Wednesday, November 14, 2007

We're Two Years Old!




The Writing Playground was born on November 14, 2005 and is 2 years old. The Children have 365 more days until they're out of the Terrible Twos.

When the Mavens created "The Children" did they wonder what would happen when we hit the Terrible Twos? Would we sail through with ease or be five handfuls of trouble? The first two years have been pretty good. We've had a book sale, a bunch of magazine sales, quite a few requests, some contest finals and a lot of very good feedback. I believe the Terrible Twos might not be so terrible after all.




There are five of us. I'm not sure how or why that happened, but it's a good number. There are five days in the week so the blogging works out great. Five seems to be a significant number in many areas. A star has five points. In music, a perfect fifth is the harmony in its best form and is the basis for the western tuning system. There are five oceans, five senses, five vowels and five tastes. Most mammals have five fingers and toes. The most destructive hurricanes and tornadoes are classified as fives -- a category 5 hurricane on the Safir-Simpson scale and an F5 tornado on the Fujita scale.

So two years ago the five of us decided to take cyberspace by storm and create a place to learn and have fun. I think we'd all agree we've succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Among our visitors we've had best-selling and award-winning authors and well-known agents and editors. We've made new friends around the world and even found a few right in our own backyards.

But probably best of all, we've come to know each other -- what makes us tick, what drives us mad, what pushes us to succeed, what we fear and what we love. We've shared cars and hotel rooms, had numerous adventures, spent days on end with each other and... we're still friends!

Please join us today as we celebrate our birthday. We have party favors for randomly selected commenters.

So... tell me five special things in your life. One lucky commenter will win a book (either an erotic romance, a historical, a contemporary single title or a romantic suspense -- your choice) and a nifty book light from me.

P.S. All of this week's winners will be announced on Saturday. Check back every day for more chances to win and on Saturday to see who won!

61 comments:

robynl said...

Happy 2nd birthday to the 5 of you on The Writing Playground. Let's party.
5 special things in my life:
1) a very good dh(kind, gentle, loving
2) a fur baby(Sam the poodle) whom I love and he helps me through tough times
3) a very nice new neighbour whom I have bonded with(Laura)
4) many blogs that give me enjoyment including this one
5) great memories of my Mom and Dad that make me want to go on living. I miss them.

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary!

5 special things

Mom
Best Friend
Sisters
Chocolate:-)
Romance Novels

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!! Y'all are the greatest. ;)

1) Family (immediate, extended and 4-legged) -- Makes my life rich, when they're not making me crazy, well, alright even when they're making me crazy, too.

2) Friends -- Not exactly sure what I'd do without 'em.

3) My Job -- okay, I want to pull my hair out sometimes but overall, I love writing books.

4) Soapbox Queens. It's a guaranteed pick-me-up. I could so relate to what you were saying about the Playground, PM.

5) Books.

Stacy S said...

Happy 2nd Birthday!

5 special things:

1. My dh & family.
2. Friends
3. many blogs that give me enjoyment including this one (copied from Robynl)
4. Books
5. Getting a job finally!

Kammie said...

1. My husband, family and friends.
2. My house..a place I love to be.
3. Romance books.
4. My laptop that connects me to an amazing world and provides endless hours of entertainment.
5. My job that allows me to have #2, #3 and #4.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday! I'm sorry i've been MIA lately. I've had so much work to do and things aren't that great at my house right now...however, I have 5 special things in my life:

1. That I haven't murdered my soon-to-be-19-tomorrow son yet;

2. That i still love my son very much after all he's put us through in the last several weeks;

3. That my husband and I are still together for almost 20 years;

4. I had a parent tell me that her daughter has learned quite a bit from me so far this year, and is actually reading at home;

5. That i have friends i can vent to, cry with and even laugh with in times of frustration, stress, need....

Today's verification:

qyitpap?

Did i read 'quit your yap'?

Cheryl said...

Happy Birthday! I brought the cake.

5 special things in my life:
1) My kids
2) My parents
3) Online friends
4) Daily blogs I visit (such as this one)
5) My books

Cheryl

Rhonda Nelson said...

Happy Birhtday, Playfriends!

And I ditto Jen's list, because I'd typed it all out and Blogger ate it.

Argh!!!

Meljprincess said...

1. My cat's ashes
2. My husband
3. My family
4. My friends
5. My books and magazines

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

I know its only 7:40, but its time to party. It's our birthday! We have a buffet of good snacks, chocolates, petit fours and of course, drinks.

Happy Birthday to us. Happy Birthday to us. Happy Birthday Writing Playground. Happy Birthday to us!

Playground Monitor said...

Y'all party while I go get my flu shot. Yuck! But it's a necessary part of life.

PM

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Happy Birthday to us. Happy Birthday to us. Happy Birthdaaayyy dear Playground. Happy Birthday to us!

All I want to know is am I the tornado or the hurricane? :-D

Mmm, petit fours and mimosas, we sure do know how to start a day off right. I love y'all!

Instigator

Katherine Bone said...

Toot! Blows horn! Jumps up and down, flailing arms!!! Happy Birthday to you, playfriends!!! And many, many more!!! Where are the petit fours? Cyber cookies?

Wow! Can't wait for the party to get started. I'm jazzed! Is Captain Jack coming again this year? Where are the teeter-totter drinks?

Here's a list of my favorite things and then I won't feel sooooo bad....
My DH is cozy
My children are shoo-ins
My health is rosy
With music I'm smittin'
Books are so wonderful and I'm in love with all the words that I'm dreamin' of.....

Dance. Dance. Dance. Dance. Keep on, keep on! Woo-hoo!

Problem Child said...

Happy Birthday to us!! Yay!!!

It's been a fabulous two years, and here's to many more!!!

Angel said...

Now I'm irritated because I wrote out a whole beautiful post and Blogger wouldn't take it. Arrgghh!!!

Anyway, pass the petit fours! Cyber food doesn't hurt my stomach, so I'll have a teeter-totter with that please.

1. Family (including the Playfriends)

2. My computer (a lifeline these days)

3. Writing, with the enjoyment and accomplishment it brings

4. Our new house.

5. A car that runs (I'm thinking positive here) :)

I'll check back in, ladies, and I expect to see a chocolate fountain when I get back! Woohoo! We're 2!

Angel

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

setting up the chocolate fountain and laying out the pretzel sticks, strawberries, marshmellows, piroette cookies...

Captain Jack said...

I heard my name?

The five most special things in my life are

1. Rum
2. Rum
3. Rum
4. Rum
5. Rum

Happy birthday, ladies.

Your humble servant,
Jack Sparrow

Renee Andrews said...

I'm trying again. Clearly blogger is mad at me today ;)

Happy Birthday to the Children!

My 5:
1) The Sexy Cajun
2) The Sexy Cajun's children (aka my children)
3) The Sexy Cajun's cooking
4) The Sexy Cajun's endless support
5) Did I mention the Sexy Cajun? ;)

Kelley

Eva said...

Congratulations and Happy 2nd Birthday!
My 5 special things:
1) My kids & husband
2) Family & friends
3) Romance books :)
4) Chocolate :))
5) More BOOKS :)))

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Ladies!!

I have so many more than five things. I have truly been blessed.

But I've got to say:

Mom
Kids
Grandkids
Siblings (all 8 of the brats)
Siblings children and their children (all 35 and counting)

Lynn Raye Harris said...

Happy Birthday, Playfriends! LOL, I love Kelley's list, btw. :) You'd think she loved that man or something. :)

I've got more than 5, but I'll boil it down.

1. Hubby. The man supports me in what I do and never tells me I need to get a job. He also bought me a house. :) (I need a nickname for him; Kelley makes me feel so bland, lol. Hmm, Sexy Yankee doesn't have quite the same ring to it though...)

2. Family. We're near them again, able to get together for dinners and concerts and impromptu gatherings after years of military moves.

3. The two nutty cats from another planet. They crack me up on a regular basis.

4. Writing and all that goes with it: RWA, blogs, internet.

5. Friends -- old, new, and future.

Anonymous said...

I lurk at Barbara Vey's blog and saw about your birthday celebration. I also read the interview she did with you a while back. Congratulations on your second birthday and on having such a wonderful site. You should be very proud of all you've accomplished.

Five special things?

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Good Health
4. Freedom
5. The internet -- sounds corny, but it's allowed me to "meet" so many interesting people and "travel" to places I'd never get to visit otherwise.

Lois said...

Happy Birthday!!!! :)

Books
Chocolate
Kitty
Family
my computer :)

Lois

pearl said...

Happy anniversary and many more.

My wonderful husband
My great sons
My lovely sister
my friends
My health

catslady said...

waaaa it ate my post.

Happy Birthday!

Good Health - without out that no of the rest would matter.

Family - mom who is 85 and in good health, husband of 38 yrs., 2 wonderful daughters and boyfriends and sister and all the rest!

Frinds - one best friend; bowling, card club, and cyber friends!

Cats - 7 inside from 17 yrs. to 6 mo. and my outside stray and ferals.

Books, books, books, and more books.

catslady said...

Okay I got flustered and typoed darn it - should have said "without that none of the rest would matter" - sorry.

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

I'm going to copy Danniele:

1. Family & Friends

2. My computer

3. Writing

4. Our new house

5. In place of "A car that runs" cause mine is iffy, I'd say my furbabies.

Katherine Bone said...

Chocolate fountains... yum!

Captain Jack... even yummier!!! Welcome back, me bucko. So glad you could make the party. Of course, rum will be available upon your request. BTW, I really enjoyed sparring with you yesterday during our local bloodlettin'. :-)

Kelley's got the Sexy Cajun whom she obviously adores and Lois has the way cool icon. More Phantom please, Lois!

Special days are for special people and the playfriends are very special to me. Lifting my glass to ye on this momentous day! (Fans face)

ruth said...

Happy Anniversary! Best wishes.

My 2 wonderful daughters
My great friends and neighbors
My health and great home
My sister and her family
My Great job

tetewa said...

My 5 special things are as follows: (1) My huge collection of books (2) my other gigantic collection of movies on DVD (3) My family (4) My friends (5) I also collect anything that has to do with dolphins Happy birthday gals!

anne said...

Happy Anniversary!

Wonderful friends
Great health
Fabulous place to live
Books which I love
Outings which I appreciate

CrystalGB said...

Happy Anniversary! I love your blog.
5 special things in my life
1. my loving husband
2. my wonderful parents
3. my loyal siblings
4. my close friends
5. my fur babies

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Okay, here are my 5 things:

1. My family
2. The Playfriends
3. My writing
4. My pets (even the goats)
5. Books

Instigator

Blogger is really having trouble today. That's twice it ate my post.

ellie said...

Happy 2nd Anniversaray!

My 2 wonderful dogs
My special and wonderful friends
Readng and books
Travel
Continued good health

Anonymous said...

love books
love beef jerky
smart
sweet
gets no sleep lol

happy 2nd birthday ladies love your blog, keep it going.

kim h

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

Beef jerky. I love it.

What's everyone's favorite party snack food??

Cherie J said...

Happy Anniversary!

5 Special Things:

1) My wonderful hubby.
2) My identical twin sister who knows me so well.
3) My precious kids.
4) My loving mom.
5)Other family and friends.

Shari C said...

Happy 2nd birthday to all of you!

1) my wonderful husband
2) my terrific parents
3) my beautiful children
4) Sam & Bayle my loving dogs
5) my good friends

Katherine Bone said...

I'm really into honey roasted peanuts right now, SP. Goldfish are great with Coke. M & M's are yummy.

Nuts and chocolate can't be beat! Grab some. Grab some, so we all can eat! LOL.

What's your favorite snack, Jack?

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday!
I live in a beautiful area with a wonderful view of the Sonoran desert. I have wonderful friends and family and 2 dogs. I have alot of time to read, finally, and enjoy that very much. But I think the one special thing in my life is that I got to go through it with a wonderful twin sister. Amd luckily, I am not allergic to CHOCOLATE

Angel said...

Okay, Blogger is seriously ticking me off today!!! Having to retype my brilliant posts into something not so brilliant (because I can't remember everything I said) is bursting my party bubble.

I think I need to visit the party fountain.

Oh, did I mention my car started doing something weird today while I was in town. There goes number 5.

Angel

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

Uh, doesn't blogger know we're having a party today and its supposed to work?? Typical.

Kathy, my guess is that Jack's favorite snack is rum balls. :)

Last year we got over 100 posts on our birthday and I'll accept nothing less this year! (Although no cheating by posting one word per post, I hate that) There's some great prizes to be had today - send your friends and fellow blogmeisters this way to celebrate with us!

Rhonda Nelson said...

Er..where's the fudge? Instigator? Surely you haven't shown up without the peanut butter fudge in tow? I wanted to feed a little to Jack...

:-)

Angel, sorry about your car! That's the kind of thing that tears my nerves all to hell and back. We never really had a reliable car when I was growing up, so a dependable vehicle is HIGH on my priority list.

Rhonda Nelson said...

Muah haha!!! Blogger ate my post, but I'd copied it so that if it pulled that crap, I'd still have what I'd written.

Woot! I won! I beat Blogger!

Anonymous said...

1) my fiance
2) my mum
3) my support net
4) my books
5) my freedom

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Of course I brought the fudge! No party is complete without it. And the lemon cheesecake squares.

Instigator

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Of course, the one time I copy my post it posts just fine. pfffffttttt to blogger.

Instigator

Unknown said...

Thanks, Instigator! Jack was pleased. :-)

Carol M said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

1. my family
2. my health
3. my cats
4. my friends
5. my books

Captain Jack said...

Peanut butter fudge and rum balls.

Delightful.

JS

Stacy S said...

I'll take some Peanut butter fudge and rum balls with Captain Jack!

Michelle Buonfiglio said...

mmmm, I'd love some of Capt. Jack's rumballs meself. Arrrrgh.

Buon compleanno, Playfriends! I feel so fortunate to have met you, and to have you here for the rest of us. Five other special things?

1. My job, which is as crazy-making as it is wicked cool.
2. Romance novels. They changed my life.
3. My little family, who seems to love me despite the amount of time I spend at the computer saying, "ok. just a sec. I'll be with you as soon as I'm done with this last email. what do you mean you don't want cereal for dinn er? again."
4. My girlfriends who like to talk about romance and romance sex. I don't see them enough lately.
5. Other readers online who share with me stuff about their lives and teach me new stuff about romance every day.

Congratulations on having made such a special place on the Inet. Wishing you many more years of success and fun. :)

Angel said...

So I'm not the only one who feeds my family cereal for dinner....
:)

Angel

Unknown said...

Happy Birthday!

1. My family
2. My friends
3. Romance Books
4. The internet which makes it possible to post on this blog and visit our fave authors' sites.
5. My Computer

Playground Monitor said...

I gave my kids cereal but for some reason the DH just doesn't think it's a proper dinner. I don't know why. Cereal has whole grains and all sorts of vitamins and minerals. And combined with milk it gives you calcium and protein. If that ain't a good dinner I don't know what is.

PM

Pat L. said...

Happy Bday and many more.

My Family
My Friends
My Health
A Roof over my head
My Job

Pat L. said...

How could I forget to mention my romance books and chocolate. Please forgive me. LOL.

jt said...

What an exciting time for y'all!

FIVE THINGS:
1) Laughter. I do it and I try to provoke it. It's a nice little friend I keep in my pocket.

2) Relationships. I have them with everyone, even people I don't know. Surely the mailman doesn't see me peeking out of the curtains, wishing he were on a white horse ready to whisk me away from dirty dishes and piled up laundry?

3) Books. These really are my white horses, allowing me travel, love, adventure, magic, sorrow, and a single life, occasionally. What better way to have a little freedom?

4) Road trips. The children's minds wander as my husband and I reconnect. There's no simpler magic for us.

5) Dreams. What a wonderful therapy session, nearly every night. The things your brain tells you if you'd only stop to listen...

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday
5 special things - my hubby and my three kids and my two cats. Xomething upw ith blogger.

Debby

Anonymous said...

1. my kids
2. my parents and family
3. my new job
4. books
5. friends

ReadingIsSoMuchFun said...

Happy Anniversary PlayGround YaY!

Five things:
My lovely fiance
My silly family *G*
Life. I thank GOD each day that I wake up.
Books *Lots of books*
Cooking. I love to cook & bake.

Have A Wonderful & Safe Weekend Everyone.

Hugssss
LindaH