Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

This is a format for a post that has been circulating around the blogging world so I thought it might be fun to jump on the bandwagon and try.

Yesterday I:

• Enjoyed pancakes and eggs for breakfast that my husband made at my son's request
• Went for a walk with the whole family since it was sunny, gorgeous and the temperature was above freezing. As we walked my husband went door to door collecting signatures so he can run for our local school board.
• My in-laws took the kids for a couple hours which was fantastic.
• We went to some friends' house for dinner. The kids had their own little kids table, it was adorable and such a treat to focus on a grown up conversation.
• Worked on some VT Citizens Climate Lobby stuff in the evening.

Today I:

• Got to sleep in a bit courtesy of my husband because my daughter kept me up a lot last night
• Came downstairs to fresh made scones, my husband's specialty
• Made pizza with my son using the fresh mozarella and whey I made earlier in the week
• Wrote a BVT Moms Blog post with the pizza making as part of the inspiration
• Had free time while husband took the kids to his parents to watch the football game. I did laundry and vegged. 
• Had pizza again for dinner at my in-laws. Whoops. It was a decadent weekend food-wise, and me-time-wise.

 Tomorrow I will:

• Take Big Bro with us to Lil Sis' music class since it is the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday and preschool is closed.
• Maybe do a little grocery shopping if the kids are up for it after music class.
• The usual playing, reading children's stories, washing dishes, more laundry, cooking meals, etc.

My Top 10 Lists for 2013

I have decided to join my son and husband in taking time off from normal routine (school/work) for Christmas break and not write any new posts until 2014.

I have been blogging since August and it's been a fun creative outlet, cathartic soapbox, and sounding board on the issues and topics important to me. Thank you, readers! I hope you will continue to read next year, and invite your friends.

Now without further ado, I leave you with two lists because lists are popular ways to sum up the year:

My 10 Most Popular Posts of 2013

1. Call to Action: Love Letters 4 Our Planet
2. Why I Don't Cloth Diaper
3. From City Mice to Country Mice
4. Introduction to Mama of Ma'at
5. Like Nails on a Chalkboard
6. Plastic Things I Cannot Wait for my Kids to Outgrow
7. My Daughter's First Baby Music Class
8. Facebook 'Like' Etiquette
9. Sleep Wars
10. Update on Our New Sleeping Arrangement

My 10 Most Popular Climate Change Posts of 2013

1. Call to Action: Love Letters 4 Our Planet
2. Reducing My Family's Carbon Footprint
3. Basic Climate Change Science (Q&A)
4. Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Free
5. A Conversation with the Speech Therapist 
6. Happy Birthday to Me!
7. What's All the Fuss about Solar Net Metering?
8. Can Going Green Pay Off (in Board Games)?
9. Geeking Out and Saving the World
10. Car Envy

Other Posts I Recommend

1. A Dumbledore's Army, of sorts
2. What the Frack?
3. Liberation Through Food

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Blogging is Dead! Long Live Blogging!

One of the recent perks of being a BurlingtonVT Moms Blog contributing writer was getting to take a writing class with some of the other fabulous mom bloggers. I left my family on Saturday morning and headed, solo, to the Renegade Writers' Collective in Burlington for three hours of me-time.

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The course was taught by Kate Sykes and designed specifically for us. It explored how blogging as an art form has, perhaps, seen its peak. The original bloggers all wrote books already. (Blogging is dead!) Then again, maybe blogging is making a comeback in a new form. Blogs are trending more to long form (like this blog by yours truly) whereas short-form used to be more the way things went.

We got to do fun writing exercises. For example, writing a list post inspired by tarot card emotions and banana-gram letters to inspire topics. We then read our quickly written pieces with a group of supportive colleagues. Positive critiques were given, and tips for improving not only our writing, but connecting with a larger audience. It was really fun, and I felt like I was rediscovering a piece of myself. I began to think of myself as a writer who would potentially go on writer-type retreats.When was the last time I had taken a creative class like this? I honestly can't remember. But I know I would love to do more.

Blogging is a great creative outlet. That's why I have taken such a liking to it. It's also a way to share your message (hello climate change!) and connect with a community. Long live blogging!

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