Comfort Zone

I like my comfort zone. It's comfortable. It's safe. It's secure. In my comfort zone, my typical Saturday starts off with a little down time -- reading a book or playing games on my ipod. Then I do some of the typical Saturday things -- laundry, errands, groceries. If I'm really inclined to be productive, I pay attention to the garden, mop the kitchen floor, and vacuum. As a reward for a job well done, I spend time with one or more friends -- share a meal, see a movie, or just chat.

Last weekend, this popped up in my google reader. Teachinfourth is a local blogger whom I started following a few months ago. At first, I didn't even realize he was local. I could tell he was in Utah, but it took me awhile to clue into the fact that he is practically next door. So...when the invite to attend "The Summer of George" arrived, I was intrigued.

Then started an internal debate -- am I cool enough? hip enough? to attend Festivus? Moreover, am I brave enough to attend a party where I will not know anyone beforehand?

On the other hand, how cool would it be to meet Teachinfourth? I've had such fun reading his blog this summer -- check out "Moments with Joey" on my sidebar if you'd like to sample his blog for yourself.

And then there's one of my mottoes -- A person can never have too many friends. Would this be a way to make some new ones?

In the end,curiosity won out and I sent my RSVP. And starting pondering what baked treat I should bring.

I didn't chicken out. I made cream cheese brownies and showed up at the appointed hour. And had fun. Teachinfourth was an excellent host, and the other guests were fun to meet and chat with. I especially enjoyed getting to know another blogger, Gerberta of Life As I Know It and her family. Her 7th grader and I had a lively chat as we discussed our favorite board games.

It was a good day to travel outside of the comfort zone!

Oh, and if anyone is interested in the recipe for the totally awesome cream cheese brownies, I will post it soon.