Notice anything different?

My formerly frumpy blog is now sporting a snazzy, new look. Many thanks to Summer for making it happen! Summer is very talented, and I really enjoyed working with her. She somehow put up with my endless silly questions, and she didn’t laugh (not even once!) at my total illiteracy in blog design. I definitely recommend her if you want a blog makeover! The end result is even better than I imagined, and my only regret is that I didn’t have it done sooner. Thanks again, Summer!

Happy Blogday

This little blog just turned 100-posts-old. Never when I started did I think it would last longer 2 posts, but here we are. Cyberspace is probably not changed because of it, but I know that I am. I know it’s customary to write a “100 things about me” list for the 100th post. But, just thinking about it caused me a lot of worry. I agonized about what “things” to include. What would be important enough or interesting enough to make the list? For example: Do people really want to know that I don’t have my ears pierced? Or, that I do have a scar on my knee from an unfortunate tennis accident in high school? (By the way, I do believe I’m the only person that’s sustained an injury from playing tennis. Single’s tennis. I tripped and fell, and I think I heard my mom audibly gasp in the crowd.) Or, will people want to know that I once broke my arm in 7th grade playing basketball? (Again, I think I heard my mom gasp in the crowd.) I then considered writing a few Top 10 lists of my favorite places and things I’ve done. But it all seemed forced. Instead, I’m writing an abbreviated version of the “100 things about me.” Consider this the Cliff Notes version of Tootie: - I’m blessed with an amazing family. I could brag about them for thousands of posts. But, since this is supposed to the short version, I’ll just say that they’ve given me so much joy in my life, and they have profoundly shaped the person that I am today. - I love to laugh. Jerry Seinfeld is my favorite comedian. Husband and I saw him perform live once. Until then, I never knew what a pure joy it was to laugh for two straight hours until your stomach hurt. - I served in the military for five years after college, and it’s one of my proudest accomplishments. I learned so much about myself, our country, leadership, and service. And, as a priceless bonus, I met the love of my life (Husband, of course) in the military. - Believe it or not, deploying to the Middle East was probably one of the best experiences of my life. Never in my life have I had so few comforts, but yet had so much gratitude. It was humbling and eye-opening, and I will never forget it. - Mother Teresa is one of my heroes. My favorite quote of hers is: “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” - Husband and I took an amazing cruise for our honeymoon of the Mediterranean. We visited Italy, Greece, and Turkey. - My husband and my dad are both pilots. When they are together, there is much talk of altitude, engines, altimeter settings, and other things I can’t quite decipher. - I’ve always liked writing of some sort. At age 8, I wrote my first book, “Tall Tales,” (published only in the notebook I wrote it in) that included stories about a bracelet, a friendship, and, of all topics, insurance fraud. (I know. I was a strange kid to write about that last one.) - I started keeping a journal when I was a teenager, when I wrote almost every night. I filled up about 10 journals, probably full of all sorts of teen drama. I continued keeping a journal of some sort until last year, when I started this blog. With that, I think I made a secret wish of my mother’s come true who used to watch me write in journals and wonder what I wrote about. Now she knows, and now all of you do, too. - Since I got out of the military, I’m working on my Master’s degree. Truthfully, I’m not exactly sure what I’ll do after I finish my Master’s, but I trust that I’ll find whatever I’m meant to do. - I like yoga, sushi, books, photography, reading, magazines, balloons, traveling, and dark chocolate. - I love the beach and everything about it - the water, the sand, the birds, the sky, the footprints. Some of my favorite memories are being at the beach. - People fascinate me, which probably explains why I love people-watching in airports and reading other people’s blogs. - I always stop at lemonade stands because I remember what it’s like to be that kid hoping that someone will stop. - My husband lives to make me laugh (in his own goofy way), and I live to laugh at his jokes and antics. - Cooking has never been my strong point, but I’m slowly learning and I’m enjoying the process. Maybe I should add, “I fib” to the list, since this seems longer than any Cliff Notes I remember. Regardless, happy blogday to my little blog. Thanks for reading about my life and letting me into your lives, too! And, if you need an excuse to eat cake today, feel free to use my blogday as an excuse.

So here I am...

...with my own new blog. This is no small feat for me, considering I’m pretty technologically challenged.

One friend, when I generously offered to give him a ride a while ago, pointed out that my car was a time machine on wheels. He was right, since not many cars have nowadays have cassette tape players as their only source for playing music. But I’m proud to say that I invested in a CD player for my car last year, and I finally subscribed to cable internet last month. So what’s next for me – an I-Pod??

You’ll probably see some of my other quirks throughout my writings. Don’t worry – I don’t mind if you have a laugh or two at my expense. But more importantly, I hope my writings might inspire you in some small way. Thanks for reading!

All the best,

Tootie