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Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

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blogging

There Are No Perfect Moms, Only Real Moms
Parenthood

There Are No Perfect Moms, Only Real Moms

by Jill May 21, 2017
written by Jill

I cried happy tears when I saw this video on Facebook last month. It was created by Baby Dove to celebrate #RealMoms and I adore how they really went there, embracing a broad spectrum of motherhood.


This post is sponsored by Baby Dove, which is so rad because I really love and value their message.
You probably recognize Baby Dove as a branch of THE Dove brand- the beauty care product brand that has been celebrating and lifting up REAL women for years.

(You gotta watch their first Real Beauty Production all about Cathleen, you guys. You’ll get chills and hurt your face from smiling. And probably cry.)

It makes sense that they want to celebrate real MOMS with the Baby Dove brand. As they say, “There are no perfect moms, only real ones.”

Dove has been a sponsor of this conference I’ve been going to – Mom 2.0– for as long as I’ve been attending. It’s a blogging and influencer conference, and it’s literally changed my life. This huge leap we’re making– selling our house, my husband leaving his job, blogging from the road in an RV and sharing that on HappyLoudLife.com starting later this year- I got the confidence (and learned the skills needed) to do that, largely, because of the community I’ve found through @Mom2Summit.

There Are No Perfect Moms, Only Real Moms | BabyRabies.com

I already have a huge soft spot for Dove because they are walking the walk. They celebrate real women in their ads and marketing, yes, but then they show up year after year and support real women, like me, at Mom 2.0. I mentioned Dove and their Mom 2.0 sponsorship in my last Facebook Live Playgroup episode while talking about blogging and how to make money doing so. Check it out if you missed it. They are a brand that gets it, and I respect the heck out of them for it.

It doesn’t hurt that every year they have a #RealBeauty Suite set up at the conference where we can get our hair styled while sipping champagne, which is such a rare treat for many of us.There Are No Perfect Moms, Only Real Moms | BabyRabies.com

Now, with the launch of Baby Dove, I am super excited to have the perfect excuse to work with them here on Baby Rabies. I feel like their #RealMoms campaign aligns beautifully with what I want this space to evolve into- an inclusive and diverse platform for, well, real moms… and dads… or whatever you want to call yourself, you caretaker and booger wiper of littles, you.

So yeah, I’m here to tell you that their new Baby Dove line is as gentle on baby’s skin as water…

There Are No Perfect Moms, Only Real Moms | BabyRabies.com

And it seems to be flying off the shelf at our Target for good reason. It smells amazing and is the same great quality that’s made Dove a household name for generations.

There Are No Perfect Moms, Only Real Moms | BabyRabies.com

But I’m also here to tell you that Baby Dove is a brand that supports me, and supports me building this community for you- all of you. And that’s, like, wow, you guys. How awesome that they see all of YOU and they want to be a part of this? I’ll tell you, I think it’s a huge honor.

There Are No Perfect Moms, Only Real Moms | BabyRabies.com

There are no perfect moms, only real moms. Can I get an amen?

 

May 21, 2017 0 comment
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The Post That Nobody Will Pin, But It Makes Me Happy
BloggingParenthood

The Post That Nobody Will Pin, But It Makes Me Happy

by Jill July 16, 2015
written by Jill

I keep making blogging harder than it should be.

I miss the days I used to just… write. Long, HUGE paragraphs. I mean, I cringe reading them now. The are so NOT meant for today’s shortened attention span.  But back then they were exactly the kind of catharsis I craved.

I said a lot of things back then that I wouldn’t now. Not necessarily things I don’t still think, but I’m way more calculated about the words that appear on this screen now, the ones that represent my voice. And that is mostly a very good thing. Age and maturity have taught me to think carefully about how my words impact others on both sides of the computer.

But I do long for the days when I could dump my human, flawed brain onto the screen. And maybe 50 people would read it. And maybe 2 would be offended.

I don’t regret where I am now, or where this evolution has taken me, though.

I’m just… stretching my wings and they’re getting a little stuck along the way in this tiny box that I’m in. The walls are built with expectations about babies and explaining what I mean when I say rabies. And what IS it I do for a living? I do not have a real answer for this. I blog, but am I a blogger? I’ve been telling people I’m a digital content creator.

The other day, Leyna handed me a piece of wood she decorated with electrical tape. “It’s for you, mommy! It’s a content!” 

And for all I know, that’s really the best way to describe what I do. I take blocks of ideas, and I add my own flair to them, and I present them to you.

I don’t know. This is me rambling AND I’M LOVING IT.

Oh, and this isn’t me quitting this. This isn’t my resignation letter. I’m just putting words to keyboard because I want to remember what this felt like (except this time with many more paragraphs because in 8 years our brains have evolved to only read lists).

I would/should add pictures to this, too, but something is wrong with my uploader blog thing right now, and I’m trying to fix it. It’s stopped me from blogging in the past, and that’s just dumb. I can WRITE without sharing pictures.

Except now this won’t have a “feature image” so it won’t be visually appealing on Facebook, and it won’t be pinnable. I mean, what is even the point?

I’m toying with dropping the Baby Rabies title of this blog. For one, it’s just getting exhausting explaining it to people and brands (and then brands ACTUALLY refusing to work with me because my blog name is “off color”). But also, I just want to write. I want to write about whatever. I don’t want to have to tie everything back into parenting and babies.

I’m still in that chapter of my life, but I just have so much less to say about it lately, and I don’t know why. I think I’m just averse now to adding to the online noise about judgement, acceptance, open letters to other parents. I don’t know.

I could totally change my mind tomorrow. You probably know this about me if you’ve read long enough. I am fickle and flaky and flawed. I have a million amazing ideas that I’m working on any given time, but the chances that any of them come to fruition are really slim.

So what I think I’m saying is, I know this place has been quiet and devoid of personality for a while. I would say I’m sorry, but I don’t think I should apologize for doing my best to navigate these waters. This place is for me, but it is also for you. I LOVE you. I do. This community means the WORLD to me. Yes, even you who has never commented and still checks in with me from time to time. I love you.

Wow. It’s crazy how fast I can write a blog post when I’m not sizing images and prepping them for Pinterest. I didn’t even take the time to hyperlink anything. I’m such a rebel! I think I’m done now. I shall go get some more coffee.

I hope you do something today that you haven’t done in a long time that makes you happy, too.

 

July 16, 2015 55 comments
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I Need A Little Feedback And You Could Win $50

by Jill September 5, 2014
written by Jill

I launched a reader survey the other night. I posted the link on my FB page and have already received a tremendous amount of feedback. If you haven’t taken it yet, would you? It will only take a few minutes! And one person will win a $50 Amazon e-card.

You can answer the survey at this link.

As I mentioned on my FB post about it, I want to find out more about who my audience really is. I mean, I have my suspicions, but I could be totally wrong. I know that as this blog has grown, it’s evolved a bit, and I wonder if that’s the same with my audience.

And I want to know what you like, what you want to see more of, what you think of the new blog design, and how I can make the experience around here easier for you to navigate.

I’m hoping this helps me do a few things:

1. Tailor my sponsored content more. This blog is a full time job for me, and I make an income from it. I will always be upfront and honest about that. That said, I want to be sure the brands I partner with are a great, natural fit for me AND most of my audience, and that I’m working with brands in an authentic way that resonates with you all.

2. Make tweaks to the new design. I’m already hearing that it’s hard to find the newest post sometime, the mobile experience is a little confusing, and that people would like to see full posts in my RSS. Working on all 3 of those thanks to the feedback!

3. Get to know my audience better. I’m really excited to see that, so far, my audience seems to be pretty diverse when it comes to stuff like working out of the house or being a stay at home parent (pretty much split in half).

I still intend on telling my story here, obviously, and that won’t change no matter who my readers are, but for the extra stuff, I think this info will be pretty helpful, and I’d so appreciate a few minutes of your time!

September 5, 2014 0 comment
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Open House- Welcome To My New Space
Blogging

Open House- Welcome To My New Space

by Jill July 15, 2014
written by Jill

On the first day of this year, I decided I would make things happen in 2014. Leyna had her arm in a splint after breaking it the day before, and my anxiety was at an all time high, but I sat in the car on the drive back to Dallas from visiting family in South Texas and made a conscious decision to stop waiting for things to come together.

I realized I had to put everything together myself.

Amongst other behind-the-scenes projects and visits to the doctor to get my anxiety under control, I began the long process of re-branding, re-designing (with the help of the FABULOUS and oh-so-talented Courtney Keim), and re-focusing this space. And as I started to put my mind to it, wonderful things started to fall into place. Untitled-8 It’s taken over half the year, but this part of it is ready. There are tweaks and kinks that will still need to be worked out, and exciting new features I’ll showcase more as the week goes on. Soon, there will be a fresh new newsletter, a podcast, and a store-front featuring some of my favorite products.

But, today, for now… I celebrate what IS done, recognizing that I can’t move forward if I’m constantly worried about perfecting the past. I hope it’s easier to navigate, that it looks better on your mobile devices, and that it grows with me as I bring on contributors soon, and continue to work with wonderful brands in fresh ways. I also hope that this gives me the breathing room to add more photography and DIY content without my voice and the story getting lost in the mix.

As I mentioned, there are things to fix still, and Courtney and I are working on it together this week, but if you find any bugs or glitches, I’d love if you’d let me know! It may be something we missed.

If you landed on this post first, be sure to click through to my home page to take in the new view! 

July 15, 2014 19 comments
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Blogging

A Study About Parent Bloggers, FYI

by Jill June 18, 2012
written by Jill

Annie from PhD In Parenting asked me to be a part of a study she just wrapped up, where she took a look at the numbers and traffic driving 20 different parent-focused blogs. The blogs range in size of readership, but Annie sought out to find what the common trends are for building and maintaining blog audiences in Parenting Blog Analytics: How Do My Stats Compare

Annnnnd I just lost some of you, the ones who don’t give a flip about the business of blogging and would much rather be reading about how my 4 year old and toddler made each other bleed for the first time today, I know. Check back in with me tomorrow.

Anyway, since I was a participant in the study, Annie gave me permission to share with you all the wonderfully detailed slideshow she created. If you ARE the type who is interested in this stuff, I think you’re going to find the slideshow very informative, with a lot of takeaways you can apply to your own blog.

Parenting blogs analytics study (click the link to make it bigger)

View more presentations from Annie Phdinparenting
A big, giant thanks to Annie!
June 18, 2012 14 comments
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Blogging

Notes for Blogher12

by Jill August 12, 2011
written by Jill

Notes For Blogher12

1. Friends are worth more than swag. I should spend more time with friends and less time with people trying to give me free stuff. People send free stuff to my door every week. Nobody ever puts any of these ladies in my mailbox. My heart hurts over how little time I spent with each of them (and others not pictured).

2. I’m not sure the full conference pass is worth the money for me anymore. I went to 2 sessions, one Friday and one Saturday. They were both lovely, but I’m not sure I learned anything I couldn’t have taken away from the live blogs posted after the conference. (Oh yeah, did you know those exist? ) I might do the Party/Expo pass next year, but still go to Pathfinder Day. THAT day was extremely valuable to me.

3. No more new shoes. Those glitter heels I HAD to have? Wore them all of 45 minutes before Miranda found me and gave me some AfterFlats. Die, glitter shoes, die. Related: Pack Bandaids.

4. Do not even bother with bringing the DSLR next year. I didn’t even have time to take pictures with my point & shoot, and barely with my iPhone. My Canon was just a burden the whole time.

5. The iPad, bluetooth Zagg keyboard combo was a total win. I’m so glad I didn’t lug my laptop there with me.

6. Pack protein bars… and a steak… or 2 (because BethAnne will love me forever if I share with her).

7. Bring a water bottle because, apparently, it’s not a sure thing that you’ll receive 3 of them upon checkin, unless next year is the year of the water bottle again…. since it’s in NYC, again.

8. Bring major zit fighting cream. Not because I broke out this year (San Diego was nice to me like that), but because I had a zit that was trying to see the Statue of Liberty from my chin all last year (in NYC, it was mean to me like that).

9. Smile, breathe, smile, be nice, breathe, smile.

10. Print blog logo alongside Twitter avatar to stick on my name badge so people aren’t all, “Baby Raaaaaabies??? That sounds…. familiar.” (I think people would recognize others and be recognized much more if everyone walked around with pictures of their Twitter avatars over their faces.)

That’s it. I’m done. Now I’ll shut up about Blogher.

Until next year.

Wait, one more thing. Don’t forget to enter the $500 prize pack giveaway from BornFree, my Blogher conference sponsor. It’s open to US and Canada residents, doesn’t matter if you went to Blogher or not, they’re drawing a winner August 22nd. 

August 12, 2011 29 comments
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Blogging

Best Blogher11 Memories

by Jill August 11, 2011
written by Jill

1. Wine from wine bottles, poured straight into mouths and plastic bottles and never wine glasses, with too many ladies to count, packed in a sun filled, love filled, laughter and hug filled room. What the room did not have was an easy to use corkscrew, so it took 50(?) of us to get it open. There is a video. You may not laugh at it as much as we did. It may be one of those “you had to be there moments.” But there is a video.

Mae is very classy. She is also resourceful, like a Girl Scout… with wine.

2. Sitting on a beach (at the MOST chill, awesome #NintendoEnthused party), gathered around a fire pit, listening to some guy play and sing James Taylor songs on a guitar, discovering that the woman (a very notable one) to my left not only was familiar with the super small town I grew up in in Texas (3k people in the whole wide town,y’all), but her father graduated high school there in the 60s. The world, it is small.

3. Dance off at the Clever Girls party, Wii style. There were Smurfs involved. There was also alcohol and a little social anxiety masked as extreme excitement involved. The picture says it all. My teammates Mae, BethAnne and Suzanne were all very dancy and smurfy. Fun was had by all. I won a plush Papa Smurf for my awesome score. I knew those cheerleading dance skills would pay off someday.

Chihuahua on Redbull: The most accurate description of me at conferences.

4. Flopping into an outdoor chair after a long last day of sessions, sucking down a massive margarita, then calling Andy from the How To Be A Dad duo an asshole for taking the seat next to one of my internet besties who I hadn’t seen, like, the entire f-ing conference. Who cares that it was his seat all day? I don’t think he got my joke. It’s possible my sense of humor didn’t carry through my tone at that point since I was all tired and cranky and lacking REAL (not expo hall) food in my belly and my feet were covered in blisters. I explained to him that I’m not really a bitch. I’m not sure he believed me.

5. Hearing a woman mention “I’m a faculty member at the University of Missouri and work at KOMU…” I believe I spun around and the eloquent words that flew out of my mouth were, “SHUT. UP.” We bonded right then and there over the j-school and social media and OMG-journalism-and-social-media. And then? She asked me to come back and speak to j-school students at homecoming about what “other” things one can do with a journalism degree.

(Soo…. I can tell them you can start a blog and have really poor grammar and write in run-on sentences… and people will read you! And you can also drink wine and divulge way too much information about really personal things, and you can whine about how HORRIBLE potty training is… and people will read you! But, you won’t really get paid in cash monies. I’m sure it will all sound super appealing to them.)

6. Closing keynote, Ricki Lake, listening to her talk about producing The Business of Being Born and how it was the most important, fulfilling work she’s ever done, how she never even broke even, how it started a birthing revolution (that I like to think I’m a part of).

7. That moment at lunch on Pathfinder Day when I listened to Jess Weiner speak about women and empowerment and change and all the things you might expect to hear a motivational speaker talk about at a thing called Blogher, and I suddenly caught my breath, and I teared up just a bit, and I soaked in the moment… and I was grateful. I was grateful to be a part of all of this, this movement, this time when women DO have so. much. power.

8. Winning the Lowes competition after my team (consisting of Jen, Jenny, Linz and a couple more who I would link to, but it might take a week to locate their business cards in my luggage) created a back-to-school organization center out of a bunch of random supplies handed to us. Jen noted that I have good team management skills and that she was, strangely, okay with me bossing her around.

(Here’s the secret, y’all: Address people as “y’all,” and boss them in a southern accent. It gives me the advantage every time. You should try it… unless you’re from Brooklyn… but that might be funny.)

We each won $100 gift cards, which means that hideous ceiling fan in our living room is about to meet it’s demise.

9. The Romy Raves wine party at McCormick & Schmicks. It was so nice and intimate. I got to hang with Linz and Morgan, and I finally got to meet Jean! The wine was delicious (it was all from Cameron Hughes and affordable), and the little appetizers were the best thing I ate all week. The swag bag was out of this world, too. I got one of these Soiree things and it made my $8 bottle of wine taste… well, like more than $8 last night.

10. Waking twice in one night, rolling out of bed, my feet hitting the floor before I realized that baby that’s crying in the next room that I was going to go feed was not mine.

11. Dropping off over 70 bags of donated breastmilk to a very grateful mother from several of us who pumped at the conference. Yay breastmilk donation! Makes me warm and fuzzy every time. Kim and Jen were awesome for organizing that.

There were many more memories and many more pictures, but I will keep those close to my heart for now. Tomorrow I share my tips for Blogher12, which, in case you haven’t heard, will be back in NYC. Hope to meet more of you there! (And if you didn’t see, I shared some of the things I learned at the conference sessions yesterday.)

Don’t forget to enter to win a $500+ prize package from my Blogher sponsor BornFree. Open to US and Canada residents, even those of you who didn’t go to Blogher. Click here to fill out a quick form. They’re drawing a winner August 22nd.

August 11, 2011 28 comments
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6 Things I Learned from Blogher11 Sessions

by Jill August 10, 2011
written by Jill

I’ve reduced my Blogher experience to lists because that’s the only way I can process it right now, and to save you all from something like the 3 part series of epically boring proportions I wrote last year. This, again, is a 3 part series, BUT in list form, which helps… I hope?

Note: These  lists are in no particular order. That’s way too much for my brain to take on right now.

Top 5 6, No Wait, Make That 7 Things I Learned From Blogher Sessions

1. “Everyone here wants to be noticed, and YOU have the power to notice them.” One of the panelists (can’t remember which one, probably Liz Strauss) in the Peer Networking session said this, and I loved it. It’s not only true for the conference, but life in general. I quit worrying about who would and wouldn’t recognize me, and focused on recognizing, acknowledging, and just plain ol’ noticing others. It brought a lot of awesome new connections my way.

2. “The quickest way to make a connection is to ask a question.” That was Liz Strauss (I am now stalking her) at the same Peer Networking session. Really want to get to know someone? Don’t wait and wish for them to reach out to you. Engage them!

3. Find out what makes you standout from the crowd (ask others!), accept that & enhance it, focus it to your audience, then redefine and refresh yourself and/or your blog every 2-3 years. (Pathfinder Day Breakfast with personal brand expert Sandra Miley)

3. Come up with a mission statement or an elevator pitch about who you are and what you’re about. As opportunities come to you, see if they match your mission statement. Say no to things that don’t.- Implementing this now! I spread myself too thin all the time. (Also from Sandra Miley)

4. Melissa Ford from Stirrup-Queens.com was one of the Pathfinder Day: My Blog as Book Proposal panelists. I took away so much from this session, but I’m not sure much of it is of interest to the majority of you. That said, if you’re interested in how to get a book published, she has a How To Get A Book Published series of posts, linked in her right sidebar.

5. Blog regularly! (So, so, so guilty of this. You all know that.) In the Your Blog Can Make You A Social Media Marketer session, Melissa Lion made a great point that blogging every day shows a prospective employer that you can and do meet deadlines. Ree Drummond (you may have heard of her little blog The Pioneer Woman) spoke in the My Blog As Media Company Pathfinder session about how important it is to tend to your blog like a garden, to nourish and water it regularly. She also has some other amazing tips in this post here.

6. You are the boss of your blog. This was a note that several touched on. Do what you want! Don’t like an old post? Delete it. Want to blog about different topics? Go for it. I think you want to try to go about these things with a little thought so you don’t leave people confused, unless you want to confuse people. Then confuse them because it’s your blog and you can do what you want. You are the boss of it.

I’ll post my other 2 lists (memories, and notes for next year) tomorrow and Friday. (I was going to post them all here, today, in this one post, and then I remembered the whole “trying to keep things from being epically long and boring” goal. Lookie there! I’m learning.)

BUT WAIT! Don’t forget that BornFree (my awesome Blogher Sponsor) is giving away over $500 of super cool baby gear to ANYONE who enters (from the US or Canada), not just those who went to Blogher. There’s still time to enter if you haven’t yet. Just click here and fill out the info. They draw a winner August 22nd. 

August 10, 2011 25 comments
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How Not To Ask A Question At A Conference #Blogher11

by Jill August 7, 2011
written by Jill

I’m halfway home from Blogher, stuck in a frigid airport in El Paso. I attempted to curl up in a corner and pass out, but my teeth were chattering, so I’m forced to stay warm by paying to surf the internet.

(The way to a blogger’s heart is through free wifi. Between having to pay for it and the torture of being stuck inside a f-ing walk-in freezer disguised as an airport, complete with no accessible exits to the sunny and clearly very warm atmosphere outside taunting me through these giant windows in front of uncomfortable seats that are impossible to fall asleep in, El Paso and I are barely on speaking terms.)

Since I’ve got the child-free time, and I’m forced to keep typing to encourage circulation to my frostbitten fingers, I thought I’d take a minute to jot a note down about how one should ask a question at a conference.

Or… maybe just how NOT to ask a question. Yes, let’s go with that.

Here’s how NOT to ask a question at a conference:

“Hi everyone! My name is (name) and I blog at (blog). Uhhhhmmmmm….. so…… when I was 5, I always dreamed of becoming a writer. And so I wrote and wrote and wrote in my diary. And one year I took my diary to camp and I fell in love with the boy I thought I was going to marry, EXCEPT we never did, but he was really cute. And I like to write about cute guys now. I got married to someone else and we have 3 kids. My youngest is starting Kindergarten this fall! Isn’t it crazy how fast they grow? I volunteer for the PTA now and we just started a blog. You should follow us. I just posted my best rice krispy treat recipe on it. So, anyway…. hum… my question is… hahahah… I think I forgot. Hold on… my question is…. oh! Yes. My question is (insert actual question here.)”

1. If you start out your question by taking us back in time 25 years, you are doing it wrong.
2. If you begin to list the ages of all your children when your actual question has nothing to do with your children or their ages, you are doing it wrong.
3. If your question would not fit in one tweet, you’re (probably) doing it wrong.

Listen, I get it. It’s nerve wracking to stand up and ask a question sometimes, especially if it’s your bloggy idol on the panel who’s listening to you. I’m a rambler. I go on and on and on when I get nervous. Silence makes me uncomfortable. So before I rise to ask a question (after working hard to get the attention of the mic wrangler and panelists with my half-raised-don’t-want-to-look-over-eager-but-please-please-pick-me hand) I formulate the question in my head. Then? I edit it and delete all references to that one time at band camp.

I encourage you all to do the same next time, too. Time is short and questions are a plenty at things like this. Let your fellow conference attendees have a chance to ask theirs by keeping yours brief. Besides, there is plenty of time to corner your idol at one of the parties (or even better, the elevator!) and tell them that really funny story you know they’ll just love.

August 7, 2011 12 comments
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What A Blogger Can Learn From Oprah

by Jill May 25, 2011
written by Jill

I wasn’t planning to blog about Oprah today. I’m sitting here watching her after, admittedly, not really tuning in regularly for many years now. Although, she’s been a force and inspiration in my life for a long while. I grew up with her, it seems. Not always on my TV, but always a presence… on billboards, in commercials (remember those “Oprah’s On!” ones?). Really, there aren’t many who can say they haven’t been impacted  by her in at least some small way.

I fell head over heels under her inspirational trance, though, in high school. I actually used to rush home on days I didn’t have a practice or rehearsal so I could watch. At that age, I dreamed of becoming her. Come on, who didn’t? I saw bits of who I wanted to be in her, from her passion for speaking to her charitable spirit. I went on to get my degree in broadcast journalism, and be sure I was most certainly inspired to do so, in part, because of Oprah.

Of course, I did not grow up to be Oprah… at least I haven’t yet. I don’t even technically use that degree I worked so hard to earn. I’m a stay at home mom who writes a blog in between avoiding dishes and making messes with my kids and husband.

That doesn’t mean I’m not sitting here, crying like a baby that this is her last regularly scheduled appearance on my TV, or that my daughter won’t know what it’s like to grow up with such a positive female influence on her TV every day- a powerful woman woven into her culture so deeply that she actually has an official term named after how her influence can impact a global economy, the Oprah Effect.

No, I didn’t expect to blog about Oprah today, but I found myself at nap time with a quiet house and a laptop near me just as her show started. And then she started to speak… and I just started typing everything out.

Because, once again, she is speaking to me. She is speaking about me. And, maybe more than any other moment in my life, she is inspiring me.

“Each one of you have your own platform.”

No, I’m not a TV show host. I’m not even on your nightly newscast as I used to dream so hard, so passionately of doing. I have a relatively small platform here, but it’s one I’m incredibly grateful for, one I try to grow and tend to each and every day. The people who comment, lurk, email, tweet, talk to me on Facebook or find me in grocery stores and introduce themselves, you are all important to me and teach me more than I could ever learn on my own. You validate me, and I hope, in the best way I can, I validate you.

“When you learn better, you do better.”

I’m not saying I’m proud of every word I’ve typed on here or other places online. There are posts I’ve considered erasing, but then I know that wouldn’t be honest. You can’t erase your history, but you can learn from it, and you can hope that others will forgive you and watch you grow.

“You are responsible for your life… You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself and responsible for the energy you create for others.”

If Oprah were a blogger, she wouldn’t need to create drama for page views. If Oprah were a blogger, she’d bring up the other bloggers around her, not cut them down. She’d shower them in praise and support. She wouldn’t be perfect, but she’d grow, evolve and learn from her mistakes. She wouldn’t let trolls take over her space with negativity, she would be a positive force to be inspired by. She would always look both inside herself, and out to the world to challenge the norm and spark genuine conversation. No one would care if she was a “mommy” or not.

“There is a difference between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing you are worthy of happiness.”

“We often block our own blessings because we don’t feel… worthy enough.”

For years, I’ve struggled with the emotions this blogging bit can stir up, knowing there are always people out there, lurking, waiting to pounce on something I’ve said or done, looking for ways to cut me down. Criticism is hard to take. But, on the other hand, sometimes it’s even harder to receive praise. When people tell me I’m doing something good here, that what I write (despite the grammar slips and run on sentences) is good, I laugh them off.

Oh, this old thing? It’s just a silly blog.

No, it’s more. It’s me. It’s nearly every piece of me. What started as my inane ramblings about charting and BABIES and OMG cervical mucus! has splintered and grown into an entire tree of who I’m all about. Some of my branches are bigger than others, some are budding and new. It’s taking off in directions I never dreamed, and I’m finding I’m surrounded by a whole forest of trees growing up all around me. I am not alone in this parenting thing, in this blogging thing, or in this blogging about parenting thing. And that is awesome. I’m ready to feel worthy of the opportunities and praise this place and my hours of work that go into it brings, and I want every single one of my friends in this space to feel the same way. Please.

“You, alone, are enough.”

“What are the whispers in your life and will you hear it? Your life is speaking to you. What is it saying?”

I’m still trying to figure that out, but as I’ve said on here before, I feel at peace and happy with my path in life now more than I ever have. Obviously, my family has a huge part in that, but I can’t deny that this blog is also a factor. I feel like this path is more my calling than anything I ever dreamed of doing in college, and though I may never be famous for it or paid large sums of money for it, it makes me happy.

15 years ago, I used to watch Oprah and dream of being just. like. her. on TV. I had no idea what a blog was, I had never been on a message board, I’m pretty sure my head would have exploded if someone tried to explain Twitter to me, and all I can say is THANK GOD THERE WAS NO FACEBOOK WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL. I could never have imagined that I would hear her farewell speech from this couch with a napping baby at my feet and feel validated by her for doing what I do today, something so different from the dreams I had then.

Thank you, Oprah. Thank you for that one last shove in the direction of the dreams I’ve yet to dream.

(Seriously, I’m crazy sappy right now. Odd, I know. And I don’t even think it’s because my period is about to make it’s return… I hope.)

Kendall is 3, Leyna is just nearly 5 months, and I’m a 30 year old SAHM/blogger who never made it as a TV anchor and proud of it

 

May 25, 2011 26 comments
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