Unfashionably Late for the Party...

You know back a little while ago when I said it was all about the quality of comments rather than the quantity? Well, I guess I sorta LIED. Where did all my bloggy peeps go? Last year this time I had double the number of visitors.

To be honest, though, I haven't been a good blog citizen either. I have been terrible at getting around to my favourite reads, let alone finding new ones. My reader has exploded ten times over. And I apologize for that...I think it will take a while for my former blogging ferocity to right itself again.

So what I must do is SCHMOOZE and thanks to 5 minutes for Mom, I have an opportunity! Let's do a bit of partying, and see if I can lure back some old friends while making a few new ones drunk...

Well, the digs haven't changed much since last year.

If you're new here, welcome, pull up a chair, or stand if you'd like, as I've got some awesome lounge/club music in the background... or if you're in a more laid back mood, let's listen to some Jason or Ray (blip and sip with me...)

We've got drinks...

Oops, wait a minute, since I had my gall bladder attack we should have low fat:

We've got appies...

We've got semi-naked guys wearing feathers...

Ahem.

So allow myself to re-introduce myself...

I'm Karen, a mom of 2 who lives in suburban Canada. I drive a tan bland minivan (as opposed to a lean, mean, driving machine... but then I never had one of those - and this goes to show, NEVER say never); my kids like soccer, I like my Tim's or Starbucks lattes, and I carry around a purse, but not so much Coach but more of the "one-of-a-kind made from scuba material" type pouch. I also like to use brackets and quotation marks unnecessarily.

I blog about my life, my kids, my husband when he's being good to me, my affair with the gym (Bodyjam, which I am missing with such a passion because I tried to do the good sport Mom thing and ended up with a sprained knee falling on a B.C. bunny hill), and other miscellaneous brain farts along the way. I work as a consultant when I'm not eating bonbons. I like shopping a bit too much, as you'll see from my Fashion Friday posts. And I love to blog.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to pop into a few of your sites in the next little while as the party winds itself down. If the gods are crazy, they will bestow upon me one of the following Blog Party gifts...

USC 45 — Pair of shoes from Eleven Collection Spring/Summer 09′
Provided by: Wishing Penny

USC 10 — The Big Combo Pack
Provided by: Mabel’s Labels

USC 47 — $25 gift certificate from Amazon.com by Shoshana of Just Say these Words
Provided by: Just Say these Words

Oh, and by the way I happen to be hosting my own giveaway, check this out... (limited to Canadians only, but once I get the ball rolling on the review gig, maybe I'll start getting international product too).

Happy blog party-hopping all...

It's a Party

...and I'm your party girl.

5 minutes for Mom is hosting the Ultimate Blog Party. I've been reading about it on the blogosphere for the last little while. I can't believe that the time for dancing in the street is already here.

So come on in, pull up this chair as we've got some drinks ...

Some goodies...

A bar...


Well, in reality this is the bar...

So allow myself to introduce ... myself. I'm a mom of two great kidlets. L is 7 going on 15, my sweet firstborn who just delights us with his lovely attitude and his joyful presence when he's not hunkered down with his electronics. And then there's little diva G, who just turned 3. She was somewhat aptly named; with a deep little voice and an attitude, she can turn on the charm and be the sweetest little thing... as long as she wants to be. Finally there's the husband, who I've been with for about 20 years, 15 of them (this year) married. We've been through a lot together, and we're still laughing (not at each other, honestly) most of the time.

I was a fulltime work-out-of-home career woman until my daughter was born. Good fortune hit me in the head in the form of a great opportunity to stay at home for at least another year after the standard 1 year maternity leave. That was 3 years ago. I got the itch to do something in order to keep my feet wet in industry, and have been consulting part-time since about November 2007. My first gig came smack in the middle of NaBloPoMo 2007.

I've been blogging since 2005. I've always liked to write, and in my profession (healthcare/ pharmaceuticals/ scientific) there isn't too much room for artistic impression. When I became a mom of 2, I thought blogging might be the perfect vehicle to capture life's fun moments, the special milestones that I realize the older I get, the more I will forget. And at the same time explore that creative side of me. At least what's left of it.

I didn't start blogging in earnest until about mid-2007 when I began to "meet" other bloggers and enjoy their works. When I signed up for NaBlo I found so many interesting blogs. And continuing on that vein, I love to find new bloggers, new friends, and have been blog hopping (thanks to BusyDad) as my form of weekend partying for the last couple of months.

This is why am I SO HERE for this Ultimate Blog Party. Where else would I be? I am totally addicted, this is a tough addiction to shake.

I write about my kids, my husband (occasionally), my life (when it isn't such a yawn, and sometimes when it is), culture, fun stuff. I keep it fairly light, although I know life isn't always like that. It's my blog and I'll cry if I want to - but I don't want to, not too often anyway. I've been in a bit of a slump lately and meme'ing everything under the sun ... gratuitous shots of the kids always help in a crunch, and there have been a lot of them lately.

So thanks for stopping by if you're here from the Party. It's nice to meet you. And if you're a regular visitor, what took you so long?

Stay a while.

And I hope you'll be back.