I know what you're thinking...

"Her blog break sure didn't last long..."


Well.  I'm still on a temporary break (details to the why are here) but I also need a roomie for this years BlogHer conference in NYC.  So I posted a clever and oh so witty little ad over in the BlogHer forums.  The more I thought about it the more I thought 

well crap!  Who's gonna want to room with someone who's blog is on a break??

So, I'm making a little Best of-ish kind of post so people might think about offering me a place to stay.  If not I will have to commute from Jersey.  Jersey people, please don't make me do that.  Or my family will be shacking up with me in a hotel.  Which would make it hard to enjoy the evening festivities and come in about midnight.  (My three year old is a really, really light sleeper.)

Here are links to some of my well-liked posts:

Dear So & So
Random Tuesday Thoughts
Fiction 500 (stories)
Monday's Muse
The Naked Truth
Spin Cycle

If you have a room that needs a roommate please let me know at:

 bloggingmamaandrea {at} gmail {dot} com


Roommate found!  Yea!  I'm shacking up with Nora from Nonlineargirl!

{Final} Answer - Hit publish before you change your mind

I thought about getting all dramatic.  But I don't like drama.
I thought about just saying nothing.  But I like getting in the last word.
You might think it's a late April Fool's joke like over at DGB.  But it's not.

So here's where I tell you things I've said before.

Blogging has lost it's fun factor.  I'm not enjoying it.  I'm not enjoying obsessing over whether someone comments on a post or not.  I'm pretty much tired of myself.  Getting worked up over it Is Not Worth It.

I've been mostly absent for the past week or two and you know what?  I've gotten so much done.  Things that actually mean a lot to me (well, okay not the cleaning and laundry part but you get what I mean).

I've started a whole other writing project.  One that keeps me up writing into the night and all day.  And I Love It.  I love It more than I love blogging.  I am happier doing It than I am blogging.  It had to come before this and I am okay with that.  In fact I'm already feeling so much lighter just having come to that conclusion in my mind.

Will I ever blog again?  I might.  Down the road and in the future.  (Small note, I have two upcoming posts because I made commitments to other people to do something here on my blog.)  I will probably post writing related things on The Literary Side from time to time.  I may or may not continue reading blogs.

The thing is, reading blogs sucks up all this time that I could spend dedicating to the projects I really love.  I enjoy reading and connecting with people and I do enjoy reading blogs.  But lately, it's only an ever smaller handful that I'm reading.  I don't like feeling bad because I feel bad for not visiting blogs.  I know if you visit me, in the blog etiquette world I'm supposed to visit you.  But sometimes I just don't want to.  It's not because you aren't interesting, it's simply that I don't want to cram anything else into my day.

I want to sit down and write.  Write fiction.  Edit.  Sell a book or five.  I can't do that if I let all my time be taken up with blogging.  I found out I can't balance all of it.  And push came to shove...

and blogging lost.  I am happy with that.

*Along with this also comes the decision that going to BlogHer would be kind of dumb since I'm no longer going to blog.  I have a ticket and am happy to sell it for the price I paid, just as soon as I figure out how you go about selling a pre-purchased ticket to someone else.  Email me if you are interested in purchasing the ticket (2 day pass).  If no ones buys it, I guess I'm going to BlogHer without a blog (or incidentally a place to stay).  Yea.


Okay so no one wants the ticket which means I'm going.  Who wants to share a hotel so I don't have to commute from Jersey everyday??

Flip Flop Swap with Mom is in the Fishbowl

I recently participated in the Flip Flop Swap over at Mom is in the Fishbowl.  She had this great idea to kick-start summer by having people sign up to send each other a new pair of flip flops.  Brilliant no?

I thought so.  My flip flop giver Plaidchaos could not have picked a better pair of flip flops if she had tried.

Honestly.  I almost bought the exact same pair about five times in the last two weeks.  No Joke.  Annikke certainly matched me to my dream partner because she sent me these beautiful flip flops:

Gorgeous yes.  (Picture from Target.com because I couldn't get a decent picture to save my life.  Probably because I was so dang excited to wear them.  From Target's Liberty of London line in case you want some too.)

Anyway, huge thanks to Annikke for organizing the swap.  Let's make this an annual event!

My blog is currently inactive however I promised this and several other posts prior to my blog vacation.  You can read details here.

The Naked Truth: Autism Awareness

Today, in case like me you didn't know this before, in addition to being April 2nd, it is also Autism Awareness Day.  If you can, please wear BLUE in support of all the children and adults struggling to find acceptance and a solution.  Thor, CP, Chick and I are also walking for Autism Speaks on May 22nd in Cincinnati and we could use your donations.  If you want to donate please CLICK HERE to visit my donation page or look in my sidebar for the link.  All money is collected directly through the Autism Speaks Foundation and is completely safe.

Most of you know that Thor is 'on the spectrum'.  I actually hate that term (along with a few others).  He was diagnosed with mild Aspergers in November.  I talked about the 'before' time here.  In the past few days I've come across several blogs (a few known to me and a few unknown) and they've talked about Aspergers.  The most important thing I've learned from this is that I am not alone.  With my struggles, with not knowing what to do or how to explain why Thor might do something.  Occasionally, he will cry at the drop of a hat, over something silly to me but something that's not silly to him.  In a younger child you would expect tears for certain things, but not in an eight year old.

The hardest part is starting over again in a place that doesn't know about Thor.  Do we tell neighbors about this extra thing that makes up a part of who he is?  How and when?  We've told the mother of his best friend on our new street.  Thor plays over there a lot.  A Lot.  It's an awkward conversation to have because how do you tell someone such a thing about your child?

Am I embarrassed about who Thor is?  Absolutely not.  Am I afraid people will judge him unfairly when they hear about is Aspergers?  Yes, I am.  He is a brilliant, funny, sweet, kind, loving little boy.  He can also get very angry - out of proportion for circumstances; cries easily in certain situations and lives in a very black-and-white world.  In his mind, in the words of Yoda - "Do or do not.  There is no try."  There is no gray.  He is stubborn (though I'm sure CP would say that comes from me and has nothing to do with the Aspergers.)  When he says he didn't do something, even when you've witnessed or heard him say it, he may tell you with absolute confidence that you are lying.  Not him.  He has unfortunately said this to his teacher this week.

The best thing that we've learned is that ASD's (Autism Spectrum Disorders) are becoming common.  Don't misunderstand that I think that is a good thing - I don't.  What is good is that more educational resources and more people are learning about what ASD's are and what they mean.  What is good is that more educational resources and more people are learning about what ASD’s are and what they mean. You’ll learn a bit about autism when you take medical coding classes.  Can my child grow up and be a doctor/lawyer/train engineer?  Yes, he can be anything he wants.  His ASD doesn't limit him that way.  Not everyone gets to be as lucky as we are.  I know that.  And I am thankful everyday that we got so lucky to be on the very mild side of this.

In case you don't know how common this is, here are some facts from Autism Speaks about just how common this issue is today.

Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. An estimated 1.5 million individuals in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide are affected by autism. Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually. There is not established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Studies suggest boys are more likely than girls to develop autism and receive the diagnosis three to four times more frequently. Current estimates are that in the United States alone, one out of 70 boys is diagnosed with autism. 

Just think about the numbers I highlighted.  That is so significant as to be mind boggling to me.  This is the reason I will fight for Thor and kids like him to make sure they receive the chances they deserve.  They deserve to grow up and be recognized, not for their ASD but for who they are.  They are kids who will become adults who have an ASD.  Don't limit them by slapping a label on them and dismissing them. With the prevalence of ASD's today, we can't afford to.

Writer's Workshop with Mama Kat

This is another weekly event I haven't completed in awhile (due to total lack of inspiration).  But this weeks number one caught my eye.  If you want to join in you can go over to Mama Kat's and see which topic inspires you.



1.  Sometimes the people who inspire me the most are people I talk to everyday.  The amazing thing is that the majority of them are people I've never even met.

2.  There are so many talented bloggers writers out there, I feel blessed just to be sharing the same internet.  A sampling of a few: Irish Gumbo, Clark Kent's Lunchbox, Let's Have a Cocktail.  Just to name a very few.  It's because of writers like these that I keep writing.  Everyone has a story.

3.  Sometimes you can't please everyone.  Sometimes what you write might not come across the way you intended.  You have to learn to roll with it and apologize when necessary.

4.  Thanks to Gina, I now know that any food that has the word 'chocolate' 'donut' 'cookie' or 'cupcake' in it's name is perfectly acceptable for breakfast.  And I don't have to be ashamed to share that.

5.  It has it's ups and downs.  Sometimes from minute to minute.

6.  If it weren't for blogging, I wouldn't know about BlogHer.  If I didn't know about BlogHer I wouldn't be going.  If I weren't going I wouldn't have to ask the following:

Does anyone need a roommate for the conference?  I don't snore, talk in my sleep or sleepwalk.  I'll bring you chocolate and buy your drinks and at the end of the night I won't even hit on you.  So who needs a roomie??  Email me.

7.  There are a wealth of other people that are having or have had the same experiences I have.  And without that knowledge sometimes I don't know if I would have survived.

8.  I've also learned that my family is more important than blogging.  Sometimes it's easy to forget that.

9.  There's no substitute for talking to a dozen people around the world in an hour and never having to either get out of my pj's or put down my morning coffee.

10.  Ten is a long list.  I realize I made it mostly about the people here on the internet.  But if the internet didn't have people, it wouldn't exist now would it?

If you'd like to read more from the Writer's Workshop visit Mama Kat.  You can also find more of my own Writer's Wokshop posts by clicking the name link in the sidebar.