Join me!

I keep thinking of her. I will never know her name.

Days ago we shared the same life.

Wife to one. Mother to five.

She made breakfast, wiped tears away, disciplined when needed.

She laughed with her family, she rocked babies and sang songs of love in little ears.

She was me.

Today she mourns for her five children. Her husband unable to console her grief.

Loss so debilitating and incomprehensible.

She mourns a loss that I pray I am never able to fathom.

I am wrecked for her from the warm, safe cocoon of my home.

I have no answers.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

-Matthew 25:35-40

I did what everyone did and will continue to do.

I gave money that I spend frivolously on lattes and luxuries.

It is not enough.

It will never be enough for her.

I will never forget her.

Never stop praying for her.

Praying for comfort.

For healing.

We are the same woman, born in different situations.

Children of God.

I will never forget her.

As many of you know, my step-daughter moved to far-far-far-awayland and we wait impatiently to see her over Christmas and Summer break. She’s 14 and teetering on the edge of young adulthood. She is wonderful. Want to see us all? Good.

Sometimes it takes three pictures to tell a story.

Through the years, you have seen little glimpses of her, but I wanted to limit her mentions until I had her permission, as a young adult, to blog about her. Which leads to me the topic of privacy. Personal blogging is a delicate balance of sharing your life without sharing too much. How do we tell our stories while protecting the privacy and feelings of those around us? How do I share my life in an authentic way without embarrassing my kids for eternity?

A personal blog is, at best, an evolving story of the author’s life. We all grow, we all change, we all have periods of darkness or pain, and the best blogs grow with the author. I have been criticized by a friend for showing sunshine and rainbows here and not showing more of the depth or occasional darkness of life. To that, I plead guilt. I write of struggles and heartache only when I can look back and tell the painful story with resolution. Sometimes writing about the unknown is just too much.

A surprising, and often unspoken, phenomenon occurs with personal bloggers who are raising families. (Props to all the Mom & Dad bloggers out there.) The daily grind of raising children is exhausting and relentless. From the constant messes of preschoolers to the hormone fueled rollercoaster of emotions from teens, it kicks our proverbial trash on a daily basis. I find I don’t see the forest for the trees. I don’t sit back and say, “I’m doing a good job, and the kids are pretty darn cool little people.” I don’t stop and laugh enough at a crazy scene or see the beauty in the everyday moments of family life. Blogging makes me take notice. I see a crazy situation and before flipping out, I take a picture and laugh, and then make them clean it up. I see daily interaction and think about the magic of the moment and capture it on my phone.

As more and more women tell their stories, we see we are not alone. We share moments and experiences, and in doing so, we are creating works of art and archiving our legacy.

I will continue to tell my story, the story of my family, the story of our lives together. Will I leave out the details that would drive the kids to a therapist’s couch one day? You bet.  My online story is real, but with a bent toward highlighting the sunshine and rainbows. My great-grandchildren’s great-grandchildren will know me by these posts.

As we get closer to BlissDom, I am more and more excited about the gift it is to host an event that honors women online. From personal bloggers to business women and everywhere in between, it is a celebration of all women in this digital space. Hopefully in the weeks to come I will carve out time to write.

What about you? If you have a blog,what has blogging done for you personally, as a mother, as a wife, as a friend? How do you balance the issues of privacy and authenticity without scarring the lives of those around you?  (chuckles) I would love to hear your take on it all.

I often talk of my love affair with the Internet. It is a magical portal that throws doors of opportunity open that were once closed. The Internet connects people who so often would never have a chance to meet or get to know each other. The things that so often keep us apart, be they geographical distance, political differences et cetera, are simply an after thought. This past year has been full of excitement, beautiful new friends and treasure trove of wonderful memories.

The 2009 slide show is full of memories and experiences that have all come to life because of blogging.  I threw together a quick show of all the pictures I found where I had been tagged. I added pictures that I had taken at events. You will see I am the master of the blurry ’selfie’ self-portrait with friends. My apologies to real photographers everywhere.

This show is full of amazing people, wonderful experiences and is a testament to to the beautiful community we build everyday online.

I owe a big thank you to everyone in my life this past year.

Thank you all for-

Your inspiration.

Your friendship.

Your encouragement and support.

Your generosity and wisdom.

Your understanding when I make mistakes.

Your tolerance of my tendency to kiss & photograph you.

Your Love.

2009 With Love

To all my friends, old and new, thank you for a year so full of joy.

To everyone I haven’t met yet… Look for me in 2010. You need to be in next year’s show!

Happy New Year Friends!

Much love,
Alli

I last minute Christmas shopped yesterday and decided to have a little fun snapping pictures as I went along. I found things I loved (Vinyl Wall Lettering was 50% off. Holla!) and so much that scared me. Oh No, Snuggies for kids! I even shared what it is like to arrive home to the chaos and love of my rowdy home.

Hope you enjoy.

One of the best things about working in Social Media is the community of women who both work together and have built strong friendships.

We are all unique. We bring different stories, experiences and philosophies to our work. However, the longer I work in this field and get the chance to collaborate with such smart women; I notice a common theme.

Successful women working together, celebrating and encouraging each others successes. Maybe it is the transparent nature of Social Media that attracts such great people.  The  women in this space are amazing. I am impressed with both their brilliance and their heart.

Yesterday I worked with these women….

And fun was had by all.

I have this best friend. She’s all thoughtful, poetic and naturally beautiful- inside and out.  She is the yin to my yang. Her gift of injecting magic into the written word is amazing. When she grabs the mic at events the crowd is mesmerized.  She is the only one I would let call me in recovery room after I had baby J. Mainly because she’s not one to be told no. Heh. She is a stubborn one. She turns off her computer for months at a time and returns with applause. She is amazing.

I met her in 2007 when she won a contest for some of my custom photo jewelry. I made her this picture to celebrate…..heh.

At the first little BlissDom and BlissDom ‘09- she quietly crafted topics and planned the sessions behind the scenes. Her thoughtful touches and suggestions are an integral part of the runaway success of the events.

I nominated her to win a trip to BlogHer 09. Remember these graphics? Hehe

‘

Her husband really liked that one.

I insisted she name her daughter “Alli” and was proptly ignored. Hey, can’t blame a gal for trying!

She vlogged Olive’s arrival.

She is using her voice to help others who know her pain.

She is my beautiful, wonderful friend. I am so proud of her.

Today is her birthday. I am closing comments on this post, I hope you will visit her blog and wish her happy birthday or give her some love on Twitter.

At the risk of opening myself up to public ridicule, I am about to bravely tackle a touchy subject. A hot-button issue so loaded with emotion and passionate beliefs that we may see friendships end and lawsuits filed by the time this post is off my front page.

Ok, not really, but that was kind of exciting for a minute, right? What I really need to tackle is Christmas Card etiquette in the digital age.

As you may or may not know, I am way more Blissful than Domestic. I don’t cook and I’m too busy to craft anything that is not on my computer screen.

But what about the pressure to prepare and send the Christmas cards?

Hours…and hours…and hours…I used to spend on them.

Can I look myself in the mirror if I throw in the towel on sending paper Christmas cards?

I mean I have so many other very important things to do.

Such as planning BlissDom with Barbara & Paula-

Why yes, we are always in a soft blended sepia tone and holding ‘blisstinis’.  No editing on this photo at all. Pshaww

*ahem*

On a day to day basis I am more likely to spend my free time taking pictures of daily life around the house.

Like when I find my boys decorating our Roomba vacuum for Christmas…

“I wuv you wobot”

Or playing family papparazzi during backyard golf…

“Don’t worry, I will help you find your lost golf ball, Daddy!”

Maybe I am just looking for an way not to feel guilty for not mailing cards this year.

I do need to know if secretly everyone will think I’m a jerk.

Bring the honesty, Y’all.

Are digital cards a sign of the etiquette apocalypse or totally acceptable?

I always knew my love of the Sharpie pen was not unusual, but wow, y’all love some Sharpies.

I found myself noticing all the ways I used them during the week. I even snapped a picture as I made my son’s school play costume.

Choosing a winner was impossible. How could I pick the person who loves Sharpies the most? I had to do this scientifically. Ok, not *really* scientifically, you know what I mean.

Congrats to Michelle at La Vita E Bella (Send me your address and your Sharpie Ornament is on the way!)

Today is the last day to enter to win the $250 gift card so generously donated by the wonderful Sharpie company to help brighten someone’s holiday! Go enter before it is too late.

Whenever I speak to groups I remind attendees to support the brands who have supported the event. The companies who dip their toes into the sometimes scary social media water are trailblazers.

I met the wonderful women of Creative Memories at Kelby’s Type A Mom Conference in September. Creative Memories officially sponsored and during the event produced a beautiful presentation of snapshots taken that very day. I fell in love with Digital Scrapbooking right then and there.

Combine the ease and quality of the software with a company that actively supports and engages in the online community, and I am hooked. Blissfully Domestic is partnering with Creative Memories to share new features, programs and ideas with the community.

As you know, I’m not exactly crafty. I slide by with minimal effort on my part. (Hello, Digital Scrapbooking, Where have you been all my life?) I am not going to share any crafty tips, I wanted to share what I love. I am giving a  thumbs up to Creative Memories for reaching out to women in the online community and joining in on Social Media platforms.

Weather you are a talented scrapbook pro or a slacker (like moi) who lets the software make her snapshots look fab, be sure to stop by and say hello to our friends at Creative Memories. They are trailblazers who are dedicated to building connections through Social Media.

Love to Tweet? Check out @Creative_Mems

I know you love Facebook! The CM Fanpage

Want insider ideas? Check out the CM Blog

In the meantime, I will be making my snapshots into little pieces of art. Like this beauty…

This is too easy.

P.S.- I’m closing comments so you can go welcome Creative Memories to the Social media world. The Fanpage. The Blog. or Twitter.