I had a brief article about my thoughts on blogging in the newspaper here today. The reporter found my sites and contacted me to do an interview about blogging for the Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper. So that was a little strange, since I'd pretty much been incognito around my area and use a pseudonym for my last name when I write. He'd wanted to come to the house and get pictures of me blogging, but I had to back out of that. He featured my Easy Bake Coven site and other area bloggers who have nice sites. A positive experience and I was quoted word for word.

Finally got Robin's site all ready to roll. Now I'm wanting to tweak a little here or at EBC and Blogger won't let me get into either template. They're both blank. Usually you can sign out and sign back in, but no help today. Could they be changing over to the NEW Blogger today? It's supposed to take a few weeks, so maybe they're working on my stuff today.

I need to set up a new site for Robin today. It's also from Groovy Lizard Web Designs.

My cat's not afraid of the rain or water. But my two big dogs always want to run inside when in begins sprinkling. The cat has always thought he was a dog. I don't know what the dogs think.

I turned my heat on this morning. Something I've not done in about a month. It's drizzling outside; probably will be raining all day. Guess I should get busy on Robin's site. Then I can visit some weblogs after that.

Well, it's official. I have definitely turned into my Mother. This post sounds like her drivel. Based on love, of course.

Trying out the shadowed boxes from Meg's site. There should probably be a way to set up the width to a default instead of putting a pixel amount on it each time.

I forget how good water is for me. If I drink 40 -60 oz a day each week, I can drop 2 lbs a week effortlessly. Two months of consistently losing 2 lbs a week would serve me very well. I really have to make a conscious effort to drink it; like a 20 oz bottle for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My skin also looks better and it's just so damn good for you. Drink up!

I've been thinking about LOVE lately. And how we're lucky to ever experience it. When we think of love, we think of all the times we've had reciprocal love---someone liking us back. But I found a new twist on love that is bordering on the profound. A new way to look at it. Unselfishly. I'm learning to be grateful for the love that I feel for others. You really gotta wrap your head around this and think about it. So stay with me here. Think about a sibling. Or a parent. Or a good friend. And now think about what you love about them and the warm feeling you have when you hug or hugged them. This is what we need to be grateful for. Whether they're living or passed on. This extraordinary experience of feeling love is what I'm grateful for. Not the give and take love you may try to measure on the love scale with others, or even take for granted. But the ability to unselfishly remember and cherish and feel the power that is within you to Love.

Whoa. Long time, no post. I think the "empty nest syndrome" is gonna hit me hard. My daughter, Skyler, is almost 15 and she's always busy with her social life or school functions. Must be preparations for when she does go out on her own. We do have a rental property next door to us that she'd LOVE to live in. Nah. Perhaps if we didn't need the income that it provides.....she could live there.

I think my parents were relieved when I left home. They still had one more home and in school. God, I remember that day so well. Still 17, I drove that 'Long And Winding Road' (the Beatles song was out then, too,) to my dormitory at ETSU in my old VW van. 12-string guitar and suitcases in the back. My mother followed behind to get me settled in and pay for my meal pass. We walked the 3 flights upstairs to room 302 at Dossett Hall.

My roommate, Daphne Wiggall, hadn't gotten there yet, so I chose a bed and began to unpack. Clothes, posters, art supplies, snacks. I looked like a female Robert Plant with long, wavy hair and holes in my patched jeans; and she was buttoned up to the neck with hose and loafers. Hmmmm. This ain't gonna work so well.

Freaking my roommate out turned into a great source of amusement. She watched horrified as I took down an old book from our bookshelf, and opened it up to reveal a hidden, cut out compartment that held my pot safely and securely. And stopped speaking to me altogether when I threw her panties out the window at our first Panty Raid.

Looking back now, I realize that I seldom thought about my family. My life was so full with college and my newfound independence. I know that your children are the center of your universe. But you're way down on their list of priorities. It doesn't mean they love you any less. It means your job as a parent is fundamentally over. And if you've done the best job you can, love them and let them go.

{note to self: read daily until you actually believe it}