Out Of Commission

Several weeks ago my computer crashed (taking my e-mail and all my pictures with it).  At about the same time I misplaced my camera so I haven't taken any photos of family events.

However, I have found that the Lord provides blessings through unexpected means. Without access to e-mail or blogging, I have found an amazing amount of time to dedicate to my studies.  And I have realized how much time I wasted on e-mail!

I hope to have my old computer back in the next week and I will continue my search for the missing camera.  How far can a camera walk, anyway??   I hope to be back online soon and posting about my family.  I have loved being back in school but I do miss blogging.

Blog Challenge

Blogging is is harder than it looks....but not for the reasons you would expect.  I had friends who blogged and I thought it was a neat thing to do but I didn't think I was technically savvy enough to start my own blog.  I procrastinated for about six months before I finally did it.  I will admit that it took me several hours to set up a simple blog template, but I had such a sense of accomplishment when it was done.  I had succeeded in starting a blog. 

That's when I realized that the technical aspects of blogging were simple compared to what came next.  I now had to think of things to write about!  Yikes!  It is a challenge to be creative with words and pictures.  The things I write about are important to me and to my children, but I wonder if anyone else finds them entertaining.  My perceived lack of creativity prevents me from posting more regularly.  I have many friends who also do not consistently blog.  I haven't asked them, but I suspect they share at least some of my struggles to keep their blogs current and to find interesting topics to write about.

This week a friend issued a challenge to all of her blogging friends.  In an effort to write more regularly on our blogs, we will form a blog group.  Every week someone will select a topic or question, and everyone in the group will create a post on the same topic.  We won't have to try to think of something to write about because our topic will be provided.  We will have a whole week to think, to procrastinate, to create, and then to post a response to the weekly topic.  We will get to know one another better through our posts, and everyone will be able to stay current on their blogs.  We start next week.

Anyone with a blog is encouraged to join the group.  I'll add a link to the other blogs so you can see their responses to the same topics I write about.  And I encourage you to leave a comment or suggest topics for future posts.  Let me know what you think of this new blogging strategy.

But don't worry.  I'll still post about our family activities and include picture of my family, too.  I'll just be sharing more about me, too! 

Thoughts on Blogging

When I started this family blog, I had several goals:

~ to help family and friends who live throughout the country stay current with family events.

~ to remind myself (and others) to look for the fun in everyday events.

~ to find a creative outlet for myself that would also somehow have meaning to others.

After the inital burst of blogging inspiration, I have begun to feel a bit like the person who carries on conversations with no one but themselves. I have no idea if anyone is actually reading my posts or if what I post is interesting to anyone but me.

I read somewhere that there are several kinds of blogging love languages. The two that apply to most people are as follows:

1. There are those who read the blog and leave comments and feedback on the posts regularly.

2. There are those who lurk, meaning they read the blog posts but never comment so the blogger doesn't know they were there.

I am usually a lurker. I read my friend's blogs but I don't post comments very often. Perhaps there are other lurkers out there who read my blog but never let me know that they have stopped by.

I would like to ask anyone who reads this post to leave a comment, just so I know that someone other than me actually reads my blog. Thank you!

Out of Commission

I apologize for not posting anything in so long. I have been having computer trouble.

- Every time I try to upload a photo or clip art, my computer crashes.

- I lost internet capabilities for several weeks.

- I lost patience for even longer.

However, I am HOPING that the problems are resolved and we are up and running again. If you see this blog, we are good to go. If not, I may be searching for my hammer...