Knowing where home is has to be about the hardest thing for me to figure out right now.  The last five years of my life have been filled with hope, uneasiness, insecurity and angst due to my tempestuous relationship with my children's father.  I still have a strong desire to move back to the West Coast, but the thought of the trip is daunting.  I would have to get rid of everything I managed to rebuild over the last year, and literally start from scratch again.  The move would also have to include the kids' father as he doesn't want to be out of contact with his kids (understandably).  I have no idea where me and the kids would stay when I got there, nor what I would do for work. 

I intend to keep writing, though not full time.  I feel the need to find a job that allows me some security as well as creativity.  I am also planning to go back to school and finish my bachelor's degree.  Just not sure where.  the state university has accepted me, so if I stay here, I can always attend and finish.

I'm the type of person that likes to have things lined up before I make a leap - even more so now that I have these toddlers.   I know that there are many moms out there that can relate to what I'm going through, as some have contacted me to commiserate.  I appreciate that feedback, knowing that I'm not alone, or an odd case.

Posted July 24, 2006; 2:15pm EST

Why do people have blogs?  Who reads them?  Anyone that wants to share information.  It's a great way to keep in touch with friends, vent, offer advice, and more.  The more personal, the more likely it will have a strong following.

So you want to start your own blog?  First, decide what your content will be.  Are you a writer?  A web developer?  A music enthusiast?  Or just an everyday person who has an interesting life (or not)? 

Marketing your blog has been made easier by sites like Technorati, where people can find your blog by searching for a particular interest.  The more it gets updated, the higher on the list you'll rank.  Blogsearchengine.com is a great way to get your blog spidered by search engines.

There are many different types of blogs available, free and by subscription.  Good blog software will allow you to turn on RSS feeds if you desire, as well as comments.  Wordpress, blogspot, and LiveJournal are all free and allow you to change the look of the blog template if you're familiar with HTML.  If you have your own domain name and a host, some hosts offer blog software (moveable type).  Google ranks blogs the same way standard websites are ranked - using a formula that is based upon things such as content, keywords, and reciprocal links.  The more people who link to your blog, the more popular it will be in the search engine rankings.

If you start a blog, make a point of keeping it up to date, even if it's just to say hello to your audience.  Find a current event to discuss, or just vent about your day.  I tend to get lazy if real life interferes, but I find that blogging is a great way to exercise my writing skills and keep my creative juices flowing.  It's also a great way for people I may have not yet met to get to know me by my words.  Also, what you write is protected under copyright law and may not be published anywhere else without your written consent.

Whether or not you should keep your writing anonymous is up to you.  Will your professional life be endangered if someone from your work reads a personal post?  Will people you write about be identifiable?  When writing in your blog, you need to keep in mind laws about the expectation of personal privacy, libel and slander.

Posted July 22, 2006; 7:05pm EST

OK, I know I haven't been keeping up with my blog lately.  Aside of transitioning my toddlers into daycare, I've been fighting off the worst cold I think I've had in ages.  The kids got it, too, and my oldest developed her first ear infection from it, then an allergy to the antibiotic.  Add the hottest, muggiest New England weather to the mix, and it makes for a very miserable last couple of weeks.

My publisher is converting my spiral-bound book to soft cover, so it should be available on Amazon.com again in a week or so.  There was a couple of weeks where it was unavailable, and I've had several people ask how they can get a copy.  If it doesn't show up on Amazon.com soon, drop me a line and I will send you one of my personal copies.

I just found another wonderful blog that I will follow called Petite Anglaise.  This is by a lady in Europe who just got fired from her job for things she wrote in her blog.  Scary that a blog could get someone canned.  She never even named her boss or company, and had a discreet picture of herself on the "about" page.  Someone must have been out to make her life harder - which is a shame because, like me, she is a mom of a toddler on her own (I have two).  I hope the press she got from the CNN article today helps her out.  I intend to keep writing whatever I want in my blog, and will continue to publish to my heart's content subject matter that pleases me.  No job is worth the freedom of my speech and thoughts.

Posted July 19, 2006; 8:50pm EST