Sherry Pardy is a mom to twins, a writer, and a student working on completing her Bachelor’s degree.  On top of that she shares her personality and humor at her blog.  She is definitely one busy woman and someone I’d love to spend some time with.  I enjoyed getting to know her when we spoke on the phone a few weeks ago.  Here’s what she had to say.

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging in 2004, about when my husband and I realized that we were gonna have some problems trying to have a baby. . .  I found out that I had PCOS, and it was likely gonna pose some big issues with trying to conceive, and I came home devastated.  I didn’t know what else to do. And I started researching online and Googling, then I found this blog called Chez Miscarriage, and she was dealing with a different problem, but she was part of this very large community of women who were infertile who had started blogging because it was a cheap way to get therapy.  That’s how it started, and it’s just sort of somersaulted from there.

Why do you blog?

It is the best thing I have ever done for myself.  It’s truly saved my sanity on many, many, many occasions…Everyone’s kind of got their own set of issues, and I think that’s what kind of brings everyone together and makes this blogging thing a community is that everyone discover that even though all of our issues, whether it be political or infertility or whatever. Whatever your issues are, everyone has their own…it’s like a belly button. You look out there and you realize that you can’t be the only one.  It’s so nice to know that you’re not alone.

We have adopted the mantra in this house that the mom is the heart of any operation in the house…the mom is the nucleus of any home.  If you’re not content in the direction that your life is going, especially being a stay-at-home mom because it’s a really isolating experience, I’ve found.  Without feeling like you’re contributing to something outside your little four walls, you’re gonna go insane.  I was doing nothing, I was not contributing to anything.  My husband plays a huge role in the development of drugs that could potentially save someone’s life, and here I was thinking I was doing nothing.  And since embarking on this journey and trying to get my career off the ground, going back to school, and doing a little something for myself, that has completely changed.  It’s been really great.  We’re really in place now, I feel like.

What do you share in your blog?

I am very honest and open in my blog.  My blog is a very accurate reflection of who I am in real life.  I hide nothing.  I don’t use a fake name.  I don’t hide about where I live.  I post pictures of my kids.  And I think that comes from before I was a stay-at-home mom, I was in radio, and I was the same way.  I used my real name on the air, and I never hid from what I did.  I think that, for me, it’s really important to do that because I’ve always had some esteem issues and self-image issues.  I think as I’ve gotten older that’s really helped with those issues and kind of squelched them a little bit because I put it out there, I force myself to put it out there.  That’s what it is.  People take it, people leave it.  That’s what it is, and it seems to work.

It’s given me an outlet to talk about things that I wouldn’t necessarily voice to anybody in real life.  It’s also introduced me to one of my very best friends, who is a fellow blogger, who I met.  She lives just in the next town over.  It is my outlet.  It was my little outside my four walls of my house that makes me feel like I contribute to something outside my family.

An online friend suggested I check out Super Warehouse for their quality and prices.  That sounded as good a place to start as any.  They offer computers as well as printers and other electronics.  Right now I don’t even know if I’d want a desktop or a laptop.  So I decided to look into both.  And what about the choice between Apple and PC?  I’ll share with you some of the things I’m looking at, as well as some information I’ve learned, while doing research for another article, about the big computer companies going green.

Let’s start with the desktops.  I decided to look at Sony desktops because my best friend’s husband swears by Sony.  Since he’s a genius, I’ll go with his advice.  I learned, during my research, that Sony is now using eco-friendly packaging and internal components that don’t contain lead, so there’s just one more reason to check them out.  I’m just recently beginning to understand the impact of living green and hope to make choices that will reflect that.  I’m loving these All In One desktops, too.  Space saving, in my tiny bedroom office would be great!

Onto the Apple laptops.   The Macbook Air would be my dream computer, I think.  It’s so light, Apple notebooks are ranked as the most environmentally friendly by the Environmental Protection Agency!  The casing is no longer plastic; they’re using materials like aircraft-grade aluminum and stainless steel.  Plus, I’ve used a girlfriend’s Apple laptop and just loved it!  I could definitely get used to a Mac.

While I’m dreaming, I decided to look into printers, too.  HP Printers are what I’ve usually had in the past.  It was good to get an idea of what to expect in pricing when the time comes around.  I took a look at toner cartridges, too, as I’ve learned that companies are even using bio-degradable products in ink packaging these days, which is definitely a necessary step in the right direction.

So many choices, but I think my research will help me to make a good one when the time comes.  Would any of you like to help me by adding your two cents?  If so, please leave me a comment.  I could use all the help I can get.

Banana Muffins with Cinnamon Frosting (from The Gluten, Wheat, and Dairy-Free Cookbook)

Ingredients

generous 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour

1 tsp gluten-free baking powder

pinch of salt

generous 1/4 cup superfine sugar

6 tbsp dairy -free milk

2 eggs lightly beaten

5 1/2 ounces dairy-free margarine, melted

2 small bananas, mashed

Frosting

scant 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese

2 tbsp dairy-free margarine

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

scant 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  Place 12 paper cases in deep muffin pan.  Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into mixing bowl.  Stir in sugar.

2. Whisk milk, eggs, and margarine together in separate bowl.  Slowly stir into the flour mixture.  Fold in the mashed bananas.

3. Spoon mixture into the paper cases and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes until risen and golden.  Turn onto wire rack and let cool.

4. To make frosting, beat cream cheese and margarine together in a bowl.  Then beat in cinnamon and confectioners’ sugar until smooth and creamy.  Chill frosting in refrigerator for 15 min. to firm. Then top each muffin with a spoonful.

I actually don’t even make the frosting, and they’re really good.  You should be able to find the dairy and wheat-free ingredients at a health food store or possibly in the organic section of your grocery store.

For gluten-free flour, mix:

6 Cups white rice flour, 2 cups potato starch flour, and 1 cup tapioca flour

I found these ingredients at a bulk food store.  You may be able to purchase gluten-free flour in a box, but this is what I use.

Now, my new job announcement.  To help me along my path to getting healthy, I’ve accepted the position of Health and Wellness Writer for Moms in a Blog!  This is a great site featuring many topics of interest to parents, from book reviews to home decorating.  And, of course, health!  I’m excited about this opportunity because I love reading about health and wellness news, and now I can apply what I learn to my own life while gaining fabulous writing experience.  Please come visit me at Moms in a Blog!

Helene's 2 Sets of Twins!

Helene, of I’m Living Proof That God Has a Sense of Humor, is the mother of two sets of twins.  That’s right, I said two.  Sets of twins.  The first set, a boy and a girl, are 4 years old.  The second set, both boys, are 18 months.  I’d say Helene has her hands full!  Others have said it, too.  Her reply?  “Yes, better to have hands full than empty arms and a broken heart.  Well said.  Helene’s story is fascinating.  She and her husband worked very hard to conceive their first set of twins; their second came about naturally, after a failed attempt at in vitro fertilization.  Helene volunteered to talk with me in my pursuit of mom bloggers’ stories.  Here’s what she had to say.

The name of your blog is fantastic! Tell me about it.

I guess I just thought “What would be funny?  What would be creative?”  I’ve been saying all along that God has a sense of humor – I’m living proof of that!

How did you get started blogging?

I didn’t even know about blogging, but I was part of a message board for women who were trying to conceive, they started an online diary forum.  I thought, what a good way to get my emotions out.  I could talk to my husband, but there were some things I didn’t want to tell him.  But I didn’t mind telling other women who were going through it, because it’s nice to get that feedback.  Yeah, that’s kind of how it all started.

I kept that for 2 or 3 years. In my second pregnancy.  I was on bed rest, family and friends were always calling to ask how I was, and I was too tired to get on the phone and repeat the same thing.  One of my friends said, “why don’t you start a blog?” It really just started as a way to keep in touch with family and friends, then little by little I started getting comments from women with two sets of twins or problems with infertility.  I realized other people are reading this.  It’s more like a family journal, but it’s also good to share with others and have others read it, knowing other people are going through the same thing.  That’s kind of how it got to where it is.

Why do you blog?

Some of it is just my thoughts on a daily basis, it may not even have to do with motherhood or parenting.  A lot of it is, because that’s my life.  I can go back to any certain place or time and see things like when did they get their first tooth.  Anytime I’m having a really bad day and I’m feeling less than grateful, I can go back and say look what I went though to have these babies.

Someday when your kids grow up, they may read that.  My mother never complained to me about stuff, so I didn’t realize how hard it would be.  I’d like someday for my daughter to read it.  Maybe when she’s feeling inadequate or inferior and be able to know that I felt that way too.    It’s kind of like a book of memories, really.

What has your experience been regarding other bloggers and readers?

It starts out as your own personal thing, you want a memory of something.  It’s interesting how you meet so many other people in the world.  You don’t feel so alone trying to be a mom, juggling it all. You just know you can connect with other people who have gone through it or who are going through it.  It becomes like an extended family.  You’ve never met them and you probably never will.  It’s like a sense of sisterhood.  It’s like you’ve known them all your life but you don’t even KNOW them.  I guess you wouldn’t understand unless you’re actually doing it.

** This is just a sampling of my conversation with Helene.  We had a great time talking.  I’m really having fun speaking with mom bloggers and learning about their unique experiences.  It’s said that everyone has a story, and I’m definitely finding that to be true of the women I’ve spoken with.  Check back every Friday for a new Friday Feature Profile to hear the stories of more mom bloggers!

So I brought the box inside, wondering what it could be.  When I opened the top and looked inside, I saw the first book, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron, and I knew who it was from.  Last week, I talked on the phone to my blogger friend, Angela from Unexpected Art.  She talked to me about her blogging experience for my Friday Feature Profile series, and we also got to talking about off-topic things like books.  Angela highly recommended Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way, for unleashing your creativity.

Sure enough, The Artist’s Way was also in the box, along with The Artist’s Way Workbook, the companion journal to the book.  I nearly cried.  This wonderful woman, whom I never even met face to face, knew that these books would be meaningful to me and that I’m not currently in a financial position to buy them for myself.  So she sent them to me with this note, “Just a little something to get you inspired.”

This act of friendship of kindness is more than “just a little something”, and I will use the books to move my writing and my personal growth in the right direction.  Thank you, Angela, for your kindness and for your inspiration!  For your friendship, I am thankful.

My wife, Mary, asked me to guest blog this week.  OK, she asked me a couple of weeks ago, but it’s taken me this long to sit down at the keyboard and put something together.  Mary thinks I’m amusing, and I guess other people do, too.  But today, I want to talk about something serious.

Recently, my best friend (after Mary) was robbed. At gunpoint. In his own house.  A little background on my friend Sam before I tell you the story.  I’ve known Sam for nearly thirty years.  He has been an advertising salesperson, a cable TV executive and a restaurant owner.  Now, he’s on disability and works as a sports official.  Sam’s hobby is collecting stories. That means that Sam has to talk to a lot of people. And he does.  Sam talks to bus drivers, waitresses and people in line at grocery stores.  Sam asks questions of anyone and everyone.  His gregarious nature has led Sam into a wide variety of relationships.

His former housemate, and one-time employee, Larry, was deaf.  Larry was also an alcoholic and drug addict.  Larry’s girlfriend was in prison for the two-plus years that he lived with Sam.  Since his divorce more than ten years ago, Sam has been involved with a large number of women.  Some of these women have had substance abuse problems.  Some have been married.  At least two were exotic dancers. One was most likely a prostitute.

I have warned Sam that he is living too close to the edge.  Before meeting Mary, I spent some time near that edge.  I have been worried about Sam for a long time.  Concerned that he would get into a dangerous situation and be hurt or even killed.  So when Sam told me he had been robbed, I wasn’t surprised.  The surprise was that it had nothing to do with his reckless lifestyle.

Sam fell asleep while watching TV in his bedroom. He forgot to lock the side door to his house.  Around four in the morning, Sam woke up with a gun in his ribs.  A young black man, wearing a hoodie and a bandana, asked Sam where the money was.  Sam, suddenly awake, told the robber that all the money he had was on the dresser.  Sixteen dollars.

The robber didn’t believe Sam. He asked again, “Where’s the money? Jason told me there was fifteen hundred dollars here.”  Sam’s reply: “I don’t know anyone named Jason and I don’t have fifteen hundred dollars.”  The young man looked around Sam’s bedroom, and then asked Sam if there was anyone else in the house.  Sam told him no. The robber again repeated the information about Jason and the money.

Sam told the gunman he didn’t know Jason and that he had no money. Sam told the robber his name and that he didn’t know Jason.  The young man then said, “I’ve got the wrong house”.  He made Sam take the sixteen dollars off the dresser, then get down on the floor and push the money toward him.  Next, he told Sam to get undressed, then walked him downstairs and outside onto the deck.  That’s when he forced Sam to the floor and ran off.

Sam told me it took him quite a while to move back inside. And even longer to get dressed and call the cops.  Sam, who has had dozens of wild and crazy people in his house and his life, was frightened by this young black man with a gun.  He didn’t sleep at home for the next three nights. He tells me he still can’t sleep through a whole night.

When Sam told me about the robbery, he finished the story with this comment.  “Willy, all I could think about while this was happening was you telling me I was living too dangerously and that you were worried about me getting hurt or killed. Then this happens. I could have been killed because this kid got the wrong house.”

Sam wasn’t hurt. He’s very lucky. So am I.  What if Sam had been shot? What if I had been, the two times someone aimed a gun at me.  What if the bullet that once narrowly missed me had gotten me instead of the wall of the church I was walking by?

Mary says I worry too much. She’s right. All the worry in the world won’t change what happens. None of us can control what others do. We can only change our reactions.  So, I’m going to try to worry less. And, I’m going to put up bigger house numbers.

Alli put out a tweet on Twitter last week asking people to submit their idea for a new Blissfully Domestic tagline.  The prize?  A piece of jewelry from her boutique, Fussypants Designs.  When you see this jewelry, you’ll understand why I started brainstorming.

I don’t consider myself a very creative person, but a cute tagline idea did come to me, so I decided to tweet it to Fussy.  I didn’t give it another thought until yesterday morning when I received a message from her saying, “morning. You won the BD tagline contest. Email me your address, OK? I haz bling 4 u!”  Ooh, bling!  I was ecstatic.

Then I realized that I wasn’t happy simply because of the prize itself (although I do love beautiful jewelry, don’t get me wrong), but because of the other gift Alli gave to me – validation that my ideas are good.  You may remember that I left my previous job as a college adviser due to a negative work atmosphere, with people who really brought me down.  I spent a long time in that working environment, feeling like my ideas didn’t matter and wouldn’t be received favorably.  I allowed my self-esteem to plummet.

Since leaving my job, I’ve worked very hard to get back to my former self.  Starting this blog has helped me more than I can express.  Receiving a nod from Alli and the Blissfully Domestic editors that my tagline was the best submission for the magazine means the world to me and helps me to remember that I am a smart and savvy woman with some great ideas.   Thank you so much for choosing my entry and helping me to regain my sense of who I am.

** I will not divulge the tagline yet, as I’m not sure what Alli and the Blissfully Domestic editorial staff have planned for its unveiling.

I will give you all a preview of some of the interesting and amazing stories that I’ve heard so far.  I talked to a mother of two sets of twins.  Can anyone guess who she might be?  I also spoke to someone who moved herself and her family 1400 miles across the country to take a job she received indirectly through her blog.  What a brave move!  I’ve heard stories of how blogging has improved self-esteem and helped instill a sense of identity outside of the home.  Women have also been given an outlet for creativity and philanthropy through blogging!  Amazing stories I will share each Friday, starting this week.  Maybe I’ll even give you two to make up for lost time.

And if you’d like to share your mommy blogging story, just e-mail me.  We can set up a phone interview or I’ll send you interview questions by e-mail.  I know blogging and social media are changing the lives of women across the country.  I want to hear how it’s affected you.

If you’ve already sent me your information, don’t worry – I will be contacting you soon!  I’ve had lots of response so far.  Can’t wait to talk to you!

But then I watched a bit of The Biggest Loser last night on TV.  That’s the show where people compete to lose the most weight in a given time period, for anyone who’s not familiar with it.  I was shocked and scared by what I saw.  Contestants were given their biological age in comparison to their chronological age and actually shown some of the trouble spots of their anatomy compared to that of a healthy person.  They were given visual proof of their clogged arteries, over-burdened hearts, and impaired lungs.  It really hit home for me.

I know I eat terribly and exercise very little.  It’s a vicous cycle, I know that as well.  It’s a cycle I must admit I haven’t worked very hard to break.  I think I’ve been so focused on and overwhelmed with everything involved in starting a new career that I’ve neglected my health.  Everyone knows food is used as an emotional crutch, and I’m sure I’m guilty of that, too.

However, just as I’ve taken baby steps to move closer to my other goals, I will do the same with this one.  First thing is to resist the vicous sweet tooth I possess.  I will not eat the Cocoa Puffs for breakfast or snack mindlessly on the M & M’s (though the peanuts ones are the very best!)  The next step will be to purchase groceries that will allow me to avoid wheat and milk, which I’m allergic to.  It is possible; I’ve done it before.

A reader once asked me to share a dairy-free, wheat-free recipe.  I’ll share my favorite banana muffin recipe with you next week to show you that there are foods out there I can eat, and that taste good.  My cooking bible is called The Gluten, Wheat, & Dairy Free Cookbook and contains lots of recipes that actually taste good and contain no wheat or milk.  Leave a comment if you know of any good recipes or advice for people with food allergies or would just like to encourage me and hold me accountable.  I could use all the help I can get!  Thanks.