Bloggiesta: It's On Like Donkey Kong!

Ole!  It has begun!  Here's what I'm hoping to get to (and have already failed somewhat because I spent most of the day in my car driving to and from places, and other drivers frown upon me blogging on my laptop whilst driving, apparently it's "reckless driving" and there's a fine for it):

~Write 10 reviews (5 of these can be mini-reviews)
~Leave 20 comments per day on other blogs. (Completed for Friday, go me!)
~Make sure that I am replying to and visiting the blogs of all the commentors on my blog.
~Spend time on Twitter daily interacting with other bloggers.
~Create a spreadsheet for all books read in 2012 and links to any reviews written. Done!  I made a spreadsheet!!!  I am so proud!
~Work on new and old features: Up Late With Kate and Sundays In Bed With.. Made the pic for Up Late With Kate on Friday!
~Prepare 2 non book review posts, something to spark conversation!
~Really consider switching back to a 2 column blog. Done!  Thanks, to the awesomeness that is Lori at Imagination Designs (honestly, need a new blog design?  She's the best!).
~Update Blog pages and all Challenges.
~Post 3 reviews on Amazon.
~Participate in mini-challenges. 

This will be my main post that I'll just update daily.

Friday:
~Lori switched me to a 2 column earlier this week, and I'm loving it!  I think my blog just looks cleaner and less cluttered- I was going crazy with the widgets simply because I had the room.  What do you think?
~I love the new spreadsheet too, because then it'll be a lot easier to update my blog 2012 Reads, because all the links will be in one easy location.
~I did make a picture for my Up Late With Kate meme (to be used in the future).  Here's what it looks like:

The designer who came made my blog kit no longer is active, but she had this picture as a freebie on her old blog.  So I tweeked it a bit.  Okay, I added text.  And cropped!

Now I'm going to do a little commenting and tweeting! 

Saturday:
I work today, but I woke up early to reply to blog comments.

I participated in Jen Ryland's Step Out of Your Comfort Zone Bloggiesta challenge- my answer?  I'm going to make my own lip gloss (I got the idea off Pinterest, natch) for Bloggers Dressed In Blood (event starts off Monday, check back!)!  I am both excited and scared to death.  As I pointed out, I'm very creative, but I'm not crafty, so wish me luck!  Have you done her challenge yet?  You should! ;)

I also discovered the awesomeness of Pocket, thanks to The Book Vixen's challenge (honestly, she has one of the best blogger names out there!).   Pocket is a great way to mark links you want to read later, and there's a mobile app too, which is going to be awesome when I'm going through my google reader on my phone.

I also graded my blog (I got an 82, which is okay!) with the help of Smash Attack Reads challenge.  I also found out that I need to bribe ya'll to retweet my links and share them on Facebook, so, um, re-post my links! ;)

And thanks to Jenni Elyse's challenge, I finally figured out the Gravatar thing! 

Okay, it's late, I still have much to do in the morning, so I'll have to try to get a bunch done when I wake up!  Good night, bloggiestas!

Bloggiesta: All In!

There's a Book and It's All About Books are hosting the Fall Bloggiesta.  Last time... I failed miserably.  This time?  I shall prevail!  Sept. 28th- Sept. 30th are the days to get my blog in shape!

Here's what I hope to accomplish:

~Write 10 reviews (5 of these can be mini-reviews)
~Leave 20 comments per day on other blogs. 
~Make sure that I am replying to and visiting the blogs of all the commentors on my blog.
~Spend time on Twitter daily interacting with other bloggers.
~Work on new and old features: Up Late With Kate and Sundays In Bed With..
~Prepare 2 non book review posts, something to spark conversation!
~Really consider switching back to a 2 column blog.
~Update Blog pages and all Challenges.
~Post 3 reviews on Amazon.

So, are you going to join me?  I think you should!

Bloggiesta Day 2

I've got lots to do today that aren't related to my blog at all (sad face), but I do have a few things I plan on accomplishing today:

~Mini-Challenge: How to Build Readers for your Blog through Commenting
    So be on the lookout for my meaningful comments... I just need to learn not to use the words "I" and "me" so much on comments. There are so many blogs I read but don't comment on, which is ridiculous because as you can tell I am rarely at a loss for words.  Or sometimes I don't comment if I see the blogger has lots of comments already, I figure they just don't need me too, but that's stupid so I'm done with that.  Also, sometimes I get frustrated with blogs that have word verification.  I find that by not allowing anonymous comments that I don't get much spam, although that could be because Blogger filters it for me. I promise to comment more if you have me jump through less hoops to do so. ;)  I also feel the need to apologize for all the numerous comments that I would post on one blog back when I first started and didn't quite grasp the concept of  "comment awaiting moderation".  I'm sure some bloggers thought I was an idiot, which is fine because I really should have been paying more attention to what I was doing.

~Catch up on some reviews- I just don't understand why I have so much trouble saying what I want about a book, especially if I liked it.  It's so much easier to say why I don't like a book.  I might have to give that structured review idea a chance...

~Read tonight!  I have to take my little cousins out today, bake a cake, go to book club and work overnight tonight.  My client sleeps fairly well through the night, and only gets up a few times.  Sadly she doesn't have internet in her home, but I can always get some reading done.  I'm going to try to get through A Crafty Killing and make some more progress in When You Were Mine.

 There's still just so much to do!

So what are your plans for today? 

Bloggiesta Day 1 and Winner!

So it's day 1 of the Bloggiesta and I'm already behind.  Tomorrow and especially Sunday are going to have to pick up today's slack, but here's what I plan on or have done so far today:

~Write reviews for

• The Great Gatsby
• Nightfall

~Start reading ARC of When You Were Mine

~Catch up on some of the panels that I missed for BBPOC

~ Comment on at least 20 blogs per day.

~Mail off the signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars

~Work on my Read-a-long idea and my Half-Read Readathon idea.

~Work on my challenge idea for Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

~Update my Books Read journal.


I'm went ahead and submitted my challenge idea to Dewey's Readathon, and I have a draft of the challenge in the works.  I really can't wait.  And I already have at least 1 book for my pile (and an oldie that I ordered from paperback swap).

I also picked the winner for a signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  Mailing off a copy later today.  The winner is....

Lexie from The Book Bug!

I'll be using this post for all things Bloggiesta today, including challenges and updates.

Midnight Bloggiesta!

The Bloggiesta is an event that I always mean to participate in, but never do.  However, 2012 is the year I take my blogging seriously and challenge myself to be excellent... It's all very Dead Poet's Society here.  You can't see it, but I'm standing on my laptop stand yelling, "O captain, my captain", and Robin Williams is walking out the door.  I always hate to see him go...

Sorry, I got off track again.  But that's part of the reason I'm doing this Bloggiesta.  I'm just a little too easily distracted.  I've done a fairly good job of keeping up with review writing, but it's no surprise that I've fallen slightly behind.  I also have some other goals that I need to catch up on this weekend.

So here's what I hope to accomplish:

1. Write reviews for

• The Great Gatsby
• Nightfall
• Soulless
• Ali and Ramazan
• Anna and the French Kiss
• The Hunger Games (re-read)
• and any other books I finish before this weekend

2. Write a few extra bookish posts (old favorites and prepare my Sundays in Bed With... post BEFORE Sunday afternoon).

3. Catch up on some of the panels that I missed for BBPOC

4. Comment on at least 20 blogs per day.

5. Work on my blog's Facebook page (I'm hopeless at this, but I'm determined).

6. Mail off the signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars

7. Work on my Read-a-long idea and my Half-Read Readathon idea.

8. Work on my challenge idea for Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

9. Post all my 2012 reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.

10. Update my Books Read journal.

11. Update my Reading Challenges and make a post for my own Read Me Baby, 1 More Time challenge.

12. Start building my Readathon Pile O'Books.

13. Somehow accomplish all of this even though I have book club Sat evening and I'm working overnight that same evening.

I'm really looking forward to meeting some new bloggers (hopefully some that are going to BEA too!) and growing my blogging community.  Sometimes I feel I just don't put enough effort into connecting with other bloggers, and that's something I'd really like to change.

Cheers and good luck!