Everyone wants to be happy, and they search for that state all their lives-- not realizing that it lies in simple things, in fleeting moments.
April Blogging from A to Z Challenge #AtoZChallenge
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Guest Post, Siv Ottem: Lost and Found
It's
my privilege and honor to introduce this guest post. Siv Maria of
“Been there, done that.” has an amazing and personal story to
tell that will warm your heart and perhaps bring a tear to your eye.
Don't forget to visit her personal blog, too.
One
year ago today my son found me, 35 years after I had given him up for
adoption. Those of you that have been following my blog this past
year probably know the story, but for those of you that do not, I am
re-posting some of those posts today. Here is what happened and how
it has changed my life forever.
The
three of us, lost and then found
May
happens to be an amazing month for me. Do you have a certain month
where for some unexplained reason; life grabs you and makes you pay
attention? May is that month for me. Maybe my mother, who was born in
May, genetically imprinted this month for future events into my DNA.
I married my husband in May, my youngest son was born in May, and two
children who were lost to me found me once again, in the month of
May. Two years ago on May 12th my daughter, who I lost through a
messy divorce years ago, found me on Facebook. Last year on May 10th
my firstborn son found me as well.
You cannot possibly imagine the effect this has had on my life and the life of my family. In one year, I gained two more children, two grandchildren, a son-in-law and various new friends, including the estranged father of my first son. My husband became a step-father, my mother a great grandmother, and all my children gained more siblings. My son, who lost both his adoptive parents and had no siblings, suddenly had a huge family with grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and cousins. I often think how overwhelming this must be for him, and how many more surprises are still in store for all of us.
My youngest daughter traveled to the states last summer to meet both her sister and older brother for the first time. I traveled there soon after and got to spend time with the both of them. I also got to meet my grandchildren for the first time. There have been a lot of first times for everyone and this summer there will be even more. My son is coming to visit us and finally meet more members of his family!
We all connected through Facebook and keep in touch using Skype. My son learned a lot about me before we even had the chance to talk. He found my blog “Been there, done that” on Facebook, went there and read all about me and my life. Questions he has asked himself his entire life were answered in one tiny corner of cyberspace called blogger.
One year ago I got out of bed and started the day with ordinary expectations, when I went to bed that night I realized that my expectations would never be ordinary again. How could they be? In one year I had given birth to two grown children, and the funny thing is ...
No matter how grown up they may be,
they still feel like--- my babies to me.
All of us can get lost, but thankfully we can also be found.
You cannot possibly imagine the effect this has had on my life and the life of my family. In one year, I gained two more children, two grandchildren, a son-in-law and various new friends, including the estranged father of my first son. My husband became a step-father, my mother a great grandmother, and all my children gained more siblings. My son, who lost both his adoptive parents and had no siblings, suddenly had a huge family with grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and cousins. I often think how overwhelming this must be for him, and how many more surprises are still in store for all of us.
My youngest daughter traveled to the states last summer to meet both her sister and older brother for the first time. I traveled there soon after and got to spend time with the both of them. I also got to meet my grandchildren for the first time. There have been a lot of first times for everyone and this summer there will be even more. My son is coming to visit us and finally meet more members of his family!
We all connected through Facebook and keep in touch using Skype. My son learned a lot about me before we even had the chance to talk. He found my blog “Been there, done that” on Facebook, went there and read all about me and my life. Questions he has asked himself his entire life were answered in one tiny corner of cyberspace called blogger.
One year ago I got out of bed and started the day with ordinary expectations, when I went to bed that night I realized that my expectations would never be ordinary again. How could they be? In one year I had given birth to two grown children, and the funny thing is ...
No matter how grown up they may be,
they still feel like--- my babies to me.
All of us can get lost, but thankfully we can also be found.
Monday, June 4, 2012
the Bad...
Today we continue with Arlee Bird's Challenge analysis
The Good, the Bad, and the Evaluation...
We're gonna talk about the negatives:
Two weeks ago we looked at the good of the A to Z Challenge. I think it's fair to say that from all the feed back we've received through the Reflections posts and your comments, the positive aspects of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge far outweigh the bad.
Some of the negatives that have been cited are more personal and were covered in my post on The Negative Responses to the A to Z that appeared last year. You can go to that post if you want a more detailed coverage of negatives.
Repeatedly this year we saw essentially the same negative aspects brought to our attention. Some of these we tried our best to fix and I'm not sure how we can change them.
The dreaded Captcha:
The matter of Word Verification or spam filters rests with individual bloggers. On this A to Z site, on co-host sites, and on some of your sites requests were made repeatedly for bloggers to turn off spam filtering devices to make comment access easier. Some of the co-hosts and participants even went so far as to leave our requests in the offending sites' comments. We were somewhat effective, but many blogs still remained that required visitors to get through Captcha to leave a comment. We tried.
No play, no stay:
After sign-ups closed we eliminated about 200 blogs from the list that were advertising or non-participant blogs. Nevertheless many of you discovered more that we missed. Also as the Challenge progressed there was an attrition rate of bloggers who fell by the wayside. I'll cover a bit more about this topic of the "blogs that waste our time to visit" next Monday when we evaluate the Challenge as it stands now and ideas on how to make it better.
What if we don't agree with content?:
There were also some complaints about certain blog content that some deemed as inappropriate. The co-hosts labored over this issue to a great extent and concluded that it was not necessarily a good thing to get into the business of censorship. We came to the conclusion that some blogs needed content warnings, but we would not want to be excluding any blogs based on content as long as the other A to Z stipulations were being followed. We'd like to get some feedback on this issue as we don't want to alienate any of you who sincerely want to participate in the April Challenge.
The Biggest Problem is the biggest aspect:
The most oft cited problem pertained to the overwhelming size of the list. Over and over I saw requests to label the list entrants, break down the list into categories, or limit the number of participants. I think the last solution is not a good one and for me is out of the question. One of the main objectives of the A to Z Challenge is to build community and we have been doing a pretty good job of this. Limiting entrants would create a spirit of exclusivity that would not fit well into the idea of reaching out to expand our reach to build communities.
There are some viable alternatives to labeling and categorizing that I think would present a very workable solution to the problem of the large list. Some of you are in opposition to breaking things down, but I truly think I have an answer that would be an attractive way to approach this problem. Next Monday I will explain my plan in detail to see what you think.
Were there any other major negative aspects that you think I missed? What more could we have done to get bloggers to co-operate with what was explained many times? Were there any blogs that you found offensive and if so how do you think they should be handled?
 |
| Artwork by Ada Z at Collagepodge.com |
Two weeks ago we looked at the good of the A to Z Challenge. I think it's fair to say that from all the feed back we've received through the Reflections posts and your comments, the positive aspects of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge far outweigh the bad.
Some of the negatives that have been cited are more personal and were covered in my post on The Negative Responses to the A to Z that appeared last year. You can go to that post if you want a more detailed coverage of negatives.
Repeatedly this year we saw essentially the same negative aspects brought to our attention. Some of these we tried our best to fix and I'm not sure how we can change them.
The dreaded Captcha:
The matter of Word Verification or spam filters rests with individual bloggers. On this A to Z site, on co-host sites, and on some of your sites requests were made repeatedly for bloggers to turn off spam filtering devices to make comment access easier. Some of the co-hosts and participants even went so far as to leave our requests in the offending sites' comments. We were somewhat effective, but many blogs still remained that required visitors to get through Captcha to leave a comment. We tried.
No play, no stay:
After sign-ups closed we eliminated about 200 blogs from the list that were advertising or non-participant blogs. Nevertheless many of you discovered more that we missed. Also as the Challenge progressed there was an attrition rate of bloggers who fell by the wayside. I'll cover a bit more about this topic of the "blogs that waste our time to visit" next Monday when we evaluate the Challenge as it stands now and ideas on how to make it better.
What if we don't agree with content?:
There were also some complaints about certain blog content that some deemed as inappropriate. The co-hosts labored over this issue to a great extent and concluded that it was not necessarily a good thing to get into the business of censorship. We came to the conclusion that some blogs needed content warnings, but we would not want to be excluding any blogs based on content as long as the other A to Z stipulations were being followed. We'd like to get some feedback on this issue as we don't want to alienate any of you who sincerely want to participate in the April Challenge.
The Biggest Problem is the biggest aspect:
The most oft cited problem pertained to the overwhelming size of the list. Over and over I saw requests to label the list entrants, break down the list into categories, or limit the number of participants. I think the last solution is not a good one and for me is out of the question. One of the main objectives of the A to Z Challenge is to build community and we have been doing a pretty good job of this. Limiting entrants would create a spirit of exclusivity that would not fit well into the idea of reaching out to expand our reach to build communities.
There are some viable alternatives to labeling and categorizing that I think would present a very workable solution to the problem of the large list. Some of you are in opposition to breaking things down, but I truly think I have an answer that would be an attractive way to approach this problem. Next Monday I will explain my plan in detail to see what you think.
Were there any other major negative aspects that you think I missed? What more could we have done to get bloggers to co-operate with what was explained many times? Were there any blogs that you found offensive and if so how do you think they should be handled?
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Guest Blogger, Jennifer Forbes: When we’re young we’re always looking up to someone…..
I
come from a really large Irish Catholic family. One of my earliest
memories is me standing in the middle of a bunch of really loud
people who were much bigger than me and looking up……
We
live in a world of instant information, news 24/7, smart phones,
texting, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, blogging....seriously I could
go on and on.
Imagine
being a kid today being inundated with all types of faces,
personalities, athletes, the lure of money, having all types of
people to emulate and all of them perspective role models. It really
must be difficult to be a kid growing up today. Now imagine having to
turn away from all that glitz and glimmer and see your own parent,
grandparent, godparent or teacher/coach or pastor and really “get”
that they have value to your life and future as a role model; not
easy I imagine.
It
must be even harder to be that parent keeping your child in check,
keeping him or her grounded with all that distraction. Do you find
this a challenge as a parent?
When
I was a kid Mom would go to the front door and yell out….
Jeeeenifer and I'd know it was time to stop whatever I was doing with
my friends and head home for lunch/ dinner or for the day. I'd be
outside with my friends all the time TV was something I rarely
watched. Maybe in the evenings I’d catch a bit of tube with my
Nana. TV and radio and records were basically the extent of media and
entertainment back in my day. I don't recall actually ever
considering any one actor, athlete or musician as a role model.
I realize now I was lucky that I didn’t have the temptations kids
have today so I didn’t have to make those difficult choices.
I actually was blessed in life to
have three very special role models, my Mom, my Nana and my Godmother
my Aunt Frances; three strong and steady presences in my life
throughout my life. I was the only girl one of three children so my
relationship with my Mom always solid, never wavering. Even now we
share a special bond; she's the person I speak to every day about
everything and anything, my confidant, my next door neighbor and
closest female friend. Then there was my Nana. We went to Mass
together, we baked together, sewed together, crocheted and
knitted together, we took walks, and there is hardly a memory of my
childhood that she isn't in. And then my Godmother my Aunt Frances,
she had a way of making a person (namely me!) feel special, and when
you're a kid there is nothing more important than that. Heck, she
made me feel that way as an adult too, she really was an amazing
woman.
Now
a day, we communicate by "throwing” texts, since most every
kid has a cell phone, at least most kids I know do. I text with my
grandchildren and nieces and nephews, seriously! Now we communicate
by using e-mail or twitter because it's more convenient we rarely
even pick up the phone anymore. Let’s not lose our sense of family
in all that technology please!
And
that gets me back to my original point regarding role models for our
kids.
I'm
afraid that many kids today are losing those traditional role models
[parents, grandparents, godparents, teachers, coaches, and clergy]
and are choosing role models who are movie stars, musicians and
athletes. While some may be worthy as role models many are poised to
fall off the pedestal kids tend to put them on. Many have
amazing talent and they wow our children and even us with those
abilities. What concerns me is this...what happens when they fall off
that pedestal I mentioned due to general bad behavior, excessive drug
or alcohol use, criminal behavior and the like. What about our
children then?
So
tell me folks, is this a matter of concern for you? Who are
your children's role models or if you don't have kids who
were your role models when you were a young?
Till next time Jen
http://werelivingafulllife.blotspot.com
Friday, June 1, 2012
Alphabet Remix - Juggling Jennifers in April
These A to Z Challenge blogging ideas are brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...
It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders
Just because several other bloggers have written about the same topic, for the same letter during the Blogging from A to Z Challenge does not mean you cannot blog about this same subject too. There are many ways to avoid looking like you just jumped on the bandwagon of A to Z participants who chose a common or popular topic that is now being blogged into the ground because everyone is talking about the same thing in the same way. Instead of choosing a different subject, especially if the popular or common topic interests you, try putting a spin on it by writing posts that are related to the subject but has enough variety to stand out among the crowd.
If you are a comic book, film, Robert Downey Jr. or superhero fan and notice that many, if not most A to Z Challenge bloggers wrote a movie review for The Avengers as their Letter A post, then don’t just dismiss the idea of using The Avengers as your subject of choice. Instead, try writing a comparison of all of The Avengers, pitting them against each other in a hypothetical battle. Write about who you think would win in a fight between Iron Man and Captain America.
Still stumped for ideas? Here are some examples, based on Actresses named Jennifer, that you can use to get your blogging juices flowing for the 2013 A to Z Challenge -- and turn this common name into unexpected blog post ideas.
Jennifer Garner Jokes
Post a joke about the actress and then ask your readers if they think it’s funny or not. Don’t have time to go searching for celebrity humor? That’s fine. Here is one from Daily Comedy:
Jennifer Garner recently filed a restraining order against a man who’s been following her around.
The man...Ben Affleck!
Also, challenge readers to rewrite the joke and see who comes up with the most clever or funniest one.
You could also post a joke that was made by the actress and then share your thoughts on whether you think she was funny or not. When asked if she would post in a bikini, Garner jokingly responded to David Letterman, “Not enough double-sided tape in the world to keep everything in place.”
Judge and Jury: Controversial Remarks by Jennifers of Hollywood
Nope, this ain’t no James Patterson novel that I’m talking about today. The literary great can, however, be used as motivation for you to re-cast one of his Alex Cross movies or write a blog post that lists actors who you think would be the right fit for a film adaptation of Judge and Jury. Now getting back to this alphabet remix, consider blogging about a comment made by one of the famous Jennifers in Hollywood and share your thoughts on it. Also, open the discussion up to your readers.
Jazzy Juice about Jennifer Hudson
While other A to Z Challengers are listing their favorite Jennifer Hudson songs or favorite movies featuring this actress (which is fine to do, by the way), you can take a different approach to the subject matter and teach readers something about her that they didn’t know by sharing trivia facts or related news while also adding your thoughts to make it unique.
Before we wrap today’s A to Z blog post up, join me for some Friday Fun Time housekeeping.
The WINNER of last week’s Alphabet Soup game is...
Tina Downey at Life is Good
Tina’s Alphabet Soup Prize Package Includes: bragging rights, the title of 'Alphabet Wizard,' the option of selecting my next Monday Movie Meme topic* AND most importantly, the authority to choose the letter for the next Alphabet Soup game.
*Must be a topic/theme that has not been previously covered.
Congratulations to Tina for unscrambling all 10 names of actors and actresses whose first name begins with the letter J! I also want to give a special shout out to Delores at The Tormented Scribe for also taking a chance and playing this game by unscrambling at least one of the names on the puzzle. Delores, you are a true sport! For those of you who played and for those of you who missed it, here are the answers to last week’s Alphabet Soup:
1. Jhcaknsooa Jus - Joshua Jackson
2. otkeacaJnsn J - Janet Jackson
3. ernnnH fidoeuJs - Jennifer Hudson
4. nferCylonJen ine - Jennifer Connely
5. tosifei nnAJrnne - Jennifer Aniston
6. errCJy mia - Jim Carrey
7. eeortJtl nuSelm - Jurnee Smollett
8. JrnOCo lelnry - Jerry O’Connell
9. NlckoncJiohas - Jack Nicholson
10. kck acaBJl - Jack Black
Need some extra blogging motivation? Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly writing and memory activity that will have you thinking about movies in a whole new light. New topics are posted every Monday!
NICOLE
Read The Madlab Post.
Find/Follow/RT @MadlabPost on Twitter.
It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders
Just because several other bloggers have written about the same topic, for the same letter during the Blogging from A to Z Challenge does not mean you cannot blog about this same subject too. There are many ways to avoid looking like you just jumped on the bandwagon of A to Z participants who chose a common or popular topic that is now being blogged into the ground because everyone is talking about the same thing in the same way. Instead of choosing a different subject, especially if the popular or common topic interests you, try putting a spin on it by writing posts that are related to the subject but has enough variety to stand out among the crowd.
If you are a comic book, film, Robert Downey Jr. or superhero fan and notice that many, if not most A to Z Challenge bloggers wrote a movie review for The Avengers as their Letter A post, then don’t just dismiss the idea of using The Avengers as your subject of choice. Instead, try writing a comparison of all of The Avengers, pitting them against each other in a hypothetical battle. Write about who you think would win in a fight between Iron Man and Captain America.
Still stumped for ideas? Here are some examples, based on Actresses named Jennifer, that you can use to get your blogging juices flowing for the 2013 A to Z Challenge -- and turn this common name into unexpected blog post ideas.
Jennifer Garner Jokes
Post a joke about the actress and then ask your readers if they think it’s funny or not. Don’t have time to go searching for celebrity humor? That’s fine. Here is one from Daily Comedy:
Jennifer Garner recently filed a restraining order against a man who’s been following her around.
The man...Ben Affleck!
Also, challenge readers to rewrite the joke and see who comes up with the most clever or funniest one.
You could also post a joke that was made by the actress and then share your thoughts on whether you think she was funny or not. When asked if she would post in a bikini, Garner jokingly responded to David Letterman, “Not enough double-sided tape in the world to keep everything in place.”
Judge and Jury: Controversial Remarks by Jennifers of Hollywood
Nope, this ain’t no James Patterson novel that I’m talking about today. The literary great can, however, be used as motivation for you to re-cast one of his Alex Cross movies or write a blog post that lists actors who you think would be the right fit for a film adaptation of Judge and Jury. Now getting back to this alphabet remix, consider blogging about a comment made by one of the famous Jennifers in Hollywood and share your thoughts on it. Also, open the discussion up to your readers.
When talking about juggling work, motherhood and marriage, Jennifer Lopez said “So you are going to be either a bad mom and be a really good career woman and wife; or a good mom and career woman and a bad wife; or a good mom and a good wife and your career is gonna suck. I want to get a T-shirt that says, 'Bullsh--!” -- Do YOU agree or disagree that these are the choices for women?
While discussing her squirrel-skinning scene in “Winter’s Bone,” actress and “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence told Rolling Stone Magazine “I should say it wasn’t real, for PETA. But screw PETA” -- which prompted a response from the animal rights organization. -- Should we concern ourselves with fictional depictions of animal abuse or is PETA out of line?
Jazzy Juice about Jennifer Hudson
While other A to Z Challengers are listing their favorite Jennifer Hudson songs or favorite movies featuring this actress (which is fine to do, by the way), you can take a different approach to the subject matter and teach readers something about her that they didn’t know by sharing trivia facts or related news while also adding your thoughts to make it unique.
Did you know that Jennifer Hudson has her own holiday? That’s right. In 2007, the mayor of Chicago declare March 6th as “Jennifer Hudson Day.” So, write about how you would celebrate this holiday or better yet, if you could give a local celebrity his or her own holiday, who would it be and why?
Did you also know that Jennifer Hudson turned down the leading role of an abused teenager in the drama film “Precious” because she didn’t want to put on anymore weight? -- then later said the character just wasn't meant for her. In her book about weight loss, Hudson said that although she liked the script, she didn’t want another role that had something to do with her weight, after working on “Dreamgirls.” As a result, Hollywood newcomer Gabourey Sidibe was case as the “Precious” lead. That isn’t the only time this Academy Award winning actress turned down a big offer. Hudson also turned down an invitation to perform at President Obama’s inauguration, which would have been her first time in the spotlight following the murder of her mother, brother and nephew.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Before we wrap today’s A to Z blog post up, join me for some Friday Fun Time housekeeping.
The WINNER of last week’s Alphabet Soup game is...
Tina Downey at Life is Good
Tina’s Alphabet Soup Prize Package Includes: bragging rights, the title of 'Alphabet Wizard,' the option of selecting my next Monday Movie Meme topic* AND most importantly, the authority to choose the letter for the next Alphabet Soup game.
*Must be a topic/theme that has not been previously covered.
Congratulations to Tina for unscrambling all 10 names of actors and actresses whose first name begins with the letter J! I also want to give a special shout out to Delores at The Tormented Scribe for also taking a chance and playing this game by unscrambling at least one of the names on the puzzle. Delores, you are a true sport! For those of you who played and for those of you who missed it, here are the answers to last week’s Alphabet Soup:
1. Jhcaknsooa Jus - Joshua Jackson
2. otkeacaJnsn J - Janet Jackson
3. ernnnH fidoeuJs - Jennifer Hudson
4. nferCylonJen ine - Jennifer Connely
5. tosifei nnAJrnne - Jennifer Aniston
6. errCJy mia - Jim Carrey
7. eeortJtl nuSelm - Jurnee Smollett
8. JrnOCo lelnry - Jerry O’Connell
9. NlckoncJiohas - Jack Nicholson
10. kck acaBJl - Jack Black
Need some extra blogging motivation? Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly writing and memory activity that will have you thinking about movies in a whole new light. New topics are posted every Monday!
NICOLE
Read The Madlab Post.
Find/Follow/RT @MadlabPost on Twitter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)