today, for example

I just dropped by Jill's blog and saw that it was her 1100th post. She said she is motivated by her own consistency. I like that. That's true in so many things. Consistency is motivational. She's glad she's got a daily record of her life. Daily.

I'm motivated to post by the Self-Portrait Tuesday challenges and the 52 Blessings Project. It gives me at least one or two subjects a week. Otherwise, I sometimes find it hard to post - mainly because I am so inconsistent. I can't help but wonder if anyone is interested, because if this was just for me then I would not be using this forum to record things. I kind of feel a responsibility to post things that would be worth reading, and many days I wonder.... For example, here's what today was like:

got up early and worked (only for one hour), breakfast, yoga, a second round of breakfast (for those who were not up the first time), cleaned off desk, changed sheets, laundry, got after the kids (multiple times) for not being motivated and getting their stuff done, cleaned living room, cleaned kitchen counters, decluttered, finished making grocery list (had started it on Saturday), mapped out errands before leaving the house (this is essential when the kids are with me - otherwise i get sidetracked and forget practically everything i set out to do), returned library books, kinkos, picked up new vacuum bags (good thing they don't have to be changed very often - i love the oreck vacuum, but the bags are a little pricey), target (spent waaaayyy too long just looking at things that were not on the list), dinner, baptism, dishes, now unwinding by checking on some blogs, email, etc.

There are still a ton of things I wish I had got done, but didn't: pick up prescription, go to post office, finish laundry, clean bathroom....

I should mention the baptism. It's a friend of Jordan's that got baptized tonight. He just turned 12. His family hasn't been very interested in their church membership, but he recently started coming to Scouts and to church on Sundays with some encouragement from his dad. There was a huge turnout at the baptism, and that alone was such a great thing for the family. There were friends of his, their home teachers and their families, the ward mission leader and ward missionaries, the Young Men's president, the Deacon's quorum president and advisors, a member of the bishopric and his family, his Sunday School teachers, the missionaries that taught him, his cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents, neighbors.... It was an amazing display of support - and the best thing is that these people were not just there for this one event, they are people who have been their true friends and will continue to fellowship that family. This is every missionary's dream! Such support from the ward members! I loved seeing Jordan's enthusiasm for this kid over the past few months, and his decision to be at the baptism (even before he knew I would go too).

So here's to blogging. And consistency. And a normal, busy life. And photoless posts.

Bloggery

The idea of blogging was fascinating to me for years before ever I ever considered starting one. I sort of had the impression that blogs were for people who needed a place to voice their political opinions or promote an organization, but I hadn't thought about it in a very personal way until my cousin Elisa referred me to hers and Kristi's (another cousin).

I was intrigued with what I found on their blogs. I had just read Amy K. Rosenthal's book Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, which I loved. It's just snippets of her life -- her observations, opinions, thoughts, associations.... Blogging seemed like a good forum for those types of writings, which I've always enjoyed doing anyway. And with a blog you can so easily post a photo and share it with others and even sometimes get feedback.

I also came across Jill's blog and got hooked reading it. She is a very engaging writer and so down to earth that you instantly feel like you know her (and it turned out that we had met before...years ago). Then one day I saw a photo on someones blog of the inside of their fridge and it all clicked for me. To have such a normal thing documented was very inspirational, just think about how the fridge and contents of it will change and evolve over the years. Wouldn't you love to see a photo of your fridge when you were a kid? That was the point when I knew I needed to start documenting ordinary life -- the things that don't make it into my journal and are even more interesting when accompanied by a photo.

This is not typical of what's in our fridge, but it's what I found when I opened it yesterday.

Blogging is out of my comfort zone in many ways, but it's opened up some good opportunities and friendships. Saturday night Jill organized and hosted a party for this whole network of bloggers and it was amazing! It was like going to a party of celebrities where you know who these people are and things about them, although you've never met them.

It was so fun to meet Laurie, the Tip Junkie - a very classy girl, and Jill's sister Robyn who is so friendly and easy to talk to, and her other sister Lori who is very fun and has a contagious laugh. I met Amy, whose blog is called The Fromagerie and we talked about cheese and France and grocery stores we love. Barb who lives in Canada and has a great sense of humor. Claudia - the fabulous Claudia - who drove all the way from California just for the party! Michelle, who is so nice and has very pretty blue eyes. Patsy, who looks so young for having a son on a mission and a daughter who just got married! Amy M, who is amazing with her photography. Elisa and Kristi were there - the cousins I hardly ever see, but was so happy to see them.

It was really fun to connect with all these people and feel such a sense of camaraderie.