Loulou's views

Blogging began as a hobby for me in 2007, as a way to stay connected to my family and friends. This little blog of mine was the perfect platform to share my stories and pictures of my children as they grew from infants, to toddlers, to children. I never expected my blog to be anything other than a hobby, but it turned into something more; a career, of sorts, where I continue to write about the things I love, while earning an income—and giving back to the community whenever I can. The opportunities I've had have been nothing short of amazing—being featured in magazines, making appearances on television, co-hosting radio shows, emceeing events, speaking at conferences, and writing great reviews and giveaways for businesses and products I love to promote and support. It's certainly been one memorable experience after another.  I've attended conferences from California to New York City to Miami, I've danced with the Rockettes in Radio City Music Hall, and my f...

A lot has changed in the blogging world over the last couple of years. Certainly a lot has changed for the better , but I sometimes miss the days when we used our blogs as a bigger platform than Twitter. Remember blogging, back in 2009? Although Twitter has been amazing for me and my blog as a business, I still miss old school blogging.  I'm happy to join in with my friend Elaine this week to host another Old School Blogging meme. I'd love it if you joined in , too. Let's kick it old school, shall we? And let's talk about one of my favourite things: entertainment! After all, I love movies . A lot. And TV shows, too . 1. What was one of your favourite shows as a kid? Why? I can't pick just one! My favourite television shows when I was a kid were The Facts Of Life, Who's The Boss, Growing Pains, and my two all-time favourites, The Cosby Show, and The Wonder Years. (Which I just discovered on Netflix, so now I'm watc...

I've been watching John Hughes movies like I'm a thirtysomething woman going through some sort of almost mid-life crisis. I mean, I'm not, but still, I've been taking a serious trip down memory lane lately. There is a lot I loved about my childhood and teenage years, and watching my favourite movies like Say Anything, Clueless, Heathers and Reality Bites makes me remember all the things I used to love back in the day. I loved Christian Slater. I loved Pretty In Pink. I loved Chachi. I loved BOP and Tiger Beat. I loved my Converse running shoes. I loved teasing my hair even though it looked awful. I loved Alyssa Milano and Tony Danza and Who's The Boss. I loved Kirk Cameron, before he got all, you know, crazy weird. I loved the Mini-Pops and had a crush on the boy who sang Eye Of The Tiger. I loved Fashion Plates. I loved push-down socks and wearing two different earrin...

Back in days when I used to blog without the distraction of Twitter, I'd sometime take part in fun little meme's, like this one. These are so much fun and can really get the writing juices flowing. Here we go... kicking it old school: 1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes! I am named after my grandmother from my father's side, Loukia. She's Italian (but the rest of me is Greek!) and so her real name is Lucia. In English, my name is Lucy. A lot of my friends call me Loulou, too. 2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? This morning, on my drive to work. I hadn't had my coffee yet. But really, I was in tears because my little kindergartener didn't want me to leave him and he was teary when I dropped him off at school. My heart! 3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? If I try really hard, yes. Otherwise, no. It also totally depends on the pen and the colour of the ink, too. 4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Um... bacon? Bacon is always the answer. 5. DO ...

Ah, 2013... a new year filled with so many possibilities. Oh, the pressure to be better than the year before! Sometimes, thinking about making major changes can be paralyzing. Instead of giving myself a bunch of hard-core resolutions like I usually do, I'm going to go easy on myself. I resolve to: Take more pictures with my real camera. Spend less money.   (Because I lost my job.) Take a picture where both my boys are smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. Start watching Breaking Bad and Newsroom. Stop breaking my iphone. Ski more often. Swim in the ocean more. Sit and patiently wait for Homeland and Mad Men to start again. Go to the gym a few times a weeks. Be happy. Cook more often without burning the house down. Yell less. Write more. Find a career I'm passionate about. Become my own boss. Shop responsibly. Blog like it's 2009. Leave more comments on blogs I read. Read more books. Be present. Give it to temptatio...