MyBrownBaby Is Road Trippin’ With The BlogRollers

Yup—I talked my way into the “BlogHer or Bust” Chevy with none other than the BlogRollers! I’ll be riding to Chicago to crash the BlogHer conference with Lorraine of Ask Wifey and Christie of A Work In Progress and BlogTalk radio’s Chatterbox. They’re the beauty and brains behind BlogRollers, the new blog venture that’s literally going to take social networking to the streets. We’ll be posting on Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, 12seconds and a bunch of other social media outlets during our 10-day trip, hosting blogger/twitter meet-ups in cities along the way, and, of course, doing lots of fun contests and giveaways to keep it hot.

The purpose of BlogRollers is to take the business and pleasure of blogging and social networking to the streets in unique and entertaining ways, with the goal of raising awareness of the power of female bloggers and their impact on the economy.

Now, I’m not sure if Chatterbox and Wifey know what they got themselves into with MyBrownBaby; I’m a veteran road tripper from way back. I’m talking bumpin’ playlists (Maxwell, Ledisi, Jill Scott, Stevie Wonder and the elements we know as Earth, Wind & Fire), picnic baskets with sandwiches, fried chicken, chips, gummy bears, and Snickers, portable DVD players with great movies (“Love Jones,” “Love & Basketball,” “Hitch,” and anything with Idris Elba in it), and lots of real talk. About the kids. The husband, of course. Friendship. Work. My crazy dog, Teddy.

Nothing is off-limits.

It’s. About. To. Go. Down.

Here’s the thing, though: I don’t have BlogHer tickets. Nope, by the time I got myself together to buy them, they were all gone. Like they were Hannah Montana tickets or something. So MyBrownBaby is on the wait list, praying/begging/lighting candles with the hope that someone decides she can’t go and turns in her tickets. If that doesn’t happen, well I’ll be out in the lobby of The Sheraton Hotel, holding court, talking mess, meeting my favorite bloggers, and pressing my ear against the door, hoping I can pick up some tips from the wonderful line-up of speakers who’ll be telling us bloggers how to up our game.


Oh, trust: We’re going to have a helluva time, tickets or no!


To see what The BlogRollers are up to, become a follower at the super cute site Chatterbox and Wifey created at TheBlogRollers and follow each of us on Twitter. Stay tuned, too, to see how you can win a seat in the Chevy as a guest Blogroller. If you’re interested in sponsoring a day (or two!) of our BlogHer Or Bust trip to Chicago, or would like to donate items to help us make it to the conference in one piece (with a smile!), email us at theblogrollers at gmail.com.

Chatterbox and Wifey got the serious hook-up with BlogHer and Chevy, who are providing the wheels for us to get to Chicago. We’d love to be sponsored by companies that could provide the following (and anything you don’t see here):

• Gas for the trip
• Hotel accommodations for the entire trip
• WiFi capabilities while on the road
• Travel gear
• Fashionable clothing and accessories
• Snacks/beverages
• Tech gadgets
• Bath/body products and cosmetics
• Music
•Swag for our fans

We promise to make your donation well worth your while!


GOT MY MIND ON MY MONEY AND MY MONEY ON MY MIND...



MyBrownBaby had the extreme pleasure of participating in a mom blogger Q&A with financial guru Suze Orman, hosted by Avon and Mom Talk Radio. Girlfriend answered questions like nobody’s business—about how to start a company, how to save even when you’re living paycheck to paycheck, the best ways to save for our kids’ college education and refinance our homes, and even how to wow investors for your small business. Renee over at Cutie Booty Cakes gave a fantastic recap of the call, with links to some of the great resources Suze shared. Suze’s most poignant message for me, though, was the one in which she implored us moms to take better financial care of ourselves. We are so busy making sure that everyone else gets fed/taken care of/paid that we will literally starve ourselves financially in order to make sure that no one else gets left behind. The problem with this, Suze said, was that we’re the ones who end up suffering. If we can’t take care of ourselves, then NOBODY is taken care of. She parted with these simple words:

You will never be powerful in life until you are powerful over your own money.

Oh, amen to that! I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve got A LOT of work to do. But after that chat with Suze, I’m definitely thinking about ways to handle my finances better—and I thank her for that.

As a gift to us mom bloggers for participating in her chat, and to celebrate the release of her new book, Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound, Suze’s offering up an incredible gift to MyBrownBaby’s readers: Suze Orman's Will & Trust kit... FREE! The kit includes all the paperwork you’d need to protect your family (don’t worry: it can be used in all 50 states). Let a lawyer fill out these papers, and you’d easily pay $2500. Let Suze tell you how to do it yourself, and it’s $13.50. Order it by Saturday afternoon and it’s f.r.e.e. FREE! Just go to suzeorman.com and click the "Will & Trust Kit" link in the blue bar on the left-hand side of the home page. Click the orange "Gift Code" button and enter "Moms Rule" into the gift code field. Click the green "Submit" button and follow the instructions to redeem your free copy of the Will & Trust Kit. This gift code will be valid until 11:59 p.m. EST on Saturday, April 25th.

Go ahead—load up.

And then follow Suze Orman on Twitter @suzeormanshow, and check out hashtag #suze to see what we were chatting about yesterday.

Thanks, Suze!