Top 10

Hmmm my top ten posts of 2011. Interesting to ponder. Looking back on this year I can say it's been the best of times and the worst of times. Between the drop off in my business, the man being unemployed for most of the year, my guilty soap opera pleasure of over 30 years being canceled, 2011 kind of sucked. Then again, I had some pretty amazing things happen too. I won six contests ranging from a free pizza to a trip to LA. I was interviewed for the New York Post.  I was able to attend a farewell party for said guilty soap pleasure.  I was asked to be a guest blogger several times. I reconnected with some great old friends who I hope I never lose touch with again. And I finally got to a point in my life where I can embrace things about myself that I never did before.  An interesting year, most definitely.  As I look back, I can't help but think where I was in my life when these particular blogs were written:

January, 2011 :  To Richard, With Love.  When I wrote this I was feeling grateful.  Grateful to have a friend I could tell anything, and I do mean anything to, and not feel judged.  I'm still grateful.  I still love him.  And I know he will be a best friend for life.

February, 2011:  Turning a Corner.  Definitely one of my most controversial posts. But the fact of it is, I love this post.  This post was a turning point for me, a point where I really didn't concern myself with how anyone else would perceive what I had to say, I just wanted to say it.  It was a culmination in a several year long quest to rid myself of guilt and shame over stupid shit that being raised a certain way saddles you with.  It took me about 42 years I'd say, to recognize it.  And only three years to get rid of it.  Not bad.

April, 2011:  Mixed Emotions.  This post was my true feelings, how I felt when All My Children was canceled.  Feelings, emotions and thoughts I dare not speak out loud or on my AMC blog because I don't really know how many fans could really see where I was coming from.  Now, three months after the final airing, I miss it a little, but I have moved on and am now seeking my next adventure!

May, 2011:  Embracing the Third D - the series.   I cannot do a year retrospective without including the Embracing the Third D series!   This is still my most hit upon blogs and still some of my absolute favorites.  It was embarrassing, silly and just plain fun to write.  All the stars aligned and I became a storyteller.

June, 2011:  Sold.  A walk down memory lane in my Grandma's house, that, almost 3 years after she has passed, had finally sold.  This post was filled with beautiful memories of one of the most important people that has ever been in my life.

June, 2011:  You Are Beautiful:  A post very near and dear to my heart.  I still cry when I read it again.  It's about my beautiful niece and all the trouble she has had while in school making and keeping friends and became a story of triumph.  She is thriving in high school.   She is in honors courses, on the swim team and has been cast in the chorus for the school musical.

July, 2011:  A Year.  The horror of cancer never goes away.  Ever.  But I am privileged to know one of the bravest, strongest and most amazing woman going through that horror.  She inspires me every day.  This was my tribute to her.

August, 2011:  Answer the Phone Neil.  A story about a reconnect 23 years in the making.  A silly falling out kept us apart for 23 years.  But through the magic of FB we are now back together and I couldn't be happier.  There are just some people in your life you can never forget or never get over.  TM is one of them.

October, 2011:  Guest Blogger, Reflections from a Redhead.  When Janine asked me to do a piece for her Beauty of Difference series, I didn't think I had anything to contribute. But in the end, I did.  And this is that piece.  I'm extremely proud of it and honored to have contributed.

November, 2011:  Finding the Thanks.  Ahhh yes.  How can I not include a in laws story in my top 10 of the year?   I had to.  I just had to!   lol

Thanks for a great blogging year!  xoxo