A to Z Reflections

This is part of a group-posts bt A to Z 2012 Survivors in which we reflect on all things A to Z.  If you'd like to join, write your post and then link its URL here.


Since it's all about the letters, I'm going to give myself letter grades on my participation. 

For A to Z 2012 Posts: A+

I posted every day, most days at :01 CST, and posts were kept short & wildly entertaining (oops, change that "w" to an "m").  Pre-writing and scheduling was KEY, and using a theme helped me keep individual posts brief because I looked at A to Z as one giant post broken into 26 bite-sized pieces.

Also, the Disney World theme was totally fun to immerse in.  I loved hearing about other bloggers' past & upcoming trips to Disney World (I hope at least some of my tips will prove useful).  And I was tickled pink when DL Hammons told me his "Disney Diva" wife, who happens to be an expert travel agent, had requested the link to my posts!   

For A to Z 2012 Blog Hopping: C-

I visited everyone who visited me...although I have a sneaking feeling I may have missed one or two...but not as often as I would have liked, and I only initiated contact with precious few. April turned out to be shockingly busy in other aspects of my life, so while reading A to Z posts proved to be a fun getaway during a free hour here and there, I wasn't able to give it the focus I'd hoped to.

Will I do it again next year?  I want to, but only if I can guarantee my April 2013 schedule will allow me to be a better visitor.  The joy of reading comments on my posts every morning was dampened by the guilt of not being able to return the favor on a daily basis. I already have a theme in mind, and one I dearly want to explore, so I think what I'll do is go ahead and pre-write, schedule & post them, but I won't add my name to the A to Z list until the verge of April---and only if it looks like I'll be able to devote more time to reading others' posts.  

Do I appreciate the efforts of the A to Z co-hosts to enhance our blog experience, and am I even more in awe of their discipline and dedication? Yes and YES!!!  Thank you all!  And thank you to the bloggers who I did get to visit for your clever A to Z posts. And of course, thank you to everyone who visited & made my month with your comments. :)

Note to Disney Trivia enthusiasts:  The answers are coming!!  Here's my plan---split the answers into a series of three posts to go up on each of the next three Mondays.  I did mean to start today, but it was a big, busy weekend and then there was this reflections post and...blah, blah, blah, right?  Thank you for your patience.



Comments

a.eye said…
I agree with not being able to see as many blogs as I would have liked to... my plan originally was to try and read all in the challenge. I failed that by about 1000 blogs.

It was a great challenge to increase my discipline and creativity.
Susan Oloier said…
Nicki,
You are not alone. I always visited those who posted to my blog. I found a handful of new bloggers who I kind of stuck with and now consider blogger buddies. April was too busy for me, too. I loved your tips (those I read). What a fun theme. Made me want to visit Disney again--just not in December :-)
I hope you do it again next year, Nicki!
Suze said…
'posts were kept short & wildly entertaining (oops, change that "w" to an "m").'

:) That was cute.
Don't feel bad about not being able to visit everyone's posts, because it takes up a lot of time to do that every day, or even every week. I admire you for having the dedication to blog 26 days in a row. I can usually only write one or two posts a week. But it was fun to read other people's posts on A to Z topics.
Janie Junebug said…
Nicki! I give you an A+ for everything you do. My blog is open to the public again, and Lola and I are working together. She has posted a What? Monday question today, and I'm reviewing a book tomorrow. Reminder to self: Buy Nicki's book and review it. We're still at www.dumpedfirstwife.blogspot.com.

Love,
Janie Lola
A+ for sharing your personal tips and family photos with all of us.
I'll let you know how our first trip goes this year.
Thank you!
Heather
I give myself a C- for the blog hopping part. I've been so absent lately, except for my posts.
Heather Murphy said…
I gave you a shout-out on my Reflections post. I loved your theme and your posts were WILDLY entertaining :)
Unknown said…
I'm glad you're posting the answers because they were hard questions but super interesting.
Lisa Southard said…
I too admit being rubbish at visiting all the blogs- that was more effort than the writing! But I have made my habits a bit more sociable, so maybe a little change that sticks is better than one big one-off thing? Thank you for my visit, and now I know it's rare I can treasure it all the more :-)
Tara Tyler said…
you did an awesome job!
i may start my series up again...thanks for all the tips & inspiration!
SueH said…
What an interesting theme you had! Mind you, I've not been to any of the Disney-theme parks (not even Paris, which is my local one!) so as goes your quiz, I'd probably not have got anything right!

Well don and congratulations for surviving and making it through to the end of the challenge! I hope you'll be able to join in next year, too!

Thanks for dropping my blog earlier, too! ;-)

SueH I refuse to go quietly!

Twitter - @Librarymaid
Hi-ya. Thanks for visiting my blog. Figured I'd return the favor and pop in here, too. Darn, I earned a crummy grade for not visiting your blog during the challenge. I really like all your Disney posts that I just read. Great theme.
I just about kept up with returning visits, but I failed badly on visiting new blogs - I ended up waiting for people to come to me so that's probably a D?
nutschell said…
I was more prepared this year as I had done it the previous year. I managed to write and schedule my posts before APril. So I spent April mostly visiting all the blogs on the list. It was a crazy task to visit 1722 but I managed it somehow. I'm a little torn as to whether I should do it again next year --it's fun but also time consuming.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Arlee Bird said…
Thanks for the Reflections post--I'm still making my way around, yes.

According to your rating systems I'll also go for an A+ on posting. But if you going for C- on blog-hopping then maybe I'll have to get a D. I did fairly well, but only made maybe 1/3 of the list. And I'm still trying to visit back to everyone who stopped by my blogs to leave comments.

This year was a monster, but it was fun.


Lee
An A to Z Co-Host
Tossing It Out

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