Category Archives: Interviews

BernThis! An Interview With Jessica Bern

Posted on March 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

When I became a mom, I was forced to come to a harsh realization: just because you’ve had a child (as I have) does not mean we can automatically be friends. I’ve had a hard time finding mom friends that I connected with.

Similar to my “real life” experience, I’ve also had a hard time finding mom blogs that I like. When I do find one, I latch onto it like a nursing babe.

This is how I feel about Jessica Bern’s blog, Bernthis.

I love this woman. Guess where she’s from? One of my favorite countries: Canada!

She created the “Bernthis web series” which are hilarious anecdotes from her life. One of my favorites is called “Born Stupid.” It’s about the fact that she is the youngest sibling in her family and the dumbest. She became an actress, while her sister became a pediatric gastroenterologist.

Ms. Bern agreed to answer a few questions for us about her life and blog. I’ll let Jessica reveal the rest! Here’s what she had to say:

1. Jessica, you’re funny. Do you think being a younger sibling had anything to do with the fact that you’re hilarious?

My place in the birth order only solidified that I was bound to be the dumbest in my family, according to an article in Time magazine. My webisode, “Born Stupid” was based on this premise and sadly it seems to be true. My sister is a pediatric gastroentorologist (I’ve now tried to spell that three times and I still haven’t gotten it right). My middle sister has a masters in public health from John’s Hopkins and then there is me, the blogger. Can you hear my parent’s crying right now? I can.

2. What inspired you to create the “Bernthis Web Series?” Tell us about it?

The web series came about because I’d written these essays about my divorce and someone suggested turning them into videos. At that time, my career in advertising had cooled quite a bit as it seems, an angry, bitter about to be divorcee wasn’t very “hot” at the time and I figured why not, so I hired an amazing director/editor and off we went.

3. Describe Phoebe, your daughter, in three words, what would they be and why?

Phoebe in three words: (is this a family friendly site?) kidding. actually, I’m not. No, really, I am…a liar, that is…..okay, sorry, I got off track there. Phoebe in three words? Outgoing, energetic, Gives up too easily. How many is that? 6? okay, any chance you could squish the last four together into one word? Yeah, okay, hmmm, three words: Outgoing, energetic, empathetic.

4. If you were forced to teach children, what grade would you teach and why?

4. Forced, would be the correct word, as technically, I’m not really a kid person. I love mine but chances are yours will annoy me, especially if I’m trying to talk to their mother and they start whining over stupid things like how they haven’t been fed in three days or they’re not feeling well, even though they haven’t puked in well over an hour. You know, stuff like that. However, if I had to pick a grade I would say I would choose fifth or sixth grade. At that stage they still have and iota of respect authority and you can have the greatest impact on them. By age 12, the hormones kick in and well, God help us all.

5. Do you love Canada?

I love Canada. I was Canadian until 2000. I would love it a lot more if the draft was reinstated, that I can say for sure. I love the people there. I do. Especially now that my uncie is gone. He was a total asshole to my dad and ever since he kicked it the nice factor in Montreal alone has grown exponentially.

6. Why do you hate cottage cheese?

I don’t hate cottage cheese. Cottage cheese if you can hear me, I mean that. I just don’t have the desire to eat four pounds of it a day like I did when I first found the lactose free version.

7. You’re Jewish, right?

I am Jewish, yes. I have great admiration for all my people have been through although I will never get over the fact that if they’d only had a few more minutes, I wouldn’t have to give up pasta for 8 days straight and we wouldn’t have to deal with all this “Kosher for Passover, warning, it’s tasteless” stuff at all.

8. Where in Canada are you from?

I was born in Toronto although with my mouth you’d start to wonder if Toronto was a small island located in the middle of Brooklyn.

9. Did you move from Canada to southern cali in 2000?

I came to the US when I was almost two years old. It was hard. I was really close with a lot of 16 month olds I met in this one playgroup. Great bunch of folks. I think what I miss most about that is our game night. We played, “puke on the most expensive thing in your house.” It was hilarious although our parents never seemed to find the “funny” in it.

10. What astrological sign are you?

I’m a Cancer. I had a one out of twelve shot that I would be born under a sign that would remind people of the loss of a loved one every time I said it and yay me, I “won”. Vegas, here I come. I’m thinking of taking the title to my home and putting it on “red.”

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here is “Born Stupid” from the Bernthis web series!

To read Jessica’s blog or watch more of the Bernthis web series, click on the burnt toast below!

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Posted in Bloggers, Interviews

What is Mastocytisis? An Interview With Tara Goonan

Posted on March 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

My friend Tara inspired me to become a mother. She is just as anxious and crazy as I am, but she is also a hilariously funny, intelligent and wonderful woman. She had a baby, Liam, and made motherhood look possible to a neurotic character like me.

We became friends when we worked together as Vocational Counselors in a residential drug treatment center.

When Liam was 5 months old, I became pregnant with Ari.

Liam, who is now 2 1/2 years old, was diagnosed with mastocytisis. It is a rare condition, and can be quite severe in some cases.

Tara talks about her experience with Liam, and the road to diagnosis.

1. What is mastocytisis?

Mastocytosis, or in Liam’s case cutaneous mastocytosis, is a rare condition. Some medical persons refer to it as an “orphan disease” due to the small number of the population effected by it. It effects “mast cells”, which are also part of our immune cells and help us fight infection. It is therefore considered a hematologic illness.

Most mast cells are found in the skin, digestive system and airway linings.

When these cells are aggravated or triggered, they release histamine into the body. Allergy reducers such as Claritin or Zyrtec can be referred to as “histamine blockers”, and we are talking about one in the same fluid. This fluid, or substance, can irritate the airways, digestive system, and skin. When young children are diagnosed with this condition, it appears on their skin in the form of painful blisters. (i.e the cutaneous part).

2. When did you suspect that something was “wrong” with Liam? What were his symptoms?

Liam was born with beautiful, porcelain white skin and dark red hair. As he progressed in age (at around 7 or 8 months) I began noticing what looked like dry patches of skin on his back. I figured due to the sensitivity of his fair skin, he needed more lotion, less baths (every other day), and fragrance free products. The marks continued to grow, and I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I started with the local pediatrician, who kept reinforcing the whole “eczema” idea, although these marks looked fixed, and almost as if they were part of his skin. Not like a rash. It wasn’t until his scalp was filled with oozing blisters, which were painful to the touch, that I knew something else had to be done. This was no cradle cap. He was a year of age when I saw his first dermatologist, who was unfortunately just as baffled as the pediatrician.

3. How did you arrive at the diagnosis of mastocytisis?

Thankfully, my mother, who has been my saving grace over these last few years, was able to find the diagnosis herself. She is a retired RN, who dealt with many pediatric cases during her career. After extensive research, she was the one directing the dermatologist. A skin biopsy was ordered, and we were able to pin point the diagnosis.

4. When you found out Liam had mastocytisis, how did you feel?

I guess I was concerned at first that I had done something wrong for my baby to have this disease, but in every medical article, I could find no direct cause linked to such a diagnosis. Anyone doing research will find that there is really not that much information out there, and parents of children effected by this illness will understand that awareness is key. This condition needs to be brought to light and discussed more within our pediatric and dermatological medical communities. I think my next feeling was the fear that people would not understand the disease and ostracize my son if he happened to have a outbreak at school or in public. I can say right now that I have been one of the luckier ones because his beautiful face remains unaffected; but we all know how judgmental society is, and I want to arm him with the tools to never have to feel bad about how he looks.

5. What does Liam need to do to lead a healthy lifestyle?

We monitor his condition through proper diet (avoiding what we have found to be trigger foods- in Liam’s case pork, spinach, and larger amounts of chocolate. There is some current suspicion as well with acidic foods (particularly citrus) which I am still investigating with him through trial and error) He takes antihistamines daily, and we have found some great home based solutions (because steroidal creams are always recommended by doctors) to maintain his skin. There are some good resources out there such as the mastocytosis society, as well as mastokids.org which provide helpful hints.

6. How do you help Liam deal with his diagnosis?

I am about awareness to make sure that Liam’s community, whether it be school, family or friends are aware of his condition and the fact that it is not contagious, nor will it ever be. I try to provide my son with enough love and affection that even if there are people who chose to remain ignorant out there, he will have the strength to not let it affect him.

To learn more about mastocytosis, visit these links below:
Mastocytosis Society
MastoKids

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Posted in Health, Interviews

The Familiars- A Magical Children’s Book

Posted on February 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

I have so many internet friends and I love them all. I recently joined Twitter, and found that “The Familiars” were following me. If you don’t know about Twitter, this just means that “The Familiars” are aware of when I’ve written a new blog post or when I have something fantastic to report about my burgeoning writing career.

I was really intrigued by “The Familiars” profile picture.

I am a cat lover and there was this adorable tuxedo cat looking straight at me. I wrote to “The Familiars” to learn more. Then I found out the “The Familiars” is children’s book! It’s a fantasy based book about magical animals who help to save the day! I don’t know about you, but I wanted to know more. Thankfully, Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson allowed this persistent Jewish mother and blogger to interview them about their book!

1. What is “The Familiars” about?

After three young wizard apprentices are kidnapped by the evil queen of a distant land, it is up to their familiars, their magical animal companions — a street smart alley cat, a precocious blue jay, and a bumbling tree frog — to save them.

The story of “The Familiars” began with a question:
“Are you familiar with what a familiar is?” Adam asked Andrew.
“No,” Andrew replied.
“A familiar is the animal companion to a wizard or witch,” Adam explained.

From that one seed of an idea, Vastia was born, a fantastical world filled with the authors’ shared love of animals and magic. What if these animals, typically relegated to the background, went on an adventure of their own? A few of the other specifics fell into place quickly. The protagonist would be an alley cat – much like the stray who had taken up residence in Adam’s backyard – black and white with a chunk missing from its ear. We were inspired by the fantasy literature, movies, and video games we grew up loving – Tolkien, Piers Anthony, D & D, the old Harryhausen films. But never before had we seen a fellowship of magical animals on a quest like this one!

2. Tell us about Andrew and Adam!

Adam Jay Epstein spent his childhood in Great Neck, New York, while Andrew Jacobson grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but the two met in a parking garage out in Los Angeles. We have been writing for film and television together ever since. This is our first book.

Adam Jay Epstein lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Jane, their two daughters, Penny and Olive, and a black-and-white alley cat who hangs out in their backyard. Andrew Jacobson lives with his soon-to-be-wife, Ashley, and their dog, Elvis, four traffic lights away.

The story of the writing of this book is much like the story of “The Familiars” itself: one of friendship and how teamwork can yield greater rewards than an adventure taken alone.

3. What audience does “The Familiars” appeal to?

We wrote this book for fantasy lovers of all ages, from middle readers and YA fans to any adult who loves animals or magic. We hope to capture the imaginations of fans of “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings,” and “The Warriors.”

4. What are the messages you want to communicate to children in your book?

The theme of The Familiars is self worth – exploring the universal question of am I special? Like so many origin stories, our main hero, Aldwyn – the alley cat from Bridgetower – believes himself to be ordinary. But like Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, or Harry Potter, Aldwyn discovers that there is in fact something extraordinary inside him. When Aldwyn is chosen as a familiar, he sees himself as nothing more than a talentless orphan with nothing to offer. But by the story’s end, he has confronted his own self-doubt and realized that he doesn’t have to be magical to be special.

5.Do you have any pictures to share?

Here is a picture of the alley cat - Ben - that lives in Adam’s backyard. Cover coming soon!

6. When can we look for “The Familiars” in stores?

Amazon says September 7, 2010!

Thanks A&A! I can’t wait to read you book!

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Posted in Books, Interviews

On Open Adoption: Harriet From “See Theo Run” Speaks

Posted on February 23, 2010 | Leave a comment

The other day, I came across Harriet’s blog, See Theo Run. Harriet, her husband and their baby Theo live in Vancouver B.C. Canada. They are parents in an open adoption. They adopted Theo at birth. They maintain a strong relationship with Theo’s birth family. Harriet writes about the adoption process and her journey to motherhood and beyond on her blog, See Theo Run.

I know virtually nothing about adoption, so I asked if Harriet might shed some light on the adoption process for me, and her personal journey to motherhood. Here’s what she had to say:

1. What made you decide to adopt a baby?

We could not have a baby by birth confirmed by visits to a fertility clinic, and once we were sure of this, we immediately agreed that adoption was for us. We did not pursue IVF. It’s a wonderful option for many but it did not feel right for us. We went with our gut and knew that adoption was our way. We are a mixed race couple living in a multicultural neighborhood and felt we could parent and support a child of almost any [cultural background]. It’s worth noting that I had worked for a non-profit adoption organization in the past so I was well-versed in the process, and had always maintained an interest in adopting.

2. What steps did you take to adopt Theo?

The biggest and most important step was the decision to adopt with full commitment and faith in the journey. We contacted several adoption agencies (there are only six in BC and two in the Vancouver area). I was interested in adopting through the Ministry for Children and Families but my husband was not keen on that route. It was really important that we both be comfortable for our decision so we approached several agencies. We went with our gut on which agency to use. After meeting face-to-face with a social worker who we immediately took too - we loved the way she listened to us- we signed up with the agency. At this point, we were interested in intercountry adoption mistakenly believing we would never be successful locally. In local adoption, a birth mother or birth parents select you from hundreds of other profiles. Before any of that was to occur, we had a series of visits from a social worker to assess our fitness to adopt (the home study), which took about 6 months to be written up and signed off. We then registered to adopt from the tiny African kingdom of Lesotho, which didn’t pan out. At this stage, we threw our profiles into the local adoption pool and immediately got a phone call saying a birth mother and her dad wanted to meet us. I have written about this extensively on my blog: the shock, the fear, the sheer awkwardness of the initial visit and the surreal nature of the second visit with the birth dad and birth grandmother and later visits with the birth parents including dinner and a movie. Two months after our initial visit, Theo was born and placed in our arms at the hospital with a room full of birth relatives, nurses and a social worker. The passing over of Theo to us was the most emotional and strange event of my life.

3. When Theo gets older, how will you address the adoption issue?

We are in an open adoption, and Theo does not look like us so he will figure out pretty quickly that he wasn’t born to us. But that is not really the point. At this stage (7 months), we are introducing words, names and phrases to him so they register. We have regular visits with his birth family but he does not really understand who they are so we say things directly to him such as: “We’re going to visit your birth mom today.” “You are so cute; you look just like your birth dad: Kyle,” or “You got your wild hair from your birth grandpa,” or “I think you’re going to be chatty like your birth grandma!” In terms of the story of his birth and adoption, we will piece it together for him as we go. We have hundreds of photos from the hospital and I have blogged about our feelings on that day. I do not think the penny will really drop for him until he’s between 6 and 9 when the really hard questions will come. Our hope is that by nurturing an ongoing relationship with his extended birth family and supporting this with explanations and stories about adoption that his situation will simply be normal for him by the time he starts to seriously question his identity.

4. What advice would you offer to a couple or a person who wants to adopt a child?

You need to be 100% committed to adoption and it should be your number one choice for creating a family. This needs to be true in your heart and not just another option or last resort. You should tell everyone you know that you cannot have children by birth and that you are embarking on an adoption journey. If adoption is a secret for you, you might want to examine why that is. Tell family and friends that you do not know how long it will take but you are committed to this path and appreciate their support. You will be amazed at how many people get excited for you. You will also receive naive, hurtful or invasive comments. It’s best to face those now rather than later. We also had family say “but you’re still trying right?” when we had been told unequivocally that we could not have children. It can take family time to come round - they are still attached to replicating their gene pool. On the plus side, my father-in-law, who said those very words, is baby Theo’s biggest fan and spends the most time with him outside of my husband and me.

One last thing, adoption can take a long time, be highly emotional, but with patience, perseverance and faith in the process, you will be successful.

To read more about Harriet’s adventures in motherhood visit her blog See Theo Run.

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Posted in Adoption, Interviews

It’s Twinsanity! An Interview With Heather

Posted on February 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

When I was putzing around the internet the other day, I happened upon Heather’s blog It’s Twinsanity

First of all, “It’s Twinsanity” is a hilarious name for a blog. I was immediately intrigued. Turns out that Heather is a military wife and mom. She has quite a brood on her hands! I liked her blog and found her story really interesting. So I asked if I could interview her. She kindly obliged. Here is what she had to say:

1. Tell us about yourself!
I’m an Army wife, a mother of 6, and a natural parenting advocate. I have 2 sets of identical twins and a husband deployed to Iraq. I’m also a homebirthing, homeschooling, breastfeeding mom who loves to read, write, paint, sing, and had lots of other interests before having 6 children in 5 years.

2. What did you do before you became a mom?
Before I became a mom I was a retail manager in a department store. It was such a glamorous life, let me tell you. I don’t miss it at all.

3. How many kids do you have? Tell us about them!

I have 6 wonderful kids.

Matthew is 7 and he’s a smart, funny, challenging child. He is on the autism spectrum and he’s an amazing boy.

Joshua is 5 and he is sweet, generous, and loving. He’ll do anything to make others happy.

Leila and Sarah are 3 and they are identical twins. Leila is cautious, sensitive, and emotional. She’s the classic “girly girl.” Sarah is brave, adventurous, and loves to cause mischief.

Nathan and Ryan are almost 18 months old. They are both turning into little chatterboxes and they love to cause trouble.

4. What are three qualities you believe are essential to have as a mom?

I think it’s important for a mother to have unconditional love for her children, lots of patience, and a willingness to put her children’s needs above her own. Nobody is perfect, but fortunately our kids don’t need perfection. They just need to be loved!

5. How do you feel about being a military wife and mom? What are the advantages to this role and the challenges?
There are days when I’m thoroughly disgusted with life as a military wife and mom. There are days when I’m too exhausted to be optimistic. It’s just reality. But there are far more days when I feel incredibly blessed, proud of my husband, and ready to tackle any challenge that comes my way.

6. When do the kids get to see their dad?
My husband left in January 2009 for training. My kids saw him for 2 weeks in the spring, 2 months in the summer when we moved to Arizona temporarily, 2 weeks in the fall, and for 2 weeks when he came home for Christmas as a surprise. My husband is now in Iraq and we will not see him again at all until the end of the year. Hopefully we will be able to talk to him using a web cam soon so that the kids can see him that way.

7. What advice would you offer to moms-to-be?
I am not sure that I’m qualified to be passing out advice, because I’m far from perfect! I have worked with a lot of moms-to-be through my roles as a doula and breastfeeding counselor. I encourage new moms to find their own groove when it comes to parenting. You’ll receive lots of unsolicited advice from well-meaning people. Just decide for yourself what you believe is best.

I’m not a typical “mainstream” mom in that I believe in homebirth, breastfeeding, and attachment parenting. It’s what has come naturally to me and I feel called to raise my children in this way. It’s not for everyone, and each mom needs to explore what is best for her family.

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Posted in Interviews

Bobs and Lolo: A Canadian Musical Duo

Posted on February 19, 2010 | Leave a comment

You all know how much I love Canada. Here is one more reason to love Canada, Bobs and Lolo. They are a fantastic two woman team that creates brilliant children’s music.

To hear Bobs and Lolo’s melodious and meaningful music, click here

I had the opportunity to ask Bobs and Lolo about themselves and their music. Here’s what they had to say:

1. What are your real names?

Our real names are Robyn Hardy (Bobs) and Lorraine Pond (Lolo).

2. What made you adopt “Bobs” and “Lolo”?

Bobs & Lolo were actually our nicknames in high school. Our friends and family called us ‘Bobs & Lolo’ long before the kidlets did! When we started writing and performing children’s music, our nicknames seemed more “kid-friendly” and a lot more fun than our given names. Now it feels weird to be called ‘Robyn’ and ‘Lorraine’ - even business associates (who don’t have kids!) refer to us as B&L!

3. How did you meet?

We first connected at a Girl Guide camp on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (Canada) when we were both around 8 years old. After a fun-filled weekend of campfire sing-alongs, silliness and laughter, our friendship was sealed! While we attended different elementary schools, we ended up filtering into the same high school (Dover Bay Secondary) in grade 9. Our friendship continued to grow from there and we began to singing together in the school choir as well as studying piano with the same music teacher. We also hit the courts together as power forward (Bobs) and shooting guard (Lolo) on the Dover Bay girls’ basketball team. Go Dolphins Go!

4. What inspired you to make music, and (more specifically) children’s music?

The Bobs & Lolo project really grew out of our friendship and a mutual passion for music and working with kids. Before we started our musical adventures, Robyn (Bobs) was teaching grades 4 and 5. Prior to teaching, Robyn completed a degree in linguistics at the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Education at University of British Columbia (UBC). Lorraine (Lolo) previously worked in the fields of environmental education and non-profit fund development. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Human Kinetics (Exercise Science) from UBC. As kids, we had both been involved in music and the arts, and it was something that we both value greatly in education. In fact, our first try at songwriting came out of a casual chat we shared about the value of using music as a teaching tool. We started brainstorming about what sort of themes and topics were important for today’s kids and “building connections to the natural world” was at the top of our list. We both had an interest in the environment and conservation and set a goal to figure out a way to inspire kids to care about the world around them through music, movement and make-believe. We haven’t looked back since!

5. How much do you love Canada?

We absolutely adore our home country of Canada - and it’s not just because of all the Olympic hype in our home city right now! We feel fortunate that our musical adventures have given us the opportunity to explore so much of our country…which happens to be a rather big piece of land! We’ve traveled through small towns on the west coast of BC - Bella Coola, Atlin and the Queen Charlotte Islands to name a few - to large cities like Toronto and all the way across to the province of Prince Edward Island on the east coast. We’ve also gone north into the Yukon Territories along with numerous stops in between, around and under. In the last year, the music videos featured on our On Your Feet DVD began airing on Treehouse TV, Canada’s only national television network completely dedicated to preschoolers. While the partnership with Treehouse is still relatively new, the TV exposure has already opened up new performance opportunities for us, and we’ve been able to slowly build our CD and DVD distribution beyond Western Canada. We’re hoping this is just the start, and we’ll be able to keep things go, go, growing in the upcoming years. We would love to perform in the US too. We’ve done a few shows in the Seattle area, but our travel south of the border has been quite limited to date. Fingers crossed that this will change as more opportunities come up down the road!

In the meantime, the great thing about the digital era is that we’re connecting with new families all around the world every day! Our music is available on Itunes and through various online retail partners and we’ve even posted some of our videos on YouTube. We’re also very active on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, and we regularly blog about our travel adventures and noteworthy news items or fun finds. We definitely invite kids and parents to connect with us online through one (or more!) of these social media sites - we love the personal connection and it’s an extra treat when families send photos or share stories on how they are connecting with our music.

For information on how to reach Bobs and Lolo, their live show schedule, music and more, please visit www.bobsandlolo.com .

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Posted in Canada, Interviews, Music

BlogHer.com, An Interview With Elisa Camahort, COO and Co-Founder

Posted on February 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

I’ve recently seen a bunch of advertisements for BlogHer.com on various mom blogs. I checked out the site and it seemed to be a great way for female bloggers to connect and network with one another. So I went ahead and registered as a user. But I still had some lingering questions about the site, it’s ultimate purpose and the history of the founders. So I contacted Elisa Camahort, COO and co-founder of BlogHer.com and she agreed to humor my curiousity in the following interview.

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

My co-founders, Jory Des Jardins, Lisa Stone and I are lucky because we come from complementary backgrounds…which meant we always had diverse perspectives to bring to any decision or discussion. I come from the high-tech space, focused on product marketing. And once I discovered the power and influence blogging and social media could have, I struck out on my own to consult with organizations about how to incorporate those tools into their overall marketing plans. Lisa was a journalist who transitioned from print to TV to online. Jory is a writer who came from a publishing business development background. We were all three bloggers first, and consultants in the space second.

What is BlogHer.com?

BlogHer.com is one of three things BlogHer does. We actually started with our annual conference in 2005, and now are doing three conferences per year. We then launched BlogHer.com to be a community and new hubs for women who blog in 2006. It’s on the one hand a kind of Yellow Page, where bloggers can list and self-categorize their blogs, and on the other hand a kind of TV Guide, where our 80+ editors shine a spotlight on what women are blogging about across every topic under the sun. It’s also a community site, where members can blog, connect, form groups etc. Later still we launched our BlogHer Publishing Network, where we act as publisher for over 2500 bloggers, selling their advertising and syndicating and spotlighting their headlines and content.

Why did you and your co-founders establish BlogHer?

We established BlogHer originally to answer the question we thought needed to die, namely “Where are the women who blog?”We then created a mission to create opportunities for those women to pursue education, exposure, community and economic empowerment.

What did you do before BlogHer?

Immediately before BlogHer I had my own marketing consultancy, Worker Bees. Prior to that I was in the cable broadband industry, managing product lines and their P&L.

What can females bloggers gain from your site?

It’s all about our mission: You can derive *value* from BlogHer, and that value looks different for different community members. For some making money is part of the value, but for others it is about the exposure, or community connections or the inspiration.

What advice would you offer a female blogger just starting out in the blogosphere?

First: Blog about something you care so much about that you can keep with it and at it for a long long time. Second, find your tribe. Whatever you care about, there are other bloggers caring about that same subject. There is community there, and it can sustain you. Third, just remember that the Internet can amplify and widely distribute your voice. It is your personal platform. You can use it for personal, professional or political reasons, but whatever the reason…you can be heard. That can be a great thing. It is also something to bear in mind and decide ahead of time how comfortable you are with it. Being mindful of this amplification and distribution before you decide what and how to write is better than worrying about something you’ve said after the fact

BlogHer.com is owned and operated out of the San Francisco Bay area. For more information about BlogHer.com click here.

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Posted in Interviews

Sarah Fader Interviews Sarah Fader!

Posted on January 31, 2010 | Leave a comment

My name is Sarah Fader. I live in Brooklyn, NY and have an almost two year old son. I also have a facebook account where I’ve reconnected with people from my past, current friends and other people named “Sarah Fader.”

One of the Sarah Fader’s I’ve met lives in Canada and has a child named (get this) “Brooklyn”! What are the chances?

Sarah Fader and I have become fast friends and she has agreed to be interviewed on being a mommy in Canada for my blog. Here’s what she had to say:

1. How did you react when you found out you were pregnant?

I was shocked when I found out I was pregnant, I took the test and walked out of the bathroom and made David go and look at the test, I saw the lines changing color before I left, and nearly threw up!!

2. How does it feel to raise a child in Canada?

It feels great to raise a child in Canada. We have good health and dental care, and our government gives us money to help raise our kids. Right now I get $100 for universal child care which I will get until she is 6, and I get the child tax benefit which we get until they are 18 or we make too much money. I live in Nova Scotia, it is beautiful here, calm and quiet, most times. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else!!!!

3. Brooklyn is a great name! How did you choose it?

I choose Brooklyn one day while I was driving in the car listening to Jay Z and Little Wayne, their song called Brooklyn!

4. How do Canadians feel about the name Brooklyn?
Older people think it is a unique name even though it is very popular all over Canada now. I know 5 people that I went to school with that have children named Brooklyn!!!!

5. Have you ever been to the States or taken Brooklyn to the States?

I have been to the states a few times, not with Brooklyn though. I visited Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and drove through New York on our way somewhere. I don’t remember being in New york though.

6. Has Brooklyn ever been to Brooklyn? If not would you take her there?

Brooklyn hasn’t been to Brooklyn yet. I do plan on taking her because I think it would be fun for her to be in the place her name comes from.

7. Supposedly Canadians are really nice. Have you met any mean Canadian moms?

Most Canadians are nice, I have met mean Canadian moms, and dads. People from Quebec are normally not the nicest of people and they tend to be mean. Most people from Canada would agree on this!!!!!!

Thank you Sarah Fader! I am so proud that we share the same name! Love, Sarah Fader and Ari from Brooklyn.