In case you've missed it, I'm promoting sleeQo, a new service that helps you create content for your blog. The more people who join, the easier it's going to be for us to target the memes (questionnaires) to what people want... We're still not ready for heavy traffic, but we need more than what we've got to get a feel for what people need.

Anyway, what I'd really like from anyone who ever gets stuck without content is to try it out & see what you think (feel free to let me know by email or in the comments). Go to the "fill in a meme" page where you can choose a popular meme, a recent meme or by category. Fill it in & post it on your blog (it's better if you register beforehand, but you don't have to register). Leave a link to your blog in the comments of this post & I'll send you a random piece of brand new jewelry from my collection (or you can choose genuine pearl earrings, since I've got quite a few of them). Once you've posted the link, send me an email to rachelinbar at gmail.com with your address & I'll mail it out to you. Easy enough, right?

Thanks!

Five fives

Rules: Answer each of the five questions below with five answers. Tag 5 people to do the same.

• Five things you would do if you were a billionaire.

  Buy a new house for us and for any of my close family members who want/need one, travel often, give money to charities I believe in, buy a new car, get good investment advice

• Five things you did yesterday.

  Worked, gave Yirmi a bath, cut a salad, watched Law & Order (special victims unit), talked to Hadas

• Five jobs you would rather do than your own (if salary and qualifications were not an issue).

  A writer (fiction, not technical writing, thank you very much), high level consulting (never have to do the detailed design, just oversee it), brainstormer, artist, bargain-hunter (is that a job?)

• Five snacks you wish were calorie-free.

  Popcorn, cashews, chocolate, potato chips, pretzels

• Five things that make you happy.

  My husband, my kids, quiet, doing things that are creative, designing something really awesome

Everyone tagged Click here to fill in this meme

Being a grown-up

I remember way back, when I got married the first time (yes, it really was in 1989 - scary, I know) thinking about what makes the transition from being a child to being a grown up. One of the things I couldn't do then was just get in a car without planning exactly where I was going. Every turn stressed me out. (I'd gotten a license right before I turned 18, but was living in Israel alone, so I didn't have a chance to drive until after I got married and we bought an automatic car.) So that was one thing... I don't remember the others - perhaps being able to buy toilet paper without feeling embarrassed... or being able to go for a medical procedure alone. I think it was an issue for me because I was always really independent. I boarded in Atlanta, 2-1/2 hours away from home, from the time I was 12. That meant getting on a Greyhound bus, ending up downtown alone, getting on a bus to school, etc. (And downtown Atlanta was pretty scary for a really shrimpy 12-year-old.) Then, when I was 16, I came to Israel in early June - for a vacation - and stayed nearly 25 years (so far). That was back in the days before cell phones. When you'd make a call from a pay phone just because it was available. And when international calls were $4 a minute AND you had to go to the international calling center behind the main post office (where you sat in a weird little booth and heard your money beep away faster than you thought possible). So, was that being grown up? Being married certainly isn't what does it... (I am not sure my ex will EVER qualify as a grown-up in my book...) So, at the young age of 40, aside from when certain-people-who-will-remain-nameless-but-don't-read-this-blog-or-know-of-its-existence-anyway start trying to tell me how to run my life, I definitely feel like a grown-up (though I've also done a good job of keeping in touch with my inner child - see my jewelry collection as proof :-)) and, as I mentioned in the previous post, my brother Ben and I developed sleeQo - a meme tool that allows you to come in, fill-in the meme of your choice & post it on your blog or on Facebook (or send it by email... whatever you want) - and I'm currently responsible for putting in the initial memes (so people will have what to fill-in when they come visit our site or when we send out the subscription newsletters).

Here are my answers to the "grown up" meme (pronounced meem):

You're a grown up when...

Rules: List 5 things that make you qualify as an adult... Tag 5 *adults* to do the same :-)

1. You can drive and park a car - and even find it once you're ready to go...
2. You can sit at a table in a restaurant alone and not feel awkward.
3. You feel like you know what you should do in most situations - and know who to ask when you're not sure.
4. You know that things that seem like "the end of the world" usually aren't.
5. You care whether your clothes are wrinkled or not - enough to iron them or choose something else to wear.

Everyone tagged Click here to fill in this meme


p.s. to paste your completed meme into Facebook, go into your Notes, press "Write a new note" and then paste in the HTML - we've made it Facebook friendly.

New tool for bloggers

Negative

Rules: Answer as honestly as you can. Tag 3 people.

• A smell I hate

  Lentils cooking.

• Least favorite day of the week...and why

  Thursday, because it means it's almost Friday (but then when Friday comes, I remember all of its disadvantages...)

• TV shows I'll never watch

  Almost all reality shows. Most sports. Political talk shows... I don't really like TV that much.

• Food I refuse to eat

  Pineapple (although I will taste fresh pineapple once every few years, only if it's very cold)

• Bug I can't stand

  Cockroach

• Computer software I use (but hate)

  Rivhit (Israeli accounting software)- terrible UI

• Chore I really dislike

  I don't mind chores too much in general, but I don't enjoy changing the sheets on top bunk.

I tag: Rona, Leah, Vicki, Anita

fill in this meme

Funniest experiences meme

Funniest experiences

Rules: Fill in the following. Tag 4 friends to do the same.

• My funniest dream

  I once dreamt I gave someone a wedding present that was a tablecloth & they found a spoon inside it. They later called to ask if the spoon had been used for dairy or meat (because they were keeping it).

• My funniest experience with a pet

  Can't think of one at the moment.

• My funniest experience at a job interview

  Finding out that the interviewer knows one or more of my siblings.

• My funniest purchase

  Some of the useless jewelry I buy on eBay?

• My funniest experience in high school

  High school was NOT funny. Although perhaps the strangest was taking apart my test in history and handing the pages out to the class because I felt so bad for them that they were so stupid they'd never pass without my help. (12th, grade at Eisenhower High in Lawton Oklahoma)

• My funniest cooking experience

  Gosh. I need to start remembering the funny stuff.

• The funniest thing I ever said to anyone

  This one's easy. One day I was in a store and someone looked at Lilach and said she looked Japanese. She then proceeded to ask me if her father is Japanese - and I, being distracted, answered "I don't know"... (Um. No. He's not.)

Here's who I've tagged.
Rona, Leah, Bethami, Anyone who wants to :-)
fill in this meme

What I've been up to

One of the things I've been doing is working with my amazingly talented brother, Ben, on a new meme site named sleeQo. It's a tool to help bloggers who get stuck without things to write about. It can give you a daily or weekly push in the right direction. You get to be the very first to see it (currently in what can only be called pre-beta...) Actually, this is the first test post :-)

My travels

Fill in the following questions & tag 5 friends (try friends who travel a lot).

• My best trip ever...
  Normandy and Brittany with Ohad in September 2002. Totally amazing :-)


• My worst trip ever...
  They all had their high points. Hard to think of one as bad.


• Most important thing I ever lost on a trip...
  Nothing I can think of.


• Most important thing I ever forgot to take on a trip...
  Conditioner?


• Thing I miss most when I'm away...
  Ohad (unless he's with me). If Ohad's with me then cooked food...


• Thing I miss least when I'm away...
  Screaming and tripping on toys.


• Favorite travel partner...
  Ohad. Definitely.


• Place I hope to travel to someday...
  Portugal, China, and maybe some tropical islands.

Here's who I've tagged.

Rona

Leah

Sam

Fill in this meme

Your comments are welcome!