Yesterday I received a lovely email from Dolce Debbie informing me that I had won her 'Name that recipe' competition and that she was going to dub her tasty new creation 'Spiced Lamb Pillows'. I was gobsmacked because 1. I never win competitions and 2. I never win competitions. Needless to say my winning mood was cut short as my conscience got the better of me. I had to come clean with Debbie and let her know that the truth of the matter was that I did not come up with the idea entirely by myself. Yes, I have to give credit where credit is due and so I confess to all and sundry that the genius behind my inspiration was none other that little Miss Hoover herself (as she refers to ravioli as 'pillow pasta'). I did suggest to Debbie that rather than mail me the winning prize she should perhaps put a lollipop in the mail for the rightful winner - Hoover!

Hence, this got me thinking about the journey thus far since launching Gourmet Worrier. I have only been blogging for six weeks and I can't begin to tell you how it has impacted my life. Apart from the fact that I never sleep (as I am constantly online a twittering, face booking, commenting or chatting) I have surprisingly made some wonderful acquaintances in a very short space of time.

The overwhelming reception has been warm and friendly despite my naiveté. Within moments of my debut I was already guilty of being in major breach of blogging 'netiquette' - dare I say it, for asking for a link exchange! I had no idea the term existed let alone being in breach of it. As far as I was concerned asking for a 'link exchange' was the equivalent to asking for a 'cup of sugar'. But I was quickly put in my place and now realise the error of my 'uncool' ways - but hey you live and learn.

Despite my major faux pars and the huge learning curve before me, fellow bloggers have been incredibly generous and helpful with their suggestions and advice - to this I thank you!  I am also blown-away by the incredible kindness I have received, thrilled about meeting new people every day, and still coming to grips with being followed by perfect strangers.

I enjoy the many conversations that now fill my day with people I would probably never get the chance to chat with due to the obvious constraints of time, geographic location, various time zones and cultural differences. For someone who is painfully introverted, deeply suspicious and at times can border on paranoid - blogging has proven to be just what the doctor ordered. And so, in reflecting on the road thus far I have only one regret and that is that I did not take up blogging years ago, as I could have saved myself a truck load of money in therapy!