Ok, so I know I told you I was really busy and couldn’t write this week, but then some really absurd things happened and I HAD to write them down. This is a two-part story, so I’ll start from the beginning.

When my sister and her husband moved out of Chicago for their careers, they left behind a condo. It was about this same time I became a default landlord. :)

The first couple years as a landlord were fine. I showed the apartment and within the first two showings it was rented. The tenants didn’t bother me once moved in. I was happy with my once a year responsibility.

That was until we decided to rent the place to “John.”

After living quietly in the condo for a year, John, who was always a bit odd, let us know that he was moving out at the end of his lease. We immediately listed the condo and booked a showing within days with a married couple.

When we told him we’d be by to show the condo, John let us know that he recently had back surgery and was bed-ridden, so he’d be in the place when we showed it. Alright, sort of awkward, but whatever.

I hadn’t been in the apartment since John moved in, so I wasn’t sure what kind of condition we’d be walking into on the day of the showing. Just as I led the couple up the stairs and told them what an amazing unit the condo was, we were hit with a wave of cigarette smoke…from the hallway.

I nervously opened the condo door and the smell was so overwhelming I actually coughed! I glanced around and realized on top of smelling like crap, John had absolutely no furniture besides a mattress placed in the middle of the living room, a pair of WOMEN’s UNDERWEAR hanging from the mantel and a home-made collage of scantily-clad women ripped out of magazines and lovingly placed above the fireplace.

On top of that, there was stuff everywhere! The second bedroom was so filled with boxes of old clothes and junk that you couldn’t even open the door. And John was in bed in the master bedroom….with a questionably limited amount of clothes on.

The kicker? The back deck had absolutely no chairs, furniture nothing….except a smashed toy shark. Yup. A SHARK.

I. wanted. to. scream.

The couple looked thoroughly horrified and ran in and out of the condo in about 30 seconds flat. (I totally don’t blame them!)

I immediately called my brother-in-law who was of course upset when he heard about the condition of the condo. He wrote John an email titled “Issues With Condition of Apartment” and included scary words like “stern warning” and “reeked.”

John wrote back and proved that he either grew up in a barn or is a great comedian by starting off saying “Your email comes as a shock to me. The unit is impeccably clean.”

WHAT???!

The nightmare doesn’t end there folks. Stay tuned for part two where I have a second showing in which John answers the door in his tightie whities.

Hey guys! This week is a little ridiculous for me at work and at home. I have so many projects kicking off and on top of that I am serving as my sister’s landlord for her place here in Chicago.

Needless to say, I probably won’t be posting much this week. While I’m away I wanted to share some link to some of my favorite blogs. They’re sure to meet your blog reading needs this week:

Pretty Wedding Blogs:

- http://www.oncewed.com/

- http://eatdrinkpretty.blogspot.com/

- http://stylemepretty.com/

Blogs the make me laugh:

- http://thebloggess.com/

- http://www.complicatedmama.com/

Blogs that make me laugh and cry:

- http://thespohrsaremultiplying.com/

- http://jacksjoy.wordpress.com/

Pretty picture blogs:

- http://www.traceylau.com/blog/

- http://dooce.com/

- http://www.jeremylawsonphotography.com/blog.cfm

Foodie blogs:

- http://eatingbender.com/

- http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Friend’s blogs:

- http://www.alwaysjacked.com/

- http://sydneyowen.com/

- http://peanutbutterandkelly.com/

Definitely add these folks to your Google reader! Their blogs rock.

Thanks for bearing with me through this busy week. Happy reading!

As many of you know, I work in public relations and specialize in social media – ie Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and of course bloggers!

Hands down my favorite sect of bloggers to work with are mom bloggers and this weekend I’ll be going to New York for the mecca of mom blogging….the 2010 BlogHer Conference.

For those outside of the social media/PR world, the concept of a blogging conference is a little out there. But don’t underestimate the power these women have!

Many have 50,000+ other moms reading their blogs every day. They have agents, book deals and big brands swooning at their feet with offers of trips, new kitchen appliances and even paid spokesperson gigs.

Beyond that, many of them have busy households, multiple kids and  home schooling responsibilities. Pretty impressive if you ask me!

So what does one do at a female blogging conference?? Well, you attend sessions like “Social Media is Bringing Sexy Back to Branding — Do You Have the Social Media Strategy and Tools for Success,” go to parties like “CheeseburgHer,” but most importantly, meet and get to know the women behind your favorite blogs.

Oh yeah, there’s karaoke involved too. This is me embarassing myself last year:

If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I can’t turn down a good karaoke party.

Anyway, last year was my first time at BlogHer, and I had a wonderful time getting to know some mom bloggers who are now good friends of mine. We crashed parties, went to dinner and talked about what being a mom and a blogger was like (I was a very captive audience).

This year should be a whole new experience though because now I am no longer an outsider, but a blogger myself! I’m hoping to learn the keys to writing great content, finding new readers and balancing a busy schedule with writing.

I’m definitely going to be the newbie among these seasoned bloggers (except of course when it comes to karaoke), but it should be fun!

I was sitting at my computer contemplating what to write about today and my mind was a complete blank.

OK….lets think….what is going on in your life that you’re excited to share, Liz?

UM….?

Truth is, there’s really not much going on that I feel motivated to tell you guys about. Lately I’ve been feeling in a bit of a standstill. Work is the same, my relationships are the same, weekends are the same…I’m craving something different!

Don’t get me wrong, life is great, but it’s just feeling a little monotonous lately. I don’t get excited about the things I used to. I’m feeling like I need to evolve in some way. Quarter life crisis?

This weekend for example, I met up with two of my girlfriends to attend the Taste of Lincoln street festival, historically my favorite summer fest. We knew a friend working a tent who could get us drinks, it was a beautiful night and a good band was playing. Sounds like a great time, right?

In the middle of the party, one of my friends and I were yelling at each other over the music, drinking our luke-warm beer, watching intoxicated people act stupid when we both realized that what used to be a highlight of our summers was now just…sort of…boring.

It’s official. I need to switch up my routine and start doing some new things! What I enjoyed two years ago just isn’t cutting it anymore. Now I just have to figure out what WILL be fun and get my friends to agree with me!

How do you guys shake things up when you’re feeling in a rut?