“You're soooo Orange County." Have you ever had anyone say that to you? I have, lots of times. And I always reply with an earnest and cheerful "Thank you!" Followed by a playful--yet hard--punch to the arm. You see, I'm kind of an Orange County enthusiast, a cheerleader for our fair County. I hail from Huntington Beach, and even though I lived in San Francisco through my 20s (in a self-righteous attempt to escape the "Orange Curtain,") I came running back home as soon as my husband and I started our family. To me, O.C. was the best place to raise our kids. Though Orange County has come into its own in the last couple of years--no longer looked upon as L.A.'s dorky cousin--our new popularity has come at a price, and no one has paid that price more dearly than the O.C. housewife: And I mean the REAL O.C. housewives. The notion that Orange County is all BMWs, Botox and bikinis rings a little true, but O.C. offers so much more than our image suggests. So when OC Family asked me to join the team as lead Mom Blogger, it was a dream come true for me. It was a chance to get real and flaunt some of the great things Orange County has to offer. But what really made my toes tingle was the opportunity to bring on other O.C. Mom Bloggers to join the domestic soirée. That's 18 different moms sharing their stories, offering suggestions, pitching fits, and basically showing off their awesomeness right here at ocfamily.com. Our goal is simple: Take back the good name of the O.C. Housewife and of our County (Oh, and world domination...oops, perhaps now I've said too much). Some of our Mom Bloggers are business owners, some are addicted to Disneyland or energy drinks. Some have kids with special needs or who speak with British accents, and others are just trying to figure how much longer they can get away with wearing their Clash t-shirt and Doc Martens before it just seems like a pathetic grasp at fleeting youth. If you think we want to keep all this to ourselves, you're dead wrong, sister. We like to share, and we would love it if you would come share, too, at ocfamily.com. With this mix of gals, you’re sure to find somewhere to jump in and connect. Sometimes it’s easy to grumble about Orange County, but I believe we’re blessed to live in a place where we can go to the beach on Christmas Day, have winning sports teams (Go Ducks!), can hear half a dozen languages walking through The Spectrum, and whose residents truly care about each other. Our kids have every opportunity in O.C. to grow-up and become whatever they want to be. (Okay, putting away my O.C. pom-poms now.) So the next time someone says, "You're soooo Orange County," just smile and say, "Thank you so much!" But don't forget to follow it with that playful--yet hard-- punch to the arm. ******* Please follow me on Twitter, or become my friend on Facebook, or, if you really don't want to miss a thing, you can visit my personal Web site. **** The photo above was taken by the lovely and talented Dana Sipper of Sipper Photography. |
