SITS

Friday, September 17: Why do you blog?

When this blog first started, it was merely a seven entry journal chronicling our week-long honeymoon in Spain.  We wanted a place for our friends and family to read about our adventures overseas, see pictures and watch some amusing videos.

Then, three months later, we were pregnant.

Commence whirlwind.

Through my pregnancy and, now, the first few months into motherhood, this blog has been my place to go to not only chronicle those journeys for friends and family but also for a place where I can scrape up all my thoughts and smear them on the paper for everyone to read.  There have been losses and happiness, upset and joy, and, every time, this blog has helped me deal with those emotions and those thoughts.

I’ve always written better than I speak.  My husband can attest to this as he’s more likely to get a long email from me spilling my frustrations out than he is going to get a conversation.  I don’t know why I am this way, it’s just how it is.  I’ve always needed to internalize then write.  Then, maybe, just maybe, I’ll talk about it.

Why do I blog?

I blog for Olivia.  I blog for me.  I blog for my husband.  I blog for the new moms that find this corner of the internet each day looking for someone who says, “Hey, it happens to all of us.”  I blog because I have found a community of moms who all say, “Hey it happens to all of us.” and that makes me feel infinitely better each day.

I blog because, in the midst of all the stupid crap going on in the economy or overseas or in the government or in your city, we all need something that makes us smile or empathize or cry or laugh or yell.  Something that evokes more emotion than just endless frustration at the idiots outside our front door.

It sounds lofty but, in my mind, it’s not.  It’s just me.  It’s just Olivia.  It’s just Stephen.  It’s just us.

Talking to you.

And hoping you are well.

Back to Blogging Week is sponsored by SITS with help from Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances. Participate each day and be entered to win Thelma & Louise, a turquoise Electrolux washer & dryer!

Thursday, September 16: Write a new post about a woman who inspires you.

Hey, this also qualifies for Writer’s Workshop!

This one is tricky and I’ve spent a great deal of time this week thinking about it.  I don’t know if I can just pick one woman as inspiration because different women inspire different parts of my life.  And those parts all come together to make me who I am and to keep me focused.

So, instead of one, I’m doing my top five.  These are in no particular order.

To be a Better Mom

This one goes to my own mom.  She and I haven’t always seen eye to eye.  And she has never been perfect.  And I have never been perfect.  But she always did what she thought was best in every situation that came up.  She’s fiercely protective of her children, spends way too much money on her grandkids, and bends over backwards for just about anyone.  She raised two kids pretty much by herself, started her own business in the wake of the divorce with my dad, and made whatever sacrifices were necessary to keep us in private education because she felt it was better for us.  Sure, she could have moved us to a cheaper apartment or sent us to public school to save a buck but she didn’t.  She worked hard and sacrificed much to provide for my brother and I.

No, she wasn’t perfect but she was, and is, a damn good mother.  And if I can be half as awesome to my kids, I’ll consider myself successful.

To be a Better Wife

This goes to my mother-in-law.  She is so amazingly supportive of her husband and his personal cheffing business.  She got her teaching degree and worked so he could go to chef school and start his business from the ground up.  She is unbelievably patient and understanding of just about everything that comes her way.  After over twenty years of marriage, you can see that they are still deeply in love and she will stand by him through everything.  I constantly strive to be just as supportive and hard-working and uncomplaining as I can in my own life as a wife.  I’m never perfect, I fail often, but I keep learning and keep trying…

To be a Better Writer

I consider her my internet, bloggy BFF.  I met Tami when I was playing World of Warcraft.  She also played and had a themed blog following the adventures of her character.  Eventually, as most of us do, she ceased playing and directed everyone to her personal blog.  I was amazed at the font of creativity that existed.  She draws and writes and tirelessly encourages others to do so.  Every time I read one of her writings or one of her encouragement or admonishment posts, I’m inspired to write or draw or just be creative in some fashion or another.  She has touched my creative soul and I love her for that.

To Cook with My Heart

This is an unexpected one but when I think about my love of cooking and what woman presence is always hanging out in the back of my mind while I cook, it would be Nigella Lawson.  Unfortunately, her show has been moved to Cooking Channel and Comcast is a bunch of names that I don’t want to speak aloud here, but she has always stuck with me from the very first time I ever saw her show many, many years ago.  She made pot pie and mashed potatoes from yukons and sweet potatoes and I was in enraptured.  Her cooking is so effortless and you can see that her heart and soul are in every dish.  She’s comforting and that accent is simply beautiful.  She inspires me to keep it simple and from my heart every time I cook.

To See the Beauty in Everything

Stephanie’s posts move me every time I read one.  I only discovered her blog when I became pregnant with Olivia but have hearted it hard ever since.  She is a beautiful mother who sees beauty in everything no matter how bad her day may have gone.  Her children are her inspiration, she is enraptured by her daughter, and her blogs evoke imagery that never leaves my head.  She inspires me to look for the beauty in the little things.  To not stress and to stay patient.  To take stock of now and appreciate it for what it is.

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Back to Blogging Week is sponsored by SITS with help from Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances. Participate each day and be entered to win Thelma & Louise, a turquoise Electrolux washer & dryer!