My Blogging Story

Chili wants to know, and since I am a big fan of Chili's, I'm going to answer her questions.

How did you start blogging?

Daughter Jeana introduced me to blogging when she started her blog,laughter4daystocome.blogspot.com

I had never heard of blogging. But you know if my little girl is doing it, then by golly I am going to read it. So I did. And she introduced me to other bloggers. And then she started pestering me to start a blog. So I did. As an English teacher, writing of any kind interests me. I hadn't been doing much writing for a long time, and starting a blog seemed like a good way to get myself to write more often.

Did you intend to be a blog w/a big following? If so, how did you go about it?

No, I never thought much about who would read it, other than my daughter, and maybe a few other family members. If I knew how to be a "blog with a following," believe you me I would do it. Having people comment on what I write is such a huge rush! It's even better than getting something published, because people respond immediately and personally.

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

My goals....hmmm... Mostly my goal was to preserve some of our family stories, experiences, humorous incidents, for our grandchildren. We are a family of story tellers, but when someone passes, that person's stories are often muddled or forgotten. I hope to preserve some of their stories here, so that years from now our grandchildren and their grandchildren can read about my granddaddy and what a kind person he was, and about Wick's cousin who drove a tractor through Highland Park late one night, and the time Wick and I had a date and his car blew up on the way.....
You know....all those stories that all families have.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?

No. Stuff just keeps happening, and I keep writing about it. I still have a bunch of stories to tell, one of these days. I do hope I am getting better as a writer.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?

I wish I had chosen a shorter, easier name for my blog. jeana is actually responsible for the title. She said it was so descriptive of how I think.
I wish I was better organized.

Do you make money with your blog?

I wish!

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?

Yes, they know about it. A few read it. If they don't, it's probably because they are not particularly tech-savvy. My mother would probably read it, if she used a computer.
My husband reads our daughter's faithfully. He reads mine if I insist.

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?

1. Get a copy of Blogging for Dummies. My daughter-in-law got me a copy, and it was very helpful.
2. Write regularly. Read regularly. Leave comments. Become active in the blogging community. New friends, great advice (sometimes), lots of laughs, and sometimes very thought provoking--that's what blogging is for me.

Now, go to Chili's and read about other people's bloggy adventures.

Book Meme

Jeana tagged me for this, and although it took me a couple of days to get around to it (school just started Monday), here are my answers:
Bear in mind, though, that I have totally ignored the "one book" edict that appears in every question--how can a true book lover answer with just one?)

1. One book that changed your life: The Bible. Of course. Five Love Languages. The Purpose-driven Life. Pilgrim's Progress. Little Women. All the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

2. One book that you've read more than once: I read the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder almost every year. Usually in the winter. I guess because so much of the action takes place during the winter. I find them soothing and comforting. Jane Austen's Persuasion. And Pride and Prejudice. I've probably read these more than 30 times. I love Jane Austen. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (another winter time read). Little Women. Anything by Agatha Christie--there are so many that I forget the solutions by the time I reread the mysteries. Beowulf. Jane Eyre. Wuthering Heights. The Canterbury Tales. The Harry Potter books. Some of my students are diligently looking for clues as to what will happen in the last of the seven, and I have to keep checking their research. Besides that, I like them. Harry is learning that life is not only a battle between good and evil, but that each of us has a choice--each of us has to choose, ultimately, which side has our allegiance.

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: my Bible. A survival manual. How to build a boat would come in handy, I think, also how to tell edible from inedible mushrooms, and how to make salt water potable. How to make pottery. Mostly, How to get rescued.

4. One book that made you laugh: Anything by Erma Bombeck. I sure do miss her. Especially the Grass Grows Greener Over the Septic Tank. A couple that I can't remember the authors of at the moment--Raising Demons. And Please Don't Eat the Dasies.

5. One book that made you cry: Little Women. Two parts actually: when Beth dies, and when Jo ends up with her old German suitor, Professor Baehr.

6. One book that you wish had been written: anything that made more than a million dollars for the author. Then I could retire, and just write the kind of stuff I enjoy, without worrying about making a living.

7. One book you wish had never been written: The DaVinci Code. Too many people mistake fiction for reality, and many of them lack sufficient grounding in their faith to distinguish truth from balderdash.

8. One book you are currently reading: A Wizard Alone by Diane Duane. I read a lot of "young adult" fiction, because I enjoy much of it, and because I want to know what my students are reading.

9.One book you've been meaning to read: Oh my word, how can I name just one, when my list runs into the hundreds?

Alphabetical Meme

Accent: Pure D Texan. The members of my dissertation committee told me that I would never be taken seriously as a scholar unless I took diction lessons. I think I will not tell you what I told them about that.
Bible Book that I like: Ruth has been a favorite since I was a child, probably because I have an Aunt Ruth who is just the best aunt in the whole world ;). Although...I have to say....as a married adult, my husband has taught me an appreciation of the Song of Songs.
Chore that I don’t care for: mopping the floors. I just hate it. It makes my back hurt.
Dog or Cat: Both. Currently a dog, Frankie the pom. In the past, at one point, we had two indoor dogs and four indoor cats. Wick says the RV is not big enough for Frankie *and* a cat--unless we move out.
Essential Electronics: Laptop and cell phone.
Favorite Cologne: Shalimar.
Gold or Silver: My wedding ring is a plain wide band, with a yellow gold engagement ring, but I do wear silver a lot. Sometimes both at once. gold and silver, I mean. I almost always wear the engagement ring and wedding band at the same time. Unless my hands are swollen.
Handbag I Carry most often:The one Jeana gave me. Last year it was black with a pink "J". This year is red, with a retro print of 40s style "cowgirls" with sequined and beaded vests and chaps, very flashy and cute, and I get all sorts of compliments on it!
Insomnia: No. I love to sleep. I have been known to sleep more than 12 hours at a stretch, if undisturbed by Frankie, Wick, or the telephone.
Job Title: Professionally, English teacher. Personally, MiMi to the grandbabies. Mom or Mama to my kids. Honey to my sweetheart of 36+ years.
Kids: Yes. Two sons and a daughter courtesy of biology, and two daughters and a son courtesy of the aforementioned children who had *such* good taste!
Living Arrangements: We live in our RV full-time. As much of that time as possible is at our lake place. Or traveling. Or visiting our kids.
Most Admirable Trait: Calm. Even when it looks as if one of my kids is bleeding to death on the neighbor's gold velvet chair. I only have hysterics after it is all over, and Wick is there to catch me when I collapse. Actually I don't think that is particularly an admirable trait--more like shock.
Naughtiest childhood behavior: I once smacked my little sister really hard, but only because she jumped on my tummy with her official Roy Rogers cowboy boots while I was lying on the floor, unawares.
Overnight hospital stay: Numerous. Tonsils, childbirth, hysterectomy, gall bladder removal, thyroidectomy, pneumonia several times. Not counting when one of my children was in the hospital.
Phobias: Yes. I can not bear to be in small, dark, enclosed spaces, especially underground. I once had a major panic attack in Carlsbad Caverns, and will *never* voluntarily go into a cave again.
Quote: "You use that word all the time. I do not think it means what you think it means." Well, actually, that is just the one that came to mind at the moment. I have lots of others. In fact, there is probably a future blog on the subject of favorite quotations.
Religion: Personal relationship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but organized religion, not so much. Have I mentioned that I am not very organized?
Siblings: I was the oldest of four in our family, two younger sisters and a younger brother.
Time I wake up: 5:20 on days I have to go to work. On the days on which I have a choice, anywhere from 6:30 to noon. With a nap later.
Unusual Talent or skill: When I took the GRE, I scored in the 99+% in the verbal area. And an equally *low* score in the math/reasoning section. But I don't talk about that part.
Vegetable I refuse to eat: Poke salad. Collard greens. Mustard greens. Anything green and slimy (I *do* however love avocados and guacamole).
Worst habit: Procrastination. In fact, come back Wednesday, because my Works for Me Wednesday blog will be about my attempts to overcome procrastination. Don't come back until Thursday, though.
X-rays: Every time I have had pneumonia. Also, the time Wick accidentally dropped a jar of mayonnaise on my left foot.
Yummy stuff I cook: My brother says I make the world's best corn bread. Scooter likes my Chinese dinners.
Zoo animal I like most: Lions. And tigers. And bears. Oh, my! Oh and the heffalumps!