Yes, too big fonts are a pet peeve of mine on blogs- also I reckon you should do away with the background too- it doesn't look particularly nice esp the edges of the window frame.

But other than that, some good stuff. Keep it up! :D

Yes, too big fonts are a pet peeve of mine on blogs- also I reckon you should do away with the background too- it doesn't look particularly nice esp the edges of the window frame.

But other than that, some good stuff. Keep it up! :D

A big thanks!
 

Thanks for all the comments. I appreciate the honest feedback.

1..I was feeling the same way about the music but I think I need to hear someone tell me. I like it personally, but I know it's not the best for the blog!

Music is gone! :(

2. Font.....I will make future posts smaller. I don't think I'll go back and edit previous post though

3. My mission statement "Creating family adventures one mile at a time". I can hear what you saying about One Mile at a Time -Lucky's blog but on the other hand I don't think he owes the phrase. I don't think he minds at all if anyone uses it. His blog is awesome. His content is great and I read him daily!

4. I do add content from my favorite bloggers. I try to always give credit to them when I do and point people to their blog also. I see many blogs posting the same content or deal because it is hot! Sometimes with limited time as a busy Momma blogger I will just simply be passing along the best deal to my readers that I've gathered from my fellow bloggers. I don't see anything wrong with that. I see it done everywhere. On the other hand, I will only be writting about deals that a leisure traveler (like myself ) can actually do and not deals that apply to business travelers, like hotel stays, mileage runs, car rental deals or anything you need to travel to earn.

5. Mommy Points. I love her blog! I read it daily. My site will be different from hers though in that I will not write about deals that involve traveling to earn miles/points. She does travel quite a bit. I am a 100% stay-at-home Momma. All the deals I look for can mostly be completed from my home or here in my own city. I have earned almost 700,000+ miles this year from these kind of deals. I am not aware of another miles & points blogger that write deals to this group of miles/points addicts. I am always sifting through the blogs and deals looking for things I can do. So my blog would be most helpful to those leisure travelers like myself.

Again, thanks a million! Keep the comments coming! I would love to hear them all.

Moving thread
 

How can I move it?? Or can you move it for me???

They already moved your post for you.

As a stay-at-home mother, I would like to hear more about your adventures traveling with kids. I enjoy reading Mommy Points, but as a mother of rambunctious 5 and 7 year old boys, my travel challenges are different from her challenges with a toddler.

I was excited about the FedEx Facebook $25 gift card giveaway you wrote about. Unfortunately, technical difficulties delayed the giveaway, and when it went live an hour and 15 minutes late, the 300,000 cards disappeared before I could get one. So I unliked FedEx!

Good luck with your blog!

There are so many travel blogs out there (often with overlapping info) that when I find a new one, I always want to know, what make this one different? Is it worth my time? Who is it aimed at, what does it focus on?

What you just wrote here answers that question better than the About Me page on your blog site does. I'd try to incorporate some of what you wrote here into that page, to let new readers quickly be able to understand what to expect.

Good luck.

(And thanks for zapping the sound).

Hey Birdeye,

I actually have 2 kids, my oldest is 7 and my youngest is 2.5 going on 10. He thinks he can do everything brother can and more. He is way advanced compared to how my older one was. I guess it's just because of being the 2nd one. We have had many adventures domestic & international recently. Some of these adventures were:
Germany (3 weeks traveling the country)- Oct. 2010
Shaver Lake (weekend getaway) -Feb 2011
Grand Canyon (week trip)- May 2011
Legoland (3 day trip)- June 2011

I will try and write a few pieces on these adventures for you on the blog soon. If you like, you can ask me any questions. My boys are very busy too! They have both learned to be excellent travelers since birth. Both were on a plane in the first months of life. I think you just train them young.

I love Mommy Points blog too. I read her daily. But my blog is different in that I will not post any deals that require you to be an actual "traveler". She travels quite a bit for work and can do those deals.
You are actually my "perfect" target reader!!!

The Amex/Fed promo was a frenzy. I was there right @ 1:00 p.m. PST and I did manage to grab one. I just kept reloading and reloading for about 15 minutes and then it came live. It was crazy how upset people were getting. They were late in posting the link and then there was so much traffic I think it was causing problems loading on the FB site. Once I registered I tried to go back and the link wouldn't load again. So sorry you missed it. Next time just stay online and keep reloading! Usually is just a traffic jam issue. In this case they were late and then it was a traffic jam.

If you'd like you can come over to my blog and register for my first Miles Momma promo for a free $50 United Gift Certificate. This is my first promo but I'm planning to do something fun for my readers in December too.

Thanks for reading!!

Faith
slotownmomma::)

Thanks for your feedback. I greatly appreciate it. I will make some changes to my "About Me" section. Good point!

I do definitely have a targeted reader and it's the leisure traveler and not the business guys/gals. There are lots of travel blogs by them and for them. I am always sifting through to find the deals appropriate for me the stay-at-home mom.

To answer your questions here:

Targeted readers: leisure travelers, stay-at-home moms/dads, average working people

Focus: Earning miles & points through promos (credit cards, financial accounts, free miles/points giveaways, shopping,etc.) that can be done mostly from your home or local area. No travel required. I will not post deals that require travel so you won't have to sift through my posts to find what you need. There are plenty of other blogs for that.

I probably won't blog a great deal about traveling itself (although I did just get a request from another stay-at-home mom to share some of m adventures with my children. I mentioned a few trips above but I might do a few pieces to throw in here and there. Especially since I'm excited as I'm planning for our next 3-4 week trip around Great Britain and I'm saving miles/points like mad. In general though, I like to keep the blog focused on earning miles/points as I feel there are alot of blogs about traveling and traveling with children. Mine is very different because I won't be focusing on that aspect of travel although I know alot on that subject. When I find the deals, I will be passing it along to my readers. I'm quite the miles/points addict so I naturally love writing about this subject.

Thanks for your questions and I hope I answered them all. Thanks again for your feedback. ;)

That is the type of travel I would like to do, a big family European trip on points every couple years. I've been collecting points since 2002, but put travel on hold after kid #2 for awhile. This year we went to Italy without kids in May, and took the kids to Legoland California over Labor Day. I'd like to hear how you handle the hotel issue in Europe. Luckily, the UK seems to have a lot more hotel rooms for 4 than most of Europe. Our favorite part was staying in a castle hotel in England before kids. The double decker bus tours were fun too.

I like the premise of your blog, I'd just like to find a little more originality and personality, instead of lots of links to the Points Guy and Mommy Points who I already read daily. Thank you for the invite, but I'll pass on the giveaway.

Thanks for the feedback
 

Thanks for the feedback. Points well taken. I will work to make my sight unique and fun to read. Most importantly to bring the best deals to other stay-at-home mom's like us and leisure travelers.

I'll try to write a few pieces coming up about some recent trips. As far as the hotel issue there really hasn't ever been one. I always find what they call "family rooms". Seems like they are big into this. They take a room with two double beds and bring in small single beds usually on wheels and put them into the room to make which gives you 3 or 4 beds whichever you prefer.

Italy without kids!! Must have been dreaming. I have been twice once with my family and once with my friend for 2 weeks and left the boys at home.
I am thinking of having us stay in the Dromoland Castle in Ireland with Marriott points but I'm not sure if I want to save up all those points. It requires 100,000 points per night. Seems like Marriott points are harder to come by than other programs. You can also stay at the Ashford Castle in Ireland with Marriott points. If you are planning to go to Ireland sometime, check out these two castles. They look incredible. I am planning to visit for sure but not sure whether I'll stay overnight. Would be a fun experience for the fam though. Will see!

Thanks for your tips! I'm taking it all in and making changes!

Thanks FTers
 

Thanks everyone who has commented so far. I having been making lots of changes this afternoon. Great tips! Keep them coming!! Thanks a million!

Where did you find family rooms in Germany? Was it on points? Did they charge extra? Right now I have Hilton, SPG, and Priority Club points. Hiltons with two double beds are few and far between in Europe (Budapest, Prague, Vienna, London, I've been to the last 3), and ones like Paris Arch de Triomphe have started charging a lot more points per night for family rooms. I haven't found any SPG family rooms in Europe yet. Priority Club has more hotels in Europe with two doubles, but don't seem to make them available for points. Marriott looks promising in some places, especially the UK, but in places like France charges big upgrade fees for family rooms.

I've been reading a book called "Take Your Kids to Europe," and it highly recommends St Briavels Youth Hostel, which is located in a castle on the Welsh border, and has family rooms available. Can't stay there on points, but it would save more points for other places. We stayed in Amberly Castle, which was beautiful but very expensive (and not affiliated with any loyalty programs!)