Today I’m celebrating two milestones: It’s my birthday and it’s also the one-year anniversary of this blog. Both are in pretty good shape — I think, anyway. My day started off great and kept getting better. Younger Daughter, finishing up college in two-hours-away Birmingham, called this morning. In the middle of our conversation, the front doorbell rang. “Strange,” I thought. “An early-rising friend? Somebody from Sunday school?” Nope — it was Younger Daughter, faking me out. She had gone to my favorite Birmingham bakery to be first in line for my favorite almond croissants and drove the more-than 100 miles to bring me birthday breakfast. What a sweetie! I also got a phone call from 16-month-old grandson Capt. Adorable. His mommy, Older Daughter, said she coached him to say “Happy birthday, Grandma,” and I do believe I heard him say that. Or maybe he was making the “baaa” sound — his latest animal. Either way — adorable! I also had birthday lunch with Dear Husband and then a phone-call birthday serenade from my parents. Pretty good way to mark turning 52, I think.

And Coffee with Cathy is turning 1, thanks to you all. I love blogging and I love being part of the blogging community and I am eternally grateful to Dear Husband for encouraging me to do this. Where else but the blogosphere can you connect, communicate, express, vent, rant, laugh and learn in the company of talented and compassionate women all around the world? By blogging, you can be a part of something huge and powerful. Or, you can just climb up on your own individual soapbox and say (mostly) whatever you want to your own personal audience. You can talk about politics or decorating or cooking or music or divorce or your children or the Weird Annoying Neighbor next door. Me, I consider my blog my own lifestyle section of my own newspaper — don’t all reporters secretly think they could run the thing better than any publisher? At least this way I don’t have to worry about ad lines and subscription prices and ink costs — all I have to do is indulge in my favorite subjects of food, style, family, friends, books, music … I figure if it’s interesting to me it will be interesting to somebody else. And that’s the joy of blogging — there’s always something to pique your interest. I’m constantly encouraging folks to read and write blogs. It’s amazing the variety and diversity you can explore, the riches and treasures you can unearth with just a click. It’s free, it’s fun, it’s entertaining — what’s not to like?

Thanks to all for helping me celebrate today — and always every day for stopping by and saying “hello.”  Every comment, every visit, every ping and trackback and all that other stuff means so much. Here’s to many, many more!