Cloud Niners: An IWSG Post

12:00 AM Elizabeth Seckman 153 Comments

Join the IWSG here!

Welcome to the very first 2015 IWSG posting!!

I love new years. They're like clean, blank notebooks. No smudges, no scribbled out sentences...just wonder and magical possibilities to mark up each new page.

I'm also excited to be one of this month's IWSG co-hosts! Helping Alex out periodically is a great reminder that being successful is a LOT of hard work. I mean everyone wants to be a ninja master, but until you walk a mile in those slippers, you have no idea how much work it takes to be awesome.

So, be sure to stop by the IWSG Page and say hi to the ninja master...and don't forget to say hi to this month's other co-hosts: 

Lisa Buie-Collard, Chrys Fey, and Michelle Wallace

Oh, yeah- I almost forgot! It's howdy time at the IWSG, so I will pause a moment to (re)introduce myself. 

I'm Elizabeth. I have four boys (I guess two are now men- egads!) and one comic book addicted, OCD husband. I write women's fiction (AKA romance) and tackle the laundry one pile at a time. Want to know more? Visit my website where you can learn all**

Now about that insecurity....

People wish on stars all the time and hope they get what they want. It's simple and easy, sometimes costing nothing more than a penny. But some people move beyond wishing wells and shooting stars and apply elbow grease and brow sweat to the pursuit of the goal. And with all the hard work and dedication, good things start to happen. Maybe it's a book deal, weight loss, or even a perfect house- no matter the dream, when it becomes part of your reality, you're on Cloud Nine. 

Then suddenly, someone from Cloud Ten rains on your happy parade with a friendly reminder that Cousin Lynn or Acquaintance Joe is skinnier and better than you. Sure, you're bragging about that small pub contract you snagged...Lynn or Joe wrote a story that's bound to be a best seller- AND he/she penned it on a napkin while juggling dinner plates as he/she also whipped up a masterful Hollandaise sauce. 

Or maybe Cloud Ten rains down with bad reviews or snubs from friends. 

There are so many ways that Cloud Ten tries to block the sunshine on Cloud Nine. It's just the way things are. People who live on uppity clouds don't like it when Cloud Niners attempt to change the natural order of the universe and grab a star. Instead, they console themselves by trying to pop a go-getter-dreamer's bubble. 

Don't let their nastiness make you feel insecure. 

You're all sorts of awesome. And eventually you'll be able to take that to the bank. 

**Weight not included 

153 comments:

  1. Happy New Year! And I love your advice. There are so many negative nellies in the world who can't stand to see someone happy. Don't let them bring you down. At least not permanently.

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    1. Yep. Got to ignore the negative Nellies (one of my favorite phrases, btw!)!!

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  2. Thanks for the encouragement, Elizabeth!!!

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  3. Happy New Year! Your post is wonderful and encouraging. You rock, Elizabeth!

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  4. What a great post! Debbie Downers love to rain on parades. Ignore. Enjoy Cloud Nine! Thanks for co-hosting IWSG this month.

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    1. Co-hosting is always a pleasure. Yep. Ignore the downers. Keep looking up!

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  5. Happy new year! What a wonderful encouraging post to start it off. :)

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  6. Hi Elizabeth, Happy New Year! I love your cloud 9 post, lets all keep our glasses half full this year (or even brimming over!)

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  7. That is a great message, Elizabeth!
    Thanks for co-hosting and for your kind words. I'm just doing the work, that's all.

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  8. Great post, Elizabeth! And you're right about seeing all the work that goes into success. As one of Alex's Ninja Minions for the last A-Z Challenge, I was blown away but how much work was involved in that whole enterprise - those guys are awesome!

    Have fun co-hosting IWSG this month!

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    1. Thanks Madeline! Co-hosting is always a lot of fun :)

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  9. Without the clouds the sky would never change, would never be perfect. Loved this post and thanks for co-hosting this month.

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    1. The clouds are a great reminder of constancy, change, and the beauty in that!

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  10. I don't pay attention to nasty members of Cloud Ten. I get my inspiration from the nice, hard working writers I meet.

    Thanks for co-hosting the IWSG this month!

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  11. Great post, Elizabeth! I know I could use a reminder to ignore those on cloud ten.

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    1. Any time you need a reminder, just give me a holler!

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  12. I like the message of your post. Staying on cloud nine and loving it.

    Thanks for co-hosting!

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  13. I'm all about sunshine and seeing the best in every situation this year. (You might also call that the cheese of life.) It's the only way to stay above the rainclouds, eh?

    Happy 2015!

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  14. I have a funny story about that. I landed my first publishing contract and a family member told another family member, "Don't tell Stephanie because I don't want to get her feelings hurt, but my friend sold his manuscript the first time he tried. They contacted him." When my family member started asking questions, the name of the publisher came out. I looked it up and it's one of those VERY well-known publishers that charges authors to publish. Not just the "buy your own copies" type of charging, either...he paid just for the privilege of having them publish his book, then was asked to buy copies. Still today, that publisher is texting this author, asking him to send another manuscript that they can charge him to publish. My family member still doesn't realize this friend is published by a publisher that writers are warned about! We never spilled the secret.

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    1. That is funny. That's exactly the sort of story I'm talking about. My poor mother gets so mad when she tries to brag to people and they try to on up her daughter. It's so cute.

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  15. That guy who sold his ms on the first try, bet his bubble was popped when he compared his success to any of the many authors on the best seller's list: Grisham, Cornwall, Rowling, etc. Thanks for hosting this month, Elizabeth. Best to you in this brand new exciting year!

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    1. There will ALWAYS be someone better than us and someone in a worse place. Just enjoy the cloud you're on and float on.

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  16. haha never thought of cloud ten, but cloud ten can stick it haha

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  17. Comparisons are creativity blockers. Thanks for co-hosting IWSG this month.
    Play off the Page

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    1. Nothing locks me up tighter than doing the comparison game.

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  18. Love this post! I've met one or two of those cloud tenners . . . fie on them . . . ahem, I mean, um . . . best wishes on their growth as people . . . um, oh well, never mind. I think I would like to see that juggling act with the sauce. :)
    Best wishes for 2015, Elizabeth! You are awesome!

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  19. I def needed this! I get a ton of this cloud ten crap from my grandparents and other extended fam lol...not fun!

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    1. Sadly, family can be the worst. Ignore them and keep floating along!

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  20. Love the possibilities of a New Year too, but doubts can sneak in on many a wind! So true!
    Great post Elizabeth, full of hope and positiveness! Can't go wrong with that! You made me smile and any blog that does that is tops!

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    1. Thank you Yolanda!! You made my day.

      We must stay positive. This is a tough job. Appreciate the small things and keep the faith!

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  21. Great post! I guess the Cloud Teners, have Cloud Eleveners raining on their parade, and they're just sharing the misery?

    My 2015 notebook already has smudges :-)

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    1. I suppose the rain always trickles down!

      Aren't the first smudges the funnest?

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  22. Great post! Thanks for co-hosting, and happy new year!

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  23. I love your spirit Elizabeth! You are all kinds of AWESOME!
    You always make me smile.
    "...penned it on a napkin while juggling dinner plates as he/she also whipped up a masterful Hollandaise sauce..." Love, love, love this! (The visual played out in my hyperactive mind's eye... *giggles*)

    Glad to be co-hosting the IWSG with you this month!
    Writer In Transit

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    1. You are so many levels of awesome Michelle! I was with the best group ever this ISWG round. Hugs super sweet lady!!

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  24. Thanks for co-hosting! I helped Alex one month and his ninja-awesomeness is a lot of work! :) But worth it.

    I haven't even cracked open my 2015 notebook yet, but I will today hopefully!

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  25. Comparisons are the first step on a nasty negative feedback cycle. You feel bad and don't work, which makes you feel worse when you get nothing done.

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  26. AH! I hate Cloud Ten!

    Really good points. We can't live day to day on what others think of us. Only what we do.

    Great post. Thanks for co-hosting!
    Heather

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  27. YOU are awesome too! I was especially happy when you added that part about doing the work. I just saw a pin in a gift store that said "wish, dream, imagine." Not a word about to have your dreams come true, you gotta work toward that! (Wrote a whole book for girls interviewing successful women who DID achieve their dream careers through hard work...So I guess I am very sensitive to the idea you can wish your dreams into reality.) Hoo boy, your post got me goin'. Thanks so much for co hosting as well as this encouraging post. AWESOME!!

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    1. No, you're awesome!! I can feel the energy and invigoration in that comment. You go girl! Be encouraged, ignore the nay sayers and do something...well- awesome!!

      And you're right- there is a lot of hard work between the start and the finish. Just knuckle down and do it!

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  28. I love living with my head in the clouds. Anyone is free to join me, just be aware - does make for a bad hair day. Thanks for co-hosting.

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    1. So that's why I never have good hair! Totally worth it. I mean, that's why there are hair bands, right?

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  29. Thanks for co-hosting and for the encouragement!
    It's sometimes hard to stay motivated, but it helps to key our eyes on our target and not what everybody else is doing.

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  30. I love the way you put this. As much as I love having my head in the clouds, I make it a point that I'm not the only one in them. There's plenty of room. Wishing you a Happy New Year, Elizabeth! :)

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  31. Love the idea of this post, fine message :)

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  32. OMG. How do you do that? Hit the nail right on the head in such a fun-to-read way. I'm going to remember Cloud 10 every time I get worried or anxious. Thank you for giving me a great visual to get me back on target! Reminder: There is always someone out there who has it better or worse than I do.

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    1. I pray before I write. Otherwise, I'm a babbling fool. Hugs Lisa!! I'll be seeing you on Cloud Nine later.

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  33. It's so important to remember we're the most important people in our own lives, no matter how many people might try to rain on our parades. Only our success should matter, not their taunts or stories of people who are more successful.

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    1. We only need to compete with ourselves and be the best us we can be!

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  34. Funny post. Cracked me up. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll never think of Cloud 9 in quite the same way again. Thanks for co-hosting and Happy 2015!

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  35. Boo on the shadows of cloud tens! We should all chase them off for each other. We deserve our stars and moments in the sun.

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  36. Pleased to meet you, Elizabeth. Thank you for co-hosting this month's IWSG. I don't spend much time on Cloud Nine but I do make an effort to ignore Cloud Tens! Thanks for the great smile-inducing post today. Happy New Year.

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    1. Thanks Gail! So glad you stopped by...and feel free to look around Cloud Nine, there's plenty of real estate available.

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  37. A very uplifting post Elizabeth. Thanks for sharing about yourself, and your accomplishments. I like to see people ride cloud 9 for as long as possible :) I did not realize you write women's fiction; I'm trying to read more in this genre so I will read a couple of your books.

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    1. Super big hugs for that Donna!!

      I think we should all ride on clouds...it would save transportation costs.

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  38. This so clever. Damn those Cloud Tens.
    Happy New Year and have fun co-hosting!

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  39. I love this post! I just hate nasty people who want to put others down. What's the point, really? Thanks for co-hosting!

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    1. I don't like mean people either. Life is too hard on it's own- be nice!

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  40. Is so sad when those Cloud Teners are supposed friends too. :( But your right, you have to not let them get you down.

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    1. My son once told me if someone makes fun of you or puts you down, they aren't a friend. Move on. Find better friends.

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  41. Dear Elizabeth,
    I think we must be long-lost best friends. I LOVED your post! It is so important to be mindful and aware when there's a Cloud Tenner at work. They are so good at making you doubt! And it's a terrible thing when you find one in your circle of friends. But, I count myself lucky to spot them and know, so I can protect myself! Happy January!

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    1. We may be Corinne! Love that you can spot the downers and weed them out! I've always thought the truly confident and successful are the best to hang out with. They don't have to kick people over to feel tall.

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  42. I believe creative minds—whether artists, singers, and yes writers—are simply brave. How they open their minds and reveal themselves to criticism is amazing.
    But what do I know? I'm a doofus writer, *GRIN*

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    1. OOps. forgot. Thank you for hosting this month!!!

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    2. We definitely open ourselves up to criticism. It's just part of the job description.

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  43. Those darned Cloud 10's. Why? I ask. Great co-hosting today!

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  44. Its' great to be co-hosting with you today, Elizabeth. I'm definitely going to do it again. :)

    I don't understand why people have to put down others. Especially when we know them. I have a family member who does this to me.

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    1. It was fun Chrys! I'd do it anytime the ninja calls.

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  45. Niner-niner, Elizabeth! No Cloud 10 is going to rain on our parade this year, right?. . . We're just awesome that way. :)

    Thank you so very much for co-hosting this month. You rock! Don't forget to watch Saturday's game so we can squish Brady! Love you girl! Xoxoxo

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    1. We'll share a cloud together Eva!! That Brady is still going strong- still being a cheater. Boo hiss. Let's go Sea Hawks!

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  46. I think many times the Cloud Ten crew might not even be trying to look down their noses. Some people are just so talented that their very awesomeness makes us more normal folk feel insecure. Then it's our problem coming to terms with our own feelings of inadequacy. I think age and surviving tumultuous life experiences so that you've already proven to yourself that you have grit and determination helps!

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    1. Good point. But I'm excluding them. I've known some awesomely talented and successful people and they never have to make others feel crappy to feel successful. As my grandmother always said- you'll know you're in the presence of greatness without them announcing it. Don't want those people to think I am talking about them! The gal who actually sold the book while mixing up the sauce? High fives to her. The friend who shoots down your success by comparing you to sauce gal- there's the boo.

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  47. "...AND he/she penned it on a napkin while juggling dinner plates as he/she also whipped up a masterful Hollandaise sauce."

    LOL This is why I love you.

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    1. Because you know I make a killer Hollandaise sauce? Hehe

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  48. Loved this, Elizabeth! Thanks for co-hosting this month! I feel exactly the same way you do about a new year! The nasties can be found lurking just about anywhere, but sometimes it's had to shut them out! Your encouraging post is s good set of muffling headphones!

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    1. I;m so happy I can help drown out the negative nellies for you! Don't worry, they're just jealous of your perfectness.

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  49. Hi, Elizabeth!

    Happy 2015! Love your Cloud 9 Cloud 10 description. It is sooo true. We have ALL been there. Some people are just blessed and things come very easy to them. They are not all bad either. They are just... blessed...

    Now the one's who are NOT so nice need to GET A GRIP and need to be THROWN OFF THEIR CLOUD! A month or two in the mud and cold will definitely help their disposition... don't you think? And imagine what it will do for ours... hmmm... love that dripping mud thing. LOL.

    Thanks for hosting this month and sharing you anecdotes ... such fun....

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    1. LOL. Yes, some people are blessed- I have no problem with blessed people. Those are the sort we admire and learn from. And have you ever noticed, it's rarely the truly blessed who act ugly? I think tossing them (gently) from the cloud is a good idea.

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  50. Love it! Cloud 10 definitely has a habit of getting in the way, but it only takes one small thing to lift us onto Cloud 9.

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  51. LOL, I love the idea of Cloud Tenners messing everything up! :) I also love this: "I love new years. They're like clean, blank notebooks. No smudges, no scribbled out sentences...just wonder and magical possibilities to mark up each new page."

    Thank you for co-hosting, too!

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    1. Thanks Liz! I'm glad you enjoyed my bit of whimsy.

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  52. Cloud Ten. I like that. I'm lucky that I don't generally see much of that directly. Unfortunately, what I do experience is self-induced.

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    1. Oh my, don't even get me started on that bratty internal cloud tenner!

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  53. Hi Elizabeth! Yes, we don't need any Cloud Ten around us. Thanks for your post. And thanks for co-hosting for Alex!

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  54. With that Cloud Nine pep talk, I'm feeling good about being a Niner and well, hells bells, those Cloud Tenners tend to be the ones who Won't buy my book so they can suck precipitation lol!

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    1. Love it Angela!! Suck precipitation...that's a good one!

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  55. Thanks for co-hosting this month! I love your take on cloud 10. We'll keep each other on cloud 9 :)

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  56. Love the post and your take on cloud 9. Thanks for being an awesome co-host this month.
    Juneta at Writer's Gambit

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  57. Hi Elizabeth, thanks for co-hosting IWSG this month. I loved your take on cloud 10. There are some people who love to burst someone else's happy bubble.

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    1. Good thing about bubbles is that we can just make more!

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  58. I don't deal with Cloud Tenners. Comparing oneself to others can be depressing, and those who are mean-spirited and critical have an agenda to tear others down.

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  59. Thank you so much for co-hosting. I'm with you - I have two boys (men) ages 23 and almost 22, but to me, they are still boys. Wonder if I'll ever call them men. :P

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    1. No matter how big, or hairy, they get- they'll always be our babies!

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  60. What a wonderful post. I once accused my hubby of being a balloon popper--sort of like your bubble popper. That was the first step in getting him to stop raining on my cloud. It's wonderful to have his support now and I feel like anything and everything is possible.

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    1. I live with one of those "realists" too. Fortunately, they can be retrained.

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  61. This made me happy. Thanks, Elizabeth. You are NOT one of those Cloud Ten people. You're amazing!

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  62. I don't think I've ever even thought about cloud 10! Thanks for this (and thanks for co-hosting this month).

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  63. I never thought about what is above Cloud 9, and I"m not liking those on Cloud 10 at all. Thanks for co-hosting. =)

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    1. No sense leaving Cloud Nine to explore the grumps above us anyhow.

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  64. This post made me feel very well and it also made me smile. Yes, Cloud Ten can be mean for Cloud Nine. Good you reminded me it doesn't matter what anybody says. And thanks for helping the man in black jammies!

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  65. You just have to keep going and not worry about who's doing better or worse than you. If you're doing what you love then Cloud 9 is a great place to be!

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  66. I love this piece. Cloud 9 sounds lovely. Who cares about Cloud 10. Thanks for co-hosting and cool intro.

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  67. Oh man, that's so true. We always have to watch out for Cloud Tenners. And carry a big umbrella!

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  68. Adore your banner! And love your mantra of ignoring others nastiness! Happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks Donna!! I am the youngest of five kids and the mother of four boys- ignoring things is my specialty.

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  69. I think Cloud 10 people maybe are unhappy, even though they have everything, and that's why they pick on Cloud 9 people. Great post. Thanks.

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    1. I think you're absolutely right. I've met people who live happily on Cloud Nine and are successful and never use that success to make others feel bad.

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  70. Cloud 9 is way more fun then 10 just enjoy it :)

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  71. Cloud nine is a wonderful place and how awesome is it that there are enough of them so that we can all grab one. The sooner those 10-ers realize that the happier they will be.
    Happy New Year and thank you for co-hosting this month!

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    1. Yes, everyone is welcome on the Nine and it is easy enough to grab hold and jump on!

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  72. That's an awesome allegory. And extremely well timed for me. Thanks for the reminder. just because some of us have to dig everything out of the grit, it doesn't diminish it.

    Also, Happy New Year!

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    1. Glad it helped. Hope you're feeling more shiny than gritty now :)

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  73. So true. Those haters on cloud 10 gonna hate no matter what. I'd way rather cruise on cloud 9!

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  74. 12th January 2015
    Dear Elizabeth,
    (My favourite name.)
    Happy New Year and thank you for following my blog.
    You write as if you were only a dreamer, but I suspect that you are an energetic doer!
    Best wishes,
    Anna

    Anna's IWSG for January 2015

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    1. Ahh thanks Anna!! What a sweet, sweet comment. I like to think I am a dreamer with a bit of do'er in her.

      Hugs!

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  75. Thanks for visiting my IWSG-post for January!
    Anna
    ox

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