A REASON TO CELEBRATE reflects on the A to Z blogging challenge

A REASON TO CELEBRATE reflects on the A to Z blogging challenge

APPREHENSION: Apprehension describes my initial thoughts about the challenge. I was excited about the challenge and anticipated April’s arrival, to participate in the challenge. Yet, I was apprehensive about whether or not I’d complete the full challenge.

BENEFICIAL: This blogging challenge was beneficial to me in several ways. It prompted me to write and post a blog daily. It stretched the mind, trying to fit my blog theme into the A to Z format. I discovered blogs I was unaware of. I’d certainly recommend any blogger or writer to participate in this challenge.

Cooperative: The blogging community participating in this challenge was a cooperative group, encouraging and supporting each other.

DETERMINATION: Determination; a necessary ingredient to make it through the end of the month successfully posting a blog for each of the 26 alphabet letters.

Every DAY: Well, maybe not every day, but most days. The challenge incorporated four Sundays “off”, to allow for fitting 26 letters into a 30-day month. However, since I post a daily ‘Reason to Celebrate’ on my Facebook page and was incorporating this theme to the A-Z, I continued with a blog on the four Sundays also. It didn’t incorporate a chosen letter. But I figured that since I had the Facebook post written and a photograph chosen, I’d go ahead and post the blog also, making a solid one-post-a-day month for me. (A first for me!)

FRIENDS: Friends, new friends discovered through this challenge. Even though they’re virtual friends, new friends are always welcome. A writer’s life can be much too solitary as we sit behind our computer screens, writing and surfing the internet, surrounded by stacks of research books. Establishing connections with other writers is always a benefit.

GOALS: The goal on the challenge was pre-determined and easy to follow. All we had to do was write a blog for that day’s letter. Check. Post to the A to Z site. Check. Visit a few other blogs. Check. The way these small 26 goals fit into the larger goals we have as writers; priceless.

HURRIED: Hurried describes a few of my blogs, as I was racing the clock to get my blog posted by midnight. And a few nights I made it by only a minute or two. A few of my blogs ended up posting to the next days date, because whatever computer connection was hosting my blog was obviously ahead of myTexas clock. But according to my time, I knew I had it completed before the end of the day. Barely!

IDEAS: Ideas are what you need here; lots and lots of ideas. Some of your ideas will work and some won’t. There were a few days where the idea I had to fit the letter of the day didn’t work out and I had search through other avenues to come up with another idea that would work.

JUGGLE: Juggle, what you might have to do on some days to get your blog written. Work, family needing attention, errands that won’t wait, shopping, cooking, phone calls interrupting, emails, yard work beckoning … the list goes on. Where do you find time to sit down and write? But, isn’t that something we fight with every day as writers anyway? Some days we need to look at what we are juggling and see if there’s anything that can wait, be delegated, or scratched off our “to-do” list for good. Juggling our daily life with the blog challenge takes some effort. It’s an effort that we need to make with our writing if we are going to accomplish anything productive. The novel, book, story or poem that lives in your head won’t get anywhere until we sit down with a pen or a keyboard.

KICK-IN-THE-PANTS: What this challenge was for me; a kick-in-the-pants. It was the motivation I needed to add to my blog on a more regular basis than I had been. Yet, the time frame was short enough that it was a do-able project.

LEARN: As writers, we learn. We learn from our environment, from our life, we learn from new technology (like computers and blogging) and we improve our craft. Anyone who participated in this challenge has learned something in the process.

MOTIvATED: To finish the challenge through the entire month, we needed to stay motivated. Some days it was easier than others to get a post written and published. Knowing that the next day another letter was coming our way helped keep me motivated to get that days post completed.

NO! SAY ‘NO’: Accomplishing any writing goals we have, such as this monthly challenge, may require prioritization. Some tasks and needless time-fillers may need to go. ‘Just say no’, the phrase can be applied to our adult lives also.

OvERWHELMED: Overwhelmed; what I felt like a few times during the past month.

PREPARED: A to Z had a tip about preparing for the challenge by making a list of potential blogs ahead of time. I did as they suggested and am so glad. Each day, at least I knew what my subject was and could get right to the researching and writing. It helped having a road plan for the month.

QUANDRY: I had a quandary on a few posts; most specifically the Q, X, Y and Z days. It required a bit of creative maneuvering coming up with a title matching the letter that also matched a holiday for that day.

REGRETS: I have two regrets. First, although I had my holidays pre-picked to match the letter of the day (see Prepared above), I wish I would have done more preliminary research and maybe written a few drafts ahead of time. It would have saved time during the April crunch, especially on Mondays, which are my longest work day. My second regret is that I did not visit as many fellow bloggers as I would have liked to. I’m glad the linky list is still up and over the next week I can do a little catch up and go ‘visiting’.

SATISFYING: the feeling of satisfaction at the end of the challenge was worth the time spent writing, posting and commenting during the month.

THANKFUL: I am thankful to the hosts of the A to Z blogging challenge. I think I was busy trying to do one little, itty-bitty blog. I know it was nothing compared to the work the hosts encountered as they maintained and monitored the site, visited blogs, commented, and kept up with their own blogs and work. Thank you all!

UNIQUE: The whole A to Z format was unique and fun. It’s added a dimension to my thought process and I’m incorporating this in other aspects of my life and writing.

vALUABLE: The entire process of completing this challenge was valuable; to my writing and to my personal growth.

WEARY: Weary; what it felt like towards the end of the month!

XPERIENCE: A worthwhile experience; all twenty six days. And yes, for a few of the difficult letters, I had to get a little creative, like the day for ‘X’.

YAWN: Yawn, or more correctly, yawns; what I experienced many of during this challenge. (Especially on those few nights where I was publishing the post in those last few minutes of the technical ‘day’.)

ZIKES! WE’RE DONE!: Another use of ‘creative license’ for ‘Z’. But yes, we’re done and heaving a sigh of relief. We finished the challenge and can pat ourselves on the back. We now return you to your ‘regular’ life, a life richer and with more growth than it had a month ago.

Z’s celebration is for ZEBRA’S LESSON: NATIONAL HONESTY DAY.

Monday, April 30^th: Z’s celebration is for ZEBRA’S LESSON: NATIONAL HONESTY DAY. Zebras? What do zebras have to do with Honesty? In our current times, it appears that integrity is missing in so many places (not pointing out only national and local political institutions, although they tend to get more press than other instances). Too many times the acceptable “gray” area seems to be expanding and growing. There are times that a little “white lie” is acceptable, as a way of lubricating the social cogs. (“Oh my, Aunt Clara, that is an interesting hat” instead of telling her how atrocious the hat really is.) But instead of letting the “gray area” consume a larger portion of our world, maybe we need to step back and see that sometimes things really are black and white.

Celebrate National Honesty Day by looking a little closer at our lives and see if there are ways we can be more honest. Is there a place in our lives where we need to keep the black and white boundaries? Are there times that we should be honest with our friends, instead of using minor social fabrications?

www.holidayinsights.com reports on the Origin of “National Honesty Day”: “M. Hirsh Goldberg, former press secretary to a governor ofMaryland and author of five books, created National Honesty Day in the early 1990s after spending four years researching and writing The Book of Lies (Morrow). This book has been translated into Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Goldberg created this day, because he felt that the month of April, which begins with a big day of lying (April Fools Day), should end on a higher moral note.”

Celebrate the day; celebrate with a life of integrity and honesty.

Y’s celebration is for YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT: a SAVE THE FROGS DAY

Saturday, April 28^th: Y’s celebration is for YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE IT: a SAVE THE FROGS DAY. People across theUS andUK are banding together today in a celebration of the frog.

According to http://www.savethefrogs.com, “Amphibian populations have been rapidly disappearing worldwide and nearly one-third of the world’s amphibian species are on the verge of extinction. Up to 200 species have completely disappeared since 1979. Frogs and other amphibians face an array of threats from climate change to habitat destruction; pesticide use; over-collection for frog legs and dissections; invasive species; and infectious diseases spread by human activity. Frogs eat mosquitoes, provide us with medical advances, serve as food for birds, fish and monkeys, and their tadpoles filter our drinking water. Plus they look and sound cool, and kids love them!

Founded in 2008, SAVE THE FROGS! isAmerica’s first and only public charity dedicated to amphibian conservation. Our mission is to protect amphibian populations and to promote a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. We work inCalifornia, across theUSA, and around the world to prevent the extinction of amphibians, and to create a better planet for humans and wildlife.”

Go green today, do something good for our planet, help save a frog.

X’s celebration is for X-CELLENT JOB BABE RUTH

Friday, April 27^th: X’s celebration is for X-CELLENT JOB BABE RUTH. Today is BABE RUTH DAY, a day commemorating a baseball legend. On this day, in 1947, Babe Ruth, also known as “The Bambino” or “The Sultan of Swat” attended Yankee Stadium to be honored at Babe Ruth Day. It was the next to last time he was at the stadium, also known as “The House that Ruth Built”.

In 1927, “The Bambino” was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season. Wikipedia.com states, “Ruth set career records for home runs (714), slugging percentage (.690), runs batted in (RBI) (2,217), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164).” In 1961 Roger Maris surpassed Ruth’s record with 61 home runs. And, Hank Aaron beat Ruth’s lifetime record of 714 home runs in 1974. Regardless of his records being topped, Ruth’s popularity has not dimmed.

W’s celebration is for WELL, I’LL BE – Is that a POEM IN YOUR POCKET?

Thursday, April 26^th: W’s celebration is for WELL, I’LL BE – Is that a POEM IN YOUR POCKET? The Academy of American Poets sponsors NATIONAL POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY every April 26^th. They claim it’s simple. Just select a poem. Carry it in your pocket today. Share it with family, friends, and co-workers. Share it on your Facebook status. Tweet it, if it’s short enough.

There are other ideas on their web page (http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406).

  Start a “poems for pockets” give-a-way in your school or workplace

  Post pocket-sized verses in public places

  Handwrite some lines on the back of your business cards

  Distribute bookmarks with your favorite immortal lines

  Add a poem to your email footer

  Post a poem on your blog or social networking page

  Project a poem on a wall, inside or out

  Text a poem to friends

What? You don’t have a favorite poem, no idea what you want to carry and share? Poems are available here: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/59. There’s even an i-phone app. Happy Poem in your Pocket Day!

V’s celebration is for VICTIMS RIGHTS WEEK

Wednesday, April 25th: Hear ye, hear ye! V’s celebration is for VICTIMS RIGHTS WEEK. (Technically National Crime Victims’ Rights, but I needed a ‘V’ for the A to Z blog challenge, so please excuse the author liberties taken.) By order of Presidential Proclamation, this week is hereby proclaimed ‘National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, 2012’. According to the proclamation, “During National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, we commemorate the efforts of all who bring hope to crime victims during their darkest hour. As we reflect on the progress we have made toward ensuring fair treatment and full support for all crime victims, let us renew that fundamental American impulse to stand with those in need.”

The Albany Herald states, “According to the federal government, 18.7 million people fell victim to crime and physical violence in 2011.” Victims and their families benefit from help in several different ways. They need emotional and moral support, witness support during the judicial process, and practical support such as financial assistance, medical treatment, or insurance claims assistance.

Local agencies provide assistance and most can use volunteer help or donations. Local crimes frequently hold candlelight vigils or memorial readings, where a helping hand is appreciated. Contact your local police or social services departments to locate agencies in your own backyard to help. Or check with one of these organizations:

The NationalCenterfor Victims of Crime: www.ncvc.org

Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation: http://www.mvfr.org/

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights: http://www.mvfhr.org/

Victim Support Foundation facilitates direct victims of violent crime as well as those who may have been indirectly affected such as a neighbor, family member or witness. http://tntvsf.org/?page_id=6

U’s celebration is for UNARGUABLY A GOOD IDEA – It’s NATIONAL TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO SAVE DAY

Tuesday, April 24^th: U’s celebration is for UNARGUABLY A GOOD IDEA – It’s NATIONAL TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO SAVE DAY. The American Bankers Assn Education Foundation (ABAEC) sponsors this day where more than 12,000 bankers visit classrooms acrossAmerica to teach children of all ages the importance of saving and making fiscal fitness a lifetime habit.

The ABAEC shares some tips for teaching your children about finances:

1. Talk openly about money with your kids. Communicate your values and experiences with money. Encourage them to ask you questions, and be prepared to answer them – even the tough ones.

2. Explain the difference between needs and wants, the value in saving and budgeting and the consequences of not doing so.

3. Set up a chore chart and give your children an allowance for completing their tasks. Require them to save at least a small portion each week. The three jars method, one for spending, one for saving and one for charitable contributions is a good way to impart a sense of responsibility.

4. Open up a savings account at your local bank for your children and take them with you to make deposits, so children can learn how to be hands-on in their money management.

5. Be an example of a responsible money manager by paying bills on time, being a conscious spender and an active saver. Children tend to emulate their parents’ personal finance habits.

For more money smart ideas, see some of the recommendations on these pages:

Teach your Children to Save Day: http://www.aba.com/ABAEF/tcts.htm

Finance tips for children: http://www.aba.com/ABAEF/FinanceTipsChildren.htm

At Your Library, in their Connect with Your Kids series, share ideas for ‘Money Smart Kids’ here: http://atyourlibrary.org/connectwithyourkids/money-smart-kids

T’s celebration is for TALK LIKE SHAKESPEARE DAY

Monday, April 23^rd: Aye Matey! No, no … methinks that I chooseth the wrong tongue. T’s celebration is for TALK LIKE SHAKESPEARE DAY. April 23^rd, Shakespeare’s birthday (many, MANY years ago) has been officially proclaimed as ‘Talk Like Shakespeare Day’. Thou sayest that you don’t know how to dispense prose like the bard? Here are two sites that will help thee out a mite. Good morrow mistresses, knights and knaves.

http://www.talklikeshakespeare.org/

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/games-puzzles-and-worksheets/Talk-Like-Shakespeare.html

Today I’m celebrating a healthier ME! S’s celebration is for SOY FOODS MONTH.

Saturday, April 21^st: Today I’m celebrating a healthier ME! S’s celebration is for SOY FOODS MONTH. Part of celebrating every aspect of life includes living a healthier life that gives us energy and vitality. April is Soy Foods Month. Incorporating more soy into my diet is one way (one of several) towards better health. And besides, what better way to annoy those you love (and those you don’t love) than to live longer?

According to www.soyfoodsmonth.org, “Soyfoods are a key part of a plant-based diet. Here’s why:

• Heart health. A good source of plant protein, soy is one of only a few food components that reduces blood cholesterol.
• Weight management. Soy can help people achieve lower body weight and may help to redistribute unhealthy fat deposits away from the body core.
• Wholesome nutrition. Eating more soyfoods in place of animal-based protein sources lowers saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories in the diet, while increasing important nutrients like dietary fiber, foliate, iron, and other minerals.
• Satisfying and delicious. Soy-based alternatives look, smell, and taste just like meat, chicken, and fish. And, packed with protein and fiber, soyfoods are just as filling.”

For some recipes to get you started, see: http://www.soyfoodsmonth.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/NSM12_QuickandEasyRecipesBrochure.pdf

Check this out for information on the health benefits of soy: http://www.soyfoods.org/soy-information/soy-benefits-brochure

R’s celebration is for REASONS: It’s CLEANING FOR A REASON WEEK (April 17-23).

Friday, April 20^th: R’s celebration is for REASONS: It’s CLEANING FOR A REASON WEEK (April 17-23). No, it doesn’t entail hard work. I saw this and immediately images were conjured up of all the reasons I needed to clean. But, NO! It’s even better than that. You don’t have to clean at all. This celebration was established by the Cleaning for a Reason Foundation in 2009 to raise awareness that there is an organization that works to provide free residential cleaning to women who are undergoing treatment for cancer. Activities will be held nationwide to let women know that there is a foundation that allows them to focus on their health while the foundation focuses on their home.

As their website states (http://cleaningforareason.org/), “Fighting cancer is difficult enough, but living with it is even tougher and that’s where Cleaning For A Reason steps in. As a nonprofit serving the entire United States and Canada, we partner with maid services to offer professional house cleanings to help women undergoing treatment for cancer, any type of cancer. To date, we have helped more than 9,000 women with cancer with more than $1 million in donated cleanings.” Go check out the web site, sign up for their newsletter and see how you can help with the gift a cleaning.