A piece of IT Catholic Mom

When MochaMomma decided to have a networking party before BlogHer'06, I knew this blogger was one person we would all like to get to know a little better. I think we have all laughed at her adventures supporting the "real" sisterhood as well enjoyed watching her basement remodel and hearing about her other adventures with her husband and children. She won't be in San Jose but she joins in spirit.

My Blog Interview
I.T. Catholic Mom
Catholic Mom
7/18/06

1. When did you start blogging and why?

My “Catholic Mom” blog came into existence in the May 2005. Why did I start the blog? I’m going to blame it on 2 primary sources:

a. My Mom
b. BusinessWeek Magazine

Here’s how the story goes:

I had just visited my parents in Italy (November 2004), where I learned how isolated Mom felt as an Air Force wife in a foreign country. She asked me, “What’s a blog? Maybe I should try that.” But I couldn’t answer her question until a copy of BusinessWeek landed in my mailbox with featured articles on Myspace and MSN Spaces. Out of curiosity, I started my own blog through MSN and then guided my Mom through the process of starting one, too.

Even though I didn’t plan to keep my blog, Mom and I became so hooked on blogging that we continued maintaining our sites even after my folks returned to the States. We’ve found blogging to be a great way to stay connected with family and friends throughout the world, not to mention the fact that it’s just plain addictive!

(Oh, and I get to fulfill my urge to share my unbelievable harebrained life with the online population. Who can believe the insanity? I always wanted to write a book about it anyway.)

2. Who do you read every day, rain or shine?

Rain or shine, I read any of the 48 feeds in my Bloglines list with current updates. Ok, yeah right. Who am I kidding? I get such a kick out of reading the commentary on my favorite blogs that I read all 48 of them daily even if they’re outdated! However, I just cannot end this response without listing a few of my favorite blogs. *As I generate a little bit of unsolicited cyber traffic to their sites*:

a. Bobbi’s Political Space: My Mom is as out there as you get. I taught her well. :)
b. The Adventures of Thotman: I became attached to Russ’ site early in my blogger days. He’s well respected in the community with an outstanding blog.
c. MochaMomma: Something about how she licks my computer screen.
d. Diary of a Mad Suburban Dad: Intelligence and wit at its finest. Most popular Dad of the blogosphere.
e. Eric at Random: Down to earth parent who is venturing into the world of animation. Love to see his work in progress.
f. Earl the Squirrel: This guy cracks me up on a daily basis.
g. Mother, Daughter, Manager, Wife: Now there’s a truly driven and focused woman. Maybe I’ll be ½ as cool as her one day.
h. Random Thoughts: Angei is musically oriented and well… smarter than me. Always a great read to many visitors.
i. I Can Only Imagine: Funny musings of an American in Tanzania. If I were a 20-something in Africa, God knows I would be AAK.
j. Jayhawk Fever: A newer space with difficult family issues. Her positive and realistic attitude is inspiring. I don’t know how she does it.
k. EZ on the Eyes: Professional flirt bomber of bloggerville. Yep, I’m a happy recipient of his flirt bombs. Who couldn’t enjoy reading what Dennis has to say?

3. Why did you choose to share that piece of yourself in a photograph?

Check out that left thumb

The photo I’ve chosen shows my left thumb sticking straight up as I type. (Egad!) I wanted to share a picture that reflected something goofy about me that I can’t control, so there you have it. (Believe me, I’ve tried very hard to keep my thumb down as I type, but it has a mind of its own.)

4. What is your favorite thing that you wrote? What got a strong reaction from readers? Links please?

Favorite thing? Oh no. Did you say thing? Man… this is the toughest question of all! With so much blogging under my belt, I have a hard time narrowing down my response to one thing. How about 2 things? That I can do. So here are my 2 favorite things that I wrote:
a. Way back in the beginning of my blogging days I wrote a blog about a dream that I had about an old friend who is now a professional football player. To this day, I have no idea what prompted that dream. (Perhaps there’s a deep psychological need that I’ve buried in my psyche? Nah. Probably too many spicy snacks before bed that night.) Since I was so new to blogging when I posted that blog, the response from readers was low. (Ok, I had one response… thanks, Mom.)
http://catholicmom.spaces.msn.com/blog/cns!91BF4CBE7D6DA489!212.entry
b. The second thing that I wrote that I’m getting the biggest kick out of right now (I’m still in the process of writing it) is the “Expanded 101 List” of things about me. After posting a basic list of things about myself, I decided to create individual blogs about each of those items. (Another blogger friend gave me the idea.) The reaction from readers has been much higher than the one about my football player dream. I figure that if anything is going to scare people away from my blog, the “Expanded 101 List” should do the trick.
http://catholicmom.spaces.msn.com/blog/cns!91BF4CBE7D6DA489!5312.entry

5. Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

Absolutely! Or should I say “Unfortunately!”? It’s all me, take it or leave it. (I know some visitors who have chosen to leave it and never come back, but I encourage the freedom of choice in the blogosphere. That’s what it’s all about.)

6. If you had a super power, what would it be?

My family and I were just talking about this topic at the dinner table yesterday. How did you know? Unanimously, we decided that having the ability to teleport would be the best super power of all time. I cannot think of a single better super power than that. Heck, with gas prices up to $3/gallon, I could save enough money to pay for my salon visits. Manicures, pedicures, and highlights don’t come cheap! (Ok yes, I sounded so superficial just then. Ignore that comment. It was so out of character. Really, it was.)