Ok.  I owe my regular readers an explanation.  Apparently, there are more than two of them (as I originally suspected).  Can you believe that?!  I’ve been getting worried emails, even concerned phone calls.  I’m really flattered and am glad that they miss me.  The feeling is mutual, I assure you!

I’ve been taking a hiatus from blogging and it’s likely to be even longer… much longer.  At first it started out with some changes in the blogging community that made me restructure my blogging methods… then I started going to court more often with more clients… then it was my addiction to the “Twilight” four-book series by Stephenie Meyer, which I read within a week… and from there I felt inspired to finally do something I’ve talked about doing since I was young–write a novel.

So, that’s what I’m devoting my time to.  I’m taking my own advice about following your dreams, making yourself a priority, doing what you love to do, never giving up, being a doer and not a talker, etc.

Although in the early stages, the project is not without its challenges.  This is my first REAL endeavor in writing fiction.  I’m really scared and I feel stupid.  I’m scared that it won’t be good and people won’t like it.  I’m scared that people won’t even want to read it.  I’m scared that I’ll get distracted before I complete it and just give up altogether.  I’m scared that I won’t know how to get it published even if I do finish it.  I’m scared for the rejection letters from publishers that I know is a common part of the writing business.  AND I’m scared for my parents and other people who may be offended by its content to actually read it.  BUT I can’t let fear cripple me (another piece of advice I dole out often).  Success often comes from taking risks.

So, there you have it.  I cut all my hair off, started wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes (that I can finally fit again–Whohoo!), and started to fulfill a dream.  My husband, Danny, is very supportive and is helping me with character development right now.  My friend, Tasha, is also giving input and allowing me to bounce ideas off her.  My daughter, Dasha, is enjoying “Sesame Street” videos a little more often now and appears to really love that.  I’ll keep you posted periodically.

I also update my Movie Connoisseur blog with movie reviews as often as I can.

  Yesterday’s Oprah Show discussed the negative affects our bad economy is having on marriages.  M. Gary Neuman was on the show sharing tips for recession-proofing a marriage to couples who admitted letting depression, grief, anxiety, and shame over foreclosures and job loss take priority over their marriages.

It’s understandable why marriages are struggling with the added stress of making ends meet.  If financial strain is wreaking havoc on your marriage, consider…

Neuman’s 5-Step Action Plan:

Step 1: Fight for Your Marriage

Step 2: Set Aside Time to Talk About Money

Step 3: Go Outside of Yourself

Step 4: Bring the Kids On Board

Step 5: Keep Living as a Couple

Remember, difficult financial times don’t have to break your marriage.  It could bring you closer together.  Stick together and help each other.  Also remember, you are not defined by the job or material things you had.  You are still the same beautiful, powerful, and loving person you were before all that.  This is a good time to set a positive example for your children on how to effectively manage stressful situations.

  Oprah’s show today saluted all moms for unselfishly taking care of the next generation.  Moms from around the world shared confessions of motherhood without the threat of feeling judged.  I’ve listed a few of those confessions here…

Mommy Confessions:

**urinating in a diaper, herself, because it was more convenient than stopping to go to a restroom with a van full of sleeping kids.

**using a maxi-pad as a diaper for a six-month-old baby after realizing she had run out of diapers.

**pretending to cry in front of the children in order to get them to behave (or using other “shock and awe” strategies.

**having to reinvent sex in a marriage after children.  I’d Trade My Husband For a Housekeeper:  Loving Your Marriage After the Baby Carriage authors, Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile discussed this in their book (available below) and shared a few tips on Oprah’s show.

**hating her husband, not loving the baby right away, and feeling like she had made a terrible mistake by making the decision to become a mother in the first place.

**losing control, losing relationships, and losing choices in life.

**feeling that motherhood is a 12-step program that has to be taken one day at a time.

**not bathing or grooming herself for several days at a time.

Moms confessed to not being honest about these things to people in the past for fear of being judged or looked at as being a bad mom.  Today, they felt free enough to share the truth about motherhood.

Apparently, feelings of loneliness, despair, anxiety, desperation, sleeplessness… being overburdened, feeling unappreciated, wanting to run away… and overall unhappiness in motherhood are not uncommon.  In fact, the new ABC show, “In The Motherhood”, explores these realities of motherhood by using real-life stories.  Moms are encouraged to submit their own real life stories on the site.  The show lets all moms know they are not alone.

And, that is the purpose of this post. 

I salute all mothers, especially mine .  I also want you all to know that no matter what your situation, there is someone who can relate to it. If you’re going through something particularly difficult, there is no shame in reaching out for help.

One mother, Heather Armstrong, found the help she needed by starting her own blog.  While suffering severe post-partum depression, she began to write about her daily struggles.  She received much support and comfort from readers.  She attributes her blog to saving her life.

While your story may not generate over $40,000/ month in revenue from a blog or book (It Sucked and Then I Cried, available below) as Heather’s does, opening up to someone about what you’re going through, as she did, may help you. So, confess it.

My Confession:

After being a -work-from-home mom for seventeen months, I’ve had the opportunity to discover the pros and cons of motherhood.  Yes, I’ve had some moments when I just wanted to run away.  I’m aware that’s probably not the best thing to say when you’re trying to conceive a second child, but I promise I don’t feel this way all the time. 

I have a good life.  I love and enjoy spending time with my husband and daughter.  In spite of that, I have had feelings of just going away from them both and spending some time by myself… so sue me.

I felt guilty and stupid for feeling this way and did not want to share it on this blog since I know my family and close friends read it (once a year).  I discussed it with my fellow-blogger, Stephanie, instead.  She was generous enough to take two full blog posts to address my issues… and I feel better.  There.  I wrote it.  That’s my mommy confession.

Have any mommy confessions you want to get off your chest in this judgment-free zone?

I’ll be inspirational today.  Here are some quotes to reflect on throughout the month of April:

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.“  by Henry David Thoreau.

Are you living the life you imagined?  If so, GREAT!  If not, what will it take to get there?  Be confident enough to make it happen.

“How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of these.” by George Washington Carver.

Are you treating others the way you would want to be treated if you were in their situation?  Remember, you reap what you sow… what goes around comes around… you get my point. 

“We owe our children a better future.  We owe our country a better future.  And for all those who dream of that future tonight, I say–let us begin the work together.  Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.” by President Barack Obama.

Are you creating opportunities for your children (and other children) to have a better future?  Do you dream of a better future for them?  Think of things you can do to help make it possible.  Volunteer?  Recycle?  Donate?  And, just do it.

These quotes were all taken from the 2009 Barack Obama Wall Calendar:  Words of Hope and Inspiration.  I bought six of these calendars in January for friends and family (12.99 each). We all LOVE it!  You can get it here at a reduced price ($8.66):

Ok.  It’s blog award time… and you know how much I love these.  Stephanie at Ask Me Anything, passed on the “Honest Scrap Award”.

“This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog’s content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.”

Who doesn’t like to be called brilliant?    Thanks, Stephanie.

So, I’m supposed to tell 10 honest things about myself and pass it on to other brilliant bloggers.  I will try not to repeat previously mentioned things about myself:

1.  My love for reality shows, sparked me to write my own reality game show.  I registered it with the Library of Congress last year and have been working with my former Entertainment Law Professor to promote it.

2.  I have 5-10 more pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

3.  I always wanted to travel, but as of yet, I’ve never been out of the country. 

4.  In fact, my first flight was at 26-years-old.  I road down to Florida with a friend who needed a traveling companion and I flew back to my home in North Carolina.  Don’t laugh– My dad’s first flight was last year (at 55-years-old) when he traveled here, to Texas, for my daughter’s dedication service.

5.  I’ve been watching a lot of foreign subtitled films to beef up my French and Spanish vocabularies.  You can find some of those upcoming movie reviews on my new blog Movie Connoisseur.

6.   I had an ultrasound performed to determine whether my fibroid tumors were blocking my cervix only to find out that I had none.  I have to go back for a repeat ultrasound to determine whether the ovarian cyst has ruptured instead.  Geez…

7.  Danny has me drinking Monavie, an acai berry juice, daily.  It’s supposed to be a powerfully potent anti-oxidant.  All I know, it’s the newest fad on the market and it’s too freaking expensive… It better work.

8.  We haven’t taken professional family photos since January of last year.  That’s sad.  I’m dragging my family to the studio this weekend!

9.  I like Adam Lambert from American Idol so much, I had a dream about him last night.    He was… uh… singing.

10.  I’m not the greatest cook, but I can really throw down on some meat–chicken, pork chops, steak, turkey… you name it.  I’ve discovered the secret– cook it to death. That’s my secret.  I cook meat until there’s no bone left!

Was that honest enough for you?  Too much information, maybe?  Anywho…

That was the easy part.  The hard part is narrowing the pass-along list down to just a FEW brilliant blogs.

There’s no obligation, but if you’d like to accept this award, I’d like to give it to you:

A Poet’s View

Bad Gal’s Radio

Happily Ever After Soulmates

Dad to Two

My Junk Drawer

I’d like to start the 1st of April with something sad… no, no… with something inspirational… no, that won’t do either… how about with some HUMOR?  After all, it is April Fools’ Day.  Click here to learn what wikipedia has to say about how this informal holiday came to be… and then enjoy the family joke.

Received this via email.  Original source unknown:

A boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in to tell him that he was sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whisper.

“Hello.”

“Is your daddy home?” he asked.

“Yes,” whispered the small voice.

“May I talk with him?”

The child whispered, “No.”

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, “Is your Mommy there?”

“Yes.”

“May I talk with her?”

Again the small voice whispered, “No.”

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, “Is anybody else there?”

“Yes,” whispered the child, “a policeman”.

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”

“No, he’s busy,” whispered the child.

“Busy doing what?”

“Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman,” came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, “What is that noise?”

“A helicopter,” answered the whispering voice.

“What is going on there?” demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.

Again, whispering, the child answered, “The search team just landed the helicopter.”

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, “What are they searching for?”

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle…….”ME.”

Of course the 1st day of April wouldn’t be complete without thanking my readers, commenters, and droppers for the month of March.  “Thanks so much!” to everyone who visits my blogs… and extra smooches to those on my top Entrecard dropper list for March.  I hope you will still visit once I remove my Entrecard widget after April 7th.