I have a bazillion blogs that I read.  I try to get to most of them daily.  I have a few design and style blogs that I read.  I’ve seen many of them write about where they blog and what inspires them.  They have pictures of beautiful spaces, with their offices perfectly organized, and color coordinated, but not too coordinated.

I look around and think, “Why don’t I have these serene place to work on my blog?” Because, I’m in reality.   My reality is finding a time and place to blog when I get it.  We have an office in our house with built-ins and everything. But my husband’s computer (a PC) is hogging up that space.  I’m usually at the kitchen table, on a table in the family room, or perched between the blankets in our bedroom.

Oh, and sometimes, I’m hiding out at places that offer free wifi.  You never know where I might be found blogging.

Here are some photos of my blogging spaces:

My kitchen table.  I sit here mostly, because I can dump everything out on our table.  I’m able to pay bills, organize paperwork, and sometimes, yes, I eat while blogging.

Do you like my double stacking computers? Actually triple stacked if you count my iPhone.  I was using Angry Husband’s PC (A Dell) to view a show on Hulu.  Yep, I was using it as a video player.  I barely use PC’s anymore, and my husband has all kinds of things on there that I don’t know how, or want to learn how to use.

My laptop desk for my bed, was actually a shelf that we used to have in the garage.  It is a piece of melamine.  I loathe the touchpad on my Macbook. It frustrates me, mostly when trying to edit pictures.  I usually prop up pillow under the shelf when blogging to get the right height.  I was sorting laundry, and watching Bethenny Gets Married earlier today.

I should probably get a proper desk for the bedroom….now to find the perfect one.

So the big question now is, where do you blog?

Today is Day 1 for me of Pro Blogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Challenge.  I’m participating in this along with members of the SITS community, and The BlogFrog Community, as well.

The topic for today is to “Write an elevator pitch for your blog”.

According to Wikipedia, “An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project.  The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words) seconds or 100–150 words).”

I think that this is a good start for the challenge.  It helps define your blog.  I can’t tell you how many times that someone has asked me, “What is your blog about?”  Mostly of the time, I ramble something like, “I work full-time, married, one kid, and live in Orange County.” But then I shake my head and think, Julie, you sound like an idiot.  You are letting these few things define you.  I am more than a full-time working mom who lives in Orange County.

But alas, it is ok to have two types of elevator pitches, and each type can be used for different situations.

The Short Version:

“Angry Julie Monday is about the life of a working mom in Orange County, Ca.”

This short version covers a few key points about me, who I am, and where I live.  I’m Julie, I work full-time, I am a mom, and I live in Orange County, Ca.  But as I pointed out above, this short little phrase does not define me, but really helps to summarize what this site is all about.

Did you see that I used the word “site”? I don’t always use the word “blog” when talking to people about what I do here.  I often refer to Angry Julie Monday as my personal website.  I think it is important to know your audience when talking about your blog.  If someone knows the terms of social media, they will understand terminology such as blog or weblog.  For much of mainstream society, “website” is sometimes a better fit.

The Long Version:

“Angry Julie Monday is an online diary consisting of stories involving my family, friends, fashion and photography.  I illustrate the tales of my daily life with my Macbook and my Nikon camera.  Whether it be my latest dress, reality television, tales of childhood, or trips to Disneyland, I document it.  I try and portray what daily life is like being a wife, mother, full-time employee, in Orange County, and attempting to not lose my mind.”

Gee, I actually wrote a paragraph without talking about caffeine, ADD, or Twitter. Seriously, that is quite an accomplishment.  I did get a tad wordy, and there were lots of commas in there.  I need to work on that, way too many commas in my posts.

Did completing this task change your blog, or change the way you think about your blog?

I think my short version was conceived from my tagline mostly.  I’ve had this tagline for three years, and it is a good fit.  My long version is more or less many of the roles than I maintain in my life.  In between all of these basic roles, I try to fill my life with personality, whether it be my passions (or obsessions), photography, and my randomess.

I think this task helped me realize that my blog is what I want it to be.  My blog has had peaks and valleys in the past few years.  It all depends on what is going on in my life at that time.  At the end of the day, I am a hobbyist, and this blog is my hobby.

I am completely swamped with stuff in the next month or so.  I should probably write everything down on a calendar, or something. Oh wait, I have that fabulous Erin Condren Life Planner in my laptop bag.  I can’t wait to see what she has in store for the 2010-11 version.

So anyway, starting next week, July 19th to be exact, I am going to be participating in the Pro Blogger Challenge with The SITS Girls on Blog Frog.  It is a plan to which gives you “31 Days to Build a Better Blog”.  I am completely stumped with my blog writing lately, and I need some new ideas.  This was the perfect challenge for me.  I hope to learn more about myself, my blogging, and be able to change some of the things that I do with my blog.

During the first week of August, I will be attending the BlogHer Conference in New York City.  This is my second BlogHer, as I attended last year in Chicago.  I had a great time.  I will be attending some parties, but I am not going to overwhelm myself this time.  Seriously, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off last year trying to get to all the events.  I can’t wait to see all of my bloggy friends there too.  If you are going to BlogHer, be sure and come say “HI” to me.

The week after Blogher, I will be hosting a Back-To-School Giveaway Bonanza with 11 other awesome bloggers. We have some great sponsors lined up for this event.  We will be announcing all the sponsors and specifics soon on our Facebook page.  Please “LIKE” our Facebook page to get the latest information and a list of all of the Bloggers participating.

And last but not least, I will be finishing my summer with Bloggy Boot Camp in San Francisco. This is my second Bloggy Boot Camp as I attend Bloggy Boot Camp Phoenix.  I will be speaking at this particular BBC.  I will also be doing a little road trip up to San Francisco with my Bloggy Pals.  They also recently added a Bloggy Boot Camp in St. George, Utah on November 13, 2010.  I will most likely be attending that one too, as it is the day before my 35th Birthday.  I think that is the perfect way to celebrate turning 35!

Wow, looking at all of this freaks me out. But it’s a good freak out, right? Plus the Angry Kid starts Kindergarten the first week of September.  I can survive all of this…I can…I hope.  Wish me luck!