Hey there! I’m Jody and I’m thrilled to be the Arkansas Women Bloggers’ Blogger of the Month for February. Here’s a word of (unsolicited) advice to you for when you are selected to be the Arkansas Women Bloggers Blogger of the Month: Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT read all the introductory posts from previous BOMs for “inspiration.” Trust me. There’s nothing like comparing yourself to some of the most darling, creative, hilarious, Jesus-loving ladies in the entire state to make you feel inept. But then again, that’s probably just me.

I always feel a little bit like an outsider, and here’s why:

I moved to Arkansas from South Dakota in the middle of my senior year of high school (talk about culture shock!) and attended the U of A during the bow-head era, sporting my as-always super-short hair. I did not pledge a sorority (go figure!). I drank “pop” and wore sweatshirts and jeans to Razorback games while the other girls wore dresses and heels and drank bourbon from flasks their frat boy boyfriends had smuggled into the stadium. And to top it all off, I was baptized as an infant and attended the only ELCA Lutheran church in town. This was where I felt at home: among a church family of mostly 40-something, ex-pat Midwesterners of Scandinavian descent.

I’m a social worker by nature, and I have the degree to back it up. I work full time as the Executive Director of the Single Parent Scholarship Fund of Northwest Arkansas (more on that in a subsequent post).

I met and married Mark while still in college and we made Fayetteville our home. We are raising 3 great kids who are growing up entirely too fast! Gracie is 17, a senior, smart, confident and independent. (We are currently fighting about where she’ll go to college.) Ethan is 15. He recently returned from a 2 year trip to the “dark-side” (I hated his hair and he hated pretty much everything else) and is, once again my hilarious, witty, sweet and loving boy (we are still working on the whole “applying ourselves in school” thing). Genna is 12 and in the midst of the dreaded middle school “longing-to-fit-in” stage. She has a zillion friends that I can’t keep track of, yet views herself as “not popular.” Ah, the joys of parenting teens!

I started blogging following a somewhat traumatic yet also hilarious escapade while working for the American Red Cross. Over the past 8 years my blog has evolved to become a mash-up of a:

• Digital scrapbook of our growing family
• Online journal (a la Doogie Howser, M.D.
• Collection of favorite recipes
• Archive of Christmas letters

I’ve attended the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged Conference each year, where I am reminded NOT to compare myself to my fellow bloggers, but to realize that I am part of a very special community of darling, creative, and hilarious Arkansas Women Bloggers. Hmmm…. Maybe I am not an outsider after all.

I’m on the web here:
My blog is called “Mindless Wanderings” but you’ll find it at jdilday.wordpress.com
jdilday on Facebook
@jdilday on Twitter
jdilday on Instagram