So, yes, I’m still here. I’m hashing some things out in my head about various things, and I’m not ready to hash them out loud yet. I also have an entry in the works that will be for both Word Goddess and Motherless. It’s going to take some thinking. So – be patient with me while I figure out where my head is at.

Okay, so perhaps it’s just that I’m a mom to two young boys… But this story almost made me cry – in the good way.

Go see this entry by Dad Gone Mad.

Please check out my renter for the week, Lucy’s Dilemma.

I love her holiday header. Absolutely perfect. Per her sidebar:

I’m 36, married with 2 kids. I’m stupid, silly, irreverent and completely evanescent. Former band geek, current book nerd and music lover. Oh, and I’ll eat you alive with a side of refried beans and spanish rice if you fuck with me. Have a nice day! 🙂

How can you not love her?

I found this at IzzyMom. My Declaration of (Blogging) Independence. You all know I’ve had trouble blogging recently because (shock!) real life got in the way. I’ve been struggling a bit to get back into the swing of things. “Friends and passersby, I give you my declaration of independence from all ridiculous and counterproductive thoughts and behaviors related to blogging.” Use it yourself if you wish to, and go let Izzy know about it.

1. I will only write when I feel like writing. I will not allow myself to feel obligated to write a blog post or do any other blog-related activity if I don’t feel like it.

2. I will no longer stop to consider if a post will be boring to other people or use that as a deciding factor in what I write.

3. I will write from my heart and remember that my blog is about me and whatever I want to write about.

4. I will not compare myself to other bloggers.

5. I will not allow myself to feel bad if I notice that someone doesn’t come to my blog anymore.

6. I will not concern myself with comments or stat counters or other numeric devices that might have the ability to affect my mood or what I write.

7. I will not feel bad if something I care about doesn’t get a lot of feedback or comments.

8. I will always try to remember that blogging is a hobby first and foremost. When it stops being fun, I will step away and re-evaluate.

9. I will no longer feel guilty about not commenting “as much as I should” because my first responsibility is to myself and my kids. Though I love reading and connecting with other bloggers, real life needs to come first.

10. I will not worry about losing readers if I change my focus from time to time.

11. I will be true to myself and my feelings. I will be cranky if that’s how I feel. Being a diplomat 24-7 is just exhausting and unnatural.

12. I will try really hard to fight that feeling that I am missing out on something if I’m not reading and commenting on blogs.

13. In committing myself to this declaration, I am setting myself free so that I can enjoy blogging more and stress about it less.

14. I will update and add to this declaration as necessary.

You may notice the new button over there on the right. I’m a ChaCha Guide! ChaCha is a fairly new search engine. But here’s the twist – you have a choice. You can either search yourself for whatever you need – OR you can ask a guide for help! Picture my 71 year old father trying to search for autoparts… He could ask someone to find the info for him…

Rather than asking his extremely busy daughter, who has better things to do than to DROP EVERYTHING and go to his house to search for Model As, while fielding every question under the sun, underscored by, “You can do that?” and then going home. Not that that’s every happened.

Ahem.

Now I can just show him (and bookmark for him) the ChaCha Search With a Guide function. I think that’s so cool. And since I love finding things, and know where to look, I’ve become a guide. Which means I’m finding things for people (I just don’t have to travel to their house to do it.)