Just about every kid loves a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They were certainly my favorite .  In fact, I don't remember ever tasting a peanut butter sandwich and not thinking it was good.  Even when the bread was not fresh...something about the combo of buttery tasting peanut spread and the sweet strawberry jam or jelly made everything go down easy.

It was also really, really sticky...  Invariably, the jelly would slide over the slippery peanut butter and ooze onto my fingers, sometimes drizzling down my chin.  So, there was always the doubly delicious task of cleaning off my fingers after polishing off the sandwich.  You just gotta love being a kid don't you?  Grown-ups tend to miss out on so many simple pleasures.

Just yesterday, I had a simple pleasure of meeting Mary Bigelow, a lender with VanDyk Mortgage Company and a Building Supply Contractor.  Mary is also a blogger.  Mary had attended my first blogging seminar last year in April when we had the fluke snow storm that brought in almost a foot of snow just as the seminar began.  She had come because the individual from her company who had bought a ticket was sick.

I didn't really have the opportunity to talk with Mary during the seminar, but over the past year I started reading her blog posts.  Mary developed an interest in green building and along with janeAnne Narrin gently helped me understand and learn about their sweet spot and passion for environmentally sustainable construction.  Mary has spent the past year learning about green building, meeting all sorts of new people, making a number of great contacts and sharing it on her blog. 

It was a nice and easy way of getting to know Mary even though we'd never met.  From time to time, there'd be an e-mail but that was about it.  Until, we met yesterday for the first time.  But it didn't seem like the first time.  The conversation was easy and engaging; moving through a number of areas of mutual interest.

We talked about an exciting new phase which Mary is currently exploring in her life.  As a result of contacts through blogging on Active Rain, Mary has made connections throughout Grand Rapids and in other parts of the country.  In fact, she is travelling to explore a business opportunity in another state today!  And all because she attended a blogging seminar about 13 months ago!

Like our conversation, which was sweet and easy, Mary's business has been greatly aided by blogging consistently over the past year.  Her life and business have been transformed.  Much in the same way that mine has been. 

This past 18 months has been incredible.  I've met agents from across the country and come to know in a more meaningful way many who practise in my backyard.  My knowledge level professionally has expanded and has enabled me to serve my clients through being able to network and engage with experts from around the country. Blogging has also brought me numerous contacts and clients who found me through my writing or through others referring their friends to these blogs.

It's been a delicous journey; sometimes odd and slippery, but always enlightening.  Blogging and real estate is not a combination I would have thought of.  My objections would have been too numerous...What would I write about?  Where would I find the time?  Who would read? 

But thank God, it wasn't the adult in me that pushed me 'wide-eyed' into this brave new world.  I think perhaps a little credit might accure to the girl who loves peanut butter sandwiches.  Yes, they are messy, slippery and sticky, but this odd combination binds together totally disparate food items and creates a yumilicous concoction which is a universal favorite for kids of all shapes and sizes. 

And it's a trait which is shared by the young at heart who intuitively understand that sometimes the most unexpected opportunities come bundled together in an unconventional way. Update:  So, here's to the post that topped the 200,000 Points mark for me.  That's a whole lot of peanut butter & jelly right there. :)

photo is courtesy of trekkyandy's photostream on flickr

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