15 Day Blogger Challenge ~ Getting to Know the Blogger ~ Day 15

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Getting to Know the Blogger

This challenge is open to any and everyone who wants to get to know each other a little better in the blogosphere. I encourage you all to make this challenge your own. There is no special format to follow or rules on posting. Do your challenge in 1 day by answering all the questions at once or do it in 90 days. Just have fun!

Challenge Questions:

Closing and any upcoming posts or raffles you would like to share with us.

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Closing/Upcoming Events

I could tell you a thousand a million times how much I appreciate all of you who visit my blog on a regular basis, but words cannot really show the extent of how much I appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you for the kind comments and even those which are not so kind. Thank you for the likes and spreading the word about my quirky, geeky world. Thank you for it all.

Upcoming, you will find even more book reviews, views on spirituality, views on autism, views on art and photography, and my many stories, poems, art, and photography. I have no raffles coming up, for I do not have anything to raffle. Enjoy reading and viewing my blog as I continue to explore and make sense of my life and my creative nature.

15 Day Blogger Challenge ~ Getting to Know the Blogger ~ Day 12

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Getting to Know the Blogger

This challenge is open to any and everyone who wants to get to know each other a little better in the blogosphere. I encourage you all to make this challenge your own. There is no special format to follow or rules on posting. Do your challenge in 1 day by answering all the questions at once or do it in 90 days. Just have fun!

Challenge Questions:

12. Your top 5 posts and why you think they were successful.

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Top 5 Posts

Tied for 1st/2nd:

Neon Star
The Neon Star is one of my favorite digital pieces. I believe that it is a favorite to my followers because of the composition and the bright colorfulness of the symmetrical curving lines.

Mother’s Day Rose
The Mother's Day Rose is a photograph that I took in the home with an Olympus FE-170 digital camera using the macro and stabilization options. I believe this piece is a favorite for my followers because of the pure perfection of the rose and the brilliant pink and white colors.

Tied for 3rd/4th:

Clouds
Why wouldn't one of Mother Natures paintings be a favorite? I cannot take full credit for this photo, as all I did was point and shoot with my Canon EOS Rebel. I used auto mode for this photo. The atmosphere, sun, and clouds did the rest. It is also one of my favorites because of the brilliant white of the clouds and azure sky framed by the darker ominous clouds looming around the edges.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church
I have loved this church since I was a child. The Sacred Hearth Catholic Church in Abilene, Texas is one of the few buildings in town with an authentic Mexican/Spanish style. The brilliant Spanish tiles on the building are, by far, my favorite. I took this photo with my Canon EOS Rebel using a zoom lens.

Tied for 5th:

Deep Shit Cattle Company
I love this photo as well as the story behind the photo. The picture was taken during a bright summer day, July 5, 2012 to be precise. I shot the sign using my Canon EOS Rebel and utilizing an ultraviolet filter. I believe this is a favorite for followers because of the story behind the sign. The cattle company is located outside of Gustine, Texas on Highway 36.

Feeling Musical
Feeling musical is a series of photos I took with various macro lenses and a zoom lens attached to my Canon EOS Rebel. I dimmed the lighting to take the photos. I have always had music in my life and played the clarinet from elementary school through my senior year in high school. I also have dabbled in playing the piano. Although I know where all of the notes are, I do not know how to play very well. I still like to play from time to time though. The rose is a very strong symbol for me and my relationship with my husband, as was the music piece seen in the photos. The music piece is Sleeping Beauty, which is one of my fairy tales. I love the romance in the story and how the prince saves beauty from her long standing nightmare. The rose means so much more. When my husband and I first got together, he bought me a rose at one of the truckstops we visited while I traveled with him across the Midwest in his truck. When I was unable to go on the truck with him, he would always bring me a single rose when he returned home. For our four year anniversary, my husband had a single rose tattoo designed to wrap around my ankle. He told me, "I wanted to give you a rose that would never die."

Different Leaf, Same Tree
"Different Leaf, Same Tree" is a photo and poem combination. I took a photo of the beautiful golden leaves in Abilene. The one golden leaf was so perfect that I wanted it featured in my photo. In order to do that, I had manipulated the photo in Pixelmator on my Mac. The photo inspired the poem. It made me think of what it is like to always be standing in the shadows of a mentally ill sibling. Although we come from the same parents, the same womb, and the same home, we are nothing alike.

Flamingo and Flamingo at Zoo
Both of these photos were taken at the Abilene Zoo at different times. Flamingo was taken on the summer with the zoom on my Canon EOS Rebel. Flamingo at Zoo was taken with my Olympus FE-170. I believe that these two pictures are favorites because of the pure beauty of the two flamingos.

Killer in Black & White
Killer in Black & White was taken at home in the dim hallway of my home using the black and white option on my Canon EOS Rebel. Killer should be a favorite, as he is one of my favorite subjects to shoot. This particular picture shows his pure innocent and sweet personality.

15 Day Blogger Challenge ~ Getting to Know the Blogger ~ Day 11

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Getting to Know the Blogger

This challenge is open to any and everyone who wants to get to know each other a little better in the blogosphere. I encourage you all to make this challenge your own. There is no special format to follow or rules on posting. Do your challenge in 1 day by answering all the questions at once or do it in 90 days. Just have fun!

Challenge Questions:

11. What are a couple of your favorite blog tools that you use?

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Blog Tools?

This is kind of funny, but I have been blogging for so long, 13 years, that I did not realize there are blog tools out there now. Before, there were not, and my ability to learn HTML and CSS so quickly helped me make my blogs the way that I wanted them without any outside assistance. Hmmm....  I am going to have to check some of these blog tools out.

15 Day Blogger Challenge ~ Getting to Know the Blogger ~ Day 10

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Getting to Know the Blogger

This challenge is open to any and everyone who wants to get to know each other a little better in the blogosphere. I encourage you all to make this challenge your own. There is no special format to follow or rules on posting. Do your challenge in 1 day by answering all the questions at once or do it in 90 days. Just have fun!

Challenge Questions:

10. Why did you start blogging and what is your blog about?

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Blogging

I have always been a journal keeper. From the time that I was a child, I have had a journal with my thoughts, poetry, artwork, stories, dreams, and diary. I currently have several blogs. One is for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), one is for my artwork/literature, one is for my photography/travel, and one is faith based. On Wordpress and Tumbler, all of my blogs are combined, and on Blogger, I keep them separate.

My ASD journal is my journey through life as being a quirky, geeky, eccentric teen through adulthood. I have recently learned that I was never so odd as I thought; I have tested to have Asperger's Syndrome. Of course, that doesn't change anything. I am still quirky, geeky, and eccentric. I also share stories of what life was like being raised with an uncle with autism and cerebral palsy, and I share stories about being the mother of a child with autism. Because I graduated from university with a degree in special education with an emphasis in autism, this blog also includes papers and research about autism. I have included, from time to time, other mental disabilities, neurobiological disorders, and mental health issues. This is for several reasons, I do have other family members with these.

My artwork and literature blog is where I post my creative writing exercises, poetry, short stories, and artwork. I dabble in inks, pastels, oil pastels, oil paints, acrylics, graphite, charcoals, Conte crayons, water colors (Chinese and regular), Sharpies, and colored pencils. I sketch, paint, and stipple. A lot of times, I also do digital artwork.

My photography/travel journal is just that. I post pictures that I have taken of people, places, and things. There is usually a description of where I was, what I was doing, and what kinds of filters were used. I photograph everything from nature, to people, to industrial parks, to animals. I enjoy photographing what I see and sharing it with my blog followers. I wish to some day have a gallery of my own where I can display both my photography and my art.

My faith based blog is my exploration of my faith. I have learned throughout the years to have great faith and spirituality, you must question your faith and spirituality. This is my personal journey through my beliefs and faith. My goal is not to offend anyone; and if one takes offense to what I say or write on this blog, then they should check their own faith. This is just a journal where I try to make sense of what I have studied and learned since I was a small child.

I have been blogging since 2000, and I have had blogs up for that long. I have spent years meeting new people through my blogs; and through my blogs, I have learned that many people all over the world are no different from one another. I believe this is a good thing, for it will help us learn to come to peace with one another. We all love our friends and families and would do anything for them. We all want to live free from poverty and illness, and we all want to live in peace.

I can be found on Autism Support Network; Blogger: Art, Faith, Photography/Travel, & Autism; CafeMom; DeviantArt; Facebook; Flickr; Goodreads; iWitness Weather; LBPLinkedIn; Myspace; Pandora; Photobucket; Pinterest; Spore; StumbleUpon; Tumblr; Twitter; WordPress; Xanga; and Youtube.

15 Day Blogger Challenge ~ Getting to Know the Blogger ~ Day 9

15 Day Blogger Challenge - Getting to Know the Blogger

This challenge is open to any and everyone who wants to get to know each other a little better in the blogosphere. I encourage you all to make this challenge your own. There is no special format to follow or rules on posting. Do your challenge in 1 day by answering all the questions at once or do it in 90 days. Just have fun!  

Challenge Questions:

9. What are your goals? What are your hobbies?

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Goals and Hobbies

I have very few goals and a lot of hobbies. I used to be full of goals for my future. Now, whether it is age or just reality setting in, my goals seem to be fewer and more realistic. I wanted to help children, particularly those with disabilities. I went to school to be a special education teacher in high school math and English. The low pay rate for teachers in Texas ($27,000/year) has helped me realize that I would never be able to support my family and pay my student loans at the same time. My student loans are over $700/month. This would only leave me with $18,600/year to support my family of four on. This is far below the poverty level in the United States. I have been looking more out of my degree for employment, but I am not qualified for much. I realize now that school was just a waste of time and money. The job market is so bad here, that the only thing available is going back to work with Child Protective Services. However, that job almost ripped my family apart. My new goal is to get whatever job I can aside from CPS. I do think about continuing my education in the hopes of being able to find adequate employment, but I am too afraid it too will be a waste of time and money like my Bachelor's degree was. I know that I would be a damn good autism specialists, and that is really what I want to do. I'm just unsure that's a goal I should shooting for at my age.

Now, my hobbies, as I said, are many. I love to read, and I do not limit myself to just reading for pleasure. I also love to read to learn. If I do not understand something, I will research it in order to learn more about it. I particularly love to read about neurobiological disorders, mental health issues, and mental disabilities. My original major was psychology. My favorite pleasure genre is horror, and I sway more toward zombie stories than any others. I changed my major when I could not agree with my professor about alcoholism and drug addiction, but that, my dears, is another story. I love to write. Though I seldom write something note worthy, writing is my vent. I keep a dream journal, write poetry, and write prose. I guess I am decent, but it's nothing to brag about. I love art and have always been able to draw and paint. I enjoy photography and had, at one time, endeavored to become a professional photographer and have a gallery of my own some day. Now, I am more realistic and just take pictures of whatever. I do crafts and scrap booking. I am pretty decent at anything artistic I set my mind to, but nothing is extraordinary. I love to do math for fun. Yes, you read right. I do trigonometry for fun. I break out my college calculus, algebra, and trigonometry text books when I get bored and keep my math skills up. For what? I don't know. I also love to play Sudoku. I did work as a computer programmer in my past, and I love working with computers. I really should have gone into that vocation, but you know what they say about hind sight. Had I known that I would have so much difficulty finding work, I would have swayed more toward computers. I was just one of those people that didn't want to make my hobby my career. If only...