It seems that I only pop onto the blog these days to do a book review or giveaway. Sorry about that. I’ve got some post ideas brewing, but I can’t make any guarantees as to when they’ll show up as actual posts. In the meantime, some random and disjointed thoughts and comments for you:
1. I loved hearing/reading how many of you are doing so far in Spring Reading Thing ’09! It seems like we have a mix — some people are right on target or ahead of the game, others are struggling to get through their books. My only request is that you keep reading (when you can, of course) and don’t beat yourself up! Enjoy your books and have fun during this little challenge.
2. Speaking of Spring Reading Thing ‘o9, we have some serious book reviewers involved. Have you looked at the book review list lately? We’re only one month into this thing and there are already 180 reviews posted there!
3. In a somewhat drastic and unexpected move, I have deleted my kids’ names from the blog. I know, I know, you’ve grown to know and love them by name. It’ll be weird. I agree — it’ll be weird to write about them without using their names. But after a little research, a few conversations, and much thought, I decided to take their names off for now. At some point, I may reinstate them. But for now, they will simply be C. and L.
Nothing horrible happened. The decision was made in part for safety, but in larger part, for privacy. They might decide one day that they’re not crazy about having stories about them (complete with their names) out on the internet for all to see. C. already cringes sometimes when I ask, “Can I blog about that?” And while it’s one thing to tell family and friends a cute or funny or slightly embarrassing story, it’s another thing to tell the world on a public blog. So no names, and maybe some changes as far as how/when I blog about them.
4. On a related note, we were discussing this change at home one night, and C. felt strongly that he did not want to just be an initial. He thought we should substitute some fake names. I considered that, but had to veto his first pick. He wanted to be Vladamir. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the name Vladamir, but blogging about “my son, Vladamir” would be even weirder than blogging about “my son, C.”
In the end, Chad vetoed fake names anyway. We might try to come up with some “non-name” names — you know, like “ComputerKid” or something, but I’m not feeling very inspired at the moment. I promise to not confuse you too much by changing names on any kind of regular basis, though.
5. As I type this post, I’m trying really hard not to eat the Hershey’s Special Dark Eggs, left over from Easter. It is not easy. Not easy at all. They call to me from their drawer.
6. 5 Minutes for Books is having a wonderful Mother’s Day giveaway, with lots and lots of books being given away (and you know I’m a fan of free books). I’ve had the button in my sidebar for a while, but in case you didn’t notice it, I wanted to let you know so you can go check it out. Just click HERE.
7. Finally, a few good posts I thought I’d share with you:
Stuff Christians Like: #527. Thinking God Needs You. “We don’t serve a needy God. We serve a complete God.”
Rocks in My Dryer: No, Really, I’m Fine “I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that we (I) seem to be operating in a fog of sensory overload. We blog and Twitter and Facebook. We have cell phones and multiple e-mail addresses. We’re so darn plugged in we’re almost motorized, and it’s exhausting.”
Reading to Know: The Covenant of Marriage “We can’t keep walking away from “hard” conversations just because they seem hard. We’ll never be able to celebrate the beauty of a TRULY successful marriage/friendship unless we are willing to work through the hard times.”
I love to read your thoughts — random or otherwise.
Thanks for spreading the word about the 5M4B giveaway. Be sure to leave a comment on the main post if you haven’t already to earn your “grand prize” entry.
I vote for the initials by the way. I think it’s just fine — easy to remember (and helpful for those of us who know the real names).
I can totally relate to the lack of ability/motivation to post lately. I’ve been the same way. Giving more serious thought to the whys of my blogging/internet time.
I think initials are also fine. I don’t have my daughter’s name on my blog anymore, either.
“Vladimir”? Where did he come up with that one? It’s great! I personally prefer a fake name or even an initial to the label kinds of names. The label kind of names sometimes grow old quickly and sometimes don’t suit them anymore after a year or so.
And it’s totally okay to take blogging breaks.
Oh, I don’t know, I think constantly changing names could be kind of fun. For your readers, anyway. (Actually, naming kids is something I think about every so often and have come to definitive conclusion on.)
Freeze the eggs. And then break them out for Mother’s Day.
I love reading your blog, random thoughts or thought provoking post. I read it often — I just don’t comment much. I have truly enjoyed reading book reviews and have found some good books to add to my TBR list. Thank you!
I don’t have my daughter’s name or for that matter my hubby’s name on my blog either and never have. We live in a town of 700 in SW Montana and have had visitors from Virginia and Idaho stop at our church and ask about our blog sites. It really made us think about how easy it is for someone to track us through the internet even though we had never used our names.
Meanwhile I am totally enjoying the Spring Reading Thing and reading everyone’s reviews. Thanks again for hosting.
I know a woman with two children who does everything but post her house address on her blog. She’s gone to school to take pictures of her 10 year old giving oral reports (as a teacher I think that’s wrong, a kid needs him own sort-of-mom-free life at school), and she’s posted those on the blog. She takes her daughter to therapy and posts it on the blog. Naked baby pics? Yep! Pictures of her house (which is gorgeous)? Yep. Oh, and then she posts when and how long she’s going on vacation. She has a wide audience, and sometimes it does seem like she’s saying, “Hello, look at all the cool stuff I have! Come rob me or steal my kids!”
Sometimes one can be too self-revealing. And I think her son is going to be mighty angry one day.
I don’t know that people stalk bloggers. And I think sometimes parents are too protective. You are just being wise. That seems like a good thing.
I totally understand why you have decided not to have your kids’ names on anymore – but it will take a while to get used to new nicknames! It’s still a good call, I think.
“Vladmir”–I love it! I don’t use my kids’ names either nor even initials, resorting to the generic “my oldest son” or some variation thereof. A little tedious but it’s what I do and for no real good reason!