How to Blog

Wait, this was meant for me to read, not write. Here’s how blogging goes for me. I open “my book”, the scheduler/planner which has become the central nervous system for 520 Cottonwood, it contains it all and more including my blood pressure readings. After reviewing what we did for the week, I see what pics I took with my phone. I then decide that we lead an incredibly boring life that can be summed up by cats, weather, the daily trek to jobs, family, and more cats.

From there I upload the few measly pictures that I have taken and try to create something absolutely brilliant from these inspiration sources. While I’m on to some of you who immediately scroll down to the bottom of the page and read the conversation snippet that I randomly remembered. Those are sometimes the only easy thing about the blog post.

The hard things include making our lives sound wild and exciting and worth reading, heck, I live my life and love my life and when I realize that a hot dish may be the most exciting thing, I worry about our audience readership. But the other hard part, appeasing that audience, who if I don’t write proceed to call and leave me verbal reminders which I take as a compliment. They want to read about the hotdish, and the latest cat adventure, like the fact that Matt brought a bird into the house to see which cat would get it first. And to finalize that story up, it wasn't his top pick that elicited the appropriate amount of killer instinct. I however elicited enough disdain that could have morphed into killer instinct. Who in their right mind brings a bird into the house?

At one time I’d thought I’d get into the foodie blog mentality and show recipes and pictures of us cooking and our products of cooking. That was attempted a couple years ago. Fail. I thought I’d do some of my creative writing and showcase it here. Fail. The only thing that I've successfully added is the meal of the week and the quotes, which has morphed into the ALR/MJR weekly conversation. These are chosen at random, mostly when I can remember them and what I think other people may appreciate. But mostly when I can remember them.

Most people don’t get a glimpse of who we are…they know us, but the blog really is an in-depth view of just how we are with my narration to skew the story a bit. Maybe it will come to be more than a play by play of our weekly events. It’s been going on a few years and is a labor of love, other things have changed or been tested, I’m probably not done experimenting. Hopefully I get the hang of it someday. How else will I live out my dream career and be a travel blogger, any backers?

ALR: What are you doing??
MJR: I am giving the cats something to do!
ALR: The cats don’t need something to do!!!!!!!!!! They are lazy house cats.
MJR: I know I’m awakening the killer instincts of hunting within themselves.
ALR: THEY DON’T HAVE KILLER INSTINCTS…I FEED THEM. I OPEN THE CAN OF FOOD AND EVEN MIX IT UP FOR THEM. THEY DON’T KNOW WHAT KILLER INSTINCT IS ANYMORE.
(Voice drops into a growl) You get that bird out of here, they are stinky dirty creatures! AHHHH!

MJR: Sorry, kitties, no more fun.