My friend Esther had a birthday on Monday and it was wonderful to be at her house, celebrating and catching up on the minutia of our lives. Heather was there and we talked the talk of getting together more often, especially for girls nights outs.

When it was time to leave, Fuller wasn’t happy but I have to admit, I was a little sad too. It really filled me up to have that interaction, the face time with my friends.

Tonight I had the pleasure of going to Mom’s Night Out, a monthly get together of the moms in the homeschool group we have joined. I was able to talk to other moms about our shared passion, talk to seasoned homeschool moms who offered encouragement and insight, and connect with new people who are actually people I have known for a while, but not that well. I even scored a playdate for Fuller tomorrow!

Last week I took a meal to a friend who recently had a baby. I ended up talking with her for 45 minutes about nursing, sibling interaction, and husbands. While it is easy to have those kinds of conversations on twitter or facebook, I felt so much better after talking to just one person face to face.

In a few weeks the Moms Group at my church will start back up. The encouragement, prayer, and support we give each other is something I have been missing these past few weeks (we take off for August). It is a joy to close the laptop and head to church on Wednesdays to see my mom friends.

When I was talking about cake the other day, two ingredients I have been looking at in my own life is my “digital” life and my “real” life. While both are good, neither are fulfilling. And it might be just that the ratios need to be tweaked. And I need to make sure I schedule the girls night out soon, so it isn’t just all talk.

I was a tad wistful, wishing there were homeschool bloggers in my area I could get revved up about meeting. My thoughts drifted to tweet-ups and playdates, wondering if I could pull out my “digital mom” status and arrange such a technological wonder. Then I realized, I actually did know another homeschool blogger. And she lived a block or less from my house.

And then I wondered, why did it have to be a blogger? Why can’t I just go out and meet with people?

Not quite willing to let go of the technology, I sent Karen a facebook message asking her something about story time at the library that day. I mentioned wanted to talk to her about homeschool (she is/ was finishing her first year with her oldest). We did see each other at the library, but it was so crazy full (thanks to a visit from three animals from the zoo) it was difficult to chat. Karen then reached out and invited us over to her house for lunch.

It was a wonderful two or three hour visit. Fuller had his fill of playing with kids and I had a an energizing chat with Karen, making me excited not just for the education of my children but for the relationships to be had with other homeschool families.

The neat thing is, the same thing happened the next week too. After mentioning some homeschool things to a mom at Moms Group, she invited us over for lunch and playtime to chat about reading and homeschool plans and dreams.

I value the information I get from homeschool bloggers and reading about their adventures in learning. It gives me ideas, helps expand my educational goals, and gives me affirmation that we are doing the right thing for our family. But meeting with people in real life, while watching our children play together, it is valuable and energizing. I have a feeling, by connecting with folks in my own neighborhood, we will have more accountability and success. And more playdates, which makes it even more fun!

Today I stayed in my PJs until one-ish. Then I took my shower and changed into clean PJs. Around 5 I decided Fuller had to get some outside time, so I put on real clothes, put Tebow in the Baby Bjorn, and headed to the park.

I felt kind of like a super mom, dealing with two kids at the park. One I had to nurse, the other had to be encouraged, disciplined, helped, and loved. We stayed out for an hour, enjoying the warmth and fresh air.

As the days go by, maybe I will get the hang of this two kid lifestyle.

When I found out what the UPS guy brought me, I didn’t mind shortening my nap at all. He came bearing a long, green box. And inside the box was the amazing assortment of roses you see pictured here.

The box said ProFlowers on them, so I knew it was flowers. But I was trembling with excitement wondering who they were from.

I teared up when I read the card and found out my friend Deb was the generous sender of the bouquet.

It turns out Deb just wanted to do something nice for someone (she’s always doing that) and I was on her mind and la dee da, I got flowers! I actually had a really rough day yesterday, so it was such a sweet treat to get the flowers. Thanks Deb. I hope everyone has a friend like you.

[tags]friends, roses, surprise, December Photo Project[/tags]

I have been twittering my trip and at one point, while waiting at my gate, I wrote th following:

“I wonder who at gate E34 ATL is going to blog world expo?”

Then I went on to read my book and listen to my tunes. About twenty minutes later I heard from across the terminal, “Is that Alli with the beautiful red hair?” I looked up and walking toward me as quickly as her little legs was Cass! I know Cass as an online buddy and she is one of the friends in my group I was meeting here in Las Vegas. I have seen her avatar, her Self Portrait Sunday posts, and various other pictures… and suddenly in real life there was Cass walking toward me with her arms open wide.

I was thrilled to have this quick visit with Cass before I got on my plane. We chatted and squealed over seeing each other in real life.

Hours later we met again in the baggage claim area in the Las Vegas airport. By then our other friends had arrived and we were all hugging, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company.

Cass already wrote this, but it rings true now. It was a Velveteen moment- that which has been loved has become real. I am enjoying myself and have lots to share. We have tons to do and lots of minutes to soak each other up, so the sharing will come later, from my notes. (So far I have uploaded several pictures to Flickr.)

[tags]Las Vegas, friendships, traveling, postiecon07, blog world expo 2007[/tags]

The conferences I will be attending at Blog World Expo and Postiecon. Because I signed up for Postiecon, I got a free standard registration to Blog World Expo. I look forward to attending some of the sessions at BWE and learning more about the business of blogging.

Postiecon will be a treat because those in attendance will get early adopter keys for Izea’s newest product. I got a sneak peak at it (codename Argus) and it really looks neat.

But, the icing on the cake, the real reason I am heading out to Las Vegas, is to meet some of the friends I have made via PayPerPost. After chatting with them online for over a year, I feel like we are ready to take our relationship to the next level. We are meeting in real life!

My roomies are Jenn, Cass, and Ang. In the same hotel with us are Colleen and her husband. And Julie will already be there since she lives in Las Vegas.

Since becoming a stay at home mom, these ladies, along with a few others who can’t make it (miss you guys!), have really made it easier to fight the loneliness some stay at home moms can suffer from. They have funny stories to tell, life lessons to recount, and their lives to share. It has made this transition so much easier. And I look forward to hugging them all later today!

[tags]online friendships, friendships, friends, postiecon07, blog world expo 2007[/tags]

This year her little one (Luke) was old enough to make the neighborhood trek, so again Damon and Fuller went trick or treating, but this time with Luke and Uncle Peter in tow. And Esther stayed on my porch feeding her newest little one (Ben) while I handed out candy and we chatted about everything under the sun. As an added bonus, her sister-in-law Janet (aka Peter’s wife) joined us in the two hours of porch sitting.

I really like that I had company while handing out the candy and getting to spend some time with friends. While I worked hard earlier this week (painting the front porch) I needed some downtime with friends. And having a friend over who doesn’t care what my house looks like was a bonus. It was almost like a little reward for accomplishing a goal.

I have dreamed of days when we had folks over to just hang out. And last night turned into one of those evenings… makes me glad I have dreams.

[tags]friends, Halloween[/tags]

Geeky Speaky is an excellent blog for anyone who suddenly discovers that there is more to blogging than just typing words into an editor. It is about page rank, search engine optimization, widgets, plugins, blogrolls, and more. Geeky Speaky covers all that and more- in words I can understand. And as a bonus, the site is run by one of my online friends, Colleen.

Geeky Speaky has a blog directory (I need to submit this one!) and a forum, which has been my biggest help since installing wordpress. (Aside: I haven’t actually posted there yet, but I have found the answers to all my questions so far!).

On June 1st, Geeky Speaky started their first monthly giveaway. There are many ways to enter the drawing- leave a comment, write a blog entry, post on forums- so your chances are excellent. And the prizes are useful and fun- a 1GB flash drive and a Futurama: Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection. Your chances to enter end on June 21st, so head on over there and enter. The more times you enter, the more chances you have to win.

Now I need to head back over to the forums to see what other plugins are recommended. I need the one that automatically does the Technorati tags for me.