Working on an e-course!

So I've talked a lot on here about being yourself on your blog, letting your authentic self shine through. I have lots of new readers who are relatively new bloggers and who seem hesitant to get beyond the superficial stuff with their blogs for fear that they'll tick someone off or lose readership. So the idea came to me to write up a course on a series of writing and art exercises to take place over a three week period to help bloggers dig deep, to give them the skills and confidence to write the type of blog they want to write.



I also thought I'd include a few of the things that I do when I have absolutely no idea what to write. It would give a break from some of the deeper stuff and help develop some skills to use then the old writer's block hits.

This is going to be based on how I've approached my blog. But I'm certainly not trying to create Erin clones - one of me is quite enough, thank you very much!



So what I'd like to know is if there is interest in this course. I'm going to charge a bit for it, but I'm thinking like $30, not the $150 that you'd usually pay. A girl who can't find a job's gotta find a way to make a living (by the way, have you seen my shop? I've been giving serious thought to donating 10% of all profit to a rotating list of charities that my readers can choose. My first one would probably be some Salvation Army effort directed toward the Gulf, but I think what I'd like to do is a poll every three months or so and the readers can choose from a list of pre-selected causes.) K. So if you are interested, please let me know! And if there's enough interest, I'll start writing!


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Okay. So I'm a Basketcase

My IOP evaluation was today and if you call crying for an hour while I talked about why I needed to be there it went well. I can't go into a lot of detail because it involves a lot of family issues, but the long and short of it is that I am incredibly overwhelmed, feel under appreciated, and constantly stressed out. Also, they believe my depression is cyclical as every time I've been in an IOP or hospital it's been in Septermber. It's not the greatest spending your birthday ina psychiatric hospital.

My meds aren't right so they are going to find me a psychiatrist and therapist who can manage my depression better than my family doctor (who freaks out a little bit every time I tell him I need a refill on my anti-anxiety medication - never asked for it too soon, have been on the same dose for 3 years, and yet it's addictive, so most non-psych docs freak a little when writing for it.) My last psychiatrist refused to treat anxiety, so I'm not going back to her.

So I was sent home, was told to take my anti-anxiety meds, and to come back tomorrow at 9 am. Then I'll have to sit in a little circle and tell everyone why I'm there. Which is so complicated I don't even know where to start. These people are good people, though. They helped me so much a few years ago and I'm happy to let them help me now. So that's my basketcase day.

And I took this picture. For you astrology people out there, goldenrod is my ruling flower, whatever that means. I just think it's cuz it blooms at the same time that Virgos have their birthdays, but it's probably much more complicated than that.

Your Authentic Web Identity

So this post is geared a bit toward the newer bloggers in the crowd but I'd love to see what those who have been in the blog world a while have to say about my words, too.

I was reading my September Vogue again (yes, the same magazine that led to the horrific tub overflow - it's a little wet) and a sentence caught my eye. I don't know if I'm quoting it directly, but it said something to the effect of "How much do we hide behind our web identities?"

Those of you that have read my blog for a while know that I (pretty much) an open book. I'll tell you anything that is going on in my mind, all of the bad things that I do, and those moments of absolute bliss as well. However, I'm not good at cleaning house. You are more than likely never going to see my home in House Beautiful, and I can tell you right now that you will NEVER see my bedside table or dresser. As much as I try to keep those clean, they always seem to be overflowing with Hot Wheels and magazines, unpaid bills and Incredibly Important Papers. It's not pretty. So I will be a blogger who admits it; my physical world is a little (okay, incredibly a lot) air brushed.

It does bother me when I read a newer blogger who is struggling with whether she should let all of the controversial or icky stuff that she is thinking about out there. All in all, it's her blog, but if it's something that's weighing on her mind and she needs to get it out, gosh darn it, it's her blog!! Now I will say that I have a few BIG rules that I follow when it comes to blog revelation; I Never air the family's dirty laundry, I try not to complain, I never talk about a trying or hurtful subject that has happened to someone else without first getting their permission, and I NEVER, EVER talk about the larger events in my children's social lives on my blog. I'm sorry, Perez Hilton, but gossip is never becoming of the gossiper.

So how much of ourselves do we share? I will tell you that when I am having a particularly bad depression day there won't be a post; the words swimming around in my head don't really need to be published on the blogosphere. But I'm never going to try to pretend that I'm Martha Mama when I'm really not (have you seen those Dora the Explorer cupcakes on Nick Jr? Come on. I'm doing good if the cupcakes actually get frosted!). There are ubermoms out there that I am actually in awe of (Lisa of 5 Orange Potatoes and anyone who home schools their children well come to mind).

I think what it boils down to is that a person's blog is their place of expression, and whatever that person feels comfortable expressing has a place on their blog. There are blogs that I don't read because I don't agree with the content or the posts just rub me the wrong way. But it's not my blog or my thoughts on that screen, so more power to the author.

If you are a newer blogger and you are still trying to find your voice, I urge you to take a look at a few of the following blogs. These ladies (and man), I believe, are truly authentic, artistic souls. They show it in very different ways, but at least I get the feeling that if I met these people I'd feel like I'd known them for years.

always time for tea
be yourself . . . everyone else is taken
CHAI, CINNAMON, & COUTURE
come sit by my fire
Earth Mama
Give a Girl a Fig
heartfelt and homemade
moments of perfect clarity
Practice is Perfect
Puzzling Posts: An Admission of Cluelessness

ramblins...
remedial eating
SPLITTERGEWITTER
Soul Aperture
Thst's Mrs. Mediocrity to You
The 60/40
There is a Time

And I'm going to stop here. I have so many more I could share with you. Check out my blog roll - these are the people that I wanted to be like when I started out. Be yourself. To heck with the haters. You wanna talk about hiding behind a web identity? Ms. Anonymous Commentor has that avenue covered!

Photos from We Heart It