Blogging

Stumbled Upon Friday

Posted by

12


I was at my sister’s house for dinner Friday evening, keeping her company in the kitchen while she made chicken tacos. Great recipe, by the way. Anyhow, she was yammering on about something or other and I decided to see if I could surreptitiously check my blog stats for the day.

So, I pulled out my iPhone and, while it was tucked ever so slightly under the table, checked my blog.  Hmmm, 43 views. Well now!

My average day runs anywhere from 0 to about 15 views so 43 in one day is pretty spectacular. Now, before you start thinking I’d hit the Freshly Pressed jackpot, let me set the record straight. That did not happen. (Not that I haven’t had a wishful think about it from time to time.)

But something very odd did happen, and it took me the better part of the weekend to finally get a clue, but more about that in a sec. By the time I got home Friday evening, my total views for the day was pushing up-up-up. To cut to the chase, the total views for Friday was 133, Saturday was 166, and the total so far today is 269. (Is it after midnight? If it is, then I mean yesterday.)

Dashboard data

I finally got curious this evening about what was causing my views to soar and started poking around my dashboard. Turns out all those extra views were coming from one place. I clicked on that link in the list of referrers and it took me to a page that said, “A member of the StumbleUpon user community added your page to StumbleUpon’s index of high-quality, human-curated content.”  Say what!?!

The first thing that popped into my pea brain was (stealing from Sally Field here) they like me, they really like me! The second thing was that my sister is going to be s-o-o-o ticked about this.

You see, my sister has been blogging for a couple of years now and switched her blog to WordPress about six months ago. If you haven’t read her blog you should. You can find it here. She writes from the heart about things that are important like family and faith. I, on the other hand, write about silly things like light bulbs and my eyeballs.

She talked about blogging so much that I finally decided to try it and, well, I enjoy it. I didn’t expect to but I do. Anyway, we’ve had this unofficial contest going ever since I started blogging to see if my views could catch up with hers. When I started, she was ahead of me by about a thousand views.  Today, though, my views caught up — then skipped on ahead.

Back to topic

I have to say, though it’s nice and all, that I’m not too sure I’m thrilled about this sudden spike in views. You see, I looked at my dashboard under the top posts & pages  section and it revealed that practically all of the views are to just to one post. That means all those folks who stumbled upon my blog also stumbled right back off of it without looking at a single other page.

I don’t know about you, but I find that kind of disheartening. I mean, did they even stay on that post long enough to actually read it? Or, did they see it was just a recipe for Quiche and zip right outa there lickety split?

I’m a bit concerned that all those views may be hollow. No substance. No heart. Empty.

Real people blog

In the short time that I’ve been blogging, I’ve come across a lot of folks who, like my sister, write about things that are close to their hearts and, in doing so, they touch other hearts and bring helpful information to their readers. They encourage other writers and photographers and artists. They honor and support other bloggers with awards and recognition. And, sometimes they share parts of themselves that the rest of us really have no right to. Blogging is a community and I’m tickled to be a part of it.

I owe my sister a debt of gratitude for sharing with me her passion for blogging and for getting me off my duff and my fingers onto my keyboard. (Actually, since I sit when I type I guess I’m still on my duff. But, I’m doing something productive as well, so it’s all good.)

Thank you sweet Rosie, for being my inspiration.

And, thank you to all the other bloggers who have opened up their worlds to me and made me feel welcome in this community. Your “likes” and “comments” on my posts are more meaningful to me than all the views I’ve received the last three days times a gazillion.

Okay now, enough with the mushy stuff.

Let’s be real

Just because I value “actual” views way more than the “empty” views, it doesn’t mean I want the empty ones to stop. I am after all still in a contest with my sister for the most views — so keep ’em coming!

273 and counting — that puts me about 200 ahead of you sweetie!  🙂

A few of my favorite …

In case you’re interested, below are just a few of my favorite blogs. I encourage you to visit them often and read them well!

http://preacherswifeintheknow.wordpress.com/

http://broadsideblog.wordpress.com/

http://subtlekate.wordpress.com/

http://jensinewall.wordpress.com/

http://coffeekatblog.wordpress.com

http://aslongasimsinging.wordpress.com

http://notlostjustweird.com

http://notquiteold.wordpress.com/

http://ellepeterson.wordpress.com/

http://eclecticfaerie.wordpress.com/

http://year-struck.com/

My Top 10 Love/Hate Relationships

Posted by

15


I’m sitting here, sleepy, but can’t go to slumberville ’til the laundry‘s done. Yep, I do laundry on Saturday night. (My life truly is fascinating.) Waiting for the last load to dry, my fingers are itching to type, though, I’ve already posted one blog entry today. (It was really boring. You don’t want to read it. Has a poll. Really dorky.)

Anyhow, I was thinking about how much I hate doing laundry but love having clean clothes and just could not stop myself from sharing my thoughts on love/hate relationships. So, in no particular order, with the loves on the left and the hates on the right (don’t want you to start thinking I like cleaning), here goes …

1. Cooking/Cleaning Up the Kitchen

I really enjoy the process of cooking, especially when I have plenty of time and there are people around who enjoy a good meal. Scrubbing pots and pans, cleaning up the kitchen … Yuck!

2. A Clean House/Cleaning the House

There is something so comforting about a clean house. The fresh smell. Everything in order. Pure bliss. All the time and energy it takes to get it, not to mention keeping it, clean just wears me out. Lugging the vacuum up and down the stairs is the worst. If I ever won the lottery, the first thing I’d do is hire a cleaning service.

3. Anything Chocolate/The Calories in Chocolate

I don’t know who first discovered chocolate or making chocolate but that person deserves sainthood in my book. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate covered anything — yum!  Gaining weight from all those calories in chocolate. Not so yum.

4. Driving/Traffic

I’ve been driving with a stick shift for almost 40 years. it makes driving more fun regardless of the kind of vehicle. A dump truck with a stick shift would be fun to drive. Traffic, however, is the armpit of driving. It’s smelly and obnoxious and, sometimes, hair-raising!

5. Getting Paid/Working

Money, money, money, money, money. Who doesn’t like having money? I don’t need a lot. Just enough to pay the bills and buy books and chocolate but, through some weirdly crooked twist of fate, I was not born into wealth. (Maybe I squandered money in a past life and this life is teaching me a lesson. Nah!) It’s not the working I dislike. I enjoy the work that I do. It’s the getting there that makes me bonkers — an hour-long commute is way too much traffic for me. I am thankful, though, that I have a job, especially one that I like.

6. Sunrises/Waking Up Early

A fresh new day. The first glimmer of light over the horizon. Looking out at God‘s beautiful creation with renewed vision each morning. On the flip side — the alarm clock, cleaning the litter box, commuting to work. Yuck!

7. Flower Gardening/Pulling Weeds

Roses, columbines, peonies, lilacs, hydrangea, lilies, iris, and a gazillion other blooming bits of beauty. Then there’s the crawling around on hands and knees yanking out the wildlings that threaten to strangle those beautiful buds. Did I mention the worms. Creepy!

8. Reading Books/The Cost of a Home Library

Literature, pop fiction, science fiction, fantasy, chick lit, the list goes on and on and I love them all.  You can find used books for pennies (well, quarters) all over the place. But if you’re like me, and have shelves full of books that have become old friends, it can be a budget buster. But, worth every penny!

9. Rainy Days/ Getting Rained On

My favorite day of the year is the first rainy Saturday in the Fall. I spend the whole day curled up in a big chair reading. It’s heaven on earth. Going out on a dark rainy day, however, is just asking for frizzy hair and drippy makeup. So, why can’t I remember that umbrella?

10. Cats/ Cleaning the Litter Box

Purring, softest fur, squeaky little meows – Emmie and Ollie! Why do they have to poop so much? You’d think once a day each would be enough. But, no, not these cats! And, always while I’m sitting here at my MAC with the cat box just around the corner in the powder room — a scant 10 feet away. And, why does Emmie always jump up on my desk right after doing her business?  Stinky!!

So, that’s my list. What’s on yours?

What’s up with the new look!

Posted by

10


I’ve wasted a good part of the afternoon changing the look of my blog.

Can you tell a difference?

Maybe not.

You probably don’t remember that it had a pale apple green border with a pic of roses from my garden at the top … yes, no?

Doesn’t matter.

You see, I’m torn. I like it okay … for today and maybe another day or two (my guess is that I’ll be right back to the same-old same-old soon enough). Aside from that, I can’t tell if it’s really fuzzy or that my eyes (cataract surgery is in May, yahoo!) are just seeing it fuzzy.

So, why did it take so long to get the new look together?

Once upon a time I was a graphics designer — way back when it was all cut and paste — so every now and then I can’t resist the urge to dabble a bit. I have all the mod cons for today’s world of graphics, including: a MAC, PhotoShop, InDesign, etc.

I am not, however, so hot at using them.

Sigh.

I get caught up in all kinds of quirks in the software and it takes me forever to get the job done. For example, this new image was a combination of Word, InDesign, and Photoshop.

Word? Long story. Forget I said that.

What matters is what you think of it.

Do you like the new look? Hate the new look? Don’t give a big rat’s …

Let’s take a poll!