Sometimes, you really do get a PR pitch that is right on the money. I wrote about that on my review page today. You should check it out because you could win a prize of your very own.

I’ve also been meaning to tell you about a nice email I received after my cranky post about how I like to do my OWN crosswords, independently. The people behind CRUX Crosswords for iPad gave me a code so I could check out their app. It is a nice collection of crossword puzzles from many sources, from my beloved New York Times to the Onion’s AV Club. You still need a membership to access some of these (that darn Times), but if you already have one, you can enter your info here and get puzzles through the app. It was just awfully nice to receive a totally no-pressure email from someone who really had read my post and acted accordingly.

This would all be a great segue into a BlogHer wrapup post, but since this isn’t 2009 there aren’t many stories to tell of either bloggers or brands behaving badly … at least, as far as I know. I saw lots of good friends, met some new people (still going through the cards and following/subscribing; I will get to you soon, I promise!), attended some sessions and parties, enjoyed the San Diego weather. I wrote about my brush with fame (Bob Harper!) at my fitness site. I missed a few things that I later regretted, and a few people who couldn’t be there.

As always, my favorite favorite thing was the Voices of the Year community keynote–and I love this post about it, and all of BlogHer11, from Liz at Mom-101, “You get what you give.” It’s a smart takeaway for all of us.

Remember when there was that whole brouhaha over Facebook censoring photos of moms breastfeeding?* I wonder how Zuckerberg et al. would feel about the breastmilk relay I participated in last weekend–since it was facilitated by Facebook.

My friend K. posted that she had milk to donate (pumped before she knew her baby couldn’t tolerate dairy). I replied that I knew a mom who would be very grateful to have it–my friend T., whose baby girl is thriving on donor milk while her mom undergoes chemotherapy.

So K. and I met in a parking lot and transferred a huge batch of milksicles from the cooler in her trunk to the cooler in my trunk, and then I brought my cooler to T.’s and emptied it into her freezer. Jo was with me and we had a long conversation about what we were doing and why. It was a privilege to participate and we all have Facebook to thank for it. Ha!

*Apparently it’s still going on… says this post at a Time mag blog.

I think I need a new Twitter handle. I have been using @mayberrymom, but because I use that account to promote my Family Fitness site (and I don’t want two accounts), I think I need something more general. I could use my first initial+last name, but … snore. I’m trying to think of something that’s a little cleverer, but also broad enough to cover tweets about fitness, blogging, what I’m watching on TV, and so forth.

Any ideas?

The other day my sister and I compared notes on our first mammograms. She’s four years younger than I am, so she wasn’t quite due yet, but she had a lumpy spot that her doctor thought was worth looking at (especially since our mother survived breast cancer almost 20 years ago). We agreed: OWWEE, but manageable. And we’re both fine.

This same week, my friend T. started chemo to treat stage II breast cancer. It was diagnosed when she was 8 months pregnant. She had a lumpectomy right away, but delayed the start of chemo until three weeks after her baby’s birth. This meant changing OBs, because her (former) doctor insisted that the only option was to deliver the baby by c-section at 38 weeks, then quickly remove the tumor and start chemo. T. refused, arguing that she’d prefer her baby to be born full term, thanks, and recover from the (nonsurgical) birth before undergoing chemo. Now that’s the kind of mama grizzly I like to support.

My friends here in Mayberry and I organized a meal schedule* for T. and her family (despite the fact that she and her husband are both trained chefs. That’s not intimidating at all). As the nominal keeper of this schedule, I’ve been lucky enough to e-meet some really lovely people, people that care about T. and her family too, people that I wouldn’t otherwise have encountered. It’s a good feeling.

Our book club will put together a care package for T. based on Susan’s list. You probably know Susan, and if you do you’ll know why I’ve posted her warrior princess minifig in the sidebar. I may not be able to deliver her a hot meal, but virtual hugs, funding for the great causes she supports, and spreading her important message as far as I can? That I can do.

And you can:

• Get your own warrior princess button
• Join the Army of Women (I’ve been a member for a year or more–it costs nothing more than your time to read the occasional email)
• Contribute to Crickett’s Answer to help breast cancer survivors
• Read more about inflammatory breast cancer
• Get a mammogram when you turn 40! We’re all doing it!

*shout-out to Foodtidings.com — so helpful!

My very generous husband gave me a very generous gift for my upcoming birthday (the one that ends in zero) and our also upcoming anniversary (another ends-in-zero event).

A dog on a surfboard! Just what I’ve always wanted!

Well, actually, an iPad. I was/am stunned.

After I get over my shock, I’ll need to load ‘er up. If you have an iPad, or covet one enough to have done some window shopping, tell me what I should get! (And P.S., I don’t have anything Mac or Apple–not even an iPod–so I am starting from scratch.)

You know when you first started blogging or tweeting, your mind began to filter everything into blog post fodder and 140-character bursts of brilliance/mediocrity? (Surely that wasn’t just me. Right?) So now that I finally joined Facebook, I keep coming up with one-liners that sound like Facebook groups or fan pages (or “like” pages or whatever they are).

So far:

• Before the Internet we called the New York Public Library reference desk to ask random questions
• When my chips are too small to dip I stir them into the salsa and eat them with a spoon
• Remember that show with the laughing daisies called the Chuckle Patch?
• Parents against ice cream trucks
• Save a letter, save a word: There is no “e” in “scary” or “tasty”

I resisted Facebook for a long time. Mostly for the time suck factor, and partly because I was still holding a grudge about the breastfeeding thing. I finally succumbed late last year, under pressure from several family members and friends, as well as my own admission that I needed to use FB to help promote my fitness site.

Now that I’m there, I feel like I’ve stepped into a huge parallel world that I didn’t even know existed. The people, the lingo, the games–it’s like it’s related to the IRL world, but not quite. I discover new things (some savory, some not-so-) about people I’ve known for years and people I just met. I have relationships with people on FB that are completely different from those relationships outside of FB: I’m chatting far more often than I have in years with a friend from my NJ/NYC days, because we play Lexulous all the time. I had a nice conversation with a high school friend about his life as a stay-at-home dad. I keep up with a mom I knew from Jo’s school whose kids have since transferred to another building. I’ve learned about deaths, divorces, and new babies among my circle of acquaintances.

It’s odd. And it’s time-sucking. But so far, I’m clicking the “Like” button.

It’s my spy lookout, my scenic view, my alone space, my social (networking) place, my home office. It’s where I eat, work, chat, and play. It’s where I live: in front of my laptop, at my dining room table, looking through my front windows to the street and park beyond.

Today’s #best09 prompt is “best place” of 2009. I knew it had to be somewhere at home. I love going out, I love traveling and seeing both new and familiar people and places. But I also crave the comfortable cocoon of home. I need to be surrounded by my own stuff in my own rambly old house.

I used to work in a little bedroom upstairs on a desktop. Three years ago, we bought laptops and I still planned to stay in my office, with the bigger monitor and my own private desk that I wouldn’t have to clear every evening. But when the laptop arrived, I flipped it open on the dining room table and I’ve never gone back to the office. Here, I love being able to look out the windows–in front, where I’ll see ice-fishing shanties being towed to the lake soon. And at the side, where my neighbor’s kids come outside in all manner of silly outfits and play with their puppy.

When I sit down in the morning with my first cup of tea, I swear I sometimes sigh with the relief and anticipation of a few hours of work/Web time. And since I’ve needed that relief more than ever this year, this has to be my #best09 place.

in the blogosphere
being called a zombie chick?
it’s a compliment

Specifically, it means that recipients of this prestigious award  “believe in the Tao of the zombie chicken—excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words.”

Well, wow. Thanks, Melisa with one S!

Now for the threatening part: “As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.” Yikes.

Well, I like to live on the edge so I am going to pass this on to one single chick: Mad. Because although her masterful retelling of Pride and Prejudice didn’t make mention of any zombies, it was by all means remarkable.

Should I call it a crib? Would that be more appropriate for a mommy blog?

Anyway, welcome to the new home of Mayberry Mom. Thank you to Susan and Amy of Sumy Designs for a bang-up job on my seriously overdue move to WordPress, my own domain, three columns … oooh, so 2.0, don’t you think?

Thank you so much for visiting… please update your readers and blogrolls with this address. (Newish, shortish post just below this one.)