Category Archives: site updates
Bloggy Rambles
Every year WordPress sends out an annual report. Here are some stats for me in 2011.
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
In 2011, there were 81 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 765 posts. There were 131 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 222mb. That’s about 3 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was July 24th with 260 views. The most popular post that day was Disney World: Advice for First-Timers.
You may also be interested to know my most-visited posts of the past year.
- Disney World: Advice for First-Timers
- The Newest Dennis Adventure
- When a boy breaks his leg …
- Strawberry-Peach Oatmeal Crumble
- The Perfect Gift
Interestingly, only three of those were actually written in 2011! The most frequently googled phrases that led people to my site include “book purse,” “spica cast” and “strawberry peach crumble.” Apparently, if I want more readers, we should have more family injuries and I should spend more time creating recipes. 
Mostly this tiny corner of cyberspace is where I dump my thoughts, where I process what I’m learning about God and myself through life and books. Entertaining at times, but more often cathartic for me. Yet I want it to also be a useful site — and I don’t mean just about Disney or desserts, but one that challenges you to grow deeper in love with our Creator. I want to offer something helpful for you in your journey toward knowing God. Hopefully, in spite of what the stats say, I have done that. At least a little.
So, this morning as I re-evaluated my intentions for this site, I spent far too much time browsing new web templates. After three years of looking the same, it’s feeling a little tired. I also noticed that I have employed nearly 150 different labels. Something needs to be done about that. I’ve got that familiar itch for a site overhaul. Something that reflects my theme of seeking the Lord and His presence in the dailies (Psalm 105:4).
If any of you are into web design or know someone who can do it on the cheap, I’m listening!
Thus ends my bloggy rambles for the day.
A Discussion Turned Sour
This weekend I received yet another flury of scathing emails and comments on a post that is now well over a year old. It happens every once in a while. I touch on a polarizing topic and things turn into a debate. I don’t mind debate … when it’s respectful. What I mind is when a discussion turns into personal attacks and insults. That’s what happened this weekend.
Now, I can handle personal attacks to some degree. I’ve grown a thicker skin in my four years online. This recent situation, however, turned into personal attacks against someone else, someone I had referenced in my original post. I didn’t like that at all. Then it progressed to readers attacking other readers via the comments section. That is when I decided to shut it down. This is, afterall, my blog and I can do what I want. And I want to eliminate attitudes like that around here.
Quoting Sense and Sensibility: “If you cannot think of anything appropriate to say, kindly restrict your remarks to the weather.”
Debate is good. Discussion is good. Conflicting thoughts should be shared. But if you cannot share your conflicting ideas without attacking me or the other people who visit my blog, please don’t bother to come here. I mean that in all seriousness and humility.
I want this small corner of cyberspace to be a safe place. A happy place. A place of encouragement and admonition, a place where we can learn and grow and laugh together. A warm place, not one of arrogant insults or negative, close-minded arguments.
I am upset that I have to make rules like this. I’m also upset that I have to delete a post that I still feel is valid and truthful. A post that many people found helpful and encouraging. But it became distorted and abused. Too many people missed the point and used it as a platform for their own agendas. So, here, as succinctly as possible, I want to relay what I felt were the points of that post, hopefully without stirring the pot further.
- We, as students of God’s Word, should humble ourselves and seek to eliminate all distractions so that we may receive the message. If we are too prideful and filled with thoughts of how we could do it better, if we think too much of the cost of the book or the antics of the teacher or the volume of the music or whatever it is that distracts us, we may miss the whole point. We may miss exactly what God brought us there to see.
- Not every teacher is great for every student. While we must be on guard against false teachers, we must also leave room for personality conflicts. If you cannot get over what distracts you about that teacher (clothes, style, accent, etc.), then find another teacher. There are TONS of teachers out there. Just because one is popular, doesn’t mean that person is the best teacher for you. Find one that meets you where you are.
- If we’re humble and open to God’s leading, we can learn great things about Him and ourselves even from people we disagree with on other doctrinal issues. As Mama would say, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
So, tell me, do you have rules for your blog?
Update on the move
Hey! I’m so excited my move to wordpress is almost finished. You can actually visit there now by going to this address: www.inthedailies.wordpress.com.
You’ll notice the site is a little different … different colors, different menu, different pages … but it’s still just me. I’ve moved most of my posts over there, so you won’t miss a thing! I’m still trying to figure out how to transfer a couple things like my bookshelf and community memberships. In the meantime, I’m thrilled to finally have an updated “Writing” page and a better “Contact” page over there. Also, I like the header showing the sites title and not my name. No one cares about me anyway; we’re here to glorify God – right? I want to focus to be on Him, not me. I’m just a tool.
Anywho, you can find me here and there. I’ll post identical stuff on both sites until the move is complete and my domain (www.TanyaDennisBooks.com) is transferred. Thanks for your patience!!
Comment me some love. Let me know what you think of the new design!
If you like this blog …
… take note: IT’S MOVING.
For a number of reasons, I’ve decided to switch servers. I’m currently using a web host (Crossmap) and Blogger. But I’ve learned I can maintain the whole thing for less (time, money, frustration, etc.) through WordPress alone. I’m in the process of creating my site over there now and wanted to give y’all a “heads up!”
If you access this site through my domain (www.TanyaDennisBooks.com), this doesn’t affect you. That will still be my address and you’ll still happily find me there. You can skip to the next post and continue your day with jolly delight.
If, however, you get here through the blog address (www.inthedailies.blogspot.com), a Feedblitz email or other blog reader service, you may need to make some changes to ensure you don’t miss any posts. You can:
- Memorize my domain: www.TanyaDennisBooks.com and access the site that way instead.
- Change the address on your readers (Google, Feedburner, etc.).
- Wait until the new site is up, then subscribe through the links there.
Again, I’m not moving the site today! This is just a notice of things to come. My goal is to have everything moved over sometime next week. I’ll keep you posted until the job is done.
THANKS a bunch!! Comment or email me if you have any questions, concerns, funny stories, ethereal advice …
Announcements
A couple announcements …
Heidi posted a makeover! Jump over to her site (Moms, Ministry and More) to vote on her new ‘do. Poor girl has been living for two years with a bad cut, just waiting for it to grow out. And now she’s letting the bloggy world decide what she’ll do next. After you vote, stick around on her site a bit. She has some super encouraging posts, some that will truly challenge your walk with Christ. It’s a good stop.
Also, next Tuesday I’m starting a weekly carnival! I’m thinking I’ll call it “Mama Loves”, but I’m not completely decided. Comment me some ideas. You don’t have to be a mama to participate!
The point of it is this: Take one post a week to celebrate the good. It’s far too easy to think of the negative side of things. I’m a stay-at-home mom and many of you are, too. The isolation (common to writers as well, which many of you also are!) can drive one crazy. The constant demands, monotany with simultaneous unpredictability can leave us in a funk. But God has better plans for us! He wants us to rejoice and thrive in this high calling He has given us — whether that calling be raising the next generation of missionaries, writing the next break-out novel or just finishing a mountain of laundry before your adoring husband comes home.
So, I’m setting up a way for us to focus on the praise-worthy parts of our life. What do you love about being a mama? What thrills you about being a writer? What’s the best part of fulfilling your calling? We can all rant and rave and use our blogs for cathartic purposes, but let’s offer one day a week (or at least one post!) for perpetual praise.
“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”
– Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)
So hop over to Heidi’s site to vote on her hair, then come back for some positive thinking on Tuesday. I’ll have Mr. Linky ready for whatever Mama Loves.
Announcements
Okay, I need to answer some questions around here.
About the ‘Do:
First, my appointment is set for this Thursday at 4:30 pm EST. I promise to post before and after pictures within 24 hours of the deed being done. Try to be patient, people.
Second, contrary to popular belief, I did NOT rig the contest!! My husband threatened (since he’s a computer genius and all), but he obviously didn’t rig it either or I would not be cutting my hair at all.
Third, I am taking with me pictures of the first and second place winners. I’m entrusting my hair to a professional. Whichever style she thinks will be best with my hair’s texture and thickness will be what actually gets done.
As to color, I really am interested in going dark, but this is where the compromise of marriage comes into play. While my husband does prefer brunettes (I am the one and only blonde he ever dated — and I won! Woo-hoo!), he doesn’t like change. I think a cut is enough for right now. Maybe I’ll go dark come winter.
About the job:
THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all of your encouraging comments, emails and prayers! I really, really appreciate it. Here’s the scoop. Barclays, a British investment bank, has purchased a portion of the now-bankrupted Lehman, including my husband’s job. We’re still not entirely sure what this means fully, but it does give us some job security.
No, we don’t have to move to England. Just because his boss is British doesn’t mean we have to be. And while moving to Europe would be a fun adventure, it’s not one I want to take right now. We’re planning to stay right where we are for a while. At least until God tells us otherwise.
So things are good. GOD is good!
Two last things …
Hop on over to MomBlogs and vote for me! Some of you have told me how you don’t feel comfortable writing about God or spiritual things on your own blogs, but you love sending people my way. This is how you can do that. I don’t get a prize or anything for having the most votes or positive reviews. I don’t want everyone to read my blog, just those who may benefit from it.
I want to get to know you better! If you’re on Facebook, click here to befriend me.
Quick Update
The speech therapist did not have a noticeable accent, so that was cool, and Isabel is already saying “yellow” instead of “lello.” In other news, I’m going to be away for a week or so. I’m attending a writers conference today and tomorrow. (Please pray for me that God will be glorified by my presence here; that I learn much and seize available opportunities.) Then on Saturday we’re leaving for vacation. (Yeah!! The kids can’t wait to get to the beach.) I’ll fill you in on everything when we get back.
Breaking a promise …
Hey. I promised to tell you about something cool the kids and I did this summer, but I can’t. Our main computer crashed last night. It’s the one that holds all our photos. Fortunately, almost all our stuff is backed up. Unfortunately, we’re still not sure of the computer’s stability, so I don’t want to risk losing what is NOT backed up for the sake of retrieving what IS. I’ll post the story when our technical difficulties end.
In the meantime, I’ve made some changes on my Bookshelf. First of all, I realized I’ve read over 60 books in the past year, but have only posted thoughts on 30 of them. To remedy this, I’ve added some new reviews and plan to add several more in the near future. I really want to stay on top of this. You’ll also notice a cool new widget to show you what I’m reading now. You can scroll through it to see (hopefully!) what reviews are forthcoming.
I’ve created new categories that hopefully will be more helpful for you to find something of interest. I’ve divided them into Fiction and Nonfiction and then subdivided by genre.
Also, instead of listing “recommended” and “highly recommend,” such vague terms with arbitrary differences, I’ve created a link for “Personal Favorites.” These are the books I, personally, would (in some cases have) read more than once. These are books I treasure as friends and great resources. Many of the books not listed in this category are fantastic books, well written and worthy, but they may not be my favorite genre or they just haven’t influenced my life as much.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Oh, and tell me what you’re reading!
Site issues
Hey. I’ve encountered a glitch with my webhosting service, so parts of my site are currently unavailable. While you can’t see my bio, published, contact and home pages, you can still reach my blogger-hosted pages (blog and bookshelf). If you normally reach this site through TanyaDennisBooks.com, please note the direct address to my blog: www.inthedailies.blogspot.com. My bookshelf is www.TanyaDennisBookshelf.blogspot.com. On the upside, both of these pages are loading faster. Maybe this will turn out to be a wonderful blessing of less than five minute loads! I’ll let you know when it’s fixed.
UPDATE: It’s fixed! And, so far, the loading delay hasn’t returned. Woo-hoo!
Potty push
I’m posting this now because otherwise my friend Karen will be calling in about twenty minutes to complain that I haven’t posted since Thursday. I simply can’t take the peer pressure. Or the guilt. This post is a preemtive measure. It’s also just a quick note to let you know why I’m not around. Well, I hope to be around some, but I won’t be here as much as usual, if at all. (My mother has always told me I think like a spider web; I spiral around and around taking a thousand tangents before getting to the point. These stream of consciousness posts clearly reflect that – don’t they?)
We’re making a push toward the potty. Yup, it’s time. I’ve been putting this off forever because … well, I just don’t want to do it! Didn’t I just finish potty-training a child?? The calendar says Ellie’s been in panties for almost two years, but still. I’m a natural procrastinator. And everyone has totally freaked me out with the “boys are so much harder” speeches. FYI: warnings aren’t much encouragement unless you can provide helpful tips, people! *grin* Actually, I’m kind of excited about it. It will be SO NICE to have both kids out of diapers.
I may post in the evenings, but if I can’t, just know I’ll be back before too long.
