A to Z Reflections for 2016 Challenge

This was my fourth year participating in the challenge.  I love doing it and will probably do it again next year.  At first I thought I’d sit this year out.  There’s never enough time since I started working again, even though it’s part-time.  Somehow I always end up working more every week than I thought I would, but we’re shorthanded so I can understand this.  The extra money is nice too, but hopefully I’ll have more free time eventually.

I wanted to get all my posts written and scheduled ahead, like I did last year, but that didn’t happen.  I only had about five of them written when I signed up for the challenge.  Another two weeks went by without me writing one post toward my goal.  Of course I scolded myself.

This situation turned out to be the case for most of March.  I still had half of the posts for the challenge to write and only a week to do it in at that point.  This isn’t a good spot to be in.  But I had signed up, and obligated myself, so there was no way I wouldn’t get it done…somehow.

I can go into the challenge much more relaxed if everything is done ahead of time.  There’s some research involved usually, as a lot of you know.  I wanted to find unusual things this year and write about those things that most people probably wouldn’t know.  I thought this would be more interesting instead of my usual cat and/or life stories, although a bit of that may have sneaked in there.

I have to confess I didn’t visit as many blogs as I did last year.  But I still intend on visiting more over the summer, so I hope the blog list will be on the A to Z website for a while.  I should be ashamed of myself I know, and I am, but there’s only so much time after work and part of that has to be spent in the kitchen cooking and then cleaning up before I feel right about rewarding myself with some computer time. 

I had fun and did make some new friends and found some new interesting blogs to follow.  All that’s a good thing.  I’ve been blogging with some of you well over a year or two now.  I love reading what you have to say and about the things going on in your lives.  I feel like we’re blogging family.  My hat goes off to the people who can actually blog daily.  I really don’t know how you do it.  I wish I could manage that, but I know that won’t happen.  Twice a week for me is pushing it.

Thanks to everyone who visited me over the challenge, before that, and since then.  I hope I always have something worthwhile to say.  I enjoy all your comments very much.  All of you make me smile.

My Reflections on the A to Z blog challenge for 2015

We did it!!!

First, let me say I had a blast and can’t believe the challenge is over already.  This was my fourth year doing it and I love it for several reasons.

The challenge forces your mind to think of subjects to use for each letter.  Sometimes you have to get creative, as we all know some letters are difficult.

The challenge forces you to post daily (except Sundays), which is a good thing because it teaches discipline.

We meet many interesting people out there with lots to say.  Without the challenge, we wouldn’t know about the existence of half of these blogs (this is conservative) because the internet is a big place.

The challenge is fun, entertaining and educational.  What more could you ask for?

I know that many times life gets in the way of blogging, so do what I do and write and schedule your posts for the challenge ahead of time.  Once April rolls around you’re ready to go.  I find it fun and easy to read many blogs and leave comments if I abide by this practice.  If I tried to write a post daily and visit blogs, I’d never make it and would find myself stressed.  There’s enough stress in everyday life with unexpected things that come up.  The whole point of the challenge is to meet some interesting people and discover new blogs you want to visit year round.

If you like to write, my suggestion is to plan to do this next year.  If you don’t have a blog, you can start one.  They are free to set up using Blogspot or Word Press.  My advice is to write about what you know.  Put some thought into it and make it worthwhile for someone to read.  It should be at least a hundred words, but not too long.  (I have trouble with the length because I can never shut up)  If you don’t want to blog about your life or hobbies, you can use many themes for blogging.  You can also research subjects for your posts if you have more time.  Don’t forget to proofread before you post.

The other key is to post regularly, at least once a week.  Twice is better.  And always add pictures to your posts.  People love pictures.  Disable the CAPTCHA to make it easier for people to comment.  Once you’re up and running, visit other blogs you enjoy, read what they have to say and leave a comment.  Don’t forget to leave the link for your blog so they can check you out.

You can even post the link to your blog on your Facebook page.  I guarantee you’ll be having fun in no time.

Thank you to all the people who visited my blog during the challenge.  I appreciate you all for reading my posts and leaving a comment.  I look forward to the new relationships I’ve formed and to reading what you have to say during the coming year.

The A to Z Blog Challenge

Hello everyone.  This is my fourth year doing the challenge.  I always think the same thing – how will I ever be able to accomplish this?  Somehow, I’ve managed every year and I hope to this year. 

My posts during April won’t have a theme, as usual.  I want to be able to blog about what feels right at the time.  I guess I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to tie myself down to any one subject all month.  Variety is the spice of life, so there will be a variety of subjects this year.

I’ll probably post some cat stories along the way because my fur babies are my kids.  I may also post about experiences in my life, great products I’ve tried, worthy books I’ve read, places and things I’ve seen, maybe even some recipes.  So I hope you’ll check back to read some of my ramblings.  I look forward to reading some of yours and to making some new friends by the end of April.

If any of you still want to participate in this challenge, you still have a few days to sign up here: A to Z blog Challenge

You also need to disable the CAPTCHA on your blog if you haven’t done so.  You want to make it easy for people to leave comments.  I wrote a post about this a couple of years ago.  If you don’t know how, please go here.

Let’s go forth and learn some new things from each other.

Share Five Favorite blogs

Free Clipart

This is the subject for today’s post. I can’t really do this because there are more than five blogs I like to visit. Each one is unique because every person is unique. It would be impossible to pick out five because it wouldn’t be fair to the others I like as much.


The blogs I list today wouldn’t necessarily be the same five that I would list tomorrow. It all depends on the mood I’m in that day. I read all kinds of things on different blogs. Some educate me on things that I didn’t know, while others contain funny stories and have a down-home feel, which is just what I need at times.

I’m thankful for all of you and your particular style of writing.

If you want to participate in this May challenge, please go here for more info:
Story of My Life: Blog every day in May: a challenge

Blogger Friends



Today I’m supposed to profess my love for my best blogger friends and tell everyone what makes them so great. This is extremely hard to do because I probably have more blogger friends than real life friends. How can I pick out one person that is better than the rest?


All of my real life friends are scattered all over the country and are busy with their own lives and aren’t bloggers, or even writers. Since I’ve moved, it’s been years since I’ve seen some of them. Of course, we email back and forth and there is the occasional phone call. I don’t even see friends often in the town where I currently live.

Therefore, to be honest, I talk more with my blogger friends than I do to anyone else in the world, unless maybe it’s my cats. Even my husband and I rarely talk to each other. This may seem odd to some of you, but I suspect it’s this way in many households across the planet.

The friends I’ve met blogging are all wonderful in their own way. I can’t really signal anyone out because I admire you all for different reasons. Some of your blogs are educational and I love learning new things. I’m also happy to pass along to others what I know, if they ask me and if it will help them.

Some of your blogs are funny and they are just what I need when I’m having a tough day and need a good laugh.

Some of you are so eager to lend a hand and to help with important questions, and some of you are blogging when you have such hardships going on in your own lives that it is quite an inspiration to see you stay so happy despite your obstacles.

Some of your blogs are just homey and they remind me of my own life in many ways. It’s fun to read about all your daily adventures or mishaps. Many of you are great storytellers. That is why I’m glad to have all my blogging friends. To me, all of you are great!

If you want to participate in this May challenge, please click here for the details:
Story of My Life: Blog every day in May: a challenge