Zen and the Art of Motherhood

Today, I have a bone to pick.  And a confession to make.  Boy, I think I confess more to you folks than my priest. Actually, I know I do. Well here goes the confession de jour:

    I AM TOTALLY OUT OF MY LEAGUE!

Now I know that I'm still pretty much a newbie at this whole blog thing, but come on. Everywhere I look, I see great blogs. Ones with hot designs. The coolest gadgets. Witty prose. Not to mention a zillion and five followers. To develop blogs of this magnitude takes work.  Lots of work.  Or sheer genius (and since I'm darn sure I'm not in that category we'll just leave this one be.) So that leads me to my query:

Where the hell do you find the time?

I don't get it.  Most of you out there are moms like me. And, unlike me, some of you even juggle family life with full time jobs.  So how do you find the hours in a day to get this all done?

It takes everything I've got to get a post out every other day or so, let alone research HTML and CSS to make clever tweeks to my sidebars or get the newest widget.  Don't get me started on the whole social networking thing.

And although I love all the comments and good wishes that have been posted along the way, I'm usually too scattered to reply to each one.  I'm ashamed to admit, that right now I have two awards that were graciously given to me by fellow blogging friends and I haven't gotten around to passing it on -- or even posting about it. A fine image I'm painting, don't you think?

Maybe I'm just not in the know.  Hey, it wouldn't be the first time, and probably not the last either. So what am I missing?

The thing is, I like this new world I've entered.  I want to be a part of it.  And I want to be good at it.  But you, my friends have given me some pretty hard acts to follow.  So, tell me.   What are your secrets? What tips and tricks allow you to balance your real-world lives and the cyber alter egos we all create?

Can you tell?

When I first started this blog, it seemed inspiration was everywhere. I found myself stealing away every chance I got to recapture moment after moment. I was cracking myself up.

Then came the school year. All the kids gone, hours without interruption. So why is it, I can't seem to find the time to write? Or even worse, anything to write about? It makes no sense. But then again, having an uncanny knack for doing things a tad differently than most, I shouldn't be surprised.

I have several theories forming at the moment. First, we've all been sick, and boy, nothing kills creativity like the flu. Then there's the fact that now that I'm here by myself, I'm noticing all those pesky projects that have gone unnoticed for a very, very long while. They keep calling me like some sick stalker.

I've also had the fleeting thought that maybe, just maybe, I'm just losing touch with my creative side.  Fleeting is the operative word in that last sentence, 'cause I'm not ready to go there yet.

Of all these ideas, the one that keeps coming back to me is material. Let's face it, with four kids under foot this summer, we were swimming in it. Chances were good that at any given moment there was someone doing something that was worth noting. Now, with all the peace and quiet, all I seem to have left is,,,peace and quiet.  And while this might be the road to personal fulfillment, it sure can be boring. So what's a girl to do?

Right now, I'm going to enjoy my moments of solace.  A rarity in these parts,  I liken them to those days of youth.  They'll be gone before I know it.

Then, I'll start tackling some of my projects.  Knowing my luck with power tools, or tools of any type actually, I'm sure the material will present itself quickly enough.  And then those creative juices will flow.

In the meantime, I'm just going to lay my head down for a quick nap....Ah, you gotta love peace and quiet, don't you?.