I Have Decided to Quit Blogging.

I’ve gotten a few notes and comments from regular readers asking if I’m okay and telling me that they miss my blog updates. Thank you. That is very sweet of all of you.

And while I don’t OWE you an explanation for my absence because after all this is my place on the web and I will do with it what I want, I will offer one out of friendship. Simply put, I burnt out. I was pressing everyday to find something to write about and stressing about whether my stats were climbing and if I was "good enough" to be a part of bloggy land at all. I was worried about whether you were enjoying my writing and was I funny enough? Why wouldn’t my meme take off and why didn’t I take more pictures this week for Wordless Wednesday? Who in the forums was reading my stuff and why wouldn’t more people comment? Why couldn’t my most controversial stances spark any kind of debate?

I was dreaming in blog people. I would wake up thinking blog and I would eat blog for lunch and I would blog while I was brushing my teeth. Not on the blog but in my head. I would wake up in the middle of the night to make notes about a dream because maybe when I was fully awake I could turn it into a roll em in the aisles post.

For some people that is a great thing. For some people that would be a rocking life. For me it was torture. I want to write. Just write. I don’t want to install meta tags and learn CSS code and HTML code and link all the right keywords. I don’t really care if Google finds me or not. I don’t necessarily want to make millions off of my blog. It would be nice if it happened but only if I can still be happy while I do it.

I just want to write. And that is what this started out as. A place for me to write. Then I got sidetracked with stats and comment counts and posting two or three times a day and making sure that I was friends with the right people in bloggy land and making sure that I didn’t offend or comment on the wrong blog because that would draw drama.

So I am going to quit blogging. I am just going to write. Here. When I feel like it and about what I want. The family stuff will still be found at The Zoo and the brain junk and social commentary will still be at The Bowl. But don’t expect me to update everyday. I don’t have THAT much to say.

I am no longer judging my success by stats, followers and page rank. I am purely judging my success by comments and my own happiness. If I can inspire you enough to cause you to comment then I have been successful. My biggest reward is forcing Buck to come out of his reader to comment. And that is what I want it to be all about. Just writing and sharing my writing with people who want to read.

Those of you who know me from some forums, give my regards. It’s not that I don’t like you or want to hang out with you. I just can’t get sucked back into all "stuff" that is blogging.
So farewell to blogging - welcome back writing.

**Note: For those of you who follow both, you will see this post cross posted today because the same audience is not in both places. Thanks for your tolerance.

Word-something Wednesday: Solar Powered!

Now really Wordless. Not really Wordful. So I'm Word Something today! Yup. Feeling pretty random. Let's talk.

Remember this picture from say January something?

That was me after a winter in the basement. Not pretty at all. Quite grotesque actually! I can admit it. I know what cave dwelling does for me.

Well, this is me now after a mere week of sunshine.

You can't really tell because of the web cam quality but I already have a jump start on my tan and I've lost 3 pounds of winter "fur" (at least that's what we'll call it).

Thank the Big Man upstairs for sunshine and potting soil. Too many more days of rain and gray and I might have actually gone round the bend! Think I can claim to be eco friendly if I myself am solar powered?

You Know you Have an Awesome Friend When...

You say things like "I'm flushing because I just cleaned it; not because I used it" and A) they believe you. And B) They laugh.

You call them crying and end the call laughing.

You talk about nothing just so you don't have to hang up.

You don't even send an e-mail or look at the phone and they still know that you need them.

You can do a million things while they are trying to talk to you and they don't care about the interruptions. As a matter of fact they are comfortable enough to interrupt you back.

Just wanted to say Thank You in a big, public, embarassing way. Thank you.

Wordless Wednesday

There just aren't any words.

But you people still wonder why I am the way I am?

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things to Love about Fall

Sleeping with the windows open.

Blankets just feel better when there's a chill in the air.

Soup that's been cooking all day.

Beef vegetable, chili, loaded baked potato, chicken stew

Baking

Apple, pumpkin, and cherry pies, cookies of every kind, bread in all varieties.

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkins, straw, red wagons, toddlers, parents with cameras

Color

Deep reds, bright oranges, warm yellows, fading greens, toasty browns

Yardwork

Raking, bagging, planting, pruning, mulching, standing back at the end of the day

Personal holidays

Celebrating five birthdays and an anniversary with people I love

Halloween

Dressing up, little spooks, candy, neighbors

Football

Pee wee, high school, college, pros, rivalries, friendly pools

Fall clothes

Early sweaters, boots, jeans, turtlenecks, long skirts, favorite sweatshirts

Warm mugs

Coffee, tea, cider, hot chocolate

Evenings on the deck

Tiki torches, sweatshirts, friends, Louis, Frank, Dean and Nat

Apples

Grocery produce section brimming with red, green, gold, and marbled