I love Mary Steenburgen. She's one of those actresses who slips in and out of roles, seemingly with little effort and she brings a quiet, steely, strength to whatever character she plays. Her latest movie, "Four Christmases" is about a couple, Kate and Brad (Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) whose yearly plan to avoid family Christmases is thwarted by a blizzard. Since their parents are divorced, that means four visits with four sets of dysfunctional parents, siblings, step-siblings and significant others. Mary Steenburgen plays Kate's Mom, Marilyn.

A woman's DAAAYYYY!!!! (Woman's Day, Power, Day, Lovely Day...think of the Bill Withers' song - "Lovely Day" as the theme music for this entry.)How privileged was I to attend the BlogHer Reach Out Tour in Boston   on October 11?Incredibly privileged.  I received:

BlogHer DC kicks off bright and early on October 13, 2008. This is the place to find the liveblogs, which will be posted shortly after the sessions end. Check back often as the links go live! * * * * * * *  Blogging Basics: I Blog, Therefore I Am… How to find your blogging mojo Online Community building as natural promotional tool

BlogHer Boston kicks off bright and early on October 11, 2008. This is the place to find the liveblogs, which will be posted shortly after the sessions end. Check back often as the links go live! * * * * * * *

The BlogHer ReachOut tour is gearing up for its Boston and D.C. stops, but hearing the buzz of bloggers getting ready in the Northeast is making me sing the Delta blues. I'm sad that the Reach Out train had to cut the stops planned for Greensboro, Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans because I was truly looking forward to BlogHer's focus on women in the Deep South and Southeast.

There's still time to register for BlogHer Boston and BlogHer DC...but not much! Click here to register for BlogHer Boston. Click here to register for BlogHer DC.

Isn’t a simple walk enough? Isn’t there benefit in setting off, putting one foot in front of the other, for whatever length of time one has?Must fitness be the goal?  Must one attempt to raise one’s heart-rate, beat yesterday’s time?Isn’t the peace and joy walking bring reward enough?

I have a tendency to go into the computer zone and get lost in cyberspace for hours.  Between composing letters, typing minutes, creating outlines, updating the blog, visiting other folks’ blogs and websites, doing research and playing solitaire when I need to veg between projects, I can stay at the computer and not move for hours.  Not moving is not good.

*UPDATE*The deadline for carpool sign-ups is quickly approaching!  Anyone interested in carpooling to BlogHer DC must email Erin Groh by 12noon PST/3pm EST tomorrow, Friday, October 3rd!  Don't miss out on this great opportunity! -Original Post-

If you've been waiting to reserve your hotel room (or to register!) for BlogHer BOSTON or BlogHer DC, time is almost up! The last day to reserve your room in Boston is this Friday; DC is TODAY, Monday, September 22. Reminder:

Today I am disappointed to announce that BlogHer's Reach Out Tour scheduled for next month will now include Boston and DC only. We are canceling Nashville, Greensboro, Atlanta and New Orleans. We decided to do the Tour one year ago, based on community polling about where BlogHer ’08, the annual conference, should be. Our ambitious plan was to do six full BlogHer Conferences, complete with multiple tracks of programming, full meals, fabulous cocktail parties and schwag.

Now through September 12th BlogHer is running a new contest for BlogHer community members who bring a beginner to BlogHer's Reach Out Tour. Depending on the number of BlogHer Beginners you refer you can get registration discounts...up to a free pass...on your own registration for either the Tour or next year's annual event, and the grand prize winner will receive a free conference pass along with up to $500 in travel dollars for either the Tour or BlogHer '09.