Excuses, excuses

February5

To blog or not to blog: that is the question. Until today, I have been one of the few holdouts in my circle of friends who has shied away from Blogger, Facebook, and MySpace, preferring instead to linger on the outskirts of blogdom and observe what happens there. Over time, I’ve developed a series of reasons not to blog, which I present to you now for your reading pleasure (that means you, Mom, and maybe the one other random person who lands here by the whim of the Google search engine):

1. I am afraid my identity will be stolen. Seeing as blogging requires you to publish your last name, address, social security number, blood type, and favorite ice cream flavor, this could actually happen. As a precaution, I will limit my disclosures to the following: mint chocolate chip.

2. I do not have time. This is actually a pretty good excuse. I currently have two part-time jobs on top of my full-time job as Mommy. But I swore I’d find an outlet for myself that doesn’t require a spa membership or airline travel, so here we are.

3. I am holding out for a publishing contract. Cough. Sputter. Cough. The reality is, most of my stories don’t even make it from the random musings of my subconscious in the Target diaper aisle to the pages of my journal. Since writing begets writing, I will grudgingly admit that blogging might just be a way to exercise some creative muscle. Kind of like “Buns of Steel” for the aspiring essayist.

4. No one cares what I think, anyway. Ouch. I mean really, that was just unnecessary. True, it would be self-indulgent to assume that anyone (besides you, Mom) is really that interested in my ramblings on motherhood, marriage, and world peace. But last time I checked, Blogger is free, so it’s a cheap way to entertain myself and post a ridiculous number of pictures of my adorable son.

So it is with reluctance, and perhaps just a hint of inspiration and gratitude for the many blogs that have amused and uplifted me in recent months, that I embark on this project. If you happened to make it all the way to the end of this post, congratulations. And welcome. It’s going to be an interesting little stroll down the diaper aisle.

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10 Comments to

“Excuses, excuses”

  1. On February 8th, 2008 at 9:39 pm Christianne Says:

    Lauren!!! I love it!!!

    I cannot tell you how excited I am that you took this step into blogland (finally, after much cajoling from me, at least!). I loved reading this first post. So witty and honest. So much fun.

    I can tell you that I, for one, will be faithfully reading your words because I love learning about you and your world. So know there will be more than the random Googler and your mom reading your blog (hi, Lauren’s mom!) . . . I might even invite my friends on over to say hi, too! :)

  2. On February 9th, 2008 at 3:00 am 23 degrees Says:

    Just here for the rush…hey, where’d everybody go?

    Lauren, welcome! You are among friends!

    And you may be in time for a great sock-puppet show co-staring the head-tilty girl (up there) >

    (Drat, where’s an upward arrow when you need one?)

    :]

  3. On February 9th, 2008 at 4:22 am Christianne Says:

    Hey, Lauren, just in case you’re wondering what The Heck it is that 23 Degrees is talking about (I know, we all wonder from time to time — just kidding! he’s so great), you’ll need to reference the comment section on Kirsten’s blog (Lattes & Rainy Days, which you can link to from my sidebar) in her post about our StoryCorps interview and the voting poll taking place.

    If you could translate what I just said in the above paragraph into ENGLISH, then you get a mint chocolate chip ice cream prize. :)

  4. On February 9th, 2008 at 4:34 am 23 degrees Says:

    I feel the love…

    Christianne, you NEED to stop blogging get the sock puppets ready!

    Mint chocolate chip! My fav! Yum!

    (Can you tell I made my magazine deadline!)

  5. On February 9th, 2008 at 5:00 am Lauren Says:

    Sock puppets, ice cream—see what I’ve been missing all this time?? The Blogosphere is a very interesting galaxy.

  6. On February 9th, 2008 at 11:45 am Allie Says:

    Hurrah! Welcome to the party!

  7. On February 9th, 2008 at 4:17 pm karlyn Says:

    I love it Lauren!!! If anyone should blog, it’s you. I can’t wait to see more. You’re now bookmarked :) .
    love,
    karlyn

  8. On February 9th, 2008 at 4:50 pm Michele Says:

    Ok, so my first thought is….way cool!…Lauren has joined the world of blogging!

    My second thought is…is that the Karlyn, as in niece Karlyn…who has been possibly reading my blog all along too….and never commented on mine, but comments on your first post?!?!?! I’m totally upset!

    My final thought is…remember these names….Fernando and Martha…

  9. On February 9th, 2008 at 5:33 pm Michele Says:

    yay! i love looking at pictures, so make sure that you put lots on! hehe=)

    oh, and just so you know, this is alyssa, writing under my mom’s name…i didn’t wanna get my own google account…;)

  10. On February 9th, 2008 at 8:15 pm Lauren Says:

    Michele and Alyssa—thanks for visiting! I need to post a few pictures of Leo you can share with your furry felines. :) Miss you guys! (And don’t worry, I’ve got the code names down! Where in the world did “Fernando” come from??)