We have a winnah!

And I'm excited because, so very appropriately, this reader was the very first person to add me to her blogroll. I was way too excited when I realized that someone I didn't know liked my blog enough to link to it. In fact, it changed my perspective on Mean Mommy entirely. I suddenly had an audience (albeit a small one), and it made me a bit giddy (and for awhile, self-conscious).

So...the winner is the very smart, funny, insightful, hip, and just damn nice Gray Matter Matters. Really, if she's not on your feed reader yet, she will be once you click over. (In fact, I just realized that the link to her blog disappeared from my sidebar. Sorry! I put it back.)

I'm also relieved that the winner is someone I "know" well enough to admit that the actual prize package I promised will probably not be mailed (or, erm, created) until the end of June because...dress show. I'm falling off pace a bit, so I'm about to turn the playroom/sewing room into a sweat shop where I will work long non-union approved hours for very little pay, but much gratification.

Congrats, Gray! Send me your mailing address when you get a chance: meanmommyblog {at} gmail.

Party! Whoo hoo!

Welcome to the Mean Mommy 1st blogiversary dance party! My blogiversary (what an irritating word that is) was actually May 28, but I'm still going to celebrate, even if belatedly, because (at the risk of sounding melodramatic) blogging has changed my life.

Let me count the ways:

1. I no longer feel guilty for not keeping up my kids' baby books. THIS is my baby book, and it's a richer account of our lives than any fill-in-the blank keepsake could be.

2. I'm writing frequently again (maybe not in May, like I was supposed to, but still). It's not fiction, but it's words and sentences, and that's better than no words and sentences.

3. I've found (and in some cases, befriended) some very cool, smart, funny, interesting mothers in this community. In fact, there are more moms who share my sensibilities in blogville than in any other place in my life.

4. Blogging here lead me to write for Momformation, where I've met another very cool set of mothers, and which has become a rewarding and fun part time gig for me.

5. I've found a place to reflect on things that worry, delight, and interest me, and have been given invaluable advice, commiseration, understanding, and sympathy from my commenters.

6. Blog-surfing lead me to the world of craft blogs, which have not only inspired me, but also pushed open the door to a brand new side of me, one that has become a huge part of my life and my happiness.

So. I'm hosting a blogiversary giveaway. No contest, just a random drawing, and the winner will receive a yet-to-be determined package of handmade goodies from me. Just leave a comment, any comment, on this post and you're entered.

I want to hear from everyone! Who's reading? Show yourselves! I know some of you (hi Anna's friend Emily!) read but have never commented. Say hi!!! You just might when the prize o' the century.

And the winner is...

After careful consideration and much waffling, I narrowed the list of names submitted to the name my new old sewing machine contest to three favorites: 1. Hazel (from Victoria), 2. Agatha (from Janet), and 3. Mrs. Penelope Turtleback (from Anna).

I wanted there to be some randomness in choosing the winner to save me from feeling too guilty, so I used a random number generator (Owen) to pick a number from 1 to 3. And the random number generator chose...
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#1: Hazel!

It's the perfect name for my new old sewing machine: strong but pretty, old fashioned but not fussy. Thanks, Victoria! Email me your address at meanmommyblog {at} gmail {dot} com and I'll put your prize in the mail this week!

Name that machine

I know I already posted about my new old sewing machine, but I just can't help saying, again, how much I LOVE this thing. Everything about it. The way it looks, how heavy it is, the sound it makes when it's stitching, its cover. It has a soul, this machine. And so it needs a name.

I keep trying to give it grandma names like Rosie and Martha (also talk show hosts' names, I now realize), since it's at least 40 years old, but so far nothing has stuck. So I turn to you, my loyal readers (all 12 of you). I'm having a "name my new old sewing machine" contest and the winner will receive a custom-made zipper pouch much like the one pictured below (in different yet equally charming fabric):

Submit your names in the comments, and I'll pick one by Saturday, May 10. And please, at least one or two of you have to play. How embarrassing would it be to have a giveaway that no one entered...