Social Media Killed My Blog

I am a bad, bad blogger.  I know it's been ages since I've posted.  All three of my readers are probably wondering if I've fallen off the face of the planet.  Since I started using Facebook and Twitter a few years ago, I haven't been paying enough attention to the blog and both of you who don't follow me on Twitter.

I'm here.  No excuse really.  Just the reason:  anything I could post would sound exactly like a post from this time of year last year.  And the year before.  March starts the busy season.  Aidan did a triathlon.  I drive a lot.  I have chickens.  The kids have swim meets.

I'm going to try to do better.  Two of three of you out there in the blogosphere will appreciate that, and I appreciate you.

So.... what's up lately?  I drive a lot.  The kids both swim at 5am every day at two different pools.  I am tired all the time.  I have chickens.  I gave up on the diet after not losing any appreciable amount of weight.  I cook a lot and take bad pictures of my food with my phone.  Texas springtime is spectacular and we had a bumper crop of bluebonnets this year.  Bridget got in to National Junior Honor Society and was way happier about it than Aidan ever was.


So.  Over the next few days I promise you the following:

• Update on the chickens - there is drama.
• A post about the middle school talent show - there is drama.
• How I manage to make 4 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and drive to 4 different locations between 4:30am and 8:30am with no drama.  Ok, well a little drama.
• Pictures of food.
• Pictures of kids.
• Pictures of chickens.

Check back soon!  I expect to log in to Google Analytics and see that all three of you have hit the blog.

Time for a New Post

My blogging, twittering & FaceBook update activity has taken a serious nosedive!

So far, only one person has seemed to notice.

I was thinking the other day about a blog post that would read something like:

• Drive east on 1171, pick up Aidan from school
• Drive west on 1171, drop him at home
• Drive east on 1171, pick up Bridget from UIL
• Drive west on 1171, drop her at home
• Drive east on 1171 to get Aidan to his swim carpool
• Drive west on 1171 to get back home
• Drive east on 1171 to take Bridget to her music lesson
• Drive west on 1171 to go back home
• Drive east on 1171 to pick Aidan up from his swim carpool
• Drive west on 1171 to bring him back home

Pretty boring. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bored - I get plenty of time in the car to talk to my kids (in one direction) and to be alone with my thoughts (in the other direction). But it doesn't leave a lot of room for interesting things to write about. Or time.

So, I'll see what's on the camera - maybe that'll amuse you.

This is Engineer Aidan. He loves to take apart old/broken electronics so Ray found a really great kit where he can actually learn about resistors, capacitors, circuitry, etc.


And this is Junior Taylor Swift - trying to teach herself to play the guitar so she can be like Taylor. Seriously, most of her songs are only about 3 chords, so I think she'll get there and be another self-taught guitarist like Daddy.
This photo was recently taken of Aidan at the bone doctor's office. Yes, that is a lime-green cast on his arm. Yes, it's water-proof. Yes, this kind of (ONLY kind of!) puts a crimp in his training. We are trying not to dwell on that and keep the end-goal in sight - state championship meet in March. He'll be out of the cast mid-November.

So, other than a broken finger, like has been pretty normal and uneventful. We are very much looking forward to a whirl-wind visit from Kelli later this week and are hopeful that the rains will abate for her stay.
Fall is here and the trees are beginning to turn, which is just lovely. I know I will hunger for the sight of green growing things come February, but I will embrace and enjoy the changing landscape as much as I can.
My garden was a failure learning experience. I am still getting a few tomatoes - Sugary and Amish Paste. Both varieties are smaller than I expected. Mr. Stripey never panned out, Lemon Boy only gave me a few. The beans & cucumbers didn't get enough sun to do much. The root vegetables didn't like the heat, and my 2nd planting hasn't really taken off yet. The chard did pretty well, next time I'll plant more. Next year I will move one of the beds to the sunny side of the house. I am still contemplating starting bees this winter.
Now I must go empty the dishwasher, clean my bathroom, move the laundry along, and hit the grocery store. Exciting stuff - see why I haven't written much lately?
Life is good.

It's what it's here for

If a tree falls in the forest when nobody is there, does it still make a sound?

I used to feel that way about this blog. Well, sometimes I still do.

My reasons for blogging aren't big or important. Mostly it is because I live far from family and old friends and felt it was a little presumptuous to send the constant stream of emails bragging on my kids with all the attendant photos. I figure of anyone wants to know what's up in our life, they can come here to find out and if they don't care, they don't have to keep getting my self-important emails.

I also like to write. Sometimes I wish I actually had something important to say.

It's not that I expect hoards of readers, or anything in the way of spirited discussion.

But, for the longest time, I sort of felt like it was throwing a party where nobody came. I guess I expected more people to post comments or something. I mean, Dooce gets like 900 comments a day on her blog, I usually get ZERO. But, I'm thinking that those 900 comments really translate into, oh, I dunno, maybe a bazillion readers or something, because the last week or two, I've heard a lot of this:

Girl Scout Mommy: "I read your post about evolution, and I thought to myself, 'I have to get to know Pam better!'" Wow- and I was actually worried about offending people with that one!

Baseball Coach: "I hope you don't mind, but I clicked on that 'my blog' link at the bottom of your email. Is it OK that I read that stuff?" Of course! That's why it's there!

Neighbor at a cocktail party: "I must confess, I feel like a voyeur when I read your blog, but I can SO relate to it, your post about Bridget's singing was JUST LIKE what happened with my 20-year old 10 years ago..." Which sparked a lovely discussion from which I learned a lot about how to support Bridget in this potentially new activity which I'd never before considered.

So, to my bazillion anonymous readers out there in the bloggosphere: yes you are allowed to be here, and most importantly thanks for coming. Enjoy!