noun \ˈsla-kər\

That's me..... a blogger who has been a slacker. Oh the shame.

This time last year I was gearing up to attend the Blissdom blogging conference. And 365 days later, my blog has been sitting on the roadside of the information superhighway.... up on blocks.

It wasn't because there was a lack of material. Goodness knows there is always something to write about around here. I could write a post a day about the Princess alone.

I started this blog three years ago, with the encouragement of one of my college BFFs. My first posts were written while the hubby and I were in Japan for my brother's wedding. The Princess and LegoMan were able to keep up with us while we were on the other side of the planet.

After returning from Japan, I continued to mindlessly entertain share my thoughts with millions a few people right here on my little spot in the blogosphere. That is, until last year. Somewhere I lost my blogging mojo and my posts got more and more sparse. There was an update here and and update there.....and then nothing.

I'm gonna have to blame my laziness on THE Facebook. What better place to post photos and update friends and family on all your goings on. Just like a blog. Dare I say, it can easily take the place of a blog?! *gasp*

This very blog allowed me to "meet" people all over this world and many of them have become friends in real life also resulting in a facebook friendship. Now I keep up with them there, and perhaps they keep up with me.......providing me with a legit excuse for not having to post here. I apologize to the 3 readers who might have gotten left out in this process.

One loyal reader and friend (Hi Penni) wrote this on my facebook wall: "Would you PLEASE update your blog? I need a laugh."

So with that.....I probably need to get this party started......again. Whadya think?

Greetings and Salutations

Look who's back at the typewriter.....that's 80's talk for look who's back at the KEYBOARD.


I'm not sure why I always feel compelled to explain when I step back and take a break away from my Big Fat Greek Blog. I just do.

When I was encouraged to start this little corner of the Internet, I had no idea what I was doing or where I would go with this whole blog thing. I still have no clue what I am doing, but I am still here over 3 years later and 350+ posts. I even have over 70 followers, how cRaZY is that? Of course, I have no idea how many of those 74 followers actually read my posts. But I HAVE followers! Yesterday I logged in to find that I had lost 1 follower and for some reason it hurt my feelings.

I'll be honest, sometimes I think about shutting this place down.....wondering if anybody in the blog-o-sphere would actually miss the GRITS place. But, ya' know, I didn't exactly create this space with anybody else in mind. I never dreamed that if I "built" it, "they" would come. Through this blog I have met so many people from, literally, all over the world....some of whom I have met in real life and others I hope to meet one day. The blog world is a huge place, filled to the brim with some very wonderful people. If you don't know it....click on some of my blog links in the sidebar for a start.


This space was initially created for family members to keep up with us and somehow it turned into a place for me to foster my slightly creative side. When I say creative, I sure as heck don't mean grammatically correct, hanging on the edge of your seat, or thought provoking writings. My middle and high school English teachers would shudder to hear that I was writing material that other people actually read. My book reports and term papers often looked like someone turned a toddler with a red ink pen loose on them . But those memories didn't stop me from blogging....no siree! I have overcome the wrath of the red pen, because I'm strong like that.


If it's not blatantly obvious, humor plays a HUGE role in my life. I really like to make people laugh and I LOVE to laugh. Too bad "funny" is not on the spiritual gift list, but would it be bold for me to call it my ministry? People tell me I am funny. My mother thinks I should write books like Erma Bombeck.....which cracks me up! Besides, she's my mom and she's required to say stuff like that. (I love you, Mom) However, I wouldn't say I am the funniest person on Earth; but, I do like to incorporate humor in almost every aspect of my life on a daily basis.


I have spent the last 15 years of my life in the medical field both as Critical Care Nurse and now as a Nurse Anesthetist. My job can be VERY stressful. I have seen and dealt with a lot of heaviness and sadness on a regular basis. For me, humor is every bit a part of my uniform as much as my ID badge. I have been known to lighten the mood before surgery by telling a male patient, "I think you will be very pleased with your breast implants!"


This blog is just another outlet for me.....a place where laughing is the rule of the land most days. I might not be here regularly and you might not even notice. You know what? That's ok with me.

I don't really have a personal mission statement, but if I did it would have something to do with using humor to bring a smile to at least one person's face each day.

Be back soon

Y'all I went to Blissdom....had a blast, learned a lot, got my picture taken with Harry Connick, Jr.

I will write a post about it soon.

Got home from Blissdom Saturday night and left Sunday morning for here:



So, I've been a bit preoccupied. But stay tuned.....please.

Nash-Vegas Bound

Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Tick, Tick, Tick....

That is the sound of the clock.....time is ticking away before I leave for the blogging community's party conference of the year, BLISSDOM!

I am getting nervous.

I spontaneously signed myself up to join 499 other bloggers for three days of blogging info overload? Seriously.

Did I fall and hit my head?

Why?

I.Have.No.Idea.

While the people who know me well would disagree, I am an introvert. New places, new situations and mingling with a roomful of people I don't know makes me queasy. Nevertheless, Thursday morning I am headed to Nashville's Opryland Hotel to get my Bliss on. There I will be rooming with one of the fabulous gals I have met online this past year, Dedra.

I will be mingling amongst some of the best bloggers, including one of my personal favorites, Kristen from We Are THAT Family. She's my 'Fro Me to You friend. I hope to meet her and pray I don't just stand there with my mouth open! I'm also looking forward to meeting other of members of the blogosphere and a few of my twitter friends, including Jessica of Muthering Heights and Jill of the Diaper Diaries.

The excitement factor overshadowed the nervous factor last week when I found this little Blissdom "happy" on my doorstep:

Right now my mind is worried about what I will wear and will I find my way there. I'm sure as time gets closer I will be more worried about not having any clue what I have gotten myself into. Oh well.

Stay tuned....

Hellooooooo

Remember me?!

I realize it's been a couple weeks since I've posted something here.

I've missed being here!

And perhaps you've missed me....or not.

During my last couple weeks "off" I have done something CrAzY!

For you, the 58 people who say you follow me, and for those of you who randomly landed here today, I am going to vow to do a little better in my blog posting.

Because, this cRaZy half-hearted-blogger has done something, quite frankly, out of the ordinary. I have signed myself up for Blissdom 2010 in Nashville. And even reserved myself a room at the Opryland Hotel...yee haw!

For those of you who don't know, Blissdom is a conference for BLOGGERS. Ahem. And as of lately, that has not been me.

So, now I have to start blogging again.....or there will clearly be NO NEED for me to attend a blogging conference, and I might as well have thrown some money down the ol' toilet.

Right?

I thought so!

So let's get this thing back on.......ROLL 'EM!

Boo! Guess who??

There were a couple of blog celebrities at the Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman concert last night.  Both were found at the Compassion International booth.

 

I was a bit celebrity stuck by the first one, it rivaled Marcia Brady meeting Davy Jones.  As in my heart began beating fast and I began babbling nonsense to this sweet soul.  I said, “I’m the one who wrote ‘Roll Tide’ to you in the sand” thinking that would, for sure, put me in her mind.  I mean, after all, her blog is read by “tens of people”  surely she would remember me???  She politely laughed and also obliged my photo request!

 

Yes, this is the lovely and humble BooMama!!

 

Also working at the booth was fellow ‘Bama blogger, 3girlsmom. 

 

Yes, I borrowed your blog profile photo.  Sorry, but the GRITS’ readers demand a photo!  Isn’t she cute!   Yo, what up girl?!  She’s now one of my internet peeps. 

I have recently begun reading her blog and following her and BooMama on Twitter, which is how I found out they were at the concert.  So at intermission, I stalked them out and waited until the concert was over to make my move.

 

So glad I did…..now, who’s next??

One Year Later

As I sat here thinking mindlessly about a new post, I suddenly remembered that my one year blog-iversary would be coming up soon. After checking out my list of posts, I was surprised to find out that this very day marks one year in blog land.

Who would have thunk it? Almost 165 posts later and I am still here. I was almost certain that not long after my beginning, one of my previous English teachers would have found me and shut this place down! It could still happen. Seriously.

Props to my peep, Teresa, whose blog leadership and words of encouragement led me into the blogosphere. My main purpose in starting this little blog was to have a place where my family and friends could keep up with our daily lives. It provided a way for our "worlds" to be closer despite the miles between all of us. And over time, it has provided me with an outlet to think out loud and ponder some of life's puzzling experiences......such as Chuck E. Cheese and NASCAR racing....which are two of my favorite posts.

Most of you were definitely not here when I got started, but have entered my world somewhere along the way. And I am certainly glad you are here with me today. So,I want to say thanks for all the folks that stop by on a daily basis. Your comments are greatly appreciated. And for those who don't leave me comments, shame on you! ;-)

I've met a lot of great people here and look forward to another year of sharing my life and thoughts with you all. Stay tuned.....

Tagged by a Queen

Who can say no to a meme when it was the Queen B herself that tagged you. She’s right up there with BooMama in my book, so I shall consider it an honor to have been tagged by Her Majesty and play along.

For this meme the rules are simple:

1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.
2. link back to the person who tagged you
3. link back to this parent post
4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all
5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them

Just for a little background, for the newer folks. I began blogging after a little encouragement from my BFF from college, Teresa. My blogging career began last September 28th, prior to a trip to Japan for my brother’s wedding. Almost one year later, here we are.

1. The most obvious way blogging has affected me is it allows me to have an outlet from every day life. Not only in my own writings but through the writings of others.

I have never been an English or grammar scholar and if you ask any of my past teachers, writing was NOT my forte. There’s no grade here, no chance that I’m going to get my creative writing paper back with a bunch of red all over it. So, I write about what I want and insert punctuation where I want and I love to use ….. when I want.

2. I have developed “friendships” with people I don’t even know. But over time have grown to think of these people as true friends. I have found myself saying, “my friend said” and be completely referring to a post written by a blog buddy.

And on a more serious note, I have been a prayer warrior for people that I have never met, but totally know God allowed me to cross their path for a reason. The stories and lives of others has deepened my faith.

3. I’m not saying that I’m the funniest person in the world, because I know that would not be true. And the truth is I aspire to be funny, and I have aspired for a long time to be funny. I like trying to be witty and interject sarcasm at every opportunity. It’s me, it's totally who I have been and forever will be.

And through this blog I have that opportunity. I have people that read my blog and care to share with me how my post made them laugh so hard it made them cry. That makes me feel good and validates the reason I entered the blog world.

I’ve had more than one person tell me I need to write a book. I think that’s stretching it quite just a bit. And no, mom, I am not the next Erma Bombeck. Thanks for the compliment though.

4. I was never one to keep a diary. And the thought of writing in a journal exhausts me. I mean, who can keep up with all that, umm, writing?! Wait a minute, isn’t that what I do here. Why yes it is. *poof* Instant online journal/scrapbook.

My kids have "Greek GRITS” as an icon on their computer and they are constantly looking to see what I have posted here about them. And my son, often says “we need to put that on Greek GRITS”. I may just have a future blogger on my hands.

5. The most negative thing related to blogging would be time spent on the computer. Once the kids go to bed, I spend a good bit of time writing my own posts and reading through my favorite sites. I love to leave comments on other folks sites, which does take time. But my motto is: in order to make new friends, you have to be a friend.

WOW, I made it. I actually came up with 5 things. I was totally prepared to go my own way and list 3 things because I am not that creative.

So, now I am going to tag a few special folks who have made my day many times by leaving me comments. In the blogging world, comments are like an A+ at the top of my paper. This is my own special way to say thanks to these folks, but please come back! :-)

1. Shannon at Muzbee Crazy

2. Kirby3131 at the Goat

3. Leslie at Light Came

4. Nik at Exceptional Voyage

5. And whomever else wants to participate, just leave me a comment to your link.

Thanks, Queen B for the fun and making me not have to think too hard for today’s post.