The post I wrote called Public Education is …..Free? I was shocked when someone from Book Sox contacted me about sending me some to try. I had written about how costly it is to send your child back to school, and he wanted me to see the value of spending money on their product.  Bravo to them for giving a damn about insignificant me.

The post I wrote called Blogging Vs Self-Marketing? I was overwhelmed by readers that actually spent their precious time writing meaningful and insightful content.  As a writer (totally amateur at best), knowing that someone actually processed what you wrote is a great feeling. Whether you agree with my thoughts, or not, the fact that you had something valuable to say is very meaningful to me.

The post that I wrote called Best Potato Salad Ever? It’s got the fewest comments but the highest number of “views”.  So I’m wondering, has anyone in the universe ever tried making it? Hope I didn’t food poison them.

I’ve been surprised by the connections I have made with other bloggers.  One mom, who went the route of adoption for motherhood. I feel very connected to her for the similar journey we shared. Another mom because of her creativity. I am in awe of her talent and wish I had time again to try some of her projects. I drool over her blog.

All in all, I’ve really come to love blogging.  To those who knock it as some of petty mommy thing…I say…..your loss.

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1. The bloggers who write to share, vent and keep an online diary. Maybe make a few friends along the way. Get some creative ideas or insight. Be a part of  a community of intelligent and diverse women.

2. The blogger who  is more of a “get as many followers as I can by giving away lots of stuff”. They get these followers to promote their site for them.  To me, the second they stop giving away “baby bumpies” or “silly wipes”, they are history.  There’s little “real content”.  I think of this type of blogging as “self-marketing”.  Marketing of thy self.

I should stop right there, but of course….I won’t. I am thinking there is a good chance I will lose some of my own subscribers after this post. But hey, to me a blog is for expressing my feelings and that’s what I’m going to do.

I come from a marketing/sales background. I come to a blog and see that it runs contests or transparent product reviews and it’s pretty much over for me.  I don’t like being “sold to” at all. The little red “X” box gets clicked faster than you can say “Publisher’s Clearing House”.

And  I think to myself  ”does the XYZ company who makes this product really believe that this is creating  great consumer interest?”  Seriously.  Do they think that “mommies” are that gullible? That easily swayed by what is basically a written infomercial? Come ON!

Hello, Mr President of XYZ? This is not creating a huge demand for your product. People are only interested in it if they think they will get it for free.  Just thought I’d let you know.  When it comes time for them to have to buy it……you’ve lost their attention.

Now having said all of that.

1. Nothing against the blogs who choose to pitch items. It’s just not for me. I have no interest nor the time to send 20 retweets, comment 15 times, follow you and then email you with a log of everything I’ve done just for the chance to win a “Silly Wipe”.  I’m not interested in promoting your site just so I can now wipe my kid’s behind for a week, the “Green Way”.
2. I am not putting down the person who is asked by a company to review something, states that they were asked to review it, gives an honest, objective opinion and then gives one away as a reward to followers.  These bloggers aren’t asking for 35 tweets, 15 retweets, 12 forwards,  515 comments, and 3 emails in order to “have more chances”.  :::cough:::

What led me to write this post/rant? As of late I have had two “commenters” that shall remain nameless.  These commenters don’t even bother to read the actual post they are commenting on.   One such comment was “Today is my day to comment on my loyal followers blogs.  Come see my new giveaway at www.ihavenodignity.com. ” Yay me.  Blech. And delete you go.

Excuse me but that is rude. I’m not your billboard.  You can prostitute your blog all you want…but don’t be soliciting here.

Okay, I’m done.

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Anyway, I thought I’d share some of my new reading with you, as well as an award to them for making my Sunday mornings just a little more interesting.

1. Show Me the Mom.  I love reading Shannon’s blog.  I feel like if the two of us were in a room together, we’d have a lot to gab about.
2. The World According to Me. KathyB is a wonderful story teller. If you haven’t read her blog yet…..you should.  Her pictures and story writing are fantastic.
3. Mimi Bella Boo.  In my next life I will come back with the time to be as creative as Jennifer.  I’m hoping to find out that she lives close by and will redo the patio cushions for me!!  She’s got a lovely blog and really wonderful, creative ideas.

If you’d like to pass this along to your own favorite Sunday Morning Reads, go right ahead. Why not send me a trackback so I can see your favorite reads! The trackback will be posted here in the form of a comment.

Now back to my regularly scheduled Sunday morning reading.  

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I really do wish I had discovered “blogging” a decade or so ago. There are so many things I wish I could have preserved with words. Photos are great, as are videos. But nothing preserves an event or time better than your fresh thoughts, in words, on “paper”.

A post I read on Natural Mommy Loves Prada had me thinking about all the things I would have written about:

• The words my son mispronounced when he was younger:
  • Osange instead of Orange
  • P.U.S. instead of U.P.S
  • Deem Mopot instead of Home Depot
  • His name as Kyle Me-ann instead of Kyle Ian
• The 10 day road trip I took with just my dad, before I got married. Just the two of us. We explored Nevada, Arizona (my birthplace) and Utah. Winging the entire trip and talking about everything in the world.
• The big surprise party we threw my dad in my yard for his 60 3/4 birthday instead of the one we had originally planned for his 60th birthday.  He had learned he had cancer two weeks before the original party and needed to begin chemo right away. 
• The day my son was born and all that led up to it.  Five years of fertility treatments, 8 IUI’s, multiple surgeries, 3 IVF’s.
• The story of the month it took me to get back home after my son was born., which I think I will write about some day anyway.
• The dog days and nights of a colicy baby as well as the other milestones and firsts of early motherhood.
• The many ups and downs of my marriage.

Those of you who have long been blogging are fortunate. You have this amazing diary of ups and downs. Of firsts and lasts, photos and fresh memories. No hazy memories for you. I am sure there are things I have long since forgotten that I would have loved to be able to reflect on again.  Cute mispronunciations that have long since escaped my very peri-menopausal brain.

 I envy you all.

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If you had asked me three weeks ago about blogging, I probably would have laughed at you . Who has time for sitting here and typing daily psychobabble when there is work, laundry, carpooling, house straightening, errands, homework, obligations and a shot at sleep to handle?  And why would someone want to read about anything I have to say in the first place?  To me, it’s up there with entering contests all day and trying to get free samples sent to me.  Two other things I don’t get.

I’m working on a marketing program for a client of mine. A difficult client of mine, actually. Big ideas, and absolutely no budget for anything beyond an ad in the local shopper paper. (Not that bad, but it may as well be.)  

I read about the influence bloggers can have and started searching blogs.  Google “blogs” and you get 765,000,000 results. Can you imagine this????  But I still didn’t get WHY it’s such a big thing. What’s in it for the bloggers? Why are marketers and businesses clamouring around them?

The best way to understand it would be to “live it”, right?  So here I am giving it a go for myself, which is why you’re even reading this post in the first place. Unfortunately, I think you are all stuck with me now.

Blogging is……cleansing. I get to vent my thoughts, stupidity and obsessions. It may even prolong the length of my 16 year marriage , because I have greatly cut down on the amount of senseless yapping he must endure.  It’s an online diary and unless I forget to renew my domain name every July, I can have it for eternity.  (Not sure if that’s a positive or a negative yet).  I am enjoying it.

So here I am…….make it  765,000,001 results for blogs on Google

I do want to share with you some of the more unusual blogs I found along the way:

• My Life is Average is one to check out  if you want a quick laugh or just the opportunity to see your day isn’t going as bad as you thought.
• Indexed is a collection of graphs, that my brain is too shot to comprehend at the moment.
• Oddee: Strange Names
• Oddee:Photoshop Mistakes.  Oddee has a big collection of “oddities” besides the two I mentioned here. Entertaining

If you have any you’d like to share, I’d love to see them

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