I'm Still Here........ Persistence, Dedication and Steely Determination Have Brought Me Back

Hello..........it's been way too long since I've spent any time here, and without a million excuses, many of which are valid, I'm going to say............it's nice to be back. Most of my recent posts were hardly uplifting, encouraging or entertaining, and in fact focused on several issues that had dragged me down and kept me from my true love......cooking, baking and blogging. Just when I thought the fog had lifted and I was able to catch my breath........my father suddenly fell ill and passed away. This was very unexpected, and needless to say, caught all of my family off guard.

A very LONG story short, my father was a leader, teacher, businessman and hero to many hard working men and women. He was driven, focused and a true motivator. My father was also persistent, dedicated and forged ahead with steely determination...........character traits that I too have inherited. And it's these character traits that have brought me back to the one thing I mentioned earlier and am truly passionate about........cooking, baking and blogging.

Unbeknownst to me, my domain name expired during my father's sudden illness and subsequent death. Navigating the so called "user friendly" corridors of Google trying to find a way to re-register my domain took the better part of two days, a great deal of patience and several unanswered emails to Google. I just happened to find a link that led me to the right place.........at least I hope so. As I write this, my blog is still not appearing, even though I have the receipt from Google telling me that my domain is once again current and all is fine....lol

Having said all of that, I intend to remain here, active like never before and determined to pursue my passion regardless of the obstacles that come my way. In many ways, the past year was a true test of my endurance, and this too was recently tested above and beyond during the process of saying goodbye to my father and his subsequent viewing and funeral procession. My father's presence is felt every day.........he was stubborn and a fighter...........and I will use his resilience plus the lessons he taught me to persevere and forge ahead.

Thank you for letting me vent. I've truly missed being here, but for those few that still stop by to visit.......I'm here to stay.

Mark