And Now I Am One ... In celebrating the first year of this blog, I've found myself with little to say. My mind has been filled with a lot of static today. It's this time of the year, albiet late, that I'm ready to get back to some normalcy. Today, I sat down and watched the news as Pres. Gerald Ford's remains were honored by the country and with a private service for the family, and the whole "When will it happen?" buzz over the execution of Saddam Hussien and the Muslim holiday that is to begin tomorrow and how that will impact when he will go to the gallows. So, today is all about death. having gone through three major funerals in the last four months, the idea of all of this public spectacle is disconcerting to me. When Bear asked if she could watch "Fairly Odd Parents" I readily agreed. It was just too much on this weird, sort of warm, winter day. In some ways I've mellowed over the past year since I started this blog. I've allowed myself to become more transparent. My initial thoughts of what I wanted to do here has changed. I really don't know what I was thinking about a year ago. Now I see it as a journey. I'll stumble, make mistakes and hopefully pick myself back up and keep on walking. So today, I say thanks for all the things I've received and the wonderful things this blogging thing has given me. I've made some lovely new friends. I've been yelled at a few times too. My integrity has been questioned on a couple of blogs, which sort of tripped me out. But that's okay too. I sometimes have been too personal. Other times, I've been vague. And through it all, I've grown. And that's something. So I leave you with a pick of my canine kid, Mabel, who is taking a bit of a nap here on Christmas Day. Here's to another year. We'll see how it goes.  ¶ 12/29/2006 04:17:00 PM