Airing Dirty Laundry

Hey there blog friends! We are back from our tour of Arizona and Southern Utah and I just wanted to check in. What is your family up to this summer? Anything you want to share in the comments below?

The books on CD from the library were great, but I'd suggest checking for scratches before you pack them. We couldn't listen to 'A Wrinkle in Time' because it was damaged.

And we started Kira-Kira, but got a few surprises! That book talks about older sisters showing their boobs to boys and has a few curse words in it, although said with a Southern accent, so it was partly obscured, but my kids speak Southern! So make sure you know what you're listening to before it goes in everyone's ears.

I was glad we had all the Magic Tree House books to fall back on.

The family plus my niece (her head is hidden behind Emma's)

I have a tip for feeling loved by your fellow travellers, works every time.

We were at this park in Oklahoma on our drive back (they had a herd of buffalo and a lake, so we stopped and at some pb and j's) and my youngest pooped his pants. I know, that goes against my no-potty-training-anecdotes-on-the-writing-blog rule, but bear with me. When all was cleaned up, I had a bag of really nasty, stinky clothes, so we stuffed these in a plastic grocery bag, tied it to the handle inside my back hatch and shut the hatch. Perfect. The bag was secure and outside the car.

We're rolling down the highway, I'm using another wipe to make sure my hands are really really clean, and this car pulls up next to us, honking and waving (the car, not the people inside. It was very exciting). They want us to know we have a bag on our bumper. We wave, and thank them. Next a guy with a legal pad emblazoned with 'BAG ON BUMPER' does the same. We smile and thank him. We stop to eat dinner, and when we're leaving Taco Pronto, this guy sprints after our car, yelling at us to stop and we explained that there was a real smelly mess in the bag, and it's tied on, everything's fine. 

We had close to twenty people tell us about the bag, and each instance made us laugh hysterically. It felt like we were engaged in some kind of bizarre social experiment. Anyhow, those midwesterners sure are nice. I'm wondering if we would get the same response in New Jersey or Miami. Hmm. 

Now back to work!   

My brave explorers at the Navajo Bridge in the Vermilion Cliffs.

Note the arrowhead necklace pulled up over Eli's ears.

And I just noticed all the silly bands. I love these guys. 

Glutton for Punishment?

Open Mouth, Insert foot

A few weeks ago a blogger got up on a soapbox and blasted a group of people that make up roughly half the country. I stopped following her blog. I agreed with her overall point, but the angry tone bothered me, and I thought she was misrepresenting the opposite side.
I've read some authors' blogs that seem to effortlessly combine personal and professional, and I'm trying to do that. I know enough not to get into politics, potty training, and  religion...but really? What if the politicians are debating a potty training bill and I have some religious objections? How can I not blog about that?

So, I've been thinking about blog content and what my personal rules are.

Why blog?

We all want to be understood and writing is a way to express yourself (and my preferred venue). Plus there's something nice about someone leaving a comment.

A lot of readers develop a friendly mindset towards 'their' authors and like to get to know them better. It helped me to be a better mom/writer when I read Shannon Hale's blog. We can encourage each other.

But I wish I hadn't sought out info on a few writers, just like it bothers me to know too much about some actors/actresses. It kills the magic when someone gets arrested doing something icky, for instance.

Does there have to be a general match between your blog tone and your books?

I think that happens naturally- the things that interest you enough to put in a book are probably the same things you blog about.

But I have avoided talking about religion here because it is not 'professional'. But this is about writing, and I write around religious topics. My characters are not perfect, some believe in God some don't-much like the people I know in real life. Is my self-imposed taboo on religion misplaced? I'm still thinking about that. It's such a personal part of me- one I like to talk about, but only if I'm sure the other party is interested.

How much is too much?

I don't generally have impulses to whine on the blog about other people, but it's important to remember that the internet is forever. I NEVER write anything that I would not want my husband, my mother, or my church friends to read. Even down to the books I review.

And I have a few long-standing conversational rules that I try to apply- never make it all about yourself, ask questions, don't complain, don't say anything about someone that you wouldn't say to their face, and do what you can to help others be happy.

I try to remember that it's a 'blog', not a 'bdiary', and I have a special notebook to write my personal thoughts in. And I don't share that I burned dinner (unless I was writing when I smelled the smoke), dentist appointments (except here), or that my kids call Burger King 'King Booger'. That's on my family blog. Just because I can type it doesn't mean that everybody wants to read it.

What are your guidelines? Do you lean towards personal or professional?
Glutton for Punishment?