Saturday, May 2, 2015

Musical Memories - Reflections on the A to Z Challenge 2015



My theme was Musical Memories:  The Memories that music brings rushing back.

This was my 4th year in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  My 1st year to assist by being a Minion.  To me, it was the best year yet!  On so many levels.  With that said, there were a couple of things that really bugged me.

The first being, that there were a couple of blogs I found who had themes I was really enjoying; really looking forward to their next post.  It seemed other people were as well. Yet, for some unknown reason, these blogs just quit posting about 2/3rds into the Challenge.  Bummer!  Life happens, and sometimes the creative well just runs dry.  Yet, it was still a huge disappointment to me.

My second gripe is that the further down the list of participating blogs that I got in my visits, the less commenting I saw.  Some of these posts were awesome! Some were as passable as the majority of posts in the challenge were.  Granted, a few weren't offering much.  Still one of the key points of the Challenge is to get out, visit and share.  Why were these blogs and posts not getting their fair share of that?  I think for these reasons.  As the Challenge wore on, folks just got tired or behind or so caught up in some themes that they just weren't doing the recommended five new visits a day.  Occasionally, I couldn't do my five either, but then I'd do ten the next day.  When I caught a chance, I might do 20.   It is my hope that next year, perhaps visiting five new blogs each day can be reinforced more throughout the Challenge by mentioning it more often and encouraging frequently for all to do so.

Next, I want to talk about being a minion.  I joined Stephen Tremp's Team and dubbed myself Ensign B of Tremp's Troops.  I had a lot of fun setting up a matching aviator for the challenge.  Being a minion did add a responsibility to me for each day.  Yet, it was nothing overwhelming.  Stephen simply asked us all to visit five blogs a day.  He polled our group on whether we wanted five new ones a day or to keep the same five throughout the challenge.  We settled for keeping the same five, although he did tell us if we had one that we just couldn't relate to, he'd gladly re-assign us.  I was lucky in my five!  I thoroughly enjoyed each one.  The only hard part to being a minion was when I'd stumble across a blog I had to report.  Yeah, one of our jobs is Challenge police.  If we found a blog or link that was purely for capital gain, we were to report it.  If we found a blog or link that did not display the AtoZ Badge, we were to report it.  If we found a blog that was not posting A to Z or that had fallen behind and had not posted explaining why, promising to catch up, we were to report it.  Most of the reasons didn't bother me. After all, the Challenge is not about selling something, displaying a badge is a simple enough requesting and it wouldn't be the A to Z Challenge if we didn't post A to Z. When I came across a blog that simply stopped posting, it made me sad.  Some had a great theme or their last post had been awesome!  I couldn't help but worry about them a little. Wonder if everything was okay in their world.  The A to Z team does try to contact the blogger before their blog is removed to find out what is going on and encourage them to continue.  And for that I am grateful.  Would I be a minion again?  Absolutely!

Now for things I especially loved about the Challenge this year.  I loved the Paper.li newspaper!  If you haven't been reading, check it out here:  The #AtoZChallenge Daily.  It was a fun way to see the posts people were talking about on twitter.

I thought it was wonderful that a survivor T-shirt was created this year!  I already have mine and wore it to work last week. You can find the link to get yours at the A to Z Challenge blog.

Themes. I liked that most everyone had a theme.  Themes make it easy for new visitors to know what you are posting about.  There were so many great themes!  Lots of writing themes of every kind.  Many music themes.  Books, movies, TV series.  There were themes on gardening, cooking, fashion, history, dreams, morality, memories...such a wide and varied variety!

I had more favorite themes, but alas, they didn't all finish the Challenge.  I want to highlight two of my favorites that did manage to survive till the end.    

Etcetera is a blog by a young woman named Jane.  Jane is an all out Joan Crawford fan.  She made Joan the subject of her theme.  She brought the actress to life for you with facts, inside stories, pictures and videos.  If you are a Joan Crawford fan or a fan of Old Hollywood, I highly recommend this series to you.

My other favorite that made it to the finish line was The Old Shelter.  Sarah is a beautiful Italian woman who has done detailed research on the Roaring Twenties for an upcoming book.  For her A to Z Theme, she shared the fountain of information and insights she has gleaned from her exhaustive research with us.  Giving us a glimpse into a past that is almost 100 years ago now.  

Now, my thoughts on Life & Faith in Caneyhead and the Challenge.  I was thrilled so many found my theme interesting enough to keep coming back day after day. Thank you all! Some days saw an awesome number of visits and comments. Again, I thank you all!  Without even making an effort on my part, I saw my followers on every medium rise substantially. I certainly want to thank each of you as well!  I had so much fun sharing the tunes with you and recapturing to the best of my abilities the memories that they bring back to me.  I was delighted to have so many turn around and share their own memories with me!  And reassured that I'm not as strange as I sometimes think I am, as it seems music evokes many strong and detailed memories in a lot of people.

Last, but never least, I thank our founder, co-hosts, and fellow minions for all the work, encouragement, attention, time and effort you poured into this event.

Did you make it to at least five new blogs a day?
Are you planning to keep reading A to Z posts?
What was your favorite blog or theme this year?




67 comments:

  1. Good reflections post, Barbara. I know what you mean about being sad seeing a blog that had good content "give up" halfway through the challenge. I know the hosts emphasized pre writing; that might have saved some if they had prepared ahead but if it was the first time they did the challenge, it can be quite overwhelming.

    I did not visit 5 new blogs every day because I was already reading quite a few I had marked to follow plus I carry an extensive blog list that I read daily when they post plus that was that pesky overtime. However, when I had time, I read more, close some days to 20-25 on the weekends to help compensate running out of time during the week.

    I'm planning to read all the reflection posts and we'll see about visiting other A/Z blogs.

    One big gripe I had was leaving comments on some blogs. I mentioned it several times. I had a similar problem last year. Got frustrating trying to figure out how to leave one and those blogs I couldn't leave one on often had someting really good I wanted to compliment them on and comment about.

    I did enjoy helping Stephen. I did ask for a new set of blogs towards the end but I just wasn't making a connection with the second batch of blogs we had been given to read and it was really a stretch trying to comment (though I did faithfully). Then I had to ask for another change because a blog had pictures of corgis and so close to losing Koda, I just couldn't read a lot of dog blogs this year.

    betty

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    1. You did just what I did, and what I suggested in visiting more blogs on days you could to make up for the days you couldn't. - I used Google Chrome for the A to Z Challenge was was able to comment on all but two blogs I visited. But, like you, I was really frustrated not to be able to comment on those two, as I found their posts very interesting. I can certainly understand it being a too fresh wound and too sad reminder to visit a dog blog, especially one with Corgis.

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  2. We can mention the five new blogs a day more next year. I did see less and less visits as the month wore on. I know I spent so much time drowning in comments that it was difficult to visit new blogs. But I did make new friends - like you! - and enjoyed some of the creative themes out there.

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  3. Hi Barbara,
    Thank you so much for visiting me at Beyond the Flow during the Challenge. This was my first year and so I didn't know about themes and hastily came up with "A Few of My Favourite Things". I had alot of fun writing, researching and then following up comments. I set myself a goal to read 10 posts from A-Z. So far, I think I've read about 5 but would be part way through the other 5. I did visit a few others as well but I am with Wordpress and many of the blogs I came across were with Blogger and I find it difficult mixing between the two platforms. I really decided to only stick with Wordpress Blogs.
    Next year, I'm going to choose a theme well ahead. Write shorter posts and spend the month reading other blogs and interacting. I feel I need to spread the load a bit more.
    Also, I probably prefer longer posts which really go into a story more than a brief flash in the pan, which I think is what's encouraged. I like a bit of depth and I'm also looking to build ongoing relationships rather than just adding notches to the bedpost xx Rowena

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    1. Hey, for the first year in the Challenge, it is awesome just to finish! No joke. Especially if you haven't pre-posted. Every year I pick up a handful of people that are keepers. Folks I find things in common with even after the Challenge. Bloggers who still interest me and make me want to visit, read and comment. Those relationships you speak of. They are the icing on the A to Z Cake!

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  4. A very nice closing post, Barbara, I really enjoyed it (espeically because you mentioned me ;-)) Hey, a blog with Joan Croford as theme. I missed that one! I need to fix this!

    I have to admit, I didn't visit five new bogs a day. This was my first challenge. I knew it was going to be demanding, but I didn't expect it to be THIS demanding, honestly. I was a wreck on the first day and feared I wouldn't be able to keep the pace. I did manage to visit all the blogs I wanted to visit, I returned all visits and comments, I managed to stick some new visits in, but I didn't do nearly as much as I would have liked, and I'm really sorry about it.
    Next year, I plan to have all my posts upleaded by the time the challange starts, so I'll have time to do all the other things.

    But even as it was, it was a great time and I'm so so happy I took part :-)

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    1. Like I told Rowena, for a first year Challenge participant, just to finish is a real accomplishment. No apologies necessary. Glad to hear you still managed to have a good time and enjoy yourself among all the craziness that is A to Z! And particularly interested in what you end up bringing to the table next year!

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  5. Great reflection post! I do ran into several blogs that just quit posting. I'd go to their site and we'd be on Letter S and see that their last post was Letter L or something like that. I didn't even bother reading those when I came to them because I assumed they had dropped out. You're right: that was a disappointment. I did do 5 new blogs each day and most days I tried to do 10-12. I had several methods on choosing which blogs to visit from the master list: I started at the top and did 12 down, I started at the bottom and did 12 up, I started in the middle and when 12 up and 12 down, then I just started picking out a number and doing the 5 up and down; then I'd scroll through and see which ones sounded intriguing to me. Even then I feel like I didn't visit enough. Thanks for posting those two blogs that you really liked: I know I'll like them too. I love Joan Crawford and love the roaring 20s. Can't wait to check them out! Thanks for all your hard work being a minion! That's a big job and your time and effort is certainly appreciated. All the best,
    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. How sweet of you Michele! Sounds like you had an interesting strategy worked out for blog visiting. Hey, whatever works for you!

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  6. P.S.: I didn't even know about the A-Z Daily newspaper! News to me. :) Last year I found out about the A-Z Facebook page near the end of the challenge. This year I find out about the daily paper after the challenge is over. Where was is publicized? I guess I didn't visit the main site often enough. Sounds great! I'll have to remember that one for next year. Thanks for posting about it!

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    1. Uh, I saw a tweet about it, but there is a running feed from it on the A to Z Challenge Blog in the sidebar I believe. And I have the link wired to the name above.

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  7. Great wrap-up!

    Alas, I don't think I really did 5 blogs a day. Like you said, some days I would play catch-up and read a bunch at a time (mostly on Saturdays) but I got frustrated a couple of times toward the end of the month when I would go the Linky and continously find blogs that had dropped off posting, and then I'd just go back to the people I'd been following all along who were still doing it. Oh, well. Better luck next year, and I'm still catching up on blogs even though it's April (for instance, I just found yours!).

    I think my favorite was SaraAllie at Sara Writes, as she did a Harry Potter theme complete with TONS of pictures from Harry Potter World (she has spent some serious time there, apparently). If you're an HP nut like me, it's amazing. It's here: http://saraallie.blogspot.com.

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    1. Sounds like SaraAllie had a great little theme going! Surely there is a large fan base for that! I brought out another good point as to why it's such a bummer finding blogs that have stopped. I assure you, the team was working hard to verify their intent to finish or to remove them from the roll. That's one good thing about the Reflections posts. Since links shouldn't be posted until after you've posted the entry, there should be one everywhere you go.

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  8. I mean, it's May. Not April. It was a long month. :)

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    1. I hear you, Kailin! It was fun, but there are other posts waiting to be published and many things off the web to do.

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  9. You've written a very thorough and useful reflections post. I didn't know about the A to Z newspaper and I am eager to read it. This was the first year that I didn't compose all of my post in advance and that was a gigantic mistake I will NEVER repeat . I hope I am not one of the bloggers you thought dropped out. I fell behind a couple of times. The second week ( I think it was the second) I took my boys to our lake house and we were surrounded by tornados and we lost cell and Internet service . When we drove to the store one day , I posted from my phone explaining the delay. I fell behind again at the end and my last post didn't go up until May 1st. There were some days when I was in a jury trial and didn't get home until 9 or 10, mentally, physically and emotionally drained . Better prep work in the future will help me.

    I stumbled across a few blogs who dropped out and it was disaapointing , because I had been following their post. I didn't get to visit five new blogs per day, but I played catch up when I could and visited 10- 40 some days .

    I noticed the same issue with very few comments on the tail end of the list. Some of the blogs, like you said had fantastic themes and post and for those participating in the challenge for the first time , I worried that they might not participate in the future becuase they were only getting a couple of comments. I tried to vary where I began commenting . Some days I started at the top, some days at the bottom and other days , I just picked a random number like 891 and started there .

    I truly enjoyed your nostalgic music posts. I wish I could have visited more blogs. I would find myself really liking certain blogs and repeatedly visiting them and then realized I would never visit all the blogs if I continues that route so then the next few days I would devote to visitng only new blogs .

    I also noticed that for Wordpress blogs - since I'm on blogger , I was automatically signed in under some weird name I must have created for myself in the past in order to comment. My biggest difficulty in commenting was on Typepad blogs. You would think i would have figured it out after the first time but it took me a while to figure it out. I would type in my comment and only after I spent time typing it in and hit the publish comment button - then it asked me what platform I wanted to comment through (FB, Twitter, Typepad , Google plus etc.) so I clicked on one of the choices and when I was finally directed back to the comment area , my comment was gone . Very frustrating.

    Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog . I think you were an excellent helper and this is by far the best reflection post I have read.

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    1. I think I'm blushing. You words are very kind. I ran into the disappearing comment thing and started coping my comment before I clicked anything I wasn't used to seeing, just to be on the safe side, so I could simply paste it back in the form. And I did see your hiding from tornados post! That's what I was speaking about in my reflections, a courtesy post to tell followers, challenge participants and co-hosts why one had fallen behind so they'd know if you intended to finish or not. Very good of you to do so!

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  10. Oh, one more thing . Were you the person who shared the code for creating a signature ? I've been going nuts trying to remember who shared it. I tried to follow the instructions, inserting my blogs Url. I thought I had it. I acttually created a signature that linked to my blog but it landed on a page that read , "This page does not exist ." If it was you, I wanted to find out what I was doing wrong and if it wasn't you, my apologies and please disregard this message.

    Thanks

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    1. Melissa, I was one of the people who posted that. I posted about it here:
      http://lifefaithincaneyhead.blogspot.com/2015/03/time-saving-to-z-tips.html

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  11. A great reflections post. I didn't know about the A to Z daily newspaper either. I'll have to check it out. I started picking my blogs to read early (after the theme reveal) I picked out 20 that interested me and tried to follow those everyday. Then I tried to pick up another 5 a day but at times I got bogged down. Especially when I started running into blogs that weren't even doing the challenge or had quit. That is frustrating to me. And I continue to be frustrated by so few people who comment yet my stats showed an amazing amount of visits. I didn't know there was a problem between Wordpress and Blogger!! I am happy you were a minion who visited me often and I thank you for that. And I have put you on my keeper list!

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    1. I actually had no problems commenting or visiting on Wordpress blogs. Or Google+ blogs. But again, I chose Chrome for my browser. And I visited you of my own accord, not as a minion assignment. ;)

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  12. Thanks for the insight into the job of Minion. I had wondered how the blogs were patrolled. This answers those questions.

    Yes, I did visit 5 new blogs a day. But only 5. Keeping up with the blogs I started reading got harder and harder throughout the month (that list kept growing!).

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    1. Funny how you keep running into another one you just can't pass up! Glad I could pull the curtain aside for you and reveal the wizard!

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  13. How did I not know about the paperli paper until just now? Man, I truly missed out on some great stuff!. This was my first year with the challenge, as I've only been blogging since October. Personally, I think 5 new blogs a day is quite a bit, especially if you're still trying to keep up with the ones you are currently following, in addition to everything else we do in a day. Looking forward to the roadtrip and 2016!

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    1. I found I could usually visit, read and comment on five new blogs in twenty minutes. Especially if they had kept their posts short. Lucky for me, most of my reading list WAS participating in the challenge. And to be honest, I don't read every post by anyone. I look at the post title and the intro in my reader and if it interests me at all, then I read the whole post. But that's just me.

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  14. good reflections and very interesting. I admit I was remiss is trying to see new blogs and commenting. I was able to visit my usual folks every day, and I tried to make it up on the weekend. All in all - I appreciate the creativity and hard work of so many people. My fave was Robyn's Martha Stewart A - to Z - totally mindblowing. Yours was a super fave too! Thanks for yiour hard work

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    1. Thank you, Joanne! I supposed I missed Robyn's Martha Stewart thing. Hum, that may be one I go back and look up.

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  15. This was my first time to do the challenge and I had no idea of a theme. While I think a theme would be helpful, I also liked my freedom to post on anything as long as it referred to the letter of alphabet. I visited at least 5 blogs a day, sometimes more. My only complaint was how many people are a No Reply blogger so I couldn't respond back to them. I also missed the detail about keeping the posts short. If I do this again, I need to remember that detail. I met so many cool bloggers and I am so glad I did the challenge. I need to write my reflections post.

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    1. Everyone is supposed to have comments enabled for the challenge. I didn't run across any personally I couldn't comment on. Hum, maybe I'm not understanding what you are saying. LOL I want to get over and check out more of your posts, Holli. Personally, I think a potluck can be interesting.

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  16. I came across blogs that were a few letters behind and I really hoped that they'd catch up. I also noticed that the farther down on the list blogs received no comments. I always start at the bottom and work up while also starting at the top and working down. But it makes you wonder if they tried to get comments at all.

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    1. I see your point Chrys. I asked questions on all my A to Z posts and put them all out on Twitter and Facebook. But, still, it is the challenge and everyone is encouraged to try to leave some kind of comment. So, you'd think if people were reading, at least a handful would comment.

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  17. I did more than five per day and like you, it saddened me to find blogs with so few comments. I'm meeting even more through the reflections post but I still won't have made it to everyone.

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    1. Yeah, I think to visit them all a person would have to have the time to approach the challenge like a job - 8 hours a day. I plan on continuing to drop in and sample blogs throughout the year. So back and read some really great themes I missed. That sort of thing.

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  18. I'm so happy you had a good time. Like you, I would have been sad to just see someone give up or disappear, although I did do that the ONLY time I tried the A - Z challenge. I always go in all gung-ho and then realize that it's just too much for me. Thank you so much for always stopping by my blog and your kind comments. You truly are a special blogger!!

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    1. That is such a super sweet comment!!! Think I'll print it out and frame it, for those days when I feel ignored. ;)

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  19. I enjoyed the musical memories posts! Glad you had fun with them.

    You are the winner of my book, That Mama is a Grouch. Congratulations! Please let me know where you'd like me to send it. My email address is sherry.a.ellis@gmail.com

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    1. You are so kind! I'm very excited about being a book winner!

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  20. About the blogs down far on the list not getting visitors or comments. I received a lot of visitors and more comments then I get on a regular basis. I wonder if there is a way that the sign up list could be shuffled every day during the month so that participator have a random chance of floating to the top. I know for me, I was trying to find more blogs that were similar to mine but not everyone used a subject code. I wonder if there is a way on the A to Z website if a person looking through the list could sort the list themselves by an established set of filters. I know I am throwing out ideas without solutions but I don't have the technical background.

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    1. I get what you are saying. Like in a excel spreadsheet you can sort by columns. Folks could let it sort by number, or by title or by genre. Cool idea! Of course every participant is supposed to start with the blog under them on the list and work down. That in itself should suffice, except that the folks who live all year to do the A to Z on near the top because they are waiting for the sign up linky to be posted. Those near the bottom are likely largely first timers, perhaps half lost about what to do or how to manage their time.

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  21. It was my first A-Z.... Yes, I do plan to keep reading from the linky lists and am particularly enjoying the reflection posts... Finding more blogs that appeal, especially as most of us are recommending others we enjoyed. I visited 199 blogs and must say that the thing i found most disappointing was that when I left comments, so few participants bothered to respond. I suspect they were people who'd scheduled their posts hoping to get more followers then went about the month the way they usually do, unconcerned about visiting others or finding other blogs to follow themselves.
    I was also surprised by how many of the participants were doing not much more than using it as a marketing exercise for their self-published books or manuscripts.
    Wendy at Wendy of The Rock

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    1. Yeah, well it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round. Happy you successfully completed your first A to Z! That is a great accomplishment!

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  22. Hello there.
    Congratulations on completing the challenge and surviving as minion too!
    I quite agree with you about the commenting or lack there of. I've managed to get to 450+ blogs so far and I have to say those in the later half of the signup linky are seriously lacking in comments received. I mentioned the lack of commenting in my reflections post. It seems to me that some people signed up but had no intention of visiting others. Kind of irks me that I've put a lot of time and late nights (much to hubby's chagrin) into visiting/commenting, but I've not had the same amount of visits/comments back. This is one of the reasons why I might not take part again next year. I'll see how I feel after my extended blogging hiatus. In the meantime, I want to thank you for being a helper and also for taking the time to visit me. It was nice to see another Barbara! ;-)

    Entrepreneurial Goddess

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    1. Hey, we are a rare breed, us Barbaras, and we have to stick together! Since this was my fourth year, my family has come to expect me to be mostly absent in April. I've seen Lee throwing some ideas around already for better management/policing of the challenge. It's grown into such a big animal, it's hard for an all volunteer army to handle. I do hope time will help you decide to join us again!

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  23. Hey Barbara....FellowTexasGal...I believe you are 'right on' with this reflection post and the 'Challenges' of AtoZ to the participants as well as the Co-hosts and their teams. As a Minion, I too found the 'List's' drop outs/non-participants/behinders a bit daunting. I tried to leave encouraging comments to 'My Numbers List'...which is the way AJ Lauer's team worked as well.

    I so enjoyed your Musical Theme and all the memories you shared and the ones it brought back in my life with my 1950's-1960's theme. I am still stuck in the 1960's musically...always will be, I guess...Hello Roy Orbison and all the greats from back then. It has been such a pleasure meeting you and visiting your blog....I'll be keeping up with you from now on...in other words...The Eyes of CollectInTexas Gal are upon you.
    Sue at CollectInTexas Gal
    AtoZ 2015 Challenge
    Minion for AJ's wHooligans

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    1. What a sweet and witty comment Sue! To me the fascinating thing about memories is comparing them with other's memories and finding commonalities. You'll find someone in a penthouse with memories common with a mechanic, a doctor with memories in common with a waitress. I think memories help us to see and remember that we are all human and real. We were all someone's little boy or someone's little sister.

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  24. I am just now finding you through your reflection and loved your theme sight unseen. In a new novel that was published in April music from my past is apart of several scenes. I used the working title, Stardust, because it was my father's favorite song. The title changed in the end. Some lines from Melancholy Baby work themselves into the story too. I grew up on the backseat of my parent's car listening to them sing such songs. I don't know who I would be without that music to accompany me through life. I will go back and read your posts. In my reflection I talked too about leaving comments and the difficulty of navigating some of the blogs that made it a deal breaker in revisiting. No visit, no return visits, same is true for leaving comments. So much work to have the presentation of the blog unworkable and therefore of no further interest. Your tips for everyone will be helpful to those...who have eyes to see.

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing some of your memories with me Stepheny! By the way, I love the spelling of your name. Were you named after your father?

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  25. Congrats! Sounds like you did really well. I didn't always manage to visit five new blogs to comment on each day, but I didn't worry too much... I think it's more about the meaningful connections that do get made rather than a numbers game. I found that a number of blogs didn't return a comment and it was actually those I connected with through the Theme Reveal that I stuck with for the month. That's one of the best features, I think.

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    1. I agree Nick, the best part of the challenge is forging new friendships. I just hated seeing bloggers working hard to put out decent content and going several days without one single comment! That's tragic, when we are all supposed to be visiting new blogs.

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  26. I'm glad you had fun! And thank you so much for minioning! We couldn't do it without you :) And I agree, themes are the best. Especially music themes ;)

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

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  27. For me, this year's challenge was....especially challenging. I'll be posting about the reasons for this later, at shanjeniah.com,

    I managed not to be late for any posts (not always easy, because reasons), and, I hope, to have offered something worthwhile with my travel memories.

    I did neglect to add the badge - it slipped though the famous crack of Other Things - and was reminded very politely. I fixed it immediately.

    I also didn't get around to as many other blogs as readily as I had hoped. The month was a blur, for those Reasons I haven't mentioned yet. May's been a bit of a catch up and move ahead month, and I have been reading a few new A-Z blogs, and plan to continue...

    I definitely enjoyed the visits I made here! =)

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    1. I'm so glad you did! And glad you made it through till the end!

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  28. I've definitely got a New Challenge resolution for next year of scheduling myself more time to get out to other blogs and read!

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    1. I definitely believe that is the way to enjoy it the most!

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  29. I know I didn't get to the bottom of the list as I try to do, some many at the end drop out... too bad there is not some type of shuffle that allows everyone to be seem. Even the start people dropped out and it causes me to give up or feel lost. I start looking at those who came to my site and started being there for them....

    This in no way a "look" I made a post, now come to me type of challenge... you have to visit, comment and maybe follow fellow a to z'rs.

    You had great sharing posts...

    We made it...Hope you had a great time, thank you for your Reflection!
    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2015]

    HOLLYWOOD NUTS!
    Come Visit: You know you want to know if me or Hollywood... is Nuts?

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    1. I've heard several people mention the idea of shuffling the blogs. I suppose if everyone really started by visiting the blog beneath them that wouldn't matter. But apparently a lot of folks aren't doing that. And perhaps the problem is too many newbies are near the bottom and we all know how overwhelming your first time can seem.

      Thank you for our kinds words!

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  30. A2Z is bliss and happy I was there for the second time when I almost backed out. Bookmarking ur blog.
    Cheerz

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  31. Haha. sorry. I was one of those poor people to drop out of commenting and visiting after the first week.

    Glad you had a great time though!
    I was a minion last year and it was a great experience too.

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    1. I've seen numerous posts by folks saying that they either became too overwhelmed to visit and comment much or that they found the process too frustrating on too many blogs to continue.

      I used google chrome to do my visiting and I had no real problems, except on maybe two blogs I did find that the link to go to comments is sometimes in strange places, like back up at the top of the post.

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  32. Hello, this is one of my first stops in the Post A to Z Road Trip. I saw your name pop up a lot in comments on other blogs and I am finally getting around to a visit. I like your A to Z Musical Memories theme and I'm now following you :)

    I will admit that I did not comment every day during the challenge, but I tried to catch a few of my favorite themes at least once or twice each week. Commenting was a part of the experience I did not expect as I was joining this challenge for the first time. Next year, though, I hope to be more prepared with my posts so I can focus more on the blogging community.

    Elizabeth @ Liz's Random Ponderings

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    1. Glad you like the theme! The first time doing the A to Z can be overwhelming, but you learn a lot about it and know better what to expect the next year..

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  33. My favourites where other kindness-themed blogs, but I also enjoyed the Movie Mash Ups that asked for reader participation and I definitely prefer short and sweet posts in general. I didn't visit as many blogs as I would have liked during the month of April, but I am trying to make up for it on the AtoZ Roadtrip.
    Brandy from Brandy's Bustlings

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    1. That's one great thing about the Challenge, there is something for everyone! I enjoy road tripping all through the year.

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So glad you stopped by! Come 'round any time. ~ Barbara

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