Meet the A to Z Team for 2012

          Anyone who follows this blog is probably aware that the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is just a few months away.   If you don't know about what the Challenge is all about, please click on the "What is Blogging from A to Z?" tab above for an explanation.

          Today we want to provide you with the list of A to Z Team members for 2012.  Please stop by to visit these wonderful bloggers and say hello to them.  If you are not following them already then we encourage you to click the "Friend Connect" to join their sites.  Then be sure to visit each of them often to keep up with news about the upcoming Challenge.   

           Some cool things are coming up and we don't want you to miss a thing!

Here is the A to Z Team for 2012:

Tossing It Out (Arlee Bird)

Amlokiblogs (Damyanti Biswas)

Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh)

Life is Good (Tina Downey)

Cruising Altitude 2.0 (DL Hammons)

Retro-Zombie (Jeremy Hawkins)

The Warrior Muse (Shannon Lawrence)

The QQQE (Matthew MacNish)

Author Elizabeth Mueller (Elizabeth Mueller)

Pearson Report (Jenny Pearson)

No Thought 2 Small (Konstanz Silverbow)

Breakthrough Blogs (Stephen Tremp)


           Please get to know each of us.  If there are questions or comments about the Challenge, let any of us know and we'll give you the answers you need or address your comments.   Since a big part of the A to Z Challenge has to do with networking you should start your networking with all of us now.


          If you haven't joined this A to Z Challenge blog we encourage you to do that as well.  The Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog is the official Challenge site.  We don't want you to miss any Challenge updates.


           Sign ups for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge will begin on January 30, 2012.

Related articles

• In Which Arlee Bird Explains Why Blogfests Are a Big Deal (damyantiwrites.wordpress.com)
• A Favorite Blogger Speaks: Reflections from Alex J. Cavanaugh (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• The Challenge Pays Off: Damyanti Biswas Got a Book Out of It (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• A Challenge Report from Jenny Pearson (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• Stephen Tremp Celebrates the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge (a-to-zchallenge.com)

Stirrings in A to Z Land

         Keeping it short today.

         Just got in from my two week tour of the United States as I visited family scattered across the country.  I had a great time but computer time was very limited so now I've got to catch up.

          Tomorrow (Friday 1/6)  there will be a special announcement that you won't want to miss.  I fact if you are looking at blogs on that day you may see a similar announcement on several other blogs.  Be watching!

          We still have a few reflections posts and other guest posts coming in the next few days.  If you have something that you'd like to write about as a guest on this blog, then please let me know.

         See you tomorrow!

Betty Alark Is As Happy As a Lark About A to Z

      Today's message comes courtesy of Betty Alark who will be facing her first Blogging from A to Z April Challenge this year.  But she's ready to go as you can see here.  Her blogs are listed at the bottom of the page.

Are you gearing up for                 the

2012 A-to-Z Challenge?

Greetings everyone and happy New Year!!!

It’s 2012 and I’m starting the New Year off right –gearing up for the challenge with inspirational sight, ingenuity and creativity!

Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr

There’s excitement in the air, ideas are flowing everywhere!

I’m new to the A-to-Z Challenge this year and I’m looking forward to being at the starting point of its commencement!

I really appreciate a challenge – especially one that’s fun, and propels me to exercise my brain simultaneously!

I expect during the commencement of the A-to-Z challenge, I will have the opportunity to blog my creativity side-by-side with numerous experts and newcomers alike.

         Image by Jeff_Werner via Flickr

I envision that scene as walking through a gallery of artwork and being in awe of the beauty and variation! At the end of the procession- the final outcome of the challenge, we will all be rewarded by our individual efforts! Our galleries will be a reflection and reminder of our own achievements!  In that sense we will all be winners!

I’m a poet so my approach to the challenge this year is to grace my fellow bloggers with a theme centered around, the art of poetry; to captivate my blog audience with 26 poems that will stir their hearts and minds to think and promote change!

So how are you starting the New Year off; what’s your approach - have you gotten your gear out: excitement, momentum, ingenuity, creativity; all the talent that you will need to get the A-to-Z Challenge on the way- I hope so!

I’m looking forward to visiting your gallery so don’t let me down- I’m in it to win so give me a run for my money! See you there!

Happy New Year!!

Betty Alark

My Blogs
Rapture
Stories
Rapture Me -New Arrivals
My Journal
My Book: What Type of Character Are You Hanging Out With?
My Poems

        Thank you Betty for this invigorating message.   I hope you  Challenge veterans will encourage the newbies to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

Related articles

• Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Blog (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• Show Your Support! (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• Preparing Ahead for April (a-to-zchallenge.com)

A Tuesday Two Fer: Kristine Asselin and Loralie Hall

         Today we have two short posts from 2011 participants in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.

  Kristine Carlson Asselin

          First a short endorsement from KRISTINE ASSELIN who writes contemporary young adult and middle grade fiction and middle grade nonfiction as well as the occasional picture book.  And she still made some time to blog from A to Z in April of 2011.

Reflecting on A-Z

I'm so glad I participated in this challenge! I'm happy to say I successfully completed--even being on vacation away from my computer for a week. And to think I signed up only a couple of days before it started. And didn't realize at first that the posts had to actually be in A-Z order (true, my first few scheduled posts had to be retitled to reflect the appropriate letter. duh.)

I'll admit that I didn't comment as heartily on others blogs as the month progressed, but I did "meet" some great bloggers through this event.

Welcome to all my new followers!

Thanks to Elizabeth Mueller for creating this award.

          Up next we hear from Loralie Hall who assessed the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge on her blog Apathy's Hero.  Loralie is a writer who has several things going these days.

A to Z Challenge Reflections

For anyone who is mourning the passing of the A-Z blogging challenge, or wondered what kind of inanities I'd come up with now that I don't have letters to motivate me, fear not. The wonderful folks who started the whole thing are hosting a reflections blog hop.

It's been an interesting month. Like with a lot of things, when I signed up I didn't pour too much thought into how I would get the task done. I blog five days a week anyway, and even though Saturday is the one day I never blog, I figured it wouldn't be a big deal for four weeks.

And the kind folks I used to work for laid me off a week before the challenge started. So that meant even more free time to blog. As long as I could slog my way through the more negative repercussions of unemployment.

And then I found out that thinking up words that start with each letter is easy. Relating them to writing...took a bit of a stretch of the imagination on my part. I'm pretty sure on most days I didn't quite follow my own themes. 

It was all worth it though. The challenge was nice, but for me the best part was all the new people I met. I have more followers now *waves*. But even better, I discovered some amazing new bloggers and talent out there. I didn't comment on every site, but I visited each and every one and I was amazed with what I discovered. The diversity in theme, blogging style, thought process, all of it, was wonderful. 

In the end, I'm super happy I signed up, and thrilled I got to meet you all. I'd do it again without hesitation, and I can't thank the organizers and participants enough.





          Writers like the A to Z Challenge because it adds another dimension to the writing experience and it allows them do stretch a bit while having a good time writing.  It's also a great way to network.  If you're blogging anyway, you might as well blog from A to Z with us in April.

Related articles

• Show Your Support! (a-to-zchallenge.com)
• The Fun Factor of the A to Z Challenge (a-to-zchallenge.com)

Duncan in Kuantan

       All the way from Kuantan Pahang, Malaysia Duncan Horne kept up with the Blogging from A to Z Challenge on his blog Our Home Called Kuantan.    In his Reflections post he talks about some of the bloggers he met in the Challenge and offers some statistics concerning his blog's performance in April 2011.





A-Z April blogging challenge overview



The A-Z April blogging challenge was an ambitious project which I thoroughly enjoyed. Though blogging each day was tough at times, I enjoyed the challenge of posting through the alphabet. I struggled the most with an 'x' post, which I had been worrying over from the start. But it turns out that I came across a great 'x' word just in the knick of time with "xenodocheionology" meaning 'love of hotels.'

I lost count of how many times I hit the 'Next blog' button or the 'Surprise me' button but I'm sure I got through a lot of blogs! It was sad to see that some of the blogs I visited had either not started the challenge or quit mid-way through. But I can totally understand the difficulty of keeping up from day to day.

I did however, come across some great blogs, most of them writing blogs, and made a few friends in the process. I have to mention Paul Joseph. I came across his blog and immediately connected with his style of writing. I made numerous re-visits to his blog, often leaving comments, to which he replied. It helped that I met him on Facebook too.

Rosalind Adam is another person I have got to know better through this challenge. I have also become re-acquainted with my hometown of Leicester, England, where Rosalind lives and blogged about.

I found myself returning to Bish Denham's blog each day of the challenge, for her thoughtful posts about a variety of topics. The fact that she introduced a vocabulary word at the start of each post, like me, was another draw.

Reading Melissa Kline's blog each day was a little delight as she covered five new words beginning with each letter of the alphabet and then proceeded to make sentences with those words. Finally, she combined all of her sentences using words from A-Z to make a story!

A. B. Keuser conducted a fascinating blog writing a paragraph of words, the vast majority beginning with the letter of the day. Such a fascinating read and quite a mouthful too!

English Speaking Zone hosted by Barbara was another one I visited every day. The grammar terms were good for me as I'm an English teacher.

Holly Jones documented an A-Z of London, reminding me of England very nicely indeed!

Finally, Denise wrote a very informative A-Z of places in the world with piles of information about each one.

There were so many other blogs which I loved and commented on, but which I can't mention here in this overview. I'm sure there are yet many blogs which I haven't got round to visiting.

I hope you all enjoyed my A-Z from *Our home called Kuantan* because I certainly had a fun time composing it. Whether or not I'll continue to post on 26 out of 30 or 31 days per month is still unknown. I had to be extremely disciplined in preparing posts and also taking some time to visit others.


I'll finish with a few facts and statistics regarding my blog during the month of April, 2011:

During the month of April, 2011, I :

· gained 69 followers

· received 2,244 visits to *Our home called Kuantan*

· had 9,321 page views

· had 284 comments to my posts


So It has been an overwhelmingly successful month for me and my blog. Thank you to all of those who contributed to those statistics, but more importantly, for allowing me to get to know you and your passions, and for me to show you my life in Kuantan.

http://duncaninkuantan.blogspot.com/2011/05/z-april-blogging-challenge-overview.html


           There you have it.  Last April worked for Duncan and he's looking forward to this year's Challenge.  Duncan plans to be back.   How about you?

Related articles

• Malaysia travel guide (ebookers.com)
• Kuantan Trip Sep 2011 (lonelyplanet.tv)

Zee Is Not the End---Happy New Year! a message from KC Kendricks

Image by bupowski via Flickr

Happy New Year!!!   2012 Is Here!

          Today's special New Year's greeting--or shall I say Reflection of 2011 and rallying call to 2012-- comes from KC Kendricks of Between the Keys.

Zee End

April 30, 2011
A to Z Blogging Challenge
Day 26 - Z


We’re finally to ‘Z’ in the A to Z Blogging marathon. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off – don’t go there – but here I am, at Zee. One thing is for sure - Zee is not final. It’s not an end in and of itself. It’s a stepping-stone to another level, one that I feel challenged to attain. Zee is having kept the commitment to complete the challenge and looking forward to next year.

The 2011 A-Z Blogging Challenge brought bloggers from all over the Internet together. I stopped by the blogs of writers, gardeners, movie lovers, chefs, moms, music lovers - you name it, the bloggers were there. How wonderful to have a glimpse into the lives of so many and see how the things I love are shared by others.

Sadly, the A-Z 2011 Blogging Challenge has to end. Zee must be met for this year and I must get back to zee writing. Thanks to everyone who stopped by Between the Keys, especially those who decided to click the follow button. I hope you’ve gotten a smile or two, or at least been entertained in some fashion.

Will I do the A to Z Challenge in 2012? It depends on where I am in my life to some extent, but I plan to regardless of those unexpected things the future may bring. I'm already plotting and planning, on the lookout for interesting topics for all the letters. Perhaps I'll even blog on one central theme. Check back and see.

I need to keep going toward my goal of a better me, to remember that no matter how hard I work or how much I learn, it’s likely my best will always be out there ahead of me, in the undiscovered country. I’ll make it there, someday. Rest assured I travel a path that allows me to enjoy the journey.

KC Kendricks
website at: http://www.kckendricks.com
blog: http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1989106.K_C_Kendricks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Kc-Kendricks/1439574042
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kckendricks

        I like the way you put that KC.  I hope many will choose to enjoy the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge journey this year.

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New Year--New A to Z Challenge! -- so says Li Vooght

       One year ends and a new one begins.  Li Vooght of Flash Fiction has offered to usher out 2011 as we head into the year of a new Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  Let's make 2012 the best ever!  Now let's let Li do what she does so well--tell us her story.

New Year – New A to Z Challenge!

January marks the one year anniversary of my blog, Flash Fiction; and the April A to Z Challenge of 2011 is at least partly responsible for my still being here to celebrate. (In a virtual sense, of course. The Challenge didn't keep me from dying of Woompah disease or leaping from a high-rise.)

Starting a blog is never easy, and when I began I had no online “presence” whatsoever; no Facebook page, no Twitter account, and no blogger friends with whom to commiserate. It was a lonely place at first, although I somehow picked up a handful of followers who offered support and encouragement right from the start. I can't thank them enough.

One day I stumbled on a mention of the A to Z challenge while randomly surfing blogs. I had no idea what a blogfest entailed, but it seemed like a good way to both meet people and to shift my writing into high gear. Although a few people mentioned outlining or writing posts ahead of time, or choosing a theme, I wanted to up the ante for myself. (I really do like to make things difficult.) I wouldn't just post something everyday, it had to be an original fiction or poetry piece. And I wouldn't auto-post or write anything ahead of time; nope, I had to climb out of bed and come up with something that morning.

Then I did a dumb thing. I put it in writing. People took note. And it dawned on me that I couldn't possibly go through with it. And yet...perfect strangers told me that I could. Others expressed the same feeling of “sign-up remorse”. I discovered that by linking up for the challenge, I had joined a community of warm, funny, talented writers/bloggers who were just as interested in reading and helping others as they were in promoting their own blogs. Maybe more so.

I completed the challenge by posting each day with the proper letter, although I failed my own rules at least twice by posting pics with a few words instead of stories. I often generated ideas by randomly opening books and choosing a word or phrase, or by looking around the house for an object or picture. Some days I had a cold hard knot in my stomach, wondering if I'd ever think of something. But it was a tremendous exercise in writing under pressure, and I slowly built up my confidence. In the meantime, I invariably read at least a dozen challenge posts a day that made me laugh out loud – or realize that I'm not the only person in the world with strange habits.

Since then I've polished a few stories and hope to have them included in an upcoming collection, along with some new works. I've made lots of great friends, learned a lot about writing, and figured out how to install those darn widget thingies. I've even co-hosted a blogfest, The Rule Of Three, which opened my eyes to the amount of time, effort and sheer stamina that goes into planning these challenges; I can't imagine how much goes into executing (and reading) something as massive as the A to Z challenge. And so my hat is off to our intrepid hosts!

If you ask me if I'll participate in the 2012 A to Z, I'll say “probably not”. I'll think about it, vacillate, waver, shake my head and dig in my heels. Then the linky will go up, and my finger will hover over the ominous “you're next!”. Chances are I'll press it and sign up. Then I'll second-guess myself, moan, wring my hands, get excited, slip into despair, and finally decide that maybe I can do it, and if not, well it won't be the end of the world.

I wonder if there are 26 Ways That The World Might End. Hmmmm. Now there's an idea.

Happy New Year, everyone, and see you at the 2012 brand spankin' new A to Z Challenge!

Thank you to Arlee Bird , creator of the A to Z Challenge, for hosting me today, for beginning this awesome blogfest, and for being one of my earliest followers. You rock, Lee, you really do. Thanks for sticking by me and supporting me.

  

        And thank you Li for inspiring, entertaining, or scaring us.  It's like some of those stories she tells.  If you haven't read Li's stories make haste and read your New Year's Eve away.  Now that's one heck of a way to celebrate the New Year!

        

Related articles

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Another One Who Reached the Finish Line: Sue Harding

       Sue Harding may blog at I Refuse to Go Quietly, but she stayed noisily right up to the end in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge of 2011.  Sue has her success story to tell today.

DONE AND DUSTED

Well, that's the April A-Z challenge over for 2011! There's a sense of relief tinged with a bit of sadness - relief, because it's been quite a feat to think up and create something new and different for each letter (thank goodness for pre-scheduled posts!); and sadness, because the cameraderie of us 'all in this together' is at an end.

But is it?

I tried to look into at least five different blogs every day and leave comments and mostly I succeeded. Some were blogs where my interest was piqued enough to want to 'follow' - some have already become fixtures on my blogroll! So, what started as a chance to nosey through other people's blogs has grown into a desire to keep up with the musings of these hitherto unknown 'blogger-friends'. So, thankyou A-Z, for broadening my horizons and 'growing' my followers, too! (more than doubled!)

Thanks, too, for the wonderful 'surprise me' button - it was always an adventure to see where I'd land next! :-)

I'd also like to thank all who stopped by to view the eclectic posts on my blog - and for their kind (and constructive!) comments!

Congratulations to all who participated and made it through to 'Z' - I hope those who didn't succeed (for whatever reason) will be inspired to try again next year.

Most of all, thankyou to those who promoted, encouraged and facilitated the whole event and generally kept us on the right path throughout - esp. to Arlee Bird, for all your positive support!

So, the next few days are going to seem strange without the motivation of creating a new post for the challenge......but I'm sure I'll come up with something! (I guess you'll have to watch this space to find out!)

;-)

         Sue lived up to her blog name and we thank her for that. Now all of you make some noise about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge and tell all of your blog friends about it. What the heck--tell of your friends who don't blog yet to start a blog and join us. The more the merrier.

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The Fantastic A to Z Ride: Observations by Shannon the Warrior Muse

     Shannon Lawrence who blogs as The Warrior Muse is one of the bloggers who went above and beyond the 2011 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.   She and Tina Downey (whose Reflections post appeared yesterday 12/28) continued after the end of the A to Z Challenge to start the Post Challenge Challenge in which they were joined  by many of you to continue to visit all of the blogs that had participated in April.  In the following post she provides some thoughts on how she will approach the 2012 Challenge based on what she learned in 2011.

The Fantastic A to Z Ride

Image by momentcaptured1 via Flickr

       At the culmination of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge this past year I posted my final letter: Z is for Zenith.  I was delighted to have successfully reached the end of the A to Z challenge, proud to have accomplished such a leap in my blogging, having only posted a handful of blog posts before that, and relieved that it was time for a break from the regimen of posting daily and meeting a challenge.  At the same time, I was already thinking ahead to the following year.  I met so many great people via their blogs and this challenge, and I knew 2012 would be even bigger, more spectacular. 

      One of the things I wondered about was whether to go with a theme or not.  It was fun reading blogs that had specifically themed their A to Z posts.  Did it make it easier?  Were those posts better than others that had no discernible pattern?  Was there really a difference?

       As April approaches, I am trying to decide whether to pursue that theme, and what theme that might be, or whether to post as I did last time, talking about whatever fit the correct letter of the alphabet as it came to mind.  Is one way better than the other?  I think not. 

       I’m also hoping to prepare at least some of the posts ahead of time in order to have more time to explore other blogs.  I wasn’t able to make it to many blogs at all during the challenge, at least not compared to how many entrants there were.  Because of that, I’ve spent the time since the A to Z following up on the listing of blogs, having been a part of creating a follow-up challenge that was all about visiting.  I’m not finished yet, but I have until April when it all begins again!  

 

       Ultimately, the A to Z is about having fun and challenging oneself, as much as it is about networking and discovering other blogs.  No matter what I do differently this year, I know the A to Z will be a fantastic ride!

         Thank you Shannon.  It sounds like you're ready to go.   Who else wants to get on board for the fun ride of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge?   Sign ups start on January 30th.

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How to Fix Your Sex Life: AZ Challenge Reflections from Tina at Life Is Good

           Not only did Tina at Life Is Good provide a fun Reflections post, she probably added some search engine optimization clout with her title.  Thanks Tina!  By the way, Tina along with Shannon at The Warrior Muse valiantly kept up the memory of the April Challenge through the summer as they organized their own Post Challenge Challenge where they invited A-to-Z-ers to join them in visiting all of the April Challenge blogs.  They were a couple of Challenge heroes for sure. 

How to Fix Your Sex Life: AZ Challenge Reflections

I'm so blessed to have found the AZ Challenge through my bloggy-buddy Rayna at Coffee Rings Everywhere. This challenge, as I told you in my A ~ A New Beginning post, came at a pivotal point in my writing. And as I promised in my V ~ Very post, I'll now give you the full scoop of why participating in this challenge was, for me at least, like trying to fix your sex life.

Ah, I see I have your attention!  As my dear, faithful readers know, I'm a walking, talking, medical worst-case scenario. If health insurance was priced like car insurance, I'd be paying the just-got-out-of-juvie-drive-a-red-sports car-not-so-spectacular-grades-but-would-you-please-insure-me-anyway rate. I go to a lot of doctor's appointments. (Just try my nifty search gadget in the side-bar and type “doctor” to get more stories.)

So I'm in a waiting room, forgot my book, and am therefore paging through, oh, probably Family Circle or Good Housekeeping or some other such magazine. In this issue, the regular marriage counseling  article is about long-married couples trying to recapture the spark in their sex life. There were three case studies. Yes, you get to hear them all because strangely enough, I think that each of these solutions can be applied to struggling writers. 

One couple decided that they'd take turns initiating sex. To writers, this translates as, “You give me a prompt, we'll both write something. Then next time, I'll give the prompt, and again, we both have to participate.” You still with me?

Another couple decided that they would only make-out. For a week. Then they'd see what happened after that week of, ahem, restraint. Writers: If I start to feel the beginning of a slowly smoldering fire,  I'll have to wait to write.  Until next week.  Anticipation makes everything sweeter.  No fair scribbling notes on napkins or jotting down ideas in your notes app. You have to WAIT to write.  Waiting makes the want grow fonder.

The last couple solved their, um, issues, with the equivalent of the AZ Challenge. Sex every 24 hours, come hell or high water or up the creek without a paddle. Once. Every 24 hours. If some unforeseen complication prevented this, then they had to do it twice in another 24 hour period. I probably don't need to translate this one...because...

That last scenario is what happened to me in this challenge. I hadn't foreseen it, but like what I read in the article, knowing that I had to put SOMETHING up every day just kinda freed my brain and my inhibitions. I was thinking, “Well OK, it just has to be something. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be long.” Some days all I managed was just a quick couple of observations, but then on other days, I was in the mood for a longer story. Some days I wrote about something I'd already written about. One day, I had no time time to write at all. To complete the challenge, I wrote two posts on the last day. I'll leave the translation from writing to sex up to you on this one :-)

Big thanks to my 27 new followers. I am honored. Also thanks to all who stopped by and left their footprints. My intent was to visit all of you in return, but if I missed you, please let me know. I really do want to meet you. As for the flip-side, I'm now following 23 more blogs, and I'm looking forward to continuing to build more inspiring bloggy relationships. I had a blast doing this, and hope our faithful and seemingly tireless hosts are willing to do it again. I knew I couldn't homeschool, write a post each day, and get to each of the 1282 bloggers participating during this event. It's like Santa.  Not really realistic.  But as long as the linky is alive, I will keep going until I hit 1282. I'm just too damn stubborn, not to mention competitive, to back down now.

This post was prompted by our challenge sponsors.  They asked all of us  to reflect on this month of writing, and then link up back at Tossing It Out, our host blog.  AND, last but not least...I got the groovy badge over there in the sidebar for completing the challenge.  Go me!  (I'm such a dork...)