on the move.

i'm not a spontaneous person, but - every now & again - i get impulsive. this is kind of surprising to some who really know me because a) i'm not a fan of surprises and b) i don't always welcome change with open arms.

where am i going with this? i'm saying goodbye to blogger.

no, i'm not giving up blogging. i'm moving stuttering shell to wordpress {didn't you see the message above??}. a move to wordpress has always been in the back of my mind, but i was never quite ready to take the leap.

until now.

why? that is the most popular question i've been asked since announcing on the twit that i was jumping ship.

well, first of all, i owe a lot to mrs. monologues for really making me consider the move. and, side note, she's moving to wordpress, too, so if you follow her blog then you need to make sure you follow the same steps listed above for her blog. second, although it's going to cost me more money in the long run {right now i only pay for my domain which is like $10 a year}, i like knowing that my blog will really be my blog. blogger has been good to me - really good to me - but i want to own my content. i also want my blog to have more security. i mean, if blogger were to ever go away, so would my blog {remember the blogger glitch a while back? yeah. not cool.}.

so, in the coming month, please be prepared for some downtime as i move my blog to my own web hosting space & transfer my domain. and, get excited because my new move also means a new blog layout courtesy of the amazing brea of utterly chaotic.

in the meantime, just remember to copy & paste my blog's url into your google reader or subscribe via rss feed. you know, so you can still keep up with me. if not, you'll miss seeing this face...

TRUE LIFE: i'm a {mommy} blogger.

hey there...again.

if you didn't "meet" me during the first link-up, i'm michelle.
you can call me shell.
i'm also called honey, babe, bitch {duh!} & hey woman.

but...
most importantly
i'm known as mom.


ten years ago, my life changed in a very big way.
for that, i'm forever grateful.

i have two spawn children.
the story of how i became a mother for the first time is pretty simple: don't let your birth control run out.
becoming a mother for the second time was hard work.

while stuttering shell isn't necessarily a mommy blog, i do exploit showcase my children from time to time.
after all, any mother of an eight year old & a ten year old {or, any mother in general} -regardless of gender {i have a boy & girl, respectively} - will tell you that there is always something going on...there's always something to blog about.

rather than write a sappy lovely post about my crotch fruit kids, i'll just link you to some of my favorite kid-related posts. i hope your computer doesn't jam up from having a gazillion windows open {apparently, my general blogger intro froze up mrs. wasp's 'puter...whoops!}.

but, before i list some links, how about some pics of the reason why i'm a mommy blogger?
meet my kids:

{san francisco, may 2011}

aidan is eight & entering the third grade.
malia is ten & entering the fifth grade {one year away from middle school...hold me!}.

{i was lazy & didn't put my 'stamp' on this pic...take it & i'll cut you.}

i wish they were still that little.
sometimes.
{gotta love the hand-me-down couch...it's since been replaced...twice.}

all of the cliches about motherhood are true.
your life is forever changed.
your children really are your heart beating outside of your body {or however that saying goes}.
kids really do grow up too fast.

you get the idea.

and, while i might complain about the perils of {impending} puberty, feel like tearing my hair out in frustration {because girls really do mature faster than boys} or want to rock star the television,
i love my children more than anything or anyone in this world {sorry, adam}.

now about those posts...
here are some of my favorite mom/kid-based blog posts that i've cranked out over the years:

an interview with my children
keep out!
i can't believe he turned this in
it figures
get thee to the potty
designer dog
the birds & the bees & the dog?
the witching hour
any more what?!
private property
my little man
the date
my wish
there's no turning back...
bosley
mommy, are you listening?

i'd keep listing blog posts, but then you might get bored.
but i do like to blog about my children's shenanigans.
well, when i remember to. ha!

and, since i'm a mom & it's my job to embarrass my children, i'll leave you with these lovely photos:

{these pics are mine. don't steal.}

are you a mommy blogger?
if so, go link up with mrs. monologues & fabulous but evil.

TRUE LIFE: i'm a {general} blogger.

general is a classy klassy way of saying random, right?

hey, y'all. i'm michelle. you can call me shell. 

see? i'm klassy.

oh, wait. no, i'm general. or, just generally random.

anyways, welcome to stuttering shell. why stuttering? i don't know. it just sounded good with shell. you know, the alliteration. 

post one {which is a really shitty post, i might add} went live on june 11, 2007. wow, i've been at this for just over four years! i started blogging for me. it was mostly a release for my soul. then, i started blogging about my kids, family life, pets, food, work, etc.
i was all over the place. 

this blog has made connections.

this blog has pissed people off.

this blog has been used against me.

this blog has brought me joy.

this blog allows me to be creative.

this blog allows me to be me.

to quote kenny chesney {since i wasn't at his concert last night...sista girl be broke these days}:

i'm what i am and i'm what i'm not

i'm sure happy with what i've got

i live to love and laugh a lot

and that's all i need...

...and i never wanted nothing more.

what you see is what you get, folks!

no fluff. no drama. no bragging. no looking at life through rose colored glasses.

this blog is me. and, if you ever get the chance to actually meet me, i think you'll agree that i am my blog...and my blog is me.

feel free to browse around. don't feel like it? no problem.
here are some of my favorite blog posts {in no particular order}:

oh, god.

desperately seeking shoes! {because i'm still looking for another replacement pair of these mofos!}

random, useless knowledge about moi

things you don't say to a parent...ever.

Nn is for...

don't wash me...love me instead.

you crazy hobo!

overworked & underpaid {the comments on this post are pretty funny, too}

the sound of the sea soothes me.

wordless/wordful wednesday - tuna fever

gastronome.

feliz navidad.

la-la-la-la-la-la last friday night!

private property

this is for real.

dear creepy man in the green plaid shirt,

us.

funemployment.

bizarre food? yes. good eats? hell no.

moon jellies.

knee deep.

feeling candy corny.

if you made it this far, you can see that i'm generally all over the place. be prepared to see me again later on during this link-up. i'll be pimping out my blog as a mommy blog, food blog, photo blog. yeah, i'll be that crazy girl whoring out her blog. no shame.

so, what are you waiting for? go link-up your blog with fabulous but evil and mrs. monologues and let us all know what kind of true life blogger you are.