Friday Favorites

Welcome to the second installment of Friday Favorites!  I hope you enjoy reading these great posts by other bloggers.  I’m hoping to having time to add some posts of my own in the coming week!

• Acts of Kindness Week: Letters to Mr. Goss posted on Seriously Not Boring

• Angel? Demon? posted on Christian Mihai

• Mexico: Beyond the Beaches posted on Lindsay Leaps

Sorry the list is so short this week… a result of not spending as much time on the computer as usual.  However, I hope you enjoyed these few great blog posts!  As for the authors of these posts… thank you for sharing such wonderful posts with us all!

Friday Favorites

Here it is, as promised! The first installment of the ‘Friday Favorites’ series!

For those of you who may not know, this post will list my favorite blog posts from the previous week, topics may be about anything except writing.  For my writing-related ‘Friday Favorites’ posts, please visit my writing blog, Scribe-ly.

It’s not easy picking favorites from the hundreds of thousands (millions?) of blog posts each week, but I’ll do my best.  If there is a blog post you would like to recommend

Don’t Just Peek in the Window, Pay a Visit

In the world of blogging – in the world of all writing, actually – authors want first and foremost to have what they have written to be read, and when it is read, we are thankful and happy.  However, anyone who has a blog on WordPress knows that someone reading your post doesn’t necessarily translate to visitors to your blog when those posts are read by way of the reader.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my reader. I love having all the new posts on the blogs I follow show up on one convenient list, and I love searching for new blogs by tags.  The cons to the reader are that oftentimes, authors end up with plenty of likes on their posts, but hardly any actual visits to their blog.

Is Your ‘Right’ A Wrong In Disguise?

I’ve written so many blog posts in which I’ve censored myself, sacrificing bald truth at the altar of political correctness.  Even my most controversial posts have been censored to spare myself from the worst vitriol and vicious diatribe of those who might oppose my views yet, even censored, when I am about to hit that ‘publish’ button for a post I suspect will rain accusation from others upon my head, my heart pounds and my hands literally shake.  I read and then re-read my post countless times, looking for any statement or opinion that I might have forgotten to ‘PC’-up, anything that I think could be misinterpreted or misconstrued.  Why do I do this?  Because besides my own personal insecurity, people want to be offended.  We read blogs and articles looking for anything to pounce on, like vultures circling a field, searching endlessly for that whiff of carrion, that hint of wrong thinking that we can latch onto and launch an attack on the author about.  I say ‘we’ because I too, have been guilty of this, and often.

On more than one occasion I’ve read a post or an article and found the author’s attitude or opinion to be so offensive that I’ve felt justified

Why You Should Care About Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s Disease.

We’ve all heard about it, some of us may remember a loved one who had the disease, and a few of us may be or have been caretakers for those loved ones.

It’s hard to think about Alzheimer’s, I get that.  It’s hard for the young to think about growing old, about dying, and even harder to think about being old with no idea who you and those around you are.  No one wants to think about it, but we must.

So why should you care about it? 

• Alzheimer’s is the SIXTH leading cause of death in the U.S.  And there’s currently nothing we can do about it.

Moving Forward

Since it’s been so long since I have posted on my blog, it’s basically like starting over for me, but with more content for new visitors to read.

I considered cleaning house and getting rid of all but the best posts, but I don’t think I will, as it’s the only account I have for different times in my life.  I think I’ll keep it.

I’ve got a few ideas I’m knocking around regarding my blogs, though.  Firstly, for this blog, I am considering a series of posts on some topic yet to be chosen (perhaps Strong Women in History, or Frugal Sundays… it’s still an idea in progress).  I am also considering a personal – accountability series, wherein I pledge to do something, and blog about my progress.

Over on Scribe-ly (my writing blog) I write posts in response to writing prompts from Today’s Author already, but that’s not enough.  I may start doing Poetry Tuesdays.

For both blogs I am starting a Friday Favorites series, wherein I compile a list of favorite posts over the previous week and share them with my readers.  If you have a blog post you would like to recommend for the Friday Favorites series, please send an email to KraftedKhaos at gmail.com with ‘Friday Favorites Recommendation’ in the subject line.

Do you have themes or a series of posts on your own blog?  Is there a series you would be interested in reading? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments!

Refreshing The Reader

Since it’s been so long since I have actively posted to my blog, I completely expected to have non-existent stats.  Obviously.  I had abandoned the few who came to visit me for two years.

What I wasn’t expecting was to have to find more blogs to follow for myself!

My reader was basically two bloggers who still post from two years ago, and that simply would not do!  Reading others’ posts inspires me, it challenges me, and it’s just plain interesting.

I’ve switched my primary blog from this blog to my other blog, Scribe-ly, which focuses more on my writing (prompts, poems, etc).  But it’s still nice to have somewhere to just share my thoughts.  I’ve already proven that I’m pretty much incapable of following the original ‘theme’ of this blog, so it is now basically a journal of sorts, instead of free, fun and interesting things!

So, here’s to connecting with new blogs, re-kindling some old contacts, and trying to get back on the bloggin’ wagon!

Some Things Never Change

Okay, so maybe some things don’t change.

I’m still about as reliable as rain when it comes to posting on this thing.  But also like the rain, I do eventually return!

That business I was talking about, it never got off the ground.  I thought I had done my homework, but I hadn’t, and the costs just kept piling on until I realized that at this point in my life, it just wasn’t feasible for me.

Oh, well.  Life goes on.

And it did.

Technical Difficulty

So, my new business venture is off to a rockier start than I’d imagined.  There are always hiccups in the best laid plans, and I expected it to be so, but I always have such a difficult time staying motivated when I run into a snag with something.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m lazy, OCD, ADD, or impatient… regardless of what it is, I’m determined to stick with things this time.  If my business fails, it will fail because my products weren’t wanted, not because I didn’t see the venture through.

I don’t think I could handle giving up one one more thing.

Those of you who follow my blog have seen first-hand my tendency to wander.  I’m here for a few days, then I’m gone for ages, then I come back with an update and whatever my newest interest is, then I’m gone again.  It’s a very cyclical thing.

But this one I’m sticking with.

Life & Business

So, I’ve been busy busy busy working to get my business up and going, and have hardly had time to shower, much less post anything!  My apologies to all.  I love my blog, and I love my readers, but I’ve simply GOT to have some cash flow, and due to the hinky hours I keep because of my Love’s work schedule, doing my own thing was pretty much the only option I had.

The research phase of starting a business, while a royal pain in the butt, is absolutely vital to avoid costly mistakes (or at least avoiding a few of them) and making bad decisions… so while I would love to be here, with you guys, I need money a little more at this point in my life.

Just know that I have NOT abandoned you, forgotten about you or otherwise.  Just trying to get my business up and running!

Will try to keep updating!