Somebody ‘gets’ my gibberish!

Posted by goodoldgirl

~~Yesterday~~ Sunday, after a long day of doing practically nothing, I finally checked my blog only to learn that a very generous reader had nominated me for two blogger awards.

I have to say, I was completely bowled over — speechless even. (I know, hard to believe.)

READNCOOK, the kind blogger who bestowed these awards on my mishmash of random thoughts, made my day. In her post, Recognizing Others, she comments that one of the things that makes blogging rock is the way bloggers support one another. I couldn’t agree more! I don’t mean about the awards, which are really nice for sure, it’s the comments that really get to me.

It matters to me that folks take time out of their day to read what I have to say and send me a note to let me know my words touched them in some way. Whether my post made them laugh or cry, isn’t important. What matters is that we connected in a very human way in a time when more and more people seem to feel isolated and alone.

I’ve been fortunate enough to encounter some wonderful people since I started this blog three months ago and now I can pass along to them a hearty dose of the recognition that has been so graciously bestowed upon me.

About READNCOOK …

Don’t be mislead by the name of this blog, it’s not just about books and food. It’s also about art, beauty, health, history, humor, life, pets, relationships, teaching, and travel — an eclectic mix of many of my very own favorite things. So, be sure to check it out. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I do.

The awards …

The Liebster Blogger Award rules are:

Thank the one who nominated you by linking back.
Nominate five blogs with less than 200 followers.
Let your nominees know by leaving a comment on their sites.
Add the award image to your site.

1. A huge THANK YOU to READNCOOK for honoring my blog — Good Old Girl!

2. The five blogs I nominate for this honor:

3. Done!

4. Done!

The Sunshine Award rules are:

Include the award logo in a post or somewhere on your blog.
Answer 10 questions about yourself.
Nominate 10 to 12 other fabulous bloggers.
Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blog, letting them know about the award.
Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

1. Logo shared (it’s up there, on the right)

2. Ten things about me:

What is a favorite childhood memory?
Catching lightning bugs with my cousins then letting them all go in their room and waking up the next day to a screaming uncle who ended up having to repaint the room.
What is a real fear you have?
I’m claustrophobic.
How would you describe yourself?
A silly girl in old lady disguise.
What states have you lived in?
Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, Alaska
What is your style?
I’m supposed to have a style? Okay, jeans and a t-shirt.
What is your favorite breakfast food?
Eggs, biscuits, and gravy.
What are some of your hobbies?
Reading, writing, gardening, needlepoint, embroidery, anything with hand tools.
If you could tell people anything, what would be the most important thing to say?
Have faith, be honest, and play nice.
What is one of your passions?
My daughter — being a mom.
What is the one truth you have learned?
Nice guys really do finish last.

3. Fabulous bloggers I nominate for the Sunshine Award:

4. Done!

5. Done! But, here’s one more link to READNCOOK just in case you missed it earlier.

Karma – It’s a Wicked Thing!

Posted by goodoldgirl

Sitting here thinking about what to blog about.

I already milked my cataract surgery for all it’s worth so time to move on to something at least halfway interesting that doesn’t include body parts or involve a book review but can’t think of a thing.

Nope, not a thing.

Don’t you just hate when that happens?

You sit in front of the keyboard with your fingers desperate to type but there’s absolutely nothing floating around in your pea brain that’s fit to share with the rest of the world. At times like these, you suffer for your art in a way that only the truly devoted can understand. All you want to do is tap, tap, tap on those keys but not a thing pops into your head.

Blog writing 101

A friend gave me a book a few years ago about how writers should get out of bed every morning and just write. It doesn’t matter what you write. What matters is the physical act of writing. It’s supposed to get the juices flowing and the ideas churning and finally, when you least expect it, brilliance flies from your fingertips right to your keyboard and the great American novel is born. (LOL!)

I can’t remember the name of the book but I vaguely recall it was something along the lines of The Art of Writing, or maybe something sorta like that. Anyway, the gist of it was that if you want to be a writer, you have to be intentional about it. You can’t just sit down and start typing gibberish. (What?)

Carrying on …

I would share with you the actual title of that book except that I must have given it away (maybe to Goodwill) because I sure can’t find it on any of my bookshelves and I just wasted a good five minutes searching for it. I did come across a couple of other reads, however, that you might find interesting.

The first is What Is Karma? by Paul Brunton. It caught my eye as I was scanning the shelves because I’m pretty sure tonight’s writer’s block is really just payback for giving away that other book.

The second is Calendar Humanity’s Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year by David Ewing Duncan. This is a fascinating little book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about how we got to where we are today. Seriously, it’s a page-turner. (And, no, I’m not being sarcastic. Promise!)

When all else fails …

I spent another 5 minutes scanning Amazon.com for a title about writing that looked familiar but no luck. Did you know there are about a gazillion books out there that explain writing everything from books to screenplays?

I did come across a couple of interesting titles that might be worth taking a peek at, for example:

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creative Writing, 2nd Edition by Laurie E. Rozakis

Naked, Drunk, and Writing: Shed Your Inhibitions and Craft a Compelling Memoir or Personal Essay by Adair Lara

I have to fess up that I’ve not read either of these books. I also have to admit that I just love the titles so I might one day.

Maybe.

Stumbled Upon Friday

Posted by goodoldgirl

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! 🙂