Wrapping Up NaBloPoMo

It was fun being a part of National Blog Posting Month in November.  I had fun reading tons of blogs and meeting new people.  I did learn a few things about myself, not all of them good. But hey, exploring different aspects of your personality is all part of the process of growing up, right?

I want to read everything. However, trying to read tons of blogs, work a full time job, and take care of a family means that I was unable to devote the time needed to any of those things.  My brain went on overload.   Just when I had delved into a great story, my son was interrupting me to ask for crazy things like food or water.  It just got nuts.

I don't like "have to".   So much of adult life is "have to".  We have to work, we have to pay bills, we have to follow the rules.  I stopped worrying about posting every day because it got to be a chore, yet another "have to".   Some of my writing felt forced as a result, and weren't my best.  I could have cheated and thrown in tons of pictures, but I didn't.  Maybe I should have.  I will be happy to go back to unscheduling my blog, and not worrying if I miss a day.  At least until April, when they do the A to Z thing.

I intensely dislike captcha.  I understand that there are evil people out there who get their jollies by spamming blogs or spreading malware to the masses.  I get that people want to make sure that they avoid those evil people.  But when I've struggled through the tiny print on my phone(I read most blogs while standing in line or other times) and hit the comment button, it's extra punishment to see that window with the even tinier numbers and letters pop up.  Also, when I get a message saying that "your comment is too short!" after I've typed a comment, it makes me want to just turn my computer off and not comment at all.  And sometimes that's exactly what I do.

So, dear readers, what do you guys think?

 

And here is a precious kitty for you to look at.  Maybe you can convince her to get off of the Christmas stocking she has been sitting on for the last five hours, so we can finish decorating for Christmas.

A to Z Challenge Wrap Up

To recap, for those who have been stranded on a deserted island for the last couple of months...I participated in the A to Z Blog Challenge.  Every day in April except Sunday, I started off my blog with a different letter of the alphabet.  I did this while continuing to participate in several creative writing memes. 

It wasn't easy.  Some of the easiest letters, such as E, had me sitting in front of a blank white screen, the cursor blinking at me.  Stop blinking at me, I'd tell the cursor.  Whaaaaat?  The cursor would reply, blinking some more.  Aren't I inspiring enough for you?      Quit it, I'd say.    Cursors can be downright irritating.  Then my husband would come into the computer room.

"You're arguing with the cursor again," he'd say, subtly letting me know that I needed to turn off the computer and get some sleep. 

I was going to complete all of A to Z with a theme, like my friend Andrea over at Maybe It's Just Me and Juli over at Surviving Boys.  Andrea did an entire month of angsty 80s tunes, and I loved reminiscing.  Juli's theme was all Pinterest--tricks, recipes, science experiments--oh my!  Those two are so creative.   When I tried to follow in their footsteps and come up with a theme, the only thing that came to mind was...cats.  Yes.  It would have been "Cats I Have Known".  Except that this crazy Cat Lady doesn't know 26 cats.  Or 26 dogs.  So that idea sank rather quickly. 

In the end, I did what I think I do best: improvise. 

I enjoyed finding and reading lots of new blogs and I've found quite a few that I now have bookmarked on my phone.  So that was a bonus.  

I have participated for the last three years, and being a creature of habit, I will participate again next year.  Unless my public begs me not to...  Oh look, there's that cursor blinking at me again!


Everyone, enjoy your Friday!!!!