Join Me Today at 2pm est LIVE with Lindsey & Leslie Glass about their New Book, “The Mother-Daughter Relationship Makeover -A Memoir and Self-Help Book to Repair The Bond Between Mothers and Daughters #LeslieGlass #LindseyGlass #MommyRamblingsBlog
Check out “The Mother-Daughter Relationship Makeover – 4 Steps to Bring Back the Love” on Amazon. Join us live to interact and ask questions.
Filed under Home & Garden
As a YouTube creator, I am no stranger to the horrible trolls who have targeted me, even called a fake SWAT on me that could have had ended tragically and left me with PTSD.
When I lost my oldest son unexpectedly on May 6th of this year, it did not take long for the ugliest of trolls to attack. They are narcissistic individuals without empathy. They made jokes about my son and about my grief.
Nothing was off limits for them. Even though attacking vulnerable individuals and bullying is against YouTube’s Terms of Service, they continued their disgusting attacks relentlessly. Those that participated on panels and in the live chats were no better. They obviously agreed with what was going on because they took no stand against it. You know what they say about birds that flock together.
It seems my channel name gets them good views and they watch me obsessively, to the point of reiterating every detail, and then insanely saying they don’t watch. Their words come from a place of intense jealousy and reflect everything that is wrong with them. They talk about me being boring, monotone, ugly, abusive, money-hungry, a sociopath and other profanities. These are all adjectives that describe them to a T. They say I have no sense of humor and then try and copy the exact gags and fun stuff we do.
Their jealousy stems from the fact that we have the best community on YouTube, filled with the most loving and caring people around. The Rambler community has held me up and loved me during the darkest hours of my life. We even created a grief group and a grief panel to help and support others.
Grief, especially grief from losing a child does not have a formula. Everyone experiences it differently. There is no right or wrong way to grieve the loss of your child. Yet, these so called experts, including those that don’t even have children, want to tell me how to grieve.
One particularly elderly woman who labels herself a widow, went on a disgusting rant about me. I had never even heard of this woman when a video she made showed up in my YouTube feed because she used my channel name in her title.
This woman described herself as she was supposedly talking about me, saying I was boring, monotone, unattractive, had no sense of humor, dry lips and a Donald Trump mouth. She said I had crooked teeth (better call my orthodontist) and that they made my mouth hang wrong. She said that she could just see I had terrible breath. Everything she said described her. That is how it is with narcissists, they take everything that is wrong with them and project it onto others.
Beyond that, she wanted to tell everyone that I never cared about my son. She said I should be curled up in a ball in the corner of my room. She said she never saw me shed a tear, that when I cried there were no tears. She said that I did not love my kids, never hugged them and was abusive to them and my husband.
She compared her grief from losing her husbands to my grief from losing my son. She has no right to assume the grief is anywhere near the same, because it is not. Losing a child is unnatural, and that is why their is no name unlike the name of widow or widower for a person who loses a spouse.
Don’t you dare judge me in my grief out of your dripping jealousy. How can you call me money-hungry when I have never asked for a dime from our community? Her and her other trolling friends seem to know every detail of my life, mention I have 2 homes etc. They are dripping with jealousy, as they are the ones who are the so called ebeggers. They use my name and the channel name to get views and it is obvious. How sad, they cannot get views on their own content.
So for all you despicable trolls, leave me alone, don’t talk about my children, don’t talk about my life, leave me alone. Most especially don’t talk about my grief, because you don’t know anything about it.
All you see is what I choose to show you and nothing else. You and I have never met in person, I have never spoken to you on the phone or through email. You know nothing about me or what I am going through.
It is my hope that shining a light on this detrimental behavior will capture the attention of the people who can help me reach YouTube and hold them accountable to their TOS.
Behavior like this can cause vulnerable individuals to do something tragic to themselves. It is sick and twisted and against the law (cyber bullying, cyber stalking, harassment) as well as against YouTube’s own TOS.
Leave us all alone with your ignorant rants. I know you are sick of looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing all of your flaws. You feel better when you go on rants and project all your own insecurities and flaws onto others.
The reason you are not successful and need to put other creators in the title of your videos is because you attract everything you put out there. The only people who want to be with you are people who share that darkness and hate in their souls.
In closing, I want to thank the Mommy Ramblings Community for their continued support of me and my family. We have truly grown over the years and have become a loving family of our own.
I do not know how I would have survived if it had not been for the love and support from all of you. We genuinely care and love each other, and that is the biggest thing these individuals are jealous of. They don’t have it, because they don’t know how to give true love and support to others. They try to pretend they love and care about people, but it is phony. They are narcissists, sociopaths and even psychopaths who love only themselves and have no empathy for others.
In closing, I will say it again to these heartless bullies, LEAVE ME AND OUR COMMUNITY ALONE!!!
Filed under Grief, Mommy Ramblings, Ramblings & Rants
YouTube delivered a devastating blow to video creators today. It came in the form of an email. It came on the heels of last year’s policy change and it concerns monetization of video content. It hurts channels with under 1,000 subscribers and less than 4,000 hours of view time per year.
Last year, they said channels needed to have 10,000 lifetime views in order to be monetized. Now, that some brand new channels have just achieved that or surpassed it, they are dealt a swift kick to the ribs. If you read the comments, you can just feel the wind knocked out of their sails.
This also encourages the use of services that offer to get channels followers for a fee. Channels that want authentic subscribers are penalized for not moving fast enough, and while 1,000 subscribers is not that many, the 4,000 hours is quite daunting. There are small YouTube channels that were making about $100-$200 dollars a year per channel and just starting to grow. Some have 2-3 channels so, maybe they are making $600 a year. Not a fortune, but it helped them buy equipment or other things for their videos, and they were encouraged by the growth and revenue they saw slowly increasing. Now they feel like they were just knocked to the ground, and feel YouTube does not support budding video creators.
YouTube says it is doing this in an effort to prevent bad actors, but many think that is not the case. I don’t agree either. If you see some of the content they allow on their platform, you would be appalled, content that is racist, pornographic or grotesque. The other thing is that while the small YouTubers are not able to earn even a small amount on their videos, YouTube still will. Nice isn’t it?
Oh, and the tools that creators can use now to help them grow their audience like ends screens, cards that come up and recommend other videos and playlists, they will not be available to those creators who do not qualify for the YouTube Partner Program. So this is just another blow, tell them to grow their channels and then take away the tools they need to do it.
They told video creators that they have until February 20th to meet these requirements and if not, the lights go out on their monetization efforts and ability to use creator tools. You might think this only affects new YouTubers, but truth is, it is affecting smaller channels that have been around for years and are growing slowly and producing specialized, quality content. The requirement of 4,000 hours of view time is crippling to most channels like that.
Here is the email that was sent today:
| What’s Changing |
| Under the new eligibility requirements announced today, your YouTube channel, is no longer eligible for monetization because it doesn’t meet the new threshold of 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. As a result, your channel will lose access to all monetization tools and features associated with the YouTube Partner Program on February 20, 2018 unless you surpass this threshold in the next 30 days. Accordingly, this email serves as 30 days notice that your YouTube Partner Program terms are terminated. |
| One of YouTube’s core values is to provide anyone the opportunity to earn money from a thriving channel. Creators who haven’t yet reached this new threshold can continue to benefit from our Creator Academy, our Help Center, and all the resources on the Creator Site to grow their channels. Once your channel reaches the new threshold, it will be reviewed to make sure it adheres to our policies and guidelines, and if so, monetization will be re-enabled. |
Below is the additional information posted on their creator blog:
The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) lets creators monetize their content on YouTube. Creators can earn money from advertisements served on their videos and from YouTube Red subscribers watching their content. You can apply to join the YouTube Partner Program from your account in Creator Studio.
2017 marked a tough year for many of you, with several issues affecting our community and the revenue earned from advertising through the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Despite those issues more creators than ever are earning a living on YouTube, with the number of channels making over six figures up over 40% year-over-year. In 2018, a major focus for everyone at YouTube is protecting our creator ecosystem and ensuring your revenue is more stable.
As Susan mentioned in December, we’re making changes to address the issues that affected our community in 2017 so we can prevent bad actors from harming the inspiring and original creators around the world who make their living on YouTube. A big part of that effort will be strengthening our requirements for monetization so spammers, impersonators, and other bad actors can’t hurt our ecosystem or take advantage of you, while continuing to reward those who make our platform great.
Back in April of 2017, we set a YPP eligibility requirement of 10,000 lifetime views. While that threshold provided more information to determine whether a channel followed our community guidelines and policies, it’s been clear over the last few months that we need a higher standard.
Starting today we’re changing the eligibility requirement for monetization to 4,000 hours of watchtime within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. We’ve arrived at these new thresholds after thorough analysis and conversations with creators like you. They will allow us to significantly improve our ability to identify creators who contribute positively to the community and help drive more ad revenue to them (and away from bad actors). These higher standards will also help us prevent potentially inappropriate videos from monetizing which can hurt revenue for everyone.
On February 20th, 2018, we’ll also implement this threshold across existing channels on the platform, to allow for a 30 day grace period. On that date, channels with fewer than 1,000 subs or 4,000 watch hours will no longer be able to earn money on YouTube. When they reach 1,000 subs and 4,000 watch hours they will be automatically re-evaluated under strict criteria to ensure they comply with our policies. New channels will need to apply, and their application will be evaluated when they hit these milestones.
Though these changes will affect a significant number of channels, 99% of those affected were making less than $100 per year in the last year, with 90% earning less than $2.50 in the last month. Any of the channels who no longer meet this threshold will be paid what they’ve already earned based on our AdSense policies. After thoughtful consideration, we believe these are necessary compromises to protect our community.
Of course, size alone is not enough to determine whether a channel is suitable for monetization, so we’ll continue to use signals like community strikes, spam, and other abuse flags to ensure we’re protecting our creator community from bad actors. As we continue to protect our platform from abuse, we want to remind all of you to follow YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Monetization Basics & Policies, Terms of Service, and Google AdSense program policies, as violating any of these may lead to removal from the YouTube Partner Program.
While this change will tackle the potential abuse of a large but disparate group of smaller channels, we also know that the bad action of a single, large channel can also have an impact on the community and how advertisers view YouTube. We’ll be working to schedule conversations with our creators in the months ahead so we can hear your thoughts and ideas and what more we can do to tackle that challenge.
One of YouTube’s core values is to provide anyone the opportunity to earn money from a thriving channel, and while our policies will evolve over time, our commitment to that value remains. Those of you who want more details around this change, or haven’t yet reached this new 4,000 hour/1,000 subscriber threshold can continue to benefit from our Creator Academy, our Help Center, and all the resources on the Creator Site to grow your channels.
Even though 2017 was a challenging year, thanks to creators like you, it was full of the moments that make YouTube such a special place. Creators large and small, established and emerging, transformed their talent and originality into videos that captivated over a billion people around the world. They made us laugh, taught us about our world and warmed our hearts. We’re confident the steps we’re taking today will help protect and grow our inspiring community well into the future.
Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer and Robert Kyncl, Chief Business Officer
If you wake up with a running or stuffy nose, have a dry cough, sneeze often, suffer from itchy or watery eyes, the culprit causing your allergies may be your home. Dust, pollen, pet dander, mold and more can be found in most homes. Here are some tips for a cleaner, healthier home.
Get rid of wall to wall carpeting and padding and replace with hardwood, tile or other impervious flooring. Carpeting is a magnet for just about every allergen, walking across them sends releases those allergens back into the air. If it is not possible to get rid of all your carpeting or if you have to do it little by little, start with the bedrooms.
Double up on the door mats, have one outside and right inside the door to minimize the chance of introducing irritants into your home. It is also a good idea to remove your street shoes at the door and encourage your guests to do the same.
Curtail the curtains and drapes. Opt for blinds or shades instead because they trap fewer allergens than window treatments made from fabric. If you must have curtains or drapes, make sure to get ones that are machine washable and wash them often. Vacuum blinds and shades once a week with a brush attachment, wash them regularly with warm water and soap especially if you keep the windows open often.
Many are allergic to mold and with over 100,000 different species of mold in the world it is hard to get away from. Mold loves damp places that is why it is so prevalent in bathrooms. Make sure you dry surfaces of standing water and make sure your bathroom has adequate ventilation. Replace caulk around sinks, tubs and showers to prevent water seeping in and encouraging mold growth behind the walls.
Check under your kitchen and bathroom sinks, make sure there are no leaks or drips that will be a breeding ground for mold. Also check for rodent droppings another allergen.
Use a vacuum with a Hepa Filter to vacuum floor surfaces, mattresses and upholstered furniture. After that, vacuum with a UV-C Light Vacuum like the Verilux CleanWave Sanitizing Portable Vacuum.
Vacuuming with this can leave your home surfaces 99.9% germ and allergen free! The ultraviolet light technology is built into the vacuum and can eliminate dust mites, bed bugs, bacteria, mold, allergens, flea eggs and more that are lurking in your home.
This portable vacuum comes with a brush and crevice tool attachment. This is a great way to clean your home and destroy germs and viruses like MRSA, H1N1 and more without the use of harsh, harmful chemicals.
Vacuum bedding, mattresses, furniture. floors, rugs and more. Eliminate odors by killing odor producing bacteria. If you are looking to buy a new mattress like the Leesa Mattress make sure you keep it clean from the start with these methods.
The 400 watt motor and cyclonic action ensure maximum power and suction, and easy empty, bagless design and 2-stage micro-allergy filtration prevent recirculation of pollutants.
Using the same UV sanitizing technology that’s been used for over 30 years in hospitals, food processing facilities and water treatment plants, CleanWave’s germ reducing light can penetrate a micro-organism’s cell membrane damaging the DNA, preventing growth and killing the organism.
Check out my video here of how easy it is to use.
I love that I can take this anywhere, it is easy to operate and has a safety feature that automatically turns the light off if it is not on a flat surface. It is easy to empty and gives me peace of mind. We have allergies in our house and using this vacuum is making a difference.
Verilux is sponsoring a giveaway (giveaway is over) on Mommy Ramblings! One lucky blog reader will win a Verilux, CleanWave Portable UV Vacuum. Thank you to Verilux for the review CleanWave UV Vacuum and for sponsoring this fantastic giveaway on Mommy Ramblings!!! Open to US residents.
Verilux CleanWave Sanitizing Portable Vacuum Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:
Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good Luck!!!
Filed under Christmas, Giveaway, Holiday Gift Guide, Home, Home & Garden
Take a look at this awesome new Quick Cups video from Spin Master Games and enter the giveaway below for a chance to win 1 of 3 grand games packages including Fibber, Moustache Smash, Boom Boom Balloon, Shark Mania, Rapidoodle, and Quick Cups! There are an additional- 10 Fantastic Runner Up Prizes of the Quick Cups Board Game!” Quick Cups is a great game where kids can outperform their parents if they have a quicker eye and hands! It’s a game for everyone to play and ANYONE can be the winner!”
Filed under Entertainment, Giveaway
Recently I tried to adjust my favorite coconut oil, chocolate chip cookie recipe and substitute almond flour for white flour. The problem was the cookies spread out way too much and were like crepes. I added more almond flour and the second batch was better but still way too thin. They tasted good though, so I know if I keep experimenting, I will come up with the solution.
In my search, I did find it would be best to chill the dough and I will try that next time. In the meantime, I tried another recipe for Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies and this one used baking soda instead of baking powder like mine and I decided to try it and chill the dough. The cookies did not spread out but they did not take like a chocolate chip cookie like my first recipe. The taste and texture is more like a macaroon. They are very good, but I cannot believe there is such a huge difference in taste and texture. This recipe almost tastes like flaked coconut was added. Like I said, it is very good, just not what I would call a chocolate chip cookie. I would refer to it as a chocolate chip macaroon cookie, lol. Anyway, lets take a look at how we make these and I will update with the other recipe and post pics of the first go round on that as well.
For my almond flour, I used the Morning Pep brand that is available on Amazon. It is made from 100% all-natural Certified Gluten-Free by GFCO blanched almonds. The flour is ground very fine so it gives baked goods and sweets a rich flavor and moist texture, contains no preservatives or additives. Morning Pep Almond Meal Flour is a great source of dietary fiber, Vitamin E, protein, iron, magnesium and calcium. Morning Pep Almond Flour is considered pasteurized by the USDA and The Almond Board of California.
, softenedPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use a silicone baking mat or line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In your mixer bowl cream the butter, extra virgin coconut oil and brown sugar. Next, add the vanilla and eggs and mix until blended.
Add baking soda and sea salt. Add the almond flour one cup at time, beat well after each addition. I felt the dough was too soft after adding 3 cups of flour and gradually added more, I would say about 3/4 cup more. Dough was still soft but not as soft as before.
Add the chocolate chips and mix until incorporated in the dough, if you are adding the nuts, add them now and mix.
Chill the dough for at least an hour. Scoop with a small cookie scoop onto the lined cookie sheet and bake immediately for 11-12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Let cook and remove to baking rack to cool thoroughly. Yield about 3 dozen with the additional flour.
I received 2 bags of Morning Pep Almond Flour to facilitate my review. As always my words and opinions are 100% my own.
We have a fun giveaway featuring some new videos from Warner Bros, including Batman Unlimited, DC Super Friends and Scooby-Doo! To celebrate the new videos we are teaming up with Warner Bros. to bring you a giveaway where you can win one of five mystery toy gift baskets! The Baskets are worth a minimum $50 each and will be picked by the staff of Warner Bros. and DCKids! Enter below using the Rafflecopter widget and check out the video below. Good Luck
Check out some of the amazing new videos from DCKids & Warner Bros’ new YouTube channels – included are favorites such as Batman Unlimited, DC Super Friends and Scooby-Doo! There will be many more updates over the next year, so don’t forget to subscribe to their channels!
Filed under Main Page Post
I have a great universal car mount for your smartphone to share with you. You can use the K2R Universal Car Mount in the car or even on your kitchen counter. The adjustable sides ratchet closed to hold your phone securely. Holder rotates 360 degrees to hold your phone in all kinds of angles for portrait or landscape viewing.
Out of the package it’s super easy to just connect the 2 pieces and tighten with the lock nut. Next remove the protective film from the bottom, place on a clean, flat surface and push down on the lever lock to secure. You will not be able to budge the holder. When you are ready to release you push up on the lever and pull the little strip on the back and the holder will release, leaving no damage to your surface.
We tested this mount on the counter at home and in the car and were very impressed with the secure seal and all the viewing angles. You can see our video review to see it in action. Please let us know what you think.
I love baking bread. I know what goes in and I love the way it comes out. I also enjoy the whole process especially kneading the dough. It’s quite therapeutic and I have an easy way to make sure it doesn’t stick. I just knead the dough on the dual-use silicone pastry and baking mat from 1Easylife. The mat provides a large non stick surface for me to knead the dough. It also comes with a free 15″ wooden rolling-pin. I like that the mat has measurements in inches and cm all along the sides as well as different size pie crust circles.
There are so many quality features in this mat, it’s the thickest mat on the market with a thickness of .7mm, simple to clean and takes up no room to store because it can be rolled. You can also use it in the oven to line a cookie sheet and it is heat-resistant up to 480 degrees F. With proper cleaning the mat is safe from micro-organisms and it is odor resistant. A very large 25″ by 15″ mat that gives you plenty of room to make your pastry, knead dough or bake lots of cookies on.
You can see our video review below:
We recently reviewed the High Speed, Double Under Jump Rope from Inspired Fitness. Maybe you are training or just like to jump rope and you are wondering what makes this high-speed jump rope different from the hundreds of others on the market.
Well, first this rope is put together with strict quality control to ensure you get the absolute best quality speed rope for your workouts. The length can be adjusted easily with finger tightening screws, so you can go from user to user without needing a screwdriver to adjust the length.
The handles are light and comfortable but they are super tough and the unique double bearing makes the rope not just faster but extends the life. The cables are light, fast and kink-resistant for more intense workouts and minimal tangling.
My husband really liked the rope and it adjusted easily to fit our young son who did very well with it. You can order your own right on Amazon and it comes with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!
See the rope in action in our YouTube video below:
We were provided with a jump rope to facilitate our review, as always our words and views are 100% our own.
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Hello, I’m Carolyn! I am a PR Savvy, WAH Mom to 5! I love Photography, Baking, DIY Projects, Crafts, Cooking and making memories with my family. I love sharing reviews and giveaways too!
