Blogging on Blogging

Dr Tanya posts some intriguing questions about blogger burnout…

1. What, in your opinion, is “Blogger burnout”?

I can only speak for myself. It seems that some bloggers post all day long, and this would definitely cause me to burn out. Even if I wrote a giant pile of posts and scheduled them to be dispersed through the week, the idea of spending an entire day writing 35 posts or so to keep up my volume? Gahhh! I’m starting to crash and burn at the very thought of it. There have been days where I’ve churned out 5 posts, mostly shorties, but generally I manage 2-3, and sometimes only one.

Putting pressure on myself to perform in a hobby type situation is a surefire path to burnout. It’s happened with regular writing, when I’ve given myself arbitrary deadlines and goals, failed to meet them, and beaten myself up over that. Then I take a breather and chill, reminding myself that hobbies are supposed to be fun.

2. Have you ever suffered from blog related stress?

Yes, I most definitely have! My first blog ended up stressing me out ~ again this was all my own fault. I became obsessed with my stats, comparing myself to the mommy bloggers and becoming upset on days when my visits/comments fell. I started writing provocative and political posts to generate more excitement, but I ended up with nasty arguments (predictable duh), and then I became anxious over this even as my stats increased. I wrote too much personal stuff and was way too snarky. This culminated in a huge horrible flame war over dogs of all things, my comments were hacked, and I took the blog offline.

3. What steps could you suggest to keep blogging from becoming a stressful activity?

For me, first, is to disregard stats except as an occasional amusement. I sometimes laugh over the fact that I’m creeping up to 2,700 “followers” and yet am lucky to get 30 comments on a post (including mine). Where are these other people? 😂

Second is to post when I want to, ignoring things I’ve saved. Most days I save all the prompts in my feed… and don’t use them. The next morning I unsave them. I refuse to pressure myself into writing a new post before bed when I’m tired just because there are saved prompts. Too bad, so sad.

Third, I must shrug off the fact that I simply do not have time to read all the great posts in my feed. I know there are lovely poems and wonderful stories and fun adventures written by talented bloggers, but I can’t devote all my free time to reading posts. I do try to respond to everyone who leaves a comment on one of my posts… apologies if I’ve missed anyone. 💖

So, there you have it… my basic formula for a peaceful blogging experience.

~*~

Images from Bitmoji.

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

321 Quote Me ~ Age Is Just A Number

Welcome back to Rory’s game! This is his new upgraded version where there are no tags and we jump in to play whenever we please. Welp, it pleases me to begin now!

Here are 3 quotes on topic…

Next, we have 2 pieces of music…

And finally here’s 1 image for the theme…

What does this have to do with aging? It has to do with me being happy with what I have, appreciating a peaceful weekend with my family, minus that low buzz of anxiety and sadness because I hear a voice in my head telling me I should have more (a romantic relationship). It’s taken me a long time to age into this place of goodness and thankfulness.

~*~

Images other than my own roses found on Google.

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

321 Quote Me ~ Life’s Too Short To Waste

This is Season 5 of Rory’s themed, no-tag participation game. Anyone who feels like joining in… just do it! 😻

First, we post 3 quotes on the topic (life’s too short to waste).

Next, we share 2 song vids on the theme.

And, lastly, here is 1 of my own photos to illustrate the concept of life’s too short to waste…

This was taken November 26, 2014, but it doesn’t seem like 5 years have passed since I spent Thanksgiving in Berkeley with my daughters when they were roomies and all 3 of us were single. Now they’re married and one is a mommy. I’m so glad we had all those fun times together before they began their own families. ❤️

~*~

Images found on Google.

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

10 Reasons To Be Thankful You’re Single At The Holidays

Yeah yeah… it’s great to have someone to snuggle with as the days grow dark and cold. And who doesn’t want to sneak in a kiss under the mistletoe? 💋

But some of us will be single next week on Thanksgiving… and after that on Christmas (or Chanukah) and New Year’s Eve too. We won’t even mention Valentine’s Day. Oops! I think there are some darned good reasons to be grateful for that… so I made a list. Feel free to add to it in comments! 😀

1. No arguing over whether to spend turkey day at his folks’ place or her folks’ place… or worst possible outcome… volunteering to host the event yourselves!

2. No freaking out over whether your honey is going to think badly of you when he or she discovers that a huge chunk of your family belongs to that political party.

3. No agonizing over what gift to buy for your sweetie… is it too soon to buy a pricey gift? Will he be offended if you get a funny gift? OMG, is her mom going to get me a gift too?

4. Okay, it’s cold, right? And you want to wear big cozy layers of sweaters not sexy little bare dresses… well, guess what? You can! You don’t have anyone to seduce, yay!

5. And no more stress about spending a wad of cash on some stupid NYE event you wouldn’t have enjoyed anyway just to impress a date. Whew! 👍🏻

6. You know all those sappy movies you secretly pretend to hate because you’re adulting? Now you don’t have to be a faker! You can indulge your love of Frosty The Snowman while drinking hot choccy and wearing flannel jammies because the cat doesn’t care.

7. Speaking of hot choccy, we may put on a few pounds over the hols, amirite? But now we can relax about that because no one is gonna be seeing us de-layered for a long, long time. What a relief! 😻

8. Unfortunately, the holidays can be a tense time for romances and many of them fail around now or soon after, but we don’t have to worry about this because we’re all alone, wheeeeeeee!

9. We can make our New Year’s Resolutions all about ourselves… our hopes and dreams and goals for the future, without worrying what a “significant other” might want, and chances are he’ll dump us anyway. 🙄

10. Finally, the best reason to be thankful for being single at the hols is when we wake up alone on January 1, 2020, we can say to ourselves, hurrah, I survived last year without getting married to an axe murderer! 🎉🎉🎉

~*~

Images from Pexels, Pixabay, Google.

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

One-Liner Wednesday

This is somewhat true for me. I’m still missing my mom 11 years on, and she was definitely someone I “had,” a huge part of my life, but otherwise… yeah. It’s pretty easy for me to dump material possessions as I downsize (again) for moving. But it was difficult for me to let the “soul mate” dream go. I’ve never had a soul mate, which may seem ironic for a romance writer, so when my 20-year marriage ended, I became more determined than ever to find this person. It took 5 years of increasingly frustrating and depressing situations for me to realize I had to let the dream go for my own mental and emotional health. I talk about this a lot because it helps me reinforce it to myself. I just today posted in comments to 2 blogs how much happier I am without the wings of this dream beating in my brain.

But it was a struggle to lug the thing to the trash bin and leave it there.

~*~

One-Liner Wednesday

Image found on Google

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Hello, It’s Me

As Rory continues to amass his dossiers on us, I for one am happy to provide loads of juicy info for his future blackmail schemes. How about you?

1. What makes you laugh, as in really laugh hard?

Unexpected humor is the best. I love to be caught off-guard by someone making a wordplay in the middle of a conversation. That just cracks me up, especially if it pulls in a layered reference to a past event. I can be moved to tears by verbal silliness. One thing I particularly enjoy (though it isn’t spontaneous) is parody. When I watched this video the other day for the first time, I was literally LMAO!

2. What makes you really angry?

What doesn’t? That would be a shorter list. Idiots who blow through red lights and go way over the speed limit. Tailgaters. People who abuse children and pets. Racism and antisemitism. Leaf blowers. Litterbugs. Any repetitive beeping sound wtfff shut up!!!

People who refuse to take responsibility for their own feelings. Blamers, whiners, and bullies. Sulkers and pouters. But also those who scream endlessly. Stalkers. Narcissists. Compulsive liars. Yes, I could have just said men on dating sites. 🙄

3. Who knows you the best?

My daughters probably know me best of all, but no one knows the real me. There’s a blogger (inactive now) whom I’ve never met in person, but when we were hanging out online she was great at understanding what I meant. I sometimes write obscurely and she would translate for the masses. (I’m better at writing clearly than I used to be.) My ex-husband also could translate my thoughts for me way back when. It’s nice to feel understood, without having to explain 27 different ways before someone goes “oh I see,” and then you wonder if they’re just being polite. These two somehow tapped into the way my mind worked regarding conceptual thought, and that was very cool.

But that’s just one aspect of a person, how they think about concepts. It’s important, granted, but there are other things, needs, values, dreams, goals, humor, etc. I used to be more “branded” with stuff like cupcakes and shoes and favorite novels and ways of expressing myself, so that it was easier for people to predict what I might say. But I became too bored with all that, even if it’s ideal for an online presence. Some people know a few facets of me well, and a few (my daughters) know many… but there are some no one knows, maybe not even me.

~*~

Rory’s Question Fun Directory

Rory’s Really You S1G3

Images from Happy Color and Pixabay

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Sun in the Fun

A lovely new follower I suggest you check out, Chaotic Blonde (what a fabulous name!), has gifted me the Sunshine Award! Thank you so much, CB! 😍

These days, I’m not much into posting awards and tagging others, but I will still answer questions people have taken the time to compose (when I have the time).

1. What made you want to create a blog?

This blog was created in March 2011 as an outlet to post song lyrics, poetry, etc. that related to my emotional distress at the time. It changed as my circumstances did.

2. Do you prefer writing at night, or in the day?

Whenever the mood strikes, but mostly at home, at night. 🌙

3. What was the last film that made you cry?

Hmm, I can’t remember. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anything good/moving.

4. What’s an interest that not many people know you have?

People were surprised recently when I expressed interest in going to a reptile farm, but snakes are fascinating. 🐍

5. Describe yourself in three words.

Funny, reliable, neat.

6. If you were a cocktail, what would you be?

Irish coffee. ☘️

7. Do you believe in astrology?

No.

8. Name three things on your bucket list.

Travel by train; finish all my WIPs; learn to crochet.

9. Do you think happiness comes from within, or that it’s something to be shared?

Within.

10. To you, what is love?

Chemicals.

11. What’s changed the most about your writing style since you first started out?

I quit writing “poast” because it annoyed Fandango.

~*~

Image credit to the Bitmoji app.

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

FPQ46: Real Talk

Fandango provocatively asks…

Has using a telephone for making calls become obsolete? For those of you who grew up without the internet or smartphones, is calling and speaking with people on the phone still important? For those of you who grew up only using smartphones, is it necessary to call anyone anymore?

In my life, using a telephone for making calls is not obsolete whatsoever. At work, we talk on actual landline phones every day. A few times a week, my daughters and I like to connect via a real phone chat rather than just texting (which we do also, usually multiple times per day). As far as friends go, in general we usually text to chat or make plans, but if one of us is in the car, then we’ll call to confirm or whatever. Some friends prefer to call to catch up ~ last night I chatted on the phone with a old writer pal for a while about our projects and stuff. Last but not least, sometimes a phone call is simply more convenient when doing business such as apartment hunting or making dinner reservations.

I’m not one of those old fogies who sigh about the olden days when people didn’t stare at their cell phones all day. As I recall, we had plenty of ways to ignore each other back then, if we wanted to. People who enjoy engaging with others will find a way. I have noted that at places like the DMV and jury duty folks are less inclined to chat than before, since they have their phones now. But honestly how many of us oldsters actually made friends at the DMV or jury duty anyway?

As the kids say… good talk! 👻🎃

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

It’s Raining Liebsters!

Two, count ’em two, lovely bloggers have awarded me the coveted Liebster, yayyy! Thank you Sadje and Di! This is better than making the NYT bestseller list, which is what I told them there when they asked if I had time to fly to NYC, all comped at the Plaza Hotel for interviews and promos and stuff. Nope! I said, no can do. I’m gonna deal with this double Liebster thingie. They said they understood cuz they had been waiting their whole lives for Liebsters.

Well, I got two. Have I mentioned? Neener!

First, I’m supposed to reveal 11 things about myself. This is probably per award, but eff that.

1. I have over 2,600 blog followers now, which includes Twitter. 🎃

2. My general rule is that I don’t follow back new followers unless they comment.

3. This is only a general rule ~ if I visit them and they’re awesome, I will f/b.

4. I like to follow fiction writers and poets who post their craft, not endlessly moan about stuff or post business stats gabble.

5. Generally, I don’t jabber on here about the news, but I may comment elsewhere.

6. I used to post a lot about my personal life, but I’ve grown incredibly bored with it.

7. That’s because I now live an incredibly boring life, which is how I like it. 🙃

8. I don’t believe that the saying about how you should slide screaming into your grave covered in chocolate because you’ve just failed at an exotic thrill applies to me.

9. I would rather expire quietly while reading a good book and having a nice cup of tea. 📖

10. I may have gotten that quote wrong in #8 but am too lazy to look it up.

11. I am writing this in a Starbucks.

Sadje’s Questions:

1. Are you a serious blogger or just having fun here?

-Yes.

2. What was the reason that made you start a blog?

-This blog? Heartbreak.

3. Take a while to think and let us know: what object that is in your reach right now, influences you? ( e g a tv)

-Phone in my hand. 📱

4. How do you relax?

-Happy Color.

5. Are you superstitious?

-Yes, but it’s silly.

6. Loyalty to the one you love, or one who is right?

-Love always.

7. How can we improve the environment of our planet? Do you take any practical steps towards it?

-It’s really sad that this has become political. Isn’t it in everyone’s interest to have a clean, safe home? It doesn’t have to be tied to climate change, for those who don’t believe humans cause it… but we could all agree to do a better job with the air and water we all need to live. 🌍

8. What is one habit you have that you or your family think is childish?

-I still talk/write in lolcat at times, but so do my girls. We mostly only do this with each other now, since it is silly. 😻

Apparently Sadje only wrote 8 questions, which is great, since I am also about to break the rules and not do any questions or tag any bloggers. OMG! But wait. I will now answer Di’s questions, so that’s something, right? Right! 💖

Di’s Questions:

1. How did you meet your significant other ?

-At the Orange County Animal Shelter.

2. What would you consider the perfect gift to receive ?

-Amazon gift certificate.

3. What would be the worst gift for you to receive ?

-Any gift you have to spend money on, like tickets to a thing you have to travel to.

4. Holidays: Flight, cruise, coach or camping ?

-Staycation please! Love to chill at home and do local low-stress, low-cost fun.

5. Dining out: steak, salad bar, vegetarian, pizza, Indian, Chinese, other ?

-Vegetarian or veggie pizza. I’m not a veggie, but I mostly prefer those choices.

6. Have you ever taken a first aid course ?

-Nope.

7. Alcoholic drink: beer, spirit, wine, cider, liqueur, none ?

-None.

8. Biggest wish ?

-Good health and happiness for my daughters and their families.

9. Biggest fear ?

-Opposite of 8.

10. Do you prefer to cook on gas, electric, other ?

-Cook? 🤣

11. Movies:  comedy, thriller, romcom, animated, sci fi, musical, other?

-Romcom or drama/mystery. Sometimes a musical, but mostly like the older ones.

Great questions! That’ll do me for the week, at least. 👻

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Playing Dress-Up [socs]

Dressing up for Halloween used to be a thing I really looked forward to. Not talking about putting on a scary spider shirt, but actually going all out in costume. Guess I began getting into it when the girls were little… so much fun to plan our costumes, whether we were going out or having our own party, or just trick or treating. 🎃

Even after my girls moved away, I was still into the Halloween spirit for many years. I enjoyed playing dress-up generally, such as when I went to a renaissance fair. I loved themed parties of any kind. But lately the thrill has gone. I’m not planning a costume for this Halloween at all… will probably just wear a pumpkin or kitty sweatshirt. 😻

Part of the reason for this change of heart is because of my annoying eye sensitivity lately. For the past couple years, I’ve had difficulty wearing eye makeup because my eyes are so dry and itchy all the time. Even when I wear a little on a special occasion, it makes the itchies worse. And yes I buy the “good” brands. It’s just better not to wear any eye makeup at all. Wearing anything dramatic to go with a costume? Forget it! Last time I did, my eyes became fiercely irritated. 👿

Besides the makeup issue, I’m just not into the idea of spending money on costumes any longer. Or having them and their accessories take up room in my dwindling storage space. Boo humbug! 👻

~*~

©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.