Everyone needs an occasional day off, or two --- bloggers too.

I'm going to take a couple days to recharge, rethink and renew, both myself and MakesMeWannaHoller.com. In the meantime, please feel free to visit the Archives here and sift through the 800+ articles I've written since February 2008. I'll still be on Twitter and talking shop on Facebook, so it's kind of like a vacation with limited access to email.

Be well and merry in these last days of 2011.

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If you spend most of your time on your mobile device these days you may have noticed that this blog is optimized for your screen, simple, streamlined and a simple scroll down experience. What you may not have noticed is that now you can leave comments using your phone via Disqus - the same comment system in place on the blog.

Simply scroll all the way down to the bottom of whatever post you are reading and you will see the comment box or you will see it loading. I can't wait to hear from you.
 
- E.Payne

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I've been bad. I've been neglecting the blog. Last week, I told you all I would post a few things this week. But I only managed to post about my newest book on fatherhood.

It's been a tough week...

Besides my own personal war to stay positive and faithful and strong for my family in the face of our currently financial crisis. I released the book and was fortunate to be interviewed on an internet radio show. but, my daughter took ill in the midst of all this to the point of wheezing and being short of breath. As an allergy sufferer who has experienced bronchitis and allergy induced asthma attacks, I take not being able to breathe personally. I take a child not being able to breathe as being some sinister curse from the powers of evil. My child not being able to breathe...let's just say I wasn't the most pleasant person to be around while we got her all fixed up. Plus, the fiasco that was her initial doctor's visit was...well a fiasco. The story will have to be put in queue behind my Father's Day Fiasco.

Now my little one is all fixed up and a day later her brother high tailed it out of the ATL for our native New York to spend the rest of the summer with his grandpa. But he isn't going to party (only), he's got a job there. So there was a whole lot of last minute running around for working papers, physicals and the like bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifecause why on Earth would a teen be concerned enough about themselves to make sure their ducks are all lined up? But he's a teen and I understand this.

Not to mention my car is in the shop and I'm almost scared to find out what's wrong with it.

In an effort to provide myself with some therapy I went to see Transformers: Dark Side of The Moon...AWESOME! I also treated myself and the family to some well deserved Chinese food. Then propped myself up at a Mashable Meetup event and did my best to network when all I wanted to do is sleep --- something I haven't been doing.

Point is, this was a week that required me to shift gears repeatedly to get the job done. And the one thing that will always suffer when I've got real stuff to do is...this blog.

But in looking at this blog, the content is current and relevant but it is need of some dire maintenance. Thank God it's the 4th of July weekend and hopefully all of you will be outside enjoying your families, or at least some good food and drink. Hopefully next Tuesday or Wednesday when you all return to your desktops and laptops you'll notice some very subtle, but very necessary changes here and on the social networking sites that have evolved from here.

Have a wonderful, safe and Happy Fourth!

E.Payne is the author of DAD: As Easy As A, B, C! and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.

Things are getting pretty busy around here: summer stuff with the kids, a sudden spike in this blog's attention, my own continual and exhausting search for a viable, and meaningful revenue stream in this economy, the NBA Finals and the HEAT (not Miami)! Where I live it's been over 90 degrees for 10+ straight. I'm drinking 72 ounces of water per day to fight off the exhaustion and delirium that comes from being in the heat (it should go without saying that my trips to the restroom have increased also, but the benefits of drinking water are worth it).

I just wanted to remind you all of the different ways you can connect to this site and it's related products and services via the wonders of the Internet and social media. This also includes those of you who visit/browse, but don't comment.

This is my RSS Feed, the quickest, cleanest way to stay tuned in to MakesMeWannaHoller.com

If you feel you need to catch up on what's written here please visit my Archive where you'll find 690+ post written by yours truly.

Follow me on Facebook where you can dig into discussions, read news, and get updates on contests and information that I don't mention here.

Read, Tweet and ReTweet or whatever you like with me over at Twitter.

I've got videos for days (a couple anyway) over at my YouTube Page.

I like to take pictures. Out of the thousands I've taken so far I have a hundred or so up on Flickr.

And if you Kindle, for just a few cents a day you can read this blog on your device.

To learn a little more about me and the books I've published to date, click on my Amazon.com Author Page.

To learn more about the little book I'm publishing for and about Dads click DAD: As Easy As A, B, C!

Next week I'll be releasing my gift guide for DAD, maybe a contest of two, and am looking forward to featuring some everyday dads here on the blog. Finally, if you happen to be someone who still listens to the radio I'm scheduled to be a guest on the Michael Baisden Show on Tuesday afternoon.

Enjoy the weekend. Stay hydrated...


E.Payne is the author of the soon to be released DAD: As Easy As A, B, C! and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.

Have you ever wondered if it was just you that wanted to ask the very obvious (if not dangerous) questions?

Have you ever wondered if you're the only one who thinks the things you witness around the house or in your world are just bonkers (or at least a little cooky)?

Have you ever yearned for a bit of tried and true advice that you might not be able to get from friends or even your spouse?

Then please join the the Makes Me Wanna Holler.com Discussion page where you have the opportunity to dialog in a closed forum with your fellow readers on meaningful topics related to marriage, parenthood and the kiddies.

These are the current hot topics up on the page that are awaiting your opinions:

1. To Shop Or Not To Shop With The Wife?


2. How To Balance Family, Work & Life and Remain Happily Married?


3. What Is Your Most Rewarding Experience With Your Child?


4. Romance, Romance & More Romance


5. Love, Sex & When To Do "It"?


6. Getting Therapy With The One You Love


7. The Stuff That Makes You You!


8. Functional Homes vs. Dysfunctional Homes


9. Unconditional Love (Is There Such a Thing?)


10. That Touchy Subject of Weight & The One You Love

We're (everyone who has already added their two cents) waiting for you to join in. There's only one condition: You have to be a member of the Makes Me Wanna Holler.com Facebook Experience in order to access the discussion threads, as this is where it is located. Please sign up if you haven't already. I want to hear what you have to say.

As always, thanks for reading.


E.Payne is the author of DAD: As Easy As A, B, C! and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.

Recently, I posted a status on Facebook about my Facebook Page and it got a lot of attention.

Those of you who are with me over at Facebook know that my Fan numbers crossed 1,000 at the beginning of the year. What you might not know is that the number stalled right there at 1,000. In the last 2 weeks I've added close to 200.

How? By following some very simple commandments that were taught to me by Lamar Tyler:



And here's a little something I just made up to help you in your quest to become a Facebook Page "ACE."

• Ads (within your budget) are Necessary (depending on your goals).
  
• Content is King.
• Engagement is an Absolute Requirement.

E.Payne is the author of Investing In An Emotional Letdown and I Didn't Invented Sex. For the past 3 years he has posted 600+ articles about fatherhood, marriage and everything in between here at Makes Me Wanna Holler.com. To learn more, click here.

Nothing insightful today.

It's 2011 and the world is a smart-phone world. After agonizing for most of 2010 in vain seeking out a low-cost and aesthetic method of optimizing this site for mobile devices, I've finally hit paydirt. You might be thinking, well, that's easy all you have to do is... Stop right there. I'm a Blogger user so all those fancy-schmancy plug-ins available in WordPress World don't work for me and my kind.

Blogger released a Beta-version mobile template on Dec. 17 of last year. Beta, I presume because the template is beyond simple. You currently can't comment (sorry Disqus Nation) and the template is widget-free. And my beautiful Wibiya bar is gone. But for all you readers on the go this might not matter.

So there you have it. Makes Me Wanna Holler.com is now optimized for your smart phone. If you are an iPhone or Android user (the phones I tested) simply type in the web address: http://www.makesmewannaholler.com and the site will automatically refresh for your device. If not and your device still displays the web version of the blog simply type /?m=1 at the end of my web address. It should look like this:

scroll down to the bottom of the page and click MOBILE SITE.

(Blogger users beware: You first have to change your blog(s) settings via the link above to make your site recognizable by mobile devices.)

Now there should be no reason for you to say, "I couldn't open it on my phone." But just in case you still can't please let me know. Hopefully I will be able to roll out more options as they become available.

Happy Weekending!


Have You Subscribed Yet? * Are You On Facebook? * Do You Tweet?

I'm late with this because I was too busy getting 2011 off on the right foot in the real world...

TOP POSTS OF 2010

I Didn't Invented Sex
A post featuring a conversation my wife and I had with my son when he attempted to talk slick about girls not respecting themselves.

Investing In An Emotional Letdown
A true eye-opener. A random conversation with a random stranger at a random Tweet-Up wound up becoming one of the most read posts of the year.

My Little Black Book
Sometimes you just have to strike out on your own. After being told a book project I was working on was deemed "Black" I ask the question, "So what?"

What A Single Woman Wants: Part 1
The first in my What A Single Woman Wants series. A surprisingly refreshing and honest discussion on the current state of the female heart.

The Huddle Of The Wife & Kids
One of the most painful days of the year for me. I had to bid farewell to a one of my closest friends before he began his prison sentence for a white collar crime.

What A Single Woman Wants: Part 5
The fifth in the What A Single Woman Wants series. An essay who's author is fully exploring the single life and has the courage and honesty to admit she doesn't currently know what she wants.

A Anniversary: New Beginnings & New Life
My Happy Anniversary Post dedicated to my wife on our 3rd year of marriage.

Wives In Your Own Words
A sampling of female readers of this blog who state in their own words what they believe their roles are as wives.


HONORABLE MENTIONS

How To Face & Overcome Fear (as a man)
What fear is for men and dads and how to overcome it.

Bye Bye, Backfat! Hello, Boxing Gloves! - The Series
Who can forget the multimedia series that chronicled my return to health via boxing.

Super-Not
The truth.

2010 - The Year of the Villain
Even more truth.

Thanks for staying with me this far and I look forward to spending 2011 with you as well!

Have You Subscribed Yet? * Are You On Facebook? * Do You Tweet?

What better way to celebrate the 1st day of the new month than to talk about the month that just ended? The following were the top 5 posts of November:

1. WIVES: In Your Own Words


2. Love Is...Interrupted Sleep


3. Threesomes (Revisited)


4. The (Emergency) Shirt Off My Back


5. To Be Loved Or To Be Lusted?

Have a favorite post from MMWH not listed above? Please, let me know in the comments.

Have You Subscribed Yet? * Are You On Facebook? * Do You Tweet?

The Most Tweeted & Liked At MMWH.com:

What A Single Woman Wants: Part 6


Announcing my Friday Recap of My Favorite Commercials of the Week (all seen while watching the NBA on TNT):

Featuring the Real World and Real World Issues:



Featuring the Not-So Real World & Sheer Ridiculousness (shout out to my Chicago Bulls):



Featuring the Impossible-If-Not-Ludicrous-Futuristic-Sci-Fi-Satisfying-My-Serious-Inner-Geek (Warning: Mild Violence):




Happy Halloween! If you celebrate it feel free to click here to download Marvel Superhero masks for you and the family!


Have You Subscribed Yet? * Are You On Facebook? * Do You Tweet?

It's Friday. Thank God It's Friday... If you weren't around this week, and even if you were, the following took the top spots on the blog this week:


The Most Viewed And the Most "Liked" On Facebook:

What A Single Woman Wants: Part 5


The Most Tweeted:

Fall Beers That Make You Wanna Holler!


The Most Commented On (for the 2nd week in a row):

Investing In An Emotional Letdown


And before you go head over to Black & Married With Kids where I'm giving my opinion on Understanding The Tough Guy.

Enjoy the weekend! Be safe! We'll catch up next week!


Have You Subscribed Yet? * Are You On Facebook? * Do You Tweet? * Did You Complete The Survey?

As I delve deeper into the rabbit hole that is social media, I am always on the lookout for ways to make your experience here the best it can possibly be.

I need you to lend a hand in this effort by filling out a new survey of mine. Please click here to fill it out. It should take all of 30 - 45 seconds to complete.

Thanks!

Have You Subscribed Yet? * Are You On Facebook? * Do You Tweet?

Somehow I neglected doing this for August, but below is the best of the best of what was read and commented on in September based on your visits and pageviews:

1. Married Life
2. My Little Black Book
3. What A Single Woman Wants: Part 1
4. How To Face & Overcome Fear (as a Man)
5. What A Single Woman Wants: Part 2
6. Fear, The Fatherhood Killer
7. Family

Thanks for reading!


Have You Subscribed Yet? * Are You On Facebook? * Do You Tweet?

I don't really get into back office stuff too much here on the blog because I'm too busy gushing about my life. But if content is the blood of my blog, the social media is the heart that pumps it, giving it an audience a.k.a. you!

Social media has allowed me to connect with each of you in one way or another and also provided the opportunity for you to have an interactive experience with one another most notably via discussion threads here via Disqus and on the requisite Facebook page. But there are several other ways to connect and hang out here.

Connect about what? You first time readers might be asking... Parenting, marriage, kids, manhood, health and fitness/self-improvement, inspiration/spirituality, love. Each of these things I believe speaks to the totality of a man and should speak to the women who love or want to love men.

If you don't know, below are all the ways you can connect under the Makes Me Wanna Holler - Man, Dad, Husband brand:

Facebook Page - share, connect, discuss, comment.

NetworkedBlogs - the place where people who love and share blogs connect on Facebook.

Twitter - Twit, Tweet, crack jokes, post twit pics, trade quotes, hashtag, PLN

YouTube - watch the videos I've been brave/silly enough to produce and share.

Google Friend Connect - Google's Blog/Site Social Media Network. Here you can meet people who have the same interest's in you.

Flickr - Do you shoot [pics]? Even if you don't you can view my photos and leave comments here.

And then there's the good old, tried and trusted RSS feed that delivers my content right to your feed reader or inbox depending on your preference.

And I'm always looking to add more if and when it makes sense to do so...

At the end of the day here at Makes Me Wanna Holler it's all about building community and understanding around all or most things Man, Dad, Husband, family, love, life and relationships. Take your pic from the above list. I do hope you choose at least one and I do hope to see you around.

Photo Credit: Fred Cavazza

There's a new book on Fatherhood coming to a store or e-reader near you! Add your name to list of people who want to see it happen. Please "Like" Bottom Line Fatherhood and count yourself as one who supports positive outlooks on the Dad Life.

Makes Me Wanna Holler - Man, Dad, Husband will be up and running and fully functional. I on the other hand will be down for scheduled maintenance. No television premieres for me. No John Legend & The Roots for me. No anything social, just heavy lifting, a lot of driving and a nice big dose of uncertainty. At most maybe I'll manage a Facebook post or two or maybe a Wordless Photo here. But that's about it. Check back for next week's continuation of the recently launched What A Single Woman Wants Series.

See you on the other side. A day or two at most.

There's a new book on Fatherhood coming to a store or e-reader near you! Add your name to list of people who want to see it happen. Please "Like" Bottom Line Fatherhood and count yourself as one who supports positive outlooks on the Dad Life.

The Top 5 Posts/Categories for the Month of August were:

1. Married Life


2. The Huddle of The Wife & Kids


3. My Little Black Book


4. Purged


5. From Home To House

Have a Safe & Happy Labor Day Weekend and in your spare time, keep reading!

E.

There's a new book on Fatherhood coming to a store or e-reader near you! Add your name to list of people who want to see it happen. Please "Like" Bottom Line Fatherhood and count yourself as one who supports positive outlooks on the Dad Life.

I had a very busy week this week. Once my move From Home To House was complete, I fully anticipated powering through the rest of my week as normal.

Instead, I crashed. HARD. I guess my body was telling me to put a sock in it.

Below are some recent and not so recent relevant reads written by your host, E.Payne, here on this blog and elsewhere around the Net. If you don't have anything else better to do, then check them out below!

Friends of Your Marriage

Dad As Easy As A, B, C

Marriages & Grudges Don't Mix

Walking In Darkness

The Huddle of the Wife And Kids

Want to enrich your Makes Me Wanna Holler experience with discussions, current events and interacting with people just like you? Then please "Like" the Makes Me Wanna Holler Facebook Page and join the movement. You won't be disappointed.

For those of you who are new to the blog and for those of you who simply don't feel like scrolling though all these pages I've posted I present, The Top 5 Posts of July 2010 (see the right hand column also):

1. Best Laid Plans Between Strangers
2. Married Life
3. To Spank Or Not To Spank?
4. Your Value As A Man
5. What Is Love?

And when you're done here, head on over to the Makes Me Wanna Holler Facebook Page Forum where we've got a pretty good discussion going about couples seeking counseling as Relationship 911 Rescue.


Want to enrich your Makes Me Wanna Holler experience with discussions, current events and interacting with people just like you? Then please "Like" the Makes Me Wanna Holler Facebook Page and join the movement. You won't be disappointed.

It has been some kind of week!

• I left hot as bacon grease Chicago this past Saturday only to land in hot as a fish fry NYC. Then it rained like we were in South America for almost 2 days this week only for it to get fried egg hot again as if we were in the middle of a drought. But oh, how the summer brings out the beauty. You can figure that last one out for yourselves.


• The LeBron-a-thon has come and gone and other than sports buffs who troll message boards to unload or fight against racist rants, no one really seems to care anymore. THANK GOD!


• Other than moving my fingers to type this post I am sitting perfectly still, air conditioner on full blast, doused with baby powder (corn starch) trying to stay cool. I had a great workout this morning, but considering the weather and my being improperly hydrated before going...I'm not feeling too good right now.


• It looks like BP may have finally gotten that cap doohickey right. We'll know by Monday, or not if they keep the results from the media.


• Life is beautiful and I hope that no matter what woe or drama you might be facing you think so too. If we all carried around a little bit more positivity then maybe we'd all be a little nicer to one another.


• Don't forget to enter the Despicable Me Contest/Giveaway up on the site. There's some really cool/cute stuff for the kiddies and you yourself get to have fun with the contest rather than tweeting and facebooking and backlinking.


• If you haven't already (and even if you have) please nominate Makes Me Wanna Holler - Man, Dad, Husband for Best Personal Blog and Best Writing in a Blog over at the 2010 Black Weblog Awards Nominations Page.


• Going forward, please check the Makes Me Wanna Holler Facebook Page on Wednesdays for a new Discussion topic. So far we've got two up on the board and their going well. If you are logged on to Facebook right now all you have to do is click the "CONVERSATIONS" link at the top of this page to go there.


• Oh, one more thing: before you Thank God it's Friday and curse your job for being your job remember there are a lot of people out there who can't find work, can't put food on the table and are running out of options and running into desperation. If you have a family, even if you have friends, be thankful that that job you wish you didn't have is providing the means for you to enjoy your life after the hours of 9-5 or whenever you work.


• Enjoy the weekend. Drink plenty of water and fluids. Stay cool. And dry.

Peace,

E.Payne




Want to enrich your Makes Me Wanna Holler experience with discussions, current events and interacting with people just like you? Then please "Like" the Makes Me Wanna Holler Facebook Page and join the movement. You won't be disappointed.

After some encouragement from some of my fans on the Makes Me Wanna Holler Facebook Page I've decided to launch a discussion thread over there to get you, my loyal readers engaged with me and one another on topics du jour that interest you. I'm excited about what we can discover together. And hopefully things won't get out of hand.

So how does one get in on conversation?

1. Log onto your Facebook account.
   
2. You have to be a member of the Facebook Page.
3. "Like" the page (if you currently are not a member).
4. Click the Discussion tab at the top of the page.
5. Add your two cents and boom, let the conversation roll!

I'm excited. I hope you are too!

PS - I'm not giving away our first discussion topic here so you'll have to go over there to see what's cooking!


Want to get more day to day, hour to hour musings from E.Payne? Then please "Like" the Makes Me Wanna Holler Facebook Page and join the movement. You won't be disappointed.