Your Favorites: April 2013
Your Favorite Arden's Day Content from April 2013 was...
On the blog
On Sale Now: My first book, 'Life is Short, Laundry Is Eternal'
DexCom G4 Platinum: Second Look
Many other posts received similar attention to this month's top four - thank you for reading!
This picture received the most 'likes' during April on the Arden's Day FaceBook page
This post was seen on more timelines then any other...
"Thank you to every member of the DOC for supporting my book... I know that there are far more then just the names you see here. #HeartWarming
Life Is Short, Laundry Is Eternal arrives in stores today."
The tweet that you retweeted the most was something that started out as a way to amuse myself but a lot of you got behind it - which I really love and appreciate!
C’mon @Oprah just look… You’ll love it. Can I get some RTs from readers! http://t.co/QE9CCZKoOB
It was accompanied by this image
I've only been doing these end of month favorite post for three months, however...
Arden's Day has experienced growth in both page clicks and unique users every month for the last eight consecutive months! I'm touched, humbled, and happy that you are enjoying the site.
I've said this before but it bears repeating, thank you for the incredible support that you have shown both by reading my blog and buying my book. I genuinely don't know how to properly say thank you...
On to May!
Social Media is helping me lose weight
I have never been a thin person. I have at times considered myself fat, overweight, in shape, not too bad and an entire slew of other body and health terms. I put on weight for the first time in my life around age six and didn't return to a healthy weight until about ninth grade. That dance has continued throughout my life. My weight hit an all time high around 1998. That was the first time that I took a drastic measure to reduce my size. The diet worked great and before I knew it I looked the best that I ever had! Then we had Cole and I put half of it back on. I've been up and down ever since. I never get so heavy that I feel unhealthy but somehow I always feel better when I take off a few pounds so I know that the weight effects me poorly.
Intellectually I know that I should be leaner and I wish that I looked better but these things never seems to be enough incentive for me to maintain a constant weight. The truly odd thing about me being overweight is that I am not a food person. I don't have cravings or even get hungry very often. It took me a long time to realize that my issue was two-fold: I don't eat enough food or water (often I joke that my body thinks that we are shipwrecked and is conserving fat) and when I do eat, I put no effort into eating well (though my kids are fed very well). Even after coming to that understanding about myself... I still haven't addressed it. I did however eat two batches of Christmas cookies, one at a time, over an 18 day period last month.
I needed help but I know that I wouldn't have sought it out on my own.
About a week ago one of our friends posted on FaceBook that he needed to lose weight. In minutes the idea of a competition was suggested and a week later forty people were signed up for a weight loss contest. Everyone threw in twenty-five dollars and the 'biggest loser' will take home a cool grand. Nice idea and my wife was doing it so I joined in as well. I wasn't all that enthusiastic until I saw something happen, something that was very familiar to me because of diabetes and the DOC.
Along with the competition came a private FaceBook group. To keep things on the up and up everyone had to post a video of their initial weigh in. No one was too pleased and people spoke of dropping out to avoid making their weight public but a few intrepid souls went first and then the greatest thing happened...
People stopped feeling alone, isolated, embarrassed and the weigh in videos began to appear one after the other. Where had I seen this before? In the diabetes online community of course. It's the power of social media. Which is just a new way of saying that people need people. It's community, friendship, support, or as we love to say in the type I world... the knowledge that others are living with and surviving the same things that you are struggling with. Somehow, some wonderful somehow, once you understand that you aren't alone, everything magically gets easier.
I'm watching people that didn't know each other a week ago share things that I know they are embarrassed by. They are offering encouragement, recipes and a lot of needed contact. All of this is supporting and motivating the group. I wish that everyone could experience such community. Up until last week I thought that I would only ever feel like this when I was around the people in the DOC.
This is just another way that social media is helping me. Please share how social media and online relationships have helped you, your post may be their introduction to a much needed life change.
My one month weight loss total is... 21 pounds!
Win a $50 Amazon gift card!
I am giving away one $50 Amazon gift card to a lucky reader!
Not just any gift card, the exact card that I was awarded for winning CBS Philly's 2011 Most Valuable Blogger contest. If it wasn't for all of you Arden's Day wouldn't be a blog. I could write until my little fingers couldn't go anymore but if no one read what I wrote... well, I'd just have the world's most public diary. It's all of you that make my words meaningful, you do that when you read them and I appreciate it more then you can imagine!
There are a few ways to enter:
1. Subscribe to the "Arden's Day RSS" feed (link on the righthand sidebar)
After you subscribe you will be entered once for each comment that you leave on Arden's Day from now until November 15, 2011 at 12:00pm*
2. Like Arden's Day on FaceBook
After you 'like' the page you will be entered once for each comment that you leave on our FaceBook page from now until November 15, 2011 at 12:00pm*. - https://www.facebook.com/ArdensDay
3. Follow Arden's Day on Twitter
After you 'follow' you will be entered once for each retweet of an @ArdensDay tweet from now until November 15, 2011 at 12:00pm*
4. Vote for Arden's Day in the Parents.com 'Best Kids Health Blog' contest.
After you vote, Tweet - " I voted for @ArdensDay http://blog-awards.parents.com/blog-awards/mom_blogs/448-arden-s-day". You will be entered once for voting ***Voting for Parents.com contest has closed. 10/18/11***
*Contest is open to all but the gift card can/will only be mailed inside the United States. I reserve the right to eliminate comments for content, spam ect. You must include your email address when you comment to be entered. Enter as often as you want, no limit, with the exception of the fact that you can only vote at the Parents.com contest once.
If you already like us on FaceBook, follow on Twitter or subscribe to our RSS feed your comments will automatically entered.
The winner will be drawn at random by Arden herself and announced on November 21, 2011, good luck!
Voting for Parents.com contest has closed. 10/18/11
We have a new FaceBook page
I've started a companion FaceBook page to this blog. If you are a FaceBook user we would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to visit our new page athttp://www.facebook.com/ArdensDay and press the "like" button.
FaceBook will only give a fan page like ours it's own username if you have a minimum number of "likes". You'll know that you're on the correct page when you see this photo of Arden complete with her diabetes support circle. Thank you in advance for your continued support, hope to see you on FaceBook!
