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2008 has been an incredible year and I am really looking forward to 2009. I am really excited to gear up for the April release of the new Mojo Mom from Gotham Books. I have put a lot of thought and heart into the new edition and I feel so lucky to have the chance to update my work. So much has happened since I first published Mojo Mom in 2005. The whole conversation about motherhood has really opened up, and I've been able to be part of that through my blog, and now the book will reflect those developments, too.

I am cooking up surprises online, and thinking about ways to thank my readers and podcast listeners. I am going to be doing several reader giveaways, from copies of the new book, to my absolutely favorite gadget, the iPod Nano.

How can you enter my drawings? Join me on Facebook. On February 1, I'll be giving an iPod Nano to one of the fans of my new Mojo Mom Facebook page. The new Facebook Page features will allow me to easily share news, events, and videos throughout the winter and spring. I have some fun things planned, including new online resources and free bonuses to share with you as the new Mojo Mom comes to life!

Mojo Mom Podcast with Mothers & More

Phew! We took a quick trip to Peoria, Illinois this weekend for my grandmother's 90th birthday party. It was a lot of fun but the travel really wore us out.

In all the rush to get out the door on Friday, I uploaded the latest Mojo Mom Podcast to the show's page but did not get to blog about it.

Listen to the podcast now:


I hope you'll take a listen because we have a great guest, Debra Levy from the national leadership of Mothers & More. I always know that Debra is on top of the latest stories about motherhood because she posts them to the Mothers & More POWER email loop.

That's just one of the benefits of Mothers & More membership. I have always liked the group because it provides support to Moms in many ways, from playgroups, to evening meetings with socializing and guest speakers. When I moved to North Carolina in 2000, my interaction with local Moms through Mothers & More helped convince me that I'd be able to make friends here.

On a more global level, Mothers & More does excellent advocacy work, and they have some powerful resources on their web site. Debra wished we'd had more time to talk about the effort to save federal funding for the American Time Use Survey, so I hope you'll take a minute to read about this issue. Mothers' caregiving work will never count if it's not even measured!

I hope you'll listen to this week's show. I announce a new iPod giveaway, so listen in and find out to win.

We have a winner in our iPod giveaway

We drew our iPod Nano winner this morning from all eligible responses submitted by Mojo Mom Podcast listeners. Our random number generator program came up with #1, so our very first entrant takes home the iPod Nano.

So congrats to Kimmy from Virginia as the latest winner in our periodic giveaway. She says she listens to The Mojo Mom Podcast because "I know we can make a difference in each other's lives when we share our stories."

Kimmy is also an artist and blogger, so check out her website, shimmer.glimpse.

My podcast co-host Sheryl and I are taking the week off to relax over the Fourth of July but we'll be back with a new show on Friday, July 11.

In the meantime we have about 50 shows in the podcast archive for you to listen to. And I'll plan to give away one more iPod later in the summer, so keep listening!

Mojo Mom Podcast: Momma Zen

We'll be producing new, original Mojo Mom Podcasts throughout the summer.

You can listen to the podcast without an iPod, but from time to time my co-host Sheryl and I get in such a good mood about the podcast that we decide to give away a 4GB iPod Nano to one of our loyal fans. Listen in to this week's show to find out how to enter our July 1 drawing.

Mojo Mom and Momma Zen

Amy has big news--a new edition of Mojo Mom coming out spring 2009 from Gotham Books. Amy and Sheryl celebrate this development and then announce a new iPod giveaway.

Then from the material to the spiritual....Amy talks to Momma Zen author Karen Maezen Miller about writing, creativity and motherhood. Karen shows us all that it's possible to become a writer even if we never find "more time."

For more of Karen's wisdom, check out her series of "Zen Writers' Workshop" entries listed in the sidebar on her Cheerio Road blog.