Santa Fe

On October 20, 2015October 20, 2015 By Peggy BereIn Musings9 Comments

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Ask anyone who has ever traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico and you’ll get the same response – It’s a dream come true. My adventurous hubs, Clark, and I had the opportunity to travel to this lovely southwestern city in September and within hours of our arrival, it was easy to see that Santa Fe could have earned it’s state’s nickname – ‘the land of enchantment’ – all by itself.

This beautiful New Mexico city is both the oldest and highest capital city in the US. It’s special in that the area is a gorgeous combination of both mountains and desert. It’s population of approximately 70,000 residents, is small by comparison to other U.S. state capitals, but extremely rich in native American culture and history.

Santa Fe is known for its art scene, which is the 3rd largest in the U.S. by sales. It is home to the 20th century American artist Georgia O’Keeffe and the Georgia O’Keeffe museum where you can see her accomplished works. You’ll find talented artists by the hundreds all around its charming downtown square, up and down the lovely boutique filled streets and especially on its famous Canyon Road which is dotted with one gallery after another.

This winsome city is nestled amidst the Sangre de Cristo mountains. This combined with the striking Adobe architecture makes for delightful and breathtaking sceneries. It’s beauty surrounds you in every direction.

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With a large selection of amazing restaurants to choose from for dining, it’s no surprise that this city earns a top ranking among foodies. Geronimo’s on Canyon Road is rated #1 among many of the locals and tourists alike as well as being named in the top 100 restaurants in the U.S. It’s thick adobe walls, Kiva Fireplaces and wood beams which surround you make it warm and inviting. Executive Chef/Partner Eric DiStefano and Chef de Cusine Sllin Cruz create a wonderfully eclectic menu which changes seasonally. Additionally, this Southwestern city’s food scene is probably best known for the fire-roasted green chili. We were there at the peak of the chili season and saw it pop up on everything from your dinner rolls to the top of your cheeseburger and even on your breakfast burritos’ – a popular breakfast choice for locals.

Santa Fe’s beauty and endless list of activities makes it a top tourist destination in the U.S. This fabulous city offers everything from hiking to museums as well as wine tours, shopping and art. It has something for everyone and is a great destination for families. I highly recommend that this ‘land of enchantment’ be put on everyone’s bucket list.

Cowboy Diner

On September 30, 2015 By Peggy BereIn Photography, Travel9 Comments

Tia Sophia’s Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Is keeping it simple really better?

On September 29, 2015September 29, 2015 By Peggy BereIn Musings23 Comments

I’ve been revamping my blog since I started writing again after my summer hiatus. A tweak here. A small change there. A new format. A new look.

I have two blogs. One where I showcase my amateur photography skills. Another to write musings and to detail my observances on any given day. I’ve been thinking about combining the two. In the long run it might be simpler. One place for readers to visit instead of two. Only one notification going out to email subscribers, not multiple. It might be simpler keeping up with my blog if I only had one domain to maintain. Not to mention one yearly domain fee to pay. The fee is just a small price to pay tho to have a creative outlet and space of my own for an entire year. And as Clark always says, why pay for one blog when you can pay for two – *sarcasm* – he says he thinks I seem to think there’s a money tree in the backyard. I say it’s not easy being married to a high maintenance woman. That usually earns me a smile and shake of his head.

Ok. Full disclosure. In all honesty, I have three domains and three blogs. (Are you reading this, Clark? Why would I pay for one blog when I can pay for three. *wink*) My third blog is private at this time. I’m not ready for the big reveal yet. I can share with you tho that it’s content is the likes of which I have never seen yet on any blogging venue. Anywhere. When the idea hit me, it was like winning the lottery! Or, hitting the jackpot! It’s a million dollar idea and I’m sure publishing houses everywhere are going to be clamoring on my doorstep to sign a book deal with me to have exclusive rights to my million dollar blog. Move over Human’s of New York – there’s a new kid in town. (Have I peeked your curiosity? Good. Sit tight and be patient.)

So, back to my original point. Is it easier to combine all areas of creativity and simply cram them into one combined blog? Or, Is it confusing to your audience if you combine different genre’s into one’s creative outlet just to save time and a few pennies? Is simpler really better?

Confucius said – “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

Leonardo da Vinci said – “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

Pete Seeger says – “Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple.”

Well, darn it, I’m sophisticated. And, genius! I’m able to scale things back and simplify just as well as the next Joe Schmoe. I don’t need to ‘have it all.’ After all, isn’t it the simple things in life that reap the best rewards and make us happiest?

the first snowfall of winter
a warm meal
laughter with friends
a good book
holding the hand of someone you love
a sunny day

Simplicity. I do believe it’s best when applied to certain situations and circumstances. Like perhaps, a blog. It can’t hurt to try. Right? So, for now, possibly temporary or possibly not, I will experiment and continue to tweak my blog. This month concentrating on consolidation and simplicity. It may just work out well to scale back on the double domains (triple – if you count my super secret private blog!) It will be like a grab bag for my readers. When you get a notice of a new posting, you’ll not know what to expect until you follow the link. It will be like a treasure hunt! And, who doesn’t love finding a treasure?

Simplicity – It does a body good. Keep it simple, my friends

Wide open spaces

On September 28, 2015September 28, 2015 By Peggy BereIn Photography, Travel12 Comments

Beautiful Taos, New Mexico

Kodachrome

On April 29, 2015April 30, 2015 By Peggy BereIn Chicago, Musings14 Comments

Today is Clark’s Birthday. Hurray!! He’s my fabulous Hubs! Happy Birthday, Clark!!

It’s easy to remember his birthday because, well, I’ve known him for about 35 years. I’m also pretty good at remembering birthdays. Sending out cards is another story. I tend to either send them out late or not at all. I’ve had an ongoing deal with myself for longer than I can remember to work on that personal flaw. Each year when the New Year rolls around I challenge myself to not only send every single person I know and love a birthday card but to also send it to them on time. And, each year I break that vow. Not on purpose, but because I tend to be a bit unorganized. (A sign of creativity I’ve been told – *probably by my mother*)

When I woke up this morning, I put on my robe, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed towards our basement. I walked down the stairs into the messy, cluttered, musty space under the first floor of our home. I needed a picture of Clark. I needed a picture ~ or two ~ of him to post on Facebook. It’s been a longtime tradition of mine – along with everyone in the universe – to start our loved ones birthdays off on the right foot by publicly posting old, forgotten pictures of them and attaching some sort of sentimental blurb under it. We plaster these Jpgs (pronounced Jaaayyy-pegs) out onto the World Wide Web and into cyberspace for the whole world to see. Well, I exaggerate. But if you’ve Googled your name recently you’ll find I’m not too far off on my statement

At the bottom of my basement stairs, I walked back through a slim, cluttered hallway and towards what was once a working darkroom that Clark and I had built in a cut off, private section down there. I passed up stacks of stored once treasured objects laying everywhere that had once held coveted spots in the rooms upstairs. I got to the door of the old photo room, opened it and carefully stepped into what now looked like a cluttered room where most of our accumulated treasures from 30 years of marriage had landed. I looked around and thought to myself, good grief, we’ve become hoarders…

There were boxes and boxes of photos in that room which were saved in their original envelopes and stuffed into drawers. Jammed drawers that you could barely open up because there were heavy stacks of boxes upon boxes filled with junk and memorabilia crammed all over the place. The walls were also filled with cabinets that held a bonanza of old photo albums. Eventually, I got down to work and started searching for a few pictures that were Facebook worthy.

Not too far into my task I became unfocused as I sifted through what seemed like a million unorganized photos. It’s easy to get sidetracked when you’re looking at a photogenic history of your life. The sentimentality of the task pulled at my heartstrings. I started to examine the content of the piles of photos I was sifting through rather than finding photos of my hubs. Photography sure had changed…..

The Selfie – Those popular self photo’s taken with smart phones and hand-held digital camera’s, which are usually flattering and an attempt to *appear casual* had definitely not made it onto the scene yet. It seems that back before the digital age and social media, people took more pictures of the world around them than they did of themselves. Clark, being the nature lover that he is, seemed to be fascinated with landscape photos. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at. He also shot tons of photos of birds…..and animals at Zoos. But, no selfies.

Photo Bombing – When I did come across the occasional photo of Clark from the olden days, I noticed that a few had some pioneer photo bombers in the background! They were different though than the photo bombs of today where the pranksters purposely put themselves into the view of the photograph with a goofy smile or waving as to tell you that they’re back there and they GOTCHYA!! These photo bombers were mostly elderly Aunts, Uncles or family members simply misplaced in the backdrop of the photo. Often funnier than the bombers of today.

Hairstyles – They will always give away what decade you are looking at.

Labeling Photo’s – I was always told to label the back of my photos with names and dates because one day I’d forget that information. I scoffed at that bit of advice knowing I’d never forget people or names or places. So, I didn’t label anything. And, for the life of me I could not place who half the people in the photo’s with me were. We must have been close pals though because mostly we were hugging and laughing together. Huh??

After a few hours of walking down memory lane, I had finally found a handful of pictures that would work as a tribute to my Hubs. They were awesome photos and during a time when we first met and started dating. His hair was long and he sported a thick, full mustache. He wore t-shirts with pictures of rock bands on them and cut off, frayed jean shorts. He drove a convertible and had a wild streak in him that caught my eye right away. These days he’s traded in that youthful attire and look for work slacks, ties and weekend golf shirts.

It was odd-looking back at those old photos. It’s odd how you don’t realize how much you age and mature from year to year until you look back. It hit’s you then and you think solemnly to yourself, wow, I’ve aged…. You wonder where the time went. How did thirty years fly by so fast. And, were the memories recorded in those old, treasured photo’s really as glorious as our minds would love to convince us they were? Or, is it true what they say; that it’s fun to remember the way things used to be, but the way things used to be probably could never live up to how we recall them. We tend to glorify the past with fabulous stories and timeless photo’s that make you think ‘all the world’s a sunny day…’

Who is that behind the bushes?

On January 27, 2015 By Peggy BereIn Musings16 Comments

Reading this article this morning, originally printed in Deadstate.org, made me think of how wonderful it would be for those of us who have a love for all things photographic, to have the freedom and courage to simply walk up to any subject head on and do what we love to do most – Interact, fully engaged, with the group of people or person that drew our creative attention in their direction in the first place. Face to face. Not from around a corner or hidden behind a tree. Not from a safe spot, hidden in the middle of some shrubbery. Not from the subject’s backside (good grief, how boring!!) And, most definitely not while pretending to take a picture of something over the subjects shoulder. I mean, c’mon people! – I think everyone is on to that tactic.

I’ve gone through several steps of uncomfortable growth to get to the point I am now in my (very) amateur photography hobby. I’m still not completely where I want to be in learning to just *go for the shot.* I tend to end up feeling squeamishly uncomfortable and as tho I’ve somehow invaded someone’s invisible bubble of privacy. But I’m getting there. One day I hope to feel comfortable enough to walk up to anyone, anywhere and take the shot. I just might end up with some amazing captures like these!

In 1974 a photographer met two mimes, only years later realizes who one of them was

Back in 1974, photographer Daniel Sorine came across two mimes in New York City’s Central Park. Something about them caught his eye, and he immediately began to snap pictures.

Years later, Sorine realized that one of the mimes was a then-unknown Robin Williams and the other was author Todd Oppenheimer.

“What attracted me to Robin Williams and his fellow mime, Todd Oppenheimer, was an unusual amount of intensity, personality and physical fluidity. When I approached them with my Pentax Spotmatic they allowed me to invite them into my camera instead of me having to chase after them.”

take a look:

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via

It’s hard to know if these amazing shots of a young Robin Williams were captured because the photographer was confidant enough to simply walk up to his subject and shoot the picture or if it was simply a matter of Robin’s big personality, generosity and love of attention. But, I do know, that you have to step out from behind the bushes.

twenty fourteen

On December 28, 2014December 28, 2014 By Peggy BereIn Chicago36 Comments

Nobody knows what a New Year will bring. Nobody knows what life holds for each of us from one year to the next.

As I walk away from 2014, I reflect back on a year full of ups and downs. A year full of joy and heartbreak. A year that I would hear the word remission. And, A year that I would end up expectantly saying goodbye to my Sweet Mom. Amazing joy and bitter sorrow. Hand in hand throughout the year.

I turned to my friends and family for support. I turned to my WordPress community as a means of purging my painful feelings through blog posts. And, with camera constantly in hand, I turned to my photography as a way of relaying through photos what I was not able to and could not verbalize into words.

Before we can look ahead, let’s take a reflective look back at what was 2014.

Retrospective – 2104

Before we move ahead, a chance to look back….

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice, And to make an end is to make a beginning.”

-T.S.Elliot

A Bite of the Big Apple

On June 5, 2014July 15, 2014 By Peggy BereIn Musings29 Comments

i-love-ny2

I have been fortunate enough to have traveled to NYC a time or two. Actually, Clark and I go there whenever our schedules permit. We both absolutely love that city. It’s big and bustling and has an energy like no other place I know of. I have wanted to take my sister there for a long time. I’ve brought up the topic to her more than once. I would beg and plead. “It will be fun!” “You’ll love it!!” Then one day, just like that, she agreed! Whoa! I was shocked! My heart flipped over! I could feel my NYC Tourist adrenaline start to surge through my veins. She agreed!! Hallelujah!!!

So after months of planning and what would become daily emails and phone calls, off we went. We were New York Bound! Big Apple, here we come!

We stepped off the plane in NYC – with suitcases in tow, we grabbed the first cab we could. Hurray! We were on our way to our fancy Big Apple Hotel!! The cab driver was like an Indy car racer! How exciting!! Swerving in and out of heavy traffic. Honking his horn at anyone who got in his way. I LOVED it! My sister, mouth gaping open, was holding on for dear life. I assured her we were safe and that after a few days, she’d get used to the fast pace of the big city. Did I mention that she is from a small town in Indiana?

When we got to our hotel, we were excited that our room was ready for us. (We took the first plane out and arrived at 8am – didn’t want to waste a single New York Minute!) We headed straight up to drop off our luggage. We had decided to book a suite. And boy was it ever sweet! It was fabulous and big and the definition of luxury! It was situated in a corner room on a high floor. It was probably bigger than most NYC apartments. We had a great view of the city. And skyline. This was living!! It had 2 bathrooms and plush bathrobes and an amazing mini bar (with equally amazing prices!!) We reluctantly made a pact not to touch anything in it regardless of how tempted we got. That was settled! We changed and off we went. The Big Apple!!

And so it went – Our days were packed. We got up at the crack of dawn and would fall in bed exhausted well after midnight each day. I took her everywhere a first time New York Visitor would want to go. We stood atop of the Empire State Building and went to the Top of the Rock. We visited the 911 Memorial & Museum and took the ferry out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We went to the ABC & NBC studios and made our way through mobs of people in Times Square. We visited The Ed Sullivan Theater where David Letterman tapes his show. Every day, we walked past Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall which our hotel was situated between. We explored Central Park and the Upper West Side (My Fav!) – as well as Midtown and Downtown. We traveled by subway everywhere we went. Or walked. And walked. And walked. We went to Grand Central Station and shopped on 5th Avenue. We went to Plays and had late night dinners. We spent Friday night in Little Italy and Soho.

The day before we left, we decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Oh Yay!! So exciting!! And Fun!! This historic bridge was massive. And Beautiful. And the doorway onto the island of Manhattan from Brooklyn. And it was crowded. Yikes! ridiculously so.

We found our way to the foot of the bridge and started to embark up the ancient, wooden slats that made up the narrow walking path used to cross the bridge. It was probably about 10 – 15 feet wide. There was a white stripe (or was it yellow?) painted down the center of it which made it even narrower. We were surrounded by thousands of people who also were walking the bridge. And, riding there bikes over it. WHAT?? Whoa!. Half of it was for walking and we shared the other half with bikers who were riding over it at dangerous, high speeds. At first I was a bit uneasy with the way the bikes would so closely whizz past us. But then, you forgot about them as you got caught up in the most beautiful scenery you have ever seen. You were walking across this amazing structure and you could see views of the NYC skyline that you’d only seen before in books or on television. It was magnificent! And breathtaking.

I had my camera and was taking 100’s of pictures. I spotted a group of guys doing maintenance on the Bridge. They had climbed up the thick, metal wires that helped to suspend the structure. They were up several hundred feet over the water. There were lots of people taking pictures of these guys. The photographer in me wanted to get that shot! I turned to focus on one of the men and BAM! Before I knew it, I was knocked off my feet and laying face down on the Brooklyn Bridge.

‘OMG..what just happened?’

I was a bit dazed. I looked up and saw my sister standing over me. Mouth gaping open. With a stunned look on her face. And then I heard a loud, snarly voice swearing at me. “What the F***…this is the bike lane you idiot”

Hmmph. How Rude!! I looked around and got up quickly. I could see a bike laying on its side. It’s rude rider knocked off to the ground. (Dear God, had I caused that?) In my excitement to get a good shot, my foot had accidentally crossed over the white line and caused a collision. (The rude bike rider was not very forgiving.) I stood there in my touristy red shirt, camera hanging crookedly around my neck and scuffed up knee and kept apologizing over and over again. She just kept rudely snarling at me. It was one of those humiliating times where you hope nobody noticed. But you know they all did.

The embarrassing moment passed and we parted ways, I kept telling my sister how terrible I felt. She kept saying.. “Oh, nobody was paying attn.” I knew she was lying but somehow her words made me feel better.

I never did get the shot. But I did get this shot….

How can you write about a ‘FAB! NYC Vacation’ in one itty-bitty blog post? It’s an impossible task!

My sister and I had the time of our life! We ate. We drank. We went without sleep. We walked all over that huge, beautiful city with that touristy, deer in the headlight look. And, loved every minute of it!! More than once, I caught my sister out of the corner of my eye with her mouth gaping open. Just staring in wonderment and awe.

Like all vacations, it went too fast. But we have such GREAT memories!

Take a look….

Easter

On April 19, 2014April 19, 2014 By Peggy BereIn Margber, Musings32 Comments

* reblogged from my own blog – One of my very early posts. My style of writing has changed a bit, but the message is timeless.

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Happy Easter!!

easter-eggs

I sit in my kitchen early in the morning drinking coffee before anyone else in the household wakes up. It has always been my style. It has always been my favorite part of the day. The house is quiet. It is the calm before the storm. Raising three active boys, I knew it was only a matter of time before the storm came. Each day. And it usually did. Not in a bad way. But, in an active, chaotic way. I loved every part of it. Bring it on!

Today, tho the habit is deeply rooted and I still wake up early, the chaos is mostly gone. My children have grown. One married. One graduated from college and working. One living away from home at college. It’s mostly just Bruce and I these days. I think back on Easters past and how exciting this holiday used to be for our family.

Stay up late to fill Easter baskets. Hide them in the house. Get up early in the morning to three little boys racing from room to room trying to find their loot.

Then church. It was always a battle to try to calm everyone down. The prior weeks leading up to the big day, I would go out and shop for new outfits for each of them. When they were young, the outfits were always coordinating. They usually included suspenders and knee socks. Something they cringe at now. As they got older, they each developed their own sense of style. I still felt the maternal need to get them new duds for the holiday. So, I did.

Half the time on the way to church, a brawl would break out for some reason or another. There they would be in their new clothes, sitting strategically in our mini van to ensure the least damage to their appearance by the time we made our 10 minute drive to our destination. They knew how to push each others buttons. Inevitably, the buttons would be pushed. I would get stressed out. Clark would threaten to pull the car over.

We always made it to church in one piece. We would plant forced smiles on our faces so that nobody would know that 5 minutes earlier world war III was breaking out in our car. It was not until years later that I found out that most of our friends had that very similar experience on their ride to church. It was not unique to us. It was normal. It was the American way!

After church, the boys would find their friends in the church gym while the adults would gather and have coffee and talk for a little while. I loved this part of church. I still do. Time to catch up with everyone. This group of people end up being your church family. In a way, every Sunday after church felt like a mini family holiday or gathering. You are not born into each others lives. You find each other. Bonds form. A family by choice.

I was raised catholic. Irish catholic. That is a strong combo. Irish blood runs deep and loyal. Both of my parents worked at Notre Dame and because of this, we had the special perk of being able to attend Notre Dame at a deeply discounted price. You paid for room and board. The education was free. My friends think that for this reason, it was ironic that I ended up at a small, private, expensive protestant college.

I frequently tell my friends that I know it was not ironic, but rather, Divine Intervention. God knew exactly what he was doing when he plucked me out of my environment and plopped me down in the middle of Hope College. There, I met Bruce who I ended up marrying. There I found my true faith. A deep faith by today’s standards. Maybe it was the freedom that you experience while in College or maybe it was my age, but it was then that I realized that faith is a choice. You choose to be a believer or not. You realize that in the end, we are all worshiping the same God. We are just going down different roads and paths in our journeys.

Many Easter’s later, as a mom of three boys ~~ and now a beautiful daughter in law ~~ I think back fondly of all of those Easter mornings. The wild beginning, the chaos of trying to calm everyone to get ready for church, coming home to our big feast. I Love family holidays. I love being all together. It is my favorite thing in the world. We sit down for meals, sometimes for hours. I Look around my table and know how truly blessed I am. I have a beautiful, healthy family. My boys are the best of friends. They all love Bruce’s wife, Lauren. She fits in perfectly. They look up to their father with such respect and love. Today they might even admit that, yes, he did know what he was talking about most of the time when lecturing and giving advice.

So, however you choose to spend your day tomorrow, whether you choose to celebrate privately, with a family of choice or the family you were born into, on this day before Easter, may you all feel the special blessing that family brings to your life and of Easters past and present. And may you feel the deep meaning of the sacrifice given up for you through the cross. Happy Easter!!

happyEaster

Mama told me, there’ll be days like this….

On April 1, 2014April 7, 2014 By Peggy BereIn Chicago, Margber54 Comments

Some days are just like that.

As a matter of fact, some weeks are like that. Stressful. And nightmarish. Where you just want to say “forget it!!”…and sit and drink coffee all day. Or Wine. And scream at the person who is causing your blood pressure to rise.

In this case, it was an old blog service I used when I first started writing. I will refrain from mentioning their #%$%#$ing name because they are evil. (BLog.com).

After about one week of using their site when I first joined the blogosphere, I knew immediately that it was not going to work between us. That union was anything but healthy. I wanted a divorce! So I jumped ship and made my way over to WordPress.

Jumping-ship

Ahhhhh. WordPress. They were like a breath of fresh air. Reliable. Professional. And, most of all, they knew what they were doing. They even had an amazing support network. One that was actually available to me when I needed some help. Afterall, I was new to this blogging bit and I had questions. Lots of them. Yes, switching to WordPress was joyous. And smart.

I was sitting in my kitchen last week, lighthearted and happy, ready to log onto my blog to write about something witty that Clark had said or done, and – BOOM – Just like that, tragedy!

I was redirected to some foreign, evil-looking page that tells me my Margber domain is no longer available to me. Therefor, I had no access to my blog. Huh???? What-the-%&$&$&%##*!!!! What’s this nonsense?? That’s MY blog! MY hard work went into it. Someone was trying to take control. It was like a mini-hijacking. I was the captain of the ship and it was going down.

domain-name-expired-help

My heart started to race and I did what I do best in those type of situations. In a slightly high-pitched, louder than normal tone, I yelled at Clark for it. Then, I took a deep breath, or two, and started to deal with the entire mess.

I had left the incompetent Blog.com after only one week of association with them, and they were still haunting me a year later. I could not believe it. Hadn’t I jumped the ship to avoid just this kind of disaster? I thought I had done everything right. I was diligent in following the rules and renewing fee’s. But, one had slipped through the crack.

I had my WordPress upgrades set to auto-renew and was well aware that my renew date was approaching. I had checked it a few weeks before the payment was due. I decided to override the auto-renew and pay early because, well, that is just how I am. I worry. I did not want anything to happen or come between myself and my uber awesome domain. If it were to lapse, my readers would not know where to find me. My email subscribers would be lost to me.

And, that is exactly what happened. pulling-hair-out-2

I was so focused on the WordPress end of it all, that I had neglected to even considered that the evil Blog.com side of it needed attention as well. After all, My domain originated over there (evil place) and because of that, I was linked to them. Forever. And ever. Until death do us part. OYYYYY. My divorce to the miserable Blog.com had never been official. I was still at their mercy but didn’t even know it. Ohhh, how disastrous!!!

So, after weeks of unsuccessfully trying to contact and get a reply from Blog.com (the trail went cold) I finally turned to the accessible and willingly available support team at WordPress, With a special shout-out to auxclass (Woot woot!!) and after hours of guidance, the entire mess has finally been resolved. Sort of. It did not come without casualties. While I have finally and completely cut all ties with the vile Blog.com (they’re evil!!!) it came at a high price. I had to temporarily give up my domain Margber. (SOOO sad!!) For the next few months, I will sit and wait and stress over its release. And then I will grab it again!! YaY!

Until then, I can be found at https://margber.wordpress.com/ and I gladly and proudly accept the WordPress name snuggled right in the middle of my shiny new URL. Temporarily. Until I can once again regain control my original domain.

So what does all of this mumbo jumbo mean? It simply means that if you are looking for moi, I can be found at the URL

margber.wordpress.com

It might also mean that you may possibly need to re-follow me by clicking the follow tab again. (it’s down there in the right hand corner. Go ahead, click it!)

So sorry for the inconvenience, folks ~ Feeling a bit like a block head. : )

At the time of press for this post, I had still not heard from the evil Blog.com to help straighten the domain mess out from their end. I had tried, unsuccessfully, for-everrrrrrrrr to contact someone from their (non-existent) support network. It has now been 3 weeks and counting. Im not going to hold my breath….

allaboutme