don't know what I'm talking about you need to go visit them and tell them I sent you!!

Getting Organized... Sorta

** Deep breath ** Ooookay! And I'm back!


I have been gone too long. I really have meant for days to say something... and I've had lots to say.


But as with many absences, sometimes there's so much that's gone on, that it's hard to tell where to re-start!


I've been working on a pet project and been absolutely immersed in that, coming up for air only for my (paying) day job. And after all that? Housework has been a nightmare. Due to water restrictions as a result of the ongoing drought, and complicated by a series of ridiculous plumbing issues one after the other, I haven't had a regular water supply in over 3 weeks.


Three weeks people.


Do you have any idea what three weeks without a steady water supply can do when you have three active children living in a tropical climate. You so don't even want to know. Trust me.


My house looks like a whirlwind went thru it. And I need order to function properly.


Because disorder breeds. And piles of laundry somehow procreate to produce books, toys, paper spilling onto floors, in defiance of the daily roundup I attempt to squeeze in. I guess from the kids' point of view, what's a little more mess, right?


So I've decided to stop and take stock, and totally re-organize. From the house, to tools to help me manage my time. And of course I have to them with you.


So I've been checking out some stuff from CSN Stores. I'm eyeing their tv stands, and maybe a bunk bed for the boys, and definitely some living room accessory-type catch-all stuff. Then of course comes training the little men (and the Big Man, come to think of it) how to use it all to keep Mommy from going insane.


Speaking of CSN stores, check out my girl Dumb Mom over at her blog where she has a giveaway for a Gift Certificate from CSN Stores going on. Don't let her name fool you, my girl is Pure Awesomeness. 


But even before the house is in order, I have a trick to help me manage my bloggy time.


If you're like me, when you miss a few days of blog-round-up, it really catches up with you. So starts the debate - do I catch up Alphabetically by Blog Name, or Chronologically by Post Date? And then, it becomes a pain to read the feed in your reader, and then open the blog in another window so you can comment.


I've never understood why Google Reader doesn't let you just comment right there in the feed window...


And then I found NetVibes which does just that. I mean, it does more than just feed reader stuff. It is basically a Social Media Dashboard. You can monitor Facebook, Twitter, Email and your favourite blogs all in one place. And you can have another tab dedicated to say News, Weather, Stocks... whatever you like.


But the best part for me was being able to group my fave blogs, and while reading through them, click a button to have the feed window show the blog web page right in it, allowing me to leave a comment real quick, and then moving on to the next blog.


I am absolutely sold. Well. It's FREE, so you know... not literally sold. But you get where I'm coming from.


I think I may have also come up with a weekly blogging format, but I'm still working out the details on that. Look out for some upcoming changes, and hopefully, back to a regular blogging schedule again. :-)


(There's another big secret coming but I can't tell you about that yet! Shhh. Just stay tuned, 'k?)


N