I arrived home early today. A slow day at work meant heading home just after lunchtime. My goal was to finish my taxes. I nearly did, with only 2 things left to complete tomorrow.
While I was working on finishing that, I opened the window for the beautiful weather to filter through. Upper sixties and sunny left my pets wanting sunshine as much as I did.
Buddy sat in the window and Zen alternated between trying to look out around him and trying to hug me. Eventually I gave in and helped Zen up into my lap. It was cute, so I wanted to share pictures.
May you find completing your taxes to be easy even when self-employed or a contractor. May you have ample time to spend enjoying glorious weather this year. May you get to snuggle with your pets regardless of their size. And may you have plenty to be grateful for. Above all, may you know that God loves and supports you in all that you do and that any desired healing is full and speedy.
FYI, anyone that actually reads this- kudos to you!!!
About 2.5 months ago I was solicited to purchase my domain with the China extension. I refused because I have yet to make anything off of this blog, and have such low readership that what I already pay for domain and hosting is hardly worth it. I couldn’t justify the cost of adding another extension. Even though they tried to convince me, I still refused because even though I am an American, I’m far from rich. The cost benefit scale was rediculously out of balance for me as an individual.
Anyway, since then, even if you Google or otherwise search my name or the blog itself it now falls fairly low on search results. Under my name, it falls even lower than images from a flicker account that is older than our teenager. Not only have I lost many of my regular readers, but I’m not even getting the sparatic views from all over the world. My blog has literally gone silent as far as any stats are concerned, which means I’m not even clearing any algorithms. So of my posts, approximately the last 40 have been largely unread by anyone, that takes you back to the New Year.
I point this out because it feels vendictive to me. I already fell so low on algorithms that there would have been literally thousands, if not millions, of blogs with much higher value, and thus much more likely to buy additional extensions. I myself have read many blogs with 10 times my readership and followers. So it boggled my mind as to why anyone would bother with mine. I have done nothing to anyone, and do my best to hide names and personal information about anyone I write about. The only identities I even slightly compromise are my own family, and even when I’m frustrated or upset I do my best to vent from a ‘harm none’ standpoint. So, with the low value scale for someone fishing to make money, and my low readership, and my efforts to be authentic yet still protect others, I’m simply dumbfounded. Perhaps it is someone with nothing better to do in their lives except crazy making for random strangers, and some stupid keyword was how I became their target. I don’t know.
I’m not in IT, do not have the skills to fix it, and really don’t have the resources to pay someone else to do so. Nathan has said he is going to try, and I’m going to reach out to WordPress to see if they are able to fix it.
Until then I suspect I will continue to write to no-one. It’s okay, it’s like when my blog was brand new 6 years ago, I just keep reminding myself that this blog is for me to write about what I want or need to. It is my space to express myself as best as I can. It is my safe space, and if I have no readers, then it is even safer.
If you did somehow actually manage to come across this post and read my blog, it would be nice to know I’m still showing up somewhere. I don’t need the validation, but sometimes it does give a little feel good boost, and I’m appreciative of all feel good boosts- regardless of the source.
Anyway, I really wanted to share my birthday fun with Nathan. The super crappy weather of my birthday week had caused it to be rescheduled, so we ended up going this afternoon.
We went to a place called “Bury the Hatchet” in Overland Park, Kansas. It was good fun, throwing hatchets at giant wooden targets. After a bit of basic instructions, and some practice, we played a round of “Black Jack” (goal to make 21 points) and two rounds of what they called “Area 51” (goal to count backwards from 51 to zero). It was a relatively inexpensive but really fun date outing. I had a blast and Nathan did too.
We knew that using hatchets can be physically taxing from our days cutting wood for heating our home. Yet, even when throwing them for fun it was really quite a bit of a workout. A great new way to exercise. I told Nathan it kinda makes me want to build a target in our backyard- we already have one hatchet and plenty of scrap lumber, I’d only need to buy a second hatchet and they’re about $20. Sounds like a good time to me. We’d just have to make certain that kids couldn’t find or reach hatchets when not in use. Hmmm….. 🤪😆
Here’s the pictures:
May you bury the hatchet in all ways, especially forgiving others when they’ve hurt you or messed with your blog. May you find fun outings to distract you from frustrations and boost your spirits. May you enjoy physical activity of all kinds. May you have plenty of physical activity. May you find that you enjoy life mostly, even and especially when you are writing for yourself. May you have fun adventures with loved ones. And above all, may you know that God loves and supports you no matter what.
Ian likes to draw me pictures. Sometimes I can tell exactly what they are, sometimes it’s more abstract or one of his mazes based on a game he plays.
Katherine however, has decided that coloring is the way to go, and she’s quickly learning to color inside the lines. She went from full page scribbles one day to actual colored images the next. I caught myself saying, “when did she start doing that”, to acknowledge I had just seen one of the full page scribbles 2 days prior.
So I’ll share some pics I snapped of her new skills at the end.
I however, have used my slivers of spare time to produce a presentation. It will count as a 1 credit hour continuing education credit for dental hygienists. I will speak for roughly an hour and then field a Q&A afterwards. My topic: massage therapy for self-care/career longevity, and client assistance/retention. I think I have finished the power-point portion, though I still need several more run-throughs to feel comfortable, so there may need to be edits to accommodate better flow. Essentially though, I’m down to just practicing my speech. It’s scary but exciting. I have one week to practice as delivery will be next Wednesday evening.
It gives me jitters just thinking of it, because the DH association of Kansas City has approximately 1,000 members and potentially all of them could log on to the presentation. The largest presentation I have given prior was my veteran’s day assembly in 2018, and approximately 120 people were present for that. If all possible members attend, I will be speaking to a much larger group than I’m used to. Fortunately, because of Covid it is presented via Zoom, so I won’t see all of their faces at once. Whew. Still nervous, but less than if I was going to speak in an auditorium. I haven’t done that since my art history presentation in college (there were 250+ in that course and I totally rocked it). So, I may not speak in front of large groups often, but I’m no stranger either. I totally got this sh*t.
All fun aside, I am very honored to have had this requested of me. I appreciate very much the level of trust that is being placed in my abilities, skills, and knowledge. It feels very good to know that professionals of another field respect me enough to essentially do a short class on how my skills relate to their field. I’m thankful for the opportunity and experience and send prayers that everything flows smoothly and I remain fully articulate and meet or exceed everyone’s expectations. Cross your fingers that it goes well for everyone.
May you see the good in your children and find wonderful fulfilling additions to your work load. May you be surprised and delighted in as many ways as possible. May you enjoy creativity, especially when your kids demonstrate it. May you give yourself a little credit once in a while for the good things you do. May you know your skills and knowledge are appreciated by those around you. May you find that many other people respect you. Above all may you have fun, knowing God loves and supports you in all that you do.
