I know that my family will have a fun time without me. I’m not a beach person at all. I wear a swim suit, a long-sleeved rash guard, and hide under beach umbrellas while at the beach. Honestly, I should just buy a burqa.

My kids frolic in the waves while I cower in the shade. Oh and, did I mention that I am not a swimming in the sea type of person either. I’m kind of a kill joy on the beach…I guess.

While my family is swimming, I will be taking a train to BlogHer. I’m close enough that taking a plane would add hours to my journey due to transfers and connections. So, the train will get me to NYC!

Once in BlogHer I have a fun, very fun set of actvities, events, and sessions to attend. Will I get to all of them? I hope so. Am I planning to maximize my time at BlogHer? You bet. Will I sleep during my stay? Probably, as I am paying for the hotel room. I need to maximize my time in the hotel room, too.

Are you planning to go to BlogHer? Leave a comment and let’s try to meet! I’m a first timer. Looking forward to getting out of BlogHer as much as I can!

Too early to go back to bed. I stayed up to do some decluttering. I have no idea what I decluttered. As I said I was in a fog this a.m. I have a stack of broken down boxes for recycling, but no idea what was in the boxes.

Do you ever have days like that…where you get things done but you are so tired that you can’t think straight?

I had that kind of day yesterday. By 5, I was out of gas. I hadn’t completed the work I set out to do. I hadn’t finished the writing. I decided to have a quick shower and head to my Book Club.

I am so glad I decided to go. Yes, it was time I spent away from household tasks and writing, but it was so worth it to hang out with friends. I needed a boost of friend power after the crazy days of summer. Friends!

And yes we even discussed the book. We read The Help. Good book about an appalling, “how could his type of thing happen in the 1960s?” type of book.

Book club restored me. Today I am ready to tackle my work.

As sleep deprived as I will be for BlogHer, you can bet that I will experience everything about BlogHer that I can. I’ll need to eat a little, drink a lot, and sleep a little to remain charged for BlogHer.

Have I mentioned our family mantra? I should say “mantras.” We have two:

1. Seize the Day

2. Play/Party/Shop/Vacation til You Drop

When I first got married, my husband was on board with Mantra #1 but not so much on Mantra #2. You see Mantra #2 is my family’s mantra.

As a kid I lived in England, America, England, America, England, Italy, and finally America. My parents never knew if we would stay in a country for 6 months, 1 year, or forever, so we Seized the Day AND Vacationed Til We Dropped. In one year we visited Williamsburg, Philadelphia, Florida, Skyline Drive/Luray Caverns, and Washington, D.C.

After a year or two, my husband adopted both mantras as his own. If we are going to do something we go all out. Vacationing in Disney World? You can bet that our family will arrive at the park when it opens and be the last ones to leave. We keep the kids going with frequent refuelling stops…recharging their batteries so to speak. Just like the Energizer Smart Charger.

BlogHer will be no exception.

While at BlogHer — my first BlogHer — I will arrive on Wednesday and leave on Sunday. The conference may officially be two days, but I am going for 5 days including travel days. I’m stretching my budget to accommodate the extra days. In this economic climate it’s a struggle for many people, myself included to go on vacation. While my family spends a few days at the beach, I will be spending my part of the family vacation in New York at BlogHer. We can’t afford two separate vacations this year.

You can bet that I will be like the Energizer Bunny if chosen to be the Energizer Smart ChargHER I will wear my Energizer t-shirt with pride. I’ll hand out the USB drives. I’m a person with a mission when it comes to meeting people. If Energizer charges me to hand out the USB drives, I will hand out and engage each person I meet with reasons to purchase Energizer products. If chosen as the Energizer Smart ChargHER I will accept the charge.

For the last two summers I have made it my mission to photograph EVERY swimmer on my children’s swim team. Do you know how hard it is to find and take each child’s photograph in a season that spans 6 short weeks, where kids are on vacation or at camp, or sick? But, I did it. Last year I photographed 230 kids with their moms and dads. This year I am taking over 200 individual photos of each swimmer. I charged myself with a mission. I completed the mission. I’m an Energizer Smart ChargHER at home and online!!

The $2000 will help me pay for my hotel. I’m sharing a room with the fabulous @MorethanMommy. My train — I’m traveling by train as it is the cheaper option. Flying is too expensive. My conference ticket? I have one, but I wasn’t able to buy it when the tickets were first available. I did not have enough cash in my Paypal account. When I had enough money in Paypal? You guessed it the conference passes were sold out. I bought a pass, but did not get the early bird rate. I’m kicking myself for not buying the pass earlier. Oh well, at least I have a conference pass, right?

This post was written as part of the entry for the Energizer Smart ChargHER contest. I was not give a product for review. The opinions expressed are my own.

My blog title gives an overview of what I write about — Musings from Me on Kids, Preteens, and Teens. I have a Kid (7), a Preteen (11), and a Teen (14). I muse about our lives: school, sports, family game and movie night, travel, and eating dinner as a family.

I blog about causes I am passionate about. As the mom of a kid, a preteen, and a teen who spend time online to varying degrees, online safety, cyber bullying, and cell phone safety are topics that interest me.

Since I started blogging when my older two were 11 and 9, I have had to be cautious about what I write about. I have no humorous stories of pee, poop, or barf to write about. The toddler years are a blogging goldmine for most bloggers! My daughters read my blog, so I would not them to read anything that would (a) embarrass them and, most importantly, (b) identify them.

I do not write about the specifics of my girls’ lives: their school, names of their sports teams, classes, teachers, grades, friends’ names, etc. I also can’t write about the details of their lives. Their lives are not my story to tell.

I do incorporate anecdotes about my children and husband in to review posts. I have found that I can tell a story about our family’s experience that is rich in detail but does not compromise the safety and privacy of my children.

How did I start blogging anyway?

I started two blogs in January 08. I was required to respond to graphic design elements, artistic style, and ads for a graphic design and writing graduate class on one of the blogs. While I was commenting on graphic design elements for the class, I started a second blog as a family journal. I added entries now and again.

In September 08, I started writing blogposts again. After 12 years at home, 6 as a WAHM and 6 as a SAHM, I was faced with the “what do I do now?” question. I did not want to go back to editing and managing the production cycle for health care publications. But, what would I do?

Blogging! The blog gave me a chance to flex my writing skills. I found that I enjoyed posting every day on my blog, and commenting on other blogs. I noticed that other blogs had buttons for networks, writing sites, Facebook, and twitter.

Social Media 101

Clicking on the twitter button was breathtaking. I don’t mean to sound overly melodramatic, but after floundering a little in my quiet house the “noise” from twitter was a welcome break. I had found my people. People to talk to each day. Bye bye quiet. Hello new world!

From twitter I learned everything about social media.

I learned about giveaways. Posting your most succinct and to-the-point message in 140 characters or less. Twitter is the best place for a beginning writer with a tendency not to get to the point to figure out what to write. I clicked on links: some were good and some deadends. I learned to find the golden nuggets while sifting through the spam.

Getting serious about blogging

Midway through 09, my blog acquired its own domain name and a snazzy new WordPress theme. My blogging journey continues on…

I’m motivated at times. At times I would rather sit on the couch and do nothing.

The summer is approaching. Will I get to the health club and exercise? Will I binge on snacks at the pool? Will I give cooking the cold shoulder and get dinner from Pizza Hut?

I want to exercise. I want to find time to exercise. I want to stop making excuses. I want to learn how to budget my time so that I have time to exercise.

Stay tuned…

For over two months I have had the pleasure of working with CityMommy. I recently became the Community Manager for DC CityMommy. I co-lead the DC – MD – VA site with Rachel. DC.CityMommy.com is online network for moms who live in DC, MD, and VA. DC CityMommy is part of the national site: CityMommy.com. On DC CityMommy I post topics of interest for moms in all stages — some moms are dealing with newborns, some with a pair of toddlers, some are in the school stage. Whatever the stage, as moms we need a place to vent, find answers, meet friends, and connect.

CityMommy is excited to announce the launch of CityMommy Tulsa!

If you know anyone in the Tulsa area, please invite them to: http://tulsa.citymommy.com

Or contact us for more information at info@citymommy.com

Want to find me somewhere other than this blog? Facebook? Even this blog has a Facebook page! Twitter! Let’s not forget my other home.

You might not know that…

I live between D.C. and Baltimore. I claim both cities as home since my connection to both is by circumstances rather than birth. I found myself in Washington, D.C., as a junior in college. Baltimore became a place to explore once I moved a little farther out of the D.C. suburban area.

I am a former British citizen-now-an-American-citizen. I love my homeland, but love my adopted homeland more. I have sworn of tea, in favor of coffee of all kinds. I’m a lover of flavored coffee drinks from Starbucks, and really anywhere…yes, even McDonald’s.

I complain about the amount of time I am in my minivan, but I wouldn’t have it any other way as I love driving kids hither, thither, and yon. I’m the quietest parent on the sidelines at soccer, lacrosse, and volleyball games, and swim meets — my British reserve is a hard habit to break. I provide my children with educational, physical, emotional, and cultural experiences to prepare them to be valued citizens of this amazing country.

I’m am on the go for work, home, sports for the kids, activities for me like blogging events, book club, and the occasional scrapbooking night with friends.

My 3 kids are active in “all sports known to man” children. I leave my house for non-kid activities rarely. If I do get out for date night, we usually eat at Longhorn Steakhouse or see a movie. Our babysitting time doesn’t allow us to do both dinner and a movie — we have to choose one or the other!

Our favorite places to go out as a family: Dinner — Hamburger Hamlet, Champps, Chevy’s, Ledo’s, Cici’s Pizza, Pizza Hut, California Tortilla; Movie Theaters — Movies at the Mall in Columbia, Movies at Westfield in Frederick, Regal Movies in Germantown; Outdoor places — Larriland Fruit Farms, Inner Harbor, Fort McHenry, soccer and lacrosse fields; Indoor Places — Shadowlands, Adventure Park USA, Smithsonian Air and Space/Natural History, Maryland Science Center, National Aquarium at Baltimore, Maryland Zoo at Baltimore, Discovery Sports Center for volleyball.

I am a local influencer in two cities — D.C. and Baltimore. I keep a finger on the pulse of events in D.C. and Baltimore for the 4 sites I write for and the 1 site I moderate:

- My blog
- DC Metro Moms
- DC Ladies
- Baltimore Parenting Tweens Examiner
- I moderate a site for moms from DC — MD — VA — DC CityMommy

I love reading, especially books about moms/women like me. I like a good psychological or legal thriller as well. I don’t see comedies or light-hearted movies at the movie theater ever — I only see dramas. I love a good book, movie, TV show about dysfunctional families. I watch reality TV — but only shows about families, JKPlusEight, Little People Big World, Design by 9, or shows like Intervention and Hoarders. I will not watch Jersey Shore, dancing shows, or Survivor. I have never watched an episode of Lost, but just got hooked on Glee. I am now watching the Office in reruns…wondering why I never watched in the first place. Oh, and I love to scrapbook, but never have the time. Perhaps I should turn off the reality shows and scrapbook my own family??

TypeAMom was the first time I was in a room with more than 2 bloggers. The energy in the room on the first morning of the conference was palpable. I know that I wasn’t the only one who wondered what the conference would bring.

It was the first #TypeAMom Conference — an alternative to the BlogHers and Mom 2.0s. Alternative is not quite the word I am looking for…what I mean is that TypeAMom was perfect for me — the new blogger. Small enough that even in the all-conference sessions anyone could get up and ask a question. Intimate enough that I could introduce myself to, mingle with, and network with anyone.

I was worried that the breakout sessions would not interest me. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The breakout sessions featured speakers on writing for blogs, writing for money(!), using twitter, special needs bloggers, political blogging, video blogging (vlogging), and many other topics.

This year’s TypeAMom conference is sure to be a hit…with me. Yes! After much deliberation, I now have a ticket to the conference. Don’t have a hotel room or a transportation plan, but by golly I have a ticket for TypeAMom Conference — September 24-September 26, 2010!

If you are a new blogger or even if you have been blogging for a year or two or more, TypeAMom Conference has something for everyone. Interested in purchasing a ticket? Here’s my affiliate link for getting your own ticket.

What you need to know about TypeAMom conference:

• General information…TypeAMom Conference ‘10, September 24-26, Asheville, North Carolina.
• Purchasing a ticket.
• Conference schedule.
• Who is speaking?

Brands? I am looking for a sponsor for my trip to Asheville, NC, September 24-26 to the TypeAMom Conference ‘10. Interested in finding out what I can do for your brand? Contact me at JillAnneBerry @ msn . com.

The graphic design and writing class taught me two very important lessons:

1. I don’t want to be a designer. I never felt comfortable with the programs I was required to use. I made great strides in the class, but knew that graphic design was not my chosen field.
2. I discovered a love for writing. Who knew? After 35 years of writing letters, memos, and work documents, I finally found my writer’s voice. It was freeing. I was invigorated. The feedback I received from the graphic design professor was minimal and unhelpful, while the feedback from the writing professor was golden.

The class ended in May. After many months of focusing on the assignments for the graphic design and writing class, I fell head first in to the end-of-the-school year activities for all three children. My son “graduated” from preschool, while my daughters finished 6th and 4th grades. School is busiest in May and June. I let my blog lie dormant for months.

The new school year was a milestone for me. For 12 years, I had dreamed of the day when all 3 kids would be in full-day school. I said goodbye to a patchwork quilt of preschool pickups and dropoffs, classes, storytimes at the library, spotty babysitting, and carting an unwilling 4-year-old to Jiffy Lube, Costco, and the DMV. I said hello to peace and quiet from 8:30 until 3 p.m.

Blogging is now what I do. Is it a job? Well, it would depend on your definition of job. My job of blogging, writing, and product reviewing fully engages my attention. While it may not be very well paid, my job is the most fulfilling job I have ever had.

Lolli wrote about her takeaway from blogging here. She listed a Top 10 list of What Blogging Has taught her in response to Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop.

My Top 10 List would have to include:

1. It is possible to discover you have a calling even if you come to it late in the game. Writing is what I love.
2. Blogging about my kids is difficult as I have no stories of pee, puke, and poo to fall back on.
3. Blogging about tweens and teens is a minefield of what I cannot mention…their names (of course), friend’s names, schools, sports teams, grades, and anything else that might be embarrassing to them. Read: EVERYTHING is embarrassing to them!
4. A supportive husband is hard to find. Who knew that my “you really should go back to work at least part time once the youngest starts school” husband would become my “let’s see where the blogging, freelancing, and consulting takes you” husband. Go Coach Dad!
5. While I can’t blog about the specifics of the lives of my kid, preteen, and teen, I can find more that enough fodder from the logistics of our daily trials and tribulations of managing our crazy schedule of activities. Have minivan? Will travel.
6. The effort required to get two sleepy headed girls and one bouncing of the walls boy as well as one resigned to getting ready for what the day has to bring husband out door makes me want to go back to bed, but I don’t…usually.
7. I have not cracked the HTML code…it’s on my list of things I should really learn.
8. Twitter is amazing. I found Mariana and her mad design skills. Thanks to Mariana I have a domain name and a header. I would still be hanging out over at Blogger!
9. While I am not a Top 10 blog, I have found a niche in hosting giveaways. I have a loyal following of people who enter my giveaways. Now if I could draw readers to my posts that are not giveaways, I would be set.
10. Speaking of giveaways, I enjoy working with brands. By reviewing products/hosting giveaways, I can combine my two loves: writing and finding out about new products.

Are you a brand or do you represent a brand? I would love to work with you. I can be reached at JillAnneBerry @ msn . com

What’s on your Top 10 list of what blogging has taught you! Leave a comment or a post on your blog with a link here in the comments. I’ll stop by and read it!