44!

Today I am 44, and other then when I said "I do" to Luis, or "Hi, I'm your Mama" for the first time to Nicky, then  Lyndzi, then Kelsie - there have been never been words that I wanted to say more. 

When I posted "100 Random Things About Me"  # 14 was "My parents and paternal Grandfather all died at the age of 43 and that WON'T be me."  I firmly believed that when I wrote it, and so upon my 43rd birthday I decided to challenge myself and write my blog every day for the year plus my 44th birthday.  I liked the idea of taking the opportunity to make something terrific out of something terrifying; and, if you've been following me for a while, then you know that last night "I Did It" and I wrote the final post of my 43rd year.

So here we are; I'm sure that you're wondering what more I could possibly have to say after 365 consecutive posts; but you knowme,  I'm a giver and I like to spread my happiness so I had to come back and celebrate my victory with you.

I've received more well wishes and congratulations for my birthday and my blog, than I could have ever imagined and I feel truly blessed.  So in honor of my birthday, I've decided that I'm going to give a gift to one lucky rider.  Yes, for the first time EVER on "The Bumpy Ride", I'm doin a giveaway and I hope that you will all participate and SPREAD THE WORD!

You may recall that when I posted "ASPIRE" I told you that my incredibly, talented friend Mari had been making what I called "inspiration charms", and she graciously offered to make me one and ASPIRE was my word.  Well Mari's thoughtfulness and generosity didn't end there, because she has now donated one of her beautiful necklaces.for me to give as a gift to one of you.  Mari asked me to select the word for the necklace and I chose one that I feel encompasses the message that I've been trying to impart throughout "The Bumpy Ride" - BELIEVE!  

Yes my friends, this stunning, handmade, original necklace can be yours, if you leave me a comment.  Now being that I am the Queen of FOLLOWING THE RULES , ya gotta know that there are a couple, so here we go:

1.   In order to win you must follow "The Bumpy Ride" so if you're not already signed up; please do so, because I would hate for you to miss this fabulous opportunity.

2.  Leave your comment with the name of your three favorite posts (BUT they can't be any that were mentioned in this blog.)

3.  Because I know that it will take a while to meander around my previous posts, the deadline for comments will be August 5.  Take your time, look around, read an old favorite or try something that you may have missed.  

New riders are absolutely eligible to win as long as they sign up to follow, so in the interest of (say it with me) the GREATER GOOD; please make sure to to refer your friends to "The Bumpy Ride."

I'm really excited about giving this gift away, and ALL that this new year has in store for me.  Lyndzi and I will be taking the red eye to New York tonight and I can't wait to come back and share all of my Big Apple adventures and reunions with you.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING