blogging

Links I love … and you’ll love them too

Lately inspiration has left me for blog topics. My back is healing nicely (thank you, Pilates and Swimming!) and work is going ok (knock on wood.) And I did post the fun photos from Bark to the Park. So I thought I’d share with you some of the blogs and sites I love to visit. I’m betting you’ll want to add them to your blogroll.

One of my favorite blogs is the one hosted by the “Blogfather” himself, Instapundit. Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds has been blogging since shortly before 9/11, and his method is to post links to other sites, along with short one to two-sentence commentaries. If he’s really amused he’ll add his trademark “Heh“. The content is mostly news and politics from a libertarian/conservative perspective, but you might find anything and everything on his blog. Including a perfectly marvelous recipe for chicken.

Another blog on my Firefox Morning Coffee plug-in  is Testosterhome. Augusta, Ga. writer Rachel Balducci chronicles her life with five boys and one daughter. I started reading her blog when she only had four boys. It’s an inside look at an entirely different life than mine – I’m a single woman with career, volunteer work and friends, who is a Baptist, and she is a married stay-at-home Mom and professional writer who is a Southern Catholic. Through her blog I’ve learned all about soccer, Chuck Norris and all things wild and wonderful in a family of eight.

Sippican Cottage is winsome blog written by a Yankee furniture maker. If I ever get an extra $500 together I’m buying one of his beautiful, handmade console tables. They are crafted from Tiger Maple and have tapered legs. An instant heirloom. His wry commentary on the social scene is worth subscribing to. And his boys – wow! He and his wife homeschool their two boys, who are budding musicians. Their two-man, largely self-taught band “Unorganized Hancock” plays requests from their dad’s blog readers. You’ve got to watch this version of Buddy Holly’s “Oh, Boy.” It will make your day.

Beauty · blogging · Cooking

Plates of Sweden

Plates of Sweden.  This is gorgeous. Take a look at these food photos and drool!

blogging

Finally!

The main desktop computer is hooked up again. The wi-fi is hooked up. The laptop can access the web again. I’m back in business and able to blog from a regular keyboard, not my iPhone!

blogging

Read this book … I know I will

Rod Dreher wrote one of my favorite books a few years back – Crunchy Cons. Can’t wait to read his new book, a memoir of his sister’s life and his journey home from an absence of 30 years – The Little Way of Ruthie Lemming . Little Way will be released Tuesday, April 9th… Hours away!

blogging · educational · me · Tech · Work

Back to work….

… and learning yet more stuff! A full week of classroom training and I come home to a 2-hour class. This is fortunately an interesting WebSphere Content Management (WCM) prototype class, which builds on all the usability lessons I learned last week.

My poor back is paying the price for all this sitting. My chiropractor is gonna be rich.

blogging · me

Sick, sick, sick

After the excitement of the past week my body has decided to force me to slow down and recuperate. A sore throat and general tiredness have me in bed and gobbling Ricola drops.

It could be all the changes in temps. I flew home from the land of 42 degree highs to Columbia, where 55 degrees is considered cold. When I went to lunch yesterday with my friend Jill I didn’t wear a jacket, cause to me it was balmy! Bad idea.

blogging · Cat · just plain fun · Something wonderful · Travel

Matilda writes back

Look at how well the Algonquin Hotel handles publicity… they have an email address for their cat! This is excellent PR. These are my email exchanges with Matilda… Start at the bottom and work your way up.

From: MAlgonquin Cat <MAlgonquinCat@algonquinhotel.com>
Date: March 21, 2013, 10:16:42 AM EDT
To: J

Subject: RE: My blog post about YOU

FURbulous! Thank you.

From: J
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 10:22 AM
To: MAlgonquin Cat
Subject: Re: My blog post about YOU

Thank you for the info… I’ve just updated my blog.
On Mar 20, 2013, at 10:12 AM, MAlgonquin Cat <MAlgonquinCat@algonquinhotel.com> wrote:

Very CATabulous – thank you but please note I am the 10th cat and the third Matilda – the first seven cats were all males named Hamlet.

Please come by anytime. I like making new FURiends

Have a PURRfect day

^..^

><

Matilda

From: j
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 8:57 AM
To: MAlgonquin Cat
Subject: My blog post about YOU

Hi Matilda,

I’m visiting NYC for a few days and dropped by to catch a glimpse of you. The concierge was so kind; he let me come in and get a picture. Thought you might like a link to my blog post:

https://auntjim.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/the-algonquins-most-famous-guest/

I had to stay somewhere else due to my conference in the city; hope to stay at your place next time I come to town.

J

Accentuate the Positive! · Beauty · blogging · Something wonderful

Tim, this one’s for you

I’m thrilled that I remembered my blog password. It has been too long since I posted…. my goal is to do a little more posting this last part of the year. Life got a little (read: lot) crazy at work back sometime in March … and I let the stress take over. During the family reunion the first week of September my cousin Tim told me he missed my postings. Thanks, Tim, for the gentle nudge. So, I’m back. More later on why it took me three weeks to post after the reunion.

For now – here’s a blog I want you all to visit. Nina Camic’s pictures of Wisconsin in the fall are beautiful. She came to this country as an 18-year-old au pair from Poland, and made her life here. Her blog “The Other Side of the Ocean” is tranquil and serene – a perfect way to end a Sunday evening.

Accentuate the Positive! · blogging · Cat · Gratitude

Hello fellow bloggers and everyone out in blogland….

….somehow that doesn’t sound as romantic as “and all the ships at sea!” That was the phrase radio announcers of yore would use in welcoming the listening audience to their program.

The past week and a half has shown me that if I don’t write down my blessings each day then my attitude takes a plunge. I’ve seen and experienced quite a few blessings over the last few days … but the time to write them down has been elusive. (One more whine, then I’m done kvetching: when I come home from work, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of another keyboard and monitor.)

But there have been many blessings. And it’s time to make lists again….because not doing so has made my last week and a half a grumpy, out-of-sorts experience.

Blessing 17: Stepping outside tonight on my way to run another errand, I stopped and truly saw the gorgeous deep blue sky, half-moon and stars. It looked like Van Gough flung his paintbrush around South Carolina.

Blessing 18: Today was a beautifully warm (79 degrees!) yet breezy day. About 3:30 I was tempted to tell my boss we all needed to shelve work and go outside to fly kites. It was that kind of day.

Blessing 19: Last week I was grateful for my 25-minute commute to work, cause it gives me a chance to sing along to the radio. When the drive is almost all Interstate at 65 mph, and practically no stop and go traffic, then commuting is a pleasure.

Blessing 20: Saturday, Feb. 25, I participated in my first 5K walk of the year. I was expecting to take 75 minutes to finish, since I’ve never been able to sustain 3.0 mph on the treadmill at the gym. But I finished in 55 minutes. Yea me!

Blessing 21: A purring kitty who loves to sit by you when you’re at home.

Pickles on the couch
Pickles is always close by.
Accentuate the Positive! · blogging · Gratitude

Lucky Number 13 …. 13th blessing that is

When I revamped my blog with the theme of consciously looking for and writing down my blessings, my first thought was how am I going to write a post a day about this? I’ve had this blog since July of 2010 and I’d only posted 121 times! I’m slammed for time (activities, activities, activities!) and frankly, I HAD been in a bad place mentally for the past three weeks, ever since I was so sick.

But the more you start counting your blessings and thinking about the gifts – the more you realize you have. Funny how a slight attitude shift changes everything.

Some new readers have stopped by recently – and that’s what I’m grateful for today. It’s so encouraging to know others are reading what you write, no matter how short. Or rushed.

Here’s one new reader’s blog which just makes me smile:  50 Things Before I turn 50. Isn’t that a great title?  Her latest post is about Love Lists – making a list of all the things you love about your home. She’s taken pictures and posted them on her blog, along with the stories behind each item.

Everyone: go check out this fantastic blog: Bucket List Publications. Lesley Carter shared an inspiring story of surviving her first day teaching school – the story isn’t what you think it is; it’s not a commentary on disrespectful teens. Go read it! And check out her bucket list giveaway. As soon as she gets $5,000 in donations she’s going to start making bucket list dreams a reality for some lucky readers.

And for lagniappe, one more blessing I just remembered from today. No. 14:  “The Big Bang Theory“. I worked out long enough on the treadmill today after work to see an entire 30-minute episode. Love me some Sheldon, Howard, Rajesh and Leonard!