The Help opens in theaters today. I've already written about its opening, but I'm just so super excited about this movie that I have to talk about it again. I love gong to the movie theater. It's such a great getaway for me. In fact, I usually go alone. It's great just to get away on my own and lose myself in the film, while enjoying whichever chocolatey snack I snuck in (usually Junior Mints). Tonight, however, I'll be seeing the movie with my neighbor, Rosemary. I'm super psyched to see the movie, and I'm glad I decided to ask Rosemary to go wtih me.

Rosemary is not my age. She's in her 60's, and we don't have tons in common. But I enjoy spending time with her. She's watched the kids on occasion so that Bill and I could go out. We check each other's mail when one of us is out of town. We've had her over to supper and taken her meals after her surgery. She's a great neighbor. We've often discussed our love of movies and said that we should get together and go sometime. You know how that is. So many times in life we tell people, "We should get together. We should do that sometime." And sometime either never seems to come around or gets pushed back to a much later date. Well, I decided to make sometime now and asked Rosemary if she'd like to go to the movie with me. I'm so glad I did. She was super excited. You could hear it in her voice. It feels awesome to reach out to someone in a way that's different from the norm. I'm really looking forward to our evening.

I'm especially psyched after seeing some of the newly released trailers for the movie. Here are a few of my favorites to get you excited too.

I've been taking time to actually read and visit new blogs and old favorites lately, and it feels great. Do you know how long it's been since I've actually been involved in the blogging community I so love? Isn't it crazy how we get so busy as bloggers that we don't have time to interact with our blogging friends on their blogs anymore? Sure, showing love on Faceboook, Twitter and Google+ is a great way to keep in touch with online friends, but it's just not the same as good old-fashioned blog commenting. Hello? How easy it is to forget why we started blogging in the first place.

I'm making it a point to take time each week to visit as many blogs as I can. In an effort to keep myself accountable and to share with you all the good stuff I'm reading, I will highlight a favorite every week. No, this probably isn't exactly an original idea, but I still love the thought of spreading the blogging love. This week's Blog Crush of mine is The DIY Showoff.

The author of this breathtakingly beautiful blog is Roeshel. She's an absolutely delightful and beautiful woman who loves to share her own home DIY projects as well as those of her readers on her blog. Do you know how I know that she's so wonderful? I've met her in person, and she actually lives in my town! It's another of my blogging coincidences or things that happen for a reason. Long story short, I happened to see on another blog that she was leading a Pittsburgh area thrifting adventure, so I went to check out her blog. After dropping her a note, I learned that we actually live in the same town and have lots in common. She's such a sweetheart.

Not only is Roeshel incredibly sweet and kind. She is a super talented decorator. She invited me and my family to her daughter's recent graduation party, and I was able to see a lot of their projects in person. Absolutely amazing. Check out her kitchen:

Isn't it pretty? And those floors! Well, the rest of her house is just as gorgeous. She and her husband bought an old farm house and have been restoring it room by room, as well as the outdoor area and barn. They've done incredible things. See for yourself by taking their farm house tour. Roeshel's decorating projects have been featured in Better Homes and Gardens and This Old House, among other prominent publications. She was recently invited to North Carolina by HGTV and Shaw Floors with a select group of bloggers to show off her brilliance as well.

While Roeshel obviously loves to share her projects and talents, she is not really a show-off. She's such a generous gal that's she invites readers to show off their home projects as well. Roeshel regularly showcases the fabulous things her readers are doing and welcomes folks to share their projects. If you're a DIY'er, you'll want to stop by The DIY Showoff to see some of the inspring things happening over there and to share your own talents. Also, Roeshel's got a $100 Target giveaway going on right now, so go check that out, too!

I'm so very glad that I stumbled across Roeshel's blog and am happy to count her as one of my friends.

Thanks to Trop 50 for sponsoring my writing about fabulous bloggers. This year Trop50 is granting 50 fabulous wishes. Click here to enter for a chance to win $1,000 to help grant a friend's wish!

Blogging has made such a difference in my life. When I left my job as a community college academic adviser to stay at home with my kids and pursue a writing career, I felt like I had lost my identity. I didn't feel like I deserved the title "writer", but I was no longer an academic adviser. I was in limbo. Then I became involved in the mom blogosphere, and I started networking online with amazing women. I learned something new every day and put myself out there in ways I'd never imagined. I started to feel more confident and comfortable calling myself a writer. And I especially related to using the term blogger because blogging has become where my heart lies.

Many women online have contributed toward helping me achieve my identity as a professional blogger and freelance writer. Whether it be through their support and kind words or through setting inspirational examples that have led me to work harder. I'd like to acknowledge just five who have made an impact on me, both personally and professionally, whom I am happy to call friends.

Nadia of The Purple Journal

Nadia was my first online friend. She made the very first comment on my blog. She also lives the farthest away from me than any of my other friends, living in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, but I continue to feel very close to her. Because of daily commitments, writing obligations and life in general, I don't always get to visit her at her blog, The Purple Journal. When I do, I'm greeted by beautiful photos and stories of Nadia's life that always make me think or make me smile. What I truly appreciate is that I always learn something from Nadia, and she continues to be my cheerleader and lifts me up with every interaction.

Susan of Sometimes Parenting Sucks

Susan is a fabulous blogger friend I first met at an online networking event. Her personal blog is Sometimes Parenting Sucks, but you may know her best as The Marketing Eggspert. That's how I first knew her, and I met her in person for the first time at the first Type-A Mom Conference. She took the time to seek me out, and we really connected. I have to admit that it's not often I truly feel a connection with someone, that I can just be myself. Susan is one of those rare souls who gets me. And I so appreciate her for that. I also love her openness, her fun nature, her incredible smarts and her humor. Susan is am amazing woman I learn from every time I talk to her, and she's always there for me.

Angela of Unexpected Art

Angela Moore of Unexpected Art was one of the first people I connected with in my online networks. It seemed that everywhere I went, Angela was there - Mom Bloggers Club, Twitter, Facebook. Not only did I keep running into this woman, but we always seemed to have similar opinions on things or some kind of coincidece that tied us together. Then I spoke to her in person, and I knew I'd met a kindred spirit. Angela is such a beautiful, generous person. A few days after talking to her on the phone, a package arrived from Amazon with three books from Angela. That act of kindness was followed by another when she offered to allow me to ride to Blissdom with her last year. That was a trip that meant so much to me. Angela is a friend I'll treasure for a long time to come.

Cara of This Is Where I Come Up With Something Witty

I met this savvy lady at a local blogging event, only to find out that we would be attending another local event together the following day. So I had the chance to really get to know Cara of This Is Where I Come Up With Something Witty quite a bit, in person, over the course of a weekend. I'm so glad that I did. Cara is so much fun. She's another friend who really knows her stuff when it comes to marketing, and she's someone I look up to professionally. And did I mention she's a lot of fun? I got to know Cara a bit more online over the months following our in person meeting, and we decided to travel to and room together at Type-A Mom this year. After this experience, I can truly say that I've made a friend. Fortunately, Cara doesn't live all that far from me. She's someone I imagine I'll be able to lean on in the years to come and hope that I can offer her the generosity and friendship she's given me.

Alaina of Dinker and Giggles

Alaina of Dinker and Giggles is another local gal I count myself lucky to get to know. Though there are millions of women who blog, this online world of ours really is rather small. I'm so happy that, through our online community, I was able to meet such a giving and understanding friend, who actually lives rather close by. Alaina has become someone I look for when I jump on Twitter. I know I can reach out to her when I need someone to talk to or bounce an idea of off. She's been to my home (as has Cara), and I feel totally at ease around Alaina. She's my techie guru and has a fabulous sense of design. I love that Alaina's a dreamer who reminds me to dream as well.

I'm so very fortunate to have made these five friends, along with a host of others, through my online journey. Thank you to each of them and to the many other women who continue to amaze and inspire me each and every day.

Don't forget to enter the 50 Fabulous Wishes contest for a chance to win $1,000 to support a friend's wish. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.

Yes, I'll be attending the Blissdom '10 Conference next week in Nashville, TN. I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! You may remember that I went to my first blogging conference, Type-A Mom, this past fall. I learned so much there and connected with so many amazing, brilliant, talented and inspiring women. I was able to bring home a great deal of information and motivation that has helped me to add a few new writing gigs and to improve my focus. I can't wait to do it all over again at Blissdom! I also can't wait to meet him.

Yes, the very handsome Harry Connick Jr. is going to be performing, with a chance to meet and get photographed with him after. How excited am I? I've loved Harry for years. My favorite song is still "Recipe for Love".  So fun.

I hope he sings this song at Blissdom!

And I absolutely must take time to thank my friends who made my trip possible. It's such a popular conference that tickets were actually sold out. My dear online friend, Kristina Sauerwein, is unable to attend the conference but already bought a ticket. I'm sad not to be able to meet Kristina in person, and I'm so grateful that she chose me to receive her ticket. Thank you, Kristina! Another friend making this possible (and more fun) for me is Angela Moore. Angela has been my best online buddy and biggest supporter since we "met" about two years ago. We only live about two hours from each other, but we've never met in real life. That's about to change, as Angela has very graciously allowed me to ride along with her to the conference and to share her hotel room. What a fun road trip we're going to have!

Thank you so much, my friends, Angela and Kristina! I'm honored to know such talented, positive women. Visit Angela at her blog, Unexpected Art and head on over to BabyCenter to read Kristina's parenting posts.

I also have at least one sponsor for the conference, and as soon as all details are in place, I'll be sharing that information with you. It's a product that's good for your children and good for your peace of mind. I'm excited to tell you all about it. Look for more information in blog posts to come.

Will you be going to Blissdom? Leave a comment to let me know! I want to meet as many people as I can. Can't wait to meet YOU!

Kim, one of my scrapbooking buddies, recently sent me a forward that totally summed up the concept of gratitude and thankfulness for me.  I always try to look at life from a perspective of all that I have, rather than what I'm currently lacking, but we all know it can be hard.  I'd like to share this poem with you.  I hope it is as meaningful to you as it was to me!

I Am Thankful:

For the wife who says it's hotdogs tonight, because she is home with me and not out with someone else.

For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato, because he is home with me and not out at the bars.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing dishes, because it means she is home, not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay, because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party, because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters tha need fixing, because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking, and I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key, because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means I am alive.

And, finally, for too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me!

If you enjoyed the perspective this poem gives, please pass it on!  I am grateful for the abundance I have in my life, particularly for the opportunities I have recently been granted.

Yesterday afternoon, I looked out my front door and saw a package.  I didn't order anything and thought it must have been something from my mom.  Then I saw that it was from Amazon.  That didn't seem like my mom's style.  She usually sends things for the kids and uses about a roll of packaging tape to secure the box.  She also includes bright, pretty stickers or labels.  It's pretty hard to miss a package from my mom!

So I brought the box inside, wondering what it could be.  When I opened the top and looked inside, I saw the first book, The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron, and I knew who it was from.  Last week, I talked on the phone to my blogger friend, Angela from Unexpected Art.  She talked to me about her blogging experience for my Friday Feature Profile series, and we also got to talking about off-topic things like books.  Angela highly recommended Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way, for unleashing your creativity.

Sure enough, The Artist's Way was also in the box, along with The Artist's Way Workbook, the companion journal to the book.  I nearly cried.  This wonderful woman, whom I never even met face to face, knew that these books would be meaningful to me and that I'm not currently in a financial position to buy them for myself.  So she sent them to me with this note, "Just a little something to get you inspired."

This act of friendship of kindness is more than "just a little something", and I will use the books to move my writing and my personal growth in the right direction.  Thank you, Angela, for your kindness and for your inspiration!  For your friendship, I am thankful.

My wife, Mary, asked me to guest blog this week.  OK, she asked me a couple of weeks ago, but it's taken me this long to sit down at the keyboard and put something together.  Mary thinks I'm amusing, and I guess other people do, too.  But today, I want to talk about something serious.

Recently, my best friend (after Mary) was robbed. At gunpoint. In his own house.  A little background on my friend Sam before I tell you the story.  I've known Sam for nearly thirty years.  He has been an advertising salesperson, a cable TV executive and a restaurant owner.  Now, he's on disability and works as a sports official.  Sam's hobby is collecting stories. That means that Sam has to talk to a lot of people. And he does.  Sam talks to bus drivers, waitresses and people in line at grocery stores.  Sam asks questions of anyone and everyone.  His gregarious nature has led Sam into a wide variety of relationships.

His former housemate, and one-time employee, Larry, was deaf.  Larry was also an alcoholic and drug addict.  Larry's girlfriend was in prison for the two-plus years that he lived with Sam.  Since his divorce more than ten years ago, Sam has been involved with a large number of women.  Some of these women have had substance abuse problems.  Some have been married.  At least two were exotic dancers. One was most likely a prostitute.

I have warned Sam that he is living too close to the edge.  Before meeting Mary, I spent some time near that edge.  I have been worried about Sam for a long time.  Concerned that he would get into a dangerous situation and be hurt or even killed.  So when Sam told me he had been robbed, I wasn't surprised.  The surprise was that it had nothing to do with his reckless lifestyle.

Sam fell asleep while watching TV in his bedroom. He forgot to lock the side door to his house.  Around four in the morning, Sam woke up with a gun in his ribs.  A young black man, wearing a hoodie and a bandana, asked Sam where the money was.  Sam, suddenly awake, told the robber that all the money he had was on the dresser.  Sixteen dollars.

The robber didn't believe Sam. He asked again, "Where's the money? Jason told me there was fifteen hundred dollars here."  Sam's reply: "I don't know anyone named Jason and I don't have fifteen hundred dollars."  The young man looked around Sam's bedroom, and then asked Sam if there was anyone else in the house.  Sam told him no. The robber again repeated the information about Jason and the money.

Sam told the gunman he didn't know Jason and that he had no money. Sam told the robber his name and that he didn't know Jason.  The young man then said, "I've got the wrong house".  He made Sam take the sixteen dollars off the dresser, then get down on the floor and push the money toward him.  Next, he told Sam to get undressed, then walked him downstairs and outside onto the deck.  That's when he forced Sam to the floor and ran off.

Sam told me it took him quite a while to move back inside. And even longer to get dressed and call the cops.  Sam, who has had dozens of wild and crazy people in his house and his life, was frightened by this young black man with a gun.  He didn't sleep at home for the next three nights. He tells me he still can't sleep through a whole night.

When Sam told me about the robbery, he finished the story with this comment.  "Willy, all I could think about while this was happening was you telling me I was living too dangerously and that you were worried about me getting hurt or killed. Then this happens. I could have been killed because this kid got the wrong house."

Sam wasn't hurt. He's very lucky. So am I.  What if Sam had been shot? What if I had been, the two times someone aimed a gun at me.  What if the bullet that once narrowly missed me had gotten me instead of the wall of the church I was walking by?

Mary says I worry too much. She's right. All the worry in the world won't change what happens. None of us can control what others do. We can only change our reactions.  So, I'm going to try to worry less. And, I'm going to put up bigger house numbers.

This was to be the week I started my new blog format.  And I've been really good at not procrastinating lately, so I promise you I've got a good excuse for why I've decided to hold off until next week.  Drum roll, please. . . I'm going out of town to visit a girlfriend!

I never go anywhere.  Really, I'm not just saying that.  The big kids are at their dad's for a week, so there's no reason why I shouldn't have said "yes" when another friend asked me to go with her to visit our girlfriend across the state.  Except for the fact that my first friend can't go now. 

The old me would've said, "I can't afford the trip.", "I have too much to do here.", "I'm too nervous to take the baby on a four-hour long car trip."  So my first instinct was to forget about going altogether.  But this friend has done a lot for me.  She came here after the baby was born to give my sleep-deprived self a break, AND she took ALL the night feedings!  That was wonderful.  So how can I not take this opportunity to visit her?

And what about my list of goals?  Didn't I say I would remember to stay in touch with my friends for support and encouragement?  Yes, I believe I did.  So, in true baby steps fashion, I've overcome my resistance and am looking forward to my mini-vacation.  Maybe next summer I'll take the kids to visit grandma in Missouri.  Maybe.