i AM a Mommy Blogger

I'm trying to embrace the fact that I "am" a Mommy Blogger! I've avoided admitting it for some time because I never felt I was truly part of that community. I work outside the home full-time, I have two teenage children and don't write about stinky butts and breast feeding. In fact, I very seldom write about anything personal...which I am hoping to change. However, I'm still first, and foremost a MOM and I BLOG, so I must be a Mommy Blogger! Please bare with me as I try to "find my voice" here on my blog. I've avoided getting personal for so long, focusing on crafty things I do and like around the web. But I quickly learned that wasn't fulfilling and certainly not fun to do. I actually started thinking this was something I had to do to maintain my job...it went from something person to a "job" of sorts. So I'm ready to GET REAL and put myself, my thoughts, my heart out there for my friends around the world to see. So watch out people.

Why did I even start a blog was a question I asked myself several times over the past few days. You see I attended the Casual Bloggers Conference in Sandy, Utah this past few days and it was AMAZING!! But the overwhelming message we continued to hear from many of our speakers was "be true to yourself". People won't enjoy reading your blog if they don't know "who" you are...find your voice, share it! One girl, that spoke in a Niche Blogging panel, April Meeker had me in stitches every time she spoke....in fact, she should have taught a class on her own. Seriously after hearing her talk, I wanted to know "her" and so I hunted down her blog and we became the best of friends (not really, but one day)...but I feel like I know her better because of her blog. She said one of my favorite things the entire conference. She explained that you should be "writing to your ideal reader" and for her that meant her ideal reader was "her". So I thought about that a lot since yesterday and really I guess my ideal reader would be...

• A Mom
• Married to a man that only does exactly what you ask him (when he feels like it of course)
• Works Outside of the Home (or really...we all work whether we leave the home or not)
• Has already lived through the baby phase, but it's been so long they don't remember it and don't talk about it a ton
• Loves her family, but also loves the occasional break from them too!
• Has Teenagers (or is curious what to expect when their cute little ones become one)
• Smart, but doesn't feel like it very often. 
• Driven to try and do anything, at the sacrifice of sanity and sleep.
• Wishes they had more money (to shop of course)
• Loves to be creative in every realm of her life
• Doesn't appear to be organized, but can find whatever she needs under all the piles
• Her friends both online and off matter a ton to her
• Belief in God is threaded through everything she does (by default)
• Loves to be inspired by good movies, good stories and good people. 
• Wishes they had more time
• Cries about anything that touches her heart and spirit
• Enjoys technology, but only in the sense it makes her life easier and connects her to her friends!
• Cannot wait for the next adventure, phase or whatever you call it in her life

So I suppose I'm with April, my ideal reader would be ME too! And I'm okay calling myself a Mommy Blogger, so I hope you enjoy the change and I'd love to hear what you think by leaving me a comment.