Day Four, 2012--How We Doin'?

I'm fighting allergies/a cold and feel a little bit like cold poo, but I managed to scrape together a post about a favorite new product.  Posts about new products you've tried or your favorite items are great for quick posts when you feel like cold poo.   Just a little tip for you.  I'm FULL of them.

How are you doing so far?  Are you keeping yourself hydrated?  Energized?  Visiting other blogs?  Learning more about yourself from blogging than you ever thought possible?

Can Emergen-C make you high?

Just wondering.

Have a good night, sweetumses!

Day Three, 2012---While You Are Out

The point (the official one) of NaBloWriMo is that you write a post every day of October.  This is all well and good and should be easy, especially if you are an on the ball kind of person like I am.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAA!

Sorry.

I couldn't help myself.

Anyway, this can be difficult, what with life interrupting your blogging and everything.  I'm facing one of these issues myself in a few days, when the family and I head off to Disneyworld.  While I'm cavorting with cartoon characters and sweating my way through the crowds, the wind will be whistling down the streets of my blog. *cue the tumbleweeds and crickets*

So what does a NaBloWriMo-er do during vacation times?  A few things spring to mind:

Carry a computer, iPad, or even a phone with camera options with you and share snapshots or thoughts on the road.  You don't have to get all philosophical or deep.  Just get a few words on the screen and go.

Write a few posts ahead of time and schedule them to post while you're gone.  Both Blogger and Wordpress have this feature, although I'm not sure about other blogging platforms.

Go back in time and repost a few of your favorite older posts.  These can be posts you think best exemplify YOU or your blog or your crazy life.

Let it go.  No, really.  You're on vacation.  Do not allow blogging to stress you out, because then it becomes a chore and a mountain you have to climb.  We won't hate you if you miss a few days.  

(Translate that last sentence to read:  Don't hate me if I miss a few days...)

Day Two--2012...What About Your Friends?

I've spent the whole day thinking about friends:  how much I love mine and how much I'd like to squeeze some of them although they are far away and I have never actually squeezed them in person.  How I've drifted away from some and reconnected with others.  How I wouldn't be the person I am without them.

I'm going to tell you a truth about NaBloWriMo:  you will make a new friend this month.  I'm telling you this because it's been the case for me every year and looking over your blogs, I can't imagine that it won't be true this year.

Please go and visit the other bloggers in the blog roll.  Even if their blogs don't look like your cup of tea, even if they write about something you find baffling, read them.  Make a friend.

I promise you it's going to be worth it.

Hope your second days have gone spiffily!

Day One, 2012--Hi, My Name is Heather

Good morning, lovies!

Just a few quick notes before we get things started today:

• I'm still making my list and checking it twice, but there should be a list of participating blogs up by this afternoon.  Yes, there is still time to add new blogs, and frankly, I've added new blogs up until the middle of the month before.  We're easy like Sunday morning around here.
• Blog buttons--There's a new one up on the Grab a Button Page.  I'll have a couple more finished by the end of the day.
• Prompts--The list is almost done, and I'll have it up by the end of the day.  For today, I'll be posting a "Who Am I" entry at I'm Not Hannah AND at the Heather Ray Photography blog.  (Yes.  I have one of those.  I am a woefully under-achieving business blogger.  Sigh.)  I suggest all of y'all do an introduction entry today.  A:  They're easy and B:  Lots of us don't know who you are.  (I mean that literally and spiritually.  We're all just bumbling around in this world.)  (Early morning makes me philosophical.)
• About that posting every day thing:  Last year, I failed at this.  I was new at the hospital job, I was stressed by Jeffrey's school year, and I had a spot of unpleasantness on the interwebs that left me feeling a little flat.  UNDERSTAND:  This isn't a competition.  This isn't a sprint to the end of October.  This is meant to be fun.  I will undoubtedly forget to post until midnight and I will TOTALLY go back and retro-date it.  I might forget to add a prompt or a blogger or a button.  You might get vomited on by a child or pet and not be up to posting that day.  Y'all.  A meteor could fall right on all of our heads and we aren't able to blog that day. It's okay.  October is a slow, chilly, spicy, slide into the holiday season for a lot of us.  Get a cup of tea or cocoa or mulled rum and a spice cookie or a scone or a tuna salad sandwich and enjoy yourself.  Okay?  Okay.

BLOG ON, MY FRIENDS.

Blog on.

EDTA:  Still getting lots of responses and that's awesome!  I'll be responding to emails ASAP and putting up prompts and the new roll.  Busy, busy, busy...

Tomorrow is October!

Happy Day Before October!

I'm working again today, but I will be uploading blog prompts, scheduling ideas, more buttons, et cetera later on today!  Huzzah.

Be sure to send me an email or message me on the NaBloWriMo FB page to get onboard.

Wait. It's 2012 Already?

Hey, lovies!  It's the Ides of September, and you know what that means:  time to think about NaBloWriMo again!

I'm ahead of the game so far in terms of buttons--there are already two new ones up on the button page.  I'll be gathering prompts in the next few days so that we'll have a nice fat list.

If you're interested in participating again, shoot me an email (nothannah@comsouth.net) with your name and your blog's name and url.  Deadline for sign up is, as always, October 1.

You can also beebop over to the Facebook page found here:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/NaBloWriMo/203905936342372 and let me know you're on board, but keep in mind that I'll need all of the above info PLUS your email address.  Feel free to FB PM me.  Whheee!

Spread the word, duckies!

Day 25

Hi, duckies.  Thanks for staying with us despite my slipping out for a few days of brain recuperation.  The prompt for today is:  Who is your favorite author?  Or What is your favorite book?  Or possibly:  Do you find yourself thinking like the characters in the last book you read talk?  Is that just me?  It's totally just me, isn't it?

One More Week! Sort of!

We only have one week to go in our blogging challenge! Sort of! One week and one day--that's a week, right?

What have you learned from this experience, if anything? What are your greatest challenges? What are your successes?

Day 17 -- Writing Prompt

Today's prompt is not sexy, but it works for me: Write and report on your favorite fall recipe. For example, last night I made peanut butter cookies and thought about grandma.

You can do better than I just did right there, can't you?

Day 16 -- Roll call!

So? Who's been blogging every day? I'll start:


Me! Meeee! I have!


And it's a freaking miracle. Although, I have been enjoying it. Since I'm trying to remain focused on small craft business, now everything I see turns into a business post. I throw in some personal stuff, too, because I suspect people like that, but mostly it's focused.


How about you? 


~Amy (originator of this nonsense)

Day 9--And Now I'm Back From Outer Space

Hi, turnips!  It's been a few days since I've touched base here, but I've been swamped like a swampy person since Day 5.  How're you doing?  How's the family?  Any problems?  Any triumphs?  Does anybody know why Derek Dooley wears those awful pants?

Today's prompt is:  Given that Autumn is busting out all over, which is your favorite season and why?  Alternately, which is your LEAST favorite season and, of course, why?


Hope everybody's writing away like little writing bugs.  Or ferrets.  Or whatever industrious animal would be a good writer.  Is that a bad metaphor?

Day 5---WAS There a Day 5?

I spent today busily happy (or happily busy) with Will and the kidlets, and that's why the prompt is going up right now, with one hour and twenty minutes left in the day.  Prompt:  What is your favorite way to spend time with your family?


Each year, I learn something from NaBloWriMo and what I've learned this year is that waiting til 10 o'clock at night is NOT what I should be doing in order to get a good post in at I'm Not Hannah.  So tomorrow, I'll be posting around six in the morning, which is my usual wake up time.

What have you learned so far?

Day 4--Now With Less Bitterness

Today's prompt:  What advice would you give your fifteen-year-old self?

Whew!  So, yesterday was a grump day for me, complete with grousing and grimacing and snarking.  I wasn't particularly angry, just grumpy and when it got to the end of the day and I hadn't posted my NaBloWriMo post for the day, I really just let it all hang out.  Insanely.  Honestly, it was like I was a crazy person.  

For the record:

• I do not feel stressed out by NaBloWriMo.  Having almost EIGHTY folks to hang out with is awesome and while, yes, I wish we had new buttons, I'm not wigging out over the fact that we don't.  I'll get to them.
• I'm not overdoing it.  My tendency is actually to UNDERdo it, so having NaBloWriMo as the frames of my day (prompt in the morning, post in the evening) actually spurs me to do stuff.  Wish I could make fiction writing my frame.  (This might be a light bulb moment.  I'll keep you posted.)
• You all, with your support and defenses and soothing words, are so cool.  
• The blog feed thing is making me nuts.  A, it lost Selma, which is absolutely not okay.  And B, it won't recognize my Mama, which makes me crazy.  I still don't have any reasons why.  I suggested to my Mama and now suggest to everybody else, to post links to your posts to the Facebook page if you're having problems with this.  

Okay.  Go have good days and stop worrying about me.  I've already cleaned the bathroom, which I was amused to discover is better than being awakened by a nine-year-old weirdo at four o'clock any day.  So I'm all good.

Day 3--Chugging Right Along

Prompt for Monday, October 3:  Many people have lucky socks or shirts or stones or pens.  Is there an object you own that you consider lucky?  If so, why?


List.  Because it's early, Jeffrey's been up since 4 (WHAT??) and my brain hurts.

1. Still haven't figured out the feed thing.  From various sites I've found, this is a fairly common thing on Blogger blog lists, but there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it, nor an easy fix.  Yay.  So just keep writing.  I know it must be frustrating to those of you who ARE writing not to see your post on the list, but I'll try to keep an eye on the guys at the bottom (anybody want to join me in that?) and visit and comment on your blogs.  Apparently, sometimes the "fix" is just to not to anything.  Technology.
2. I know, I know, believe me I know that y'all are craving some updated buttons.  I, too, would enjoy getting rid of the old buttons and am in the process of designing three that I think are Teh Cool.  (Spooky, Steam-Punky, and Elegant) Unfortunately, I also have to do things like take care of my sick babies, repair the damage my dog keeps doing to my garden, go to work, eat, clean my house, and sleep.  Today I go to work and hopefully there won't be twenty babies waiting on me to be photographed so that I can get home and do the buttons, but if there ARE twenty babies, that puts me home late and then there's still taekwando lessons to be shuttling the Bug to and supper to cook and all of the other Mama-related stuff that has to get tackled.  So. Yes to the new buttons, but patience is required.  If anybody else designs buttons and would like to do so, feel free to do so and share them with us.  That would be Teh Cool, as well.
3. I'm usually not so grumpy, but FOUR O'CLOCK.  WITH LOUDNESS.  AND CHANTING.  AND DEMANDS TO PLAY THE DS.  
4. Ahem
5. The deadline for late entries will be the 6th, which is Thursday.  (This is also my personal deadline for buttons, a prompt list, and a list of prizes and their dates.)  I am LOVING all of the late entries, loving the diversity, loving it all, but after that date, no new blogs will be added.  Unless chocolate is involved.  Then...I might be influenced.
6. Am I too grumpy this morning?  
7. I'm sorry.  Just call me Grumples McButthead.  I'll try to be more perky after I've had seven or eight mugs of chai.
8. I really do love you.  Promise.

Weird Update Thingamabob

So chickadeedles, I've come to realize that some folks are updating, but it's not showing up on the feed.  I don't know if this is an issue with just Blogger blogs.  If so, I suspect it has something to do with Firefox, because I keep getting messages when I log onto Blogger in Firefox that Firefox and Blogger have broken up and they aren't speaking and anything that they used to have in common is now so much ashes and dust.

What?

I don't know.  Try doing your stuff in Chrome.  If anybody else is having problems, let me know and I will. ..I don't know.  Kick somebody's arse or something.

Today's prompt comes from Julianna and goes "If you could live the life of any heroine or hero from one of your favorite books, which one would it be?"  I'm doing a spin on it, but I'll be writing something like that in a few minutes (or hours...whichever.)  I want to make sure that y'all know you don't HAVE to use the prompt, nor do you have to use it on the day I post it.  In fact, you can post today's prompt on the 17th.  There are few rules around here, my friends.

River's fever took a sharp left turn toward barfing and the chills last night, so I didn't get all of the prompts or the buttons up.  All apologies, my loves.  Got a few more entries last night (and this morning), as well, so I'll be adding those in a few moments. If you added last night or early this morning, you probably aren't on the list, but if you added yesterday, you SHOULD be (even if my Excel suddenly and inexplicably developed a problem somehow related to Frontpage and exploded...sigh.)  If you don't see yourself up there, let me know!

You'll note that I linked to Julianna's blog, "In the Playpen," above in the prompt.  I encourage you to visit as many of the blogs on the list as you can.  Not every blog will interest you, but even a friendly "hi" can make a fledgling (or experienced) feel good.

Happy writing!

Happy October!!!

Aaaaaand....we're off!

While I'm still busy cataloging entries and prizes and prompts and trying to get a button made, I wanted to go ahead and say, "Good luck!"  And "You rock!"  And "Yes, we're all crazy!" and "Wheee!"

The blog prompt for today is "Why do you blog?"  You don't HAVE to write about this.  Most of your readers already know.  BUT--you're probably new to a lot of us, so that's what we're going for today.  I'll have a full list later on in the day.

I wish you all happy, stress-free writing and I hope you have a great time.  Thanks so much for joining us!  I look forward to getting to know all of you a little better.

BTW, if you didn't send me an email with your name and info, it's possible that you aren't on the list yet.  So if you just signed up on the Facebook page or on a comment and don't see your name on the 2011 list, shoot me an email so I can make sure we're all accounted for?

Okay?

Okay.

Yay!

UPDATE 1:  I've started to add the bloggers.  If you don't see your blog up by the end of the day, please email me.  No doubt Excel ate the part of my brain where your entry was lodged.

UPDATE 2:  Back at adding bloggers after the soccer game during which I yelled at River for not showing any hustle only to get her back home and find she has a fever.  AWESOME MOM OF THE YEAR AWARD!!!  Anyway, we've got some more entries, so it's going slow.  Not that I'm complaining.  This is excccceeeellllent.

UPDATE 3:  So the kidlet's fever kept going up, so I took her to the after hours clinic and now she's curled up all hot and uggy on my lap while I type around her.  I WILL get you all on here (you, too, WT...and you can sing if you want), but it's gonna take a bit.  Buttons will come, too.  Promise.

Sooooo Close

Hi, muffins!  There are only two days left until the blogging extravaganza begins.  I'd like to grab a few more bloggers, so if you're up for it, spread the word.

1. I'll be updating here all day long, I think, but I wanted to let you know that we now have a Facebook page up and running for those so inclined.  You can find it by...uh...pressing the button over there on the side, or by following this link:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/NaBloWriMo/203905936342372  Go like it and then we'll chat and tell each other what we're doing in the carpool line.  Or share funny Jon Stewart clips.
2. Every year, I get emails from folks on the 30th worried that it's too late.  Or the 1st.  Or the 12th.  My response is always the same.  "No.  No, it is not.  Join us!  Huzzah!"

An Example of a "No Time for Blogging" Post

Hi, my sweets.  No time for a long post today, just wanted to tell you that I've got all of your entries for NaBloWriMo and I'll be sending out email notifications and/or huzzahs later in the evening.  I'm sorry I don't have buttons yet, but I'll get those out as well.  Note to self for next year:  plan ahead so if awesome stuff falls in your lap, you don't let NaBloWriMo get shoved aside.  Anyway, I'm super, super, super excited about it and can't wait to get started.  Please keep spreading the word, y'all.  You rock.

You know that, don't you?

Happy Harvest Moon!

I'm not sure what that has to do with NaBloWriMo, frankly, but it IS the Harvest Moon, so hum a few bars of Neil Young and write me an email to sign up for the October blog-writing festapalooza.  So far, we have ELEVEN writers!  Woohoo!

 A few quick notes:  most of the folks signing up thus far are not down with the categories.  I'll give it a few more days, but far be it from me to pigeonhole y'all if you don't want to pigeonholed.  (Have you ever wondered about the etymological background of that word?  Like...were people actually stuffing pigeons into holes?  That seems a bit extreme.)  Anyway, I'm thinking the categories are going to be nixed.

I'm considering setting up a Facebook page.  What do you think?  Too much?  It might be a good way for us to keep up with each other during the off-season.

We've had several folks offer up crafty goodness, e-books (Yay, Ms. Amy!!), and header designs for giveaway prizes.  Most excellent!

I know, I know, I don't have the buttons ready yet, but I'll have them up by tomorrow, I promise.

Only a couple more weeks, y'all.  Yay!

Hey, y'all.  It's sixty-eight degrees outside right now, which makes me want to rip off all my close and go skipping down the street.

But this post isn't about a potentially middle-aged lady limping around frightening the neighbors (although maybe THAT would get their attention).  Nope, this is a heads up, my loves, because National Blog-Writing Month  is right around the corner.

What's this NaBloWriMo, you say?  (Except for those of you who have been hanging around the NaBloWriMo water cooler with me for a few years now...y'all go ahead and file your fingernails or organize your CDs or bake a lime chiffon pie for a second.)  Well, a few years ago, the incomparable Miz Amy decided that NaNoWriMo shouldn't have all the fun and she started this here festival of bloggy goodness.  The idea is simple:  every day, for a month, you write a blog post.  Any blog post.  You can blog about anything you want: your hubs, your kids, that weird lady who smells the bananas in Hell-Mart...really, the possibilities are endless.  The only catch is that, for the entire month of October, you write an entry every single day.

Is this challenging?  Why, yes.  Yes, it is.  A couple of times last year, my entries were pretty much:  "I'm tired.  The kids are driving me crazy.  I can't find my tea mug."  It was inspiring, I tell you.  And, in fact, there have been years when I DIDN'T write every day.  The whole point of NaBloWriMo is to increase your posting, but we don't exactly come out with sticks and beat you with them if you miss a day or two.

Now, I say the whole point of NaBloWriMo is to increase posting, and that's true enough.  But can I tell you a secret?  The BEST part of it, for me, is meeting new folks and catching up with old friends.  I don't visit blogs like I used to, but I try to make a point, in October, to visit all of the blogs I can every day.  In fact, one thing I realized while I was writing this is that, somehow, NaBloWriMo has come to mean Autumn to me and has settled itself in snuggly as a part of Visiting Season.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!

Ahem.

I've been chatting with a few of y'all about changing things up a little for this year.  Here's what I've got so far:

• We'll be offering the option to categorize yourself this year.  I'll be coming up with the categories based on who signs up.  You WON'T be forced to enter a category.  If you don't want to be pigeon-holed, we are all about you following your bliss, man.  
• We'll be putting up a prompt every day.  This was a sporadic feature last year, but THIS year, I'm gonna look to you guys for some suggestions.  So start sending them in, yo!
• We're considering doing some prizes this year.  Of course, the prizes will come from...uh...US, so if you're craftily inclined or you have some great talent or product you'd like to share with us, let me know.  For example, I might offer up a header redesign with matching background for your blog.  Or I'll edit some of your snapshots.  Or crochet you a groovy scarf.  The prizes might be random and they might be specifically for things like:  funniest post, most thought-provoking post, et cetera.  

Okay, so are you ready?  Are you set?  Here's what you do:

Shoot me an email at nothannah@comsouth.net with the subject line NaBloWriMo Entry.  In the body of your email, tell me your name, the name of your blog, and the category you feel best describes your blog.  (If you so choose, man.)  If the spirit moves you, include a prompt or two.  If you feel like you might be able to contribute a prize, let me know.  (BTW, vendors who contribute will be able to put up a button on the NaBloWriMo site.)  The deadline for entries is Friday, September 30th.  

In a couple of days, I'll have some buttons you can use on your blog to announce your participation and hopefully spread the news.  We grew by leaps and bounds last year, and I'm hoping to break a hundred participants this year.  Well, not break them.

I've already told y'all, this is a violence-free event.  

I mean, we'd like to have a hundred participants.  

You knew that, didn't you?

Yay!  

Day the Last: Thought on Writing a Blog Post Every Day

Well, I did it.  We did it.  Woohooo!!!! All rigght!!!!! Break it down!!!!! 

*Pause for celebratory butt-shaking.*

Now, let's get down to brass tacks.  In list form, because it's what I do best, people.

1. Many, many of us wrote every day, which is awesome.  (No, I didn't count because I was busy making Halloween costumes yesterday and today my dining room is covered up in chopped up khaki pants and green gauze and checking on the posting stats of 70-plus blogs seems crazyface.)  Many, many of us wrote ALMOST every day or at least three times a week, and that's awesome, too. Not quite as awesome as the posting every day thing, but you catch my drift.  In case you DIDN'T catch my drift, here it is:  writing every day when you also have life going on can be hard.  But when writing every day becomes PART of your life, then it isn't quite as hard and makes you realize that if you put in even a tiny bit of effort, you can write more.  I hope that regardless of how much you wrote (or didn't write), you learned something about yourself as a writer.
2. Having said that, I must be honest and admit that there were a few days when I wrote complete garbage.  I can safely say that there were eight entries that had no value at all, or so little value that it's pretty hard for me to understand why I even wrote them at all.  At the same time, those entries are in some ways even MORE valuable to me, because they signal that I was committed to doing this thing and I did it, no matter how time-constrained or tired or worried I was.  See, I'm a planner.  I have a million plans and very few of them come to fruition because I fail to work at them, even a little bit.  So even the tiny bit of effort it took to write a post like this signals something more:  commitment to a project.  I NEED that affirmation, so I'm totally going to claim it.
3. Because of the bigger scope of NaBloWriMo this year, I did a craptastic job of reading your posts.  Or writing my other blog.  Or writing THIS blog, because I was too busy writing my own and reading as many of yours as I could.  I definitely think that next year, we'll try to have a different system set up (if Amy's okay with it) that will involve some categorization of some kind that will make it easier to be readers of blogs.  Not sure what to do about the other blog or any other projects that come along, although I think that my November resolution of staying off of FB so much and working on WRITING instead will help with this.
4. BTW, good luck to all of you who are attempting NaNoWriMo this year.  May your 50,000 words come easy and be good.
5. About posting every day (wheeeee!  Welcome to my Stream of Consciousness!):  I think that I'll keep trying to do this on INH, but instead of writing crap, I'll post pictures.  Believe me when I say that I have so many pictures on my computer that it's pretty ridiculous for me NOT to post them.  And I think that posting pictures not only brings your readers "in," it also allows for some great creativity.
6. I'm wondering if any of you would like to have a monthly (or weekly) NaBloWriMo "reunion."  Maybe every Wednesday or the tenth of every  month, we can write a post specifically dedicated to blogging or writing.  (This would be cheating for me, as I already try to write about writing every Wednesday.)  Let me know what you think, mkay?

That's all, folks.  I'm editing Halloween pictures right now for my I'm Not Hannah post for today and will spend the rest of the day digging out my dining room, shopping, and baking for the month ahead.  I'll miss seeing some of you and look forward to reading more of some of you. 

Thanks for this month.  It has been a beautiful learning experience.

2010 Day 14: I Wrote An Entire Post About Cheese

There's really nothing to say other than that, is there?

Cheese, people.

Cheese.

2010 Day 13: Whoa--Five Days?

Sorry it's been so long since an update here--I find that between I'm Not Hannah, Divining Women, and other writerly projects, this one (which actually takes so little time) gets the brunt of the inattention.

Just wanted to give you all a big thumbs up--you're doing great.  I'm enjoying getting to know some of you and getting to know some of you better.  (Here's a weird thing--I find I'm commenting much less on my NaBloWriMo friends' blogs.  I guess it's because I've known them longer and know that they probably are doing the same thing.  Y'all know I luff you, right?  Right.)  So many folks writing so many words...it actually is inspiring tonight's I'm Not Hannah post.

Writing prompt for today:  Describe your ideal writing setting.  Now--tell us if that's where you do your writing.  In other words, does your current office/nook/den/whathaveyou meet the needs you have as a writer?

2010 Day 8: Gearing Up For the Weekend

Whew.  Weekends are hard, aren't they?  So much to do, so much time needed to be spent spending the time with people you didn't spend enough time with during the week. 

And the laundry.  The awful, awful laundry.

Tomorrow, I'll be spending time at the huge fair that comes to our town for two weeks every year.  It is the only time of year that I wholeheartedly love this town, because I love the fair so much that I would marry it if it wasn't, you know, illegal.  And if I had room in my house for all the llamas and cows and...um...ferris wheels. 

I don't know what I'll post tomorrow.  Pictures of the kidlets from fairs past?  Maybe just pictures from the fair, in general.  Saturdays seem like good days to post pictures:  you take pics of the day, you download them when all is said and done, you slap them down on your blog page, and you're done.

Hope you all have lovely--and bloggable--weekends.

2010 Day 7: Woohoo! One Week!

Check us out!  Many of us have written every day on our "main" blogs, most of us have managed at least five days, and almost everybody has written at least once. 

There are always a few folks who sign up and then feel overwhelmed and can't seem to get up on the horse.  It happened to me at least once.  If you're one of the former, yay!  If you're in the middle, yay!  If you haven't written as much as you planned...well, not yay, because you probably (if you're like me) feel down on yourself (or defensive or frazzled or some other negative emotion.)  If you ever DO feel that way, remember that this isn't really a contest--it's a challenge.  NaBloWriMo is a way of testing yourself, determining how much you CAN write on any given topic if you put your mind to it.  So maybe you've found out that writing every day is too difficult for you.  That's okay, right?  We'd still like to keep up with you or get to know you, so even if you haven't been as verbose as you had planned, you can always start today.

BTW, tomorrow will be the last day I add writers.  I'm thrilled with our turnout--SEVENTY-FOUR at last count--but without a new system, it's hard to process so many.  I got some great suggestions about this conundrum, from "leave the system be" to "oh, yeah, catalog this mess." I think that next year, I'll have an actual (short...very short) form for bloggers to fill out, with some basic categories they can choose to drop themselves into.  The reasons for this are pretty simple:  as somebody pointed out, seventy-four bloggers writing every day (or almost every day) is an overwhelming reading task.  I know there are some of you, particularly those in different time zones, that I haven't gotten to, simply because when I steal a moment to read, you're so far down the list that I give up.  (Perhaps I should start in the middle...:D)  So the topic suggestion for today is one I found in comments:  on Saturday or Sunday, how about a list of the blogs you've read this week that are interesting to you?

In any case, y'all are doing great.  I hope you're enjoying writing and reading as much as I am. 

2010 Day 5: Quick Post Before I Get My Nerd On

My indie movie nerd on, because FINALLY I get to watch 500 Days of Summer.  Woohoo!

How about a post in which you discuss who would play you in a movie?

Glad to see you all...let me know if I've missed adding you--Blogger was weird to me today.

2010 Day 4: A Question For Bloggers

Today, we made it up to SIXTY-FIVE bloggers.  Yes, I'm still adding bloggers if they want to join (and correcting mistakes...sorry, Danette. :(  ) The more the merrier, right?

I was wondering, because I have some sort of awful organizational disorder, if next year, we might want to ask folks to categorize themselves.  NOT because we should pigeonhole folks, but because it might make it easier for folks to find folks who write like them.  OR who DON'T write like them.  OR who write about things that are interesting to them.

Of course, I don't know exactly how I'd categorize myself.  Mommy blogger?  Occasional writing blogger?  Blogger of Aspie issues?  Bemoaner of all things Glenn Beckian-type blogger?  I don't know...it's just an idea.  Let me know what you think.

I've seen a few of you writing introduction-type posts and I LOVE this idea.  I also like the idea of posting the picture that says the most about you.  For me, it'd probably be something like this one:

This is a picture of my father's mother, Evelyn.  We call the land by the river that is so important to us "Evelyn's Eden" in her honor.  I see myself in the way she's sitting and in the curve of her arms and wrists.  But even more, I see my little girl in her face, in that delicate hawk nose and those arching eyebrows.

Anyway, something like that...

Edited to add:  I want to thank y'all for taking the time to comment on each others' posts.  I've noticed your comments and I love the dialogues that are opening up.  Let's all hold hands and sing something soothing in a round.  (Sorry...got a little too shmooshy there.  Sarcasm is my shield.)  Night night.  

2010 Day 3--Give Your Readers A Preview

Hey, y'all!  It's been a crazy end to a crazy week, with Sunday winding up to be just as insane, with a trip to the bookstore AND a case of suspected pinkeye AND boiled peanuts.  (Five pounds, in case you were wondering.)  (The peanuts, not the pink eye.)  (Do you think I'd tell you something that gross?)

My post at I'm Not Hannah is a poem post, but I think Sundays are great days to share your plans for the week ahead.  People love to know what you are aiming to do for next week--and they love to share that info with you. 

I've noticed a lot of you are managing to keep up the pace so far--and nearly everybody has posted at least once.  We are super cool, are we not?  Remember to visit and comment and share the love.

Have great weeks.

2010 Day 2: A Request and Some Suggestions

Holy social media, Batman, we have got ourselves a TON of writers this year.  I'm dizzy from it--aren't you?  We're pretty much a movement, people.

I didn't post a blog prompt today, which is super not-awesome of me, I know.   Busy, busy, busy, yada, yada, yada.  I'll start posting the prompts tomorrow, I promise.  In the meantime, check out Rad's suggestions for being a consistent writer, which are super-awesome:  http://kowthas.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/10-secrets/

In past years, I've tried to read every blog every day, but I doubt I can do it this year.  You guys are doing GREAT so far, and with so many of you posting, it's hard for me to catch everybody.  Do me a favor, would you, and try to swing by folks' blogs and leave a comment if you are so moved.  I know I've said it before, but it really does mean a lot, doesn't it?  Yeah.

Have good nights and I'll see you tomorrow!

Wheeeee!

I've spent the entire day with a busload full of gifted eight-year-olds, having gotten up at four in the morning to do so.  To say that I'm a little...out of it is an understatement.

BUT I was thrilled to see all of the messages and comments and rest assured, if you signed up today and commented or emailed me, I will get you on the official list and have you added as soon as I can.  (Which might mean tomorrow, as I am not entirely sure that I'm not dreaming the writing of this...)

PLUS--if you're coming late to this and want to sign up, please feel free to take the plunge, even if it's a bit late.  Just email me at nothannah at comsouth dot net and let me know which blog you're going to be working on this month.   We'd love to have you.

Thank you all.  Have fun writing and reading!!

12 Hours...

until October, which means twelve hours til NaBloWriMo!  Woohoo!  Break it down!  (Pause for a celebratory dance around the office while I trip over River, who is crouching on the floor sneaking the crumbs out of her bag of Cheetos.)

BTW, YES--you can still sign up.  I mean, it isn't October yet is it?  Wait.  Is it?  Have I missed a day already?  (I kid.)

The irony here is that tomorrow, on the first day of NaBloWriMo, a day which I should devote to writing a blog so fine that it glitters in the sun like RobPat AND reading your glittery blogs, I'll be on a bus with a bunch of UberSmart Children heading toward Dahlonega.  Which means that I'll be writing my inaugural post tonight after I've finished my chores.

Which leads me to a few things:

•  I've added a page up above (in the tabs above the posts...do you see them) with some tips and pointers and whatnot.  If you have a tip to add, please share it with us and I'll add it.  I do plan on posting a prompt every day.
• Don't beat yourself up if you can't post every day.  Are you a human being?  Okay, so stuff happens and sometimes you can't make all your goals.  DON'T let one missed day ruin the whole thing for you so that you sink into a Pit of Despair and refuse to write any more posts for the rest of the month because you RUINED it.  Just write a post the next day, okay?
• All that said, Blogger has a function by which you can write a post and schedule it to be posted later.  That's what I'll do tonight, in fact.  If you have problems figuring out how to do this, email me and I'll help you out.  I'm not sure if the other blogging hosts have these options, but it's definitely worth exploring.
• Please take the time to read your fellow bloggers' work.  I wasn't lying when I said I've met some amaaaazing people through this.  Just pick a few to read here and there and leave a comment if you feel so moved.  We all love comments, right?
• Drink lots of water.  Hydration is important to brain function.
• Leave your chair occasionally.  I mean, seriously.  Nobody wants blood clots due to blogging.
• Floss.  
• I'm not sure why flossing is important in blogging, but there must be a connection somewhere.

Looking forward to writing and reading with you in the next few weeks.  We rock.

A Blog Post Idea

Hello, duckies!  (It's raining here, so it just seems appropriate, ya know?)  Today over at I'm Not Hannah, I posted one of my favorite poems ("Sestina" by Elizabeth Bishop) plus a few quick paragraphs about it.  This is always one of my go-to "I can't think of a post" post-generators.  It isn't always a poem, of course.  I could write about a favorite book, television show, celebrity...the list goes on.  The great thing about this kind of post is that it draws your readers in...it teaches them something about you and offers a way for them to connect with you. Yay, connection!

I've been thrilled with the responses we've gotten so for for NaBloWriMo.  Once again, it appears we've got a great mix of bloggers.  I'm looking forward to writing with you in--gulp--six days.  If you haven't already, please grab a button (and let me know if you need a different color, mkay?) and use it on your blog.  Spread the word!  Huzzah!  UPDATED TO ADD:  It seems a few folks aren't on the list who thought they were.  Please check the sidebar and if your blog isn't showing up, let me know.  Just putting the button on your own blog doesn't register you--I have to add you via a comment or an email to nothannah @ comsouth.net.  *Note to self:  make registering easier next year...Thanks, y'all.

(It's possible I've had too much chai this morning...)

A Very Exciting Update

I'm so excited that so many folks from last year have signed on...and tickled pink at the newbies who are joining us. 

Some folks are expressing hesitation or anxiety or downright coldsweatFEAR about not being able to post every day, to which I want to say...it's okay, pumpkins.  No pressure here.  Plus, I'm thinking of adding a page of prompts or ideas for those days when you sit down at the computer and say, "Meh." 

Because, you know, "Meh" isn't very exciting.  I mean, it would be a blog post--TECHNICALLY--but it probably wouldn't set anybody's world on fire.

Not that you HAVE to set the world on fire with every blog post. 

As I have clearly just demonstrated.  Yay, me.

A Little Inspiration

My music collection is very diverse:  I love everything from Patsy Cline to Jane's Addiction to the Allman Brothers to Outkast to George Winston.  My blog list is the same:  I read Mommy Blogs and Travel Blogs and Political Blogs and Pagan Blogs and Crafty Blogs and pretty much every variation in between.  Thus, it shouldn't really surprise folks that one of my favorites is The Pioneer Woman.  If you're a blogger, you probably have heard of Ree Drummond and the insane success of her blog.  But there's a reason why she's successful.  Or rather, several reasons.  She laid them out for us the other day in this helpful post, but my favorite tip was the first one:

"1. Be yourself.

Write in your own voice.
Write as if you’re talking to your sister.
Unless you don’t get along with your sister.
Or don’t have a sister."

You see what she did there?  She showed us what she was talking about.  Developing your own voice is tough as a blogger, but here's an idea:  why don't you use October as a time to work on doing just that?

Tap! Tap! Is This Thing On?

Hey, folks!  NotHannah here.  In just a few weeks, it will be October...and you know what that means!  (Gorging oneself on Halloween candy before Halloween?  Taking the kids on multiple trips to the fair and cursing the inventor of caramel apples?  Yelling at Hell-Mart employees when the Christmas decorations start going up before the first frost?)

THAT'S RIGHT!  NaBloWriMo!

The skinny for those of you who haven't joined us before:  you sign up and you pledge to write a blog post a day for the month of October.  That's it.  There's no word limit or expectation, so...technically...one supposes you could write "This is my blog post for October 13th" on October 13th and we would all cheer roundly.  Yay!

If you're interested, shoot me a quick email at nothannah at comsouth dot net (squish it all together and add appropriate symbols.)  I'll add you to our list and away we'll go.

I've been doing NaBloWriMo for three years now and have met many wonderful folks while doing so.  I was so PLEASED when the incredibly busy and wonderfully awesome Amy agreed to let me continue the process while she worked her fingers to the bone.  In the upcoming weeks, I'll be working on buttons for you to add to your blogs and a new layout for this one.

I look forward to reading your stuff in October!

Yay!  (Couldn't help myself.)

Ebook Survey!

Have you ever purchased an ebook? I hope it was a good experience, as that's all I publish. Out of curiosity, I created a survey about your ebook experiences. Care to tell me all about it?

Thanks!

Interviewed!

Have a look here to read my interview with Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale. I feel so special!

New Project

Image by Jigg's Images. Used with Creative Commons permission.

Hello Nablowrimo bloggers. I am posting with a request.

Can you help me get the word out about my new publishing project? You can find it here:

Craft e-Revolution

I am looking for people who write craft tutorials of all kinds. Bloggers who regularly do this are encouraged to contact me. Even if you did just a little "Call for Submissions" post on your blog, with a link to the site, that would be great. I am so grateful for any help you can give.

Also, if any of you (HINT HINT) want to contact me regarding writing a book, please do so. I know several of you have kick-ass blogs wherein you do tutorials (food counts!).

Thanks for your help getting the word out!

Holiday Check-In

Are any of you still following this blog? It's okay if you are. I'm not going to post too much here, but I thought you would want to know about this post on my groovygrrl blog. Enjoy.

Fanfare!

Finished! With today's post, we are finished with NaBloWriMo for another year. Please add a comment to this post, telling what you enjoyed or learned. Or hated, as the case may be.

Thanks for playing along! See you next year!

Three Days Left!

Amazing.

What always amazes me about this project is how effing fast it goes. October always flies by. Is it because it's my busy time of year? Or because I'm making myself busier? Or am I turning into an old coot?

Or is it D) all of the above?

Three more days! You can do it!

Saturday Update

In Martha's World: ginger snaps. Yummah!

writtenwyrdd has the most interesting disclaimer I've ever read. Who doesn't know that reviewers get books for free?

Boop's Babbles is Baking for a Baby.

use real butter shows us the awesome Diwali feast, featuring Kitt and Manisha, as well. Whee!

Author Interview: Me!

I was interviewed!!! Just wanted to share with all of you. I feel so very busy and important. :)

Amy Skips Blogging: Film at Eleven

I blew it.

I, the leader of NaBloWriMo, didn't blog yesterday.

How can you look me in the eye? My respect in the NaBlog community is surely gone.

*sniff*

Updates for October 21

Just wanted to let you know that I work on these updates throughout the day, so if I accidentally miss your update, please leave a comment so we can read you!

Without further ado:

Karen shows us what 35 weeks looks like at the big cozy

Helen isn't quite wordless on The Adamis

Amy shares a link to Gifts for Yule that makes me wish I lived in Denver at groovygrrl's weblog

D. Lynn shamelessly borrows a great plot mapper idea for screenplays or novels at Writtenwyrdd

Tammie camera-dumps and shares a few more thoughts about pumpkin patches (heh) at Irregular Tammie

Rayna muses on the Festival of Earthen Lamps at Coffee Rings Everywhere

Missolea gives us the rundown on Flash Forward at Her Affectionate Heart

high over happy posts pictures of cairns she's spotted while hiking

JEM gets all giddy over crafting Solstice gifts at Jessie Earth Momma

Jen reports on a health scare for her beloved Kaweah (all is well now...yay!) at use real butter

Updates for October 20

Howdy, y'all! (Ooh, an update with a Southern flair. Like Flickr, but with fewer photos...) Updates so far today:

Dancing and musica aplenty over at R-o-h-i-n-i-f-i-e-d

Manisha questions our food-buying habits on Indian Food Rocks

Betts goes to great lengths to make her post today at Damn Yankee

Bird and Little Bird shares a picture of the very secure Mr. Fox

Lisa tells a funny bathroom story at Lisa in California

Charlotte posts some beautiful family portraits at N.E.O. Moms

Pamela shows off the bulletin board she and her family made at From Barbie to Words

Somebody's looking for Halloween costume inspiration over at confessions of an addict

Cruella Collette goes nutty for squirrels (get it??) at The Giraffability of Digressions. And llamas. Whew.

Meera gives us a recipe for kidney beans curry at Enjoy Indian Food

Romey proves a pigeon can be an effective special teams member at Romey's Ramblings

Karen shares pictures of her little elf at the big cozy (and provides a link to the pattern and yarn with which she gnomified him!)

Helen feels out of the loop at the The Adamis (and sustained a couple of nasty burns while feeling this way)

Tammie wonders what is UP with church pumpkin patches at Irregular Tammie

Hart muses on unpleasant blog comments and standardized testing at Confessions of a Watery Tart (and gives a shout out to another NaBloWriMo blogger! Woohoo!)

D. Lynn links up to a friend's blog (featuring lovely dogs) at Writtenwyrdd

tunneling thru gives us a list of the books she's read on the 100 Books I've Read dealio spreading throughout the universe

Helen relays some important info about the power of the internet when it comes to book publishing at Straight From Hel

Aleta writes about how much fun she had attending her husband's high school reunion at Fleur de Aleta

Aaron muses on the transmogrification of nonfiction discourse into fiction. Or perhaps just bloodthirsty Democratic lizard women. You decide over at a stroke of deLay.

Christine showcases some adorably grotesque Halloween miniatures at CANDID CANINE

high over happy shares a recipe for cashew cookies that made my mouth water--and reveals an unknown truth about cashews.

Rayna offers a fun Halloween drabble at Coffee Rings Everywhere

Drowning, but okay

We are more than halfway there! Just under two weeks to go, and we've done it. I've created a habit, I believe, but it is difficult for me to do updates. So today, let's do it differently.

Leave a comment, and we promise to visit the blog post you mention.

Update for October 16

Good morning, folks! Check out the good reading materials below:

Tunneling Thru offers a glimpse of the first Diwali celebrated at the White House

Helen discusses the effect of online writing on the publishing industry at Straight from Hel

Aleta gives some important advice about credit cards at Fleur de Aleta

Aaron shares part three of his Western anthology at a stroke of deLay

Rayna muses on a Diwali tradition (and traditions in general) at Coffee Rings Everywhere

Christine posts a picture of a lovely miniature witch she dressed at Candid Canine

D. Lynn links up to an article about editing to improve writing at Writtenwyrdd

Martha praises future heirlooms In Martha's World

There ya go! Some of these are from Thursday, so if you're like me, you need to get cracking and write Friday's post.

Take the time to visit these guys while you're at it.

Saturday Update: We Rule

Conch-to-Be discusses her athiest views in a series of posts about religion and science. Some of these posts still have no comments, which I find surprising. You must have some reaction to what she's saying--it's rather forthright.

Confessions of an Addict seems to have fallen by the wayside. Time to play: Taunt the Addict! Go post a comment, urging her to get back on the bandwagon.

Wintersinger's post on fetishes is particularly interesting. This link IS safe for work. ;)

Hungry? Check out high over happy's post: Broiled Prawn with Miso. Yum! Are those your photographs, high over happy? They are incredible.

Tunneling thru shares thoughts on marriage, as viewed through the lens of romantic pillow talk. Video included! (no, not that kind of video!) Also, anyone know Hindi for the translation?

And I? I have kept up this week. Hooray! I am getting into a groove. My post last night seems weird, but whatever. Not every post can be perfect, right?

Posting Every Day

Roll call! Who has been posting every day? I've noticed a couple of folks missed a day. Guess what?

You're still in!

This challenge is just that--a challenge. We do our level best to create a daily writing habit. But life happens, and I understand that there are other things in the world that take priority over a blog.

As in life, no matter how far we go down the wrong road, we can always turn back.

Turn back! Turn back to blogging!

I'm a little dramatic.

New Game: Taunt the Insurance Nerd

Dave the Insurance Nerd has not posted AT ALL in October. Please go to his blog, and post a comment to his latest post, telling him to get crackin'! He needs to use that blog.

Pear Tart

Laura at Red Eft Studio is the devil. The devil I say! Go see, and try not to pass out from drooling.

More Updates for October 4

More updates, folks!

Helen posts the schedule for the Texas Book Festival at Straight From Hel (wish I could go)

Aleta tips her hat to firemen at Fleur de Aleta

D Lynn Frazier gets rid of her brain fog at Writtenwyrdd

Rispa battles with love at Rispa Frances

Tammie tempts with apricot tarts (okay, they're bars, but I was being all alliterative) at Irregular Tammie

Danette gives her thoughts on a holiday at There's a Place I Dream About

There are still more updates to do, but the kiddies are calling!

Updates for Sunday, October 4

Hi there! This is an incomplete list (everybody is writing up a storm), but check out these blogs:


Cruella Collette measures a popular movie against the book that inspired it over at The Giraffability of Digressions

Pamela spotlights a beautiful waterfall at From Barbie to Words

Annie offers an adorable fox stuffie pattern at Bird and Little Bird

Helen says she's got nothin', but you can learn how to pronounce the name of a famous cactus correctly at The Adamis

Dan gives us a verse about dormitory sex rules (!) at The Haiku Commentator

Meera shares the recipe for a sweet snack she grew up eating at Enjoy Indian Food

More later...I need to write my OWN entry for today!!

First Saturday Update: Three posts by the end of today.

I will probably only be able to update once per week. I have invited Heather (I'm Not Hannah) to also make updates here. We've got a lot of blogs to follow!

I'm glad Use Real Butter is back. Those photos of fall foliage are lovely.

Coffee Rings Everywhere shows why she rocks with her story that was published in Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul. Awesome!

From Barbies to Words is doing some photoblogging. Apparently she does book covers? Have a look.

Giraffability is sick. Boo!

Go smooch Her Affectionate Heart and tell her how much you love her freckles.

Aaron DeLay is on a great roll. Check out his blog setup--NaBlo all the way, baby.


Aaaand that's all I've got in me right now, as you might understand if you've seen my To-Do lists. Also, since today is the first day off in 12 in a row for me, I'm going to run errands, attend a bridal shower, and go to ROLLER DERBY tonight! My life is about "active relaxation" apparently.

Keep blogging! You should have made three blog posts by the end of today. Keep it up, folks!

Let the Blogging Begin

We are finished adding bloggers to our list. The deadline passed, and I have a life to lead. So, if you are visiting us for the first time, please know that all the bloggers on the list to the right are committed to posting once per day for the whole month of October.

Your reading material boredom has just been eradicated.

Enjoy!

Time's up!

That's it! I've got one more blog to upload, and that's it. We are set for NaBloWriMo 2009! I will email our logo to all bloggers who has emailed me privately, so you have the option of displaying it.

Let the blogging begin!

15 minutes!

We're almost finished adding bloggers! Email me privately if you want to participate. 7pm mountain time is the deadline.

33! Two hours to go!

Two more hours to our deadline of blog acceptance. No word yet on emotional acceptance or parental acceptance.

But blogs? Yep, we'll still take 'em.

Please give encouragement and kisses to NotHannah (aka Heather), who volunteered to design a button for our blogs! We can share the NaBloWriMo love all year round! Heather, you rock.

Two more hours! I'm excited about how many participants we have. Keep up the good work, folks!

29 confirmed--5.5 hours to go! Oh, and peer pressure works.

We have 29 confirmed bloggers! I am still waiting on a blog link from writtenwyrdd.

Peer pressure works! Kitt has agreed to join us! HOORAAAAAAAY!!

There is still time to join in the fun. Email me privately with your joiny message and a link to your blog.

Last Day to Join Us!

Today is the last day to join NaBloWriMo. At 7pm mountain time (-7 GMT), I will stop accepting bloggers, and will delete the rest of the list at the bottom who are unconfirmed.

And tomorrow, we start blogging! One post per day, every day in October--you can do it! You might take a page from Aaron Delay, who is setting up a daily topic schedule: Mondays are religion, Tuesdays are politics, etc. This might help to keep you organized. Those who blog about food (we have several) might choose Mondays for Butter, Tuesdays for Bread, and Wednesdays for vegetables.

But what do I know? Maybe you've already got a bunch of ideas lined up, and you are ready to roll. I, for one, have no ideas, and will just write what comes to mind at the time.

Tell your friends about our challenge. Last day! Last day!

20!!

We have reached 20 bloggers! I have kept Kitt on the list, but she is not yet confirmed. Peer pressure, anyone?

If you are just visiting, please consider joining our yearly blogging challenge. We join up and agree to post to our blogs once per day, every day in October. If you want to do this, too, please send me a private email (under the pumpkin) with a link to your blog, and I'll add you. Come join in, make new friends, and get a super blogroll. You will never lack reading material again!

18!

Eighteen confirmed bloggers for NaBloWriMo! Hooray!

There is still time to join. Send a private email to the address below the pumpkin with a link to your blog, and your commitment to blog once per day in October. Hooray!

Now, everybody go over to the Kittalog and convince her to join us. :)

16!

Yowza! We are at 16 confirmed bloggers for NaBloWriMo--National Blog Writing Month. This is something that I decided, and so we're doing it. I've been hosting it for the past two years--this is my third year. Hooray!

The deal: Blog once per day in the month of October.

The prize: Bragging rights for a whole year.

The benefit: Create a habit for blogging, or writing every day, or self-promotion. However you view it, blogging every day is a good thing.

Does Twitter count? What if I Tweet every day? NO.


To join: Send an email to me at my email address below the pumpkin. Send a link to your blog, and a statement saying that you want to join. That's it!

15!

Keep up the promotion, folks. Good job! Use Twitter and Facebook, as needed.

To join:

Send me an email at the address on the right, in the text under the pumpkin. Send a link to your blog, and let me know you want to join. It's that easy!

14!

We now have 14 confirmed bloggers for NaBloWriMo! Hooray! Today and tomorrow we have the chance to spread the word, so let's do that.

Folks who are new to this site and idea:

NaBloWriMo is a blogging challenge. Those of us who agree to participate will write one blog post per day (on our own blogs) during the month of October. I will post periodic updates on this blog, so that we can learn about who we are and what we do and isn't that fun?

Yes, it is.

If you want to accept the challenge, please email me at the address under the pumpkin, with a link to your blog.

13!

Thirteen confirmed bloggers! Keep up the good work, folks!

12 Confirmed Bloggers!

I love the power of the Inernet. 12 confirmed bloggers in a few short hours! Blog about us, link to this post, and get the word out.

Join us for a blogging challenge: once per day, we write a blog post, during the month of October. Easier than writing a novel, but often more difficult than finding matching socks while getting dressed at 5:30am. So, I recommend getting up at 5:00 and blogging! It's what I did last year!

C'mon. What are ya--chicken?

10 Confirmed Bloggahs

The ten bloggers at the top of the list are confirmed! If you haven't sent me a private email already, please do so. I want to create a contact list this year. I'm not gonna spam you, I promise.

Also, if you haven't already, please subscribe to this blog. That way, you will get updates on the project when I post about it.

Keep promoting today and tomorrow. I'll cut off the sign-up process at 7pm mountain time on Sept. 3o, 2009. Cutthroat!

Joiners, do this.

To all who wish to join our NaBloWriMo fun times, please send a joiny message to me, (Amy) at my email address on the right, below the pumpkin. I need to make a contact list for all bloggahs.

Poke!

I have commented on all the blogs on our blogroll, or emailed folks (whose emails I have), asking if you are participating. You have exactly two days to decide!

Please link to my previous post about NaBloWriMo this year, and blog about it! Let's see if we can't bump up our blogroll and get some new blood in here. I've already received one response of a person bowing out. I understand! Believe me! I can barely believe I'm doing this again, myself!

Let your Facebook peeps know, Tweet it, whatever. Blog, blog, blog!

NaBloWriMo is ON.

I don't care how tired I am. This thing is on, and I'll do it.

One blog post per day in October, 2009! Tell yer friends!

I think this year I will tell my Facebook friends and see who bites. Let's get a huge blogroll, people!

This Year

I am so tired, and I don't know if I can rally myself to blog every day in October. Does anyone want to take over this project?

Please forward this post to anybody you think would want to participate or run this thing. I'm so dang tired.

But even now, as I write this, I kinda want to do it. *sighs*

Today and Tomorrow!

That's it! I can't believe it! We are almost there! I've you've already done your blog post for today, that means you have ONE MORE tomorrow and you're finished!

Good job, everyone. What did we gain from blogging every day?

Just 5 more days!

Sound off and let me know who is getting the lip balm! Whee!

Criminy!

Halfway there, and how are we doing? Sound off, ye mighty bloggers! You can handle a little comment, can't you? Are your fingers sore yet?

Day 4--how are you doing?

What great blogs we have in our blogroll!

Use Real Butter appears to be in California, eating dim sum with family. She also offered a great wassail recipe. I love wassail.

Here It Is offers inspiration in the form of song lyrics.

Straight from Hel talks of memes and book tours. I'm into book marketing, so I may be hanging out there.

Seriously Wonderful talks about her dream the other day. So am I! Remembering my dreams, that is, and talking about them. Who, oh who will analyze our dreams?

Fun Climbs Around the World talks about a City of Rocks.

Aaron DeLay wrote some fiction for us!

The Damn Yankee went to the opera. With a bum foot? Check it out and see.

Nags connects her "Pick me!" moments from adulthood and childhood. Ahn. And bummer. That flip video sounded cool.

Danette at Conch-To-Be offers up some of her fiction this week, as well as political musings. How'd you enjoy that debate, Danette?

Siri is coming over to my house to make Dal. Right, Siri? Right...? ..no? *pouts*

Enjoy Indian Food? why, yes! I do! Eggless cucumber cake? Never heard of it! Hop on over there and check it out.

Mimi tells of her love of my lip balm, and shares a great voting video. Loved that, Mimi. I'm registered. No worries.

Thistle Dew Farms? It's all about horses and fairy encounters. No, I'm serious.

Digging In talks about caterpillars and the arrival of fall. It is a nice day out there, folks. Go dig in the dirt, once. We've got mini-pumpkins!

Culinary Colorado = Nepalese lunch. Yummah!

Jugalbandi! Is that your photograph of those figs! That is a gorgeous photo!

The Way I Always Was Shopping At Ikea. Ikea!

Cooking and Me--are you slacking? October 2? Come on, there! Oh, wait. You have two blogs, don't you? Were you shopping at Ikea? (I can't keep all this straight.)

Manisha (Indian Food Rocks) has an incredible piece of writing, related to her personal history and Sanzori. I command you all to go read it.

Kitt's outing to Devil's Gulch yielded spectacular photos of fall aspens in the Rockies. Kitt, your blog is always so worth it!

I'm Not Hannah emailed me, saying she was "in like Flynn," and hasn't posted since 9/25. I'm thinking she's out. Hannah????

That leaves me. I've been talking about the dreams I've been remembering--two cool ones, and one nightmare. The other nightmare was the debate the other night, which I supplemented with a drinking game over gmail chat with a friend.

Dang! We rock! It's Rocktober, I think.

I have compassion

I have compassion. I especially have compassion for someone who names her blog " Use Real Butter." Um....YEAH, BABY!

Maybe there's some sugar over there, too. :)


Update: I corrected the name of the blog. Yummah!

The End of The Joining

Aaron DeLay

Fun Climbs Around the World

Seriously Wonderful

Straight From Hel


Welcome! Aaaaaand, I'm done with the joining. We've got enough reading to choke a goat, here. I've got to get some soap work done tonight, as well as some blogging and writing a letter, and paying a bill. And such.

Oh, and watching the debates! Great blog fodder!

I go to bed early.

Because of this fact, there are a couple more bloggers on the roll. Silence implies consent when voting for a blogger, and since nobody voted, that means y'all are happy with Aaron Delay. Aaron, make sure you make up yesterday's post! :)

We also have Betts, the Damn Yankee in Vermont. Betts, I'll be reading yours, as I lust after New England, and want to move to Maine. Please tell me you have a quaint little hobby farm with chickens.

Okay, kids, I'm off to work. I'll read up during lunch.

Shazam!

And we're off!

I spent much of today collecting emails of bloggers who wanted to join. I had no idea that a free lip balm would entice so many of you! Live and learn.

We've got foodie bloggers, personal bloggers, gardening bloggers, crafty bloggers--it boggles the mind. Well, that's not hard to do for me--I'm boggled most of the time.

Check the blogroll and read up each day! Rocktober is here!

Mah peeps!

Jugalbandi

Culinary Colorado

Thistle Dew Farm



Welcome! Who else? You can still join today! Tell your friends!

MorebloggermorebloggermorebloggermorebloggerBLOGbloggeerrrrr...

We got another one! Nags wanted to join us, but she has two blogs:

Cooking and Me

and

The Way I Always Was.

She will be combining her efforts within those two. It counts! It counts because I say so.

Okay, and here's another note about scheduled blogging--the idea is to have a blog post every day. To make a really good one, that's a lot of writing to schedule. So I'm not going to worry about it. Sometimes we might schedule a post, becuase we have thoughts in our head and want to jot them down, and we're afraid we won't get to the blog that day. The majority of the posts, however, should be made daily. Save drafts, if you have to, instead of scheduling posts.

My little circle of control does not include hacking into your computers to see if you are scheduling posts. Therefore, I guess I can't make a rule about it.

I had someone comment---Mimi. She might send me her blog today, and if she does, then she's in, as well. And Aaron Delay is asking to come back, but he said his blog won't be up until Thursday. I'm going to leave it to y'all to vote whether or not he should be in. Comment away!

It's on!

Blog blog blog! Keep that sweet, sweet lip balm prize in mind!


*falls to floor, laughing*

Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I'll Blog ya! Tomorrow!

October 1 starts NaBloWriMo--National Blog Writing Month! All participating with me on this blogroll who blog each day in October will receive a free lip balm! I make 'em, they're all-natural, and they feel great.

If that doesn't inspire you, then not much will. I suppose a large cash prize might. I don't have a large cash prize! I have lip balm!

So far, I've received word from Kitt at the Kittalog, Manisha at Indian Food Rocks! and NotHannah at, well, I'm Not Hannah. That's four of us. Who else will take my challenge? Speak up, ye bloggers, and make haste doing it!

I'm leaving Russ (Radhole) and Sue Ellen (Musings of a Chick) up there, because I suspect they may still want to join, since they've done it in the past. Others I haven't heard from, so I deleted them. If you still want to join, shoot me an email and you're in!


Update: We're full! Gor! It's all I can handle right now. Thanks for the interest, and come back next year! And there's nobody saying you can't blog every day, anyway....

Why do this crayzee ass thing?

Well, we do this because we are writers, and it keeps us writing every day.

We do this because the month after NaBloWriMo is NaNoWriMo, but we aren't necessarily novelists.

We do this because we are novelists, and need to train ourselves, and gear up for it.

We do this because we are loners, Dottie. Rebels.

Another year has passed!

It's time for NaBloWriMo again! This time, I'm giving out prizes.

Yes, prizes!!! I'll give a luxury lip balm to every blogger who blogs once per day in October. Yes, I'm serious!

Who's in? Who? Who?

I'm in. I'm crazy, and I'm in. I can NEVER understand why I do this every October, but I'm gonna keep doing it. You can't stop me!

Finished!

We did it!

Or, at least, I did it. How'd you do?

6 more days!

You can do it, people! Hasn't it become a habit, yet? You've been blogging for 25 days straight! Amazing!

Hey all you blogging fans
Stand up and clap your hands!

Halfway!

Tomorrow, we are halfway there! Can you believe it? Let's see what's happening:

Russ has new spectacles. He is also not blogging every day, but he never emailed me back to tell me whether or not he was participating. We'll just keep checking in, anyway.

Sue Ellen wants to know if you have had difficulties with a co-worker, and whether or not you were compelled to go to the boss about it. Her story is something we can all relate to, I'm sure.

Robert discusses the difficulties of discussing his son with folks who have not kept in touch. He posts a lovely picture of his babies when they were newborn. Check it out!

Yum-yum cheesemaking over at the suburban homestead. I love goat cheese!

Heather Not Hannah hasn't blogged since Thursday! She's a mom....

The Queen of Socks posts a lovely photo and description of the joy she feels when gifting someone with her hand-knit items. Beautiful! (The beautiful church window descriptions also continue.)

Alecto's Ophelia showcases a guest blog--from a kat.

Aaron discusses why he might have to close his blog. NaBloWriMo doesn't factor in.

Manisha whips up some spinach toast. *drooool*

And in Kitt's blog, she talks about her evening out, her shopping at the container store, and her sojurn to the "farmer's market" today. That's in quotes because only 5 vendors showed up! (I was one of the vendors who opted to stay home, instead of freezing my ass getting cold and wet.) She stopped in to Sue Bell's gallery and took photos of Sue's puppy, Moses, her own Sophie, and my beloved Pluto (the unofficial mascot of the market).

I have to much to say about Kitt's because it directly affects me! We plan on having tea together, very soon.

Today has been different for me, as I have taken it "easy." That's in quotes because I'm not quite sure what it is.

But I might get used to it.

Almost halfway there, and...

...we have another blogger! Welcome Kitt---she blogs every day, anyway. Yay!

The woman makes glazed bananas with ice cream.

And she buys my soap. What else can I do?

Go visit Manisha. Hound her into making up her posts so she ends up with 31 of them by the end of the month. Also hound her into making you some food. I go to her blog and drool. *drools*

hee hee hee

another blogger. Yes, it's day 8.

Aaron blogged with us last year. I am a softie. He's in.

Day 4 update

Russ details his imaginary hobo life on Oct. 3. Check out radhole for that story. I love it!

Sue Ellen blogs twice on the 4th to make up for missing the 3rd. It's allowed because I say so. She wasn't feeling well, and showed me her doctor's note. Marmite and free publicity. Do they go together? Today they do.

Robert puts the Squeaker to sleep in his Oct. 3 post. This is so important, people. Parents will know I have no sarcasm in my voice on that statement.

Susan lists the medicinal herbs at her suburban homestead. Nice list! Is this really suburbia?

Heather Not Hannah does a cute meme (which I might do, as I'm out of an idea for my blog post today), and also discusses the ridiculousness of calling someone "the autism whisperer." Um..I agree? Y'all go read it now, and see for yourself.

Dani, the Queen of Socks, discusses a bunny who got brushed in class, and reviews a book who apparently knits with NEEDLES THE SIZE OF TREE BRANCHES. Holy crap. She could knit a sweater in a minute with those things.

Dani also discusses planning a church window, and..um...church windows. Great pics!

Heather Ophelia outlines the rules of the road, and her personal experience, at Alecto's Ophelia.

Whew! I guess I'd better do my post for today.

Another Heather!

Check out the newest blogger to join us, Heather, at Alecto's Ophelia. She joined a couple days late, but she had already blogged for each day in October, so she's in!

Welcome, other Heather!

So...

...how y'all doin?

Day One

Check out Radhole: he's got a lovely photo of his current harvest, with a tally chart. I believe there are other posts about his pumpkins. Russ has not confirmed with me that he is participating, but I'm continuing as if he is, until he let's me know otherwise.

Sue Ellen (Musings of a Chick) waxes nostalgic about The Outsiders. With good reason. 40 years old? WTF??

As of this moment, Robert (How About Two) has yet to post today. I expect only greatness. And cuteness. Did you check out that behbeh photo on the first page?

Susan (Suburban Homesteader) has yet to post, as well. Come on, Susan! It's been since July! This is gonna be good for you.

Heather (I'm Not Hannah) posted yestidday. Come on, Heather!

Dani (Sock Queen and Church Artist) hasn't posted about socks. Nor about church art.


Tick tock tick tock!

Oh, and I, groovygrrl, did my post for the day. Huzzah.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT expect these update posts daily. I am so freaking busy. But I'm still doing this, because I feel it is important for me to write every day. Even just a little bit. I got an email from a customer yesterday--she bought my book when it first came out. She was asking for an updated book, or a follow-up book that had more soap recipes. Just the other day, I was talking to a friend about writing a book full of my soap recipes and such. Perhaps the time is ripe for that book. It could happen--I need the cash!

Uno mas blogger.

We got one more blogger, last night, so it still counts. And I'm makin' the rules here, so who cares? None of you!

Welcome to Dani, who has two blogs on the list:

Sock Queen

and

Church Artist.


Hooray! It's October 1st! Post with abandon.

Ready, Steady...

Go!