My Acceptance Speech

(Imagine confetti coming down around me and lights flashing. Imagine me in a gown, blowing kisses to the wildly excited, applauding audience. Imagine me on a pedestal with the National Anthem playing and a grapevine wreath on my head - Oh wait, Wrong Contest!)

I am proud to announce that I have blogged Every Day in May. Yep. Every single, solitary, never-ending day in the longest month of my life. Many times by the skin of my teeth, and almost each time at the last minute. I do believe that this is the first time I have done anything for 31 straight days (except maybe brush my teeth and pee ... and I think I stopped doing one of those during a very bad first trimester of an early pregnancy.)

There have definitley been benefits.

I have learned how to be a better blogger. (Practice Makes Perfect.) I know how to add a link. I know how to download pictures from my camera to my computer to my blog (as long as my son is close by.) I have learned to add things to my sidebar (but not update it :).

Purportedly, I have inspired a couple of friends to start their own blogs. I'm sure they figure it can't be that hard if I do it.

I have not learned how to be concise. I have not remembered to make sure my parentheses ever end (as Kanani and other astute readers can attest to...In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she's been counting them up :)
I have not learned how not to care if nobody comments. (Thanks to those of you who learned how to post a comment in the last 31 days.)

I have learned the definition of a Blog Stalker (Hi, Eva!)

I have learned that sometimes I can sit down to write my blog post and have no earthly idea what I will say.... and the results are resplendent - or at least fine. Other times I think about a blog subject and can hardly sleep at night I'm so full of myself and the great writing I will do the next day. But somehow in the transfer from my brain to the keyboard, even my own kids can't pretend they enjoyed it.

I have learned that when you are 'forced' to blog every day you look at your world differently. Everything is either blog-worthy .... Or Not. My children and friends have learned to warn me ahead of time not to blog about certain things that happen when we are together. They realize every moment of my life is a potential Internet Moment. And, as my husband has pointed out to me on several occasions, most of my blog is made up of the small, trifling matters of my life. Thanks for feigning interest :)

I'm not abandoning the whole Blog Idea. "They" say that if you do something every day for at least 30 days it becomes a habit. With my history, I probably can't stop blogging now even if I want to!

My competitor and fellow blogger, Lea (Lea, the Loser vs. Dazzling Debbie -see yesterday's post if you think I'm being braggadocious...)has publicly committed to blog 3x a week or some other equally foolish number. I am taking the Ambiguous Road and saying that I WILL continue to blog. Period. (or as my daughter, Mary-Faith, who often gets words a tad mixed-up, said one defiant moment recently, "I'm never going to wear these! Comma!")

I'm thinking about challenging myself to do something else for a month. Actually, I think NOT Doing something for a month might be more challenging. So, I'm trying to think of something to give up or stop. Maybe I'll call it Don't Be a Goon in June.
Or...Up By Noon in June (jk!), Not a Single Spoon (of sugar) in June. That would be Very Hard (read: Impossible).

What would you like to stop doing in June? (and I don't mean laundry or cleaning house...)