It Was the Best of Times!

It's hard to believe that it was only one week ago tonight that I was on the West Coast and meeting two of my favorite bloggers at my favorite Mexican restaurant but that's exactly what it was. As cold and rainy as it is here in Connecticut tonight, I find myself wishing I was right back there not just for the warmer weather but for the fantastic company that I found myself amongst when I got to meet Sandee from Comedy Plus and Katherine of Wading Through My Stream of Consciousness.

I had posted a few pictures last week of our meeting but hoped to have more once our personal photographer/videographer (Sandee's husband Zane) had a chance to forward them to us. He has now done so and now I get to share a bit more of the night with you. Bear in mind while looking at these pictures that we got to the restaurant while the sun was shining but it was fully dark by the time we called it an evening. All told we spent almost four hours together but it hardly seemed like one!



In addition to the slideshow, I've got a video clip that I thought I would share with you that you might find amusing as - what do bloggers talk about when they get together? - blogging of course! Unfortunately I was sitting right next to Zane so my voice (which I hate!) is the loudest but I think you can hear everyone else, too.


I had an absolutely fantastic evening with Sandee and Zane, Katherine and The Teamster, and - of course my good friend and sidekick, Cyndi. The food was good, the margarita was great (and not tiny!), and the chance to meet two people in person that I've come to know through our adventures in blogging was the best part.

I have met so many wonderful people since I started this blog and my life has been enriched by all of you no matter whether I've met you in person or only virtually and I want to take this time to thank you all for being a part of my life - you're the best!

Yes, Cyndi. There Really Are Bloggers!

I doubt the Cancun Restaurant in downtown Stockton will ever be the same after last night when myself, Sandee, and Katherine descended upon the establishment to finally meet after having known each other virtually for quite some time now. Rumor has it that they've posted a sign on the front door stating that they reserve the right to refuse service to bloggers or people with cameras but I haven't been able to verify that yet!

Sandee brought along her handsome husband Zane who took pictures and videos all night long in order to document our historic meeting, Katherine arrived on the back of a beautiful black Harley Davidson with her hunky Teamster, and I brought along my bestest friend Cyndi who, like Virginia with her Santa Claus, was skeptical that bloggers really existed. Ah but yes Cyndi, they really do exist and they are even more wonderful in real life than they are on the web page!

Big hugs were exchanged all the way around in the foyer of the restaurant (and it didn't even occur to me that I'm not necessarily the hugging type) before we took over a table smack in the middle of the restaurant and ordered drinks and dinner. When my margarita arrived I immediately thought of Mags and our first meeting when the margaritas we ordered turned out to be tiny little things hardly worthy of the name! Much to Cyndi's bemusement I immediately whipped out my camera to photograph my drink but I think she was finally getting somewhat used to the idea that bloggers take pictures of absolutely everything and anything!

Naturally I had to take a picture of my dinner when it arrived, too as I had been talking up the great Mexican food at Cancun for way too long NOT to post a picture of it so that people could see what I was talking about. Cyndi again shook her head thinking I had totally lost it while Katherine and Sandee knew exactly what I was doing and why! Sometimes I think being a blogger is somewhat similar to being a member of a society or group as there seems to be some sort of unwritten Blogger Code starting with "Thou shalt have thy digital camera with thee at all times and photograph non-stop"!

Sometimes we even make people repeat things as I did when Sandee and Zane toasted each other and then kissed when their glasses of wine arrived. Apparently it's a tradition for them and, being the overly romantic type that I am, I thought it was just the sweetest thing ever and I definitely needed a picture! They were more than happy to oblige and do a repeat for a photo op and I got the distinct feeling that it was a ritual that they participate in quite frequently - and I don't blame them in the least! Ah, love!

It's funny how when you meet a blogger in person, you don't feel like you're meeting someone for the first time as you know so much about them and their lives beforehand. I felt like I was spending an evening with old friends as we laughed and joked and shared stories and I think that Cyndi felt just as comfortable as she added her own brand of "snarkasm" to the conversations. I'm sure it was easy for Sandee and Katherine to see why I would break my oath of "I'll never go to California" again to visit the friend who knows me better than I know myself.

The time just flew by and before we knew it it was 10:00 and, with The Teamster having to get up at 4:30 to go to work, it was time to go. As we walked outside, the sky over Stockton lit up with fireworks - just for me! Well ... okay ... maybe not just for me but for The Ports, Stockton's minor league baseball team who had apparently just wrapped up their game but the timing couldn't have been better. I think that fireworks should be set off whenever blogging friends are able to get together and meet!


We posed for a few more pictures and then exchanged hugs again before Katherine and her beau saddled up and got ready to make the trek south. As Sandee and Zane and Cyndi and I walked to the parking lot we talked about how wonderful it was to have finally met and how much fun it would be to someday have a Blogger's Convention where we would have the chance to meet so many more of the dear friends that we've made through this pastime of ours. It really is so special when you finally get to meet people that you have come to think of as friends and I was so happy to have met two of those very special people last night at one of my favorite restaurants with my favorite friend along for the journey.

This trip has really been wonderful so far and I'm so glad that I overcame my hesitations at coming West as meeting Sandee and Katherine along with Zane and The Teamster was truly an honor and one of the highlights of my life. It appears that I've got two very good reasons to come out to California again!

A Roar for Powerful Words!

Sandee of Comedy Plus awarded me the following award on the 25th of November and - believe it or not - since then I've been mulling over who I would like to forward it on to -

A Roar For Powerful Words!

The originator of this award is Seamus of The Shameless Lions Writing Circle and this what Seamus had to say about this award:

"When I set upThe Shameless Lions Writing Circle, one of things I had in mind was that we as a group could encourage and celebrate good, powerful writing on the Internet/blogosphere. This is why I've come up with a new project to try to do exactly that, while of course at the same time increase exposure for the 48 members and their individual blogs. A Roar For Powerful Words is the chance to scream from the mountains the good news about the powerful posts that are produced every day in the blogosphere, despite what some mainstream columnists and journalists claim. This is also a good chance to examine exactly what it is that makes writing good and powerful."

According to Seamus, this award can be distributed "to those people who have blogs we love, can't live without, where we think the writing is good and powerful." Considering that Sandee chose to pass this award on to me, I am quite honored and flattered both as that means she felt that my writing was worthy of such recognition. Thank you so much, Sandee, that really means a lot! In addition to myself, Sandee passed the award on to a wonderful group of other bloggers:

1. Mo @ It's a Blog Eat Blog World
2. Ian @ EDog's Everything Page
3. Ann @ A Nice Place In The Sun
4. Richard @ Untwisted Vortex
5. Mimi @ Mimi Writes

Needless to say, I am in some most excellent company but now it's my turn to pass this award on to several others. This has been a tough choice because I love all of the blogs that you see listed on my sidebar and feel that they are all written by excellent writers with a lot of different styles and personalities. However, I can't just blanket-award it to everyone so after a lot of painful wracking of my brain and nail-biting decision-making, I award "A Roar for Powerful Words!" to the following powerful bloggers:

• Travis of Trav's Thoughts - Travis writes some of the most detailed and well-written posts that I have seen anywhere in the Blogosphere. I am always impressed and awed when I stop by his blog - plus he leaves some damn fine comments, too! Even though it isn't a requirement of this award, he is a man with a romantic streak who isn't afraid to show it and that speaks volumes because it means he writes from his heart and I applaud that, I really do.
  
• Maddy of both Whitterer on Autism and Alien in a Foreign Field - What an amazing, amazing, amazing woman Miss Maddy is as she not only writes two excellent blogs with thoughtful and thought-provoking posts but she does so while raising two autistic sons and a daughter. Add on the fact that she's a Brit transplanted in the San Francisco Bay area and she deserves a lot more than this little ole' award!
  
• Patois of Whee! All the Way Home! - From Haiku to her Jump One Jump Twosday feature to her Weekly Wonderings and so many other great posts in between, Patois writes posts that are just wonderful and moving and - yes - powerful! She is a most excellent writer and compared to her, I feel a bit like a hack!
  
• Jeni of Down River Drivel - What can I say about Jeni other than the fact that this Old Avon Lady writes from her down-home heart and soul and one of these days I'm going to drive to Pennsylvania simply so I can sit down across from her with a pot of coffee and plate of cookies and just gab, gab, gab, gab, gab!
  
• Jamie of Duward Discussion - Even though she is currently stomping me in several on-going Scrabulous games (which doesn't surprise me in the least as I've no doubt at all that she is a much better Wordsmith than I!), Jamie was one of the very first people who came to mind when I was debating who to pass this award on to. I always learn something when I read one of Jamie's posts and I always feel something which means even more. Knowledgeable, witty, and compassionate are three of the best words I can think of to define Jamie. Plus, she has the same name as my youngest daughter!

These five people are just the tip of the iceberg of wonderful writers that I read on a daily basis but in keeping with the theme of the award, I am limiting the number of recipients to just five and am hoping that they, too, will pass this award on to five of their must-reads.

Travis, Maddy, Patois, Jeni, and Jamie - please go by Seamus's post to choose the color of your award (they're available in three colors) and let's see if we can keep this wonderful award going, shall we? Oh, and keep up the wonderful writing!

Catching Up ... Or At Least Trying To!

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Went to get my blood work done at the lab this morning and got the initial results back from the doctor which all check out okay. Apparently the Lyme Disease test takes a little longer but for the most part everything, including my blood glucose levels which can be tricky, are within normal limits. Like Kat, one of my doctor's nurses, always tells me "you can't have anything simple or normal, can you?" She is so right! So, I guess I'll wait a little longer and see what's what. I haven't had as much of the numbness and tingling today as I did the past few days so maybe whatever it is will be just some passing mystery malady that clears up on its own after clearing out my bank account with those outrageous co-pays we have! I'll let you know once I know something more.

In the meantime, I am horribly remiss in posting this next tidbit ... way back on October 3rd, I received the following award from Zubli and Shinade -

- and I am quite honored at having received it. Thank you so much to Zubli and Shinade!

Now if you thought I was late in posting that award, this next one is even later! Sandee from Comedy+ gave me this award on September 25th and it's quite the special award as I really do love Christmas and all that it stands for (aside from all the commercialization that is!).


This award originated at Santa's Community Blog and can be passed on to as many other bloggers as I'd like. According to Santa, the Spirit of Christmas Award:

"Quite simply it is those that have a generous and giving nature. Those who care about others. Those who have a kind word to say or a broad shoulder to lean on in the times that others need that. Those who display the "Spirit of Christmas".

To that end, I am passing this lovely little award on to Mimi for obvious reasons, Akelamalu because she's just the sweetest ever, Mighty Mom from Texas who has a wonderful blog that shows off her giving nature, and two of the nicest Connecticut bloggers I know - Patti and Ralph who are also husband and wife. Awardees can pick up the award code here and then pass it on to whomever they also feel displays the "Spirit of Christmas". A very belated thank you to Sandee for this very nice award!