Today is the first day of Black History Month. I thought I would acknowledge the month by letting you know about Marian Croak. Have you not heard of her? Well, she is one smart Black woman. She was born in New York City in 1955. She obviously had great parents who helped inspire her to…
Category: blogs
A to Z Challenge, blogging, blogs
Blogging for 10 Years
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Happy Blogiversary to M. Denise Costello! What a milestone! Before the year ends, I want to acknowledge that I have been blogging for more than 10 years. The actual 10-Year Blogiversary date was July 11, 2018. I think of this blog as sometimes a creative outlet, sometimes a book review site for new books, sometimes…
blogs, books, Ernest Hemingway, Travel
More Info on the 15th International Ernest Hemingway Colloquium recently held in Cuba
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Since my earlier posts on my trip to Cuba were mostly pictures, I am providing a link about the 15th International Ernest Hemingway Colloquium recently held in Havana from June 18 to June 22, 2015 that was written by an author, scholar, and board member of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, Nancy Sindelar.…
blogging, blogs, design
Launch of new “pixelimpress”!
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Having a blog these past few years has been lots of fun. One of the more fun aspects is making friends with others that blog. I especially enjoy reading some design blogs such as pve design, architect design™, cote de texas, and pixelimpress. pixelimpress is run by Pam and was named for her cute puppy,…
A to Z Challenge, blogging, blogs
Reflecting on the A to Z Challenge
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Good Morning,
Today is Reflection Day for the participants of the A to Z Challenge. I am happy to say for once that I completed a challenge from beginning to end. I did not miss a single day. Granted, I was late posting (as in I usually posted in the afternoon). And a couple of days I was very late. But I never missed a day–a huge deal for me. I can usually rationalize skipping or not completing a blogging challenge. I blog for fun and do not like to be pressured. But I decided I needed something to make me post. Personally, I can’t believe I actually followed through on the challenge. At work, one of my coworkers retired and we’ve been shorthanded at a really busy time. Just when the challenge ended has the workload started to decrease for a while.
Having a blog lets me look back and see what I was interested in at the time. Right now I can look back 6 years (7 in July)! I’ve had fun looking at the old posts and I get nostalgic for some of the old bloggers I kept in touch with and followed that quit blogging. In a few years I will be looking back at my first A to Z Challenge posts and laughing and remembering.
One of my new blogging friends was in the challenge and publicized it in a post. So I faithfully came up with a posts beginning with a successive letters of the alphabet. Fortunately, Sundays were excluded, giving the participants a needed break.
I really enjoyed thinking of a new topic each day. I would peruse Wikipedia and the internet and dictionaries looking for a subject that I felt I could write approximately 300 words. I had a list of ideas that I began tallying about a week before the challenge. I changed topics many times for certain letters.
Next year, I have already decided to have a theme for the entire month. Coming up with a theme won’t be that tough–I already have a couple in mind. Yes, they will be literary topics, probably revolving around a writer or maybe even a particular piece of work. Having a month-long theme might limit my audience. No matter, it will be challenging.
I have such respect for those that write. Especially columns or blogs that are creative and timely. How many bloggers, journalists, and writers can continue to be so creative on a regular basis is extraordinary.
Oh, here are my top 5 most popular posts in the challenge:
1. Cité
2. Starbucks
3. London
4. D Day
5. A is for . . .
The least popular post in the challenge was Zimbalist Efrem, Jr. I’m sad about that as he died a few days later.
The least popular post in the challenge was Zimbalist Efrem, Jr. I’m sad about that as he died a few days later.
A special thank you to Silvia at Silvia Writes for her comments, support, and inspiration!
Reading other bloggers posts and enjoying their creativity and learning from them was the best part of the challenge. I enjoyed how you could look up the themes, as well. Great job to the hosts and creators of this blogging challenge.
Have a great week! MDC
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