“I’m active, I’m attractive, and I’m in demand!
– Powerful affirmation a friend shared with me ❤
I’m a mover, I’m a shaker, and I work my plan!
I help them, I encourage them, and I share the dream!
I’m excited, I’m ignited, and I’m leading my team!
I’m a woman on a mission, I will reach my goal!
I have power, I have purpose, and I’m on a roll!“
In response to:
Hey everyone and hello 2021! I’m pleased that my first post for 2021 is inspired by Dr. Tanya’s “Blogging Insights” tag on her blog Salted Caramel.
TODAY’S QUESTIONS
How do you see your blog in 2021? What are your hopes and aspirations for your blog this year?
MY ANSWERS
Last year, I started off with a series of haiku’s thinking that’s all I could do in my time constraints, but then I longed for more variety. I was unorganized and spontaneous responding to prompts of interest, and I didn’t have a system on how I went about my posts. I felt okay doing that since my blog is for fun, but I also felt guilty since my readers don’t know when I’m posting or coming back from hiatus.
I have another separate blog for school & project management- related things at https://fissionpm.art.blog/. My tagline was “The Art of Managing Chaos” and well… 2020 was such a chaotic year that I didn’t spend much time there. Part of me wonders if I want to integrate it with this one. I may just want to share my challenges in my master’s program and fascinating articles in the business and technology innovation industry on that one.
I recently purchased a planner which I hope will give more structure to my time. It’s such a beautiful planner! I’ll blog about it sometime since I’ve used various planners throughout my life. Some were effective and others were not. It is my hope to write my topic ideas on various days and allot dedicated time where I focus on blogging efforts instead of trying to multi-task.
I hope to “promote” my blog more this year on Twitter where my presence is almost non-existent, Instagram where you get a glimpse of my personal life, or Facebook…(maybe?). I put promote in quotations because I think I just want to open a discussion with others rather than advertise.
It honestly worries me because I feel like I would be integrating all of my identities when it might be premature. Maybe, I’m cautious of people seeing all these facets to me, and I’m aware of inherent risks that come with being more public.
Have you guys ever seen this meme where one person features a different portrait image of themselves according to which platform they’re on? People show what they want to reveal about themselves.
When I first started, I was pretty much anonymous and I liked it like that. I was just another fish in the ocean. WordPress is my oasis. Most people from my personal life, while they are aware that I blog, I don’t think they read my blog. If I want to promote my blog, maybe I’ll just start by setting up separate social media accounts for my blog itself.
I would like to plan for the A-Z challenge this year with a focus area on the symbolism behind different kinds of birds. While I was purging my room from papers, I came across old school work that I would love to delve into further and reflect upon them.
While I still plan on responding to various prompts that bloggers share (SoCs, FOWC, VJWC, Saturday Symphonies, Tanka Tuesdays, Paint-Chip Poetry, 6 sentence stories…), I had this idea of loosely categorizing my posts for each day of the week.
Though, there certainly will be outliers. I may not hit all of these within a week, but I’ll try to go for quality over quantity. I’ll just go with the flow and not worry about it too much!
As always, I look forward to reading to what you have to share! Happy blogging!
Hi everyone – today’s post will be short and sweet. I normally give a summary of my year, my reflections, my blogging plans on New Year’s Eve, but I need to postpone. I want to wish you all a wonderful new year! Featured image is the beautiful Orion constellation today.
In the meantime, 2020 is clinging with a vice grip with a complimentary ball and chain. My boyfriend is currently sick with COVID-19, and many of friends have lost loved ones. They don’t have the energy to speak to me now and need as much rest as possible. I’ll be snuggling up with one of my boyfriend’s fantasy books, Arafel’s Saga by C.J. Cherryh , an Elven story.
Here is a quote from the first paragraph in the book:
Things there are in the world which have never loved Men, which have been in the world far longer than humankind, so that once when Men were newer on the earth and the woods were greater, there had been places a Man might walk where he might feel the age of the world on his shoulders.
Forests grew in which the stillness was so great he could hear stirrings of a life no part of his own. There were brooks from which the magic had not gone, mountains which sang with voices, and sometimes a wind touched the back of his neck and lifted the hairs with the shiver of a presence at which a Man must never turn and stare.
But the noise of Men grew more and more insistent. Their trespasses became more bold. Death had come with them, and the knowledge of good and evil, and this was a power they had, both to be virtuous and to be blind.
C.J. Cherryh
Dear Santa,
Merry Christmas! This is my first letter to you! Forgive me, but it’s difficult to write to someone I don’t know so well. After all, you have so many look-a-likes! It’s tough to know who is the real McCoy. I also apologize as it seems that I’m a procrastinator writing this last minute, but I know there’s nothing you can’t handle.
This year I didn’t expect so many of my friends and family members to get sick and pass away. It’s amazing how short life can be. I was about to ask if I could get one of those Time Turners that Hermione Granger got to get all of her homework turned in on time. But, am I really making the most out of every moment of my life or just filling it in with busy work? Sorry for going all philosophical on you, but inquiring minds want to know.
I hope to visit the Liberty Bell with my boyfriend and I hope to visit the mountains in Colorado. There’s so much more! The gift of fresh experiences everyday.
Speaking of which, can you please transport yourself into another spiritual dimension, visit Jesus Christ for me, and wish him a happy birthday? I’m not sure if his birthday is truly in December. That’s up for debate, but I do wish him well. I’m not sure how he is currently doing in the world, but I haven’t been able to reach him.
I really miss being able to travel. I hope your immune system is in tip top shape this year. I’ll be sure to leave some oranges, ginger chews, and Emergen-C supplements for you right next to the cookies of course. Be sure to get your shots like everyone else. I’ll also give you a shot of carrot & turmeric tonic as well!
I’m getting sleepy now, so I’ll just wish you a safe trip. Thanks for putting up with my randomness. I hope you can read between the lines. Keep your spirits up and enjoy the beautiful night sky!
P.S. – I’m building some new security cameras with some Raspberry Pi circuit boards, but I actually might need an upgrade in hardware. I hope you don’t mind the additional surveillance. Please feel free to wear an invisibility cloak if you need to! I hear you’re working with the military these days due to the hit men that are after you because of the coal you delivered to some children. I hope the Air Force takes good care of you!
Sincerely,
Sa
I wonder how much it would take to buy a soap bubble, if there were only one in the world.
Mark Twain
Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.
Yehuda Berg
Hi there! Hope you are enjoying the season’s festivities. Today’s prompt about words has my mind circling many random topics today. A few nights ago, I played some fun virtual holiday games over Zoom with some friends. Trivia, a scavenger hunt, guess the language, I spy… One was an A to Z holiday word game. I ended up with a lot of foodie words. 🙂
Bloggers here have whipped up some creative posts with words that have enriched my life. It’s obvious that how we construct phrases can leave an impact. I’ll never forget the day I looked at the first page in my dad’s English learning book from the refugee center. His instructor wrote an encouraging note saying how important it was to learn these words and phrases as it can help you navigate life in a new country.
About the Author from the Back Flap:
Seth Lerer was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was educated at Wesleyan University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago. He taught at Princeton before moving to Stanford University, where he is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities. The author of many books and articles on medieval and Renaissance literature, he is known nationally for his audio and videotape series, The History of the English Language, for the teaching company.
A few years ago, I really enjoyed a book about the development of the English language by Seth Lerer. I wrote a fun research paper as well as conducted some surveys about the invention of words and how technology has affected its development by interviewing people in the park. Most people were open to chatting with me about their favorite words. From Pig Latin to Spanglish, it was fun to listen to their varied responses.
Do you ever have words in which you like how it rolls off your tongue? I remembered how my friend and I were discussing how we enjoyed words with the “ch” sound. Charity, Chelsea, Chill, Charisma. For me it brings back memories of the Chia Pet commercials! Ch- Ch- Ch- Chia!
This morning I was reading from Katrina’s list of “10 Words that are Fun To Say” I enjoy 1, 3, 5, 6, and 10!
1) Pandemonium 2) Cabal, 3) Shenanigans 4) Perfidious 5) Mustachioed 6) Fandango 7) Pusillanimous 8) Pantaloons 9) Drosophila Melanogaster 10) Bourgeois
I also found a word search book as I was de-cluttering my room. It was quite a treat since it’s been ages since I’ve done a word search! I really enjoyed doing this one because Chicken Soup for the Soul compiled a set a quotes in each puzzle to find. It made me commit to memorizing “uplifting quotes to brighten your day” in order to find them. 😉 The reward center in my brain was happy from the dopamine kick. I’ve finished three so far:
No one lives long enough to learn everything they need to learn starting from scratch. To be successful, we absolutely, positively have to find people who have already paid the price to learn the things that we need to learn to achieve our goals.”
Brian Tracy
He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul’s estate.
Henry David Thoreau
Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be.
Silence is when we hear inwardly; sound when we hear outwardly.
It is the duty of men to judge men only by their actions. Our faculties furnish us with no means of arriving at the motive, the character, the secret self. We call the tree good from its fruits, and the man, from his works.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I also discovered a compilation of thoughts on colored note cards called “Leaves of Wisdom” from The Ladies Bible Class at the University Avenue Church of Christ. Today’s succinct thought:
Behold, I bring you good news. You are loved.
A. M. Chadwick
The first day of winter was a few days ago, and I’m shocked that I can walk outside in shorts and a T-shirt in the middle of December this year! Granted, I don’t live in Australia where it’s probably summer right now. Normally, there’s sleet or snow and cold, bracing winds to match where I’m at. Am I going to complain about this pleasant surprise? No…but it makes me think about global warming.
This past Sunday I was reading news of the nation’s new climate team in the local newspaper. I’m grateful to learn that this diverse group has the background and experience to tackle these issues head on. Below are some galvanizing words from the president elect. Looking forward to see how actions pan out in time.
“This brilliant, tested, trailblazing team will be ready on day one to confront the existential threat of climate change with a unified national response rooted in science and equity.
They share my belief that we have no time to waste to confront the climate crisis, protect our air and drinking water, and deliver justice to communities that have long shouldered the burdens of environmental harms.
Together, on behalf of all Americans, they will meet this moment with the urgency it demands — and seize the opportunity to build back better with good-paying union jobs, climate-resilient infrastructure, and a clean energy future that benefits every single community.”
President Elect Joe Biden
“Maybe our Happily Ever After hadn’t worked on the first shot. And maybe Happily Ever Afters weren’t a singular event. Maybe they were something you had to work at, and build, and never give up on, as long as they were something you still wanted.”
Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
Pitter patter of rain subsides & puddle evaporates
As the sun rays reaches the ground’s surface
Overjoyed and egg-static, the suave gentleman
Egg-xits the grand foyer in great stride and
Moon walks across the outdoor patio
Over to the fireplace where he takes a seat
Chilly air lingers – hearthstone warm to the touch
Emotions resembling to the lyrics of a Tangerine Dream song
You've been out of my life sometime now
Seem like a long, long while
Sometimes the thoughts of you
Bring tears to my eyes
While the times that bring a smile
I remember what you told me
We would always be close in our hearts
He gingerly snaps open a leather jewelry box
Marveling at the vintage turquoise Faberge egg earrings
Rated highly by the jeweler he bought it from
Excited to surprise his beloved on her birthday
The symbolism behind her birthstone alone
Wisdom, tranquility, protection, hope
Qualities to seal the relationship with good fortune
Giving it to her should be easy-peasy
Yet their long-distance history together
Makes for a complex arrangement
In reference to:
