Let The Sunshine In!

Ok, I want some answers and I want 'em now - the truth and nothing but, if you will.

Anyone here ever get "the blues?" (And I don't mean do you really dig Blues music there either.) Anyone here ever get anxious or slightly depressed -or perhaps the BIG D - reeaallly Depressed?

And, if so, what do you do then to counter them?

I get these "lovely" little moods sometimes - and yes, sometimes they are just moods - but at other times, my stomach starts to feel like it's a cross between telling me I'm really hungry and just churning and ready to get highly upset. Sometimes, regardless of what great things are happening around me, I just get that gut churning feeling along with a severe urge to go sit in a corner, drink beer, pull my hair out, one strand at a time, and cry. Sometimes these issues happen and I may have a clue as to what transpired to bring my mood change on. Other times, I have no clue whatsoever.

I do have some meds to be taken when I get really edgy, anxious, shaky and they do help considerably. I have over the past so many years also had prescriptions for various anti-depressants -some worked pretty well; others worked but I didn't like some of the feelings they brought while supposedly helping me to cope.

Now, I'm not advocating this as a replacement for meds that have been prescribed by anyone's physician for a specific problem. Far be it from that. But what I am going to tell you is something I discovered over the past several months that often helps me to redirect my thought patterns at times, gives me comfort in various ways. And that my friends is to do this: BLOG!

I've been playing around with this blog thing for just a little over a year now. I started doing this mainly as a means to play with writing as well as to record memories of my very distant past and record some of the little things that happen here now on a day-to-day basis for not just myself to remember but also, for posterity for my kids and especially perhaps someday for my little Princess, Maya, to read and comprehend then what life was like with her over the time span of my recordings.

In the process though, I started to discover other bloggers and the messages many of them had about their lives, their joys, their pains too. And with that, I started my lovely little "sidebar" of favorite bloggers I like to visit. I also have bookmarks on what appears to be a kazillion other blogsites too that I am still reading periodically but who I have not yet added to my "faves" listing. I really do need to learn how to put up a blogroll so I can conveniently do that and I'm not quite that advanced as yet in my knowledge of how to do lots of stuff on a blog.

But tonight, I'm going to point out things about my faves here -to let you in on WHY I really like to read what they have to say.

If I'm really in a mood where I think I definitely need a dose of humor, here's the blogs I'd head to for that: from a produce guy down in Georgia with a strong penchant for music -both the real kind and some involving some bodily functions to a very funny guy up in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada who has two other blogs -this one for his newsletter and this one, which is his old blog and is all the Letters He Wishes He'd Sent. Granted these two guys do occasionally write about something a bit serious too, just as many of my more serious minded fellow bloggers from time to time write things that area quite funny, even downright silly.

Here's some of my faves who mix and mingle, serious and silly - Debo Blue, Smalltown RN , The Empress Bee and here's her other place too, along with these folks The Lime Family, Janey in Westcliffe, or maybe this zany Norwegian mother of six. Or check out Theresa out in California, or this stay-at-home-mom who sometimes posts bits and pieces of things she's writing or written or her latest Haiku poetry. Want the inside scoop on the life and times of a young American now living in Italy -and a great cook too or would you rather hear about a 911 operator and her daughter? How about learning the ins and outs of a hotel desk clerk in Quebec,
maybe learn a little about cats and boats and such too here, or perhaps the zany antics of my British blogger buddy, Claire, who's almost always got some iron in a fire somewhere.

There's some families operating on my faves list too -here's one -a young woman physicist with a penchant for feral cats, or her grandmother up in Minnesota who I just "met" via blogging last week, or one of the biggest and most popular bloggers around in terms of a "following" or here's what her husband, Mike, has to say too. And then, there's this couple too -Bruce and his lovely spouse who desperately wants to win the big lottery.

Now, if you want some input on etiquette, but not necessarily table manners, James Burnett's got what you wanna read. Need some updating on politics in general or perhaps bit and pieces about life in Atlanta, I recommend these two places highly. Or, since you'd heard me mention my sweet little granddaughter is autistic and maybe you'd like to learn a bit more of what it's like to learn right along with children with this disorder, then I very much recommend you read about Maddie and her two boys, or this Kentucky mother and her son. Need some information perhaps about psychology and especially Bipolar issues, check out Danielle's site. Or, if you really want to learn more about the scriptures and life as an Assembly of God pastor, I've even got that covered right here. Here's a place too with beautiful photos and some really great writing to accompany it if you visit this lovely lady here.

Want some good old-fashioned, down home talk about rock'n'roll and the 60's and 70's, check out Dr. Sardonicus, learn ways to turn your life around in some really good ways, check out Keith's place here. You say you're thinking about going to graduate school or how about law school, check out my Alabama friend here. Want to see some great photos of British Columbia and have the opportunity to learn lots and lots of really neat things about all kinds of topics, then my buddy Vic Grace has you covered. Check out some gorgeous photos of Oregon and learn about an "etsy shoppe" from Paula. Suppose you're interested too in writing a book, well gee whilikers, I've even got some bona fide writers on my blog too - friend Sandy has a brand new book just released "Choices Meant for Gods" available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and just about every other book store imaginable too and a young lady out in Oklahoma, also named Jen, is in the process of writing not one, but two books as you read this. Or from down in Texas, check out Marilyn Celeste Morris and her book, "Once a Brat" too. And here's yet another author too -down under in Australia who not only has a published book "Vegemite Vindaloo" but he is also an absolutely awesome photographer, very willing to take budding bloggers (or writers) under his wing to help develop your blog all the while providing some really gorgeous photos too!

Want to learn more about what other areas look like -then check out the little blog event being planned for October 20th by Gene Bach. You can get the directions to sign up for that in the post just below this one - about Getting to Know You, or you can go read Gene's blog too!

Phew! I don't know about you, but man, that's hard work there trying to show you almost all the places that I visit almost daily. And if you'd like to know what set me off on this tangent, then you absolutely have to go here because this place is a top spot in the pursuit of happiness and Sunshine13 is the blogger who is totally responsible for this post of mine! Read her post for today (Wednesday, Oct. 3) and become part of the "de-lurk" event by commenting at every blog you visit! And please, please, please, when you go to her place here, make sure you tell her that crazy old lady in Pennsylvania, Jeni, sent you there!

And, a side benefit to all this stuff and merry madness, you'll help everyone's technorati ratings and authority, up our blog stats too plus, learn lots and lots of interesting things in doing that too.

Try it, you'll love it! Trust me! Go check out Sunshine13 though and she'll give you the rules on how to play this game and even get prizes for participating too!

Now who doesn't love an opportunity like that? (And no, you don't have to post like this with all these sites and such unless you really want to!)