Liebster Blog Award

I was so flattered when Jenni from Living for the Victories nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award!

How It Works: 

I post 11 facts about myself.

I answer 11 questions asked by Jenni.

I nominate 11 bloggers that I love.

I list 11 questions for them to answer. 

Not to be a party pooper at all, but I have been honored enough to have done a couple of these awards before.  I would be nominating almost all of the same people, so I'm going to skip the nominations and additional 11 questions.

11 Facts About Me

1. While I do love my summer vacation, I secretly love fall a little bit more.  Here in PA it's such a beautiful time of year, and I really do love snuggling up in warm clothes and blankets.  (P.S. Stay tuned for a post about PA seasons coming to the blog soon!)

2. I love Christmas music and movies.  As soon as the weather gets cooler and it starts to get darker earlier, I want to indulge in all things Christmas.  BUT I force myself to wait until November 1st before I let the festivities begin.

3. Contrary to what you may think based on fact #2, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I think I like the anticipation of Christmas more than the actual day itself now that I'm an adult.  There's less pressure for Thanksgiving to be this magical day like Christmas.  Thanksgiving is just about a good meal.  And uh...yeah...giving thanks....

4. I realized the other day that I have four boyfriend cardigans from Old Navy in four different colors, obviously.  Because of this, I could essentially wear the same outfit but in a different color for four days of the work week and then wear jeans for dress down day.

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School picture day & happy first day of fall, y'all! 🍃🍂

View on Instagram

You can see the top of this outfit from school picture day.  I also have this cardi in a light blue, black, and pink.  The outfit also consists of leggings, boots, and a scarf.

5. I love the movie Pitch Perfect.   6. I'm pretty sure I suck at writing book reviews.  I love reading, and I enjoy sharing book reviews with all of you, but I always have lots to say and either forget or don't know exactly how to say it.  Still, I'll keep sharing anyway. 7. My favorite Psalm is Psalm 91.  I recently memorized it.  I've always loved this passage, and it just feels good to know it by heart.

8. I have a Pottermore account, and I probably haven't been on it in over a year.  It's mostly because I don't have time, and probably a little bit because I was sorted into Slytherin.... 9. I am so tired of trying to come up with something for dinner or having to actually make dinner.  I need a personal chef....and a maid. 10. Lately, even when I'm feeling tired, I can't seem to close the social media and just go to bed. 11. I am a voice teacher.  I currently have two voice students, and they both have practically the same name: Isabelle and Isabella.  Not at all confusing.   Jenni's Questions for Me 1. Who is your favourite Disney character, and why? I can't just pick one!  Cinderella is definitely my favorite princess and always has been!  I think it's the whole rags to riches thing that makes me love her.  I also love Mary Poppins.  I mean, she's a singing, magical nanny.  What's not to love? 
2. What is one thing you wish you were better at? Housekeeping.  I can't seem to ever convince myself that my disaster of a house is worth my time and energy.  Nor can I figure out how to balance keeping it clean while going to the work, the gym, making dinner, etc. etc. etc.
3. What was your favourite TV show when you were a child? I had to think pretty hard about this one.  I had a variety of shows that I really liked, but Full House came to mind first.  I am about the same age as the middle daughter, Stephanie, and I basically grew up with her.  ABC had a pretty awesome line-up on their TGIF set on Friday nights.  Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers and eventually, Step by Step.
4. Who was your first celebrity crush? How old were you? My first celebrity crush was Michael J. Fox.  I think I was seriously 3 or 4.  We used to watch Family Ties, and I loved Alex P. Keaton.  I don't remember how, but somehow, I acquired a poster of him, too!
5. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? Oh, that's a tough one.  There are so many places in the world that I want to see.  England and Ireland are at the top of my list.  So I'll go with those!
6. Have you ever won a competition of any kind? I have won many competitions, actually.  Most of them involved singing, and I also won competitions in forensics (Speech League).  One of my proudest moments was when our high school choir competed at Busch Gardens in Virginia, and I won Outstanding Soloist!
7. What is your favourite snack? The better question is what isn't my favorite snack.  BUT some of my tops are cookies, Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars with peanut butter, and Queso with tortilla chips.
8. Share a favourite photo or yourself. What's the story behind it?

This is a recent photo from our summer vacation in Nashville, TN.  We were on Broadway at a bar called Tootsie's, and I snapped this selfie while Scott was in the restroom.   9. Who is your favourite music artist? Goodness, another category with SO many choices.  The Beatles are still my all-time favorites, but I do love country music and Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert are at the top of my list.
10. What makes you feel most alive? Singing and/or performing.  I love being on stage.
11. Do you have any pets? If not, do you want any? I do have two cats named Allie and Abbie.  :)
Thanks again, Jenni for including me in your nominations!  :)
If anyone out there wants to join in on the fun, I'd love to read your answers to Jenni's questions!  You can share them in the comments below or write a post of your own!

July Review

I haven't done a monthly review post in quite some time since I ended up taking an unplanned blogging sabbatical.

So here goes:

Followers:  via GFC 197 via Bloglovin 64 Twitter 128 Facebook 57 Instagram 79 Pinterest 172
Page Views this Month:  2,204

Popular Posts:

1. Why I Failed the #100happydays Challenge 2. Blog Sale (No one bought anything, but lots of you checked it out!  Haha!  I do still have most items available, if anyone is still interested.) 3. Summer Vacation: Nashville Part 5 4. Dear Pappy 5. Summer Vacation: Mississippi

Top 5 Search Keywords:

1. hermione granger photo shoot tumbl...

2. ooh la lamp

3. blog nashville weekend summer vacation

4. help wanted bulletin board

5. i love lucy silly

Top 5 Referring Sites

1. www.google.com

2. www.bloglovin.com

3. m.facebook.com

4. pinterest.com

5. www.facebook.com

Top 5 Page Views by Country:

1. United States

2. Turkey

3. China

4. Germany

5. Russia

February Review

Today is the last day of February!  This month has been crazy with all the winter weather we had here in Pennsylvania.  We had all kinds of two-hour delays and snow days.  Then we had a bit of a warm up (in the mid 40's and maybe low 50's in some places), and then plunged back down to the 20's.  March doesn't seem like it will be off to a great start, BUT at least we're one step closer to spring!!

  Followers:  via GFC 195 via Bloglovin 66 Twitter 145 Facebook 54 Instagram 73 Pinterest 165
Page Views this Month:  4,027 (My blog is really growing!  Thanks, everyone!!)

Popular Posts:

1. Live & Learn Thursday: Buffalo Chicken Dip  (Lasagna is still my number one post of all time, BUT this one is #3!) 2. Sweetheart Swap Reveal 3. What I'm Loving Wednesday 4. Lasagna! 5. Chivalry is Not Dead

Top 5 Search Keywords:

1. hermines patronus 

(Couldn't they have at least spelled "Hermione" correctly??)

2. barilla lasgana recipe changed

3. march 2104 "nerd" rafflecopter giveaway

4. barilla changed lasagna recipe

5. creamy potato bacon soup

Top 5 Referring Sites

1. www.rafflecopter.com

2. www.google.com

3. www.bloglovin.com

4. m.facebook.com

5. semalt.com

Top 5 Page Views by Country:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. Germany

4. Canada

5. United Kingdom

If you are interested in sponsoring Rebeckann's Random Thoughts, please visit my Sponsor page to check out my ad options!  I currently have Baker's Dozen ad spots (just $2!) and an Ice Cream Sundae Spot ($4!).  I would also love to swap blog buttons with you!  Just shoot me an email!  rebeck.ann@gmail.com

Sweetheart Swap Reveal

Back in January, I signed up for another swap!  Swaps are so fun to do!  You get to "meet" and know another blogger, and then you get a box of awesome goodies!

A big thanks to Kristin and Meg for hosting!

I was paired up with Celia from the Houck Diaries.  It's been great getting to know her through all of our social media sites!

These photos were actually taken with my iPhone 4S, and they don't look terrible! :)



 

Loved the pretty tissue paper, and the cute card!

 

I got such great gifts in my package!!  I'm sure you'll all be surprised to know that I did NOT immediately devour that Reese's heart.  I'm saving it for this weekend.  :)

 

There's also a yummy smelling candle in vanilla biscotti, a cute "love" mug from Pier I, this adorable little note pad with birds on the front (they each have a speech bubble that says "tweet"), and this great pad for meal planning!

 

Celia was certainly doing her research on me.  She totally hit the nail on the head with everything in my box, and she even worked in some purple with that tissue paper!  :)

 

The funniest part is that she included that meal planning sheet in my package that was mailed DAYS before I posted this tweet:

 

I NEED to start #mealplanning. When I don't, I eat a bunch of crap & am not satisfied. Life is too short to not have a meal you love! 😌
— Becky D (@rebeckann2) February 7, 2014

She must have been reading my mind.  Scott and I desperately need to go grocery shopping.  I'm not sure how we always end up doing this to ourselves.  We somehow end up waiting until we have practically no food before we go.  It's something we like doing together, and inevitably, we always need to go on a weekend when Scott is working.  :-p  ANYWAY, I'll be certain to start using this right away!

Thanks for all of my awesome goodies, Celia!! :)

Have you ever participated in a swap before?  What's the best gift you've ever gotten in a swap?

I'm also linking up today for Live & Learn Thursday because I learned what was in my Sweetheart Swap package!  (See what I did there?? ;) )

 

I Love Blogging! {A Giveaway}

Happy Wednesday, everyone!! 

I know I've been sharing a lot of giveaways lately, but so many amazing bloggers have been offering great opportunities, and I just had to jump on board!  I just love all the ladies that I've been working with on these giveaways, and who doesn't like winning stuff??

Today, I'm teaming up with Jane from Pursuit of Poppiness and her other sponsors for an amazing PayPal Giveaway!

Also, before I let you check out all of that awesomeness, there's still a little time left to enter MY giveaway to win a set of mini casseroles from Celebrating Home!  (Plus, if you haven't seen the recipe for my buffalo chicken dip, you need to check it out!)

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$110 PayPal Cash Giveaway | Kara Ramblings of a Marine Wife | Alex Radiating Sunshine

Becky Rebeckann's Random Thoughts | Katie Going Coastal | Elizabeth The Young Retiree

Jen Beebeebelly | Rhea Rhea Et Cetera | Kari This, Too

Stephanie Army Crafter | Sue As It Seems | Jane Poppiness

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So what would you do with $110?? 

 

January Review

Can you believe it's the last day of January??  2014 is already flying by!  I thought I would start a monthly post with my blog details for the month.

  Page Views: 3, 057  

Popular Posts:

1. What I've Learned This Week  (Post about what I learned about offering sponsorships.) 2. Lasagna (This is still my #1 all time post.)

3. Happies & Crappies (from 1/10)

4. Happies & Crappies (from 1/24)

5. Book Review: The White Princess

Top 5 Search Keywords:

1. glee funny

2. glee funny pictures

3. 1000 steps Pennsylvania historical...

4. rebeckann.blogspot.com

5. "mom to her seat"

Top 5 Referring Sites

1. google.com

2. vampirestat.com

3. bloglovin.com

4. facebook.com

5. pinterest.com

Top 5 Page Views by Country:

1. United States

2. Russia

3. Germany

4. Malaysia

5. Canada

What I've Learned this Week

I'm linking up again this week for Live & Learn Thursday!  I learned something really important this week.

One of the reasons I switched to Blogger last January was so that I could have the opportunity to have people sponsor my blog.  I had sponsored others' blogs, and I wanted the chance to have that type of interaction with other bloggers.  I did have a couple of sponsors: Ashley from A Party of Four (her blog was "Simply, Ashley" at the time) and Elizabeth from The Young Retiree.  After their sponsorships were over, I didn't get any more sponsors, and then Passionfruit changed their policies, and I knew I couldn't justify spending money each month when I wasn't earning any!

Fast forward to a few months ago.  I decided to set up an ad shop with PayPal and get going again, but I haven't had any takers.

SO I tweeted some of my favorite bloggers who offer sponsorships and asked for their advice.  The general consensus was that I needed to include stats on my Sponsor page.  I also decided to get back out there and sponsor a few other bloggers!  One last suggestion was that I give away some spots to allow people to experience a sponsorship with me and encourage them to stay on after their "trial" is over. 

That is exactly what I'm going to do, but first, let me show you my revamped sponsor page:

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Looking for a blog to sponsor?  I'm your girl!  My blog is growing, and I'd love to help you grow your blog, too!

Current Stats:

100 Followers via GFC

46 Followers via Bloglovin'

49 Facebook Followers

69 Twitter Follwers

2,814 Page Views last month



I am currently offering just two options:

Ice Cream Sundae $4.00

1 spots available/month

Featured Sponsor: Banner included in EVERY post

Size: 500 x 100 px

 

4 social media shout-outs/week

2 posts pinned to Pinterest

Guest post

 

Baker's Dozen $2.00

3 spots available/month

 

Size: 200 x 200 px

 

3 social media shout-outs/week

1 post pinned to Pinterest

Guest post

 

 

 

Please note: In order to place your ad on my blog, you will need to e-mail me after you make your purchase with the HTML code with the appropriate sizing for your ad.  If you need help with this, please contact me!  rebeck.ann@gmail.com

Ad Options

Ice Cream Sundae $4.00 USD Baker's Dozen $2.00 USD

  And now.......here's the giveaway!  Enter to win a Baker's Dozen ad space!   a Rafflecopter giveaway

So Let's Get to Know Each Other Better

On Sunday, Sarah from Life As Always posted a reintroduction post for the new year!  I was inspired to do the same since I have some new followers around these parts!  :)

1. What is the name of your blog?  How long have you been blogging?

My blog is Rebeckann's Random Thoughts.  I recently shortened it from Rebeckann's Random Thoughts and Recipes for two reasons: 1) The first name was too long. 2) I don't always share as many recipes as I would like.  If you want to know more about where the name "Rebeckann" came from, you can read it here.

I've been blogging for 10 years.  Wow.  I started blogging on LiveJournal during my senior year of college (2004-2005).  Then I moved to WordPress when I wanted to start sharing recipes I tried in my kitchen.  Last January, I changed to Blogger because I wanted the opportunity to have sponsors for my blog.  If YOU'D like to be on my sidebar, visit my Sponsor page!  :)

2. Why do you blog?

I blog because I enjoy writing.  It's a creative outlet for me.  But what I love most is connecting with other bloggers from all over the world!  I have "met" some amazing people through reading blogs and writing my own!

3. What is the first blog you ever followed?

The first blog I ever followed was Txting Mr. Darcy, written by my friend, Brooke. 

4. What is your favorite post you wrote in 2013?

Ok, nothing jumped out to me here.  So I had to go back and look.  One that stood out to me is from back in March called "On Being a Teacher."  It's always a good reminder.  I also really like my post about Scott and I visiting a local attraction and climbing the 1,000 Steps.  My banana muffins are pretty yummy.    In September, I wrote 31 things about me for my 31st birthday.  I had SO MUCH fun writing my Music Monday post with my readers' favorite Christmas songs.  (I think that would be my most favorite post.)  Lastly, I'll go with the recipe for my grandma's cut out cookies. 

5. What are your blogging goals for 2014?

~I want to post at least 4-5 times a week.
~I'd also like to have sponsors for my blog to help promote other blogs that I love!
~I want to share at least two recipes a month.  (HA! The tricky thing here is that I want to do this but don't feel like cooking....)

6. Top 3 favorite blogs to follow?
In no particular order:

Kristin's kNook
Simple Moments Stick
Life as Always

These ladies always have something that makes me laugh, exclaim in agreement, say "awww", or inspires me!  If you don't know Kristin, Susannah, or Sarah, stop by and pay them a visit!

Is there anything else you'd like to know??  Ask away in the comments!