Closing in on a year

Been awhile, hasn't it? A while since I've sat my butt in a chair and wrote the blog. A lot of things going on, some to do with All The Goods and some not. I can say one thing with certainty and it's that All The Goods as a brand has gone so much farther than I ever could have imagined. I'm closing in on the year since this blog came about and it's been quite a ride. All The Goods has been a good friend to me. This year has had more changes than I can keep track of and through all of the outer world highs and lows, I always knew that this blog was a constant, meaning that it was always here for me, no matter what happened. I can count on All The Goods more than I've been able to count on a lot of other things. I don't see it going away anytime soon thankfully. I still have a lot of mileage left and so much more I want to do with this. 

I used to be a person who was afraid of change and a good bit of my personal life has reflected this. I really don't think I'm any different than most other people in this regard. Even the most seasoned veterans of change get thrown off occasionally. Now that I'm doing this blog, I know that it needs to change and change is a form of growth. Had I stuck to just doing interviews all the time and nothing else, this blog would have grown stagnant. So I can say with all certainty that I'm blessed and fortunate to have had change and that this blog has a lot of mileage yet to cover. 

One of the dreams I had about four months into doing the blog was taking it to another level...in this case, radio. Or radio as it exists now these days, in other words podcasting. The desire waxed and waned with me mostly due to fear of it being too expensive to do. It was only within the past month that I couldn't calm the persistent little voice in my head that kept banging on about podcasting. I finally summoned up the courage and sent a general notice out on my Facebook page, asking my techie friends if they knew how I could get this started. My good friend Dave pointed me in the right direction. The software was free, the only cost I incurred was for the mike.

Dave patiently walked me through the set up, gave me some tips and then sat back and let me at it. I gotta say, it's kind of fun. I have a blast doing the podcasts. This has opened a whole new other world for me and I've found myself in a whole new realm. Some of the people who do podcasts that I admire and listen to all the time have been very supportive with this new venture of mine.

Along with doing the podcasts, I found that I wanted to do some sort of video and that's now taking flight. Some of it is still tricky, like when  my equipment has a major fail but for the most part, I've also been  enjoying this as well. I've also got a lot of ideas for upcoming video cooking away in my mind.

I can't keep going without mentioning the new baby which is called All The Rods. All The Rods (or ATR) is part of the All The Goods brand. All The Rods focuses strictly on my love of all things auto. I've been to a few of the bigger carshows lately to shoot video and chat up people about their cars. I've also done a few ATR podcasts as well where I talk about carshows or general car news that I find online.

I have plans for all of this but you'd be surprised to find out that a good bit of this is usually just a flash of inspiration that just seems to pop up out of nowhere. I always have a pad and pen ready to go wherever I am because I always have to write these things down. I have stickies all over the place with show notes on them or people that I want to interview and in some cases, questions for potential interviews. I feel like if the iron is hot, you strike.

Anyway, it's been quite a ride and there is so much more yet to come. Before I close, I have a list of people to thank....but before that, I want to say thanks to all of you who come and check out my page. Thanks for the support.

Now onto the list-

David Tolar-for his help and encouragement. He is the one who helped me get going with the software for the podcasts. I also did one of my first interviews on the blog with him for his album 'The Path of Least Resistance'. David and I have known each other over 30 years and has always been there for me. I am proud to call him a friend.

Joy Hawkins-for also always being there for me and being one of my biggest cheerleaders. Joy and I have been friends for a few decades now. We began as coworkers, became friends and are still at it. Joy is an artist whose jewelry is amazing. (I hope to shoot some video of her working on her pieces soon; she just doesn't know it yet.)

Barbara Lewis-is another friend of long-standing. Barbara has always been in my corner, first with my own art and now with the blog/radio/video. Barbara is also an artist in her own right. She will be the topic of an interview within 2014.

Cathy Berens Paxton-also one of my biggest cheerleaders. She listens to the podcasts, watches the videos, reads all these blogs and is one of my most ardent supporters.

Terri Mills; Richard Jansen; Ron Gay; everyone else at PPAS that I haven't mentioned; Jill Morrison; Teresa Walker; Polly MacKenzie; Sharon Van Hout; mOw; Don Moore; Elaine Salter; TMOS; Slow Robot A Go-Go; Joseph P. Genera; Marilyn Martin; Robb Spewak; Michael J. Elston; The Marc and Lowell Show; The Don Geronimo Show; Tech 411; Mary Barbara; Pepito Valdez; The Wed Miracle Group; Phil Hendrie; Sean Merritt and Matt Loyd to name a few. (I'm sure I left someone out and will be back to edit later.)

*Some of the people on the above list, I have not met personally but they've inspired me in a lot of ways, therefore they're included.*