That's right folks, it's officially been a year since I first wrote this statement of purpose and the first real entry on my original blog.

A lot has happened since I first decide to give this whole blog thing a try. At that time I was doing the Off-Again-On-Again Tango with Morelli, although unbeknownst to me I had already seen and talked to him in the flesh for the last time a couple of week previously. I think I had a clue something was wrong, which was in part why I wanted to start writing – to do a bit of venting of pain. But I was petrified of the idea of writing online...of putting my thoughts and feelings up there for anybody to read and comment on them and potentially judge me. I was worried that my friends and family would hate it, that they would be uncomfortable with being discussed or, worst of all, that they'd think was an uninteresting, self-absorbed hack.

However, I also knew that I wanted a way to express myself that was more....challenging than the old paper journal that I'd kept for years. So I decided to give it a go.

Now after a year, I think the decision to start a blog is probably one of the better chances I've ever taken. I'm so much happier (despite recent entries to the contrary) and more confident now and, silly as it may sound, I think that's in part because of the blog. At the risk of sounding like I’m navel gazing again (I know how much some of you HATE that), the process of writing the blog has helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin and in my own head. And I've been pleasantly surprised by how my nearest and dearest have embraced this little project of mine. I think most of you will agree that the input of folks like MCL, Garlock, Travers, Ford, Sojourner, Jordan and Wilson really have helped to make this virtual space feel more homey - to feel less like an online journal and more like a bunch of friends getting together over a couple of cuppas to chat. And of course, that was really what I was hoping for all along.

And then there has been the unexpected benefits of all the new friends I've made - Soon-To-Be-Dr.-Cara, Mocha, Chris, Bill, Sue, Dana, Jean, Loofa, Steve, Guinevere, Betsy, Elizabeth, Life in the Fast Lane, Pointless Ballyhoo, Tanilan, BGOAB, Alex and Belinda, Aynde, Christy, Tamara, Aunt Tea, and so many other folks that I can't even list them all (I mean really...this list is already longer than the Mouseketeer Roll Call). If someone had told be a year ago that I could become friends with so many people who I've never met in the flesh and who are scattered all over the country, I'd never have believed them.

So thanks all and congrats! You've all helped me keep this thing going over the last year. May we all spend many more years together!