Ultimate Blog Party 2009

Hi and welcome to anyone visiting from UBP 2009! I'm MemeGRL and this is my site.

Why MemeGRL? Because when I started this blog, I wanted in on the fun, but inspiration was short. I have kiddos, but was antsy about putting them at the center of the blog, because, you know, they have lives, and besides, this was for me. So I started doing memes to get the hang of it. It's evolved in to more of a food blog than I ever meant it to be but who knows where it will go next?

My most common memes are the fabulous Works for Me Wednesday, late of Shannon's blog, now hosted by Erin; Four Foods on Friday by the inexhaustable VALMG, and Menu Planning Monday by I'm an Organizing Junkie. They've all been tremendously helpful (or fun) in one way or another but the MPM has been a real game-changer around here.

If you were to come to my house for a party, I would start by introducing you to my friends, and so I'll do the same here. I started blogging because of my IRL friends at She Started It, Dream Kitchen, My Life as a SAHM and But Wait, There's More! using bits and pieces of inspiration from all of them. Since then, more moms from my Mothers & More chapter have started blogs at The Accidental Hausfrau, The Life You Choose, Motherhood 101 A+, trying to figure it out, and Uncommon Threads.

And I've gotten to know or re-know people from blogging too. Bossy and her mother staged our house for us after our first baby was born. (True!) Well Read Hostess and I worked at the same swim club during summers in high school. Lemonade and Kidneys and I went to high school together and now live a few blocks apart. My kids are some of the ones driving The Domestic Goddess crazy. Philly Expatriate was the blog of someone I knew in high school whom I rediscovered on Facebook. And after realizing that Emily at Mothers of Brothers was leading my parallel life, we met at Starbucks to discover that we'd actually known each other as freshmen in the same dorm when we went to college.

I hate to leave anyone out--the wonderwoman referred to as The Best Babysitter in the World around here blogs; if you are interested in the inner workings of the Catholic church, you can't miss Rocco's blog; and if you enjoy Brain Child magazine as much as I do, you must check out Jennifer's blog. My newest blogfriends are the Tipsy Baker, whom I've met in person because our husbands are friends; and Mom24, who's just a like-minded mama, giving me hints as to what's coming down the pike for me. And there's Write-Sizing, who is one of my husband's best friends, who has lost over 1/3 of her weight in the past 18 months. Or just keep clicking over on the side; if you have questions about anyone, I'll answer as best as I can.

So, welcome! Look around. There are some good party-ready recipes here (check out the pizza dip, for example). Click on the banner to join the party at your blog! There are prizes too...eventually I'll get around to looking at them all and picking some, just in case! Meanwhile, welcome to my blog...and don't miss my friends. They rock!