Two Week Hiatus

 I’ve been dealing with eye strain and general tiredness for a few months now, which is part of the reason my posting has slowed down a bit lately.

So I’m taking a two-week break from screens. Unfortunately, I can’t avoid them at work, but outside of that I’m putting the tablet down completely. No social media, no games, no email, nothing that tempts me to pick it up.

Because of that, I won’t be doing any blogging during those two weeks.

I’ll see y’all in a couple of weeks.

Sing Out, Louise! - Favorite Musical Tournament on the Facebook Page

Hello, Everyone! I just wanted to invite everyone to participate in the Sing Out, Louise! tournament over on the Facebook page. This tournament is all about our favorite stage and screen musicals, and we will eventually crown our favorite musical of all time. 

If you are interested in voting, or just watching the action, click this link. Hope to see you there!

Wordsmithonia Has A Facebook Page

When I made the painful, final decision to shutter the blog a few years ago, I started a Facebook page mainly because I wanted to keep some semblance of it still alive. While my brain was telling me it was time to let go, my heart wouldn't let me. At least not fully. 

Now, while we all post our thoughts about books, music, TV shows, and movies, we also  play a lot of tournaments. We've done tournaments covering the greatest screen villains of all time, favorite children's characters, the most annoying characters, favorite reads, favorite soundtracks, and quite a few more. 

Right now we are getting ready to start one on our favorite musicals. I would invite you all to join us, which you can do by clicking the link above our banner photo beneath here. You could play by entering your own favorites, or vote once the tournament starts, or even just to lurk around the page. We're a friendly group. 

Join Us!

Almost Three Years Later

This crazy thing called Wordsmithonia has been on my mind, a lot. I miss the community I found on here. I miss blog hopping, and getting lost for hours in y'alls posts. I know I've  said this before, but it may just be time to start getting back into this whole blogging gig. I don't think it will be a pure book blog anymore, though I'll still throw up an occasional book or movie review. I may even trot out my Favorite Fictional Character feature, though not every week. 

I think mainly I want to use this as more of a personal journal/outlet. I've never been shy about expressing my opinion on here in the past, or sharing pieces of my life, but it was never the point of this blog. I think if I'm to get back into blogging, I need to make it feel less like a 2nd job, and more like a way to express myself. I'm also not going to set strict timelines on when I post, or even what the content will be. It will be a more freewheeling expression of who I am as a whole person, not just as a reader. 

So with that, I hope to see you around. 

 

Blog Update

If I have any readers left, I wanted to fill you guys in on where my head has been lately. Part of the reason the blog has been so neglected over the last few years, was my job. I hated it. It was sucking the soul out of me, and with the fact I was working 60+ hours a week, for almost three years, I had little joy left. I recently quit that job, my last day was May 1st, and I'm really enjoying the new one. The only drawback has been that for the last 6 weeks, hopefully this coming week will be the last, I've been traveling 3 1/2 hours away for training, leaving on Sundays and coming home on Thursdays. With that being said, I've noticed my mind being drawn in by the blog, and by the idea of dipping my toes back into the blogging world. I'm not sure when I'll be back, or even what my engagement level will be like in the begining, but for the first time in a very long time, I'm missing it.

FrightFall Readathon

If you know me personally, or have been following the blog for a while, you know I love Halloween. I love losing myself in a spine tingling tale. I dim the lights as low as I can deal with, turn on the electric fireplace, and with a mug of tea at hand, I burrow down and get lost in tales of ghosts, monsters, and murder.

My good friend Michelle of The True Book Addict has been sponsoring readathons for a while on a separate page, Seasons of Reading. She has been doing this one for a few years now, but this is the first time the entire month of October is in play. Once I knew that, I knew I had to jump on board this year. To learn all the details please visit the sign up page.

I've already picked out a few books I'm wanting to get through in those 31 days. The will probably change, but here is what I'm planning on as of right now.

I'll Be Back Next Week

August into September, is my busiest time at work, hence why I haven't been posting lately. I just wanted to let you know I'll be back next week, and will also have the results of my Blogoversary giveaway then.

Wordsmithonia is 9 years Old! But One of You Gets the Present!

When I wasn't looking, Wordsmithonia turned nine years old earlier this month. It's been a journey that has seen my interest and energy wane over the years, but I've never felt as if I was really ready to give it up for good. I've been slowly getting back into the rhythm, and I'm eternally grateful to those who have stuck by the blog over the years.

In appreciation for the love and support you have shown me over the years, I've decided to do a giveaway in celebration of the nine year journey I undertook with no prior forethought of what I was embarking upon. I've reviewed a lot of books over the years, and I'm letting one of you go through my review list and pick any book you want. All you need to do is leave a comment with the book title of your choice and your email address. I'll pick a winner by random draw on 08/15/2017.

The book will come from either B&N or Book Depository.

Thank you once again, from the bottom of my heart, for all the support you've given over the years. I'll never be able to properly express my gratitude.

29 Days Until Halloween

So needless to say, September was not the month that things got back to normal around here.  I had every intention of throwing myself back into blogging, then they demoted my assistant manager, and I'm stuck working 76 hours a week right now.  That appears to be what my life is going to be like for the foreseeable future, so not looking forward to it.

What I am looking forward to is Halloween, and I'm going to make a commitment to post something Halloween related everyday, right up to the big day itself.  Some days it may be a simple Youtube video of a favorite Halloween song or Halloween cartoon.  Other days will feature a book review or a movie review.  And I'm going to try my damnedest to get some Halloween themed Favorite Fictional Characters thrown in there for good measure.  And I'm not going to kill myself getting it done, but I feel as if I need to make a 2016 list of sexy vampires.

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

August sucked!  I'm not willing to say it's the worst month I've ever had, but it definitely ranked in the top five worst months of my life.  Because of how the month hit me in the gut, I wasn't around as much as I would have liked, and I'm deeply sorry for it.  I'm sorry for all the posts I never got written, and I'm sorry for all your posts that I never got to read.  It was an exhausting month, and I simply didn't have the energy to log in the way I wanted to.

It's always a busy time at work, but for whatever reason, this coming Tuesday will be my first day off since July 17th.  My average work week was right around 60-65 hours, and I barely had time to do laundry, let alone read.  If it had just been a crazy schedule, I could have coped a bit more, but it wasn't.

For those of you I'm friends with on Facebook, you already know that I lost my grandma on August 12th, just three days before my birthday.  It's been hard to deal with, especially the guilt of not being able to get back to MN for her service, and for all the visits I put off over the years, swearing I would get up to see her sometime soon.  She was a terrific lady, and I'm going to miss her for the rest of my days.  There was some other family drama during the month, but I'm so tired of thinking about it, that I'm not even going to mention it further.

Now that August is over, work will start going back to normal, 50-55 hours a week and a day off every week.  The weather will start cooling down, and hopefully my equilibrium will soon be back to normal.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to get back to posting on a regular basis, hopefully this week, and I promise I'll get by your blogs, and catch up on with what I missed.  So have a great week and an even better September. 

Wodsmithonia is 7 Years Old!

I can't believe it, but Wordsmithonia is six days over it's 7th blogoversary.  This time last year, I wasn't sure this milestone would be reached.  My personal, and professional life, had been in upheaval for far too long, and I had already been absent from the blogging world for a few months. More than once, I found myself making the decision to close the blog down for good, but I could never pull the trigger.  The entire time I was gone, I missed the voice I had found through the blog, and I had more than missed the interaction with all of you.  When I finally caved into the inevitable earlier this year, and started to make my first forays back into the fold, you guys welcome me back with open arms, and I can never express how grateful I was for it. Whether you know it or not, you have seen me through some of the worst moments in my life, and helped me celebrate some of the most joyous. I love you guys.  You are the reason I keep doing this, you are the reason I have felt at home from the moment my first post went live on 07/18/2009.  I look forward to another seven years with you guys.

Out Sick

Sorry I haven't posted anything since Saturday, but I've been fighting a severe cold since Monday.  I didn't leave bed the first two days, and I've used up all my energy since then to get through work.  I'm starting to feel a bit better, so I'm hoping I'll have the energy to get some posts written soon.  I have a few reviews ready to be written, and a few other posts planned for next week, so I'll see you guys then.

Say Goodbye to Disqus

A month or two before I took my blog hiatus last year, I had switched the commenting over to Disqus.  I had tried it once before, but it was a nightmare.  But I was willing to give it another go, when a year later I saw other bloggers using it, with no problems.  I really didn't blog much once I switched it over, so I'm not really sure how well it was working.  Since I've been back, and It's only been three posts so far, I'm finding I really don't like it.  I was never fond of the way it loaded, but I liked the direct reply option that it offered.  Today, I noticed that quite a few comments were missing, just on the new posts, and since I was thinking of letting it go anyway, I did.  I tried to copy/paste as many of the comments I could, but I'm sure I missed some, and for that I'm sorry.  So I'm back to using Blogger's commenting system, and while I wish they had a direct reply option, other than email, I prefer the pop up window anyway.  

Updated Blogger Profile Image

I made a change!  For those of you who have been with me over the years, you've noticed that I've been using the same Blogger image since the beginning.  I've never shown a picture of myself on here, at least not an adult me.  Let's just say, I've always been a bit camera shy, never thinking I look all that great in pictures, so when I could, I hid behind another image.  For Blogger, and pretty much every other social media account I have, I have used an image of Doctor Strange, my favorite superhero of all time.   It was only a few years ago that I started to actually use my own image on Facebook, and even then, not all the time.

I've decided to step out of my box a little bit more, and use an image of myself on here.  It's also going to be the image I use for Discuss and Twitter as well.  It's from almost two years ago now, and I don't think I look to bad in it.  I like that there is no close up of my face. 

So no more Doctor Strange.  It feels weird changing something so simple after so long, but change is good, right? 

Just Wanted to Say, I'm Back!

I know it's been a while, and I'm not sure if anyone will even read this, but I thought it was time to come back to the blog.  I know I really didn't give a great reason for why I had to step away, other than to say life was getting busy, and messy.  I wish I could give you a better reason now, but I can't.  Life just got a little complicated for a while, both personally and professionally, and I just couldn't seem to get any sort of will built up, to continue forward with the blog.  Life is still pretty busy, not sure that part will ever change.  But the messy part, that bad parts, seem to have taken a hike for a while, and I'm ready for them to stay gone.  

There were a few times, actually quite a few times, where I thought I was ready to be done with Wordsmithonia, that I was ready for it to sink into the Swamp of Sadness, never to be heard from again.  In the end, I couldn't let my blog go the way of Artax, I put too many years, and too much love into it, for it to just disappear.  My brain kept telling me to let go, but my heart just wasn't buying it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this, I've missed the blog, and I've missed you guys.  I've missed this amazing community of bloggers that I grew to love over the years, and I've missed the conversations we would have.  

I'm still working 50-70 hours a week right now, so I'm not ready to dive in head first, but you will start to see an active Wordsmithonia again.  I will start posting again, visiting my favorite blogs, discovering new blogs that weren't around when I took my little hiatus, and I'm sure my TBR pile is about to grow another 50 feet

So I'll be seeing you guys around, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things!  

Goodbye, For Now

At this point in my life, I'm just not feeling the blog love.  I seem to have lost any motivation to write a review, and I seem to be stuck in a romance reading place right now, and they are not books I enjoy writing reviews for.  I've also decided to start doing some other things that I love doing, but got put on the back burner because all my free time ended up being devoted to reading, or blog writing.   Putting the blog on hiatus was a decision I made a few weeks ago, but it's just now that I have the motivation to get on here and let you guys know.

At this point in time, I'm not sure if I will come back to it or not.  I would like to think I will, but I don't think it will be a few months from now if I do decide to come back.  I do know, and accept, that if I decide to come back, some of you guys will no longer be here, and I'm sorry for that.  I've really come to cherish the connections and friendships I've made over what has been almost six years of blogging, and it will always be a part of me.

Take care of yourselves, and if and when I do come back to the blog, I know I'll, once again, be part of one of the best communities around.

Life Is Getting In The Way

I'm going to be taking a break for a few weeks, for the simple fact I don't have the energy to do anything with the blog right now.  On Monday of last week, I was informed that a very good friend of mine killed himself, and the funeral was on Friday.  Then on Friday, after the funeral, my car was totaled after a woman going 50 in a 35, slammed into the rear of my car, pushing it into another one. Luckily, my roommate, who was driving the car, was not seriously injured, but I'm going to be dealing with the consequences of that accident for a the next two weeks.  I've haven't slept all that much the last few days, and about the only thing I have the energy to do is read.  So I need to step back from the blog for a bit, and get this stuff taken care of.  I promise I'll be back.  Take care of yourselves.

My New Found Addiction to Trivia Crack

I don't know about the rest of you, but within the last week, I've become addicted to Trivia Crack.  I kept seeing some of my Facebook friends playing it, but I try to avoid Facebook games, otherwise they become a huge time suck for me.  I can't even begin to tell you how much of my life was wasted playing Farmville, Castleville, Frontierville, Zoo World, and all the rest of the games, I got tricked into playing. 

Eventually I caved, and instead of playing on Facebook, I downloaded the app to my NOOK.   And the rest, they say, is history.  I can't stop playing it, and when I'm not playing against a friend, I'm rating user questions, just to keep my useless trivia skills razor sharp.  In my crazed addiction, I've even submitted twenty questions for community approval, I'm still waiting to see if any of them make it into the game.

Until then, I thought I would put the twenty questions I've come up with, and see if you guys, without cheating, can answer them.

Geography

The island of Gibraltar is a territory of which nation?

     Italy
     Great Britian
     France
     Spain

In what state does the Mississippi River start in?

     Wisconsin
     Mississippi
     Minnesota
     Iowa

Science 

What is the smallest species of antelope?

     Dik-Dik
     Oribi
     Royal
     Steenbok

What animal is also known as a wapiti?

     Deer
     Moose
     Elk
     Caribou

What is the symbol of Curium on the Periodic Table?

     Cm
     Cu
     Cr
     Ci

Art

Which of the following is not a shade of green?

     Chartreuse
     Myrtle
     Ultramarine
     Kelly

What was the name of the prophetic rabbit in the classic book, Watership Down by Richard Adams?

     Silver
     Dandelion
     Fiver
     Hazel

Perry Mason is a creation of which American mystery writer?

     Richard Castle
     Ellery Queen
     Ryan David Jahn
     Erle Stanley Gardner

Who was the subject of Marie Tussaud's first wax sculpture?

     Benjamin Franklin
     Voltaire
     Horatio Nelson
     Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Who wrote The Circular Staircase?

     Agatha Christie
     Mary Higgins Clark
     Mary Roberts Rinehart
     Jessica Fletcher

Who Wrote And Then There Were None?

     Patricia Wentworth
     Agatha Christie
     Mary Roberts Rinehart
     Erle Stanley Gardner

Sports

The 1928 Winter Olympic Games were held where?

     Squaw Valley
     Innsbruck
     Albertville
     St. Moritz

What was the first professional baseball team Daryl Strawberry played for?

     New York Yankees
     New York Mets
     Los Angeles Dodgers
     San Francisco Giants

Entertainment

In the 1966 TV Christmas special, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, who is the voice actor that sings "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"?

     Thurl Ravenscroft
     Hal Smith
     Dallas McKennon
     Boris Karloff

In what year did Elijah Bond release the first commercially made ouija board?

     1934
     1890
     1817
     1952

Who played Zorro in the Walt Disney produced TV show?

     Van Williams
     Dennis Morgan
     Mario Lopez
     Guy Williams

Who played opposite Cary Grant in, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House?

     Ruth Hussey
     Bea Arthur
     Myrna Loy
     Rosalind Russell

What is not the name of a Thin Man movie?

     The Thin Man Goes Home
     The Thin Man Takes a Ride
     After the Thin Man
     Song of the Thin Man

History

The Spanish Flu pandemic that killed around 50 million people world wide, happened in what year?

     1879
     1903
     1942
     1918

What was the name of the American Great Lakes freighter that was sunk by a storm on Lake Superior, on November 10th, 1975?

     The SS Superior City
     The SS Edmund Fitzgerald
     The SS Monarch
     The SS Samuel Mather

Switching Commenting Back to Disqus

I've decided to switch back to Disqus for commenting.  I tried it out a few years ago, and had quite a few problems with it, but as time has gone by, I've noticed that a lot of the issues I had, are no longer happening for other bloggers.  

The biggest reason I'm switching back is that it does make it easier to reply to every comment. I try to respond by email now, but with so many people not setting up their email address for Blogger, it's becoming a less frequent option for me.  I'm going to miss having the comments pull up in a separate window, as I do think that makes it easier, but I'll learn to live without it. 

Hopefully this transition will go smoother for me, than it did a few years ago.  I'm going to keep my fingers crossed.  

Favorite Fictional Characters Will Be Back In February

I know you guys have been waiting with bated breath for me to get back to my Favorite Fictional Character feature, so I'm happy to report that it will be back, starting in February.  

The last few months have been rather hectic, and I'm taking this month to get back into the blogging routine.  I already know who the first month will feature, and I hope you guys like them.