Geek in Heels - Page 81

Aug 11, 2011 • In Aerin, Personal, Pregnancy

Third Trimester

I am 28 weeks pregnant with BebeDeux today, which means that I am officially in my third trimester.

I wish I had a belly shot to share with you, but I still don’t have a functioning laptop with which to transfer photos from my camera and my cell phone camera isn’t working. So here’s what I looked like last year when I was 28 weeks pregnant with Claire, since everyone’s been telling me that my tummy growth and weight gain look relatively the same.

My mother theorized that I must be having such difficult pregnancies because the babies are “absorbing” all my health…and I can’t help but wonder if there is a ring of truth to that statement. I am still throwing up almost every day, getting daily nosebleeds as well as migraines, insomnia, and horrible hip pains.

Pregnancy does not agree with my body.

But on the upside? Claire is one of the healthiest babies I know, and BebeDeux seems to be on the same track (at least in utero).

And since I had similar hardships with my pregnancy with Claire, followed by an easy delivery — she was literally out in 5 minutes, or just 12 pushes — I am hoping that this difficult pregnancy with BebeDeux will result in something similar. 🙂

We’re two-thirds of the way through, BebeDeux! Please stay healthy and happy for mommy!

P.S. — How horribly inconvenient is that that my cell phone goes on the fritz just as my laptop dies? As I am eligible for an upgrade on the 23rd, I plan on just waiting it out until then because I refuse to pay full price on a new phone. I know that I can call Verizon to try to bump up my upgrade eligibility date, but that would mean that I would need to buy the new phone through them and I would prefer to get it through a third party vendor that charges less.

Also, we can afford a new MacBook Pro but I don’t want to get one until later this month, when J receives his bonus. It’s not a life-or-death situation, and I much prefer to have some extra padding in terms of cash for the time being, especially with the full-of-unexpected-expenses summer we’ve been having.

If Adam and Eve Had Been Chinese

As someone who is married to a Chinese man (and often gags at the things he is willing to eat), I can attest that this is completely accurate. 😉

Via 9GAG.

Advertising Revenue: The First Month

It has been two months since I first decided to start accept advertising on this blog, and just a little over a month since the first ad appeared.

Now, I know that no one likes a braggart. And I am not in any way writing this post as a way to scream, “Look how much money I’m making!”

Rather, I decided to reveal my first month’s advertising revenue (and by that, I mean the first month when the ads first appeared, not when I began accepting ads) solely based on the fact that there are so damn few bloggers who openly share their earnings.

When I was first contemplating ads, the biggest questions I had were:

“How much can I make?”
“Which advertising method(s)?”

And since I had so much trouble finding some real answers to these questions, I have decided to share them here, without pretense, so that any other bloggers who may be struggling with similar questions may find some assistance.

As I have written before, I decided to go with BlogAds as my primary ad network. And just as BlogAds warned might happen, I did not get any advertisers for the first month.

But a few days into the second month, I received my first ad request (I have full control over whether an ad is accepted or not), and they began to roll in regularly.

My first month’s ad revenue via BlogAds: $109.49

This number is after BlogAds’ commission rate of 14% (it would be lower if BlogAds were my exclusive advertiser), or the BlogAds Hive commission rate of 30%. (Hives are sort of like communities within BlogAds. They take a higher commission, but the exposure rate is much higher.)

I expect this month’s ad revenue to be higher, as the quantity and sizes of ads have increased. 🙂 Perhaps I will even get the courage to raise my ad rates after a few months.

Shortly after I joined BlogAds, I also began to use Google AdSense as an additional source of advertising revenue, both on the sidebar of this site in addition to the RSS feed.

When I did a quick web search on how much I can expect to earn through AdSense, most people would answer, “Pennies a day.” So my expectations were not that great. However, in my case…

My first month’s ad revenue via AdSense: $130.58

Not bad. Both numbers are still less than what I made in one day when I worked full-time, but it’s a lot better than before I started advertising, which was a big fat zero.

So my total advertising revenue for July 2011 was:

$109.49 + $130.58 = $240.07

If you include my Amazon Associates commission for the month ($67.17, which was actually 2-3x the usual amount), the total money I made from this blog equals $307.24.

Definitely enough money for a couple of treats for myself and to start stashing away some cash for gifts. Furthermore, it certainly helps alleviate the guilt about not contributing financially to the household.

And you know what else? Remember what I had promised? I can now offer more, and/or better giveaways!

The very next giveaway on this blog is actually a sponsored one. If you haven’t read on the Geek in Heels Facebook Page yet, I will be giving away an iPad 2! The giveaway will start this Saturday the 13th so please stay tuned!

As for the next giveaway sponsored by yours truly, I already have a great one in mind and hope to run it within the next couple of weeks.

So please keep reading, and THANK YOU once again for all your support!

(For anyone who might be wondering, YES I would still blog if I did not make money from it — after all, that’s what I’ve been doing all these years! And YES I know I can probably make more if I actively sought out advertisers, did some affiliate marketing, sold products, etc…but for now I like the way things are. 🙂 )

Home Is… [TMI]

So true.

(via Reddit)

On a related note, I have trouble pooping when I am away from home. Seriously. For example, I pooped once during our 10-day honeymoon. I thought I was going to die. Does anyone else have this problem?

Also, I believe that having two full bathrooms is a HUGE contributing factor to my happy marriage. 🙂

Google Page Speed Service — A Short Review

11 days ago, Google announced a new tool that aims to speed up the loading of websites. The new Page Speed Service utilizes the optimization techniques outlined by the company’s Page Speed Online API and takes it a step further: by rewriting pages and delivering them to users using Google’s servers.

On the Google Code blog, Google says that it has seen speed improvements from 25% to 60% on some sites. Google has a gallery and a comparison test that users can try themselves.

While the service seems pretty cool at first glance, it is not without controversy due to the fact that it requires users to point the CNAME of their URL to Google’s own servers. (Take a look at the myriads of unfavorable comments on TechCrunch‘s coverage of the announcement, for instance.)

I was intrigued by the new Page Speed Service especially because I had noticed a notable slowdown of my load speed after I had started placing ads and integrated more social media. I had even started using the W3 Total Cache plugin in conjunction with CloudFlare, but did not see much of an improvement.

So despite the controversy (oh noes, Google will own the web!), I wanted to give it a go.

The Page Speed Service is currently only being offered to a limited number of webmasters, but you can request access by filling out this form. I had no idea what the requirements are for being accepted to this trial or what percentages of websites get accepted, but I decided to bite the bullet and submitted my information.

A few days later, I received an email saying that I was in! 😀

Setup was a bit of a pain because Google’s documentation is not too comprehensive. Additionally, I had to contact my webhost to make the final CNAME change for me because it was in a non-editable portion of my DNS settings.

But once it was up and running…

I noticed a significant improvement in my page load times.

I wish I had taken screenshots of my page load times before and after the migration…but I haven’t. 🙁 Suffice it to say that my main page load time has improved by 20-30%. And this comparison is between W3 Total Cache + CloudFlare versus Google’s Page Speed Service. (I shudder to think what it would have been without those two services.)

Additionally, while some of my JavaScript broke using W3 Total Cache + CloudFlare, I have not noticed anything of the nature with Page Speed Service.

I should note, however, that my results may not be typical. Some people even report an increase in page load times using Page Speed Service!

I would also like to see some detailed documentation on how to fully utilize the service, in addition to more stats and data collected from my traffic. This is one feature I really liked about both W3 Total Cache and CloudFlare, and I am finding myself missing it.

A screenshot of the Google Page Speed Service’s Dashboard. It really doesn’t
show much when compared to those of W3 Total Cache and CloudFlare.

Google says that Page Speed Service will remain free during this trial period, and that when it is finally made available to the public, its pricing will be “competitive.” And in the welcome email I received, Google tells me that once the pricing information is available, I will have at least 30 days to migrate traffic if I chose to not continue.

Seeing the remarkable improvement in my page speed, I think that I will stick with it as long as the pricing is not too unreasonable.

Has anyone else been using Google’s Page Speed Service? What are your thoughts on it?

Author Venn Diagram

I can’t say that I have read all of these authors so I do not feel that I have the right to properly place judgement on the diagram. However, I do agree with the creator of the diagram that good writing should come from all three places: the head (pros: cerebral, conceptual; cons: didactic, dry), the mouth(pros: language, poetics; cons: empty banter, pure form), and the heart (pros: empathic, intimate; cons: sentimental, emotional).

Via HTMLGIANT.

My Day in Three Pictures

I wish this post could consist of more than three crappy cell phone pictures, but I have yet to get a new laptop and trying to process pictures from an actual camera is too much work. 😛

Today started with my sitting on a salon chair, getting a haircut (it is now just below my shoulders) and a dye job:

Remember when I had contemplated getting an ombre dye job after my preggo chop? Well, I’ve done it. And I love it! One of the main reasons I had stopped dyeing my hair is because of the roots that grow out — and an ombre color takes care of just that.

Another big plus is that with the ombre technique, the hair dye never touches the scalp (pregnant women can dye their hair just as long as it is done in a well-ventilated area and the stylist is careful to minimize dye exposure to the scalp).

In the past, whenever I’ve dyed my hair, it usually came out a brassy, reddish color of which I am not too fond. So when I explained this to my stylist, she mixed up a dye that left the lower half of my locks a beautiful chocolate-y, cool brown. (I recommend Ashley at Salon CARU any day. I LOVE her.)

I promise I’ll post pictures of my new hair soon!

When I came home, J showed me this hilarious picture he took of our Claire Bear:

See that half of a banana in her right hand? She is making her ham face because she absolutely loves bananas. When we give her half a banana like pictured above, she will snap it in half and squish each piece into her mouth (yes, that’s an entire quarter of a banana :shock:).

Fruits definitely are Claire’s favorite food group, and she must take after her mama in this department. 🙂 We have been giving Claire various fruits ever since she started solids at 5 months of age, and she gobbles them all down with big, goofy, — and often messy — grins.

Now, for the last picture…

Yesterday, when I was frustrated that I could not go see my father, I picked up a “Get Well Soon” card and some finger paints from the local Dollar Store. And here is the result:

(Please excuse my shaky Korean writing, as I stupidly wrote this on a couch cushion.)

I was trying to get a print of Claire’s hand, but as you can see she moved a couple of her fingers around last second. Once the paint was dry, I wrote in Korean: “Get better soon Grandpa!” and signed Claire’s Korean name beneath.

I wish Claire was old enough for more elaborate craft projects, and that I wasn’t in such a frazzled state of mind when I thought of this cheesy project, but I know that my father will appreciate it all the same when we finally go visit him tomorrow.

The Three Stages of Life

I think that if I had to choose, I would go with #3. How about you?

Via haha.nu.

Internet Filtration System of the Year

I don’t consider myself a grammar nazi, but it really, really bugs me when people can’t seem to distinguish between your vs. you’re, then vs. than, they’re vs. their vs. there, and so forth.

Somehow, these errors almost seem contagious on the internet, don’t they? 😉

Matthew Baldwin has come up with a clever solution for this problem. His proposal, Internet Access CAPTCHAS, is designed to keep certain grammatically-challenged people off the web:

Site administrators use CAPTCHAs to prevent automated scripts from performing certain functions, such as creating an account, sending email to a distribution list, or participating in a discussion thread.

That’s fine, as far as it goes. But, frankly, I’d also like to see certain people on the Internet prevented from doing certain things. You know, like: logging onto the Internet.

And so, a modest proposal: Internet Access Captchas, built right into browsers, designed to greatly reduce the overabundance of youtube commenters, Facebookers, and Twittererers.

And just in case you’re too lazy to click on over to see this awesomeness in action, here are a few screenshots. First, the CAPTCHA system:

What happens when you pass:

What happens when you fail:

Ingenious, I tell ya.

Via The Daily What.

Wishing for Boredom

Thank you all very much for your kind comments regarding my father. I received word that he was discharged from the hospital about an hour ago, and is well on his way to recovery.

I wanted so badly to be see him again today, but I could not as I had Claire to take care of and the hospital, like most, does not allow babies to visit. But I’m sure that my own anguish was nothing compared to my mother’s, who had her own store to watch and could not be by his side even when she first received word of the incident yesterday. Luckily, my sister was able to cancel her plans to stay with my father yesterday and today.

I think that in light of the past couple of weeks, I have the right to be completely sick of drama of all sorts. To be sick of hospitals, of pain, and of worry. I am praying that the rest of the summer will remain incident-free, and even hope for some boredom.

Despite all this, I remain thankful. I know that my appendicitis, my father’s injuries, and even seemingly insignificant events, could have been much worse. I am glad that we are both recovering well and that our family has grown closer together as a result.

And just to keep a record of my own physical recovery, here is a picture of my stomach that J took for me just now. The three incision scars really don’t look that bad, just two weeks after surgery. Oh, and I guess this could be my 27 weeks pregnant belly shot. 🙂

(I’ve decided to make the picture only viewable via a click since I know that some
people feel squeamish about scars, and/or they prefer not to see a bare pregnant belly.
And please excuse my hairy stomach — it’s another lovely by-product of pregnancy.)

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

Third Trimester

You may also like:

If Adam and Eve Had Been Chinese

You may also like:

Advertising Revenue: The First Month

You may also like:

Home Is… [TMI]

You may also like:

Google Page Speed Service — A Short Review

You may also like:

Author Venn Diagram

You may also like:

My Day in Three Pictures

You may also like:

The Three Stages of Life

You may also like:

Internet Filtration System of the Year

You may also like:

Wishing for Boredom

You may also like:

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