Heading into My 10th Year of Blogging

I'm just a couple of days away from wrapping up nine years of blogging. Nine years! That's just about the longest I've ever stayed with a hobby/low-paying job. Well, actually I'd done pretty well for myself turning my blog into a platform that led to other opportunities and consulting and writing jobs. I've made well over six figures from blogging, I just never hit that mark in any single year.

When I started blogging, it was about writing and story. I was thrilled to realize that with just a few clicks, I could join the ranks of some of my favorite online writers! I hoped a blog would help me launch a freelance writing career.

Truth be told, whenever my sitemeter indicated that someone from New York City visited my blog, I was certain it was a big-time literary agent checking me out.

Really.

But let's be honest, in those early days, I was thrilled when my sitemeter indicated that anyone was visiting my blog. What? 10 hits in a single day? It's only a matter of time until I get a book contract, right?

Ha!

Not only was blogging back then about the words, but there were no social media distractions (enhancements?). No Twitter. Facebook was only for college students. The guy who started Instagram probably didn't even have his driver's license yet. It was the digital dark ages.

Sometimes, I'm pretty sure that blogging for so long does more harm than good in the current environment of gorgeous photographs and highly monetized blogs. I often feel like the old lady yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off of my lawn. "You call yourself a blog with sponsored post after sponsored post and a sidebar full of ads? In my day we told stories!"

Although, to be honest, I don't tell as many stories. My kids are older and though the internet was always open and public, it feels even more so now than it did in 2005.

Lest I get too introspective and nostalgic, let me share my first real blog post. I wrote it when my boys were 4 and 6.

Remember those 10 visits per day I mentioned? Most of them landed here after Googling "fake hickey." That should have been the first clue that they weren't literary agents.

Honey, I've started a blog!

DH rolled his eyes at my enthusiastic announcement. I could see the wheels turning in his mind: How does she have time for a blog, when she doesn't have time to clean the kitchen?

Ah yes, the clutter in the kitchen, the mounds of papers on the mail table, the notes, papers and clippings (mostly all mine) that seem to cover every horizontal surface in the house. Who am I to fight entropy, the tendency of all things in the universe toward a state of disorder?

Anyway, my boys were intrigued. What's a blog?

DH tells them it's a web-log, like an online journal.

Why would someone have a diary online?

An excellent question really. Why indeed?

I think of John Mellencamp's song, "Check it Out" from his Cherry Bomb album. "A million young poets, screaming out their words, to a world of people, just livin' to be heard...." This song, BTW, will be on my CD compilation Music for a Mid-life Crisis, should I ever get around to making one.

I see this blog more as a place for making and building connections than baring my soul to the world or filling up cyberspace with the mundane aspects of my life. (BTW, honey if you are reading this 6:30 concert at school tonight!)

The main topics I'll be addressing in my blog are: parenting, education/gifted children, stay-at-home moms returning to the world of paid work, chronic illness and some vague category I'll call "chick stuff." I hope to inform/enlighten or amuse others with the help of some great guest bloggers. So visit often!

Leave a comment so I know you've been here. My Husband left one comment and I left myself the other "just to try it out" or maybe to make myself feel legit. Leaving a visitor comment on my own blog reminded me of a story of a girl from my high school who supposedly rigged up her vacuum cleaner with an attachment and held it to her neck to give herself a fake hickey so that she could convince people that her made-up boyfriend was actually real. Do you think this is true? Can a person give herself a hickey with a vacuum cleaner--is this even possible? Or did a story like this circulate at every high school?

Can You Ever See Too Much of Your Elected Officials?

Seems like a timely day to post this old thing from the Chicago Moms Blog. It was originally published June 19, 2007.

We were hanging out at the local pool a couple of years ago when I spotted our congresswoman frolicking with her grandchildren. When we walked past each other I took that brief opportunity to introduce myself and thank her for her hard work.

Back with DH, I told him how badly I wanted to go back over to her and give her my two cents about a topic that always gets my panties in a bunch--how No Child Left Behind is ruining our public schools. “Give her a break. She’s enjoying her family,” he coolly advised. He was right.

She went on playing with her grandkids while I ignored my offspring, instead fantasizing about an audience with my congresswoman. Why, yes, Kim, I’d love for you to join me for a meeting with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

Before I knew it, the pool was closing. I headed to the changing room and once again found myself face to face with the congresswoman, only this time she was taking off her bathing suit! I immediately averted my eyes. I mean, wouldn't you expect a member of congress to use one of those little changing stalls? It’s definitely possible to see too much of your elected officials.

Still, it’s good to know that the old saying is true. Congresswoman, Shmongresswoman! She puts her pants on one leg at a time just like the rest of us.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Get Your Mind Set

From my Table of Good Fortune, a piece I painted years ago. It's covered in bright blues and purples with a bit of green and yellow on the legs. The tabletop is lined with fortunes from long ago desserts at Chinese restaurants and embellished with bits cut from wrapping paper from a special gift.

Actually, I don't remember the gift, but it came from a new age-y, grad school carpool friend. The attached card said, "May the light of heaven shine down on you."

Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Tashlich

Last week after peaceful Rosh Hashanah services, we headed off to a favorite spot along the Chicago River for Tashlich.

When the boys were young and we didn't belong to a synagogue, we'd invite our friends to these woods and celebrate the "birthday of the world" with stories, songs, talk about what we'd try to do better in the new year and of course, eat challah with apples and honey.

Tashlich (tosh-leehk) is a ritual casting away of one's sins from the past year. This quiet spot in the woods is a great place for reflecting on the past and thinking about the one ahead. And as you can see there is a lovely body of water for dropping in bread crumbs and pocket lint (symbols of our misdeeds).

The problem is that no place is quiet and pensive if my boys are around.

Given their boisterous nature, I was surprised to spot another, calmer family in the forest preserve.
This time of year, it is customary to apologize to those you hurt, or may have hurt, through words and actions. The Jewish concept of sin, is taken from the word's Hebrew meaning, which is to miss the mark.

Surely you have missed the mark in some ways this past year. I certainly have. And I ask for your forgiveness.

I had a boss who once put it quite bluntly. He'd walk around the office saying, "Sorry for being an a**hole."

I like the way my rabbi put it in this Rosh Hashanah reading:

And let us face the honest truth of our humanity:
while we harbor a terrifying capacity for destruction and violence
we never, ever forfeit the ability to choose another way:
the path of forgiveness and reconciliation
the way of Shalom.


Wishing you the path of Shalom, peace, in the year ahead.

Updates: Nearly Wordless Wednesday

This is how far behind I am. I have yet to write about:

My keynote panel at the Sweets and Snacks Expo. Look at me all mic'd up like Britney Spears! (Note the tight pants due to the 8-pound media kit full of candy and snacks I needed to try in order to cement my role as "expert panelist.")

Also this:

A thank you note from my BFF, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, regarding my efforts to help pass health care reform. I excitedly shared this note with my 12-year-old after it arrived in the mail. Apparently, he's unimpressed by a personalized note from one of the most powerful women in the United States of America. Whatever.

And then there's the wonderful Chevy Traverse we drove up to Canada and back in record time. The Traverse provided a really smooth ride, worthy of more than a photo, which BTW was taken next to a lovely U-pick strawberry patch in Warrens, Wisconsin (also home to an interesting cranberry museum).

And I haven't written about our visit to the headwaters of the Mississippi River, which took us off the interstate for about six hours, adding several hours to our road trip home. But, look, they walked across the Mighty Mississippi!

Ack! How could I leave out the fabulous Aebleskiver event with the fab women of the MN Blog
Pantry? That write-up will go up on MomImpact.
Starting on Monday, the boys will both be in camp for 5.5 overlapping hours per day, so I hope to catch up on many aspects of my life in addition to blogging!

My first 5K! I finished, not last.

I was looking for a new challenge after completing my bat mitzvah when I saw a sign for the Ricky Byrdsong Race Against Hate. I signed up at the urging of an IRL friend, but I doubt I would've done if not for hearing my blog friends go on about their new-found running habits.

I didn't formally train using Couch to 5K guidelines, just added a bit of jogging (which I do not like) to my normal fitness walks. I knew I'd approach the 5K with a walk/jog combo. I knew I'd end up with a base time, a time to beat should I decide to tackle a future 5K with greater intention. This time, I just wanted to finish. Not last.

I don't know much about pacing, but I do try to adjust myself based on the crowd. For example, at one nearby indoor track where the typical walker is about 62 years old, my goal is simply to pass whoever is ahead of me. I walk at a fast, but steady, pace.

On the outdoor track at my children's school, I walk counterclockwise, while most of the crowd walks clockwise (yes, there's likely a large metaphor at play here). I try and keep track of where I do or should cross paths with certain people based on whether they are out for a pleasant morning walk or there for exercise.

For this race, there were three main folks who helped me pace myself. I'm not proud to admit this, but one of my pacers was a flat footed young girl with an awkward gate. Like me, she alternated between jogging and walking, only she was sandwiched between her parents, holding their hands. Her father weaved a charming yarn to entertain her that lasted the entire route. It was tempting to stay within listening distance, and yet, I was not going to let her finish before me.

So with the developmentally challenged child in my dust (I am pitiful), I had my eye on two old men. Old being later 50s or early 60s. We took turns outpacing each other, but over time, their jog:walk ratio was higher than mine and I fell behind.

There were a couple of others that I gleefully passed only to have them pass me up in the end.

But as I came into the final stretch, it was "Back Fat" who gave me a run for my money. Now, as an ample woman over the age of 40, I've got a little somethin-somethin bulging out of my bra (on the backside), but I keep it covered up. This gal had her shirt tucked up into her bra exposing, well, you get the nickname.

Back Fat was also a run/walker. We alternated a lead on each other for over a mile. She was ahead of me in the homestretch until I zoomed (ha) past her, but then in the last two blocks, she blasted ahead of me.

I did not finish last! Indeed, I was 1151 out of 1265 runners, and 84 out of 96 for women my age.
A new habit or a supposedly fun thing I'll never do again? Who knows? What exciting new challenges are you taking on these days?

Speechless after my speech on Capitol Hill

The tiny head sticking out to Speaker Pelosi's right belongs to me. It's an odd perspective as she's rather petite. I mean, so am I, but I'm not that short.

What a day! The Consumer's Union folks did a great job of prepping us for this big event. I'll be back later with a Whrrl story, including a shot from the Speaker's balcony at the capitol.

Lego then, Lego now

This is the kind of thing a very organized blogger would have posted, say, in November, before her readers squandered their hard-earned money on trendy toys that won't last into the new year. Behold the lasting power of Legos!

Over winter break we busted out some of DH's old Legos. Not only did my mother-in-law save them (to be clear, they were passed off to us as soon as we had a house of our own), but for the most part, the old kits were intact. God willing I have grandchildren, they may one day enjoy the giant bin of Legos bricks and bodies that my children enjoy. Let creativity reign, I say.

At any rate, take a look at a circa 1975 Lego helicopter and the one my son got for Chanukah 2009.



They've come a long way, baby.

What are your favorite timeless toys? Are you saving any of your children's toys for your theoretical grandchildren?

Ugh. I've got "yacht hair."

You know that feeling when you navigate your yacht back into the slip and now that you're no longer sailing in the breeze you realize your hair is a complete mess? Me neither. Until last week.

You see, Lands' End brought me, Dawn from Because I Said So and Lisa from Lisa's Thoughts and Ramblings out for a sail on a yacht on Lake Michigan to give us a taste of the Race to Mackinac. Lands' End is the title sponsor of this 260-boat race across the lake.

It was a lovely afternoon and I really meant to post on it before last weekend's big race, but as of this writing, there's still no winner from the race that began last weekend. Check here for up-to-the-minute details.

Amanda from Lands' End PR gave us a water bottle and a Land's End bag branded with the Race logo. I laughed when I took a good look at the bag and realized it's not just their standard bucket bag, but a zip top version. I had to laugh, because I carried one of these around for years!

When my boys where about 3 and 5 and I became serious about writing, I carried a large journal with me everywhere, and this was my sturdy go-to bag. I think this new version is going to be my "BlogHer and beyond bag."
Photo credit: Dawn Meehan. She's on the left, Lisa is in the center. I'm the one on the right looking like an old lady and our fearless Captain Randy is in the rear.

We Dared to Stand Out

Dared to Stand Out on the Ledge- you know that glass enclosure sticking out of the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower? Oh yeah, Smartypants and I were there!

I was pleasantly surprised to receive an invite to the Media Preview Day for the new Sears Tower (Willis Tower) ledge. I was able to bring along my oldest and might have tried to bring the youngest as well, but the boys have been fighting like cats and dogs lately.

And look: our shoes are famous! And my 11-year-old was quoted in the Washington Post.

Earlier this year he and his orthodontia were front and center in the New York Times. That kid is quite the media darling.

We give the Ledge a thumbs-up and dare you to Stand Out on your next trip to Chicago.

Marketing to Mom Bloggers: Influence, Power and Responsibility

I'm going to try something a little different this week: crowdsourcing a blog post. I've been mulling over a few thoughts on blogger influence, power and responsibility, but this week I'm pressed for time. Also, I'm continually impressed by the thoughtful comments you leave here, so I thought I'd throw out a few questions this week and use your answers (always giving credit and sharing links, natch) and mine to put together next week's post.

As mombloggers, we're offered treated like divas- showered with coupons, product samples, trips and other goodies. Have you ever gotten carried away a bit carried away and crossed the line from blogger to blogwhore*?

Do you think the diva treatment has swelled up some egos and perhaps created a bad name for mombloggers? Explain. (Answer in the sense of the community as a whole. I will not post comments that call out any specific bloggers.)

How has your relationship with swag changed over time?

Whether you have 10 readers or 10,000 followers, describe the responsibility (if any) you feel toward them

I hope this little experiment works.

I'll be spending my day sampling chocolate and other fine confections as well as enjoying lunch with an interesting new group of bloggers and writing about it on Scrambled CAKE. If I return to find a bunch of comments here, it will be the icing on my milk chocolate filled Lindt Truffles. And if there are no comments, well, I'll drown my disappointment in those same truffles. They don't really need icing, anyway.

Cleaning where the sun don't shine

I've spent the last two days in the fog of a relentless headache, but it's finally clearing. Speaking of clearing, I've been doing a lot of clearing out and wiping down at Chez Moldofsky.

For some people Spring Cleaning means wiping the windows and waxing the floors, but for me it means digging deep into the spaces nobody sees. Which is odd that I'd spend my time that way, especially considering the improbable blob of bird poop stuck to the picture window outside of the living room. (How did it get there? Its placement seems physically impossible. Like this guy in the suit doing a trust fall.)

I'm cleaning out closets and junk drawers. I'm stowing away the mittens and scarves and breaking out the beach towels even though summer, like the bird poop, seems a physical impossibility given our recent weather.

I've amassed piles of clutter, some of which I might try to sell via Craigslist. We sold my car that way last year. I'm going to do a guest ClutterCast soon, but likely I'll drag much of the stuff (some of it's good) over to the resale shop, the path of least resistance that pays in its own way because we get a tax deduction for our donation.

I'm also digging into my old work files. Oh, my precious files. I used to develop programs- training programs, not computer ones-and I have loads of files on listening, goal setting, communications, team building, you name it.

Sure I've culled them over the last decade, but this week I looked at them and knew they no longer serve a useful purpose. And if I do need any of the information contained within, chances are I can find it online.

That said, a few bits and pieces caught my eye, caused me to reflect on where I've been and where I'm headed. A few of the papers I came across made me think and might even provide good fodder for this blog.

Still, I must have recycled a tree's worth of paper today. And I think about what Oprah's clutter-guru says. When we clean out our clutter, we make room for something new in our lives. I can't help but wonder what's in store for my family with all this space I'm creating.

Along with all those papers, I have a good number of team building supplies, or props. I cleaned out a bunch last fall and gave them to the PE teachers at school. This week, I decided to whittle down my collection even more. However, I still felt compelled to keep two dozen squishy balls, half a dozen Koosh balls, five 20-foot pieces of webbing, and two parachutes. After all, if a bird can poop on a vertical surface and the Mother Nature can deliver summer, maybe I'll be facilitate another team building session some day. (It was fun work. These pictures are from my long-defunct corporate teambuilding website.)

Speaking of long defunct, after six months of unemployment, DH starts a new job tomorrow. Can I hear an "Amen?" Sadly, it's only a temporary gig, but it seems like a great fit and it will be nice for him to get a proper paycheck, if only for a few months.

And speaking of cleaning where the sun don't shine, I don't want to disappoint you if you came here with, you know, certain expectations, so check out this scary/funny post at Red Dirt Woman. Two clues: 1) Lysol, 2) douche.

Can I make horseradish from scratch?

Amy over at MomAdvice writes up what she calls a weekly notebook experiment where she often tries making this or that new food. I channeled her as I decided to whip up a batch of horseradish for this week's Passover seders. Horseradish is the condiment of choice for gefilte fish, which itself is the traditional Passover appetizer. If you click on this link, you will understand why I chose to try the condiment, rather than the fish.

When I Googled for a recipe, I found one from my blog sister Andrea from Andrea's Recipes. I know she knows food, so I gave her recipe a try. I noticed that she made hers outside, but from what I learned on Google, sensed I could try it indoors without overwhelming my senses.

Unlike what you see on her blog. I began with one long, firm horseradish root. It was so huge, it resembled a femur (but feel free to insert a phallic or dildo joke in the comments if you're up for it).

In my kitchen, I chopped it by hand into 2 inch bits and tossed it into a blender with water and cider vinegar, per the recipe. I'd also roasted a few pieces of beet and added a handful of those to the blender. It gives the prepared horseradish a nice pink color and adds a hint of sweetness.

I decided to run the blender on our porch because I'd read that this is where the smell can start getting unbearable. A few minutes later, my pink condiment was almost ready. I lined a colander with paper towels and drained my mixture.

After draining it for a minute or two, I spooned the mixture into storage containers. That's when the fumes became intense. My eyes stung and began to water as I scooped up the prepared horseradish.

I called DH in for a taste test (I'll wait to eat it at seder). It didn't make him cry, but I don't know if that's good or bad. He likes intensely spicy foods that give him a near-death experience. Me? Not so much.

On a related note, do you include a Miriam's Cup as part of your seder? Click through for ideas on how to incorporate this. After all, a little Girl Power is a good thing. Unless you ask my niece (just click).

Also, you don't have to be Jewish to love this amazing Passover dessert that's good all year long.

Cross-posted to Scrambled Cake.

I've been canned!

Last Tuesday I dropped my unemployed husband off for an interview (freelance opportunity, nothing full-time with benefits that would leave me shouting from the rooftops and running to the nearest mall or Target if he got it) and headed out to kill an hour. On my way from my parking spot to a coffee shop I found a lucky penny.

Call me hopelessly naive, but I've never lost my youthful outlook when it comes to finding pennies on the ground: Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck.

I picked up the change and, as is my decades old habit, put it in my shoe. That's what you're supposed to do to bring on the good luck.

Anyway, about an hour later I got a call from my editor at BabyCenter's Momformation blog telling me that I was being let go on account of the economy. They dismissed 75% of the probloggers. Me. And her. But not her, which I mean in a good way.

I was thrilled to get the pro-gig at the popular national parenting blog. It took a good deal of discipline and time for me to post five times a week, something I did for over a year. After I'd reached the year mark, though, I felt I was losing my mojo. Plus, my youngest boy aged out of their target group. I started cutting back there and focusing on this blog as well as working on consulting projects...and Twitter.

In January I put myself on Momformation hiatus and have since debated whether to end my relationship with them, jump back in, or just continue in my self-imposed purgatory.

So the call from my editor was liberating and lucky in that he gave me the answer to the question I'd left lingering. Sort of. If there's something I want to cross-post there without compensation I'm welcome to do so. And that's fine.

I'm all for leaving the door open, not so much because I'm a wimp and can't make a decision to save my life (though some may argue this), but until I find a crystal ball that can predict my future, I'm all for leaving my options open.

My role at Momformation opened up great opportunities. Shout-out to Vero for hooking me up with the site and a hearty thanks to the excellent bloggers and friends I made there!

Best Birthday Gift Ever

Alas, the best birthday gift ever is not one I received, but rather one I gave. Make that one my boys gave and have been giving since we stumbled onto its simplistic awesomeness: a box of golden coins.

Last winter, I hadn't braved the snow to make it out to buy a game or gift card for a friend of one of my boys and the party date was rapidly approaching. When I realized we had some gold-like Sacajawea dollar coins left over from Hanukkah, I ran to my craft cabinet and pulled out a lovely velvet-lined cigar box I'd picked up at a garage sale (for $1) and dumped the coins inside.

Like the inspired pairing of peanut butter and chocolate, the coins and the old wooden box with velvet lining made a striking combination.

What tween doesn't like money, Especially when it looks it looks like golden ancient treasure?

And with concerns about stores closing and gift cards losing value, cash is a great way to go.As I said, this is a gift idea we've been repeating. I've gone through my stash of old-fashioned cigar boxes, but I can pick up new wooden boxes at the craft store and possibly even convince my boys to decorate them.

What's your go-to gift?

Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging: I'm in it!

This book features loads of blogging advice from Nora Ephron, Alec Baldwin, Jamie Lee Curtis and (squee!) ME! Well, I'm not exactly giving advice, but I'm quoted in a call-out box that is all my own.

I'd tell you what I said, but then you might not buy the book! Hint: it's about being a (ahem) mommyblogger. See p. 159 when you're browsing in the book store.

Once I get over rereading my own little section, I'll look at the rest of it and review the book at Hormone-colored Reviews.

Subaru Dream Rally: Setting the scene

I was thrilled to be invited to join Subaru's inaugural Dream Rally. They invited a handful of journalists (and me) to New Hampshire to learn more about the Subaru brand and drive their latest models while picking up some mad driving skillz. They also promised us a fab spa treatment to help us wind down after our long, dusty day at the O'Neil Rally School and Car Control Center. How could I say no?

Kristin from MotherProof, the go-to site for moms and cars, travel writer Lynn (who write alongside my friend Andrea), and Wendy from Parents/GoodyBlog were part of our our small group.

The event was arranged with the help of Brushfire, who added several delightful touches to the event: a pre-event email linking to a local weather forecast, a goody bag full of New Hampshire products (maple syrup would be the overriding theme), and a fruit and cheese tray in our rooms upon our return from the driving school. I was over the moon when I saw that tray and would have stopped to take a picture of it had I not been famished. It was a thoughtful move that brought a huge smile to my face. Good "wow" factor. If only they could have done something about the hotel's spotty Internet service.

Ah, the hotel. We stayed at the Mountain View Grand Hotel and Spa, a charming historic hotel nestled in the White Mountains. I walked down the rural road leading to the hotel and it was everything one would expect from New England in the fall: fresh air, crisp leaves scattered about the ground, trees ablaze with color, and pumpkins on the porches of quaint houses.

Here are some photos from an early morning walk.And here's the view from the hotel porch.

Pat the Husband: A book review

Pat the Husband: A Parody is a hilarious 16-page riff on the lovable children's book, Pat the Bunny. Only it's funnier. And for adults. Or young children who won't get the adult subtext.

Readers help Husband find the remote, discover where the ketchup bottle is hidden, and meet other daunting challenges. It's a hoot! It's a fun girlfriend gift and will make you the hit of any moms group.

The book official debuts October 7, but thanks to Cider Mill Press I'm giving away a copy at Momformation this Wednesday.

And on Thursday, I'm giving away another copy on Twitter. Follow me @moldymom, so you don't miss out on the fun.

Oh, I should point out one glaring omission in the book- there's no little activity to help Husband change the toilet paper!

What little task does your husband fall short on?

(Disclaimer: mine is totally helpful other than the toilet paper thing.)

I got an award!

Thanks to Jen at SpritesKeeper for this great blog bling!

I think I'm supposed to pass it on to five other bloggers. But that will have to wait until my post-surgical haze fades a bit.

I'll be back!

Does Trashless Tuesday leave you feeling down in the dumps?

After all these years, Trashless Tuesday, Waste-free Wednesday and their ilk are bringing me down. How about you? Read more at MOMformation.