"dear dear diary...i wanna tell my secrets..."

FLASHBACK 2008

i sign up for facebook, even though my kids don't want me to be THAT mom. i immediately start updating my status. "i'm bored". "why am i up so early?". "i'm cold". ugh. really? is my life really that...boring? i need to spice it up a bit. so in comes the song lyrics and movie quotes. bored? "i thought i had mono for a whole year, once. turns out i was just really bored" (wayne's world). up to early? "i gotta get up eeeaarrllyyy in the mornin'...to find me another lover" (the gap band). cold? "cold? i'm freezing my royal rastafarian nay nays off" (cool runnings).

FLASH FORWARD today

i still use the occasional song lyric or movie quote, but i find it much more entertaining to put a fun spin on my real life: 

"dear old house in the middle of the woods,
why do you wait until Jamie Conover goes to the office before you start creaking and moaning? i'm pretty sure he's convinced it's my imagination or that i am completely insane, but you and i both know you're just mean. i would appreciate it if you would just hush. k?
thanks"

kind of a fun little diary.

today is "dear diary day". people have been keeping diaries, or journals, for simply ever. but, with our hectic lives, we find it difficult to do that much today. oh...but we do find time to send out a tweet or update our facebook statuses. guess what? that's just an electronic version of posting in a diary.

so here are a few words of advice from the self-proclaimed queen of facebook (i'm not really...or maybe i am...but i'm not...but...):

#1~update your status no more than 2 or 3 times, daily. any more than that and you fill up your friend's news feeds and that's kind of irritating. which brings me to:

#2~do you have a friend that is constantly updating their status, constantly complaining, or constantly posting pictures of peanut butter? confine them to a list. simply hover your cursor over their name, hover over "friends", and then uncheck "show in news feed". voila! now you only have to see their rantings when you go to their profile or the list you assigned them to.

#3~remember how i said "fun little diary"? let's keep it fun. your friends don't need to know what you had for dinner, how you prepared it and, then, how long it took to digest. we love you but we really don't need to know EVERYTHING! do not do that to us!

#4~don't post a cryptic status and then refuse to answer when your friends want to know what you're talking about. if you can't say it on facebook, it belongs in an ACTUAL diary, with an ACTUAL lock and key.

#5~don't be a debbie downer. an occasional complaint is fine. "my cat died today. i'm sad.". that is a legit complaint. an important journal entry. your friends want to know and offer sympathy. "life sucks", "i have a migraine", "i hate everybody". posted every single day. really? is your life that bad? probably not. if it is...maybe you should consider seeing a therapist. 

okay people. get out there and celebrate "dear diary day"! happy posting!!

                 

 

NO FLASHBACK TODAY

REPEAT because today is LOVE YOUR PET DAY

"and they called it 'puppy love'..."

i saw this today on facebook and it touched my heart. and because i KNOW so many of you are dog lovers, i just had to share.

10 THINGS YOUR DOG WOULD TELL YOU.... 

1. my life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. any separation from you will be painful: remember that before you get me. 
2. give me time to understand what you want of me. 
3. place your trust in me- it is crucial to my well being.
4. do not be angry at me for long, and do not lock me up as punishment.
5. you have your work, your entertainment,and your friends. i only have you.
6. talk to me sometimes. even if i don't understand your words, i understand your voice when it is speaking to me. 
7. be aware that how ever you treat me, i will never forget. 
8. remember before you hit me that i have teeth that could easily hurt you, but i choose not to bite you because i love you. 
9. before you scold me for being uncooperative,obstinate,or lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. perhaps i might not be getting the right food, or i have been out too long, or my heart is getting to old and weak.
10. take care of me when i get old; you too will grow old. go with me on difficult journeys. never say: "i cannot bear to watch" or "let it happen in my absence." everything is easier for me if you are there, even my death. 

remember that i love you.

now go hug your dog!! or cat...or hamster...or fish! 

ps...i searched all over for the original poster or author and could not find it...

FLASHBACK february 2, 1887

UPDATE: 2/2/2014~PUNXSATAWNEY PHIL SAW HIS SHADOW...GEN. BEAUREGARD LEE DID NOT. HMMMMMM....

"they say it's gone say winter's done...that don't mean a thing...'cause i'm the one that moves the sun...for you i'd turn it into spring"
german settlers to pennsylvania bring the tradition of candlemas to america (the legend of candlemas says "for as the sun shines on candlemas day, so far will the snow swirl in may") and discover that groundhogs are very intelligent and perfect to carry on the legend...so they find phil. every year, on candlemas, they pull phil out of his home and watch. will he see his shadow and run back to his lair? if he does, we have 6 more weeks of winter. or will he hang out for a bit? a sure sign of an early spring. but phil only has been right 39% of the time. hmmmmm.....

FLASH FORWARD february 2, 1990

general beauregard lee starts predicting spring in lilburn, georgia. he claims an accuracy of 94%. yeah. i said 94%.

FLASH FORWARD february 2, 2013

punxsutawney phil hangs out at gobbler's knob for a bit and everyone i know rejoices for an early spring. seems they've had enough winter. me? i didn't see enough snow. didn't have enough cuddling by a cozy fire while old man winter blows outside my window. i am super excited by general beauregard lee's prediction. he sees his shadow and goes into hiding! yay!

FLASH FORWARD march 5, 2013

and so it begins...up to the minute forecasts from every. single. person. on facebook. there's a winter storm a brewin'!! schools close in anticipation of a foot of "the white death". rain turns to snow, just as all the meteorologists predicted, around 9pm. and we all wake up to a beautiful marshmallow world.

                        

and so, it appears, the groundhog to listen to is general lee. and, as he predicted, spring will arrive, as scheduled, on march 21. 

BECAUSE IT'S THURSDAY?

"if you're happiest when you're complaining...then you're a grouch like me"

FLASHBACK january 29, 2014 (yeah, i know...huge flashback)
i'm having lunch with a friend and she mentions it's national curmudgeon day. man!! i missed it! but it gets me thinking. i know a lot of curmudgeons. i mean A LOT of curmudgeons. and i think, if you take a sec to look around you, so do you.

curmudgeon /kərˈməjən/ :  a person who is easily annoyed or angered and who often complains

we all have our moments when it seems we fit the definition but, to be an ACTUAL curmudgeon, it has to be a way of life. it has to almost make you joyous to complain. and, every morning...i mean every. single. morning...all the curmudgeons i know are spouting their annoyances and complaints on my facebook time line. how do i know they're curmudgeons and not just having a bad day? because it's always complaints. they are never, ever, happy. it's day, after day, after day of: the dog ate my homework...it's too cold/wet/cloudy outside...the sun is too bright...this fire is too warm...my bed was too comfortable...my football/baseball team didn't win...my husband/wife is breathing too loud...argh argh argh...

don't get me wrong? i love having curmudgeons in my life. although i always wonder what these people would do if they had real problems, i am completely entertained by their posts. they make me laugh. so, if you are one of my curmudgeons: keep it up, sunshine!! 

today
like i said, national curmudgeon day was yesterday. it's too late to celebrate your favorite curmudgeon...or your curmudgeonliness (i may, or may not, have just made that up)...but it's not too early to prepare for next year. so...in honor of the day, here are a few of my favorite curmudgeons. maybe they remind you of someone you know?

walt (clint eastwood)~gran torino

mickey (burgess meredith)~rocky

archie bunker (carrol o'connor)~all in the family

scrooge (reginald owen)~a christmas carol

carl (ed asner)~up

professor snape (alan rickman)~harry potter

and my all time favorite. also, proof that women can be curmudgeons:

ouiser boudreaux (shirley mcclain)~steel magnolias

HAPPY BELATED NATIONAL CURMUDGEON DAY!!

SUNDAY LESSONS

"karma karma karma karma karma chameleon...."

FLASHBACK a few weeks back
i get a phone call. "did you hear what blah blah blah did?" what?! no! "yeah. blah blah blah did yadda yadda yadda! and then this and that happened". omg. (you can insert any horrible gossip you like, it won't change the outcome of my story, or hurt my feelings).
FLASH FORWARD september 14, 2013
it's my typical morning. all's quiet, except for the bk taking an occasional deep breath, in his sleep. the only light is the glare from my computer. i scroll through a little facebook. a little twitter. and a lot of pinterest. and, then, i see it. blah blah blah, who had done the horrible~awful yadda yadda yadda is spending quite a bit of time talking about karma. what? dude!? you know karma's coming after you, right?! it annoys me, so i change my facebook status:

lots of people agree with me. the bk and i talk about it for a minute and i go on with my life. the next 20 minutes goes like this: i stub my toe, on the way to the kitchen *karma*. i start cooking bacon and i burn the first few pieces *karma*. i pour grits into the boiling water and, before i blink, they are blowing the lid off the pot *karma*. i make the perfect sunny~side up egg, and it sticks to the spatula when i am transferring it to the plate *karma*. i am grumbling. what is going on? "weren't you the one who said that when you wish bad karma on people it gets you, too?" ugh.

FLASH FORWARD today
i just wanted to remind everyone NOT to wish bad karma on people. always be kind. karma will get them when she's ready, but you don't want her coming after you in the meantime.

have a great day peeps!

FLASHBACK july 2011

*NOTE: after seeing many "untruths" posted on facebook the past few days, i felt a need to re~post this with an important side note...
"i told you, i was trouble...you know that i'm no good"
like i do almost every morning, i get my cup of coffee, get comfy, and scroll thru facebook. the news is on and i hear a story that makes me sad. amy winehouse has died. i've been waiting 5 long years on a follow~up to "back to black" that will never come. boo. i realize she was an alcoholic and drug addict. her death was imminent. i'm still sad. i post a status update "rip amy winehouse (14 sept 1983~23 jul 2011). not that i'm surprised, but i am still sad. yet another member of the 27 club...:'( ". other people post nearly the same thing. within a few hours another post catches my attention. it says, roughly, "while you are mourning the loss of a drug addict, what about the 11 soldiers killed in a helicopter in afghanistan. you should be mourning them..". what? i've been watching the news all day and haven't heard a thing about this. i look it up on google. i can't find anything. finally, i see it. it happened in 2007. wait? so, you (invisible facebook user) are assuming i DIDN'T mourn the loss of these soldiers when it happened?
FLASH FORWARD today
i am scrolling thru my facebook this morning and run across this:

i've seen it before, but i'm curious. why does it specifically say "and NBC - this one's for you!? so i go to snopes.com. turns out, nbc (like many other news networks) posted a poll asking if people thought "under god" should be removed from the pledge of allegiance. overwhelmingly, people said it should be left in. so, what's the problem? nbc wasn't saying it should be removed. in fact, they were posing the question because, everyday, someone is wanting "god" removed from the pledge of allegiance, or currency, or court rooms. it wasn't meant to be a statement against god, just to get a true reflection of how americans feel. 

i see stuff like this daily on facebook. "you hate jesus if you don't repost this". "you want to kill puppies if you don't repost this". "you want to see this baby die if you don't repost this picture". okay people!! let's get this straight: i don't hate jesus...but i'm not reposting this. i don't want to kill puppies...but i'm not reposting this. i don't want to see this baby die...but i'm not reposting this. 

here are some things you should be aware of when reposting:

#1~the pictures of the sick children: i did a little bit of research and found out that some of these kids aren't actually sick or have already passed (a pic of an adopted vietnamese child with a cancerous tumor on his face is in fact cancer free. he never had cancer, that was a hematoma that has since been removed. and another pic shows a little girl that has been dead for 4 years. her parents are devastated that the pic is in circulation and being used to convince posters that facebook will donate a $1 to cancer research if you repost). ps...facebook doesn't donate money to cancer research based on how many "likes" or "shares" a pic gets. 

#2~jesus won't be upset with you if you don't repost. i have no way of researching this one, but i am CERTAIN that god and jesus have a lot more to worry about than whether or not i am copying and pasting status updates declaring my belief. i am NOT saying you shouldn't repost these, should you feel compelled...i'm just saying: don't judge your friends for their refusal to follow suit. 

#3~don't believe everything you read on facebook. if you read, for example, that "cardinal blew up kim's shiz with her mind", it might be false. never~mind that i, in fact, CAN blow up people's shiz with my mind...just because someone said it on facebook doesn't make it true. i suggest checking your facts before reposting. 

#4~you won't be saving a puppy's (or kitten's) life by reposting that pic (with the exception of pics from animal shelters asking you to adopt, someone might see that pic and adopt the sweet angel. just be sure to check the date of the original post). and, should you choose to repost and your friends refuse? don't worry. your friends don't want to kill puppies or kittens, either. they just don't want to fill up your newsfeed with pics you've already posted. 

how do i research it if, in fact, not everything on the internet is true, you ask? use good judgement when researching. if it sounds fake, it probably is. also, if you can find several sources saying it's true, it just might be. 

happy posting!!

^false!! facebook is always blue and they aren't going to charge you^

ps...ps...ps...i never (well...hardly ever) repost anything so don't be insulted if i comment on your status and then refuse to copy and paste. i still love you, i just don't feel like playing the game ;)

IMPORTANT NOTE: facebook has become a useful tool in finding missing persons and runaways, and i am not suggesting that you not re~post these...please, please do!

MANIC MONDAY

"holiday, oh a holiday, and the best one of the year..."
i post a lot of odd "holidays" here. "peanut butter cookie day". "barefoot day". "day of the zombie". so, i thought a day to celebrate the bk would be awesome. a day that everyone who knows and loves him can celebrate his existence. not the day of his birth...just the fact that he lives on this planet and is, as one friend put it, "da man". i thought it would take some work. it doesn't. i just have to declare it to be his day, and celebrate it. if i do this enough, it could catch on and be celebrated by people all over the country. 
you want to create your own holiday? here's how:

1. pick your date. try to avoid nationally recognized days. you don't want your holiday to be overshadowed by something like valentine's day, do you?
2. announce it publicly. i chose social media. twitter. facebook. those are your best options. you could even create a page on facebook totally dedicated to your holiday.
3. celebrate big! i am celebrating the bk with dinner at o'malley's in the alley followed by a cincinnati reds game. okay. the reds game was already planned, but still...
4. again, go public with the celebration. this is key if you want other people to begin celebrating your holiday.
5. repeat steps 2~4 year after year. eventually, it will catch on and others will join in the fun!

want to make it national? ugh. it literally takes an act of congress. you have to grab the attention of your local congress person. then, they have to make a proposal and get that on the congressional agenda and that can take years. literally years. boo. 

                                                

^reds taking bp^

  

        

if you would like to participate in "celebrate the bk day", head out to your local pub on the third monday of june (this year happens to fall on this very day) and raise a glass to your bk!! 

THE SUNDAY PAPER (or blog or book or mag)

"dear sir or madam, will you read my book?...it took me years to write, will you take a look?"
FLASHBACK december 2010
the bk and i meet with a new, to us, tattoo artist (you can find out all about matt clemmer here). he works out of his basement, meaning we get to meet his lovely family. his girlfriend, katie, and her cute~as~a~button son, max. katie and matt are freelance artists and they're work is displayed all over the house. katie is, also, a blogger. 
FLASH FORWARD january and march 2011
matt does an addition to the bk's tribute to his great~grandmother, america, and a beautiful portrait of my flock. mine takes two sessions. a total of 14 hours. it's painful. i cry. i cry a lot. but the end product is well worth it. a piece of art on my right thigh. also, i get to learn quite a bit about this beautiful little family. and i discover katie's blog...a glimpse into her life with these two charming men.
FLASH FORWARD today
it's sunday. i get up early...before the sun is even fully up. i make coffee. i scroll thru facebook. i scroll thru twitter. and i read katie's pencil box. full of stunning pictures, snapped and edited by katie, and quick peeks into her day~to~day, this blog just makes me warm and fuzzy. katie doesn't tell you how to dress, how to make the perfect breakfast casserole, or how to keep the perfect house. she just shows you how an artist,  mother of two (phoebe is just 8 months old), and future wife takes the time to simply be. 
sunday mornings are for coffee, and blankets, and reading. take this time to check out katie's pencil box...you won't be disappointed. 
happy reading!!

            

 

^before and after^

^portrait of a flock^

THINGS I LEARNED THIS WEEK

"you choke you learn...you laugh you learn...you choose you learn...you pray you learn...you ask you learn...you live you learn"

1. true love is shielding your eyes from horrible things *cough cough clowns cough cough*
2. two...two...two dogs are better than one
3. everybody loves bacon. everybody. LOVES. bacon.
4. emma starts all questions with "remember when you..."
5. abby should probably model
6. verizon should pay me a commission for assisting in the sale of a bose speaker and plan upgrade
7. patience is a virtue, especially in candy crush
8. when friends miss you, they show it by terrorizing you on facebook
9. i can make an irate customer leave smiling with my quick wit AND the coupon i keep in my pocket
10. today is national deep~dish pizza day...yummo!!!!!

^gypsy rose jarvis green ellis and trudy^

^the pesto~bacon was a huge hit^

^emma is a goofball^

^so pretty^

^finally off level 65^

^bird misses me^

^the magic^

^yummo^

^reminds me of emma...ha^

FLASHBACK summer of 1979

"every bond you break every step you take...i'll be watching you..."
i ride my bike across town to meet up with my joyce court girls. every day. and, every day, i pass the same places...the dairy treat...the car wash...the race track. and, every day, i see the same familiar faces. now kat and i are walking back to my house. we've stopped in town and said hi to mama...we've gotten some rock candy at the village ice cream parlor...we are thinking about going to the y. a jeep pulls up. a strange man is telling me i'm pretty. kat and i joke about how creepy he is. we see him the next day. and the day after that. and the day after that. he doesn't know my name. he calls me michigan...i am wearing my lil bro's michigan jersey (sorry bridgette...it was a temporary lapse in judgement).
FLASH FORWARD summer of 1980
it starts all over again. only this time he thinks my name is kathy??? oooohhhh!!!! i'm wearing kat's shirt and her name is on the back!!! ugh!! YOU are such a CREEP!!!
FLASH FORWARD summer of 1981
yep. he's baaaccckkk!! but kat sees him at the car wash. we avoid going by there. he still finds us...walking to my house...walking around colony square...walking to see my mama.
FLASH FORWARD summer of 1982
i have my driver's license. he can't bother me anymore. i'm not stupid...i NEVER take the car to his car wash.

FLASH FORWARD october 2012
the bk gets a phone call from someone he dated. we don't think anything of it. a few weeks later, he is out of town on business and i get a call from a blocked number. just breathing and hang up. i think someone is trying to scare me. it doesn't work in the middle of the day, moron, try it again later!! it happens again the next day. hello? jacka$$...remember how we're adults now? ha! 
FLASH FORWARD november 2012
an "unverified text" comes thru. whoever this person is, they want to date the bk again. what? i don't know who you are, but you aren't very smart...you added your phone number to the text! i forward the message to the bk and after some sleuthing...the bk could put sherlock holmes to shame...we identify the culprit. bk sends a strongly worded text "blah blah blah...leave us alone...blah blah blah...we will get the police involved if necessary...blah blah blah". of course she responds "i don't know what you're talking about...blah blah blah...*insert crazy bish psychobabble here*...". we block her number. she won't be bothering us again. i still have questions: how did she get MY number? does she know where we live? is she just a little koo koo bananas? or is she charlie manson psychotic?

^not the ACTUAL text^

FLASH FORWARD today
in the '70s and '80s, they didn't have a name for it. we were told stories about men in vans offering candy and puppies to small children...but creeping on teenage girls as they walk thru town? that didn't happen...it did, we just didn't talk about it. now it's called stalking...AND it's against the law. january is national stalking awareness month. here are some important facts you should know about stalking:

• 1 in 4 women, and 1 in 13 men, have reported being a victim of stalking in their lifetime.
• the majority of stalking victims are stalked by someone they know.
• 1 in 5 females, and 1 in 14 males, experience stalking between the ages of 11 and 17.
• 2/3 of stalkers pursue their victims at least once per week.
• stalking is a crime in all 50 states, although, less than 1/3 classify it as a felony for first offenders.
• the fear of not knowing what may happen causes anxiety, insomnia, and time lost from work.
•  54% of femicide (the act of murdering a woman) victims reported stalking to the police before being murdered by their stalkers.
• technology has made it easier than ever for stalkers to harass their victims. facebook, twitter, email, and texting are all ways to contact the victim. 

what can you do to protect yourself? the national center for victims of crime suggests: 

• a safety plan that includes a log of all contact...emails, texts, phone calls, gifts...to be used as evidence
• have a phone nearby at all times
• treat all threats seriously and contact police
• vary your routine: routes to work/school, when/where you shop, and limit time spent alone.
• get a new, unlisted, number...but leave the old number active and allow all calls to go to voice mail for screening (and evidence).
• consider getting a restraining order.
• DO NOT interact with your stalker.
• trust your instincts. if you don't feel safe, find a way to make your location safe or leave. 

don't be a victim...arm yourself with knowledge!

resources:

national stalking awareness month

victimsofcrime.org

stalking information for teens

a few months have passed, and no contact from koo koo bananas ex~girlfriend...oops! bk insists "she was NOT my GIRLFRIEND"...her number is blocked, but we haven't run into her at any local hot spots, she hasn't tried to contact us thru email or facebook or twitter...it's safe to say that's over. and my high school stalker? kat and i finally learned his name (10 years later) and it's safe to say that, 30 years later, he won't recognize me. and if he does, he'll call me buckeye...cuz i will never EVER be seen in a michigan jersey!

FLASHBACK september 2006

facebook is open to EVERYONE 13 and older with a valid email address. before that it was open to employees of certain businesses. before that? to high school students with valid high school emails. and before that? only to college students.
FLASHBACK july 2006
twitter launches. it doesn't gain popularity until late 2009. now people can express an opinion, or tweet about their day, in 140 characters or less.
FLASH FORWARD october 2012
166.1 million americans have a facebook account.
FLASH FORWARD december 2012
200 million people, world~wide, have active twitter accounts.
FLASH FORWARD today
facebook and twitter are the place to be for people that want to keep up with family and friends that live far away. wish happy birthday to people they haven't seen since high school. reconnect with long~lost friends/loves. and express their opinion on everything from aardvarks to zyzzyvas. and express opinions they do...often with the mistaken notion that the person they are EXPRESSING about will never know. WRONG!!! ESPECIALLY in the case of twitter...even if you THINK you are set totally private, people have ways of finding out. 
friend #1...trying hard to have a baby of her own...is less than excited for a co~worker who is the mother of a soon~to~be teen mom. she tells the woman this. later, she posts a status basically saying "sorry, but i am not excited that your daughter is a teen mom." no names. could be talking about any mother of a pregnant teenager. AND the person doesn't have facebook, so no worries, right? right? WRONG! another co~worker sees the status and tells other people at work. friend #1, then, gets called into her boss's office because her post hurt someone's feelings. ummmmmm.... 
friend #2 and i have a disagreement...who doesn't have occasional disagreements with friends?...and it should have ended right then. but friend #2 goes home, changes her twitter settings to private, and blocks anyone she thinks will tell me. she, then, tweets about the disagreement prompting quite a few of her "followers" to chime in. friend #2 thinks it's private, but, of course, i find out. how? after being told about it, i do a twitter search and find all the tweets friend #2 is mentioned in. no...i can't see what friend #2 is saying, but the tweets she is mentioned in make it PERFECTLY clear what is being said. 
so. is there a way to prevent this from happening to you? is there a way to protect your posts and tweets? sort of...

on facebook, you can set different levels of privacy. additionally, you can completely block individuals that you have no desire to be friends with. after her incident, friend #1 decided to be very careful who she was facebook friends with. she went thru her list and "unfriended" people that she doesn't have a real relationship with and then set her privacy settings on the highest level. how do you change your facebook privacy?

• log on to your account and then click on the settings tool
• under "who can see my stuff" click edit and decide between public, friends, friends except acquaintances, only me, or custom. *hint: choose friends. you don't want your stuff public but...why be friends with people if you don't want to share with them?*
• under "who can look me up" click edit and decide who can search for you via the email or phone number you provided (everyone, friends of friends, or friends). *hint: choose everyone. why be on facebook if you don't want to be found? you can, then, choose to accept a friend request or ignore it*
• you can set individual posts to be seen by a select group of people. again, i feel like this tool is unnecessary...you shouldn't be facebook friends with people you aren't comfortable sharing everything with...but if you want to, it's there. 

a google search of my name brings up my facebook page. all the person sees is my profile pic, my cover photo, a list of pages i have liked, and where i went to high school. all these are items i decided everyone can see, and i can change the setting at any time. that being said, i CANNOT control what my so~called friends decide to show my mortal enemies...so, again, it's not always TOTALLY private.

twitter is a little more difficult. as i said, friend #2 set her tweets to private but i still could find her in mentions by her followers. the only way friend #2 could prevent this is to only follow people who are also set to private. and that's nearly impossible. i am not a fan of private twitter accounts. the whole point of twitter is to connect with the world. if i had been set to private, alec baldwin would have never seen my tweet to him...meaning he would have never tweeted me back...meaning i would not have had top tweet that day. but, should you want to be private, here are the steps:

• log on to your account
• go to settings...on your computer: click the person icon at top right corner and then click settings...on your phone: go to your profile and click on tool bar icon.
• click "protect my tweets" and then click save changes

now you will have the option to approve followers and only those people will see your tweets. but i CANNOT stress enough...you will still be seen in mentions, and people aren't stupid. if you are talking about them, they will know.

another hint for facebooking or tweeting...and i have said this 45,000 times before...THINK BEFORE YOU POST. friend #1 had every right to post what she did, and was only repeating what she had already said to the woman, personally. she had NO intention of hurting anyone's feelings. changes she made to her account were made because of the way her post got blown out of proportion. but friend #2? well she, also, had every right to post what she did...however...she is upset that i found out what she was posting. if friend #2 wasn't comfortable with the fact that something she posted might become public knowledge she should NOT have posted it. 

happy posting!!