Archives for October 2012

20,000th Tweet

Here is my 20,000 tweet.

It pleases me.

Taking a day off from posting about the indiegogo. Full report tomorrow. Thank YOU to all who supported by giving and/or sharing the campaign. You rock.

Final Push

Final Push

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed to my indiegogo campaign. I am excited to get started making your perks and whatnot. And you will be kept in the loop fer sure.

If you haven’t already contributed, please consider doing so. At this writing, there are less than 11 hours left.

If I raise $300 more dollars (~$800 on indiegogo) I can rent a car

The conference is 30+ miles from the airport. If I can finish out with $800-1000 on indiegogo, I could rent my own car, instead of asking for rides from others.

The total amount I have raised so far is $902 – I will need to put in some of my own money, but the contributions I’ve received have allowed me to go without overextending our household expenses. Thank you, again, to everyone who has been able to contribute. You rock!

Update!

Funds Update – with rental car

Fund Update - No Car!

Fund Update – No Car!

As you can see from the tables above, here is the current tally, with or without the car. The more contributions I get between now and midnight PT, the more likely I’ll be able to rent a car.


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In November I travel to Kansas to talk about how Facebook and Blogging helped me and my family through my father’s terminal illness. In order to go, I need your help. If you are able to give, please contribute to my in my indiegogo campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated; if everyone gives me $5, I might even be able to rent a car when I’m there!

Here is where I explain why it is necessary for me to ask for your help.

Thanks for your support.

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Please believe in me and support this endeavor.
It’ll make you stronger and better looking!

Sleep Perchance to Dream. Or something like that.

Sleep Perchance to Dream. Or something like that.

TEA!

TEA!

Weekend is almost over. Not much to show for it. Yesterday I stayed home all day. In my jammies. I watch some movies, Starman, Defending your Life, and when Edmund got home, we watched Rango and had popcorn for dinner. AWESOME.

Today Edmund made me breakfast. Then I virus and malware scanned one of mom’s two computers – the other one failed its scan after I left.

Edmund and I had a wonderful night. We went to dinner and poetry. I haven’t been to poetry for a few months. Oh, we went in September, but left early because we were exhausted. Tonight we stayed all the way through the feature! Ryk McIntyre, funny and poignant. Recommend.

Oh, and another thing, I’ve been holding out on you: I went to the gym THREE times last week. And today. I went to the gym today. Walking on the ol’ treadmill. This time my motivation is Marc Maron’s WTFPod. If you ever see me at Planet Fitness, sweating profusely and laughing like a loon: that’s why.

Also – still no Coca-Cola since last Friday. Go Me!

Tomorrow is Monday. I go back to work tomorrow. Good Times! AND it’s the last freaking day for my indiegogo campaign. That’s a good thing.

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In November I travel to Kansas to talk about how Facebook and Blogging helped me and my family through my father’s terminal illness. In order to go, I need your help. If you are able to give, please contribute to my in my indiegogo campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated; if everyone gives me $5, I might even be able to rent a car when I’m there!

Here is where I explain why it is necessary for me to ask for your help.

Thanks for your support.

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Please believe in me and support this endeavor.
It’ll make you stronger and better looking!

DISHy

DISHy

SpaceCampWe turned off our Dish Network service in September. To save money. It was Edmund‘s idea; he has long said we should turn it off. I resisted it for a while, I do love my tv channels; our recent money situation has made it necessary.

The Dish Network comes with the DVR boxes. Since we plan on, eventually, turning them back on, and they’re all set up anyway, we are paying $5 a month to keep everything set up so we can just “flip a switch” when we’re ready. That way, we’ll have access to all of our previously recorded shows on the DVR.

The biggest surprise: Dish is kind enough to provide some channels for us. Granted, most of them are Pay-Per-View, and we have about 40 infomercial channels, but mixed among those are a movie channel (HDNMV), a western channel (EWSTRN), DISH Earth (24-hour satellite orbiting the earth==AWESOME), and a news channel (CURRENT). On holiday weekends, we get the premium previews just like everyone else. This works for me.

And the HDNMV is playing some fun movies. And they are mostly good. Some of them are great. Right now I’m watching SpaceCamp. Next is The Wrong Man with Henry Fonda, follwed by The Good, The Bad and the Ugly with Clint Eastwood. Later this evening they are playing Donnie Brasco with Johnny Depp and Lethal Weapon 1 and 2. Not too shabby.

It makes being poorish not so bad. 😉

Remember how I said turning off the Dish was Edmund’s idea. Well, the funny thing is, he is missing his football! We didn’t get that on our suspended DISH plan. I think, by the time college basketball is on, we’ll be getting our full service Dish channels back.

The Funds Raising Campaign is Almost Over

The Funds Raising Campaign is Almost Over

Can I hear a Hallelujah?! My indiegogo campaign is slated to end at midnight on Monday, October 15th – just three days away. And I will be ready for it to be over, let me tell you.

Holy CRAP! We’ve raised $837 so far. I am blown over with gratitude.

Thank you to EVERYONE who has contributed so far. Because of your donations, I am able to take this trip. So far we’ve raised $415 on indiegogo and $422 in cash and checks: a total of $837; gobsmacked, I am.

My trip already shaping up very well. Last week I booked my flight. Last night I booked my hotel. As you can see by the table below, I don’t have enough money yet to rent a car, I’d be okay either way – I hope to raise more by E.O.D Monday.

As I’m fond of saying, “If everyone I know gives me $5 – I’ll have lots of $5 bills!”

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On The Road

Funds Update!

Oh. And I made a video. Because I don’t want to sleep in the corn:

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In November I travel to Kansas to talk about how Facebook and Blogging helped me and my family through my father’s terminal illness. In order to go, I need your help. If you are able to give, please contribute to my in my indiegogo campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated; if everyone gives me $5, I might even be able to rent a car when I’m there!

Here is where I explain why it is necessary for me to ask for your help.

Thanks for your support.

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Please believe in me and support this endeavor.
It’ll make you stronger and better looking!

Latest from the Lounge: @AmyPorterfield – Plus: Awesome

Latest from the Lounge: @AmyPorterfield – Plus: Awesome

Amy Lounged with LannaLee and Got a couch!

Amy Lounged with LannaLee and Got a couch!

I love, love, LOVE this episode of Lounging with LannaLee.

Let me set the stage: It’s September 14th – the Agents of Change Conference here in Portland – as you might know, I was one of the speakers, giving a local spin to podcasting. It was my goal to get some of the other speakers to lounge with me. Chris Brogan was kind enough; Elijah Young (who hails from Atlanta) will be featured next week. Amy lives in San Diego – so she was tops on my list.

The thing is, we just spent all day conferencing, and her flight was leaving the first thing the next morning. So we decide to do it at the Portland Regency Hotel, mainly because the speakers were meeting for drinks at the Armory. Amy and I went into the hallway, found the most likely comfy place to lounge and just did it.

I was concerned about the sound; I remembered when we recorded it there was a lot of background noise, people moving in an out of the hallway, I even had to ask some people to pipe down! I listened to it last night, and the show sounded great, we had an awesome and FUN conversation.

You should listen to it. Right now!

Oh yeah, I promised you something awesome, didn’t I? I’ll tell you what’s awesome, by the end of day Monday I will be dome with this infernal indiegogo campaign. That is awesome.

No. Wait.

Even better.

Lounging with LannaLee now has a phone line, I’m calling it the 200-POD1 line! It’s 207-200-POD1 | 207-200-7631. Now any Lounging with LannaLee (loungers?) can call and ask me questions by leaving a voice message (or texting).

Let your Voice be Heard!

207-200-POD1 | 207-200-7631

Waiting by the phone.

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In November I travel to Kansas to talk about how Facebook and Blogging helped me and my family through my father’s terminal illness. In order to go, I need your help. If you are able to give, please contribute to my in my indiegogo campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated; if everyone gives me $5, I might even be able to rent a car when I’m there!

Here is where I explain why it is necessary for me to ask for your help.

Thanks for your support.

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Please believe in me and support this endeavor.
It’ll make you stronger and better looking!

Open. Grateful. Status.

Open. Grateful. Status.

Pink!Status of Lanna == Good. Not great, mind you, but I have recovered some of my equanimity. This equanimity has been hard earned and runs the risk of shattering at any moment, but I will simply remain grateful for its presence.

In spite our finances, we had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings tonight. Sometimes you just gotta. It was a great treat, and it served as my first real TEST since I gave up drinking CocaCola. Edmund got there first and without thinking, ordered me a Coke. It was sitting on the table as I walked in: bubbling merrily in its glistening glass. And I DIDN’T drink it. Even though I really, really, really wanted it. Instead I had Iced Tea. Now that’s winning!

And I’m grateful. Grateful to be alive. To be doing fun things. Grateful that so many of my friends and family have reached out to help me reach my goal to get to Kansas. Because of their (your) help, I bought my plane ticket this weekend and I am that much closer to getting there. There’s still 5 days left! My new goal for the indiegogo is to raise $1000 total on the site. More, of course, would be astounding. I get to keep everything I raise whether I meet my $3000 goal or not, so any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Also Grateful that my Mom is healthy and that Edmund and I are relatively healthy.

If you’ve been keeping score, Edmund’s Dad is still in rehab. They are going to transition him to a nursing home. It looks like he will not be quickly bouncing back from his paralysis. Otherwise, I hear he’s doing well. It’s very hard to be so far away.

Past my bedtime. Another grateful: CLEAN SHEETS!

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In November I travel to Kansas to talk about how Facebook and Blogging helped me and my family through my father’s terminal illness. In order to go, I need your help. If you are able to give, please contribute to my in my indiegogo campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated; if everyone gives me $5, I might even be able to rent a car when I’m there!

Here is where I explain why it is necessary for me to ask for your help.

Thanks for your support.

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Please believe in me and support this endeavor.
It’ll make you stronger and better looking!

New Video Featuring a Song I wrote all by myself

New Video Featuring a Song I wrote all by myself

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

To the left is a screenshot of the video below. Tonight I wrote a song. About Kansas. Apologies to music people everywhere (I secretly think it’s brilliant) (kinda).

Today was an excellent day on the Not-drinking-Coca-Cola front. Because I didn’t drink any and I didn’t miss it. Go me.

Oh. The video:

So. About the video. Still asking for help going to Kansas. Well, bought my flight already, but will need a bit more money to comfortably sleep in Kansas. Hoping to get up to at least $1000 for my indiegogo campaign. I need your help. If I had any other recourse, I would be using it. [Don’t worry, this will all be over on October 15th.]

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In November I travel to Kansas to talk about how Facebook and Blogging helped me and my family through my father’s terminal illness. In order to go, I need your help. If you are able to give, please contribute to my in my indiegogo campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated; if everyone gives me $5, I might even be able to rent a car when I’m there!

Here is where I explain why it is necessary for me to ask for your help.

Thanks for your support.

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Please believe in me and support this endeavor.
It’ll make you stronger and better looking!

Passed the first Real COKE test

Passed the first Real COKE test

Squiggy

Squiggy

I passed my first real COKE test today. I went to McDonald’s (shut up) and I did NOT buy any Coca-Cola. This weekend was easy because I stayed home all the time.

Tomorrow will be another test. I’ve already prepared myself mentally and I have a plan B – homemade tea. Yay. I think it will be okay. Of course there is always coffee. I like that too.

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In November I travel to Kansas to talk about how Facebook and Blogging helped me and my family through my father’s terminal illness. In order to go, I need your help. If you are able to give, please contribute to my in my indiegogo campaign. Any amount is greatly appreciated; if everyone gives me $5, I might even be able to rent a car when I’m there!

Here is where I explain why it is necessary for me to ask for your help.

Thanks for your support.

Lounging with LannaLee Goes On the Road

Please believe in me and support this endeavor.
It’ll make you stronger and better looking!

Deep Breaths – 8 Days Left!

Deep Breaths – 8 Days Left!

Donations for Kansas - Click here to contributeI just paid for my Round-Trip Plane Ticket to Wichita Kansas – which will get me to the #140conf SmallTown: Exploring the State of NOW in Small Towns conference in nearby Hutchinson. I will be speaking at the conference, and representing our fair state of Maine, on how Facebook and blogging helped me and my family through the worst time in our lives, my father’s illness and death.

Thank you to my friends and family who have already contributed. My heart swells with gratitude.

Panic. Now this sh*t is real.

I am GOING to Kansas!

So, anyway. LET’S DO THIS!

Here is a breakdown of what NEEDS to be raised in the next 8 days, with and without car rental fees:
Click here for more information!

You can help by sharing with your friends (and contributing, obvs.)

To be clear, there are many fun things available for those who are able to give money: I will make you stuff. Check out the details over here.

And to everyone who has given already: THANK YOU!

Yes. I showered

Had a lazy day. Got up, watched some tv, ate some steak (Edmund cooked) and napped HARD.

Rescued my Mom (she had locked herself out), made some dinner, watched a movie, and I don’t wanna go online.

So I write this on my phone.

Only because I don’t want to break my posting-every-day streak.

And yes. I’ve showered.

Kicking the Coke Habit

Kicking the Coke Habit

This was my last Coke for 30 Days

This was my last Coke for 30 Days

Pictured to the left: the Coca-Cola I drank after lunch.

If you know me any at all, you know that I LOVE Coke. And I’m very particular about my Coke (NO PEPSI). In recent years I’ve cut down my Coke consumption: I no longer drink it at home. But I’d drink it at work, at restaurants, whenever I went out and about. I’ve been thinking about quitting for a few months (years).

From now until November 4th I will quit drinking Coke

Last Sunday I had a flash: I should give up Coke for a month. Just to see what happens. My inner rebel did not speak up right away, so I knew I was onto something. The thing is, I had just purchased a 6-pack of Coke and had a few cans left over at work. If I stopped drinking Coke, that would all be waiting for me when I was done for the month. It would also be there to tempt me during the month. I could throw it away, but I’m too much of a Yankee for that. Instead I drank the rest of the Coke this week at work. There were two left over today. I drank one and gave the other to a co-worker.

Whew, no more temptation.

So from now until end-of-day November 4th I will quit drinking Coca-Cola.

Here is a list of my goals:

  • No Coke for 30 days
    Additionally:

  • No substitute soda
  • Try to make own tea as much as possible
  • Drink water (ugh)

If I fall off the wagon, I have to start the 30 days over again. This is an important rule. Because one of the reasons why I think this will work is because I am not telling myself I can NEVER have a Coke again. I don’t think I could make it if I did. Instead, I am going to give it up for 30 days with the hopes of only having it for special occasions. I was drinking a lot less of it, but then things went all crazy with school and with my Dad and I kinda didn’t want to quit. I couldn’t bring myself too. Guess I’m ready to break the chain. For 30 days.

Wish me luck.

Oh and this happened while I was writing this post:

A Digital Salon of AWESOME Proportions!

A Digital Salon of AWESOME Proportions!

From the inaugural Lounging with LannaLee Salon night. #lllsalon. Photo Credit: Keith Luke

From the inaugural Lounging with LannaLee Salon night. #lllsalon. Photo Credit: Keith Luke from http://lukephotography.net/

Epic, even! Here is an hour of fun, racy and laugh-out-loud Lounging with LannaLee style.

I was so pleased and honored when Candace offered to host (and FEED) the inaugural Lounging with LannaLee Salon (#LLLSalon). And it came out better than expected. We had excellent food and uplifting conversation. Some of us said shocking things. Most of us swore at least once.

Look. Don’t take MY word for it. Listen to it yourself.

It’s like a punch to the face.

Sneak Peak from the Lounge

Sneak Peak from the Lounge

From the inaugural Lounging with LannaLee Salon night. #lllsalon. Photo Credit: Keith Luke

From the inaugural Lounging with LannaLee Salon night. #lllsalon. Photo Credit: Keith Luke from http://lukephotography.net/

Super busy getting tomorrow’s Lounging with LannaLee episode ready. It will post after midnight and it is EPIC in its proportion! I hope you’ll give it a listen.

Keith Luke (aka @griffinclubmerv) was kind enough to take pictures during the lounge. To the left you will see me, Greg and Rachel lounging around Candace’s table at the very first LLLSalon.

To help your wait until tomorrow be just a little bit more bearable, here are some of the pictures from the event. First from Keith Luke. And then from Me. Yes. There is a huge difference. Keith has a good eye. (And a good camera, but the eye is more important.)

Photos by Keith Luke – Slide Show

Photos by LannaLee – Slide Show

Gratitude

Gratitude

Donations for Kansas - Click here to contributeDuring lunch I deposited $322 in cash and checks all ear marked for my trip to Kansas. To all of my friends and family who donated in person and online, THANK YOU!

Your trust in me is humbling, and I hope to do you proud.