The 2014 A to Z Challenge List is Open and Meet this Year's #atozchallenge Co-Hosts!

Welcome to the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! 

Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Blogs on the list showing no activity once the Challenge starts will be removed.

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows:

1. WRITING: (WR)
2. BOOKS: (BO)
3. FILM: (FM)
4. PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
5. GARDENING: (GR)
6. CRAFT: (CR)
7. ART: (AR)
8. MUSIC: (MU)
9. CULINARY: (CU)
10. LIFESTYLE: (LI )
11. FASHION: (FA)
12. PERSONAL: (PR)
13. SOCIAL MEDIA: (SO)
14. GAMING: (GA)
15. EDUCATION: (ED)
16. POLITICS: (PO)
17. HISTORY: (HI)
18. SCIENCE: (SC)
19. HUMOR: (HU)
20. TRAVEL: (TR)
21. MISCELLANEOUS: (MI)
22. ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Author Stephen Tremp
Tina @ Life is Good
Damyanti @ Amlokiblogs
Jeremy @ Being Retro
Nicole Ayers - The Madlab Post
M. J. Joachim's Writing Tips
Heather M. Gardner
AJ @ Naturally Sweet
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian

We also have a Facebook Page. 
Email address is infoatoz2014@gmail.com,
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @ AprilA2Z

Sign up below and join us for a month of alphabet fun!

#atozchallenge: About Arlee Bird

   

Arlee Bird's First Birthday

Arlee Bird many years later

     Since I didn't do my about me post yet, I thought I'd slip in quietly on this Easter day and do my quick little turn at a few of the questions.

"Where do you hail from?" (D.G. Hudson)  -- I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, where I lived for the first seven years of my life.   But I feel like East Tennessee is my home.

 

"Have you ever wanted to be a rock star?" (Alex J. Cavanaugh) -- Oh of course!  I've fantasized about this since high school and still imagine it now and then, though now I think more country than rock.

"Would you rather have your own personal sailing ship or spaceship? What would you name your ship?" (L.G. Keltner) --  Since I have a bit of a fear of water and don't take too well to being out in open water, I'll probably go with the spaceship.  Although I guess being in airless space is a somewhat scary thought as well.  It is kind of exciting to imagine though.  My ship would be named "Imagination".

"Favorite childhood memory" (Tina) -- I had such a great childhood that it's really difficult to single out any favorite childhood memory.  I guess this is why I like writing memoir--I like remembering and telling the fun stories.   My favorite memories would probably be related to fun times at home and with family.

"How do you use those HTML tags .. and I've yet to learn about the signature line too .." (Hilary Melton-Butcher)   -- I've been a huge proponent for the signature link and the HTML tags.  They are so handy to direct people to specific links I want them to see and to my own blog.  It's so much quicker to visit blogs if I have a link that takes me right there.  I just hate that WordPress, other systems, and often the other bloggers mistake a link in a comment or the signature link to think the comment is spam.  I really have a strong distaste for spam and spammers.

"Describe the last Halloween costume you wore." (Nicole) --- Many years ago when my kids were still in school and before I got remarried, I dressed in old green coveralls, sprayed my hair green, and put on green make-up and went out with my kids.  When people asked what I was supposed to be, I answered, "Broccoli".   Why do some people find broccoli to be so scary?

"What's more important, space exploration, or under-sea exploration?" (Matt Conlon) -- That's kind of a tough one as they are both fascinating frontiers.   I love the idea of forging on into the outer reaches of the universe as well as a concentrated study of our own solar system.  So much adventure!  But on the practical side of what could be more immediately useful and accessible to us I'd have to put the priority on sea exploration.  It will be probably be easier to access the resources of the sea before what's in space.  I hope we don't give up on either.

Coke or Pepsi?" (Mina Lobo) -- Funny how things can change.  In the 80's I had a clear preference for Pepsi, then somewhere along the line I started preferring Coke.  Maybe they had the better sales?  

"If you could sing any song with the artist who wrote/performed it, what would it be and with whom?" (Tracy Bermeo-A2Z Mommy) -- What a strange experience this would be!  I'll go with "Living for the City" with Stevie Wonder and I'd want to do a bluegrass arrangement of the song.  I wonder if Stevie would approve?

"How old were you when you realized your passion for writing?"   "Who inspired you to write in the very beginning?"    "Who inspires you now?" (Magical Mystical MiMi)--  My mother inspired me to tell stories when I was perhaps five or so and my father inspired me to write when I was about eight.  Writing and reading have been passions since I was young.  Now my writing inspirations are Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, and many great bloggers out there.

         Happy Easter to all!   And now let the Challenge begin!

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