Joining Forces

I tested out Google ads once. You may have noticed... but since they paid pennies and I didn't see an alternate justification for running their ads, I axed them.

Honestly speaking, I'm not blogging to make money. I blog because I'm a writer. I have always loved to write and even made it my entire undergraduate goal to become a journalist. Then I realized that journalists are required to move to the middle-o-nowhere, get paid terrible wages, and work cuh-razy hours.

Also, I wanted a family and children. Well, got pretty lucky with those two things, almost. Instead, I pursued my second passion (...I don't want to hear any of that BS about teaching being a fallback career because I love it. Too bad my heart just isn't in it right now. Can't imagine why.). I knew that the life of a journalist wasn't going to work out for me because although it had the thrill I love about going out to get a story, interviewing, and editing under a time crunch, it didn't have city suburb living/family/husband/vacation anywhere in the same realm. We all have to make concessions... so I guess 25 miles to the big city isn't so bad.

With that said, I love this space. You all know I used to write for family--including myself-- as an online journal. I'm sooo not a scrapbooker, but I love the idea of a chronology of our lives. And if I can connect with other great people and learn a little something and possibly educate others at times, I'm all about the blogosphere. Another reason why this blog isn't private-- I have a degree in Ed. Tech. During my MA program, I met some fantastic people and had some incredible professors that instilled in me this interest to be a part of the collective knowledge we create here on the web. If I can't share my knowledge/thoughts/experiences, I am not contributing to this great body we call the world wide web. I'd like to think of our blogs as an enrichment to the lives of others in addition to our own. I'm a blogger and I read many blogs from all genres. People are so vulnerable and so passionate in their writing-- that's contagious and attractive.

I've decided to join forces. I applied to be part of BlogHer's network of female bloggers. I read a number of blogs from amazing women who are part of the BlogHer network. Be careful, they're incredible... so you may soon find yourself following them, too!

Pioneer Woman -- need I say more? I love this woman and her amazing recipes. She's also an amazing photographer and posts pictures of her cowboy husband's behind sometimes. ;)

Picky Palate --  Not low-fat by any means, but this woman has some incredible baking ideas!

In This Wonderful Life -- Megan lost her firstborn son to a heart disorder. She's now pregnant with boy/girl twins! She's the kind of inspiration I need...

Newlyweds Next Door -- Another wonderful blogger friend who also lost her baby to a heart disorder at nearly 20 weeks. They live right near my parents in Cali. We have many similarities and it's fun watching their story unfold...

There are plenty more, of course, but these are a few of my absolute favorites. These women are all part of the BlogHer network. I'm a bit of a feminist, too, if you hadn't figured that out by my writing style and incessant need to slyly insult my wonderful husband. Here's BlogHer's vision:

Since 2005, BlogHer's mission has been to create opportunities for women who blog to gain exposure, education, community, and economic empowerment.

I love the idea of gaining exposure about stillbirth. No one should be alone in dealing with the grief of losing a baby. No one. I'd like to think I can be a part of that exposure and education to the public and others who may find this blog in the future as they are trudging down the same dreary path. I love the idea of community and the body of knowledge we create collectively--especially as women of loss. I don't think I'm defined much by economic empowerment, but being in the network means I may have a chance to review products and I will be running an ad. A little extra pocket change is nice, but not required. I just love being amongst some of my favorite bloggers and joining forces with such a cool group of chicks. About 2,500 female bloggers and I'm one of them.

Just me, behind my computer... blogging about baby loss, food, friends, traveling, and my fantastic husband, as usual.