2022

 Here we are in a new year. I’m looking forward to a good year ahead.

You may have noticed a little name change here. I’m planning to focus primarily on books, movies and a little TV here. I’ll share my thoughts and I welcome yours! I’ll still drop an occasional post about life and my crafty stuff.

I hope you find something positive that happened to/for you in 2021. And I wish you a very happy, healthy 2022! ❤️

Sunday Post

I’m joining Caffeinated Reader this week for Sunday Post. Feel free to join in too!

LAST WEEK:

It was an interesting week last week. Our air conditioning in the house went out on Monday night. It’s such an old system that parts have been a struggle to get. Thank goodness you hasn’t been real hot! 

Our daughter had her wisdom teeth taken out on Friday. She’s pretty tough and been handling her pain pretty well. 

Other than that, it’s been work and laundry. Nothing real exciting!

CURRENTLY READING:

Audio:

Physical book:

I’m enjoying both of them.

CURRENTLY WATCHING:

I’m hoping for an uneventful week ahead.

Happy Sunday!

Blogs

Here are some blogs you should be checking out.

BLOGS YOU SHOULD BE READING

I hope you will stop by, leave them a comment and say hello.

Hello!

I hope you are all doing well. I am sorry for being such a terrible blogger the second half of this year. I am just missing that blogging mojo (and a little time).  I am going to try to blog this Christmas challenge list in December (it appears maybe mommylogues.com is defunct now) to see if I can kickstart it again.

Feel free to join in too! Use #24dayschristmasblog for your posts

Upcoming Book Challenge

I haven't joined in this one for a while. I am going to try (and call is successful if I finish 5 of the 10). I hope you might join our hostess, Erin and our friends.


Here is my list to read for the challenge:

Book Challenge by Erin 7.0 category time!

7/1/17-10/31/17

· 5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages Fly Away by Kristin Hannah

· 10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter "B" Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

· 10 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) yellow cover Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen

· 15 points: Read a book that has a picture of an animal on the cover (submitted by Mattie) Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson

· 20 points: Read a book that was published in 2017 (submitted by Olya) I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere but the Pool by Lisa Scottoline

· 20 points: Read a book with a compass or cardinal direction in the title (submitted by Mary) South of Broad by Pat Conroy

· 25 points: The ALA’s "Banned Books Week" occurs while our challenge is happening. Read a book from this list of the most commonly banned books in America: (submitted by Christina) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

· 30 points: Read a fictional book about mental illness (submitted by Jamie); several helpful links: It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

· 30 points: Read a book with a non-human main character; i.e. animals, elves, gods, robots, merpeople, etc. (submitted by Bev); Into the Wild by Erin Hunter

· 35 points: Read a book a Disney movie was based on OR a book based on a Disney movie (submitted by Kirsten); Don’t forget to check that the book is at least 200 pages: The Beast Within: A Tale of Beauty’s Prince by Serena Valentino

Feel free to jump in!

Get to Know - Blogger edition

Good morning!

Welcome to a new blog series here: Get to Know - the Blogger edition

Today I welcome Debra of Peace, Love and Understanding to my blog today. Please read her interview below and visit her blog!

Can you tell my readers about yourself and your blog?  I an Atlanta, Georgia native who works full time for the state of Georgia.  I'm a devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend.  My blog is about things I like, there is a lot of variety.  I post recipes, crochet, knitting & other craft projects, concert reviews, movie reviews and things about my life in general.

Describe how you first got into blogging. Although I read several blogs, I wasn't sure I wanted to start one myself.  However, when I joined Ravelry (a crochet/knitting site), most of the users had blogs and shared them so I decided to start one myself.

What do you do in your spare time? I have a LOT of hobbies! I love to crochet, knit, and other crafts.  I am a movie buff...I would see a movie every single day in the theater, if I could.  I enjoy taking photos, especially nature and wildlife. I also like researching my family tree.  When I have the time, I love traveling, especially to historic locations.

Where would you like to be in blogging five years from now? I hope to still be blogging in 5 years, who knows what paths and directions life will lead us but I hope to continue writing about it.

Can you name some of your favorite bloggers and explain why they are your favorites? The first blog I started reading (many years ago before she was "famous") was The Pioneer Woman, I love her recipes and photos and her outlook on life.  I love Jen McGee's blog, of course, and especially enjoy her photos from her travels with her family, her book recommendations and her scrapbook pages.  I enjoy Kevin & Amanda's blog for the recipes and travel photos and particularly love the photos of her Boston Terriers.  I like checking in on Shelby Osmond's blog (she is Donny Osmond's daughter-in-law) because of her values and photos and I like watching her family grow.  Another I enjoy is FatMumSlim because of her photo challenges and a peek into life in Australia.

What inspired you to start your blog? I think I was mostly inspired by Ravelry users.

What do you find the most frustrating aspect of blogging? The most frustrating aspect is that I wish I had more feedback.  I know from reviewing the stats that I receive about 8,000 hits a month but yet I seldom receive a comment. Although I blog just for me, not to make money or try to become famous, it is nice to know that the people that do read, enjoy it.   

In the future where do you hope your blog will take you? I hope it just continues to give me an outlet to express some creativity.

Have you met anyone interesting/famous on your blogging journey? Yes, I wrote a blog post about Frank Inn, the famous animal trainer, best known for training Benji.  His daughter contacted me, she is very nice and informed me that they are hoping to open a memorial museum for her dad.

Do you have any specific goals for the rest of this year? I don't have any blogging goals, except to keep it up.  I have a personal goal to complete the crochet/knitting projects that are currently in progress (I think there are 3 at the moment) and hopefully complete some other projects that currently only reside in my mind.  I hope to continue my genealogy research and perhaps complete a scrapbook about my family history.

PS: If you are interested in being a featured blogger, drop me an email: jenmcgee34@yahoo.com

Hey bloggers!

I am looking for bloggers for a "Get to Know" series. If you interested in being featured, please send me an email: jenmcgee34@yahoo.com

Please feel free to pass this along to other bloggers you may know!

Thursday Thirteen - Blogs!

Happy Thursday! Here are some link ups to some wonderful blogs. Please go check them out and leave them a comment! I am linking up today over at Thursday 13 and Stuff & Things




Adventures of a Semper Fi Family


Murphy's Law


Val's Outside Voice


Anchors Aweigh


Marathons & Dog Tags


Insert Classy Here


Life According to Steph


This Italian Family


Cordially, Kaycee


Style in a Small Town


Life with the Tucker-Wolek Clan


Simply Hannah Sneed


Looking to the Stars

I never would have guessed

10 years!

I've been blogging for 10 years! Surethere have been lulls, but my little corner of the world has become a place for my randomness. My crafty stuff showoffs; my husband and kids; our travels; book reviews; thoughts on movies; phots; etc; etc.

I have made several friends and found some fantastic blogs to read along the way.

Will it keep going another 10 years? We will see....

Thank you all for reading. I love getting your comments.

Hugs

Throwback Thursday

I am going to jump in the Throwback Thursday ring this week.

Here are a few of my more "popular" posts from the 10 years I have been blogging.

Did You Hear the One - where a movie scene was filmed at our house.

Concerts - where I post about concerts.

Vacation 2015, Day 6 - a recap of our trip to Arizona last year.

Thank you for stopping by! I love your comments.

TGIF!

FINALLY!
Thank you to all of you who have left a comment here or sent me an email the past couple of weeks. I truly appreciate you stopping by and keeping in touch!


It has been a crap-tastic week at work. I am beyond frustrated and am blaming the full moon that was Monday night! My coming weekend will be short, as I have to work at the library tomorrow. So Sunday, I'm hoping for a day of nothing since I will have worked 7 days in a row.


I am going to encourage you to stop by my "Blogs You Should be Reading" tab, above. There are some fun and fantastic blogs there!

That's about all I have for today. What are you up to this weekend?

Friday Eve

It's what got me out of bed this morning - tomorrow is Friday!

Over on my photography blog today, I posted my Bucket List for the year. I hope to stay really busy over there and book lots of shoots. (Hold on for shameless self-promotion....)  If you know anyone in the northern Illinois/southern Wisconsin area who needs/wants a photographer (for any reason), I'd love to talk to them!
My email is: photosbyjenmcgee@gmail.com
My photography Facebook is here: Photos by Jen McGee
My photography Pinterest is here: Photos by Jen McGee


Other than that, I have a couple knitting projects I have neglected all week. I need a good TV viewing night so I can just sit, watch and knit.


Not too much planned for the weekend. I work on Saturday; Sunday will be housework and if the weather cooperates, maybe a photo walkabout.


Have a great Thursday!

A word on blogging

9 1/2 years ago, I began this little old spot of mine.

It has changed a lot on that time!

I have changed a lot in that time!

I have found some wonderful bloggers and enjoyed their blogs. I feel like I have come to know them very well - we could sit down with a drink and just chat away. I love that feeling!

I took a mini-hiatus from blogging at the end of last year. Photography was busy; I was busy with my family; and I needed to step away to clear my mind of it. I'm glad I did! I realized I don't care if anyone reads it - I like to write about what I want, when I want to.

I love reading others' blogs! (psst - you should check some of my favorites out under the "Other Blogs You Should be Reading" tab, above) There are some incredibly talented bloggers and storytellers out there - I admire you all. Thank you for sharing your lives, activities, fashions and projects. You inspire me to jump back in and post what I want to.

So if you are inspired, I say - blog what you want.

PS: If your blog isn't in the tab above, leave a link in the comments below and I will get it added!

Hey there!

I'm not going to COMPLETELY "disappear" from this blog but am going to continue lightly posting for a while. I am focusing on getting my photography biz going right now. I post over on THAT blog a couple times a week if you want to check it out.

Photos by Jen

I will try to pop around here now & then with a little something so don't completely give up on me!

Hugs and thanks for reading my blog.

New photo blog post...

A little travel photography blog post is up today over at my photography blog.
You can check it out:
HERE

I hope you're having a great week!

Photo blog

I put up a new post on my photography blog this morning:

PHOTO ESSAY

And I would like to add, if you know someone in northern Illinois who is looking to have photos done, please let me know. My email is: jenmcgee34@yahoo.com  I would love to talk to them.

Thank you!

Blogiversary

June 12, 2015

Dear Blogging Friends,

When I started this blog 9 years and 1300+ posts ago (WOW, that long!!!!), I didn't let many people into it and I didn't really know where it would go. I used it to keep little reminders of what we'd done and little anecdotes. Over time, I have shared my blog with others and I feel like I have a nice little following now.
I have had lulls in posting and some marathon posting stretches. I have posted random, rambling posts. I have posted photos; book reviews; news events and linked up with many others over the years. I have shared a lot of my life here.
I've had readers/commenters come and go and lots of blogging friends that no longer blog. I appreciate all my readers and their comments over the years.
I have enjoyed the blogs I have read and the blogs I still read. I enjoy sharing in your lives; your fashion and beauty tips; your reviews; your social commentary and every little thing. Thank you for sharing your blogs with me!
Blogging has led me to make many connections I never would have made otherwise. I have enjoyed my friendships, no matter how long or short they have been.
I plan to continue blogging for a long time and hope that I continue to have visitors and readers while this blog exists.
So...
THANK YOU for reading.
THANK YOU for commenting.
THANK YOU for your friendship.

Truly,
Jen

Photo bookings

I am asking for your help to spread the word.

Do you know a Class of 2016 graduate in the northern Illinois area? I am currently booking senior sessions for the summer and early autumn.

Link here:
My photo blog

I would love to talk to this senior and their parents. Thank you!

Featured Reader

Today I am the featured reader over at 

Laura McNeill 

(click her name for the link)

If you haven't read her books yet....you are missing out! They are warm, fun, girly kinds of stories.

Her new book is scheduled to be out in July and it's going to be great! (I've had a chance to preview it...) Follow her on social media to keep up with her happenings.

Thank you for the feature, Laura!

Happy reading, my friends.

Shout out!

I haven't done this for a while.

PLEASE make sure that you check out all the blogs on my
"Blogs You Should Read"
to the right. They are all fantastic!  If you would like yours included - please leave your link in the comments and I would be happy to include you.