Embracing My Outer Blogger
[This post first appeared on Adventures in Parenting. It is written by local blogger, Kate Hayes.]
Last night, I went to my first ever “get-together” with other Boston area blog moms. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but ended up having a great time.
We were invited to go to a Moms’ Movie Night Out event at the Showcase Cinema de Lux Legacy Place in Dedham. Actually, I am not “known” enough to have been personally invited, but another blog mom that I met on Twitter was, and was kind enough to invite me along. (Thanks Christy!) Apparently, it was a PR thing for the theater (you know, creating “mom goodwill,” so that we can beg our husbands to take us there for date nights and tell all our friends and readers about the place. It must say, it was probably the hugest and most impressive theater that I have ever been in. The whole mall complex was completely mind-boggling! They don’t have anything like that up here on the North Shore.
The theater had an upstairs “Lux Level,” which included a restaurant and bar area. And of course, the ever-so-luxurious Lux Level seating. Picture the first class section of an airplane, but in a movie theater instead. Huge, plush seats with little tables and call buttons, so that you can order your popcorn (or a full dinner) right from the comfort of your chair! Of course, you are paying more for all the comfort and convenience…but sometimes, shelling out a little extra cash is totally worth it. (From reading another review about the place, I would recommend that if you purchase Lux Level tickets, even for a PG movie, that you are sure to bring your ID along…otherwise you can’t get in to that part of the theater.) Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be making many trips to Legacy Place. It is located in completely the opposite side of the Boston area from where I live and it literally took me two hours to get there. Seriously, Boston traffic?Seriously? (Note to self: when I find a job, it must be something I can get to via the commuter rail. Period.) Oh yeah…at the end of the night, we also got “goodie bags” filled with a T-shirt, various bestselling novels (do serious bloggers have time to read anything besides other blogs?), coupons, and a Strawberry Shortcake toy (which Anna already had, but was thrilled to receive because now they can be “identical twin sisters!”)
But the best part of the night for me, besides the first chance to get out of the house for the evening with no kids since I moved to Boston in MAY, was getting the chance to connect with other actual bloggers face to face. They were all so nice, and welcomed me into their local “network.” Apparently, most of the local bloggers know each other and see one another fairly regularly. They were totally open to my 1,001 questions about what they do, how they do it, and why. And they made me feel better about some of the thoughts and doubts I have been having about how this whole gig actually works (Like: How do you find time to write all day and still parent your children too? Answer: You don’t. You write when the kids are asleep or at school. Hallelujah! I’m not an underachiever after all!) After my first taste of local “blogger networking,” I can see how a large networking event like BlogHer would be fun. It would be like last night’s friend-making fun, but on steroids. (I have never used drugs. That is just an analogy).
So…I encourage you to visit the blogs of my new bloggy friends and check them out. They are all WAY more experienced than I am, and have some really good reviews and giveaway contests, plus just great insight to life and parenting in general. (Although Kristen from Tinker Tell (a.k.a. Disney’s best unknown walking commercial) kept pointing out that she only blogs “for fun”…Twitter is her real passion).
Quirky Fusion
The Daily Grind of a Work at Home Mom
Mommy Bytes
Tinker Tell’s Pixie Dust Express
THAT SAID…I am embracing my “outer blogger” in other ways too. I am branching out with the writing gigs!
My first guest post was published yesterday on the More4Kids website. Personally, I think it’s a pretty worthwhile read if you have little ones. The article is called “Five Ways to Enhance Travel Adventures with Your Preschoolers.” Many thanks to More4Kids for giving me the opportunity to share my insights!
Secondly, I was just informed that I was chosen over 50 other applicants to be a regular guest writer on the really cool blog, Mommy Moment. This is a weekly gig, and I am pretty excited about it. Already I am racking my brain to think of what topics I am going to write about here…and what topics I will need to save for there…and when I will make time to do it all. But it will challenge me, and I love that.
I am starting to feel like a real blogger now. And I like it.
