Meet the New Lady

January 25, 2012

So far, Mr. A is winning: I’m pretty sure “Di-hards” is my favourite suggestion regarding club names to make us sound more cool. (Well, he suggested it along with “fans”, but I’m just not sure I pull that off.) To me, you’re di-hards because you rock no matter what. You’re here for the funny stuff and the sad stuff, whether we’re discussing poop or politics. You inspire me every time I write. If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be either.

What do you think? Are y’all down with your new monicker? Because the polls are still open – if you have more suggestions, feel free…

Okay, back to business. Would you like to meet my new friend? Here she is.

Kiwaya KS 4P ukulele Meet the New Lady

In my mind, I call her Lady, in honour of the yoga ladies. She is damn gorgeous.

Here’s how we came to be together.

Sometime in early 2007, Dilovely heard this guy play this song on CBC Radio 2, and promptly fell for both (you may remember it from the Pick-Me-Up Playlist)

 

Continued…

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What I’ve Learned from NaBloPoMo

November 30, 2011

Well, folks, it’s the last day of November. I am proud to say I have DONE IT!

30 blog posts

One per day, posted before midnight (though on some days it was a VERY close call)

21,285 words written

An average of 710 words per day

(But if I’m honest, handfuls of those belonged to my students, the gang at Google, and those talented comment spammers)

Shortest post: Fun With Photo Booth (65 words) – lettin’ those images speak for themselves

Longest post: Dilovely’s Playlist: 25 Legendary Canadian Songs (x2!) (1,777 words) – on day ONE, of all things

Runners-up for longest post: the marathon Toddler Tracks – Recent Quotes and Conversations (1,663 words) and My Twilight Rant (1,503 words)

***

My Personal FAQ:

Why am I doing this, again?

Because I am exceedingly stubborn with respect to my knee-jerk no-quit prove-I-can-do-it response. Same reason I wrote a 75-page research paper in French for my M.A.: “‘Cuz I said I was gonna.” Continued…

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Happy Bloggiversary to Me!

November 2, 2011

Two years ago today, for no particular reason, I started blogging. (Well, I might have done it because my sister had started a cool blog about her travels and it looked fun… but it was a total whim.) In all honesty, I barely knew what a blog was. Case in point: that inaugural entry says November 3rd, but it was the 2nd. I didn’t know how to fix my settings for my time zone. See? TOTAL ROOKIE.

At the time, I was on maternity leave with E, who was only five months old, not even eating solid foods. Such a baby, so little… Sigh. I wasn’t bored – I was completely infatuated with my son – but as soon as I started writing, I realized I had been needing exactly that. I had been neglecting my journal for years, but also neglecting to replace that creative outlet. Suddenly my brain was going, “COOL! Let’s do another one!!”

At the time, I didn’t know if anyone would ever read my blog, and I didn’t feel the need to write about anything in particular. The idea of National Blog Posting Month seemed like a piece of cake – just write something every day? Why, I’d love to. Of course, my posts were shorter back then. (How did I get so verbose??)

Now, although I’m still barely scratching the surface of the phenomenon that is THE BLOGGIVERSE, this li’l website has become indispensable to me. It makes me look at life more carefully, appreciate things more deliberately, and think more analytically. It assures that I make something on a regular basis, even if it’s mostly inconsequential. (At least it feels more consequential than, say, dinner, which disappears.)

I have been excited to discover how energizing and habit-forming blogging is. Now, I can’t stop. My ideas-to-available-time ratio is frustrating, but it makes me wish I could just write all day, every day… and I can’t imagine having nothing to write about. Maybe this month, if I succeed in posting every day, I will get through some of my huge backlog of “stuff I want to write about”.

[Actually, today I was planning to celebrate this 2nd anniversary by publishing, for your viewing pleasure, for the first time, my very first work of fiction. But after last night, I realized I need to pace myself. That's why you're getting a relatively mini-size post today. You'll have to stay tuned for Dilovely's First Book.]

And then there’s you. You are the reason I do this. Not because I think you would go into chattering fits of withdrawal if you didn’t get your Dilovely fix every day – hahaha. Not that you need me – just the opposite. Because you’re there, I have a reason – beyond myself - to write. If it were just for me, I probably would skip it way too often - even though I know it’s good for me. (I’m certain many of you can relate to this tendency.) You’re holding me accountable, in the most simple, supportive way. You keep me from going into withdrawal.

And of course, this summer, you were the listeners… without whom I would have been lost.

Thank you, thank you, and more thank you.

***


 

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My Bloggiversary

November 7, 2010

How silly that the first week of November (which some call National Blog Posting Month) 2010, I was so busy and harried and generally off my rocker that I did not manage to blog AT ALL. I missed my very own Bloggiversary, November 2nd!

This time last year, I barely knew what a blog was, barely anyone knew I had a blog, and I didn’t fully know what to do with my blog. What I did know was that it felt good and right to be writing things, whether anyone read them or not. The diarist in me, which had lain mostly dormant for almost a decade, was like, “Um, THANK YOU… Why have you neglected me so horribly all these years??”

Here is my list of excuses. In the past week I managed to

  • teach for two days (normally three, but one day was for report-writing);
  • write my progress reports;
  • rehearse for the school play, having just found out that my co-choreographer will be on bedrest from now on (for her pregnancy), so I’m doing the whole thing myself;
  • fulfill my Treat Day responsibilities at work (if you’re on Thursday treats and you forget to bring anything… it’s a sad, bitter day in the staffroom);
  • half-choreograph 2 pieces for the Mish Mash Belly Bash coming up in less than two weeks;
  • go to my 2.5 hour dance rehearsal;
  • meet for an extra practice with my co-dancer in the duet for the show;
  • keep an evening date with friends I don’t see often enough;
  • have a mom date;
  • do a Pampered Chef party;
  • read the 841-page The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (MOTL);
  • host book club at my house (which included more treats and significant tidying – of course Sean is always extremely helpful on the housecleaning front);
  • parent my kid, including trimming his nails (which he is loath to let me do);
  • donate blood;

and a few other things that don’t lend themselves to being listed.

I’m not telling you this so you’ll be in awe of my abilities. I was not very punctual to many of these things; I didn’t eat too healthfully; I didn’t get whip myself into rock-hard shape like I’d planned; and my treats for school were all store-bought (although I have to say, if you use really cool serving dishes, people are more impressed).

And yet, a hectic week like that proves to me that I actually can get more done when I have less free time and more structure. It’s just that certain things fall by the wayside… like my blog. Which won’t do.

I think this week will be a lot easier. And once the show’s done… life will be a bowl of cherries!

Cherries My Bloggiversary

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CHECK IT OUT!

May 3, 2010

Take a look at the new project!

http://mothergather.com

I’m very excited about this, even though there aren’t any stories on it yet. There will be, très bientôt, I promise. I already have five in hand (if you count my own) and many more on the way. The moms who responded were so enthusiastic, it was all the more inspiring for me.

So you folks are the first to be invited to see the new “baby”! It’s still bare-bones, but if you have any feedback or suggestions, I would love to hear them. And if you want to read birth stories… please check back soon! icon smile CHECK IT OUT! icon smile CHECK IT OUT! icon smile CHECK IT OUT!

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First Official Post in the NEW BLOG!!

March 6, 2010

That totally called for two exclamation points, don’t try to tell me different.

Here we are! It’s dilovely, isn’t it?    ?????

I’d like to introduce you to my new blog. It’s running on an installation of WordPress, so that a non-web-savvy “Normal Gal” like me can still function within it. It’s hosted by Host Papa, and affiliated with shepigrams.ca.

The look of this new blog is a hybrid: I downloaded Tim Sainbury’s lovely theme called Watercolor, and then my sister helped me create a (partially) new header image and my dad helped me replace the old one with it. (My sister and my dad are savvy, c’est vrai.) So, the pretty green hill is Tim’s, the tree is a modified photo of my tattoo (designed by me but superiorly rendered by the amazing Laurie Stewart at Nighthawk Tattoo in Guelph), and the sky background is a li’l tribute to my former self – the young girl who loved colouring and honed her pencil-crayon sunset technique through colouring contests – which she won a ridiculous number of times. (Oh yes. It was a gift.)

Also, you may notice that I got a little crazy with my categories on the sidebar… just chalk it up to me coming from a wordy, linguistic, geeky background.

I have lots of cool plans… please forgive my glitches and unfinished bits. Soon, it will all be awesome!

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Taking the Elephant by the Tusks Before it's in the Room

February 24, 2010

Hello, dear readers,

I apologize for my absence the last few days. I am in the process of a sea-blog-change.

As the end of my maternity leave creeps closer, I am wishing more and more fervently that I could only go back to work part-time (or, since I’m wishing, how about not at all?). I know that teaching full-time is a large expenditure of personal energy, and I would come home and only want to spend time with my own kid. Blogging would definitely fall by the wayside.

And yet, I hope not to give up blogging, because I’ve discovered that having an reason to write on a regular basis, even if it’s just a wee post, has been a joy to me. I used to write obsessively when I was a kid: stories, novels, poems, and especially journals. It’s good for my soul. But lately, all those things have been neglected because I have other priorities. I can’t spare time to write just for me.

Then I started a blog on a whim, and a few people enjoyed reading it! Now, even though just you couple dozen people witness my posts, it’s enough to justify me writing… and I get to benefit from that process. Thank you for reading, so that I can write.

There is a bigger (more awkward, elephantine) point to be made here. I am soon going to move my blog to a new independent site… it will look all different… I will be able to do more things with it… and… there will most likely be ads on it. I don’t know in what form yet. I hope they will not offend your sensibilities, readers.

I know to some bloggers that’s a sell-out/cop-out/travesty. I’m sorry about that. I would probably feel the same, except that I can’t afford to. Is it better not to blog at all? Not in my mind.

As it is, I have no idea if this will pan out. Some bloggers end up with a decent income this way, and many don’t whatsoever. I am looking at it as an experiment similar to the one I initiated when I started blogging in the first place: let’s do this, and see what happens.

In the meantime, I am pretty excited about my new blog, as I will get to use my own header art, and a domain name of my choosing, and put up videos and so on. I think it will be aesthetically pleasing and fun to use…

and I hope you’ll keep reading.

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Dilovely's Little List of Goals

November 6, 2009

I’m enjoying this.  I enjoy that I don’t need preamble or continuity to write in my Bloggy Blog.  No constraints on length or level of awesomeness.

(When my sister started her blog and left for Europe, I discovered that my baby son gives big smiles when you say “Blogblogblogblogblog.”)

What was my topic again?

Oh right.  Since I am so far writing just for me, I might as well remind myself of my goals.

  1. Raise a happy, healthy son.  (Piece o’ cake.  Ha ha.)
  2. Bellydance my way back to my pre-pregnancy weight.
  3. Write in my blog.
  4. Write all those articles that have been filling my mind since I’ve been not at work hyper-concentrating all day.
  5. Write a book.
  6. Finish my symphony.
  7. Record my piano pieces.
  8. Translate works of literature with eloquence and subtlety.
  9. Muckle on to that special project I’ve been imagining.
  10. Orchestrate the perfect publicity plan for my Favourite Place.

Ten seems good.  Don’t want to overwhelm myself.  HAH!  How will I have time to go back to work??  Guess I better add number 11: Get rich quick.

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A few of today's thoughts

November 5, 2009
  • It occurs to me that I might seem conceited to choose the user name dilovely.  I wanted to emphasize the love part, since I’m very aware of love, and like to make sure people hear about it when I love them.  Okay?
  • Wait, why do I care if the ether thinks I’m conceited?  Shoot, I guess even in this anonymous blogiverse I have insecurities, shyness.
  • Hey, what’s the matter with me??  Dilovely, own this!  I am lovely.  I have thick hair and a nice singing voice and a mean hip shimmy.  And I’m nice to people, I know my manners, and I give great hugs.  Lovely.

And on a more random note,

  • How weird is it to get passed on a country road by two white-haired seniors in a zooming white Buick?

And on the opposite of a random note – on the topic that currently consumes my life,

  • Parenting is a hard job.  It never has break time, and every single decision you make, there are one jillion different opinions on it from books and peers and parents.  And it’s like teaching: the more you care about doing it well, the more difficult it is.
  • Been visiting with mom friends and their babies three days this week, and I must just say this: women’s birth stories are as unique and amazing as the women themselves.  That baby onesie that says “Who needs superheroes when I have my mom?” is not a joke.
  • I know it’s a total cliche, but is there anything more beautiful than a sleeping baby?
  • and is there anything more gratifying than a baby smiling hugely at you?
  • or any greater joy than baby chuckles?

I doubt it.

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What a healthy fad this is.

November 4, 2009

I’m just realizing something as I think about writing a blog for the first time.

Everyone out there who has decided to write a blog is journalling. And that’s great!

I’m like Oprah. (Okay, I’m not really much like Oprah at all, but go with it.) I always recommend writing what you’re thinking or feeling, especially when your mind is jumbled. Since I was very young, writing in my diary has been my way of figuring out how I really feel, making decisions, letting off steam, ordering my thoughts.

Nowadays, I have little time for my handwritten journal… and a part of me is very sad about that. But putting words on a page is still putting words on a page, and still accomplishes much.

And look at this!! A whole universe of bloggers, putting words on pages. Clarifying their minds. GOOD FOR YOU, bloggers! This is very good exercise. Be proud.

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It's 11:06 on a Monday and I've decided to start blogging??

November 3, 2009

Well.

Here I am, writing into the ether.  I did not plan to blog today or even any time soon, therefore did not tell anyone I know, “Hey, check out my blog later!”

In fact, I’m not even sure I will tell anyone I know.  Maybe it will be my own secret, me offering my thoughts to an undetermined audience.  (That’s not a slight – you, audience, may be very determined indeed.)

And there is the possibility that no-one will ever read this!  That’s actually kind of exciting.  It’s like graffiti-ing your name along with the name of your secret crush, really tiny on a big wall of graffiti, just putting it out there and leaving the rest up to destiny.

Of course, if no-one reads it, it’s no skin off my nose.  I have dozens of volumes of journals that (to my knowledge) have never been read by anyone but me, and I still consider that writing time well spent.

So my goal here is, um… huh.  I guess it’s to write about whatever thing I feel like, whenever I feel like it.  Not to try to keep up with anything or be thematic or profound or incisive.  I just like writing – and these days I feel obliged to be orderly in most of my journalish endeavors.  Sometimes it’s good to be random.

So hello, no-obligations blog!  Cheers to you.  And now, au revoir.  The baby’s asleep and I should really go brush my teeth.

How’s that for a pizazzy first blog post?  Zing!  (Wonder if I’ll read this later and feel compelled to delete it.  ;D)

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