Mom~E~Centric

Honestly, I don’t know where to start.  I’m barely 41 years old and I’ve had a plethora of health problems over the years.  However, I’m having issues now that aren’t particularly easy to diagnosis.  I’m sure that it was just meant to be that I would be sick now and not be able to attend BWE even if I were going in the first place.

But, in reality, there has to be some answers somewhere that start popping up.  What kind of answers?  Well, if my ear is hurting and it has no infection, no fluid and no obvious sign for why an ear would hurt, then why the hell does it hurt?

And, if my head hurts yet my sinuses are clear and there’s no sign of congestion, then why does my headache just persistently increase in magnitude?  Last night, I was on the verge of an emergency room trip.  I absolutely had no idea how or when I might feel better. 

How could nothing make me feel so bad?  And now I sit here, having made an appointment to see an Oral Surgeon next week and more than just a tad anxious that the bottom line is going to be just as my own dentist and orthodontist predicted……I have severe issues in my jaws. 

Naturally one hurts worse than the other but the fact is, one has always hurt worse.  The pain now seems a bit more intense as I attempt to open and close my mouth to chew and I hear a popping noise that people across the table from me can hear.  And, my orthodontist warned that shortly after this spell would be the locking of my jaw which would be much more painful than any of this so far.

Just dumb luck, my husband is off work this week.  He has been going in to take care of a few odds and ends but the plant is down so he is able to take Ditto Boy to school and Mini Me to my moms.  And, then to give my mom some rest, he picks him up and brings him home a couple of hours later. 

And, me, I’ve been confined to my bed.  I took my laptop to bed with me, opened on my email tab so as I moaned and groaned and rolled around, I could see if anyone of importance was needing me. 

And as if my self-confidence hasn’t already suffered seriously from my inability to get a sponsor for several conferences, no one ever emails me too much with anything but miscellaneous hoo-ha.  Yea, hoo-ha, whatever that is.

So, I take my headache, my jaw ache and ever disturbingly aching belly and I head back to bed.  Who knows what lies in store for me?  Just please don’t let it be the emergency room, mmmkay?

1.  You are an extreme extrovert who has never ever experienced people overload….it will happen, don’t temp fate.

2.  You need to drink alot (water, soda, tea, not necessarily alcohol) but the place is so big, you are exhausted from the walk and enraged at the costs.

3.  You need to use the restroom more than 1 or 2 times in a day.  See above (no intake, no output).  I’ve gone once in the morning and once at night since I started meeting people (and I’m not talking about poop here, I’ve peed, 2 times a day, no kidding)

4.  You have a bad back and a recovering broken leg and you want to run along behind your friends and enjoy every minute of the fun but…you simply aren’t able.

5. You know that there is no way to remember everyone you meet but you feel guilty because you don’t. 

Don’t let this happen to you….

Ok, so you know people preach that setting goals is the best way to move through life.  I’ve never thought of myself as a goal setter.  I really just think of myself as one that floats along like a water buoy and if someone bumps in a particular direction, I go that way, someone bigger comes along and bumps me and I change directions.

However, at the ripe age of 40, I think it is high time I set some goals.  I mean, I have lived 40 years and I can say that I have some accomplishments to show for those years but for some reason, I keep finding myself chatting with others and saying, “my goal is…..”. 

With that, I’m going to give you a few of my goals and my reason behind those goals (this could get to be a long list, don’t be surprised if it continues into another post…..:) )

In the immediate future (between now and the beginning of 2010):

1. Lost at least 15 pounds, I need to lost much more than that, but to say I am going to lose 80 pounds sounds pretty ridiculous and to be honest with you, over the course of the last 6 months while wearing this cast, I’ve not put much thought into losing weight because obviously I was non-weight bearing and couldn’t get a heck of a lot of activity.  I haven’t necessarily considered myself “on  diet” or even “watching my food intake” and I’ve lost 10 pounds.  Now given, it’s the same 10 pounds I’ve lost about 8 times in the last 2 years since i was diagnosed with diabetes and Hashimoto’s (thyroid dysfunction).  But, I haven’t even been getting on my scales because, hello, I had this big ol’ heavy cast on my leg and who in the heck wants to know how much you weight with all that added weight.  So, I am going to set my goal reasonable here and not be so lofty (trust me, I have some lofty goals going on too).
2. I am going to Blogher and I am going to come home with at least 25 new blogging friends.  Not acquaintances, not people I read their blog but never comment but people that I talked to, I learned from and I read their blogs and comment to them regularly.
3. I hope to attend Type A Momfluence, Blog World Expo and Izeafest.  Lofty, indeed.  Cam it happen?  Of course it can, will it?  I am planning on it.
4. I am going to work this virtual assistance position and I am going to succeed at writing good quality articles and doing good quality technical work (along with the help of Boy Genius)
5. I am launching a group blog and by the time 2010 rolls in, I hope that blog is receiving at least 10K hits a month.  That might not sound too lofty for most of you, but for me, that’s big.
6. I am going to launch my online education site.  I am going to construct e-books and do some online interactive training through vlogging and podcasts.  Now, reality tells me it will probably be one e-book, one vlog and one podcast but hey, that’s one more than I did last year.

Looking through to 2010:

1. I want to attend as many networking events as possible.
2. I want to find a sponsor for my efforts so that I have something concrete and I am not continuously begging everyone I know (and some I don’t) to help me out.
3. I have been writing TV Boyfriends for over 2 years and I have managed to connect with two of the men who I have featured at some time in the last few months.  One Googled himself, found my blog and emailed me.  The other I found his blog and commented and he has been DM’ing me through twitter  Pretty cool, would love more of that, it makes writing so much easier when I feel like I know someone.
4. I am going to move forward with the group blog and hopefully make a big enough impact that I can resign from a few blogs and concentrate my efforts in just 2 or 3 places instead of the 10 or 12 I handle now.
5. I am going to lose at least 30 pounds in 2010.  If I can lost 15 in half of this year, it only stands to reason I can lost 30 next year.  This has many motives, my own health being the move obvious but my kids are getting old enough now to know that mommy is over-weight and I don’t want them to think it is ok nor do I want to embarrass them at school functions.
6. I am going to move forward with e-books, vlogging and podcasts or maybe just e-learning in general.  By move forward I mean I am going to turn a profit in it, not just do it because I am a crazy woman.

All the time:

1. I want to make more time for my mother, my husband and my kids (and not necessarily in that order).
2. I want to teach my children instead of feeling like I only serve to discipline them.
3. I want to promote other bloggers more than I promote myself. 
4. I want to take more than one true vacation with my family per year. 

I’m sure there is a ton more….and there might be another post on the same subject.  But, for now, I’m desperately working on some of those goals for the rest of 2009 and if you miss me, shoot me an email and remind me to get myself over here and update the ol’ blog.  You can reach me at jareason (at) gmail (dot) com.

When I initially wrote that post, I had 2 main thoughts that I was trying to relay.

1.  why does the bloggy world and blogher in general seem to be so clique?

2.  If the A-list bloggers were relatively unknown prior to blogging and they blogged about their normal everyday life how can they do that  once their life changed and blogging paid a bigger role in their life. ow can than still blog and imply that they are still blogging about their normal lives?

So, with that, I am going to answer those questions myself.

1.  Yes, Blogher is clique, and the other conferences I attended thus far, they were clique.  And, exactly like my days in high school, I am so not a clique person.  This is the best way to explain how the conferences are clique.  Like minded people meeting like minded people and forming a friendship.  But, as I said, in high school, I never belonged to one clique.  I was an athlete, I had buddies but male and female jocks, I hand cheerleader friends and I was in the band.  So, instead of having a clique that I belonged to, I jut went with the flow and where ever i was, I joined a group of people and when I become disinterested (or they tell me to get lost), I would move on to another group.  And that’s kind of how it’s clique at blogging conference, no one really ever tells others to get lost, you just have to believe in yourself, walk up to someone and say hi and before you know it, you’ll find yourself in a clique..  So, in reality, not a bad thing……just people who meet, greet and enjoy one another’s company.

2.  This one is where I think my opinion differs still from that of most of the people who commented.  No one was rude, no one at all.  But, most of the folks swore they were not an A-lister and that there lives were no different now than they had ever been. 

That I simply have a hard time dealing with.  I’m not saying the others were lying or wrong but the fact of the matter is this; prior to blogging, I spent a few hours off and on during the day on the computer.  Then as I started to get paying gigs, I spent even longer online.  And, from that initial paying position in 2001 to approximately March of 2007, I was still very low-key with my blogging.  I blogged about my family over and over and over. 

Now, I have a multitude of blogs an a group project and this bloggers-as-advertisers craze has definitely made my life very different.  Yes, it’s not like I have made a million bucks and moved into a mansion kind of different, but it is different.  I’ve been to Miami Beach where I had never been prior to blogging and it was a conference I won the tickets to attend.  I’ve been to Houston, another unknown city for me, I’ve been to Nashville where I have never been as an adult, I’ve been to Orlando to a conference that I was approved and had my trip paid for.  And, I’ve attended a big party put on by Mashable in Atlanta called a Mixer.

I am preparing to head to blogher soon, and I am gearing up to find a way to get to 3 other conferences this year. 

Prior to taking my blogging up a level, none of that would have ever happened.  

And now, I do a bundle of product reviews and I am fortunate enough to get enough packages that the delivery men know where my mother lives as well as my aunt and if the weather is bad, he leaves me a handwritten note telling me where my package is.

I have done some work that paid me via Amazon gift certificate.  And, for Father’ Day, I gave my husband a bundle of them to use for himself.

I have all kinds of amazing and awesome products at my house that I might not ever have had, like a gorgeous Solo Laptop Bag and I am getting an opportunity to do a Ford demo in Chicago later this month and more.

So, with that, I say that my life is crazy different now than it was prior to revvng up my blogging.  But, at the same time, I still put my pants on one leg at a time and then I broke my leg, there was no magic cure for it just because I make money blogging. 

So, yea, my life is different but in a very similar kind of way.

Did anyone get any of that?  Sorry!

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that the biggest bloggy conference of the year is coming up and it’s rushing upon us quickly.  So, with that, I give you…….the part of all time

If you are ready to get your party on – go see TypeAMomFluence and get ready to party it up.  Come on plan to meet me there and be on the look out for the jewelry so you can win  gift certificiate for yourself.  You simple can’t go wrong…

Ok, so I”m sure if you guys have been following my tweets, you know how confusing this is just keeping up with what give away is on what site, when it started, when it ended and what it is going to allow you to win.  So, I figured, it was time for a post recapping it all.  So, here goes…..hang on with me ok?

1.  Bid My Cleaning is offering one of my lucky readers a $100 Gift Certificate to use with their service to get their house cleaned.  Contest started on Sunday, April 5th and runs through Monday, April 13th and I will put up a poll on April 14 and let the readers vote.  A winner will be chosen on April 17th.  There are some rules for this one which includes photos of why you deserve to win this.  You can find them on the post I’ve Nailed the Best Giveaway Yet – House Cleaning.  You can email your photos to me at jerriann at momecentric dot com

2.  That Baby DVD & That Baby CD – I have 2 of these to give away.  It started on April 7th and ends on April 14th at midnight and I will be using random.org to choose a winner on April 15.  Go to Giveaway – That Babdy DVD & That Baby CD.  You can enter by leaving a comment on that post and gain extra entries by twittering about the contest.

3.  The Founding of America Megaset I have 2 of these to giveaway on I have Giveaways This contest started on Sunday, April 5 and ends on April 12th and I will pick 2 winners on April 13 using Random.org.  All you have to do is comment on the post to be eligible.

4.  The History Channel Ultimate Collections: World War II I have 2 of these to giveaway on Another Giveaway For You Guys This contest started on Sunday, April 5 and ends on April 12.  I will pick 2 winners on April 13th using Random.org.  All you have to do is comment on the post to be eligible.

5. The Bielski Brothers I only have one of these to giveaway.  It is at One More For the Road.  This contest started on Sunday, April 5 and ends on April 12.  I will pick a winner on April 13th using Random.org.  All you have to do is comment to be eligible to win.

6. 5 copies of Leah Renee CD of Imaginary Boyfriend starts April 8th and ends on April 22 and 5 winners will be chosen on April 23 using Random.org.  All you have to do is comment on the post Why do we have a girl on our page? and you are eligible to win.

7.  And, finally, some of the best prizes to be won on the internet reside at Twitter by the Sea Promo Party and can be won by RSVP’ing on that link and then attending the Twitter party at #twittercruise on Thursday night, April 9th at 8 PM Eastern time.  Here’s a rundown of the prizes for that….in case you want to know before you go RSVP…

1. 1. 1st 5 people who Book for the cruise during the party get a CD of the Cruise from Jenny Marie Photography
   2. 2 people will win Step2 Water Rush Quarry from The Step2® Company
   3. 1 person will win  Laptop Case by Solo
   4. 1 person will win Pocket Video Camera by Creative Labs Vado from Newbaby
   5. 1 person will win a set of 3 DVD’s from Eebee’s DVD collection.
   6. 1 person will win a $50 Gift Certificate to Label Daddy
   7. 1 person will win a set of books from Cedarvalley Publishing
   8. 1 person will win an instructor-led online class from LVS Online
   9. 10 people will receive 2 varieties of Uncle Ben’s Rice
   10. 2 people will receive a copy of The Problem with Women…is Men by Charles Orlando
   11. 1 person will win a set of 2 hand bound booklets from Sweet Buddha
   12. 1 person will win a set of Mama Cards from Mabel’s Labels
   13. 3 people will win a set of Crock-Pot Cooking Tools from Robinson Home Products
   14. 1 person will win a copy of The Cheapskates Guide to Advertising on the Internet by DeAnna Troupe
   15. 1 person will win a Triple-Double by Lawrence McCutchen and his partners
   16. 1 person will win a Sproutstyle Organic Baby Hooded Bathtowel
   17. 2 people will win a Travel Voucher for a 5 day/4 night Mexico Vacation via Sharnese Travel and Cruises
   18. 1 person will win a Complimentary Cruise on Royal Caribbean for 3 or 4 nights via Sharnese Travel and Cruises
   19. 1 person will win a Triple-Double compliments of several internet gurus.
   20. 1 person will win a Deep Dish Baker and Garlic Press from  Pampered Chef courtesy of Kim
   21. 1 person will win a subscription to Care.com
   22. 2 people will win $50 Gift Certificates to Mary Kay from Sarah Cook

Disclaimer: Mom~E~Centric’s, Mom is Teaching, TV Boyfriends and Twitter by the Sea reviews and its author assume no liability for damages associated with any prizes awarded here or contents contained therein. Prizes lost in the mail or those not delivered by sponsors are not the responsibility of Mom~E~Centric, Mom is Teaching, TV Boyfriends, Twitter by the Sea or its author. Prizes not claimed within two weeks of notification to the winner will have to be forfeited.

Entrants must be 18 years of age or older to enter, and entrants must follow state and local laws concerning sweepstakes.