A Cry for Help

So here I am, several hours past the deadline for the Tarheel Tavern, having totally forgotten about it, trying to scramble and hope that I'm not too late! See, when I saw the theme for this week, I thought to myself immediately that Laurie must have come up with it just for me. She swears that it's because of labor day that the theme is labor... But I know that she really had me in mind because how perfect is that theme for a pregnant woman to blog about?!

Oh come back here, I'm kidding! I promise not to discuss the intricacies of birth - at least not literally!

Some of you read here at least weekly, and for those of you who do I'll apologize now for any redundancy, but you see, it's very Erin to do something repeatedly (note that this is my 7th pregnancy?) You see years ago, when I first built my first website, it too was called Poetic Acceptance, so was my second incarnation thereof, and this blog, then my chapbook, and now, the site that actually fits my vision for the phrase. I've finally launched, officially, my latest project named Poetic Acceptance. It's a grief support site and a charity designed to offer support, both emotional and financial, to parents who've lost children. I've labored long and hard on the HTML - I'm NOT a web designer, and I have no natural talent for code! But after hours of pushing and straining at table sizes and placement, colors and functions, I've finally managed to bring into the world what I think is a beautiful site, with a beautiful purpose.

Yes I know I sort of announced it a week or two ago, but that was a false alarm, braxton hicks if you please - it has come a long way in content and purpose since then. It has matured enough to breathe on its own. But you see, I'm now a new mother! A still-wobbly overwhelmed new mother, so I'm blogging tonight to ask for help.

I've added the forums and the store, gotten a lot of paperwork done - and while I've got some extra, hopefully more knowledgeable eyes on me and my new baby, what I'd LOVE to get from some of you is advice. I'm clueless as to how to legally become a non-profit organization. OK not totally clueless, I have downloaded and printed IRS form 1024, and gotten an EIN...

I'm also in need of anyone who can offer some advice on self-publication for the anthology I plan to publish for the charity - I've got an ISBN, and it came with a bar code! But I'm feeling a bit clueless there too.

I'm also shamelessly asking you to add a link to your blog, your site, in the dust in the back window of your cars (except Ogre, we all know his new little hamster-mobile is sparkling clean yet. God that car tickles me!)

I need advice and traffic, in a big way. I know we're all tapped out from donations we've made for Katrina survivors, and I wouldn't dream of asking for donations right now, but I will ask for a tidbit or 2 of your knowledge! If any of you know anything that might be of some help, and are willing to help me out, please please email me!

Oh and, Happy Labor Day! Enjoy the day off! You know, I never did understand why we get a day off of work on Labor Day... Isn't that some sort of oxymoron or something?