Greeblemonkey

If Your Personal Facebook Page Has a Business Name, It's Time To Change It

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:06:00 +0000

I understand. In the beginning, way back when, it was hard to manage a fan page or a business page or anything else from your personal Facebook account because it was clunky and weird. But, for as much as I complain about Facebook - they really do have some elegant tools for people to manage business pages now.

It's time to move if you have not.

What do I mean by this?

If you log-in on a personal level and your "name" on Facebook is the name of your business or blog, you are violating Facebook's guidelines, and they could shut you down. Not to mention, people like me will not accept your friend request.

The best practice is to have a personal account, under your real name, and a business or fan page under the business, band, personality, nonprofit or blog name. Whatever your "thing" is rather than a specific person. And it will be attached to your personal account.

A personal account makes events. It friends people. It builds relationships on a more personal level. It is supposedly more private. I say "supposedly" because, let's face it - whatever you put on the internet is fair game, particularly with how often Facebook changes their privacy controls and how confusing they are.

Why would you want a business page?

Statistics. Facebook has a very nice set of analytics to show you new likes, level of interactions and my personal favorite, "virality." Virality gives you a snapshot of your most popular posts - and I use this info to build more content in that same vein.

Targeted Content. Give people who like your business what they want to see. You can still interact with them on a personal level, and you should. They just don't need to know what your family reunion looked like, unless that works for your business. The point is, you separate business from your own stuff.

Advertising. You can promote your page and/or specific posts that are important from a business perspective. When you get over 5,000 likes you can also add targeting to your advertising. Further note: Personal accounts are capped at 5,000 friends, whereas business or fan pages are not - giving you the flexibility to have many, many more people in love with your business or fan page.

Multiple Admins. You can add several people help you build content on page, whereas if you are operating as a personal level, you all need to have the one password and then log in and out. Yuck. Since fan pages work best when the content is interesting and consistent, this is an important factor. Get a bunch of people to help you!

OK. I use my personal page for business, how do I do make the switch?

1. Start a Facebook Business Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/create

2. Change your personal account to your real name.

3. Announce the new business page on your personal page.

4. Go to your business page admin section and pull down from "Build Audience" to "Invite Friends" and start inviting your Facebook friends over to your fan page.

5. Build content on the Business or Fan Page.

6. Repeat.

Extra Tip: Get A "Vanity" Facebook User Name

Depending on a few variables you may be immediately be able to get a "vanity URL" or username for your Facebook fan page, or your page may need to get 30 likes before you can pick a name.

Once you are eligible, go to the Facebook User Name page:
https://www.facebook.com/username/

Obviously pick a username closest to your business name, with the easiest spelling and no extra numbers or letters if possible. This will be the URL you can now put on your advertising or the name you say to people in person to help them find you on Facebook, so keep it simple!

Good luck, friends!

______________________________________________________________

You all have any other
Facebook Business Page
tips to share?

Joe King (of The Fray) at The Bluebird Theater

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:58:00 +0000

Tickets for the show were provided by Joe King. All words and photos (unless noted) are mine.

For a long time The Fray has been one of my favorite bands. Watching them rise to stardom has been almost like rooting for your local baseball team (if I liked sports). Oh, The Fray are appearing on another national something or other? Time to pop the popcorn.

Especially since during that time, Dex was little, and I wasn't doing much concert photography. It's hard to get out when you have a baby and all you want to do is sleep.

However, when that baby grew older and it came time for his very first show at Red Rocks, I knew it HAD to be The Fray. In the pouring rain. With lots of close friends.

Almost exactly a year ago to the day, via Monika's Timehop:

What's extra cool is I photographed that show. I am pretty sure it was *my* first time shooting at Red Rocks as well. Although all that rain may have ogled my memory.

And as they say, one thing leads to another and a few weeks ago, I was able to photograph Joe King's CD release show at the Bluebird.

I could tell it felt like coming home for him, a small bar, with an enthusiastic hometown Denver crowd, and a backing band full of friends.

Oh you know, like Shawn King of DeVotchKa... Patrick Meese of Meese and The Centennial... Serafin Sanchez of Bop Skizzum... opener Nathaniel Radcliffe (photos coming soon of him and his amazing new band), plus a marching band finale including Fray bandmate Ben Wysocki on drums.

Joe's solo EP is different than the Fray, just like any good solo album should be. Fun, Melodic, pretty, and showcasing Joe's great voice. I really dig it.

I am particularly in love with the track, "Something Less Dangerous," featuring friend and amazing singer Bethany Kelly of Churchill. That one gets stuck in my head for days.

The Fray was formed in 2002 (the year Dex was born) so Joe King has been performing in a big way for a long while. It shows in his stage presence. I am not just saying this, I had a blast at his show. I look forward to King taking his album out again, with or without the marching band.

Be sure to check out Joe's site and follow him on Twitter and/or Instagram.

Tickets for the show were provided by Joe King. All words and photos (unless noted) are mine.

Interview With Sesame Street's Mando & Rosita

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:42:00 +0000

I am an ambassador for PBS KIDS, who provided my trip to the PBS Annual Meeting.
All words are mine.

There is a new character coming to Sesame Street, and his name is Mando! While I was at the PBS Annual Meeting in Miami this past week, PBS KIDS arranged for us all to sit down and talk with Ismael Cruz Córdova, the actor who is bringing Mando to life, and the amazingly loveable Rosita - who has always been a favorite around our house.

Ismael is from Puerto Rico, so we were able to talk about my visit there, and also about his musicality - which of course is one of the wonderful things about Sesame Street, the singing and dancing.

Mando is obviously not the first bilingual character on Sesame Street, but I love how they continue to embrace not only diversity, but also FUN. The first Mando t-shirts have his awesome silhouette repeated in bright colors and say "Me encanta mi cabello!" (I love my hair!) Dex immediately wore his to school yesterday, because 5th graders love Sesame Street too.

OK, fine, 43 year old moms love Sesame Street, as you can clearly see in my interview with Mando and Rosita:

Many thanks to Ismael, Rosita, Sesame Street and especially PBS KIDS for making this possible.

Also, big shout out to Keaton Simons for allowing me to use his amazing song "Gonna Shine Brighter" in the video.

We can't wait to see Mando on the 44th season of Sesame Street!

I am an ambassador for PBS KIDS, who provided my trip to the PBS Annual Meeting.
All words are mine.

In Miami, Not MIA

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:14:00 +0000

PBS Kids supplied my travel and accommodations for this trip. All words and photos are mine.

I feel very lucky to be a PBS Kids ambassador, although I feel very silly that they call us "VIPs." Which is curious because it's not like because called an "ambassador" is any less weird.

One of the amazing perks is we are able to attend the big PBS Annual Meeting, where they reveal a lot of the programming for the next year, and celebrate the triumphs from the previous one. It's a week long event, and this year it's in Miami. After all that Denver snow this Spring - you can imagine how thrilled I am to drip my toes in the ocean.

Things kicked off last night, we have the Sesame Street breakfast this morning (usually with at least on of the characters in attendance) and I have been asked to speak on social media tomorrow with none other than Kevin Dando, the head of social for PBS.

So OK fine! Maybe being called a VIP is pretty cool after all.

PBS Kids supplied my travel and accommodations for this trip. All words and photos are mine.

How To Upload A Photo To Pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:45:00 +0000

I am doing more and more work helping clients with Pinterest and several have asked how to upload an original photo as a pin. I figured I would share my instructions! Now, remember, these should be your original photos, not ones you found on the internet somewhere.

_________________________________________________________________________

1. Once you are logged in to your Pinterest account, roll over your profile picture and pull down to ADD PIN.

2. You will get a window to browse your desktop for a file, or you can add an image URL (like a link to Flickr).

3. Click the CHOOSE FILE button and look on your computer for the image file you would like to use.

4. Choose the board you would like your pin added to and write a description.

5. Click the SEE IT NOW button so you can go back and add a source URL.

6. Roll your mouse underneath the image and the EDIT PENCIL will appear. Click the pencil.

7. Add the URL of where you would like the pin to link to and click SAVE CHANGES.

_________________________________________________________________________

That's it! Pretty simple, even though some of the steps are a bit hidden.

P.S. If you are wondering about Tellerpalooza, it's the annual fundraiser I work on for my kid's school and it's happening THIS SATURDAY!

Nina Storey - Live in Denver

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:44:00 +0000

Nina provided concert tickets but all words and photos are mine.

We moved to Denver in 1994, and the name Nina Storey has floated around my consciousness since then. She was one of those artists that you listened to her albums, and thought, DAMN. Her voice kills. And you saw the posters for shows around town and swore you were going.

But for whatever reason, I never did. (I know. Ugh.)

Nina moved to LA five years ago, but around here, she will always be Coloradoan.

I saw her new album, "Think Twice" pop up on my Rdio new releases in early January and I have been listening non-stop ever since. It's seriously SO good. Something that makes you feel good. In particular, I love the title track, "Gimmie Some," "Private Army," "Come Back," "Run For Cover," and the stunningly beautiful "This Naked Woman."

THEN when Nina popped up on my concert alerts, I immediately requested a photo pass. Nina immediately wrote back and asked what the heck "Greeblemonkey" meant.

Oh yeah. This was gonna be fun.

And that's the thing, just like her music (six albums to date) Nina in concert is fun, kind, engaging and damn gorgeous.

She has two upcoming shows and you can guess which one I will be attending.

May 21st
Hollywood, CA
Hotel Cafe
9:00pm

July 6th
Denver, CO
Cherry Creek Arts Festival (free)
1pm

Seeing as I went all this time missing Nina Storey concerts, I have some making up to do.

Nina provided concert tickets but all words and photos are mine.

New: Chipotle Patron Margaritas + Cultivate Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:14:00 +0000

Chipotle provided food and beverages but photos and words in this post are mine.

When Chipotle called to ask if I wanted to try their new Patron margaritas for Cinco De Mayo, I had one question:

"You guys serve margaritas?"

Apparently they always have, but just revamped the recipe to make it taste better, with simpler ingredients:

Patron Silver Tequila
Triple Sec
Lemon and Lime Juice Blend
Organic Agave Nectar

Over dinner we sampled the premium Patron version and it was very nice.

Just like they said, simple.

If you have ever been out with me, I tend to order light beer just so I don't drink too much, too fast. But when I order mixed drinks, margaritas are among my favorite. And I do love when "fast casual" restaurants allow me to have a nice drink with dinner.

Seeing as Chipotle is a Colorado company, I have met the folks there several times. We chatted about many things over dinner - travel, music, and - of course - all the new things Chipotle has been up to.

I am not really sure how I missed the Cultivate Foundation, which was started by Chiptotle in 2011 to support sustainable agriculture. My favorite part is when the "Willie Nelson Back To The Start" video was mentioned... my son whipped out his phone, searched, and brought up the video in about 5 seconds flat.

Love the animation style, the message, and even though I am not a huge Coldplay fan, the song.

I look forward to The Cultivate Festival this summer, which will bring together some of my favorite things. Music and food.

San Francisco - June 8th
Denver - August 17th
Chicago - September 7th

See you there?

Chipotle provided food and beverages but photos and words in this post are mine.

Keaton Simons at Alice 105.9's AuNaturAlice 10

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:38:00 +0000

Keaton provided me tickets to this show, but all words and photos are mine.

You *may* have noticed that over the past years, I have been photographing more and more concerts. One thing that is really cool about this fact is meeting the artists, and then staying in touch via Twitter. I shot the amazing Keaton Simons a while back when (also amazing) local Denver singer Megan Burtt opened for him at the Soiled Dove. In fact, another amazing (and young) singer played that show named Jaden Carlson, and she went on to perform at my big school fundraiser Tellerpalooza.

Keaton was kind enough to have me in recently with he played Alice 105.9's annual acoustic show "AuNaturAlice." Other performers included Vicci Martinez, Matt Hires and Lifehouse. Vicci Martinez was on The Voice, but I found her album randomly on Rdio, and it is amazing. Just as she is live. Amazing. And I like the word amazing.

Matt Hires was fun, especially since his backup band coincidentally are friends - members of The Heyday - who have *also* performed at Tellerpalooza.

I am going to be honest and say that Lifehouse disappointed me. Lead singer Jason Wade chewed gum the entire set (yuck), had reverb on his voice (remember, acoustic show) - an effect he definitely did not need, and then the band only played about five songs.

Ah well.

Like I said, I was there to photograph - and then later hug - Keaton Simons. I highly recommend you go see him whenever, wherever you can. I look forward to the next time I see him in Denver, or on Twitter.

Keaton's new album "Beautiful Pain" was released yesterday and it's just as pretty as previous albums. Listen to it off his site here.

He will also appear on friend-of-a-friend's The Baub Show tomorrow morning! Be sure to check them out!

Keaton provided me tickets to this show, but all words and photos are mine.

Vote for Angela: Creative Galaxy & Sara Solves It

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:25:00 +0000

{Blogger note: I am a PBS Kids ambassador and Angela's Clues is a former client, but this post is not prompted by them. All words are my own.}

A few years ago, I attended a PBS Kids dinner during a conference. I walked in and there stood Angela Santomero, the co-creator of Blue's Clues and Super Why.

Can you imagine how I felt? ME, who made Blue's Clues birthday cakes for at least three years running when Dex was younger? Me... The person who still sings the "bedtime business" song at night? To. this. day.

Luckily, Angela is like *the* sweetest person in the world. We hit it off, became friends and she also hired me for some social media work when she was starting her blog, Angela's Clues. She then went on to launch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, which is just about the cutest show since, well, Blue's Clues.

She is now in the running to launch two new shows with Amazon Studios, but it is based on voting. She needs our help to get them produced. Please watch the videos below, and add your reviews just like you would any Amazon product.

I love them both, but personally, a show about art would really make my day. OK. Fine. A smart math gal would be awesome too.

CREATIVE GALAXY
In the Creative Galaxy (a galaxy made up of different art inspired planets) lives a creative preschool alien, Arty, with his mom, dad, baby sister and his shape shifting side kick, Epiphany. Arty explores the Creative Galaxy, soaring to the Museum Planet and the Painting Planet (and many more arts based planets in future episodes) to “fix situations with art!”
(Review it here!)

SARA SOLVES IT
Sara Solves It is about a strong female role model, Sara, who uses math to solve mysteries with her little brother, Sam. Together, Sara and Sam explore their world on the look out for mysteries... math mysteries!
(Review it here!)

Check out these two wonderful pilots and add your two cents. YOU could help produce the next songs your kids are singing at bedtime!

{Blogger note: I am a PBS Kids ambassador and Angela's Clues is a former client, but this post is not prompted by them. All words are my own.}

Being 43.

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:45:00 +0000

Saturday was my birthday and in some ways it amuses me that I turned 43. Many people are shocked at that fact - until they see me when I first wake up, wrinkles and puffy eyes in full force.

I loved my 30's, so I wasn't particularly scared of turning 40 - until all my health problems started happening. Now, I am just more determined to get things in order and get back to life.

People often say that Bryan and I "do so much." Which I suppose is true in some sense, but we also don't "do" a lot of other things. We don't belong to a softball league. We only watch TV shows after they are compiled up on Netflix. We definitely do not get up early.

We stay up late, and we go out often.

So it probably seems like we "do more," when really, we feel like our 40s have slowed us down a bit.

OK, me in my 40s have slowed us down.

But I am getting better. My diabetes numbers continue to improve and I hope the weight I put on while sick will eventually come off too.

Sure, I nap like we have a baby in the house again, but I would rather do that and feel better, and get out there - than not.

For my birthday, I had good wishes come in from around the globe and it reminded me how lucky I am. To have such dear friends near and far, and - yes - be able to "do more."

Here's hoping this year I get to do even morer.

Andy Grammer and Parachute in Denver

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 22:07:00 +0000

{I was provided tickets and a photo pass for this concert, but all word and photos are mine.}

Sometimes concert photography is so easy. The lights, the band, the crowd - they all play in your favor. However, most times you have one or two things go your way, you do your best, and hope you get the shots.

Andy Grammer played with opener Parachute at the Summit Music Hall recently, and both were amazing. High energy, great musicianship.

But the setup of the stage, made it a little hard for me to get "in there" on the band. They both had tons of gear, and Andy brought stands to be able to get higher above the crowd and connect further back.

Will Anderson of Parachute

In the end though, it's all about the performances, of course! I was super impressed with what a fun time Andy had with the crowd, how he ran around the stage, and how great his voice sounded live.

Andy Grammer photos from Denver:

I would definitely love to photograph Andy again the next time he is in town, or more importantly, just have fun watching his show. You can hear his album on his site, and there are still some dates left on the end of this tour - so go see him live!

{I was provided tickets and a photo pass for this concert, but all word and photos are mine.}

After The Flower Tower: Plans For Summer Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:43:00 +0000

This post is part of series sponsored by the Home Depot.
Opinions and photos are mine.
___________________________________________________________________

As I mentioned at the start of this series, we have kind of ignored the garden and our yard for the past few years running. Given the taste of success with our Flower Tower from Home Depot's Garden Club, we sat down as a family and made a list of things we want to work on this Spring and Summer.
___________________________________________________________________

1. Revamp our raised bed garden
In the beginning we planted honeysuckle behind the garden bed, and it was lovely for a number of years, but it seriously has taken over. Last weekend, in between the two snowstorms, Bryan took a chainsaw (literally) and cut that sucker down. It made me sad, because I used to be able to see and smell it from our kitchen window - but he was right to do it. It was hurting the whole point of having a raise vegetable garden - actually growing vegetables. We also need to clean up around the bed, turn over and freshen up the soil. (Here are the Home Depot's instructions for a raised bed if you don't have one already.)

2. Trim back some of the bushes, especially the 10 foot tall smoke bush
Not joking. It was over 10 feet tall. It is gorgeous, but it was leaning out into the yard like Sigmund The Sea Monster. We asked the peeps at Home Depot, and lucky for us, Spring is the time to cut back smoke bushes. And cut back Bryan did. So much so that when Dex saw it, he said, "Does Mama know you did that?" Ha! We are crossing fingers it will come back strong.

3. Get a handle on the weeds
Dex is at an age where he wants more money and is more capable of doing the extra chores to get it. So he is on weed patrol this summer. We are not really fond of spraying the lawn with chemicals, especially with our dog (although we know there are some safer alternatives.) I would just prefer to use my tiny manual laborer. Dex the Dandelion Killer!

4. Add drip irrigation to the front garden bed
Our house faces east, which we actually wanted. When it snows in Denver, we may get more inches than other parts of the country, but our blazing sun melts it faster. When you have an east-facing house, the rising sun eliminates shoveling quite a bit of the time. That blazing sun - and our usual drought conditions during summer makes it hard to grow flowers on that east side of the house. There is one bed between the walkway and the patio that never gets enough water, and flowers just wither there, with the exception a few amazingly hardy coneflower (echinacea) plants. This summer, we'll fix that!

5. Add more "vertical gardening" flower pots.
We love our Flower Tower and we are going to add a few more around the yard of varying sizes in existing pots, but Bryan really wants to experiment with other vegetation. Several of you suggested herbs, and we think that is a great place to start! With a small yard like ours, it is the perfect way to maximize space.

What about you?
What is your yard or garden like now?
Where would you like it to be?

___________________________________________________________________

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Home Depot's Flower Tower: Equipment List, Bloopers and Sword Fight

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:11:00 +0000

This post is part of a sponsored series from the Home Depot.
______________________________________________________________________

Yes! Even give the crazy weather and all its moving around, my Flower Tower from the Home Depot Garden Club is thriving! I actually think it has adapted to life in Denver, or perhaps it's made friends with the dog.

Alas everything comes to an end, at the end of many things come the credits. Or the bloopers. Not to mention a Star Wars-esque sword fight.

Now, for reals. How many of you said, while watching the video: So THAT is how she pronounces her last name??? I know. Everyone is surprised.

As I have mentioned, this project is great for beginners and also doesn't take a ton of equipment.

Here is a handy list for you to print out and take to the Home Depot with you:

(1) Yardguard 4 ft. x 50 ft. 14-Gauge Welded Wire (we cut this down shorter)
(1) Scotts 4 ft. x 120 ft. Landscape Fabric
(1) Wiss Tinner’s Snips
(1) Tenax 7 in. Black Fence Ties - 50 Pack
(1) Garden Spade
(1) Large Flower Pot
(1) Utility Knife
(1-2) Bags Potting Soil
Plants (as needed, we used 2 flats)
Work Gloves

Here's what's cool about the Flower Tower. We did it as a family from beginning to end. Even during the decision to do this as a sponsored project, we sat down and agreed we wanted to do it together and have fun doing it. Then we built it together, have taken care of it in all this weird April snow (4 more inches are coming tonight), and my boys even helped me edit the videos I have posted. Together.

Every time I played back the "Luke, I am your father" bit, Dex snort-laughed.

So, yes, we are really looking forward to summer, when temperatures in Denver will soar over 100 and we will be yearning for some snowflakes to cool us off. We have already started mapping out what we will do in the backyard, in our small raised urban garden, and with all my other potted planted on the patio.

AND we're looking forward to being masters of our gardening universe. Thanks Home Depot!

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

List of Denver & Colorado Music Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:34:00 +0000

We have a such a great music scene here in Colorado. In Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs - bands are crazy good all over. The other cool this is we have lots of blogs that talk about the music here, and everywhere else.

Check out these guys for your music news, local and national!

Audiovore
http://www.audiovore.us/
@AudiovoreDenver

Channel 93.3 Concert Blog
http://www.area93.com/pages/events_concerts.html
@933concerts

Colorado Music Buzz
http://www.colomusicbuzz.com/
@comusicbuzz

Denver Thread
http://www.denverthread.com/
@denverthread

Greeblemonkey (me!)
http://www.greeblemonkey.com/
@greeblemonkey

I Am Fuel, You Are Friends
http://www.fuelfriendsblog.com/
@fuelfriends

Indie Bitches
http://www.indiebitches.com/
@theindiebitches

Listenup Denver
http://www.listenupdenver.com/
@listenupdenver

Monika Runstrom
http://monikarunstrom.com/blog/
@monikarun

Oomph Music Blog
http://oomphmusicblog.com/
@jeffmcq

Reverb
http://www.heyreverb.com/
@RVRB

The Rooster Denver
http://www.therooster.com/blog/denver/music
@roostermagazine

The Ruckus
http://www.whatstheruckus.com/
@xotheruckus

Sonic Goddess
http://sonicgoddess.com/
@sonicgoddess

Souls In Action
http://www.soulsinaction.com/blog/
@soulsinaction

This Song Is Sick
http://thissongissick.com/blog/
@thissongissick

Ultra 5280
http://www.ultra5280.com/
@ultra5280

Westword Backbeat
http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/
@westword_music

The Window Seat
http://thewindowseat.com/
@thewindowseat

Your Older Brother
http://www.yourolderbrother.com/
@olderbrothersam

Flower Tower - Weathering The Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:56:00 +0000

This post is part of a sponsored series from Home Depot. _________________________________________________________________

Denver weather is a little nuts, especially in the Spring! It's a complete roller-coaster and that can effect your garden plans. We worked on our Flower Tower in 70 degree weather with shorts on, and since then it has snowed twice. I am not complaining, because snow is how we get most of our water for the summer - it just usually happens in March. Or February.

But, yep, this year - it came in April and we have gone into protective mode for the Flower Tower. I love how you guys have asked about it, like it's our new puppy or something, but I PROMISE. The Flower Tower is FINE.

Noting the weird weather streak, here is how we handled the challenges of spring in Colorado:

- Since we planted the Flower Tower before Mother's Day, it needed some extra attention - and we knew it would from the beginning. But we also knew it would have a head start to being a signature piece on our patio this summer.
- We brought the Flower Tower inside on the days we had snow. Yup. Houseguest!
- We checked the weather reports, and on nights that were going to be cold, Flower Tower got a trash bag cover.
- We did a "power-raking" of the rest of the yard. Got rid of dead leaves and "freshened up" the grass. All this snow is making everything really green!
- We also counted our blessings because the trees were not all the way "out"during the 12 inches of snow we got during this last storm. That is always when we get the most damage because the heavy wet snow pulls down branches and the aftermath looks like drowned kittens in timber form.

As far as any challenges with the Flower Tower itself, they were minimal! We did decide to shorten the height of our wire because we were scared the Tower might be too, well, towering.

Also, I will warn you that this thing is HEAVY. Not really a big deal unless you are moving it in an out of your house like we have been. Solution: transportation via skateboard and steadying hands.

_________________________________________________________________

How about you?

Have you started planting for Spring and Summer?

You think you might try a Flower Tower for yourself?

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to homedepot.com/gardenclub to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Cute Puppy Chew Toy

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:17:00 +0000

Dex has had this thing about YouTube videos lately. Especially videos of cute animals. Cute dogs, cats, penguins, you name it - doing cute things. I can't tell you home many times I have watched that panda go down the slide.

He happened upon a video the other day starring a dog he recognized.

Poe, at 4 months old, being a little OCD with a chew toy.

Building a Flower Tower in Denver with The Home Depot

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 23:08:00 +0000

This post is part of a sponsored series from Home Depot.
All words and photos are mine.
_________________________________________________________________

We kicked Spring in gear this weekend. Never mind Denver is expecting nearly a foot of snow tonight, I am happy that there are flowers all around my front patio, thanks to the Garden Club from Home Depot.

I mentioned last week how we were starting projects around the yard, and we had a blast making The Flower Tower (official video and more coherent instructions on how to make one of these can be found here.)

But! Wait! Fun!
Check out this video of us making OUR version of The Flower Tower:

Given that we live in an urban area of Denver, we have been really interested in vertical gardening, since it's such a great use of space. In fact, Bryan is determined to research what vegetables he could use with this same technique to create a vegetable tower.

I have to say, the three of us make a great team. (Insert hearts). But we often work really hard at that! For example, before we headed down to The Home Depot to buy our supplies, we talked about expectations. Not just for Dex, our 10 year old, but for all of us. I am diabetic, so I often get hungry and short-tempered during big projects. Or during anytime, really. Bryan is an idea guy, so he can easily get distracted by all the other things he wants to do at any given moment. And squirrels.

So, that really helped! We knew what we needed to get at the store, we knew were were going to do about half the project on Saturday since it was getting late, and we knew that Sunday morning was for planting flowers. We talked about safety, we put on sunscreen, and as you see in the video - Dex was pretty excited to use the utility knife - under close supervision.

One other tip from us, if you are not familiar with the layout of Home Depot, be sure to ask a sales associate for help. Ours was great (although fascinated with the idea that a blogger was writing about The Home Depot) and we quickly realized that about half our supplies were in the Garden Center (pots, gardening soil, work gloves, landscape fabric) and the other half were on the other side of the store in construction (galvanized wire, zip ties, utility knife). This, of course, will vary which each store's layout, but we definitely would have saved time if we had simply shown the peeps there our list from the start.

We ended up choosing pansies for our flowers, first - because I like them, and also because it is pretty early for planting here in Denver. As I mentioned above, we have snow coming tomorrow and all of us are feeling protective of our Flower Tower. Plans are underway for it to have a sleepover in our living room. But no worries, pansies. Snow melts super fast in April, and it is supposed to be near 70 again in a few days. Ahhh, Denver.

Either way, I am thrilled we have a head start on our flowers and we are ready for Spring!

How is the weather there?
Are you planting yet?

Check out more info by rolling over this image:
________________________________________________________________________

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need to #DigIn for Spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, they have great values on all you need. They’re ready to help you with renovation ideas and expert advice, too.

Get over $300 in email exclusive savings each year, sneak peeks on new products, monthly lawn & garden ideas for your region and access to The Home Depot’s gardening experts. Click here to join the world’s largest garden community today! Or go to The Home Depot's Garden Club to see some of the many benefits of membership.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Excited for Spring in Denver! Ready to Rumble In The Yard!

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:29:00 +0000

This post is part of a sponsored series from Home Depot.
All words and photos are mine.
_________________________________________________________________

Denver is interesting. You have the downtown, skyscraper area… then a little further out is where we live, a sea of small houses with small yards. But our small 1930 Tudor works for us, and we love our compact patch of green. In fact, we're lucky because actually have a patch and a half of green, meaning a bigger yard than many people have in our area.

When we moved in almost 13 years ago, that yard was a wasteland of weeds. This was before we had Dex, so much of spring and summer was spent fixing that problem. We dug, scraped, planted… until there was a lovely little oasis that made us forget the whirring noise of cars that pass by daily. I had flower pots everywhere - a nice mix of perennials and annuals to liven up the place as we moved on to work that needed to be done inside.

Then we had a baby, who turned into a toddler, and every year the yard was ignored a little more. And more. And more. Our raised bed garden was about the only thing we managed to keep up faithfully – to ensure we had fresh tomatoes every September. Usually I am in charge of flowers around the patio and yard, while Bryan manages the vegetables. Dex helped when he could - but you know how that goes. Mostly playtime with some seeds thrown here and there. Plus, given how sick I was in 2011, you can imagine how badly everything got the past few years.

But it’s a new year! I am finally feeling better and life is back on track. Dex is 10 and way more into things like science and nature and being an actual human being. We made a pact, all of us, to place a higher priority on the garden, the flowers and all the plants. That’s why I am so excited to work with Home Depot this Spring on some projects to beautify our yard.

You'll be seeing a series of posts talking about things we are doing around here that match up with Home Depot's online Garden Club - which is an area of their web site you can check out for projects (with video instructions!) and don't forget to sign up for their newsletter that provides timely info on working in your garden and yard.

Denver is also famous for its volatile weather. You know how the saying goes, wait 15 minutes and it will change? Well, yesterday it snow flurried in Denver and tomorrow it will approach 70 degrees. Mother's Day is usually our last bit of "frost-warning" time - yet it snowed on my wedding day... May 26th!

The boys and I think our crazy weather makes it more fun to live in Denver, but that - coupled with our very dry and hot summers make it harder to keep everything alive. That is not even taking my laziness into account. I love how Home Depot has some great projects for all climates and experience levels - like starting spring seedlings in recycled bottles.

We've even made Poe, the latest addition to our yard's problems, promise to help. And by help, I mean not dig up everything we just worked on. It's going to be hard for him, I grant you... but that sappy puppy-eye look is pretty much as close to a pinky-swear that a 75-pound Bernese Mountain Dog gets.

_________________________________________________________________

So we're ready! We're excited! We're going to tackle our yard and probably film ourselves being idiots while doing it!

I would love to have any suggestions from you gardening/flower/yard/green thumb experts and just plain old cheering from people who enjoy watching others fumble around in dirt.

_________________________________________________________________

It’s home improvement time, and The Home Depot has everything you need for spring. No matter what projects you want to tackle, The Home Depot has you covered and can help you #DigIn to Spring.

Spring is the perfect time for all your outdoor home renovations. Shop The Home Depot for terrific values on new patio furniture, landscape supplies such as fertilizer and potting soil and outdoor grills. Keep your lawn and garden looking great, too, with the huge selection of lawn mowers, edgers and trimmers, and garden tools.

Visit The Home Depot Garden Club for product ideas from kick-starting your Spring with seed starter kits to building a window birdfeeder.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.

Secret Bunny Ops

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 21:38:00 +0000

Now that Dex is a bit older, holidays are changing for us. We did give him an Easter present, and we made a game of it so it was fun, but the Easter Bunny has become a thing of the past.

Or has it?

Dex himself had this great idea to play Easter Bunny for our best friend's five year old son! Which is exactly what we did while they were out to brunch yesterday.

We hid eggs all over their yard, pretty deeply, so that the Easter Bunny could make a special second arrival at dinner time. When we were scheduled to come over. How convenient.

We even had a few "clue" eggs with notes inside of them to lead the little guy on a hunt around the yard.

Here's the crazy part. When we came back later in the afternoon, many of the eggs were gone, or worse - their contents had been replaced with twigs and grass! An egg thief had been afoot!

Both Dex and I stared in disbelief as egg after egg in the front yard didn't have any jellybeans or pennies... just... leaves.

Who DOES that???

But here's the best part. Our surprise guy didn't care. He just loved the chase.

He ran around like the proverbial chicken minus his head, thrilled to find any egg he could... and when we moved to the backyard where the prizes lay untouched? He about lost his mind. It was like watching the metal ball from a pinball game, ping ping ping! Back forth across the yard finding eggs! So happy! Excited! Loving it!

So, no worries, Egg Thief. You didn't ruin the day. Nothing can spoil the pure excitement that magic brings to a child.

And while we had a wonderful day with our best friends - our family away from family - what is even more amazing is what the day brought to my son. HE got to play the Easter Bunny. HE got to see his plan through. HE got to watch his little friend's face light up over something HE did.

That's what I call magic.

I Swear I Didn't Do That To His Face.

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:29:00 +0000

Dex has had a black eye for about a week. More like a black eye and a blue stripe down his face from where a piece of playground equipment rammed into him at top speed.

The first I heard about this was while I was out at a concert, and received this text from Dex, via his dad's phone:

I seriously cannot WAIT till he has his own phone.

Spring Break Flip Flops

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:12:00 +0000

For whatever reason, we didn't put Dex into camp for Spring Break this year and decided to just wing it. I mean, we have this new, wild and crazy lifestyle of working from home, right? We can make this work, right?

Enter friends of his, and friends of ours.

We're halfway through and we've managed to pack the week full of fun - by trading around. Dex is 10.5 now, and when he and his friends play, they are a self-contained unit. You just throw food and water in every once and a while, as opposed to the younger years when parents have to be present for every struggle over every toy.

I know in another year or two, we'll have to intervene in another way - because the kids will be into other things, more grown-up things. But here and now, we have those kids themselves to thank for how school breaks go, and their parents.

Us parents almost have this mystical shorthand with each other by the end of elementary school, right?

=====

Tomorrow?

Yes!

You or me?

You.

Morning, afternoon, all day?

#2.

Drop at 1.

Cool!

=====

(Synopsis of one word replies that charted out my kid's entire Spring Break.)

So, not only does Dex have a rhythm with his friends, we have a rhythm with their parents. We know who has to work when, who is covering for who, and it doesn't feel like we are just shuffling them around - because the kids are having a blast while doing it.

It really does take a village.

photo by erules123

Dada (the band) - Live in Denver 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:53:00 +0000

Before Dada came to Denver, I was lucky enough to interview them, and while they were here I was lucky enough to photograph them. Twenty-plus years is a long time for a band to be together, and even better - they still sound great.

I hadn't seen them live since "Dizz Nee Land" was on the radio, but was pretty thrilled when they played my favorite, "Dim," in the first three songs. This tour is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of their biggest album Puzzle, and it was clear they are still having a blast getting out there.

Note: the band provided tickets for the show but all words and photos are mine.

Safety First

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:06:00 +0000

We're at this weird age with Dex that he is old enough to stretch his wings a bit, but he's still pretty vulnerable. Mostly because, even though we live in an urban part of Denver, his life has been fairly sheltered and protected. Although, given what happened to Jessica Ridgeway last summer, and too many cases like hers, we know that nowhere is quote-unquote safe.

We have never been fans of the "stranger danger" approach to child safety. Really early on I read Gaven DeBecker's book "Protecting The Gift" and it gave concrete tips.

That's what I like. Concrete ideas - rather than just saying, "Don't talk to strangers."

One of the biggest things I learned from Gavin's book was to teach Dex to looks for parents with kids if he ever gets lost somewhere. Technically Gavin says moms, but we always said parents. The point being, your child choosing someone to help them, someone who is wrangling their own kids, is very likely to weed out any possible predators.

And while I can't say for sure Dex avoided any danger, he did use that tip a few years ago at the mall when he lost us. I was so relieved as another mom brought him back to me right when I was rushing up the shoe aisle to start a frantic search.

Another resource that has been invaluable is Adam Walsh's Stranger Safety video. The version we have has a silly "Safety Girl" that introduces everything... but by reading the description, the content is the same.

The thing we have drilled into Dex's head that there are only two people who can pick him up by saying "your mom or dad sent me." Even if it happens to be someone he knows, he can't leave with anyone else but us, or those two other emergency contacts.

This came into play last week when our plans got shuffled, and neither of us could get to school to pick him up. A friend, who Dex knows very well, was gracious enough to agree to go get him. A friend who *is* on our list of approved pickups at the school.

But, I knew that this safety thing goes both ways. Just as I had expected him to find a parent in the mall, it was also MY responsibility to call him and let him know what is happening. I couldn't get him at first, so I called and called back, because it is important.

He had a blast that night, with his friend, but he also told me he appreciated the call.

Poi Dog Pondering - Live in Denver

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:33:00 +0000

Every time I mention this band, people think back to the 90's and have a little reverie. I was in college then and listened to them all the time; they made me so happy. But they also put out a stellar album in 2008, and we made sure to see them on that tour too.

I was thrilled when the band reached out to me to photograph their recent (like just a few weeks ago!) show in Denver, although the place was so incredibly crowded it was hard to get around and get the shots.

Because once you see Poi Dog Pondering, you promise yourself you will go back.

The band has a new live album out, check it out!

P.S. I was provided tickets and a photo pass to the show. All words and photos are mine.

The Case for a Klutz

noreply@blogger.com (Aimee Giese) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:41:00 +0000

I am a klutz. I lose things. I am a klutzy person who loses things. I am also a person who lives by her iPhone. As in, I go to sleep with the thing in my hands and often wake up with it stuck to my face. The combination of all these factors can have some disastrous side effects.

The first time I realized I needed a heavy duty iPhone case was when I was simply standing next to my car and my phone slipped out of my fingers. It tumbled down to the ground, end-over-end Lord of the Rings style, landing flat on its face. I reached down for it, knowing what I would see: shards of glass so tiny that when my Apple Genius handled it, he wiped his finger on his jeans.

Oops.

Not to mention, I can't tell you how many times I have used the "Find My iPhone" feature to discover the signal was coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE. Or, like just a few weeks ago, INSIDE THE CAR. After an extensive search, and having my husband call my phone, and us standing in the living room like lunatics listening for a ringtone... come to find out I had dropped my iPhone in car.

But of course even THAT wasn't so simple; it had wedged itself down under the seat. Remember that klutz portion of my personality? Somehow I managed to scratch the edge of my iPhone as my old case slipped away, partly because my fat fingers couldn't grip plus pull simultaneously.

I say old case because I now have a Pure Gear case, which I am pretty sure they made with me in mind. "The case for klutzes." (You guys can have that for your marketing if it isn't already trademarked.)

They sent me a few to check out and share with friends, and while the color selection is fun, I really like that Pure Gear is strong a la REI or Jeep or some other rugged outdoorsy thing that I don't do because I would end up hurting myself, but also is not GIGANTIC like some of the 360 cases on the market.

If you would like to check them out too, Pure Gear is having a contest to win one right now (details below).

If you are anything like me... it's in your best interest.

_______________________________________________________________

Our phone is our life, why are we not protecting it? PureGear’s DualTek® Extreme Shock Cases provides the best protection against bumps, smacks, and knocks.

For a chance to win a iPhone 5 equipped with a full line of compatible PureGear’sDualTekExtreme Shock Cases, click here and enter your email address!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PureGear DualTek. The opinions and text are all mine.