I as in Information

          Wow! What a week!  We are a third of the way through the alphabet in the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge and everybody is doing an absolutely amazing job.  I know (believe me I know) how difficult it is to make it to all of the other posts on a daily basis, but I see many giving it a valiant effort.  Please try to visit a couple of new ones everyday and leave a comment.  I would hate to see anybody feel neglected in their efforts.  But likewise don't forget the reciprocity element--if you're not receiving visitors, comments, and new followers it may be because you are not doing it yourself.  Try to squeeze in at least a few every day.

        On Saturday I provide information about the Tossing It Out blog.  This past week I have been mostly stressing the things I stressed in the first paragraph of this post and trying to provide encouragement to all of the hardworking bloggers in the challenge.  I was able to stick to the capsulization that I outlined last week, only changing my debate topic.  My thanks to all who commented on my posts and continued to encourage me.  For me personally this challenge has become far more of a challenge than I expected.  It's tiring, but worth everything ounce of energy that I have been putting into it.

        My planned topics for the upcoming week will be a Blog Boggled installment on Juggling; a piece on Knoxville, Tennessee; Living in the Library; a debate on Math Matters, as in regard to Followers; and then for "N" nothing has been decided yet.  I think I will be able to stay within these parameters (especially for Friday's N day).

         What about you?  How are you holding up?  I have noticed that at least two participants have dropped out so far:

     The Red Headed Step Child  and Time For a Bucket List have given notice and will be dropped from the blog roll.  I'm not going to rush just in case they change their minds.  Maybe you can drop in on their comments and send them your love and support.   I want to thank Dee and Margaret for the fine efforts they put into the challenge.

       And now to recognize a few blogs that are keeping up with the challenge:

   Angel's Muse -- We'll cut her some slack. In all fairness she's been on vacation, but has made some effort to post something.  I think she's back now so maybe stop in and give her some encouragement.

Beth: A Work in Progress --  Give her a big hello.  We're thinking of you, Beth.

Bombastic Bandicoot --  Lisa is giving it her all with posts and comments--- Thank you Lisa!

Faith, Hope, and Love ---Another ever so constant commenter, Shannon has been posting other bits in addition to the ones for the A to Z Challenge.   Wow, she's a pretty busy blogger.

Gospel Driven Disciples --  Gregg puts a lot of work into his very substantive posts.  Let him know that you appreciate his efforts.

Learning Contentment --  Okay she's a little behind, but in all fairness she started a bit late.  Stop by and let her know you're backing her efforts.

Trying To Reason -- Bry Robbins is still in the running.  Don't forget to say hello to her.

Woven Words -- I'm a little confused about this one because the page that loads actually says The Meeting Point.  Presented by a dreamy gal this site features some lovely poetry.  I particularly liked her "Hunger" entry for the letter "H" -- wow.

        Please try to check out these sites and as many others as you have time.

       And now from Rayna at Coffee Rings Everywhere I have been given, for the second time, the Prolific Blogger Award.   Okay, I admit it--I have been prolific since I started this blog last year, so I am deserving.  And now what other prolific bloggers can I pass this off to?  All of the participants of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, that's who!  You bloggers have been pretty darn prolific so far so I pass this to you if you would like to accept.  Feel free to pass it on to others who you think are also deserving.

Thanks to all and enjoy your week-end.  See you on Monday with the letter "J".

Blog Boggled: Where This Blogger Gets a Bit Lazy

        Well, I was all ready to moan and complain about all these things that bug me about certain blogs, but then I got filled up with so much love that I forgot what I was going to say.  Maybe I'll remember some of my complaints later.   I guess if I want to complain about anything it should be about Daylight Savings Time and how I lost my precious hour of sleep.  Why do they have to mess with our schedule every year and get my sleep cycle all confused?

      But blogs about blogging have been all over the place lately and maybe I don't need to add to the mix right now.  Maybe if I wait long enough somebody else will address one of my gripes so I don't have to air it at all. 

      For me, blogging has been quite a learning experience.   The learning experience has included discovering some excellent blog posts about blogging which often have some excellent comments that have led me to more blog posts about blogging. Collectively, we have access to a real wealth of information in the realms of blogging. Here are some recent blog help posts that I have found:

      Most of you have probably already seen the excellent infomation provided in several posts by Jody Hedlund .  Check over the entire series if you haven't done so already.  She addresses many of the same issues that have bugged me.

        Theresa Milstein through a comment she made on Jody's blog linked me to an excellent blog post about improving one's blog:   Tips for a better blog and what makes readers stop reading was written by Jane Friedman at Writer Unboxed

         Jane offered a number of links which I found quite interesting including the ProBlogger site which will be keeping me busy with the tips it has to offer about blogging.

Now concerning this award I spoke of on Saturday:

       On my post for Saturday I mentioned that I had received--for the second time-- the prolific blogger award from Jamara Falconer.  Like many others of you have noted upon receiving these awards, at times it becomes somewhat time involving to find recipients who have not yet received an award to pass them on to.  So taking a cue from other bloggers I offered the award up to whomever felt they might like to receive this Prolific Blogger Award.  Well, I did get a request and it's like "Doh! Why didn't I think of her?" (slapping my forehead).

        Part of being a Prolific Blogger is being a good commenter.  Yvonne from Welcome To My World Of Poetry has been a faithful follower of mine and many others for some time.  And if I'm not mistaken I believe she has left a comment on every post I've put on the Tossing It Out site since she began following.  Her comments are always sweet, encouraging, and helpful--in other words I can tell by what she says that she actually reads the post and leaves a relevant comment. If you look at her blog posts you will see the same loyal followers commenting on her poems time after time.  She has followers from all over the world.

      Yvonne, I am honored to pass this award on to you for your consistent postings and your prolific comments.  Readers-- If you are not familiar with Yvonne's site, she delivers lovely little poems that offer witty looks at her life and thoughtful observations she makes about the world around her.  Her poems are to the point and easy to understand, which probably accounts for the universal appeal that she has.  She also includes wonderful photos that bring you further into her world.  I've never met Yvonne, but I feel like I've known her for a long time.  I encourage you to visit her site, become a follower, and let her know that I sent you.

So one Prolific Blogger Award  goes to Yvonne at Welcome To My World Of Poetry. 

         If any others of you would like me to recognize your work let me know and I will officially pass this on to you as well.  I know I'm taking the lazy way out but I think many of you know how it is.  Thanks for understanding and even if you don't understand, thanks most of all for reading.  Hope to see you tomorrow when I present some thoughts about Michael Jackson and his film THIS IS IT.

Suddenly Saturday--Again!

          Can somebody please slow time down!  Is it just me or do the days seem to be going by faster and faster?   There is so much that I try to get done but never seem to find the time to do all of it.  Well, at least I'm staying current with my blog.  In fact I've been deemed a prolific blogger.  But we'll get to that later.  First I'll look where this blog has been over the past week and where it is going in the week to come.

          Last Monday, in my installment of the Persnickety Penman , I talked about accuracy to make sure your writing is dealing with facts and truth.  This coming Monday I'll be talking about being a good liar (is that an oxymoron?).  The two topics are actually very similar I think.  Please check it out and tell me what you think.

        If you missed my Tuesday English Toffee tasting experiment, you might want to go back and take a look if you enjoy things that border on the absurd.  Did I say border?  It was totally absurd, but some readers got a kick out of it even though it did leave me with a tummy ache and sky high blood sugar levels.

This Tuesday I will continue on the topic of food as I present my own chili recipe using a Dolores Chili Brick.  And if you don't know what a chili brick is then you'll just have to stop back by on Tuesday to find out.

        My Father Who Art In Heaven was a post that had great meaning to me and I was pleased that others enjoyed it as well.   I will be reminiscing once again this coming Wednesday. 

           My last Thursday debate discussed the relevance of fiction versus nonfiction.  You are always welcome to go back to any previous debate and express your opinion.  This coming Thursday the debate will concern the jury system:  I'll tell what I think and I hope you'll tell me what you think.  By the way my daughter Emilee was the only one that wondered about the weird pictures on my Thursday post--did any one else wonder why they were there?

         Yesterday I present a poem on the topic of death  and received some nice comments.  Next Friday I'm going to talk about "spelunking" and how it relates to death.  If you don't know what spelunking is.... well stay tuned for next Friday and I hope to see you there.

          And now for the awards!

      I want to thank Carol Kilgore at Under the Tiki Hut for kindly bestowing a Prolific Blogger Award upon ol' me and my blog.  Thanks Carol-- I have been posting everyday (except one) since I started Tossing It Out back in September of 2009.  I have been trying to treat this writing mission like it is my job, which is part of my job plan I think, so to me it has been important to keep posting and make every attempt to put thought and quality into my posts.

       And I'm not the only prolific blogger out there.  Some of these bloggers may not post everyday, but they also have jobs or businesses to which they must give attention and doing the two is a feat which deserves admiration as well.   So in honor of the hard work and dedication they show to the blog world, I pass the award to the following:

Ernest Boston   at   My Worlds My Words My Worries --- I don't know if he'll know that I've passed this to him unless he reads this post because so far as I can tell his comments are turned off.  But this guy posts pretty regularly and he posts some pretty weird stuff that is quirky and thought provoking.  And according to his profile his "Primary Goal in Life: To be the nicest person in the Universe."  That is according to his definition of the word "nice".  

Judy Harper  at  Sixty Is Just the Beginning and A Creative Writer in Progress  -- Judy's actually got 3 blogs going, but I follow these two.  She was participating in the NaBloPoMo one post every day challenge for a while, so if nothing else she should be recognized for that.

Tamika  at The Write Worship   I don't think she ever posts on weekends and she has unplugged for a week at least once, but most of the time she's there almost every weekday.  After all, she does have a strong loyal following that counts on her posts.

B. Miller at B. Miller Fiction  -- Well, maybe potentially prolific.  I started following this writer with interest recently and curious to see where it will all go. Dark fiction?  Hmmm --the blog posts have been kind of thought-provoking so far.

          These are but a few of the really fine prolific blogs out there and many others are well deserving of this award.  Perhaps one of the above recipients will pass to one of you.

             Has time been going too fast for you?   What are you not getting done?   What slows your efforts down while time passes you by?