So today we have some questions to answer & I’m going to post them here as well as at BlogFrog.

Question 1: Have you considered list posts as a way to create meaningful content in the past?

I think it can be useful, but I’m beginning to wonder if it’s a bit overdone.

Question 2: What do you like about reading and writing list posts?

I probably like reading them more than writing them. But what I like is when it’s more than just 1,2,3, but an actual explanation of the points. Substance is more important than a long list.

I did write a list post, but it is for another blog and it won’t be published until next month. So I do them for my professional writing, but not so much on my personal blog. (I reserve the right to change that, of course. Ha!)

Want to join us? Get a copy of the workbook by clicking here!

I’m participating in the SITS community 31 Days to Build a Better Blog challenge. We’re working our way through Problogger Darren Rowse’s workbook of the same name.

Our first day’s challenge is to create an elevator pitch for our blog. I always stumble when someone asks me what my blog is about. Because, well, it’s about me. And my family. And whatever flights of fancy filter through my head.

How do you pitch that to readers? Or advertisers?

I’m a mom.

A writer.

A wife.

A woman.

As I try to balance all of those things, I’m still figuring out where the old me fits in with the new (mommy) me. So maybe that’s what this blog is about.

You see, I once thought I knew who I was, but that’s gotten lost in the diaper shuffle. Or maybe it got left under the dirty clothes. I might have left it under my desk since I work from home and don’t see a lot of adults at this point in time. Occasionally, but not that often. If it weren’t for Facebook and Twitter (and managing to get together in person with friends from there once in a while), I’m not sure if I’d have any adult interaction aside from hubby. And that’s a lot to ask of him. Can you imagine having to be someone’s all? Their everything? That’s quite a burden.

Maybe I should talk about that struggle a little more. Instead I keep it inside. I don’t know why. I’m sure so many moms can relate. For now, I think that’s going to be my elevator pitch. It may change later.

I’m a writer who’s trying to balance work and motherhood, while figuring out who I am beyond mommy.

What’s yours?

I don’t usually pay attention to how people got here. I suppose I should if I want to take advantage of trends, write about what people are searching for, blah blah blah. I don’t do any of that for this site. But just for fun, I do occasionally check out what someone searched before they dropped into my humble abode.

little boy dancing – sorry, I was talking about watching my son dance — not to “Low” or “Get Low” — but to the Bubblegum song from Nacho Libre. No video either. What a disappointment, huh.

BlogHerAds questions – well, yes, I do work for them, but I don’t have answers to your questions listed here. I’m so sorry. But you can see our editorial guidelines here or contact our help desk for the best answer to your query.

Chris Jordan: kids names, children’s names, notes from the trenches, mommyblogger – um, yeah. Hi. I’m not Chris Jordan, nor am I in the position to tell you the names of her children. I have met her, but not her family. And if I did know all of their names, I wouldn’t post them on my blog. I get this query several times a month, probably because of that “state of the momosphere” post from blogher 07. I reposted it for your enjoyment, but no, it does not mention the kids’ names.

erica lassa – I think you’re looking for Erika, and you can find her at The Makeup Bag. She’s really nice and was my blogher 07 roomie. Go over and tell her hello.

miss priss – okay, that actually IS me. sort of. I’m not the only one that uses it. But whatever you do, don’t go to the dot com version of my site. Just don’t. Unless you’re looking for pr0n. In that case, have at it! Enjoy.

I am a disappointment to everyone – yeah, I know what you mean. I once felt that way, too. But you’re not really. And neither am I. Just do the best you can. And I’m sorry you’re feeling so down. I hope things get better.

don’t know why there’s no sun up in the sky – yes, I do love that song. But no, I didn’t post all of the lyrics. You can find those here if you’re so inclined.

momosphere – yeah, like i said, you probably wanted this post.

what independence day means – well, you know, that’s probably different for everyone. Here’s what I thought about it last year. But if you want historical information, you can start here (if you’re referring to the US, of course).

why are blue eyes so desired – for me, it’s because of my dad’s blue eyes. your mileage may vary.

A year (or two) ago, Mrs. Kennedy (Fussy) started National Blog Posting Month, or NaBloPoMo. It was inspired by National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), in which participants write a 50,000 word novel in a month – November, to be exact. For NaBloPoMo, participants commit to blogging every day during November.

It’s an exercise in writing, to get us to write every day. So I will try write something every day for you. Some posts may be longer than others, of course. I tried to complete posting last year, but I wound up having my son during the month of November and couldn’t finish posting. Let’s see how it goes this year!

Anyone else participating?

I found out on Thursday that I am officially out of a job in just a couple of weeks. I knew this was coming, but it just wasn’t concrete. Someone has accepted a job offer and that means my time must come to an end.

I’ve had time to get used to it. Hell, I’m the one that gave notice, right? It’s still tough. I worry about being replaced. What if this person is so much better than me that they wonder why this didn’t happen years ago? And why does that matter to me?

I worry about our finances. That steady income was important to me. I’ve never ventured out on my own because I like to plan. I like stability. I like to know what’s coming financially. Oh, and I like insurance, too.

I worry about having to take way too much work just to bring in the money we need. I’m afraid I’ll actually need to work more than 40 hours to cover our expenses. J has offered to work more hours and find an evening job. If he does that, though, how do I get my work done and still feel like I’m giving the boy the attention he needs?

The whole point is to be here with him. To be present, to enjoy him. How can I do that if I’m constantly worried about money and scrambling to find work. And not just any work. The work that pays well. I know I am a great worker, but the job market is tough. Where do I find the money?

And then I read this: Playing the Money Game. I really hope that I can find that attitude. The openness to finding the work that pays me a decent living wage. Enough work to pay our bills, get out of debt, and move. And enough pay so that I’m not killing myself with 60 or more hours from home just to equal 30 in the office. I need to find the confidence to ask for what I know I’m worth. And to be okay with someone not wanting to pay that, as long as I can find the people who do.

Everyone keeps telling me it’ll work out. I sure hope so. I can’t help but worry. It’s in my nature. I am just like my dad in that regard. We tend to worry – sometimes to our detriment. I’m trying so hard not to let my fears take over. It’s tough.

So I’ve been emotional all weekend. There’s a sense of finality that wasn’t there before. This job has meant a lot to me. I got married, graduated, had a baby – all while working there. It’s the longest job I’ve ever had, and the one I have enjoyed the most. In fact, I’ll be leaving just a couple of days after my job anniversary. It’s all so surreal. I’ve never jumped without a safety net before. God help me, I am now.

I’ve been thinking about writing reviews of things we use, and also things that people send our way. But rather than do them here, I’m going to write them over at typepad, where I already have an account just sitting and begging me to use it.

I will start trying to do some reviews soon there soon. I’ve got several books that I need to review, along with some household items. Somewhere along the way there will be car things, too (both there and at Ask Patty, of course). It is called simply “misspriss.org – miss priss reviews things for you“.

If you have something for me to review, you can contact me at becky @ this domain (or leave a comment over there).

In other news, I thought I’d mention what else I’ve been up to. Still snarking about celebrity real estate over at the Luxury Property blog. It’s too much fun.

Running a contest over at My Organized Biz – go over and enter if you’d like to win a terrific magnetic calendar grid. it’s perfect for busy families or businesses.

This week we ran a series of articles at Ask Patty about sexual harassment and stereotypes. My piece ran today.

I’ve started writing about designer handbags at Pursenickety (and I would really, really love to get in touch with anyone who might have samples for me to check out).

We’re still writing about all of the dumb stuff people do at Simply Dumb. If you spot something that’s so stupid you just have to share, feel free to send it my way. We love to talk about “teh crazy.”

I haven’t been able to write as much as I’d like for Safe Mama, but that should be changing in the next month or so. It really is a great resource. Please go check it out.

And since I don’t have a place for my wedding writing at this point, I may just post some of it here. You’re welcome to read it, or skip it. I had some good articles planned before Aisledash went on hiatus. I especially want to feature my interview with Deb at Smitten Kitchen (you should read her – seriously).

I’m hoping to do a big of catching up this weekend. And we need to finish up our baby-proofing. It doesn’t look like it will be too long before we have a crawler on our hands. *insert panic attack here*

I had a few awkward moments at BlogHer. Who hasn’t? I was a total dork when I went up to Linda Lee from Parent Dish, babbling about how I knew her face from somewhere and realizing that it was her pic from the site. She smiled and thanked me for coming up and saying hello, but I’m pretty sure I saw a little bit of fear of ‘teh crazy’ in her eyes. Awkward. Having one blogger introduce me to another by asking if we’d met before. Second blogger said, “No. Hi!” and walked away. Awkward. One other blogger asked two of us (standing near each other) if we knew each other. Second blogger: No. Me: Well, we’ve met at past BlogHers. Her: Well, we’ve met but… Awkward.

Is it possible to have a good and slightly bad experience at the same time? Most of the women were cool, fun to talk to, awesome to be around. A couple of people just simply walked away from me. All these years and I didn’t realize I was that boring. Wow. Or maybe something shiny distracted them? It happens. I’ve been known to lose track of my thoughts and forget what I was doing (oh lordy, what has happened to my brain since giving birth? I swear!). I really just want people to like me and (pretend) to be as excited to see me as I am to see them. And you know what? Some of my friends did just that. So I’m trying not to think about the ones that didn’t.

In some ways I feel like this was my worst BlogHer (not the worst, MY worst – there’s a difference). I felt distracted and disjointed. I didn’t connect with as many people as I wanted to, although I did talk to plenty. I felt I had to keep running to check on the child. And at the parties I just couldn’t get around. It was too crowded to navigate with a stroller. And yes, I felt I had to take the stroller. I didn’t think I could carry around a 25 pound baby all evening long. I desperately wanted to mix and mingle like I did in past years. But it just wasn’t possible. And this year, my mommy duties came first. It was the first year for me that I had to juggle stuff like that and I’m not at all sure I managed to do it gracefully.

I went to the Naked Blogging panel and while I wasn’t there for the whole thing, what I did see was awesome. I happened upon the back corner where Julie, Amy, and Catherine were. I was surprised at how emotional that session got. Wow.

I saw my blog on the screen at the opening breakfast. ElisaC asked me later if I saw it. Man, that woman remembers everyone, I swear! The second morning I had breakfast at the Sears Diner (I desparately needed some protein) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I got to take my boy with me, which would never happen at another con. But it was also a bit stressful, traveling alone with an 8 month old. I really needed child care in the evening way more than I did during the day. I will do things differently next year.

I didn’t get cards from everyone I ran into, but some people don’t really need cards, do they?

Skye – this woman saved me from insanity more than once. She helped me go up the hill with my suitcase & stroller; she checked on me throughout the weekend to see how I was doing dragging my Huge! Babeh! around everywhere. She is teh awesome and I pink puffy heart her.

Jenn – who does this woman NOT know? She has been so kind to me every year, always wonderful. She is a true sweetheart and I truly admire and love her. (Sorry you didn’t take pics – I wish you’d gone ahead and done that, girl!)

Rachel – I met her last year and promptly parked myself next to her, vowing never to leave. She is wickedly funny, adorable, and I totally pink puffy heart her, too. And she’s one of my freelance inspirations as well. (When are we going to set up that commune with our massage-therapist wife?) She also carried around ma babay at the CheeseburgHer partay.

Y – She’s been a bloggy friend/acquaintance for a few years now. Always sweet, always takes the time to stop and say hi and give me a hug. Read her, she’s damn funny.

Who else was I fortunate enough to run into? Busymom. Got to sit next to Whoorl, HeatherB, and Susan at one session. Kelly saw me hula hoop on the Wii and nicely didn’t take any embarrassing photos (I returned the favor by licking her at the CheeseburgHer party). I introduced myself to Maggie (another awkward moment? insisting that my son looks a bit like Hank and then taking my camera up to show her a picture to prove it – I am such a goofball)and Sarah Brown (who I’ve been reading since before she moved to New York), grabbed Alice and introduced myself (she said, Oh, I know you! Ha. Liar! But I love you anyway) I saw TaxGirl, but didn’t get to say hi, finally met Suebob and got to pose with the red stapler (woo!), Kristen (fellow b5er!), Catherine (I wish I’d stopped and introduced myself, I just cooed over her son in one of the sessions), Kristen, Julie, Cathy, Isabel, and Liz. Oh, and I met Anna Post and talked to her about writing. She gave me some books to review, which I look forward to.

There are probably more – it’s entirely possible I’m forgetting many people. I was so exhausted from running around and trying to do everything. I didn’t get to meet so many people who I wanted to say hello to. Heck, I didn’t even run into my roomie from last year until almost the end of the con! If I remember someone, I’ll come back and add them later. Or if you know you ran into me, let me know and I’ll post a link. Promise!

So here are the cards I got while I was at BlogHer…

Loralee (she should get lots of hugs; go and give them to her)
Debbie, Delicious Baby (she tried to help me find a car service w/a car seat; thank you!)
Karianna (third year in a row to see you, chica!)
Julie (her son is the cutest little guy and only 4 days younger than mine)
Lisa (i loved going to yoga and yes, i should work out more!)
Jennifer (fellow freelancer!)
Send Chocolate (cards with chocolate covered strawberries – yum)
Lori (cowboy’s wife – wish we’d gotten a chance to talk more)
Kellan (cutest cards ever)
Jenijen (adorable, sweet, amazing; love!)
Rita (editor extraordinaire – was so glad i ran into you)
Headless Mom (great card idea – headless barbie-type dolls)
Beth (met at newbie party – hope you had a blast)
Monica (Lady M!)
Mary (cool cards, lady; also? she was so cute)
Elizabeth (girl, you have come so far in the last three years)
Arianne (to think! awesome photog – thanks for taking a pic of rocco for me)
Kacey (life, uncorked – great tag line)
Celeste (awesome – card with a recipe on the back; brilliant)
Tricia (such a nice woman. srsly. she rescued me when i was trying to navigate with a stroller through the crowd at Macy’s.)

And there was one other woman at Macy’s, from Israel. Lovely woman. As soon as I find her card, I’ll link to her, too. I know she has a fertility site.

Rachel (from Israel, lovely woman and adorable baby)
Kat (met her at Ruby Skye)
Canape (also met at Ruby Skye. hi!)

I think/hope that’s everyone. If not, then I lost some cards along the way.

I’ve been thinking a lot about being a mom. Things at work have had me reconsidering my role as a wife, mother, and employee. But that’s really another post for later. It’s the mother thing I want to talk about.

You see, I’ve been a “second” mom for ten years. My stepdaughter already has a mom, so that puts me in a secondary role in a lot of ways. I consider her my daughter, always have. Yet there’s a difference when you’re the primary mom, when you are the one who must take care of the most basic of needs for your child. While I had to care for her when her dad was out to sea, I still wasn’t really considered the parent.

But for the wee boy, I am. I’m there when he wakes up. When he cries. When he goes to sleep. And it gives me great joy to do so. These moments in time will only happen once for this small boy and I want to cherish every one. I’m not sure if we’ll have any more kids, so this may just be my only chance. If so, I don’t want to let a moment go by without being as fully present as I possibly can.

I’ve always known that my parents loved me. And I’ve always been fairly close to my mom. Yet I am just now understanding her love. The depth of it. The selflessness of it. The abiding, growing, encompassing bits of it. And it amazes me. Because now I really get it. I get how she has felt all of these years. Why she hugs me so tight each time I have to leave after I visit. Why she lets me go on & on in a phone call, never complaining if I take an hour to talk about nothing. Why she just likes to hear from me even when there’s really nothing new to report.

My heart has grown so much bigger, accommodating my husband, daughter, and son. I am so grateful for this chance to watch this amazing little boy grow up, and to see the incredible woman my daughter has become. In spite of the other frustrations and speed bumps that are going on, I feel incredibly lucky.

And you can call me corny, but every day that I stop and marvel at my family is a mother’s day for me. Every kiss, every hug. It’s so worth it. Even through the difficult times (which I try to remember are just temporary). I don’t want to miss a thing. Nor do I want to forget it. So if I talk a lot about my kids, consider it a way for me to look back and remember later. And if you join me in the journey, I welcome you along.

So, thanks Mom. I understand so much more now. And I appreciate so much more now, too. I realize even more what an amazing woman you are. I love you.

Between the new site design, new version of Wordpress, and finally getting my domain name pointing correctly after way too long, I believe that blogging is finally fun for me again. Yippee!

I’m really just a big dork and new toys are always great fun for me. Oh, look! Something shiny!

Yeah, it’s kinda bad. But at least this new toy is FREE!

I just installed Lucia’s linky love plugin, so my comments are now nofollow free!

You can find the plugin at Big Bucks Blogger.