Hello friends! I had a great time off but I'm so glad to be back in the saddle because I'm not one for taking lots of time away from work... the longer I stay away the harder it is to return and get back into the groove. Truth is, I love blogging and this whole crazy web world and though I thought staying away would inspire me in crazy new ways it sort of didn't because I missed my favorite blogs, connecting through emails, and writing in general. Have I turned into a total computer geek? A hermit? What's next? Taking in stray cats, wearing my pj's all day, living on take out food? Many of my friends encouraged me to take a break, step away from the computer, avoid blog reading for a few weeks and I listened... but I do not feel as super inspired as they claimed. I do have tons of ideas for the blog this year so in that sense stepping away was productive. I think we all need one another more than we care to admit. Isn't that why blogs sprung up in the first place, as places to share our thoughts with others and for gaining insight, entertainment, and/or friendship in return? Stepping away from blogs and spending time only with family and friends was certainly nice as I was able to connect with some that I've not seen in awhile but overall, after two weeks, I felt the same way towards the end of my vacation that I recall feeling back in 2005 when I decided to start this blog: kinda alone with my ideas, like no one in my immediate circle "got me". Not much has changed is what I learned recently. Most of my dear friends still do not know what a blog, blehg, blag, "a what?", is and most aren't too interested in learning as being a blogger and freelance writer certainly isn't nearly as amazing as being a {insert real job title here} as most of them are.

With that being said, I'd like to kick off the new year on a positive note by saying thank you for reading my blog and for supporting my work throughout 2008. Every blogger posts this kind of thing, thanking their readers and getting all mushy about it so I'm no different I guess. And while I love my family, it's great to have an online posse who does know what a blog is, is equally obsessed with Facebook, and who is quite familiar with blogs like Dooce and why they make me laugh so hard that whatever I'm eating usually ends up on my computer screen.

To thank you even more, and to bid adieu to 2008, I've decided to round up my favorite posts from this past year in a post that will follow this one. There's lots of reading, so stay tuned!

P.S. A special thanks to Australian interiors magazine Real Living for the decor8 love in their January/February 2009 issue. What a way to kick off the new year! I don't know what their readership is but Aussies must be a loyal group smitten by this mag because I cannot begin to tell you how my traffic spiked. Good grief. Watching the traffic flow in from Australia and New Zealand, there is no doubt it's coming from this single press mention, so thank you Real Living.

(images from Real Living magazine. A special thanks to Catherine Bain for scanning this article for me!)