Spotlight on Rocks In My Dryer

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Here at “5 Minutes for Mom”, we love introducing you all to fantastic mom blogs. And one of the best mommy bloggers we know and love is Shannon from Rocks In My Dryer.

So today the spotlight is shining on Rocks In My Dryer.

Many of you are probably very familiar with this fun blog – Works For Me Wednesday anyone??? Yes, Shannon is the genius behind the WFMW carnival that allows you bloggers to pool your brilliance and teach us all some great shortcuts.

(Susan and I used to regularly join in the Works For Me Wednesday carnival until our ideas dried up – it was a shallow pool. Susan and I do not excel at homemaking – we are barely scraping by. But thanks to Shannon, we can use your WFMW tips to improve.)

But Shannon is more than just the mind behind WFMW – oh yes – this is one fabulous and busy blogger. In addition to writing her personal blog, Rocks In My Dryer, Shannon also posts product reviews on her giveaway site, Bloggy Giveaways, and has recently become a contributing editor at BlogHer in the Mommy/Family category.

As well, in 2006, Shannon started Blogging Basics 101 with Melanie (aka Chilihead.) BB101 is a wonderful resource site for blogging info, rules and etiquette. So if you are new to blogging, make sure you check out Blogging Basics 101.

(Because of her busy schedule, Shannon now only writes occasionally at BB101. But no worries – Melanie keeps the posts and knowledge flowing regularly. This week, however, both Shannon and Melanie team up for an informative podcast on blogging etiquette. It is great to hear the wisdom they have gained from their years blogging – and it is darn fun to hear Shannon’s southern twang! Make sure you check it out.)

Now, here is our chance to get to know Shannon a little bit better…

Janice: Thank you so much for joining us today Shannon. With four kids, a number of blogging gigs, and your big trip to Africa coming up, I really appreciate you making time for us!

Shannon: My pleasure! I’d much rather chat with you than clean out my in-box, which is what I should be doing.

Janice: For most of us bloggers, there are those moments when someone cocks their head ever so slightly to the side, like a dog questioning us, and says, “Oh… you have a blog…” with that lovely, disapproving tone.

So, let me ask you what they all are wondering, “Why, Shannon, why? Why would you, a normal, adjusted mother of four, write about your life on the internet? And what possibly do you get out of it that makes it worth the time?”

Shannon: Well, you’re assuming (incorrectly) I’m normal and adjusted. 😉

Actually, my reasons for blogging have evolved in the 2+ years I’ve been doing it. It started as a creative outlet, and I had absolutely NO expectation than anyone except my family would read it. I was encouraged to keep at it when I discovered the beautiful sense of community in the mom-blog world. I’ve made some very real friendships that I treasure.

While it’s still a hobby, it’s become a job as well, earning a little income on the side and leading to some other writing opportunities. I’ve been blessed.

Janice: I love your About the Author description on your blog – especially, “There is a part of me that still holds out hope of growing up to be an Olympic figure-skater…I don’t know how to ice skate.”

You definitely make us laugh. What makes you laugh out loud?

Shannon: My husband, definitely–he’s the funniest person I’ve ever known, and he’s almost entirely responsible for fine-tuning my funny bone for the last 13 years. Before I knew him, I used to take life way too seriously.

Janice: As I mentioned in the intro, you are the woman behind the Works For Me Wednesday phenomenon. I loved your post on the ‘lore behind this popular carnival and how it wasn’t a big, calculated venture. Did the success of WFMW and – even more so – the success of your blog, take you by surprise? What does your family think of your blogging success?

Shannon: Um, if you were ask my children, they would say “Your blog is a success?” To them, my blog is the thing that sometimes make dinner late.

As for me, yes, the entire thing has taken me absolutely, totally by surprise–I don’t take it for granted for even a second.

Janice: Your faith is a powerful part of your life – and your blog. How does your faith impact your blog – and how does your blog impact your faith?

Shannon: My faith impacts everything, not just my blog. Or, perhaps I should say more accurately, my lack of faith. I feel like the biggest goof-up most of the time, falling far short of the woman God wants me to be…and yet time and again, His big hands pick me up and put me back on the road. I hope that by blogging my journey, I’m able to show that God is so much bigger than our best efforts or our worst failures.

Janice: Your Africa trip is such an incredible opportunity!

But you write on your blog that this trip is moving you completely out of your comfort zone. Some people spend their life dreaming of going to Africa, but it sounds like you are similar to me – I have spent my life trying to make sure God never calls me to go to Africa! (I am such a wimp, the shots alone have me begging God to keep me here!)

Why did you decide to go? Why do you think God has called you for such a mission at this point in your life?

Shannon: I didn’t really see how I couldn’t go. I have no idea why people continue to read this silly blog of mine when there’s so much other really good stuff being written. If I’ve been given a platform, even a modest one, how on earth could I not use it to bring attention to such an important cause?

Janice: Compassion is such a wonderful organization. How can we help them in their work?

Shannon: You can sponsor a child. You wouldn’t believe what this organization can do with $32 a month. In America, $32 will barely take my family of 6 to McDonalds. Compassion takes $32, eeks every imaginable bit of good out of it, significantly elevating a child’s potential. It’s like handing those kids a new life. And though the primary reason for sponsoring a child should be about that particular child’s well-being, the benefits to the sponsor family are enormous. Our kids talk about our Ugandan boy all the time, and they’re learning some important lessons about thankfulness and perspective.

Janice: Thank you again for chatting with us Shannon. I can’t wait to read all about your experiences in Africa. Without a doubt, it will be amazing and intense!

Shannon: Well, I’ll enjoy taking you along for the bloggy ride! Thanks, Janice.