Grate-Friday-ful

I write M-W-F's. Monday's post was a tribute to a character I had to pay a fond farewell to. Wednesday's post was recognizing my third child, seeing how Thanksgiving was her 12th birthday. So today, in honor of a post-Thanksgiving Day writeup, I'm listing all the things I'm grateful for in the blogosphere.

- Early morning surfing - instead of staying cuddled up between the warmth of my bedsheets, I'm sitting in a hard chair, tapping on the cold keys of my keyboard.

- Cold coffee - while I'm busy doing the above, my coffee loses heat--completely.

- Reheated coffee approximately 4.5 times a day.

- Coffee cup forgotten in the microwave...too many times to count.

- Blogger - oh Blogger, dear Blogger when you lapse or won't let me make a comment on a buddy's post...sigh. And then to sign back on and find my comment posted three times. *double-sigh*

- Dry eyes...'Nuf said.

- Time warp - reading one blog post bleeds into another and then another and then...before I know it, three hours have escaped me.

- Burnt food - um, yeah...turn the oven on, spread chicken nuggets and fries on a cookie sheet for the kids, and set timer. Sneak back upstairs to hit just one. more. post.

- Spamers - Really?? R u bored?

- Forgetting to eat...& then wondering why I'm hungry.

- Comment moderation - do they really have to come up with non-words with more than five letters? The other day the security non-word had fourteen letters - Seriously.

In all seriousness though, I've learned more about myself, those around me, and the world since I started blogging. And I've grown dramatically as a person and as a writer.

As a writer, you live during an incredibly exciting time. Opportunities are all around, lying in wait when you least expect them. Take in all you do and read while blogging each day. Let every element seep into your pores, influence you. You never know where a path will take you until you chose to start walking it.

Sometimes the greatest gifts lie on the narrow, beaten path and in the smallest package.

- Have to mention a few bloggers or writing sites by name: Dianne, LM, my Oasis for YA ladies (Jessie, AE, JA, & Nikki), Jessica (Allimorph), Candyland, Matt, Lenny (*smiles*), Marcy, Christine, Jen, Shannon O'D, Katie, Leigh, Renae, Shannon WM, Lila, the big E, Stina, LM, Terry Lynn, PK, Sharon, & many, many more. Just peek at my sidebar.... YAlitchat, Inkwell, Twitter, & even Facebook.

Can you add to my crazy list?? Fess up, peeps. (Heart you, all!!)