No Wrapping Required

I'm certain that everyone can relate to the dilemma of the trivial gift exchange, the ornament exchange or the Secret Santa.  You know... extended family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, groups you belong to and more.  So many people try to keep it trivial as in "You can't spend more than $5" while others keep it simple by making it a white elephant exchange.  It's all stuff.

And while I appreciate that it is all about the thought, I'm trying to get out of the habit of acquiring stuff that I don't need.  I'm trying to change my mindset and get rid of things when I'm emotionally ready to do so.

So when a member of Collective Bias inquired if anyone wanted to do a Secret Santa or an Ornament Exchange, I politely declined.  Instead, I offered up an alternative.  How about a virtual exchange where we take a little time to get to know a fellow member and share a little about that person.  After all, it doesn't cost anything, doesn't need to be wrapped, doesn't require shipping, doesn't leave a carbon footprint and it doesn't add clutter to a closet.

One member coordinated it and assigned each of us a colleague.  I was lucky enough to draw Eliza of Home Mom 3 who I didn't realize was so diverse!  In addition to The Life of a Home Mom, she writes for Tom Cruise Watch and Sales Weekly both of which she started in 2008 and Babies in the News which is a little younger.

But how did she get her start and when?  Well, Eliza has been freelancing for years and put roots into her blog in 2005 when she logged on to tell about the gifts her daughter received for her birthday.  Her blog has evolved in the years since that to include everything from Wordless Wednesday photo posts to giveaways to more personal stories. 

Why did she start blogging?  Well, Eliza was the wife of a deployed soldier - making her fill the role of both mom and dad.  Her blog was a way to share their life from afar.  (BTW - Mr. HomeMom3, Thank you for all the years of service you gave to our country.)

I've known Eliza for quite a while.  If I recall correctly, she was among my first blog friends.  She's one of those bloggers who leaves comments because she feels moved to... because she cares... and not because she's trying to improve the stats on her own blog.  She's someone who is a friend of mine on Facebook that I actually enjoy chatting with!  And she's among the people I look forward to meeting in person someday.

In order to participate in this roast, we were asked for some tidbits about ourselves and Eliza shared that she's inspired by frogs.  Actually, she specifically said "I believe my "muse" is a 6ft tall frog, at the age of 26 I went out and got a tattoo of a frog on my right shoulder blade. He looks very much like the WB frog but in a jester's outfit."  Frogs have been her thing since she was a kid.  Good thing, because with all the leaping and jumping that she's had to do as the mom of 4 and military wife, she's needed the role model!

Merry Christmas, Eliza.  You're a great blogger and a wonderful person.  I'm proud to call you my colleague but even happier to call you my friend.