My October Dream: 2015 Beaches Social Media on the Sand Conference

I have been blogging since 2008.  When I look back at the difference between my posts when I first started and my posts now, it's obvious that life has certainly changed!  And I am sad to say that some of those life changes have taken me away from things I truly love!  

Writing has always been an outlet for me and blogging came along at a time when I felt lost and confused about my role in my family and my role in the world.  Blogging provided a venue for me to vent, to laugh, to share and to meet other people in the world at a time when I really needed to feel connected. Blogging became a lifeline that gave me hope and that helped me learn more about my strengths and talents.  Blogging gave me a network that allowed me to tap into an amazing and supportive group of women from all walks of life and from all over the globe. I have internet friends that feel like family because of blogging and social media!

Since the day I started blogging, it has been my greatest desire to attend a blog conference. I've had a few opportunities, but have never been able to take advantage of them due to bad timing or bad finances.  It occurred to me a few weeks ago, that had I worked harder to make one of them in particular happen, I think my life would be very different today.  I think the networking, the learning and the friendships I would have made there would have helped me have more confidence in my ability to earn a living pursuing my passion.  I would have had a bigger group of friends and associates to lean on when I was feeling overwhelmed and in need of support. I would have been surrounded by like minded women who find ways to overcome obstacles and make what they love become what they do. I would get to sit at the feet of Social Media Mavens like Maria Bailey to better learn the craft. It makes me sad to think about how much time I have wasted trying to convince myself that what I love has value and worth because circumstances in my tiny world try to make me believe otherwise. 

I know, sitting around and feeling bad does nothing to change my circumstance.  Which is why this year, I am committed to attending at least one conference!  Last year I was invited to attend the
Beaches Social Media on the Sand Conference.  I had to turn it down because it was financially impossible at the time. I regretted not trying harder to find a way to make it happen.  My family was sorely in need of some bonding time and I was sorely in need of being with a group of people who get why blogging is "my thing."  I applied again this year and nothing would make me happier than to have the opportunity to attend the 2015 Beaches Social Media on the Sand Conference!  I heard and read nothing but amazing things about it! From the phenomenal accommodations and staff to the engaging and relevant content, everyone who attended raved about the conference. 

I want to rave about it too!  So I hope I make the list this year.  I pray that the blogging gods will smile kindly upon me and give me and my family a chance to experience the beautiful Turks and Caicos Island together while I learn more about how to be a better blogger. My kids and husband need to see how happy mom is when she's in her element and I need to help them see the world can be so much more than struggling to pay bills in tiny Idaho. 

So I'm just putting this out there for the Universe to hear and see!  I'm ready for some Social Media on the Sand this year! I'm making my plans for October and trusting that you are hearing this, Universe! My family needs to spend some time together this year looking at this:

(photo courtesy of Beaches Resort)

I'm doin' my part, I'm putting out positive thoughts and working hard to make sure we can make it happen on our end, so don't let me down, Universe! You and me, Uni. Working together.  We got this!

I Am Boymom...and Mrs. Fix-It

Being a Boymom means learning how to fix things.  Lots of things.  Like broken toys, broken bed frames, broken bikes and sometimes even broken hearts.  I'm super happy that I have to fix broken "things" a lot more often than broken "feelings."  Broken feelings are much harder to fix.  You can't use super glue and duct tape and staple guns to fix broken feelings and broken people.  I'm pretty handy with super glue and duct tape and staple guns and small power tools.  I'm not always as knowledgeable about how to mend feelings. 

But back to my awesome and amazing skills as a repair woman of appliances and toys and electronics!  I'm not bragging.  Okay, kind of I am bragging, because I'm on a high after fixing the baffle on my dryer.  You know, one of those fin things that flip the clothes around while the barrel spins?  Yeah.  That. The thing that no one realizes can come loose until it actually does.  Well, mine did.  And I fixed it.  And okay, it wasn't super hard, but it felt really good to know that I could take my own dryer apart and put it back together and have it work!

After the dryer, I sat down and started thinking about all the things I have fixed or replaced with zero assistance.  Among the numerous items I have repaired are BB Guns, Nerf Guns, Hexbugs, Blow Dryers, Matchbox Cars, Sneakers, RC Cars, Radios, a 42" Flat Screen HDTV, 2 different washers, a dryer, 3 broken bed frames, a broken sofa, a Lazy Boy recliner, a broken cable on an electric car window,  a VW carburetor, a toilet, a garbage disposal, bike tires, broken bike chains, a water heater...so many things!

What is the point of all this?  I don't know. It just hit me that I have fixed a lot of things. And that maybe I should take the time to appreciate my ability to dive in and repair something that is not working. It's not a bad skill to have. It certainly comes in handy in a house full of boys. Maybe the Universe is trying to tell me that I need to open a repair shop.

When Good Kicks Go Bad

I am not trying to outdo my friend Megan​​.  She just posted a photo of her own foot on Facebook. Her beautifully painted toenails are much nicer than my chipped paint and flat arches. Just wanted to show everyone what a Boymom's foot looks like after trying to do the Chris d'elia kick thing from the UNDATEABLES commercial. (Have you seen that commercial?!? "Best (kick) Day (kick) in the History (kick) of All (kick) the Days (kick)." Pretty freakinghilarious!) My boys said I couldn't do it. But I did. Cuz I'm awesome. And attractive. 'Cept for the foot. Which is very unattractive. And bruised.  Oh.  Did I forget the part where I kicked the coffee table?  Yeah.

My Life Feels Like the Great Llama Escape

I watched this video today and laughed so hard I hurt myself!  The entire time I was watching, I was armchair quarterbacking and telling the people in the video who could not hear me how to catch the llamas. Honestly, it looked like a Keystone Cop movie for a while there! Having been raised with and among cowboys much of my life, I kept wondering where the ropers were!?!  It's Arizona, right?  No shortage of ranch hands and cattlemen and horse trainers there, so surely someone in the area had a rope and could use it!

(video courtesy Fox News 10)

Then, like magic, right at the end of the video the cowboy comes to the rescue!  He didn't ride up on a horse with a big ten gallon hat.  He actually arrived in the back of a work truck wearing a ball cap and a tee shirt. But you could tell by the way he swung his lariat that this wasn't his first rodeo. Just a few turns of the wrist, a quick flick of the rope and the loop landed right over the top of the llama's head.  Cue fist pumps from his buddies (and probably half of the citizenry of the Valley of the Sun) as Dude leaps out of the bed of the truck to hold the rope so the llama doesn't run off.  It was a triumphant, albeit humorous live TV moment that made me and the boys giggle and cheer!

After the boys went to bed tonight, I started to think about the chaotic, traffic stopping scene that had unfolded when the llamas escaped.  I feel like one of those llamas right now - actually, ever since we lost our home in Phoenix and ran helter skelter to a new home in Idaho. I thought it would be a good move for us. I pondered and prayed about the move for 6 months before we left and felt in my gut that this is where we needed to be.  So we took off down the highway like the streaking llamas and landed here in Boise. That was almost 4 years ago.  And I don't feel like we've actually ever settled down to live here since we arrived!

Instead, I feel like I'm the crazy llama in traffic, running full speed while dodging cars, spin moving past people who want to get to know me, and wildly darting from one street to the next, all while looking for a place to rest for a few minutes until I can figure out how to get home. Or at least get to a nice patch of grass where I can relax for a bit.

I don't want to be trapped by someone or something I don't know, but I don't want to run around in traffic any more either. This lost llama needs to find her her family's place in the world.  Running through the streets without a plan isn't fun and it isn't getting my family anywhere! And while it may look like an adventure for some, right now it feels like a freaking circus to me!  I need a good roper to ride up (or drive, or fly, or even appear out of thin air...I really don't care how they arrive or if they are human or angel or an inanimate object!)  and toss the lasso of stability and calm around my big, fat, mama llama waist so I can stand still long enough to figure out where home is and what the hell I'm supposed to be doing right now!  The grandiose escape isn't fun anymore!

I hope the llamas go home and laugh about their "Big Day in Town!"  I hope when they get back to their green field that they recognize the blessing of having a nice home where they can chill and eat grass and hang out with their llama buddies.  Because as this Mama Llama is finding out, while adventure and escape adds variety to life, there's a lot to be said for a tranquil life of peace and stability.
  

Blog Neglect

So how does one rebound from blog neglect?  Just start blogging again, I guess! I've been gone a little over 6 months.  Mostly because I got a job and working and blogging for me don't mix.  Balancing work life and family/me life is not something I do well.  I can do one or the other fairly well, but not both. 

I know that makes me seem lame.  Whatever.  Some people are great at doing both.  Just not me. Being a good mom is hard for me on my best day.  Add a job into the mix and things like blogs, laundry, groceries, social engagements, important dates and parent/teacher meetings start to fall by the wayside. Hoping I can become an expert juggler in 2015!