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Why it’s been so long since I posted here

April 30, 2010 By

My dear MomReviews readers, I haven’t forgotten about you!  I wanted to let all of you know about a situation that involved my blog Table for Five and will now drastically impact this blog.  My blog name was stolen and since I didn’t have it trademarked, I had no real recourse.

I tried emailing the author of the blog (which is called “Table for Five Reviews and Giveaways” but no, I won’t link to it), thinking maybe she didn’t realize there was already a blog called Table for Five. I politely suggested she change the name of her blog so that her readers wouldn’t confuse her blog with mine.

She said no.  SHE SAID NO.  Her email reply to me was that it was “too late” to change her blog and her new Facebook page and she wasn’t going to change it. Period.

Alrighty then. You can read the whole story here if you’d like – http://table4five.net/2010/04/30/dear-readers-of-my-blog-table-for-five-i-have-to-tell-you-something/

You might not have known that I was also posting reviews and giveaways on my blog Table for Five, but no more. All reviews and giveaways that I agree to do will now be posted here exclusively.  The PR firms that I work with know that I have this blog, they know that it might be called MomReviews but they are getting the author of Table for Five as well. My reputation proceeds me, which is why I’m not really that worried about that other blog.

While I’ve been dealing with all of this, I’ve been saying no to new projects.  Now that I’ve made the final decision, I need to put together a calendar and schedule out what I’m going to post and when. I get anywhere from 10-20 requests a day, but I’m thinking two reviews and one giveaway a day should be plenty. To keep my ads above the fold as required, I’ll have to move the giveaway list further down, so please scroll down to that when you click over from your reader.

So that’s what’s been going on here.  Thanks for reading, and as always, feel free to leave your comments!

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It’s Okay To Say “NO”

January 17, 2010 By

Are you suffering from mom burn out? Or maybe, blogger burnout? Did you end 2009 feeling completely exhausted like I did?  This article written by Lynette from Blog Energizer gives you very simple ways to say no without feeling guilty. The next time you feel overwhelmed, reply with one of these:

Sorry, I’m taking a break.
The number one reason why you should say, “no” occasionally is simply that you deserve a break. You are chef, chauffeur, dish washer, and more. You job never ends on any given day of the week. You deserve a break. If you feel bad for saying “no”, say, “Sorry, I’m taking a break”.

My schedule is full.
We tend to jam-pack our schedule full of activities, leaving time for nothing. Cut back on your kids activities. Start a car pool and share driving responsibilities. Do whatever you can to free up some time in your schedule.

I don’t have time.
You’re headed out the door, rushing to the next appointment when the telephone rings. What do you do? Do you come to a screeching halt and answer the phone? Let’s say you do, and it’s a family member, calling to dump their latest woes on you. Do you stand, tapping your foot impatiently while you roll your eyes and listen to the sob story? This is a typical scene for many moms.

I have another commitment that day.
Say it and mean it. Regularly schedule in time with your family or time alone and if someone ask for your help during that time look in your planner and tell them you have another commitment.

Instead of rushing to be everything to everyone, stop. Ask yourself if you truly have time for whatever comes up. If not, say no by walking away, turning off the ringer on the phone, or not answering the knock at your door.

Always remember that you are a mom—not a super hero. When you have to say no, people will understand; if they don’t at first, they will get used to it eventually.

Editor’s note: Still having trouble putting your foot down? Sometimes, we just need some extra guidance, a listening ear or a gentle and loving kick in the butt. You might want to give Aurelia Williams’s free coaching session (affiliate) a go. She’s a life coach and mom of 3 who has adult, teen and school age children so she definitely knows what she’s talking about.

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Can You Help Me With a Monetary Emergency?

July 19, 2009 By
Image representing BlogHer as depicted in Crun...
Image via CrunchBase

*deep breath*

I need $100 by Thursday.  I had been counting on my monthly payout from Linkworth for the text ads I run on Table for Five, but they don’t payout unless you earn $100, and I only earned $95.00. The money will get added to my payout for next month, but I leave for BlogHer on Thursday morning.

The money will be spent on gas for the car I’m driving there and back (I’m taking 2 other people down and 3 people back, but once the tank of gas the car is delivered with is gone, we’ll have to chip in to refill it),  lunch on the way there and back, tips for the doorman and any necessary cab rides, and if I have enough, a souvenir BlogHer t-shirt which they’ve never had before.

$100 might not even be enough but I feel bad enough asking for help as it is. I’d also like to point out that while I do have five sites listed under “Sponsor Sites”, those were one-time payments made at the beginning of the ad term and unfortunately that money was already spent.

So, my dear readers, I’m asking for your help. I know money is tight for everyone, anything you can donate is greatly appreciated. It used to be commonplace for blogs to have “Tip Jars” but that practice fell out of favor a few years ago. Since I have a PayPal account and a debit card I can use to access the money, I’ve created a PayPal donate button.  You can transfer money from your PayPal account to mine, or pay with a credit card.


When I say any amount is greatly appreciated, I really mean it. If everyone who reads this blog donates $1.00, it would take less than a day for me to have what I need.

OR…you can ask me to DO STUFF FOR MONEY! That’s right, thanks to PayPal, you can send me money BUT I have to agree to do something in exchange.  Click the link, type in your name, my name and the dollar amount,  then fill in your PayPal address and my PayPal address, which is elizabeth(at)table4five(dot)net.

What am I willing to do for your money?  Write posts, review sites, post text link ads or button ads (length of ad would depend on amount paid),  whatever you can come up with that’s appropriate for a family-friendly blog :)

I’ll answer potentially embarrassing questions, help you with WordPress problems,  just name it.

I really hope those of you who are regular readers know how hard it was for me to write this and how grateful I will be for any donations.  BlogHer is the most important conference I go to all year, every year I come back having learned something that adds value to my blog and having made new friends and contacts that often turn into long-term relationships. The vendors I meet at this conference could be the giveaway sponsors of next month!

I’ll close this by saying thank you in advance for anything you can do to help.

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