ONE THOUSAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I often say I didn't become a writer until I had something to say. I started seeing the themes my writing would eventually revolve around in my late teens . . . redemption, inner strength, "found" families. And they just solidified as I kept writing.
But blogging? It didn't even exist when I first started writing.
I started this blog in August of 2005. I had a six-month-old that I didn't yet know was a Demon Baby. I was living in Florida. I hadn't yet gone through the worst hurricane I was to experience (Hurricane Wilma, October 2005). And when I started the blog, I didn't yet know if I would have anything to say.
Maybe I still don't. But it appears I rise each day, say my prayers, make a pot of coffee, and blog. Oh . . . wait, I also brush my teeth. But blogging is something I do. Sort of like writing novels, mothering, knitting, reading, and generally being difficult.
So, in honor of my thousandth (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) blog post, I am giving away two copies of Freudian Slip, two copies of Rock My World, and one copy of my old RDI Divas Don't Fake It (over 18 winner only! and as an aside, do you know there is an entire FACEBOOK group based on this book???) based on, as regulars know, the unscientific process of Demon Baby picking the winner (sorry, but blondes have the edge . . . however, I will encourage him to pick based on other criteria). In fact, I will also use Baby Girl to pick a winner or two to even things up. SHE will, I am sure, base it on how clever you all are.
And how you win is simple. Leave a comment. Based on the question of the day. Which is . . .
What is something you do every single day (or close to it) that people might be surprised to find out about? (This will avoid the obvious bathroom humor that might otherwise arise if I didn't qualify the question.)
So come on regulars, lurkers, and those of you who lurk but only EMAIL me rather than comment. We won't bite. (Well, we might.) Leave a comment today and celebrate the fact that apparently, 1,000 times . . . I had something (even if it was vapid) to say!
66 comments:
Congratulations on your thousandth post. I'm too transparent to have a secret identity.
Ever single day I ask my "angel helpers" to surround me with special powers that make me better than I was yesterday.
P.S. Happy 1000th post!
I watch my dog fetch the morning paper. She's a great dog and has been doing this chore for over eleven years now. I used to have to help her carry in the Sunday paper, but about a year ago they cut down on the size of the paper. Now, the puppers has no problem picking it up.
BTW: this is a totally awesome perk on those cold, wet or just plain nasty days!
I love my dog!
Hi Richmond:
:-)
I know who you are! I've even met you IN PERSON.
E
Kath:
Very cool. Like angel superpowers.
E
magolla:
My dogs' new trick is chewing shoes. Good for you!!!
E
Every day I check out what Erica Orloff has to say.
Congrats on a grand!
Happy 1000!
Every day, in the shower, with the water pelting my back, I lean my head against the wall and say things into the corner I am happy or sad or angry about - or something I'm ashamed of - or something I wish for. It's cathartic because no one can hear me, and it's sad because I wish I didn't have to tell the shower wall my secrets. But, I try to look at it as a good thing - getting rid of things that might slow down my living if I carried them with me.
I'm glad there is no "if showers could talk" tv show!
Jude:
I like that. A GRAND. LOL!
E
Amy:
Very interesting ritual. But you know . . . with troubles going down the drain . . . it really does sound cathartic!
E
Happy thousand!!
Answer to question:
During the week, I get up, I shower, I get dressed, and I go to work.
On the weekend, I get up, I shower.
Clothes are for weekdays and out of house experiences.
This past weekend, I participated in the "Guinness World Record Most People Skinny-dipping at One Time" event. You should have been there.
Hmmm. I try (unsuccessfully) to avoid housework. But that isn't very surprising.
My secret is that I see little bits of magic in life. I look for them on a daily basis. I think that coincidences are really the universe connecting us all in meaningful ways. So I keep my eyes open to witness the little magic that makes life so great.
Congrats on the 1000th post. Does this mean that you can air re-runs on twitter or something?
Heather
Just so I would have a chance of being picked by Demon Baby, I updated my profile so now there is a picture. That's my real color even though it doesn't look it.
Amy--I think there's good Chi in that ritual. I might have to try it.
Every day I people watch. It's a compulsion.
That was me btw, Sex Scenes at Starbucks. I'm in my alter-ego log in right now!
Nordic walking. We walk one and one-half miles twice each day using Nordic walking poles to improve upper body strength.
On another subject--I'm glad you made it to 1,000, and I'm glad I accidentally stumbled onto this blog. It is one of the best I read each day.
Congratulations! As an under-100 blogger, I've learned that blogging is a skill unto itself -- and you're a great blogger.
(If Demon Baby or Baby Girl picks me because I'm such an adorable monkey, let them repick. My Orloff shelf is already fully stocked ...)
Congrats on hitting 1000!
Every morning I squeeze half a lemon into a glass of water and gulp it down before I have anything else. It's probably not good for my teeth, but it's how I start my day :)
Allen:
Well . . . congrats on the Guiness record. LOL! That is certainly not something you see every day. ;-)
E
Allen:
Well . . . congrats on the Guiness record. LOL! That is certainly not something you see every day. ;-)
E
Heather:
I know, wouldn't it be great if it was like syndication and TV?
E
Every morning before I get out of bed, I pray that I will live in such a way that God won't regret giving me that day.
Congratulations on your 1000th post! By the way, I like what you have to say, and make your blog a daily read.
Richmond:
You stand a good chance now, LOL!
E
Betsy:
I share the people-watching compulsion. Love airports for that reason (hate flying, but love the people-watching).
E
Joe:
How interesting. I see a man doing that around here. I sort of wondered . . . why the poles? Now I know!
E
Lurker:
I would have bet money on the monkey being picked. So I will be sure they re-pick. :-)
E
solvang:
I hear that is good for the digestion!
E
Hey Beth:
Thanks for coming out of lurkdom. And that is a particularly beautiful morning prayer.
E
Congrats on your thousand. I'm stumped about what people might not know. Walk Frodo, but that's hardly a mystery. Probably: run through the 10 basics, 10 CBAs and 10 forms in sanchin-ryu karate, even if I only run through them in my head.
BTW, congrats on 1K!! Still love your blog. :)
Mark:
See . . . I wouldn't have known that. Frodo, I did know about. After all, isn't he your office manager?
E
Thanks, Starbucks!
E
Woo Hoo! I'm here for the party! Congrats to a great writer!
As for the question - Um... Every day and a surprise. Geez, that's a tuffy.
I doubt second guessing myself is a surprise though I do seem to do it several times a day. And spending time trying to decide what I really want to be when I grow up shouldn't be a surprise either.
Probably the bigger picture is that every day I reflect on who I am and what I am doing/have done and decide if I am on the course I want to be on or if I need to alter my heading (mostly my attitude) and try again.
Love the idea of talking it out in the shower. Thanks, Amy!
Oh and I already have Freudian Slip and Eternal Hourglass. Not objecting to getting something else though, that's for sure.
Ooh Sherrie. You should try apple cider vinegar in a bit of water every night. Talk about not good for your teeth, but my cholesterol is under 200 for the first time ever.
Congratulations on one thousand, Erica!
I can't imagine there's anything I do that people don't know about. :-) I'm boring, plus everything I think or do comes out of my mouth or fingers, anyway. Oh, I guess I don't talk about rolling around on the floor with my cats. I spend lots of time kissing and loving and petting them in a day.
Congratulations Erica!! I'm so glad you started blogging because you are one of my favorites. I actually save your blog for last some days so I can savor it. :)
You can take me out of the running for the contest since I won the last one, but I'll answer you anyway.
I being and end each day with stretches. I don't do them for as long as I should, but if I don't, my back will spasm on me and I'll be in pain all day. In the morning I sit up and stretch my legs, and at night (actually throughout the day too) I do lunges to stretch my hip flexors.
Allen -- where did that take place?
Congratulations on your 1000th post!!! That is quite a milestone!
Every single day, I admire the sky. Blue, clouds or without, gray and stormy...it doesn't matter. I love all the colors of the sky where we live (on the east coast.) Having lived in Dubai, where there is so much construction that the air is full of sand, and the sky is brown, and the buildings are brown, and yes the sand is brown, I've come to appreciate all the colors here. I used to wake up there, in night sweats, having lustful dreams about the sky here.
:-)
Sarah:
Seems everyone likes Amy's routine!
E
Natasha:
I know about the cat-love. ;-) No surprises there.
E
Melanie:
I SHOULD start with stretches, though I never seem to.
E
Chris:
What a lovely thing to admire. Last night, there was an amazing cloud overhead--looked like God was beaming out from behind it. Like a Sistine Chapel come to life.
E
Congratulations on 1,000!!!! And thank you, because this is my favorite blogging stop - you always make me think.
I doodle. All the time. On manuscript pages, recipes, notes, bills... dark and morbid doodles on the bills, to be sure. Most of the time I'm not even paying attention and then I look at the page and all the margins are covered with little pictures. I most often doodle eyes - For some reason I'm really good at those... not the whole face, just random eyes, sometimes a nose... good thing my grandmother never saw me do that - she'd think I was throwing out the malocchio. :-)
Wow! 1000 posts! I imagine it is interesting to look back on older posts to see how different your perspective and life has changed. Congrats!
My daily routine occurs before I even get out of bed in the morning. My two children (3&5) will jump into bed with us and have 'morning cuddle time' before we start our days.
Merry:
I am an eye-doodler too!!! That's it. Eyes and trees. Constantly.
E
JLC:
I think my blogging voice has gotten more confident. I like blooging a lot. Sort of like an online journal.
E
Happy 1000th!
And tell Demon Baby I'm married to a blonde.
Now to the answer. There's isn't a lot I do every single day except write, but that's not surprising so let me think ...
Okay got it. I pluck at least one gray hair from my goatee everyday. Used top be that was all it took to stay ahead. Now if I plucked them all, my chin would be might danged mangy.
I found you in 2006. I lurked for a while because you had published infinitely more books than I had. (You still have, but infinity ain't what it used to be.)
Thanks for all the posts, for all the advice, public and private, and for the friendship.*
What I do every day that people would be surprised to know? I read my favorite quote, written on an index card that is taped to my printer: Act boldly and unseen forces will come to your aid.
I acted boldly when I introduced myself to you. Turns out you suggested my current publisher. Pretty good quote, isn't it?
*(Thanks also for conceding, through repeated and well documented refusals to accept my challenge, your inferiority in Scrabble and, by irrefutable deduction, literature itself.)
Congratulations on 1,000!! First time commenter, but have enjoyed reading your posts!!
Let's see, something I do every day - Play scrabble or wordscraper on Facebook. I'm addicted...
1,000! Well done!
Every day I somehow manage to get involved in a conversation with one of my children where I am doing the voice of a stuffed animal.
And I think about writing stuff. Not necessarily simultaneously.
And, yes, I totally changed my profile pic just to make my chances better.
Travis:
LOL! I'm trying to picture a ragged goatee!
E
Stephen:
My darling . . . I believe you have finally given in to pure Scrabble-dary delusion.
E
KathArine:
I think your odds improved! :-)
E
Hi Erika,
Congratulations on your 1000th post! And thank you, very much, for all your words (blogs and books).
Everyday, no matter what, I watch about an hour of sci-fi tv. Doesn't matter how crappy it is or how old the rerun. Don't know why, but it works for me.
I also write lists, even if nothing ever gets crossed off.
In the hopes of being picked by Baby Girl, I'd like to mention that I am also an aspiring filmmaker, currently working as a production assistant in Vancouver.
(totally shameless, I know)
Every day I send out good thoughts for friends and people I care about. I sent out good thoughts for pets, too.
Congratulations on your 1000th post!
The elephant in the living room, I see color differently in each eye. My left eye adds more yellow, my right more blue. So when my son who is colorblind tells me he sees a pink eraser as light brown, I know how it is he can tell the difference between colors without being able to "see" them.
Did you know that green traffic lights are no longer true green? They are very blue because the most common male color blindness is being unable to tell red from green.
CAndlestick:
Completely shameless (and wonderful!).
And . . . interesting about the sci-fi channel since I generally see at least 10 minutes of a Law 7 Order re-run EVERY day. LOL!
E
Thanks Edie.
And Buddhist do a loving-kindness meditation . . . very similar.
E
Richmond:
I have a cousin who is colorblind. It used to fascinate me. I remember one plaid shirt he saw as all-brown.
E
Okay, so I'm going to take you up on your comment that we could post today too.
I also stargaze every day, during the sunshine of the day. It just takes a little more imagination-- the stars are all still there, you know!
A layer of sunlit Earth, the atmosphere, then the darkness of space, and all those twinkling stars.
Sometimes the best star gazing happens from my inner eye.
Thanks for all the wonderful posts. I enjoy your thoughtfulness every day.
oops, I missed the deadline... :)
I log on to my computer to check my emails. I hug my kitty and my husband. Pick me, Demon Baby!
Heather:
I love stargazing and don't do it enough.
FF;
Shameless!
E
Yep! Sometimes you just have to be shameless! LOL
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