If I could, I would kiss every one of you on the lips. Maybe even tongue.

Forgive me for that, but I am one grateful blogger.  First, thanks to those of you who contributed to Courtney's MS walkathon. Someone very dear to us is facing that disease and we're all so appreciative of your help.

And to all the lurkers who decided to come forward on Wednesday--it was great that so many of you commented on Wednesday's Lurkers Come Out of the Closet Day post!  I have yet to hear from Mr. or Ms. Reader in St. Francisville, Louisiana, though. I swear, I will freakin' come to your town and knock on every single door (how many can there be?) until I find you!

July 17 was my three-year blogiversary. I am pretty proud of myself for keeping it up, and on a regular schedule.  I have to--my mother would kill me if I stopped and even though I'm fifty-goddamn-three years old, I still don't want to piss her off.  And if there's a typo or grammatical error, trust me, I will here about it.  (I did that on purpose just to get her riled up.) (Three, two, one... phone call from Mom.)

I started blogging because I'd been told I should build a platform, or a following, for when my book came out.  That was a good strategy all right, but even more important is that my blog has turned out to be a documentation of my life; if I ever forget what I've been doing over the past three years, it's all right here, complete with pictures. Cool.  

The best part about blogging?  The friends I've made--by far.  Two years ago last Memorial Day, Julie of 47 and Starting Over fame booked almost a week in Las Vegas to stay at my apartment with me sight unseen.  Can you imagine?  We knew each other only through the bloggy world!  Dar of the now defunct Travel Girl blog stayed just for an overnight and we had a ball.

 We all got along perfectly.  You really can know people through their blogs and I bet 99.9% of the time they're exactly the people you'd expect them to be.  No surprises.

Since then I've had the pleasure of meeting several Las Vegas bloggers--including my good friends "Mystical Journeys" Donna, former blogger and "Private Guy"  Vegas Flea, and our man Hurricane Mikey--as well as readers who've come to town for a Vegas getaway.  I've met Linda from Wisconsin, Mandy from Arizona, Tricia from Michigan, fellow writers Debbie Write on Target in Pennsylvania (Jesus H, what a hot body on that one) and Suzanne Palmieri in Connecticut, and my utterly incorrigible adopted daughter, Tara, a.k.a. I Can't Help It, I'm Just Me.  God love her, she's not even my blood kid and she's giving me gray hairs. 

A couple of weeks ago I got to meet "Sous Chef" from Minnesota.  We'd corresponded for quite some time via email and I absolutely adored her, but I have to admit, I was a little nervous about meeting her in person. She's a fabulous writer and smart as hell, and I was thinking, "Shit, she's gonna be so disappointed when she meets me."  But then when we talked on the phone, she sounded so fun and I could tell she had great energy and sure enough, when I met her I positively loved her.  You can read her account of our meeting on her blog, where she refers to me as, yes, a "red hot granny."  The only thing she left out is that I'm actually way better looking in real life. (ha!) It was great meeting her and her friend Mary and though I never thought I'd say this, I can't wait to go to Minnesota next winter (!) for the annual re-enactment of The Band's "The Last Waltz."  I even have a place to stay.

Off the top of my head, there are a few other bloggers I'd love to meet.  I've emailed back and forth with Barbara of Layla's Classic Rock quite a bit and she's a sweet and kind person, I just know it.  Someday we're gonna have at least two bottles of wine together.  She's had some struggles with her son and I have actually lost sleep thinking about her.  The I Hate to Weight blogger in New Jersey is another one who's close to my heart.  I think about her a lot, too, but I believe in my heart that for the most part her challenges are behind her and she is about to bloom like crazy. 

I'd love to meet Simone of Chocolate Covered Daydreams but I kind of think she's one of those super-nice people who is definitely going to heaven for all her sweetness and clean living. I'm probably too much of a foul-mouthed lush for her taste, but nonetheless, it would be good for me to hang around someone like her.  At least once in a while.

On the other end of the spectrum, I'm dying to meet that freakin' whack job Debbie of From Venting to Viggio.  Seriously, if there's anyone who can make me feel like a perfectly normal person with no mental problems whatsoever, it's that one.  For some reason I envision a night out with her ending up with both of us shitfaced in Tijuana. Possibly in jail.

And then there's Krissyface.  She's gotten away from blogging; every once in a while she still posts on FERTILE.  Krissyface is a New York City girl who now lives in Baton Rouge. She's so hip and talented and has such a warped sense of humor that I hope I never meet her because I am simply not cool enough.  Like I'm sure I'm a total dork next to her.  Yeah, I said dork.

R. Jacob Post blog is thoughtful and entertaining.  If anyone believes that good men are hard to find, I suggest you head over there.  I've had the pleasure of talking with Ray on the phone; he's a super nice guy.

There are so many other bloggers and readers I'd love to see in the flesh.  All in due time.  I plan to continue to blog for quite a while.  Mom has at least another 20 or 30 years in her, so let's just hope I can keep coming up with interesting content.  In the meantime, I continue to encourage lurkers to come out, come out wherever you are.  I so dig hearing from you.

And you in St. Francisville?  Don't make me put a bounty on your head.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and if you can, please send a buck or two over to Courtney's MS site.  Thank you, thank you, thanks a million!