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 Life, Adventure, Family, Writing what else is there? Random thoughts. |
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WELCOME TO: GEMINI RISING   UPDATED INTRO 30 JUNE 2025: Just a little about me. I've been married for 33 years this past NOV and currently live in Southern California, but I grew up in New Hampshire. I've got 2 boys who are young adults. I work as a 911 dispatcher for LAPD. I enjoy my job a lot. Still. If you can believe that. I love to write. Thankfully both of my boys achieved Eagle Scout. My Scouting days are over and I'm back to focusing on my writing. I like to get out in nature, drink coffee and watch football. Here's a little bio about my zodiac. GEMINI: Gemini, the sign of the Twins, is dual-natured, elusive, complex and contradictory. On the one hand it produces the virtue of versatility, and on the other the vices of two-facedness and flightiness. The sign is linked with Mercury, the planet of childhood and youth, and its subjects tend to have the graces and faults of the young. When they are good, they are very attractive; when they are bad they are more the worse for being the charmers they are. Like children they are lively, and happy, if circumstances are right for them, or egocentric, imaginative and restless. Their good qualities are attractive and come easily to them. They are affectionate, courteous, kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor and suffering - provided none of the activities resulting from expressing these traits interferes too greatly with their own lives and comforts. Geminians can be successful in many walks of life though their general characteristics tend to make them unreliable. They are often skilled manipulators of language, in speech and writing, and may be: debaters, diplomats (though in politics they are more interested in theory than practice), orators, preachers (brilliant rather than profound), teachers, authors, poets, journalists, or lawyers. BLOG ACCOMPLISHMENTS: SEPTEMBER 2025:
SEPTEMBER 2025:
Merit Badges collected and earned from "Earn the Badge 2025" ![Merit Badge in WdC Supportive Friend
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
2nd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/community-WdC_Supportive_Friend.gif) ![Merit Badge in Earn the Badge
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Thank you for your donation to [Link To Item #2133333] - from Purple Princess.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Earn_the_Badge-2093257_1.gif){kind=icon} ![Merit Badge in Music
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September
3rd Daily Task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif) ![Merit Badge in Contests
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Thank you for participating in [Link To Item #2133333] . Congratulations on completing the September 1st daily task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Contests-235.gif) ![Merit Badge in Growth
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Good job earning the Growth Merit Badge in [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Growth-1150.gif) ![Merit Badge in Word Searches
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Great job participating in [Link To Item #2133333] and completing the September 5th task.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Word_Searches-19000.gif) ![Merit Badge in Teamwork
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Great job for picking a teammate and completing the September 6th Task at [Link To Item #2133333]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Teamwork-210.gif) SUMMER 2025:
Merit Badges Collected from Virtual Blogging &Virtual Blogging Friends: ![Merit Badge in Let Dreams Take Wing
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To my upcoming virtual traveling blog companion. Dream big and fly high!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Let_Dreams_Take_Wing-2335469_1.gif) ![Merit Badge in Normal Is Boring
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here's to another week of creating adventures!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/Kudos-Normal_Is_Boring.gif) ![Merit Badge in Blog Camping
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Thanks for completing [Link To User elusive4lyn] July 2025 blogging vacation!! Great job!!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Blog_Camping-1788309_13.gif) ![Merit Badge in Travel
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Woohoo! We’re halfway through!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Travel-1975.gif) ![Merit Badge in BCoF 2
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Thank you for your participation in BCoF's 50 States Virtual Blogging adventure.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-BCoF_2-1901868_14.gif) ![Merit Badge in Endurance
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51 days of blogging takes commitment, and you rocked it.
*^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Endurance.gif) SEPTEMBER 2024: I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Nonfiction
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Congrats on your Honorable Mention in Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/type-Nonfiction.gif) Big thanks to WakeUpAndLive~gummy worms BOO   for hosting the contest! OCTOBER 2024 & 2025 : I participated in the
![Merit Badge in Halloween
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Congratulations on completing the 13 Poetic Days of Halloween.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Halloween-2026567.gif) ![Merit Badge in Determination
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You rose to the poetry challenges in 12 Poetic Days of Halloween in grand style.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Determination-2500.gif) ![Merit Badge in Ghost
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Thank you for your successful completion of 13 Poetic Days of Halloween *^*Heart*^* Lyn](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Ghost-700.gif) Big Thanks to A Warped Witch I Be   for hosting the contest!Find me at: WEBSITE: http://www.stephanieburkhart.com FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/StephanieBurkhartAuthor GOOD READS: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4031660.Stephanie_Burkhart YOU TUBE CHANNEL: http://www.youtube.com/user/botrina?feature=mhee  WARNING I intend to be open, honest, and forthright. No topic is off limits from religion to you name it, I'm going there. If you think you might be offended...back up now - this blog isn't for you. For those who "dare"  check out the "Gemini Rising..." 
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Honestly, trying to lose weight after menopause is a struggle. Plateaus are never my strong suit, but I meant an old friend at church who suggested why don’t you try some smoothies as a meal substitute. I haven’t done smoothies in a while but I thought it was a great idea. Well, there’s a million smoothie recipes for a million things you want to do. I found some basic ones I like. There’s a blackberry smoothie with blackberries, bananas, low fat Greek yogurt, honey and fresh squeeze lemon. I like that one. I usually put a little spinach in it and some flaxseed meal. Then there’s a strawberry banana one. Same basic recipe with strawberries. There’s a 3 berry mix with blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries, so I might try that one. Then I’m going to work in my Field of Greens daily veggie drink and I’m going to do a protein shake leaving me open for a meal. I seem to be doing okay. If anything, I’ve noticed I’m not so inflamed. Inflammation sucks. If anyone has any good smoothie recipes, please share, but just an FYI, I’m not a big mango fan. I’ve also started using over the counter GLP-1 that I buy on Amazon and I put in a bottle of water daily. I also use the GLP-1 patches for Weight Loss. My target thought is to keep A1C down. In Jan 25 was coming in 6. Yikes. I tested in August and it was down to 5.7. If anything, I noticed getting on the healthy train requires focused and sustained attention and it’s easy to get off. Also, shout out to Habit Heroes who helped me focus on a step challenge and hand weight challenge over the summer. Overall, the summer provided a better holistic approach to my health. |
A SEPT 2025 entry for:
“Hey, Jimmie, I got a mission for ya’.” “Yes, Sir.” James Doolittle raised an eyebrow. Admiral Ernest J. King joined Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle as he walked down the corridors at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk. Both men were dressed in their dress uniforms. “The President’s mighty keen on it, Jimmie. Wanted the best aviator we had to lead it,” King’s voice sounded smooth – almost too smooth. “The President you say?” Jimmie’s curiosity was piqued. They rounded a hallway and King walked into his office. It was compact and clean. Almost too clean. His desk was in front of a window overlooking the bay and on one wall was a map of Japan, Korea and China. King grabbed a pointer and walked over his map. “The President wants to bomb Tokyo.” Jimmie tried not to drop his mouth. “What? From where? We don’t have any bases near Japan and they’ve got a foothold in the Philippines now.” “The USS Hornet.” Jimmie crossed his arms. “An aircraft carrier? Give it to me straight, Sir.” “The USS Hornet will leave San Francisco headed toward Japan. You’ll meet up with the USS Enterprise and Task Force 18 just north of Hawaii. Radio Silence all the way. They’ll have two fleet oilers with them. You’ll travel to 500 nautical miles away from the Japanese coast and launch B-25 bombers from the Hornet and Enterprise.” “You’re joking?” “Nope. FDR says we gotta’ hit Japan back. You’ll lead the raid.” “Those bombers don’t have the range to turn around.” “We’re trying to get the Russians to give you the okay to go to Vladivostock. If not, you’ll go to China.” “Sir, it’s a suicide mission.” Kent tapped his forefinger against his temple. “Ah, Jimmie, if you leading the raid, I know those men will come home.” James Doolittle squared his shoulders. The mission was impossible. But he wasn’t about to back down from impossible. AUTHOR'S NOTE: A fictional accounting of LTC James Doolittle receiving his orders for the Doolittle Raid. |
| Keeping it short and sweet today - went to the dispatch center in downtown Los Angeles as part of special Detail. It's $13.00 to park down there now. I remember when I first started it was $3.00!!!! WHAT THE BLEEPING HELL?! The tinkertoy parking lot is gone and replaced with generic looking small apartment buildings. It kinda has that 1950's commie vibe and reminded me of the buildings I saw in Buchenwald on the way to the concentration camp (when I went in 1991 after the Wall fell) minus the bullet holes. The lot where Parker Center used to be is now overgrown grass with coyotes! How do coyotes get there? The company car was dirty with paw prints on the window and hood from the coyotes. Why does it smell like day old vandalism down there? I'm so glad I work in the valley. I'll take my smelly 3 am skunk any day of the week. |
Sometimes it nice to catch up with an old friend. I have a co-worker who is out FMLA for her mother (who has dementia) and is going to retire. She's prepping her retirement paperwork right now. Yesterday we went to a BBQ place called "Rattlers" and had a 2 1/2 hour lunch. We talked about our kids at school, happenings at work, her mom's dementia, her having to cell her mother's house. It was just nice to catch up. A bunch of co-workers are retiring. There's Krush who loves to travel and helped us book our Alaska cruise, Megan, whose husband was a dirty timing SOB which took her years to can because he wanted 1/2 of her retirement, Lori who moved to Arizona but comes to visit for craft shows. Lorena who does craft shows with Lori, Kim who was always talking about her nephews. Kim who moved to Tennessee, Sharon who just retired out of the blue... I find I'm losing friends and gaining co-workers who are old enough to be my kids.  In fact, I was talking to a young lady the other day when I was sitting on Transit and found out she had gone to middle school with Andrew! Retirement can't come soon enough... |
| Just wanted to pop in and share a couple of recently earned badges that I'm especially proud of. Habit Heroes It takes a while to really build some great habits and I'm proud of the work I've done since May. This is a great forum to help some habits, skills, etc you want to develop ![Merit Badge in Challenge Champion
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Kudos on your excellent habit work and earning super achiever status at Habit Heroes in August of 2025! I applaud your dedication to self improvement and wish you every joy and success going forward. *^*Clap*^* *^*Heartv*^* *^*Star*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Challenge_Champion-2165721_5.gif) Reviewing Ranked #13 for this last month, I just earned my 77 Merit Badge for Reviewing: ![Merit Badge in Reviewing
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Ranked # 13 Public Reviewer for the month of August 2025 . For more details, please see [Link To Item #614925] .](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Reviewing-2180.gif) Reviewing takes some time and effort to put together a good review, so I'm especially excited to see I've got 77 merit badges for it. I've compliled a list of reviews I've done that have received ROAR recognization here:
Reading This lil' Bookworm is the cutiest! ![Merit Badge in Bookworm
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A gift for accomplishing Task #2 in [Link To Item #2133333] .](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Bookworm.gif) But seriously, I do enjoy reading. I've got 121 Product Reviews under my belt here at WDC, and I'm working on a couple of more books. Reading helps to keep the writing fresh! Anniversary Reviews: I'm working on the Anniversary challenge this month and just recently obtained this MB. While it's going slower than I like, I hope to finish up May today! ![Merit Badge in Anniversary January
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Dear [Link To User sgcardin]
Congratulations on earning this badge for your [Link To Item #anniversary] during Writing.Com's 25th birthday month.
Annette](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Anniversary_January-1580741_14.gif) 50 State Travel Blog: This truly was a test. I visited all 50 states virtually. My blog entries required research to put something together that was entertaining and educational. This MB was well earned! I also earned this one during my travels from Reluctant Halloweenist  ![Merit Badge in Snegurochka
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Happy travels from me and my [Link To Item #2331284]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/group-Snegurochka-2335469_13.gif) WDC Milestone Achievement I just made my 2500 Forum Post. I've been here since 2005 so after 20 years, I'm pretty proud of this one. More work to be done! ![Merit Badge in Message Forums
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Congratulations on making your 2,500 th forum post!](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/achievements-Message_Forums.gif) Angel Army Reviewer of the Month - AUG 2025 Here's another merit badge I earned for all my Angel Army reviews during August. At a min., there's a 20 review challenge every month at the Angel Army which I appreciate. Helps me meet my reviewing goals. ![Merit Badge in I'm So Proud Of You
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Congratulations on being Reviewer of the Month for August 2025 on behalf of [Link To Item #army] ! Keep up the excellent work! *^*Bigsmile*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-I=39m_So_Proud_Of_You.gif) WDC Official Judge I earned this one for judging the August and Writing Contest. The official WDC contests can be a challenge to judge because most of the entries are phenomenal, so I consider one well earned. ![Merit Badge in WdC Official Judge
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Thank you for your help judging the July 2025 round of [Link To Item #2002964] !](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/WDC-WdC_Official_Judge.gif) Awardicons Also, for me, Awardicons are not easy to come by and I just want to give a shout out to my Blog for earning a 50K awardicon for my success in the 50 State Travel Blog and the 25th WDC Birthday Bash Blog
And here's a well earned Awardicon for one of my Best of the Rest items:
Thanks for letting me gush a bit. WDC is a great place to build writing skills, fellowship and friendship and I'm happy to have been here for 20 years. Get out there and see what you can do. Earn it: For you: Share an item in your port that you would like to see get an Awardicon or a Merit Badge. If I get at least 5 entries, I'll award 2. If I get 10 replies, I'll award at least 5. Smiles to all Steph |
I'm a little quiet today.  for Peace. I'm a little sad over the recent death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska and Charlie Kirk. My thoughts drift to my visits to the Museum of Tolerance here in Los Angeles. I've been 3 times. All for training. Every time I went for training, I took something home with me. All three times, the trip ended with a visit from a Holocaust survivor. The museum and it's themes has remained with me. I find the areas that are dedicated to the Holocaust especially poignant has I visit Buchanwald and Dachau in the 1990's. I'm very proud to work a place of diversity, as my dispatcher center is just that, and when we can't be respectful or tolerant of those who don't have the same views, it's sad. This is a great page and I remember visiting all these exhibits: https://www.museumoftolerance.com/visit/exhibits/holocaust-exhibit/ Here's a page with a lot of good information about the 10 steps of genocide https://www.dhhrm.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/10-stages-in-the-Holocaust-Post... I'd like to see us do better as a society. That's all. Here's a good video about a visit to the Museum of Tolerance. |
Bonus Task:
TASK: We want to learn about your writing journey and what led you to WDC? Poem, short story, blog entry, notebook post - your choice. My writing journey started when I was a kid. In the 1970's I would watch this show called "The Electric Company" and then after watching the Spiderman part, I'd try to make Spiderman comic books. As a Teen in the 1980's I started reading comic books. A LOT of them (and I'm a firm believer reading leads to writing). I wrote my own superhero comics. At first I was a sucky drawer but by the time I was a senior in high school, my drawing really got better. I also wrote a comedic series based on the Runaways (with Joan Jett, Lita Ford and Cherrie Currie). Once I got into into the Army, I wrote "Destination: Berlin." You can find it in my port. In the 1990's I wrote the "One Life To Live" satire with a pen name of "Dim Witt." In the early 2000's I started writing Fan Fiction. I wanted to write for publication but I wasn't quite there. My friend, Starr Phenix  found writing.com and said I should join. She told me about all the things Writing.com could offer a budding writer so I joined, and honestly I feel that being on Writing.com has really honed my writing skills. I joined WDC in April 2005. I believe I was made a moderator in NOV 2006. I've got a lot of stuff in my port from novels to short stories to poetry, exploring different genres and styles. I've also worked hard on my self-editing skills. During the aughts, I had several short stories place in the Writer's Digest Annual contest and you can find several of those stories here in my port. One of them is:
In 2010 I had my first contract for a small press with Desert Breeze, shortly there, I was contracted for short story anthologies with Victory Tales Press. They both went out of business in 2018, and I've been working on self-publishing my stories ever since. Big shout out to kudos for Writing.com. I couldn't have accomplished all I have in the writing world without you! |
Day 7 for 25th WDC Birthday Parth
Part 1:Go back to Day 6 and pick a favorite from the other contestant's static item they shared and tell us why you like it the best. The best static entry chosen by you will receive an 10,000 awardicon. I choose:
Honestly, the humor in this story really stuck out. Who hasn't been in this predicament? In an embarrassing situation and the only way to get out of it is with a little help from the person you least expect or least thought would help you out? Comedy always makes us laugh and uplifts our spirits and I really enjoyed this story for that reason. Also, the author did a great job using a good economy of words to paint the picture and land the humor. Part 2: if you were making a soundtrack for WDC's 25th Birthday what would be your number one (1) song. Here's my #1 song for WDC's Birthday Bash! A BIG thank you to A Warped Witch I Be for hosting this blogging celebration! There were a lot of great activities here on WDC and I had a blast participating in all the ones I choose to do! Here's to you WDC on your 25th The StoryMaster  The StoryMistress  |
Day 6 for 25th WDC Birthday Parth
TASK: Blogging time-- Today, write an entry about yourself, not something we can see in your bio and what attracted you to WDC. Tell us how long you've been here and then choose your favorite static item from your portfolio and post the item number inside your entry for others to see in addition to the three paragraphs you write about yourself. Gosh, well, I had started writing for publication (seriously) in the late 1990's early 2000's. One of my earliest stories was Destination: Berlin. It's in my port and it was published, but it's down now. I hope to re-self-published it within a couple of years or two. You can find the first chapter here:
I was still in the Army when I started that story. In the early 2000's I got out and began my job with LAPD dispatching and had my first son, ah, but the urge to write was still strong and I knew I needed a little more polish. My writing friend, Starr Phenix had just joined and she encouraged me to join as well, so I did. Immediately, I saw the benefit. Writing.com could really help me polish off my writing. I've been here since April 2005 and I joined a day after Starr Phenix did. One of my first stories was:
About the 2004 Red Sox winning the World Series that year. It was a different style of a story for me so I was pleased with it. From there, I really started to vary my writing and my port grew pretty quickly with novels, chapters, short stories, and poetry. I learned different writing styles, how to self-edit (and that's something I still struggle with) descriptive writing, and really began to grow as a writer. Several of my stories were an Honorable Mention in the Writer's Digest annual contest to include:
Out of all these stories, The Peenemunde Secret is my favorite. I put a lot of research into the story and I've got a good action/adventure story that works.
Two of my stories both placed 8th place in the Writer's Digest contest:
and "Made in America" which I haven't put in my port. Honestly, it was in the 2000's that I really took my writing up a notch and it made me the writer I am today. I'm very grateful for the opportunity to grow as a writer and WDC gave me that, so I'm very happy to give back to WDC in any way I can. |
Day 5 for 25th WDC Birthday Party
The Task: There are different style blogging groups on WDC. Some are active all year, some host a specific month or just for WDC's birthday and some are on hiatus. Yup, more scavenger hunting, can you find at least five (5). There's more than that, I checked. Write about two of the different groups in your 3-paragraph entry. How do you feel about blogging in general? I am roughly aware there are several blogging groups on WDC so I went exploring. 1.
2.
I love the mission statement here - to promote the writing and efforts of all WDC bloggers. I participated in the more specific 50 State Travel blog this summer and I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot about the different states and made some good blogging friends. So, would that be two different blogging groups? 3.
This one looked to be an active bi-monthly blogging contest. 4.
I blogged for this contest last year during WDC's birthday. It was a lot of fun, but trying to shake things up and try different things this year. 5.
Does this one count? Another blogging contest for WDC's birthday.  6.
This blog city looked massive, but I loved the vibe and the community. The most recent blogging experience I had was with the 50 State Travel Blog. I love to travel and I've been to some of the states but not all of the states so I thought this would be a lot of fun and I'd learn a little bit along the way. I discovered it was A LOT of fun, but it was also a lot of work. It did require that I do a little bit of research for me to put together an informative and fun blog entry. I participated in the Blog Week Birthday Bastion last year and I found it challenging but in a different way. The entries required more of a personal introspection, but I was also challenged with time constraints. I wanted to enter everyday so I worked hard to do. I think that blogging contest taught me what I need to do to manage time if I want to blog on a consistent basis. How do I feel about blogging? Overall, I think if you do it consistently you can build up a "fan" base, which is something I would like to do, but finding the time to blog consistently is a challenge. Blog topics that interest me for sure including travel, every day life challenges, health topics. I find I do better with a prompt. I find I favor smaller entries. Honestly, blogs between 300-500 words are the best for me, but then I can get wordy, too. Blogging is a great way to challenge myself, but before I commitment to a blogging challenge, I always try to see if I can balance the time commitment. If I can't, I generally don't do it. |
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