The comeback kid?

It's been almost a year away from the blogsphere and I am wondering whether it is too late to make a comeback. Is anyone out there?

End of the road...

This probably isn't going to come as a surprise.

After four years, 714 posts, and many wonderful memories, the time has come to close down the Martini Lounge. When I started blogging, originally calling this site, Martinis For One, it was out of a need more than desire. Recently divorced and completely confused by the dating world, I used the blog as my primary emotional outlet and personal diary. I also created a virtual persona--Diane Mandy--because I worried what family and friends might think about the honest expressions and experiences.

Since then a lot has changed, but mostly that I have surrounded myself with a group of friends that love me regardless of my viewpoints and history. My blog is no longer a personal confessional. I also don't need a virtual persona any longer. I can just be me.

Along the way, many of you, dear and loyal readers, have helped me in this journey of self renewal. You have shared my adventures--from single gal to married woman to American expat in Europe. You have been there through all the happy times and a few struggles. And along the way, I never felt judged or looked down upon for being me.

And for this, I thank you.

I honesty feel some of you are more than just fellow bloggers. You have been my friends through all these years. And for those who want to stay in touch with the real Diana, please feel free to send me an e-mail (dmandy_5@hotmail.com) and I will provide you with alternate contact information.

Thank you again for being a part of a wonderful four years. It's been quite a ride. In fact, the only thing that stayed consistent was YOU.

Cheers!

Died and gone to heaven

Not really, but I am enjoying life in Barcelona that much. Being out and about, soaking up both the Mediterranean sun and culture is producing one bad side effect however. I'm not blogging, Twittering, or using Facebook. My virtual presences has, if not ceased, than at least taken a long holiday. When it is finally resurrected, however, don't let me forget to blog about the naked cyclist I saw riding the streets of Barcelona the other day. If only I had my camera with me!

Stripped down

I was tired of the look of Martinis For Two and had been thinking of taking it in a new direction.

So be honest. Is this any better? Minimalistic, I know. But I sort of like it. What do you think? Should I just spend the money and have it redesigned by a professional?

Injecting a little testosterone

Recently, a fellow blogger called my blog "girly." I don't think she meant this as a criticism, and I didn't take offense at the remark. (Guilty as charged.) Still, it did cause me to worry about my audience and whether I am alienating 50% of the global population. It's in this spirt, I've decided to overhaul my image.

What do you think? Do I wear this well?

Excuse me for this shameless plug

When I was a high school senior, I won a state public speaking championship in the extemporaneous speech category. It was quite an accomplishment and also the last time I won anything --except for a few scratch-off discounts and free fries at McDonalds.

I try to tell myself it doesn’t matter. Winning isn’t everything, right?

Still, twenty-three years without being victorious is quite a losing streak. Even the Red Sox have garnered a championship in all the years since I’ve been a loser. And, I’d like to change my luck.

This is where you come in. You can make me a winner again.

This site has been nominated for a “Love This Site!” award by Divine Caroline, a women’s social media site. Even though I haven’t the foggiest idea why or how I was nominated, even though I don’t necessarily think I should have been nominated, I am honored and grateful just the same.

At the same time, being a contender puts a little pressure on me, especially given my history. I don’t want to be the Susan Lucci of the blog word, I want to WIN, dammit. ;-)

So won’t you head over there an cast your vote by clicking the badge to the right? I will warn you, Divine Caroline asks voters to register an e-mail and offers its monthly newsletter (which you can decline), but isn’t this a small price to pay to keep my both ego and self-esteem nice and healthy?

On second thought, don’t answer that. Just go vote.

Baby Mandy

Miss Curiousity, Amy D, shared this link on her blog, and I thought it was pretty cool. Max and I have often wondered what our future offspring might look like and, thanks to technology, we now have some idea. Max's mother will be disappointed. She was hoping for a baby with a blond afro.


What do you think about my little new Baby Mandy?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

Untimely Demise

MacBook Mandy died, suddenly and without warning, in his Bad Dürkheim home on Sunday morning. Mac, as he was known by friends and loved ones, played a role as key contributor to the Martini lounge, along with its many podcasts, movies, photographs. He was only 1-year old.

Mac is survived by his adoring and greiving owners, Max and Diane Mandy, as well as two jealous siblings Charlie and Rascal, who are gleeful that mom has so much free time on her hands now.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests complaints be sent to Apple.com in MacBook´s memory. The family also asks for respect and understanding during this most trying, and unconnected, time.

Funeral services will be held once it is determined whether the warranty of U.S.-purchased MacBook,valid until September 08, is legal and binding in Europe.

Still here!

You are the best! I appreciate the comments and e-mails I received from my last post from both bloggers and delurkers alike. I wanted to let you know your words of advice and encouragement mean so much to me.

I’m still here and plan to continue to post at this location—but ( as many of you suggested) not force a post if the blogging spirit isn’t moving and, maybe more importantly, try not to feel guilty if I don’t.

As it turns out, ironically, the spirit started moving--maybe not like a flood of inspiration, merely a few thoughts and ideas I hope to share next week. But until then, I offer you my sincerest thanks!

Diane

How do you know when it's time to end a blog? I'm not sure if it is all the activity away from the Martini lounge or just the summer blahs, but after three years I'm having more and more thoughts of bringing this site to a close. I'm worried that as soon as I do, I'll find new inspiration to blog again.

How do you, long-time bloggers, keep your inspiration? When do you really know it's time to close shop?

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

I found this through Touch of Dutch and really liked it. Who's your celebrity match?

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Free family tree - Ancestors

Woe is me!

I feel as though I’ve been at a neck-break pace the last couple weeks with no end in sight! My parents arrive at 5:30 am tomorrow and I’ve spent the last couple days preparing for the visit. Because real life is so busy, my blog life is suffering.

I’ll continue to post half-thought-through pieces . I’ll also read and comment on as many bloggers’ sites as I can. None of this will be done out of obligation, it will be done because I enjoy it. Still, I want to apologize in advance if I seem neglectful.

Next week might offer more chances to blog. Beginning Saturday, we leave for Greece to visit my relatives living in Thessalonica. Then, we’ll vacation in Kalithea on the Aegean Sea.

Somehow, I doubt you’re feeling too sorry for me at this moment.

Am I right?

Don’t adjust that monitor!

You’re probably looking at this site thinking something is amiss, but can’t exactly put your finger on it.

“Did she change her do? Did she fall prey to a bad lift?”

I’ve had work, all right. However, the surgery wasn’t by choice. Suddenly and without warning, the gods of I.E. and Firefox frowned upon the Martini lounge. Readers warned me of the browser curse placed upon this site, but I misinterpreted their meanings.

“Goodness me - what happened to your blog?” one blogger wrote.

I thought her comment referred to the dark and brooding nature of yesterday’s content, and not the unbeknownst disaster that was my site.

An hour later, another visitor set me straight. As if she was coming right out and telling me that I had phlegm in my nose, this blogger’s words could not be misunderstood.

“… your blog, in both IE and Firefox is very wonky. All the images (header and sidebar) are covered with a "this image has been moved or deleted" notice and the sidebar has text over text making it impossible to read.”

Wonky? Uh, excuse me? Was this possible? The Martini Lounge looked perfectly kept in Safari, and I hadn’t done any major construction. How bad could the problem be, really? Using a virtual tool to render my site as it would appear in Internet Explorer, I quickly discovered just how bad bad could get.



Martinis For Two was the Blogsphere’s version of Britney Spears going commando. My site was exposed! Where had all my undies gone?

I took time to look over my html and scripting, but couldn’t locate the problem. While the website graphics were designed by a professional, I had uploaded my own customized template. It was a hack job. As a result, I had continual headaches including display problems in I.E. 6. And now this…

The time had come to recognize the reality of the situation. I’m no web designer. I made a judgment call, stripped off my beloved design, and replaced it with a run-of-the-mill Blogger template. I only managed to salvage my less-than-properly-positioned header.

So here I sit--certainly not as pretty and with only a hint a virtual lipstick to dress me up. I’m drab and the processes of looking for a new and professional design for my site. This could take weeks, maybe months. In the meantime, you have plain old me. Promise you will love me anyway?

Connection problems

My new air card stopped working, so I don't have Internet connection at the house. Hopefully, I'll be up and running on Thursday unless I find a coffee shop with wireless before then.

Hope you all are having a great Tuesday!

Looking for recommendations

As you know, soon enough I am going to have a LOT more time of my hands. So, I’d like to find some new websites to peruse. But locating a few fresh blog buddies feels more like finding a needle in a haystack.

So tell me, what is your favorite blog? Who is your favorite blogger? What is it about your favorite that makes it among your daily reads?

Martinis for two...

But last night, I wasn’t sipping them with my usual companion. With my husband away in Germany, I’ve been looking for ways to fill my appointment book. Luckily for me, Suvii, fellow blogster, Latina extraordinaire, mother of an adorable two-year old, came to town and graciously accepted my invitation for dinner and, in this case, a martini or two.

It’s rare when you meet someone that you feel as if you’ve known for a long time, but Suvii make it easy to feel that way. She’s a great conversationalist with diverse interests, and most importantly, a good listener. I was quite the chatterbox during our night on the town. And if you’re reading these words, Su, I apologize if I talked your ear off! It’s just that Charlie hasn’t been much of a conversationalist since Max has been away.

Suvii is only the third blogger I’ve met in all my time in the Blogsphere. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jamy of Grateful Dating and dearly departed (from a blog standpoint, at least) Sethro of the Brain Dump. These experiences turned out to be very positive for me. And Suvii was no exception.

But I have heard of blogger meetings that haven’t gone as well. Have you ever met a blogger that you wished you hadn’t? You don’t have to provide names, of course. But come on now—go ahead and dish. It will be our secret. ;-)

Help Make Me Over

Welcome to the all-new Martinis for Two with graphics provides by Amanda at 9 Lives Illustrations.

Know that construction is still taking place. I'm still playing with colors, graphics, and fonts, so there will be more modifications to come. Please consider the comments field of this post the official Martini Lounge “suggestion box. You're all my beta testers and best critics. How are things looking on your end? All feedback will be greatly appreciated.

This is the first time I’ve loaded my own template. So if you notice display problems in your various browsers and platforms, let me know. No doubt I.E.6 users will still see the side bar alignment problem, which I have yet to find a solution. If any of you more technically savvy bloggers have advice on how to fix this problem, I would certainly appreciate it. Based on my research, I do not believe the site images are causing the problem; rather it is the way the code renders in I.E.6. But, then again, who knows?

Whew! I love a new makeover, even if it is a virtual one. And there is more to come! In preparation for unemployment and the move to Europe, I am hoping to add a few new features to this site in the months to come. Stay tuned!

The emperor's new template

A couple week's back I promised to unveil a brand new template, which would better fit this new stage of my life. And since then, you keep visiting but aren't seeing any improvements, right?

My explanation: just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it...for now.

Bathroom talk

When I was a young girl, I spent a day at an archeological dig, not uncovering a dinosaur grave, but, rather, a privy on the site of Monticello, home of President Thomas Jefferson.

Digging out the bathroom of a founding father didn’t seem exciting to a 12-year old like me, but to the archeologists it might as well have been a gold mine. This was because excavating outhouses usually yields interesting and promising artifacts. An archeologist explained that, just as it is sometimes true today, people of old use to carry all sorts of things into outhouses and inadvertently leave them behind for posterity’s sake. With the benefit of hundreds, sometimes thousands of years, discarded junk becomes prized artifacts--the sort that give historians new perspective on an ancient culture or at least make them think, “What the hell?!?"

I never forgot that day at Monticello, and ever since I have often wondered what interesting tidbits we leave behind in our own outhouses for the benefit of future generations.

But during a recent luncheon, Jamy from Grateful Dating offered me a satisfying answer.

Blogs.

The impact of blogging on society has been debated in the media for years now. But Jamy feels that, so long as blogs are archived, the material will be scoured by future historians, providing insight into what people from all over the globe did on a daily basis, as well as how they thought and felt about almost anything imaginable. A pretty amazing thought, huh?

All of this makes me think about what I write today. But, for future historians who might be reading these words long after I’m gone, I’d like to offer my insights on a few important matters.

• If Vice President Cheney never turns his papers over to the National Archives, let me assure you he really was a "Dick."


• Real men do, on occasion, eat quiche.


• There was never such a thing as a “live recording.”


• No woman looks good in overalls.

Care to make your mark in my virtual privy and add some of your thoughts to this list for the benefit of future generations to come?

Re-thinking Pink

"Pink is totally not my color. Pink is NO ONE's COLOR unless they are 6 years old and headed to Disneyworld."

Love Bites, reviewer from Ask and Ye Shall Receive, spared no fury in her critique of my current template, and a few of you agreed. While I think the template worked in representing my mood, as well as the romance and excitement during the engagement and wedding, I’ve decided it’s time to retire the design.

In other words, I heard you.

But I also believe before moving forward, it’s wise to reflect on where you’ve been. The Martini Lounge has gone through a few renovations over the last two years, just as its owner has also evolved over time.

Launched in April 2005, Martinis for One sported a bland, Blogger template, which fit my ambivalence about being single for the third time around. Despite my 37 years, I hadn’t dated much because I had grown up in fundamental Christian religion that discouraged such activity. Alone after 15 years of marriage, I felt angry, resentful, but mostly socially ill-equipped to make my way in the world in which I found myself.

How quickly circumstances and templates change! By July 2005, I’d made a choice--to finally live for myself and enjoy the opportunities and benefits of being a single gal. I opened myself up to the world I once feared--traveled extensively, took up Latin dancing, and met lots of new people. It seemed appropriate that the Martini Lounge also take a more festive look with its dancing divas and disco ball.

By February 2006, a new character emerged in the story of my life--Max Mahmoud. Born in Egypt and raised in Greece, he was unlike anyone I’d ever met. Despite our different upbringings and the fear of repercussions from his Muslim and my Christian family, we decided to date, albeit very quietly. And within months it became apparent that neither the template nor the title, Martinis for One, adequately described my life. I had found my true partner, someone who’d happily share a martini (or two) with me. My short stint as a single was over, and my blog needed to reflect this life change. Browsing a gallery of pre-made templates, I found the design that became Martinis for Two.

Today as I write the 315th post for Martinis, I find myself in yet another phase of life. I’m married for the third time, facing my 40th birthday, contemplating pregnancy, leaving my family, friends, job and moving to Europe. Whew! How many lives can one woman live? I suppose as many as there are templates to be purchased.

Sometime next week and in keeping with this next chapter of life, I’ll debut an all new Martinis for Two. I’m keeping mum about the design except to promise Love Bites one thing: this time around it won’t be pink. ;-)