Astrology. 
Fact or Fiction?  I have no idea.  I do not follow it nor practice it and I can't even pretend to rattle of the signs off my kids or husband.  Terrible?  Hmmm.  I don't think so (shrugging shoulders).

But recently a very good friend of mine that I love to pieces said something to me and got me all "OH MY GOD" I have to see what your talking about. (done in my totally bitchin valley girl lawng island accent while I twirl  my hair).

Okay, lets begin.  I am a Leo.  Rawr.  Born August 6th.  (we are tip toeing around the ol' birthday this year). 

I went to about 375,432,432,243 different astrology sites, holy crap there are a lot of them out there.  And 98.75% of them were created back when it was crazy cool to have flashing "buttons" and trailing mouse arrows.  I digress, so everyone of these sites basically say I am a giving self centered bitch.  That about summed it up. 

I pushed on, trying to see exactly what my VBFF (virtual best friend forever folks, keep up) was talking about, I wanted to relate to it, I wanted to say, "I totally get what you are saying!!!"

And again, I just got disappointed because I could not relate to any of it, at all.  

So I called my sister, "Hey Punk, do you think I am a typical Leo?" To where she quickly replies, "um, I have no fucking idea I am a beautiful Sagittarius".  Perfect your a lot of help.

Then I called my bff since third grade and was like "Stop whatcha doin''cause I'm about to ruin the image and the style that ya used to.. ahhh do me baby, do the Humpty Hump"...

Okay, I did not really say that, but as I was writing this post that song by Digital Underground popped in my head. 

I digress, AGAIN, so I ask best friend from third grade "Do you think I am a typical Leo?".  And she quickly replies "What is a typical Leo?"ugh.

So I rattle off "They are ambitious, courageous, dominate, strong willed, positive, self-confident" and then I hear here say "Stop, you are none of those".  **uncomfortable laughter from me..

Okay, well what about " It's quite common to see a Leo on stage or in Hollywood, since these folks never shy away from the limelight." and I started to laugh out loud.  I can't tell you I hate the limelight.  HATE.  I thought I was going to die recently when put into a sea of people I did not know. 

Then I found it folks!! I found exactly what it meant to me to be a Leo "They are sometimes very lazy, and, like the cat, are fond of basking in the sun and dozing in the corner."

YES.  YES that is me...

LAZY.  SUPER sloth.

Dozing in the corner.

SUPERB!  I take back everything I said VBFF.. I am a Leo.  Hear me SNORE!!

See, now NO where in any Leo description was the word Dork.  Or really not funny.  Which that last sentence was, and if I had a right mind I would delete it.. but my mind is far from right these days.  So hear me snore made me chuckle to myself, and if it made me chuckle I am leaving it.  So keep it moving with the eye rolls.. that was a thigh slapper for me.

**I will never admit to drinking while creating this post.  Make you own assumptions.

Here is something else that makes me chuckle.. Happy Tuesday folks! 

One more thing, before you press play, the words to the song are:

Hannah had the hiccups,
Hic, Hic, Hic, Hic
All Hicups made Hannah feel quiet sick
Her Daddy didn't worry
He knew just what to do
To scare away the Hiccups
He simply had a
BOO!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Take your pick!!! I have two awesome giveaways to offer !!  You can enter for both, just leave a comment telling me which giveaway you are interested in (you can say both of course).

First Giveaway is a brand new, not yet released DVD- The Wiggles: You Make Me Feel Like Dancing (2008)

I have seen the Wiggles in concert.  I may own every single DVD that the Wiggles put out when my three year old Donnie was into them.  But I am excited to keep this on standby for Aaron when he hits that Wiggles phase. 

This DVD has brand new Wiggle songs (as well as some classics) and it is also the second DVD that features the brand new Wiggle Leo!  So if know a kid that loves the Wiggles, just leave me a comment and make sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner!!

Next up is perfect for back to school !!!  I love Lands End so when they sent me a backpack to giveaway on my blog I was very excited because I order my boys winter clothes from them but had never tried their backpacks. 

The backpack is a brand new model called the Cordura StudyHaul!  The backpack even has a motto: "Tough and Organized".  And it is seriously a heavy duty backpack that is super easy to clean (applesauce was easily removed, trust me).   Plus, what I loved most about it was the wide-opening top to easily dump stuff and run out the door.  I did not use this for the school supplies like intended, but it makes an AWESOME baby backpack.  There is a little compartment for everything, binkies go here, wipes go there, diapers there, etc.. I am a fan and I am not just saying that because of the giveaway!    This backpack retails for $39.50 and the color I am giving away is Garnet (red).

In my opinion, this backpack would be perfect for middle school, junior high or high school.  It would be too big on a little elementary school kid to carry around.  Or you could just win it and use it for a baby backpack like me!!

I will pick a seperate winner for each giveaway this Saturday, August 2nd.  If you leave a comment wanting to be enterd for both, I will just count your entry as a single entry for each giveaway.  Random.org will be used to generate a random comment number.

Yep, my mom is totally blogging this.

**Onsie bought at MommyNeedsACocktail.com

I see through you


Perfecting his new hobby


Setting up the shot


Watching his idol


Sarcastic Mom is the wonderful hostess of the Weekly Winners meme. Please go stop by and check out her awesome photos.

Donnie, my three year old, wanted to have cereal for dinner.  Sure, why not? Who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?

After I pour his milk on his cereal he says, "Mom, can I have a little more milk?" 

"I think you have plenty", I replied.

"But Mom, I really like milk!", he exclaims.

"Okay", as I start to pour a little milk on top of his cereal.

"MOM!!!!", he yells.

"What is the matter Donnie,  you asked me for more milk."

"Mom are you trying to break my nuts? I wanted it in a cup to drink!"

Just as he said that my mother-in-law walked in the room and said "Donnie, what did you just say?"

Which he replied; "You break my nuts Nana" and he starts to belly laugh. 

After I finally stopped laughing by myself in the corner I came to find out that his best friend at school says this all the time.  Yah, it may be time to talk to his teacher huh?

I am still recovering from BlogHer08. There are so many stories to share.  So many giggle giggles* to document.  But I won't detail all of them.  I have decided to highlight my trip as best as possible.  And let me tell you..trying to pull together all my thoughts of BlogHer08 has proved to be challenging.

Lets go:

Overwhelming: The first night I was there I was paralyzed by my social anxiety.  So much so that I disappeared into a corner and was texting home that it was too overwhelming.  There were A LOT of people.  I was lucky to have a friend to hold my hand and tell me to breathe, slowly. As soon as the crowd thinned out I felt comfortable going up to bloggers I had not met or tapping ones on the shoulders that I read to say hello for the first time.

Self-Validation: Sitting in on the panels that discussed blogging help me come to some sort of direction.  Allowing me to become settled with my feelings of wanting my blog to evolve but questioning how much I want to reveal.  It was comforting to know that almost every blogger I had the opportunity to have intimate conversation with felt they were also having the same anxiety.  As a blogger I let all of you in a very tiny pinhole of my life.  A daily recap of memories, or feelings and stories; but 98% of my life is still not shared because life is to big to squeeze through a pinhole. 

Perception:  This is one area I am still struggling with on how to handle.  This is my blog. My space.  But my ego is still concerned on how my posts will be received.  Judgement is easily concluded when you are sharing your pinhole of a life in a blog.  So my struggle of where to go and how to direct my stories intimidate me sometimes because I know me and I know how my history has shaped me.  But being a people pleaser that I am, I censor myself because I am nervous of how it will be received.  And what I took from this conference was that there are so many women who have the courage to blog for themselves and nobody else.  It was inspiring to see that kind of courage.

Community: Blogging is making a difference.  It is giving women and men a platform to share and create a dialogue between the blogger and their audience.  It has given Moms and Dads dealing with parenting struggles a place to find an outlet/support. The blogging community support is real.  I saw it first hand. I watched my roomie, Mr. Lady, up on a stage packed with over 1,000 bloggers.  She read this post with so much emotion that her voice shook, ad-libbing when needed, body language expressing just how proud but uncomfortable she was up on stage sharing such a personal post with strangers she has never even met.  Then imagine the roar of the crowd as they ALL stood to their feet and gave Mr. Lady a standing ovation.  Every single blogger had tears in their eyes, standing and cheering. Then I watched these same bloggers come up to her and hug her to let her know how her post affected them personally. 

Yes, I have heard about the trolls (and thankfully I have yet to encounter any- whew).  But for the most part the blogging community is filled with extremely supportive understanding people.  This same blogging community is why I decided to fly half way across the country; to experience meeting the bloggers that I called friends prior to ever meeting them face to face. 

Joy:  The pictures from BlogHer Part 2 show smiles.  Tons of smiles.  They are true genuine smiles.  I did not get a chance to take a picture of all the amazing bloggers I had the chance to meet.  But I know I would extend my house to anyone of them to come stay for a visit if they ever phoned saying they are coming to Long Island. 

It was hard to say goodbye to every single one of the bloggers I had the opportunity to spend time with at BlogHer08.  I sat on the plane ride home reflecting on  them and how easily it was to open up and talk to each of them.  I never felt awkward.  A dork maybe, but never awkward.  I will never forget this experience.  It was not about the clinking of the cocktails, or the late night dancing. For me it was about confirming that the relationships we are building with one another online, through comments, emails, twitter, plurk or Cre8Buzz are real.  They are not just friends in  your head.

And lastly, BlogHer08 helped me define my blogging addiction.  It helped me gain clarity of how to use this space. Regardless if I use it to post pictures, silly stories of my kids or sharing stories from my past of how I became me.  This is my blog.

And again, thank you all for chose to visit me daily, or weekly, or monthly.  It means so much to me.

Hugs to all of you who have helped create this addiction!! :)  And I have already started to save for next years BlogHer. I would not miss it for the world!


*totally lifted this from my roomie.

I am going to do a three part series to detail my adventures in BlogHer. 

Part One:

Where to begin?

This post is not going to highlight stories of my adventures here at BlogHer.
This post is not going to share one photo of all the awesome bloggy friends I have met in person.
That post is coming. Soon.

What I wanted this post to say, very simply is if you did not get to attend BlogHer this year, make sure you do what you can to get there next year.

It is that worth it.

I mentioned in my Crossroads post how my blog has become such an important piece of me. Being here at BlogHer just reaffirmed that blogging is a HUGE part of me.  My words will not do justice how being here makes me feel like I am apart of a force.  Yes, a force.  

Sharing this adventure with the bloggers I flew out here to meet has only enhanced this entire experience.  When I take a step back and realize that I am actually spending time with such amazing women and men bloggers it literally makes me shake my head in astonishment.  

Why?

Because these people are my friends.  Real friends.  They are not a 10x10 avatar.  They are not just a comment box.  They are real genuine people.  Hearing their stories, their journeys, their voice in person is something I will carry with me and treasure.

So I promise to share the stories of how I witnessed Mr. Lady bring an entire ballroom filled with every type of blogger to their feet with a standing ovation with tears in their eyes.  Or how I had the pleasure of shaking my ass with some of the sexiest bloggers in blogland.  I will share the amazing pictures of all the blogging superstars I got to hang out with all weekend.

But for now, this post has a simple message:

If you can get to BlogHer next year.  Do it.  You will not be disappointed.

Way back when, before I had the boys (big and little) I had a career that allowed me to travel all over the United States.  Online marketing was just taking off and my company had a very large budget to send me wherever there was a conference to land business. I was able to visit some amazing places.  It was at least twice a month I was off in San Francisco, New Orleans, Hawaii, Florida, Chicago; heck there was even a Reno Nevada trip.  And there was never a problem jumping on a plane and flying alone.  Flying always brought a great adventure.

Fast forward to present day where I now have a husband, two amazing boys and it all adds up to me being afraid to jump on a plane alone.

Today I am getting on a plane to go to the BlogHer conference in San Francisco; alone.  I have not been on a plane alone in eight years.  I am leaving my heart at home.  There are so  many emotions going through my head as I type this post.  I am excited to experience three days of being "me" that the thought leaves me feeling breathless at moments. I am giddy knowing I have six hours on a plane with just my thoughts, my iPod and book.  But my heart.  My heart is so heavy.  Heavy because I will be experiencing something that is important to me without the most important people in my life around me.  I can't come home and share my day, or get kisses because "MOMMYS HOME".

Um, yeah, I know I am missing the big picture right now.  Right now I am wallowing in that "I am going to miss my boys something terrible feeling".  It is my first big girl trip all by myself since I met Mr. JoggingInCircles.  Someone please slap me with the blaring fact that I am going to get the chance to meet some amazing women.  Little ol' Lawng Island accent is going to be around some of the most bad ass, creative, talented, fearless writers in the blogosphere today.  And I am going to be surrounded by new friends that I have yet to even get to know through their blogs.  Excitement is too little of a word to express how star struck I will feel when first walking up to any of these ladies.  Their blogs mean something to me.  This entire BlogHer, blogging experience means something to me.

I need to share how sad I am that not everyone I love in blogland is able to be there (shout out to Angie, ZoeyJane, Boss,  Huckdoll, Karen, Sassy, Mish and more!!)  Hell, I have ebayed my ass off (no mom, not literally) to be able to go myself.  But I do know that my short career as a blogger makes me know that I want to be a veteran. 

So here I am diving head first tomorrow as my plane takes off from New York to San Francisco.

I just wish it did not hurt so much leaving my heart at home.

**I promise to send updates when I can about the BlogHer experience while I am there.  And I pinky promise to catch up on all the blogs I have been missing because of how crazy life has been..

Okay, Not So Wordless, but I am leaving for BlogHer tomorrow afternoon and I am so excited to get this baby packed!!!