A little about She Who Blogs

I don't think I've ever actually discussed She Who Blogs and what this group and companion blog is all about, so let me take a moment to do that now.

It was in my daily browsing of various blogs through Thursday Thirteen about a month or so ago, that I came across a post by Frances in which she was talking about a new Yahoo Group she was hoping to start for women bloggers. Having had some wonderful luck with meeting some of my greatest friends on a yahoo group I founded myself over 7 years ago, I knew this was something I could not pass up...so I joined. The group is still in its infancy, and already we have a wonderful conglomerate of women each as unique as the next, each with their own individual and creative take on what blogging is all about.

I'm having a great time learning more about each of these women, and exploring their world through their blogs.

Frances, for example, has four active blogs...FOUR! There is BlogJem, her main blog, in which she shares tidbits of her life in NYC. She also has BlogForth, where she posts her creative (and very entertaining) efforts and entries into the Sunday Scribblings meme, Photostroll, where she shares her wonderful photography, and the Meme Section, which is...yep, you guessed it, where she posts all her meme participation. I enjoy perusing all four of her blogs, she has a creative spirit and it shows. She is also our fearless leader over at She Who Blogs, and doing a wonderful job with the group's own blog.

Next to join was Jessica from Hidden Willow. She delivers a pretty powerful message through her blog, and appears to lead a pretty busy life, dedicated to a wonderful cause.

Wicked H, over at Avert Your Eyes was next, and let me tell you, this lady cracks me up. She's quick with the wit, and always manages to make me smile when I visit her blog.

Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso jumped in after as well. I believe she has the longest commute, being that she is living in Italy. Her tales of an American girl living abroad are always entertaining and never disappointing. And her pictures? To die for!

Then there is Joy at A Spot of T, who I just love. She truly is funny, and smart, and despite her protests to the contrary, a great and entertaining writer.

JennieBoo at OSOMOLOVE hopped on board next. She is just as sweet as can be, and a bubbly personality you just want to be friends with. I also think she's an amazingly strong individual, for all she's been through, and what a positive outlook she has about life. She's also very much in love with her hubby, and isn't afraid to say it, which I think is wonderful.

I came into the fold shortly after JennieBoo and am ever so glad I joined!

Sarafenix, or Princess Wild Cow, if you will, is yet another funny lady, who speaks her mind with abandon...really, you just have to visit and see for yourself, she's a riot I tell you!

Andrena is Getting a Grip on Grace over at her blog. I can't even begin to tell you how much I admire this lady and how amazing I think she is. She is currently en route to Nairobi, and I can't wait to read the tales of her travels.

Imbi, who blogs at Under the Willow, is yet another amazing lady! She has a beautifully designed website, with all kinds of goodies to explore. In her blog she shares her experiences as the mother of eight children, four of them autistic. I'm constantly in awe of these ladies.

We also have Debi, who uses her Space to document her life, as well as her current weight loss challenge, which by the way, she is kicking BUTT in!

Another member decided to Give it a Try , and she delights with tales of her family, and entertains with retelling of the "kid conversations" that happen at her house. Hilarious.

Sarah at Puss Reboots is next. Hers is both a personal blog and a book reviewing blog, and being an avid reader myself, I enjoy both aspects of her blog very much. She's also hosting a reading challenge this summer, which I had intentions of participating in, but...well...I'm a slacker. You should check it out though!

Then there is Lissa, who until recently was managing three blogs, but has cut it down to two. She showcases her wonderful photography, mostly of the clouds at Postcards from the Clouds, and her creative writing endeavors at Walk to the Left, Walk to the Right. Both are wonderful blogs, but her photos especially always leave me speechless in their beauty.

Susan shares her Slice of Life with us as well, and I just love her "Bit O' Life" picture entries. Life with her kids seems to be full of fun and adventure, and sure is fun to read all about.

I believe we have a few other new members as well, but I don't have links to their blogs yet. However, please visit our She Who Blogs main blog, and I'm sure you'll get to know all the ladies as they join. You won't regret it, they're all amazing, and I feel privileged to be a part of their group.

I totally Rock!

Well, I'm all giddy and excited because two of my fellow SheWhoBloggers have awarded me with a "Rockin' Girl Blogger" award. My thanks to both JennieBoo at OSOMOLOVE and Sognatrice at Bleeding Espresso.

So, my understanding of this award is that I'm to pass it on to other Rockin' Girl Bloggers, and I'm happy to oblige.



First of all, I'd like to give my first one to all my SheWhoBlogs Buddies, because they all ROCK in their own way. Just check out the photos Frances took this weekend, or JennieBoo's amazing introduction post, or Wicked H's hillarious tale about house alarms or any of the other posts by all these amazing ladies and you'll see exactly what I mean. They all have their own individual blogs as well, which you can check out on my sidebar.

My second award is going to my good friend Literary Feline over at Musings of a Bookish Kitty. I've known her for a while now in other circles, but her blog is one of my favorites and always a first stop when I'm looking for suggestions on what I should read next. Her book reviews are always detailed and thorough with just enough bite to grab you and make you want to read the book yourself.

Thirdly, I'm awarding Frigga at Any Apples because she is fast becoming one of my favorite bloggers. Her posts constantly make me laugh, her Thursday Thirteen is always an audience participation one, which is OH SO FUN, and today, she gave us this. Really, this girl ROCKS.

And finally is Miss Frou Frou over at I Used to be, but I'm alright Now, because I just love her. I tend to be more of a lurker over there, but the two of us have so much in common that I find myself nodding my head in agreement as I read her posts. Oh yeah, and it just so happens we share a birthday too.

I'm finding other amazing and ROCKIN' girl bloggers as I stroll through the blog world, but since I'm more of a stalker than a visitor at most of these blogs, I'll stop here this time.

Keep on Rockin' girls!

Fun Monday # 3 - Summer Days...

Fun Monday this week is being hosted by Jenni over at Prairie Air. The mission this week?

"The topic for this Fun Monday is summer memories. Besides a few of your favorite summer memories, I'd like to hear what summer means to you. Is summer all about fireworks, watermelon seed wars, catching fireflies, days at the lake, family vacations, or the perfect swimsuit? What sights, smells, sounds, tastes, feelings do you associate with summer?"

Summer is and always has been my favorite time of year. There is something about the sunshine, the smell of barbecue in the air, and daylight into the wee hours of the early evening that just says happiness to me. I get giddy with anticipation in the months before summer arrives, and am delirious throughout June, July and August. THIS is what life is about.

By the way, yes, the above picture is of me, on a beach somewhere in Portugal. I pretty much grew up on the beach...in fact my earliest memories of summer are hazy, but center around my childhood home on a beach in Portugal. I remember going to the beach daily with my mom, who at that time was a stay-at-home mom, but remember little of the details. I remember playing in my back yard, which was sandy as the beach, and walking through sugar canes and other strange plants to get to the beach. I remember that I practically lived in my bathing suit at that time. I don't think we owned a camera back then, because I don't remember ever seeing pictures from that house, that time in our lives. From what I've been told, that was a pretty rough time financially for my family, I don't remember it that way though, I remember the summer.

My greatest memories of summer though focus on my pre-teen and early teen years. For several years in a row, my parents, with my brother and I in tow, and my uncle and aunt, with my two cousins in tow, would spend a week or two every summer in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We would stay at the same little inn, with individual cottages, and normally my two cousins and I would get our very own cottage, next door (or if we were really lucky a few cottages away) from our parents' own cottage. Theirs with the kitchen, ours just a little room with a bathroom. We felt so grown up to stay there on our own. There were years other relatives and friends stayed with us as well, but every year the three of us had our own little world in the mountains.

During the days we would explore The Lost River, or visit "The Old Man in the Mountain". We would hang out in the swimming pool, cook-out and play badmitton behind our parents' cottage. There were the water gun fights...No fair using a pot of water, uncle V! And playing in the rain in our bathing suits. Cute boy crushes, trips to the corner grocer to buy teenie bopper magazines with posters of New Kids on the Block.

At night there was the campfire with ghost stories and singing, and marshmallows to roast. Crazy fully clothed dips in the pool, listening to music and choreographing our own dances. Fantasies about the cute boys, staying up all night talking about our dreams...we never slept those days. I wonder if they ever fixed that light we almost set on fire?

Even the car rides to and from would turn into an adventure, trying to spot certain color cars, license plates from different states...remember "saco azul"? You had to be there, trust me...

And then there were the fire works on the Fourth of July. Because it was always the week of the Fourth that we'd go up there, and we'd watch the fireworks reflecting on the lake, sitting on top of my father's minivan. "Bee-u-ti-fuuul"...

Those will always be my favorite summer memories. So many feelings come attached to these, that I get emotional just thinking about it. It feels as if a lifetime away now.

Summer for me now is still about family, and cook-outs, adventure and exploring, the sunshine and being outside as much as possible. My parents just got a new pool, so this summer new memories will be created for sure. But I do miss those old summers in the mountains.

(I'm hoping to add pictures to this post later tonight when I get home).

For the list of all the Fun Monday participants this week, be sure to visit Prairie Air.

Sunday Scribblings #3 - Swimming with the Stars

This week's Sunday Scribblings prompt is: What's your Sign?




I am a Pisces born on March 10th. Now, in all honesty, I've never put much weight on this whole "astrology" business. I read my horoscope, sure, but unless it says something that is either entertainingly positive, or it nails a particular day with scary accuracy, I don't particularly pay it much attention.

And yet, anytime I've read a description of my "sign", I've been intrigued by the accuracy with which it describes me.

For example, from Astrology.com: "These folks are selfless, spiritual and very focused on their inner journey. They also place great weight on what they are feeling. Yes, feelings define Pisceans, and it's not uncommon for them to feel their own burdens (and joys) as well as those of others. The intuition of the Pisces-born is highly-evolved. Many people associate Pisceans with dreams and secrets, and it's a fair association, since those born under this Sign feel comfortable in an illusory world."

Selfless? Honestly, most of the time I do tend to be quite selfless.

Spiritual? Very much so, more so than most people I know.

Focused on my inner journey? Boy, am I ever...I take self-reflection to new levels.

And as far as feeling my own burdens (and joys) as well as those of others? I can't watch the news because I cry anytime I see someone in pain.

And boy, do I love my "illusory world", I've been told all my life I live inside my head.


But wait, there's more..."Pisceans who fear that their pleas aren't being heard tend to lapse into melancholy and, worse, the kind of pessimism which leads to procrastination and lethargy. At times like this, Pisceans are well-served to take some time for themselves, the better to find their center once again."

This is perhaps the truest of all with me. I have a tendency to allow myself to drift into a semi-depressed, but always non-productive haze whenever I'm "abused" or overwhelmed at work. I can work extremely hard, and handle many tasks at once, until I feel I am being taken advantage of, or not being appreciated, and then, easily, I sink into the lethargy. It is at times like this when I need to take some mental health days (as I did just this past week), so that I can recharge my batteries, sort of speak, and return to being a productive member of society.

And then there is the creative edge that Pisceans seem to have been gifted with. Every horoscope book will tell you that us Pisces are the writers, artists and musicians in the world. I can't draw or sing to save my life, but writing has always been like breathing for me...and dancing...well, if you read this, then you know how I feel about it.

But not everything in the Pisces description fits me. For example, Astrology.com states that Pisceans are generally gentle, easy-going folk, who are on the shy and reticent side. They are modest to the point of impracticality, often stepping up only to show their talents in painting or music. Easiest for the Fish (and still great fun) is living in their lush dream world.

I do love my dream world, but I am in now way, shape or form "shy, gentle" or even easy-going. I've become a lot more laid back as I've gotten older, but still, I do love to get my way. And gentle just doesn't fit me at all...I'm a strong, independent, LOUD Portuguese woman...I can be gentle at times, but life alone has made me a bit tougher than most. As far as being shy? Nobody who has ever met would ever accuse me of such a thing! After all, I'll talk to anyone. I'm that person in the line at the grocery store sparking up a conversation about the weather...

More than once I've read descriptions of the Pisces nature as "weak-willed and easily led" or "submissive"...these couldn't be more off the mark as far as I'm concerned. I can be an emotional mess, and too much of a dreamer, but I count myself among the leaders...always the first among my friends to suggest a place to go, a movie to see, a restaurant to try.

Still, I do find it intriguing how close these descriptions can get...but then, not all Pisces can be exactly alike, can we? I don't know, I don't put much weight in these things...

For more Sunday Scribblings, click here.





(the pictures I used above are magnets that can be found here, at art.com by the way)

Photo Hunt #2 - Sweet

I've missed a few weeks since my first Photo Hunt participation, but have decided to just jump in when I can...so, here I am. This week's Theme is "Sweet" and while I considered going with something less obvious, I just love this picture of a dessert I had earlier this year at a place called "Finale" in Boston. I actually don't have much of a sweet tooth, but this dessert was YUMMY...



Check out other Photo Hunters here.