As you can see, we Mabel gals take our blogging conferences VERY seriously!

Just back from BlogHer ’10 in New York City and quite frankly am feeling like I need a bit of a holiday. So much squealing and excitement on the first night left me with a nasty case of laryngitis. I spent the rest of the conference struggling to speak. But, you can imagine the energy of a conference with 2400 women bloggers all in one place. Having the opportunity to spend time with so many online friends and supporters of Mabel’s Labels was just awesome.

As a blogger, I’ve had several non-bloggers ask me many questions – from how to get started to why I like to blog. The answers are long and wordy, but a few quick points include:

1) If you’re going to blog, blog about something you love. If you are not passionate about what you do, it’s going to, well…suck.
2) Don’t go into it for the money. While bloggers often receive products to review, free diapers and diaper cream won’t pay the mortgage. The money *may* follow if you have enough readers that advertisers will pay to be on your site – but counting on that happening is probably not the best plan.
3) Know your limits. If you’re going to talk about your kids, have a big think about privacy before you get started. It’s one thing to talk about toilet training but if your tween catches wind that you’ve been blogging about her training bra, you’ll be in the doghouse faster than you can say “Justin Bieber”.
4) Blogging creates one heck of an awesome journal. I feel like my kids will have great fun in a few years looking back at their childhood through my eyes.
5) Blogging gives you a spectacular feeling of being heard. It is powerful.

So if you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, what is stopping you? I’m hoping to see you at BlogHer in San Diego next year, because there are many lessons to be learned at BlogHer. The biggest for me this time around was that even with a shocking case of laryngitis, I still have a voice.

The back-to-school season is one of the most exciting times of the year, but it can also be quite stressful. VolunteerSpot teamed up with Mabel’s Labels to create a downloadable “Getting Organized Checklist” to help you remember the season’s to-dos!

Just download, print and place on the refrigerator to feel more organized today.

What’s Volunteer Spot? It’s an online community that enables ANYONE to quickly mobilize and coordinate volunteers in their community through FREE online sign-up forms and volunteer scheduling. Feel free to explore their site while you’re there!

Most mornings start with me on the computer, in my jammies,  sitting at a very sticky dining room table with an empty cup of milk to my left and a half-eaten banana to my right. Those are the usual leftovers from my toddler’s morning routine, which also includes requesting six different movies in the space of five minutes and repeatedly tackling the puppy in the same amount of time. My breakfast break will come later, after the writing, dishes, cleaning, dressing, playing, soothing, and re-cleaning are done. Which is usually right about lunchtime.

Welcome to my home, and to my life! My name is Stacey Nerdin, and as the winner of the Mabel’s Labels BlogHer ’10 Contest, I will have the great pleasure of sharing my thoughts, sometimes hectic life, and lessons learned with readers here at The Mabelhood for the next 12 months. That in addition to being able to attend BlogHer with the Mabel’s crew in NYC this weekend! I’ll be sure to come back next week and tell you of the fun we’ve had (and oh yeah, the things we’ve learned).

I’m currently a stay-at-home mom of five:  three daughters (16, 13, 12) and two sons (9 and not-quite-3). My husband and I began our family in Oregon, but are now living in the Houston metro  area because of an awesome job opportunity and the foolish thought that we’d get used to the humidity. I’ve been blogging for nearly five years and enjoy every aspect of it – the writing, the connecting, the meeting, the growing, the learning – all of it! My blog is called Tree, Root, and Twig, where I write about family, faith, learning, and life; my philosophy is that “everything’s connected.”

I look forward to sharing an enlightening year with you here at The Mabelhood!

Keep an eye out for more posts from Stacey here at the mabelhood, happening weekly!

Spotted: Mabel’s Labels Ultimate Back-to-School Combo in US Weekly Magazine! You can find our labels on the “Gadgets for Li’l Guys!” page of the August 16th issue of the Magazine. It reads, “Gwyneth Paltrow’s son, Moses, keeps track of his stuff with Mabel’s Labels.”

Pick up a copy today – it’s the one with the new Bachelorette couple on the front. Do you think they’ll be needing labels soon too?

Big things are launching this summer at Mabel’s Labels!

Today is the launch of our long-awaited Ultimate Back to School Combo; the name says it all! We’ve filled it with all the necessary goods: Tag Mates, Skinny-Minis, Shoe Labels and Teeny Tags. It is available in Limited Editon Classic and Colourful design motifs.

In the Colorful LOL Labels department we have new (and absolutely adorable) designs! The new design motifs  are available on all of our Colorful LOL Labels from Sticky Labels to Shoe Labels and everything in between!

Cupcake

Monster

Owl

Robot

Shark

Skateboard

We know you can’t wait to head over to MabelsLabels.com and order your new labels right now, but wait! We have more great news to share. Mabel Moolah is back! For a limited time, earn $25 in Mabel Moolah on every $80 purchase. Buy now, save later! Click here for more information.