My Newest Series!!

Hello All,

As some of you might have seen, I recently uploaded a post on my mail blog titled “Snailmail Roundup.” This will be a repeated post, and focuses on the mail I receive each week. However, I am also working on a serial post for this blog, which is called Blogging Tools

Now, there are actually two parts to this series: Blogging Tools & Writing Tips. However, since the second is more focused on writing, I’ve chosen to publish that in my writing blog (Little Dreams of Mine) on a later date. Or, if you guys would like them sooner, just let me know.

Blogging Tools will be a series of posts about that exactly, different tools that bloggers can use on the go or at home. Now, this is completely subjective, based on my personal opinion, and should thus not be quoted as gospel. The tools I will address over time are tools that I use myself (or would like to use) and so, I will be writing about their use overall: the good and the bad, and leave you with the choice of whether to ignore me, call me an idiot (please don’t) or try out the tool yourself. Also, if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

I’ll shut up not and move on to the first post. Stay tuned. (Which, actually means I’m not shutting up. Ha!)

Global Changes

Hello Everyone,

     Now that the final day of the Hero to Zero Challenge has come, I am left thinking about all the improvements I have made over the past month. Now, some of you might be thinking that I write about this challenge as if it were a godsend, as if it were the best thing to happen to me in my entire life. No? Well, I’m thinking it. But I’m also thinking that that might not be too far from the truth. Sure, it might not have been a major godsend, but it was an interesting challenge nonetheless. Through it, I not only improved my blog but also improved myself as a blogger, and above all, as a writer. I learned how important it is to remain diligent to my blog, the importance of constant maintenance, and above all, the importance of interacting with my fellow bloggers.

     Sorry. I’ll move on before this becomes a “moral-of-the-story” post.

     As I was saying, now that the challenge has reached its end, I am left wondering of what new improvements to make, new gimmicks (for the lack of a better word) to implement, challenges to join (or even create!), etc., etc.. I’ve been thinking about this for days, and finally came to the conclusion that global changes throughout my blogs are still necessary. Therefore, over the next month, I will be editing, condensing, and introducing new material to my blogs. (Not just this one, but my snail mail and writing blog as well.) One major change I will tell you about now is that I plan to delete one of my blogs. (Don’t worry, not this one!) I am going to delete To Believe In Mermaids at the end of February, and combine it with Snailmail Is Still In Fashion so it becomes a snail mail and craft blog. This will lighten my workload because it’s easier to maintain three blogs instead of four, and this way I won’t leave one forgotten for a long period of time.

     This will also help me with Day 29’s challenge, where we’re supposed to come up with a serial post to maintain in our blogs. I’ve thought up of several, and by organizing my blogs, I will be able to organize my posts in a way that is easy for me, and spaced out enough so it doesn’t feel like homework. (Especially when combined with the homework load I have already!)

     Well, wish me luck. I wish youth same and thank you infinitely for sticking with me throughout the month.

     Have a wonderful weekend!

My Inner Critic Has a Mean Kick

Day 23: Join a new challenge.

I have to admit, finding a new challenge to join was a lot harder than I thought. This also made me realize just how lazy I am. There was a challenge that required a poem a day. Nope, thanks. A daily phone photography challenge, nope again. But then my mental critic jumped in and roundhouse kicked me in the brain, screaming “stop being such a lazy ass” as it did. So I’m listening to it and joining Dancing with Fireflies’ weekly writing challenge and hoping for the best. What challenges did you guys decide to join?

Playing Catch-Up: Five foods you should try out (if you haven’t already).

Many apologies for suddenly going MIA on all of you, I am finally back. These last few days have been rather exhausting, what with testing out of a course and doing a surprise presentation that same day (today). Yeah, real roller-coaster folks and I still haven’t gotten off yet. I still need to finish one more assignment for tomorrow but first I thought I would upload a few much needed posts. (So no one thinks I’m dead, or worse.) So, for day 12 we were asked to write a post on a comment we made the day before. However, I did not make any very significant posts, so I will ignore this particular instruction. Instead, I decided to write a post on food recommendations, since I spent the past couple days talking back and forth with two fellow bloggers on particular foods (which show up here). These bloggers were Jason from Harsh Reality and Brad from The Convoluted Menagerie. So, here are five foods I think people should try (if they haven’t already). Also some have links to actual recipes!

 Salvadoran Tamale

 (Picture from SimplyRecipes)

 Green Salsa Enchiladas (not the common red sauce)

 (Picture also from SimplyRecipes)

 Pupusas (another Salvadoran dish)

 (Picture from Foodhoe’s Foraging. There’s a wonderful Salvadoran Cuisine post here, check it out!)

 Phô (Vietnamese noodle soup)

(Photo by me.)

 Hong Kong Style Pan Fried Noodles (Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside!)

(Photo also by me.)

Well, enjoy and check out my new blogroll! (Soon to be up in the next few minutes.)

Please Excuse My Feet

Hello Everyone,
For today’s challenge we were supposed to upload a post with a new element for us, something we don’t normally post (or might not normally post). In my case, I uploaded a video I took from my phone to Youtube and have provided you the link here. It is of my visit to a friend’s college earlier today, named Ohlone Community College. After hiking up an endless amount of stairs, we rested in front of this pond for a few moments. Enjoy!

This world is in such a hurry to grow up that it doesn’t realize all the mistakes it’s making.