MOF Weekend

Okay how do you explain to people that you are going to spend the weekend with a bunch of women you don't know and have only met online (My Online Friends- MOFs)-- My husband would call it a "retreat with some of my old friends" lucky he had the cover that two of my best IRL friends (shelah and catherine) were going to be there. I also used the justification I needed to support my friend Catherine in her PhD research, as she is using the message board and accompanying blogs for her dissertation data on women's literacy practices.

So here is the story. Two and a half years ago my friend Shelah invited to this private message board which she assured me was very "cool". And well she was right- they are great sources of information, support, and just great women and moms. One day last fall I posted a thread about how cool it would be if one day we could all get together- Well as it turned out we all liked the idea and made it a reality and about 2/3rds of the women got to come- people were flying in from all over even other countries (yes we are that cool). One MOF's in-laws loaned us their cabin in the mountains and voila! a weekend of fun was born. Shelah my best friend and former college roommate and I were in charge of food (we both really love food) and we along with out trusty pal Athena, cohort in grocery crime spent 4 hours at Costco and Maceys loading 6 carts to the gills with all our food. Even with having some meals catered we had a lot to buy and organize. We had a bunch of yummy salads, fondue night, hashbrown quiche, suffice it to say a variety of yumminess. We won't even go there with drinks and ice for 70+ women in 95 degree heat. Everyone was more fun in real life. We had games, spa night, classes, shopping in park city, and just spent a lot of time enjoying one anothers company. So many people helped to make it a fabulous weekend and now a tradition has been born. However I was so busy talking and eating I didn't get to take many pictures. Note the one picture of me, shelah and catherine was taking in 95 degree weather after dinner- we so tired and thrashed!