Another Blog

Well, I started another blog (this song just popped in my head when I typed that). Basically, I'm going to use this blog to call attention to the various things I'm learning, so every post will start with "what I learned." For those of you that don't follow me on Google+, Facebook or Twitter, here's the first post: http://recentlylearned.blogspot.com/2012/02/wonderful-array-of-apps.html.

I'll keep updating with random streams of consciousness, etc. here as well. This blog is still my catch-all. The other is more to be used as a way to keep track of what I'm learning, and should be fun to read over in a few months/year.

Hopefully that last sentence made sense. I'm rather tired.

Your Opinion, Please

Would you mind giving me some feedback?

Lately I've been thinking about the idea of starting another blog. Not to replace this one, but to instead be about something specific. This blog is basically a random stream of my thoughts about whatever is going on in my life, which is great for a few people that know me and care (especially those that live farther away that I don't talk to very often), and I plan to continue using it, but I kind of want to start one that's all about one subject. In addition to giving me something to learn more about, it would give some of the posts I write more focus.

I have a few ideas floating around, but nothing has really jumped out at me. I think of myself as someone that dabbles a bit in various subjects, and I find it interesting to learn a little bit about different things...perhaps that's an idea to run with? A blog that chronicles what I'm learning? Or should I go in a completely different direction? Do you have any insight for me? What subjects do you think of when you think of me?

Photo Credit: mrsdkrebs

A Night For Blogging

It seems to be time to blog again. It's been a while. Almost a month. I really have been intending to update more, and even have a bunch of ideas for blog posts, I just haven't felt like taking the time to write recently. Well tonight that changes.

Compelling intro, huh?

Anyway, I think the focus of this blog post will be...(drumroll please): 

Being a Real Adult!

Okay, I still don't feel like an adult, but my older and wiser father told me a few years ago that he doesn't feel like an adult either, so I've gotten used to the idea of faking it. So why am I a real adult now? We have Costco cards! At least, that's Matt's definition :) 

Anyway, I think I also sound more like a "real" adult because of the nature of our day-to-day activities:

• Matt's heading up the high school & middle school groups at church.
• I'm the Communications Director for an alumni organization. 
• We're hosting/leading a weekly small group.
• We get a bi-weekly box of produce from a local farm.
• We've actually been keeping our apartment decently clean.
• I had the opportunity to help my company hire someone new. I created an ad, conducted initial interviews and made recommendations to my boss. It was pretty cool to have such a big role in the process, and my boss and I have both been really happy with the person we hired. 

That being said, we try to remember to keep having fun and acting the age we feel. Check out this Bed & Breakfast we just booked for our anniversary: The Red Caboose Getaway B&B!

A Post of Lists

I keep telling myself I'm going to blog more, and then another month and a half goes by without writing a word...I don't feel especially verbose at the moment, but at the same time I feel like writing. Strange combination, I know, which I think will amount to a post of lists.

I've been feeling extremely blessed lately. Here are 5 of the many reasons I'm blessed:

1. I have a husband I adore that loves me despite my imperfections.
2. I'm surrounded by supportive friends that I get to see on a regular basis.
3. I like, respect and have a good relationship with my parents and my in-laws.
4. I have close friends I can go for months without talking to, yet pick up exactly where we left off once we do finally talk.
5. Despite there being a lot of things I want, I have more than I actually need.

Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to be born in a different time. I wonder how I would do being cooped up knitting all day, what it would be like living in a tribal culture, or what my opinions of current events would have been - without knowing the end result. 

All of this also gets me thinking about how technology has changed so much more than adding the convenience of shopping from your living room or streaming movies through to your TV. As much as I enjoy Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Blogger, etc., I think it's easy to get distracted from real, face-to-face socialization. That being said, here is a list of what I like about my favorite types of social media:

• Facebook:
• Most of my friends use it.
• The new groups feature is a handy way to plan an event.
• Sharing pictures is easy, especially when tagging people.
• It can enhance existing relationships (although not replace them).
• Twitter:
• It's an easy way to get news headlines.
• I can get score updates for teams I care about in real-time.
• Tumblr:
• I can get brief news summaries.
• It's easy to share / discover interesting content with / from people I don't know.
• Sharing content doesn't require much thought.
• Blogger:
• I like writing longer blog posts here than on Tumblr for some reason. Not quite sure why.

Aaaaaand my brain just jumped to movies. So here's a list of new movies I want to see:

• Pirates 4
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Super 8
• Cars 2

Wow, there are numbers in each of those movies titles...weird. 

To change topics again, I'm switching to animals. I recently realized I'm not an animal person. As much as I find pictures / videos adorable, I'm just not into taking care of them...maybe that's why I prefer wild animals? Here's a list of my top 5 wild animals:

1. Giraffes
2. Polar Bears
3. Penguins (especially this one)
4. Ducks
5. Alpacas

On that note, I'm going to call this post complete. 

The 411 on Tumblr

Since part of my job is knowing what's out there in the world of social media / networking, I've recently opened a Tumblr account: http://eksidley.tumblr.com (although I'm still planning on keep this account as my primary blog).


Tumblr is a bit different than a standard blog. The main difference that I see is that readers don't have the option to comment on each post the same way most blogs allow. Instead, users have the option to "like" a post (click on the heart) or "reblog" a post (post it to your Tumblr page). This makes Tumblr much more conducive to the content going viral - it can be shared with a completely new set of readers with the click of a button. 


There seem to be two major types of Tumblr blogs: those that focus around a certain theme (such as all things Disney, all things Star Wars, all things 90s, etc) and those where users share things they like (photos, quotes, videos...). Here are a few of my favorites:

• Distracted By Star Wars
• Those Were the 90s!
• Mickey and Minnie

Although Tumblr does allow users to write out an entire post like the traditional blog, most of the content is produced even more quickly than the standard blog post: a photo, a video, a paragraph, etc.  Tumblr etiquette seems to encourage numerous posts throughout the day, which is why I find it kind of like a hybrid of a blog and Facebook/Twitter. Although Tumblr is called a blog, I think of it more as a separate beast. 


What do you think? Have you used Tumblr? How would you describe it?


Photo Credit (top): chadarizona
Photo Credit (bottom): The Nothing Corporation

I Like to Blog, I Like to Blog...

You know, every time I blog I tell myself I'm going to do it more regularly. I like to blog. But for some reason it just doesn't get done. Yes, it's probably because I have a lot of other things going on that seem to take priority, but isn't blogging one of those things you just kind of fit in because you want to? That's what it is for me at least...

Would you do me a favor and go to http://bit.ly/aU6Aa0 to vote for Daddy O's Burgers? It's for the Best of Western Washington and they make awesome burgers (plus Matt works there). You have to register, but all it takes is your email address and unchecking a few boxes. It really is super-easy. Any votes you can give would be greatly appreciated! 

Did I mention we got to set off fireworks this past 4th of July at our friend's mom's house. It was so much fun to watch how excited Matt was to set them off! Here are a few pictures our friend gave us (the last one is me spectating):

You know, I kind of missing taking a picture every day. I think I'll start that up again. Maybe today would be a good day...September 1. It's always nice to start at the beginning of the month.

Speaking of which, my birthday is a week from today. I'm happy to send my mailing address for all of you sending me packages. Haha. I don't know what we're going to do, but it'll be a nice excuse for cake - funfetti of course.

Okay, I really can't stay up too late, so I'm going to stop myself now. Because I could go on...but I'm really going to stop for tonight. Hopefully I'll make it back here soon!

Nothing In Particular...

This is me blogging late at night. Again. At least I don't need to be anywhere before 11am tomorrow, right? That's gotta count for something...

It's funny, I was talking to Matt about what to blog about because I felt like blogging but couldn't think of anything to write about. He said to just write a post about how I have nothing to write. According to my dad, that would mean I'm not thinking, right? He used to always say, "If you don't know what Emily is thinking, you must not be paying attention." Yes, I was a talkative child. I'm still talkative. Although talking and writing are two different things...

It's funny, I've always enjoyed writing. I've just never known what to write (probably one of the reasons I like my job - I'm told what to write about and take it from there). Every time I get a new journal or notebook I want to write in it, but I don't usually have much to commit to paper. Maybe that's because I'd already said everything I felt like sharing...? I guess that's the case here, too. Matt gets to hear everything I'm thinking, so a lot of it doesn't make it to my blog. I think that's probably a good thing, though. I've never been one to bear my heart and soul publicly - especially on the Internet.


I've actually written quite a bit considering I didn't have anything to say when I started typing. Must be the late hour. Helps me ramble. I'm sure you're overjoyed :)

Completely new topic: Owl City. I'm a fan. We bought the Ocean Eyes CD about a month ago and haven't listened to anything else in the car since then. Plus we both listen to it around the apartment, too. With catchy tunes and lyrics that are solid and fun, it's definitely a winner in my book. Matt and I have slightly different taste in music, too, so it's nice when we find something we both like.

Another new topic: Beard to the Future.This was fun and completely random. A not-extremely-long story even shorter: @supergeek_mike and @MyFault were talking about beards on Twitter and Back to the Future came up. Of course the proper response was to begin quoting lines inserting 'beard' in wherever possible...and create a website about it. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Linda McFly: That was so STUPID! GRANDPA hit him with the BEARD! 
• Marty: Helloooooo? Um…sorry about your beard… (shotgun blast) 
• Lorraine: I’ve never seen a purple beard before, Calvin.
• Doc: Please excuse the crudity of this beard, I didn’t have time to groom it or trim it to scale.

Check out the full site for all the quotes in chronological order.

Well, now that I've written a full post about a few random things and, well, nothing in particular...I'm off!