Why blog? Why "The Blonde Lady?"

I've had friends who have blogged for a number of years now and frankly, I always found it kind of narcissistic. I guess I thought of it as posting your journal online for the world to read. And honestly, I just kept thinking, "Who's going to care to read my journal? Sometimes I go back and read old entries and I can even bear it." Lately though, I've discovered a couple of blogs that I really love. One, "The Pregnant Bitch," has kept me sane through my pregnancy and Little Boy's first year. The author of that blog is just so real about how she is feeling...and it's been a real gift to be able to read about where someone else honestly is at certain stages of motherhood. The other blog belongs to a friend of mine from college. It's called "Not to Brag" and while there's nothing there that is particularly earth shattering, (she and her sisters regularly blog about the events of their everyday lives) it is so well written and charming that I look forward to going out there just to see what they are going to comment on next.

All that being said, I decided to give it a try myself. I figure that if I'm not happy with the result, I certainly don't have to tell anyone it's out here. And it just might be cathartic...if not downright enjoyable!

As for the title of the blog, I had to think of something catchy and unique to call it. I wanted it to be relevant to my life so I tried to think of all the different ways I identify myself..."I'm a Notre Dame grad. I'm Big E's wife. I'm Little Boy's mom." Then I remembered living in Japan while I was in college. In the rural town that I lived in, foreigners weren't very common. So everyday when I would walk to the train station to go to university, the elementary school kids would stare at me until one of them could get up the nerve to yell out "Hello" (in English) or "Kimpatsu Ojoosan" (which means blonde lady in Japanese). Then, they would invariably giggle, refuse to make eye contact and run away. It also occurred to me that when I describe myself to someone who doesn't know me (if I'm meeting a colleague that I've only spoken to over the phone, etc.) I'm not notably tall or short, fat or thin so I usually end up saying, "I'm the blonde lady who will be x." So, The Blonde Lady it is.

Writing here is bound to be an adventure. We'll just have to wait and see how it unfolds.