Photo by Legocontrol.

Repeat after me: there is no privacy online

I received an email from my daughter’s teacher urging us parents to take more notice what some of the children in my daughter’s class are posting on Instagram.
Last week a friend of mine was tagged in a very unflattering and inappropriate photo on Facebook and everyone was able to see it in her profile.
A few weeks ago I was chatting with my friend on Facebook in a language her husband doesn’t speak, yet he tried translating it with Google translate and greatly misunderstood our conversation and it resulted in family drama. The marriage drama had no cases for real drama expect the fact my friend didn’t have privacy to send private messages on Facebook.
A PR person from a respected company was featured in a major business website last week and a photo from his private Facebook page was featured and questioned for, and this may cause this person his job.

Rumors, published private information, poor judgement and bad behavior on social media result in lost jobs and ruined relationships and it has become part of our lives. A few years ago it was still front page news when people lost their jobs due tweets, Facebook photos or written blog posts, now it sadly has become part of today’s society.

Social media, internet and the way we are able to connect with people around the world has changed my life the past ten years, and I do publish personal stories, personal photos and information online, however, with a very strong filter to protect myself and my family. It might be easy to be mistaken that if you don’t have as many social media “followers” as I do that the filter isn’t as important. The filter is important for everyone.

Rules of engagement

My rule of thumb is that never publish anything that you don’t want your spouse (or future spouse) or your mother, your mother-in-law (or future mother-in-law) or your children (or future children) or your boss (or future boss) see.

Today’s Grandmothers are on Facebook, your children’s teachers are on Pinterest, your boss is on Twitter, and your children’s friends on Instagram, and every time you hit publish on any of these sites, think how these people will see you in all of these platforms.

Many argue for private profiles, private messages, and privacy settings and say that only a handful of friends are seeing what you are posting. Dear friends, there is no privacy online.

Sadly there is even no privacy when it comes to your emails nor text messages, or just read Damn You Autocorrect or other blogs where they publish screenshots of text messages, or embarrassing Facebook messages. There is always someone, or someone’s sister, friend or spouse with an access to your or your friend’s account, or Facebook has yet another privacy update removing all of our privacy all together. Always use caution when it comes to social media.

When it comes to my friend’s marriage drama and her husband’s misunderstanding, it would be easy to say that it was all of his fault for spying on her, and any marriage should base on trust. I agree on every marriage being based on trust. However, we all have to learn that there is no privacy online, however much we would like there to be. Even as close to home as in my own marriage, sure, I have seen my husband publishing things online that have made me angry and sad. And I am positive my husband has seen me to do the same regardless how much I try to be respectful in what I am posting.

Keep private things.. private and offline

It is a good reminder for all us to keep our private things private and keep them offline. What is put online has a funny way of always coming out, sometimes even weeks, months or years after the fact.

McAfee released findings from the company’s 2013 Love, Relationships, and Technology survey which examines the pitfalls of sharing personal data in relationships and discloses how breakups can lead to privacy leaks online. The study highlights the need for consumers to take steps to protect themselves from cyber-stalking and exposure of private information.

Nearly two-thirds of smartphone owners have personal and intimate information on their mobile devices, such as bank account information, passwords, credit card numbers and revealing photos, yet only 40% have password protection on their devices. This leaves a gap in personal data protection, which results in exposure.

We’re all aware of the cases involving celebrities, but you don’t have to be a celebrity to have your personal information exposed

said Michelle Dennedy, an online security expert for McAfee.

What about our kids?

What’s the most important thing about this is educating our children correctly about social media and being great examples. Online bullying didn’t exist when we went to school, and many parents might not have first hand experience or even know online bullying exists. We might also think that what we do online doesn’t concern our children, and your “online world” is separate from the “in real life parenting world.” You couldn’t be more wrong. Even if your child doesn’t have access to internet today, she/he will in the future and your online footprint can be found by your offspring (and for you younger single people – your online footprint can also be found by your prospective future spouse!).

As a parent you have responsibility not just learn about social media etiquette and best practices for yourself, but also so you can both educate and monitor what your child is doing online. If you are a parent and want to learn more, you might want to check out my friend Amy Lupold Bair’s new book Raising Digital Families For Dummies, out today.

I personally encourage my children for social networking and learning from day one how to do it correctly – before they are too old to make any big mistakes they might regret later in their lives. Our family’s favorite network is Instagram – and my son’s pictures are featured in the post.

This Friday I’m featuring one of my dear friends, Naomi Shapiro of Superdumb Supervillain. I love Naomi’s sense of humor – she is one of the smartest people I know yet she is known online as “Superdumb,” and she is always helping others yet she combined Superdumb with Supervillain when naming her blog. Read how she came up with the controversial name, and how Naomi inspires us all to have guts to go against the flow, stick to your guns, and look for inspiration everywhere. Be inspired by Naomi and think what’s your conversation starter and how you can stand out.

Interview with Naomi Shapiro of Superdumb Supervillain

Katja: How did you get started with your blog Superdumb Supervillain? And what’s up with the name – you are one of the smartest people I know :) – how did you come up with the name?

Naomi: Everyone always wants to know where the name came from! I feel like I should come up with a great origin story because the real one is a little anticlimactic… I got my first email account a zillion years ago and even though it was the early days of the internet, every single username I tried was already taken. After a dozen or so, I got frustrated and thought “this is just super dumb!” So that’s what my first email was and since the majority of my friends and family already knew it, when I set up my blog years later (as a way to keep myself connected with friends and family while pregnant with Jasper), I wanted to use it. Of course, it wasn’t available, so I tacked on “supervillain” since I have always been a bit of a comic geek. And archnemesis. No, not really.

It confuses a lot of people in the blogosphere, especially in the education and entrepreneurship fields. I have to explain that I don’t actually think that I am superdumb, that I don’t suffer from any kind of self esteem issues. It’s definitely a conversation starter and seems to stick in people’s minds. Half the people think I should change it, the other half love it.

Katja: I love your self confidence in fact – what a great way to stand out and start a conversation. Speaking of conversations.. How has social media changed your life? Tell how social media is part of your life.

Naomi: Social media has always been a part of my life. I like to connect the dots with people and places and to learn as much as I can about things that interest me. When I was little, I used to play with my dad’s old shortwave radio and tune in exotic locales. I used to DJ in college and broadcast media is definitely social. I grew up writing record reviews and articles for school papers, zines and eventually real magazines and papers. The internet and newfangled social media channels have just exacerbated the experience and made it easier to find cool stuff and likeminded people.

I met you on Twitter as a boutique owner and our paths just kept crossing until we met in real life and became friends. I love that! The English pen pal I had while I was in high school in Hawaii just friended me on Facebook and it’s so amazing to just pick up where we left off, since we met via an ad about his fanzine in the NME almost 30 years ago. Twitter is probably my favorite platform because it’s so concise and prompt. Right now I am loving Pinterest and Instagram for the immediacy of sharing visually. I co-founded a social media group, Digital Wichita, to try and bring what I learn from my blog and social media events back home.

Katja: I love that you share your inspiration and social media knowledge with others. What inspires you?

Naomi: I’ve always been interested in design and the written word, so typography is very important to me. I have a BFA in graphic design and a BA in liberal arts/Japanese and I think both inform my eye equally. I am drawn to color and exuberance but also love very minimal style. Another study in contrasts! My husband is an artist and he’s always making something, so he’s definitely an inspiration, as are the kids and their boundless enthusiasm for everything they do. Music is also a big inspiration. As I mentioned, I used to do a radio show in college and managed bands and put out several singles on my label, Fluffer, including the very first Spoon single. I love to cook and to bake. I love to volunteer, especially for literacy initiatives. I love to thrift shop and collect bakelite jewelry and shoes, in general. I find inspiration everywhere I look.

Katja: Spoon, huh? Wow! You truly have lived Skimbaco lifestyle! What does skimbaco lifestyle mean to you? How do you live life to the fullest in your everyday life?

Naomi: The Skimbaco lifestyle means doing what makes you not only happy but fulfilled. For me, that means learning something new every day, sharing my knowledge where I can and hopefully finding my perfect balance.

Katja: Thank you Naomi for the interview, and thank you for being awesome!

Connect with Naomi

Read Naomi’s blog Superdumb Supervillain, where she shares her life, products she loves, things that inspire her, and her photography.

Twitter: @superdumb
Facebook: facebook.com/naomi.shapiro
Pinterest: pinterest.com/naomi_shapiro
Google+
LinkedIn: Naomi K. Shapiro

$100,000 Blogging Job You Can Do From Home!

If you haven’t heard about Cheap Sally’s Bring Home the Bacon Contest yet, Cheap Sally looking for a guest blogger for the year 2012 and paying $100,000 for the gig. This opportunity is perfect for anyone with a passion for saving money and who loves to share their deals and discount finds. The best part about winning the competition (besides the $100K, of course) is that you don’t have to move or quit your day job, and you can do it from home. This would be the perfect gig for a work/stay at home mom! The winner will be chosen by popular vote (top 5 from each state, then top blogger from each state) and a money-saving challenge in the month of December.

There is still time to apply, but hurry – the voting starts September 1st, so you want to fill your application right away at CheapSally.com.

What is Cheap Sally?

Cheap Sally is an online couponing website helping consumers save on every day purchases online. Cheap Sally’s goal is to make more people aware that online coupons are a great way to save money when you are buying anything online. With Cheap Sally an average person can save 15% in just one minute.

Cheap Sally shares over 20,000 coupons for a wide range of prevalent expenses including dining, recreation, bills, entertainment, home maintenance, groceries and more. Over 400 new coupons are added to site daily and provide customers an average savings of 15%. Cheap Sally is based in Las Vegas, Nevada and is a subsidiary of Discount Savings and Flank Digital. Flank Digital is privately owned by a group of successful entrepreneurs. Follow Cheap Sally on Twitter @CheapSally and connect with Cheap Sally on Facebook.

Apply now!

If you think you would like to be the main blogger at Cheap Sally’s site and share online deals and coupons with their large online audience and do it from the convenience of your own home, apply now. This is truly an opportunity to live life to the fullest and maybe change your life for the next year by allowing you to do this work from home. I know you are interested, so what are you waiting for?! Find out more details, share the contest with your friends, and register at CheapSally.com.

Good luck and let me know if you apply so I can vote for you!!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored, but all of my opinions are my own. Since I wrote this post, I am not able to participate in the contest myself.

Blogging as a Lifestyle Choice – or a business?

Have you ever wondered if blogging can help you to achieve a certain type of lifestyle or be a business? I think it can be both, but YOU have to define what you really want out from life and what make you feel you are living life to the fullest. Are you looking into making a business with a main goal of making money, or are you interested in a certain type of lifestyle – perhaps what the money could provide you? Read more, because these two can be very different. You can achieve the lifestyle you want by blogging, even if you are not building a profitable blogging business.

Achieve a Lifestyle you want – or Maintain the Lifestyle you want

I was sitting by the pool in a luxury resort in Florida with a few fellow bloggers watching our husbands swim in the pool with our kids, and one of the bloggers said “can you imagine blogging has made trips like this possible for our families” and explained how she was not used to traveling and that her family probably would not travel much if there wasn’t for trips they are doing because of her blogging. My reaction was quite different – I would be living life to the fullest, even if I wasn’t blogging! I knew we would travel (all of my three children were born in different countries, way before I started blogging!), and I knew I would be probably driving the same car and wearing the same clothes too even if I wasn’t blogging.

Passion – or business – or both?

Many bloggers start blogging as a lifestyle choice without a business plan or any plan whatsoever, and then become popular bloggers and realize that blogging isn’t fun anymore; it has become a job, business or chore, and instead of living the life the want to live, their days are suddenly filled by business meetings, flying around the country meeting with brands, creating sponsored content, selling advertising and hiring writers/designers/talent agents. Now – that’s awesome if that IS your goal. But you just need to keep in mind that the more you want out of blogging (money, opportunities, advertisers, free products, trips..), the more you also have to put into it. If you want a business out of it; you need to treat it as a business. But if you want to blog to achieve/maintain a certain lifestyle, there is nothing wrong about that, and you can become successful blogger doing what you love!

Blogging as a lifestyle choice allows you to gain access to experiences and things you otherwise might not to, or it can make the lifestyle you want to live possible, or allow you to be more flexible in where you live – there are several ways blogging can help you to live the life you want to live. Here are some tips how to make it happen. But remember; this is not a post how to become rich by blogging, but this is a post how to live the lifestyle you want to live, and enjoy blogging as part of it. This is a post how to make blogging a lifestyle choice.

Imagine it!

What kind of life you want to live

Fill the blank in this sentence:
“I would do ….. everyday if I could make money doing it”.

Think what are the things you want to do in life, how you want your everyday life to look like, what do you see yourself doing. How would you ideally earn your living? What kind of things you love doing? What would you change in your everyday life if you could? What’s your favorite hobby?

I know a food writer, who doesn’t make much money, but he eats in the best gourmet restaurants of New York City several evenings a week, for free. He writes restaurant reviews for local websites. I know travel bloggers who travel around the world for no cost and they syndicate their articles about travel destinations to several websites and magazines. And what about Adam, whose dream was to eat pastries and chocolate in Paris? He started a blog about different pastry shops in Paris, and funds his living in Paris by blogging about pastry shops and chocolatiers in Paris. Remember Julie who cooked recipes from Julia Child’s book every day for a year? They made a movie of her.

You can do it too.

Make a Plan!

How can you achieve it?

Do you have a hobby that you know a lot about? What kind of skills you have? How could you combine your skills, and your passion and what would your ideal blog look like? What do you have to offer for other people by sharing your lifestyle or what you love doing?

Many bloggers love to write and for them it’s just important to have their voice heard to get a satisfaction from blogging. Obviously, many also make money by writing. But don’t be intimidated even if you think you are not a good writer. There are a lot of bad writers who are successful bloggers. English isn’t even my native language and my grammar isn’t that great as you have probably already noticed in this post, and I have done alright with blogging.

If you like photography, focus on learning how to take even better pictures and make the pictures the focus of your blog, not words. If you have great personality on camera, start creating videos and start vlogging (video blogging) instead of blogging. Think of ways you can deliver your passion, things you do, things you love in an unique way. In a way that you see yourself doing again, and again, and you love doing it.

If you are already living the lifestyle you want, and just want to maintain it, share it, or make money by blogging about it, you are all set to start creating! But if you are not there yet, no worries. Then you need to dress for the life you want, not for the life you have. If you want to become a travel writer and get your trips funded by writing/blogging – you need to start writing about traveling before you get any assignments, or invitations to press trips. In fact, you need to write a lot before anything comes to your way. You might even have to invest money into getting great content for your site. You might have to pay for several trips and create great content about them so you have something show what you can do. I bet nobody sent Julie Julia Child’s book to review, she bought it herself, or nobody sponsored Adam’s first trip to Paris, he saved money for the plane ticket himself.

Nobody paid my first blogging conference ticket or airfare, I paid them myself as an investment to my blogging and to myself. Even today when I get a lot of invitations, press releases and product review requests, I STILL mainly write about things I love and what I want, not the things others want me to write about. Luckily many companies have noticed who I am, and what I love and we have been able to work together in a way that it has allowed me to live the lifestyle I want through blogging. (My biggest thanks go to Park City Mountain Resort, Disney and Hanes).

Live it!

Everyday choices you have to make

I’m not going to lie and say it’s easy. It’s not, and you still need to treat it as a jobby, hobby that is sort of like a job, or habit, or business if you want the benefits in the long run. But since you are blogging about things you love, this should be fairly easy for you, right? You just have to be consistent if you want to build a community of readers who read your blog. You can’t just turn your back on them for a month and then expect them to be part of your everyday life again when you feel like it. You have to respect the people who read your blog.

And once you start getting readers, you will notice you will start getting emails from companies wanting you to write about their products, or asking to advertise on your site. It feels so good when people notice what you are doing but at the same time always remember why you started your blog to begin with and stay true to living the lifestyle you want. I hear way too often from bloggers that they have several posts they “have to write” and they don’t have time anymore to write what they “want to write”. I think it is possible to make a blogging a business AND a lifestyle choice, but always remember to stay true to yourself and your goals.

Find all of the posts in the BlogHop Blog Conference At Home at Blog Conference Newbie.

Pictured: Olympic medalist Aaron Peirsol showing his Gold Medal.

I’ve met a lot of successful people; Olympic athletes, business owners, famous actresses, and when I’ve asked about their success and how to get there most of them answer the exact same things. Hard work, keeping your goals high, going after what you want, not giving up. Not even one says, sit at home and wait someone will discover your talent. People like to tell stories of for example Justin Bieber of making little music videos on YouTube until he was “discovered” and skyrocketed to his stardom, but that’s not true. That kid was working hard since he knew how to speak and walk – and he still keeps working hard!

I think we live in this illusion that things come easier for other people. Sure, sometimes people get lucky, or they have money, or know right people, heck, sometimes even all of them and that helps them succeed. But some people can also have the right settings for success, and they never make it. Success starts from within. You have to know what to do with the money, know how to act when opportunity knocks, know how to work with the right people you know.

Years in college, numerous business books, and several companies later I can still testify that everything that matters in business, success and life I learned from my parents. Should this tell you to listen to your parents? Maybe. But this absolutely should tell you to use the lessons you learn in life in every aspect of your life – and if you are a parent; start teaching the lessons for your children when they are still young.

My children are 8, 9 and 11, and I already talk about the business/work world with them. No, I am not pressuring them to seek a specific career, but I answer all of their questions and teach them innovative problem solving skills and to follow their passion. My son is eight years old, and during a recent dinner talk we asked him what he wanted to do when he grows up. An entrepreneur mother and a pilot father, and his answer was wanting to found the Presnal Airlines, and offer private jet experience for travelers. Very cute, huh? But instead of just diminishing his dream as cute, and unattainable, we discussed about ways to make it happen.

Too often we are crushed because our goals seem too high and people laugh at us because our dreams seem impossible to achieve. But yet, every day we read about people doing remarkable things, and think why not me. Or worse yet, we tend to think that other people are so much more amazing than we are, we could never start our own business/run a marathon/travel around the world/invent a new product.

Success starts with YOU. You can make it happen.
And don’t you let anyone ever tell you can’t be successful.
And don’t you let anyone ever tell you what your success should look like.
YOU define what success means to you, and it is OK if it means different things than for most people.

Inspirational quote of the week:
People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care by John Maxwell.

I found this quote online, and I really like it, but I think there is more to it.

The thing about caring… you can’t fake it. Maybe to some degree, but if you don’t really care, truth always comes out. But what I have also learned about caring in today’s society many people don’t expect caring, and have hard time accepting it when you care without asking anything in back. I have noticed that when you want to do something for others just because you care, out of kindness of your heart, it can be very intimidating to some. “What’s in it for you”, “surely you want something back”. It can be very compelling to be just like anyone else, to show how much you know, show off, sell, brag, and do trades “I give you this, you give me that” to get where you want to go in a short run. And it’s same whether it’s business or personal relationship. But when you truly care, listen, do thing without asking anything back, give more than you get back, it always comes back multiplied. You will realize that not just things are starting to work out better, but you suddenly become a magnet of good things happening. Karma? Maybe. Or that people see that you really care and they care back.

I’ve been doing this blogging and social media thing for a long time and what is the biggest lesson I have learned and truly believe in, and that many people don’t understand: when a person whispers your name to one person often matters more than thousand people shouting your name. You can get a lot of irrelevant people to shout your name alongside with you when you are loud and show what you know, but when you show that you care and
you do good things even when nobody sees you are doing them – you will be the person people want to help and push forward when it really matters. Care, truly care, and you will start getting some real results in business and in life.

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms out there! Hoping your day is as special as you are.

I can’t really think of anything more special than being a mother, and at the same time, I can’t think of anything scarier than being a mother. The joy and the love is unmatched with anything else in life, but shadow of fear of something happening to your children is always there. I don’t think I ever truly understood how much my parents loved me until I had my own children, nor I understood why they were always worrying so much. Now I do.

Being a mom, a parent, is the toughest job in the world, and when you want the best for your child, you always have this sense of not being enough, not doing enough. And it’s like anything else in life; you can’t have it all. It’s tough to balance wanting to be a strong female role model, and trying to show your children everything in life is possible when being that person means that you sometimes have to skip going to see the school play, which should be most important thing in your calendar.

There are women who become mothers who give everything for their children and devote their lives for their children. I am not one of those women, but I don’t think it makes me a bad mother. I want my children to carve their paths, I don’t want to do it for them. I want to lead by example and show that I am making my dreams come true and they can make theirs come true too. I want to guide my children to find where they want to go, not push them to go where I think they should go. I want my children to be confident in their choices and actions.

My children sometimes get mad at me, because I don’t solve all of their problems but rather teach them problem solving skills. To teach to fish is more important than giving the fish, but often giving the fish would be easier. I don’t want to take the easy route, and I’m often also the “bad mom” for the sake of teaching the lesson. While as parents we often are the teachers, it’s still my children who have probably taught me as much about life as my parents ever did. My children have opened my eyes for new things, and motherhood has taught me more about myself than anything else in life.

I’m learning and loving my life as a mother every day.

I had an opportunity to interview Heidi Klum a few weeks ago and you can read my interview below.

Heidi Klum’s new TV show called Seriously Funny kids airs on Lifetime TV on Monday evenings, and it is life unscripted with kids and Heidi is tasked to get kids to “seriously funny”, and this mother of four says with kids, life is never not funny. Heidi has a great sense of humor, and she sounded like a mom who has rules for her kids (every day outdoor play, craft time and not too much TV for example) but who knows how to have fun with the kids and be a involved parent, even in Beverly Hills, where her children go to private school, and have craft time with a tutor-like craft instructor. You can read more about the show and watch full episodes at MyLifetime.com.

Interview with Heidi Klum

What Heidi said about working with kids…

There is a saying in Hollywood that you should never work with children or animals, and now you chose to work with children. Is it difficult?

Heidi Klum: I have to say it’s true. It is very very hard. I have to say that into going into this I thought it was going to much easier. Mainly because I have four kids of my own. I thougt I was ready, but they are my children, and they know me and they know the tones of my voices etc. and these children don’t know my “voice” and I can’t teach them manners, they are not my kids. And it takes me a while to figure out who they are and what’s their story. And I want to know them before the show so we know what’s going on.

I interview 12-13 children a day, sometimes I can talk with a kid for an hour an half and nothing funny happens. Sometimes when we pre-interview them and, you know, we do a little chat with them, they’re really fun and outgoing and they really can’t stop talking. And then all of a sudden, they’re on my set with the lights and they totally clam up and they don’t say anything. With kids you have to be open minded and you need to go with the flow.

So you never really know what you’re going to get, but it’s kind of the challenge because you go in there. They’re not actors, I’m not an actress, I’m not a comedian.; I’m a mom, and, yes, I have done a little bit of television, but I’m not a professional. So I chat with them as a grownup and I ask them questions that might interest children, but also grownups because really it is a show for grownups.

How does your show differ from the Kids Say the Darnest Things with Bill Cosby?

Heidi Klum: We have same producers, and Bill Cosby is an actor, and a professional host and a TV person. I came intot this via Project Runway, and this is not what I do for living. There is an audience, people are clapping, it’s something new and different, and I’m new to it. Also the children have changed so much in the past 10-15 years ago, and they speak differently today than back then. Kids are still innocent, but they do speak differently. They talk back more. Thinking back when I was a kid, I was a quiet as a mouse, I wouldn’t have talked abck like the kids do today. If I would have been on television I wouldn’t have talked back the way some kids talk back to me. Kids were so well behaved and proper, and it has defenately changed. They are good and well behaved kids now too.

More what Heidi said about children…

What else are you learning about how kids see the world these days?

Heidi Klum: Kids are honest. They’ll talk about their parents. They say they’re on their ‘machines’ as they call them. Like their blackberry or their phone or their computer. Being a parent, myself, it’s hard to kind of do it all. You are so expected now to have an e-mail and return it within the day, or within the next 20 minutes. Sometimes I get a call of ‘I e-mailed you 20 minutes ago, why haven’t you replied?’ and I’m like, maybe because I’m sitting down with my kids, or I was driving them to school in the morning. The kids, they’re like, ‘why are you always looking into that computer?’ or ‘why are you not talking to me?’ So I hear those complaints a lot.

You just talk to the kids, and they will answer you. Sometimes they’ll lie, but those lies are quite funny. Or they’ll lie about silly things. About how they saw the tooth fairy, or that when they were in a plane they saw angels in the clouds. But all in all, they’re innocent and not polluted with all the madness that are in the adult world.

Parenting advice from Heidi..

One piece of advice for parents? How to be a better parent?
Heidi Klum: Before you have children and family you have to know that your life is changing and your life is goung to change and that you are going to step back and you have to understand before going into. When you have children my advice is try to see it from the kids’ side. Soemtimes you have a busy day and you come home and you feel like saying “not now” but you have to undertand from their point of way and stop working and focus on your children. And just get used to the fact that sometimes as a parent you just get puked on.

What Heidi said about her own family…

Tell us about your own children and what kind of family time or traditions you have.

Heidi Klum: I try to understand where kids are coming from and I try to use humor and we have fun together as a family. I like to be the mom who says yeah, come to our house. They do fashion shows at our house all the time.

I love fun work books, we watch a lot of movies on plane, and we do arts and crafts. Kids go to out a lot and they have to go outside every day. I like that they are active and I don’t want them to sit on the computer and work. They just go to karate, sometimes the boys want to do ballet, we have an art teacher who brings us a lot of craft ideas and they always do wonderful projects. We make giagantic welcome signs when daddy or I go out of the town, and we try to make a memory of everything.

Heidi talks about the most embarrassing things in her childhood

Are things different for your children than what your childhood was like?

Heidi Klum: Yes, it’s very different. My daughter wears uniforms to school and we had a long discussion about the uniforms, I never wore an uniform to school when I was growing up. We didn’t have much money when I was growing up, and everyone else was wearing Lacoste, but we couldn’t afford it. One time my parents went on vacation to Thailand, and bought a bag of Lacoste crocodiles and my mom sewed them on my T-shirts and sweaters so I could feel like I fit in.

Did you ever do anything seriously funny or embarrassing as a child?

Heidi Klum: The funniest things was probably snail races, we had a lot of snails, and we did snail races. We didn’t have as much toys as our kids have today. We were always outside. While I never stuck anything up in my nose, I would pee in my pants a lot. That was always very embarrassing. I never loved going to the bathroom at school so I would hold it in all day – which is the worst thing to do. Then my Mom couldn’t get to the door in time and I would be ringing the door bell and pee in my pants.

What Heidi said about Seal and romance

How do you keep the romance up in your marriage?

Heidi Klum: Key number one – you have to marry someone who you really think is hot and sexy. I still look at Seal, and I think he is hot and sexy and I get the butterflies. You have to work to keep yourself hot and sexy too. Sure I workout and keep my body fit for my job, but also for my husband. You should keep yourself healthy, and I want to look good for my husband. For my work too, but I want to do it for my husband.

How do make time for your marriage?

Heidi Klum: You just have to make time for it. It’s same with spring cleaning or eating right – you have to just do it. We have four kids and love our kids, but we just have to do it – get time just for us. You have to talk about grown up things, you can’t always talk about children. I know everyone can’t have nanny but grandparents are so important – they teach children so much, but it’s great to go out with your husband and have grandparents to take care of the kids.

But is Heidi teaching her children to live life to the fullest?

You are a career woman and a super mom and truly live life to the fullest on every aspect, how are you teaching your children to live life to the fullest too?

Heidi Klum: No, I don’t because I don’t think my kids should worry about making money and jobs or anything like that. I want them to be kids.

So you think you need money to live life to the fullest and be happy?

Heidi Klum: Yes. I like to travel around the world, and that to me is living life to the fullest. I love going to India, and seeing new cultures, and I guess you could travel without much money too, but I couldn’t.

Guest post by Aparna Vashisht.

I gave birth to my third son 2 months ago. I had gestational diabetes with during my pregnancy so I couldn’t eat too many sweet things or even carbohydrates towards the end. Pasta, bread, fruits, etc. were off limits so cakes, sweets, brownies were totally out of the question.

Tonight, on January 30th, 2011, I am sitting on my couch eating a brownie and watching the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards. The brownie is divine and the chocolate is sending all sorts of divine signals to my brain. You have eaten a brownie, you get the picture.

I started watching the show at the point where they nominated Alec Baldwin for the best actor award in a comedy for 30 Rock. As he got up to get his award, I saw Tina Fey look smashing in her red dress.

Just in case you didn’t watch the awards, here is her picture:

Image: Celebrity Gossip

I felt a little bad for eating my brownie.

Then, I saw Angie Harmon in her gorgeous dress and super tiny waist, and I began to feel a little guilty about my delicious brownie. After all, I still have about 20 pounds to shed and the word sag may have an entirely different meaning for me.

I continued to eat my brownie and reminded myself that I am a mom, I work full time, some might say ALL the time, My kids are healthy and happy. I am so grateful that I was able to get pregnant. Even though it was a pain to watch what I was ate, my pregnancy was uneventful. Labor and delivery were easy and with epidural. My sugar levels returned to normal after I gave birth.

I think it is easy to fall into the trap of comparing yourself to the images of perfection we see around us. Be it in a magazine, (yes admit it, that In Style lady makes you suck in your belly for a second) or TV, women are constantly bombarded with “perfection” and what we “should” look like.

I say to hell with it. We are all beautiful and we come in all shapes and sizes. If you are mom, give yourself a pat on the back and eat that brownie.

Yes, the women in the magazine and on TV look fabulous but so do I and I have battle scars on my tummy to prove it.

Guest post by Aparna Vashisht. Aparna Vashisht is the Founder and CEO of Parentella.com. She loves chocolate brownies.

Looking back… year 2010 was amazing. And there were times I was truly living life to the fullest – and others.. not so much.

I traveled across the nation and to Europe to do speaking engagements, media tours and appearances. I witnessed an Olympic team to be announced, and met the team. I watched a movie sitting a few rows from Adrian Grenier and Paris Hilton, yet it was George Clooney at the Oscars’ red carpet who took me by surprise and left me wordless.
I sat in a ski lift in Park City Mountain Resort while my friend Linda told me about a cool place called Rockport – a few months later I spent two weeks in Rockport eating lobster and working with a beach view.
I visited Stockholm, Sweden, just a few weeks before the royal wedding, and flew to Las Vegas on business trips more times than in any other place. I skied my first black diamond, tried snowboarding, and colored my hair to blonde.
I was at both Fashion Weeks in New York, and interviewing celebrities quit being nerve wrecking (well, unless it’s George Clooney, then I remain silent and mysterious).
The entire year, I worked hard for Collective Bias, and got hundreds of bloggers paid for the hard work they do and for the services they can provide for marketers.
I tripled my blog traffic here at Skimbaco Lifestyle. I started a few new blogs, quit writing a few blogs.
I made more money than ever in my life, and it was weird especially after being totally broke only a year before.

I’M GOING TO OWN 2011

By the end of the year I really found my focus and what I want to be doing in 2011. I am going to OWN 2011.

The past year my family has been very patient with me, and letting me to borrow time from them to build my career. This year I am committed in making better business decisions that are better for my family. If I am so lucky that I will find my way to the beach at Rockport this summer, there is no way I will spend it all indoors working. I am committed in not just building my brand and career, but making a career of living my brand of living life to the fullest. Last year I thought more than a few times “is this really living life to the fullest” and my answer “no” forced me to make changes in my life. I felt that I was going away from my original “plan” and that I needed to get back on track. I want to spend more time with my family and enjoy every day life. I am going to OWN 2011 and do something I absolutely love each day, and do it with my family and for my family. I’m going to OWN living life to the fullest in 2011.

OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network

I was inspired to write this post by OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network which debuted on January 1st, 2011. OWN programming includes original series and specials, all focused on entertaining, informing and inspiring people to live their best lives. I’m looking forward watching the inside look of the making of the farewell season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and can’t wait for the “Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star” – series to premiere on Friday, January 7th 9/8c

Disclosure: This post is part of She Speaks campaign to promote the OWN, join the discussion and share how you will OWN 2011 at SheSpeaks.com/OWN.