One comment you made was on making friends. I have moved around a bit with my husband and five kids and am the same way…in that the best way to make friends is to reach out. I try to reach out to those new here in our community or Ward, because I have been there. There is no place harder to penetrate into the “mommy social scene” than here in Connecticut. However, it helps to go outside of your box a little. Blogging has certainly opened up some incredible opportunities and discussion.

Thanks for the great post.

There’s still times when I don’t quite understand some of the things you discuss (visiting teaching for example), but I’ll get around to asking you about them, or searching on them.

I know you haven’t watched it, but I do want to say that I’ve never thought Big Love was in way representative of everyday Mormons. I know it’s a TV show, and I actually find it an interesting contrast to and sometimes analogous to one of my super trashy reality TV interests – the show that’s about the old Playboy guy and his three girlfriends who are old enough to be his GRAND daughters. In some ways, it’s not that different to a polygamist (FLDS or not) with three wives, and in other ways, it’s vastly different.

the cool part of blogging is getting ideas from other bloggers. There have been many times when I’ve read something on another person’s blog that inspired me to write something on mine.

I’m super tired, and I don’t think this making any sense, sooooo I’m going to stop talking now.

Julia — (thanks to Natasha and Laura! You guys all make blogging really fun!) For more on hyperlinks, you can check out this post. The best way for me to learn computer stuff is to have my husband do it for me nine times, and on the tenth time I get tired of having to ask for help, so I watch him do it a few times, and seven years later, voila! I am a blogging-techno-WIZARD. (not).

My point: If anyone you know is a more experienced blogger, see if you can sit down with them and pick their brain, esp. if you are a hands-on process-type learner.

Moving around is so hard. I’ve never lived in any place longer than 5 years, and usually more like 2-3. (My dad was in the Navy.) Sometimes the internet is so interactive and immediate that I’m tempted to turn to it before making the effort of connecting with or establishing IRL friends, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a good idea. I think most people go through an initial honeymoon period with blogging particularly, and I just hope that you can find a good balance between enjoying your online and IRL lives (I’m still working on that).

Laura & others on the Visiting Teaching — I totally said this during my spiel, and for some reason they didn’t think it was as funny as I did.

Becky — I had Tara mail me her blog book from blurb so I could show everybody. They loved it! I wish blurb could do self-hosted sites, but so far it looks like I’d have to import my blog into wordpress.com first, blahblahblah. I love the idea of having a real book to hold in my hands — the biggest problem with online stuff is it’s just not the same as cuddling up in bed or the tub with a real book.

Western Warmth & Becky — I think the “keep a regular journal for the real ugly stuff/blog forces you to focus on brighter side” is interesting. I know my sister does this, and she benefits enormously, and there are times I wish I could write about things that are just inappropriate for a wide audience. So I agree; I’m just not very good at writing things down if I don’t have the motivation of knowing it’ll be “published.”

I took a copy of Well-Rounded Woman’s blog book to show, which was helpful. Some women had no idea what blogging even was. Having the hands-on visual was very much needed.

Good luck with this–I am sure you will do a great job!

P.S. Thanks Laura for teaching me in the ways of “little blue words” by commenting on my blog. It was fun to receive and extra comment the the new info. will be fun to try out.

P.P.S. Thanks to Natasha too for “little blue word” instructions

Beth, you are welcome to attend those craft meetings. They’re for everyone, not just Mormons.

This was a great post. I love thinking that blogging is a positive form of record-keeping, and not just a fun way to pass the time and fill my need for connection. Yes, I would have totally loved to have a blog-like record from my mother. There’s only so much that a woman can remember when she has 8 kids to keep track of. And no, she was not much a journaler, so pretty much the stories are all memory based.

Blogging has become my new favorite thing. I’d so much rather blog now, than watch TV, during my downtime. And now I spend my days–while I’m cleaning, cooking, running errands, watching the kiddo’s, etc–thinking about ideas for my next blog entry. It’s really quite thrilling! It too, has filled a far too long dormant need to write and share with others. Sometimes, as a mother, I find myself spending too much time by myself (with the kids of course)and I become more introverted and even a bit reclusive, which is SO not like me. Typically I am quite the opposite, and it’s hard to get me to shut up. But it’s hard when you have kids to always maintain friendships and to get out and socialize. Atleast it is for me. I totally loved your blog Jane about “the difficulty of making friends in new places.” We’re military, so that really hit a chord with me. I hate being lonely and it’s so wonderful to have good friends, both on- and off-line. The great part about blogging is that it helps you to keep in touch even when you or your friends move away.

Regarding blogging, my mother recently printed my entire blog and had it bound into a book for me. She commented that some day my kids will be so thrilled that I spent so much time documenting my thoughts, our lives and my feelings. I didn’t start blogging with that intention. No, I did it out of the selfish need and desire to do something intellectual besides cleaning poop. However, the benefits I have reaped are numerous. I’ve made many online friends whom I would love to hang out in person (Jane, you being one) and I have discovered within myself a talent that had laid dormant for far too long.

I do love blogging and I think many women would benefit from it. I think this is one of the best legacies that we will leave our children. How many of us wouldn’t love to have this sort of record of our own mothers? Plus, isn’t heritage stuff like a big Mormon thing? Aren’t y’all the ones with the giant family tree database that has somehow traced everybody’s family roots for like the whole world?