Delinquent Blog Writer Turns In Self

dreamstime_xs_40481396blogEver notice when you pick up a bad habit it’s easier to keep it than shed it? Yeah, my bad habit is ignoring my blog. This time, for a couple months. I know. I give no warning. Disappear. Then try to pick up the pieces of a blog that’s feeling the pangs of rejection from it’s very own mama.

Here I offer up my top 5 excuses; or as I like to say to that sweet police office writing me a speeding ticket, my “Mitigating Circumstances.”

1. That cough-up-a-lung illness that was going around. I am a germ-magnet. Not only did I catch it, but it decided we needed to have a “relationship” that lasted 5 weeks.

2. Normally, I teach 2-4 independent studies in the Spring Semester on top of my regular credit hour load. This Spring I did 9. *Thumps Head*

3. Three kids. The oldest is a senior in highschool, the middle one runs on Energizer rabbit batteries, and the youngest is currently channeling Cersei Lannister (the attitude, not the extracurricular activities). I know, it could be worse. Could be Joffrey. Or that Ramsay guy.

4. I started a children’s publishing company with my parents, because you know, I don’t have enough stuff crammed into my life. Then I wrote 2-1/3 books for the publishing company to publish. Yeah, that 1/3 is a WIP I’m still working on.

5. When faced with the choice of writing for the blog or taking a nap, I’ve napped. Because, well, see excuses 1-4.

So why are things different now? Well, my semester is over. My oldest is poised to get his drivers license and his HS diploma. *Fist Pump* My other two kids can play outside all day because the temperature in Rockford is finally above freezing. With a renewed respect for germs, I’m starting to rub elbows instead of shaking hands. And that little publishing company is in its third trimester, ready to birth some books into the world.

LET’S BLOG!

Picture © Iqoncept

Trying Out a New Blog Theme

Did you know there are 647 two-column Word Press blog themes? My blog service provider switched over to Word Press recently, so I thought I’d take a peek. I tried out 26 of them today.

There are themes with bleeding graphics, flashing graphics, and switching graphics. There are themes with colors that don’t exist in the natural world. There are themes with boxes around boxes and balloons around boxes around balloon animals that squawk when you click on them.

But wouldn’t know it, after narrowing down to twelve, then five, and finally a top three, I settled on the simplest theme . . . the one with the most white space and the ability to put my own picture in a custom header.

Do you like it?

1st Year Anniversary

dreamstime_10078622.jpg Photo credit © Cosmin – Constantin Sava

Last year, while on vacation digging holes with my kids at the beach, I considered writing a blog. The conversation went something like this:

Son to mom, “You’ve finished writing your book– whatcha gonna do now?”

Mom to son, “I was thinking about starting a blog.”

Son to mom, “Oh, I thought we could go to Disney World or something.”

We haven’t made it to Disney World yet, it’s on the to do list, but I did start a blog, and this week is its one year anniversary. A lot has happened in a year and for some reason after age sixteen, the years seem to speed along at an exponential rate. Before sixteen, they crawl along like this guy. But these days, blink it’s Christmas again, blink, you have a domain name, blink–blink, you’re a year older, and yes I agree, it’s completely not fair that at a “certain age” zits and wrinkles overlap. Like I said, a lot has happened this year.

So in celebration of the one year anniversary of the Blog for the Morbidly Thoughtful, I share with you one of my favorite discoveries from the past 12 months:

wrigleysgum.jpg

Whoever the Wrigley chemist is who concocted this scrumptious flavor festival, I love you.