Big News and a Call for Writers

Hello to my faithful readers! My life during the past month has been a complete whirlwind, so I wanted to explain my absence:

Quick version: While we were visiting my family in Utah, my husband was offered a great professional opportunity. After much thought and prayer we decided it would be a great move for our family...great job, less travel, closer to family and a few other upsides. That being said, just because something feels right, does not make it easy. We were devastated to leave such an incredible state, city, and school and all that Michigan has to offer. I literally cried for almost 48 hours about all we were leaving behind. Within one week we decided on a job, bought a house, got the kids registered for school and soccer and started a life in Utah. Overall, we have been incredibly blessed all along the way with fantastic friends picking up our slack and saying quick good byes to family and new friends filling in the gaps here. There are some really amazing people in this world.

While I was excited about our new opportunity, my heart was sick over my blog! I have loved writing it and sharing my favorite finds with you and cultivating our cyber friendships. So, here is the plan: I am going to continue Mom Explores Michigan. I currently have between 4,500 and 6,000 hits each month from readers who are looking for ways to make the most of exploring Michigan and the world with their family. I still have so many things I love and have experienced in Michigan that I need to share with you, so I will exhaust the last 20-25 restaurants, day trips, shops, and activities with you and continue to share my favorite books, great recipes, weekend highlights, fashion finds, and a few other unexpected whims with you. I have a giveaway coming up, which is exciting too!

However, I NEED YOUR HELP!  Since I will no longer be in Michigan, I would love to have contributors to help highlight the best of our state and the surrounding areas. If your family goes to a park that can't be missed, send me a write up! If you had a date night at the best hole in the wall restaurant, please share! Took a trip to the best camping spot on Lake Michigan? We would love to know! Here are the steps:

Send me an email.  You can find me at: brookeoromney (at) gmail (dot) com and ask if the write up has been done before. I will let you know if it is something Mom Explores Michigan would be interested in.

Write up your experience in detail. Check out my other Michigan entries or food entries to see the type of submission that is best. I love the articles on my site to give people all the info they would need, plus insider tips if they decided to visit. I like lots of info in the shortest amount of words. Please check out my blog before you turn an article in! My only rule is that this MUST BE an independent opinion! I will not take submissions by PR firms, ad agencies, or owners of establishments. I want the blog to stay an authentic place where local people recommend great local finds.

Include at least one picture The photo must have a photo credit or you can send me to a website where I can pull photos from.

Link, link, link. Each entry must have at least one link to a webpage or facebook page where readers can find out more info.

Don't worry about the writing. Please don't worry about your writing being perfect or professional. It is not necessary! I will happily edit your piece for length, spelling, grammar and readability. I would just love Mom Explores Michigan to continue to be a great place for people to continue to get fabulous, Michigan ideas, so I really do need your help.

Submit local ideas. I am looking for people who are willing to write about fun indoor and outdoor places to take the kids, good restaurants, can't miss bakeries, fun festivals, great places to pick fruit, favorite cider mills, good holiday traditions around Michigan, cool shops, incredible deals or quick get-aways that are Michigan favorites. I will still concentrate mostly on the greater Ann Arbor area (about 30 miles in each direction) but I would also love to publish great "must do" things in other cities around the state. If you are thinking of something else, shoot me an email and I will let you know if it will work.

What's in it for you? Well, since this blog does not make any money :), I won't be able to offer monetary compensation, but good karma will definitely come your way in the form of: being published!, giving some of your favorite joints good publicity, getting a positive vibe about Michigan out in cyberspace, promoting some of the best events held around town, and if you write your own blog I am more than willing to offer a BIG link to it in the post and on my side bar to up your readership. Most of all, you will continue to make Mom Explores Michigan a great place to find insider info on the best places to take your family around the state.

While living in Michigan for the last 3.5 years, I found both the people, the culture, the wide open space and the gorgeous surrounding a little slice of heaven. I want to continue to share this view with both Michiganders and the rest of the world.

We will not have internet until Friday (UGGHHH!), so I have to check at the library, but starting Monday, you will find Mom Explores Michigan back in action. Please join me again and consider contributing. I would be forever grateful!!