This week’s theme for the Creative Buzz Hop, “blogging.”
Sponsored by Tamara Woods at PenPaperPad and Michelle Lewe at Muses from the Deep, the Creative Buzz Hop is in its starting stages. If you want to grow your readership and are a new blogger like me, these smaller hops are a good place to start.
The rules for this hop is that you write a post on the theme of the week. It can take any creative form you like from writing, poetry, video, and even photography. The skies is the limit so to speak. After writing your creative masterpiece, head back over to either Michelle’s or Tamara’s site and hook up. Here is my attempt; just hope it is not a dismal one.
Blogging is something new to me. Growing like a tree with branches stretching out here and there, the blogging experience changes everyday. I don’t have a travel blog, but I travel. Through blogging I take imaginary wings and fly virtually to places like the country of Myanmar (Burma) where I met the brave Chan Myae Khine author of whatismyanmar.tumblr.com. Chan also writes for Global Voices on her blog at http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/mydaydream/. One of my favorite blog entries told the story of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She takes great risks to write honestly about her country and travels frequently between Singapore and Myanmar. Her story really brings home the world-wide reach of blogging. http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/06/19/myanmar-netizens-celebrate-aung-san-suu-kyis-birthday/
When I am not traveling virtually to far away lands, I am making friends like Sheena-Kay Graham author of the blog QueendSheena. Ms. Sheena-Kay honored me with Shine On Award. It is my third during my blogger travels. These awards operate like a chain letter of sorts. Some bloggers refuse to accept them, but others use them as a tool to connect and grow their readership. That is my view of them.
As a recipient of the Shine On Award, I write five interesting facts about myself and then pass the award on to 15 other bloggers. Sheena did five so I will try to stay close to that number too. My five facts:
- I love to write poetry and am working on a distopia novel set in the year 2138.
- I am a former school librarian so of course I love books.
- I am a stepmom to three adult children and mother to a 10-year-old. I don’t like the term stepmom at all, but I only use it to avoid confusion. I helped raise my husband’s two daughters from the time they were 6 and 9.
- I daily work to overcome the impacts of chronic illness. Some days are better than others, but I don’t let the illness define me anymore.
- I also worked for more than 10 years as a newspaper reporter.
- I will add a quick six: I met my husband 12 years ago today at a country line dance hall in upstate South Carolina. We met on Saturday, July 28, 2001, just four days after his 40th birthday.
- Loni of The Writing Canvas
- Paula Wanken of Echoes from the Silence
- Faith from The Life of Faith
- Josie with Two Shoes in Texas (We are both cat lovers.)
- Michelle Liew of Muses from the Deep
- Tamara Woods at PenPaperPad
- Lisa-Jo Baker : http://lisajobaker.com/five-minute-friday/
- Iris from Charming Blog Design and The Bluebird House
So why do you blog? Do you travel virtually? Do you share your stories of home and family? I blog for all those reasons and more. I have found a virtual world of friends with common interests. It is fulfilling, exciting, and inspiring.
More opportunities to Bloghop and connect:
I blog for several reasons:
To communicate with my family, to create with other bloggers and to entertain myself!
Happy days to you!
Mary, thank you so much for linking up this week! I can’t wait to read more about your blogging journey. I blog simply because I love to write, and I needed a vehicle to do so. We have some things in common. I went to school for journalism, but decided that I’m not meant to write for a newspaper. I’m also a poet. Thank for the award as well. It’s such a lovely compliment!
I started blogging as a sort of forced march toward increasing my online presence for writing purposes…ie my editor said I should. But I have to say it has been a real surprise to find out how much I truly enjoy it!Thanks for coming over to my site!…Im off to peruse (sp?) yours and join up!
For me, blogging is a way to express myself in a manner, place and way that I can’t often do in “real life”. It’s my escape and my refuge to be with my own kind! 😉 LOL! Your assessment of how much blogging changes is spot on! But I think nowadays it’s more about profit than anything else for SOME bloggers. . .but there are still some great bloggers out there inspiring people to be better and that alone makes it all worthwhile.
Hey Mary,
Thanks so much for linking up this lovely post! I do enjoy learning more about you.
I love your tree imagery. I see blogging a bit like faith. You need to feed it to grow. You feed it through many different means. Through blogging yourself, through reading other peoples blogs, through your own experiences. When you stop feeding it, it dies.
Don’t stop feeding your passion – no matter what!
Thanks so much for stopping by and linking up with us at the Mommy Monday Blog Hop!
Have a great week.
By the way, I love love love the new design!
Awww, thank you! How sweet of you! 🙂
A friend of mine who is also a step-mom, calls herself either a step-in mom or step-up mom – because the “other” mom really is not a mom. Not sure if that works for you – but thought I’d share that with you! 🙂
Thank you Thank you for the Shine On Award!! So sweet of you! I will try to get a post out this week.
Iris♥
Wow, Mary, I’m humbled and honored, truly! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us this week and for this award too!! So glad to connect with you!!
Thanks so much to do. I may have to do another post tonight for my Five Goals hop. I spend 24/7 now on the computer.
I blog because? Well I don’t know why I blog. I would guess to stay in touch with so many great friends that I’ve had the fortune to meet in person.
Have a terrific day. ☺
I would love to meet in person half the folks i have met virtually. Blogging has become so inspirational for me. See ya tomorrow.