A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal

If you were here yesterday, you noticed my announcement of a very busy end of March and month of April, including my participation in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.

I've participated three times, completing the challenge fully in 2014 and 2015. In 2016 I made it halfway before things just fell apart. I took a small hiatus, and now I'm back to go for it again. I'm both excited and super nervous. This will be an interesting endeavor.

Now...I missed the initial post for it, but better late than never. Today I'll be posting my theme for the Great and Powerful A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal. It's when I let you know what I'll be blogging about all month long. But first...how about a little background...

The A to Z Challenge is a blogging event held each April. Bloggers create posts from A to Z beginning on April 1st and ending on April 30th. There is a post scheduled for each day of the month (except for Sundays) with each day corresponding to a sequential letter of the alphabet. It's definitely a challenge and it's a lot of fun.

There are bloggers from all over the world blogging about hundreds of different things. There are craft bloggers, book bloggers, social bloggers, history bloggers. You name it, there's a blog for it. It's quite the social event. I often find new bloggers to follow and lots of interesting information to learn. It usually takes me a couple of months after the fact to visit around and see what everyone was up to for their participation in the challenge.

Now...back to me. In the past, I've done my challenges on craft projects and books. I love doing projects, but they are a lot of work and without preparing way in advance, it becomes a bit crazy to try and make that happen. Add in the kiddos and the fact that most of my supplies are in the basement in boxes, and crafting just won't be on the agenda. As for books, well...I could certainly manage an A to Z on them, but I felt that there has been a lot of bookish posts around here and I needed to break up the flow a little bit. There will likely be a couple of book review posts sprinkled in between the April A to Z posts, but otherwise I'm not really focusing on bookish items.

So...with those two things eliminated, I needed to make a decision on what I could do enough of to fill up a whole month. I went with what consumes the majority of my day...my kids. :) So for the month of April in 2019, I'll be doing the A to Z Blogging Challenge with posts all about toddler activities and way to keep the kids entertained. See what it is we do around here all day! 

I've got my list and I'm getting my photos together. We have some activities to go to get everything ready, but the first few are already in the hopper ready to be written. How about you? Are you ready for the A to Z?

The Mega Participation Announcement Post

It's getting ready to be a very busy few weeks around this blog space of mine. Are you ready? I'm not sure I am. I have a lot of participationing to announce, so I'm wrapping it all up together in one handy dandy post. Whee!

First up, the 8 in 2 Readathon 

The 8 in 2 is a smaller version of the 25 in 5. It's a mini-readathon! It begins this Saturday and runs through the weekend. The goal is to read for 8 hours in the span of 2 days. You choose when and you choose exactly how your 8 hours gets divvied out. It's low key and a good excuse to read and do a little book socializing. I'll be sneaking in a few hours here and there in an attempt to finish at least one more book before the end of the month so that I'm not quite so behind on my TBR.

After that...

It's A to Z month!!

It's the 10th anniversary of the annual Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. I skipped last year, but I'm back! This one is a pretty hefty challenge, but it can be a lot of fun. The goal here is to blog every day (except Sundays) for the month of April, with your topic of each day representing a letter of the alphabet. We start with A on April 1st and end with Z on April 30th. 

Topics range far and wide and there are a lot of great blogs to check out along the way. It's a crazy month. I'm a bit nervous about this one, but I'm going to make it happen!

And lastly (but very certainly not least), we're coming up on the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon! 

Dewey's is one of my two most favorite readathons. This time, it starts on April 6th (for me it's at 7AM CST). It runs for 24 consecutive hours and I have never quite made it all the way through. I think I've maxxed out at around 21 hours. But...it's a blast every time and I love doing it. Time to get the snack plates ready and snuggle up for some reading! Yay!

There is more to come in April (like I said...it's a busy month), but this will get me rolling for the next couple of weeks. Feel free to join me in any of these events. They are all a great time and there are wonderful people participating. It's a good group of communities to belong to.

2019!! Plans and Progress.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I have returned from a nice, long blog hiatus once again. Life just tends to cause these little blips now and then, doesn't it? But I tend to think that the interruptions I've had over the last couple of years have been worth it.

But the itch has returned, and I needed to go back to blogging. I'm reentering the blogosphere like I always tend to do...with a read-a-thon. Next week is Bout of Books 24!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 7th and runs through Sunday, January 13th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 24 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Bout of Books is one of my favorite read-a-thons to participate in. It's a week long, so there is no pressure to do an entire day. I can piecemeal things here and there. The group of participants is always great and the Twitter chats are a blast!

Beyond read-a-thons and occasional book reviews, I have a few new plans for the blog this year. Gary and I were talking a couple of weeks back and I mentioned how I missed doing things for the blog, but I didn't know what direction to take. I don't currently have access to all the crafting gear, so projects of that nature are bound to be few and far between for a bit. I also want to get moving forward with talking about the farm and farmsteading stuff, but I feel like that needs to be kept primarily over at the farm blog (which I will be starting to post on regularly beginning this month).

Anyway...Gary suggested that I review kids' books, since I read so much with the boys and I always have an opinion about the books we read. So, that will be a feature that will be added. You'll be able to follow those reviews here, but you can also see the entire listing of basic reviews for the books I read with the boys over at their Goodreads account.

I have a lot of updating to do around the place. A few cobwebs to sweep from the corners and whatnot. This always happens in January, but it's going to be a bit of extra work this year since I wasn't updating the pages as the years went along. I'm actually excited to do it though. I know...it's a sickness.

I WILL be returning to doing random projects, they just won't all be DIY projects. We are in the midst of a slow renovation of our house, so there will be bits of that. I'll also be doing some decorating. The craft materials may slowly find their way out of boxes and into use. And I'll be doing some toddler activities with the boys as well as some preschool curriculum development. There may be a bit of farmstead stuff thrown in, but I haven't decided yet. All I know is that I will be doing more around here. Yay!

Oh...and for those of you who are curious. Yes...I will be doing the Book of the Year Bracket Challenge. You should see a post for that sometime in the next couple of weeks. That's an annual tradition I can't skip.

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to 2019! If you haven't yet joined Bout of Books, mosey on over and get signed up. You don't have to read a lot, just what you can. But the social interaction is a good time. And I will be seeing you more frequently around here with a little project action...and of course it will be erratic and unpredictable as always!!

The Gilmore Project

I've been struggling with needing something different around here...having found myself growing bored of my own posts about books. (Whoa...That's never a good sign.) I just needed more variety and something a bit more substantial than spouting what feels like occasionally monotonous and repetitive evaluations that don't always have a full sense of heart behind them. There are good book bloggers and bad book bloggers and I have slumped into the latter category.

Crafts really haven't been an option of late since we're slowly remodeling the house and have yet to really unpack that category of stuff into an organized and permanent space. So there's been a bit of limbo about what in the world I would write about. Thus, instead of crafting or writing, (and since I'm ridiculously pregnant and uncomfortable), I've been spending a lot of time on the internet reading other blogs or just hanging out on the couch. I'm not going to lie...that can become somewhat boring.

It gets a bit eerily quiet in the house sometimes, so I've been spending B's naptime running Netflix in the background while I get the house cleaned or just relax for a few minutes. A couple of months ago, I decided to rewatch one of my favorite series, Gilmore Girls, for what has to be at least the sixth full run.

I finished rewatching a little over a month ago. This time through, I found myself noticing new things and seeing the episodes and characters in a different light. Now...full disclosure, I always find something new when I watch. For those who haven't watched the show before, the episodes are FULL of clever references to books, music, pop culture, and other little sly bits of information. But this was different. I started noticing how some things paralleled to my own life. I started reflecting on those little clever references. I started seeing the storylines from different points of view. And I decided...maybe this might be something a little interesting to write about. There may have been a small epiphany type feeling.

And so...I'm beginning what I'm calling The Gilmore Project. It's an experiment and hopefully will result in a good blogging adventure. I'll be going episode by episode through all seven regular seasons as well as the Year in the Life episodes released by Netflix in late 2016. As I sift through the plot of each episode, I'll reflect on different pieces. In some cases, I may explain how events from a particular character's experience parallel to my own life. Sometimes I may simply reflect on how the music used in the episode reminds me of certain things. Or I may muse on specific references used in the plot with regard to literature, historical events, music, or pop culture. Sometimes there's bound to be a lot to unpack, so there's a chance that an episode may prompt more than one post. To put it bluntly, I'll be winging as I go.

I'm finding myself both excited and nervous about this project. It's something different than I've ever really done before...especially on the blog, in a public way. There's bound to be some pretty personal reflections and there may be things that I feel somewhat uncomfortable writing about. But I feel like I need to explore my writing in a different way and I need to do something new. I've been stagnant around here for too long and I don't yet have the ability to fully return to craft projects (though this may change by mid-fall if the summer goes as planned). This really is a true experiment. Given...it won't be interesting for everyone, but it should be a fun exercise if nothing else. A good way to reflect on events, thoughts, and other random bits.

Bout of Books 21 Wrap Up & Other Updates...

I have returned from my vacation and settled back into some kind of a "normal" routine. I'll be quick to admit that this normal isn't always the most productive. I've found that, even though second trimester does give back a bit of energy, being pregnant and chasing after a newly mobile 10-month-old all day tends to exhaust me on a regular basis. The boy, in the meantime, is relentless. He has escaped my attempt at "baby jail" and roams the floor relentlessly. 

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He has taken to making a beeline for the pets' water dish, so I've had to relocate it to the kitchen counter when he's toddling about. It only took him dumping the entire thing out four or five times before I finally made that adjustment. What can I say, I'm quick.

Luckily, he does allow me some form of a nap period every day (anywhere between 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 hours) to get some of my crap together. It's the only way this house doesn't descend completely into chaos during the day.

Before I left, I mentioned that I would still be somewhat participating in Bout of Books 21, despite my absence. I made these rather lackluster goals before escaping town:

Read-a-Thon Goals

1. Read at least 3 out of the 7 days.
2. Read for a total of at least 90 minutes.
3. Read at least 100 pages.
4. Complete at least 1 book.

I'm happy to say that I squashed those goals just fine. In fact, I managed to complete goals 2-4 during the plane trip out. It's not anything magical or astounding, but at least I made some progress, right?

So...what's next?

I've been working on updating my reading challenge pages and it's a job that's nearly done. In the upcoming days, I'll be posting a new 101 in 1001 as well as listing the read-a-thons I plan on taking part in for the remainder of 2018.

And then...it's time for the challenge!

For the past few years, I've posted my Book of the Year Bracket Challenge as a means of sharing my favorite read from the prior year. And this year...it's back! I'll be getting it underway in the next couple of days. Want to join me? Stay tuned for my introductory post, where I'll be providing access to some blank brackets for your own use.

I read a good smattering of books in 2017. I'm looking forward to the head-to-head competition this challenge allows. It's always fun for me and sometimes yields some unexpected and interesting literary face-offs. I'm excited to see what book comes out as the proud winner.

Currently: September 5, 2017

A long, long time ago, I did a feature on the blog called "Currently". It was more or less a weekly update on what I was up to. It started out as "Summary Sunday" and then morphed into something slightly different to fit what I needed at the time. Unfortunately, it fell by the wayside (along with a pile of other things). However, while doing my Feedly reading the other day, I read Andi's post about Scribbling -- an idea she got from Amanda. It reminded me of my old Currently posts and I decided that would be a good way to put myself back into a weekly post. I've taken my old prompts and merged them with Amanda's to give myself a good list of summary categories. It should be a good way to help motivate me to get more things done and remind me where I'm slacking.

Ready...set...here we go...

Weather: 

It's pretty gloomy out there today. It's been rainy the last couple of days and it's cooling down a bit. Today the high will be around 63. 

I don't mind the cooler weather and I love that fall is getting closer (it's my favorite season), but at the same time I am very much missing the sun. I spent most of my summer in a cast thanks to an unfortunate accident involving an angry mama cow, so I missed out on a lot of the good weather.

I am also freaking out slightly because this shift in weather means that the Minnesota winter is not too far away and there are oh so many projects that need to be completed outside before the snow begins to fly.

Watching:

I've been watching more or less nothing but Octonauts lately. It's such a sad state of affairs. The little guy loves it when they start to sing and it keeps him occupied when he's in that state between wake and nap. We usually cuddle on the couch and watch an episode while I give him a bottle and get him settled down. The result is that the song at the end of the show (Creature Report for those familiar) is often stuck in my head for the rest of the afternoon.

Reading:

I'm getting out of my reading slump thanks to the reboot that Bout of Books gave me. I just finished the third book in the Paper Magician trilogy, The Master Magician. The trilogy was a good read, with the first two books scoring 4-star reviews and the final book receiving a 3.5. It's a YA series that moves quickly, but smartly. It was a nice pick to help remove me from my reading slump.

I've now just started A Secret Kept by Tatiana De Rosnay. It's a bit of a genre shift, so we'll see how I do with that. It's a more serious novel and I've been sticking to mostly light-hearted reads in the last few months. I'm hoping I can keep moving at a steady pace and not let that change bog me down.

Listening:

I haven't really been listening to much music and I didn't realize it until I began writing this post. (See...it's already working.) I'll have to revive my usage of Spotify and see what I can find to love out there. Right now, all I've been really hearing is the aforementioned Octonauts tunes and the music from B's various toys and mobiles.

Learning:

I'm still working on my English degree, but I have taken some time off from school for now. I wasn't able to find any good classes to apply to my major with online courses and I'm still hoping to stick with Boise State even though I am working from Minnesota. I'm holding out for spring semester. With any luck, they'll have something for me. If not, I may consider transferring myself to another program where I can complete my studies online. 

Making:

Canning season has arrived. It's mayhem around here. So far, I've frozen peas and multiple fruit and vegetable cubes of pureed baby food. I've also canned three kinds of pickled radishes, radish jelly, applesauce, three kinds of beans, two kinds of salsa, tomato paste, kale, and pickles. 

I still have oh so much to do. Next up is processing and freezing the kohlrabi and canning yet another salsa. I'll be following that with beets and turnips. After that, I'll be processing (in no particular order): Brussels sprouts, corn, carrots, rutabaga, cabbage, three types of onion, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, butternut squash, and acorn squash. 

Whew. I think that's it. I'm paying for that brilliant idea of a large garden. The good news is that we'll have lots put up for winter.

Thinking:

There's been a lot on my mind lately, to be honest. Life is certainly a far cry different than it was a couple of years ago. I went through a divorce, found someone who appreciates and loves me for who I am (not for what I can give them), retired due to a medical condition that forced me to do so, closed my practice, moved half way across the country, shifted to a new style of living, and had a baby. They talk about the major events in life that can cause stress and I've hit nearly every one. It's been a ride.

Feeling:

I am enjoying the changes for the most part, but there are days where I still feel lost. I think that's probably the case for just about anyone at most points in their life. I very much enjoy being a mother...it's something I was beginning to think would never be an option, but it brings with it a new set of anxieties. I worry about the best way to spend my time with him, what I should be teaching him, is he meeting milestones, is he still breathing in the middle of the night, etc. I've never loved and feared something so much in my life.

Wanting/Needing:

The removal of some chaos would be lovely. We're trying to sell off the summer piglets, but have now discovered that we'll be having a surprise litter here shortly. It appears that Pippa will be having piglets of her own in a few weeks. Once that's all buttoned up and the canning has been finished for the season, maybe it will feel a little more relaxed around here.

Hopefully, we'll also be able to get the storage shelving in the garage completed. That should allow us to weed through the boxes in the garage, get rid of some junk, and get things a bit more organized. In turn, some of the things stored in the basement will be able to be relocated and we can have a bit more breathing room around here.

When it comes down to it, I've found that what I need is simplicity.

Loving:

Honestly, for all of the change and chaos, I'm loving this life. I enjoy being in the middle of nowhere. I love that I'm able to stay home and spend the day with my son. I'm enjoying exploring the possibilities of homestead life and learning new ways to do things.

Planning:

We continue to take small steps on remodeling the house. The goal for September: flooring. We had replaced the basement carpet just before Brecken was born, but there have been some issues with it. So we are having it replaced yet again (under warranty) to a different brand. We'll also be ordering and scheduling installation of hardwood in the upstairs and purchasing tile for the two bathrooms and the entryway. With any luck, by the end of October, all of the floors will be well underway or maybe even completely installed. 

As far as the blog, I'll be starting a whole new blogging schedule. My plan is to complete a Currently post every Sunday. Tuesdays are for Top Ten Tuesdays, Wednesdays are for Top 5 Wednesday, and Saturdays are for Book Blogger Hop. Beyond that, I'll have random posts here and there. Since today is Tuesday, we'll start tomorrow with Top 5 Wednesday.

Now...let's see if I can shake off the dust and get back into the swing of things...
What about you? What does your "Currently" look like?

Time for a Revival

Alright. So it appears that you are all in agreement. Keep the name, embrace the change, and soldier on. I'm cool with that and very much appreciate the input. Good to know I have some people in my corner.

And so...we're moving forward. I'm going to start by cleaning the blog house. It's time to dust off a few menus, clean up some challenges, and make things up to date again. Cleaning out the cobwebs and remembering the things that inspire me should help get a jump start going on this thing.

Also, what better to get back in the swing of things than a read-a-thon?

Yaaaaaassss. Bout of Books 20...that's right TWENTY...starts on Monday. (Also...sidenote in case you've been living in a hole, Monday is eclipse day. Where I live, we will see about 78% and the best viewing time is at around 1pm.)

Bout of Books is one of my favorite read-a-thons. It's all week long, almost all of my favorite book bloggers participate, there are fantastic Twitter chats, and it's totally low pressure.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 21st and runs through Sunday, August 27th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 20 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm looking forward to getting in a little reading. I had been in quite the slump, but finally got back to getting some book time over the last couple of weeks. It feels really good to be able to finish a book now and then. Hopefully I can do a little bit of catch up on my reading goal for the year since I'm TWENTY-SIX books behind. So embarrassing. Apparently my goal was a little lofty this year. Oh well...we'll see if I can make that number a little less dramatic.

Thank you very much to all of you who gave input on what to do with my blogging crossroads. It's always nice to get the opinions of those who can see things from the outside. EPJ will continue to exist and evolve.

Winds of Change?

I've been blogging for over ten years. In fact, looking back...it seems that it's been nearly twelve. EPJ itself began to take shape in the fall of 2009. That seems like so incredibly long ago. Since then I've written over 650 posts on everything from scrapbooking to recipes to book reviews with a few crazy pumpkin posts thrown in for good measure (and good blog growth).

But in the last two years, things have changed so incredibly much for me. Life is nothing like it was. And, in most ways, that has turned out to be a very good thing. However, in blogging terms it apparently is not. Because I have stagnated. I've been stuck. I haven't written much, haven't crafted much, and I feel a bit lost.

Why? Well...because I'm not sure that the blog is still meant to be the same. With as much as life has changed, it seems only right that what I write about should change (or at least shift) as well. And I think perhaps I've feared that making that shift under the same old Erratic Project Junkie heading would just seem awkward to those reading.

My days are filled with different things. My projects are of a different nature. And I feel like maybe the EPJ name is keeping me feeling a bit more constricted than I should be.

I still enjoy writing about books. I still enjoy sharing projects -- though there is now likely to be an even greater hodgepodge with the addition of farming and homesteading activities. And I still think I would enjoy sharing pieces of my every day life...though not in a way that would turn this into something more accurately identifiable as a mommy blog.

And so now I have a question to pose...

What would you like to see from me? Should I take the blog in a new direction and leave things labelled with EPJ? Should I relocate everything over to the farm blog even though not everything relates to farming? Should I start a separate blog for books and those other non-farming things and abandon EPJ altogether?

It's a crossroads. And I need a bit of guidance. Feel free to be blunt and be honest. Help me make this transition and get back into writing without feeling like things are so ridiculously awkward. It's time to get back in the saddle somehow.

Return to the Land of the Blogging...

Hey! Did you miss me? I've been slogging through the world of no sleep, late nights, and a new super cute snuggle buddy.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram or Facebook have already been somewhat inundated with pictures of this adorable little guy. But...for those of you who don't, here's an introduction.

Brecken Stephen was born a day before his due date on March 15th. He came into the world via an unplanned C-section after 15 hours of labor. Due to some issues with regulating his temperature and sugar levels, he was life-flighted to Children's Hospital in Fargo where he spent 5 days in the NICU. It was a fairly traumatic experience, but we were very lucky. Our little guy is a good and strong fighter and he was able to come home relatively quickly.

Since he's been home, he's put on weight like a champ. At 11 weeks old, he now weighs about 13 lbs. and is in the middle of the pack at a length of 23 1/4". As was the issue with his birth, he still sports a relatively monster noggin. He ranks in the 98th percentile for head circumference at a nice 16.5". But...studies have shown that kiddos with big heads end up being relatively smarter, so we'll take it. 

He's a fantastic baby and a very happy kid. We love him to bits. He keeps a pretty regular schedule, is a great traveler, and is growing a little personality all his own. He's a wonderful adventure.

Now that we've gotten ourselves fairly settled in and we've developed a good daily routine, I'm ready to get back in the swing of things. Before I disappeared, we were working on discovering my 2016 Book of the Year. We'll be finishing that off before moving on to other things. I'll continue to blog here about family life, crafts, and books.

However, I'm also starting a new adventure. We're growing our farm. The second blog that I mentioned a few months ago is under construction along with a website. The website is live and growing every day. I hope to get it and the farm blog fully functional within the next two weeks. I'm planning to try and blog here about twice a week and once over on the farm page. Stories about our farm and homesteading adventures, our animals, and other home projects will be featured over there. I'd love if some of you would like to join me. You can find us at Crooked Tree Ranch. Pay us a visit and stay tuned for some pretty great things.

Thanks for being such patient readers and supporters. I'm looking forward to this new chapter and exploring all of the possibilities that this new life is affording me. It's a pretty fantastic ride so far. I hope you'll be able to enjoy some of it with me. It's good to be back.

Making Plans

Yes...the blog still exists. I've been hemming and hawing about writing simply because I didn't know quite what direction I was planning on taking. Honestly, it's still a bit of a craps shoot. But, I've flown by the seat of my pants plenty of times before, so why should now be different?

Where I've Been

It's actually been a bit of a crazy fast two months. Life moves too swiftly sometimes and the days just start blurring together. 2016 has been interesting, to say the least. My life is so incredibly different than it was just a year ago...in a lot of good ways. I'm happy. Really happy. And after a few years of a lot of stress and indecision, that is a wonderfully good thing.

I got out of a relationship that wasn't good for me. Things had been fading for the last couple of years and I had been struggling to keep it together, but it became clear that neither of us was benefiting from being with one another. It was painful and terrible and somewhat messy, but leaving was the right thing to do. And in the end, I found someone who truly values me for who I am and who treats me incredibly well. He is kind and generous and loving and I am incredibly lucky to be able to be with him.

I also discovered that getting out of a profession that I didn't love was one of the best things I could do for myself. It was a decision that wasn't completely voluntary thanks to some medical issues, but I made some major changes that let me leave that life behind. At this point, I can honestly say that I don't miss dentistry. I do miss some of the people, but I don't miss the constant stress and the physical pain that came from trying to make every day work despite my illness. Luckily, I was at one point smart enough to prepare for the fact that I might one day not be able to work in the field, so I don't now have to feel like it owns me. I worked very hard for the thirteen years I ran my practice and now those years have become something that was a good investment.

Where I'm Going

As for where I go from here in the professional department, that's still a bit up for grabs. My good investment is paying off in more ways than one. Life has arranged itself in a way where I am stable enough to not have to work in a formal profession for the foreseeable future, so I can take my time and decide what I really want to do when I grow up. I've been attending college courses for the last two years and working on my English and accountancy degrees, but...I think I may shift things slightly once more. I'm good at accounting, but (much like dentistry) it just isn't something I love. Writing, on the other hand, has never failed to be something I enjoy. I'm considering taking next semester off, but I plan to continue to pursue some form of English education (and potential employment) -- formal or otherwise.

In the meantime, I have myself a pending new job. It's one that I'm terribly excited for. In just a few months, I should officially have myself the job title of Mommy. Amazing really.

I've always wanted to be a mother, but it just wasn't in the cards. (I'll likely write more about that at a later date.) After a trip back to Idaho to clean up some details from closing the business this past summer, I found myself terribly nauseated on the flight back to Minnesota. The feeling continued for days afterwards. A week later, I was surprised to learn that I was, in fact, not getting sick, but pregnant. It was a bit of a shock, but a really good one.

It's been a pretty good pregnancy thus far. I really can't complain. We've been getting excited and slowly accumulating things in preparation for his arrival. We still have a lot of work to do, but we're plodding along.

The house we live in is an old farm house that we have been planning on renovating. Originally, that was intended to be a slow-paced project, but a few things have needed to be accelerated since there will be a new baby in the house. Part of the new journey for the blog had been planned for following our home improvement projects, so now we're getting a bit of a jump start on that.

Right now, the projects are primarily focused on stripping wallpaper from two of the bedrooms and repainting. We'll be putting flooring into what was the storage room so that it can become our bedroom and the room we're currently in will become the nursery. The color palette for his room has been all picked out and he'll be decked out in foxes. (I'll share more about the house and our plans in a later post.)

Currently, we have about 11 weeks to get our act together and have everything somewhat prepared. Wallpaper has been removed from one of the rooms and it's ready to paint. We're moving boxes around to clear it out and then the fun begins. Once that paint is finished, I'll start removing wallpaper and painting the other room, while flooring is installed in the first. After that, it's furniture moving and assembly. With any luck, things will start really coming together over the next month.

In addition to the house projects, I'm taking an active part in running our farm. We raise Belted Galloway cattle (Oreo cookie cows) and Berkshire pigs (black pigs with white feet that have superior meat quality). We're likely adding some poultry and lambs in 2017. I'll be in charge of our blog (coming soon...) and our marketing/social media presence, in addition to helping with the day-to-day activities required to keep our little herds going. I'm very excited for what the next year could hold for us in that direction. It has some great promise and it's a life I really love. I'll be sharing bits and pieces of that here on this blog, but will mostly be directing that information to the upcoming new farm blog. (Keep an eye out for that in the next month. I'll be posting about it here.)

My goal with this blog for now is just to keep it going. I'm going to be making myself a new posting schedule to keep me in line and (with any luck) should be able to start having things to share over the next few weeks. The plan for now is to try and post at least once a week. Writing will be centered around a hodgepodge, per usual. There will be project posts, to be sure, but there will also be posts about books as in the past along with some farm stuff, some mommy stuff, and ... just life in general.

I realize that this has been a long and full post, but I needed to get myself caught up a bit so I had a place to start. If you've stuck with me this far, thanks. I'm really looking forward to sharing some of this new and crazy life with you. There is so much that it potentially has in store. Life is truly amazing. You can never quite predict what you're going to get.

Lazy Blogger

Yep. I admit it. I've been super lazy about blogging. But...I have an excuse. No...really. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you already know it. Ready?

Yep. That's right. The laziness is the result of this little bean. Three months of constant nausea and exhaustion and I'm finally feeling like myself again. We're at 15 weeks today and thus far 2nd trimester is soooo much better.

So, with any luck I'll get my act together. I'm revamping the blog and it will be getting linked with another blog that I'll be starting up here shortly. Stay tuned. 

Time to Saddle Back Up...Upcoming Plans

I took a little more time than I had originally planned, but I've now begun to dig back out of my cave of isolation and it's time to get back to blogging. And reading. I've missed it.

And now for something big...

It's time for the blog to take a new direction. That means a bit of a change in terms of logo...again, but it's what will need to be done. Over the years I've waffled on exactly what my focus would be. There has been a hodgepodge over time...a little bit of this, a little bit of that. However, the last few months have been interesting for me and I seem to be finding new focus in my life. I'm finding me. There may be more about that here and there over the next few months, but for now...suffice it to say that I am feeling stronger and more comfortable in myself as a person. I know more what I want and what I want to do.

While I do love doing projects that include crafts and sewing, they haven't been a primary focus for me over the past year or so. My love has refocused on reading...on learning. I still do things with my hands now and then, but it's so much easier to pick up a good book and get lost in it. So I'm refashioning the blog in a way. I'm going to focus primarily on those books that I love so much. There's going to be a lot more literary discussion, a lot more book reviewing, and (hopefully) a lot more reading. Don't be surprised if you see a project here and there (I'm still the same erratic Elle, after all), but they're taking a bit of a back seat to my love for the written word. I hope you'll be willing to join me for that.

I'll be putting together a 2016 blog plan here in the next few days and you'll probably be seeing a lot of posts from me in a short period of time...I have a lot to say.

As for the current moment...let's talk about what's coming up soon.

The 24 in 48 Readathon is this weekend! School just started, so my homework load is relatively light at the moment. Timing is swell. I'll likely be spending some of my weekend reading school related materials, but reading is still reading. And I have a few good books on the nightstand that I'll be devouring if I'm able to get all of that finished. I'm excited to have some good reading time. I plan on just hanging out on a soft bed wrapped up in a blanket and reading until my eyes can't stay open any longer. It's going to be great.

A few of you have asked about the Book of the Year Bracket Challenge. Yes! Game is on! Click here if you need a bracket. I'll be posting the sign up later this weekend.

As for the schedule...here's what we're preparing for:

January 18th : Initial eliminations. All rounds of eliminations needed to get the number of contestants reduced to 32. 

January 19th : Elimination to find the Sweet Sixteen.

January 20th : Reducing challengers to eight books - the Elite Eight.

January 21st : Quarterfinals. Determine your Final Four.

January 22nd : Semi-Finals. Only two may enter the final arena.

          January 23rd : Finals...the Champion will be determined. Announce your Book of the Year!

There will be more about the specifics on the challenge over the next day or so, but please join in on the fun and post your brackets! It's always fun to see what books other readers loved over their year. We all know how I like to add to my TBR pile.

I'm headed off to do a bit of homework to hopefully free up the remainder of the weekend for reading. I'll be back tomorrow for the 24 in 48!

Bloggiesta Day 2: Official Wrap Up and Unofficial Continuation

The mini-Bloggiesta is rolling to a close. It may officially be ending here in a couple of hours, but I haven't finished everything I want to yet, so I'm planning to continue for the next couple of evenings until I have my projects all finished. I have a good flow going--no sense leaving things half done.

The Twitter chat was great today, but it wound up giving me more things to do. We had quite a lively discussion on Pinterest, and I wound up heading over there and reorganizing my board covers to make them more attractive. That took a bit of time. I also found myself perusing the blogging boards of a few other Bloggiesta participants. It will be helpful, but it took a pretty decent chunk out of my afternoon.

1. Update reading challenge pages.

2. Update bucket list challenge pages.

3. Participate in Sunday's Twitter Chat at 3pm EST.

4. Redesign blog planner.

5. Sort through Goodreads emails and update TBR.

6. Create TBR jar. (in progress)

7. Create project jar. (in progress)

8. Create blog post idea jar. (in progress)

9. Write Top Ten Tuesday posts for June/July/August (at least some...).

10. Visit other Bloggiesta bloggers and comment. Be social!!

**  Reorganize Pinterest board covers.

I hope everyone else's Bloggiesta was as productive!

Bloggiesta Day 1: In the Thick of It

The first day of Bloggiesta is halfway over and I'm trucking along with the goals I've set for myself. I've been a little slower this afternoon as I managed to get a little distracted by things like my iPad, YouTube, and Facebook. Oops. The good news is, success is still being had - just in smaller quantities.

I made a really dumb mistake earlier today that totally worked out in my favor. I was just sitting here tooling along on a few items when I realized that it was 1:45pm...3:45pm EST. In a quick panic, I pulled up TweetDeck, certain that I was missing the Twitter chat. But...it turns out I just don't know how to read. The chat is tomorrow, not today. I'll get a second attempt at showing up on time. Phew.

The good news is that I have managed to finish one more item on my list and I'm in the midst of four (yes...four) others. Okay, really I guess it's five if you count reading other Bloggiesta posts and commenting, because I've been doing a little of that too.

Here's where I'm at right now...

1. Update reading challenge pages.

2. Update bucket list challenge pages.

3. Participate in Sunday's Twitter Chat at 3pm EST.

4. Redesign blog planner.

5. Sort through Goodreads emails and update TBR. (in progress)

6. Create TBR jar. (in progress)

7. Create project jar. (in progress)

8. Create blog post idea jar. (in progress)

9. Write Top Ten Tuesday posts for June/July/August (at least some...).

10. Visit other Bloggiesta bloggers and comment. Be social!! (TOTALLY happening!)

I'm quite thrilled that I completed #4. I really did love my blog planner when I put it together a little over a year ago, but it was too big and too bulky and wound up just sitting in a drawer instead of getting properly used. Then I started writing things down in other notebooks and on scraps of paper and it all just turned into a chaotic mess. It was time for a streamlined change.

Here's what I started with:

Excuse the horribly grainy picture. The iPad can't be trusted...

The large original planner binder, the smaller green planner, miscellaneous printer papers, a legal pad, the blue project design notebook, and a steno notebook. Meanwhile, the binder was stuffed with all kinds of weird, loose papers.

And here's what I ended up with:

Ahh. One nice and tidy, portable-sized green planner.

I compiled everything into this cute little planner that I got at Staples. I use one of these for my regular daily planner as well (it's the ARC system in case you're curious...and no, this isn't a sponsored post - I just like my planners). 

I have things divided by tabs to keep track of my "to do" list, the upcoming topics for Top Ten Tuesday, my read-a-thon schedule, plans for the year's pumpkin display, plans for holiday gift projects, and the plan for next year's A to Z Challenge (among other things). I'd show you the individual pages but...blog secrets and all of that. I can't be just showing you everything! (You do have a bit of a sneak peek of a wall collage I have planned. Does that help?)

I'm sooooo much happier. This cutesy little planner measures about 9" high and 6" wide. It's about 1 1/2" thick and has to be held closed by a band since I stuffed it with pages (the system does have the option of larger rings, but I didn't have enough of them left). Still...it's about 1000 times better than the gigantic 3" 3-ring binder (and other assorted accouterments) I was using before. This is much more portable and accessible. It also helps that Bloggiesta projects 6-8 are allowing me to remove some items from the planner that were previously taking up a lot of real estate.

What do you think? Do you use a blog planner? What are the essential pieces of your planner that you can't live without?

Bloggiesta Day 1: The Beginning.

It's Bloggiesta time! I'm hard at work attacking the blog and cleaning up things behind the scenes. I'm working on a lot of organization this time, trying to make it easier for me to write posts and finish projects to share on the blog.

Since this is a mini-Bloggiesta, I'll be doing a few midway posts to keep things updated and share what I'm working on. Right now, we're technically about 3 hours in on Bloggiesta. I've already tackled a couple of items on the list.

1. Update reading challenge pages.

2. Update bucket list challenge pages.

3. Participate in Saturday's Sunday's Twitter Chat. (I really need to read more carefully.)

4. Redesign blog planner.

5. Sort through Goodreads emails and update TBR.

6. Create TBR jar.

7. Create project jar.

8. Create blog post idea jar.

9. Write Top Ten Tuesday posts for June/July/August (at least some...).

10. Visit other Bloggiesta bloggers and comment. Be social!!

Yup...steps 1 and 2 are complete! The Twitter Chat is at 1pm my time tomorrow, so I'm planning on having at least one more step completed by early afternoon. I'm hoping to share the blog planner redesign tomorrow evening and then the jars for steps 6-8 on Sunday night. Fingers crossed that I can keep on completing tasks successfully!!

How's your Bloggiesta going?

June 2015 Mini Bloggiesta Plan

Bloggiesta is a blog event that focuses on improving your blog and completing items on your bloggy to-do list while being social with other amazing bloggers hard at work with similar tasks. It's a time to clean up the cobwebs, get caught up on planned posts, and find new ways to make your blog the best it can be.

I participated in my first Bloggiesta this March during the week long event and got a lot of work done on the bones of the operations, cleaning up the look and feel of the blog for readers. This time, it's a mini-session, lasting only for the weekend. The plan for me is to work on some of the behind the scenes things including planning, organizing, and maybe some post scheduling.

I've given myself ten tasks for this Bloggiesta. We'll see how many I get done. In no particular order...

1. Update reading challenge pages.
2. Update bucket list challenge pages.
3. Participate in Saturday's Twitter Chat.
4. Redesign blog planner.
5. Sort through Goodreads emails and update TBR.
6. Create TBR jar.
7. Create project jar.
8. Create blog post idea jar.
9. Write Top Tuesday posts for June/July/August (at least some...).
10. Visit other Bloggiesta bloggers and comment. Be social!!

I'll probably get started on things a little early since I have tomorrow off. I'm finding myself drawn to organization so I might as well take advantage while I'm on the kick!

Armchair BEA: Blogging Q & A

My first foray into participating in Armchair BEA (ABEA) continues. I'm now seeing photos of my book buddies at the convention with all of the wonderful books they're getting and my jealousy just keeps growing. One of these years I will be able to go. One of these years...

Until then, it's armchair time. I'm living vicariously through them and talking about books and blogging with a pile of other people who weren't able to go to book Mecca this year. We're having fun on our own terms.

Today's topics are Character Chatter and Blogging Q&A. I'm not feeling uber character creative today, so I'm sticking with the blogging approach and I'm going to share a bit more about why I blog, how I started my blog, and things I've learned along the way. Hopefully some of it will be useful for some of you.


My Blog History

I originally started blogging back in 2006. I got started because I was going through a divorce and I needed an outlet. I needed something to do. The blog was pretty random for the first little while, both in topic and in posting. I would post once a month and then disappear for large stretches. I refined my approach, changed the blog name to Erratic Project Junkie, and started blogging fairly regularly in the summer of 2011.

My blog is now my baby. It's my outlet. It's my hobby. I like to create and share with others. I like to meet new people through it and I love the sense of friendship and community it allows me. I would love it to make me money some day, but that's not what I'm in it for. In fact, I recently removed my AdSense account from the blog because I didn't feel it was worth it. It wasn't adding enough value to my blogging, it was just adding more clutter to my pages. I prefer just to focus on my content at this point. I'm doing it for fun. I want to keep it that way.


Readership

EPJ was initially extremely small, getting only a few hits daily from my friends and family as well as some random hits from individuals using search engines. I slowly gained readership. In October of 2011, I did my first Halloween pumpkin display. My younger brother posted a link to it on Reddit and things exploded. Suddenly I was seeing my 20-30 hits per day grow to 100...150... It was ridiculous. I now get an average of about 8,000 views per month. My regular readership is in the hundreds and I get readers from all sorts of different social media platforms. I'm not a blog mogul by any means, but I like seeing the steady growth and I like knowing that other people are enjoying what I'm putting out there. Validation is nice.

Growing readership is an important part of blogging for most bloggers. It's unlikely that you're suddenly going to be inundated by readers right of the bat, but you will most likely see steady growth in your blog if you stay involved. This means that you need to respond to you commenters, you need to visit their blogs, and you need to take part in social events and activities that will get your name and the face of your blog out there. Don't be afraid of a little self promotion, just don't be too spammy or desperate about it. Don't beg for followers and recognize that your content will not always be for everyone.

When I get a comment from someone I've never seen on my blog before, I will usually head over to their blog (if they have one) and see what they're all about. Most often, I'll leave a comment so that they know I've been there. A good portion of the blogs I now follow regularly are the result of either a blogging event or having them comment on my blog. Blogging is very much about community. You have to be involved.


Blog Design & Layout

I have redesigned the blog layout pretty majorly about three times since I began regularly blogging back in 2011. I'm always tweaking things. The most recent redesign was just a few months ago when I took part in Bloggiesta. I asked for help with my redesign, asking other bloggers what they thought of my layout, my color scheme, and other things as I made changes. That helped me get a wider sense of what works for readers. I want it to be pretty and organized for me, but I need it to be user-friendly for them.

If your blog layout is a mess, you will either gain readership more slowly or you will lose readers more easily. If they're reading through a blog reader like Feedly or Bloglovin' then they won't be exposed to your layout as much, but you want your blog to be attractive, easy to navigate, and not overly cluttered.

My big tips in this field are simple:

• NO CAPTCHA! Trust me on this. You won't get a lot of spam and it's easy to filter out. If you have any form of captcha, you will alienate some readers and you will get fewer comments. It's not worth having. Just get rid of it.
  
• No automatically playing videos or audio. There's nothing I hate more than visiting a blog and having random crap start up. Sometimes I'm reading blogs late at night or sometimes I read them on my lunch hour. I don't need everyone in my vicinity having to hear crap from my computer. Also...I don't like the mini-heart attack the autostart gives me and I really don't appreciate the drag it takes on my computer memory.
  
• No dark backgrounds. Sometimes they look cool, but they can be really hard on eyes and can be difficult to read. White space is your friend. Help your readers out.
  
• Use a simple font. Make sure your font is easy to read. You can do something "different" just make sure it's not crazy scrolly or in a color that's difficult to see on your background. Simple is better. Be nice to your readers.
  
• Don't overload your sidebar. Too much clutter can frighten off readers. They need to have things easily at their fingertips. Don't overwhelm the sidebar with icons for different blog parties or other bloggers. Stick to the basics and maybe one or two additional features.

Posting

I try to post at least once a week, but most of the time I post 2-3 times per week. My topics are varied and it may depend on what activities I'm taking part in or what crafting whim I've gotten myself stuck on. I really make an effort not to abandon the blog for more than a week. If I'm going on vacation, I'll try to either preschedule a post or two or I'll notify my readers if I'm taking some kind of hiatus. My readers are my friends; I like to keep them informed and happy.

I work really hard to make posts with content. Fluff pieces waste your readers' time. Don't do that. Make sure you would find it interesting as a reader. That's how you know it's worth it. A lot of readers have several blogs they follow and time can be limited. Just make sure that what you're putting up is something that's worth that time and you'll be fine.

Proofread your posts before you put them up. You're bound to have an occasional grammar or spelling error, but you don't want them everywhere. Preview and read back through your post before you hit publish and clean up anything crazy you find in either your writing or your formatting. Your readers will thank you.


Networking

Networking and socializing is important in blogging, but you have to do what works for you. I like to take part in read-a-thons and I sometimes do blogging link-up parties for my crafts. That gets me new visitors, but it also helps me find new blogs to read.

The bigger events that I take part in include: Top Ten Tuesday (a weekly event), the A to Z Challenge, Bloggiesta, Bout of Books, and Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon. Armchair BEA is new for me, but it's example of such a socializing event.

Find the things you like and join up. Don't be afraid. The worst that can happen is that you won't want to do it again. I have found most of my activities through other bloggers. Read other blogs, check out the blogs of your readers. You'll be surprised at the great stuff you'll find and the awesome people you can meet.

I talked about commenting earlier, but another big help can be helping others find you. When I comment on someone else's blog who may not know about EPJ, I leave a blog link at the end of my comment. This hyperlink reads "Elle @ Erratic Project Junkie". Clicking on it will take them directly to my blog. Some comment platforms (specifically Google's) will make it really difficult for them to figure out where you came from. Make it easy for them and you'll see more people visiting you.


Time Management / Managing the Blog

A blog can be a time suck. Be forewarned. Posts typically take me at least an hour to write--longer if I have to edit photos or if I'm doing a tutorial or book review. Don't try to bang things out in a hurry...it will show.

Prescheduling posts can be a big help. Sometimes life gets crazy and you just don't have time to blog, but you want to keep your posting regular. This is where writing ahead of time and scheduling your post can totally save your bacon. Do it when you can, especially if you're taking part in a big event like A to Z. It's easy to get overwhelmed otherwise.

Blog planning can also be useful. Write a list of posts you might want to do in the future and then spread them out. Get ideas of things to talk about and just keep them handy in case you hit writer's block...it happens.

Make your blog do some of the work for you. I use a platform called IFTTT. As soon as I hit publish, IFTTT is programmed to post my link to Facebook and Twitter as well as my WordPress backup site. If I post a picture to my Instagram, it ships it to my Twitter feed and Facebook page as well. If I have a post that I've used the label "crafts" on, it automatically posts it to Reddit. IFTTT saves me a ton of time in cross-posting. It takes a little time to get used to, but it is very much worth it.


The Big Picture

Don't forget why you're blogging. In my case, I do it as an outlet. I do it because I like it. I want to keep it that way. Don't let the little things bother you. Just make sure you're still having fun with it.

Don't worry about your stats. The numbers don't define you. Readership comes over time. And sometimes it doesn't. It's okay. Just keep doing what you're doing if you're enjoying it.

Don't get overwhelmed trying to do too much. Do what your schedule allows and be happy with that. Certain events aren't for everyone. Sometimes you won't have time to do the ones you really want to...life can be crummy that way. Be present, take pride in your blog. Love your blog and it will love you back.

Oh...and sometimes you'll get an occasional mean commenter. Blow them off. People can be rude and some people are just trolls. If you get an out of line or offensive comment, delete it. It's your blog. You can do that. Don't let them push you around. Most readers are genuine and nice.

Be yourself and you will find readers who identify with you and what you have to say. You'll find people who like you for who you are and what you post. Don't change yourself for readers. Being authentic about your writing will grow your blog faster than anything else. Staying real will keep you relaxed and it will keep it fun. I promise...that is really what it is all about.