T-13 #35 - Random Thoughts on Blogging ...

Make Room for Small Reflections

13 Random Thoughts on blogging
... as I sit on my patio with my laptop this morning

1. I'm a lucky woman to have the leisure time to do this 'blogging' thing as I choose ... on my own terms. I realize that if I didn't leave such lengthy comments, I could visit more blogs and stay more current ... but methinks it wouldn't be as satisfying for me.

2. I'm relieved that my Google Reader no longer has 1000+ unread messages when I log in. Currently it averages 200-250 most days, only occasionally reaching more than 300. I've learned to conserve time & energy and keep 'in touch' by reading multiple posts and commenting on several all at once ... and I'm most appreciative of those who make their entire posts available in 'readers' rather than simply a title and/or teaser. I recognize that most believe this wouldn't help their 'stats,' but (for my part), I'm much more likely to click onto a blog when I have something to contribute than simply to see what might be there ... especially when time is crunched.

3. Writing responses to everyone here on my blog takes time, thought, and energy ... and perhaps go unseen for the most part since I never really know who sees (and actually checks) Blogger's box to receive follow up comments in email.

4. I apologize to my readers (who actually read my responses here) for falling behind on them (especially those who commented on Fun Monday of July 21st addressing Irish Coffeehouse's questions on 'the pursuit of dreams' ... I've resisted taking the 'easier route' of leaving a single response to all ... am working on those a bit at a time & will publish them soon), however I'm doing my best to stay current and fully intend to respond eventually for my own reasons, whether or not anyone else sees them.

5. If I didn't opt to check the little box myself when I leave comments on the blogs of others (and/or use co.mments.com to follow conversations) my email box wouldn't have 500+ unread messages in it each day to go through, however I'm not yet ready to give up the practice.

6. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my new laptop that allows me to sit on my patio like this ... musing while enjoying the cool morning temperatures and the lovely view. I'm grateful for the handy outside electrical outlet nearby that permits me to plug in when the screen dims to conserve battery life. Actually, that's the only annoying thing about my new Dell 1720 Inspiron and I'm hoping they'll come up with a 'fix' sometime soon. I did learn recently that pressing the up arrow while holding the Fn key down brightens the screen when it dims ... but as the battery runs down, that becomes less effective.

7. As I indicated in yesterday's posts here at Small Reflections and the one I left at Sacred Ruminations ... I'm surprised by all I've accomplished since becoming a blogger about 9 months ago. Today's post is #296 on this blog (502 overall) ... more than one a day (since I started 283 days ago) ... although these posts are spread over 3 blogs. I'm looking forward to celebrating my Blogoversary in 83 days (366 days after I started due to Leap Year).

8. I've enjoyed the Weekly Activities like T-13, Wordless Wednesday (though mine are sometimes not so wordless), HoTs, Fun Monday, Unconscious Mutterings, Camera Critters, Smiley Saturday, Haiku Fridays, One Single Impression, Slice of Life, Pensieve's poetic challenges, and others (see links in sidebar) for the people I've met and the way they've STRETCHED me to try new things & tackle topics I might not have thought of.

9. The various 'memes' ... Blogthings & Quizzes ... photo related activities ... spontaneous poetic posts ... gratitude & 'really good things' pieces ... and challenges from Mimi Lennox provided opportunity for personal exploration and sharing, and I'm grateful for them all.

10. Striving for balance (in real life & this virtual world) remains an on-going challenge ... as does maintaining some focus as I clarify & redefine why I blog. I value my relationships in both worlds ... and remain open to whatever comes next for me as I consider various options. I'm grateful for the 'hiatus' from my Photoshop Elements classes ... surprised at how busy this week has been even without them ... am tackling tasks one at a time ... re-prioritizing as needed each day ... doing the best I can ... telling myself it's enough.

11. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy knowing others enjoy what I share? Readership wasn't really on my mind when I started and doesn't take up much of my thinking even today. I'd never looked at a blog before Kara showed me hers and explained how to set one up on Blogger. My purpose was (and remains) getting comfortable with sharing what I write with others rather than simply writing for myself. Although I have Sitemeter installed on the first two blogs, I almost never look at it and I have no clue how to check Feedburner stats. I am, however, always surprised & delighted to discover people have dropped by and left me comments. I enjoy reading & responding to them ... and endeavor to see what 'they see' when I look at my blogs.

12. Visiting the blogs of others enriches my 'virtual life' ... expands my view of what's possible in this 'online world' ... introduces me to new ways of seeing & being and a host of resources available on the Internet. I enjoy the wide variety of blogs and the many perspectives represented among bloggers I've encountered. Narrowing down the number of blogs I look at in Google Reader remains an on-going challenge, though as I mentioned above ... I'm learning how to manage my time a bit better as I strive to remain current.

13. Hmmm ... I started writing this about 2 hours ago (about 7:15 this morning) after sleeping in later than usual (most likely catching up from being overly tired) ... because I could. I apologize for publishing much later than usual, but it's been pleasant interacting with Molly and passersby and it's good to feel 'relaxed' rather than rushed today. I look forward to seeing what others have shared as I make my rounds ... and I wish you all a delightful day.

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Small Reflections ... Smile Back

Thought for Today

"Smile, breathe, and go slowly." Thich Nhat Hanh
thursday thirteen

I've revisited the past ten weeks this morning, and it's time to Thank My Blogging Buddies

As 2007 draws to a close, I'm looking back on the year ... mostly thinking about the changes. Today begins my 10th week as a Blogger. My first post entitled Beginnings, bears the date October 22nd and visually appears unique because I wrote it in Word and pasted it into the editor of Small Reflections because I didn't know how to do anything else. I'd never LOOKED at a blog before (my Taos Writer's Retreat friend) Kara's phone call the previous week. She provided some "guided practice" in that call, walking me through the Blogosphere with links she'd emailed ... offering a glimpse into this alternative reality I found intriguing enough to enter. With Santa Ana winds blowing and multiple fires burning out of control all over Southern California, I entered this "virtual world" ... hesitantly.

Kara left a congratulatory comment, but a virtual stranger named Joy found and commented on that 1st post ... offering me her encouragement and promising to return. How could I not post again? My next two posts, although published by me on the 23rd and 24th, bear the same date as my 1st one because I created them on that day while wandering the Blogosphere and experimenting with what I encountered. Answering questions on other blogs provided me with HTML code to copy and paste on my own, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to try doing so ... hence the "Could this be me?" and "What Time of Day are You?" posts.

My friend Jackie, traveling in an RV with her husband, commented on the 3rd post ... but no one other than me commented on #2. Lucy left a comment there a few weeks later on November 11th after finding my blog and looking around a bit.
I had trouble with "dates" for a while and understand it's possible to modify them after the fact, but I've not tried that yet anyway.

Joy found me again on the 26th as I introduced Molly and Ms. Kitty ... experimenting with inserting photos into posts. My friend Carol, also on the road with her husband, found and commented on the collage of Molly ... (later I gave equal time to Ms. Kitty). Joy discovered my first really successful photo upload, the one I'd been trying to add since the beginning, and reminded me that "baby steps" lead to success. The next day I shared two more photos from the Mabel Dodge Luhan House with details about my Writer's Retreat experience there and Karen left her first of MANY comments.

My 1st "visual scribble" resulted in a veritable deluge of comments and led to others like it later on, in addition to "outing" my true identity. Who knew that when clicked on these signed images enlarged enough to be come legible? Certainly not me! Just as with leaving my recent "cry for help" post just days ago, temptation was great to removed them and remain "a nonny mouse" storyteller (with a lower case "s" on purpose), but I took the high road and left them in place ... adding #2 here, #3 here, #4 here, and an "authentic graphic piece" from my framed collection here with a left-brained linear transcription here.

Annie found me on November 6th and introduced me to Google Reader, simplifying my blog reading immensely ... though I did have to learn the hard way not to bite off more than I could chew. As I visited blogs and encountered posts of interest, the teacher-in-me had to share ... so I learned to create what I've since learned are called "love-links" and leave them scattered throughout my own posts because I realize not everyone has the kind of available time that I do as a young-at heart & "happily retired" individual. No one has to click on any of them, but I offer them an invitations to those with time and interest ... much as I'm doing with "my own past" in this post.

Not long ago I happened upon another Storyteller (she uses a capital "S" however) named Amy Jane who has created a series of links in her sidebar to "introductory pieces" about herself, and when she visited here ... she asked if I could point her to some about myself. Doing so was tedious, challenging and time consuming. I suspect part of my motivation for including so many links in THIS post is due to her request. In the future I can provide a single link in answer to such a question, and others can read as much or as little as they choose about me depending on what interests them.

That reminds me about memes, hoopla, and Lucy's alliterative game. I've done the following:
1. posted 7 Random Things About Myself
2. published 5 T-13s (#1 on authors and books worth sharing with young children, #2 a random list of things I'd do if I knew I couldn't fail, #3 on Ice, #4 a list of quotes I find inspiring, and #5 links to video clips by Straight No Chaser - a unique & entertaining A'capella singing group from Indiana University)
3. shared Christmas Hoopla
4. posted my Playful Ps and Varied Vs with Verse as per Lucy's encouragement
5. written of Five Really Good Things here and here.

I've been serious, reflective, grateful, and playful with my postings (among other things). I did an (as yet) incomplete series on the slow, challenging, tedious transformation of my front yard in 2006 with photo illustrations: parts one, two, three, and four are posted with additional posts to come. While other bloggers posted photos of snowy weather, I shared what Santa Ana winds leave in their wake here and here ... and what gentle rain looks like in Southern California. Mary designed and shared a lovely award for my Christmas Carol Quiz and introduced me to Blingee where I learned to add snowy effects.

I completed NaBloPoMo (30 posts in 30 days during November) on both my blogs and made many new blogging friends in the process including (but not limited to) Sandy, Melissa, and Eve. Then I joined Holidailies (31 posts in 31 days during December) and met John who along with Peajay, Joy, Karen, and Mary solved the Christmas Carol Quiz. Now Sandy has convinced me to participate in the Blog 365 challenge. If you didn't know it before reading this, you must realize by now that I'm more than a bit obsessive and perhaps compulsive as well. According to my Archives, this will be post #75 published on my 71st day as a blogger, so Blog 365 just could be a piece of cake! LOL

So ... we've arrived at the present. I actually started and my 1st post and worked my way back to return to this point ... reviewing as I did so. Smiler and Melissa deserve special mention for teaching me what little i know about HTML thus far. Somewhere along the line, in addition to all the bloggers mentioned previously ... I met Grandy, Ladybug, Mama Zen, MP Jones, Moanna, Mother of Invention, Talking Bear, His Girl Friday, Kikipotamus, and others I've no doubt forgotten to mention ... but you know who you are! If you send me an email reminder, I'll add you to you list (as long as you promise to forgive the oversight). This has gotten much more complex than I intended at the outset. If anyone discovers links that don't take you where they're supposed to, I'd appreciate knowing that too so I can fix them. (Obsessive, remember?)

So ... without further ado ... I wish to say THANK YOU BLOGGING BUDDIES! As a token of my appreciation I offer one and/or both of the following to display (or not) on your blogs as you choose.

Andrea, who I learned recently created the Christmas Hoopla thing, shared this on her blog and graciously gave me permission to "snag it" for myself and pass it along to my friends. It seems fitting somehow. LOL (I've given up ROFLing because it's just too hard to get up these days!)

Thanks a bunch!

Please say Happy Birthday to Molly who is 3 years old today.

Five (Really) Good Things

Taking my lead from Carla today who used this idea in her Poignant post at zena musings, I've decided to consider this topic and write about it here. For some reason, I'm having trouble logging on to that post right now to create a link. Hopefully I'll remember to try again before publishing this, but should I forget ... Carla's Blogs are easy to find if you click on the Sacred Sunday button in the sidebar at Sacred Ruminations or the My Sacred Life button here at Small Reflections. If memory serves, she took this idea from another friend (Liz perhaps?) but good ideas are meant to be shared and this got me to thinking as I explored the Blogosphere today.

As a recent member of this "virtual" community, I'm often caught up in the "connectivity" aspects of Blogging, and wish I'd listened to my friends who have been telling me for years I belonged out here. It's nice to meet so many "virtual" friends. I've bookmarked more Blogs than I'd care to admit, and I look forward to getting acquainted better over time with as many Bloggers as possible, though I think I may need a new t-shirt with the message, "So many Blogs, so little time" :)

That brings me to my list of really good things ... connections with others ... including but not limited to the following:

1. I met some wonderful bloggers through NaBloPoMo and am glad I decided to participate in this annual event. The generosity of those who created and shared Award Buttons is wonderful. I've already thanked Melissa at Part of Everything yesterday in a post at Sacred Ruminations, but I'd like to recommend her Blog to all who pass this way. Her writing is clever, and she's linked up with some other interesting bloggers too. In addition, I'd like to once again thank Mrs. Fussypants for the "Blog, Monkey, Blog" badge and Subversive Cross Stitch for the "NaBloPoopedMo" badge both of which I snagged and posted here yesterday.

2. Next let me introduce Shawn at Letters to my Daughters who has done some wonderful "connectivity" by inspiring and highlighting many Bloggers after engaging them in two projects that I know of. One is called "10 Rules to Live By" and the other is "Someday I will ..." Like with NaBloPoMo, I've encountered some fascinating new virtual friends and am looking forward to getting better acquainted in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

3. Melanie at "Inspire Me Thursday" apparently has been doing this kind of thing for a long time, but I just discovered her Blog a couple of weeks ago. She suggests a topic weekly and people respond in a variety of creative ways about it on their own Blogs, returning to leave a link at Inspire Me Thursday. That's how I've found a number of artists whose work I've enjoyed and shared previously.

4. Julie at Using My Words does a monthly post featuring new bloggers, referring to them as a "Pledge Class" and I'm happy to have been included for November. Even more, I'm delighted to meet the other Bloggers featured there.

5. Finally, although I encountered many wonderful Bloggers and posts this past week, I commend to you these two by His Girl Friday at Wellied on Life, one inspirational and the other will make you laugh yourself silly.

So, that's my list of Five (Really) Good Things here at Small Reflections. I'm thinking of using the same idea for my Sacred Life Sunday post at Sacred Ruminations.

Reminder: You have until December 15th
to email me your answers to the
Christmas Carol Quiz