get your own blog..... *smile*

alright, i've sort of been holding back lately.... "playing nice" on my blog :)  i've had alot of really fun and happy posts, and i've put my soapbox in the closet for awhile.  but, alas, i am dragging it out and dusting it off again today.  sometimes it just has to happen.




i'm sure you've all seen this badge floating around different blogs.  it's a free badge to post on your sidebar that basically tells others that you, well.... blog with integrity! you aren't pulling the wool over the eyes of your readers in any sense of the phrase.  one of the pledge statements really spoke out to me for this blog post:

I believe in intellectual property rights, providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.

and this is my soapbox today, readers. 

i've been browsing around blogs today, enjoying some good reading, good tutorials, good laughs.  then i stumbled across a blog that i'm familiar with that has really gotten my goat lately.  as i read back through several posts that i hadn't kept up with, i noticed a familiar trend.  on average, one out of every three posts from this blogger was my idea or something i had mentioned on my blog but days prior to their post.  upon reading the first post, i thought it was a coincidence.  the second post, i just shook my head and had a good laugh to myself.  third and forth posts {yes, there were that many} i started to get irritated.

i know that i don't have the biggest, the best, or the only military family blog on the blogging market - but i take care to bring fresh posts, ideas, and creations to you all each day so that i can stand out amongst the crowd.  i want you to know who i really am, i try to be as transparent as possible - you were there with me when i was pregnant, when amelia was born, when i struggled through our second miscarriage, and you'll surely be reading as caleb deploys for his sixth tour in the coming months.  i love blogging and connecting with you every day, but i don't love when my ideas are posted somewhere else and credit is not given when due.

i'm not going to point fingers, i'm not going to name blog names.  i just want to put my feelings out there, because they are warranted.  bloggers who scam ideas from others - be it posts, designs, verbage - are not friends, they are thieves.  is that dramatic enough? i really want to make my point here.

well, now that i've drug this into the ground enough, i suppose my ol' dusty soapbox oughtta be put away again.  my next post should be back on the happy track!!  i seriously appreciate each of you that come back and read my ramblings each and every day.  even if you are just here for the scrumptiously adorable baby pictures, i'm ok with that.  this Marine Parents family of friends and bloggers is so important to me - thanks for being a part of it!!