'30 before 30' #4: ITMillennial.com is born

So, I love to write. And blogging is one of the best ways to do that, because you have the potential to acquire quite an audience, for free (or very low cost).  Starting this blog has been a great outlet, particularly to keep in touch with and provide updates to friends and family.  So I wondered, could this become a popular "Mom Blog" out there?

The answer I quickly discovered was no.  In order to spend enough time with a blog that it becomes even marginally popular, it has to be part of (or at least related to) your full-time job.  And being a Mommy is my part-time night job, so it just wasn't going to work.

But my full-time job is IT management.  Hmm.... IT management....

With some inspiration and encouragement from Pete, I introduce: ITMillennial.com.  I'm going to give it a good try for a year.  See if I stick with it and if it gains any traction.  But I'm pretty pumped.  So I'll continue to have Saying Our Nevers for family and friends, and IT Millennial will be more anonymous and professional.

If you'd like to join me on my IT Millennial journey, there are three different ways to do that:

1. Subscribe to the RSS feed
2. Follow ITMillennial in Twitter
3. "Like" the IT Millennial Facebook page

I'd love to have you there.  :)

Getting past the writer's block

My life as I knew it pretty much halted while I was sick, and I've found it to be a very slow process to get everything in my life back up to speed like it was just a couple weeks ago.  I hadn't been sick like this in several years, and I didn't take it very well, for whatever reason.  Being eight months pregnant probably didn't help.

So I needed to write a blog post just to write something again.  I have no clever topic -- not even a non-clever topic in mind.  But I need to write a post, because if I don't, I'm afraid this blog is going to lapse into stagnation like my (what feels like) hundreds of other blogs and journals before it, and I'd be disappointed.  I really want this one to stick.

For those concerned parties out there, I'm feeling better, by the way.  I'm taking my last antibiotic tomorrow morning.  My cough is slowly but surely dwindling to nothing, and my congestion is about gone.  Whew.

My daughter and I had a fun time blowing bubbles in the house this evening.  It was too cold and rainy to go outside, so we had our own springtime indoors, followed by rocky road ice cream of course (sweetened with Splenda so I had some too).  She's getting so big, so smart, so very fast.  My heart just breaks with love and admiration for her on a daily basis.  Not sure how it's going to be possible to love two little people this much.  How does one heart hold so much?  It's almost impossible to comprehend.

Yesterday, I started reading a women's devotional Bible I purchased awhile ago (could actually be an entire year ago now).  It's one of those Bibles that has daily devotions and prayers, and guides you through reading the entire Bible in a year.  As I started the journey yesterday, it made me wonder, how is the devotions author going to make the more "historical" sections of the Bible spiritually relevant?  You know, the parts about who descended from whom, that seem to go on and on.  I'm curious, but don't know enough about the Bible to know how to skip ahead to one of those sections to see (hence my taking on this endeavor in the first place), so time will have to tell.  I will wait patiently.

Well, exhaustion is taking over, so I will give in and go to bed.  Tomorrow's only Wednesday?  I find myself looking forward to eight weeks of maternity leave a lot lately, even though it means sleepless nights once again.  It'll be a special time.

Starting an art journal

I'm embarking on a new endeavor and starting an art journal. I started thinking about it after Mom's post on creating a happiness journal and loved the idea.

I couldn't believe how many art journaling resources are out there though.  It's kind of intimidating.  A lot of them focus on the artistic nature of it all -- creating beautiful journals from scratch with all kinds of supplies -- but I was able to find a couple good books that start at the very basic beginning.  So I dug out an Amazon gift card I got for Christmas and went on a fun-filled Amazon shopping spree.  I decided on  The Creative Journal by Lucia Capacchione.  My package will be arriving next week.  Fun!

A new year

I've never taken New Years resolutions very seriously.  If I have any at all, it's usually because I feel obligated to have a list of some sort, since everyone else does.

There's not much different this year, but this time I find that I'm actually thinking about them more than a week after January 1, which is a significant change.  So now I guess I'll start doing something about them.

1.)  Write more, and consistently.
2.)  Pray more.

Writing because I've always enjoyed that outlet, but have never, ever been consistent.  You should see all the blank paper journals in my basement, with a couple weeks' worth of entries.  Praying because I hardly ever do, and find I miss it.  I would like it if our kids grew up in a household that established some religious practices of some kind.

Anyway, this blog is an attempt at resolution #1.  It will have no overarching theme and no consistent topics.  The hope is that it will survive all of 2011 with sufficient activity to be proud of on January 1, 2012.