I'm (Not) a Little Bit Country

Confession: I hate country music, at least that's what my parents, my sister, my husband, my friends, my...well...everyone thinks. See, I don't really dislike country music. I've even been known to have country stations programmed on my car radio.

(G: Is this a country station? When did you start listening to country music?

Me: Oh, they, uh, they changed the station format yesterday, and I, uh, can't figure out how to program a new station... So, how was your day?)

(Yes, I've really had that conversation with my husband - more than once. Yes, I've actually played dumb, pretending I don't know how to change the radio programming. Yes, he really believed it. Love you, honey!)

This charade started in the fifth grade. It was my first exposure to peer pressure, and I gave in.

SCENE: Typical fifth grade classroom. Enter Robin, the popular girl. She had dark hair, styled in a Farrah Facett-type, feathered style. She wore Jordache jeans and left the buttons on her polo shirt undone. She was cool. On the other hand, I refused to wear jeans; I'd only wear pleated skirts, ruffled pastel blouses, and ballet flats. I straightened my hair, had really crooked teeth, and sported Coke-bottle glasses.

Robin: Hey, Jilt! We were just talking about that new song, you know, the one with the phone number?

Me: I don't know it.

Robin: Of course you do! It goes, "867-5..." I can't remember the last few numbers. Do you know?

Me: I've never heard that song.

Robin: Sure you have. It's all over the radio. You do listen to the radio, right?

Me: Yeah, but I don't really listen to rock music.

Robin (laughing): What do you listen to?

Me: I listen to what my parents have on the radio - usually country or oldies...

Robin (rolling on the floor laughing): That's so dumb!

From that day forward, Robin and the cool kids made fun of me - everyday. They called me "Country."

I tried changing my wardrobe - gone were the skirts, replaced by Izod polos and Jordache jeans. I asked my parents to listen to rock stations whenever we were in the car. I asked for and received my first rock album (Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger"). I stopped listening to country music - at least as far as anyone knew.

Today, I grabbed one of the CDs I received in my BlogHer swag bag. Song two: Dolly Parton's "Nine to Five." I cranked that puppy. I sang proudly and loudly (and badly). I loved it.

Fuck Robin from the fifth grade. I'm loving me some Dolly. I might even add a country station to my car radio - and I might not even deny that I did it on purpose.

BlogHer Recap

Holy cow! I can't believe it's over - after all my nervousness, I could not have felt more comfortable or welcomed by the wonderful women at BlogHer, especially these ladies:

Back row: Mrs. Squirrel, Liz, Frema
Front row: Carrisa, Isabel, Lizarita, moi, Molly, and CPA Mom

I *heart* them all. And what can I say about Frema and Molly, two fellow Pumas. I feel like I've known both of them forever. (And, could a pregnant Frema be any cuter?)

I swear there was something in that (oops) wine - seriously, three glasses and I was drunk. I haven't been such a cheap date in years. And was I the only one who thought "(oops)" was a misprint on the BlogHer email, like they forgot to add the sponsor name?

Maybe it was because I'm so new at this, but I learned a lot. However, I didn't really care for the emphasis on the Q&A aspect of many of the sessions. And the Technical Lab for beginning bloggers using Blogger - that one was a waste. Oh, and the General Session on day two - honestly, I didn't understand one thing the panel said.

Then there was the tension between bloggers and PR/marketing professionals. Being in PR, I feel a little defensive about the whole thing. Yes, I've been asked to pitch consumer products to blogs. Yes, I do my research before ever sending an email. Yes, I try to personalize each "pitch" and make sure it's relevant to the recipient. And, I'll only pitch products I've tried (and believe in) and products I think can actually benefit the women/men I'm pitching. No, I've never discriminated against a blogger because of her ethnicity or background. Honestly, it takes a lot of time to reach out to bloggers, so we try to reach out to the blogs that have the greatest reach. It's still new, and we're still learning how it works.

I really don't want to spend time harping on this issue - I'm not going to write a PR or Workplace blog. There are a lot of good (and some not-so-good) debates happening elsewhere in the blogosphere. But, if anyone has a good story to share, I'd love to hear it.

Daddies Do It Differently

Probably one of the hardest things I've had to learn as a mom is to let my husband do things his way - especially when I'm out of town.

While I was at BlogHer, Pumpkin:

• Did not have a bath. It's Sunday. His last bath was the one I gave him on Thursday. Gross.
• Did not eat any veggies or fruit. He did eat plenty of pizza, chicken nuggets (not the healthy ones I make, but the icky frozen kind), and mac & cheese.
• Did not go to bed before 9:30 p.m. His usual bed time is around 8.

On the plus side, Pumpkin had a blast with G. They wrestled. They played in outside. They went for walks. They read tons of books. They "camped" in the living room (complete with an electric lantern for light and S'mores -the cereal kind).

I can't wait to get home!

What am I doing?

I have mixed feelings already about blogging. It's been two days.

I want this to be an outlet. But I'm concerned about what my "real" friends, colleagues, and family might say if they find it. I want to be part of the community. But I'm concerned about security issues and saying too much. I want to refine and hone my writing skills - skills I really haven't been able to use in YEARS, really since college. But I have my doubts about my writing abilities and with every entry I write and rewrite, thinking I'm not as good as some of the others.

At BlogHer, I hope to meet and talk to other women who've thought and felt these same things. I want to know how they've been able to overcome their hesitation on this new medium. (OMG, I realize I leave in a few hours for Chicago. I haven't been this nervous in a long time... and I really don't know why I feel nervous...)

Going to BlogHer

I leave tomorrow afternoon for Chicago. I'm excited to see friends and meet some of the wonderful women I feel I actually know through their blogs. I think that's going to be weird. I mean, I follow a dozen or so blogs on a regular basis, but I've only ever commented on two blogs. I feel like a stalker.

Workplace is paying for BlogHer. I'll be there in an official "work" capacity, really trying to get a feel for why women blog about their lives, kids, emotions. But BlogHer really interests me on a personal level for all those reasons, too. I guess that's one of the reasons I started Parentville, to better understand this community of awesome women, wonderful writers, and incredible human beings. To really be part of it.

But, I'm also nervous. Will I be seen as an outsider to this community? Will they embrace me? Will I be able to balance the work aspect with my personal interests in a way that satisfies the Boss and my own needs? What if they find out I'm with a PR firm? Does that hurt my credibility? Is it totally obvious that I'm new to this? Because I'm new, will I even get anything out of the sessions or will everything go over my head?

Ugh.

I just returned from a business trip in Vegas (all business, no play - seriously). I'm a little stressed about everything I have to do before I leave tomorrow. Work has stacked up on my desk, laundry has stacked up at home, and we're trying to get the house ready to put on the market by early next week. Plus, Mike generously gave me his sinus infection/cold/mucus infestation.

Off to blow my nose (TMI) and get some frozen yogurt (yum). I'll wash my hands in between...