(43-269) Me From A to Z

OK, I admit, I'm a comment addict.  It thrills me no end when  someone takes the time to leave me a comment.  Whether it's right on "The Bumpy Ride," on Facebook, via text or email; I am crazy for comments. And I have to say that nothing quite puts the icing on my comment cake, like a new reader sharing their thoughts with me.

After posting "100 To Go," I received a lovely comment from a woman called Sugar; so I paid her blog a visit.  I had a look around and I was inspired by something that I saw, and I decided to put my own twist on it.  So for better or worse, this is Me From A-Z:

A -  Amusing,Anxious,Active
B -  Brave,Bold,Blessed  
C -  Creative,Caring,Candid,
D -  Dancing Queen,Dedicated,Devoted
E -  Entertaining,Energetic,Empathetic
F -  Feminine,Forgiving,Friend
G -  Genuine,Gregarious,GLEE fan,Generous (according to Nicky & Kelsie)
H -  Happy,Honest,Hard working
I -  Intelligent,Introspective,Ice cream LOVER
J -  Jovial,Jewish,Jewelry maker
K -  Kind, Klutzy, Kooky
L -  Loving,Loyal,Liberal
M -  Mother,Merry,Messy, 
N -  Nice(according to Lyndzi,)Naughty(according to Luis)
New Yorker
O -  Optimistic,Opinionated,Overweight
P -  Particular,Perceptive,Perfectionist 
Q -  Queen of EVERYTHING
R -  Red Head, Reader, Ridiculous (but in a good way)
S -  Sensitive,Spontaneous,Scrapbooker,Swim & Soccer Mom
T -  Tenacious,Talkative,True
U -  Unique,Unstoppable
V -  Vivacious, Verbose,
W -  Witty,Wife,Writer 
X -  X-uberant
Y-   Youthful
Z -  Zealous

Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-153) A Note Of Gratitude

Today I received a most unexpected phone call; and it gave me a VERY big smile.  My old friend, Rachel S; called me from New York and without any provocation from me (NO, really;) she totally boosted my confidence.  I've known Rachel since my Pines days; and she has always been a voice of reason, counsel and support.  From time to time I'll get an email from Rachel, regarding something that I've written; and I'm always so flattered to know that she's reading and enjoying "The Bumpy Ride."

Amongst other things; Rachel told me that she always hears my voice in her head, as she's reading my posts; but she felt the need to hear my voice live; so she gave me a call; and I was truly, delighted.  I thanked Rachel for continuing to read my blog, and for encouraging me.  We discussed how difficult it is for me to write the blog on a daily basis; and how I often struggle, to find something entertaining or motivational to share.  I expressed my gratitude for her interest AND I want to publicly do the same for a few others as well.

To my friend Joni; I try my best to email you regularly to thank you for commenting on my blog; but I want everyone (well, the five people besides you, who read this;) to know how much it means to me, that you always leave me a comment; after you've read a post.  Now with that being said, I'm not inferring that I want every one (all five people,) to leave a comment, every time; I'm just thanking YOU for doing so.  It means so much to me.  And for those of you who've read Joni's comments; rest assured that her questions don't go unanswered; I just typically email her privately.

To my kindred spirit, Dawn; I cannot express how grateful I am for all of the thumbs up that you've given me on Facebook; and for all of your wonderful, heartfelt, thought provoking comments.  I admire and respect you so much; so the fact that you enjoy my blog, is a big (say it with me) "Huge," compliment.

To my amazing, Mari; Although you don't write your comments publicly; your emails, texts and phone calls are ALWAYS so appreciated.  I know that I've thanked you for your marvelous, "Memories and thoughts" jar on numerous occasions; but on behalf of my other five readers; I want to thank you again for the jar's contribution to "The Bumpy Ride."

Now surely I jest, when I say that I have five readers, plus whomever I was writing about.  I KNOW that I have a few more than that; and although I can't thank everyone who drops by "The Bumpy Ride," tonight I'd like to thank Julie, Judy, Cheryl, Shannon, Jenifer, Russell, Bobbi and Michele Q, (my sister of my heart;) for letting me know that they're keeping up with me regularly.

I know that you all are really busy; and the fact that you make the time to read my blog, just validates my effort and makes my day.  I'm gonna keep plugging away; and hope that I hit more often than I miss; and if you get in the mood to drop me a line some time and let me know how I'm doing, then I would be ever so obliged.  In the meantime, I found this quote by Karen Ravn, and I posted it as my Facebook status tonight because I think that it represents my current philosophy perfectly...

"Only as high as I reach can I grow,

Only as far as I seek can I go,

Only as deep as I look can I see,

Only as much as I dream can I be."

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING

                                                         

(43-14) Welcome Back Commenters

I hate to admit it; but I am ridiculously thin skinned, which is why it's almost unbelievable that I endeavor to write a blog and put myself out there for the world to criticize. I generally give people's comments and opinions much more credence than I should; so to actually put myself in a position that invites people to tell me what they think of me on a regular basis is a real risk.  With that being said, I suppose that my NEED to write far outweighs my fear of criticism; and that's REALLY saying something.  Now don't get me wrong, for the most part it's been smoothe sailing on "The Bumpy Ride," and thankfully I haven't experienced an abundance of opposition.  I just want you to know that I am very motivated by your comments and I do take your input into consideration when I'm thinking of new blog topics; which is one of the reasons why your comments mean so much to me.  Whether it's a comment that's actually left on my blog, on Facebook, via email or even in person, I am grateful for all of your feedback.  OK, I'll say it, "Hello, my name is Paige and I'm a comment junkie."    I get very excited when I receive an email notifying me that someone has left a comment; and can you imagine my surprise the very first time that I got a comment in Chinese?  Now this may come as a shock to you, but I don't actually speak Chinese; however, I have authorized Blogger to translate my blog into other languages; and then when someone leaves me a comment in a language other than English, I copy and paste the comment into freetranslation.com to see what it says before I post it.  If it makes sense to me, I share the comment (even though YOU don't know what it says,) and if it is incoherent, I don't.
When I first started writing "The Bumpy Ride" I had a few friends who would comment regularly; and I truly appreciated the encouragement, but I got spoiled; and then if they didn't leave a comment I would assume that it meant they didn't like that post, when the truth of the matter was that they were probably just busy.  I NEVER want anyone to feel like they have to comment gratuitously, but there is one commenter in particular that I have missed...
It's been a while since Michelle M left a comment on "The Bumpy Ride," itself.  Occasionally she'll comment on Facebook or email me, but she kept telling me that every time she tried to leave a comment she was unable to see the the letters that she would need to type in order for the comment to be submitted and therefore couldn't leave her comment on the blog itself.  One other person had mentioned the same to me, but since I was receiving comments from other people I just figured that there was some kinda glitch going on and I didn't investigate further.  Well tonight Michelle M and Max came over for dinner and she asked if she could use my laptop to see if she could try to leave me a comment.  Of course I said yes; and after she got her comment all typed up, she called me over to show me that she was having a problem with my computer as well.  The problem was that the letters she would need to type were not appearing; and the box was blank.  I told her to just type something in the box; and by that I meant type ANYTHING in the box, but she took it literally and typed "something" and then new letters appeared.  AHA, I knew it!  For some reason it wasn't giving her letters to type, but once it thought that she got it wrong, it produced new letters and she was able to get through once and for all - WOO HOO!  Welcome Back Commenters!  Honestly, I'm rather impressed with myself that I was able to assist in bypassing this minor pitfall, considering how un-techy and un-computer knowledgeable I am; but I think Michelle M was even MORE surprised... It's true what they say; solving a problem is good for your self-esteem.  I'd felt better than I had all day.
So now I'm not sure that I haven't contradicted myself all over the place and I feel the need to surmise; so in short (YES, SHORT:)  I LOVE your comments, but I don't want anyone to feel that they HAVE to comment.   I revel in your reassurance and I am gratified by your praise.  When I wrote "TBR" on a less than regular basis, I knew that I was taking a chance each time I wrote; but now that I am writing daily, I find that sometimes it's easier for me to come up with a topic and sometimes its a challenge; but I / we need to keep in mind that my journey this year must cover ALL topics; from what I was thinking and feeling to a new recipe that I tried and EVERYTHING in between.  I just hope that you know that whether you comment or not; that I appreciate your time, your consideration and your patience.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING 

My Big Lessons

I want to start by thanking everyone who read my more politically slanted blogs and honored my request not to leave opposing comments. I COMPLETELY understand that as this is a blog, people do like to make comments both positive and negative and this is something that I still have to get used to. Nonetheless; I am most appreciative for those who resisted the urge to slam me for my views.

Unfortunately, today, I had the experience of receiving a very negative comment from an anonymous reader. The commentor was upset with me for stealing the garage sale sign and failed to see that I myself had come to understand that my behavior was inappropriate and I was being karmically punished. I deleted the comment because I found it to be hurtful and cruel and I didn't think that anyone else needed to see it. I then changed the setting on the comment area so that no one can leave an anonymous comment any longer. The anonymous author then logged in as "Blogging Lurker" and went on to criticize me for everything from the length of my blogs, to my arrogance and my poor choice to use people's names in my blog. I had to think about this one for a while and I know EXACTLY what the lurker was talking about; and although most of his/her comments upset me greatly, he/she did have a valid point. I made a gross error in judgment when I wrote my Newman blog. I MISTAKENLY used the first name of the person that I was writing about. (I have since removed the person's name and now refer to her as So and SO.)

Trust me when I tell you that ANYONE who knows me, can tell you that I am the Queen of OVER THINKING. I edit this blog to the Nth degree; and there are times that I re-read a post's after they've been published and even though most of the readers have probably already seen it,I go back and edit whatever typo I've found. I mention this because I would NEVER intentionally use the name of someone that is not a friend; as I don't have the right to. When I wrote that blog I was in full swing of telling the story, and somehow missed that I had done this; and so believe it or not, I am actually GRATEFUL to the lurker for pointing this out to me. I have learned several BIG lessons. today 1 - DEFINITELY don't mention unauthorized names. 2 - Although I am attempting to be funny; there are a number of posts which may be construed as cruel or mean and that really is not what I'm here for. And 3 - There will be people who don't like my blog and don't like me and they will feel compelled to tell me about it. Well, it's 3 that I would like to address. At this point in time I am going to request that if you read my blog and you don't like it - please just keep on truckin. Don't leave me a comment and tell me why you hate me (or the blog;) just don't read it again. Not every blog is for everybody; just as not every book or magazine is for everybody and though I know it's your right to comment; I am asking you not to.

I hope that everyone understands; I'm not running for office, and I'm not trying to win a popularity contest; I'm just trying to become a writer. I like to entertain you with the insane stories of my life, and provide humorous observations; not because I'm perect or arrogant; just because I can - as can you on your own blog; if you would like to have one. And, yes, in addition to trying to put a smile on your faces I am also attempting to provide you with information that I think may be helpful; not as someone who thinks they are better than someone else but from one person to another; heck when other people pass good information, deals, recipes,treats on to me - I am PSYCHED and I want you to be too. I mean where else have you found techniques for bee removal. the recipe for Diet Coke chocolate cake, and a cure for hiccups ? It's all one stop shopping here at "THE BUMPY RIDE."

So at the risk of being accused of being verbose; let me conclude by thanking EVERYONE for taking the time to read my blogs. Thank you to everyone who does leave me positive feedback; and thank you to my friends for supporting me in my decision to keep on blogging. Thank you for your tolerance; as I'm still learning and I'm usually pretty good about not repeating my mistakes. I leave you with both my thanks and my apologies.

Till next time...

Queen of EVERYTHING