Mommy Gossip

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Even though I published my first blog post in February 2008, I didn't technically jump into the social media world until the end of last July when I actively started writing on this blog. (Click here to read about what turned me into a blogging fanatic for 3 weeks in Pennsylvania.) And, I must admit I had no idea what I was in store for. What began as a digital journal has turned my life upside down in every good way possible. The best part? Friends! Glorious friends!


I started out, surprisingly enough to those of you who really know me, as a passive blogger—writing for myself. I didn't really start interacting with people in the social realm until mid August or so when I started reading other blogs and leaving comments thanks to my good and crazy friend, Carissa Rogers at GoodandCrazyPeople. OK, so it only took me 2 weeks for my extrovert tendencies to kick in. And, I'm so glad they did.


I discovered so many fun blogs, but wanted more. Shortly after I started blogging in earnest, I discovered twitter and the rest is a blur... First, Carissa and I started the #gno weekly Twitter parties, after that we formed Mom It Forward, then I started using Facebook like a maniac, formed a YouTube group, a Flickr group, started a Wiki, and officially got into all things online... and as you know, I'm hooked! Or, as my husband says, addicted!!!

I made so many friends in such a quick time and I won't lie to you, my IRL friends and family were a bit nervous thinking all of you were predators trying to pick up on me or get my data to use in damaging ways. So, when I started making the transition from on to offline, I discovered the best part of on is really off! What do I mean by that?

In early December, I joined a few other Mom It Forward (#gno) gals I had met online to join me in a service project at an assisted living facility in Utah. I knew these women from blogging or from twitter, but had never met them in real life. We met up with our kids and shared the Christmas spirit with men and women in our local community. But first, we had a planning meeting! Check out the three of us: Kristina from Pulsipher Predilections and Kristin from Domestically Sassy.


In December, I also joined the Social Media Club of Salt Lake City board and in January, I attended my first meeting and met up with one of my newst BFFs, Krista Parry. We had been tweeting for approximately 2 weeks, but when we met up IRL, we hit it off. It didn't even take until the end of the evening before people were asking us if we were sisters. I felt like I had been friends with her since Jr. High. Fast forward three months... we probably talk more on the phone or live now than we do on Twitter!

Since that time, I have met tons of amazing folks in the local Social Media scene as well as have been able to meet up with some of my favorite mommy bloggers there like Quinn from Created by Mom and Cecily from My Chaos, My Bliss (the co-founder of Photo Story Friday and a co-faculty member in the Fishful Thinking program).


In February, I went to my first social media/blogging conference—Blissdom—in Nashville, Tennessee. There, I met hundreds of gals, may of which I had been tweeting with during #gno—some since early last fall. Going to this conference was like coming home. Nothing can really explain the emotion of meeting someone and realizing it is @sugarjones or @rachel_ferrucci or @jessicaknows—women you feel so close to but have never met IRL. Even better is becoming real life friends with these gal and having a bond tighter than you did before.



Also awesome was meeting new folks at the conference and discovering that offline relationships translate equally as well to online. In other words, I met people at the conference I hadn't really interacted with online and we instantly became friends. Josh and Rebecca Unfried of the amazing Mom Faves site joined us for a service project at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Nothing like chatting over chopping vegetables to bond you for life.










The first weekend in March, I was very fortunate to fly out to New York and attend a parenting workshop as part of the Fishful Thinking program. Mr Youth, the interactive agency for Pepperidge Farm, selected 10 women across the US to help promote this amazing program on positive parenting. They must have known I really needed some help. I'm sure if I share the 5 ingredients of positive parenting with enough people some of it will rub off on me, right? LOL!

My point for bringing all of this up? While there, I met even more fantastic women in the program that were all in social media—amazing moms who blog, network, and manage all of their many roles while trying to be a positive parent! And to add to the fun, I even met up with tweeting friend and now IRL friend Katja Presnal from Skimbaco Lifestyle and her three children for lunch in New York City. Why we didn't have someone else take the pictures so Katja could be in it with us is beyond me. Next time, right?


And just last week, I attended a workshop with about 50 women—some I had met online, others I hadn't. We learned about how to have realistic expectations and how to be terrific moms. We hooked up with "old" friends, got to meet new ones, and even won terrific prizes all over chocolate!

But the treat of all treats, literally, was hooking up with a group of 14 other online women—mostly bloggers—in my local community to go out to eat at a fabulous new restaurant in Highland, Utah called The Blue Lemon.



Not only was there instant friendship, but terrific food! Let me share!



Oh! Yah! Nothing like discovering a new restaurant, going in with low expectations, seeing the sophisticated style, and trying nearly 8 dishes (that doesn't even include dessert) and loving every one of them. And, you know it is bad when you start getting protective of your tomato bisque even when it is really supposed to be a share and share alike type of an experience.

The highlights? The surpringly delicious... ok, delicious doesn't even begin to describe it... SCRUMPTIOUS! DELECTIBLE! AMAZING! (all rolled into one) butternut squash soup. I was so busy eating it that I forgot to take a picture (and it is worth seeing a picture of it even though it doesn't do it justice), but I did snap one of the chef preparing it (a little behind the scenes shot for you!).

And what would dinner be without dessert?

And here's the best part of this long history of my meet ups with these online women (7 months is like 20 years in online time)... these women—every single one of them—are AMAZING. They have talents and skills and beauty (inside and out) and more talents and are funny and sensitive and are full of great ideas for the moms and online women and entrepreneurs so many of us are. Plus, they are energizing to be around, and overall... a huge addition to my life. In other words, they are exactly the opposite of the gals you meet on MySpace that are really weird men! LOL! They would have been my friends IRL had I met them IRL. :)

So now what... does it ever end. Oh! No! This is just the beginning. On Saturday, March 28, Mom It Forward and Make and Takes are hostessing a family-friendly service project for the Christmas Box House. I'm excited to meet more moms as we serve side by side with our families.

And, on Saturday, April 18, we will be having a huge benefit concert for these charities to help provide sustainable incomes and business opportunities for women in Kenya: http://yehu.org, http://basabody.com, and http://coastcoconutfarms.com all under The Pope Foundation umbrella out of Provo.

Want in to see how "off" can be better than "on"? Want to experience the friend frenzy that is social media. Or, just want to connect with other moms? Take advantage of one of the upcoming activities that involve the Salt Lake City social media scene, moms, and more:

• Meet some friends at The Blue Lemon Bistro (and invite me... unless you want to share the tomato bisque).
• Attend Ignite and Pod Camp Thursday and Friday, March 26-27.
  
• Join us for our March 28 service project.
• Attend next the Social Media Club of Salt Lake City for its April 16 meeting at The Melting Pot.
• Join the planning committee or attend the Moms Helping Moms charity event on Saturday, April 18 to help support women in Kenya!
• Come party with the mommy scene at BlogHer in Chicago the weekend of July 24. I know, it's that or Pioneer Day in Utah, but seriously... think of all the fun, friends, and fabulous information!
  

You know when you are putting together a puzzle and the pieces don’t seem to fit? It can be so frustrating! You force them. You rearrange them. You go for the obvious all to no avail. Then suddenly, the parts groove and pictures start to appear, making sense of the odd-shaped pieces. It’s a beautiful sensation, making the effort so worthwhile.


This describes a recent trip I took with my sisters—four very different women, spanning twenty years in age—38, 34, 28, 18. From religious and political beliefs and fashion sense to education and motherhood responsibilities and desires, we are as different as like-colored puzzle pieces with only their color—and in our case, our last name—to bring us together.
But, what better than a sister’s vacation to bridge the age gaps and build some common bonds? And better yet, three days without kids or spouses, an agenda, or internet access. Nothing, as it turns out!


We laughed our way to and from Arizona (sorry for any of you who may have been on our flights). We lounged by the pool. We visited relatives. We ate at Ned’s Krazy Subs twice and had Mexican food three times. We went to the movies. We went to a dinner theatre. We cried at Grandma’s grave. We went down memory lane in the old hood. We took a picture in front of our favorite pomegranate tree. We got pedicures. We ate frozen yoghurt at the same place we used to go to after school more than 20 years ago. Yep! It is still open. We stayed up until 2 a.m. talking and slept in until noon. We got ready in the same bathroom. We took more than 500 pictures and studied them on the flight home to see in what ways we looked alike and different. We were sad to say goodbye.


Growing up and even into my adulthood, I felt so lucky for my wonderful friends. Whenever I found a kindred spirit, I considered myself the most fortunate of all people. But, my Sisterhood of the Traveling Pant—ies made me realize and appreciate the strength in sisterhood and where my real fortune lies.