I forgot my camera this morning. Actually, I remembered it as I was walking out the door, laptop bag and purse hanging from my right shoulder, sun glasses and keys in hand. I stopped for a second, looked toward the counter and said, “nah, I’m not going.”

I was contemplating going to see The Pioneer Woman tonight as she signs copies of her (amazing!) cookbook tonight in Orlando. I love TPW. She is witty, inspiring and a great cook and photographer. Her site always makes me feel good. I have her cookbook and have made her (amazing!) blue cheese steak and her potato skins.

I’m not comfortable with celebrity sightings and don’t really see a purpose in getting an autograph so why am I sitting her second-guessing my split-second decision from earlier?

I must secretly want to go.

I’ve followed her stories from other cities where she’s already been to sign and let’s just say the crowds are huge. Women and babies. Women and cameras. Women with their spouses in tow. The lines wrap around the store for hours. I just can’t imagine waiting in line longer than I would to ride Dumbo at Disney. And, waiting in line alone is worse than waiting in line with a 4-year-old. Well, maybe I should rethink that last line.

So, why am I sitting her feeling like I’m going to miss something? Maybe I’ll go home and grab my camera and head over to the bookstore tonight — or maybe I’ll just open up her cookbook and make one of her amazing recipes and be done with it.

Katherine Heigl, who plays Izzy Stephens on “Grey’s Anatomy,” is leaving the show (getting out of her contract early) so that she doesn’t have to work full-time. Something most mothers can understand. An article from “Entertainment Weekly” discusses her decision:

I started a family and it changed everything for me,” Katherine, who took a three-month leave from “Grey’s” this year to spend more time with her newly-adopted daughter, explained. “It changed my desire to work full-time.”

Something most mothers can understand

Heigl’s desire to spend more time with her new daughter is something that I think all mothers go through.  The new baby arrives home for the first time and you just can’t imagine parting. Even mothers who have strong desires to return to work after having a child, must still have this feeling of wanting to spend every minute with that precious being. Yes, many choose to, and some, have to, return to work.

Although one could argue that Heigl doesn’t need to work because she’s got the fame and she must have the money. Although, I’d say that it was probably a difficult decision to leave behind a role that got her noticed. She won an Emmy for playing Izzy and has garnered several leading roles in films as a result of the show. Leaving this behind right now must have been a difficult decision — even if the outcome is spending more time with her family.

It just goes to show that motherhood changes you. It makes you contemplate every decision. No matter if you decide to stay home or to work, what once seemed important may no longer be as high on the list.

What do you think about her decision to leave the show?

On “The Oprah Winfrey Show” today, Taylor Swift said she doesn’t need a boyfriend. She was interviewed by the sweet, 11-year-old Jordan (a big Taylor Swift fan), Oprah’s “co-host” for the show. Jordan asked Taylor if she has a big crush right now and Taylor responded by saying that she doesn’t have a boyfriend and doesn’t feel the *need* to have one. She explained that she’d rather be single than in a relationship just to be in one.

How refreshing.

As a parent, and now to a girl, it’s great to hear. It’s especially important coming from a young woman that so many tween and teen girls admire. Taylor is beautiful, talented and rich. Any man would want to date her, yet she’s choosing to fill her life with other things, saying she’d make room for a relationship if the right man came along.

It’s great for 11-year-old girls to hear. Too often I see women, not just girls, dive into relationships that are wrong. They are always in a relationship, moving from one boyfriend to the next without taking a break just to “be.”

Last year I wrote a post inspired by the people at Dove who continue to promote the importance of teaching a sense of self esteem in girls. They said, “only three in every 10 girls feels worthy.” Wow. It’s important to teach girls, from a young age, how important they are. They don’t need a boy or a man to feel worthy. That while being in a relationship can be a great thing, it shouldn’t be the only thing in your life.

Maybe Taylor will inspire young girls to have confidence in themselves and to be comfortable with who they are — boyfriend or not. If it’s cool for a pop star like her to be single, maybe other girls will not put so much emphasis on whether or not they have a boyfriend. We need to shift the focus on needing a boyfriend, to wanting one if it allows them to continue to be who they are. And, that if they don’t have a boyfriend, they are OK.

Josh and Anna Duggar welcomed baby girl Mackynzie into the world yesterday. She is the first grandchild of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, the couple famous for having 18 kids, and counting. (It appears from the short video she gave birth at home.)

Josh and Anna have said they may follow the elder Duggar’s example and have as many children as “God would bless us with.”

Read the full story on msnbc.com.

Last week I had the opportunity to hear Stedman Graham speak. If you are asking yourself, “Who is Stedman Graham?” click here. OK, for the 22 million of you who know who he is, let’s move on.

So, Stedman, he was talking to students at Full Sail University, the school where I work. He gave a speech based on his book, “You Can Make It Happen: A Nine-Step Plan for Succes.” The lecture is interactive and engages the students for two hours. There’s a lot that he discusses that will help these students get a jump in their careers, but I think where he really helps is by planning your life.

I’ve had time to let the talk sink in, and here’s what I recall most vividly:

• Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day. What did you do with yours?
• You are important and can do anything.
• Too many people just do the same thing day in and day out. One day after the next. It all blends together after awhile. Don’t let life slip by you.
• Don’t let people box you in — this is where he mentions Oprah. People try to box him in by his relationship and not by who he is.
• You either live by love or live by fear.

How do you live?

Related:

• Stedman Graham Joins Full Sail University.
• Interview with Graham on MyFox Orlando.com.
• The Orlando Sentinel’s Hal Boedeker’s take on the class

Photo courtesy stock.xchng by artist benkersey.