New Gig and Exciting News
I wrote a post recently about Mommy Bloggers. I never published it. The basic idea of it was that I don’t know what kind of blogger I am. I’m a Mom and I blog, so do people consider me a Mommy Blogger? Or, do they consider me something else entirely? The post was about me not being really sure where I fit into the whole blogging categorizing stereotyping thing. (I had the same dilemma in high school when I was a cheerleader/field hockey player/saxophonist in the jazz band/student council member/writer for school paper/ping pong club member/prom committee. Yes, I said ping pong club. That’s a whole other post.)
If I’m a "Karate Blogger". . . GREAT! Happy to be a member of the club. If I’m a "Mommy Blogger". . . Cool! A lot of my favorite reads are Mommy Bloggers and I’d joyfully accept my membership in that club as well. I take it personally when I hear about Mommy Blogger bashing. After all, it is a free country, and individuals have a choice of what to read and what not to. Why don’t the bashers just decide NOT to read the Mommy Bloggers instead of making a big deal out of such a silly issue? It seems like a waste of time to me.
While lots of "Mommy bloggers" are getting gigs out there writing about parenting and kids, etc., I’m getting different kinds of offers entirely. I already told you about my hometown newspaper blog. They asked me to write about karate, and I only post my karate posts there because I don’t want people knowing too much of my business around town. I also like a certain degree of anonymity, especially when my children are involved. (Of course, we’ve all learned this week that anonymity can be blown out the door without warning.)
Then came an email from an unlikely source. . . Last week I was asked to write some exclusive posts for a website called "Save the Soldiers". Their website is in existence entirely to support the troops wherever they are, whatever they may be doing. They were looking to expand their "Off Topic" area and asked me to write for them.
It occurred to me that I must not be a "Mommy Blogger" if "Save the Soldiers" is asking me to write for them.
I thought it was a very worthy cause. I already know of a couple soldiers who like my site, so I thought why not? If you’d like to read my latest post over there, you can view it here. I’ll be posting an exclusive there once a week.
When you come back from there, give my renter a hello, and help her pick a baby name already! Her time here will end this weekend and you don’t want to miss how she goes through the names and hashes each one out.
And speaking of babies. . . I told you a few weeks ago about little Julia. You can visit her site under my "If I’m not here, I’m there" roll call. After enduring a few weeks now of chemotherapy and nasty side effects, losing her hair, and being in the hospital more than at home. . . they did a scan of her brain to check on whether or not the chemo is doing its job on her brain tumor.
I am overjoyed to report that her tumor is at least half the size it was previously. It’s amazing how you can care so much about someone you’ve never even met. I cried tears of joy this morning and just had to share the news. If you’ve said a prayer for her, thank you and KEEP IT UP!
Also, Deryck’s daughter, Percy recently had open heart surgery. He has a great site and a heart-warming story, not to mention the adorable pictures.
Also, the latest birth story is up. I truly never realized how many women still had natural childbirth. I thought I was alone in that (I know I was the lone screamer at the hospital both nights that I gave birth). I am actively looking for submissions, so if you are interested please see the guidelines over on the site, and shoot me an email when you have your submission ready!
“Because they still haven’t found what they’re looking for. . . “
It was right around the 4th of July when I published the first edition of the searches that have landed readers on my site. It’s now the 4th of August and let me tell you, there have been some good ones. I picked the best of the last month. Before digging into the list, you may want to scroll down and hit play. I’ve kindly provided theme music.
- kicked leg tae kwon do ice or heat– The answer is. . . .IBUPROFEN and then ICE, ICE, ICE. When I hurt my back a few years ago, my chiropractor recommended ice for the first week. When I had a visit from the Rice Crispie boys a few weeks ago, it was all about the ice as well.
- what happens when knee pops-Several moments after the kicked leg search, this search landed on my site. I can help the person who did this search. The answer to what happens is simple and can be summed up in one word. . . PAIN. See the first search for advice on how to deal with the pain.
- learn karate free online videos-Yeah, good luck with that. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You can NOT learn karate online. If you already have a basic understanding of it, you can look to the internet for videos that can supplement your learning. However, nothing replaces the importance of training in a dojo, with real live people. I highly doubt you’ll ever be fighting air.
- is puke biodegradable-Yes, it is. Wish I would have thought of that at the beach.
- my boyfriend does not want to propose-I constantly get searches from queries like this. Nothing you read on the internet is going to make your boyfriend propose. If you want to get married and he doesn’t and he’s not indicating that he has any plans to spend the future with you, get out now before you waste any more of your time.
- why men can’t look woman in the eye– There are three possible reasons. 1. He’s looking at your chest. 2. He’s lying. 3. He’s too shy to. If the answer is 1 or 2, feel free to kick him in the shin.
- i am pregnant and I think i have food poisoning-Oh My! I feel so sorry for you. Pregnancy can be puke inducing all on its own, but add food poisoning and you’ve got a nightmare in the making. Seek medical help immediately. Please. Trust me. And if you don’t believe this little snippet of advice, read this.
- black mama AND beach ball sized belly– How did this search land on my site, and why in the hell is someone looking for these criteria? Oh yeah, I forgot. . . because beach-ball sized bellies are sooooo hot. It’s all the rage right now. You only need take a stroll around the mall to see a beach-ball like belly sticking out the top of some seriously too low jeans, on someone who should probably still be playing with Barbie dolls or Little People. Sad and wrong, just like that search.
- little black biting fly 3 body segments swimming pool-Run for cover! No really, those bites are horrendous. Make it an indoor movie day.
- my registration expired and my sticker is fake- O.k. that’s not good. My sticker wasn’t fake and I still had to pay an arm and a leg.
- pictures of elderly doing martial arts– The fact that this search landed on my site is enough to make me want to curl up in the fetal position and sleep for a long long time. . .
While I’m sleeping off my sadness, go see my renter who is about to experience the first time in a long time that she’s been without parental responsibilities.
Perfect Post-July
When I asked to be one of the presenters, I had no idea how hard it would be to choose a "perfect post." I can be a picky person. But when I found this post, at "Welcome to My Closet, Here’s a Black Dress", I knew I had found it. She writes about change and more specifically her fear of change. She writes so well. Here’s just one example: "I watched my body change as he grew inside of me and now I watch the shape of my days change as he grows outside of me." This post was just so honest, and provided so much food for thought that I couldn’t not give it a Perfect Post award.
Go check it out. If you’d like to read other Perfect Post’s for the month of July you can visit Suburban Turmoil or Petroville. (You can also just click on the perfect post award button.)
In other news, there’s a new birth story posted, so please check it out. I am looking for new submissions as well, so spread the word and get writing.
Also, if you haven’t already done so, please go visit my renter. Click on the thumbnail in the side bar and you’ll be taken to visit Ramblings of a Not-So Typical Stay at Home Mom. She won’t be there for much longer and you don’t want to miss her!
Exciting News!!!
There are a lot of exciting announcements in the blogging world right now. There’s a pregnancy or two, engagements, etc. But I am here to tell you something so exciting, so Earth-shatteringly good, that it just may blow your mind. My announcement is not something as common as a pregnancy or an engagement. It isn’t an announcement about one of my girls; it’s not a new job, new house, or a new wardrobe (although that would be very exciting.) No, my news is so fantastic that it has the ability to lift my mood and instantly make me feel giddy with happiness. Are you ready for it? Do you think you can handle it? Are you sitting down?
He’s NOT moving! I repeat, NOT MOVING!
Did you hear that? He has changed his mind and will not be leaving the area. I am so ecstatic that each one of the hairs on my head is currently doing a little jig. O.k. maybe that’s just the humidity, but I am so thrilled that I don’t think anything could ruin this moment. . .
Not even the fact that Zayra is still on Rockstar. Seriously guys, why? Did the producers make you keep her in hopes of having another encounter with the spaceship that brought her?
It’s messed up.
And while we’re on the subject of messed up. . .
Jump! Jump!
Tommy Lee will make you
Jump! Jump!
Supernova will make you
Jump! Jump!
uh huh, uh huh
Or more like "Huh? Who is picking your wardrobe? Tuesday night Tommy Lee shows up looking like he’s going to a drag queen show.
Wednesday night, he’s suddenly joining Kris Kross???
Later he traded in his sideways hat for horns.
I know he wants to start a new band and all, but the Kris Kross meets gas station attendant get-up is taking it a bit far. If Zayra doesn’t have a singing career ahead of her, maybe she can be his new stylist. Now that would make things interesting.
Speaking of interesting, the latest birth story is up. You can read it here. "J" wrote this story up recently and her daughter is 10 years old now. I think I’ll be lucky if I even remember what my name is when my daughter is 10. Keep the submissions coming! I know several readers are working on their stories to submit, and many of you have been kind enough to plug the site. I think it’s catching on, so thank you!
Now me and my hair are going to go party in celebration of my stylist staying put!
And please go visit my renter if you haven’t already. Her thumbnail isn’t working but her site is too cute to miss.
Not going to BlogHer so BlogMe
I’m not going. When everyone was just starting to talk about the BlogHer conference, I was just starting my blog. I was all like "What? There’s an actual conference for bloggers?" As much as I would have liked to pack a bag and head to San Jose, I felt silly. I’m a newbie. I’d probably be the one standing in the corner by myself feeling all wall-flowerish. Blogging, especially Mommy blogging can be a little clique-ish sometimes. I hate cliques. No really, hate cliques. (I also can’t stand when people comment on your site all the time, and then you blogroll them and then they completely disappear from the face of the Earth never to return to your site ever, ever again, but I digress).
So, there’s this BlogHer online mixer for people who are going to the conference (or not). Since I’m one of the "not’s" I thought I’d at least participate in this. Are there people I’d like to interview? Sure. But, I don’t know whether or not they would participate, so I’m just interviewing myself. You’re supposed to pick five questions from this list. I don’t get all the link here, link there stuff, but I’ll just give it my best shot. Here goes:
1. Who do you read every day, rain or shine?
See that blogroll over there? Yeah, them. Because I know that my karate bloggers don’t always post every day, I make sure to check in with them at least every other day. I don’t always comment, mostly because my little one is usually climbing all over my keyboard which makes it a bit difficult. I always make sure to check in with Amalah. Her son is only a week older than my daughter so I like to see what he’s up to. Same reason with Maniacal Days. Her daughter is close in age to Lil C as well. Izzymom is always good for a laugh or two or some interesting insight. J at Thinking About is constantly posting something interesting. In fact, I wonder how she does it. (Oh yeah, her daughter is a lot older than my kids.)
2. Are you and your blogging persona the same person?
Absolutely. What you read is what you get. People who know me in real life know that they never have to guess what I’m thinking about. Never. Friends often tell me that they like me because I "shoot straight from the hip"; and I think I do that on this blog as well. The only difference? I probably swear more in real life. For some reason, I just can’t seem to type very many profanities. (Did I mention my Mom reads this blog and thinks that "sucks" is a swear word?) If we had a swear jar in this house, I’d probably be broke. I’m trying though. . . sort of.
3. What don’t you write about? Anything considered a no-no in your book?
I don’t complain about my husband on this blog. I might jokingly complain about him here like when he almost broke my leg; but the real stuff doesn’t see the black and white. That’s not fair to him, and that’s my decision without his input. Also, our arguments are usually over relatively quickly and I don’t need or want a written record of it. I also don’t complain about family or friends because I don’t have anything to complain about with them they read my blog.
4. What is your favorite thing that you wrote? What got a strong reaction from readers? Links please?
My favorite thing that I wrote is the post "Why men don’t have house parties". I got so many emails from people who just cracked up. The words were just really flowing the night I wrote that, and it just really hit home for a lot of readers. I got a strong reaction when I entered the political realm and wrote about the Duke Rape Case. But, I also had fun making fun of my heckler.
5. Have you ever anonymously posted on a site to flame them?
No. If I disagree, or don’t have anything nice to say I usually just leave. Once or twice, I disagreed or called someone out on something that was a bunch of political garbage and gladly attached my signature and http address. Why wouldn’t I? I’m not afraid to let people know what I think. Doing so anonymously would be hypocritical since I hate when people try to do that here.
If you want to play, see the link above and go for it. While everyone is singing karaoke and having a blast at BlogHer, I’ll still be here. . .
Have a drink and sing some Pebbles for me.
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