My BlogHer Post, A Redux
I can’t confirm this, but I may be spending some time in a location with high temperatures that are lower than Austin’s low temperatures (did you follow that?). And I may have limited internet access.
I’m not saying any of that’s true, but if it were, I might run some golden oldies instead of new posts.
Here’s a post from a year ago, when I didn’t go to BlogHer. I re-read it and saw that I seemed pretty committed to going this year, but that didn’t happen. I think that says something about my commitments, but I prefer not to explore it.
In honor of all the BlogHer wrap-up posts floating around out there this week, I give you a recycled post. Fancy, right?
*****************
I’m all out of the funny. If you want to roll on the floor, go visit Kludgy Mom. Gigi’s post kills me and I enthusiastically second her thoughts.
Me? I’m watching the Hallmark Channel hoping for a good cry. Golden Girls just came on and the theme song incited weeping. Pathetic. Let’s all roll our eyes and hate me for a second. Okay. Done. Now, let’s talk BlogHer.
I’m not going, but I’ve been playing it real cool. In fact, until this week I haven’t even uttered the word, BlogHer.
Yes, I’ve been secretly checking out possibilities of scoring a ticket for sale. I’ve debated getting a flight to NYC and lurking around the conference, hoping for a scalper with a BlogHer ticket. Nothing says, Hey, she looks like a nice woman who probably has a really great blog! I want to meet her, for sure! more than skulking, uninvited, around the periphery of a NYC hotel.
The simple explanation for my non-attendance is that I’m new to blogging. Wonder, Friend is coming up on five months old. Holla! No? I thought I would try it out. I’ve always wanted to be able to shout, Holla!, and sound cool. I’m over that now.
Since I’m new to the game, BlogHer wasn’t even a blip on the radar until the tweets started flying around about a month ago. I mean, I’d heard of it. I’m not a shut-in or anything. But I thought it was only for real bloggers. Turns out, anyone can go. Anyone! Even me. Except, as has occasionally been the case in my life: I’m a day late and a dollar short.
(Lots of dollars short, actually. Are you aware that in addition to the plane ticket, the hotel, and the conference admission, there are a few other things I need in order to properly do BlogHer? This post by Mommypants, detailing the BlogHer necessities, is hysterical. Go read it. Funny, yes?)
So I missed it this year. No more playing it cool. I’m a small, tiny bit jealous of all the bloggers who will get to put faces with web sites. And then there’s the location. New York City, the hometown of my soul. The parties. The staying-in-a-hotel-without-the-kids. And, obviously, the chance to talk all things blog with people who are as weirdly attached to this forum as I am.
Aaagh. Yep. Jealous.
BlogHer, prepare yourself. This is one mama who is planning a blogging boondoggle next August.
read moreI Love to Read and I Hate Stomach Bugs
There is content in this post. To get to it, you have to make your way through this over-sized picture of the books on my bedside table.
{I know! The books on my bedside table! Things around here just get more fascinating every day, don’t they?}
Add this to the long list of things I don’t get: Why my only options for uploading this picture to my post were GIANT or teensy. (I went with GIANT – or was that already perfectly clear?).
And now I’m going to be really honest with you. I had a post in mind, it was about reading (see? there was a point to the enormo-picture), but it was so boring I fell asleep while writing it. Then my five year old revealed that his stomach hurt, and promptly started throwing up. After that, not even my post could induce sleep for any of us.
After a day spent disinfecting every surface of our home, washing mountains of bedding and clothes, rendering my hands raw from compulsive washing, I’m pretty sure of two things:
- God should have set things up so that vomit is never necessary, particularly for children. It’s such a cruel sickness, particularly for those in charge of the cleaning up.
- There is no salvaging my post about reading.
I did write another post about reading – about instilling a love of books in your children – and it’s over here today, at the Reading Kingdom blog. So, you know, you could go read that.
I do have a question for you, though. And you’re just going to have to use your imaginations and pretend you read a thoughtful post from me, all about teaching kids to read.
I realize that I send them to school for that sort of thing. It’s not my sole responsibility to teach them to read, thank goodness, or we’d be breaking the chain of literacy in the Stevens family. But – and correct me if I’m wrong here – one of my jobs as a parent (after cleaning up vomit and before it’s not polite to do that in public), is to help further their educations.
As we prepare for our oldest to start kindergarten, we want to set him up for, at the very least, moderate success (we’re not crazy helicopter parents or anything. yet.). I think we’ve done a great job of sharing our love for reading. Both of my boys love to listen to stories and often choose to “read” on their own. But I don’t know where to take it from here. Should we be doing more?
And that has me wondering…
:: What kinds of things do you do to encourage reading at home?
:: Do you know how to teach someone to read?
:: Is teaching them to love reading as important as teaching to read? For me, the two go together, but I’m guessing that’s not the case for everyone.
read moreGoodbye, TV
I feel a bit lightheaded and at odds with myself. My dear friend, the television, is taking a forced leave of absence.
Granted, this was all my idea and the TV is just going along with my wishes, but still. It hurts.
I don’t – I swear – watch that much TV. But I do watch, and it’s no secret that I love it. Every night, without fail, I sit down to watch a show. Or two. Usually I do other things while I watch, like read or work, but my attention is so divided that I neither accomplish anything nor actually catch the entire show. Talk about a colossal waste of time.
This week some things have been wearing on me:
- My to-do list is outrageous. Outrageous, I tell you.
- I feel tired. Way more tired than a reasonably fit 26 37-year-old should feel.
I wanted to pretend that I was blameless in this scenario. I prefer blamelessness. Don’t we all? The truth, however, is that I need to be a better steward of my time. For my family, for myself, for my work.
That’s where the TV comes in. Or turns off. You know what I mean.
I have a DVR after all. I am not required to watch television on a deadline. {Although if there is anyone out there who wants to give me a TV-related job, I could revoke this decision and begin watching immediately.} Assuming, however, that I do not get a TV-related job, I will keep the idiot box turned off and let the DVR do its thing. My plan is to have a little down-time to chill with my beloved television once every weekend. That’s reasonable, right?
So why am I telling you this? Because that’s what I do here. I tell you stuff. Whether you care or not. But also, I need you to know and help me stay honest. I’ll feel so guilty if I cheat now that you all know my plan. {Perhaps I should try this same method for the stopping-of-the-eating-of-cookies?}
Keep me honest, friends. Help me stick to my no-tv-go-to-bed-at-a-reasonable-hour plan, won’t you?
I wonder…
:: What’s your best time-management tip?
:: What are your tricks for getting to bed at a reasonable hour?
read moreIt Seems I Am Not Above Begging
Disclaimer: This picture has nothing to do with this post. But I like it, so I'm sharing. It's two of my favorite guys, in one of my favorite places: the Oregon coastline.
I was not planning to post today.*
But I need to. I need to grovel and plead and generally embarrass myself further. I can hear someone like Mr. Unmarketing say something along the lines of if you can’t move people to do something then you’re a lousy blogger and should just cash it in. Well, maybe I’m a lousy blogger.
But I am not cashing it in. First, it doesn’t appear I’d get much in the way of ROI right now. Second, I like blogging here. Period.
The point is, a couple weeks ago I wrote this post. I realize that the prize(s) are not a new Coach bag or a great pair of sunglasses or a cute photo book. But they are still good prizes. No? So I’m asking this: Take another look at the post and leave a comment?
You have two options for commenting, and both are easy. I promise.
- Just leave a comment. You can tell me what you ate for lunch, or what color panties you’re wearing. Tell me anything. Every comment is $1 for charity.
- You can open a GiveBack account (or tell me if you already have one), tell me YOUR favorite charity, and then you’ll be entered to win $50 for your charity.
That’s it. And I’ll just say Thank You now, because you’re all awesome.
***
As for the * up there. In the first sentence. See it? I’ve been operating on a blog only when you have something to say system, and it turns out I have about two things to say every week. Does that work for you guys? Are you annoyed there aren’t more posts here or are you glad your inbox/reader has one less post in it some days?
Just curious. I would love your thoughts on posting frequency and what you would like to see here. Because me? I’m here for you.
Honestly.
Writing here is often cathartic and nearly always fun, so sure, I get something from it. But over the last year, it’s you guys – the kind people who stop by to read – who keep me coming back. I know I always say I’ll keep writing even if nobody reads (and I will, so the joke’s on you, non-reading people); but I’d like you to get something out of the expereince, too.
I’m wondering…
- Do you want more posts or is the current (in)frequency okay?
- What are your favorite kinds of posts? {This one, for example, made me laugh, but I’m guessing it was either A) Too long (my wordiness is a known issue, but sometimes I can’t control myself) or B) I was the only one laughing and everyone else thought it stunk or C) I’m the only loser watching way too much USA programming.}
Again, I say thank you. I appreciate your feedback.
Have a great weekend. And once you’ve answered my posting-related questions, go comment on the GiveBack post, okay? Or you can go there first and then come back to this post. It’s really up to you.
read moreNewsy News
I have an announcement.
I am not pregnant.
Admit it, that was your first thought. But there are no babies cooking over here.
Some time ago I mentioned that I was going back to work. And then I never mentioned it again. So now, finally (the not knowing has been killing you, hasn’t it?), here’s the scoop:
I’m working again. For money. Because don’t get me wrong, I’ve been working all day, every day at a really fantastic job. It’s so fantastic, in fact, that I’m going to continue doing it (motherhood, in case you’re head-scratching), but I’m going to mix in a few paid gigs, too. Turns out, I missed working. I missed helping people craft pieces of writing. Now, after a nice stretch of all mom, all the time, I’m shaking things up a bit and couldn’t be more excited.
My new professional home is Missy Stevens Writes. It’s not a blog; all blogging will stay here.* Missy Stevens Writes is where you go if you need copy. Any copy. For anything.
Today I’m also very excited to announce my relationship with Eli Rose Social Media. I’ll be working with the talented founders, Liz Jostes and Kristin Zaslavsky – you may also know them as A Belle, a Bean and a Chicago Dog and Taming Insanity – on all manner of marketing and communications word-smithing. There happens to be a post about pitch letters on their site today. If you’ve ever wondered how to pitch a company, go take a look.
There you have it. The big news. Thanks for indulging me here today; we’ll be back to regularly scheduled wondering and whatnot tomorrow.
*Here, by the way, will soon be getting a face lift and going through some small changes. Look at that, something else for you to look forward to.
***
BEFORE YOU GO!
Again with the shouting? Sorry about that. Sincerely. I just don’t want you to miss this:
GiveBack Challenge Post and Contest
My wallet isn’t even winded yet. Come on, let’s make it hurt a little. Please. We can do better. When you’re done here, click that link and help make my wallet sweat, won’t you?
read moreThe Story of Us, A Girl and Her Blog
♫ Love and blogging, love and blogging.
Go together like thieves and flogging.
This, I tell you blogger mama,
You can’t have one with otha’. ♫
{Why I’m Not a Songwriter: Exhibit A.}
Blogging is a lot like love and marriage, though. I explain:
It’s Love at First Sight
When you first start a blog, it’s all you can think about. You post every day. Sometimes twice.
Quirks? What Quirks?
It’s kind of cute the when your blogging platform eats all your comments. The process of recovering all those comments is an opportunity to learn more about each other.
Familiarity Sets In
But it’s the good kind of familiarity. You’re comfortable, you speak each other’s language. You’ve memorized all the short codes and know just how to make magic happen with your blog.
Breaks Are Good For You
You’re still totally in love, but you realize the blog cannot meet every need. You want to hang out with old friends, make a few new ones, develop your own hobbies. Enter: Twitter. And Pinterest. And Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Google Connect, follow, like, link, oh my.
Is This a Break or a Break-Up?
You’re spread a bit thin. Keeping up with the blog and all of your social media activities, on top of work, family and whatever else you are juggling is hard. Deep down, you still love the blog. You do. But some days you can’t remember why you love it. You’re phoning in the posts, and it shows. When you post, that is. We’re talking major dry spell here.
So Many Quirks
For crying out loud, the comments disappeared again? This is total crap.
Reconnecting
You and the blog, you have a heart-to-heart. You flip through old posts and reminisce. Along the way, that loving feeling resurfaces. You start posting again, and focusing on all the best parts of your blog.
The Long Haul
The honeymoon is over, but the best is yet to come. You and the blog, you’ve been through some tough times and it made you stronger. Now you know what matters. Forget the rest. Now you know how to balance your time (mostly) and devote just the right amount of attention to the blog. You learned how to nurture without smothering: the key to all successful relationships.
I wonder…
:: What has the trajectory of your blogging relationship been?
:: What’s the longest you’ve gone without posting? (And no, that’s not a euphemism. I’m really talking about blogging.)
:: If you took a break, what instigated your rekindling?
***
BEFORE YOU GO!
Sorry about the shouting. Just didn’t want you to miss this. Don’t forget about my
GiveBack challenge post and contest.
Are you really going to let me get away with donating only $10? Please. We can do better. When you’re done here, click that link and help make my wallet a little lighter, won’t you?
read moreI’ll be here on April 29, 2012
Want a Button?
Wonder-ful Communities
Will Write for Money
Get Connected