With a couple of signatures, a giddy smile and a firm handshake, it was done.

All over.

My experiment into the world of full-time housewifery came to an end as I accepted yet another full-time position for work outside the home. In technical support, no less. For iPhone, iPad and iMac users. Forty-plus hours a week, full bennies, vacays — the works.

And the Geek.Boy.Husband is gloating furiously, blithely walking throughout the house, his facial expressions just shouting, “I TOLD you so!”

Because he just KNEW. I was NOT a traditional housewife.
Not in any way, shape or form
.
And for all of you in agreement with him…

Shut up! Seriously.

And it’s not that I thought I was trading one very hard job for an easier one, as I knew, even before I embarked the experiment.

I understood that household management is as hard as any other management position– perhaps even more so, as there are less hands to which you can delegate work, and more for which you are responsible as manager.

As for what I have learned along the way, it’s been plenty:

•  How to make delicious meals for my family (breakfast quesadilla, anyone?);
• There totally is ALWAYS an app for that;
• The different growl sounds my dogs make and what they actually mean (Go out now? Hungry? Time for bed?);
• Never let the cat out at 7 AM; she will not come in until 7PM and yowl at you non-stop for an hour for your poor judgement;
• That developing a dependable schedule around household chores can keep things on track (and stop me from going crazy);
• That bathing a cat will NEVER be the highlight of my life;
• That making a fantastic dinner will never be appreciated in the eating as long as it it took in the creating;
• That a clean house will never be as noticed as a dirty one;
• That blogging about all this crazy mess can be a lifesaver.

I also learned that:

• Pets are NOT great conversationalists;
• Loneliness can become a true enemy and can morph into a sickness;
• That even with all the great friends you make online, they all have their own lives and sometimes, when you REALLY need someone to talk to, no one will be there. And that’s just the way it is.
• Doing less  than you know you are capable of can attribute to the onset of said sickness;
• And that  you need to follow your true path, your true heart, your true mind and your true soul. When you don’t,you get all of the above (including trying to converse rationally with your pets).

From my experience on Twitter and other social media , I learned:

• You can meet some amazing people and make some good friends there;
• There are a HELL of a lot of really great bloggers in the blogospherse;
•  I REALLY need to find my TRUE niche if I am to be a successful blogger;
• I am not a mommy blogger (because with the no baby);
• When you are not a mommy blogger, you better have a hell of a niche to fall into;
• The tech niche would be the most reasonable, but that’s a hard niche to break into — not a welcoming club at all (but as a techie geek, I already knew);
• I am geeky, but not hardcore
• I am girly, but not hardcore
• There is a niche for me; I just have to find it or create it;
• I understand that there are so many types of people, and the blogosphere has room for us all. I want to collaborate, come together and create goodwill among all groups for the overall greater good. IT CAN BE DONE, PEOPLE. Your “special cause” or niche is not the only issue or problem that exists in the world, and if you would open yourselves to others and create open dialogue with those you consider yourselves against, you may find you have more in common than not.
• I am intelligent, smart, witty, a good writer and have something wonderful to contribute to this world through my writing (as long as I keep the spell/grammar check on full blast).
• Regardless of all the various channels of Twitchat, #hashtags,  and other social media; I just have to learn, know and believe in who I am.

From my wonderful experience with the #31DBBB and #cwpit, I learned:

• I may be a blogger. I know I am a writer. Those two may not be the same thing;
• I am a better web designer than I give myself credit for and I need to stick to the platform that I know and love best for creating and maintain any type of website, to include blogs (Joomla);
• That WordPressis NOT the worst platform out there and, if  given a few years for development and support from its developers and  fans, it could turn out to really be something;
• Decide if you really want your blog to become a vocation (job or career) or an avocation (beloved passion and/or hobby). If all you do is tell your story and share your life on it, it may just be an avocation. If your blog has every ad known to man on it, or you are conducting a giveaway twice a week or doing three product reviews a week, your blog might just be your job. And that’s cool. Just decide which you really want.

What I truly learned over the last few months:

• I have come to understand who, what, why and where I truly am;
• I have come to understand why life had to ask me to come to a standstill so I could hear, learn and understand my real truth;
• I love to work outside the home;
• I need to create a work-life balance calendar to keep things on kilter;
• But I can’t go from one extreme to the other;
• I am a true member of the Cashmere Mafia. A true career working woman. I thrive on deadlines and love to have the opportunity to solve problems, resolves issues, retain clients — you know what I mean.
• I miss the appointments, meetings and never-ending conference calls. Call me crazy. You may already do this.

But the blog will continue, because the SHEROES are important, as are the apps. I am working on a larger solo project right now, and I hope you all will give it the same enthusiastic support you currently give to Geek.Girl.Wife. I will continue to post and podcast here regularly, and share my thoughts. Please continue to look for hints and links to the new project. It’s gonna be fierce and full of that GGW flava!But I will do so as I was meant to, as the true Serenity —  60+ hour-a-week-working, outside-the-home, childfree, happily married individual.

And I hope we can all continue to blog from where we are; from the heart, as the person we were truly mean to be.

iPod Touch

(My lovely guest post today is Kelly Pugliano from Mom Got Blog. I want to thank her for app-tastic and wonderful post! She is officially full of that awesome sauce! Please enjoy!)

Well, actually, I can. That nice soft part of my side? Yeah that inch I’m pinching? That would be it…but not for long…

 I have joined the masses and have purchased my very first i-pod. I know…they have been around for-ev-er… I have been perfectly content listening to my old FM radio/cassette Sony Walkman (yes, it still works!) as I run through miles on my treadmill. Treadmill running is the ultimate sentence of boredom for me, so listening to music makes the time go by much faster. After deciding that my “rest days” should not consist of being a couch potato and eating ice cream while watching ”The Biggest Loser” (kind of defeats the purpose), I have opted to walk the miles instead, which on a treadmill is even more need for music in my ears.

However, since spring has officially arrived, I have taken my walks on the road and found the silence too much, which is  kind of ironic since I enjoy the quiet when I run outside.  Running outside gets my head straight. I can go through my “To-do” list, plan out my day or just go for the attitude adjustment. Walking for me still needs tunes or company to talk to. So, late last week I was ready for my walk and I went into my son’s room searching for his i-pod Nano. No battery. Hmm. Feeling I would be missing out on all the nice fresh air and settling for the Tread-of-Boredom, I only glanced as I walked by my daughter’s room-but that shiny sleek form of her i-Touch caught my eye! Yes! I was in luck! With a new skip in my step, I plugged in and enjoyed her music selections. I got to thinking, you know, maybe I should have one of these…

 I did a little homework to see which one would be a better fit for me. Really, it was a no-brainer. Ever since I started writing this blog, I have been learning all kinds of neat things with computer and techie stuff. I think I am a closet gadget geek. The i-Touch sold me with all the apps and music and video and…well, it’s like having a mini-computer in your pocket!

 I went to my local Walmart and $250 later, I walked out with my own shiny sleek silver i-Touch, wall charger, silicone skin and black leather arm-band. Now, I know that is a lot of cash to lay down (I think so, anyway) but remember, we are talking about someone who is still using a Walkman! I am expecting this to last for years-and I hope I am not resorted to saying “they just don’t make ‘em like they used to.”

 That night I got a 2-hour tutorial from the kids (the real technical masterminds) and my own file so I won’t mess up their stuff. I learned how to download free items from the i-Tunes store and how to buy when I have to. Some of the apps are way cool, but so far, I have to say my ultimate favorite app is one called “Lose it!”

I recently had the pleasure of sitting with Alycia, owner of the blog Coloring Outside The Lines and mistress of the #cwpit on Twitter, where she is better known as @CrayonWrangler.

In today’s episode, we learn the secrets of video-logging, or vlogging, which is an innovation and evolution in the blogosphere. We also learn about why she blogs, and inspires others to continue to so do as well. Alycia also manages to give some great customization tips for her Blogger blog as well.

Alycia is knowledgeable about her craft, and shares her wealth of wisdom with all in this great podcast!

Thanks again for joining the Geek.Girl.Wife and giving such an amazing interview!

 20100818 [30:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (653)

I have this great little app on my iPhone (my love), Curious Facts For The Factual Intellectual, that is filled with fun facts and random curiosities. In the interest of expanding my current body of knowledge (because I’m a geek like that), I often flip through the facts and discover some pretty amazing things.

But today, I came across a fact that was not at all a surprise to me. It simply said, “Sixty percent of all marriages end in divorce.”

And I am not even going to ask why. There is no need to ask. Turn on any current reality TV show and we can see why.

The reality NEVER meets up with the fantasy. Or the “reality” of the relationships is so over-the-top, you’d almost hope it was a fantasy. Or a nightmare. Or something capable of allowing it not to be real.

And are most people even going into these unions with a clear-cut idea of what they are getting themselves into?

They first begin with ceremonies and parties costing $20,000 or more. The couple is lauded, feted, dressed in expensive clothing they will never in life wear again. The blissful couple  is more than happy to feed a hundred or so people to the tune of $20 + per person (most of whom they will never speak to again in life), attempt to ingest a towering confection that is usually not fit for human consumption (but costs $4.00 per slice), pose for pictures and create videos that will embarrass them royally in ten or so years, and engage in all the usual hoopla and drama that surrounds a wedding.

Then off to the honeymoon they, the newlyweds, go…

And then they come back. To REAL life.

And that’s when the marriage TRULY begins.

Deborah Walley As Gidget in "Gidget Goes Hawaiian."

One quirky and very geeky thing about me that I will admit is that I love the beach movies of the 60s.

Oh, come on! The cute music, the even cuter guys and gals who hung out all day in attractive-but-network-approved swimwear? The all-night necking sessions that seemed to lead to nothing more serious than sand in your bikini the next day? Your best guy asking you to wear his pin and be his girl under the balmy moonlit skies of the Pacific?

Things were SO much simpler and innocent then. Now we are treated to the likes of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant, The Hills and Jersey Shore  (excuse me for a moment, as I just threw up a little in my mouth even thinking about those “shows”).

Now, I am not a huge fan of the entire Gidget franchise, but I am a true rabid fan-girl of “Gidget Goes Hawaiian.” Gidget, as portrayed by the adorable Deborah Walley, was feisty, fun and free — and she looked liked she was a normal-sized girl who actually ate full meals regularly, not the waifs who parade on our TV screens today. She spent her days on the beach, but not just making herself available eye-candy for the guys to ogle.

Oh no, this gal grabbed her surfboard and made her way through the waves as well as any Kahuna on the beach — and really, better than most. She didn’t let any group of boy-types stop her flow — even when they gave her the disparaging nickname “Gidget (girl+midget).” In fact, she turned it around on them, embraced the new moniker with pride and ROCKED IT.

She was sweet, well-dressed and polite to all, but the chick could and would bust out a mean mambo at the drop of a beat. And when her boyfriend would tell her to knock off her fun-loving ways, she would turn up her cute nose at him and proceed to accept dates from other more willing and less-lippy guys. Gidget didn’t play that.

Although she never really cheated on her guy, she let it be known that she took no guff. From anyone. Not even her father, whose loving, bumbling ways seems to circumvent even the best-made, best-laid plans.

And the lesson to be learned here?

Our partners, our parents, our well-meaning friends do not and SHOULD NOT run our world.

We do.

If we want to surf, we surf.
If we want to work, we work.
If we want to go back to school, we enroll. And actually attend.
If we want to sing, we fill the world with our voice.
If we want to blog, we fill the blogosphere with our words, thoughts, dreams.
If we want to dance, we do so. With abandon and joy.

You are a free person, able to do anything you choose to do. And there should not be anyone — ANYONE– who tries to stop you, tries to inhibit you, tries to make fun of you for working to reach your dreams, or makes it their personal business to keep you in the box they created for you.

You have a right to be YOU. To have FUN.

And while we are having all the fun in the world we want to have, hair flying, arms flinging and eyes shining, a good Moondoggie will just sit back, sigh, look with admiration and mutter, “Just look at my girl go.”

Thanks, Gidget.

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