Why Write for 30 Days: Making the case for NaBloPoMo

Writing for 30 days through National Blog Posting Month forces me to accept that what you don't use, you lose.

I haven't written here for awhile, my energy sapped, going the way of too much anxiety and stomach dropping concern, for the state of our country.

I'm hoping to start breathing again come November 8 but I know that I've got to make steps to return to what I love. I can't let uncertainty and fear keep me frozen out of everything else.

NaBloPoMo has come in my emergency. I'm using these 30 days of blog posting to warm up the engines and learn how to get behind the wheel of my life again.

Why post here for 30 days? Why say yes to National Blog Posting Month when all I've been able to do is what is only required for daily living: work, slight house upkeep, a shower every few days, a walk and talking with the people I live with.

I've got to tell you, something has hurt me over this election. Pain that is physically close to home. I'm hearing words from people I know and I'm seeing people I thought I knew, act in ways that wound. There are signs on their lawns, houses away from mine, showing the man who is their choice for our President. It's left me speechless. Wordless. Blogless. A gut punch will take your breath away like that.

But after not posting for a month, I believed that NaBloPoMo would blow its warm wind back into my life, letting me shed the frozen fear from these intense last weeks. Two days into November, and I'm right. I've put two posts up, one for each day of November thus far. I am accountable to this space. I have committed to 30 days of writing through NaBloPoMo and just as in the past, NaBloPoMo was flint striking together again. Only this year, it seems much more.

And that's why I'm back, that's my case for returning again to National Blog Posting Month. I've got people's blogs to visit, those who are committing to write daily for the next 30 days, knowing the good that always magically appears after four weeks of writing. We are creating community by this act.

I'm not worrying that I may not have something to write tomorrow, or the 28 days after that. Because National Blog Posting Month will get me through November, through the writing of others and through the writing that I'm going to do here. I already feel the spark of ideas of what could be.

NaBloPoMo says we are here, and that we believe that reaching the end of 30 days of writing will help us find our way back home: back to the reason we first posted on our blogs. Because we came looking, and what we found then, we can find again.

No matter how lost this world might make us feel right now.


Here's to National Blog Posting Month. Thank you for being here, and for lighting the way with the lantern of your words.

Need a little help to get your writing going? Click here for BlogHer and their list of November 2016 NaBloPoMo Writing Prompts

* * *

NaBloPoMo Yourself Back To Life

It's November 1, the start of National Blog Posting Month: where you post every day in November.

If you find it harder than it's ever been to write because of the weight of this election, as I do, then let's fight it together.

Get back on the horse and let NaBloPoMo be the resuscitation you need. Just a few puffs of the right kind of inspirational air back into your writing lungs and soon, you'll be breathing creativity again.

I'm going to believe it, and I hope you can believe it along with me.

Here's to coming back to life, no matter what November 8 brings us.

Still coming up dry? Here's some stops for blogging prompts:

BlogHer Writing Community (pick up a NaBloPoMo badge here)

30 Days, 30 Posts via Wordpress

The Daily Post with daily inspiration

How to Write Every Day in November Without Losing Your Mind via Mom2.0

Promise me I'll see you, on your blog, tomorrow.
#TeamNaBloPoMo

 

* * *

BlogHer16 and The Voices of The Year

Today the #BlogHer16 Voices of the Year honorees were announced. It’s BlogHer's ninth year producing the Voices of the Year, also known as VOTY, and the VOTY readings and award presentations are the annual event that are the crown of the BlogHer conference.

This year the #BlogHer16 Community Keynote will be brought to you by Merck for Mothers and held on Friday, August 5, at 4 p.m, Los Angeles.

I am honored, and thrilled, to have been selected by the BlogHer and SheKnows Media judges as a 2016 Voices of The Year Honoree in the Merck for Mothers' Category, MOMents.

Thank you, and thank you to BlogHer for the care and the opportunity of chance, of being able to submit our writing to be considered.

Thank you so much, and I'll see you in Los Angeles!

* * *

What to Pack for BlogHer: Your Etiquette

Zipper repaired on suitcase? Check.

Comfortable yet still somewhat fashionable walking shoes? Check.

Phone charger? [the good one, not the free one you got that gets hot enough to catch fire] Check.

Your manners? Ummmmm... where do I go to find my Social Conferencing Etiquette Checklist?

If you're headed out to a conference, like I am, then Lucky You and Lucky Day! Because the answers to your Conference Etiquette quandaries are right over HERE, where I'm featured today on BlogHer with my unofficial learned-by-my-own-error-of-my-ways etiquette checklist : How To Say The Right Thing at a Social Media Conference. At any conference, really.

If you're like me, you've let things slip out of your mouth because you just didn't know. It's a hard lesson to learn, but you make your mistakes, you forgive yourself, and you're grateful for the grace of others who let you try again.

See what I've let slip through without the filter of awareness, along with tips on Saying The Right Thing. And if you find yourself saying the awkward, realize we all learn through living.

Hope to see you August 4-6, at BlogHer's annual conference. BlogHer is the world's largest social media conference for women, and this year we're in Los Angeles! Come to network, be inspired, and be among other bloggers who find the world of blogging one of the most supportive communities in the world!

* * * 

Try a Blog Hop for Writer's Block

When you've been blogging for awhile, it's easy to fall into a phase of "I have no idea what to write about anymore." I know, I know, there's always Trump but what if you are tired of what seems like the same topics again and again.

If you find yourself stumped for an idea and feeling like you've drifted away from a blogging community, try a blog hop.

A blog hop is a great idea to feel the energy and the fun of blogging again.

You can read some great ideas to help you get started with a post I am proud to have up on BlogHer today, "Got Writer's Block? Try a Blog Hop." And while you're there, check out their clean, sleek new look!

I hope you'll click on over and find out about giving blog hopping a try, it really is a good time.

* * *

Blogging Without a Breakdown

To know me, is to know I love my blog. I love blogging and all the good it has brought into my life: my friends, my writing sites, my connections, my communities. I feel at home on the internet and the friendships I've made because of blogging are the reason I will never be offline.

But our bodies know that we are not machines - we can't keep going with one hand on the keyboard and the other slamming water and Scooby-do snacks into our mouth. We need to breathe, be, stop, and live the life we have offline.

How do we do it all? Can we maintain our blog presence without losing our minds?

I write of just this, today on BlogHer: When Your Blog Becomes Too Much.

I hope you'll click over and join the conversation on blogging with balance: can it happen? Let me know what has helped you to stay sane with the time devouring internet, I'd love to hear your ideas.

 

* * *

2015: What the People Liked

It's always fun, and a guaranteed delight, to see what posts do well on a blog. Sometimes you feel when you hit the nail on the head, but when you really get to that sweet spot where others say, "Yes, this," that thrills me to no end.

It's also good for a snort and a giggle to see the searches that bring the people out of the woodwork, (let me tell you, the woods is full of them.)

I've pulled together a month by month compote of most viewed posts here on my blog in 2015, and capped it all off with a pecan brittle topping of google searches that brought all the  kooks people to the kitchen.

So much fun in a blogger's house.

Here you go, the most popular posts in 2015:

JANUARY:              Oomancy: Food for the New Year

FEBRUARY:            Happy Five Years, Good Day Regular People

MARCH:                The Unraveling of Mercy Louis

APRIL:                   13 Epiphanies About a Third Child

MAY:                     The Music That Made Me

JUNE:                    The Years Don't Lessen: On Father's Day Without My Father

JULY:                   35 Ways My Mother Loves To Torture Me Over Summer Vacation

AUGUST:            What You End Up Saying Instead of I Love You

SEPTEMBER:      Asking the Wrong Questions About Suicide

OCTOBER:        Go Ahead, You Can Miss Them

NOVEMBER:     Why Old Moms Tell New Moms, "Enjoy Them While You Can"

DECEMBER:     Wedding Vows From the 21-Year Other Side

 

As promised, the bag-full-o'nuts google searches:

--Can Latina Women Wear Ponchos
--Are Spanish People all short
--Jelly Bean Recipes for Easter
--What's Out of Style If You're Old
--I'm Sad I Have Boys
--Good frozen pizzas
--What do Spanish People Look Like
--Old Skin
--Is it Hard To Blog
--I'm Trying to Write
--Grunting Elderly


Happy 2016, everyone! THANK YOU for your friendship and your visits here in 2015. It means so much to me that you gift me with your time.

Here's to love, peace, and laughter, in 2015, and wishing you all the best in the year to come!

**P.S. Dear "Sad You Have Boys":  I wish you would read this and email me. Maybe I can help you see the way you'll fall in love with your children when you see them, as just children.

xo

* * *

Keep That Blog Alive

Dizzy December. I mean, is it the 15th already and only nine days left before Christmas Eve? How in the heck will I get this house cleaned, my shopping finished started and keep my blog chugging?

BlogHer asks that same question, and in my strong belief that together we can face anything, I pitched BlogHer some "Blogging during December" ideas.

They gave them a thumbs up, and I hope you do too.

I'm thrilled to be featured on the BlogHer site today with "9 ways To Use Christmas To Fill Your Blog."

"This month can feel overwhelming, but when you share the every day moments of the season, your posts won't have to feel like you're squeezing them in... [click here to read more ways to use Christmas to fill your blog]"

Happy holidays!

The Struggle to Believe: Not Losing Confidence in Your Writing

You're as good as anyone else!

That's usually the opening to blog posts about how to keep on writing, how not to lose the magic that helps you turn out another page. But read those words often enough ... and they start sounding hollow.

I do believe in the power of what you tell yourself, but affirmation can only go so far. What will carry you through to the other side, is the decision to become a fighter. You can't go down and you can't stop coming back up for yourself.

The first thing you fight is the thought of giving up. Especially if you've sent in your writing to more places than you can remember, submitted over and over until the pages of your notebook that track dates and responses, or no response, fills up. You send your writing in to magazines, short story features, podcasts, publishers, websites, agents, newspapers, journals, contests--whether people ask for them or not.

Every morning you wake up, and start again. You brush your teeth, heat up the coffee and sit and write. And you remind yourself that you're smart, that you have to work hard and learn more. That you have to read and practice to get good at what you do. Writing is no different from anything else--you repeat, you study, you learn, you apply.

It'll be slow going, but that's how you get better at anything.

You have to fight to keep on writing.
You have to fight to keep on learning.
You have to fight to keep on loving your words and the way they sound.
You have to fight to find the time for education, for the time to write, and for the need to do this because you believe that you can. 

You have to fight for what you believe about your writing. That means listening to what comes back from your submissions and from the feedback of editors BUT to keep that critique in balance with what you believe. Think on it all, but use it as a way to improve, not as a reason to stop.

I am not an author. But the only way I know of being one, is this: to never stop fighting for the day that I know I will be.

It's what I believe. 

* * *

I Don't Feel Different--Are You Sure I'm Doing This NaBloPoMo Thing Right?

30 days of posting on your blog every day for the month of November. It's National Blog Posting Month. We're promised radiant glowing skin and brighter eyes, a more engaging wit and faster comebacks by participating in NaBloPoMo. But ... what if it's been a week and you don't feel anything yet? Here's a quick NaBloPoMo Q and A to put your busy blogging mind at ease:

1. What am I supposed to learn from 30 days of blogging?

Why, you will cover the following areas-
a. How to find something to write about when you run out of ideas about something to write about.
b. Mind over matter, in my case, get that mind cracking because the matter of your tired a** wanting to go to bed will not be happening anytime soon unless you post something on your blog tooooo-day.
c. Astronomy. As in star gazing, which is what I keep doing out this window that looks out into the night sky. If I keep my eyes searching upward maybe I'll be struck by the shooting star of inspiration.

2. What do I need to do to think of something?

What you're doing right now, reading thinking wondering pondering, let your brain take itself for a walk around the cerebral block. You'll run into something.

3.  How should I be organizing my writing space, I mean it is just my kitchen table but seems to me that someone who writes every day for 30 days is the definition of writer, so--back to the question, how should I be organized to write?

Sit every day with a notebook, a pencil sharpened to a satisfying fresh point, and set it all down on a firm surface. Which means you can't use your thighs. But, scratch away with the contentment that comes from hearing that wonderful graphite tip flying across paper. This is how the muse visits.

 4. What if I'm absent for one of the NaBloPoMo Days?

Nice try. You can't call in sick to your blog. Write. Type out I AM SICK and then put up a photo of yourself in your bathrobe along with a description of symptoms along with what makes you feel better and the movies you'll be watching and what do you know, you've got yourself a blog post, you nablopomer.

5. How will I be graded for my posts?

Oh, that's easy. For $25 I do that for you.

6. How do I enter a room now that I'm a writer?

Like this:

NaBloPoMo: What's It All About?

I'm featured on BlogHer today with an original post on why I join in on November's National Blog Posting Month.

We all have our reasons for posting every day for 30 days. Recommitment to writing is one for me. But one of my favorite surprises about NaBloPoMo is what awaits at the end of the month-long endeavor:

Writing that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for having to sit and produce every day for 30 days.

There's a lot of gems that you discover when you have to dig deep.

Please click over to BlogHer and see if you don't catch the excitement of participating in National Blog Posting Month. I'm positive you'll find inspiration for energies sparked along with your writing fire lit once more.

 

* * *  

When Even Your Kids Know What NaBloPoMo Means

I can't get my family's Sunday morning cinnamon rolls started just yet.

Today's morning paper will have to sit on the counter until this is posted.

I know we need juice and applesauce from the store, but our Target run will have to wait.

Everyone who lives with me knows it's November 1 and that's the same thing as saying NaBloPoMo.

NaBloPoMo for everyone! I know it sounds like a tasty hummus treat and it kind of is at that. NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month, where bloggers post on their blogs every day for the month of November.

You can join in informally, by just blogging away on your blog OR you can join in on the fun of nablopomo'ing (because of course it's a verb) with a blogging community of support--through BlogHer's NaBloPoMo blogroll. You'll definitely meet new people, you'll be entered to win a BlogHer conference pass, and you'll never have to scratch your head or panic with a loss for writing prompts because BlogHer will be publishing daily writing prompts! (omg one more thing your blog post might be picked as a blogher feature)

So whether it's a kick start you need to getting creative juices flowing or seeking out new people to meet, you'll find both while breathing life back into a possibly neglected writing space.

Start today and join up. BlogHer November writing prompts are here. I'm all in: writing every day reminds me of how lucky I am and how much I love having my own place to publish my words.

*To add your name to join up with BlogHer for this year's NaBloPoMo click here.*

Just look at that, my first NaBloPoMo post for 2015. All right, kids, here I come, but before you get your cinnamon rolls, say nablopomo for me.

Now do it with a different syllable accent each time: naBLOpomo NAblopomo nabloPOmo nablopoMO. [my gosh but I love November]

* * * 

BlogHer Strong

In four weeks, I'll be Conference Strong.

I'll be idea-open, inspiration-ready, community-bound, and with my people.

If I were the commune living type, I could only be hoeing and raking the carrot patch alongside BlogHer people.

On July 15th, I will be attending my 5^th BlogHer conference. For someone who has never been the one to attend conferences, it's an event I can't get used to. The thrill has never worn off and the excitement about going still makes my stomach quake, but not in a too uncomfortable Immodium way.

I will be with the faces behind the words I love. There will be new friends to meet who will feel like I've known them for years. We will all be together speaking the same language, that of loving the internet connection and the world it has opened up for us.

Though everyone attending won't be just like me, we will all be drawn to BlogHer '15 because we are looking for affirmation, cohesiveness, and inspiration.

Our hearts will race at the joy of being with our friends. We'll talk with people in a way that texting, emailing, tweeting, and FB updates can't come close to. We'll look into the eyes of those who have grown into friends and have the opportunity to tell them what they mean to us.

I'll arrive July 15^th for my 5^th BlogHer conference in a row. I'll come seeking

motivation

encouragement

inspiration

ideas

 

support

 

I'll leave feeling focused, energized, rejuvenated, determined. And less alone.

And when I'm back on that plane flying home, it will be with the best takeaway of all.

 

The feeling of pride when I say, I am a blogger.

 

The BlogHer Carrot Patch Keeping Commune. Stretchy dress required. 

 * * *

 

BlogHer '15 takes place in NYC this July 16-18 #BlogHer15 is the world's largest conference for women content creators. The most people + the most brands = the most opportunity. It's that simple.

You'll connect with people you may already know, meet new people, see an incredible lineup of keynotes, and leave with new skills and inspiration. To find out more, click here.

 

 

Blogging Like It's 2009 - 5 Random Things About Me

Old School Mean Pretend Teacher

Picture if you will, a time when blogging was a small circle comprised of people who found blog fodder through blog hops, memes, themes, and tagging. It was a time when blogging awards were given out like stickers at a Dr.'s office after you behaved for your exam.

The time, 2009. The blogosphere then, a commenting wonderland. Today, that period in blogging history is known as "Old School." A lot of us miss old school. Mr. Linky misses old school.

My corner of the blogosphere is raising Old School Days up from the dead with a meme, and I am deliriously answering Yes Yes Yes like the brunette in the Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo commercial. Vikki Reich of UpPoppedaFox, thank you so much for tagging me old school style, with "5 Random Things About Me."



1. When I was little, I would pretend-have school with my dolls. I would line them up in front of me, all of them leaning against the baseboard, and lord over them. Contrary to my online image, I was not a kind nor patient teacher. "YOU!," I'd scream, "in the red pigtails with the freckles! Sit up straight, I don't care if you're filled with sawdust!"

2. In Catholic kindergarten, I thought the songs we sang in church were "My Country Tisothee" and "Gladly the Cross-eyed Bear." Obviously, the name of America before it was America was Tisothee, and Gladly, well, he was cross-eyed and Jesus was going to fix that right up as long as we kept petitioning on his behalf.

3. I was a sneaky, willful five year old. Slyly slipping downstairs to watch unsupervised and scared out of my gourd, my one and only love Rod Serling on the Twilight Zone. Heart palpitations and sweaty palms, absolutely, but I have been addicted to the narrative arc ever since.

4. I have trypophobia. If you don't know what it is, DON'T LOOK IT UP. In fact, forget I said this.

5. One of the significant events in my life that has contributed to me now being a quiet adult, are memories like the time on the 3rd grade playground when I assumed everyone was lactose intolerant as I was. Thus causing me to pose the following rhetorical question in a casual, relaxed tone to the fellow 3rd graders around me, "Don't you guys just HATE how ice cream and milk make you poop in your pants?" The response of stunned silence let me know I had scored another point for Miss Popularity.

I now joyously tag the following 5 bloggers for 5 Random Things About Me:

Jocelyn of O Mighty Crisis
Leslie of Hungry Little Animal
Jenny Kanevsky of  In Other Words
Casey of Life with Roozle, and
Deborah of Peaches and Coconuts

*Hey, you too can turn back the hands of time. Don't wait to be tagged for 5 Random Things. You go and do it yourself, go ahead. Be a free will loving blogging hippie from 2009.

* * *

Anyone Can Blog: BlogHer14 10x10

If you've been curious, wondering about why I started blogging, and why blogging is one of the most important things I've ever done in my life, then you'll like this. It's the Q & A you never knew you wanted.

Thank you, to the wonderful people that have come into my life because of Good Day Regular People. There is no way that I can give words to how you have helped to make my life happier. All I can say, is I appreciate your words, your time, and your friendship, so much.

* * *

Story Warriors

What a sight -- our awe inspiring cast

Milwaukee celebrated its 2nd annual Listen To Your Mother Show on Sunday, April 27. We shared a stage with ten unique community voices, brought together through the spirit of motherhood. Not all of our stories were of sunshiny days and blissful times, but all of our stories were a capture of human spirit.

It takes strength and a belief that your words matter, to stand on stage. Something that many of our readers have never done before. Some of our cast readers have never even written before and LTYM is the first time they've put their thoughts to paper... determined to speak them before an audience and to be heard.

Throughout my life, I have been quiet. I didn't start out this self conscious. When I was  little, I laughed raucously when it felt good and loud and freeing to do so. I said the things that came to my mind when they came to my mind and I remember asking the questions that I wanted answered. But then I started school and children poked fun at my accent, my name, the way my hair curled and the kind of lunches my Abuela would pack for me. I learned that if I was quiet, I'd escape notice. And so I did, I was as invisible as I could make myself. But with every year that passed, I felt stories -- my words -- welling up inside and I was running out of room from holding them in. I began writing them down, first on the inside blank back of coloring books, and later on the half empty notebooks left over at school year's end.

The urge to be heard and share what is my life has never left me... it's why I have read for Listen To Your Mother Shows, and why I now help produce and direct LTYM shows in Milwaukee. I want to be part of the movement that gives our life stories a safe place to be spoken and be received.

Listen To Your Mother Milwaukee alone has thus far in two years time, helped 24 women share their story, with a podium, under lights, and out into the world via microphone. And there are 32 cities across America, right now, giving motherhood a voice in celebration of Mother's Day.

It has been a privilege to be part of this empowering process that gives motherhood a microphone. I have worked with and gotten to know some of the finest people I would have never known otherwise.

Through hearing live LTYM shows and watching the videos of other cities and their shows, I see how each of our voices is valuable. The best asset a community can have is support, and a community needs all of its voices. Voices to help us with life's pressures and doubts just by being there to say, "You're not alone." Even on any bad days, if we know we have been heard and that someone has listened, then we become a part of something larger than only ourselves.

Strength and character, that's what  a Listen To Your Mother Story Warrior is. How I love each and every one of you LTYM readers across America. And I thank the creator and national director, Ann Imig, for what she has brought into the lives of over 500 LTYM readers and 80 LTYM producers/directors.

I am so proud of you, Listen To Your Mother Milwaukee cast of 2014:

Elizabeth Braatz

Christi Craig

Linda Dindzans

Colleen Hayes

Rebekah Leger

Nancy Ellen Martin

Mel Miskimen

Sini Mulloy

Lane Pierce

Mandy Reilly

I also want to say that you are stronger than you ever imagined, and your day of sharing your story, makes you part of the LTYM family forever.

**special thanks and appreciation to Milwaukee LTYM co-producer Jennifer Gaskell.
-------------------------------

If you'd like to learn more about LTYM, please click here.

"Listen To Your Mother is a series of live staged readings in 32 cities nationwide in celebration of Mother’s Day. The mission of each LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER production is to take the audience on a well-crafted journey that celebrates and validates mothering through giving voice to motherhood–in all of its complexity, diversity, and humor–in the form of original readings performed live on-stage by their authors."

* * *

Finding Your Place in the Blogosphere

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Tammy Soong of Blogging Betties for their newly launched podcast series. (Congratulations!) I was asked the question, How did you find out where you belong, what your space is, in the internet world where there are thousands of blogs?

I breathed an audible sigh because I wasn't thinking how obnoxious and rude that sounds when taped live, as if they're making me endure the biggest torture of my life, and then I went full-scale into what I feel explains how we fall into that which we're drawn to.

I hope you'll give the podcast a listen. And maybe, there might be a pearl or two of wisdom that will help you feel your way home in this vast world of internet real estate. (After all, miracles happen and it is Holy Week)

Thanks so much, and have a wonderful spring break!

Click here to listen: Podcast Episode #006: Alexandra Rosas Finds Her Place in the Blogosphere

**ABOUT Blogging Betties:  Blogging Betties Podcasts, where veteran bloggers/gal pals Poppy, Tammy, and Vanita share all the tips, tricks, and tools you’ll need to navigate the blogosphere. Each week we bring in top bloggers to tell their stories, spill their best secrets, and share their past screw-ups. Get ready to make your mark — the Blogging Betties are here to help. Follow them on Facebook , twitter, or the Blogging Betties website.

**thank you to Poppy, Tammy, and Vanita: I had so much fun talking with you!

* * *

This Was a Fun Time

I had a lot of fun today talking with Val Curtis, founder of the online magazine Bon Bon Break.

We talked about what came up, bit of this, bit of that, some parenting experiences, and generally, showcasing my corniness.

The dork at the keyboard shall forever remain the dork at the keyboard.

Thanks for the company and the indulging, Val, I had a great time.

If you'd like to peek in on the 18 minutes we spent together, here's the video:



Enjoy, have fun, all on my account. It's no problem. Thank you so much, Val, I had a great time!

**Check out Bon Bon Break: the online magazine featuring bite size inspiration straight from the source.

________________________________________________________

The Top Ten List of What a Grief Pass Will Buy You, With Love, To Mr Lady

Joining in today, with Denise Tanton's campaign, "A List Because I Can," where in we wave our list blog post fannies in Mr Lady's pretty much perfect face, with list posts of our own, because of what Mr Lady writes here -- that numbered list blog posts are SEO traffic driving witchery.

Also, because it's guaranteed fun to mess with Mr Lady.

So, here with sincere love, to you Mr Lady:

My Top Ten List of What A Grief Pass Will Buy You 

1)  Bakery has no calories during this time. Bavarian cream donuts and deep fried crullers, all made out of spun air.
2)  Fully loaded Whole Milk Lattes with whip: also see above.
3)  No make-up on in public, because obviously: grieving.
4)  No need to change clothes, if people feel pushed to ask if you're all right when they see you, answer, "My mother died." They won't ask again.
5)  Forgetfulness and tardiness, all forgiven and understood.
6)  If not, who cares.
7)  No need to clean house, fold laundry, vacuum carpet. Free Pass for 30 days. You give it to yourself.
8)  Take-out meals six nights a week, with home cooked meal on seventh day, and only because you are the one craving the comfort of feeding those you love.
9)  Falling asleep on sofa in today's clothes, family knows it's the spot where sleep comes easiest.
10) Sleeping in the same pattern as when you first brought your babies home, up, down, sleep, wake, all depending on the moments between cries.

**Seriously, thanks for the fun, diversion, invitation to community, Mr Lady and Denise. Smiles much appreciated, much welcome. To join in, let Denise know you'll be along for the ride, drop her a line, comment here on her blog. Let's list-stick it to Mr Lady. Sounds like something she'd like.
 ______________________________________________________________________
 

BlogHer13 Re-Entry: Annual BlogHer Tattle-Tale List

Around here, we do the BlogHer recap differently. We publish the BlogHer Family Tattle Tale list compiled by my youngest boy, Auggie, while I'm gone Wednesday through Sunday. For five days, he keeps a notebook and I come home to ruled sheets of paper filled top to bottom with all transgressions done unto him by family members in my absence.

The best thing that comes out of BlogHer is coming home to this Tattle Tale List. 

Welcome to my joy, as recorded and reported, by Auggie:

WEDNESDAY:  There's no tattles. My friend is here. He never saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid so we watched it.


THURSDAY -- Dad wouldn't let me get something at ToysRUs that was four dollars with my own money *put this in all caps*

FRIDAY -- This is not a tattle but Dad made Italian sausage not chicken nuggets. Shocking. But he cooked them frozen. That is not shocking. We made him use the meat thermometer because Xavier (16 year old brother) was scared of pork poisoning and they looked pinkish.

SATURDAY -- Xavier is driving me insane (all caps please). It's really bad. He keeps bugging me about seeing Pacific Rim even though I don't want to. He says "Oh yeah you gotta see this it's so cool." It doesn't look good. There's too many giant robots and not enough giant monsters. 

STILL ON SATURDAY -- Also Dad was okay, though he said "Your behavior is quote quote uneventful." Because I was trying not to get in trouble. But not really behaving, just not being naughty.

SATURDAY STILL --  Amazing. Dad got me a book WITH HIS OWN MONEY.

AND STILL -- Xavier keeps bugging me to see the movie, it's infuriatin' (no G, mom just an apostrophe)

ON ALL THE DAYS -- Whenever we meet people and whenever we see people we know Dad always used the same lame joke and when people ask how it's going with mom gone, he says, "Their limbs will all be on." The same joke. It's so annoying and cheesy.

SUNDAY -- Only one more day, mom. Dad is crabby. Just because I asked him if he was ever going to take a shower or just read the paper all day. Also, I don't think he wears underwear under his pajamas. It doesn't look like it.

BAD STUFF: I missed you Thursday the most. I cried. Because everyone left at the same time: Alec (18 year old brother) and my cousin and my friend. And you.

GOOD STUFF: You got me a lot of souvenirs while you were gone, right, mom?

"Mom!"

 Dearest Auggie: There was a toy party I went to... you'll have to wait and see. (Check the silver bag) Love, Mom. xo

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*If you're interested, here's Auggie's BlogHer12 Tattle Tale List. 

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