HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME....almost

On March 16th, I put my very first blog entry on the Internet. Up until then, I was happy being a commenter on other blogs. A few people kept bugging me....saying things like, "hey get your own blog", and "quit hogging everyone's bandwidth with your silly off topic comments". So I eventually got the hint and jumped in.....

Remember when I looked like this?

Four of those blogs were my commenters that first day in the history of Grandma J. Heartshapedhedges, is my daughter and her blog sprung forth from her son's Caringbridge site (yeah leukemia survivor!). LMNOP, is another blogger crossover from Caringbridge, (whose daughter is also a leukemia survivor). Then The Cortney Chronicles is a follower of HSH and LMNOP, and My Training Adventures, a wonderful marathon fundraising woman who I met through her support of several Caringbridge sites.

So there you have it...my first four commenters. The amazing thing is, after reading that pitiful first post, all four still come back a year later. So thank you....to those first four, and the other two rest of you who check in on a regular basis to see if I'd been committed kicked the bucket, or to be more politically correct, dove into the deep end.

Over the last year, I have posted 380 entries, with 64,879 visitors. Ok, I know, there was that day back in July when I have over 15,000 hits! All because Michael K from dlisted put a link to my Shamwow testimonial on his site. Just because of that I'm now engaged to best buds with Nick, who lives somewhere in the Heart of Dixie in Charleston....with his new puppy. I've also become good friends with Hollywood, who really lives in Albuquerque. Ummm, where's that blog of yours Hollywood?

Now, here's the exciting part that includes all of you. Yes even you, and you too. Over the past year, I've reviewed several movies, given testimonials on a plethora of products. God, thank you for the word plethora, I love it more than you know.

I've keep you abreast of current events...like the Yearning For Zion dilemma here in Texas, and the tragic toilet malfunction on NASA's space station. I've talked about my grandchildren and JJ til I'm blue in the face....with much more to tell you! You know all about my Uncle Jack, and the escapades of my Mother, Rita. I've discussed personal stuff like my sex life colon, pinkie finger, and mustache.

Several times over this past year I have honored our Service Men and Women...specifically my son-in-law, 1SGT John, who is currently serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.

I took a road trip to visit Cortney and Briana here in Texas, and I met up with Jason, Pumpkin Delight, and Hula Hank in Los Angeles. I'm trekking to Virginia in July to partake in the Virginia Blogfest hosted by Big Hair Envy, and Chesapeake Bay Woman.

With all of this in mind, I want you to tell me which post you liked the best. I know, they all kind of blur together. But seriously, I have to know....so take a minute to jog your memory or look in the archives. I'll make it worth your while with a contest/drawing.


That's right, a $50 gift card from Bed Bath and Beyond. the winner will be picked by a random picker thing on March 16th....the anniversary of the day everyone's Grandma J's world changed....forever.

I INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

THE HONEYMOON'S OVER

Do you remember all the scuttle-butt going on two weeks ago? When my Site Meter went bananas? Now, I'm not talking about the glitch last weekend, when Site Meter messed with everyone's blog. I mean remember the one that drove my hits up from around 200 a day to over 15K in one day? I was looking at my "30 day" graft and this is what it looked like.
I couldn't figure out what to make of it. Without sounding vulgar, at first glance it looked like Site Meter was flipping me off. Giving me the finger. I mean, all those people coming over to visit just because someone asked them to. Not just anyone.....Michael K. at dlisted. Can you imagine how popular and powerful he must be? It's like when Moses spread his arms and the seas parted! Michael K. puts a tiny word on his popular, funny site and the whole world clicked on it......JUST ONCE!

I was grateful, actually, I was more than grateful. I was extremely thankful and I emailed Michael K. at dlisted to let him know. He friggin emailed me back! N.O. K.I.D.D.I.N.G.


Do you think he answers every email he gets from fickle crazed women? I think not. And the hugs and kisses? They are real.

So there you have it. My fifteen minutes of fame. Actually, it was 15 thousand hits...then I bought this shirt.

Now go visit Michael K. at dlisted. Tell him I sent you :)

Santa, really, it's getting ridiculous, where's my Christmas in July camera...it's August already!

PINCH ME HARD...

not that hard

Yesterday I was overwhelmed by the number of visitors I had to my little blog. At first I thought Site Meter had gone whacko, then I assumed that Google short circuited my post about Vince the pitchman at Scam the Sham Wow. I called my people her and giggled my foolish head off.

People started leaving comments explaining what was really happening. Michael K. at dlisted.com linked my post on Sham Wow, asking his readers to come take a peek. Can you imagine anyone being that friggin powerful? I mean holy mother of all things sacred, even though she has zillions of readers, hardly any of them come here when she tells them to. She does tell them to come here, right?

I checked out dlisted.com, and wondered what rock I had been living under. It's H.O.T. check it out. After browsing around, I emailed Michael K. and thanked him for the link, and he emailed me back. Pinch me Baby Jesus! He said nice things about me and I have a feeling there was some magic between us.
What do you think? yeah, dear Santa, I need photoshop bad!

I also want to share just a few of the comments Michael K's. readers left me re: sham wow. I got a kick out of them:

Charlene says: “Who the hell spends twenty dollars a YEAR on paper towels, let alone a month?”

Amber says: “It's like I've been told there is no Santa Claus...lol!”

Anonymous 1 says: “The product is good but be cautious. I received 2 mops I did not order. and what I thought would be $19.95 plus S/H. Was billed $101.75 on my VISA. for 8 cloths. To return for credit you could loose more.”

Mary says: "I also use them on my cats when i give them baths and it works better then a towel. Ehh just my 2 cents. Oh and they do have to be wet to work."

Anonymous 2 says: "I'm impressed that the previous poster Mary gives her cats a bath."

Anonymous 3 says: "That’s kind of messed up that you write this terrible review about a product, clearly influencing people to NOT buy it and you didn't even follow the directions (GET IT WET FIRST!!!). I think you owe the Shamwow guy an apology."

And really? Anonymous 3 is the only nasty person who came over to chew me out.

I was surprised that so many people took the time to read other posts besides the one linked to dlisted. Like Nick....

"GrandmaJ,
I found your site through d-listed this morning and am TOTALLY bored at work. I have to say I just finished reading your WHOLE entire blog! I think you are very clever. I'm 26 BTW and have some of the same thoughts! Keep it up and I'll be checking back regularly-Nick"

I really heart Nick! Bored at work? I would guess he's a Civil Servant like mwa, but working Saturday would narrow that down to prison work or toll booth operator. Any which way, I'm glad Nick and I click is coming back. I mean I don't get many men reading my blog...Jason does, but he is spoken for, and so popular that he's turned down my offer to go on a cruise...and he turned down a cruise offer from her's too.