Sexy bikini beach volleyball games soon to be replaced - ahem - NOW replaced by shovels, pails and sandcastles, and two little ones eating sand. Join me on the journey!
okay. it's not the cheaptest wine you will ever have, but if you want a seriously lovely, buttery, toasty, nutty, balanced, fresh citrus peel, yummy yummy yummy chardonnay, you only have to go 2.5 hours from Ottawa and about 1.5 hours from Toronto to hit Prince Edward County and Huff Estates. I can't say enough about how goooood this wine, the 2007 South Bay vintage, is. It's LOVELY.
While you are on the site, take a quick look around. They really get what they are supposed to be about down there. My husband and I went and stayed there for their wine futures weekend, on a special package deal that included discounts on advance order wines and a tour and some barrel tastings with their very suave winemaker, Frederic Picard. Combine that with a great dinner deal that came with the package, home-cooked hot breakfast included, etc. etc., it was a really lovely, romantic weekend getaway. Highly recommend.
Wine pairings: This would go great with buttery lobster and any number of other meals, but our pairing tonight was with a blackened cajun chicken on a bed of white wine and cream linguini with peppers, garlic and onion. Damn fine meal.
Here's to a great weekend - hope you all had some good times, great food and some time to relax.
Discovery, discovery, discovery. I've been so tired at the end of every day for months now because I am trying to be a sponge and just soaking everything up, but I also don't have a lot of patience. I bought this domain, and so of course I want to get it up and running.
But I need to do this one. step. at. a. time. Today that meant discovering that I couldn't simply sign up with Wordpress and get my unique domain without paying to have it there, so then began the realization that there are a million places to buy and host domains out there and GoDaddy was certainly not necessarily the best and/or only place to go. This led me to once again rely on the fantastic connections I have made and to discovery of another hosting/domain company that has a one-click Wordpress install button and other lovely features (not to mention a massive sale on the hosting costs for a year).
So. With the help of a fantastic local blogger/personality/music lover, I have now at the very least found the company and signed on for a host. Now I need to go to the original company and figure out how to transfer the domain over to the new supplier, then set things up. Lots to figure out how to do, but...one step at a time, right?
I know I often ask questions, and really, there's not enough traffic on here yet to get all that much of a conversation happening. But I'm REALLY green about this whole blogging thing.I find myself in an odd limbo, as I want to split this blog into two and get going on the "Me2pointoh" blog, but given that the new blog is going to be about my exploration INTO the world of better blogging, social media conversations, policy, management, analyitics and beyond, my problem is that I kinda want to set the blog up BEFORE I learn a whole lot about the blogging process and best practices.
So.
I am appealing to y'all. What do I do? Or, more specifically, I want to start off by using Wordpress, but when I go there to 'register' and/or set up my domain (http://www.me2pointoh.com/), the option I get is only to set up the addy with the .wordpress.com extension. Not what I wanted, since I paid to avoid this. Anyone know what I need to do to get started? Am I missing a very easy step or tab or button to the info? Rudimentary searches to ask this question have turned up nothing, but I will keep searching.
So a little update on the mycoplasma bacteria diagnosis and its relevance to my mulitple miscarriages. I have taken my antibiotics now and gone for my follow up appointment, and if I hear nothing back, that is good news and means that we have eliminated this 'issue' or potential issue as it relates to pregnancy and miscarriage.
But here's the thing. Going into my follow up appointment, I fully expected that I wouldn't hear my doctor tell me that THIS was the ONE problem and that we had a 100% chance of a healthy baby in attempt #4, but what he did tell me, in hindsight, is really starting to piss me off, frankly. No, I'm not directing this anger at the doctor, but at the actual studies he cited when he spoke to me about this bacteria and its links to miscarriage and infertility.
Basically, he said that while it is good that we found this, took steps to eliminate it, and struck yet one more item off the list of 'remotely possible reasons' to explain my miscarriages, he said, not for the first time, that he doesn't hold a lot of confidence in the studies that link mycoplasma to miscarriage. He said that the studies he has seen took a group of 30 women who had had multiple miscarriages and who had this bacteria, treated the bacteria, and then reported that 70% of the 30 went on to have a healthy baby. Cool, eh? No, not really, because where was the control group of 30? Apparently there wasn't one. And according to my doctor, if you had done a control group and NOT treated them with antibiotics, he was willing to bet that the control group results would have had almost the same success percentage.
So here's my question. Who the HELL is conducting these experiements? I took science in HIGH SCHOOL and know that any time to you want to test a hypothesis and conduct an experiment, you need a control group to make it a valid result. Right? Jeez.
So.
As I expected, while we treated something that MIGHT have been influencing our outcome, it certainly isn't something to invest savings betting on.
But I need to keep in mind the odds that I WOULD put money on, and that is the 60% chance, based on my history, that the 4th attempt will be the successful attempt. Who wouldn't bet money with a 60% chance?
So, without further adieu....we're officially back on the baby-making bandwagon. Let the fun times begin!
So I was thinking about this after sacrificing any ambitions toward dieting for today to make way for chicken pad thai. (So. Good. Totally. Worth. Every. Morsel); I was think about the absence of limes to squirt on my dish, and this morphed into a thought about the fact that I can totally tell the difference between lemon and lime in cooking, but in a blind test, would I really?
(Don't ask why I was having these thoughts - never ask why a woman thinks random thoughts at all times of the day, awake or asleep - they just do.)
Here's the thing. I know from experience that I naturally have a strong sense of taste and likely a great palate, but it's not a TRAINED palate, you know? I can safely say a wine is jammy, or smokey, or has chocolate notes, but I couldn't tell you if a wine is from the Roija region or the Ribera del Duero region of Spain, or whether it was aged for 2 years or 6 months in American and not French oak, and I CERTAINLY couldn't pick the vintage.
But you know what? I love wine. I know what I like.
So, likely, do you.
So what is the sophisticated palate good for? Well, I think it's good for helping OTHER people know, via the 'Primo Palateer', whether or not the description sounds like something you'd like before you buy it!
What do you think? Do you crave a more sophisticated palate, or are you fine continuing to sip, slurp and even guzzle what you like, without a thought in your head about spitting and then describing what you are tasting?
I'll go halfway and say I want to go ahead and learn to describe, but I still have trouble picturing myself spitting, ya know?
Okay...so thanks to my friends on Twitter, I have finally taken the plunge to buy the domain name I have wanted to start this second "What the hell am I doing?" blog that will be all about my forays, stumbles, success stories and embarrassing moments in social media communications. I see it as an account of some of my observations, resources I find and what they are good for, and PLENTY of comments about what isn't going right along the way. I CANNOT WAIT!
Of course...now I have to design the damn thing! Will be starting with a Wordpress theme of some sort, and welcome any and all help you have. I long for good advice, people!!!
But...it's a start, and it is very exciting to me to, as one of my tweeps said, "own a little piece of the internet"!
Cool. Time for bed.
Twitter Tip: every Sunday evening, people use the hashtag #blogchat to discuss their blogs, ideas, best practices and offer help. It's great. Tune in. (about 9pm EST)
For everyone who has been asking to see the tranformation, and for anyone who wants ideas or a look-see on kitchen design, take a look at the Before & After presentation deck I did up showcasing our new kitchen. This redesign gave me storage and functionality as well as style that I needed to stay in our little house for a while longer and not have me go insane....
So I said I would chronicle my challenges in the Me 2.oh realm, right? Well, today has been a day. I'm friggin in TEARS just trying to do the simplest of things - nothing I try to do is working out today, and I am one of those people who gets incredibly stressed and upset when every move is delayed by ignorance of what to do in the face of hiccups.
Take my efforts just to add an offline reader and bookmarking app to my bloody iTouch. I'm trying to load and try out the Diigo app, which says that it will allow me to read articles offline but still bookmark them so that I can find them again in the future and tag them as valuable for certain subjects.
It's not working out.
(as an aside, I am finding my iTouch a bit of a tease, as it is an incredibly useful mobile personal device, but mostly only when you are somewhere with Wireless internet access. This GENERALLY means that I have to be at home to truly use it, and I can use my laptop instead, so ... it's just kinda half cool, really. I want to access, bookmark, read, load, communicate and engage while on the bus and wherever I am throughout the day, you know? And honestly, social media gets really overwhelming quickly if you go for several hours without monitoring and listening. When you finally get back online, there is TOO MUCH INFO. So yeah..that's my whoeisme bullshit whine for today. Boo hoo I have an iTouch instead of a full iPhone. If that's my biggest issue, then life is bloody good....)
So yes, anyway, what's wrong with the Diigo thing is that I have to go online through Safari to add my bookmarking tool, and as I am following the instructions, I get to a point where I add the "Save to Diigo" part, but then it gives me instructions to access the bookmark, then edit the URL that shows up to remove some of the characters. The thing is...I can't EDIT it. The cursor is dead over that spot. And I keep trying to figure out here and there what I might be doing wrong, but every time I go through the process, it adds more and more "Save to Diigo" bookmark screens, but NOTHING CHANGES folks! I am utterly frustrated! These things just drive me nuts. totally bonkers. Full out tantrum, people! I toss aside the iTouch, scream, tears fill my eyes, and then I say I will come back to it again and figure it out next time. But I've done this three times now, and I just can't STAND it.
So yeah.
Fun times.
What to do, people? Who has the solution for me? Maybe there's another iTouch app that I can try instead? ARGGGH.
time for a glass of wine and, I think, time to put the bloody tech tools down for a while. Sigh.
So...I am both enjoying the Hope for Haiti concert tonight, and crying at the sadness and suffering in the world. We donated of course, (I trust you have also? If not....) but having had a long week at work and not nearly enough laughs this week, I thought I would share some 'thoughts' that a coworker sent me today that I thought were pretty funny:
Random Thoughts of the Day...
1) Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
2) I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
3) There is a great need for sarcasm font. (I told her about the sarcasm 'font' that is out now that people can purchase and use)
4) How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
5) I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
6) Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighbourhood.
7) Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
8) I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
9) Bad decisions make good stories.
10) You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day. (HA! Mine came at around 3:47 today)
11) I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
12) I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer... Drop the phone and run away?
13) I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
14) As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
15) I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
And finally...as I have said a few times since the Haitian earthquake, I won the lottery when I was born and raised in Canada, in the family I have, and with many MANY resources I am blessed to have at my fingertips.
It all depends on the day, I have to say, how I react to the veritable onslaught of information I have signed on to get. To say that it is overwhelming is a vast understatement. I'm learning, to be sure, but it doesn't feel like I am progressing fast enough, but then, I'm impatient and always have been.
So, what have I been learning?
1. My biggest revelation has been that it won't pay to be perfectionistic.
Seriously. You can't expect to be active on social media and know it all, see it all, or say it all. You summarize, you glance, you scan, you filter, you postulate, you guess, you contribute and you help (and yeah, you ASK for help). Yes, you can educate and be educated, but to be relevant, you've gotta be FAST. You don't have 10 days to think about what you are going to say - just offer up what you have on hand, and know that your opinion counts as much as a fully researched report does.
2. You may be a diverse person, but if you are going to remain sane, you need to specialize and not generalize.
Still working this one out. When you are someone with multiple interests, you not only feel inclined to try pursue all these interests, but if engaged in social media, would naturally like to talk about all these interests. Problem is, every day is a compromise where you are only able to do so much in a day, and so you choose at each moment of free time to do the BEST thing first. (Well, kinda. I'm constantly resentful of all the obligations, chores and other tasks that keep me from my interests and fun pursuits. That's why I really identified with this post earlier today from @RedheadWriting . Very funny.) This reality is mirrored in your social media pursuits. Don't bite off too much. Be effective in a couple communities of choice. Say relevant things. Share, digest, contribute, educate and get educated. If you say too much about too many things, you say very little about any one thing, ya know?
What are you most passionate about? Do that. Ask Gary Vee what I mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4
3. Social media presence, influence and success takes TIME.
Remember the patience I spoke of? Yeah. I don't have all that much. I want to see results, succeed (more on why focusing on this is not a smart application of your time and energy) and feel like I have accomplished something impressive. But I now know that this is a slow-burnin process. You don't birth your brand in the 21 days it take a mouse to reproduce, but more along the lines of the time it takes for a baby elephant(that knowledge is thanks to a baby shower game yesterday BTW)... see above speech from Gary Vaynerchuk for more on that, too.
4. Just be you. Observe the etiquette to say thanks, give credit, admit ignorance, ask questions, be helpful when you can, and pick interesting stuff to say. I try not to tweet about the fact that I am going to bed, and I try not to look up and put quotes out there. I try to add something new, or share something valuable. Or, if I am able, say something funny - whatever. Authenticity is key. Your influence and community will grow organically.
So..yeah. A lot more that could be said, and will, but I'm learning about myself as well as about the platforms and tools in the social media world. And some days, it's simply overwhelming, if you don't step back, figure out how to filter (another full post on another day), and take it one blip at a time.
By the way...I love my blip.fm radio station. Are you on there? Join me and show me some great music. Would love to hear it.
What have you learned? What has been your biggest revelation? Would love to know...
I arrived home and was met with plans for a night of Tapas - Serrano ham, chirozo sausage, a smoked roasted red pepper sausage on the Big Green Egg, with a selection of cheeses, fresh baguette and salad as a side. If I haven't mentioned it lately, I have a great husband. I had to do nothing.
So. Perfect, unplanned evening fare to go perfectly with our final wine in the Top 10 under $10 series from the LCBO; La Casona Monsatrell 2007 from Yecla, Spain.
So, admittedly, after a VERY long week at work, I opened this wine with breakneck speed and, giving it a perfunctory sniff, dove right in. Yes, I got some cassis on the nose, and deep cherry and all that stuff, but for all that, it was just good, rounded, plump and juicy wine. WINE. oh, yeah....wiiiiiine.
This one has some nice tannins, and nice finish. This is a GREAT value for $8.95. If it was a blind tasting, I probably would have been able to peg it as Spanish...it just has that slightly gritty, earthy, round and yet fruity characteristics. Would I have been able to pick out that it was the monastrell grape on not a tempranillo? No...
Hey. Sorry. A little break. Just saw that Toronto is eating what Washington is dishing and it tastes like 1-6... ha!
So yes. Great value wine. of the 5 wines I have tried, it's number 3 on the list, I think.
So here's my ranking folks, after all that:
#1 is the Portugese Pedras do Monte Castelao 2007 #2 is the The Castillo de Monseran Garnacha Spainish treat (so unique) #3 is tonight's La Casona 2007 from Yecla Spain - it's as good as any $15 I have tried #4 has to be the Mezzomondo staple from Italy that I have been drinking for a while when looking for a bargain deal. And last on the list was the Italian Casal Thaulero - not bad at all, but it was the only one on the list that had that slightly sulphery 'cheapy' kind of layer to the tongue. I have no idea how else to describe that 'element', but it is something I can both smell and taste. Maybe something that happens with the sulphites in cheaper wines? Not sure.
Okay folks. Now you have the scoop, or at least my interpretation of the wines I most wanted to try from that list. It was fun to do, and I hope you all don't go out and buy up all the damn Pedras bottles, 'cause I want them, dammnit!
And...the Caps "steamrolled" the Leafs tonight. Happy Friday everyone!
Okay. Before I go any further than this, and in the interest of transparency (and just in case you haven't guessed, laughing at my musings on what I am tasting and fully disagreeing with me), I am NOT a wine expert. I am a wine 'souse' to use I term my Mamma would use. I LOVE it. I have a 'bit' of a nose for it, but no formal training. And...I simply know what I like, people!
Without further ado...The Castillo de Monseran Garnacha from Spain! Only $8.95 folks! And Spanish - some of my favourite wines are coming from Spain these days.
Big. Long. Pour. Tonight. Work was a drag today and it won't be better tomorrow.
Okay. When I first stuck my cute little delicate nose into this glass tonight (it's kinda crooked, actually, and not really all that cute, but...you don't know that, so...) the first thing I got was, I thought, raspberry, but then I swirled it and wow strawberry! I purposefully didn't look at the notes on the article again, and guess what? I was right! Yay me!
Then, the taste. BOY is this fruity! Almost sweet. A very different, unique tasting Garnacha, which I am more accustomed to being more gritty, with more aggressive tannins. This is a cooooool tasting wine, man! I can see this thing actually going with a myriad of dishes - I bet you could even have this with a wilted spinach, goat cheese, strawberry and toasted walnut salad or something. Very interesting. Certainly a nice, light, sipper, but don't expect and long, lingering finish. It dies out quick on the tongue. But then...I want more almost right away, so...(maybe my work day is affecting my appetite for it?)
Very different for me, but yummy. I'll buy this again for sure!
So....I have other stuff to do tonight, but wanted to the the next 'instalment' out there. Last one, the La Casona, remains. I've been told by my closest wino pal that it's a great wine value, and so that is high praise indeed!
Okay. Hmmmmm. Not nearly as productive a weekend as it promised to be, but then, on Saturday mornings of a weekend without structured plans, I'm always resplendant with grandiose ideas of the myriad of excellent adventures and to do list items I intend to tackle and have stricken forever from the record of jobs impending.
All for naught.
Oh well. I'm trying to learn how to take a little mental breather from the guilt, the spiritual weight these obligations and manufactured lists bring to me in times of trying to relax. It's only somewhat working when...the work week looms.
We all know this conveyor belt, don't we? Taking stock on Sunday nights of what's in store for us in the week ahead; itemizing after-work activities, sports and obligations as well as optional (but you ABSOLUTELY WILL GET TO THEM THIS WEEK COME HELL OR HIGH WATER) workouts; thinking about the other (equally optional?) jobs and/or tasks we've taken on due to a passion for the hobby, subject, or project, or just a desire to feel like we are doing something meaningful with our time here on earth. Recalling the committees and other sundry input you've offered up, and finally contemplating squeezing in chores, meals, grooming (ha. I'm SO not preening in my life these days), etc. And a little time with loved ones too.
Phew, I'm tired, aren't you?
But as the chronic and capable multitasker would say...here we go again!
So I had these big plans today. Was going to have some fun with a good friend, Sean Moher, the creator of Groovy Grapes wine and food pairing events and many more wonderful things. Thought it would be fun to open bottle #3 of the top ten under $10 series for us both to try, and get his thoughts on it, but I don't think I can do it, given my impromptu Karaoke romp last night with my neighbours @westendchiles.
That said, coffee does wonderful things to help revive you on a morning like this. How bad does it suck that I plan to give it up again shortly, and mentioned my intentions to my husband (so now I'm accountable)...
Trip to a new LCBO today (I went right, husband went left to the Beer Store to prepare for a night of drunken guy stuff with his volleyball team) landing me three of the remaining 4 bottles to try that a recent e-newsletter claimed were the best LCBO values under $10.
Number two on the list was the Casal Thaulero Merlot/Cab Sauv blend, listed as only $6.95, but I guess the word is already out that this is a good wine, 'cause it was actually $7.45! EGAD, but that is soooooo pricey! I had to dig deep deeeeep into my little change purse for that. (Does anybody actually have a change purse anymore? I, as always, used plastic and claimed my Air Miles, thank you very much!)
So, on the nose, you won't get old world Italian. This is a bold wine, which is generally my preference. I'm certainly not an experienced wino, but I DO get the cedar - I feel like it's a kinda wet wood/cedar, actually. Yeah, a little black licorice, but not so sweet as that. Blackberries, but not fresh - blackberry jam, I'd say. The vanilla is there, but not prominent. It's not a bouquet that makes me salivate, like some are (like the Lucky Country Shiraz, by one of our favourite winemakers, Two Hands, for instance. SO GOOD.)
Finally, time to sip...Okay. This one has more fruit - it's more forward than the Portuguese from last night. That said, the balance is still not bad. It's got a tannic kick to it, and the finish lingers a little bit. Not as much as the Pedras Do Monte from earlier this week.
Is it good? Yah, it's pretty good. Is it great? Well...it's $7.45, so yeah...it's a bloody good deal people. What do you want for $7? Jeez!
I think...(another sip)...it may need just a little more depth, like a third, earthier varietal of grape to give it just a bit more oooomph!
Nevertheless...it'll be a nice wine to sip for the rest of this evening and into tomorrow.
I have to ask, though...what else is out there? Who thinks that THEY know the best value wine in the LCBO? Is it on this list? And if you've had these wines, what do YOU think of them? Would love to know.
Yesterday, I received a newsletter in my inbox from TorontoLife magazine. Now, I don't live in TO, but I often visit, and I like to know what's goin' on, where to eat, where to drink and what to do...okay...where to shop, really. This particular edition had a juicy title that simply jumped off the page.
Now, I will preface by saying that the Mezzomondo is one I already buy copiously. Great value wine. The others I am going to try, I need to find, first, since the Rideau Centre LCBO didn't have (or was sold out) of the cheap wines. Coincidence?...
I did find bottle one, though. Just opened it, actually. Highly appropriate, since it is hump day, and what I love buying these wines for is my Dr. Pam recommended "take one glass in long, slow sips each night" prescription throughout the work week.
But I digress. I just opened it. It is item number five on the list, the Pedras do Monte. Wow. Boom Boom Pow on the nose, man! It has been a long time since I had a bouquet like this! So what am I getting? Well, for certain, I am getting the licorice mentioned - and realizing that THIS is truly licorice as opposed to anise, which has less sugar/sweet on the nose and is a bit more subtle. Ain't nuthin subtle here. Lots of rips wild blackberry on the nose - no pansy strawberry here (I disagree with the reference to vague blackberry...I think there is lots here). And on the nose, I am not getting all that much smoke, but a bit of fresh tobacco...sure.
Okay. I've let it breathe plenty. Yay...I get to sip now (and now, I never spit, sorry - that stuff is gold and meant to be swallowed, imbibed, enjoyed).
Okaaaaay! I would NEVER guess at the price of this wine! It's full bodied, a bit aggressive on the tannins, but then, I like those. I'm getting the vanilla from the oak, especially lingering on the palate - great finish. This is great. Hmm....I think I have a new fave cheapie.
Gosh...can't wait to taste the next 5 or 6 I have earmarked! Until then...cheers!
You may not think that ripping open a letter only to see a prescription fall out of it could possibly be a good thing, but today, it is. For all those women (and there are many) out there who have suffered a miscarriage, or like I have, multiple miscarriages, it is VERY hard to keep going without answers. And, in a lot of situations, modern medicine still doesn't have good answers.
Before today's little surprise package, we really were going off the words of our fertility specialist, who felt that we might not get an answer and that to try again, we were going to have to have faith that it was just bad luck, based on our miscarriage history and the information he had at hand. I hated that answer, people. Really hated it. But he also said that that meant I had a 65% chance, this fourth time around, of having a healthy full term baby, and what person wouldn't buy a lotto ticket with THOSE odds, right?
But as a way of cutting out the few little possible explanations, we took blood tests that looked for something specific. Guess what? I have a bacteria!
For all those women that are looking for answers, here's information that you could get simply by requisitioning a blood test! If I recall correctly, it (Mycoplasma of the "ureaplasma urealyticum" variety), is relatively common, but for a couple trying to conceive, it can be a real issue, contributing to infertility and miscarriage. We obviously don't have fertility issues, but guess what? We fall into category 2 nicely.
I am so frickin' exCITed, I can't tell you. Imagine if this is the only issue? Imagine going into attempt #4 with a bit more reassurance that I won't have to go through this again? IMAGINE a squirming, chortling, burping, pooping but otherwise healthy baby.
Yah, you can learn by studying past experiences and finding revelations in them, but you know what? I've never been good at 'my life in review'. I thought, for about 5 minutes, that it would be a good exercise for me to read my posts from the past year, and then blog a bit about the better insights, or the funnier statements, or even the most useless and/or uninteresting things I wasted time saying, but I couldn't mustre up the energy. Really couldn't. I'm just not that girl, who overthinks her actions or worries about things she has done in the past. No regrets, man, NO REGRETS.
So what about the future, then? What the heck do I hope to be able to say this year to myself, to you, to the blogger world? Do I have to have a plan, or a theme, or some heaven-sent insights to feel worthy of writing? ...
Well, yeah, I kinda do. At the very least, I should have a plan or a point to my posts. I should have a specific item to share, tidbit to impart or idea to pose, and if not that, then I should say something funny. Why? Because although a blog can simply be an outlet to express yourself, if you want people to read, you have to say something INTERESTING.
So that is my objective this year - if I don't have something interesting to say, I won't say anything at all, because to me, saying nothing is better than turning people off reading due to the dull dronings of an uninspired chick in a bitterly cold capital city. And if I DO have something to say, I will share it, because gosh darn it, I want people to like me (and read me)! (*Thanks to Mashable for great info!)
- It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped (Anthony Robbins)
