I’ve had a lot on my mind this past week. Mind if I share?

I can’t stop thinking about…

• Hurricane Sandy and the destruction she left behind. One of my grandmothers is still without power! (Luckily, she might be part polar bear and is likely more frustrated by the lack of electricity than she is about the heat.) My heart is heavy for the communities that lost everything, including Staten Island, the Rockaways and the Jersey Shore. Click here to learn where you can donate or volunteer to Sandy relief efforts.

• Today’s presidential election and what is at stake. With the race at a statistical dead heat, there is a very real possibility that big changes are around the corner–and that scares me. Did you vote today?

• This little blog of mine. I think about it all day, every day — how can I attract more readers? How can I improve its content? How can I improve my graphic design abilities? How can I find more time to make these improvements?!

After Levi, my blog is the second biggest thing taking up space in my mind — though perhaps it shouldn’t be. Truth be told, I want Bunny & Dolly (or some iteration of Bunny & Dolly) to become my career. It may be a blogger faux pas to admit this, but I’d like to be able to significantly contribute to my family’s income by being a blogger. I love to write. Writing is more than just a hobby; I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing I’m actually pretty good at (and I mean that in the most modest way). And to make a living doing something we love to do is everyone’s ultimate goal, isn’t it?

But lately I’ve been feeling like a teeny tiny drop of water in an ocean full of blogs.

How do I make myself and my blog stand out among the masses? How do I make a name for myself? Sometimes I think I lack the self-promotion gene necessary for becoming a blogging success. (I also think I’m missing the self-important gene that I’ve noticed many — but certainly not all! — big bloggers seem to have.) If I don’t think I’m a big deal, why should you? Why should any reader? Like I said, the blogosphere is like a vast ocean. There are a gazillion other blogs you can read.)

So why do I blog?

I’ve been asking myself that question after reading Erin’s honest post yesterday. I blog because I want to share real-life experiences with other women and new moms who, like me, are sick and tired of reading about other people’s perfect lives. Perfection is not reality! At least, it’s not my reality. My goal has always been to truthfully share the ups and downs of motherhood — and of life in general, I suppose.

At the same time, I’d like to use my little corner of the blogosphere as a safe place to discover more about me. I’d like to more clearly define my style, to explore new interests and to become more well-rounded. Ultimately, I’d love to be considered an expert or tastemaker in something, anything! But what…

I began blogging in 2006 at Somewhere in Middle America, late in the game compared to many of the “big bloggers.” Still, six years is six years. If I were working in corporate America and had not been promoted after that length time, I would be out-of-my-mind depressed. I’m not that miserable, of course, but I’m still frustrated. Frustrated enough to need to vent on the blog, at least.

I have no expectations that this post will lead to any resolution, but since honesty is my policy, I wanted to share with you what I’ve been thinking about. Perhaps you can relate in some way.

What’s been on your mind lately?

PS: For the record, I love to pieces all of you who read Bunny & Dolly and who follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I’m truly grateful for your support. Thank you, thank you!

{photograph by Anna Kay}