The Blog Contest

If you are a reader of my blog, my follower on Twitter, or a fan of my Facebook page (especially this one) you have seen that I am in the running for something.

I was contacted by Circle of Moms and was told that I was nominated as one of the Top 25 Mom expat bloggers. Score!

Here's the thing, it's a popularity contest. Oh they get you every time with those. I used to shy away from these as a teen as I feared rejection. Ok, it was more like I got rejection when I ran so I avoided it! I was a lucky girl, I had great friend but I just didn't sell myself well. I blame awkward height, a clumsy demeanor, and weirdly ranging hormones. Yes, I was a special teen!

But not anymore baby! And I love my blog. There, I said it. I love blogging, I absolutely adore the readers I have, and I think your comments are normally funnier than what I wrote in the first place. That's exactly what I look for in virtual company.

So when you look at that little Circle of Moms button at the top of my page, it's a real and serious thing. It goes until June 6th and you can vote daily. DAILY! Every day with your coffee you can throw your good virtual friend Rachel a line.

What do I get is what most people ask. I was told that "The Top 25 will be featured on one of our most popular pages and exposed through our social media channels." Apparently they have about 6 million active members. That's not light stuff right there.

Basically, I just wanted to let you know why I'm harassing you. There is a reason. I'm not completely crazy... well, it can't be proven anyway.

The link is: Make Rachel a Top Expat Mom Blog! You can vote daily. Once a day with your morning coffee or evening wine or even after your nooner.

And Thank You All for throwing this girl a bone! If you'd like to throw some more I have my jazz hands up and am ready to catch!

Why I Blog

Picture by: http://streetanatomy.com/author/jenny/page/53/

I've danced around this question a couple of times. I always feel self-important talking about my blog. Oh yeah, I'm so cool that I need to write about my life and opinions so that the world can experience the glory of them.  It couldn't be further from the truth. It has nothing with ego, although it has helped pump mine up.

The reason I write is obvious, it's a great excuse to not exercise or do the dishes. Oh but I really need to post today!

Ok, not really.  The real reason I started to blog was to do something for myself. I live in Rio de Janeiro with my Brazilian husband and my kiddos. Moving here was for both practical and emotional reasons. Mr. Rant got a job, I had no healthcare, and we both really love Rio.  Honestly though, I wasn't in real love with Rio when I first moved here. It was puppy love. The real love only happened in time, once we got to know each others quirks and learned to accept them.

The fact of the matter was that my husband is happy in Rio de Janeiro. There is a spark missing when he's abroad, even during visits. The true Glory of Mr. Rant needs the Carioca spirit to fill him. Can you blame him?

Anyway, I had yet to have my thing here, even after all these years. Having the bambinos didn't help. While it's amazing and wonderful to have kids, it is a lot of giving.

So the blog is my thing. I do it for me. I talk about things that come up in my head that my 2 and 4 year olds do not want to discuss with me, much to my delight. If my boys had an opinion things like the statistic that 70% of Brazilian men cheat, I'd be quite alarmed.  I'll wait until they're at least 10 to bring that bad boy up.

The surprising part of blogging was all I gained. I'm not talking about wealth or fame because that is far from anything in my reality. I'm talking about these:

1. Friends. Blogger friends are amazing people who become quick friends after you read each other's thoughts and ideas. My Rio blogger friends have, more or less, become flesh and blood buddies who I've met on some occasions.  I've met people who can relate, understand, and actually care about what I have to say and vice versa. Priceless.

2. Inspiration. I have this forum to write and so I do. I had lost my will to write, something I used to do a lot of. Of course I'm not Shakespeare, but it's nice to do something I enjoy.

3. A New Perspective. I had stopped paying attention to the world around me. It was my every day, nothing special. That couldn't have been further from the truth.

4. My Voice back. Holy crap, I have something to say and it has nothing to do with Woody and Buzz or how to say Pickles in Portuguese. It's me saying things I normally say when I have a chance to talk to other grown ups. Awesome form of release.

5. A chance to share what I know. I know I rarely do this, it's more rants than facts, but I love answering people's question and, possibly, making a process that I had a bitch doing a bit easier for someone else. I've done the marrying a foreigner, moving, translating documents, marrying in Brazil, Green card applications, Brazilian visa extensions, Brazilian residency applications, Portuguese, and many more things I can't even think of. Hell, the accomplishment that made me the most excited was ordering food here for the first time by myself. And they understood and brought the right thing! So if there's something I could help you with, please let me know!

6. The fuzzy feeling that I get realizing that people actually like to read what I write. I get embarrassed by it because I find it so amazing that people want to!  I love it! And to get the emails/comments from you guys saying that I make you laugh just make my week. Not day, week!

7. The readers. I love you guys! I LOVE the comments you make on posts! I love it even more when my comment section turns into a debate. I swear, half the time the comment section is far more interesting than the freaking post! You guys rock. I have readers who really kick ass. That is a hell of a big compliment for me! By the way, I am not easily offended. Even if I get defensive in posts, I'm not offended. I have an open blog for people to share their opinions. Please do!

So I started writing my blog for me and now I also right for you guys. It's like a great blog sex with all the give and take going on here. Gold stars all around!

Now you tell me, why do you blog and/or read blogs? 

I have a Fan!

I have a fan, and no, it's not a family member.  I went to a party and I ran into a blog reader. Oh yes, someone actually came up to me and said that they know me from my blog.  Not to mention, she reads it daily!

It gets even better.

She's not crazy!  Not only do I have a fan that I have met in flesh and blood, she's actually very cool and funny.  Gold star Rachel!

While I have seen my statistics and know the numbers, it's not the same as actually meeting someone in real life.  No matter how many little ticks pass on the counter, it's hard to imagine that many people read my Rants.  I mean, I find them funny, then again I also like those little fart keychains.  There's no accounting for taste.

But now I have met Ms. Rebecca and I liked her! She's also my fan! It made me really realize that all those little ticks and numbers showing up on the screen are actually people.  Go figure.

So if you are my reader, I just want to thank you.  Meeting Rebecca made my day and all of you who come and visit do the same!

Thank you for rocking my world in a way that my husband is not allowed to get jealous over!

To my Readers: Happy Valentines Day! I hope we all get laid!