Parrot Island

“A room full of parrots is no good.”

That’s what my friend Wading Across said in our discussion here about trolls. Hadn’t heard it put that way before. Hadn’t heard the song Somebody That I Used to Know until recently either. The comment and the song stuck with me.

parrot by rotorod creative commons license — scarlett macaw, image by rotorod, creative commons license

Admit it. We subscribe to news sources slanted toward our beliefs. We listen to commentators we like. We friend people on Facebook with the unspoken expectation they won’t offend us with their status updates.

We block or unfriend them if they do. We leave snippy comments or stop reading bloggers when they push it too far.

Creating a room full of parrots is a piece of cake. Imagine an island.

Welcome to Parrot Island! Your feathers are lovely. Your feathers are lovely. Your feathers are lovely! Margarita? Margarita? Don’t mind if I do. I do. I do!

Conflict is not my thing. I like to read and relate to folks who see things my way. The world’s all warm and fuzzy when people agree with me.

I don’t have to venture very far offshore before I’m troubled by the other side’s point of view. The surf. The waves. The water. Where’s the drop off? How far does it go down? Is there riptide? Who lives across the water?

Beyond the hype, beyond the labels working or stay-at-home, conservative or liberal, Christian or atheist, gay or straight, there’s a person. And possibly an opportunity.

Another writer with a razor sharp wit. We could spar over dinner. An old classmate who seems like a sibling now. We share years. A stranger who savors mint tea as much as I do. Pour me a cup. Or not.

I may never become best friends with the person on the other side, but we can still be polite. We can agree to disagree. We might even learn something.

flamingo by rotorod creative commons license — I am not a parrot, image by rotorod, creative commons license

Don’t get me wrong, dear readers. I treasure every sweet comment you keyboard as I’m certain do most bloggers.

People thrive on being in community with others who share common interests, goals, and beliefs. It’s unhealthy to remain in relationship with those who abuse you or trample your boundaries.

But I wonder if Wading Across was onto something when he said the folks benefiting the most are those who read all the positions. You know, the ones taking it all in. The ones listening.

And I wonder if their thoughtful comments of agreement or disagreement serve to promote understanding.

Novel concepts, listening and understanding. Might come in handy as we enter the heat of election season. Easier said than done of course. Because birds of a feather flock together.

Care to leave a comment? Don’t mind if I do. I do. I do!

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 NLT

Island music with Bob Marley and the Wailers: Stir It Up, little darling.

What do you think can be gained by sharing and listening to different opinions? What can be lost?

Posted on July 28, 2012July 28, 2012 by Aimee 9

BlogHer ’12 Tips

I’m excited to be headed to my first BlogHer conference next month.

New York purse — look! it’s me & Ella in New York!

Decided to go on a whim. Not sure how it happened. One email led to another, and soon I’ll be on my way to New York City.

I’ll be an itty-bitty blogger among the big guns at the BlogHer conference. Martha Stewart is a keynote speaker. THE Martha Stewart. Somebody pinch me.

The last time I was in New York was 20 years ago. Now that I’ve lived in Chicago and St. Louis, I’m ready to make strudel out of the Big Apple!

Lucky for me I’m rooming with two wonderful women who make killer strudel in real life. Katie Pinke of Pinke Post and Nancy Grossi of The Wife of a Dairyman are gracious to pull me in at the last minute.

I look forward to meeting other online friends at BlogHer like Leah Beyer of Beyer Beware and Amy Heinz of Using Our Words and Disney Baby. Amy’s been to BlogHer before. She was kind to answer my most burning questions:

Q: You mentioned business cards are a must. I have a very simple business card, and I’m worried it won’t be flashy enough. Do I need to redesign and reprint cards?

Amy: No doubt whatever you have is fine. A simple card with your name, blog, and website is plenty. A lot of sponsors will collect cards so they can email you. I highly recommend being sure it’s really a brand or prize you care about before dropping your card in a bowl.

Q: What do you do at this conference? Do bloggers just go around meeting each other, exchanging cards, and talking about their blogs? I better get my 15-second interview answers ready!

Amy: Last year they opened with an activity where you had 30 seconds to talk to people and exchange blog info. I probably got to about 10 people. It’s really smart to have a 15-second description. There are other opportunities for meeting people like meals, smaller sessions, hallway chats.

Q: Are you expected to read and follow all the bloggers you meet? What’s the etiquette?

Amy: You’ll meet a lot of people. Too many to follow them all. I recommend giving yourself a system. Put a dot on the cards of people you meet who you think you’d be most interested in reading and following. Make notes about your conversation with each blogger on their business cards.

Q: I signed up for the Thursday sessions. What are they like?

Amy: I haven’t been to those, but my friend who went Thursday last year loved it. I think it’s great to get there early and dive in.

Q: Can I choose which sessions to attend at the big conference?

Amy: Yes, you can go to whatever you want and pop in and out of the sessions. It’s very low-key. Some sessions are really popular. Map out what sessions you’re interested in beforehand on the schedule.

Q: This is the most important question. What should I wear?

Amy: It’s business casual. Be yourself and be comfortable. I usually bring casual dresses because they’re so comfortable and easy to pack.

During the day, wear layers and comfortable shoes. It can be really hot outside and really cold in the conference rooms. The sponsors alone take up multiple floors, so there’s a ton of walking, just within the hotel.

For evening parties, wear cocktail attire or a step up from daytime dresses.

with love from New York DKNY — with love from New York

Q: Anything else I should know?

Amy: It’s fun to dive into a world where people think what you do is really cool and oh-so important. See you soon!

Thank you, Amy. Read more from Amy at Using Our Words and Disney Baby. And be sure to visit the blogs of all the talented women featured in this post.

A gracious woman gains respect. Proverbs 11:16a NLT

I can see your face in All the Right Places, by Zach Heckendorf. Smooooth.

What tips do you have for getting the most out of industry conventions like BlogHer?
What are your must-dos when visiting New York?

Posted on July 18, 2012August 3, 2012 by Aimee 15

BlogHer Spotlight on Food Fright

Short post to share good news.

This afternoon I got word Food Fright is featured in the BlogHer Spotlight.

I’m surprised, tickled pink, and grateful the BlogHer Green editor Heather noticed this post.

Please click to BlogHer to see:

Food Fright: Too Much Misinformation?

Tell ’em Aimee sent you. Oh, and that’s not me in the photo. I have no idea who it is, but I believe that’s some kind of squash pictured with her. Now you’ve got to click over to see this!

Quite coincidentally, we’ll be talking more BlogHer news in a post scheduled for tomorrow. See you back here in the morning.

Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:2 NIV

Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. Just a Ride, by Jem.

Click ‘n share.

Posted on July 17, 2012July 29, 2012 by Aimee

Unicorn Whisperer Has Klout Doubt

A few months ago I noticed tweets about people getting +Ks.

Klout believes you are influential about Unicorns — influential about unicorns

What was this mysterious letter sign? How could I get one? A little digging led me to Klout.

When you sign up, Klout gives you a score. “The Klout Score measures influence based on your ability to drive action,” reads their website.

I write content and publish it. You read it. Klout measures how well my content influences you to do something crazy like share it with others, thus advancing our plans to take over the world.

Klout uses complicated metrics, equations, algorithms, yadda, yadda, yadda. Math. Numbers. Whatever.

I signed up and received a nice, steady score. Even got a coveted +K signifying super influential-ness. All was well in the land of Klout until Klout began naming the topics about which I was influential.

“Klout believes you are influential about Blogging.”

Yes! I knew it!

“Klout believes you are influential about Bacon.”

I like bacon. I’ve written about the loss and recovery of my Seduced By Bacon book. Hadn’t thought of myself as influential about bacon, but we’ll go with it.

“Klout believes you are influential about Earthquakes.”

Wait. I’ve never written about earthquakes. Maybe they meant tornadoes or natural disasters. Can a bad pedicure be considered a natural disaster?

“Klout believes you are influential about Unicorns.”

What? Me, a unicorn whisperer?

My friend Jesse found this one amusing enough to award me a +K for Unicorns, effectively securing it as my most influential topic. Thank you, Jesse. Remind me to return the favor by awarding you a +K for Pirates or Coleslaw.

“Klout believes you are influential about Magic.”

Now I know something’s wrong here.

The topics of everyday epistle range far and wide. We discuss it all because we can. Variety is the spice of life.

bacon at the fresh market — influential about bacon

Instead of finding the common threads in my content, Klout interprets this breadth as 14 random topics I’m influential about. Adding insult to injury, they dubbed me a Klout Style Specialist.

“Your content is likely focused around a specific topic or industry with a focused, highly-engaged audience,” says Klout. Right.

Maybe they have a point. I need to focus. Pare down. Organize. Search engine optimize. But I still have my doubts.

There are ways to influence your own Klout score, apart from simply creating and publishing great content. Yet there aren’t ways to measure the quality of the content you produce or the quality of your readers and their comments.

No extra credit for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation either. What kind of grading system is this anyway?

Besides all that, cyber terrorists, competitors, or prankster friends can influence your Klout score in undesirable ways. Not to mention the attacks by aliens.

“Klout believes you are influential about Space.” Go figure.

But in all this comparing and grading and competing, they quite miss the point. 2 Corinthians 10:12b The Message

Xanadu to you, Klout, with Magic by Olivia Newton John.

“Think of a mercenary socialite, holding a calculator and trying to figure out who to invite to a party based on import. Then put whatever number she arrives at on every guest’s lapel. That’s Klout.” posted by Nicolas Thompson in The New Yorker

Am I the anomaly? Anyone else have Klout doubt?

Posted on July 13, 2012July 21, 2012 by Aimee 10

See You Back Here Soon

The Guided Transfer to WordPress.org is set to begin in T-7 hours at 5 a.m UTC. That’s 11 p.m. CST tonight!

The Happiness Engineers have asked me not to make any changes to my site during the 24-hour process. That means no replies to comments and no new posts. Had to get in just one more for good measure.

Funny how the freedom to communicate is no big deal until someone tells me I can’t use it.

The engineers explained to me they are technically setting up a new site, even though it will have the same web address and the same content (we hope) as this one. It will be kind of like starting over from scratch. Or moving to a new house in a new city.

Had a bit of practice with that recently.

As with any move, I imagine some items will need to be fixed or replaced. A share button here. A spam catcher there.

Please bear with me as I move in and set up house. It may take a little time to put things back together. Pray for an easy learning curve for me and patience for the support people at WordPress and Bluehost. I have a feeling I’ll be leaning on them a lot in the next few days.

Pray for my husband and son, too. You get to read about the emotion; they get to live with it.

I miss my old blog already. It has been a Godsend to me. Didn’t expect this change would be so exciting, scary, and bittersweet. Feels like very much like the first time I hit the publish button.

This marks my 225th post. Ready or not, here we go.

May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in You. Psalm 33:22 NIV

Take My Love With You, new from the incomparable voice of Bonnie Raitt.

Thank you for reading. You are the best!

Posted on July 10, 2012July 21, 2012 by Aimee 6

Bluehost and the Holy Ghost

The time has come for this blog to give self-hosting a try.

Those of you who have been with me since the beginning of this crazy blogging experiment will remember I told you we’d overcome blogging together. Well, sharpen your pencils. School’s in session.

I adore WordPress; it will remain my blogging platform. But now instead of WordPress.com hosting and in a way owning my blog, I’ll pay a company called Bluehost $6.95 a month to host it for me on WordPress.org.

A WordPress Happiness Engineer will assist us starting at 5 a.m. tomorrow (eek!) in a 24-hour Guided Transfer process. Our engineer’s name is Hew. He’ll move everyday epistle from this site to the new, self-hosted site.

Everyone, please say hello to Hew in the comments.

Tell Hew how important it is to you that nothing be lost in the transfer and that he has us up and running in no time flat. We wouldn’t want an unhappy blogger girl, now would we?

A few other things you might like to know:

1. The Guided Transfer is “transparent” to readers. I think that means you won’t feel a thing. Please let me know if anything seems out of the ordinary—apart from the regular out-of-the-ordinary you’ve come to expect here.

2. Parting is such sweet sorrow. I’m thankful for WordPress.com and recommend it to anyone who wants to start a blog. WordPress.com gave me the chance to write and a beautiful place to do it for free. It’s with much deliberation (months and months of it, ask my husband!) I make this transition.

3. The widgets made me do it. I’m excited to try self-hosting because there is much to learn and be gained—like additional widgets. Widgets are those cool plug-ins that will allow us to do all sorts of cool plug-in things. Self-hosting will give me access to Google Analytics and custom themes. I’ll have more choices if ever I acquire sponsors, allow advertising again, or create something to sell.

I can’t wait to test drive all the bells and whistles. But first we have to make it through the Guided Transfer in one piece.

Notice that Bluehost rhymes with Holy Ghost, another name for the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Reminds me of God’s care in all circumstances.

Calm me, Lord. Bless Hew as he works. Bless Bluehost as they do whatever it is they do. Go before this process and make ready the widgets. Amen.

See you on the other side.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Romans 8:26 NIV

Dare You to Move by Switchfoot.

Please give your comment love to our new friend and Happiness Engineer Hew.

Posted on July 10, 2012April 16, 2018 by Aimee 17

Of Starlings and Barn Swallows

“You’re not an ornithologist,” said my husband.

Got that right.

Thanks to Roy, a reader in Columbia, Missouri, we discovered the starlings featured in yesterday’s post are actually a fine family of barn swallows.

Roy was kind enough to include a link to photos that helped us identify the nest and the birds. Mother-Daughter Press & Gay Bumgarner Images might as well have shot the pictures at my house.

Barn swallow child doesn’t have quite the same je nais se quoi as starling child.

And this isn’t the first time I’ve had to eat crow on the blog, nor will it be the last. But this is the first time I’ve had to do so over an ornithological misnomer.

“The point is that the bird kept jumping out of the nest,” said my husband.

Yes, dear. Reminds me of a certain blogger we know.

Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good;
haste makes mistakes. Proverbs 19:2 NLT

Little Bird by the Annie Lennox: I’ve just got to put these wings to test.

Who’s next to share an experience of eating crow?

Posted on June 30, 2012April 16, 2018 by Aimee

Milk Wars Becomes Top Post

The past week’s traffic boosted Milk Wars into first place as the most read post on everyday epistle.

beautiful calf in Milk Wars — beautiful, image from Troxel Dairy Farm, Indiana

Milk Wars unseated I Like My Bike to take the top spot. I Like My Bike was featured by WordPress on their Freshly Pressed page last August.

Milk Wars was first posted more than a year ago. Besides being our most read post, it’s also our most shared post with 528 Facebook shares and counting.

Apparently, the message still resonates.

I know that You can do all things;
no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2 NIV

10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman, a new favorite in my house: Let me be singing when the evening comes.

See what all the fuss is about in Milk Wars.

Posted on June 22, 2012July 12, 2012 by Aimee

$5.85

That’s my take from 40 days of WordAds. I didn’t expect to make much, but $5.85?

I don’t even get paid until I reach $100. At this rate, I’ll see my first check in time for holiday shopping—Christmas 2013!

The ads were charming, but distracting. I couldn’t approve them in advance or negotiate fees, yet they commandeered some of the best space on my page.

As my friend Janice of A Colorful Adventure said about her experience with ads on her blog, “I wanted the prime real estate for myself!”

Me too, Janice. So I’m ending my WordAds Beta.

The quest for ways to generate income doing what I like to do continues. I have a few ideas up my sleeve. Or maybe a more traditional approach is in order.

You never know until you try.

I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

This calls for bluegrass. I Ain’t Gonna Lay My Hammer Down by Blue Highway.

When do you call it quits? When do you persevere?

Posted on June 8, 2012July 9, 2012 by Aimee 13

Bicentennial +3

Today marks the 203rd post for everyday epistle.

A lot has transpired since our centennial post Lyrical Interlude last October. Good time to recap:

Relocated from one Midwestern city to another.
Took up yoga again.
Blog turned one and began tweeting.
Launched chapter & verse on Tumblr.
First book giveaway.
First troll.
First tornado.
First online poetry slam.
First author interview.
And four baby robins in a holly tree.

Also began testing advertising. Seeing as I’ve yet to make a penny, this test may end sooner rather than later.

Whisper was the most-read post between our centennial and bicentennial +3. It catapulted to the top where it’s third behind I Like My Bike and Milk Wars.

The second most-read post between our centennial and bicentennial +3 was Leah. The third was Field Trip to Visit a Cowboy.

patrioticpinwheel — everything’s coming up pinwheels

I’m still learning and having fun. Expect I’ll keep writing, testing, and making course corrections. Knowledge acquired from the ground up sticks with me. Feels like I know it by heart.

Hmm. That sounds an awful lot like praise for the process from an impatient, results-oriented, change-it-yesterday kind of girl.

Like I said, I continue to learn. Thank God, don’t we all?

Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the Lord grants wisdom!
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:3-6 NLT

Live and Learn by Clint Black, a gentleman of country music.

What are you learning?

Posted on May 25, 2012July 10, 2012 by Aimee 12

everyday epistle

there's a story at every turn

everyday epistle

Category: blogging

Parrot Island

What do you think can be gained by sharing and listening to different opinions? What can be lost?

BlogHer ’12 Tips

What tips do you have for getting the most out of industry conventions like BlogHer?
What are your must-dos when visiting New York?

BlogHer Spotlight on Food Fright

Food Fright: Too Much Misinformation?

Click ‘n share.

Unicorn Whisperer Has Klout Doubt

Am I the anomaly? Anyone else have Klout doubt?

See You Back Here Soon

Thank you for reading. You are the best!

Bluehost and the Holy Ghost

Please give your comment love to our new friend and Happiness Engineer Hew.

Of Starlings and Barn Swallows

Who’s next to share an experience of eating crow?

Milk Wars Becomes Top Post

See what all the fuss is about in Milk Wars.

$5.85

When do you call it quits? When do you persevere?

Bicentennial +3

What are you learning?

there's a story at every turn

What do you think can be gained by sharing and listening to different opinions? What can be lost?

What tips do you have for getting the most out of industry conventions like BlogHer? What are your must-dos when visiting New York?

Am I the anomaly? Anyone else have Klout doubt?

Thank you for reading. You are the best!

Please give your comment love to our new friend and Happiness Engineer Hew.

Who’s next to share an experience of eating crow?

See what all the fuss is about in Milk Wars.

The floor is now open for suggested post topics or anything else you’d like to say, serious or otherwise.

When do you call it quits? When do you persevere?

Stop and look around. What do you see?

What are you learning?

What tips do you have for getting the most out of industry conventions like BlogHer?
What are your must-dos when visiting New York?