In case you missed it (or I forgot to post it before), Titus 2 Homemaker is now on Facebook:

Titus 2 Homemaker’s Facebook Page

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
[Comments (0)]  [link]  [TB]

There was more to the unexpected in our lives last week than I was then free to share.  Now that those who most need to know, know, I can tell you, too…

that part of the unexpected for us last week was learning that we’re expecting!  Our little one should make his appearance in late January or early February.  So far, from four pregnancies, we have two children, so we would appreciate your prayers for health and safety for this little one.  (“Or little ones,” my daughter would want me to add.)

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
[Comments (4)]  [link]  [TB]

I had several posts all planned out for this week, but this week has not gone at all like I expected.  Tuesday night my honey was hit by a whopper of a kidney stone.  After about eight hours of non-stop excruciating pain (which seems to be atypical; ordinarily with a kidney stone – at least for him – it comes and goes more than that), we finally went to the ER.  They were able to drug him, and he got some sleep, which was a good thing.  And they said that this stone is the absolute largest it can be and maybe pass on its own.  It’s halfway through, but they don’t know whether it will pass or not, so we just have to come back in three or four days if it hasn’t, and have them intervene.  (The sucker’s 3×6 mm.  That’s huge!)  While my hubby got some sleep that night, I didn’t.  And I don’t catch up well on sleep after a night like that – my body has difficulty sleeping in the nights to follow.  So I’m exhausted, he’s medicated, and we have two very difficult children running around here.  Not really a great situation for lots of life-changing blog posts!  lol

We would appreciate prayers for the stone to pass very quickly.

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
[Comments (2)]  [link]  [TB]

I had to chuckle at church yesterday, at a memory that was prompted by something during the announcements.  A couple of the men in our church are doing a car-maintenance workshop.  Other church members can attend, but the idea is to provide it as a service for the community.  Well, when this was being announced yesterday, I was suddenly reminded of the “car maintenance” class I took in high school.

When I was in high school, as a homeschooler, we had a weekly “CLASS Day.”  CLASS stands for Cooperative Learning and Specialized Studies, and it was basically just a co-op.  Our main motivation for this particular co-op was “socialization,” so we didn’t have a lot of strongly academic classes; rather, we had elective-type courses where we could be learning something interesting, but enjoying each other’s company at the same time.  Most of these classes were really fun.  We even did a video production class.  It was a blast, and I learned a lot. But for one session, one of the dads did a car maintenance class.  I’m not sure why.

The class went something like this:  “If you need an oil change, you can do it yourself, but it’s easier just to take it to Wal-Mart.”  “If you get a flat tire, you can change it yourself, but I just call triple-A.”  “If this breaks, call triple-A.”  “If that happens, call triple-A.”  I’m not really sure why this particular dad chose to “teach” an auto-maintenance class, but we didn’t really learn any maintenance!  It was more like an ad for roadside assistance.  It was funny, though, and my sister and I still laugh about it, more than ten years later!

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
[Comments (0)]  [link]  [TB]

Many of us who are planning to attend the Relevant Conference in October have discussed a little bit about how to increase the draw of our blogs (to readers and to sponsors).  One of the first “orders of business” is to “define yourself.” That is, to know who you are and what you’re about.  A big part of that, in my opinion, is your name. (Blog name, not personal name.)

Choosing an appealing and appropriate name can be very, very important for a product or brand.  (And, in this case, the blog is, in essence, a “brand.”)  So let me give you an example of what not to do:

Lipofuze

Upon first hearing this name, what do you think of?  I think of the opposite of “liposuction,” so I picture something designed to add more fat to my backside.  But, nope, Lipofuze is a diet pill.  When marketing a diet pill, the last thing you want to do is cause potential customers to envision adding fat to their rear ends!

The “moral” of this story?  Ask yourself if the name of your blog is both appropriate  (that is, matches the content) and appealing to your target audience.  (And, by the same token, if you have some other business or product to name, consider this beforehand.)

Filed under: Personal and Blog News by Rachel
[Comments (2)]  [link]  [TB]