To blog or not to blog....that is the question?

Well, here goes nothing, or maybe it will be something...who knows at this point? I started this blog almost 2 years ago, and I stopped writing this blog almost 2 years ago...see a pattern here? It's not that I haven't thought about it, the fact that I actually started one sometimes amazes me. The reality that I recently started and finished my travel blog absolutely astounds me...so why not continue the effort when I'm not traveling??? Well, I've been asking myself that very same question for the last 15 days since we returned home from our trip. And I just couldn't come up with a valid reason not to revisit this one again. First and foremost, I really do love to write. That's a pretty good reason right there, because at this stage of my life, doing something I love to do is a top priority for me. We spend a good portion of our lives doing things we may not be particularly fond of...and that's probably sugar-coating it, just a bit. After following along and reading my recent blog, a few close friends and family members ("F&F") encouraged me to continue my writing. So, I've set myself a goal of blogging at least once a day...on subjects that may have little or no value to anyone other than myself. But then again, isn't that what blogging is all about, us talking to ourselves without the input of others. Unless of course you count the comments, but those are easily ignored if you so choose. And to be perfectly honest, other than a few F&F, very few of my readers (and I've had almost 10,000 hits from readers in 10 different countries on the blog to date), have left any comments.

I guess it is time for one of my disclaimers, which I usually put at the beginning of my writing as a type of warning system for unsuspecting readers. I suppose I could just cut, paste and revise the one I wrote from my cruise/food blog...perhaps I shouldn't be so lazy...who me???? Here are the things, in no particular order, that I will be ignoring in this blog....

-proper sentence structure
-punctuation

Oh brother, who am I kidding??? I'm not taking the time to write this all out again...cut, paste and revise is all the effort I'm gonna make folks...maybe the cliff notes version will suffice....I'll do my best to make it short and swe.....sorry no sweet here!

"I can promise you right now, my entries will not and shall not be in any way, shape or form a grammatically correct blog. It will be full of punctuation, spelling and various other writing faux pas...and that folks is just the way it's gonna be...sorry in advance. I will also apologize in advance for some of my other bad writing habits, or speaking ones for that matter...you will be witness to my horrific run on sentences....my perpetual........separating of thoughts.....with theses.........dot, dot, dots....and of course, my long winded rants....whether you want to hear it or not. Selfishly I'll state, that this blog is as much for me as it is for you. I enjoy going back and reading about parts of my life, and let's face it, when the alzheimers really kicks in, it will be the only way for me to recall my thoughts and opinions about various issues. You've been warned, I try to be fair and include one of these disclaimers at the beginning of all my writing...proceed at your own risk. And for those of you who see me in person on a daily, or not so daily occurrence, sorry if I am repetitive....I'm very guilty of that faux pas as well. When trying to make a point, or when I'm am very passionate about a subject, I tend to repeat an entire statement once or twice....I blame it all on being raised in a large family...if you wanted to be heard, you'd repeat yourself until someone paid attention....what can I say...old habits die hard."

Hopefully that wasn't too painful, if so.... you continued reading...not my fault.

So, back to the subject at hand, writing....I tend to do it all the time, morning, noon and night...where do I do all this writing you might ask...In My Head of course....I'm just too lazy to actually stop the thought process for even a moment to write anything down. So all my thoughts get lost in the nether regions of my mind....and, perhaps, that is a good place for them to stay...or maybe not :) it can get awfully crowded in this brain of mine...must be time to open the flood gates and let just a little bit out at a time. Hold on to your hats, my thoughts have been set free and there is no stopping them now. Or is there??? Is there such thing as blog police? I gotta tell you, I've even reading some blogs recently, and some of them are unexpectedly raunchy and pretty harsh...from people I would least expect it from. Then again, you don't really know about a person until you've read the thoughts, that until recently, they've kept secreted away in their heads, just before they commit them to the type written word. Some might be saying the same about me in the not too distant future...only time will tell.

So the question of the day...what am I going to blog about....and why blog at all? A friend of mine mentioned to me after I returned from my trip, that her husband (who was also following along and reading my blog) asked the very same question, why is Joanne blogging? My initial response and honest answer was "because I can" but even more so, because I love to write and eat. No matter if anyone reads it, if I find pleasure in it, that is really all that should matter. They say you should always write about what you know, who doesn't know about eating??? We all do it a few times a day, and whether it is interesting or not, I like to also write about it. Most of the time, my eating regimen is pretty dull, then again, I don't really have what most folks would refer to as normal eating habits...it just works for me.

I will also continue to blog when we travel...we have some trips scheduled for the remainder of the year and for a good portion of next year.

And finally, I'll write about me, my life, and how it all relates to my friends and family. Just the typical, normal life of an everyday 51 year old, grey haired, middle class woman, living out her remaining years in Florida, married to her childhood sweetheart and finding the joy in this craziness we call life.

So, after a false start back in the fall of 2008, and with the assistance of my trusty IPad, my constant companion in all of this, I will once again begin my blog. Thanks to those of you who are tagging along for the ride...I can promise you nothing except a glimpse into this far from normal mind of mine...the one my husband perpetually refers to as "cute".... you just can't argue with a man still in love after 37 years :)


Finally, a picture of me not eating or drinking something. Actually this is from one of my many hours of writing on our trip. As a matter of fact, I had just experienced an "uh oh" moment when that kind stranger found my camera connection kit on the ground and returned it to me. We were heading back to Salerno from Capri on the ferry, to once again board the Century on our way to Venice. Boy, we miss that ship...so sorry to hear she is having major issues...more on that later.