How a Steemian Brightened my Valentines Day
I plan on sharing my Valentines Day with you but in case I lose you before the end, I would like everyone to know that my Valentines Day ended with a happy note because of @mudcat36's gesture of kindness here on Steemit.
Hello Dress!
Valentine’s Day started out as any other day. I snoozed my alarm five times before looking at the clock and realizing I was, once again, late to work. That seems to be the ongoing trend since I started Steemit.
So the day was to be a special occasion. We received a last-minute call from my cousin’s boyfriend telling us he wanted to propose to her during Valentines Day dinner (also last minute on his part to do the proposal on V-Day). What an exciting moment!
I picked out a dress that I hid in the far corners of the closet. Every woman having gone through postpartum understand the challenge of fitting into pre-pregnancy clothes. I have some favorite outfits that I simply can’t wear anymore because I’ve since developed curves in all the wrong right places. To my amazement, my clothes fit again and my excitement went through the roof! I can once again wear skirts and dresses with zippers. Gals, you know that zipper never went ALL the way up during the wonderful postpartum stage. Maxi dresses were our best friends 😉.
Surprise at Work
I don on my outfit, which I must say I am totally loving, and took off to work. I walked to my desk and saw my computer was finally getting replaced. About time! I’ve had my old computer since I started there and it was finally time to retire it. It was starting to idle and shut down in the middle of Steemit working.
As the tech set up my computer, I went to the cafeteria and grabbed myself oatmeal with some healthy toppings. My usual is eggs and bacon, but come on, I could fit into my awesome dress again! I have to attempt to maintain what figure I think I have. If you’ve never tried peanut butter in oatmeal, you must give it a try. My nutritionist had me try it for a healthier diet during pregnancy and now I have to have peanut butter in oatmeal.
WTH, one LCD screen only?
The computer technician gave me some bad news when I got back from my cafeteria run. The new computer is an all-in-one computer with a big LCD screen. He said I had to give up my dual screens.
NOOOO!!
I would have given back the new computer for my dual screens again. I work with many systems and having dual screens is a must. It’s not that I’m spoiled with having had dual screens. If I am to be confined to a desk all day, I should use that time efficiently. It’s simply inefficient having to juggle between applications on one LCD screen. I do a lot of systems testing and life is much easier with two screens. I was bummed with the news but what could I do. If the computer tech can’t do it, then he can’t do it.
Saved by the BOSS
As the computer tech was packing up to leave, my big boss stopped by and asked the tech to set up the dual screens for me. “She needs two screens. Let’s make it work”, he said as he gave me a wink. YESSSSS! I guess it was possible to do dual screens after all. After acquiring some wiring, I was set up with my dual screens again. SIGH.
Valentines Day Dinner
We met at an Italian bistro I had yet to try. I heard raving reviews about the squid ink pasta but I’m not too much of the exploring type. I stuck with the lobster bisque and filet and it was dee-licious!
BYOB place but all the bottles are saved for our viewing pleasure. The whole downstairs was reserved for the special occasion.
If you look closely, you'll notice a missing piece. I had to take a bite of the tiramisu before taking the photo. I couldn't resist.
She said YES!
Needless to say, the evening ended happily. My cousin said yes to the proposal and we will be celebrating a wedding later this year.
Never Off Duty
We chatted for hours and forgot about the time. We ended up staying late and completely forgot about the parking meter. So guess what was inserted under our windshield wipers when we got to the car? Yes, even on Valentines Day the meter maid is unforgiving.
That did bum us out but we didn’t let it ruin our day. My cousin is blessed with a love she truly deserves. I got my dual screen monitors. Let’s not forget my dress and countless others I can start wearing again.
Surprise Ending
The ultimate ending to the night came when my phone buzzed with a Steemit alert. As it turns out, a Steemit friend, @mudcat36, sent me $2.226 SBD as a gesture of appreciation for my work with the #newbieresteemday initiative. WOW. I’m always blown away with the kindness here on Steemit. It’s not the monetary value, but the sentiment with @mudcat36 writing a post on me and sending me the SBD that is deeply touching. I wanted to respond immediately but had to put the kiddo to bed. I waited for him to fall asleep so I can sneak in some Steemit time, but ended up falling asleep there with him. It was a long day. I didn’t get a chance to respond to @mudcat36 until the next day.
Need I explain further why I support our initiative? The members are truly an awesome bunch of folks and I am very happy to have them along on my Steemit journey.
THANK YOU @mudcat36 for appreciating others when you yourself should be the one to be appreciated. You may not be active on Steemit at the moment, but you are burning the midnight oil with building the website for the Newbie Resteem Initative. You never hesitate to help others when you are here. Thank you for your kindness.
It was a beautiful way to end Valentine’s Day.
Image Sources:
Dress zipper, Bee Sign.
All other photos taken with my Nikon D7000. I'm trying to learn photography, but it's tough!
Awwww! This is beautiful! I just stopped by your blog to what what you were up to, and this post was so touching, I just had to comment. You really have a way with words, Bee. I'm so happy for you that everything worked out, from your dress fitting, to your dual screens, to the last minute Valentine's Day surprise. You deserve great things, and I have a feeling you have a very bright future filled with even more delightful surprises!
I've realized that I can never catch up with my replies, thus, the late reply back. . It's great to be able to chat with so many of our wonderful members. Especially the ones that make it a point to stop by and say hi. I had a chance to stop by your blog briefly (love your intro) but have not had a chance to comment. Will definitely stop by again soon.
Thank you for stopping by @seaslim. Appreciate all the positivity and best wishes. We all deserve great things on here. I applaud you bringing awareness to the needy and sharing their stories. All it takes is a little compassion to move mountains and you have that spirit. Thanks for being part of our team and bringing such positivity on here.
@beeyou, you are a BOSS story teller and writer! This was a very enjoyable read! Love your photos and graphics! (Hope one day my posts will look like this! Any tips on Markdown will be hugely appreciated.)
Meanwhile, back to your story ... Yes, @mudcat36 and his heartfelt, Valentine's Day tribute to you was definitely a beautiful thing! You must be as extraordinary a person to inspire the tribute, as he must be to write it!
I am discovering that attitude of diligent and deliberate encouragement is the signature of the newbieresteemday and the Minnow Support Project! Pumped to be a part of it!
Thanks again for telling your story so well and for all you do on Steemit!
Aww, thanks for stopping by to read my post @kismet2018. I was just telling Dave no one stops by my blog, but that's okay because I don't write often. It's only when I'm inspired to write something then I do, and in this case, I wanted to show my appreciation to @mudcat36 in my own way.
We try to inspire engagement and make everyone feel welcome on here. It's hard starting off without any support system. We know. We've all been there. My first post on my personal account made .05 cents I think! Second made nothing. That's why it's important to meet people because these are the very people that will support you as you grow on here. Just look at @davemccoy. He sent some love my way when I mentioned no one ever stops by. LOL. We try to support each other as best we can @kismet2018. That's all we can do really.
With regards to markdown, I only know the basics. But I can help with whatever questions you have. Just DM in the chatroom we're in together. I saw you on there the other night.
Happy to have you part of the team!
Aw, what a lovely story! So glad you had a great Valentines Day, seemed like the perfect day to me! PS Freaking congrats on the dress!! That always feels amazing when you can FINALLY fit back into that one outfit in the very back of the closet!
I knew that only a fellow mom would understand the significance of FINALLY fitting into that one outfit again!! That just made my day. ;)
Appreciate you stopping by @smylie2005! Always glad to chat with you. Hope you, hubby, and cute little Sophia are well!
I loved your post @beeyou, and I wanted to thank you and all the others at the newbieresteemday initiative for making me feel so welcome here! @davemccoy told me I graduated today but I still am way behind the learning curve! Thanks so much again! Glad your dress fits again! CARRY ON
You have definitely graduated from newbie status @beekerst! I welcomed you aboard and look at you now! You’ve surpassed me! I’m very happy we were able to help get you off to a good start. You put effort into writing great content. We only nudged you along at the start but all the success is yours.
Be sure to stop by now and then to say hi. Just because you graduated doesn’t mean you can’t reach out to us. We’re happy to help if we can. If you are ever ready to jump to our side, we’re here too.
Thanks for reading. I’m happy I can fit into the dress again too. Makes my heart soar. 🙂
I just found out about #steembasicincome today because I stumbled on one of those "most helpful Steemian" posts, and of course I responded that you were the most helpful Steemian that I encountered in my first few days here. And then I saw that like five other people had said the same thing, which shouldn't have surprised me at all. It looks like you've made a really positive impact on a ton of people around here!
Hey @malloryblythe. Happy to see you! Thanks for the kind words. Everyone is too sweet. I try to help when I can but I don’t always get to make my rounds. I stopped by your blog and saw the latest post. Cool! You always make me sit down, read, and think. Which is great because you spend time writing it. Hope you continue to write great posts!
If you ever want to get involved with a community, we have a great one with ours. Just let me know!
Thank you so much! I really do put a ton of time and work into my articles, so I appreciate that you enjoy reading them. I think that I'm going to have to branch out into other genres that aren't so research-based if I want to post more than once a week, because currently it takes me something like 20 hours to write one post. I would love to get involved in the community. How can I do that?
That really is a lot of work @malloryblythe. I don’t think talent alone will bring you the audience. At least not in the beginning. It’s important to meet people as you are starting out. Build relationships and get to know them. These are the ones that you will support and they too will support you.
You also have a niche interest in history. Your audience is even smaller. Just check out the trending page and you will see the popular topics are crypto, memes, and other less intense topics. I’m not saying to give up on those topics. But like you said, you can’t be expected to spend 20 hours researching and writing to not get an audience. Add some light posts in there and start from there. Meet people and build your audience. Stop by their blog and they will do the same if they know you are genuine. Once you have the audience, then shoot out those great articles.
We’re always happy to have a new member. Our community is fairly new. All are just volunteering to help out newbies as they come aboard. Everyone has different talents and their own way of ‘contributing’. Some choose to resteem, others write a weekly blog on our newbies posts, others find new talent so we can help with what we can. We now have the @newbieresteemday for curation and @newbiegames for contests. Dave has a great post on it .
https://steemit.com/newbieresteemday/@davemccoy/asked-and-answered-best-newbie-question-of-the-month-february-2018
If you scroll a few posts back on my blog, I wrote the weekly recap of where we are. Here is our Discord link. I’m in there sometimes but others are there. You can always DM too.
https://discord.gg/49JKzvp
Thanks as always for the great advice! Fortunately for me, history research and writing are labors of love. I’ve rarely been paid for any history-related writing (the exception being a couple of freelance gigs, like History Buff), so even making a few cents here and there is a novel development. Would be awesome if I did eventually find that niche audience, though.
The last couple posts I’ve made probably have broader appeal. The one I wrote today is a history article but it’s about crypto. Yesterday, I posted a short article about how I got into photography and writing as an outlet when I began struggling with mental illness as a teenager. Maybe the latter is a little more along the lines of the sort of stuff that curie looks for. I write a lot of poetry and memoir-type stuff on my own so maybe I’ll start posting that, and I have a big trunk full of photos and art. I’ve just always been super self conscious so it’s a lot easier to share things that come more from the brain than from the heart, so to speak.
Also, I swear I’m capable of writing things that aren’t super dark, hah. I’ll take your advice and write something a little more light next time. :)
Thanks for the invite! I just joined the Discord group.
I completely understand. I'm not a blogger and very limited on what I share on here. So I write and share what inspires me that day.
I've noticed a lot of posts selected by curie are of a personal nature. It is difficult for individuals if they are used to writing from a third-party narrative perspective (as you do with your history piece) to a more personal 'I' perspective.
As for:
I didn't mean the tone of your posts. I meant the intensity and commitment you put into the post. Perhaps for now, save the 20-hour investment time into a post and maybe only do light topics that take 2-4 hours? ;)
It's all a learning experience. Who I am to say what works or doesn't. My posts barely make anything.
I did see you on Discord. Will say hi when I have a chance to chat in there. You can DM if you have any questions or want to reach me directly.
very nice story @beeyou.. A look into your personal life, its a very good story! And that zipper looks like it fit to me!!! You have class @beeyou and I'm glad you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!! :)
Thanks for stopping by @davemccoy. 😉 Like my coffee shot? That right there is how I turn from grumpy cheerleader to a semi-nice one.
You got a 3.33% upvote from @getboost courtesy of @davemccoy!
Great post upvoted quickly plz check my post too
Hi @mnishh. Thanks for stopping by. I read your post on poverty and like it. It sounds like you are involved with social issues. That is great. We need to bring awareness to the ways of life on here.
Congratulations @beeyou! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPThis post has received a 33.11% upvote from @lovejuice thanks to @beeyou. They love you, so does Aggroed. Please be sure to vote for Witnesses at https://steemit.com/~witnesses.