Tag: blogging

Ten Years Later … still blogging away!

On By Margie.MercIn Baby boomer, Blogging, No Comfort Zone-2012 Challenge, Retirement2 Comments

10 year wordpress anniversary
Happy anniversary to me! I’ve been blogging for 10 years!

Let’s put on the music and toast my accomplishment. Cheers!

Over the past 10 years, I’ve written then paused. Why? Maybe some tragedy, maybe some overarching excitement. Who knows? Then I restarted with gusto and vigor then paused. Who knows why? But, then I came back recharged and ready to bust a new one. I’ve created challenges and made friends then paused… again. I guess the PAUSING was a need to recharge and reframe me and what I wanted to share.

Consequences of pausing?

Each time I paused, I put my blogging friends and readers on hold and eventually they fell away.

Every time I returned to blogging it was with a clear reason. I was ready to write again. I was eager to share my world as a way to record my how I spend my time. I wanted a roadmap of how I spent my time over the years.

What Now Marge Katherine?

CURRENTLY, I am retired and I want to record how I spend my days. What is it I do  —  all week, all month and with the passing year? Hmm?

Some days I am really lonely and those are the days I search the internet for other people who are retired and have it figured out. OK, I haven’t found them yet but when I do, I will be sure to link to them.

Why Bother Marge Katherine?

In the meantime, by blogging I can record what’s going on  – right here and now –  for next year or a decade from now when I am yes… ten years older. Will there still be blogging in ten years? If not, what will replace it? Podcasts? Videos and youtube? I wonder…

— Other inspiring blogs —

No Comfort Zone 2012 Challenge – 

Boomer Cafe 

Life Lived Forward – 9 tips to jumpstart your retirement

 

Money and Me

On By Margie.MercIn RetirementLeave a comment

hot air balloons in Pagosa Springs, CO

Currently I listen to podcasts that tell me stories, take me on adventures and recently — help me reevaluate my financial health. Clark Howard’s podcast led me to Choose FI, which led me to a score of others. Listening to real life stories from a wide range of people and the steps they made to move away from debt and forward to financial independence keeps me wanting more.

I already do many of the small things – I recycle, walk, enjoy local activities, use Freecycle.org, cook most of my meals at home, keep the temperature low, volunteer and many more actions I will think of later (no doubt!)

I do not use credit cards to get travel points. Maybe I will do that this year.

I am retired and do not have tons of money saved up. I know I will survive just fine. I can fret and freak out and I can also enjoy my life, my local library, riding my bike, making friends and doing things that define me.

What I really embrace are the vast amount of blogs, podcasts, books, and videos that exist and are at my disposal. One podcast will host a visitor who will tell me her favorite website, or his favorite article. Then I hop on the net to read that article and there are links to more people with delightful ideas filled with amazing takeaways and action items. One thing leads to another and my brain cells are popping …in a good way!

Imagine

I’m loving all the learning going on and I have no doubt I will continue to bask in the wonder and fun of it all. It’s good stuff and can only make me better. And, best of all, it opens up a world of information I didn’t know was there… right at my fingertips!

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Happy Anniversary – who knew?

On By Margie.MercIn Mental Health12 Comments

I received a Happy Anniversary greeting from WordPress acknowledging my 5 years of blogging with them. Time has a way of flying by, doesn’t it?

Now, since it took me off guard, I didn’t have time to write an acceptance speech. But I want to begin by thanking WordPress who made it all possible. Without them, where would I be?

Next, I want to thank my readers especially those who have become my blogging friends over the years. Kisses to you all!

Next  I can’t forget the long line of cameras that have come into my world and have either been lost or used to death. The images I took on them helped bring the words to life.

I’m running out of time, I know… there are so many of you to mention.

I remember 5 years ago wanting to blog but not having a niche. Many of my blogging friends wrote about their books, kids, quilts, photography, lessons, travels and other magical topics. I just wanted to write.

It took a while to get in the groove and then it took more time to stay in the groove then sometimes I lost my groove and when I found it, it was a new groove.

I took several paths – offering information about online help, writing about Internet Goodies, blogging daily, blogging outside my comfort zone and on and on. What worked was writing about something that I read, or a person I met or a song or lecture that inspired me. Inspiration came in the form of watching the clouds or the seasons or a train pass by. I wrote when something made a difference in my world and I wanted to share it.

So, here I am five years later. Will I still be writing five years from now? And if so, will there be something brilliant that makes you want to tap the stranger next to you and read them my dazzling words? No?

What I love most about blogging is looking back over the years to see what I wrote. Like a journal, it gives me a glimpse of where I was at that point in time.

Warm regards and thanks for a great 5 years. (More hugs, kisses and a bow…)

Photos below from the Denver Botanical Gardens – Dale Chihuly exhibit

IMG_3598 IMG_3639 IMG_3620 IMG_3674 IMG_3693

 

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In the land of make-believe

On By Margie.MercIn Relationships, Social Media, Web Resources5 Comments

Blogging.

It’s sort of surreal.

marge-treesIf you’ve done it, you know what I’m talking about.

Putting thoughts, ideas, challenges, questions, concerns, issues, photos …out there for the world to sisters sitting on a dock, engrossed in conversationsee or reply, ignore, spam, comment, enjoy, interact, or possibly dismiss.

And yet, we keep doing it. For some of us it’s a daily thing, for others, it’s weekly or monthly. The thing is – over time, it’s an accumulation of posts. It’s a measure of time. It’s a legacy.

What started as a rant, sorrow or frustration or as a way to show the new baby, house or vacation is now something concrete!

Concrete in a virtual sort of way, that is. All those posts, pictures, history, and comments can be wiped out in a flash. Gone. And if that happens (not that it would happen to MY SITE), I’ll know that I am richer for it.

Bloggers Unite.

Anyone up for a walk? I live in Colorado and would be happy to button up and meet you for a stroll, cross-country ski trip, hike or camping event. Oh, you want me to visit you? Right on! Let’s make that happen, ok?

The fun thing about blogging…

On By Margie.MercIn No Comfort Zone-2012 Challenge12 Comments

The fun thing about blogging (for me) is visiting other blogs and reading comments and then visiting those blogs too. I’ve met some great writers, went on some excellent adventures, viewed amazing photos, read sweet poetry and listened to cool music. My world has opened up and it’s still growing and growing. Here are some of the places I’ve gone. Blogging is a great game of tag, isn’t it?

Poetry by Shawn Bird

New authors by Impower You

Sweet humor at Laughing Housewife

And so many more…

What blogs have you happened upon? Take a few minutes and share in my comments and in doing so they will get a bit more exposure!

Thanks to you and your friends ….and their friends ….and on and on!

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Why Bother to Blog?

On By Margie.MercIn No Comfort Zone-2012 Challenge, Photography35 Comments

Here we are, 13 weeks into a new year and I’ve got over 100 people following this blog!

I love when my friends comment and I love reading their posts. I’ve gone on emotional journeys, cheered weigh loss and steps walked, sat in amazement over a renovated living room, viewed babies, cathedrals, puppies and desserts.  I’ve read about loss and recovery, despair and hope. I’ve listened to Snow Patrol, seen spring flowers and mountain vistas.

Why bother to blog?

I started blogging as a way to put words into a post. It was hard for me to define my ‘niche’.  I don’t sew, quilt, paint or design.  I don’t lift, run, ride or twirl. And sadly, I don’t strum, fiddle, rock or roll.

I volunteer, play with my grandson, read books, take photos, walk, hike and engage with a wide range of family and friends. I learn, teach, listen and seek out new information through a variety of venues.

I love writing and this blog is a wonderful platform for me. Perhaps my NICHE is being me. Can that be a niche?

I didn’t envision my blog posts to be a ‘no holds barred’ type of place but instead a place where I am sharing bits and pieces of my world, my past and hopes for the future. A place where my humor is able to shine and when I feel down to be able to write freely about that as well. I’ve made friends here and it’s a fun place to be.

Why bother to blog? It feeds my soul, it helps me feel connected, I learn so much, I grow and I enjoy the process.

So tell me, what is it about blogging that you like so much? Why do you do it?

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Things that Matter

On By Margie.MercIn Communication, Education, PostADay2011, Web Resources8 Comments

I’ve been sporadic in my writing lately. It’s hard sometimes coming up with something that matters and personally, I want to write about things that matter and add value to the reader and leave me with a feeling of accomplishment.

Perhaps I’ve had a difficult time writing these past days because the words don’t connect to my mission. I think we all have a mission and mine is to educate. When I learn something, I love to share it. When I find a website or resource that teaches, instructs, educates, illuminates and makes me think. I want others to know about these as well.

What I love more than teaching is learning and I am usually thrilled to find a resource that offers me something new. What sites do you visit to find that golden nugget? Any places you bookmark and visit on a regular basis?

I’ll be writing what I learn – I hope you stick around and teach me as well.

Mission to Learn

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Blogging: Leaving your comfort zone

On By Margie.MercIn Communication, Education, PostADay201113 Comments

Reading blogs from friends near and far is a treat I give to myself.  Viewing bloggers’  activities, reading about their history, struggles and successes, reading about their newest venture — all of this takes courage to write and post.

There are many words that I write and then…delete. Maybe they are too personal or too raw. I know that others may benefit from them but perhaps I am not ready to let them go. I hug them close to me and let them go … gradually or not at all.

Living on the edge… feeling the butterflies in the tummy … means you are leaving your comfort zone. If you blog — you leave your comfort zone all the time.
—————

“To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of distances or thoughts expressed – that can make life a garden.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Come Down from the Blog Cloud!

On By Margie.MercIn Communication, PostADay2011, Relationships, Social Media, Web Resources6 Comments

Blog writing is an amazing experience and allows me to showcase books, conferences, photos, videos and get your ideas and comments. However, what’s really important is to continue to find ways to interact face-to-face.  I’ve met wonderful people all over the world … and would love to meet up with some of them for a hot cup of tea. Think we can make that happen?

Perhaps we can discuss books? Or take a walk and exchange ideas on gardening, children, writing or singing. That’s the wonder of personal engagement… it just flows, doesn’t it?

Are you a small business owner? What’s that like? Do you make jewelry, write books, paint houses, dig ditches? Do you ever wonder what it would be like to meet and discuss with others who share your interests?

Maybe we can have Skype meetings? Share videos? Create podcasts? Send postcards?

Or maybe we just keep sharing our words right here and now. What do you think?

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