5,000 and counting...

i could spend all day watching my hit counter...

refreshing and refreshing my screen to see who has come to visit my tiny little corner of the world web web in the last 3 minutes.

and i could spend hours upon hours looking at the ip addresses who visit, what countries they are from, and what time they visit, and seeing how they found my tiny little corner of the world wide web.

there are some strange ways people find me, let me tell you that... how google would think someone searching for "school teacher flashing" would want to come to my site is beyond me. there are more, but this is a pg rated blog here, so i will keep the other strange ways people find me to myself.

and i don't know why it is so intriguing. i don't know if it's seeing the readers from canada, south africa, germany, frande, united kingdom, romania, india, australia, pakistan, and others, and feeling like i am more connected to the world than i ever thought i was. i don't know if it is knowing i am writing something that people want to read, that somehow i am touching people on some level. or thinking that people really care about my simple little life. i don't know if it is the joy of being connected to people i have never met-knowing we share little pieces of our lives, little pieces of our heart and soul.

and i don't know why i enjoy doing this so much, but i do. and i will continue to write, and share, and be, and occupy my tiny little corner of the world wide web. and i will continue to stalk my hit counter like no blogger ever has.


and i reached a new monument here on put on love, i reached 5000 hits yesterday! woot woot!

and that is thrilling to me, and because that is thrilling to me.

i am giving away $5,000.

just kidding... what do i look like, a rich girl?

i am not, but if you know someone who is, and is wanting to give away $5,000, i would gladly be a recipient.

but i am giving away 1 $25 gift card, AND 1 $15 gift card to barnes and noble.

because i love barnes and noble, i could spend all day wandering up and down aisles at barnes and noble sipping starbucks coffee, sniffing books, feeling books, reading book covers... i am in love. and also because i can send you a gift card to barnes and noble and you can shop online, and have it shipped anywhere in the world. (although it may eat up a big chunk of your $25 or $15, but that's your problem not mine)

and i am making this really easy on you. i have about 50 hits a day and only about 5 comments a day, that means i don't know who most of you are... and i want to know who you are. so all you have to do is leave me a comment on today's post.

don't be shy, leave me a comment by 11:59pm(cst) sunday august 30th, and you will be entered into the drawing. winners will be announced monday.

oh, and happy friday blog world! thanks for making me a part of your world.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:28

    I always comment b/c I love comments on my blog too!! I also love looking at my little map and seeing who's out there reading...not quite so lonely then! ;) And I honestly don't remember how I found you (Pioneer Woman maybe?) but I'm glad I did!!

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  2. melinda...you know I am here. you don't have to add me to the drawing.
    But I sure LOVE those gift cards.

    I had 150 visitors a day for YEARS!

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  3. i was going to post a similar blog today but you beat me to it. and i don't have anything to give away unless you count hand-me-down clothes.

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  4. Anonymous13:09

    Your blog is the shit! Cousin Stephen

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  5. Patrick14:53

    TMA rules

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  6. Congrats on reaching 5000 hits that's wonderful news!! haha I would *love* $5000 but will totally settle for a sweet Barnes and Noble gift card!! ;) I'm from Maryland, a Christian, I love to read and enjoy drinking Starbucks' Frapp's! :) I've been wanting this certain Bible for a long time now and I could get it with the $25! :)I'm getting too excited here. LOL
    purposedrivenlife4you at gmail dot com

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  7. I visit your blog a few times a week -- you can probably track my visits in the stats. I was addicted to blog stats for a while and still check them for fun. Anywho...I grew up in Marinette and found your blog from a link from Quiet Life. I think your husband is the same age as one of my sisters and they may have played soccer together when growing up. Delurking--Haley

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  8. I think I found your blog through Quiet Life, but your writing has drawn me in. For sure, you're seeing my visits show up - I love to read what you've written. I can relate to a lot of the things you've written about - Jane Austen, Debbie Downer (no one I know knows who she is anymore!), sniffing books, etc. Girl, I hear ya! :)

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  9. I know what you mean about Google results. Someone could type in "katsup whimsy motorcross jackrabbit" and find you. Cool...and a little spooky.

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  10. Congratulations! That's pretty exciting.

    I found you through Pioneer Woman and usually read through Google Reader. I'm not sure if it tracks that... probably, knowing them.

    Anyway, I read because I can relate to what you write about... like traveling abroad, relationships, the world in general!

    Keep up the good writing and good luck!

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  11. Anonymous09:17

    Oh, Melinda!!! Hooray! 5000!!! You've got me beat by thousands. Perhaps that's because I never post anything.... ;)

    I LOVE your writing, your wicked sense of humor just destroys me [1800-get-donuts]... and I think we might, just might, be related. I'm glad to call you friend!

    Stephanie
    ps Barnes and Noble.. the place where hubby and I fell in love. no kidding. cheap dates.. good coffee. :)

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  12. thank you all you de-lurkers! thanks for stopping by and thanks for staying, and thanks for delurking...

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  13. steph, we might be long lost twins seperated at birth...

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  14. i love bookstores. one of the things i miss most about my beach vacation is the small town has a wonderful small bookstore that can captivate me for hours...so i love B&N, too.

    congrats on the stats!

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  15. I read Donna's blog and have always just been a lurker there. You have inspired me to lurk no more! I'm always happy to find a new blog to read.

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  16. Howdy from Gloucester Point, Virginia!
    I went to B&N 3 times in the last 3 days and left with nothing each time. The cards would be very cool and appreciated.

    Congrats on your 5000++ hits!
    Jan

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  17. Anonymous09:52

    Hey, I'm so happy to have found you. Your mother-in-law demanded I come here, hehe, just kidding, it was merely a suggestion. I'm very shy when it comes to leaving comments. I feel like what I have to say is not that interesting. I will add you to my faves and visit often. Good Luck on your endeavor.

    Heather W.

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  18. I got your blog from The Quiet Life blog and was pleasantly surprised! What a fun idea and such great writing, congrats on reaching 5000!

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  19. Comment Lovde is great! Hopped over from Quiet Life. Have a wonderful day!!!!

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  20. We found your blog thru your MIL's and love reading what you write. It's real and it's funny. My daughter found it first! She would love a gift card...she's really into knitting and could use some new material! :)
    *Lynnette

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  21. axelle the french reader10:46

    A french hello !

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  22. I just found your blog through your MIL as well. :) I look forward to reading your blog. I'm here in hot Arizona.

    Have a happy Saturday!

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  23. I found your site through your mom's after seeing her photography on Pioneer Woman's site. I love your mom's site and her gentle godly wisdom. In a family of drama, I remind myself to "lead a quiet life and work with my hands." So she is an inspiration to me as well as a great resource for photography.

    erinanddallas dot com

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  24. Anonymous11:10

    Hi Melinda,

    You make a girl want to start a blog! But I can't because I already spend too much time on the computer. I'd be waaay worse if I had hit counters and comments to think about!
    Love the colors on your blog!
    Blessings,
    Denise
    nisey@austin.rr.com

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  25. Hey just stopping in from your mil's site to say hello. I love looking to see where people are from and where they are coming from too! I was introduced to a person (via email) that is into volunteering overseas. Once I commented on his bog I started getting visits from odd far off places. Like Kualalampur (sp) and the far east and Africa. Very cool and entertaining!

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  26. Hi...got the link from your mother-in-laws site. Love the way you write!! I am not from anywhere exciting...sorry. just a plain old Carolina girl who loves Barnes and Noble..ha,ha!! I also blog and the majority of mine os for my friends and family. Not a thing a stranger would enjoy. I can't write worth a toot , but sure enjoy blogging. I will be checking back here and I will be sure to leave a comment when I do. Thanks for sharing your life.

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  27. Came here from your Mother-in-Law's blog which I found through Pioneer Woman and Pioneer Woman through some other blog I don't remember. It's a six degrees of separation thing. I understand about the wanting to know who the people are that visit and why they visit and how they got there, it is a fascinating thing to me as well. Best of luck with your blog, I have bookmarked and will be back.
    Blessings,
    Monalynn

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  28. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  29. oh - i love it. I just did something similar over on my blog for my 500th commenter. Comments are the best! I hope your stats for this weekend are exciting to watch. :)

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  30. Hi Melinda! I found your site through Miz Booshay (Donna) at Quiet Life and thought I would say hello! I have always been the same way with my websites...I love to see who has visited and where they are from. It's a such a rush (in a way) to check your stats and see your site keep growing every day. I will be back for sure!


    Jenn

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  31. Found your blog through Quiet Life :). I love your background!

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  32. i also came to your blog today through "Quiet Life"...hmm, what an idea to have a giveaway!:) i too wonder who in the world reads me, or even cares in Germany of all places!:) my blogging has lessoned since the arrival of FB on the scene:(, but i still enjoy sharing in the details of even stranger's lifes. Blessings.

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  33. OldNuffToKnoBtr13:17

    I found your blog from Quiet Life. I found Quit Life from Pioneer Woman. I found PW from A Year in The Kitchen. That was my first blog and now I read 15 or so a day and comment when it seems right to do so. Congratulations on 5,000.

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  34. I am a horrible commenter...bad habit. Breaking it now!

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  35. It's a toss-up between Barnes & Nobles and Borders for me - of course any old building full of books makes my skirt fly up. OK, if I were to be wearing a skirt, that is. But you get the point, right?

    If I won one of your gift cards, I would leave my children with my husband, put on my skirt, and head to that glorious bookstore, where I might spend hours flipping pages until I knew EXACTLY the perfect way to spend each cent, with a cup of great coffee in hand. :)

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  36. Frequent visitor and commenter at QuietLife, I know Donna from college and you because you're married to her Matthew and photograph well.

    Blessings on your blogging!

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  37. I'm a faithful reader of your MIL, and I'm so glad she sent us here! It's always fun to find a new someone to follow ;-)

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  38. Anonymous13:59

    hi came through your MIL, lovely blog. julie

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  39. I found you for the first time after checking your mil's blog. I found her via my cousin in North Dakota. I'm also a reader of Pioneer Woman

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  40. Tracy14:11

    I found you thru your MIL. Keep up the good blogging!
    -visiting from Hicksville, New York

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  41. Hi Melinda, I read here all the time, I just don't always comment. :)


    Have a lovely weekend.

    Thanks for the fun giveaway!

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  42. I also found you through Donna! I love your writing!

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  43. I found you thru Quiet Life whom I found thru PW whom I found thru Bakerella's blog....It's a chain reaction!

    Deb in Barneveld.

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  44. Hi Melinda! I've been here a few times. I wanted to comment on your stats; I noticed on my blog that ip addresses don't always accurately pinpoint location. For instance: my own ip address would show up as from California quite often, when I used to live in Tennessee. I think it depends on your internet provider -- at the time I was using a Sprint data card. Probably more accurate when you are using local internet services, but even so, my own ip address still shows up in various locations in Wisconsin, never my actual Wisconsin location. Weird.

    Also I wanted to comment in order to be entered in your B&N contest :) I'm pretty sure those cards can be used at the in-store Starbucks and I love love love their Double Chocolate Chip frappacino, which doesn't have coffee so I can drink it even though I'm breastfeeding. I miss iced coffee so much. (McDonalds iced coffee is the BEST, and the cheapest, but they don't sell it decaf. What a bummer!)

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  45. Hello, Melinda. I stopped by via Donna's Quiet Life. Isn't it funny that I feel I've already been introduced to you? Donna has featured your smiling face in so many lovely photos.

    Best regards,

    Melissa at Mental multivitamin

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  46. Anonymous17:29

    I visited from Quiet Life today, and have many times before. Oddly enough, I tend not to comment because during my brief tenure blogging, it freaked me out a little when I got comments from people I didn't know! I'm in Denver, CO and :-0 I don't have a Google ID.

    -Elizabeth

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  47. Lori in MN17:32

    I came early on in your blog life thru QL. I enjoy your writing but I don't comment very often on any blog.

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  48. Melissa F,18:43

    5000! Sweet!

    Congrats. =)

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  49. I was checking in with the QL and decided to leave a comment. I'm not good at making comments either...(I read a comment made earlier)...but I have decided to not worry if my comments are not worthy and just go for it. Most times it takes me a good 5 or 10 minutes to get my comments ready to submit. Anyway good luck with the hit counter.

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  50. Hello from Arizona...
    hugs from Hundewanderer

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  51. I understand how you feel! Found you through your mom's site.

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  52. Hi, got here by QL. Enjoy your blog.

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  53. gina19:47

    love the blog! Keep writing~

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  54. I came to your site via a link from someone else...and it was the gift card that drew me - but I'll be visiting again :O)

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  55. Anonymous19:57

    NoO doubt you grew up in a fantastic family...and then you married into another!

    I will catch up on reading what you've been posting.

    From Minnesota...

    Bridget

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  56. Anonymous20:10

    I found your blog through Quiet Life and have seen your picture on Donna's blog many times. We love books here and would love to be entered in your giveaway. I blog at Pockets of Time and am writing about books too! ~ Lisa

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  57. I like free stuff! Almost as much as I like blogs! I love your little sign on the side that says leave a comment. I had one on mine but now I just leave a daily reminder. It's kinda working.

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  58. Just found you through Quiet Life blog....ahhh yours is another cool blog to feed to the Google Reader! Looking forward to reading and upping your stats. Thanks for entering me in the giveaway!

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  59. April21:05

    I found you through your MIL whom I found through Pioneer Woman. AND interestingly enough I also live in Omaha.

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  60. I'm visiting from your MIL's blog.
    I found your MIL on Pioneer Woman because I'm so into photography.
    Anyway, funny comment story. So I love reading Miz Boo posts on Pioneer Woman. And I commented on one recently. So, your MIL commented back and I was all star struck and nervous that someone so cool and awesome at photography would write on MY blog! I had to read it a bunch of times to believe it! So, you will have to tell her one of her fans was starstruck in blogworld. And your blog is totally cute!

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  61. Hi,

    I jumped over from Quiet Life. I love your background and font colors. Beautiful. Also, love any thing JA so I'll be back!

    Pam
    www.oakridgeprep.com

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  62. I'm with ya sistah. I just started blogging a few weeks back and one of the first things someone said was not to get hung up on the stats and since they've said it, that's all I can think about. It drives me crazy - crazy I tell ya. Why don't people comment? I have great friends that visit my blog that don't even comment - what's that about?

    (P.S. Found you through your cool mother-in-law.)

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  63. Wowza!!!
    Me thinks people like giveaways :o)

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  64. We grew up in the Omaha area. I love B & N too!

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  65. I love Barnes and Noble. I just bought a book there tonight and some Mad Libs for the kids.

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  66. Stephanie-Oh23:08

    Hi
    I found your blog site through Quiet Life and when Donna said you were her DIL, I headed on over to take a look see! I added you to my favorites so will stop by frequently. Stephanie

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  67. Another lurker here from your MILs blog...you are now bookmarked:)

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  68. Anonymous07:31

    Howdy! Nice to meet you - lovely blog!! Your sweet MIL is sending lots of traffic your way...that's how I found you!

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  69. hello from Mississippi! great blog

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  70. donna, there is one thing i know for sure. people like free stuff.

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  71. Congrats on 5,000 visitor's. Have a great day.

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  72. A.R. Kaufman15:28

    I found you through quiet life.
    Keep on writing. I like your style!

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  73. Hi! I also came over from Donna's.

    I just wanted to tell you I share your obsession with blog stats. If you ever drop by "my house", leave me a note, 'kay?

    Also, I share the unfortunate trait of hotheadedness. I was feeling crabby today and the Jane Austen clips helped bring me out of it.

    Three things in common, so now we're friends. Isn't the internet great? :) That's what I love--finding people who have the same kind of thoughts as you.

    Nice to meet you!

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  74. Anonymous15:55

    I would love to win,

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  75. Anonymous16:51

    I found you through Quiet Life....which I found through PW, etc., etc.

    :)

    Mary Z

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  76. Hi Melinda! The statcounter can be so addicting and fun! :) I enjoy your blog and found it through your mom-in-law Miz Booshay. She is delightful!

    Good luck with your blog! You are a delight, too! :)

    Rachel

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  77. LOL!! Before I began to neglect my blog I too was addicted to seeing who stopped by to visit and where they were from. I never delved into what got them there, I don't think I really ever wanted to know. Good luck increasing your stats, you have a wonderful supporter in Miz Booshay (lucky girl to have a MIL that's wonderful).

    Hugs & Blessings!

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  78. Anonymous19:01

    Found you through Quiet Life, congrats on the blog, I will add it to my favorites, and visit daily :)

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  79. Arrived here via Quiet Life. Will check back again soon.

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  80. Rose in Oklahoma20:42

    Hi Melinda,

    I found your blog from your Mom's site, which I found through Pioneer Woman's site, who I found I think by way of Shreve Stockton's (The Daily Coyote) grandma's blog. Wow are you as confused as I am? lol I love movies also so I thought I'd suggest one of my favorites and send some love to you that way. "Everything is Illuminated" It's an amazing, quirky and heartwarming movie that you'll think about days later. Have a great week ahead.

    Rose :)

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  81. Hi my sweet Minna, I adore you, you will always have a very special place in my heart! I love reading your blog. You may be all grown up and married, but your still my sweet Minna. Oh, please don't include me in your drawing, just wanted you to know that I'm one of your biggest fans:)

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  82. Congratulations, Melinda. I have appreciated "getting to know you" through Quiet Life. You have a sparkle in your eye, something that whispers to me: Kind, Compassionate *and* Spunky!

    You go, girl!

    Carol in Oregon

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  83. anita22:18

    Hey darling Melinda- don't put me in the drawing- just wanted you to know that once THE WEDDING for my sweet boy is over I'll be back in the comment swing. Looking forward to catching up with you and your house search and your hot-headedness!
    Have fun with the comments (should I comment 18 more times and get you over 100?)

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  84. I think I'm still in. I drove from Cleveland today, so not sure what time zone I'm in. and yes, I ended both of my sentences in "in"

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  85. I love Barnes and Noble so so much!

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  86. You have such a sweet MIL. I enjoy her blog and aspire to live a "quieter life". I, too, love B&N and Starbucks.

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  87. Anonymous10:51

    Hey Melinda Sue:
    I have been here before via your mama in law...you are both so sweet. I missed the drawing, but that's ok; only came to read and comment.
    I love your blog, just like Donna's!
    Have a great Monday! and watch the click, click, click! You are funny!
    Ruth Ann in East Texas

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  88. Hello,
    I know I'm a day late for the drawing but I wanted to leave a comment anyway. Hope you have a great day.

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  89. auntie kimberly,

    i love you and miss you everyday! you have no idea how much. it made my whole week to see you popping up here! in fact it made me a little teary... love you!

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  90. holy cow... look at you all.

    thank you so much for your comments, your encouragment, and for being you!

    winner will be announced when i get home tonight... after 7.

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  91. Hi, would love the GC.

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  92. Hi! I have never left a comment because I have never visited here before. I just love your mother in laws fun blog. I love her picture taking style : ).

    Kaishon and I visited Nebraska once. We went to Back to the Bible. I can't remember what place it was in. I know it was one of the only big cities.

    I thought Nebraska was very pretty!

    I hope you have a great year school teaching! Don't flash anyone : )

    Oh, and how nice is this giveaway! You are RICH!

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  93. my dream job would be working in a book store. I enjoy reading your mother in law's blog and will add yours to my list

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