Let's Get This Started

It's finally time to write the first post.  I've spent a day and a half picking a layout theme I like, creating the pages, making a custom title header, creating my post signature, and now I feel comfortable enough to actually publish something.

The first post is always tough.  I've introduced myself in my pages, because eventually there will be lots of posts and it gives newcomers an opportunity to learn something about me.  So, doing an introduction post doesn't really feel right.  I've been jotting down ideas for future posts, and none of them really feel like a great starter post.  What to do?  What to do?

I KNOW!!  Let's get this started with explaining my blogging style.  That way, you'll know right from the get-go if you're at all interested in what I have to say, or if you're ready to just move on... please don't!

If you read my About Me page, you'll know that blogging isn't new to me.  In fact, I've written several blogs - even more than I listed on that page.  Every time I write a blog, I try my best to keep it upbeat.  I like humor.  When I'm reading, I like to read stuff that makes me smile, giggle, chuckle, and dare I say it, laugh out loud.  I also like to read blogs that speak to me... not in the sense of interesting me, or relating to the information in the post, but actually speaking to me.  Like, I can hear my voice in my head speaking to me as I read each word.  You will notice very quickly that I write as if I were speaking to you in person.  I want you to feel like I'm speaking to you, rather than writing to you.  You'll notice that I may steer off on a tangent (like most people do when they tell a story), and may ramble on a bit.  I speak fluent sarcasm, so I often write fluent sarcasm.  

With that being said, I have to make a quick P.S.A. about my grammar and the way I write.  I am a 6th grade reading and writing teacher.  I have been dubbed the grammar Nazi many, MANY times.  I am that person that's correcting spelling and grammar on social media accounts, and my skin crawls when people misuse there, their, and they're, your and you're, its and it's.  I'll be the first to point out when someone writes a paragraph long status update and there's not a punctuation mark in sight.  You get it, right?  Grammar and spelling are important to me.  I will read and reread a post several times before hitting PUBLISH to ensure I've edited and not making any silly mistakes.  HOWEVER, and that's in caps because I'm putting lots of emphasis on how you should read that, I write based on how I want you to read what I have to say.  What the heck does that mean?  Well, you'll see me break some of the well known writing and grammar rules every now and then (all the time) in order to make it more like talking than writing.  You'll see sentences that start with And, you'll see fragment sentences, you'll see me use ... when it probably doesn't need to be used, and occasionally you'll see way too many commas in one sentence as I'm trying to make my point and need to keep talking and don't want you to take a breath until you've read the entire thought. You can breath now.

OK going back to the humor thing, I will try and inject humor into my writing while covering the various topics.  Marriage, children, the education field, and life in general are all HILARIOUS topics, or definitely can be.  It's my goal to highlight the millions of funny situations that arise from each of these topics.

Then, of course, not all of life is funny.  Sometimes, being serious is the way to go.  There are situations that arise that definitely don't have a place for humor.  Sometimes, life can deliver heartbreaking, heart wrenching, slam against a brick wall topics.  I have found that writing about serious, emotional topics is just as important as writing the fun stuff.  In fact, my emotional/ serious writing can be very therapeutic for myself and some people that may be in similar situations.  I went through a stage, with my last blog, where I was writing raw, heart gripping, sob in my pillow pieces to describe some really hard stuff I was dealing with.  I truly thought nobody would be interested in the depressing slop I was posting each day, but I was completely shocked when I starting hearing from people THANKING me for what I was writing about.  There I was dissecting my heart, trying to make sense of the Hell I was living through, and then finding out other people were relating with me, appreciating my honesty, and using my words to help them deal with their own situations.  So, every now and then, I'll be a little more heartfelt and serious just because that's how life is.  It's not fun all the time.

At the end of the day, it's near impossible for me to tell you what I'm going to write about.  I consider myself an open book and can write down a hundred blog post ideas in a day, based on how the day plays out.  I will literally decide what I'm going to write about when I open my laptop to write the post.  Some days I hope to make you laugh, some days I hope to make you think, and other days there may be a possibility for a tear of two.  I'm here to offer my thoughts, opinions, advice, and to tell stories about the crazy life I live.  Hopefully something I write interests you enough to come back, maybe enough to tell a friend and share.  

In the day and age of YouTubers, I know it's a long shot that anything will ever become of my ramblings, but I'm writing and that's the important part.  I don't have the face for video, and I am much more gifted with my writing than I am with speaking.  I'm also hoping that there are still people on this planet that enjoys reading, and can get a kick out of reading about random stuff just as much as people like watching crazy, random videos on YouTube.  

That's it.  First post.  Glad that's out of the way, and now I can get busy writing the good stuff.  So, please come visit me again, it gets better... I promise.