30 March 2012

#Bloggiesta, ole! March 2012

So I hemmed and hawed....  I wasn't sure about signing up for Bloggiesta this year.  My schedule is crazy, my family is crazy (I haz a new nephew, he is cute as a bug!), I'm on edit 7 of my book (getting very close to the point where I'm willing to let other people read it), I've been in a blogging slump....

Ah-ha.  Blogging slump.  Giant backlog of reviews.  Lots of housekeeping to do.

OBVIOUSLY, I should sign-up for Bloggiesta.  I need it really bad!

I have to work part of the weekend, so I shouldn't bite off too much, but the definite TO-DOs:
  1. WRITE. REVIEWS.  Lots of them.  I have a huge backlog thanks to writing and sick mom (Mom is doing much better - the parents called me from Savannah, GEORGIA, the other week because they took a surprise trip to celebrate the end of radiation treatments - a little warning, parental units, please otherwise I worry unnecessarily).
  2. Back-up the blog (haven't done this in donkey's years).
  3. Write post for April Literature by Women book (the moderator skillz are in the toilet, too).
  4. Suey has a nice Goodreads widget that counts up her reading challenge there.  I like it - must investigate Goodreads site to find the code.
  5. Find widget/linkage for my Posterous account so I don't have to cross-post all my pictures, only the ones I really, really want to.
  6. Redesign header picture.  I like it but the books seem a bit too one-note (no offense, Prydain and Lloyd Alexander).  I have the fancy D-SLR now and a Photoshop Express account so I ought to use it.
  7. Buy a mouse for my laptop.  The touchpad is fine for basic navigation but sometimes my tap-taps just aren't fast enough or the drop and drag gets a bit wacky (PS Express editing is crazy-awful with the touchpad).  Mouse will help with that.
And then there are the would like to-dos:
  1. Investigate new Blogger theme.  I've had my current template layout since the beginning of The Blog and it is non-customizable.  Interpretation: both columns are too narrow and can't accomodate even the Blogger-designed widgets in places.  Drawback: I can use basic HTML but I don't know doodle-squat about CSS, etc.  I am willing to learn - is there a good book anyone recommends?
  2. This post on Mashable discusses how to use Pinterest to promote your blog and track your content.  I lurve Pinterest.  Must investigate.
  3. Go through the Google Reader and remove the blogs with dead URLs/updated URLs.
  4. Check prices on Photoshop (I queried the Oracle of Twitter about Photoshop vs. Elements - only Hannah answered; she was in the affirmative on PS so I will check it out).
So much for not listing too much.  Haha.  Maybe I will peep in on a mini-challenge or two, too!

Bloggiesta, ole!!
Posted by at 12:12 PM
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3 comments:

  1. Laurel-Rain Snow11:59 AM

    Good luck with your list! I have been meaning to do some things on my sites since the last Bloggiesta. This time, I'm working on Curl up and Read, but I also did some work at Rainy Days and Mondays.

    Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa Ward12:31 PM

      Thanks! Good luck with your to-dos, too :)

      Delete
  2. Joy Weese Moll2:35 PM

    Great list.

    I'm hosting a Pinterest mini-challenge for Bloggiesta (with a gift card drawing!): http://www.joyweesemoll.com/2012/03/28/pinterest-bloggiesta-mini-challenge

    Let me know if you think the Mashable piece is a good resource for book bloggers and I'll add it to the little list of resources that we're growing on that post.

    ReplyDelete

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