The AfterMATH ~ revisited ~

This morning, I sat comfortably with a cup of tea (no honey!) and my laptop prepared to write a blog post about “making marks” but suddenly, I was forced by the blogging lords (I typed blooging which completely cracked me up which made me lose focus on writing and I'm not even through the first sentence in my blog post but I’m much better now!) to change my blog post topic in order to revisit "The AfterMATH" but don’t worry I’ve filed away my thoughts about “making marks” for another day and will post it soon (so yes, that's another blog post for another day!).

♫  ♫  ♫  It’s celebration time, come on, let’s celebrate! ♫  ♫  ♫

I'm thrilled to report that yesterday, ~ Just as you are ~, recorded its 1,000th blog view (the crowd cheers). So the blogging lords I thought that today would be the best time to revisit “The AfterMATH”.  If you remember correctly, I had posted that I was a blooger blogger on Facebook along with the link to my blog (check out my blog post “Blooger Alert!”) then a week after my pathetic attempt at self-promotion my post on Facebook, I "published" the stats on my faithful followers readership. At the time, there were 132 blog views in one week (check out my blog post ~ The AfterMATH). Now three weeks later, I’m celebrating my 1,000th blog view!

Right now, the exact number of blog views is 1,031...oh wait...someone from Canada just viewed my blog so the exact number of blog views is 1,032...oh wait...someone from the UK (shout-out to my English friends!) just viewed my blog so we’re up to 1,033 (I guess 10am/3pm is a busy time of day in blogville!). Okay, let’s just stick with 1,033 for the statistical analysis of my blog viewing data. So, if my math is correct (of course it is!), that means, if each of you have read every one of my blog posts...You have read each of my blog posts, right? If you haven't, well you have no idea what you’ve been missing! May I ask why you haven’t read each and every blog post? It’s my photo, isn’t it?  So what was I saying?  I’ve written 37 blog posts (37 blog posts...seriously? I’m impressed with myself!) so if each of you has read every blog post, that means I have 27.9 readers. If god forbid you haven't read every blog post (excuse me?) that means I have more readers so let's say you're only reading 50% of my blog posts (what?), that means I have 55.8 readers. If you're reading 75% of my blog posts then I have 37.2 readers or if you're only reading 25% of my blog posts (oh my...I really do suck!) then I have 111.7 readers (so why aren't you reading each of my blog posts again?).  Or maybe you love my blog so much, you read each blog post twice then that would mean that that I have 14 readers or maybe my family and friends are reading each blog post 4 times which means I have only have 7 readers (and I love each and every one of you!). You should know that each blog post requires long hours of conching, a true pioneer spirit, passion, dedication, care, expertise and a commitment to detail thus demonstrating the passion and pride that....oh wait...that’s how Lindt chocolate is produced! The truth is that I have no idea how I write my blog posts every day but I do know that I always write from my heart and leave a piece of me on my blog every day (don't worry...that's a good thing!).

So I’m proud to say that on January 28th I celebrated my one month anniversary as a blooger (oh how time flies!). Geez...I can't believe I missed my anniversary! This is why I can't be in a relationship! I want us (you, me and my blog) to have a good, loving, compassionate, caring, trusting, respectful and playful relationship (unlike my “you broke my heart into a million pieces”, “there's a tear in my beer”, “unbreak my heart”, “get lost you big loser” relationships of the past!). In order for that to happen, I need to acknowledge that the love and support that you have given me (and my blog!) means so much to me (and my blog!), and that your support motivates me to continue writing. Without you, we wouldn't be celebrating my 1,000th blog view, and at this very moment you'd probably be reading about "making marks".  Well actually, if we weren't celebrating, it's because you're not reading my blog, hence you wouldn't be reading "making marks" right now (you poor, poor soul!).  Seriously though, every day I'm inspired by John Cusack my family and friends, my life, the people I meet (who am I kidding...I don't get out enough to meet anybody!), my life, the things I'm passionate about (hmmm...I haven't written about my rubik's cube yet, or John Cusack, or bubble baths, or fractals...okay, I better get on that!), the books I read, the movies I see, the television programs I watch, and pretty much everything that I observe in my life!

Okay, enough with the heartfelt stuff, let’s look at the blog statistics:

# of followers:  9

I'm not really sure what the purpose is of having followers because it’s not like there are any perks associated with being a groupie, crazy fan, follower...it’s not like you get a sneak peak or get free chocolate or are alerted that there’s a new blog post but nonetheless, I'd like to thank my apostles followers for their support!

Audience (based on blog views)

633 - Canada
244 – United States
122 - United Kingdom
13 – Singapore
11 – Denmark
3 – Malaysia
2 – France
2 – Ireland
1 – Germany
1 – Russia
1 – Ukraine

Okay, so it’s very likely that the readers in Malaysia, Ireland, Germany, Russia and Ukraine accidentally “stumbled upon” my blog and never came back (maybe there was a language barrier?).  I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my readers in Canada, US, UK, Singapore and Denmark because you keep coming back for more :)

Here are some interesting statistics (redundant...aren't all statistics interesting?):

• I’ve mentioned my FH John Cusack in 7 blogs including an entire blog dedicated to him (19% of my blog posts...that’s all?)
• I’ve mentioned Colin Firth in 3 blogs (8% of my blog posts) so I guess we know where my heart truly lies!
• I’ve written “wait for it” in 8 blogs (22% of my blog posts) and who knows how many times I’ve actually said it in each of those blogs (too many?)
• I’ve written “that’s a blog for another day” in 7 blogs (19%) and I know that Sarah loves it when I write those words so I’ll probably revise them to read “that’s a blog for another day, eh Sarah!”
• Shockingly (and disappointingly!), I’ve only referred to my two favourite movies Breakin’ and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo in 3 blogs (8%)
• I’ve referred to my obsession juicing in 5 blogs (14%)
• References to X...who cares?
• The words “think”, “thinked” (it’s highly unlikely but I may have made a mistake in one of my blog posts), “thought”, "thinking", “wonder”, "wondered", or "wondering" were found in 35 of my blogs (95%)
• I’ve written “moobs” in two of my blogs (5%)
• I’ve used the word “text-versation” in one blog (3%)
• I’ve written “surprise” in 9 blogs (24%)
• I’ve written “happy” in 15 blogs (41%)

After 33 days, blogging still makes me happy! I remember hearing Dr. Phil or Oprah talk about "finding your passion; that thing that makes you jump out of bed every morning excited to pursue that passion and live an authentic life”. Certainly being a mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend makes me jump out of bed feeling happy every day as does having a job that I love and having a volunteer position that fulfills me but writing, well, it’s a different kind of happiness that I can't put into words (never a good thing for a "writer"!). In the book I’m currently reading, The Confident Creative (yes, I’m still reading it...I’ve been busy being a mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and busy working, volunteering and blogging!), there was something that struck a chord with me; an epiphany of sorts.  The author, Cat Bennett, writes that “the simple act of drawing can deepen our sense of presence and open the gates to creativity, and that by its very nature, drawing takes us out of our worrying minds and into the wide open space of peace and possibility where inspiration comes to meet us”. Well, that’s exactly how I feel about writing!!! Who knew about the power of writing???

I admit that some days I have that terrifying feeling that I'm about to step in front of the judges (blog readers) on American Idol (my blog ~ Just as you are ~) and after singing for ten seconds (reading the first ten sentences of my blog), the judges (blog readers) shut me down, laugh at me, stomp on me then send me out to Ryan Seacrest (the blogging lords) who asks me in his best radio voice "whatever made you think you had talent?". My response "who needs talent when you have found passion and creativity!"

The blog has further inspired me to write my book and who knows...maybe one day it will get published! I can dream, right? Since I'm dreaming maybe one day I'll meet and marry John Cusack, or possibly meet Oprah? Maybe Oprah will start a new book club television show or a reality television show about writers and I'll be on it? And hey, maybe I'll achieve greatness (whatever that is!), thus increasing my ability to use my voice for the protection of the environment and all living things from being poisoned by chemicals and other toxic substances being manufactured every day by companies who are "running" our countries, and I could also be an advocate for social justice issues (you can’t have a healthy environment without social justice, and you can't have social justice without a healthy environment!). Okay, so I went off on a tangent but the point is that you need to live your dreams! What are your dreams? Sure, starting a blog and blogging every day wasn't my dream or something I ever imagined doing but it may be a step towards my dream of publishing a book, and being a catalyst for positive change in this world because "every journey starts with a single step" (Confucius).

To celebrate this amazing feat, BFF made a vegetarian poutine for us to consume during movie night. We ended up watching Eat, Pray, Love (no Breakin’ or Hot Tub Time Machine for us last night!) and at the end of the movie, even though the poutine was the best poutine I have ever eaten (seriously!), BFF looked at me and said “the next time we watch this (this was already our second time watching it!), I’ll make spaghetti!”  Mmmmmm...can't wait for our next celebration/movie night!  Okay, slight confession...at the time, we didn’t know that we were celebrating 1,000 blog views (had we known, we surely would have celebrated!) but I really want to share this yummy recipe that was served to me last night so yeah, I’m an opportunistic blooger blogger, what can I say?

BFF’s YUMMY VEGETARIAN (MUSHROOM) POUTINE

Step 1:  Make my yummiest home fries (EVER!) (check out my blog post ~ "Inspiration for paying it forward...fries?")

1. Cut potatoes into whatever shape and size your little heart desires.

2. Soak in cold water for 5 minutes (this is the key to the best home fries...EVER!)

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (you probably know your oven best)

4. Drain the water and pat dry the potatoes (this is equally important!)

5. Toss the potatoes with EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), salt and chili powder (you could add whatever herbs and spices you want to the fries...or none at all!)

6. Spread them evenly on the baking sheets (this is also important...don’t pile them one on top of the other or else they won’t crisp) then in the oven they go for 40 minutes, turning once, until crisp and golden (please note that if you try to flip them and they stick to the baking sheet, that means they’re not ready and not crispy enough to be flipped so leave them be!).

Step 2:  Make sure to buy fresh St. Albert’s curds (or any curds you can find or just use whatever cheese you like!)

Step 3:  Prepare BFF’s yummy mushroom gravy:

2-3 tbsp of fat (she uses butter but olive oil will do)
2-3 tbsp of corn starch (or flour if you don’t need a gluten-free recipe)
2 cans of whole mushrooms (or 1 can of mushrooms or you can use fresh mushrooms if you prefer or even no mushrooms at all)
1 tbsp of soy sauce or Braggs liquid aminos (you may want more or less depending on how salty you want it)
Pepper to taste (optional)
½ tsp paprika (optional)

Heat fat on medium-high heat. Whisk in corn starch. Cook the fat and starch for a few minutes until the starch is blended in. Slowly add the water from the whole mushrooms whisking constantly. Continue to whisk until thick. Add soy sauce or Braggs liquid aminos, pepper and paprika. Lower the temperature and add mushrooms (again these are optional). Keep hot while assembling poutine.

Timing

10 minutes before the oven fries are ready, make the gravy. Put curds in the bowl, pour fresh hot fries over top, add another sprinkle of curds and top with gravy. The hot gravy will “melt” the curds.

ENJOY!!!

Since Big Brother is always watching (he knows when you read my blog!), I thought I’d post a photo that I snapped yesterday of the most perfectly shelled hard boiled egg with an eerily resemblance to an eye (am I the only one who "sees" the resemblance?):