Thoughts?

So I've been doing the daily blog post thing for a week now (roughly...9 days, I guess). Daily blogging is both easier and more difficult thank I expected. In terms of holding myself accountable, it is vastly easier than I expected (even when some posts go up at midnight, like yesterday's!). Subject matter, though? A little tougher than I expected.

When I think about the blogs I read, they generally have a purpose--decorating blogs, design blogs, mommy blogs--there is a thread that runs through the blog that you can see even when a post deviates a bit. This blog was started to keep our non-local friends and family up to date with the big events in our home and lives. Sporadic blogging worked well for that purpose.

So what now? I don't know that daily blogging serves a friends and family blog when there isn't something going on that necessitates daily updates. I like the outlet that journaling provides, but is this the right venue for that? How does a blog evolve?

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

I've been a little down this week, and I'm guessing that it has more to do with the fact that I haven't run in a week and a half than with anything else. (Though it could be the lack of comments on my last post, I dunno...)

In an attempt to break the funk yesterday, I ran by a flower wholesaler after work and purchased half a dozen sunflowers. They did cheer me up a bit, but I decided that they just didn't fill up the base I put them in so this afternoon, I dropped in for more flowers and some filler, too. One dozen sunflowers, tree fern and some berries that I didn't catch the name of made for a fabulous arrangement, and it looks great in my tree vase.

I'm still not sure what caused the funk, but finding a way to be creative and work with my hands has certainly lifted the gloom. I'm pretty sure J won't mind the cost in exchange for a happier wife!

Title: My Favorite Things, from The Sound of Music

P.S.

I just realized that you might wonder why I made a "Give Thanks" banner for the mantel when I made that cool "Happy Thanksgiving" garland back in October. "Happy Thanksgiving" went to live with J's sister, who, you might remember, was to be rewarded for being our first commenter. Now, aren't you jealous?

Who are you?

When posting comments, there are several options to pick from when identifying yourself. One of these options is "anonymous" which is a great option to pick from if you are not a regular reader or are playing a silly game with us (always an option--we like games). Signing your comment "anonymous" is not the best option, however, when you ask questions that you really want a response to. Case in point--our curious corn commenter. J and I thought we knew who asked the questions about the corn maze and were all prepared to send him the answer. Until we found out we were wrong. So now we've got the answer (not a great answer, but an answer just the same) and no one to tell.

So, if you've been considering leaving a comment, here is Lesson Two--Choosing Your Identity--

Note: If you need remedial help, please see Lesson One in "I don't want to work..." below.

After clicking on the comment button and typing your post, you'll see four push buttons listed under the heading "Choose an identity". If you aren't an avid blogger (and let's face it, you wouldn't be reading my lessons on how to comment if you were an avid blogger) you can skip the first two choices. The third choice is "Name/URL". Click that button and two boxes show up. The first is for your name (first name is fine--really, we aren't picky) and the second is for a URL (which is completely optional and fine to leave blank). So type in your name and click the button labeled "Publish Your Comment". It's that easy. Well, I think it's easy. I've been wrong before.

Anyhow, Class dismissed!

Title: Who are you? by The Who

Cel-e-brate Good Times!

We've got so much to celebrate today that I just had to share! First, we're celebrating our first official blog comment--W00t! Congrats and thanks to J's sister Samantha for being our first commenter. A special prize will be in the mail this week! Also, Honorable Mention to JE's mom for trying to be our first commenter! Keep those comments coming--you never know when we're going to decide to reward a comment with goodies!

As for the rest of the celebrating--

Regular readers will remember that I posted last month about how Autumn is my favorite season. Well, it is also J's favorite season (though I think football and the approaching basketball season might have more to do with that than, say, the beautiful weather and great decorating opportunities...), so he's usually willing to play along when I feel the call to celebrate the season. Today's adventure took us to a local pumpkin farm and corn maze. We had a great time and sucessfully completed both mazes (seriously, follow the link to check out the maze--it's really impressive) in close to record time (much faster than the families with young children we buzzed right by and the group of college students who couldn't find the right path even when we showed them) and still had time for JE to scale a straw pyramid (no children were harmed in her ascent, either). Check back tomorrow to see pics of the fall accecssories we picked up for the front porch!

After conquering the corn maze, we headed over to the Athens Antiques Show. Like the antique show where we found our mantel last month, this one only comes around once a month. The Athens show is in the old Athens Elementary School and there are different folks set up in the old classrooms, gymnasium, library, hallways, etc. J and I found a couple of cool cabinets that transform into dining tables, and plan to check out their credentials before the next show. We also found several fireplace screens (my great plan for hiding the fact that we don't actually have a fireplace) and neat vintage textiles (I'll write more about why I care about vintage textiles another time!) Many thanks to JE's mom and dad for the antiques book--it is already serving its purpose!

I hope you are all having a great weekend! We will be celebrating another successful week on the $100 Challenge at Harry's tomorrow afternoon!

Title: Celebration, by Kool and the Gang

I don't want to work, I just want to bang on the drums all day

Well, not the drums exactly, but I realized in the last couple of weeks that when I'm really busy with work, the number of hilarious things to share (and the time to share them) decreases way too much! Just think how great this blog would be if I didn't have to work...of course, there would be less money to finance the hilarity...and J might not like that...

That said, the big dinner was last night, and despite how wrong it all could have gone (and almost did many times in the last week), I totally loved it. Changing jobs was a good decision, and I am so grateful to my new supervisor and our CEO for giving me the opportunity. This afternoon, we drove out to the Horse Park to tour the facility in preparation for a 5K I'll be putting together this spring. The construction work going on out there is amazing, and further cemented the thought that J and I should plan our escape during the Equestrian Games!

I'm off to sleep; stay tuned for the return of some cool adventures!

Oh, P.S. A few of you have mentioned that you'd like to comment but can't figure out how. Now, we're flattered that you've come up with such a great excuse as to your lack of commenting and J thinks you're just making that up, but gullible me thought that it wouldn't hurt to offer a quick tutorial. So, keep reading after the song title. There is a light grey line of text that tells you who posted this item (in this case, and most cases, it says "Posted by JE Melton"). Keep reading across the line to where it says "0 Comments". Now, that "0 Comments" part is a hyperlink, and you can click on it. When you do, a new screen opens and you can write whatever you'd like in the box on the right hand side of the screen (Really, whatever you want. I've got moderating capabilities. :)). So now you know how to comment. We'll be waiting for your next excuse.

Title: I Don't Want to Work, by Todd Rundgren

The Sound of Silence

. . . Crickets . . .

-----

J started this post yesterday, but was distracted by Magic (his favorite card game that I'm learning to tolerate) or football or something else more fun than my silly blog, so I thought I'd finish the sentiment.

We get a little wrapped up in ourselves in our own little nest sometimes, and just learned yesterday that most of our family were affected by the huricane force winds that swept up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers on Sunday. These winds caused some damage to trees, but more importantly, left our target audience in the dark for several days.

So first, to those of you affected, we are so glad that you are okay, and that you're back on-line.

Second, we know that our blog, though still new to us, may look like too much to wade through. Please do! It will make the most sense if you scroll the bottom and work your way back up. If you'd like to comment on individual posts, feel free--we'll find them! If you'd rather make one comment to this post, that's fine, too.

Welcome back on-line! JE