Tag: Blogging

Thank you Cleaners

inspiringmax

What’s the household task you most dislike doing? Why do you think that is — is it the task itself, or something more?

Housework has never been mine or anyone else in the family’s thing. We all did it because we had to until one day we had had enough. After probably 12 months in discussion we hired a cleaner. Best decision we ever made.

Now a small family business cleans our home once a fortnight and they love it. When they first came to quote they stated there was 11 hours of housework in our house—no wonder we could never get on top of it—working and commuting full-time.

To honour ours and cleaners everywhere I have written the following acrostic poem.

Care about our chores

Love the work they do and working as a team

Enjoy the challenges of cleaning

Aroma in the air is amazing to come home to

No noise, no fuss

Environmentally friendly cleaning products

Remember the requirements of the household

Smile and sing as they work

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/those-dishes-wont-do-themselves-unfortunately/

Share Your World – 2015 Week 18

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What type of pets do you have or want?  Or do you not want pets?

My daughter has a six month old kitten who is always climbing on things. At times he is cute but I am not really a cat person. I would rather a rabbit. They are cute, cuddly and don’t climb.

What was or is your favorite cartoon?

My favourite cartoon character is Mickey Mouse. I even have  two display shelves filled with my Mickey collection. He has class, style and he never ages.

When you’re alone at home, do you wear shoes, socks, slippers, or go barefoot?

Most of the time I am at home I wear my UGG slippers although in winter it gets too cold with my heels out so I wear my UGG boots. Both are purple so I am happy.

Are you a traveler or a homebody?

I love to travel and explore new countries, cultures and civilizations. Traveling is  fun. However, after a hard days work there is nothing like coming home to a silent house. It re-energizes me

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I was grateful for Mothers Day for two reasons. Firstly to celebrate mothers but secondly—it was my first blog anniversary. It was fun remembering how far Inspiring Max has come since my first days of no viewers.

In the upcoming week I am looking forward to my father visiting.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/05/04/share-your-world-2015-week-18/

First Blogiversary

inspiringmax

On Mothers Day 2014 I bit the bullet and started a blog. I had no idea where this journey would lead me but I stepped out anyway and the following have been my rewards.

  1. I have met many new friends
  2. I am no longer scared of the internet
  3. Writing daily has helped my word order and editing skills
  4. I have a greater knowledge of countries around the world
  5. I have learnt to reach out to others by leaving a comment on their blog
  6. Understanding WordPress has helped me download my draft copy of my book as an e-book in Pressbooks
  7. I am learning to write poetry
  8. I am learning about search engine optimization
  9. I have been viewed by people in 114 countries some I didn’t know existed
  10. I am learning to fix things on my blog
  11. I am becoming more comfortable using my experiences as a basis for my writing in a public forum
  12. I have learnt to never assume anything and to make my writing clear
  13. Over the 12 months I have had 12, 567 views and have 415 followers
  14. I have learnt that visiting other blogs is as important as writing a post
  15. I have enjoyed several Blogging University courses and learnt a lot from them
  16. The A -Z April Blogging Challenge really tested me but I was excited to join it and complete all posts
  17. I now notice fun blog ideas and can gather the information ahead of time
  18. My audience continues to grow as I learn about traffic flow
  19. Blogging events help us to interact
  20. I have developed and understand my online voice and how it connects with others
  21. I have learned about many new cultures, people, places and things
  22. Finding peace in the blogging community
  23. I have developed confidence with my writing through feedback from others
  24. Learnt to use photos to enhance my posts
  25. I enjoy writing and designing quotes using Picmonkey
  26. I have learnt perseverance—it takes time to find your community blogging
  27. Never give up, keep chipping away at it
  28. Some things you can’t control and who how many people visit your blog is one of them

Thank you for joining me on my journey and I hope we continue to interact over the years to come in the blogosphere. My first ever post on Mother’s Day is here

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/journey/

 

Big Picture

inspiringmax

Think of a topic or issue about which you’ve switched your opinion. Why the change?

I don’t tend to take stances about issues these days. I like to look at the big picture and take in all the information from both sides. I am flexible and always looking for new knowledge that may change the outlook. Most of the time any of these thoughts stay in my head and only come out if they are asked for. In my experience, some people when they ask for my opinion are surprised if I don’t happen to agree with them on the topic. This points to the fact that in fact they weren’t interested in my opinion but in gathering more evidence that they were right.

I don’t judge—people, places or things. I find it is best policy get to the bottom of where people’s thoughts come from and why they may have so much emotion attached to a topic. By asking a few more questions I can often make these connections which may have nothing to do with the original issue but open the door to understanding the person.

We are all individuals entitled to an opinion. The fact that we can express them freely is what makes it interesting.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/flip-flop/

Moving Forward

inspiringmax

When was the last time you did something completely new and out of your element? How was it? Will you do it again?

Moving Forward

I am regularly moving forward by stepping or often leaping out of my comfort zone to grow. Nothing exciting ever happens in our comfort zone. This time last year I was working my way up to begin blogging. And just to make it a harder I had decided to set my blog up on WordPress.org not WordPress.com. It took me weeks to get any views and after 2 months I had 34 views. I didn’t give up. I kept learning about the process, connecting with others and becoming more comfortable as a blogger. It feels natural now. I have had 12,250 views and am averaging about 50-70 views a day.

My latest journey out of my comfort zone is with Twitter. I don’t think I have any idea about its power but I am becoming more comfortable with it daily. Twitter for me is a double comfort zone as it has by name attached to it. Twitter is the next level of social media for me to connect with before I publish my book later this year. It feels a little more comfortable each day so I know I am moving forward in the direction of my dreams.

At the time I began writing my book my life was out of my comfort zone in many ways. I found Miley Cyrus’s The Climb extremely motivating and would play it loudly and regularly. This song describes the journey of moving forward and dealing with the difficulties faced during your climb to follow your dreams. It empowered me to do what I needed to do and see what happens. I am so glad I did. My life has changed for the better in so many ways and I am grateful I took the chances I did. Now when I need a shot of motivation I replay The Climb and re anchor the thought that I can do what ever I dream and that I don’t have to know how it will turn out first. I have learnt to trust the process.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/beyond-the-pale/

Share Your World – 2015 Week 16

inspiringmax

What are your favorite spices?

I love chilli. My favourite sauce is chilli and I have it on all suitable meals. While I mostly like moderately hot chillies, I was excited to try the 10/10 chilli sauce at the show and I wore my medal with pride.

What object do you always have with you when traveling and why?

I always take my computer with me when I travel. When I book accommodation I always make sure that free Wi-fi is included as this allows me to stay connected to my blogging world. By having my computer I can also make use of any extra down time by working on my book.

What is one thing you love about being an adult?

I love that as an adult I get to set my own boundaries. I may still have to do some things I don’t want to but I can set the limit on how long for. If I really want to do something and others say no I can also find a way to do it.

What item, that you don’t have already, would you most like to own?

I don’t think that there is anything that I need that I don’t already own. I’m sure if you gave me $10,000 I would find a way to spend it but I am also content with what I have. Although in a secret world I might like a swimming pool or spa complete with pool boy.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/04/20/share-your-world-2015-week-16/

Q – Quebec City #A – Z Challenge

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Christmas Day last year my husband and I spent in  Quebec City. According to Google—it was the 2nd most guaranteed place in the world for snow to fall on Christmas Day as well as be on the ground. We were excited. After more than half a century we were going to have our first white Christmas. Great in theory however the weather didn’t want to co-operate. For the first time in over 20 years Quebec City didn’t have a white Christmas. We had a great day wandering around exploring the Plains of Abraham, Chateau Frontenac and Old Quebec City. We were even lucky enough to experience a light dusting of snow as we were walking home from Christmas dinner—I was in my element.

#A -Z Challenge

P – Pretty # A -Z Challenge

inspiringmax

Write about anything you’d like, but make sure that all seven colors of the rainbow — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet — make an appearance in the post, either through word or image.

In New Zealand I found some bright and surprising sights that covered all the colours of the rainbow. They all brought a smile to my face.

#A-Z Challenge

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/roy-g-biv/

O – Observation # A-Z Challenge

inspiringmax

Others can help you observe things

Be in the moment

State facts

Enjoy your environment

Reflect on your journey

View your surroundings

Aattentively watch as the world goes by

Test a theory

I see—you see—remember it may be different

Opinions do vary

Notice the differences—celebrate the similarities.

#A-Z Challenge

Share Your World – 2015 Week 15

inspiringmax

Regarding your fridge, is it organized or a mess inside?

My fridge usually starts off the week organised as I clear it out every Sunday to co-inside with the weekly garbage collection. I have my own system to keep it organised—dairy on the second shelf, leftovers on the third shelf, chocolate on the bottom and large items on the top shelf. My husband however doesn’t care for my system and put things wherever he can find a space.

Have you ever been a participant in a parade? What did you do?

When I was a teenager in the 1970’s I participated in the Mattara parade in Newcastle. Mattara was held during the last week in September and celebrating the people of Newcastle and the arts. This festival is over 50 years old and includes people from all walks of life. I remember feeling very proud to  march in the parade representing the Girls Brigade.

How do you stand out from the crowd?

It depends on which crowd I am in as to how I stand out. I don’t deliberately try to stand out but I usually find my own way based on my personality. If |I am interested in what is going on I will start talking and using open sentences give people enough information that they are interested in finding out more. If not I like a chameleon will blend in with the environment and not let others know anything specific about me.

How many bones, if any, have you broken?

I broke my right arm skate boarding when I was 15, my right little toe in the Newcastle earthquake and my right foot when a girls gymnastics beam fell on it about 7 years ago during agynastics set-up.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I was grateful that I recovered from illness in less than 24 hours.

This week I am looking forward to celebrating 100 years of the ANZAC spirit.

http://ceenphotography.com/2015/04/13/share-your-world-2015-week-15/