Waisting Time

Thumbs up:  IRL meetup.  Recently I had another chance to meet face-to-face with someone I’ve only known online.  This time, someone from my “diet” forum.  She posted that she was in my town for work and I asked if she wanted to meet.  She did.  We did.  And we chatted an afternoon away.  So fun.  And this is the first person I’ve met from my “online life” who follows the same “diet plan” as me.  Thumbs way up that I have another blogger meet-up on my calendar for this Spring!!!!  (You can read about my first two here and here.)

Thumbs outstretched:  Help!  I’m thinking of changing my blog’s host to Bluehost.  If anyone has experience with them and would be willing to share or answer some questions, please let me know.  (And much thanks to those who’ve already been sharing with me via email!)  My contract with Godaddy is up soon so it’s now or (maybe) never.  But maybe the devil I know is better than the one I don’t?  And, huge thumbs down that the technological knowledge needed to make the switch is beyond me; my brain hurts just thinking about it.  I guess I’d need some “technical expertise” to guide me though.  Thumbs down thinking about that.

Thumbs down:  Bad car day.  Really, really bad.  The kind where the “bad” just kept coming.  In one day I… got lost driving to a location I’ve been to many times over the years but never when the police had a major road blocked off (and our GPS was in the other car); fought with a pillar in a parking garage that wanted to trap me in a too-tight space, and lost, leaving behind a lovely “scar;” and, icing on the already-crappy-and-stomach-ache-inducing cake, had someone flip me the bird when I really, really did nothing to deserve it.  (Trust me, I learned to drive near Boston; I own up to my road rage and/or idiocy when warranted!)

Thumbs amused:  Pee and me.  Because the search term that is most often used to find my blog is the word “pee.”  Yep.  “Pee.”  I can lay blame on give credit to one of my favorite posts:  Pee-o-Meter.  I can only imagine what someone thinks when this is where their search lands them:)  Thumbs up that it’s making me smile, just thinking about their surprise.  Last week alone I got 47 hits!  (As a comparison, variations on my blog’s name got only 6 hits!)  Maybe I should give a bit more thought to the words I use on my blog.  Maybe.  And maybe, thumbs down, I should finally pay some attention to things like SEO.  Maybe.  But probably maybe NOT.

Thumbs up:  Experimenting in the kitchen.  With “Better-than-tuna-salad.”  Rather an odd recipe that uses chick peas in place of the namesake tuna.  You’ll have to decide for yourselves if it’s anything like the original because all I can say is it was “interesting” tasting.  Yep, that’s the actually word I kept saying.  And, it really grew on me over the few days of leftovers.  I can see how it’s like tuna salad, but then again, it isn’t.  If I eat it expecting tuna, my taste buds and brain don’t match up and it throws me.  I ate mine on a green salad.  If you try it, let me know what you think.  As for me, I’ll be eating it again.

Thumbs undecided:  Experimenting in the kitchen some more.  This time, it was Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili.  I had very high expectations because I really like sweet potatoes and am a black bean fan.  But what I now realize is that I like my sweet potatoes, well, “sweet.”  And in this recipe they are “savory.”  The first night, with the chili still mouth-burning-hot from the crock pot, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t make it again.  But the flavors developed over time and now I’m thinking it’s worth a second try.  Maybe the same recipe or maybe a different version.  If you have one you like, please let me know.  Thumbs up that the calorie count (not that I really track that anymore but it’s always sort of lurking in the back of my mind) is pretty low.  Thumbs up for warm, cozy food on a cold winter day.  Thumbs up that the winter here has been wayyyy less cold than usual.

Thumbs down:  Mystery stuffiness.  So… I have a stuffy nose.  It’s been going on for weeks now.  It’s not a cold.  I actually thought for a while there that it might have been a side effect of my overeating “bad” carbs during the holidays.  Don’t laugh – it’s possible; I looked it up on Dr. Internet!  Then I next self-diagnosed it as a side effect (well documented online) of the huge dosage of Aleve that my doctor had me taking for my calf strain.  So, with the mystery seemingly solved, I weaned off the Aleve and put away my Breath Right strips in eager anticipation of clear nostrils.  But no.  Still sniffling.  Still wondering why.  Maybe my formerly seasonal allergies have decided to visit for a new season.  Sigh.  Sniff.

Thumbs wondering:  Fitbloggin ’12.  Anyone going?  Anyone who’s been want to tell me why I should consider spending all that money for two days in Baltimore?

Thumbs up:  Empty nest.  Again.  College winter break has ended and my sons have both flown back to their respective sides of the country, and, if they are reading this, I miss them horribly.  If they aren’t reading, I’m once again rather enjoying my empty nest:)

Thumbs flipped:  Dark chocolate.  Used to be that the only way I liked dark chocolate was coating strawberries:)  But for some reason it had been on my mind lately and I was kinda craving it just a bit.  (The “maybe I want to try it” as opposed to the “I want it BAAAAAAD” kind of craving.)  The dark kind that is actually supposed to be healthy.  So, I bought some.  And I liked it.  More than I expected.  Which was a bad thing.  Because liking something a lot is what leads to me overeating most things that I tend to overeat.  And I’m now adding dark chocolate to the list.  So, thumbs up that I liked it:  my taste buds have matured:)  Thumbs down that I liked it so much that I ate more than one serving.  Okay, maybe more than two servings.  Sigh.

Thumbs up:  Going Greek.  I have absolutely no idea why I am suddenly on a Greek yogurt eating kick.  I’ve never been a yogurt fan and in the past ONLY ate it with cereal added for crunch.  But now I have a stockpile of Chobani in my fridge and am enjoying it cereal-free.  Thumbs up for the new apple cinnamon flavor.  Yum.  And while I’m talking Greek… thumbs up that this semester my teen is a “brother” instead of a “pledge.”  One less thing for me to worry about long-distance.

Thumbs up:  Yoga.  Still.  Not only have I been to class twice a week since I started back, but I am even trying some at home.  Thumbs down that I’m not quite motivated enough to do much on my own.  But it’s certainly more than I was doing before:)  Thumbs up that I even got my husband to try with me.  And yesterday my mom (who has a bad knee and can’t do traditional yoga) and I tried a local chair yoga class.  We took two on our spa vacation and this is the only one we have found near us.  It was a bit disappointing.   More of a “stretch for seniors” than yoga poses.  One woman even came with her walker!

Thumbs up:  You.  When I was reading your great comments on my post about my blog reading process I realized that I probably don’t tell you often enough that you rock my world.  Sure, I started blogging for myself.  But you are what keeps me blogging.  The community.  The conversations.  And, always, your comments.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  You complete me:)

A while back I shared my blogging process.  Today I’m going to give you a peek behind the scenes into my blog reading.  For me, the two are intrinsically tied.  Because I find “blogging” to be an experience that is as much about community and friendship as it is about self-expression, and that comes from reading/commenting as much as from writing.

So, speaking of reading, pull up a chair; this may take a while.

I am in “like” with Google Reader.

It’s been a gradual (and sometimes frustrating) learning process, but over the past couple of years I have evolved to the point that I don’t read blogs any other way after my first visit.  I’ve gotten pretty efficient, thanks to the knowledge shared by others.  I have my reader categorized into folders.  And some are even totally unrelated to healthy living!  My most recently added folders are one for “favorites” and one for “blogs to check out.”  The former is self-explanatory, I think.  The latter are blogs that I have recently discovered and have not yet decided if I will keep reading.  Sometimes I read posts directly from the reader page; sometimes I “click through” to the original post, which is necessary if I want to leave a comment.  I soooo much appreciate those of you who publish your full posts for readers; while traveling or using my tablet, this is often the only way I can read them at all.

Ti-i-i-ime is NOT on my side.

I used to read blogs starting first thing each day.  I’m a morning person:)  But then I realized that since I am most efficient early, it was better for me to dedicate that time to more “active” pursuits like writing my own posts or clearing out email.  So now I get to blog reading when I get to it.  Sometimes still pretty early in the morning.  (Particularly on days when I have no motivation or creativity to write!)  Sometimes not until much later.  Some days I save it for the “snacking hours” because when I’m on my computer I’m NOT eating!  I’m trying to apply my pragmatic personality to this little hobby of mine rather than letting it take over my life.

Words, words, everywhere, but not a drop of ink.

I admit it – sometimes I don’t read every word.  Right now there are 183 subscriptions in my reader and in the last month I read over 1300 items.  As you can imagine, that adds up to a lot of words which translates to a lot of time to read them all thoroughly.  So, over time I have learned to be selective in which posts I scan and which I really spend time on.  I usually start with my favorites.  Unless I don’t have a lot of time and want to instead really make a dent in my reader.  In which case I start with the blogs that I tend to scan most quickly and find myself commenting on least often.  Some days I just like to get rid of the clutter so I go quite quickly through the ones I know I can knock off fast.  (Like the onslaught of items I get from my teen’s college that I rarely read.)  So many words; so little time.

Here a comment; there a comment.

This is an area where I had to consciously let go of my inner perfectionist and tell myself it’s okay not to comment on every post.  So I don’t.  But I do my best to comment often and thoughtfully.  Sometimes it is a very short “woo hoo” in support of the blogger’s recent accomplishment.  But other times it is my attempt at a tactful and loving kick in the butt.  (And believe you me, I often struggle to find the balance between the two, wondering what each blogger would most appreciate.)  And often it is words of commiseration and understanding.  I like to comment.  I just don’t always have time or something valuable to say.  But for me, comments are conversation and conversations lead to connections and sometimes even to friendships – my favorite things about blogging:)  And I love the support that exists in the blogworld.  Comments make it happen.  But if it’s hard to comment on your blog because I have to sign in or use livefyre or can’t read the word/number verification or …, I won’t comment.

Reciprocity in all most things.

If you comment on my blog, I will always visit yours and I will (almost) always find something to comment about.  Just one more way that this is about community for me.  In turn, if I comment on your blog more than once and you NEVER visit or comment on mine, I may or may not keep reading.  It depends what you write.  Some blogs are worth my time even if the blogger has never reciprocated with a visit to my little corner of the blogosphere.  Some blogs though are only worth reading, IMO, if a conversation or relationship develops.  Again – too many blogs, too little time.

You say.. then I say… then you say…or not.

While I do appreciate replies to comments, they aren’t necessary for me to keep reading and I know that not everyone has the time or inclination to do that.  Some of you have little boxes at the end of a post that I can check if I want to get follow-up comments.  Unless I know that this means I’ll just get a reply from YOU, I don’t check this.  I very much like the emails I get from blogs that auto-generate replies when the blogger makes them.  (Someday I might dare to add that back to my own blog!)  If I know that you typically respond to comments, I will usually look for that the next time I’m on your blog.  When I remember.  And have time.  Every so often I might even reply to your reply!

I enjoy some blogs more than others.

I want to read your blog if I like what you say or how you write.  If I feel a connection.  If I’ve become “friends” with you.  If you motivate or inspire me.  If you make me think or give me “aha” moments or teach me about myself.  If I want to root you on and think you appreciate the support from the sidelines.  If you make me laugh, smile, feel good.

I enjoy some blogs less than others.

Some blogs are just physically harder on my eyes.  The font might be small or hard to read.  But more common are the blogs with a light-colored font on a dark background.  There have been a few that I have visited for the first time and never gone back because it was just too much strain to read.  And, to be totally honest here, there is some content that I just don’t care to read.  Or that I find uninteresting.  For a variety of reasons.  I’m sure you are the same.  If it’s occasional, I just skip that post or section.  If it’s consistent and part of the blog’s theme, I move on.

Looks don’t matter.

Other than having a hard time reading your post itself, it doesn’t matter to me if you have a beautifully custom-designed blog or something basic.  If you have a lot of clutter, I just ignore it.  If you play music, I turn it off.  I’m there for you and what you have to say, not there because your blog is pretty.  And, as with people, size doesn’t matter either.  I’m just as likely to read a post by new or “little” bloggers as I am to read posts by the “big” bloggers with huge followings.

Broadening my horizons.

Every so often, despite the huge number of blogs I already read, I look for new ones to follow.  Call me a glutton for punishment.  Or call me crazy.  I find new blogs in a variety of ways.  First and foremost, from the blogger visiting here and leaving a comment.  Some I’ve discovered when they’ve been listed as “award recipients” on another blog or because I happened to catch an interesting comment they left somewhere.  Or I may see the same name crop up on several blogs I already follow.  And, yes, now and then I might actually click on some links in another blogger’s blog roll.  If you have any suggestions of great blogs, I’d love to know.

I worry when you go missing.

The great thing about Google Reader is that I don’t have to pay any attention to how often or on what schedule you post.  When you publish a blog, up it pops.  The downside to this is that I might not always notice right away if you disappear for a while.  In the past, I have sometimes reached out to a blogger who has gone missing.  Typically by email.  But that feels rather “big brother” to me and I’m not sure everyone appreciates it, so mostly now I will only do that if I feel I know the blogger pretty well.  I’m not going to assume that an absence means something horrible, just that you might not feel like blogging.  But that doesn’t mean I won’t worry.

So, there you have it.  Another long-winded glimpse into this little corner of my life.  My blog-reading manifesto.

If I haven’t lost you off yet, I’d love to hear how YOU do it.  And what brings you back to a blog or drives you away.

And, if I’ve never visited your blog before, leave a comment below and I’ll pop on over.  Just include your URL in the field asking for “website” and your site will be linked.