In case some our GOMIBLOG Award nominees are complete mysteries, we will make sure to give you a bit of background about them over the next couple of weeks.

Some of  you may remember Jennifer Perillo – aka Sexy Widow Boots. She was the woman accused of improperly receiving donations back in October – the scandal that brought some fantastic back pedaling from another GOMIBLOG Awards nominee, Gluten Free Girl. Well, the whole thing was swept neatly under the rug by all involved, Widow Boots never really faced any consequences for what amounted to allegedly swindling people (evidently she remains as popular as ever), and we went back to snarking on less legally dubious affairs.

So it’s nice to see that Jennifer can still have a good laugh. At least I hope she’s being sarcastic here…

…because otherwise it’s not very funny. Thou shalt not steal, indeed. So much irony!

Here’s a little heads up for  mommy blogger Jess Gatlyn of Boho Baby Bump – some people are calling her out for the way she began her blog.  It seems way back in 2010 she put up a post announcing her intention to “quest for boho/vintage/jess style from bump, to baby and beyond”.

Supposedly she shops on Etsy, and is even starting an Etsy store to sell “dollies”. So you’d think she would have noticed that the image she chose to use on her post was for a product up for sale on Etsy:

While the post is over two years old, the Etsy shop owner who created the image is now aware and responded that she used the detail image without the copyright info and with no acknowledgement. With the recent discussion going on in the forums I am eager to know whether she will edit her post after the Etsy seller contacts her. Considering she is soon to be an Etsy seller herself it might be in her best interests to be more aware for the future that it’s considered good form to link to products whose images you use.

Tracey, the mom running sweetney.com, put up an incredibly inspiring story Thursday about becoming the famous full time blogger she is today.

Sharing with us her amazing tale of triumph over the dual hardships of being financially supported while she got her blog off the ground and not having a full time job to distract her, Tracey tells us how she managed to succeed after her divorce took away her money husband/bankroll moved out:

In the blink of an eye, I was suddenly put in the panic-inducing position of having to either make blogging into something resembling a real, self-supporting job, or put it back in its place as a pure, free-time-only hobby. After all, I’d no longer be able to spend several hours a day writing online if I went back to work full-time. Most people with full time careers outside of the home in addition to families and lives can’t afford the time to post every day, or even every other day, let alone to multiple sites every day as I was. And so I was presented with a choice: make writing online financially viable or put it on the back burner alongside knitting and mosaic-making and all the other hobbies I wouldn’t have time for anymore.

Tracey goes on to tell us she chose to make blogging her career, and succeeded – and she bravely refuses to let you tell her blogging isn’t a job!

And so when I read self-righteous posts from bloggers who reject putting ads on their sites because they “aren’t for sale,” I can’t help but bristle with resentment over the implication that those of us who are trying to make a living off doing the thing we love just aren’t as authentic simply because, unlike them, we need to make an income to survive.

Tracey had a choice – get a full time job and never blog again (because who has the time to post when they work?) or continue to provide you people with her inspiring existence. Luckily for the internets, she chose the latter.

I personally cannot believe anyone would hold it against her for choosing to stay home and pursue the exhausting work of hitting ‘publish’ rather than secure her financial future with some death cubicle. Why can’t we women stick together instead of all this girl on girl hate? If you folks could stop being jealous and drinking ham water for one minute you might agree that Tracey is awe inspiring, and deserves our applause for making it clear that:

Some of us don’t even have a spouse to share our financial burdens with. Some of us have to fight alone, without anyone else to rely on for financial support, in order to do this thing we love if we want to keep doing it as devotedly, and regularly, as those of you with breadwinning husbands do.

She did this all on her own with no help after those first 5 years of financial support before she got divorced. I hope we can all come together and applaud her bravery through adversity!

That Kristin chick, mommy blogger who named her kid “Tinsley”, is allegedly pregnant again. Supposedly an email was sent out to friends and family, and our snarky source remarked that she’s probably hoping to drag out her neverending French gallivanting in hopes of giving birth in OMG France.

The tip also popped up in the forum on the heels of Kristin’s maudlin post about having to leave their omgquaint cottage in the French countryside for a new apartment in Paris:

We had everything we needed. More than enough room, comforts, hot water, and firewood. We had it all in this place. No obligations or worries or anywhere to be…Weeks flew by and next thing I know, it’s time to pack for Paris. In a hurry we washed dishes, folded laundry, and soaked in those last precious hours in our new “home.” I secretly wished for just one more sunny day to do absolutely nothing….I watched them drive off as I took a last look around and locked up the cottage one last time. The finality was hard….And, Lord….help us get through this next week in Paris…

Pardon my asking, but were they on a baby making vacation? Because that’s what it sounds like. Supposedly her husband is answering work emails or something, but isn’t it basically a vacation if you have no “obligations or worries or anywhere to be”? I mean gee, sorry leaving your French country cottage for Paris is so emotionally devastating, but considering you’ve done nothing with your time beyond go to tourist traps, play grabass at some cafes, and go shopping, I’m having trouble mustering some sympathy for your dramatic emotional distress.

I kid, I’m sure it was super draining to throw your crap in a truck after three months in the lavender breezes and cobblestone streets of Where Ze Feckevair France. And then the grueling car trip, only to “find” yourself “parked in front of our Parisian apartment on the Ile St.-Louis” next door to “restaurants, candy shops, toy stores, clothing and jewelry boutiques”. But the worst was yet to come:

The only thumbs down was…the five stories we had to climb up to our place. These legs of mine are not used to climbing five flights several times a day. Poor Matt had to unload our car and all 250+ lbs. of luggage. UP THE STAIRS.

Stairs???? I don’t get it. Where are the posts about how all she did was leave her building with Tinsley and she was mauled by people adoring her gorgeous little blonde crotch cricket, like they did in the country cottage town?  And blah blah your husband’s parents??? Who cares about the Eiffel Tower or where you ate lunch? Get to the part where you announce you are pregnant, lady!

Anyway, here’s hoping Kristin confirms or denies the rumors soon because I would love to update the 2012 Blogsprog roster.

Armstrong Media LLC, the parent company of Dooce.com, has apparently failed to file a renewal with the state of Utah.

The company was registered in February of 2006 and was renewed in January of 2011. However this year their registration lapsed and has not yet been renewed. In response to emails asking what this could mean our lolyer sources’ theories imply the non-renewal indicates that a divorce filing is probably imminent, as dismantling the company they built together would be the first step in making their split a more formal permanent state.

Since rumors of separation were revealed in January and Mr. Dooce moved out the same month, could this just be something overlooked in the midst of the turmoil surrounding their separation? Or does it mean the end of Armstrong Media for good?