New Technology!

Sorry I've been gone a few days. I've been busy crazy out of my mind. That may be an exaggeration. I do have the Parish Nurse Class overlapping with my 4 volunteer positions right now, and then this job thing as well. I have been overwhelmed.

 I wanted to go see my Mom this week-end but we have a church-related visitor coming for the week-end so I am home and plan to spend the day cooking and cleaning... If I can make myself out down this new phone!

 Yes, I have a new phone and I have a new blogging app and right now it is typing for me while I am speaking. Isn't that weird? It's not exactly perfect though.  It's  kind a like when word correct helps you text.  It is kind of fun, even if I have to make a lot of corrections. It types something about the infant with me... That would have caused some questions!

Here's a funny story (not).  I put this app on my blog and did an entire post with cute photos like this one...

Then, when I posted it I discovered I had apparently made a brand new blog and I do not even know where it went. 😜 So, I started over. At least it gave me the chance to use that funny face emoticon.

So, this is my second post today, and apparently I have another blog out there in blog land. If you find it, let me know.

I've Told You a Thousand Times!

Well, today is the big day! I've hinted at it all week!

OK, it is not that big of a day, but it is big enough to me that I feel I should mention it...

It is my 1000th post!

What?! That's crazy! I would never have started out with a plan to write 1,000 posts.  That is like giving myself 1,000 assignments. I'm way too busy to do that! What was I thinking?

When I realized I was nearing my 1000th post I actually felt kind of upset with myself. You see, one of the biggies on my bucket list is to write a book. I've actually got it started but I really don't often work on it. Yet, I find time to write a daily post. Sometimes that takes just a few minutes of my time but often I mess around at it quite awhile. I've also written quite a few posts that I discarded before I actually published them. I told Mike it made me sad that I'd used up so many precious hours on my blog instead of working on my novel. Mike said the nicest thing. He said, "Maybe this is more important."  It was a surprising comment but maybe he is right. It made me try to think of reasons my blogging may be worth the time I've spent on it.

1)  I documented bits of our family's life. I'm not very good at journalling and I do not keep up with our photo albums very well. Maybe this makes up for it a bit?

2) I get to show off photos of our beautiful grandchildren. That may seem pretty self-serving, but those girls have other relatives who live out of town and I know a couple of them look for those photos nearly every day.

3) Maybe someone read one of my efforts to inform regarding medical conditions. Perhaps someone I don't even know, after reading my blog, decided to get a life-saving colonoscopy. Maybe that didn't happen but maybe it did.

4) I've made new friends through my blog. Really! It takes the whole penpal idea to an entirely new level. 

5) It makes me exercise my brain a bit. Sometimes (often) I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to post about but I just start messing around and something comes out. At other times I see or hear something that makes me start mentally writing future blogs.

6) I've become much more interested in taking photographs. That leads me to seeing more beauty in my day. Really. I find myself "framing" visions as though I would photograph them, even when I don't have a camera with me.

7) The most important thing I try to do with my blog is to share my faith. I realize a lot of religions are not about evangelizing but Christianity is very much about sharing. When you are a part of something that brings such order and peace in the midst of such a chaotic world, why wouldn't you want to share it?

8) I look busy when I am writing a post. It gets me out of housework for a bit.

I don't write this blog because my life is so fascinating. I am fortunate enough to lead a pretty calm life. Many people have more interesting things happening in their lives. Many have deeper thoughts or more entertaining ways of expressing their ideas. I know this. I'm grateful, though, that blogging is available to all of us. All you need is internet access.  Oh, that just made me think of important reason #9!

9) I can encourage others to blog! You don't have to do it every day and you don't even have to tell anyone about it. If interested, just go to blogger.com and follow the instructions to get started.

You, too, could have many mornings that start like this...

See what I did there? I shared my faith with a photograph. 

It seems weird to stop with 9 reasons so let me think of a 10th....thinking...thinking... oh yeah!

10) It is fun!

So, to celebrate, I will do a little more of #2 before I close and get on with my day.  Enjoy!

Be My Guest!

My friend, Nicole, gave me a great idea!  I get to write a post everyday here. Not everyone wants to have their own blog but maybe sometimes you feel the thoughts and words bubbling out with nowhere to go. Well...I am offering you a chance to write a guest post here on my blog.

There will be rules...
1.     Nothing offensive.  Of course it is hard to know what might be offensive, Since it is my blog, I would make the ultimate determination. Yep, kind of like I'm the queen.
2.     I get to make grammatical/spelling corrections. I know, I make plenty of my own mistakes. If I notice them in a guest post, though, it will bug me and I will have to fix it.
3.     I can make up more rules on a whim. It's hard to know what rules I might need.
4.     I will decline any posts that I don't want to feature on my blog. I'd be nice about it but if your post seems wrong for my audience, I will let you know.

So, Nicole? Anyone? If you have some thoughts to share, write them out and e-mail them to me at onlythemanager@yahoo.com. Send photos as attachments if you'd like. Tell me a bit about yourself if you wish for me to do any kind of introduction.

The invitation is open indefinitely! Here's your chance!

The Show Must Go On!

There are times when a blogger, such as myself, messes around too long and suddenly discovers they have run out of time to do a proper daily post.  At such times as these said blogger has a few options.

1. Just skip it and hope no one notices.
2. Rerun a post from the archives.
3. Show photos of  cute little granddaughters.

Reality TV and Blogging

I really don't like most reality TV shows.  I know they aren't all bad.  I like some, such as home decorating ones.  Many of the reality television shows, however, leave me feeling very disturbed.  Do any of you feel that way?  So many of them feature people who are willing to proudly show their worst side.  I won't name any of those shows but I will say the courtroom shows may be my least favorite.  No, wait, the ones revealing the surprise paternity results...yes, I hate those!  Either kind usually end with people screaming at each other.  I hate yelling.

So, what does that have to do with blogging? Well, imagine my surprise the day I realized I was just like those people who are featured on reality television.  Well, maybe not just like them, but we definitely have two things in common:

1. I am sometimes prerecorded.  Yep.  It's true.  I want to post a blog everyday and for the most part, I do write one post a day.  Occasionally, though, I write some posts ahead of time.  If we go on vacation, I sometimes write several posts so that I'm not worrying about it while travelling.  Often, I write a post the evening before.  This post is an example of that.  I am typing it out on Friday night after an exhausting day at work.  Do you see my feet up?  I hadn't even taken off my work shoes.  I knew I had plans for Saturday morning, so I chose to write this post ahead.  I learned how to delay the publishing time so it is quite easy to set it up to publish while I am at work, snoozing on my pillow or just having coffee with my husband.
2. Also, like those on the reality shows, I tell things about myself but in a rather one-sided way.  The people on those shows are generally sharing their worst side.  I expect they accentuate the negative to make things more exciting.  Well, I pretty much tell the positive side of my life here.  I really do have a lovely life, but it is not all perfect.   Like a lot of people, there is a skeleton or two in my closet as well.  Like everyone, I have cranky moments.  Sometimes I talk too much.  Sometimes I can't think of anything interesting to say.  Often I feel uncertain.   

So, here's why I wanted to talk about this.  Someone was recently talking to me about an article in a local magazine, featuring a local family.  After reading the article she commented about how some families are just so perfect.  I noted that I was certain they weren't perfect but that of course they would only show their good side for the magazine.  I pondered how that nice family article seemed to make this person feel kind of bad.

I realized that I do exactly that, show my good side.  I don't plan to change that, actually.  I learned to blog from my daughter, Maria.  Her blog, Little Things are Big, is her way of focusing on all that is good around her.  I like that!  With all the struggles and challenges that we all face, I think it is refreshing to have a place to look for some good stuff.  I don't always stick with that plan but I usually do.  

I hope that I never make someone feel bad about themselves.  Know that I am not a great cook, I have been known to grump at our dog, I almost always find more interesting things to do than clean our home, I can be lazy and my life is not perfect.  It's just my life.  I don't always hit all the right notes.  Like you, I'm just doing the best I can.  That's my reality.

Meet the Bloggers

I've taken to preparing posts ahead of time for when I am scheduled to work long shifts at hospice.  This is one of those posts.  I hope you are all having a lovely week-end, maybe laying around reading a good book and sipping on lemonade, while I am slaving away.  Sorry.  Putting people on little guilt trips just comes naturally to me.  The honest truth is I had several days off in the middle of the week while you were likely slaving away.  This post reflects on one of those days.

We are a bloggy bunch, me and my relatives.  Maria (daughter) has been blogging daily for years.  I was perplexed when she first started blogging.  Why would anyone do that?  Why would anyone want to give themselves a writing assignment every day?  And isn't it like writing a diary?  That's something you should hide under your mattress, not put out for the world to read!

Well, apparently we are a writing bunch of relatives as many of us have followed in Maria's footsteps.  When we were at the cemetery the other day four of us were together.

Maria, Me, my Aunt Michelle, My Cousin Anne Marie

Cordelia doesn't blog - YET!

Maria's blog is Little Things are Big.  She has been writing in it for years.  

I love reading it!  

She writes well and I enjoy seeing the world through her eyes.  

She finds beauty just about everywhere. 

My Aunt Michelle writes A Wyoming Woman's Thoughts.  Anne Marie writes Bits & Pieces.  

I'd encourage you to check them out as well.  They both write about family and living in Wyoming.  

They also have some great photos!   

When we left the cemetery that day we went on to have lunch with my sister.  

Guess what!?  She's a long-time blogger writing Living With Cerebral Palsy.  Her blog helps connect people who are handicapped.  It is also great for anyone who wants to better understand how a handicapped person deals with obstacles and overcomes adversity.  You will learn about real courage there!

So, if you have some time, know that you are invited and welcome to stop by their blogs as well.  Maybe you will figure out what's wrong with us; why do we impose writing assignments on ourselves?

Comments About Commenting

I want to address a problem some people have been having with my blog.  For some reason, there are people who can't leave comments for us all to read.  A few have told me that was the case for them even before I changed formats.  I've double-checked and I have it set up for anyone to comment so I'm not sure where that glitch is occurring.  However, I do know that a few may be having trouble figuring out how to comment since I switched formats.  I know this because I had trouble figuring out how to comment back!

So, here's the deal...

Of course you first have to click on one of the little windows to read a post.  I've noticed that sometimes it takes a try or two to get it to open up.  I don't know why.

Once a post is opened, it looks like this...

Do you see the little slide bar on the right side?

Use that to go to the bottom of the post.  Now you can see where to click to view comments.

The trouble is, when you click that it seems that nothing happens.  I expected to see comments at that point. Finally, I noticed that when I clicked "view comments" that little skinny slide bar moved upward.

I then had an ah-ha moment.  If you just slide that little bar down again, you can see the comments as well as add one of your own. 

Again, I am aware that it isn't working for everyone.  So, if that doesn't work, you may send a comment to my e-mail (onlythemanager@yahoo.com) and I will add it for you.  I know, that's a lot of trouble.  I will also keep trying to figure out the problem.  Until I do, though, I hate to miss the interaction!

Ok, that's all the comments I have about commenting.  

Any comments?

One last thing... if you are someone who has never blogged but would like to, check out this link.  It is easy to get started!  (This means YOU, Michelle!)

Isn't Blogging an Odd Thing to Do?

Do you remember when you first heard about blogging?  I think my friend, Pam, showed me my first blog.  It was written by an oncology nurse, just as Pam & I, and reading the blog was kind of like reading our own thoughts.  You can take a peek at that blog here if you'd like.  I still check in on that blog from time to time but I have to limit myself.  I said it was like reading our own thoughts as nurses, and it is, but it focuses on the heavy thoughts most of the time.  I needed some balance.

When our daughter, Maria, started blogging I didn't get it.  Why would she want to write about her day for the whole world to read?  Weren't diaries supposed to be locked and hidden under your bed or something?  When I read it, though, I got it.  Her blog, Little Things are Big, was just the balance I needed.  Her blog is well titled as she tries to focus on the moments of life that meld together to make a life precious and worthwhile.  I was hooked!  She has a real writing talent and a lovely outlook on life.

Pam eventually started her own blog as well.  Since she moved away, it is fun for me to follow her and see what is going on in North Dakota.  She has a sense of humor that I "get" and I usually end up smiling when I read her blog.  Check her's out here.

I am not sure why I decided to start a blog.  When I first started, I did not tell anyone.  It was less scary to think about strangers happening upon it than to think of "my people" reading it.  Finally, I told Maria.  She was very supportive so I decided to let me secret out of the bag. 

I was home recovering from my year-long bout of clostridium Difficile when I started writing.  I had lots of time on my hands.  I used some of that time to read blogs written by others.  I had no idea so many people wrote blogs!  It was easy to find blogs to read.  I'd just click on the name of someone who commented on Maria's blog and from there I could read that person's blog.  Then, I'd click on the name of someone who'd commented on that blog and I'd be led to yet another person's blog.  It isn't hard at all.

Along the way I have found that some blogs are more interesting to me than others.  Some bring me down and so I don't tend to go back to them much.  I made a choice to follow only blogs that somehow give me strength or make me laugh or open my mind.  There are enough influences in life that lead us down the path of self-pity, anger or despair.  I don't need more of that.

Since going back to work I do not check in with my favorite blogs as often as before but I still enjoy taking time to sit down and catch up.  I find myself wondering what Victoria has cooked up or how Emily and her family are doing.  I can check in on my son-in-law at We Dug Trenches, which isn't really a blog but he has some great photography there and I wanted to include it.  I cried when Janine and her family had to endure the death of her son but I rejoice as she speaks of healing.  Through Janine I met her sister, Niqui.  These sisters live in South Africa and I am not likely to meet either of them in this life, but they have come to be people that I hold up in prayer.  Another blog I check in on is Affectionknit, written by another Lutheran pastor's wife.  She and her family will be leaving their parish in North Dakota to move closer to family.  I know just the pain/joy she is experiencing over this decision!  Other blogs I follow include Hearth and Home and The Inspired Housewife.  I love to check in with Be Still and Know, written by an American doctor/mother/Christian.  She and her family moved to Uganda this year!

There are more blogs that I love as well.  I'm running out of time so I can't list them all but if you are interested, their recent posts show up on my blog page.  Just click!  You can also click on the names of people who have commented on this blog and just click on their names.  A profile will pop up and if they have a blog it will be listed.  Click on that and you'll find their blog....easy!

I have found that writing a blog has really made me pay attention to my own life more.  That may sound odd but it is true.  I also carry a camera more often and I've noticed that I really see beauty around me more easily when I am carrying the camera.  I'm terrible at putting photos in albumns and won't even try to scrapbook, but documenting our days on the blog comes easily.  I don't know why but it works for me.

When you have your own blog you can also look at your stats.  I was stunned to learn that I had readers from all over the world.  Think of it!  If we are reading blogs of people in different countries, perhaps it will make us all see more of what we have in common as humans and realize we are all in this life together.   Maybe we will learn to be more kind to one another. 


Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.