The blog as veil: a cautionary tale

How well do you know me?

And is it Kelly you know or is it the Don Mills Diva?

Are they the same person or is one an alter-ego, a character, constructed to appeal to, or provoke a reaction from, my readers?

Would it surprise you to hear me confess that the latter question is one I have asked myself on more than one occasion?

There are so many, many things about blogging that fascinate me and foremost among them is the notion that a blog might provide a space in which a person can construct an alternate identity.

That’s probably why I have spent the last several days obsessively reading Catherine Sanderson’s book Petite Anglaise to the detriment of pretty much everything else in my life.

Petite Anglaise is also the name of a blog that Sanderson has written since 2005 to document her life as an English ex-pat working and raising her toddler daughter in Paris. In Petite Anglaise the book, she provides an unflinching account of the events that lead her to leave her child’s father for one of her blog’s commenters and how the increasing popularity of her blog started to inform the way she viewed herself and ultimately conducted her life.

Read more about Petite Anglaise and my musing on the blog as veil over at Don Mills Diva Recipes and Reviews. You can also leave a comment over there and enter to win your very own copy of the book. I'll even ship it to you - now git!

Sure you could have written this...but you didn't

I'm totally jealous of Rebecca Eckler.

I think it's best to just put that right out there at the beginning, instead of pretending that I'm not jealous or that it's irrelevant to any kind of a review I write about her latest book Toddlers Gone Wild.

Because a lot of us are jealous of Rebecca Eckler, aren't we? Show me a parenting blogger who's looking for readers, who aspires to make a living from their writing - or better yet achieve fame and fortune from their writing - who claims not to be jealous of Rebecca Eckler and I'll show you a bold-faced liar.

Okay? Let's move along.

Will my jealousy get the better of me? Click over to my Shooting for Hip column at Better Than A Playdate to read the rest of my review and enter to win a copy of Toddlers Gone Wild...

The Final McChapter

It's been quite the journey my friends.

There was this letter sparked by some reeeaally poor judgement by McDonald's. There was the swift and sincere apology we wrenched from the Golden Arches. Then there was the contest to give away some of the bounty the big clown sent to make amends.

I wrote up all your entries and let the cutest boy I know do the honours...

Congratulations Caramama!

E-mail me with your address and I'll get the Shrek figurines in the mail asap.

Cheers to everyone who entered.

Ronald's bounty and your chance to win it

The final chapter in the smackdown between the Don Mills Diva and Ronald McDonald is about to be written.

First there was the horrible experience at McDonald's that I documented in this letter and posted here. Then came the profuse and sincere apologies that Graham and I received from Lori, the restaurant owner.

And then on Friday a courier delivered some tokens of the big clown's goodwill. In addition to a half dozen coupons for free breakfast sandwiches, we received this set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle dolls...



...this set of Shrek collectibles...




...and this set of Wizard of Oz collectible dolls.





So here's the deal.

I appreciate that Lori took the time to send these things out: I truly, truly do. But Graham doesn't have the foggiest idea who any of these characters are and he is currently up to his neck in toys and it just feels a little dodgy to me that I should actually profit from an unfortunate incident when all I really wanted was an apology and so...

I'm gonna give 'em away.

I'm gonna give the coupons to my brother 'cause he's a single dad and he works his butt off driving a dump truck and he eats at McDonald's and he will use and appreciate them. I'm gonna give two sets of the collectibles to a local shelter that houses women and children fleeing domestic violence.

And...drumroll please...I'm gonna send out one set of the collectibles to one of you fabulous readers because, really, if it weren't for all your support and angry comments the fuzzy-red-haired one might not have even paid me any heed.

So if you are interested, or you have kiddies who would be interested, in one of the three sets of collectibles, leave me a comment indicating which one you'd like. I'll close the comments at midnight next Saturday, print 'em up and pick one from a hat.

I'll post the name of the winner on Sunday and even pick up the cost of mailing the dolls out. I will, however, remove them the cardboard set they came in and stuff them in a bubble envelope or something 'cause postage is expensive and there's a limit to my generosity, y'all.

So there you have it, a happy ending for everyone. Leave me a comment and enter to win!