Happy anniversary to me!

Yesterday WordPress sent me a notification that it was my 6 year blogging anniversary.  Six years. Wow! Who’d a thunk?  I never imagined when I made my tentative start that six years later I would still be blogging and still loving it.  Heck, I didn’t even realize I’d have to have a blog name when I reached the end of the signing up process!

I had no idea that I would meet a number of fellow bloggers in person in places like San Francisco, Kansas City, Branson (Missouri), Philadelphia, Chicago, and even France in places like China Town, homes, writer’s conferences, coffee shops, libraries, and aboard a barge on a French river in full spate, or that I’d be chatting with people from all over the world.  What fun!  One of my goals is to meet many more of you in person.

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Merry Christmas!

The girls are home, I have one day of work left (today), and it’s almost Christmas.  That means it’s time to take a blogging break and enjoy the season.  I’m going to share a few of our Christmas decorations and wish each of you and yours the most merry and blessed Christmas you’ve ever had.  Count your blessings, hold your loved ones close, and take time to enjoy the season.  Thanks for being part of the blessings of my blogging life!  I greatly appreciate all of you.

Our nature tree

Part of the nature tree experience

Time for glitz and glitter

And of course, the real Reason for the season.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Merry Chr…JUST STOP!!!

I know many of us love Christmas.  It’s my favorite holiday, for both religious and family reasons.  But. Just. STOP!!!  You’re missing the holiday chance of a lifetime, a chance to both enjoy family a/o friends, food, and an opportunity to count your blessings.

Before you dive into the appetizers, the drinks, the turkey, the mashed potatoes, or whatever food you prefer (my family tends to like my homemade ravioli for every holiday), take a minute to think about what you’re thankful for.  You might go around the table and do this, make your own lists, take a moment of silence to think about it, but PLEASE, make that list! And put aside thoughts of Christmas just for the day.  By rushing Christmas, you miss the chance to take a just to be thankful.  I think that’s something that in this day and age of negativity, we dearly need!

We have so much for which to be thankful.  Having an “attitude of gratitude” every day and not just on Thanksgiving (which, if you live in the US, is today) makes all the difference.  If you blog, you have a computer and internet access, a blessing in itself. But if you start listing your blessings, you’ll find you won’t have time to dwell as much on the less positive things in your life.

Our family won’t be together until Christmas.  Today it’s just my husband and me,  recovering either from a cold (me) or sinus infection (him.)  But to be able to simply take a day to relax and recover, sleep, read, watch TV, take a walk, or whatever else, together, is blessing enough.  And of course, I’m thankful for each and every one of you who reads and comments on my blog, a daily source of joy.  Thanks to each of you and may God richly bless you, today and every day!

Weekly Photo Challenge…Layered in the Badlands

Not only are the days flying by, they seem to be filling up with one thing or another. In the morning, the posts in my “blogs I follow” box seems to have multiplied like the proverbial rabbits (as well as people I follow posting multiple posts–HEEEEELP!) and I feel that I may never catch up.  I’ve started working two shifts a week at a local patisserie/restaurant/chocolate shop as well, have a bag of apples ready to make sauce, and…well, you’re probably all in the same blogging boat, so I’ll stop my whining.  🙂  But can’t you hear real life calling?  Loudly?

That makes a “Wordless Wednesday” post sounds really, really inviting.  But no matter what, except for last week, Wednesday is Photo Challenge Day and once again I shall answer its siren call.   The theme for this week is “Layered”, a perfect segue into some of my upcoming posts about returning from Wyoming and driving through the Badlands the day of the eclipse.  Here’s a teaser. Because of the eclipse, the sky and wonderful colors of the layers are somewhat dulled, but I find them awesome (in the true, old sense) nonetheless.

Welcome! Advice and tips for new bloggers.

It’s been some years since I began blogging, but I can still remember the joy and excitement of getting my first non-family follower. I wandered throughout the blogosphere, reading interesting blogs, drowning in information, finally settling on the bloggers I wanted to follow regularly. I see a number of new bloggers on my blog and always appreciate them stopping by, as I do all my readers. Here are a few hints for anyone just getting started.

Any of the rest of you veteran bloggers, feel free to leave other hints in your comments!

Feel free to share if you think this would be helpful (with a link to my blog and the post, of course.  🙂

1. Read lots of blogs and leave comments. Let your comments be about the blog post or the blog in general, not a canned “Great blog. Follow me.” Generally, if you are seen to be following a blog or dropping by regularly, the other blogger is likely to check out your blog and follow if they like or have time.

Take a break!

As many of you know, when I went to Arizona at the end of last month to visit my parents for ten days, I made the (for me) momentous decision to take a cyber break.  After daily blogging for five years, reading more and more blogs, trying to control my email, and surviving FB, I thought it might be quite difficult.  I love blogging and I love visiting and commenting on other people’s blogs.

It was, however, quite simple and SO relaxing!  My parents don’t have internet, so although I made the trip to their library any number of times, it was only for stacks of books to read when we weren’t doing anything else.  I responded to the blog comments that came in and resisted the email clips of blog posts that sounded interesting.  I got rid of email as fast as I could and you know what?  It was so freeing.  It felt as if I’d gone back in time to a simpler way of life, which I had.  I didn’t even take as many photos as usual, partly due to the not-so-good weather and even pouring rain the first few days (very un-Arizona-like.)

It felt good to shed the guilty feeling of getting behind on blogs visits on the days that I work.  Add that to not having all the things in a house that beg to be done at all times and it was brilliantly restful.

Remember when we went out of the house without a phone in our pockets/purses and never once felt that we might be missing something?  Now, the few times I’ve forgotten my phone, I’ve almost had to force myself to keep going, assuring myself that nothing bad is going to happen if I’m out of touch for a bit.  Ditching our landline some years ago gave a similar sense of unease, followed by the delight of not coming home to an answering machine filled with message to erase from people to whom I didn’t want to talk.

I love being back, talking with friends most of whom I’ve never met in person, enjoying the sights and words they share as well.  But I highly, highly, highly recommend that you schedule at least one cyber break for yourself in this upcoming year.  As the famous Alka Seltzer ad said, “Try it. You’ll like it.”

P.S.  For those of you of a certain age, here’s a trip into the past, with 11 ads containing tag lines that have become catch phrases.  Try them; you’ll like them.

A brave, daring adventure

Today I’m trying something I’ve never done during the five years I’ve been blogging. (My fifth anniversary was just after the beginning of the new year.)  I hope you’re sitting dow when I tell you that…

I’m going to take a cyber break.

Whaaaaaaat?

Yes, it’s true.  I’m leaving today for Arizona to spend ten days with my parents, who don’t have internet.  While I’m there, I usually head over to the library every day to do my blog, read other blogs, check email, etc. as quickly as possible. This year, I’m going to not do most of those things. Although I’ll check (and delete most) email, I’m not going to be blogging or reading blogs during that time.  I will respond to any comments, however.

I anticipate it will be very difficult, because I haven’t missed a blogging day in five years and I enjoy it.  I also enjoy reading everyone’s blogs.  But I also anticipate that it will be both freeing and relaxing and that it’s something I need the discipline to do.

So TTFN.  I’m already longing to see y’all on the 31st.  In the meantime, all the best and don’t spend too much time online!

In the words from a book I read many, many, many years ago:

Don’t make a stranger of yourself.  Don’t forget me.  ‘Bye.