The Red Dots

OK class, today we are going to all join in an experiment.  

Please participate (or I will feel very sorry for myself).

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I love blogging.  For selfish reasons, I love it for the opportunity to write.  It fulfills my need for personal journaling.  It also fills my need to write for an audience.  No book is published with my name on it (YET) but I can still have a creative outlet that allows me to verbalize my wandering thoughts through written form.

I love reading other people's blogs too.  As a stay at home mom, I sometimes feel isolated and removed from the world.  In the midst of scrubbing toilets and changing stinker bums, I sometimes forget that there is a whole big world out there.  The blogosphere has opened my eyes to the fact that there are multitudes of women out there just like me.  Moms who are doing their best, loving their families, and trying to retain some form of sanity in the sometimes daily drudgery of mundaneness.  I take comfort that I am not alone.

I love checking in on my family and friends to see how their lives are unfolding.  I really do cheer for your successes, sigh when things aren't so good, and laugh at the comedic moments that you share.   And I love, love, love the pictures that you post.  I feel that, even though I am thousands of miles away from some of you, I can still be a part of your lives.  I love that I can see Britni's cute family grow and love life while they are in Milwaukee at dental school.  I'm delighted that I've been able to reconnect with Leslie in Texas and see how similar our girls are. I read about Nellie in Guam.  I love that I can peek through the windows of the web and stay close to Amy in Washington and Melissa and Amy G in Arizona.  And my local friends?  Well your blogs provide lots of things for us to discuss whether it be at church, during our get togethers, or a chance meeting at the grocery store. Blogging?  I'm hooked!

So, here is the experiment part.  I have a handful of "regulars" that frequent my blog.  Friends and family that I know check in from time to time.  I know because they leave comments.  But there are a lot of you out there that I don't know.  See the map up above?  That reflects who is viewing my blog from around the world. The bigger the dot, the more people in that region who are checking out how I'm Coloring Outside the Lines.  Who is out there in the Midwest?  In London?  In California?  In Canada? Washington?  Utah?  I'm curious.  I'm eager to know. 

Last week, a gal left a comment about my Girls' Getaway trip.  A sweet lady from California that I have never met.  It seriously made my day.  I instantly had a connection with a complete stranger who shared my enthusiasm and love for Disneyland.  I checked out her blog and realized we had more than just that in common.  We both belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Instant common ground with somebody who is living states away from me.  It's awesome!

So, PLEASE let me know who you are.  Don't be shy or embarrassed or hesitant.  Even if you're a friend of a friend of a cousin's friend's niece, I'd love to hear from you.  Don't worry if you've been a friendly blog stalker.  I blog stalk too.  But I'm calling you all out.  Stand up and claim your red dot. 

Please leave the following:  1)  where are you from?  2)  how did you find my blog?  

If you haven't signed up for a Google account to leave messages, please realize it's not that big of a deal.  You're not signing your life away.  You won't receive unwanted emails or spam.  All you have to do is remember your user name and password.  That is the tricky part. 

So, please, please, please play along.  Let's put some meaning behind those red dots.  

(Yes, that even means you - former college roommate who lives way up north...you know who you are!)