What I Learned

I am a very curious person, or so I have been told. Some people like that about me, but I am sure that I annoy the crap out of others by asking too many questions. I just want to get to the meat of things, and if I have a problem to solve, I do not quit until I find the answer. This can lead to some pretty grim rabbit holes, and some frustration on my part, but the maximizer in me will oftentimes not let go. Many times, these searches or questions come because something goes wrong. Other times, it is my need for perfection that drives the search. I will give you examples of both. The first one on my list is the latter, and the second one on the list is the former. The third is one I learned a long time ago, but one that I find useful for blogging or journaling. So read on for what I learned, the computer shortcuts and blogging edition. 

Putting a hyperlink in a comment. I wanted to link a pair of shoes for Rick in Nance's blog about buying shoes for her husband, but I did not want that super long annoying link to show up; I just wanted a tidy hyperlink. I have done this before, but it is one of the things I promptly forgot afterwards. One thing that I am trying to do (#lifegoals) more is to keep track of things in an organized way so I can either find them later or use them again or not look up the same thing over and over (definition of insanity, right?) So now I (and you!) will have notes on how to do this right here: 

In the area you want the hyperlink, type this: <a href="PUT WEBSITE ADDRESS HERE">PUT WORDS YOU WANT DISPLAYED HERE</a> 

For example, you would type: why not hop over to <a href="https://www.travelspot06.blogspot.com">this excellent blog</a> for more information about coding? And what will show up will be --> Why not hop over to this excellent blog for more information about coding? FYI: This will work on both WP and Blogger blogs. 

Copy + paste clipboard. Sometimes I am commenting on blogs and when I click submit, I get an error and then sometimes I cannot go back and resubmit, so I have to type out the entire comment again and that is frustrating! So I researched how to get my clipboard (aka previously copied information) and it is super easy on a PC (sorry Mac users, you have to figure out your own issues). 

Just click the Windows Button + V, it will ask if you want to start saving your clipboard, say yes. Then what I do is right before I hit submit on the comment, I use CTRL-A, CTRL-C to copy the comment and then if I need to access it again later, I click Windows-V and there I have my list of saved items. To use it, just click on the one you want and voila! No repeating comments or other things. You can also pin ones you use a lot! This also works for clipped snippets (like the Excel clips pasted below!!)

A quick warning though: The Windows clipboard history is available until you restart your computer, except for any items you've pinned. The clipboard history only stores the last 25 items you've copied, and when you copy a new item, the oldest item is deleted.

Excel formula of the week. I love Excel; I use it for travel and packing lists and organization, collecting information, keeping track of things and obviously for adding up costs and doing budgets and things like that. The IF function is one that I use in various forms! You all may know how to use these already, and if so, yay! If not, here they are. And if these seem exciting, just wait until we get to nested IFs! Prepare to be wowed! 

SUMIF --> Used to sum by category when you have a list of numbers or costs etc. In the below example, I want to sum up costs by category. I am telling it to sum the list in column C if the category in column B matches the word in cell E3. 

COUNTIF --> in the same example, I now want to count how many of each category there are. So basically count how many in column B match cell E3. 

IFERROR --> Now that I have my counts, I want to calculate a per day cost. This all well and good but if I remove the word Motel, now I have an error (#DIV/0) for Motel because the count is zero. To fix that, I put the words IFERROR before the formula and then tell it what phrase or number I want it to return if there is an error. In this case I am being silly, but usually I just put 0, or "", which will return a blank. 

Once that formula is done, here is the result. Isn't that fun! 

Oh you want one more you say? Fine! I also love the shortcut ALT = (ALT and equal key) which is used to sum up a column instead of typing out =SUM(H3:H9). Just put it where you would normally put the formula and you are good to go! Okay, admit it; did your eyes glaze over? Or are you excited to share your favorite Excel tip with me? 

Do you use any of these tricks? Or do you have any other shortcuts you use while blogging or commenting? Do you have any fun Excel tricks you want to share? If you are a Mac (or cell phone) user, do you know where to find your clipboard? 

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here. 

Giving NaBloPoMo a Go

Despite having this blog since 2006, I have never participated in what used to be a hugely popular thing called NaBloPoMo. It stands for National Blog Posting Month and it happens every November and was (is) a way for people to test their writing boundaries, get their creative juices flowing, get used to writing and posting every day and to meet others in the same boat. Over the years, people stopped blogging and so it kind of went dormant, except that San, who I have been following since way back in the day, decided to keep it alive by hosting it on her own. You can find the list of participants here. 

I decided to do it this year because I have SO MANY half finished drafts and my plan is to finally finish them, clear my outbox and move on with my life. I also will follow some rules, which I will outline below. 

I will not be commenting on all of the participants posts every day. This is probably the main reason that I have never done this project before. I am a maximizer and also not one to do a job half assed, so I feel like if I am going to do something, I have to do it 100%. I am telling myself, and you right now, that I my 100% will be commenting on maybe 8-12 posts per day, and this includes my regular list of people, even those who are not playing along. I will not leave them behind. I will follow along with the NBPM folks, and will probably read but not comment on a lot of them each day. 

I will still be responding to people's comments. I find this is the most important part of blogging to me, that I am accountable. However, if in the melee I miss one or two, please forgive me in advance. 

My schedule will be thus. I am telling you this because feel free to skip the ones that don't appeal to you; I will not be offended!! And for all of those people who get this in their inbox, I apologize for sending you so much stuff!! Feel free to delete them all and come back in December. I will not take offense! 

Monday: Money

Tuesday: Travel
Wednesday: What I Learned

Thursday - Sunday: TBD / free form

Making the above list just gave me a sense of Deja vu, because back in the day, we used to do Workout Wednesday, What I Ate Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday etc. So many themes!! 

How I will stay organized. I have created a list of posts that I will be writing for sure, as well as a list of ideas for the days where I am feeling flat. I also will write 90% of the posts a few days in advance and schedule them for a few days afterward, so that I am never trying to write frantically the night before. 

I also created a Feedly group where I copied or added all of the participants so I can keep things segregated. This way I can make sure I don't neglect my regular reads because of the hustle and bustle of the NBPM posts. 

Also, to fill in any blanks, I will periodically be answering Ask Me Anything questions, so please go to my form and fill out some questions or leave your questions in the comments below! 

Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I will be telling my origin story for those of you who are new here! 

Have you ever participated in NaBloPoMo? Are you participating this year? What is the number one reason that you blog? If you don't blog, what is the number one reason that you read blogs and/or comment on blogs??

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here. 

The Cool Bloggers Walking Club

Elisabeth asked everyone to join her on an October challenge: to walk at least 10 minutes every day in October. Obviously, I am on board with that, and surprisingly, it is sometimes hard to get any walking in when I am on the bike all day. I often do walk to the grocery store, and usually that is at least a half a mile each way, so I do get some steps in, but my average per day is a lot lower than it was when I was at home, that is for sure! My goal was to get 10,000 steps on a non biking day, and do at least 10 minutes on a biking day. 

So as not to bore you with a bunch of photos of me walking to the grocery store, I tried to get out to a few more places, and thought I would post a few of my favorites here. Huge thanks to Elisabeth for not only keeping us accountable, but for hosting me in October, and showing me a lot of her favorite walking places, some of which you will see below! 

October 1st - October 9th: Laval and Montreal, Quebec

1. The Croissant (Crescent), where I walked the dog that I was sitting
2. Streets of Montreal; as always, I loved wandering
3. Nature Center Laval
4. Rachel Street, Montreal; great bike lanes and fun murals
5. Old town, Montreal
6. L'eau! I used to "collect" photos of water/storm drains;
there are some really fun old ones in San Francisco and New Orleans.

October 10th - October 13th: Quebec, including Quebec City

1. Church - Champlain
2. Rue St. Louis - Quebec City
3. Rue St. Louis - Quebec City
4. Jacques-Cartier Beach Park - Quebec City
5. St. Lawrence River
6. The Umbrella Street - Quebec City

October 14th - October 23rd: Nova Scotia

1. Peggy's Cove
2. Grand-Pré
3. Cape Split
4. Reservoir
5. Annapolis Valley Trail
6. Walking the kids to school

October 24th: Vancouver

No photos but I did walk about two miles to get groceries and pho with a friend! 

October 25th - October 26th: Bellingham, WA

1. Whatcom Museum
2. Sacred Heart, Fairhaven
3. Puget Sound
4. South Bay Trail
5. Fairhaven Village
6. Bellingham sign (the small print says: Olde City of Subdued Excitement)

October 27th - October 31st: Burlington, WA

1. Fairhaven St.
2. Walking around town
3. Fairhaven St.
4. Welcome!
5. Train Wreck Bar and Grill
6. Welcome sign

I know you are wondering if I achieved my goal of 10,000 steps (about five miles) or 10 minutes every day (about a half mile). I was on the bike 11 days out of 31, which would mean I would need to get about 105 miles, or an average of about 3.4 miles per day in October to reach my goal. 

Well, I did achieve it! Some days, it was surprisingly easy, like in Montreal or Bellingham, where I sometimes walked 8-10 miles (of course, on these days my destination was often food related, so I may be a net positive when it comes to calories) or when I had a buddy like Elisabeth to keep me moving. However, some days it was surprisingly hard, like on travel days, rainy days, or on long cycling days when I just wanted to rest!

Here are the stats: 

Total walking/hiking activities: 46
Total distance: 112.69 miles
Total elevation gain: 9,703 feet
Average per day (31): 3.63 miles / 313 feet of gain

I call that a win! 

Did you participate in the walking challenge? Either way, what was the most interesting place you walked in October?

This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here. 

A Lifetime of Blogging

Lately I have been going through some of my old posts. I had an idea that I was going to relabel some of them and try to tidy things up a bit. But then I realized it was a huge undertaking and would probably not really be that helpful to anyone but me, so I binned it. However, it did make me think about my blogging journey and I thought I would have you all join in with me in talking about your own journeys too! Please feel free to answer any or all of the questions including links if you like! If you do not have a blog, feel free to tell me when you started reading blogs and what kind of blog you like reading the best! 

When did you start blogging and why? I started blogging in 2006 while traveling. I had been writing a mass email at the time, explaining where I was and what I was doing but found it easier to post it online and that way people could come and look at it when they wanted and it would all be in the same place. However, blogging was fairly new to me and my friends and family and I did not really get many comments for a long time! 

Egypt 2010

What was your first blog post about? Here is my first post (excuse the naivete and bad formatting! I swear, I got more polished eventually) It was about a bus ride from hell that went from Laos to Vietnam. It was a long ride, it was hot, our bus broke down...but here is the silver lining, according to 2006 me: After the breakdown there were really no problems except that I saw a bucket of pigs feet soaking in water right near the toilets and I thought how glad I am that I am a vegetarian... (FYI: I am no longer a vegetarian).

What is your most used label and why? I am going to cheat on my own question and answer the top three. Feel free to do the same. Lists (314 times), Travel (243), Running (233). And why? Lists is so general and crosses a lot of other categories. Travel makes me glad, since this is the travel spot, not the running spot or the food spot. Running has been around for long enough that it makes a podium spot, I guess! 

What is your most viewed post? And why do you think this is the case? Stephany is going to get a kick out of this, but my top post is actually a guest post that she wrote about theme parks in Orlando. I am guessing it is because it has the word Disney in it. The second most popular is a post I wrote about strange signs you find when abroad. I am guessing it was popular because I used the word $ex in one of the captions... Mr. Lovely's 10 reasons why Nepal is better than India was also a big hit. 

Do you answer comments on your blog? If so, what method do you use (email, post on blog, etc.)? I do answer comments! I used to always respond via email because if the commenter put in their email, blogger would send the comment to my email and I could just reply to the person via direct email. It seems that is not really the case as much, and so a lot of people don't have their email linked, so I just reply on the blog itself. However, I find that harder, since the person has to go back and check rather than knowing I responded, so I do try to email people back if I have their info. NOTE: If you are anonymous, please state your name in the comment so I know who you are (unless you don't want me to). 

Do you go back to see if a blog post that you commented on got replies? If so, how do you keep track? Yes, I do go back, although it is much more helpful if I get an email letting me know that there is a response. Probably only a handful of the people I follow have this though. So my current method is to keep the tab open to the comment and then check it later to see if there is a response, although this is not really a very efficient method. I will be interested to hear if people have tips or tricks for this. 

What blog that you still read now have you read the longest? This won't come as a surprise to most of you, but I have to give a shoutout to my OG Lisa. A down to earth Mom of two living in MN and working in the finance industry, she gets it done! Also, she commented on my site when nobody else did, regularly! I have a lot of one comment posts from the beginning and it is almost guaranteed it is her. She is thoughtful and responsive and she taught me that it is okay to go out on a limb and support another blogger as they get started, even if you are the only one. Thanks Lisa! (P.S. there are so many other great people out there, and I just can't stress how important ALL of these connections are!)  

Do you post on other forms of social media regularly? If so, where? I am very poor at most other social media forms. I have accounts, but rarely post! I don't get the same sense of connection from most of them and I also find myself wasting time on them when I do log on (as in looking at posts on FB of the children of a girl I met while traveling in Australia in 2006 who I have not kept in touch with). 

If you talk about people in your real life, do you use their real names? I may have at the beginning, when nobody read my "online journal" but as I started to gain traction, I made code names for most people. Perhaps it's overkill, especially with all of the things that we all post online these days, but I still want to respect other people's privacy as much as possible. 

If you could get paid to blog no matter what you are writing about, what would your focus/theme be? I would probably write about travel, but I would hopefully have to be traveling in order to get fodder! However, even if it was just about past travels, it would probably still be fun. 

Your turn! 

When did you start blogging and why? 

What was your first blog post about? 

What is your most used label and why? 

What is your most viewed post? And why do you think this is the case?

Do you answer comments on your blog? If so, what method do you use (email, post on blog)? 

Do you go back to see if a blog post that you commented on got replies? If so, how do you keep track? 

What blog that you still read now have you read the longest?

Do you post on other forms of social media regularly? If so, where?

If you talk about people in your real life, do you use their real names? 

If you could get paid to blog no matter what you are writing about, what would your focus/theme be? 

Please feel free to answer any or all of the questions including links if you like! If you do not have a blog, feel free to tell me when you started reading blogs and what kind of blog you like reading the best! Or if you are a private writer or journal keeper, what do you normally write about? 

A Few of Elisabeth's Thoughts On Travel

As you know, I love to travel! I am always curious about how other people plan, how they started their travel journey, where they have been and what they liked. I think that talking to others is a great way to get ideas for future trips and also a great way to form connections with other people. I also love to ask questions and am a very curious person, although I think that some people are not as impressed by it as others!! Luckily, my guest is not only an avid traveler, but she also doesn't mind me picking her brain and is happy to answer my questions with gusto! 

She probably does not need much of an introduction, so I will get right to it: please welcome my guest for today, Elisabeth. I was drawn to her because she loves to travel, is friendly and easy to talk to, is frank about her feelings, is a staunch thrift store shopper, and is just an all around good person. But enough out of me, let's get to the Q and A already! (Also, you can find my answers to Elisabeth's questions over on her site today!) 

For the readers who don't know you, please tell us where you are from, a little bit about who you are and one thing that even those who know you may not know about you. 

I have lived my whole life on the Eastern side of Canada. I was born in New Brunswick, moved to Nova Scotia as a toddler, moved back to New Brunswick as a teen, and then moved back to Nova Scotia as an adult! Aside from the winters, I am a Maritimer at heart. 

Baby Elisabeth

I’m married to an incredible man named John (here's some backstory on our entrepreneurial history together) - and we have two children; a 12-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son.

I had to think for a while about what surprising fact I might not have shared before (this may hint that I’m an oversharer). Most people know I hate water on my face, have a crazily sensitive back, and am a direct descendant of William Wallace (aka Braveheart). What I don’t think anyone knows is that, in another family setting, I likely wouldn’t be writing these words today. Because of some high risk factors my mother had been warned not to have any more children after her third…seven years later she found out she was pregnant with me. My parents were shocked and the doctors were not amused. They told my mother in no uncertain terms she needed to terminate the pregnancy because they were certain I would have life limiting challenges. That wasn’t a decision my parents could support ethically, so my mom spent the rest of her pregnancy assuming I was going to have severe mental and physical limitations.

(Another lesser-known fact: a month after I was born, I won a local beautiful baby contest. My parents still have the trophy.) (K: I get that; you were a cute baby!) 

If I were to come and visit you for a three day weekend, where would you take me and why? 

This collage belongs on a travel website!

First, I’d say: Oh goodie! You will LOVE Nova Scotia. Then I’d get down to organizing an itinerary.

Day One: We’d start the day at our local farmer’s market to grab a fresh breakfast and coffee while listening to local musicians play outside. Then we’d hike the waterfront/dykeland trail all the way to Grand Pré (a Unesco World Heritage Site). We’d walk back to town (an 8 km round trip) for a well-earned lunch at my favourite local eatery: the Naked Crepe. We’d wander around the various stores in downtown Wolfville for several hours and pop into my favourite cafe for a warm drink and some baked goods before driving out to Scott’s Bay for an evening of beachcombing, complete with a bonfire, seaside picnic, and incredible views of the setting sun.

Day Two: We’d hike Cape Split (one of the most famous trails in all of Nova Scotia; about 13 km return), picnicking at the summit. Then we’d make our way to Blomidon Provincial Park to take in the soaring bright red cliffs, and trek through the mud to the water's edge. On our way home we’d stop at Medford Beach, which is located just fifteen minutes from my town but it looks like another planet. We’d explore all the formations before heading home to clean up and then I’d make a home cooked supper (Chicken Mango Curry, rice, and cornbread). 

Day Three: We’d start at Peggy’s Cove - perhaps my favourite spot in all of Nova Scotia - followed by a trip to the South Shore. We’d spent a few hours walking around Lunenburg and Mahone Bay (quaint little towns full of colourful shops), followed by a stop at a local white-sand beach.

Cape Sable

If we had a bonus day, I’d hire someone to take us out to Cape Sable - an island just off the coast of Nova Scotia with one of the tallest lighthouses in the country (103 ft.) and a whole lot of sheep. It’s breathtaking and you would love it. (K: That all sounds perfect, plus I see you added some hiking; thanks! Also I can't wait to try your curry and cornbread! Also I am so glad that Peggy's Cove made the list.) 

What was the first place you remember traveling to, who were you with and what did you do? 

I’m going to cheat and answer this three ways. 

The first place I traveled regularly was our family cottage. It had no electricity or running water and it was the most magical place on earth. We’d go for 3.5-4 weeks each summer and be completely off grid. I LOVED it. My siblings were a lot older, so in later years it was just me with my parents, but early in life it would have been our whole family of 6. I’ve been there every year since birth, so that doesn’t really feel like the answer you’re looking for?

The next travel adventure was taking a 2.5 hour ferry from Digby, Nova Scotia to Saint John, New Brunswick to visit my maternal grandmother. These trips were SO exciting and I always went with just my mom. 

The last memory I'll share is when I was 11 - the first time I left Canada. We drove to South Carolina for my sister’s wedding and I thought it was the most exciting thing I’d ever done in my life. Everything looked different. Miles instead of kilometers on speed signs, gallons instead of liters of milk at the grocery store. I was enraptured. I turned 12 on the day she got married <3 (K: I bet that was fun; my first experience in real life with km and l was when I was in my 20s!) 

If the above was not by plane, tell us a little about the first place you went to by plane. Do you remember how you felt about flying for the first time? 

I flew to St. John’s Newfoundland when I was 19 for a conference where I presented research from my Honour’s thesis. I don’t really remember how I felt; likely very embarrassed that I was the only one who had never flown and nervous I would mess it up somehow. (K: my first international flight was alone and my parents came with me to the gate! Remember those days?) 

What travel experience has been your favorite so far? And tell us one place we should go to if we go there ourselves. 

I don’t know if I can answer this? I have loved Paris and Rome the most, but I wouldn’t want to go there alone. I always prefer to travel with someone (preferably John), but if I had to explore a place alone, I’d likely pick NYC. (K: I love NYC and could wander the streets for hours and never get bored)

I will give you $10,000 but you have to spend it on travel to somewhere you have never been before. Tell me where you would go and what you would do. 

Either the Amalfi Coast - it just looks so beautiful - or Scotland. I know the latter is an odd choice, but I’ve always wanted to go for some reason; maybe because my family roots are strongly tied to that region? I also really want to go back to Iceland, but technically I've already been there...albeit just on an extended layover. (K: I have Iceland on my short list and can verify that you would love Scotland!) 

What is your opinion on traveling abroad with children? Is there an age that is too young? Are there certain places you would go or any you would steer clear of?

Elisabeth and fam in New York

How do I put this delicately? If I had the choice, I would always travel without kids at this point. John and I have done: Sydney, Australia (not to be confused with Sydney, Nova Scotia), the Dominican Republic, Paris, and Rome solo while my parents watched the kids. It didn’t feel like we could ask my aging parents to keep managing that responsibility, hence taking the kids to Barcelona. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I would rather be going just with John.

All that said, we did take our daughter to Denmark when she was a toddler. We have some great memories but it was also pretty miserable since her sleeping and eating was thrown completely out of whack. I’m a bit nervous about Barcelona and definitely would prefer to only travel with my kids (internationally at least) once they’re both teens.

Baby A in Denmark

Other people have very different feelings about traveling with kids. 

On the other hand, we have done a LOT of road trips with our kids and keep them very engaged with local adventuring. I never went outside the country before I was 12, so the things our kids have experienced already in life far outpaces my own. (K: they may not know it now, but these travels will shape them so much, and in so many good ways!) 

Tell us about something weird or scary that happened to you while traveling.

Hmmm. I’m drawing a blank here…I guess I could mention the time we booked the wrong dates for accommodations on the Cabot Trail. Once we realized our mistake, there was literally only one place left we could find an availability. There was a reason it was still available. The door to our motel room was wide open to the outside when we arrived, there were dead bugs all over the floor, and in the morning I realized my feet were getting wet. Turns out a pipe broke flooding our entire room! When John went to tell them at the check-in desk about what had happened, they didn’t seem the least bit surprised. We did not stay for the included breakfast but our daughter loves to retell this story so it has a happyish ending since it provided a lasting family memory. (K: Yikes! I once had a room in India with a poo-scented shower and dead mosquito guts on the walls and it was a horrible night of sleep, but I guess the worst experiences make for the best stories sometimes!) 

One state I have never been to is South Carolina and I know your sister lives there! If I went there for the weekend, what would you suggest I do? 

Charleston is lovely; walking across the Ravenel Bridge, strolling through the battery and looking at all the cool architecture makes for a great active adventure. The beach at Sullivan’s Island is lovely on a sunny day.

In Columbia - where she lives - the Riverbanks Zoo is wonderful if you have kids in tow. I’m not a zoo person, but this is my favourite of any I’ve visited. I also really love their new riverwalk; it snakes along a river and the whole (long!) path is lined with tall black lamp posts. It looks like something out of Narnia. 

Columbia River Walk

I’d also highly recommend befriending my sister and having her family take you out on Lake Murray for some tubing, a delicious picnic, before rounding out the evening by watching the sun set over the water. (K: Sign me up! I love new friends and tubing and picnic sounds great!)

Tell us about your travel planning process. Do you and your husband share tasks or does one of you do more planning? How far in advance do you plan? Do you stay in AirBnBs or hotels or BnBs, etc.!!? 

John books the flights and hotels. He consults me for the broad things - dates, general locations - but does all the rest of this process. We generally stay in hotels. He gets points by staying at many chains, and we make use of the bar fridges to store snack/breakfast items. We generally book plane tickets 4-5 months in advance, book accommodations 2-3 months in advance, and I start planning 2 months before we head out.

I generally handle most of the itinerary. First I pull together a (very) rough draft of places from my initial research. Then I like to use search strings like “Best Free Things to Do in X” and “Hidden Gems in X.” I’ll read a dozen “Hidden Gems” articles, see what overlaps between them, and write down places I think would be especially interesting for us. Then I research each spot and pin them to a Google map if they seem to warrant a visit. 

Once the map is complete, I look for patterns and try to group our activities within a set radius each day (for example, for our Toronto/NYC family road trip in 2022, we spent our first full day in New York in midtown, the second day in Lower Manhattan/Brooklyn, and the final day in uptown). (K: I love using Google map pins! I did this with the Alaska trip and it made things so much easier!) 

What is your perfect day when you are "on the road"? 

Waking up refreshed, but early so we get to our first stop early to avoid lines. (The weather would be perfect of course; not too hot, not too cold.) We’d grab a coffee along the way, and maybe a local pastry or breakfast smoothie. After touring the first place, we’d meander for several hours, looking at local architecture or visiting some of those “hidden gems” I've discovered in my research. John would take lots of incredible photos. We’d enjoy a leisurely lunch and then head to another “main stop” before strolling around until we see a little market or store where we’d pick up supplies for a simple picnic enjoyed in front of a famous monument or square where we’d watch the sun go down and enjoy the magical transformation of a city/town/lake at night. (K: This sounds like a great day to me!) 

Do you have any follow up questions for Elisabeth? Who is the travel planner in your household? What place(s) would you go to if you had $10,000? 

Connections

Have you ever taken the Meyers Briggs test? I am an ISTJ; here is what the website says about that: A Logistician (ISTJ) is someone with the Introverted, Observant, Thinking, and Judging personality traits. 

Regarding friendship: Logistician friends are not spontaneous. They are not talkative, or particularly playful in their affection. What Logistician friends are is loyal, trustworthy, honorable and dependable. Others may come and go with the ups and downs of life, but Logisticians stay by their friends’ sides no matter what, with a deepness of commitment that other types may not even believe is possible.

Logisticians are a very methodical personality type, and this loyalty isn’t given away lightly. Often slow to make friends, Logisticians usually end up with a smaller circle, but they consider that circle to represent a promise to be there for the people they care about, and Logisticians’ promises are not easily broken.

I know sometimes we fit ourselves into our horoscope or other personality boxes, but I have to say, the above really does describe me to a tee. This may be something for another post, but one of the other things it talks about is integrity and how ISTJs follow through and don't understand people who do not do what they say they are going to do (yes!) so this personality description really does tick a lot of the boxes for me! 

But I digress; what I wanted to talk about was blogging. Why do people write stuff about their life that is personal and put it out in the ether for others to judge? For me, I started blogging when I was traveling around Southeast Asia as a way to communicate what I was doing and where I was to multiple people at the same time, instead of writing an email newsletter or something more tailored to a few people (here is my first blog post). My only readers were probably my parents and my grandma, who would never comment but would talk to me or email me about things later, so I knew that I had at least three followers. My grandma has since passed away, but my parents are still here somewhere (hi guys!)

I would guess that for the first few years I got a handful of comments from people that I actually knew and none from anyone I did not know. This space was more of an online (public) journal. 

Then I got my first comment from a stranger. It was so satisfying; I had made a connection! I answered them right away and was excited when they commented again on another post. I started reading their blog and commenting and they would answer me back. Back in these days, all comments from readers went into my email inbox and the way to respond to comments was to email the person back. Sometimes we would have a long private back and forth about a lot of personal things and would learn a lot about each other that was NOT put out into the ether. It was very satisfyingly. 

A short while after that, I met up with some of my online friends in real life! My other friends and family thought I was crazy, and one of them even asked me if I worried that my blogging friends may be psychos, but the trip went so well that since then I have met up with several other people that I have met online! There is something about the connection you get when you hear a lot of people's inner thoughts and you learn about their everyday life, as well as the interaction you have along the way. 

Minneapolis - September 2011

There were years when I just did not feel like putting myself out there (in 2019 I only posted once), but I have still kept the connections that I have made. This year I decided to start writing a little bit more again, and I have met many new people that I feel are kindred spirits! 

However, going back to my ISTJ personality, I am slow to make friends and I am not one to have a lot of friends with shallower or lighter connections; I like to have a smaller handful of closer connections. I find this also translates to my online connections; I don't read or comment on a hundred blogs or write just to see how many comments I can get without answering them. I like to have the interaction and the back and forth, and I have been known to stop following someone who seems to be just trying to win a popularity contest. However, some of the connections I have made over the years have resulted in friends for life and that is the coolest part of this story. I know that meeting people online now is de rigueur, but back in the day (when I walked uphill both ways in the snow) it was not as normal, but I am glad that I put myself out there back then, and will continue to do so now. 

If you have taken the Meyers Briggs, what personality type are you? If you have not, please do (it only takes a few minutes) and tell me what your result is and if you think it fits your perceived personality! 

Why did you start blogging and/or why are you here reading? Have you ever met any of your online connections in real life? 

Closed For Maintenence

Hello everyone. You may or may not know that I have been doing a little maintenance around these parts. Let's call it "Fall Cleaning". I've been sorting and arranging and filing and organizing. It makes me feel better and it also looks better too! So, what am I talking about? Let me tell you.

First up, I reorganized my Reader. I had WAAYY too many subscriptions and I didn't have time to read them all. Also, many of them were people who were doing the 365 Project at the same time as I was, and their blogs have been inactive for some time. So I went from 161 subscriptions to...71. Yup. It took some time, but I finally got down to ZERO posts, without "marking all as read" (I think I still have "people I follow" who are not counted in the "subscription" count, but I am not sure.)

Secondly, I have been working on some label buttons and they still aren't quite what I wanted but here they are anyway. These are a few of my favorite things. If you are reading this in Reader, you can click out to see them on my left sidebar, for now. Or, if you click on them, it will take you to the appropriate topic. Tell me, do you think it is too busy over on that side?

I also created "Find Me Here" buttons, although I am not really sure how I feel about them either. I would rather have the logo from whatever site it is, but I am not savvy enough to do that, so I just made my own the only way I know how. Where do you guys find the P, the F, the envelope and the little bird?

To top it off, and to try to get rid of some of the busyness, I changed the background to a solid color. Is it TOO white?

I would appreciate any feedback, tips and comments!

Do you change your look often? Do you ever go through and "clean up"? How do you keep your blog looking fresh?

My Seven Links

I know everyone has already done this and I am way behind on the times. That is okay. The town I grew up in just stopped pegging their pants last year.

This is hard, since I have a lot of posts and some of them were written 5 years ago! Also, I know that over the years, this blog, and I with it, have changed. So, some of the ones I wrote in the beginning had a good idea but bad delivery, or they were good but nobody read them.  Also, many of them were more like journal entries than crowd pleasers. However, it was kind of fun to go back and re-read some of my older posts, trying to find a good post to link to. This idea originated here. I am not following the rules. I have not been nominated. I will not nominate anyone. If you want to do this, do it. I give you my nomination now. Do it.

This challenge asks you to identify these 7 links:

Your most beautiful post: This one is hard. Is it referring to a photo, wise words or some deep insight from within? I love taking photos and I love Where I Live so that is probably the most beautiful post(s) I have for you.

Your most popular post: I guess this one is easier because it is quantifiable. If it goes by page hits, it’s Chopped (see below for link). However, if it is down to the number of comments, it is. It’s a Wrap tied with Why I Blog.

Your most controversial post: None of mine are really controversial (ie. sparked a huge debate between followers and me or followers themselves.) However, some happened during controversial times in my life, and during controversial times in my mind (sometimes different times, funnily enough) On Being in Limbo was about a controversy within.  

Your most helpful post; Essential Travel Items or Why Weight? which is a tutorial on calories and eating.

A post whose success surprised you:  Chopped, which is the one I wrote when I decided to go from over a foot of hair to basically none, in the name of Locks of Love. I think this one gets a lot of hits because it comes up the most on search engines, because for some reason people search things like “cut my hair”, “chop my hair” and “locks of love” more often than anything else. (side note of interest: I also “chopped” my hair in 2008 and wrote about it. This post was not popular at all. This goes to show that sometimes it depends on which words and phrases you use).

A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved:  I am Not a Plastic Bag. I wrote this when I was just writing to write and nobody read it and I didn’t care. But I had a lot of fun writing it and I thought it was well thought out and researched. I just didn’t have an audience then. C’est la vie!

The post that you are most proud of: I really like writing about Travel. I enjoy seeing new things and remarking upon them. The post called Kung Fu Fighting that I wrote about braving the trains in China got comments from my mom, who almost never comments. So I was proud that day. (I am also proud of Racing For Your Life because I entered it into a blog contest and won 3^rd place!)

What is YOUR favorite post of yours? Or if you want to answer any other categories and put the link in the comments, I would love to see what you think your 7 links are. If you have already done this meme, tell me what your second place links w