Hands up, hands down…
Two things…
FIRST and FOREMOST
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DASH!
Our son is nine today and is the most wonderful, loving, crazy, charming, bounce-off-the-walls son and big brother EVER.
I cannot believe he is NINE years old already.
I also can’t wait to feed him mud chocolate cake and watch him GO this afternoon!
Expect photos…
——————————
SECOND… okay, let’s see. I should start by saying I don’t like to think of myself as a particularly competitive soul.
This attitude comes from many, many years of winning very little at all. I cannot run fast, jump high, type accurately (cue to all nod in unison) or generally get too ambitious about anything. Okay, there was that one time I won a Showgirl competition (not a ‘high-kicking routine’ affair, more a ‘sash the best horse’ affair) and was rewarded by having my sister refer to me as ‘The Prize Heifer’ ever after! (Hello Jeanie).
But here is the thing… I actually have a little corner in my soul that loves a bit of reassurance that I am doing okay. To be brutally honest, I think all bloggers do. We put our musings and our observations out there and hope for some nice feedback. Or at least not to get rotten fruit hurled our way. (Or maybe you do, if that’s what makes your skirt fly up…)
And I do know that I get more than my share of nice feedback. Trust me when I say, that every time I see a new comment in my inbox, I read it avidly and take every bit of it to heart. I nod away (sometimes I blush and I even occasionally have little imaginary conversations with the commenter in my head). And when I haven’t got seventeen different people in my ‘real’ life needing my immediate attention, I even try to reply sometimes. It’s the two-wayedness of blogging that really appeals to me. Like a discussion over some pikelets and a decent cuppa with friends who understand. Without the washing up.
I had a quick look at the back end of this blog and worked out a couple of stats. Blogging has now been in my life for more than three years. I have compiled more than 800 posts (and no, I don’t want to know how much time that has taken from my life!) and you lot have left more than 9000 comments. It’s enough to make my head spin!
What am I building up to here? Well, a couple of weeks ago someone suggested I enter the Australian Blogs 2011 contest. And in a fit of enthusiasm… I did. Now I have these little blue buttons in my sidebar…
and
Where do you, my loyal readers, come into this? Well basically, I just want you to keep visiting me. Keep leaving me encouraging notes (I don’t even mind the spelling mistake corrections! Hello Mum!).
And if the mood takes you, click on the bottom button search through the pages of great Aussie blogs to vote (for me, possibly, but only if you feel like it!). (I’m not much into high-pressure marketing, can you tell?)
So now, to reward you (those who have been with me from the beginning, and those who have joined this crazy ride more recently) for patiently reading through this self-serving post, I am sharing a little taste of bush action from very early on in this blog.
A little polocrosse (circa 2008).
And somethin’ to spur y’all on!
*groan*
Thanks for being here through the years, my friends.
Love ya more than mealtime.
🙂
BB
25 Comments
A Novel Woman
Ah, happy birthday Dash! And good luck BB!
Off to vote…
A Novel Woman´s last blog post ..Mrs Brown gets a Bikini Wax
Scotty
Hope you have a very happy birthday, Master Dash.
🙂
Scotty´s last blog post ..Saturday-Sunday Sepia
Leenie
Oh, you so hit blogging right on…at least my kind of blogging. Putting out the musings and observations and getting feedback from people that become dear friends even though the chance of a face-to-face is SO remote. (Gonna have to look up what the heck pikelets are, but I know I’d love them).
Love them like all your horse and boot and red dirt photos. Love them like the pictures of your family so filled with joy. Love your adventure stories that are so far away and yet make me know I’d feel at home sharing them. Go! BB (The Prize Heifer-hehe). Off to vote!
Leenie´s last blog post ..GARDEN AND TOOLS
debby
Oh, darn! I was too late to vote. Happy birthday Dash. I hope that you got a transformer for your birthday…and not one of those decepticons either!
debby´s last blog post ..Im Going to Make It
Bush Babe
Not sure why this didn’t work for you Deb – anyone else?
debby
Know what happened? I clicked the other link and it took me to ‘nominate your favorite blog’. The nominations are closed. The voting is open. My vote was cast.
:p
debby´s last blog post ..Im Going to Make It
Bush Babe
A-HA!!! Mystery solvered…
🙂
ellie k
Happy Birthday Dash, I think I started reading this blog about this time last year since I remember Dash having a birthday.
I just voted for your blog. good luck
Kelly
I voted!! Good luck in the competition!
Happy Birthday, Dash!!!
Kelly´s last blog post ..Stormy Ramblings
Kate
Happy Birthday Dash!!! Is it weird that a complete stranger thinks that you have grow up so fast the past two years 😉 I guess that’s blogging for you! Hope you have a wonderful day little man!
And i just voted for you!! Certainly this persons favorite Aussie blog!
diane
Happy Birthday Dash. I bet Mum and Dad cherish everyone of your birthdays. love your blog and hope you do well in the competition. Did you recover your holiday photos from the external drive? Hope so.
diane´s last blog post ..MY STORY-Ch 4 Part 9-Home on Leave-1958
Carol/Red Dirt in My Soul
Happy Birthday, Dash… and I’m off to vote for your mum. I definitely love this blog! We have a lot in common on different sides of the world, which makes supporting each other like supporting ourself. Keep up the great work, BB!
Carol/Red Dirt in My Soul´s last blog post ..My Saddle Hurts
Kate
Voted!
Happy B’day to your Dash. And, as ever, gorgeous photos today.
Kate´s last blog post ..April day
JulieinOz
Happy Birthday Dash…hope the next year will be just as much fun as the last one. Many good wishes going your way.
And a vote for your Mum. Of course…!!!
gramps
Found you some time ago via Bossy (I think) and have been a daily visitor every since.
Heck, I would vote a second time if I could
Happy Birthday Dash—many more. And I am loving your travels thru America
Norma in Alabama
Happy birthday to Mr. Dash. Nine year old boys are so much fun. All my grands are older than that but I remember them all at that age. So happy you all enjoyed your trip to the USA, it was fun looking at all your pictures. If you had come through the deep south where I live you would have felt right at home with the red dirt roads and countryside. I cast my vote for you, hope you win. Love your blog.
Helen G.
Happy Birthday Master Dash! I hope you have an excellent birthday celebration!
I had no trouble putting my vote in, just so you know. Good luck and thanks for the photos that ‘spurred’ me on!
Helen
Helen G.´s last blog post ..Vacations- Part Two
Mikey
Happy Birthday Dash!! I love, love, love that first pic. Absolutely breathtaking.
Mikey´s last blog post ..Full Moon Friday Night Roundup
sues2u2
I’ll come out of stalkersville just to say wow! Happy Birthday to Dash.
And, yes, I did vote for you. I love your blog even though I go months (& months) w/o commenting. You are a fun blogger who takes amazing photos. Good luck!
Buttons
Dear Bush Babe I am so glad I found your blog you make me laugh and see the world in a different way.Your photos are awesome. Thank you for that.From the other side of the world. Blog on and Congrats. B
Buttons´s last blog post ..Your Sunday Best Entry
Nancy in Iowa
Yay, Dash! The Big Nine! Have a wonderful birthday, or if my timing is off, I hope you HAD a great birthday. BB, of COURSE I’ll vote for you…you are the best!!!
Leonie
Hope Dash had a dash-ing day (hahaha)….looking forward to some photo’s of it!
Voting done too! 🙂
xox
Stephanie Z
Happy Birthday to Dash!! And I voted!! Good luck!
Stephanie Z´s last blog post ..Odds and ends
Brigitte
All done – vote is cast. Love your blog – musings and photos; you are offering a glimpse through a window into a different world. Thanks so much. It’s so refreshing.
Bush Babe
Oh Brigitte – what lovely things to say… thankyou!!!
♥
BB