dear diary, I was in awe...

For the past three days, I have been at the Alberta Women Entrepreneurs conference at the River Cree.

It was basically a gathering of business women to network, listen to amazing speakers and learn how to be innovative and successful.

I can't say it was the best use of my time but it wasn't a total wash.

Personally, the hilight was a phenomenal speech given by Ben Barry, the creator of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. You know that campaign - it's the reason we all LOVE DOVE!

He is YOUNG!! 26 to be exact! His story is amazing but I'm not going to tell you right now...

Anyway, he was so inspiring and fabulous that I had to show him the magazine. He LOVED IT!!! Because we do what he does - only on a much smaller scale but with the same empowering message!!

Also, I truly enjoyed listening to Eveline Charles, CEO extraordinaire of EvelineCharles Salon and Spas... I had heard things about her prior to meeting or hearing her speak. Things like: She's a bitch, she's a piranha, she will eat you ALIVE, she has no time for anyone who is "beneath her"... I'm sure you've heard the rumours.

But, having never met her I was curious about her story and what she had to say. As I listened to her speak, I realized we had very similar personalities and similar drive and passion for what we do. Now, I admit, I've been called a bitch, too, among other things but I truly beleive that those who do the namecalling are weak and jealous.

I had the chance to chat with Eveline after her speech and was thrilled that she took some time to look at the magazine and offered to follow up with a phone call to chat further. That is one phone call I am looking forward to!!

Another "piranha" who was there was Venture Publishing CEO Ruth Kelly. The rumours about her are similar to those of Eveline Charles. However, having worked for Ruth I could see why and where those rumours came from because she IS tough and she can cut you into a thousand little pieces with her comments. God knows, she did it to me. But you know what? She didn't get to where she is by mothering her staff or playing nice with the boys. She did it by kickin' ass and takin' names. But there is another side of her that, if you're perceptive enough and smart enough to recognize it, is caring and thoughtful. If she weren't, I don't think I would've been able to approach her for mentoring with my magazine. But when I did, she took time out of her INCREDIBLY busy schedule to help me. Some of her advice I took and some of it I filed for future reference.

I digress.

The point is, the conference was "meh" and I would have like to see more hands-on training in smaller groups.

Oh, and Debbie Travis was there!! She closed out the conference talking about sex and alcohol. Seriously, I think she's a dirrty girl the way she was handing out dating tips like "Have sex on the first night!" and how she enjoyed "Drinking lots of wine and lots of coffee to recover!" I loved how real she was!!

Well, it's Saturday and I haven't seen my kids for EVER so I'm taking the Oz man with me to deliver magazines. Quality time with the boy! Oh, and I think Monsters vs. Aliens is on, too, so we might take that in...

What do you have planned for the weekend?!

Be safe, regardless of what it is!

t.

dear diary, the champagne helped!

What an amazing kickoff we had for FIERCE! I had so many women coming up to me saying how great the event was, how inspiring I am (blush) and how great the group is!

I'm truly looking forward to building it into an EMPIRE!! I'm also excited at the thought of connecting with so many like-minded women!!

I also launched the FIERCE Woman of the Year award and everyone was more than a little surprised at the rules: You must nominate yourself!!

Strange, I know, but I don't follow the rules!! :D

Electric Rodeo sure put on one helluva feast for us and the champagne and orange juice was such a wonderful treat!!

Looking forward to more FIERCE events!!

The info will be on the website soon. As well as the details for the Pajama Party... gimme a break, a girl's gotta sleep sometime!!!

t.

dear diary, I am FIERCE

Last night, I went to see Arlene Dickinson speak. She is the CEO of Venture Communications Inc. and a panel judge on the Dragons Den.

She is also FIERCE but she doesn't know it!! (Females Inspiring Each other in a Real Community of Empowerment.... the group I'm starting... I'll get to that later)

She spoke about being true to yourself and knowing that if you are being honest about who you are and what you are doing, it is more important than anything else you can offer someone.

I needed to hear what she said last night because of all of the other bullshit that is being - or has been - said about the magazine, and now my blog.

So I listened carefully when she started talking about taking on a leadership role, seeing the potential instead of the problem, and waking up every day with a purpose. Now, I thought about this a LOT as I drove home and wondered how I could see all of these negative comments as potential.

Let's recap, shall we?

Point one: My blog is "unpolished and unprofessional."
Well, yes, yes it is, I guess if you like to follow the rules but as my dear friend Maria Callas said, "Don't talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay, I make the goddamn rules."
Perhaps my content and the language I use aren't the norm in small-town publishing but that's OK. Rules are made to be broken and I have built a community of MOM Magazine readers who happen to like what I do.

Point two: I'm using the wrong fonts and the design is all wrong.
OK, so AMPA and the panel of industry "experts" didn't really care for the magazine but I look back at our first issue - which I would NEVER have submitted and it was actually designed by someone in the industry - and I am so proud of where we are now! We will continue to develop and grow, using the wrong fonts.

Uhm I'm tired of defending what I do and how I do it, so let this be the last post on that. If you continue to have issues with it, check out our What the FAQ!? section on the website. That should address some, if not all of your concerns.

After I let go of some of these problems, I had to look at the potential. Now, I always see room for growth and hope to evolve the magazine with each issue. I am keeping the pinup look - even though a design "expert" referred to it as a Sunshine Girl look. I have researched some different typefaces and even asked a dear friend of mine for some tips. She happens to be the art director for Consumer Reports magazine in New York, so I am sure she will provide some ways to clean up the design without talking down to me.

And last, but not least, I know the magazine has touched lives and made a difference to some women. That is what I am trying to do, and after hearing Arlene speak about taking a leadership role I know I am on the right path.

When I wake up every day, I have multiple purposes (insert sex joke here!!). LOL
My purpose includes connecting with women and telling YOUR stories. My purpose includes being the best mom I can be to Oz and Lola. My purpose includes empowering women. My purpose includes being myself and not compromising what I believe in.

My purpose is FIERCE.

Now, speaking of FIERCE. The kickoff is Sunday and I am frantically trying to finalize some things. So far I surpassed the number of tickets I expected to sell, so that makes me happy!

I only hope it all comes together and that I can pull everything off in time for the big day!!

Have an extremly productive day and get on your path to success!!

t.

Dear diary, you don't say?

People don't like to read things that offend them yet they continue to do so, all the while BITCHING about such offensive things.

Ahem.

Let me clear the air for those of you - and you know who you are - just exactly what it is that MOM Magazine is all about:

REALITY

Now, I know some of you - and you know who you are - don't like what I put in MOM Magazine. And, from the grapevine, I've heard you don't like what I put in my blog.

Well, guess what? I'm not changing my content. Not in the magazine and sure as hell not on my blog.

Does it make me "unprofessional?" Perhaps in some people's eyes because I don't play the proper games or speak the way you "think" is the appropriate way to speak but I have never hid what I do with this magazine.

I didn't lie to you and say, "Oh goodness, golly, I have a really cutesy magazine full of fuzzy, wuzzy warm feelings and hugs."

No. From the START I was open about the content, the language and the imagery.

So I will say it ONE MORE TIME. If you do not like it, do not read it.

Or do you have nothing better to do than complain about or criticize what I do? Does that somehow fulfill a void in your life? If so, it sucks to be you.

Not everyone likes us, I get that but I am also over it. You should be too.

And one more thing. Have the balls - and, yes, by balls I mean TESTICLES - to say it to me personally instead of whispering it behind my back. I can take it, really. You won't hurt my feelings.

Now, in the words of Big Daddy.... don't you have laundry to do?

Peace out.

t.

dear diary, there's a noose at the end of my rope

So, the AMPA conference has come and gone, and with it is my arrogance, self-confidence and sense of accomplishment.

The industry experts didn't like the fonts we use, the MOM logo, the photography, the covers, the layouts... not a friggin thing.

It's frustrating to me and, yes, I threw myself a little pity party for one.

One design expert suggested - strongly - that I change the logo. "Whisper," she said. "Don't shout."

I wanted to shout, "WTF do you know!" but thought that might be inappropriate seeing as she is an "expert" and all.

There were multiple comments in regards to typeface, leading, kerning, headlines, decks, bylines, and cover fonts and how I was bastardinzing the industry by not following the "rules."

Well, after taking a long, hard, critical look at where we've been and where we are now, here's what I have to say to the so-called "experts."

"Shove your opinions up your ass, right along with the stick you've got up there!"

I know the magazine is far from perfect and will probably never meet the standards set by such polished and poised magazines as The New Yorker or Rolling Stone but I stand proudly behind everything we've done and everything we've accomplished. No one handed me a rule book at the beginning of this journey and like so much other advice I will take from it what I need and promptly throw the rest away.

No one knows MOM better than I do. No one can take more credit for the success of the magazine than I can just like no one can take more responsibility for the mistakes that we make than I can.

MOM Magazine - in spite of the naysayers and critics - still ROCKS!

And if you don't like it, then quit picking it up just so you can bitch about it.

As always....

t.

Dear Diary, what a day!

I'm off to Calgary tomorrow for the AMPA conference and am hoping to just chill and relax for a couple of days but I know better.

I know I will be spending any "alone time" planning the next issue and prepping for all of the cool things we have coming up.

For example, one of the really great things we're doing is BREAKING THE MOMMY RULES. We will select five of our MOM readers - via our facebook group - to go for a complete hair, makeup and style makeover!! We want to get you out of your comfort zone and into a NEW fashion that says, "I'm a HAWT MAMA!!"

There will be a method to our madness for this feature. We want you to write on the wall different reasons why you need to break out of your comfort zone. Get into discussions, talk about your hair and when the last time it was that you had is styled or changed the colour. Talk about your makeup and where you buy it. Talk about your clothes ...

This isn't meant to start any catfights and those who do start them will be automatically disqualified.

We just want to hear your thoughts on your image and how you see yourself. You could be one of FIVE lucky moms to be in this FABULOUS feature!!

Anyway, aside from the features, I have had to deal with kids, finding a new dayhome for Lola, figuring out a way to deal with never -and I mean NEVER - seeing Big Daddy... life has been tough these last couple of months and March, especially with all of the weekends being tied up. Oh well, you don't want to read this anyway... so here's some GOOD news!

The mag should be delivered by Friday which MEANS distribution of the new issue!

As always, I look forward to your feedback - good or bad.

I'm going to drink wine. And turn off my blackberry. Maybe!!

t.

Dear Diary... I'm on Twitter

I guess I don't have enough to do... I added Twitter to my marketing plan of taking over the world with MOM magazine.

Plus, we've got some big things going on that I plan on revealing soon enough...

Anyway, I'm hoping Tweets will help me stay connected to the MOM Magazine community a little more often than I have been doing with the Blahg.

If you haven't done so, try and make plans to join us in Vegas April 29-May 3 for Big Daddy's Birthday Bash.

Golf at the Rio Secco Golf Club Friday, May 1. Tee Time is 8 a.m. Package includes Green Fees, catr, club rentals, breakfast, transportation and a souvenier Big Daddy Golf Shirt. The Golf package is only $325!!

Contact me directly to book it. tamara@mommagazine.ca

March has been a ridiculous month so far... I'm off to Calgary to partake in the Alberta Magazine Publisher's Association conference, in hopes of being recognized as the most AWESOME magazine in the land! If not, I'll settle for a couple o' glasses of second-rate wine and some useful information.

Our next issue is IMPORTANT!!
Be sure to send us stories of the men in your life who have made a difference. These MUST be limited to 150 words MAX. You can email them directly to me. As always, I look forward reading them.

Chat with you soon!!
t.