Tomorrow's The Big Day! #atozchallenge

When I found this picture I immediately knew it was the one.  That's what I feel like.  At last count there were 1930 of us crazy folks taking part in the biggest blog hop of the year.  The April A-Z Challenge starts TOMORROW.  I'm trying not to freak out, just as this guy is, with the biting of his lips and the holding back of the tears, but you can see it lurking.

What am I afraid of?  What's the big deal. Well, it's complicated.  It's not really fear as much as a WOW. I wish I was more prepared.  

Then there's the perfectionist side that says, "You'll never get everything done."  

The co-host side of me says, "What if a lot of people drop out?"  

The competitive side says, "What if people don't like my posts this year?"

The egotistical side says, "What if I don't get any more followers?"

The organizational side says, "What if no one follows my directions?"

Then reason takes over.  I love it when she does that. I should invite her over more often ;-)

All those "what ifs" I listed aren't at ALL what this Challenge is about it.  Those don't matter. Those are NOT the goals.

Here's why I do the A-Z, and here's why I spend so much time behind the scenes making sure it runs smoothly:

We are building a community.  We are trying to make the world smaller.  We have participants from all corners of the globe.  We can make friends with people continents (and 15 hours time difference) away.  We can meet people just like us, and bond instantly, or we can meet people whose lives are so completely different from ours we marvel.  

We can find blogs about topics we'd never have even known existed if we hadn't stumbled upon them in our wanderings around the list.  We can network, make friends, and expand our reading list.

The point is not us, it's THEM.  Those bloggers waiting for us to stop by.  1930 bloggers have laid out the welcome mat, and if they're Swedish, the coffee will be on and the array of goodies set out.  Bring flowers.

I'll see you tomorrow when "It's very Swedish..." begins.  You'll learn what that means then.

~Tina, excited and anticipating and shoving the anxious aside


Photo Credit

Send an Unexpected Valentine: Join DL Hammon's Blog Blitz Team

Getting Blitz-ed by DL Hammons Blitz Crew is like getting an unexpected Valentine, on any given day.

DL started the Blog Blitz last year.  Here are his words:

What would it be like if the support, encouraging nature, and community spirit of the blogosphere were ever focused on a single blogger? A few of us have experienced that sort of attention via book launches or other publishing announcements, and still others have achieved that level of awareness through the popular blogfests we host.  In most cases there is a lot of work that goes into generating that amount of interest.  What I'm talking about is being suddenly thrust into the spotlight, without even lifting a finger. What would it feel like to be the recipient of that kind of exposure? Could something like that even be possible? Can the power of the blogosphere be harnessed and directed?

You can read his whole post about it here.

I’ve been a blitzer since almost the beginning, and I gotta say, this is a neat gig he’s got going.  Sometimes I feel like I’m Santa sneaking into someone’s house and leaving a little note for someone to find.  Or truthfully, on the average blitz day, like a tired-just-got-off-work-and-almost-forgot last minute arrival at a party that’s been going on all day.  Either way, I’ve gotten to meet some really interesting, deserving, special, struggling, overcoming, surviving, and completely surprised bloggers.

Can you imagine a blog post all of a sudden getting HUNDREDS of comments, out of the blue?  Wanna play?

The rules are simple.  DL picks the bloggers.  He sends out the link to the team a few days ahead of time, and sometimes the reason for the Blitz Victim.  Other times it’s a random number generator recipient.  We go read and comment on the post.  He’s even kind (and smart…) enough to send out a mid-day reminder on Blitz Day in case our calendars are malfunctioning or our day is.

The only way you can GET BLITZED is if you’re on the team out there also doing the work of surprising the bloggers.  He’s currently working on a goal of 500 participants.  At last peek, the list was at 392 participants.

I think a wonderful Valentine for DL would be a lot of people signing up TODAY.  It would be like HE’S getting blitzed.  Of course, for that I need your help.  I’ve never asked this before, but would you tweet about this?  Here’s the bare link:

http://dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com/2013/03/blog-blitz-wanna-join.html

Here’s a sample tweet for you to copy:

Join @DL_H Blog Blitz team: http://dlcruisingaltitude.blogspot.com/2013/03/blog-blitz-wanna-join.html

I’d love for him to hit his goal soon.  He’s currently on a blogging break to finish one of his novels, so it would be a great surprise.

Spread the love.  Join the team.  Spread even more love: invite others to join the team.  You just might be the next recipient of a whole load of bloggy love some unexpected day.

~Tina

P.S If you join, grab the badge and link it the same link I provided because it has the sign-up list.  THANKS.  Just like the A-Z Challenge, this is about community and supporting one another and holding each other up and encouraging one another...in other words, TWUE WUV!  Happy Valentine's Day.

Holiday Food Drive Blogfest: The OUR Center

Our town came together to help each other after the devastating floods, but long before that, we came together to create a place called the OUR Center. Those initials stand for OUTREACH UNITED RESOURCES Center.

Here are the words from their website explaining how they got started.

The OUR Center, founded in 1986, grew out of the Longmont Ministerial Association. Church leaders realized that those in need were turning to the churches for help that they were not always able to provide. The churches agreed that uniting community resources would give better help to those who needed it, and also give the churches a consistent place to refer folks. Out of this realization grew the OUTREACH UNITED RESOURCE CENTER, INC. or OUR Center.

The OUR Center is truly a community-based agency. While most of the churches in the St. Vrain Valley support the OUR Center, it is not affiliated with any one church, or any other agency. The OUR Center works closely with many other agencies in the community to assist those in need, especially those in emergency situations.

Some of the services they provide are a clothing bank, a food bank, a Center for Childhood Development, a day shelter, and daily hot meals. They are very efficient, with the collection center (for donations), the intake center (to help new clients), and where they provide the actual services all within a ½ mile.

My church participates in providing some of those hot meals, with our small groups (weekly Bible studies that meet in homes, with about 10-12 participants) taking turns serving lunch on Sundays. The group purchases, cooks, serves, and cleans up using the OUR Center facilities. Anyone is welcome at these lunches, and lots of blessings have happened for those providing the meals, not just those receiving them. 

It was easy to contribute to the clothing bank this year. With the rate at which my boys are growing, we always have coats, hats, and gloves that are ready for someone else to enjoy, so  I cleaned out our closets, and the hideously overflowing basket-o-winter gear (that would be the gloves, hats, scarves, neck-warmers, etc. and um, baseball mitts that no one has used since 2007, so yeah, a long overdue overhaul) and found a whole contractor bag of stuff that will keep others warm this winter. 

I much prefer to do "good deeds" in secret (as in not brag about them on a blog...) but the purpose of this blogfest is to encourage others to get involved. MJ Joachim and I are hoping that by reading what others have done, you might be encouraged to give of your time and extra stuff to someone in need. (Which does NOT mean you need to join this fest and tell everyone about it...we just want to encourage the spirit of giving.)

So if you feel like sharing, let us know what you're doing. It just may be the spark someone needs to get involved.  We are open until the close of blogging Wednesday, and the linky list is below.

~Tina

Tortillas on The Computer and Why Do I Blog?

I'm trying to sit down at my computer, at the kitchen table, to write my post and there's an open bag of tortillas sitting on top of it. Perfect example of why my house is a mess. The Transporter and SoccerBoy, who just spent the night, just finished making burritos for breakfast. There “was no counter space” because OYT was also making breakfast. That's his reason for putting them there. Um, what about the whole rest of the kitchen table? There was yesterday's mail he could have put it on top of. Or how about the newspaper The Engineer didn't finish reading and left scattered about. Or best of all, on top of the packaging for the car part that arrived FOR THE TRANSPORTER yesterday, and still is sitting ON THE KITCHEN TABLE. No, tortillas on the computer.

I can't win this clutter battle with no help. And I can't even complain about it on my blog until I get reluctant, sullen teenager out of his room to put them away. You'd think I'd asked him to paint the house so enormous was his complaining. Then he tried, “Why couldn't you just put them away? It's just a bag of freakin' tortillas?” My point exactly, but why couldn't YOU put them away. His argument proves my point. He's now sulking in his room because, “All you do is yell at me!” and I'm fuming at the computer because of all the clutter – and what I described is just a small portion, but a perfect example of what happens everywhere.

But that's not what I was going to talk about today...that was accidentally the “vent” portion of my tagline: wanna be writer seeks place to vent, practice, and share. I was going to talk about why I blog, because I read some great blogging rules over at Alex J. Cavanaugh's yesterday. It got me thinking about all the different sorts of blogs I've come across on the Post A-Z Road Trip this summer, and the different types of bloggers, and what motivates us all to go on this crazy ride and join this supportive community.

I blog to practice writing. That's why I'll put up a stupid, gory story when I have “writer's block” (which is a whole 'nother post – does it really exist) because my blog is what holds me accountable to myself (and my readers!) to KEEP WRITING even when it's not flowing, even when I have no good ideas, even when it's late in the day and probably not as many will read it. It's the JUST DO IT thing. Just write. Just throw it up there. Don't let life circumstances, how you're feeling, or what else you have to do stop you. JUST WRITE.

That's why I started my blog. What I didn't know was that I was joining a symbiotic, living, breathing, shifting, evolving community. I didn't know I'd make friends. I didn't know I'd find blogs that I HAVE to read, even if it means that when I get there, I read a whole week's worth of work in one shot. (You know who you are...smiles.) I didn't know about bloghops to meet new people, and I didn't know about challenging myself. I've learned so much.

On my facebook page, my occupation is listed as blogger. It's not that I'm getting paid, but THIS IS WHAT I DO. When I don't do it, I feel like I'm missing out on something good. That good being your post that will teach me something new, show me a great picture, share your artistic talent, make me think, make me argue, and make me smile. The other good would be the interaction through comments and emails that fly all around the world, just because I'm practicing my craft.

Why do you blog?

Tour of Tracy Arm Fjord: YOU Asked for More Pictures...

Tracy Arm Fjord was my favorite part of the cruise. Four hours of traveling a box canyon of startlingly tall and steep mountains, in water of Caribbean blue, while playing the name the ice-berg game. Haven't played it? It's like name the cloud.

Well, not quite. You've got 350 balconies whose conversations you can hear who are also participating. That might sound annoying, since sound carries well on water and certainly bounces off mountains that look so close you could reach out and touch them, but it wasn't annoying. It was one of those bonding things, and the guys on the balcony next to us let us borrow some of their binoculars, we lent them our corkscrew, it was all great. I'll let the pictures tell the story.  

Balconies to our stern.  

iPad guy - NO iPAD! (see last post for story) 

We have to make that narrow turn and not do a Titanic...

For scale.  that's a fairly good size fishing boat. 

Out of which these guys got into a motor boat...

We passed a LOT of icebergs.  I'd say this one was the size of a Kia.  

The icebergs that calve from the bottom of the glacier, the ones that have been scraping along the bottom, next to the ground for thousands of years, aren't as pretty...but wow, totally cool to learn about.  

So here's one of those streams I talked about in my former post, and you can also see that it isn't just big icebergs.  Some of those are dinner tray size.  

Our first glimpse of the glacier at the end of the fjord.  Somehow, I hadn't wrapped my brain around the fact that a fjord ends at the glacier which formed it...and we have to somehow turn this giant boat around...

So here we are at the end.  You can't see it from any of my pictures, but with the binoculars from next door, we could see a colony of seals living on the ice which floats a bit away from where the glacier calves.  It's a pretty flat sheet, and they lay around on top like little sausages (until you get binoculars) and were really amazing to get to see.

So how did we turn around?  We pivoted.  He kept us in place, the center of the boat not moving, and just spun the ends around.  Then we went back out the way we came, only we got to see all the cool stuff on the other side!

Wanna play the name the iceberg game?  I just have two for you since this is getting so long, but let me know what you see in these, and next time I post, I'll tell you the 350 balcony consensus.  Ok, there was no consensus.  As there cannot be.  Beauty of this magnitude is in the eyes of the blessed beholder.  

#1 

#2 a and #2b (foreground)

If you're still reading, bless you.  I know vacation pictures aren't popular, but two people asking was enough for me to want to share this amazing experience with you.