Every once in a while I am totally, completely, 100% wowed.

Loyal and long-time reader, Robin, emailed me a couple of weeks ago asking if she could give me a week of vacation and serve as Guest Blogger at the House of Shine.  She recently read a book in keeping with the spirit of House of Shine and, with my permission, was hoping she could share a portion of the book with you each day for a week.

Hmmm... let me think about it.  Robin, author of 8+ books (and counting), prolific reader, smart as a whip, and mother of eight children wants to know if she may host my blog for a week?  That is a little like Picasso asking if he can borrow my paint or Imelda Marcos wanting to wear my flip flops.

Yes.  I will answer on behalf of Heather and Cheryl too.  The answer is, "YES."  You may give me a week of vacation, while simultaneously, and exponentially, increasing the value of our website.  YES.  How about next week?

What really wowed me about Robin's request is that she, like so many of you, more than fill your present space at the House of Shine.  You don't just show up each morning and take what the daily blog post has to offer.  You jump into our site and make it a better place.  You participate in Shineworks, send yellow envelopes, make comments in our Community Forum section, volunteer to help with portions of our work from your homes around the country, and - as is the case with Robin - offer to lead a week's worth of discussion.  All because you share our vision.  Power the Planet with Shine.

You won't need to pack anything special.  Maybe just paper and a pencil, since we will be turning up the volume of our shine by participating in some journaling.  If you are and always have been a teacher's pet, the name of the book we will be discussing is, 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot, by Richard Wiseman.

I just finished the book and let me say, Richard is a wise man.  You will not be disappointed. 

Me?  I'm not exactly a fool.  I'm not leaving town completely, for fear you will fall in love with the wit and wisdom of Robin and want to impeach me upon my return.  No.  I'll be around.  In fact, Robin and I are going to keep things interesting all week.  I will start us off each day with a Poor-Girls version of the game, "Where in the World is Claudia."  Then Robin will follow up with her journaling question of the day.

If your summer has been busier than planned or desired, well then, this might feel like a vacation for you too.  I hope you will join us.

Shining off until tomorrow...