This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Thank you bloggers!



A Logical Decision:

           Starting next week I am going to change my posting days to a more logical schedule.   I will be keeping Monday as it is.   My Tuesday will be moving to Wednesday and my Thursday will now be on Friday.  Does that make sense?  In other words I will continue posting three days per week on the same topics I post on now.   See the schedule tab above if you want to know what those topics are.  And be aware that I often don't necessarily stick to those topics anyway.  In any case I believe this is a more logical approach since each post will have an extra day to be commented on and I probably don't have to say much more than that.

A Lot of Help From Our Friends:

          With April rapidly approaching the A to Z roster is heading toward 400 sign ups.  The 500 goal aimed for by Stephen and Alex (as well as the rest of us) seems to be a real possibility.   I want to thank the A to Z Team for the great efforts so far and again encourage all of you to go to their blogs (they are listed at the top of my blog page) and follow them if you are not doing so already and be sure to watch their blogs in the coming weeks for some of the special features they will be offering about the Challenge.

           Tomorrow (Wednesday March 2nd) Alex J Cavanaugh will be trying to drive home a point that some may have heard before but it bears repeating.  This will be an important post so I hope you will check it out.   My other co-hosts will also be having posts coming up though I don't have the scheduled dates at the present time so just be watching.

           As I've said before, our biggest help comes from all of you readers.  I have been impressed in how so many of you have been spreading the word to your blog friends and hope you will continue to do so to help us reach the amazing 500 mark.    Today I want to recognize some more of the bloggers that I have found with badges in their sidebars and special posts promoting the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.

           
Badge in Sidebar and other special mentions:

Karen Walker  at Following the Whispers is one that I had missed earlier.

Kari Marie at Writing By Heart is helping out.

Walk 2 Write in Florida has joined us in the Challenge and announced it by adding the badge their sidebar.

Pamela Jo at There's Just Life gives the Challenge a boost as well.

Heather at The Waiting Is the Hardest Part displays the badge and mentioned the Challenge in her Valentine's Day post.

Jen at Widdershins and Skeleton Keys mentioned the Challenge and added the badge to her sidebar.

Sheila from Sheila Scribbles has joined up and added the badge but don't tell her husband (her words not mine).

A to Z also received a mention in a blog post from Steven Chapman (writer) .

The Challenge badge can be found on the Blue, Purple, and Scarlett blog.

J.D. Brown has also dived into the April alphabet soup bowl and plastered the badge on her sidebar.

K.C. Woolf at The Woman Condition gave A to Z a mention in a post.

I also noticed the badge at the Box o' Whine site with a rather different sort of message about the Challenge.  Her blog is available for comments after a rough start last year when her comments were disabled for some odd reason which she could only attribute to a template change.  Now the site looks nice and leaving comments is easy.

Returning from last year, Laura from Wavy Lines has put up the badge.

Newish blogger Li now has the badge in the sidebar of her Flash Fiction blog.

Nutschell The Writing Nut is another blogger who has added the badge to her site.

Petra at Penned Pebbles  has added the badge.


Special Posts:

Sue Roebuck from Lauracea gave A to Z a special nod.

Susan Gourley/Kelley at Susan Says had a nice offering on February 15th and she's correct in calling A to Z "Blogging Fun" because it is.

Scarlett at  Blue, Purple, and Scarlett had some interesting thoughts about A to Z.

AnnMaree (Emu) from Emu's Creations found out about the Challenge from Scarlett.

Mock at Stay on Target featured the badge with a link.

Thanks also to Tim at The Other Side for talking about the Challenge.

Bev at My Reader's Block had a special post about A to Z.

Holly from It's All a Matter of Perspective had me scratching my head until I realized she had signed up for the Challenge.

Ella from Ella's Edge gave us another nice mention--she's one of our top promoters of the blog event.

Thank you Blair at Yellow Matter Custard for your post.

Sue at I Refuse to Go Quietly! made some noise about the Challenge.

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            As always I would ask that you try to stop by each of these sites and follow, get to know them, and let them know that you appreciate the support they are giving.   Now's the time to start making your blog friendships as you prepare for April.   And I'd say the above bloggers are some friends you might like to have along your side in the future.

           And speaking of having blog friends to support you:


A Bit O' Promotion for an Upcoming Author:

"JM Tohline's 'The Great Lenore' is available for pre-order today! - http://bit.ly/bDvYFw .     This is the message that JM asked anyone who would to post on their sites today.  You know I'm always happy to help promote fellow writers.  If you would like more information about J.M. Tohline visit his site.
This is the message from Paul Joseph a friend of J.M. Tohline   You may want to visit Paul's site to find out how you can win a copy of The Great Lenore.

            We'll leave it at that for today--I'd say that's a lot of information.   If you have posted something about the A to Z Challenge or posted the badge and I have not yet mentioned you, please let me know.  I'm trying to get around to as many blogs as I can, but it can be easy to miss some of these.   Also if you are interested in doing a guest post about the challenge please let me know.  We'd love to hear some testimonials about how last year's challenge helped you or how you plan to use it to your benefit this year.
And if there are any special topics you'd still like to hear covered or questions that you would like answered please leave a comment below.

           Now let me get back to preparing a few more of my April posts.   I'm getting a head start.  How about you?




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46 comments:

  1. Wow! That's an impressive list! Nicely done. Looking forward to it.

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  2. I don't mean to brag... but.. I just have to - I tipped the scales to 600 followers!! woohoooo!!
    I am new here, explored all your links, joined your co-hosts, decided to join your A to Z challenge (on BOTH my Blogs - dunno if that's allowed, if not, let me know). So it looks like I have to start preparing ;P

    Part of the introduction should include the Blog links and what they are about, as it says in your welcome message...

    1. English Speaking Zone
    http://english-speaking-zone.blogspot.com/

    it's about, well... English - teaching, learning, culture, poems, quotes, and how we (me + friend) are going about into turning it into a business venture.

    2. Reach for the Sky
    http://goal2goal.blogspot.com/
    it's more about me personally. I decided to break away from ESZ, as some ranting and raving is not appropriate on the main blog.

    It's been hectic lately as I learn to do many things myself, plus doing a 9-5 :)
    Having said that, I always like a challenge, hence my double entry into A to Z!

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  3. It's great to see so many people not only participating but promoting the event all over! :) I've been starting to work through the list but still have a ways to go! I'll definitely stop by the blogs you mentioned today.

    On that note, I posted a little something this morning about the A to Z challenge...please stop by if you have time!

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  4. This has to be the fest of the year, Lee. April is approaching fast :)
    Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

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  5. Hi Lee .. going towards 500 .. feels like the speed of light - I'll get there & I know no button yet .. all things in good or late time! Good thing I'm not juggling .. they'd all be on the floor!!

    Looking forward to it .. cheers Hilary

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  6. Go for it! I'm having fun watching from a safe distance on the blog-sidelines! ;-)

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  7. Ground breaking news! Love all the blogging love that is going around. Spring is in the air...

    I scribbled some ideas, but nothing in permanent ink ;-D

    Can't wait~Nice to flip the calendar today~

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  8. I will be here to see what Alex has to tell us!

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  9. You put so much effort into this Challenge that no wonder it's a big success! I fully expect it to hit 500 participants by April 1.

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  10. Michelle -- The choice of blogs will be like the difference between going to a specialty store and a large department store. There should be something for everyone.

    S.A.-- I am impressed by all the bloggers who are so actively involved.

    B.Z.-- Thank you for helping me get to 600! 2 blogs are fine as long as you can keep up with them. Hope you'll have time to leave comments and get to know other bloggers as well.

    Liz -- Thank you for your contibution to spreading the word. I will check it out.

    Jules -- It's great to see isn't it. Thank you for all of your contributions.

    Hilary -- It's more juggling than I can handle alone. Thanks for your support.

    Marvin -- You can watch the circus from the bleachers if you want, but no one will mind if you get in the act as well :D

    Ella -- I'm doing my own scribbling as well and actually have a few posts already auto-scheduled.

    Dezmond -- Alex always has something good to say and says it so well doesn's he.

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  11. KarenG -- 500 is a definate possibility.

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  12. I am certainly ready. Have already laid out my topics!

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  13. 500 is going to be crazy and so totally cool!!! Can't wait. =D

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  14. We can hit 500! Look at all those spreading the word.
    My post for tomorrow is ready!

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  15. YOU WILL HIT 500...

    You still have another 30 days...

    I know I can't wait. I will be in Florida for this month and most of April, so I will have plenty of time to think up wonderful posts to write.

    Michael

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  16. Yay for 500! Hang on. I worked out you needed 25 hours in the day to visit 300 blogs. Revise that figure...

    Can't wait for it to begin. Wicked chuckle.

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  17. I just started a new blog and am looking to use the A to Z challenge as a good time to launch it. It can be found at http://razzycorner.blogspot.com/
    Since it's just started, there isn't a whole lot on there right now, but will be working on it in the next month and really getting going with the Challenge.

    I am also doing the challenge with my personal family blog http://zoeyandfamily.blogspot.com
    Maybe it might be a little crazy to try to do two blogs at once, but I'm up for the challenge :)

    I am a new follower and looking forward to your upcoming blogs!!!

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  18. How fun, thank you for linking me up!

    its going to be SO much fun!!!

    already planning, got my word document with the alphabet running down and different ideas written in each!!!

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  19. so..when can we start taking over the world?

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  20. Thank you for including me, Arlee. I can't wait until this week calms down and I have time to fully explore your blog. It's awesome!

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  21. Gregg -- I hope everybody is as prepared as you so they can do some visiting in April.

    RaShelle-- Totally cool is right!

    Alex -- We will hit 500!

    Michael-- Yeah, you tell 'em. We will hit 500!

    Becca -- Thank you and good job on the part of all of you.

    Ellie -- This is going to take some creative planning isn't it.

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  22. I can see you reaching the 500 goal and possibly passing it.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  23. Awesome to see so many people are up for the challenge! It's going to be fun :)

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  24. "I'll be back."

    I'm impressed by the participation for your challenge. You're all such awesome bloggers, I can see why so many would want to participate.

    I wish everyone luck in meeting the goal.

    ........dhole

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  25. Boy you've been busy, Lee! I'm glad to be back, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things! Can't wait for the next A to Z challenge!

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  26. Mason -- We may very well pass 500. That would be incredible.

    Jemi -- It is going to be fun.

    Donna -- The A to Z Team is stupendous and the community of A to Z Bloggers is beyond amazing. It's going to be a great Challenge.

    Better --- Your blog name should be the anthem of this challenge. A to Z is one of the best opportunities for blogging betterment that there is.

    B. Miller --Yes we have been busy and now that you're here we can really take off. I have missed seeing your posts and was elated when I saw you were back. Yay!

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  27. I agree it does seem to be the fest of the year, that and the crusaders fest. :O)

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  28. I'm looking forward to it -- I've already got some topics in mind, and I'll probably start writing early so I'm not rushed in April.

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  29. That is quite the list!
    And I think your new schedule will work well.

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  30. Madeleine -- This and the Crusade are indeed two biggies and the great thing is that they work well together.

    Will -- I've been working on my April posts as well so I can focus on vistiting and commenting during that month.

    Debbie--The new schedule is more logical and I like to change things up now and then.

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  31. Good for you on writing posts. I'll like your new schedule better, too.

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  32. Wow there are a lot of people participating in A to Z this year. I hope my teeny blog doesn't get lost in all of that!

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  33. Started a few posts for April, then keep changing my mind about what I want to do. That's normal for me. Looking forward to April.

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  34. Incredible!!!!!! Yep, I'm trying to get some ideas down and on the weekend (if it's remotely normal!), I hope to actually schedule a few posts.

    I'll also try to get back to this post and look up some of the other bloggers.

    Hope you're having a great week!

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  35. Wow! I'm simultaneously amazed, because 500 is unbelievable, and at the same time not that surprised, because it's a great idea. How fantastic to watch an idea like this grow!

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  36. Hello all.
    I have been blogging for a little over a month now http://indiebookblogger.blogspot.com I am at a massive 19 followers and joining the a-z challenge hoping to grow.
    My blog is all about reading and reviewing inde books. I also do author interviews and have raffles to give away copies of their Ebooks. Right now I am giving away Demon Gates by Robert Day. Stop by and say hello maybe you'll win a prize!

    Scott

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  37. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting on my blog. Your words really made a lot of sense. :)

    I am now happily following your blog! I hope you will stop by mine again sometime. :)

    http://thefriskyvirgin.blogspot.com/

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  38. Thanks for the mention! I was happy to find out about this challenge and more than happy to pass on the info to fellow bloggers. I'm looking forward to April!

    500?!?! That's a lot of blogs to read!!! Exciting!

    ~Jen

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  39. Carol -- Now you and I will have the same schedule.

    Marjorie -- Your blog won't get lost as long as you keep it visible. Commenting is a big key to staying noticed.

    M Pax -- I've started my posts, but I can always change it up if I need to.

    Words Crafter -- Hope you will check out the bloggers I've mentioned here as well as the others on the Linky list.

    Amie -- It is a practical challenge that benefits all who participate.

    Scott -- I visited your blog and left a message for you.

    Frisky Virgin -- Your blog title had me intrigued. I will stop back. Hope you're doing the Challenge.

    Jen -- I like having a wide variety of blogs to choose from and we're getting it.

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  40. congrats on getting the award from Alex.

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  41. I might have said this before but I'll say it again. What comraderie.

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  42. I love setting goals, so I think it is so great you are nearing yours!

    I think this challenge will help me reach mine of getting my new blog off and running!

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  43. Michelle and Ocean Girl -- Thanks!

    L & L -- This is a great way to kick off a new blog and get some blogging discipline.

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  44. I put the badge on my sidebar and did a blog about it as well! I am so excited/nervous to take on this adventure!!

    Tiffani
    thoughtsfromtiffani.blogspot.com

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